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Android Market hits 1 billion downloads, 100,000 appsThe Android Market has reached two new and important milestones. A billion apps have been downloaded, and there are more than 100,000 apps available. [via fonehome]Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jul 2010 | 4:31 am Coming Up: Apple's iPhone 4 Press Conference LIVE [Digital Daily]
Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 4 death-grip drama will come to a head later this morning when the company holds a press conference to discuss the device and, presumably, the mounting controversy over its less-than-immaculate reception. How will the company handle what’s fast becoming the biggest public relations crises in its history? Will the company issue a recall? Has it found a fix that can be made at its retail stores? Free bumpers for all? Will it announce an exchange program that would allow early adopters to trade in their first-run phones for new ones with a non-conductive coating applied to the antenna? Or will it simply re-assert its “all phones do this” claim, with a parade of antenna experts to back it up? Join us here at 10 am PT and find out.
Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jul 2010 | 4:00 am FCC approves new broadband program for hospitals - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 16 Jul 2010 | 3:10 am Sony Ericsson posts profit in Q2 (AP)AP - Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson on Friday reported a euro12 million ($15.5 million) net profit for the second quarter, up from a euro213 million loss the year before, due to the continued success of its smart phones as well as cost cuts.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jul 2010 | 3:06 am Irish Gov't Invests In Color-Coded Fiber Opticsc0mpliant writes "The Irish government has invested a further €5 million, after already having invested €5 million one year ago, in a new system of fiber optics which heralds an era of virtualization of fiber networks, using color coding to enable multiple fiber providers to serve businesses and homes, often on a single strand of fiber. The technology, which has already sparked interest from companies such as BT and IBM, is already in its first phase and boasts an impressive 2.5 terabytes capacity, double the capacity of the London phone system. The company behind the technology, Intune Technology, is comprised of a group of ex-UCD photonics researchers and has been around since 1999 and are based in Dublin. The project is set to be completed by 2020."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 16 Jul 2010 | 2:52 am 100,000 Applications In Android Market? Not Just Yet
Engadget and InformationWeek are reporting that AndroLib, which gathers all kinds of statistics on the Android Market, pegs the number of Android applications in the store at 100,000. My question is: where are they getting that from? It’s true that AndroLib estimates the total number of downloads has now exceeded 1 billion apps, like we reported a couple of days ago when AndroLib launched a redesigned website featuring the estimated number in near real-time. And as InformationWeek pointed out, that number is climbing fast, by 100,000 in the time it took their reporter to write his post. But 100,000 total apps available in the store, as both state? Not just yet. AndroLib also keeps a neat page of the distribution of both free and paid apps in Android Market on this page, where they say the total number of apps in the store is just above 84,000, much closer to the number Google itself shared yesterday in its earnings call (>70,000 apps). Still a discrepancy, but not by as big a margin as Engadget reports. Update: AndroLib says they measure Android apps published throughout the world, and that Google probably kept a nice round number for their earnings call – and they also think they may sometimes count apps that have been recently removed from the Market. AndroLib also claims the number of available apps sometimes grows by 1000+ per day. So will the total number of applications in Android Market soon surpass 100,000 in total, like the guys from AndroidGuys predicted earlier this month? Yes, almost certainly, in the next few weeks even. But again, not just yet. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jul 2010 | 2:48 am Smartphones boost Sony Ericsson Q2 (Reuters)Reuters - Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson posted a second consecutive quarterly profit on Friday as sales of more expensive smartphones ramped up but it stuck to its view of only slight market growth this year.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jul 2010 | 2:44 am The Large Hadron Collider, Now in Comic FormA new comic has been published, written by actor LeVar Burton (of Star Trek fame), chronicling the adventures of a time traveling super hero... and the LHC.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jul 2010 | 2:41 am Apple Releases Update to "Fix" iPhone AntennaYesterday Apple released a software update for the iPhone that "fixes" the accuracy of the device's signal display strength, which the company insists is what causes the recent spate of reception complaints...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jul 2010 | 2:11 am The iPhone 4 Antenna SongIn just a few hours, the world will know what exactly to make of the iPhone 4 antenna situation. Or maybe we won’t. But Apple is going to tell us something about the device. And hopefully everyone up in arms about the device can find some peace. Until then, how about a song? Our favorite jingle writer Jonathan Mann is back with a new song. And this time it’s about the iPhone 4 antenna. You may recall that Mann won a Bing jingle competition last August, which I promptly made fun of. He then wrote a song about me, which was much better. But actually, the guy is damn talented, and I can hardly believe that he has managed to keep up this song-a-day thing for so long. Mann’s iPhone antenna song encapsulates the situation well. “If you don’t want an iPhone 4, don’t buy it. If you bought one and you don’t like it, bring it back.” Imagine if it were just that simple. Join us tomorrow for our coverage of the Apple press conference. For now, enjoy the video below.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jul 2010 | 2:05 am Apple May Offer IPhone Bumpers, Rebates, Analysts Say - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 16 Jul 2010 | 2:01 am What Famous Author Is Your Second Life Writing Like?Frivolous Friday fun: Find a large-ish block of text you've written in or about Second Life -- extended IMs, chat logs, notecards, or if you blog about SL, a lengthy post. Copy that puppy. Go to this site...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jul 2010 | 1:51 am Mobile phones hit 5 billionMobile phone service subscriptions reached 5 billion last week, according to parts manufacturer Ericsson, with demand primarily coming from emerging economies, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Most...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jul 2010 | 1:40 am Opportunistic Senator writes letter to Apple CEO over iPhone 4 antennaDemocratic New York Senator Charles Schumer on Thursday issued an open letter to Steve Jobs regarding the iPhone 4 antenna issues, calling Apple's current solutions "insufficient" and asking the company...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 16 Jul 2010 | 1:27 am MG Siegler’s Double Rainbow iPhone LoveSo it’s likely more than a few of you have seen the Paul Vasquez double rainbow video (if you haven’t seen it go watch it now, we’ve also embedded it below). We laughed. We cried. We laughed/cried simultaneously. And then we thought of our own MG Siegler and how much he loves the iPhone. No one, not even Steve Jobs, loves the iPhone as much as MG does. Well, no one except maybe John Gruber at Daring Fireball. We hear from reliable sources that MG and Gruber will be sharing a car to tomorrow’s iPhone 4 extravaganza at Apple HQ. Maybe they can argue about which one of them is, truly, the biggest Apple fanboy of them all. In the meantime, here’s our tribute to MG Siegler’s iPhone love. And don’t worry about next year when the iPhone 4 is old news. The triple rainbow iPhone 5 will be even better, we hear.
     
Source: TechCrunch | 16 Jul 2010 | 1:25 am India's New Rupee Symbol Won't Show Soon on Computers (PC World)PC World - Vendors of computers, mobile phones, and software say they will support the symbol for the Indian rupee that was approved by the Indian cabinet on Thursday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 16 Jul 2010 | 1:20 am Viral Video: Kathy Griffin Laments Fake Boyfriend Levi Johnston's Engagement [BoomTown]
One of the better bits on her terrific television reality show, “My Life on the D-List,” is comic Kathy Griffin’s antics with fake boyfriend Levi Johnston. As in, baby father to Sarah Palin’s grandchild. Johnston and the Palins had been on the outs, until it was announced this week in a turnabout that he was now engaged to Bristol Palin, the baby mother. Never to miss an opportunity, Griffin naturally fakes breakup heartache, using Johnston’s nude cover shoot from Playgirl as a prop. Source: All Things Digital | 16 Jul 2010 | 1:13 am Daily Crunch: Power Shot Edition
Review: Pepsi Strong Shot
Source: CrunchGear | 16 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am UPDATE 3-Two final bids seen for Australia's Healthscope-source* Financing issues, cuts to government subsidies weigh * Shares trade 6 pct below initial offer (Adds fund manager quote, background, updates shares)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 16 Jul 2010 | 12:17 am Illegal timber logging in decline - KMS Baltics
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 16 Jul 2010 | 12:16 am 3M Says Its Multi-Touch System Means Almost No Lagjonniee writes "3M has rolled out a 22-inch digital display capable of 20-finger multi-touch input with less than 6 millisecond response time. The monitor incorporates 3M's 3M Projected Capacitive Technology based on mutual capacitance operation theory. The result produces a silky smooth response that has almost no lag in execution."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 11:47 pm Europe woes and iPhone surge to hit handset vendors (Reuters)Reuters - Top global cellphone makers are set to report a disappointing quarter, hit by euro zone debt problems and the roaring success of smartphone heavyweight Apple, and new launches may determine how they fare in the year's second half.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jul 2010 | 11:00 pm Ferris Club: Fight Club meets Ferris BuellerThe Ferris Club trailer shows off genius-grade video editing that surfaces the latent multiple personality disorder narrative lurking in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. You'll never watch Broderick's finest...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:59 pm Ferris Club: Fight Club meets Ferris BuellerThe Ferris Club trailer shows off genius-grade video editing that surfaces the latent multiple personality disorder narrative lurking in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. You'll never watch Broderick's finest performance the same way again. Ferris Club (via JWZ)  Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:59 pm Ferris Club: Fight Club meets Ferris BuellerThe Ferris Club trailer shows off genius-grade video editing that surfaces the latent multiple personality disorder narrative lurking in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. You'll never watch Broderick's finest...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:59 pm DEALTALK-With AIA IPO back on, underwriter guessing game begins* AIA's $15 bln IPO could be biggest in Hong Kong - bankersSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:44 pm Kleiner Perkins Partner’s Latest Venture: The Golden State Warriors
Specifically, Joe Lacob, a longtime partner at Kleiner Perkins, teamed up with Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber to buy the team from current owner Chris Cohan. “I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be the next steward of this storied NBA franchise. This is my dream come true,” Lacob told ESPN. At Kleiner Perkins, Lacob is mainly involved with life science and greentech deals, but he has backed a number of websites. That includes Sportsline.com, which CBS bought in 2004 and renamed to CBSSports.com in 2007. ESPN also notes that Lacob was “the primary investor in the women’s American Basketball League in venture capital.“ Lacob is actually not new to the NBA at all. He’s currently a minority owner of the Boston Celtics — a stake which he’ll have to sell off before this deal gets approval from the league. The group he was a part of which bought the Celtics contained several other VCs from firms like Highland Capital, TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Accel Partners. But the Celtics are good — Lacob saw them win their 17th championship in 2008, and they made the finals again this past year. The Warriors have been one of the NBA’s worst-performing franchises, as they’ve only made the playoffs once in the past 16 years. But Lacob, who has been a season-ticket holder, sounds committed, “Peter and I intend to do what we do best — innovating and building. It is our passion to return the Warriors to greatness and build nothing short of a championship organization that will make all of us in the Bay Area proud,” he tells ESPN. ESPN is also reporting that Ellison, who had been considered the frontrunner, backed out of the bidding as he didn’t want to go as high as $450 million, which again, is the highest amount ever paid for an NBA franchise. Ellison is worth around $30 billion, but he also also didn’t make that money by simply outbidding everyone on deals like this. Ellison’s Oracle owns the naming rights for the arena that the Warriors play in in Oakland. But the team has long been rumored to be looking for a site for a new arena, perhaps even one in San Francisco, near AT&T Park where the San Francisco Giants play. If nothing else, at least the Warriors have gotten rid of those awful lightning bolt-man uniforms. Their new logo is more of a retro one (above). [thanks Joe]      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:41 pm Apple's iPhone 4 press conference: We've got questions (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - The iPhone 4âs reception problems are either no big deal or a major sticking point depending on your perspective. But one thing is indisputableâthe furor over the newly released phoneâs antenna has become so pervasive that Apple plans to hold a rare press conference on Friday to tackle the issue head on.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:40 pm Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digestBANGALORE, July 16 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Friday:Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:26 pm New Oddworld Games In DevelopmentGame developer Just Add Water announced today that the Oddworld series, dormant since 2005, will be getting multiple new titles in the near future. Quoting: "... for the past 12 months we have been working extremely closely with the fantastic people at Oddworld Inhabitants, from what started off as brief discussions in June 2009, to now working on multiple projects, across multiple platforms. Whilst we cannot go into specifics right now, we can tell you that over the coming weeks and months we will be announcing these exciting projects starring all of your favorite Oddworld characters."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:19 pm When Memes Collide: Bros Spicing BrosOld Spice + Bros Icing Bros = Bros Spicing Bros. (via @RobinSloan/@Bakari)Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:08 pm When Memes Collide: Bros Spicing BrosOld Spice + Bros Icing Bros = Bros Spicing Bros. (via @RobinSloan/@Bakari)...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:08 pm When Memes Collide: Bros Spicing BrosOld Spice + Bros Icing Bros = Bros Spicing Bros. (via @RobinSloan/@Bakari)Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:08 pm Google expansion helps economy, hurts stock price (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:06 pm Google expansion helps economy, hurts stock priceGoogle Inc. is doing its part to stimulate the economy and hurting its stock in the process. With its payroll swelling at the fastest rate in four years, some of Google's expenses are...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:06 pm Venture-cap investments climb 53 pct in 2QVenture capitalists funneled more money into U.S. startups in the second quarter, indicating continuing confidence that the economy is on the mend. A study scheduled for release Friday...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:02 pm Venture-cap investments climb 53 pct in 2Q (AP)AP - Venture capitalists funneled more money into U.S. startups in the second quarter, indicating continuing confidence that the economy is on the mend.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:02 pm July 16, 1965: Mont Blanc Tunnel OpensIt was quite an achievement, and then it was a disaster.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:00 pm Brain Slug Cupcakes at Final Futurama Script ReadingGlenn Fleishman shares a treat with us: I was lucky enough to attend the last scheduled table reading (where a script is read by the voice actors) for Futurama, the animated cartoon show revived twice...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:57 pm Brain Slug Cupcakes at Final Futurama Script Reading Glenn Fleishman shares a treat with us: I was lucky enough to attend the last scheduled table reading (where a script is read by the voice actors) for Futurama, the animated cartoon show revived twice now after Fox's broadcast network failed to kill the show. Featured at the reading were piles of delicious brain slug cupcakes. I LOVE THE BRAIN SLUG CUPCAKES, TRY ONE.
Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:57 pm Senate Panel Backs NASA Space Plan - Wall Street Journal
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:56 pm Venture Capital Investing Up 34 Percent To $6.5 Billion In Q2
Venture capitalists invested $6.5 billion in 906 deals in the second quarter of 2010, according to a MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data provided by Thomson Reuters. Quarterly investment activity increased 34 percent in terms of dollars and 22 percent in number of deals compared to the first quarter of 2010 when $4.9 billion was invested in 740 deals. In the first half of 2010, VC investments totaled $11.4 billion in 1,646 deals, a 49 percent increase in dollars and a 23 percent increase in deals from the first half of 2009, in the mist of the recession, when $7.7 billion was invested in 1,340 deals. The Software industry had the most deals completed in Q2 with 229 rounds, representing a jump of 43 percent from the 160 rounds completed in the first quarter. In terms of dollars invested, the Software sector was in third place, increasing 43 percent from the prior quarter to $1 billion in the second quarter of 2010. Internet-specific companies received $879 million going into 212 deals in the second quarter, flat in terms of dollars and a 25 percent increase in deals over the first quarter of 2010 when $891 million went into 169 deals. ‘Internet-Specific’ is a discrete classification assigned to a company with a business model that is fundamentally dependent on the Internet, regardless of the company’s primary industry category. Investments in the clean tech sector doubled in the second quarter compared to Q1 of 2010. The sector saw a 107 percent increase in dollars over the first quarter to $1.5 billion in 71 deals compared with 70 deals in the first quarter. The life sciences sector jumped 52 percent in dollars and 36 percent in deals from the prior quarter to $2.1 billion going into 234 deals. Biotechnology again received the highest level of funding, rising 59 percent in dollars and 34 percent in deal volume in the second quarter with $1.3 billion going into 139 deals. Medical device investing also increased 40 percent in both dollars and deals over the first quarter with $755 million going into 95 deals in Q2.
The Industrial/Energy industry received the second highest level of funding in the quarter with $1.3 billion going into 61 deals, representing a 95 percent increase in dollars but a 13 percent decrease in deals compared to the first quarter when $658 million went into 70 deals. In all, 11 of the 17 sectors experienced dollar increases in the second quarter, including Computers and Peripherals (48 percent increase), Consumer Products and Services (44 percent), and IT Services (28 percent). Sectors which saw decreases in dollars included Semiconductors (40 percent decrease), Financial Services (22 percent) and Telecommunications (27 percent). Seed and early stage deals also increased in Q2 from prior quarters, rising 54 percent in dollar value to $2.3 billion. The actual number of Seed and Early stage deals increased 32 percent to 429 from the prior quarter. Seed/Early stage deals accounted for 47 percent of total deal volume in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter when it accounted for 44 percent of all deals. The average Seed deal in the second quarter was $7.1 million, up from $5.1 million in the first quarter. The average Early stage deal was $4.7 million in Q2, up from $4.4 million in the prior quarter. Expansion stage dollars increased 48 percent in the second quarter, with $2.7 billion going into 277 deals. Overall, Expansion stage deals accounted for 31 percent of venture deals in the second quarter, down slightly from 32 percent in the first quarter of 2010. The average Expansion stage deal was $9.7 million, up from $7.6 million in the first quarter of 2010. These numbers create an optimistic view of the venture capital sector that is not reflected in another recent National Venture Capital Association study that showed that most U.S. venture capitalists expect their market to contract. And while, fundraising is on the rise, long terms returns are hurting.      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:56 pm India's Suzlon Energy gets 19.2 MW orderMUMBAI, July 16 (Reuters) - Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy said on Friday it had got a 19.2 megawatt order from a local ayurvedic research foundation.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:53 pm N.A.S.A. Project: "Strange Enough," ft. Karen O, Fatlip, Ol' Dirty Bastard (music video)[ Watch Video: YouTube in HD, or download MP4 ]
Boing Boing Video presents a new music video from The NASA Project ("North America South America"): "Strange Enough," featuring Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fatlip of The Pharycyde, and what I am told were the last recorded lyrics by Ol Dirty Bastard of Wu Tang (RIP). The song's infectious, the animation's delicious—with original artwork by Stephan Doitschinoff. Video directed by Lorna T and Studio Giblets, produced by Terence Teh. NASA project co-founder Sam Spiegel tells Boing Boing, "Calma, Terence, and Lorna blew our mind with this new video. It's a Dante's Inferno of Brazilian art which fits the song perfectly." You can buy the N.A.S.A. album here: N.A.S.A. - The Spirit of Apollo (Special thanks to Susan Applegate and Syd Garon)
CREDITS:
SQUEAK E. CLEAN PRODUCTIONS CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:50 pm UPDATE 1-Thai Exxon unit to spend $394 mln for product upgrade* Upgrade in line with Thai regulatory changes (Adds details)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:42 pm Firefox Home For iPhone Approved, Lets You Sync Bookmarks, Open Tabs And More
Seeing Firefox on the App Store is still sure to raise a few eyebrows, but there was never much doubt that this would be approved (we predicted it would make it through the approval process just fine). The application works using Firefox’s Sync add-on, which lets you upload your Firefox profile to the cloud.
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:34 pm Ze Frank Gets $500,000 To Play Games From Andreessen Horowitz, Betaworks, And Ron Conway
Ze Frank, the video blogger and performance artist, is getting $500,000 from a band of super angels and VCs to play games. His stealth startup Ze Frank Games (there isn’t even a Website for it yet) just raised a seed round from Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Dixon’s Founder Collective, Ron Conway’s SV Angel, betaworks, Lerer Ventures, First Round Capital, CrossCut Ventures, Joshua Schachter, and Gary Vaynerchuck. In additiona to his playful video podcasts, starting with The Show and more recently his video contributions to Time.com, Ze Frank also designs games such as Memory (also available as the iPhone game Memari) and social games like Twitter Color Wars. Details are spare about what Ze Frank Games will create. Ze Frank writes via email:
Fellow video blogger-turned-entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk says he invested because “as someone who was there when he started Color Wars on Twitter and watching him from afar build his show and brand through gaming mechanics this became a no brainer for me. This is more about Ze than the product and at times that is the right call.” Chris Dixon of Founder Collective (and CEo of Hunch) concurs: “Ze is a genius and he’s going to do amazing stuff.” He won’t tell me what Ze Frank Games is either. Some other clues about the direction Ze Frank Games might venture can be found on Ze Frank’s blog, which has a post with a video on the future of gaming. It is all about turning life into a game and infusing game mechanics into the real world (a concept that another recent Andreessen Horowitz investment, Foursquare, is taking to the races). But don’t expect another Foursquare. Ze Frank is way more conceptual than that. Just read some of the job descriptions for the positions he is trying to hire. For instance, here are some of his requirements for a front-end developer:
And for a graphic designer:
I don’t think even Ze Frank knows exactly what Ze Frank Games is going to be, but whatever it is, it won’t be boring.
     
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:32 pm Shocker: 650 items taken from Grim Sleeper's home included creepy stuffID cards, a brown paper bag, an LAPD officer's notepad, a ski mask, mattress covers, a pair of gloves, porno videos, photos of porn actresses, guns and ammunition, handcuffs, car seats stained with bodily fluids: these are a few of the 650 things investigators took from the home of the man believed to be the Grim Sleeper serial killer.Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:21 pm Science for Juggalos: Insane Clown Polytechnic
A group of people involved with the Bay Area hacker space Noisebridge organized an impromptu science fair to be held outside an Insane Clown Posse show, when the band and their juggalo fans recently passed through San Francisco. Doctor Popular at Laughing Squid has an extensive blog report up, with videos and links to photo sets. Snip: SFSlim tweeted that the group was physically threatened by ICP’s crew and Violent J, one half of the Insane Clown Posse, even bragged about it on his twitterhole. A clown with no sense of humor… who’d a thunk it?If you don't know what any of this means, start with this Boing Boing post, and then this one. (photos: y3rdua)
Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:58 pm A lust letter to NYC's indie burlesque scene (photos)
Jeff Simmermon's homage to the NYC indie burlesque scene, in text and photographs. Here's a large Flickr gallery, and here is a blog post.
AIG Taiwan unit buyers make more concessions-paperTAIPEI, July 16 (Reuters) - The buyers of AIG's Taiwan life insurance unit have offered more concessions to Taiwanese regulators in their push to break a deadlock that has stalled the $2.2 billion deal...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:44 pm Boston Scientific execs selling shares - WSJNEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Boston Scientific Corp's Chairman Pete Nicholas and board member John Abele are selling millions of shares from the medical device company they founded decades ago, prompted...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:38 pm Aussie Lasers To Stop Satellite Collisions, Deathbennyboy64 writes "An Australian company is developing a laser tracking system that will help prevent collisions between satellites and space debris, ZDNet reports. 'The trouble is it's [debris] in orbit and travelling at orbital speeds, which means that it is travelling at about 30,000 kilometres an hour," said the CEO of the Australian company. 'If even a tiny little piece runs into a satellite it'll destroy it or punch a hole through a person if they're out there space walking.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:36 pm Toshiba angers Spain by reneging on World Cup refund promise
Turns out that Toshiba is rather particular about the exact terms of the refund. Turns out that the time frame is really limited, you had to register your product during the World Cup, and you have to send the forms in via certified mail. Quite the series of hoops, but hopefully everything will work out in the end. There’s more to it, because all this is going on in Europe, Toshiba might find themselves in trouble, but it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting situation.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:30 pm YC-Funded Optimizely Makes It Remarkably Easy To Run A/B Tests On Your Website
If you’d like an invite of your own, head to Optimizely’s homepage, enter your email address, and use the invite code TECHCRUNCH on the survey you’ll receive. Optimizely will be giving out invites to the first 100 readers, with more to follow. Getting started with Optimizely is surprisingly easy. After logging in and hitting the ‘Create Experiement’ tab, the service asks you to choose which website you want to run an A/B test on. Optimizely will then load that site, but with a key change: as you move your mouse over each part of the page (text, images, etc.) you’ll notice a light blue cursor highlighting each element. Click an element, and you’ll see a menu that lets you modify the element’s position or size, its image or text, or its Javascript. Optimizely makes it easy for novices to tweak their pages. Want to make an image bigger? Just drag its edges. Want to move a widget that showcases your most popular posts to the other size of the screen? Drag it over. When I tested this I found the widget editing to be a bit finicky at times, but it’s clear that this has the potential to be very powerful. And it also lets experienced developers directly edit the page’s code, so they can adjust multiple items at once, or make other more sophisticated edits. You can create multiple experiments for the same page at once.
Once you’re ready to run your tests, adding Optimizely to your site is also simple; you just need add a special snippet of code to each page you want to test out. When a visitor hits your site, Optimizely sends them a small package of Javascript that will tweak the site based on how you’ve set up your experiments. If for some reason Optimizely fails to load, users will simply see the ‘normal’ version your site. Optimizely tracks the performance of each experiment in a control panel, allowing you to compare the engagement rates of each experiment side by side (there’s a rating showing how confident Optimizely is that your changes made a difference in user engagement). By default Optimizely will pay attention to all user actions, like clicking links, but you can also tell it to analyze how often users are clicking through on specific links. Optimizely’s founders have some pretty impressive credentials, too. Dan Siroker was a product manager for Google Chrome who also served as the Director of Analytics for the Obama campaign (the campaign did quite a bit of A/B testing, which resulted in an extra $60 million in donations). And founder Pete Koomen was the product manager for Google’s App Engine. Also see VisualWebsiteOptimizer, which also has an editor that lets you edit elements on your site. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:23 pm UPDATE 1-US court rules Chevron must get some film outtakes* Part of 17-year litigation over pollution in Ecuador (Adds filmmaker pleased with limits on footage, Chevron says film useful to company)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:08 pm Mel Gibson custody battle back in LA court (Reuters)Reuters - Lawyers for Mel Gibson and his estranged girlfriend squared off in court on Thursday in a bitter custody dispute over their baby daughter after a week of damaging, ranting phone calls leaked to an online web site.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:07 pm Better Living Through Implants (PC World)PC World - Imagine if you could learn to fly a helicopter by downloading software directly to your brain. Imagine if your eyes could see an object, overlaid with data, miles away in the dark. These science-fiction scenes from The Matrix and Terminator movies may be less fictional in the future, thanks to the fascinating science behind medical implants.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:05 pm Xbox 360 sales jump after redesign
June’s sales figures were released today, and while the Xbox didn’t take the lead (that went to the Nintendo DS), the Xbox 360 certainly didn’t suffer and and in fact came in second for the month. Software sales dropped overall, but honestly there weren’t that many compelling titles released in June. Hopefully Microsoft can keep up the momentum, and we’ll probably see even more units moved as we get closer to the release of the Kinect. [via 1up]
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:00 pm Moodagent and other top Android Apps of the Week (Appolicious)Appolicious - The summer heat is no competition for the red-hot Android Market, with Google announcing its App Inventor DIY kit, enabling anyone to easily make a mobile app. Moodagent also made its Android debut, while eBay expanded its mobile app reach to the UK, Australia and Canada.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:00 pm Microsoft Offers Cash to Windows Phone 7 Developers - eWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 7:33 pm Smart Helmet tells you if you hurt your brain
Of course, regardless of if you are wearing a helmet or not, if you crash, you run the risk of a head injury, and should be checked out for a concussion. Researchers at Northeastern University are working on a “Smart Helmet” that measures the acceleration and impact, and then reports any potential injury based on the force of the impact. This can help rescuers or even your friends help you in case of a crash. The helmet is still in prototype, but hopefully will reach the market in some form, it really does have the chance to save lives. [via Gizmodo]
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 7:30 pm Why is the Moon Bigger at the Horizon?Is it an astronomical phenomenon or is your brain being duped by an optical illusion?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 7:19 pm Aqua Teen Hunger Force ceramic Shake cup is a major lifestyle decision
[via That's Nerdalicious and The Awesomer] P.S. Mooninites rule #1
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 7:00 pm Please let this be a teaser image for a 3DS Mega Man game
[image via The Mega Man Network and Go Nintendo]
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:30 pm Beneath World Trade Center wreckage, a buried shipWorkers at the site of the 9/11 attacks in NYC have discovered the buried hull of a 32-foot ship, apparently used back in the 18th century as fill to extend lower Manhattan into the Hudson River. A few yards away, they found a 100-pound anchor, about 4 feet wide. They're not yet sure exactly how old the boat is. Archaeologists are working to date the timber and preserve it as quickly as possible, before exposure to air causes deterioration. 9/11 conspiracy theorists, have at it! (via Mitch Wagner)Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:22 pm n gear 64: mod a Sega Game Gear into a N64So you really want a portable Nintendo 64 unit. Well, modder Evil Nod can build you one, using a Sega Game Gear, and a N64. The end result may not be ergonomically correct, but at least you’ll be able to take your N64 games with you. [via Technabob]
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:15 pm Your Superhuman Brain Jess Bachman has a cool new infographic out -- it's all about the human brain. Specifically.... It's about super savants, you know, like Rain Man. But they are not always handicapped like that. In fact, the ability might be in all of us. It's also amazing how fundamentally our brains are connected to, and adapted to, music.Superhuman: The Incredible Savant Brain Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:11 pm Gallery: How Inception's Sound Designer Engineers CacophonyOscar-winning sound designer Richard King is behind some of the biggest bangs at the box office. He's teaming up with director Christopher Nolan to create the rumbles, crackles, and blasts for the new techno-thriller Inception.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:00 pm Cheap Guitar Feeds Rockers' Appetite for DestructionNow Guitar Hero players can really emulate Kurt and Jimi by smashing their guitars to bits.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:00 pm Alt Text: Enter the Brave New World of Internet PsychologyWhy waste time and money pursuing a degree from an old-fashioned academic institution? Dive into the bold future with a quick, easy and unbelievably inexpensive accreditation process. You'll be shrinking heads and calling out jerks in no time.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:00 pm Cerebral Sci-Fi Films That Wipe Our MindsCerebral sci-fi is always hard to find, but Wired's staff banged its brains and salvaged the following classics from speculative cinema's past. Feed your head, then fire off your favorite mind-wipers in our comments section.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:00 pm First 'Malaria-Proof' Mosquito CreatedGisg writes "The University of Arizona team reported that their genetically modified mosquitoes are immune to the malaria-causing parasite, a single-cell organism called Plasmodium. Riehle and his colleagues tested their genetically-altered mosquitoes by feeding them malaria-infested blood. Not even one mosquito became infected with the malaria parasite."
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Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:59 pm Why HP Should Shelve Android Tablet Plans - BusinessWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:52 pm Facebook Preparing To Announce 500 Million Users
As part of its celebration, Facebook is apparently asking many of its employees to upload photos of themselves celebrating and giving thanks to users. And all of those photos are being hosted on one Drop.io account. In the interest of not totally raining on their parade I’ll hold off on sharing all the photos (Facebook will undoubtedly make the Drop.io folder private anyway), but we’ve included a couple of them. Facebook’s announced 400 million users only five months ago, as it celebrated its sixth birthday. And it took only five months to go from 300 to 400. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:48 pm Android Market hits 100,000 apps and a billion downloads (Update: not so much)
Update: Google just contradicted Androlib’s app numbers in their earnings call. There are only 70,000. Ah well. Now I’m wondering about that billion figure, too. Update 2: looks like everyone pretty much jumped the gun. [via InformationWeek and Engadget]
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:48 pm After All That Fuss, RIAA Doesn’t Create Chinese Democracy Anti-Piracy PSA
So here we are in July, 2010, and we’re left wondering: what happened to that PSA?      
Source: TechCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:44 pm Poll: What will take place at Apple’s event this Friday?
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:40 pm Droid X first run sells out; next batch goes out July 23rd
Well, if you insist on being held down by the Man, I won’t stop you. If you’re still looking to buy, the next piping hot batch of units should be shipping on the 23rd.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:34 pm iPhone DSLR Prototype 1.0An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt: "Here are Photos/Pictures of my iPhone DSLR Prototype 1.0. This is my first attempt at putting together an iPhone DSLR. You might ask 'Why pair an iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, or iPhone 4 with a DSLR lens?' Why not!" Prototype or not, it's a cool project.
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Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:34 pm Review: Smart, Sinewy 'Inception' Injects Action Into DreamsThe Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan turns an intriguing premise -- corporate spies engaging in subconscious subterfuge -- into a muscular heist movie with enough intellectual complexity to keep your mind racing.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:19 pm Goodbye Old Spice GuyOld Spice Guy retires from the phenomenally successful viral marketing campaign, just as things were at their hottest. Here is his farewell video. I will be sad to see him go, but I'm grateful that he departed so thoughtfully before setting off a global thermonuclear war and bacon shortage. And he leaves us with an SEO memento: "silverfish hand catch" is now indelibly etched into Google. These YouTube commenters said it best:
Source: Boing Boing | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:05 pm The most World Cup-crazy countriesLast weekend, Spain won the 2010 World Cup. For the month leading up to the final, Googlers joined the world in cheering for their favorite teams. Around our campus, games were watched on computer screens and on cafe video screens. Code went unwritten. Emails went unanswered.Throughout the world, real life also slowed during World Cup matches. Which teams had the most loyal fans? Which game captured the attention of world the most? To answer these questions, we looked at counts of queries using Google. People search using Google day and night—except for football fans when a game is on. These graphs show the volume of Google queries for some of the World Cup matches:  On June 15, as Brazil played its first game against North Korea, the volume of queries from Brazil, shown using a red line, plummeted when the match began, spiked during halftime, fell again and then quickly rose after the match finished.  Queries from Spain during its June 25 game against Chile also decreased during the game, except during halftime. After some post-game querying, Spaniards went to sleep and queries dropped again. To measure which country has the most loyal fans, we computed the proportional drop in queries during each of its team’s matches compared with normal query volume. Brazil topped the charts with queries from that country dropping by half during its football games. Football powerhouse and third-place winner Germany came in second, followed by the Netherlands and South Korea.  In fourth place, South Koreans were remarkably loyal even though some games began at 3:30am Seoul time. Japan, Australia and New Zealand, also affected by time-zone differences, expressed much less interest. A few countries searched more, not less. But only Honduras and North Korea increased significantly. During the knockout rounds, each match’s losing team is eliminated from the tournament. As fewer and fewer teams remain, we expected increased worldwide interest in each remaining game. Unsurprisingly, worldwide queries slowed the most during the final game between the Netherlands and Spain, but the round-of-16 Germany v. England game had the second largest query decrease. Semi-finals and quarter-finals were all popular except for semi-final Uruguay v. Netherlands, during which queries actually increased.  In Latin American countries, search volume dropped more steeply leading into and out of matches while, in Europe, searches ramped down and up more gradually. Of course, for games that went into extra time and penalty shootouts the drops deepened the longer the match went on, including Paraguay v. Japan, Netherlands v. Spain, and Uruguay v. Ghana as seen here:  Finally, no blog post about the World Cup would be complete without a look at what did drive people to search—after the final match, of course. Although he won neither the Golden Boot (for the most World Cup goals) nor the Golden Ball (for best player) last weekend, Spain’s David Villa is winning in search compared to the recipients of those two honors—Germany’s Thomas Müller and Uruguay’s Diego Forlán—and Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder. All of these men competed for the Golden Boot with five goals apiece. Similar to when Carlos Puyol headed in the single goal that put Spain in the final, people flocked to the web to search for information on Andres Iniesta, the “quiet man” who scored the one goal that led his country to its first World Cup championships. They were also interested in Dani Jarque, a Spanish footballer who died last fall and whose name was emblazoned on Iniesta’s undershirt, which he displayed after his goal. And after the match, searches for keeper Iker Casillas skyrocketed to a higher peak than any other popular footballer—including household names like Ronaldo, Villa and Messi—reached during the Cup. Sometimes, it seems, goalies get the last word. We hope you enjoyed our series of posts on World Cup search trends and we’ll see you in Brazil in 2014! Posted by Jeffrey D. Oldham, Software Engineer and Robert Snedegar, Technical Solutions Engineer    
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:03 pm Is YouTube Still a Money Pit? Or Is Google Just Really, Really Modest? [MediaMemo]
Pichette won’t say. “Look, we don’t comment on YouTube. What I can tell you is that we’re incredibly pleased by its trajectory,” he told an analyst during the company’s Q2 earnings call today, adding ““Reading the tea leaves, it’s a great business for us.” Which is pretty much what Pichette said a year ago. So has anything changed? It’s possible, theoretically, that YouTube is indeed profitable, but Google doesn’t want to break out the numbers for the unit because doing so might shed too much light on the rest of the company’s business. If so, then we may never know if the world’s biggest video site moves from money pit to money maker. But my hunch is that Google would very much like to be able to tell analysts that its big, long-term bet on the site has paid off. And that it finally has the big new revenue stream that Wall Street is always looking for. Pichette did mention that the company has spent $100 million in the YouTube/Viacom copyright case it appears to have won, and that it considers the money well-spent. Not only does it make the company feel good about itself, but it should make it easier for it sell ads to skittish buyers. Meantime, if you want to assess YouTube’s financial performance, you can either rely on optimistic noises coming from the company or third-party estimates — Citigroup thinks it will be a billion-dollar business next year. Or you can just visit the site yourself, where you’ll be confronted with an ever-increasing barrage of ads, including the dreaded pre-roll ads that YouTube once talked about with disdain. And then you get to decided for yourself what that means. EARLIER: Here’s the first crack at Google’s Q2 earnings: The search giant generated revenues of $5.09 billion and adjusted earnings of $6.45 a share. The Street was looking for $4.99 billion and $6.52 per share. Shares are down more than 2 percent in the aftermarket, as investors digest the numbers. Mark Mahaney’s “cheat sheet” can help you interpret results: Eric Schmidt’s take:
And here’s Google’s story in chart form, via documents it released in advance of its earnings call: I’ll be liveblogging the earnings call starting at 4:30 eastern: As with Q1, we’re not getting Eric Schmidt on this call: CFO Patrick Pichette is steering. Pichette: “Overall, we’re very pleased with results”. Playing up display growth, highlights Omnicom deal. “Very impressive growth” at YouTube, with brand advertisers spending more. And we love that Viacom ruling! “It’s not for us, but just the users and the Web in general.” We’ve put in $100 million to win this case. More shout outs for mobile, cloud initiatives. Nothing in the way of specifics. Still spending on people, products. Added more than 1,000 people, some through AdMob, other deals, but mostly by hiring engineers. Pichette walking through financials, which you can see for yourself here. Product boss Jonathan Rosenberg is up. Discussing new “Caffeine” search infrastructure, which offers 50% faster results, plus revamped user interface. Check out “oil spill,” he suggests. Per earlier calls, “we’re putting more wood behind fewer arrows” and much of that is apparent in all the search improvements we’re making. But as search gets better, we need to improve ads, too. Because better search leads to fewer ad impressions. So we’ve added new ad formats, focusing more on quality. Can ad pictures, local address, phone #, etc. Obvious stuff like making phone numbers very visible on mobile ads, etc. Talking up display, and push to get advertisers to embrace “audience model”. Pushing remarketing, etc. Same Android stat they’ve been using for a while: Activating 160,000 handsets a day. Rosenberg’s favorite is the Sprint EVO. Android now boasts 70,000 apps, up from 30k in April “I hope you played with our special Pac-Man Google”. Followed by Rosenberg making upsetting “goop goop” sound, which I think is supposed to sound like Pac-man. But really, it’s more of an Alka Seltzer thing. Q&A: Operating expenses are up sequentially. What accounts for that? Pichette: Some it is bonus accrual, but mostly increase in headcount and some marketing. Paid click growth: How much of that is from mobile today v. last quarter. Traffic acqusition costs are down. Going to keep heading that way? Rosenberg: Yes, mobile clicks are growing faster than anything else. Pichette: TAC shouldn’t increase, and obviously MySpace deal ending… [left unsaid -- if we do do another News Corp. deal, we won't spend anything like the $900 million were supposed to fork over in the last deal (but didn't actually have to do)] [Missed next question, apologies] How much are you investing in Android? And why are you doing it, where will you make money? Pichette: Android cost.. “It’s not material to the company”. Many of the big developments, like Droid X, being done outside company. So that makes it a “formidable” return” for us. Rosenberg: Why are we doing this? Because the most popular app on smartphones is the browser, and people search on that browser more than they ever have. Follow up Q: What about search on browser vs. search in apps? [They don't really answer this question, but..] Rosenberg: Android search up 310%. Pichette: Mobile search is up 500% in past two years. Can you talk about macro economic evironment, and the $3 billion commerical paper offering you just announced? Pichette: We’ve made no decisions on share buybacks, other ways to return capital, but we do talk about it all the time. On Macro: We’ve seen no impact of what’s going on the macro world to us. For last 3, 4 quarters, we’ve said we feel really pleased with our performance. How much cash is international vs. US? Pichette: 50/50. Talk about advertiser/user adoption of new ad format on site? Rosenberg: Click to call ads on high-end mobile doing very well. Click rates increase 6% when you add phone #. Sitelinks also making progress (type in “Sears” and you’ll see more useful links, etc). Also adding seller/merchant ratings, and that’s doing well. Sales boss Nikesh Arora: Ad format is catching up to quality of search results. So that’s “definitely helping”. Also, let me talk about display! New formats giving us more and more inventory on YouTube, and richer ads, too, which allow us to charge more. There’s more appetite for this stuff, and they perform better for advertisers, which means we can “price them better” — ie charge more. [Missing this Q as well.] Is Android and mobile a defensive strategy? Also, we keep hearing that Android infrastructure and support not as good as it should be. What can you do to improve app marketplace, for instance. Pichette: Android is both offensive and defensive for us. As far as support for vendors, developers, “we’re investing heavily” for that (but remember, those costs are “not material”. Questioner and Pichette not understanding each other, but seems that questioner wants Google to have a more vibrant app marketplace. Rosenberg: This is at a “nascent” stage, and there’s a lot more infrastructure that needs to be built to support commerce, and we’re working on that. Were there any big one-time expenditures that we should know about? Pichette: Our recruiting machine that we started to build, now you’re seeing full flow-through. But in addition to people, we have a lot of legal costs this quarter “because of a lot of legal activities that we’ve taken” so that’s some of it. Last year you said YouTube was close to profitability. Any news? Pichette: “Look, we don’t comment on YouTube. What I can tell you is that we’re incredibly pleased by its trajectory.” Followed by many superlatives to describe YouTube. “Reading the tea leaves, it’s a great business for us.” [And another question I've missed] Paid clicks are up 15% y/y. That’s pretty consistent for past couple years. What’s keeping that rate that robust? Rosenberg: Biggest thing is continued secular shift from offline to ROI-based online search ads. [Still. Missing. Questions.] Costs per click came down a bit this quarter. Why? Rosenberg: I can tell you what pushes CPC up: I don’t see anything from user behavior that’s obvious. Conversion rates are good, and that helps push them up A question about China. Pichette: We’re basically in the same place as the last time we talked. We have our liscense, but I want to reiterate, revenue from China is not material for us. But having said that, we had “decent” revenues there from Q2. Click-through rate on mobile vs. PC? Rosenberg: We don’t break those out. But the big difference is that on mobile, people are less likely to consumate transaction, because process is more “time-consuming and onerous”, and to fix that we’re going to have to work hard. Can you talk about the Omnicom deal and display? Arora: Sure! More and more people shifting to “audience buying” — ie buying bodies no matter where they are, as opposed to a certain publisher (which is bad news for premium publishers, though Google argues that this is not the case). And that’s what we’re working with Omnicomn on — getting that money into our AdX exchange. Can you talk about search remarketing? Arora: We don’t do that. We do remarketing on display ads. Talk about M&A strategy please: Pichette: We evaluate based on talent, intellectual property, and price. Price is least important, but we do care – at a certain point, it’s not worth it. We’re also looking for M&A that helps us accelerate our existing roadmap. AdMob is an example of that, so is On2. But there are many cases where we look at them, and don’t buy them. “We often say no.” Back to YouTube: Seems obvious that majority of views are monetized. How can you fix that and does Viacom deal change that? Arora: YouTube is five years old….we monetize it many different ways. Home page, individual videos, etc. We need to be able to sell the ads legally, so we’re doing deals with publishing groups, etc. …More broadly, we’re in the very very early stages of video advertising. Right now, most of the ads are repurposed TV ads. But people will create more interactive ads, and we’ll get better at targeting and personalization. Pichette: On Viacom: Still appeal process, so can’t comment on specifics. But! The Judgement gives us more room for experimentation. See, for instance, those amazing Old Spice ads. Please rank opportunity for YouTube vs. Ad Exchange vs. Google Display network, etc.other products. Arora: All complimentary. Not prioritizing one over the other. Pichette: Thanks to all the Googlers who make all of this possible. “Two thumbs up!” Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:02 pm After all that fuss, RIAA doesn’t create Chinese Democracy anti-piracy PSA
Famous rock band Guns N’ Roses released their latest album, Chinese Democracy, in November, 2008. It had been in development for an astonishing 15 years. That’s partially why Kevin Cogill got into so much trouble. You’ll recall that he was caught uploading tracks from the then-unreleased album in June, 2008. While he managed to doge jail time, Cogill was given a year of probation and two months of home confinement. He was also supposed to take part in a public service announcement on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America&mdas;public enemy number one in the eyes of young people around the country. So here we are in July, 2010, and we’re left wondering: what happened to that PSA? Cogill tells Wired that the RIAA never bothered creating the PSA. The RIAA says it would have been too expensive and time consuming to create a PSA. (The where did all of the money won in various copyright infringement lawsuits go? Certainly not to the artists…) Cogill was not entirely unrepentant, telling Current TV last August that file-sharers would get “f’d in the A,” getting it “right in the butt” from the RIAA. Not the most eloquent speaker, no. It’s a shame, too, since you can almost picture what the PSA would look like. It would be shot in black-and-white, of course, to convey the seriousness of the situation: sharing Justin Bieber songs online. The camera would hover menacingly over the shoulder of an anonymous youth fiddling around with an antiquated peer-to-peer application. Think LimeWire. As soon as the youth goes to download “One Time,” the computer monitor shuts off, and a flashing “pirate” symbol appears. Then the narrator says, “Stop stealing music! It’s, like, not cool, dude!” (Gotta have the youth vernacular in there.) Never mind that copyright infringement != theft.
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:00 pm Apple, RIM, Google All Bid On Palmimamac writes "It seems HP was only one of many bidders for the struggling Palm. The others included Apple, RIM and even Google. You may now commence speculation on why the various companies wanted Palm."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:00 pm Empulse electric motorbike from Brammo just plain looks amazing
Source: CrunchGear | 15 Jul 2010 | 4:48 pm Senate Bill Adds Shuttle Flight, New Shuttle-Derived Vehiclesimonbp writes "The Senate Commerce Committee this morning marked up a compromise NASA Authorization Act that rolls back some of Obama's plans for NASA, while keeping others. The bill adds at least one more shuttle flight, keeps Obama's technology demonstrators and commercial access to ISS (albeit at reduced funding), restores the Orion crew capsule, and replaces the Ares rockets with a Shuttle-Derived 'Space Launch System' for going to the ISS and Beyond, which could be ready as soon as 2015."
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Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 4:40 pm Vendor Safe Technologies Secures Cafe Rio RestaurantsHOUSTON, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Cafe Rio, Inc. chose Houston-based Vendor Safe Technologies to provide security and better functionality for day-to-day operations through its Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance solution. Prior to becoming a Vendor Safe customer, Cafe Rio, Inc. managed its firewall solutions in-house. "While our network was PCI compliant prior to the Vendor Safe solution, our 'off the shelf' firewall solution lacked the functionality and manageability we were looking for," said Aaron Mangum, Cafe Rio's IT administrator. "Cafe Rio, Inc. recently attained Level 2 merchant status as defined by the PCI Standard, and Vendor Safe offered the network security solution that fits well with our security needs." To protect each restaurant's network, Vendor Safe implemented a web content filtering solution that restricts access to malicious websites, insidious malware, hackers and other potential threats. Additionally, Vendor Safe employed its Self Configuring Firewall Architecture(TM) so the POS system, general network and video surveillance equipment could be protected in separate security zones. Zoning allows for segmentation within a single network providing critical security between the POS system and the back-office system without impeding the day to day workload. "Since one of our specialties is security for the foodservice industry, we know exactly what restaurants need to remain PCI compliant while having the best protection possible," said Chris Melson, CEO of Vendor Safe. "Not only did we secure all of Cafe Rio's restaurants within 30 days, we also provided other helpful solutions. For example, we implemented redundant connectivity through an automatic dial-up connection so the restaurants could continue processing credit and gift card transactions in case their primary data connection was lost." About Cafe Rio An award-winning Mexican restaurant which was recently ranked number one Mexican concept by the Sandelman & Associates 2009 Quick-Track Award of Excellence for overall customer satisfaction, Cafe Rio, Inc. was founded in 1997 in St. George, Utah. With recipes inspired by traditional cooking from the Rio Grande region of Northern Mexico, Southern Texas and New Mexico, the company now operates 33 restaurants across six states. To learn more, visit www.caferio.com. About Vendor Safe Technologies For more than 20 years, Vendor Safe Technologies has developed, deployed, and supported innovative security technologies. The company's Self Configuring Firewall Architecture(TM) and Global Security Mesh(TM)/VPN enables PCI Level 2, 3 and 4 merchants to become PCI compliant within 30 days at the lowest total cost of deployment, and the lowest total cost of ownership while requiring no IP address changes to the LAN or WAN. Vendor Safe solutions are secured by the superior defenses of firewalls from Juniper Networks. Learn more by visiting the Vendor Safe website at www.vendorsafe.com. SOURCE Vendor Safe TechnologiesSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 4:35 pm Top 5 Apple iPhone 4 Press Conference Predictions - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 4:25 pm Armanino McKenna Named to the 2010 President's Club for Microsoft Dynamics!SAN RAMON, Calif., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Dynamics® announced last week that Armanino McKenna LLP (www.amllp.com), one of the largest CPA firms headquartered in California, has been named to the company's 2010 President's Club. The award was presented to the top five percent of Microsoft value-added resellers in the United States on July 14, 2010 at the Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington, D.C. "We are proud of this accomplishment and believe it validates the hard work of our team of consultants," said Tom Mescall, Partner-In-Charge of Armanino Consulting. "Through the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics, our clients have streamlined business processes, managed organizational growth, and benefited from dramatic cost savings. We are poised for even greater growth in the coming year." Microsoft Dynamics has 41,000 customers worldwide and has earned the CPA Technology Five-Star Award. Armanino Consulting has been a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for the past eight years and a 2008, 2009 and 2010 Microsoft President's Club Member. The firm boasts the #1-rated Microsoft Training Instructor in North America and provides an exclusive dedicated NorCal Training Center for Microsoft Dynamics GP, further validating Armanino Consulting's status as a leader in the field. In addition to its place in the 2010 President's Club, Armanino McKenna was a member of the Accounting Technology VAR 100 list for 2009. This list consisted of the top 100 resellers by 2009 revenue and Armanino Consulting was one of only a handful of California firms included. The list was chosen from organizations that center their practices on the sale and implementation of mid-market accounting software. About Armanino Consulting Armanino Consulting provides comprehensive services to the CFO organization, including IT systems and strategy; outsourced accounting; governance, risk and compliance; financial management; and business advisory services. The firm is the 37th largest public accounting and business consulting firm in the nation and one of the largest California-based CPA firms. In addition to its San Ramon headquarters, the company has offices in San Francisco and San Jose, California. Contacts: Lori Colvin Mary Tressel Armanino McKenna AMF Media Group 925.790.2736 925.790.2656 lori.colvin@amllp.com mary.tressel@amfmediagroup.com SOURCE Armanino McKenna LLPSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 4:00 pm Droid X Debut Leaves Hardcore Android Fans Leery
Many Android fans are lining up to get Motorola’s latest phone, the Droid X, which hit retail shelves Thursday morning. But the phone has raised the hackles of some Android geeks. Motorola has reportedly made it difficult for hackers to mod the Droid X by using a bootloader and chip combination that could potentially brick the phone if it is broken. The bootloader is the software component that loads the operating system in a gadget. Some Android hackers say Motorola’s move has made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to load custom versions of Android on the Droid X. “Motorola wants to keep people from modding their devices,” says Ryan Mills, an Android modder and blogger. “I don’t know if they are just afraid for security purposes, or they just want to stay proprietary.” However, not everyone agrees that the Droid X will be un-hackable — and it’s impossible to confirm at this point, because almost no one has yet attempted the mod. Motorola did not respond to a request for comment, while Verizon declined to comment. The questions around the ability to hack the Droid X have stirred up a debate about how much a handset maker can control Android, which otherwise touts itself as an open source operating system. Android’s ability to be hacked and modded is one of the major draws of the OS. Handset makers and wireless carriers decide which operating system can run on a phone and customers usually have no choice in the matter. In the case of Android, hackers have created their own versions of the read-only memory, or ROM, on their cellphones, which holds the firmware. These custom ROMs can be loaded on an Android device to unlock features in a process known as “flashing.” That means devices that run the custom ROMs can boast features that the handset manufacturer or carrier may not have otherwise included. DIYers have gone so far as to buy phones running Windows Mobile OS and replace it with Android. In case of the Droid X, the phone’s processor includes a feature invented by IBM called eFuse. IBM’s eFuse, which is baked into the chips, gives manufacturers the ability to make changes to information on a chip that would otherwise be “hard coded.” It also helps manage power and memory in the device. Commenter p3Droid on the MyDroidWorld forum speculates that the eFuse technology looks for information from the bootloader associated with the device. If it doesn’t get that, the eFuse trips the boot up process, leading to a potential bricking of the phone. “The bootloader in the Droid X is signed with the recovery and the kernel for the device,” explains Steven Bird, who has created custom ROMs for other devices. ” If those don’t correspond it won’t work. It’s not any sort of self-destruct in there.” The Droid X is not the only Motorola phone to have this technology, he says. Bird says that many of Motorola’s phones including the Droid, Droid X and Milestone all have chips that integrate the eFuse technology. “HTC has a similar technology with the Incredible that made it very difficult to write custom ROMs for it,” says Bird. “It just means it takes longer to mod the device.” But at this point, almost all of this talk around the Droid X is “conjecture,” says Steve Klondik, aka Cyanogen, an Android hacker who runs the highly popular Cyanogen Mod community. “From what I have gathered, no one has really tested anything to see if it is true,” he says. “One person who has tried to modify the bootloader says the system broke but we know nothing about how the mod was done and if it was done right.” Klondik says the first step will be to root — the Android equivalent of jailbreaking — the device. From there, building custom ROMs for the Droid X may be difficult but it can be done, he says. But it may not be enough to soothe modders like Mills. Mills and a few other Android developers are questioning if Motorola should be part of Android’s Open Handset Alliance if it doesn’t really want its phones to be toyed with. Photo: Stefan Armijo/Wired.com See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:59 pm Droid X Debut Leaves Hard-Core Android Fans LeeryAndroid's ability to be hacked and modded is one of the major draws for many geeks. But Motorola makes that extremely difficult to do on its latest Droid X phone, in a move that's upset some enthusiasts.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:59 pm Droid X Debut Leaves Hard-Core Android Fans LeeryAndroid's ability to be hacked and modded is one of the major draws for many geeks. But Motorola makes that extremely difficult to do on its latest Droid X phone, in a move that's upset some enthusiasts.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:59 pm AMD Posts Sharply Higher Sales [Voices]By Kathy Shwiff, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) posted a narrower second-quarter loss on sharply higher revenue and margins. The chip maker’s improved results mirrored the strong earnings report Tuesday by much-larger rival Intel Corp. (INTC), which credited in part increased spending by businesses. AMD, which sells chips that serve as calculating engines in personal computers, returned to profitability in the fourth quarter after three years of losses. The company has benefited from the spinoff of its manufacturing operations into Globalfoundries and strong demand for its graphics chips, a newer business acquired through the purchase of ATI Technologies. For the latest quarter, AMD reported a loss of $43 million, or six cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $330 million, or 49 cents a share. The spinoff and other items cut into per-share results by 7 cents and 12 cents, respectively. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:53 pm BP Claims Gulf Well Has Been StoppedAn anonymous reader writes with word that BP has announced the Gulf oil spill has been stopped. Another reader adds more detail: "The last valve on the new cap has been closed, and the flow of oil and gas into the sea has stopped. That doesn't mean it's over. It is unclear whether the steel casing deep in the well can contain the pressure. The risk is that it could burst, which would eventually cause a rupture on the sea floor that would make things much messier to deal with. However, they're monitoring the pressure buildup carefully and if the pressure holds over the next 48 hours (indicating there is no leak below the sea floor), they'll assess what to do next. If it doesn't hold at the expected readings, then they'll re-attach the pipe used for producing to the surface and start collecting again. Regardless of what happens the relief well still has to be completed to permanently plug the well with cement, which could take a couple more weeks."
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Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:52 pm Rue La La Names Jeffery Marshall Chief Operating OfficerBOSTON, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Rue La La, a leading private sale destination, today announced the appointment of Jeffery Marshall as chief operating officer, effective July 6, 2010. Marshall will be directly responsible for all technology, fulfillment and operations. He will report to Ben Fischman, Rue La La's CEO, at the company's Boston-based headquarters. Rue La La is an online shopping emporium, an inspiring destination for everything associated with personal style, and a partner to brands that want to reach their business goals in creative, effective new ways. At Rue La La, Members discover 48-hour boutiques featuring a curated selection of the best names and offerings in men's and women's fashion, home, travel and other experiences, jewelry, footwear, wine, and more. This hire is reflective of Rue La La's commitment to the continued refinement of its infrastructure to maximize its offering for both members and brands. "Jeffery Marshall is a powerful addition to the Rue La La management team. His experience in building world-class infrastructure for retail and non-retail brands makes him uniquely poised to meet the demands of this dynamic business," said Fischman. "Jeffery is adaptive and creative. He is a dynamic leader who constantly challenges himself and his team to drive results. As Rue La La's chief operating officer, he will have the opportunity to marry his experience with the energy of the private sale business, yielding an immediate impact on Rue La La's business." Marshall comes to Rue La La from Kohl's Department Stores, where he was the company's senior vice president and chief information officer. Under his leadership, Kohl's executed a transformation of its Information Services division, helping to drive collaboration and efficiency across its different business units. Marshall's team implemented numerous technology systems within Kohl's, including point of sale, merchandise planning and allocation markdown optimization, warehouse management and distribution, e-commerce transaction marketing, call center and fulfillment, credit account management, collection and human resources. From 1996 to 2005, Marshall served in different executive roles with Men's Wearhouse, including senior vice president and chief information officer, president of the Corporate Apparel Division, vice president and chief information officer and vice president of Information and Technology. Prior to joining Men's Wearhouse, Marshall founded Icon Network Services, a network services consulting company. In his career, he also served as the executive vice president and COO of Johnson Controls' Network Services division and as a senior executive with United Telecom/Sprint, where he helped build United Telecom's deregulated data communications division. He is the past chairman of the National Retail Federation's CIO Council and is a member of the SAS and Hewlett-Packard Customer Advisory Councils. About Rue La La Rue La La is Members-only online shopping destination for all things related to a life of style and a strategic partner to innovative brands looking for new ways to achieve their business goals. Founded by Ben Fischman in 2008, Rue La La inspires its members daily with access to a curated selection of the most coveted brands and offerings in fashion, home, beauty, travel, and more within its 48-hour, private sale Boutiques. Rue La La is a part of Retail Convergence Inc. (RCI), a GSI Commerce Inc. company (Nasdaq: GSIC). Experience Rue La La by visiting www.ruelala.com. SOURCE Rue La LaSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:41 pm Primordial Sperm Gene FoundA gene involved in the production of sperm is shared by almost all living animals, including sea anemones, worms, insects, marine invertebrates, fish and humans. The finding suggests the ability to produce sperm arose just once, 600 million years ago, and has been conserved through all subsequent animal evolution.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:30 pm What Will Apple Say Tomorrow? Your Guess Is as Good as My Analyst's. [Digital Daily]
“We now believe there is a 50% chance the company offers a free modification to current iPhone owners and includes the modification on all future iPhone 4s (e.g. a coating around the antenna),” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told clients today. “We have no knowledge of the company’s plans,” he said, “but we see an in-store fix and modification to future iPhones as the likely scenario (not a recall). Despite these issues, consumers love the iPhone 4; ultimately we believe Apple will manage these issues in a consumer-friendly way and maintain its pristine brand.” UBS analyst Maynard Um isn’t betting on a recall, either. “We believe a recall is unlikely as any recall would presumably be more immediate and sales halted by Apple and its operator partners,” he wrote in a research bulletin. “However, if the solution were straightforward, investors are likely to wonder why it wouldn’t be issued by press release (though Apple already addressed the issue in a statement on July 2). We believe an event is necessary, as a press release to address what has become a ‘loud’ issue would likely have drawn more ire.” And from the shadowy world of anonymous insiders, a “person familiar with the matter” tells the Wall Street Journal that a recall is not in the company’s plans. Sounds about right. As I wrote the other day, “an iPhone 4 recall? Steve Jobs would rather recall hiring John Sculley.“ [Image credit: Rick Smolan] Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:24 pm CTIA-The Wireless Association® Statement After Testifying on Online Youth SafetyWASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After testifying before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance, CTIA-The Wireless Association® Vice President of External and State Affairs K. Dane Snowden issued the following statement: (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-a) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-a) "With more than 286 million wireless connections, Americans know first-hand the infinite benefits that mobile technology provides. But while many adults remember a time without cell phones, today's youth have only known a world with wireless technology which has provided them with greater convenience and life enhancement through mobile products and services, including apps focused on civic, educational, health care and social opportunities. Despite these great benefits, some children may choose to use their mobile devices and services in an inappropriate manner. "That's why CTIA and the wireless industry have worked together to provide parents with choice and control over mobile content so that they may determine appropriate mobile uses for their children and encourage responsible behavior. The wireless industry has also launched a series of educational initiatives and partnerships designed to promote mobile safety and responsible use, including our 'Be Smart. Be Fair. Be Smart: Responsible Wireless Use' national education campaign. CTIA has been integral in facilitating industry discussions about mobile safety and responsible use through voluntary, self-regulatory best practices and guidelines under which carriers, manufacturers and application vendors agree to provide significant protections for consumers and, most specifically, children. "We were also an active member and participant in the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Online Safety & Technology Working Group's Youth Safety on a Living Internet report. The report said there is no 'one-size-fits-all, once-and-for-all solution' to every aspect of online safety and instead, there must be a layered, multi-stakeholder approach which utilizes available content control tools and enhances online safety educational strategies for children and parents. "We look forward to working with this Committee to craft policies which balance the need for flexibility in responding quickly to behavioral, technological and market changes. With voluntary initiatives and strategic collaborations, we will ensure the continued delivery of the benefits of wireless products and services to all Americans." For more information on the "Be Smart. Be Fair. Be Smart: Responsible Wireless Use" campaign and details on the industry's initiatives and partnerships, please visit: www.besmartwireless.com CTIA-The Wireless Association® (www.ctia.org) is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry's voluntary best practices and initiatives, and sponsors the industry's leading wireless tradeshows. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, DC. SOURCE CTIA-The Wireless AssociationSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:21 pm Part Of The Brain That Tracks Limbs In Space DiscoveredScientists have discovered the part of the brain that tracks the position of our limbs as we move through space.When a mosquito lands on your hand, you can rapidly and effortlessly make a movement of the other hand to brush it away, even in darkness. But performing this seemingly simple action involves a surprisingly complex coordination of different types of sensory information in order for your brain to construct a constantly updated 'map' of the body in space.Now, scientists from UCL (University College London) and Barcelona (Pompeu Fabra University, ICREA and University of Barcelona) have identified an area of the human brain called the parietal cortex that constructs this body model from the combination of tactile information from your skin (for example, where the mosquito is on your hand) with "proprioceptive" information about the position of your hand relative to your body.In an experiment they found that impairing the parietal cortex, using a brief pulse of magnetic stimulation, significantly impaired volunteers' judgements about the spatial relationship between their face and arms, but not their perception of touch or location alone. The research is published in the journal Current Biology, and was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).Professor Patrick Haggard, UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, who led the UCL team, said "Our brain constantly keeps track of the movements of the limbs, so that we always know the posture of our body, even with our eyes closed. Our results show, for the first time, how the brain updates this 'body space'."Our findings may be particularly relevant to children with developmental coordination disorder: these children have difficulty in coordinating their movements, but recent evidence suggests that one underlying problem is their poor sense of where their limbs are in space. Our result identifies the specific part of the parietal cortex needed to construct this map of body space."In the experiment volunteers' forearms were placed in a sling which could be raised and lowered. Researchers then applied a brief tap at one of many locations on the forearm of volunteers, shortly followed by a brief tap at one of many locations on the face. Participants were asked to judge if the location of the arm tap was above or below the face tap, a judgement that could only be done by combining information about the tap location on the skin, and about the position of the arm relative to the body.Researchers then disrupted the activity of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in the right hemisphere of the brain by delivering a brief pulse of magnetic stimulation after the arm tap and before the face tap. The stimulation was delivered through a coil placed on the scalp just over the location of the posterior parietal cortex indicated on a brain scan taken of each participant.The stimulation significantly impaired volunteers' judgements about the spatial relation between the arm tap and the face tap. Crucially, when the volunteers just judged arm position alone, or touch location alone, the same stimulation had no effect. The scientists concluded that the posterior parietal cortex is the key brain area that combines touch and limb position, to produce a map of where the tap is in egocentric space.---On the Net:University College LondonSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:16 pm 'Broken Symmetry' Discovery In High-Temperature Superconductors Opens New Research PathIn a major step toward understanding the mysterious "pseudogap" state in high-temperature cuprate superconductors, a team of Cornell, Binghamton University and Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists have found a "broken symmetry," where electrons act like molecules in a liquid crystal: Electrons between copper and oxygen atoms arrange themselves differently "north-south" than "east-west."This simple discovery opens a door to new research that could lead to room-temperature superconductors."Cornell has the world's best, if not the universe's best scanning tunneling microscope (STM) facility; combining that with a new theoretical idea enabled this discovery," said Eun-Ah Kim, assistant professor of physics at Cornell and corresponding author of a report published July 15 in the journal Nature."We know if you identify the broken symmetries, you are close to understanding how a material works," said J.C. Séamus Davis, Cornell's J.D. White Distinguished Professor of Physical Sciences and director of the Center for Emergent Superconductivity at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He said the discovery is analogous to learning that a key to controlling liquid crystals (found in the LCD displays in watches, calculators and computer monitors) was that the molecules can arrange into an asymmetrical state.Broken symmetries are seen in many materials when they undergo a "phase transition" like that of water freezing into ice, or liquid crystals becoming opaque. A material going into a superconducting state – conducting electricity with zero resistance – is another kind of phase transition.Superconductivity was first discovered in pure metals cooled very close to absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius). Ceramic materials called cuprates superconduct at temperatures as "high" as 150 Kelvins (degrees above absolute zero). Cuprates are made up of copper oxide layers alternating with layers of other elements. Each copper oxide layer is a checkerboard sheet formed by repeating an L-shaped unit of one copper and two oxygens, with one oxygen atom to the "north" and the other to the "east" of each copper. The presence of other elements between the copper oxide sheets nudges electrons in the copper oxide sheet around and, at the right combinations of temperature and chemical content, creates a condition for superconductivity.Davis and his experimental group study these materials using an exceptionally precise STM that can map the location of atoms and energy levels of the electrons around them. In the superconducting phase, an "energy gap" appears – electrons that ought to be in certain energy levels associated with atoms disappear to form "Cooper pairs" that travel without resistance. But above the superconducting temperature there is a range where the energy gap is still seen, but superconductivity is not.This "pseudogap" phase may extend all the way to room temperature in some materials, so learning to overcome its limitations could lead to room-temperature superconductors.The broken symmetry has been present but hidden in existing data from STM experiments including ones from the Davis group, said Kim, who, with colleagues at Cornell and Binghamton, proposed a new theoretical perspective and mathematical procedure to reveal the broken symmetry from the data.Previously, Kim said, theorists had focused only on the arrangement of the copper atoms, and experimentalists had been averaging signals over all the oxygen atoms in a sample, rather than comparing "east-west" and "north-south" signals.Kim said the finding presents "an opportunity for a whole new stage of research. We have a map of this broken symmetry, now we can experimentally study how it affects superconductivity. Further, the importance of oxygen sites for the broken symmetry points to a theoretical model that may explain the mechanism of pseudogap and high Tc [critical temperature] superconductivity."---On the Net:Cornell UniversityNatureSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:10 pm Malware Targets Shortcut Flaw In Windows, SCADAtsu doh nimh writes "Anti-virus researchers have discovered a new strain of malicious software that spreads via USB drives and takes advantage of a previously unknown vulnerability in the way Microsoft Windows handles '.lnk' or shortcut files. Belarus-based VirusBlokAda discovered malware that includes rootkit functionality to hide the malware, and the rootkit drivers appear to be digitally signed by Realtek Semiconductor, a legitimate hi-tech company. In a further wrinkle, independent researcher Frank Boldewin found that the complexity and stealth of this malware may be due to the fact that it is targeting SCADA systems, or those designed for controlling large, complex and distributed control networks, such as those used at power and manufacturing plants. Meanwhile, Microsoft says it's investigating claims that this malware exploits a new vulnerability in Windows."
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Source: Slashdot | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:09 pm US Sea Turtle Populations Difficult To Estimate Or Protect Without More DataThe population sizes of six species of sea turtles listed as either endangered or threatened in the United States cannot be accurately determined based on currently available information, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report adds that key data regarding birth and survival rates, breeding patterns, and other information will be required to predict and understand changes in populations and create successful management and conservation plans. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) should develop a national plan to assess sea turtle populations, improve the coordination of collecting data and sharing it with other organizations, and establish an external review of the data and models used to estimate the current sea turtle population and predict future population levels.In light of the difficulties encountered in assessing sea turtle populations, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration asked the Research Council to examine methods that could improve population assessments carried out by NMFS -- which is overseen by NOAA and responsible for the management of sea turtles in the water -- and FWS, which is responsible for sea turtles on land. The report does not evaluate the cause of sea turtle declines or conduct its own assessment of sea turtle populations."The biggest obstacle to assessing the status of sea turtle populations is that we know little about key characteristics of these creatures, such as what size they are at different ages, the average proportion of turtles that will survive through each year, and their growth rates," said Karen Bjorndal, chair of the committee that wrote the report and professor of biology and director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida, Gainesville. "Sea turtles can live for many decades, and can take more than 30 years to reach reproductive maturity. When more is known about their ages, distribution, and genetic differences, models can provide better population estimates and help us understand changes in population abundance."Long lifespans and wide-ranging migrations over different habitats make sea turtles difficult to monitor, the committee emphasized. Current sea turtle assessments in the United States are based heavily on estimates of adult females at nesting beaches, which are inadequate measures to make population assessments because adult females usually skip one or more breeding seasons, and nest counts provide no information on the number of immature turtles, adult males, and nonbreeding females.Although information on the number of sea turtles at various life stages is essential, this alone is insufficient to understand the causes of sea turtle population trends, develop management plans to protect sea turtle populations, or predict future trends, the report says. The committee found that the most serious data gaps exist in estimates of the number of immature sea turtles, survival rates of immature turtles and nesting females, age at sexual maturity, the proportion of adult females that breed each year, and the number of nests each female creates in a breeding season.In addition, adequate information is not available for population assessments because data either have not been collected or have not been analyzed and made accessible. The report suggests NMFS and FWS develop plans for the collection and analysis of data to address gaps, create a database that identifies datasets in the United States and territories, and review data being collected now under their agencies and evaluate the costs and benefits.Moreover, the committee said, reviews of federal sea turtle population assessments and research plans are not sufficiently rigorous and transparent, and there are unnecessary obstacles to the collection and analysis of critical data, including the process for issuing research permits and inadequate training of scientists. To address these issues, NMFS and FWS should support a program to safeguard and make accessible as many sea turtle databases as possible, ensure that all research plans generated from within federal agencies are reviewed by panels comprised of federal and nonfederal scientists, and convene a working group to evaluate the permitting process for research projects and find ways to expedite the process while safeguarding the species.---On the Net:National Academy of SciencesSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:08 pm DST Systems, Inc. Announces Series A Put RightKANSAS CITY, Mo., July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) (the "Company") announces that on August 15, 2010 (the "Put Date"), holders of its 4.125% Series A convertible senior debentures due 2023 ("Series A Debentures") may require the Company to purchase the Series A Debentures for cash at par value ("Series A Put"). The form of holder notice ("Purchase Notice") for, and the terms and conditions of, the Series A Put are contained in the Notice of Put Right available from the trustee: The Bank of New York Mellon, telephone number 1-800-254-2826. Any holder of the Series A Debentures that wishes to exercise its Series A Put right must deliver an executed Purchase Notice to our trustee by the close of business on August 13, 2010. This announcement of a put right does not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell securities. The Company has described the terms and conditions of the Series A Debentures in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. SOURCE DST Systems, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:05 pm Facebook Fan Page for UK Killer Removed, but Not by Facebook [Voices]By Beth Callaghan A fan page for slain UK killer Raoul Moat which had attracted 38,000 fans was removed earlier today amidst mounting social and political pressure on the social networking company — but the page was removed by its creator, not by Facebook. Siobhan O’Dowd said that she was surprised by the negative reaction it received, but while Facebook acknowledged the controversial nature of the page, it refused to take it down, as it didn’t violate the site’s rules. Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:00 pm Malaria-Proof Mosquito CreatedThe discovery is a major breakthrough that could prevent millions of people from being infected with the life-threatening disease.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:00 pm Researchers Cut Years From Drug Development With Nanoscopic Bead TechnologyNew research accepted by the Journal of Molecular Recognition confirms that a revolutionary technology developed at Wake Forest University will slash years off the time it takes to develop drugs – bringing vital new treatments to patients much more quickly.Lab-on-Bead uses tiny beads studded with "pins" that match a drug to a disease marker in a single step, so researchers can test an infinite number of possibilities for treatments all at once. When Lab-on-Bead makes a match, it has found a viable treatment for a specific disease – speeding up drug discovery by as much as 10,000 times and cutting out years of testing and re-testing in the laboratory."It helps the most interesting new drugs work together to stick their heads up above the crowd," said Jed C. Macosko, Ph.D., an associate professor of Physics at Wake Forest and primary inventor of the Lab-on-Bead technology. "Each type of drug has its own molecular barcode. Then, with the help of matching DNA barcodes on each nanoscopic bead, all the drugs of a certain type find their own 'home' bead and work together to make themselves known in our drug discovery process. It's kind of like when Dr. Seuss's Whos down in Whoville all yelled together so that Horton the elephant and all of his friends could hear them."Macosko and Martin Guthold, Ph.D., an associate professor of physics at Wake Forest and the co-inventor of Lab-on-Bead, will work with the biotechnology startup NanoMedica Inc. to test how drug companies will use the new tool. The company has relocated to Winston-Salem from New Jersey; Macosko serves as the company's chief innovation officer and Guthold is its chief science officer. The company has one year to work with the technology to bring it to market or relinquish the rights to theLab-on-Bead screens millions of chemicals simultaneously using plastic beads so small that 1,000 of them would fit across a human hair. Pharmaceutical companies would use the technology to identify treatments and diagnostics for conditions ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's.One of the targets the research team has focused on is a breast cancer cell called HER2."We want to find a molecule that detects that cancer cell," Guthold said. "In that circumstance, you could use Lab-on-Bead as a diagnostic tool."The North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a private, nonprofit corporation funded by the N.C. General Assembly, provided $75,000 in funding for the project. Harvard University in Boston and Université de Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France, are providing the chemicals being screened in the Lab-on-Bead process."There are an infinite number of possibilities for combining carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and other elements into different shapes that interact differently in the cells," Macosko said. "Those shapes could block cancer – they could block all kinds of things."If there's some cure to a disease or way to diagnose it, we're going to find it faster."---On the Net:Wake Forest UniversitySource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:56 pm Droid X first impressions: nice hardware, Motorola - Ars Technica
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:53 pm eMoney Advisor Integrates With Outlook, Saving Advisors Time and Adding ValueCONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- eMoney Advisor, a leading provider of advanced wealth and goal planning solutions for financial advisors, announces a new integrated service for advisors, eMoney for Outlook. The new add-in, released with Version 7.0, brings important and up-to-date eMoney client data where advisors reside most -- in Microsoft Outlook®. With eMoney for Outlook, when an advisor receives an email, a panel containing valuable, up-to-date financial information appears. This information includes a summary of the client's financials, investments and insurance products. Also visible, the client's ranking based on their net worth, investable assets and AUM. The advisor can even access valuable eMoney reports including assets, liabilities, balance sheet, cash flow, asset allocation and more. "eMoney for Outlook saves advisors valuable time and eliminates the frustration of having to jump between their two most valuable software resources, eMoney and Outlook," explains Edmond J. Walters, CEO and founder, eMoney Advisor, LLC. "With eMoney for Outlook advisors now have the information they need, where they need it. This enables them to quickly respond to clients and prioritize their activities." eMoney for Outlook is the latest addition to the eMoney Everywhere program. The eMoney Everywhere program integrates CRM, wireless, office and popular advisor tools with eMoney's award winning web-based applications creating the ultimate advisor desktop. eMoney Everywhere leverages web services, common architectures, and industry standard file formats to allow for data integration between eMoney 360 and 360 Pro with other tools. The flexibility and timesaving benefits of the eMoney Everywhere program provides advisors with a full financial desktop translating into better workflow and the delivery of enhanced client service. About eMoney Advisor: eMoney Advisor, based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, provides a suite of award-winning, web-based wealth-planning tools that offer an aggregated, comprehensive view of a client's financial portfolio, as well as features and functions that enable more complete planning and better servicing of a client's needs. eMoney's suite of tools are used by leading financial services firms around the country, including such well-known names as The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, LPL Financial, MassMutual Financial Group, MetLife, TD Bank, New York Life, RBC, Northern Trust, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Securian Financial Services, and over 50 of the top independent broker dealers and RIA firms in the country. For more information, please visit our website at www.emoneyadvisor.com or contact us at 1-888-362-4612. SOURCE eMoney AdvisorSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:53 pm UM Scientists Decipher First Step In The Synthesis Of RNA From DNAComputer Simulation Demonstrates Role of RNA Polymerase in Gene Transcription ProcessIn all organisms, RNA synthesis is carried out by proteins – known as RNA polymerases (RNAPs) – that transcribe the genetic information from DNA in a highly-regulated, multi-stage process. RNAP is the key enzyme involved in creating an equivalent RNA copy of a sequence of DNA. This transcription is the first step leading to gene expression. While the major steps in RNA synthesis have been known for several decades, scientists have only recently begun to decipher the detailed molecular steps of the complex transcription process.In research published in the July 1, 2010 online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Maryland biophysicists Devarajan (Dave) Thirumalai and Jie Chen, along with Rockefeller University collaborator Seth Darst, provide new insight into how the transcription process is initiated and the role that RNA polymerase plays in making this happen. Because the sequence, structure, and function of multi-subunit RNA polymerase are universally conserved in all organisms -- from bacteria to humans -- understanding the mechanisms of bacterial gene transcription is an important step in deciphering the role of genetics in disease.“Previously, people didn’t know the precise role of RNA polymerase in initiating transcription,” explains Distinguished University Professor Dave Thirumalai (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Institute for Physical Science and Technology), “but we showed that it plays an important role in forming the transcription bubble and in the process of bending the DNA to facilitate entry of DNA into the active site. That is the process we described computationally.”Their simulation of the initiation phase of transcription in bacterial RNA polymerase showed a three-step process. It begins when the RNA polymerase binds with transcription promoting regions of DNA. Through interactions with the RNA polymerase, the DNA helix then unwinds, forming an open “bubble” that allows the polymerase access to the exposed DNA sequence to begin transcription. The DNA molecule then bends to relieve stress produced by the opening.Dr. Jie Chen, who conducted this research while a graduate student in the Chemical Physics program, simulated the transcription bubble formation using a Brownian dynamics-based computer model developed by Dr. Thirumalai’s laboratory. “By creating this molecular movie, we can look at the dynamics of RNAP and simulate how it shifts from one structure to another structure,” explains Chen. “Our simulation confirms experimental observations, and goes further to establish a clear and active role for RNA polymerase.”Dr. Thirumalai’s research group is continuing to study RNA polymerase by looking at the second phase of the transcription process in bacteria and also through models of human transcription.The paper “Promoter melting triggered by bacterial RNA polymerase occurs in three steps” was written by Jie Chen, Seth A. Darst, and D. Thirumalai.---On the Net:University of MarylandEarly Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:46 pm Author Touts Artist Subscriptions to Fix Music IndustryFred Goodman continues his chat with Wired.com about where the ailing music industry might be headed. How about having consumers subscribe directly to artists instead of to a music service? Oh, and drop those battling egos, too.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:44 pm Scientists Counter Brucellosis Threat To Livestock And WildlifeArmed with dart guns and medical pellets, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are vaccinating bison in and around Yellowstone National Park against brucellosis.Researchers from the ARS National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa, are using a vaccine known as RB51. By vaccinating the wild bison, scientists hope to prevent the disease from spreading to nearby livestock. Currently, no cattle herds in the U.S. are known to be infected, although some near Yellowstone have been sickened in the last decade.Brucellosis, an incurable disease, can cause abortions in cattle, bison, elk, and feral swine. It can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals or consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. In humans, it's called undulant fever, and causes severe flu-like symptoms.Wildlife reservoirs of brucellosis in the United States include bison and elk (which carry Brucella abortus) and feral swine (which carry B. suis). The animals often come in contact with cattle, especially in winter when bison, elk, domestic livestock and swine are all foraging for the same food. B. suis can be transferred to farm animals or people.Steven Olsen, a veterinary medical officer at NADC, has led the team on the bison vaccination study. During the project, researchers monitored animals to determine the natural course of B. abortus in female bison and their offspring. They found that in bison, the disease mimics the characteristics seen in cattle.Brucellosis has been nearly eradicated in the United States, mostly through cooperative federal and state programs dating back to the 1950s. But its continuing spread through wildlife in the Yellowstone area has rekindled concern among cattle producers. Currently, there is no eradication program for B. suis, according to Olsen.Among the concerns of Olsen and his colleagues—microbiologists Fred Tatum and Betsy Bricker—is the difficulty in diferentiating between B. abortus and B. suis. This presents difficulties for federal officials because a national brucellosis eradication program only targets B. abortus.In addition to the vaccination program carried out by ARS and other agencies, the National Park Service is conducting an environmental impact study on a proposal to spend $9 million for a new brucellosis eradication program in Yellowstone over the next 30 years.ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The results of this study have been published in the journal Vaccine.---On the Net:USDA Agriculture Research ServiceSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:38 pm Behind Mel’s RantsThere may be more to Mel Gibon's latest embarrassing rants than meets the eye.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:21 pm FCC Plan to Subject Internet to Old Phone Regulations Could Harm Consumers and the EconomyWASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Communications Commission's so-called "third-way" proposal to subject broadband Internet access services to old, monopoly-era telecommunications regulations is unnecessary, unworkable and could harm consumers, the economy and the future of the Internet ecosystem, Verizon told the FCC on Thursday (July 15). In comments filed with the commission, Verizon said the FCC's proposal is "based on an incorrect reading of the Comcast decision," faces "insurmountable legal and factual obstacles," and "is in reality a return to the old way." The company proposed a better way: "The commission should pursue a genuine 'third way' built on the Internet's successful model of self-governance based on technical standards and best practices, with the government serving as a backstop on a case-by-case basis in the event industry mechanisms prove unable to resolve the issue." If the old regulations are applied to the dynamic and highly competitive wireless sector, Verizon warned, significant harm could result. "While the commission's proposal would be harmful and unlawful with respect to broadband Internet services generally, it would be particularly irrational and damaging in the wireless context," the company said in its filing. Verizon's comments are in response to a notice of inquiry approved last month by a divided FCC. Members of Congress from both political parties (including a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives) and an array of groups, experts and companies have urged the FCC not to take its proposed approach. "This approach would see the commission abandon a regime that has led to the rapid growth of the Internet as an economic engine for our nation in favor of one in which pervasive regulation would become the inevitable norm and regulatory uncertainty would be an unavoidable outcome," Verizon told the FCC. "As numerous independent financial analysts have observed, the result would be a profoundly negative effect on investment and innovation, jobs and the broader economy." The company said the proposed "reclassification" of broadband Internet access is an effort to expand FCC authority and would be unlawful. "The commission has no legal or factual basis to reverse course and find that broadband Internet access service is (or contains) a Title II telecommunications service subject to common carrier regulation," Verizon stated. "Reclassification would be contrary to the Communications Act and repeated commission precedents as affirmed by the Supreme Court." The FCC has acknowledged that, even if it reclassifies broadband, it still will exercise Title I ancillary authority over information service aspects of Internet access services to accomplish its regulatory agenda. Thus, "the additional step of subjecting some aspects of broadband Internet access to archaic common carrier regulation is gratuitous (and costly) regulation for regulation's sake," the company stated. The company also said that the FCC's legal theory necessarily would "allow it to sweep under Title II a whole range of other Internet-based offerings," including Amazon's Kindle, voice-over-IP services such as Vonage and Skype, network providers like Akamai, and applications like Google and Netflix. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 93 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com. VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases. SOURCE VerizonSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:19 pm NII Holdings Announces the Convertibility of Its 2.75% Convertible Notes Due 2025RESTON, Va., July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NII Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NIHD) (the "Company") announced today that its 2.75% Convertible Notes due 2025 (the "Notes") issued pursuant to an indenture between the Company and Wilmington Trust Company, as Trustee, dated August 15, 2005 (the "Indenture"), have become convertible today, July 15, 2010, pursuant to section 14.01(a)(iii) of the Indenture. Subject to the terms of the Indenture, holders of the Notes may convert the Notes into shares of the Company's common stock at any time on or after July 15, 2010 at the applicable conversion rate then in effect. About NII Holdings, Inc. NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. NII Holdings, Inc. has operations in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile offering a fully integrated wireless communications tool with digital cellular voice services, data services, wireless Internet access and Nextel Direct Connect® and International Direct Connect(SM), a digital two-way radio feature. NII Holdings, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, trades on the NASDAQ market under the symbol NIHD and is a member of the NASDAQ 100 Index. Visit the Company's website at http://www.nii.com. Nextel, the Nextel logo, and Nextel Direct Connect are trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc. NII Holdings, Inc. 1875 Explorer Street, Suite 1000 Reston, VA. 20190 (703) 390-5100 http://www.nii.com Contacts: Investor Relations: Tim Perrott (703) 390-5113 tim.perrott@nii.com Media Relations: Claudia E. Restrepo (786) 251-7020 claudia.restrepo@nii.com SOURCE NII Holdings, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:15 pm New Plan For NASA Keeps Shuttles On The Job (For Now)A NASA oversight committee has unanimously passed a plan to postpone the space shuttles' retirement and build a new U.S. launch system while helping to develop commercial space taxis.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:14 pm CTIA Enterprise & Applications(TM) Pavilions to Showcase Innovative Mobile Business DevelopmentsShow Floor to Feature Latest on Mobile Apps, Cloud Computing, Health, M2M, Mobile Commerce, Retail and Start-ups WASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At CTIA Enterprise & Applications((TM) )2010, technology pavilions on the trade show floor will highlight emerging market segments, introduce new industry players and support one-stop-shopping for mobile business products and services. Pavilions will feature leading companies focused in the areas of mobile apps, cloud computing, m-commerce, wireless health, M2M and retail. The CTIA Enterprise & Applications trade show and conference demonstrates the benefits of wireless technology across vertical segments. More than 15,000 enterprise users, application developers, service providers, content owners, device manufacturers, retailers and engineers will convene in San Francisco at Moscone Center West October 6-8; co-located partner conferences begin on October 5. CTIA Enterprise & Applications pavilions on the show floor will include the following: Launch Pad - introducing start-up companies looking to break into the competitive mobile marketplace;mCommerce - demonstrating mobile applications, platforms and system integrators. In partnership with Sybase, pavilion exhibitors will demonstrate mobile solutions for payments, banking, remittance and emerging mobile money services;Mobile Apps - showcasing the latest mobile platforms, content, social networking, and application delivery solutions;Mobile Cloud Computing - displaying resources from public and private clouds to utility and hybrid cloud services;Wireless Health - offering the latest products, applications and network management solutions that empower healthcare providers and enhance communication among health professionals and patients. Produced with partners Qualcomm, the pavilion will include mobile tools to support remote medical monitoring, record management, fitness and overall wellness;M2M Zone - offering wireless Machine-to-Machine communications products and services. The M2M Zone, organized by Horizon House, will also produce the co-located M2M Connected Device Conference on October 7;Telecom Council Innovation Showcase - promoting innovative entrepreneurs and start-up companies through live demos and presentations. In association with the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley, an expert panel of judges will select companies to exhibit in the showcase;Wireless Dealer EXPO - providing a one-stop-shop for wireless retail buyers and suppliers. Organized by Wireless Dealer Magazine, the EXPO will allow buyers to compare and purchase mobile merchandise just in time for the holiday shopping season. Additional details about the pavilions at CTIA Enterprise & Applications can be found at: http://www.ctiaenterpriseandapps.com/info/index.cfm/exhibit-floor#pavilions. Press Registration is now open, visit: www.ctiashow.com/pressreg Follow CTIA Shows on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CTIAShow) LinkedIn (http://bit.ly/CTIAShowLinkedIn) Twitter (www.twitter.com/CTIAShow) About CTIA Shows CTIA shows bring together all industries advanced by wireless technology for intense business, learning and networking. CTIA Enterprise & Applications(TM) 2010 takes place in San Francisco, October 6-8. International CTIA WIRELESS(®) 2011 takes place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, March 22-24. Visit www.ctiashow.com. CTIA-The Wireless Association(®) is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry's voluntary best practices and initiatives, and produces the industry's leading tradeshows. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, D.C. Visit www.ctia.org. SOURCE CTIA Enterprise & ApplicationsSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:08 pm Report Outlines Knowledge Gaps For 20 Suspected CarcinogensPCBs, diesel exhaust among agents identified as focus of further researchA new report from the American Cancer Society and other world-leading health groups identifies gaps in research for 20 suspected carcinogens whose potential to cause cancer is as yet unresolved. The report is designed to prioritize agents for additional research, and to lead to well-planned epidemiologic or mechanistic studies leading to more definitive classification of these agents.The report, "Identification of research needs to resolve the carcinogenicity of high-priority IARC carcinogens," is a concerted effort to identify ways to close existing gaps in knowledge for particular agents classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) by identifying information needs and the research to address them for 20 selected agents. The agents are generally in IARC Groups 2A, 2B, and 3. The project originated as part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to enhance occupational cancer research, and involved collaboration with IARC, the American Cancer Society, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The effort was co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society. The agents prioritized as needing additional study are: * Lead and lead compounds * Indium phosphide * Cobalt with tungsten carbide * Titanium dioxide * Welding fumes * Refractory ceramic fibers * Diesel exhaust * Carbon black * Styrene-7,8-oxide and styrene * Propylene oxide * Formaldehyde * Acetaldehyde * Dichloromethane, methylene chloride (DCM) * Trichloroethylene (TCE) * Tetrachloroethylene (perc, tetra, PCE) * Chloroform * Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) * Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) * Atrazine * Shift work "There is significant concern among the public about substances or exposures in the environment that may cause cancer, and there are some common occupational agents and exposure circumstances where evidence of carcinogenicity is substantial but not yet conclusive for humans," said Elizabeth Ward, Ph. D., vice president, Surveillance and Health Policy Research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report.. "The objectives of this report are to identify research gaps and needs for 20 agents prioritized for review based on evidence of widespread human exposures and potential carcinogenicity in animals or humans." Dr. Ward, one of the organizers of the meeting and lead author of a version of the report that appears in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, added that the report highlights the importance of research in occupational settings for the identification of human carcinogens as well as the need for funding and access to populations for this work to continue.---On the Net:American Cancer SocietySource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:05 pm Open Text to Report Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year-End 2010 Financial Results on Wednesday, August 18, 2010WATERLOO, ON, July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Open Text(TM) Corporation (NASDAQ:OTEX) (TSX:OTC), today announced that financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year-end 2010 will be released on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET. Teleconference Call Open Text will host a conference call on August 18, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss its final financial results. Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 Time: 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT Length: 60 minutes Where: 416-644-3414 800-814-4859 (Toll Free) Investors should dial in approximately 10 minutes before the teleconference is scheduled to begin. A replay of the call will be available beginning August 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. ET through 11:59 p.m. on September 1, 2010 and can be accessed by dialing 416-640-1917 and using passcode 4325575 followed by the number sign. For more information or to listen to the call via Web cast, please use the following link: http://www.opentext.com/2/investors/ir-events.htm. About Open Text Open Text(TM) is the world's largest independent provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software. The Company's solutions manage information for all types of business, compliance and industry requirements in the world's largest companies, government agencies and professional service firms. Open Text supports approximately 46,000 customers and millions of users in 114 countries and 12 languages. For more information about Open Text, visit www.opentext.com. Copyright (C) 2010 by Open Text Corporation. "OPEN TEXT", "OPEN TEXT EVERYWHERE" and the "OPEN TEXT ECM SUITE" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Open Text Corporation in the United States of America, Canada, the European Union and/or other countries. This list of trademarks is not exhaustive. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names, company names, brands and service names mentioned herein are property of Open Text Corporation or other respective owners. SOURCE Open Text CorporationSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:01 pm App review: TomTom for iPhone
The size of the app is a bit misleading: you actually need a good bit more than that unused on your phone in order for the app to even install. I’ve got an 8GB iPhone 3G, and it took me awhile to trim down my playlists and delete lesser-used apps before I could get the TomTom app to load successfully. Then I had to do it all over again when an update was released. You cannot install or update this app over the air: the file size requires you to install it from your computer. With a footprint well over a gigabyte, it should be no surprise that the app is slow to load. It takes almost 30 seconds for the app to load into memory and be ready for user input. The application is not particularly snappy, which can be a nuisance if you’re trying to update a route while on the go. I found the routing to be just fine, and have no complaints about the quality of the maps or the included points of interest. I found the Ukrainian Museum-Archive while tooling around in Cleveland, Ohio. If such a niche is in the POI list, I’m confident that many other interesting places are also included. And to make things even better, the TomTom app also ties into local Google listings, allowing you to hit Google from within the TomTom app itself (obviously a data connection is required for this aspect fo the app).
A minor nicety of the app is smooth music fading, so that currently playing songs are not awkwardly paused. Instead the music fades nicely, the TomTom voice directions are made over top of the softer music, and then the music is returned to its previous volume. As you can see from the screenshot above, the TomTom app squeezes a lot of information into a small screen. Along the bottom you can see your current speed, the current road’s speed limit, distance to the next turn, estimated time remaining on your trip, and the current local time. Along the side you see the optional traffic report. One of the more interesting features of the TomTom app is a TomTom Traffic subscription, which you can purchase from within the app itself. It costs $20 for a one-year subscription, and the traffic updates are integrated extremely well into the app itself. I asked TomTom how it worked, and this was the response:
In my testing, the traffic details were extremely accurate. It reliably reported rush hour slow downs, holiday congestion, and a couple of accidents on a regular basis. Unfortunately for me, the fastest route was still usually the one through the thick of the congestion, regardless of cause. Is it worth $20 a year extra for the traffic subscription? That’s a tough question for me to answer. If I were buying this app solely for myself, I’d probably opt not to get it. My guess is that it would simply be too infrequent that the app would be able to effectively route me around a slow down, but that’s just my opinion. If you live on the road and time matters, you might feel differently. Complaints A subtle related issue is processing speed. If you miss your turn, the app re-calculates and suggests the next best turn for you. Unfortunately, it often told me to turn onto the street I was already passing. At 35 miles per hour in a city, you’re often driving faster than the iPhone 3G can calculate. Maybe an iPhone 4 will be better. Second, the GPS reception on my phone was pretty weak. If I placed the phone on my lap or between the seats next to me, I would consistently lose GPS reception. I’d have to hold the phone up or place it on the dashboard in order to maintain a decent connection to the satellites. When GPS reception is lost, the screen turns monochrome and a status message appears at the top of the display. While driving to and from Lexington, KY, I’d lose signal about once every five minutes. Third, the TomTom app announces driving directions in a manner that I wasn’t quite expecting. It’ll say “In 300 yards, turn left onto Suchandsuch Street”. Then, after 300 yards, it’ll say “Turn left”. It will not repeat the name of the street onto which I am to turn. This took a little getting used to, and caused me to miss my turn on more than one occasion. My wife considered this a fatal flaw and completely panned my use of the app as a result. Once you know what to expect, it’s not that big a deal; but it would be nicer if the street name would be repeated, for safety sake. Conclusion
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:00 pm BP Reports No More Oil Flowing into GulfAlthough the tests are still ongoing, the new cap appears to be preventing oil from gushing into the Gulf.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:00 pm Mercury home to violent magnetic storms - msnbc.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:59 pm Rumor: The bidding war for Palm was between Google, Lenovo, RIM and.. Apple?
Take this as you will now (the HP/Palm merger is already complete, and none of these companies are ever going to fess up to losing a bidding war) but Business Insider is claiming to have an inside scoop on how the bidding war for Palm went down — and which companies lost out in the end. The big list? Google, Lenovo, RIM, and — wait for it — Apple.
You see, when Palm filed their merger documentation with the SEC, they mentioned that 16 potential bidders had reached out, with 4 finalists coming up to the plate after the inital contact. Alas, none of these four were ever named; “Company A” through “Company D” supplanted any instances where the actual company names were mentioned, leaving the whole thing in an air of mystery. According to Business Insider’s Dan Frommer, it all breaks down as follows (note: while their sources would name names, they wouldn’t tie the names to the specific “Company X” labels — so these should be considered educated guesses):
So, why would Apple want Palm? They wouldn’t. They’d have wanted Palm’s patent portfolio. Hundreds upon hundreds of items deep, Palm’s portfolio stretches across all reaches of the mobile world, essentially protecting them from any lawsuits. Even if some company owned a patent they felt Palm was infringing, chances were that Palm could turn things around with a handful of patents of their own that the other company was infringing upon. It’s referred to within Palm as a Porcupine strategy; patents are quills, and no one wants to rub the company with the most quills the wrong way. At the very least, this is all an interesting insight into what could have happened. Whereas HP plans to build webOS into their future tablets, printers, and whatever other gadgets they can squeeze it into, Apple almost certainly would have killed off webOS immediately. Sure, certain elements of webOS (like, say, the notification system) most likely would have found their way into iOS — but webOS, as we know it today, would be dead.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:48 pm Firefox 4 Beta 2, Due Next Week, Adds Tabs on Top for MacsFirefox 4 Beta 2 is expected as soon as next week. There are several enhancements on the way, but the one sure to raise the most interest (or the biggest stink) is the new tabs-on-top interface for Mac OS X users.Source: Wired Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:43 pm New Radiation Mechanism May Ward Off Cancer, Oil Spills And TerrorismRadiation similar to that used to treat cancer may someday help clean up environmental disasters such as the Gulf oil spill and detect explosive powder hidden underneath clothing.The novel radiation mechanism developed by University of Central Florida physicist Richard Klemm and a team of scientists in Japan also could help doctors more directly target cancer and many other diseases, reducing the impact of treatments on healthy parts of the body.The mechanism operates in the Terahertz gap – the range between microwave and infrared frequencies. Until now, scientists have not been able to tap into these frequencies with much success."It's a small range, but these frequencies are the important ones absorbed by biochemical molecules," Klemm said.Instead of simply using radiation to kill tumors, this technique may offer a more direct way track down what's ailing a patient. "Our mechanism could be used to detect the amino acids in DNA, which may be linked to specific diseases. That means it's a good diagnostic tool."Medicine is just the beginning. The mechanism could be used to track miniscule traces of explosives hidden under clothing, a tool national security experts may find useful in preventing terrorist attacks. The technique also could be used to trace and potentially destroy specific chemicals that damage the environment and our bodies.Results from the study have been published in Physical Review Letters, one of the most prestigious and highly ranked physics journals."These applications are still years away, but this is significant progress and we're very excited," said Klemm, a pioneer in the field of layered superconductivity.---On the Net:University of Central FloridaSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:38 pm Apple Releases iPhone Update With Signal Bar ‘Fix’
Apple on Thursday afternoon released a minor software update for iPhones, which changes the appearance of signal bars. Apple has promised that this fix would alleviate the iPhone 4’s widely reported antenna problem — a claim nobody has believed. The update (version 4.0.1) is 580-MB large, and the revised signal bar formula is the only tweak mentioned in the change log. In iOS 4.0.1, the reception bars are slightly taller than they were previously (see images above). Apple said in a press release that the iPhone 4’s reception loss was exaggerated by an inaccurate display of signal strength, and the company said a new software algorithm would alleviate the problem. However, some bloggers and antenna experts agree that the issue is related to hardware — a weak spot in the lower-left corner of the phone — and a software update is unlikely to fix resolve the problem. From light testing, Wired.com has not seen a substantial difference in performance when the iPhone 4 is gripped covering the antenna gap in the lower-left corner, or left uncovered. We’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, if you’ve installed the update, post your observations in the comments section. Apple will be holding a press conference Friday morning regarding the iPhone 4. At this point it seems easy to predict that at the conference, Apple will focus on explaining why the software update is an adequate fix. Still, we’re betting the company will issue free bumpers for those claiming they are affected, and perhaps even silently revise the hardware in future shipments of the iPhone 4. See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:32 pm Paul Allen, Microsoft Co-Founder, Pledges Fortune to Philanthropy [Voices]By Beth Callaghan Allen said on Thursday that he’s committing the majority of his estimated $13.5 billion fortune to philanthropy after his death. He’s been closely involved in local philanthropy for the last 20 years, mostly through his Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The Seattle native announced his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis last November, and has undergone successful treatment since then. Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:15 pm Report Reveals Dramatic Decline In Illegal Logging In Tropical Forest NationsPositive impact on development and climate changeThe most thorough assessment to date of the global fight against illegal logging, released by Chatham House today, finds that a decade of international effort to tackle the problem is having a dramatic and beneficial effect both on forest dependent communities and on the global climate. According to the report, "Illegal Logging and Related Trade: Indicators of the Global Response", total global production of illegal timber has fallen by 22 per cent since 2002."Up to a billion of the world's poorest people are dependent on forests, and reductions in illegal logging are helping to protect their livelihoods", said Sam Lawson, Chatham House Associate Fellow and lead author of the report.The report states that illegal logging has dropped by 50 per cent in Cameroon, by between 50 and 75 per cent in the Brazilian Amazon, and by 75 per cent in Indonesia in the last decade. This reduction, documented in three of the five tropical timber producers studied, has prevented the degradation of up to 17 million hectares of forest, an area larger than England and Wales combined.By preventing forest degradation, which is often the first step towards forest destruction, efforts to tackle illegal logging in these three countries may over time help prevent – at relatively low cost - the release of up to 14.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of half the carbon dioxide released by human actions worldwide each year. Conversely, if the timber were harvested under government auspices an estimated $6.5 billion dollars could be raised in these countries alone, more than twice that which the world spends each year in overseas aid for primary school education.The new report covers all aspects of the timber trade—a journey that starts in the forests of five "producer" countries studied: Brazil, Indonesia, Cameroon, Malaysia and Ghana. The study analyses the entry of timber into markets in the five "consumer" countries—the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, as well as through the ports and factories of two "processing" countries—China and Vietnam—and from there to buyers in the industrialized world.Despite the dramatic decline, the report says that illegal logging remains a major problem. As the more overt instances of illegal forest sector activity are addressed, less-easily detected, and therefore more intractable, illegal practices are becoming more significant. For example, companies with legal harvesting licenses may log outside the permitted area. Licenses to clear forest for agricultural plantations are also often issued illegally.In 2008, companies in the United States, Japan, the UK, France and the Netherlands bought 17 million cubic meters of illegal timber and wood products worth around US$8.4 billion, most of it entering those nations in the form of processed products like plywood and furniture, mainly from China. In 2009, a total of 100 million cubic metres of illegal timber were harvested in the timber producing countries studied."If laid end to end the illegal logs would encircle the globe more than ten times over," according to Larry MacFaul, co-author of the report.Although the implementation of necessary regulations and policies in producer countries remains mostly poor, a number of significant improvements in laws and regulations are now underway as a result of the negotiation of Voluntary Partnership Agreements with EU. Such agreements have already proved effective, according to the report. Further, in 2008, the US became the first country to introduce legislation to make it illegal to handle illegally harvested timber. There are early indications that the new law is already placing pressure on timber producers and processors around the world to police their supply chains."The effort to combat illegal logging and improve forest governance has brought developed and developing countries together in a unique way with a shared sense of purpose", said Lawson. "Our study shows that consumer interest and pressure combined with action by producer countries can yield very positive results. ---On the Net:Burness CommunicationsSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:15 pm Polar Species Leap 9,000 MilesHow exactly are some polar species able to find homes at opposite ends of the world?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:15 pm Studies Explore Effects Of War On Former Child SoldiersDespite international bans, more than 250,000 children fight as soldiers in 86 countries across the globe, almost half of them in Africa. Two new studies explored how these children adjust after they return to their homes. Key to successful adaptation, the studies found, was the characteristics of the communities to which the children returned.In the first study, researchers found that former child soldiers from Sierra Leone who lived in communities in which they felt accepted were less depressed and more confident, and children who were able to stay in school showed more positive attitudes and behaviors. However, these protective factors didn't fully counterbalance the war-related trauma the children experienced, a finding that has implications for public health.In the second study, researchers found that the former child soldiers from Uganda who adapted the best were those who returned to less violent homes and communities. These children also had fewer feelings of survivor guilt, less motivation to seek revenge, better socioeconomic situations, and more perceived spiritual support.The studies appear in a special section on children and disaster in the July/August 2010 issue of the journal Child Development.The first study took a longitudinal look at adjustment in former child solders involved in Sierra Leone's bloody civil war. Researchers focused on more than 150 children ages 10 to 18, mostly male, following them over two years. The research was carried out by a team based at Harvard University in collaboration with partners at the International Rescue Committee and the U.S. Agency for International Development.During Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, thousands of children, some as young as 7, were conscripted into fighting forces and paramilitary groups, and as a result, witnessed executions, death squad killings, torture, detention, rape, and massacres of family members. As the conflict ended, the young people were returned to civilian life. This study, carried out in 2002 and 2004, is the first of its kind to examine how these youths fared.The researchers found that all of the former child soldiers were exposed to high levels of violence, such as massacres or village raids. More than a third of the girls reported having been raped, and almost a quarter of both girls and boys reported having injured or killed someone.Children who reported surviving rape or reported hurting or killing others showed higher levels of hostility, while those who survived rape demonstrated higher levels of hostility and anxiety over time compared to those who didn't experience these types of trauma. This suggests that these categories of war trauma are highly toxic to children's psychological and social adjustment. The study also found that children who were abducted at younger ages were more likely to report symptoms of depression over time than those who were older."Witnessing general war violence, although very common, didn't have a strong effect on the children's psychological and social adjustment over time," according to Theresa Betancourt, assistant professor of child health and human rights at Harvard School of Public Health, who led the study. "In contrast, the effects of experiencing rape and wounding or killing others were longer lasting."The authors recommend that particular attention be paid to war-affected children with an accumulation of toxic risk factors and few protective resources. Social and mental health services for war-affected youths are severely limited in Sierra Leone today. Without targeted attention to those showing continued need, the researchers point out, there may well be broader consequences for society as this generation enters adulthood—including the inability to make the most of current investments in education and development activities."We have a long way to go before being able to fully mitigate the effects of particularly toxic stressors in the lives of children affected by war," notes Betancourt.In the second study on child soldiers in Child Development, researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany looked at 330 former Ugandan child soldiers ages 11 to 17.Since the late 1980s in Northern Uganda, an estimated 25,000 children and adolescents have been forcefully recruited into the Lord's Resistance Army. This study was carried out in 2006 at a government boarding school designed to support war-traumatized children and at the same time attempt to identify risk and protective factors to better target supports. On average, the children returned from the armed group after about 30 months; the study was carried out 4 months after they arrived at the school.According to the study, almost all of the children had been exposed to shooting and beatings by armed forces, more than half had killed someone, and more than a quarter had been raped. The researchers found that a third of the children suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, more than a third were depressed, and more than half had behavioral and emotional problems. Older children had more mental health problems than younger children, the study found.The study also found that almost 90 percent of the child soldiers continued to be exposed to violence once they returned home—including caning, burning, being locked up, and being raped—and two thirds of them suffered from significant mental health problems. What helped foster the resilience of the one third of children who didn't have significant mental health problems? The researchers discovered it was the qualities of the child and the home environments to which they returned—such as less exposure to domestic and community violence, better family socioeconomic situations, less motivation to seek revenge, and more perceived spiritual support.In Uganda, where there is only one psychiatrist for every 1.3 million people, training mental health professionals and creating sustainable intervention programs are urgently needed, according to the researchers. By identifying the factors that contribute to resilience in former child soldiers, this study can help those working with this population.---On the Net:Society for Research in Child DevelopmentChild DevelopmentSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:04 pm Oil Leak Could Transform Repairmen Into Superheroes
For the first time in our nation’s history, our hopes and dreams and economic fate rest, not on a warrior or a politician or an astronaut, but on a team of repairmen. The effort to seal the ruptured oil well in the Gulf is the grandest and highest-profile repair job since the Apollo 13 duct-tape fix. It is requiring a vast effort, leveraging all the ships and equipment and manpower that the most powerful companies and nations on earth can bring to bear. It would be thrilling if the consequences of failure were not so dire. This is mechanical hacking at the grandest scale, with unprecedented stakes.
The oil slick is readily visible from space, a great black smear of poison destroying coastal ecosystems and the livelihoods that rely on them. The unslakable energy thirst of every man and woman that uses oil (myself included) has brought us toe-to-toe with a demon of the deep. Now we must face the difficulties of grappling with oil under 600 atmospheres of pressure, a mile beneath the ocean surface. Six hundred atmospheres is almost 9,000 psi — that’s three times the pressure of a full scuba tank. It’s hard to imagine a geyser of oil erupting from the ground with that much force. I first realized the incredible pressures at work when the initial containment dome was forcibly tossed out of the stream of oil. Imagine how much force it would take to blow a 98-ton containment cap (the result of weeks of round-the-clock fabrication effort) sideways out of the path of the oil! The news this week is encouraging: BP’s elite team has successfully installed a cap over the well, and as of Thursday it appears to have stopped the flow of oil. This is not a guaranteed solution, and the many variables involved require more testing. Best-case scenario: They gradually close the vents at the top of the cap, permanently sealing the well. Worst case: The increased pressure ruptures the weakened well casing, setting the recovery effort back to square one. I am cautiously optimistic that the current cap will hold, and hopeful that in the coming months BP will implement a permanent solution. Whatever the ultimate solution is, the men and women who finally do fix the ruptured well should be regarded as national heroes. These repair crews work for BP and their subcontractors, the same monolithic corporations that are the subject of so much media ire. But the act that they are performing, fixing the unwitting product of our global hubris, is pure heroism. The amount of precision power required to maintain a drilling rig in position in rough seas a mile above a bore-hole is absolutely incredible. (The dynamically-positioned Deepwater Horizon had eight full 360-degree azimuth thrusters capable of a combined 59,000 horsepower.) The techniques they are using are absolutely fascinating, employing cutting-edge manufacturing, deep-sea exploration tools and extraordinary ocean-going vessels that are the culmination of thousands of years of man-learning from a continual war with the sea. Any mechanic who has had to fabricate a tool to access a hard-to-reach part, or manufacture a custom component to repair old equipment, understands exactly what BP’s team is doing. This is mechanical hacking at the grandest scale, with unprecedented stakes. The world is watching the best-equipped, best-educated, most highly motivated repair crew that has ever existed perform brainstorming and problem-solving in real-time. The various fixes attempted so far are clearly hacks, and have involved repair techs operating submersible robots attempting a variety of caps, redirects and clogs. MacGyver would be proud of anything called a junk shot (although I suspect many plumbers would not). This is the apex of the American tradition: technical mastery in building and maintaining the best infrastructure in the world. Repair used to be a noble profession. Tinkering with cars was once an esteemed American pastime, and the best mechanics were extremely well-regarded. Our current obsession with continually replacing our things with the new has dramatically reduced how long we use things before disposing of them. The resulting variety of things has diluted the skills of mechanics and undermined their ability to master their craft. This disaster, and the ongoing repair effort, should remind us that it is not enough to merely build more and better things. We must also plan for their maintenance, repair and end of life. We need to invest in training mechanics and fostering troubleshooting skills. There is danger in moving beyond this disaster without taking the time to recognize those providing us with the solution. Repair is critical, necessary and vital, even more so in an era when U.S. infrastructure is crumbling, weak, or out of date. When is the last time you saw CNN running headlines titled “Fix it“? This is a watershed moment: The entire world is waiting on a single repair job. Kyle Wiens is the co-founder of iFixit, a global community of repair technicians dedicated to teaching everyone how to fix their things. Photo: Todd Schilla (left) and Ryan Gressett (right) co-pilot a remotely operated vehicle as a small pollution containment chamber, known as the “top hat,” is lowered into the Gulf of Mexico by the motor vessel Viking Poseidon May 11, 2010. The chamber will be used in an attempt to contain an oil leak that was caused by the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon explosion. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley. 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:47 pm Oil Leak Could Transform Repairmen Into SuperheroesFor the first time in our nation's history, our hopes and dreams and economic fate rest, not on a warrior or a politician or an astronaut, but on a team of repairmen. The effort to seal the ruptured oil well in the Gulf is the grandest and highest-profile repair job since the Apollo 13 duct-tape fix.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:47 pm Apple Releases iOS 4.0.1 for iPhone, iOS 3.2.1 for iPad [Digital Daily]
Looks like Apple (AAPL) has decided it needs to see some iPhone headlines that don’t include the word “antenna.” On the eve of the iPhone 4 press conference it is holding tomorrow, the company officially released iOS version 4.0.1, a software update it says “improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display” on the device and its predecessors (click images to enlarge). The update also resolves an issue that could cause slow syncing of data with Exchange ActiveSync. Released in tandem with iOS 4.0.1 was iOS 3.2.1 for iPad, an update that adds Bing to Safari’s search options and promises to improve Wi-Fi connectivity as well.
Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:44 pm iOS 4.0.1 update now available through iTunes (Update: And 3.2.1 for the iPad!)
The updates are coming, the updates are coming! Yesterday, developers saw the launch of iOS 4.1 within their inner rings — and today, the masses gain access to 4.0.1. Note the extra 0 in the version number there. 4.0.1 so far appears to be a different patch, solely containing tweaks to Apple’s “formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display”, without any of the Bluetooth enhancements or other such changes spotted in the less-decimaled (that’s a word now) 4.1. We’ll let you know if we spot any other changes if you’ll do the same. Update: The iPad gets an update, too!
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:32 pm Use Chrome like a proThis week I sent a note to Googlers about some of the Chrome team's favorite extensions. So many of them asked if they could share the list with people outside the company that I thought I would just do it for them. Here it is. We're proud of the Chrome browser and the great extensions that its developer community has created, and we hope you enjoy them! They can all be found at chrome.google.com/extensions.
  
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:25 pm Steve Wozniak on the iPhone 4: “Carry a second Verizon phone for backup.”
These days, it seems like everyone on the Internet likes to filter others (especially TechCrunch writers) into one of two categories: Apple fanboys, or Apple haters. One man, however, stands without label, impossible to categorize: Steve Wozniak. He did, after all, help start the company. The dude may not be too involved with operations these days, but he still knows more about these things than any of us silly Internet types might — so when he says something, we tend to pay attention. The latest thing he’s saying might not go over too well with the folks in Cupertino, though. That iPhone 4 he waited in line for? He recommends carrying a Verizon phone as a backup.
The word comes from Henk Van Ess, who had the opportunity to chat with Woz after he had some issues ordering a European MiFi unit through Henk’s site. Woz tells the tale of his first tests of the antenna issue:
So, what would Woz do? Woz has joked before that his workaround for the iPhone’s then lack of multitasking was to simply “have two iPhones” — but in this situation, he’s recommending a different phone as the backup:
So there you have it, folks: if your iPhone 4’s making you angry and you’ve got a wad of cash to throw around, buy a Verizon Pre. Woz said so. Of course, Woz also says that the iPhone 4 “works well enough and its beauty is worth the care in holding it.” The full interview appears to be down right now, but you’ll be able to find it here when it comes back.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:24 pm Bloomberg: Steve Jobs Was Warned About iPhone 4 Antenna
Steve Jobs was tipped off by Apple’s wireless expert about potential antenna problems of the iPhone 4 early in its design phase, according to Bloomberg. Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert at Apple, told executives that the device’s external antenna design could lead to reception problems, a source told Bloomberg. The publication also cited a carrier partner who voiced similar concerns about the design. Both sources wished to remain anonymous. Apple did not immediately return a request for comment. Though the iPhone 4 has received positive reviews from critics, the device’s antenna design has repeatedly been under fire in the press. The device sports an external antenna contained in a steel band laced around the phone, and several customers and bloggers have reported that covering a gap in the lower-left corner causes reception loss, sometimes resulting in dropped calls. Bloomberg’s report suggests that Jobs was well aware of a possible problem but steadfastly went forward with the new design. It seems plausible that Caballero would voice such concern, because when the iPhone 4 was announced, a few antenna experts predicted that the external design would cause issues. In response to the first wave of complaints, Apple’s press relations team published a letter claiming that the iPhone 4 was exaggerating both the highs and lows of its signal strength due to a software-calibration issue. The company promised that a software update would remedy the problem. However, the tipping point occurred when Consumer Reports said it could not recommend the iPhone 4 after running extensive lab tests and confirming that the iPhone 4 was more susceptible to attenuation than other handsets. Late Wednesday evening, Apple PR invited select members of the press to attend a Friday press conference regarding the iPhone 4. The company did not share further details on what would be announced. In an editorial, Wired.com staff argued that Apple should fix the hardware issue in future shipments of the product, as well as offer affected customers free cases or bumpers. Wired.com will be covering Apple’s press conference Friday beginning at 10 a.m. PT. Stay tuned. See Also:
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:01 pm The Facebook Movie Full Trailer: Creepier, Pokier, Anti-Zuckerbergier [BoomTown]
Dear Mark Zuckerberg: Uh-oh, from the looks of this full-length trailer for the upcming movie, “The Social Network,” about founding of Facebook, it’s not going to be a positive portrayal of you. One bright spot: The hoodie is just right. And Sean Parker as channeled by Justin TImberlake looks nutso. Also, apropos of nothing, the “Which part?” query at the end is spot on, having experienced it myself. There have been two teaser trailers so far, but this is the first look at actual scenes about the social networking site’s origins in the movie. But it is not pretty and includes the Vega Choir’s creepy rendition of Radiohead’s song “Creep.” That would be you, Mark, according to the movie, which opens this fall. One possibility: The audience will embrace you as an anti-hero. For certain from the trailers, the film–from Sony (SNE) unit Columbia Pictures–looks like it is leaving out the well-deserved part about you being a visionary entrepreneur, with an innovative drive on the same continuum of Bill Gates of Microsoft (MSFT), Jeff Bezos of Amazon (AMZN), Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google (GOOG) and, yes, even Steve Jobs of Apple (AAPL). Maybe you should wait for the Silicon Valley sequel. Here’s the video, if you dare to watch: And here’s the real Mark Zuckerberg in action in an interview with Walt Mossberg and me at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference last month: [ See post to watch video ] Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:01 pm Giant Underwater Volcano Discovered in IndonesiaA deep sea exploration voyage discovered one of the world's largest underwater volcanoes off the coast of Indonesia.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 pm Bloomberg: Steve Jobs Was Warned About iPhone 4 AntennaApple's antenna expert told Steve Jobs early on that the iPhone 4 would have an antenna problem, according to Bloomberg.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 pm China Cracks Down on Microblogs [Voices]By Beth Callaghan Continuing Chinese government efforts to control social networking led to the abrupt closing of dozens of blogs on Wednesday, according to the AP. The crackdown affected microblogs as well, in a move that highlights the growing popularity of the format to spread information quickly and succinctly. The closing affected blogs on the services Sohu.com, Netease, Tencent and Sina. Source: All Things Digital | 15 Jul 2010 | 11:55 am Our 2010 EMEA CS4HS AwardeesWe recently told you about CS4HS, our workshop program for high school and middle school computer science teachers in the U.S. We now have some additional news to share: our 2010 EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) CS4HS awardees have been selected! The CS4HS program provides funding to European, Middle Eastern and African universities which work in tandem with local high schools and middle schools to engage pre-university students in computer science. Awardees meet strict requirements: the projects must be scalable, impact a wide cross-section of students from all backgrounds, conform to a “train the trainer” model and, most importantly, interest and inspire the next generation of computer scientists.The application review team said that many of the projects receiving funding directly address the training of computer science teachers in secondary schools. They were particularly excited by the Makerere University and University of Cape Town projects, both of which propose to spread best practice amongst educators in Africa—a new region for CS4HS. You can find a list of all 14 awardees and their projects on the EMEA section of the CS4HS site. Posted by Caitlin Pantos, University Programmes Specialist   
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 15 Jul 2010 | 11:30 am A Way to Play Brain-Controlled Games on AirplanesPractice your golf swing at 35,000 feet.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:29 am T-Ray Tech Spots Bombs, Drugs from a Mile AwayScientists have replicated Superman's X-ray vision to see through clothing or packages in order to spot security threats.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:15 am Old Spice Man Is Here ... For You - Wired News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 10:05 am Google PhD Fellowships go internationalWe introduced the Google Fellowship program last year in the United States to broaden our support of university research. The students who were awarded the 2009 fellowships were a truly impressive group, many having high profile internships this past summer and even a few with faculty appointments in the upcoming year.Universities continue to be the source of some of the most innovative research in computer science, and in particular it’s the students that they foster who are the future of our field. This year, we’re going global and extending the fellowship program to Europe, Israel, China and Canada. We’re very happy to be continuing our support of excellence in graduate studies and offer our sincere congratulations to the following PhD students for receiving Google Fellowships in 2010: Google European Doctoral Fellowships
Posted by Alfred Spector, VP of Research and Special Initiatives   
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:47 am Pay & Sit Bench Keeps the Poor Standing, The Rich RelaxingPay & Sit is yet another device to drive the poor from shared public spaces and let them instead be monopolized by apple-munching, mineral-water-sipping yuppies. Pay & Sit is a park bench dreamed up by designer Designer Fabian Brunsing. When at rest, it becomes the porcupine of the street-furniture world, deploying vicious metal spikes to keep soft rear-ends away. Only when a 50-cent coin is dropped in the slot do the spikes lower mechanically and offer up a smooth, comfortable surface. Even the office-goers aren’t welcome to linger or dilly-dally in their relaxing: After a short interval, an alarm sounds, closely followed by the spikes popping back out. The message is clear: You sit, you pay. If the Pay & Sit were ever to make it into the real world (unlikely, as this design is already a couple years old), then bums would have yet another sob-story designed to separate us from yet another few quarters: “Spare some change, guv’nor. I haven’t sat down for a week.” And then of course, there are bound to be people who find this new arrangement very comfortable indeed. PAY & SIT: the private bench [Vimeo via Neatorama] See Also:
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Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:33 am There’s an app to plug the BP oil spill
The app description reads like a Markov chain. The sacred Apple App Store at work, friends. Oh, sure, the app lets you make donations to organizations aiding in the recovery effort. Here’s my advice: skip this app and just donate directly to the recovery organization of your choice. Help the folks who are actually applying their skills and labor to solve this very real problem.
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:30 am Wooden iPad Stand Doubles as Kitchen Accessory
Wired.com New York Bureau Chief John C Abell and I are engaged in the hunt for the perfect iPad stand. Mr. Abell, you may remember, got all creative and hacked together a shallow-angled typing stand from a pair of Home Depot door stops. I don’t type enough on the iPad to need that, so I currently use a perspex business card stand. The Wooden Desktop Cradle for iPad looks like it may serve both our needs. The block of heavy wood is a simple slab with a pair of slots routed out. One slot will hold the iPad at 45º for typing and desktop use, the other at 18º for use as a photo-frame or movie-stand. I’d be a little worried using such a thing when typing: The iPad is held along a single edge, and tapping away on the keyboard would turn it into a lever with startling glass-bending powers. For watching movies, though, it looks near-ideal. I have recently repurposed a Kradle Kindle stand, a very similar design (one which I called the World’s Ugliest Accessory) as the perfect in-bed iPad holder. Its large footprint makes it stable on a soft mattress, and – like this wooden cradle – it is flat, making storage and transport easy. Better still, flip it over and you have yourself an instant picnic chopping board. $18, available now. Wooden Desktop Cradle for iPad [USB Fever] See Also:
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Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:01 am iOS 4.1 finally implements AVRCP stereo Bluetooth controls
Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief, friends, for Apple has finally implemented the Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) into iOS 4.1, and all is well with the world. A2DP (the profile responsible for sending stereo audio over Bluetooth) has been a feature since iPhone OS 3, and — to me — seems a logical pairing with AVRCP, so why Apple didn’t add them to the OS at the same time is a bit of a mystery. But who am I to question the team behind one of the most successful products in the world? [via TiPb]
Source: MobileCrunch | 15 Jul 2010 | 7:23 am It's Time Apple Fixed the iPhone 4 Antenna ProblemWired.com staff agrees that Apple should fix the iPhone 4's antenna issue, pronto.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:29 am Gorillapod-Inspired Tripod Looks Like Robot Skeleton
Clearly “inspired” by Joby’s popular Gorillapod, the RM-110 Spide (yeah, we know: spelling fail) from Fotopro is another flexible, ball-jointed camera tripod. Unlike the Gorillapod, the Spide looks like a Terminator’s skeleton. The Spide has a few other differences. First, the feet are interchangeable. You can choose from spikes, suction cups, magnets and regular soft-stepping rubber. Another addition is locking balls: The Gorillapod hangs on tight enough, but the Spide’s joints can be completely immobilized by clamping them shut with a screwdriver. This is probably less useful than it sounds: one of the best features of the Gorillapod is that it is so quick to deploy. I wonder, too, about the build quality. A look at Fotopro’s site isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring. Amongst the odd sections (“shooting-sticks” and “working sticks”) you’ll such wonders as the “Charming Red Tripod” and the “Self-Fotor“. If you’re interested, the Spide will make it onto US soil in the last part of the year, for around $60. Those of you who are annoyed by bad spelling might want to save up a few Rs (or even a Y) in the meantime. Fotopro’s fully adjustable flexible tripod with interchangeable feet [Gizmag] Product Site [Fotopro] Image credit: Gizmag See Also:
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Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:07 am It’s Time Apple Fixed the iPhone 4 Antenna Problem
The iPhone 4 antenna problem is real. Apple needs to step up and make things right for the customers affected by it, and that may be what the company plans to do during a last-minute press conference Friday. The press conference will start 10 a.m. at Apple’s town hall in Cupertino, California, and Wired.com will provide news coverage of the event. You can also follow follow @gadgetlab or @bxchen on Twitter to stay plugged in to the news in real time. Multiple independent tests have found that the iPhone 4 was more likely to suffer from attenuation (i.e., signal degradation) compared to similar handsets, when held in a very natural position covering the antenna gap in the lower-left corner. The tests so far, performed by Consumer Reports and some bloggers, aren’t perfectly scientific, but they are consistent and repeatable. They point to the same inescapable conclusion: The iPhone 4’s antenna issues are related to a hardware design flaw. That’s not a problem that can be resolved with an upcoming software update to correct the way the iPhone 4 displays signal strength, as Apple has promised. On top of that, the reader reports about this issue continue to pour in to inboxes of several tech publications, including Wired, Gizmodo and Engadget. Sure, there are lots of reasons to cheer about the iPhone 4. We like it, too, as shown in Wired.com’s very positive review of the device. In that review we did note the iPhone 4 is not a reliable phone, but a great overall device, particularly if you’re among that growing majority of people who use their phones more for Twitter and e-mail than for talking. And in our own tests, as well as the reports of many readers, the antenna problem is not especially serious. It is likely that it only affects the minority of iPhone 4 customers, either because of quirks in Apple’s manufacturing process or because those users are in especially weak signal areas. Still, even if the antenna issues are affecting a minority, the minority population for the iPhone 4 is big. Keep in mind this device is on track to be the best-selling phone ever, with sales topping 1.7 million in the first three days of launch. Apple has long been a brand respected for excellent customer service and rock-solid industrial design. Wired.com believes that Apple should do the following in order to retain the respectability of its brand and loyalty of customers: Change the antenna designA full hardware recall, which an analyst estimates would cost Apple $1.6 billion, isn’t necessary. But at this point, Apple can still remedy the hardware defect in later shipments. Provide free bumpersOn Apple’s support website, iPhone 4 customers should be able to request a free bumper if they report experiencing attenuation. It’s an easy enough fix that’s been confirmed to alleviate the problem, for those who don’t mind wearing an ugly bumper. Replace the phone for those who askIf iPhone 4 customers bring their handsets into an Apple Store, they should be able to exchange the device for a newer “fixed” model at no charge, as long as they’re under warranty. We think many users will be satisfied with a free case — in addition to providing antenna insulation, it also protects the iPhone’s two glass faces — but for those who aren’t, a replacement phone is a fair deal. These steps may cost Apple a lot of money, but it’s the right thing to do. And whatever the cost, it’s nothing relative to the long-term damage that this problem will inflict on Apple if it goes unfixed. For proof, look no further than the billions of dollars in market capitalization that Apple has shed since the iPhone 4 launch. There’s no clearer sign that the market wants this problem fixed, and now. We agree. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:00 am Model-Kit Business-Card Transforms into Plane, Car, Boat
If you worked at Tamiya, the Japanese model-kit company, you’d have the chance to hand out the coolest business-card ever made. At first glance the letters on the “card” look like a stencil cut into plastic. Peek a little closer and you see that it is itself a tiny model kit. Break the letters from their surrounding frame and then snap them together. Depending on which card you have, you’ll end up with a Formula One car, a warship or a fighter-plane. According to the Coloribus advertising archive, the cards proved so popular that they had people “rushing to the shops” to ask for them. The downside? Once the recipient has ripped your card apart to make a model, he no longer has your contact details. Oops. Model Kits Shop: Tamiya Business Card [Coloribus via the Giz] See Also:
Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter. 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:43 am LaCie XtremKey Laughs in the Face of Danger
Crash! Bang! Whack! Bubbbbble! These words, when used anywhere near your precious data, should terrify even the most casual of computer users. Data storage devices are weak and pathetic, and even the solid-state storage found in a USB-key or MP3 player is susceptible to drops, heat, water and roaring flame. LaCie’s XtremKey laughs at these dangers, all as it keeps your bits safe inside a tough, screw-shut metal tube. The blurb:
Impressive, right? The USB2 pen-drive is waterproof to 100 meters (330-feet), can be dropped from 5-meters (16-feet) and can suffer temperatures as low as -50ºC (-58ºF) and as high as 200ºC (392ºF). Better, when sat on your desktop it wobbles cockily on its round edge, daring you to knock it over. The drives run from 8GB up to 64GB and start at $50. LaCie XtremKey: The World’s Most Adventurous USB Flash Drive [Lacie via Uncrate] Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.. 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:02 am First Look: Samsung Vibrant Rips off iPhone 3G DesignSamsung'S new Android phone on T-Mobile shockingly mimics Apple's iPhone 3G in its hardware design and user interface.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 15 Jul 2010 | 5:00 am
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The Golden State Warriors have a deal in place to sell for $450 million, the largest amount ever for an NBA franchise. That’s nice, but what does this have to do with tech? One of the key partners in the team that made the winning bid is also a partner at the famous Silicon Valley venture capital firm 
. The whole thing's amazing.
Toshiba made a bit of a mistake back in early June. They ran a series of ads in Germany, England, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, promising that if someone bought a Toshiba product before the end of the World Cup, and your team won it, Toshiba would refund your purchase. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well.. you’ve got to read that fine print.
Apparently changing the look of the Xbox 360 was the thing to do for Microsoft; they saw a huge jump in sales or the month of June, surpassing even the Wii by about 30,000 units.
Living in ski county, I hear every year about skiers and snowboarders that have sustained head injuries from crashing into trees, pylons, rocks, each other, etc.. There’s always a risk of head injury, and a smart person wears a helmet no matter what they are doing. 
Famous rock band Guns N’ Roses released their latest album, Chinese Democracy, in November, 2008. It had been in development for an astonishing 15 years. That’s partially why Kevin Cogill got into so much trouble. You’ll recall that he was caught uploading tracks from the then-unreleased album in June, 2008. While he managed to dodge jail time, Cogill was given a year of probation and two months of home confinement. He was also supposed to take part in a public service announcement on behalf of the 
It seems like a whole bunch of you went and bought a Droid X despite my “don’t buy” rating on account of Motorola’s 
Rampant speculation is the standard precursor to any Apple (AAPL) event, and 
If you’ve ever used your iPhone to listen to music wirelessly, you’ve probably been pretty peeved that the controls on your bluetooth headphones/car stereo didn’t work. Sure, you could play/pause tracks, but having to use your iPhone to skip them? Sooooo 2004…
