Serkadis

Recent Updates RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

Serkadis 1:23 am on February 19, 2012 Permalink | Reply

well well

Reply Cancel reply

Name

Email

Website
davidkirkpatrick 4:27 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

The right v. the ACLU
Conor Friedersdorf has a great post at True/Slant on one example of how the right (wrongly) vilifies the ACLU. That’s one thing I’ve always found very, very strange. The ACLU and the Cato Institute walk in virtual lockstep on practically every civil liberties issue. Since civil liberties are the sole focus of the ACLU and Cato is a decidedly right-leaning (actually libertarian) think tank, it seems a bit strange to try and label the ACLU as so anti-right wing. Personally I’m a pretty big fan of both organizations (you can find evidence of that in my blogroll).

From the link:

It’s almost as if the conservative media complex is systematically misleading its audience about the nature of the ACLU, so much so that right-of-center commentators across the Internet spontaneously mocked the organization for failing to intervene on the right side of this case, despite it being precisely the kind of case where the ACLU reliably does exactly what the critics themselves would want.

Perhaps the confusion comes from listening to talk radio hosts and reading blogs that cast all of American politics as a grand struggle between the left and the right, liberals and conservatives, tyranny and liberty. The rank and file, rightly judging that the ACLU operates on the left, automatically concludes that they are the enemy in any case worth caring about.

Awhile back, Jonah Goldberg doubted whether or not there were actually compelling examples of epistemic closure on the right. Well, there you go: an information loop so faulty in explaining the ACLU to its audience that even a blog called Stop the ACLU doesn’t understand what’s going on.

(Hat tip: the Daily Dish)
Harvard Gazette Online 4:26 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Turkle talks technology, intimacy
“Technology proposes itself an architect of our intimacies,” explained Massachusetts of Technology Professor Sherry Turkle to an engrossed audience at the Harvard University Extension School. The event, “The Tethered Life: Technology Reshapes Intimacy and Solitude,” was the concluding public event of the School’s yearlong centennial celebration.

“As we instant message, e-mail, text, and Twitter, technology redraws the boundaries between intimacy and solitude,” she said. “Teenagers avoid the telephone, fearful that it reveals too much. Besides, it takes too long; they would rather text than talk. Adults, too, choose keyboards over the human voice.”

Tethered to technology, we are shaken when the unplugged world does not signify or satisfy. “After an evening of avatar-to-avatar talk in a networked game, we feel — at one moment — in possession of a full social life, and in the next, curiously isolated in tenuous complicity with strangers.”

In this thought-provoking lecture, Turkle, who is founder and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, shared her observations on the significant impact technology has had on our personal lives — on our children, our families, and our notions of privacy, and how it has offered us less than positive substitutes for direct face-to-face connection with people in a world of machine-mediated relationships on networked devices.

The May 14 lecture was based on Turkle’s new book, “Alone Together: Technology and the Reinvention of Intimacy and Solitude,” due for release by Basic Books in January 2011.
Serkadis 4:24 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Mom Who Used Son’s Facebook Account Found Guilty Of Online Harassment
We’re somewhat skeptical of the various “cyberharassment” laws out there, as they leave themselves wide open to interpretation (often in dangerous ways). In April, we wrote about one case involving a son who sued his mother for harassment after she used his Facebook account (she went to the computer and he had not logged out) to post angry messages on his wall, pretending to be him, and then changed his password and locked him out of the account. (As a quick aside: I just checked, and as with most online services, Facebook appears to require you to type in your old password before you can enter a new one — so I’m wondering how she had access to his existing password…).

Either way, Rose M. Welch alerts us to the news that the mother has been found guilty, told to pay $435, given a 30-day suspended jail sentence, and ordered to take both anger management and parenting classes. Clearly, what she did was wrong, though I do wonder if it really reaches the level of harassment. Some of the judge’s reasoning also is a bit suspect. Part of the reasoning for the guilty ruling was that the mother had left messages on her son’s voicemail that included curse words. The son is 17, so it’s not like he hasn’t heard those words before — and the mother insisted that this was part of their normal joking banter. The judge, however, declared it “totally, completely inappropriate.” Now, I’m not going to say that leaving voicemail messages to your children with curse words is a good parenting technique, but it still seems a bit extreme to use that as evidence of harassment.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

&rtv=p29198&rtv=f8626"/> .8626,cat.TechBiz
.rss"/>
BKessler 4:24 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Who’s the greenest roommate in the land?
Green Right Now Reports

Got a rabidly green roommate who times your showers, follows you around turning off lights and has lined all the window sills with edible plants?

Apartments.com is looking for the Roommate of the Year

Turn this difficult experience into a winning proposition: Nominate him or her for Environmental Roommate of the Year. They might just win grand prize of $10,000, which should at least allow you to mooching rights to their solar charger.

Or, if you’re the geekiest green roommate you know nominate yourself and buy offsets with that 10K (maybe). The winner also gets free rent for a year.

The contest is a promotion by Apartments.com. The green award is one of several offered in their 2nd annual Roommate of the Year Contest.

You’ll have to put together a video about yourself or your roommatet, and make the deadline of June 14, 2010 at midnight EDT. See the website for details.
MG Siegler 4:23 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Augmented Reality Space Invaders: Expensive. Impossible. Awesome. [Video]
Augmented Reality may not be super practical yet. But it sure is cool, and a lot of fun. And a new Android game looks to make it even more fun.

Space InvadAR is a new Android game by Zenitum. It’s the world’s first “vision-based” AR game, according to the team. And it looks awesome — watch the video below.
Annie Lowrey 4:19 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Unemployment Benefits Are Stimulus
Robert Reich has a good column on”why deficit hawks are killing the recovery.”

Consumer spending is 70 percent of the American economy, so if consumers can’t or won’t spend we’re back in the soup. Yet the government just reported that consumer spending stalled in April – the first month consumers didn’t up their spending since last September. Instead, consumers boosted their savings, probably because they’re worried about the slow pace of job growth (next Friday’s report will likely show gains, but the number will continue to be tiny compared to the overall ranks of the jobless), as well as a lackluster “recovery.” They’re also still carrying enormous debt burdens. One in four home owners is still underwater. And median wages are going nowhere.

So what’s Congress doing to stoke the economy as consumers pull back? In a word, nothing. Democratic House leaders yesterday shrank their jobs bill to a droplet. They jettisoned proposed subsidies to help the unemployed buy health insurance, as well as higher matching funds for state-run health programs such as Medicaid. And they trimmed extended unemployment insurance. “Members who are from low unemployment areas are very concerned about the deficit,” Nancy Pelosi explained.

It is worth noting explicitly that unemployment benefits are stimulus, and a highly effective form of it. When the government cuts an unemployed person a check, that person is necessarily jobless. He tends to have close to nothing in savings; Harvard’s Raj Chetty has calculated that the median person currently unemployed had only $250 in liquid savings at the time of job loss. He tends to have no other source of income. And so he generally goes out and spends his unemployment check — raising consumption, that all-important 70 percent of the economy — rather than saving it. That means that if Congress trims $40 billion in unemployment benefits, it trims $40 billion in stimulus and somewhere close to $40 billion in consumer spending as well.
Rosa Golijan 4:06 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Skype App Coming to Android Marketplace Soon? [Android Apps]

Despite talk of an exclusive agreement with Verizon, the folks at Skype are now saying that a Skype app will hit the Android Marketplace later this year and be available to everyone regardless of carrier. [SkatterTech via Android Central] More »

Android – AndroidMarket – Handhelds – Verizon – AndroidMarketplace
Nick Chambers 4:05 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Navistar Will Sell Electric 2-Ton Commercial Truck in Oregon First

Earlier this month Navistar announced it had begun production of the first Class 2c-3, 2-ton, medium-duty commercial electric truck in the U.S. — the eStar. It’s also the same vehicle that FedEx has announced it will be testing for fleet use in LA this year.

Now Navistar says that the first market the eStar will be commercially available is in “one of the nation’s most environmentally sustainable cities and a leading advocate for energy-efficient transportation,” Portland, Oregon.

(more…)
Annie Latham 4:05 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Talkin’ Palm – Edition 42

The arrival of the Palm Pre Plus in the UK (Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus Available Soon for O2 Customers in the UK ), buzz about HP’s first webOS tablet and the possibility of a HP webOS printer, and more reviews of the Palm Pre Plus were the main topics talked about this week. There was also quite a bit of interest in the SIM unlock now being available for AT&T Palm Pre Plus. And speaking of AT&T, we mentioned last week how the Pixi Plus will be available on June 6. The big question is whether the next day, Steve Jobs will be unveiling the next generation iPhone at the Worldwide Developer’s Conference AND if AT&T will remain the exclusive carrier.

Let’s talk Palm…

read more
Serkadis 4:02 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Harry Potter Stars Saddened as the Series End

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson feel nostalgic as they are down to the last two weeks of shooting the final Harry Potter film. Radcliffe, 20, said at the National Movie Awards in London, “I will be devastated (when it’s over). There is nothing I watch without it triggering a series of memories. Everything (about the films) is so linked to my life. At the same time, it is exciting. It is the end.” Producer David Herman said, “We will finish in two weeks’ time. It is a very strange feeling. We have been 10 years together.”

The Harry Potter series that started their careers began ten years ago and the last scenes of the second installment of the final film, Deathly Hallows, are being shot in London this week. “I feel like someone’s dying, I know that sounds like an exaggeration but I really do,” said Watson who plays Hemoine Granger in the Harry Potter series. “I’m not planning to do anything this summer – I’m going to need time to collect myself and get myself back together a bit. So I’ll take a bit of a break.” She added “This kind of love and recognition is just incredible. It is also really emotional for me. I am proud.”

Deathly Hallows is split into two movies where the first half will be shown this November and the second in July 2011.

Related posts:
Dwyer Arce 4:01 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

India court charges ex-MP in connection with anti-Sikh riots

[JURIST] An Indian court on Friday charged Sajjan Kumar [official profile], a former member of the Parliament of India in the ruling Congress Party [official websites], in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots [TOI backgrounder]. Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta of the Northeast District of Delhi [official website] charged [TOI report] Kumar and five others with conspiracy, murder, dacoity, and promoting enmity between communities under the Indian Penal Code [text]. The court found sufficient evidence to presume that a conspiracy and speeches made by Kumar incited the riots. The court is scheduled to begin hearing witnesses July 1. Kumar and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty, and, if convicted, they could face the death penalty.

The case was transferred [PTI report] from a special judge in the Central Bureau of Investigation [official website] to the Delhi court in April. The riots were precipitated by the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards in retaliation for Operation Blue Star [BBC backgrounders], a military campaign against Sikh militants. The riots spanned three days in October and November 1984, mostly affecting communities in Delhi, and leaving thousands of Sikhs dead.
IEA Government Relations 4:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Capitol Report for May 28, 2010
Double Overtime!

It appears that the General Assembly may be trying to take a page out of the Chicago Blackhawks playbook. While the Hawks were able to claim victory in overtime in a critical game last week, it’s unclear whether the Illinois General Assembly will be as fortunate.

The arbitrarily scheduled legislative adjournment date of May 7 came and went. We anticipated the GA when it returned this week, would resolve the key issues; what funding for public education would look like, what new revenue might be adopted and how the pension payments to the systems might be resolved. To date, we have little or no resolution on these issues. Now, lawmakers have recessed, with plans to come back at some uncertain date to address the state budget and pension payments to the systems.

The question is ”Will they come back prepared to address the needs of the state or just come back and create more uncertainty?”

The Budget

The House and Senate concurred on a budget, a budget implementation bill and an emergency budget powers bill for fiscal year 2011. This is the money we expect to go to schools as grants from the various agencies (Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board).

For K-12 schools, the appropriation for FY10, for all grants, according to the ISBE, was $7.2 billion. The combination of bills this year gives us flat funding for GSA ($4.615 billion) and for mandated categorical funding ($1 billion). An additional $371 million is appropriated to ISBE for grants to schools in SB 1215. That comes to a total of $6.9 billion for FY11, $367 million less than the total grant money for FY10, or about the approximate $300 million we’ve been expecting the cut to be for FY11.

For higher education the appropriation (for operations) is the same for FY11 as it was for FY10, $1 billion.

Much is still uncertain, given that Gov. Quinn can withhold money from various state agencies to manage the state’s cash flow. The governor can hold back approximately 20% of the total appropriations. We don’t yet know how this will play out for education.

Budget Legislation

HB 859 (Currie, D-Chicago/Trotter, D-Chicago) contains the state budget. It has passed both Houses and will now go to the Governor’s Desk.

SB 3660 (Cullerton, D-Chicago/Currie, D-Chicago) contains the Emergency Budget Act, which gives the Governor broad authority on how to implement the budget, allows the Governor the use of interfund transfers, except for funds that have a continuing appropriation, and includes the tobacco securitization. The tobacco securitization provision will allow the state to borrow $1.2 billion against future tobacco settlement money. In essence, the state forgoes those contributions/payments for a lump sum payment of an estimated $1.3 billion that will be used today to fund the state budget. This is a one-time payment and will make next year’s budget even more difficult to create unless new revenue is found. The bill has passed both houses and will now go to the Governor’s desk.

SB 3662 (Trotter, D-Chicago/Currie, D-Chicago) is the Budget Implementation Act. IEA opposed Amendment #3 of this bill because, if the appropriation is insufficient, the Illinois State Board of Education can short the GSA grant and make the full poverty payments. While this provision may benefit some districts with high concentrations of poverty, it would hurt ALL school districts, as everybody else would get shorted. The bill has passed both houses and now goes to the Governor’s desk.

SB 44 (Schoenberg, D-Evanston/Yarbrough, D-Maywood) is an additional $1 per-pack tax on cigarettes. The revenue from this new tax would be used to fund mandated categorical aid payments to school districts. The bill is expected to generate an additional $175 million in revenue for Fiscal Year 2010 and an additional $175 million in revenue for Fiscal Year 2011, for a total two-year gain in cigarette excise and use tax of $350 million. The legislation has run into resistance in the House and it is uncertain whether it will be acted upon to assist with the education budget. IEA supports this legislation.

Pension Payments

SB 3514 (Schoenberg, D-Evanston/Currie, D-Chicago) is the pension bond legislation that would make it easier for the state to make its payment to the state retirement systems (TRS and SURS included) this year by allowing the State to borrow an estimated $4.1 billion at a low interest rate (4.1%-4.5%). The alternative, legislating a pension payment holiday (delayed payment), would cost the taxpayers $58 billion according the bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA).

The IEA supports this legislation. The House passed this bill, but the Senate did not act on this legislation before adjourning on Thursday night.

Pension Continuing Appropriation

If SB 3514 never makes it to the governor’s desk, the state retirement systems (TRS, SURS, SERS, JRS and GARS) may still receive their required pension payment. This is due to a law called the State Pensions Continuing Appropriations Act (SPCAA). The threat is that the legislature may still decide to change this section of the law and appropriate a lower amount than the current law requires. There may simply not be enough money in the state’s coffers to make a payment to the retirement systems without creating tremendous hardships for education funding. The required pension payment for this new fiscal year is an estimated $4.5 billion, which is an increase of $500 million from last year’s payment of $4.0 billion.

This could be the third consecutive year where the SPCAA is used to enact pension funding. State Comptroller Dan Hynes made all payments required of TRS last year as directed by the Act. SURS received smaller payments initially, but did end up receiving all of its contributions for last year. We are concerned that this year may be more difficult for the comptroller to manage this task.

The IEA has been successful in preventing a change to the State Pensions Continuing Appropriations Act and will continue to vehemently oppose any attempts to legislate a pension payment holiday as contained in HB 543. Please contact your state representative and voice your opposition to the pension payment holiday contained in HB 543.

Special Education Hold Harmless

HB 2270 (Forby, D-Benton/Bradley, D-Marion) appropriates $17 million to the State Board of Education for school districts who qualify to receive special education–hold harmless funds. This legislation appropriates funds for the current fiscal year. This IEA-supported measure passed both houses this week and is now before the Governor.

Vouchers

The Illinois House adjourned Thursday without taking another vote on SB 2494, the voucher bill. House sponsor Rep. Kevin Joyce (D–Chicago) filed a fourth amendment to the bill which called for a gradual sunset and a provision requiring state testing.

The sunset would allow the voucher program to continue through the 2026-2027 school year. After the 2019-2020, only the parents of students who had previously received a voucher would continue to be eligible to receive vouchers for those students until they are out of the 8th grade.

All students in a private school which enrolls voucher students would be state-tested if voucher students exceeded 20% of the school’s enrollment. The IEA believes the State would be responsible for the cost of these tests.

The IEA opposes SB 2494 in any form, because of the diversion of public funds to any private school or any other private education institution. This bill would further erode state support of an already underfunded public education system.

Thank you for your calls to members of the House of Representatives in response to the IEA Calls to Action on the voucher issue. Since the House could vote on this bill if they reconvene, please take the time over the next few days or next week to call or email your State Representative about this issue. If your State Representative voted no on the voucher bill the first time it was called, please thank them and reconfirm their no vote. Though the vote was unofficial, click this link to see a video showing how the House members voted.

Principal Preparation Endorsement

IEA supported SB 226 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville/Smith, D-Canton) which provides that individuals wanting to become principals before July 1, 2014, must earn a “principal endorsement” through a program at a university or through a not-for-profit organization in a program approved by ISBE and the Board of Higher Education. The individual also would be required to serve a one-year internship if the principal candidate goes through a not-for-profit organization rather than a university. Current principals holding the general administrative endorsement prior to July 1, 2014, shall have their general administrative endorsements converted to a principal endorsement upon request to ISBE if specified conditions are met. SB 226 was passed by both houses.

Legislation Sent to Governor

Freedom of Information Act

The IEA has sent a letter to the Governor asking for his signature on HB 5154, which prohibits the disclosure of performance evaluations of ESPs and higher education faculty and staff under the Freedom of Information Act.

Health care management in schools

The IEA has sent a letter to the Governor to encourage him to use his amendatory veto power to make changes to HB 6065, which would require a school employee to administer insulin to a student.

HB 6065 creates the Care of Students with Diabetes Act and allows self-administration of medication by a pupil with diabetes and requires teachers and school personnel to volunteer to administer medication to pupils with diabetes. (Download HB 6065 fact sheet).

IEA issued a “call to action” on this legislation and we encourage you to still take action. All IEA members are urged to:
1. Call the Statehouse at 217/782-2000 and ask to be connected to the governor’s office.
2. Once connected, please state your name and the school where you work.
3. Ask that the following message be given to the governor:
“I would like the governor to use his amendatory veto to remove the section of House Bill 6065 that requires ‘Delegated Care Aides’ to administer insulin to students. Thank you.”

Higher Ed Borrowing

SB 642 (Haine, D-Alton)/Bradley, D-Marion) allows all public universities to borrow money to fund operations and improve their cash flow position. The state is far behind in payments to all public universities and the bill allows them to borrow against future tuition revenue and future payments from the state. The bill is supported by IEA and needed to help universities make payroll. The bill is currently before Gov. Quinn for his action. He has said that he will hold the university borrowing bill until the pension borrowing issue is resolved. The Governor is considering expanding the pension borrowing bill to include university borrowing.

G.A. Glossary

Continuing Appropriation

A continuing appropriation is a provision in Illinois law that guarantees a payment from the state for a specific purpose. For example: the state of Illinois has a continuing appropriation for pension funding (State Pensions Continuing Appropriations Act.) This appropriation can be changed by a simple majority vote during the regular legislative session but would require a three-fifths vote in overtime. If there is no appropriation made for pension funding in the state budget, the continuing appropriation provision kicks in and ensures that the state retirement systems (TRS, SURS, SERS, GARS, and JRS) receive full funding as required by law, regardless if there was an appropriation or not. This could be the third consecutive fiscal year where the continuing appropriation provision is implemented due to either no appropriation for pensions in the budget or an appropriation that is insufficient to make the required pension payment.
Serkadis 4:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Markets Tumble Hard In Final Moments Of The Week: Here’s What You Need To Know (BP, SPY)

After falling big on the Spain downgrade announcement, the market avoided an all-out rout. But it was still pretty bad, and after fighting back hard, the bulls ended up blowing it in the final moments of the day.

This is going to leave investors with a sick feeling in their stomach as they contemplate next week

As for the month, the 7.9% decline in the Dow was its worst since February 2009, according to WSJ.

But first, the scoreboard:

Dow: -122.3 (-1.2%)
S&P 500: -14 (-1.2%)
NASDAQ: -20.64 (-0.91%)

And for the top stories of the day:
- SPAIN was the biggie. Not that anyone needed a reminder that it’s in serious trouble, and certainly deserving of being the “S” in PIIGS, but Fitch’s removal of its AAA rating drove the point home. For a full guide to Spanish counterparty exposure, see here >
- Along with the problems of the Spanish government, the banking sector continues its desperate scramble to save itself, with a merger of six more banks.
- BP BP BP. Still an ongoing disaster in the Gulf, despite some signs that for now the oil leak has slowed or stop. Still no hard end in sight. BP gave up nearly all of its gains from yesterday.
- The House has passed the big carried interest tax that private equity managers are worried about it.
- China appears to be changing its stance on North Korea, a sign the dictatorial regime is increasingly isolated.
Join the conversation about this story »
Popular Science 4:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Fastest Integrated Circuit Doubles the Previous Record, Getting Close to One Terahertz [Circuits]

Following up on a 2007 world record for the fastest transistor speed, Northrop Grumman announced today that it has shattered the world record for integrated circuit performance, nearing one terahertz. More »

Technology – Terahertz – Physics – Electromagnetism – Terahertz radiation
Jeremy Korzeniewski 3:59 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Strand Craft 122 super yacht comes with supercar and in-boat garage to hold it
Filed under: Performance, Etc., Design/Style, Luxury

Strand Craft 122 Super Yacht – Click above for high-res image gallery

We know what you’re thinking. What business does a yacht – albeit one as ridiculously lustworthy as the Strand Craft 122 promises to be – have gracing the pages of Autoblog? Somewhat surprisingly, the answer is a garage. And also a supercar. That’s right, this ultra-yacht design study comes with an integrated garage in the stern that houses an 880-horsepower V12-powered supercar.

Despite the fact that the designer has shared next to nothing about the supposed supercar (other than the fact that it can theoretically travel at speeds of over 230 miles per hour), we’re going to go ahead and start referring to it as the World’s Coolest Tender. Feel free to check out the high-res rendering of the machine in our image gallery below.

As far as the yacht goes, we guess that’s pretty cool too… what with power coming from twin Rolls-Royce engines along with an optional booster engine sporting over 14,000(!) horsepower and a top speed of 55 knots. Not too shabby, eh? Price? Well, it’s all theoretical at this point, but even so, we’re guessing we could pool the AB staff’s money together and still only come up with enough money for a quick tour of the harbor in one.

Gallery: Strand Craft 122 Super Yacht

[Source: Strand Craft]
Strand Craft 122 super yacht comes with supercar and in-boat garage to hold it originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 May 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Editors 3:57 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Small business & rural health care insurance
MICRO ECO BUSINESS: Besides the organic apple-a-day, The Center for the Micro Eco-Farming Movement is working on a report on quality and affordable health care insurance for small business farms — urban to rural.

We welcome legitimate information from real farmers or small business owners. We don’t welcome ads for insurance disguised as articles by real farmers or real small business owners.

Right now, here is an excellent PDF from the non-profit Center for Rural Affairs on how health care reform helps with small business and rural health care now and in the future. — http://www.MicroEcoFarming.com
Greg Kumparak 3:55 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Leaked Pics: Samsung’s Android-powered i897 confirmed for AT&T, looks pretty great

Waaay back in April, a handset with strikingly similar specs to the beastly Samsung Galaxy S showed up in the Bluetooth certification database. The big difference here, though, was the model number: SGH-i897. Through good ol’ fashion science (and by that, I mean looking at the model number), we deduced that this guy was headed for AT&T — and we were right.

The titular guys over at AndroidGuys managed to unearth themselves some shots of the i897, and the branding couldn’t be any clearer.

Along with the shots came some new details:
- 5-megapixel camera
- Android 2.1
- Snapdragon CPU. The clock speed couldn’t be confirmed, but it’s presumably running at 1Ghz.
This, in addition to the specs we already knew (Bluetooth, a 4.0″ AMOLED display) are chalking this up into what could very well be AT&T’s first worthwhile foray into Android. (There’s a reason I didn’t review their first Android phone, the Motorola Backflip. My mom always told me: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.)

Check out a few more shots at AndroidGuys.
John Biggs 3:54 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

UPenn students invent Manhacks

Sweet Jupiter’s Loins! Look at this thing. It’s a quad rotor flyer with 20 independent cameras designed to blow through windows and sneak around tight spaces nary a whisper. I’m not sure what’s scarier – the device itself or the sounds it makes.

The folks at the GRASP Lab at Penn created this robot. You may remember them from such hits as “self assembling robot” and Little Ben, the self driving car.
Annie Lowrey 3:51 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

The Subprime Student Loan Crisis
The New York Times’ Ron Lieber has an excellent column on the severe hangover left by the cocktail of cheap credit and spiraling college tuitions: the tens of thousands of young people saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of what is, effectively, subprime student loan debt. In some cases, that student debt is more onerous than mortgage or credit-card debt, since it is difficult to get rid of via bankruptcy.

Lieber elucidates the point by telling the story of Cortney Munna, who lives in pricey San Francisco, makes $22 an hour and owes $97,000 to Citibank and Sallie Mae for her New York University diploma. She is a photographer’s assistant, and has no intention of going into a high-paying career in a field like finance. She is stuck, and her mother might end up selling off her bed and breakfast to rid her of debt.

Lieber’s story is particularly exceptional for making the argument others are loath to make: that Munna’s education was not worth it, and that she would have been better off dropping out and enrolling somewhere cheaper. Of course, on aggregate, people with college diplomas significantly out-earn those without them. And of course, it is impossible to calculate the value of time spent in school or of education for its own sake. But in Munna’s case, where a college diploma makes no difference in her earning potential in her chosen career, remaining in a pricey institution — New York University is the fourth most expensive out of the nation’s 1,800 private colleges — might not have been the right choice.
Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine 3:49 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Kiwi Choice portable solar charger borrows effective technology

Canada’s Kiwi Choice has announced the release of a strangely familiar-looking portable solar charger for mobile devices. The three-panel photovoltaic fan design first used by Solio has found its way to Kiwi’s U-Powered charger. Featuring a powerful battery, LED flashlight and magnetic feet, the product also comes with multiple device connector tips for maximum compatibility…
Continue Reading Kiwi Choice portable solar charger borrows effective technology

Tags: Charger,
flashlight,
Photovoltaic,
Solar

Related Articles:
Derek Thompson 3:48 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Hillary Clinton's Unfortunate Defense of Higher Taxes
Speaking to a DC crowd at the Brookings Institution, Hillary Clinton made an off-the-cuff comment about raising taxes that might get some play in the political entertainment world:

“Brazil has the highest tax-to-G.D.P. rate in the Western hemisphere.
And guess what? It’s growing like crazy. The rich are getting richer,
but they are pulling people out of poverty. There is a certain formula
there that used to work for us until we abandoned it — to our regret,
in my opinion. My view is that you have to get many countries to
increase their public revenues.”

I imagine conservatives itching to point out that Brazil’s payroll tax amounts to 40% of employers’ compensation and 15% of employeess wages, and that Brazil boasts a pretty extravagant social welfare system, including universal health care, social security, and early retirement with full pay. This is our gold standard? they’ll ask.

Brazil is not a good model for the United States’ tax system. It has a wildly different template, with a patchwork of state and federal value-added taxes, marginal income taxes that don’t exceed 25 percent (ours will jump to 38 when the Bush cuts expire) and the aforementioned extravagant payroll contributions. I don’t know enough about Brazil’s tax system to know if it has good lessons for U.S. makers. But I do know that “highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western hemisphere” isn’t a trophy we should necessary seek for its own sake.

I don’t like the higher-tax-rates-are-like-Miracle-Grow argument, because our best revenue-raising taxes aren’t sin taxes designed to punish bad things; rather many of them discourage things we consider to be good, like consumption, and income, and profitable investments. We pay these taxes because they support the government we want.

There’s a better, simpler argument for higher taxes. Americans have collectively and repeatedly voted for federal programs like Medicare, Social Security, a strong national defense, a sturdy welfare net, nice roads and other things that cost more than we’re paying in taxes. The short-term result is a structural deficit. The long-term risk is a rickety debt burden that makes it more expensive to borrow money and harder to run the government programs we like.

It’s really great that a high-tax country is experiencing a consumer-driven boom. It’s not great that one of two political parties in the United States is against all tax increases, ever, no matter what. But these things don’t necessarily have anything to do with each other.

&rtv=p29959&rtv=f33822"/> .33822,cat.TechBiz
.rss"/>

United States – Social Security – Brazil – Brookings Institution – Hillary Clinton
Green Tech 3:48 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Sustainable landscape will sequester greenhouse gas
Onondaga CC will transition its trimmed and mowed lawns and landscape into a more appropriate state of natural flowers and grasses. …

… “implementation of the sustainable master landscape plan will reduce the College’s dependence on lawn-mowing and return portions of the campus landscape to a more natural state of grasses, meadows and wildflowers. While some areas of the campus may look a bit unkempt initially, natural re-growth in these areas will occur over time.” …

Via Onondaga Community College: Master landscape plan.

Sustainable landscape plan (PDF).
CarBlog.co.za 3:48 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Nico Rosberg Decides Never To Bring His RV to Istanbul

Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes F1 Driver, is one freak as he avoids staying at hotels in Turkey for the Istanbul GP edition by lodging in his motor home, but the F1 driver has decided it is his last stay at the motor home in Turkey.

Nico was noticeably frustrated by the Turkish traffic and the transporting charges which he thought were too high compared to the benefits he gained by brining in his personal commuter home to Turkey. Nico openly quipped that it is ‘definitely’ the last time he has endeavored to do it.

Considering his reasons, we believe he has taken the right decisions.
Terrence Murray 3:47 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

The Week In Green Energy: ‘Plug The Damn hole!’

Week of May 24 – to – May 28, 2010

President Obama tours the beach at Port Fourchon with Parish President Charlotte Randolph. The oil spill resulting from the Deepwater Horizon disaster now officially ranks as the worst in U.S. history.

Eager to place a containment dome over a media cycle, that more and more was drawing uncomfortable parallels with the Bush White House’s botched Katrina response, yesterday President Obama held his first press conference in 10 months. During the hour-long media grilling the President defended his administration’s and the federal government’s handling of the 6-week old oil spill. He again vowed that BP would be held accountable for causing what — as of yesterday – is officially the worst oil spill in U.S. history and announced a six months moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling. Shortly before the press conference, word came out that Elizabeth Birnbaum, the head of the embedded Mineral Management Service (MMS), was fired. Since the start of the spill MMS had been under fire for its cozy relationship with the oil and gas companies its regulates.

It was just a few weeks ago that the White House was toying with the idea of pushing through comprehensive immigration reform at the expense of climate change and energy. At the time Arizona had enacted a controversial immigration law that Obama said was “misguided.” But the BP oil spill is turning out to be a big problem for Obama and his administration. Upon learning about the extent of the spill, he is reported to have told aides to “plug the damn hole! Because of the events in the Gulf alternative energy and green policies in general have once again become top priorities. Earlier this week, in a speech at a solar module plant, Obama (finally) pushed for immediate action on the Kerry – Lieberman climate change legislation. He said: “We’ve got to have a long-term energy strategy in this country.” And added: “We’ve got to start cultivating solar and wind and biodiesel. And we’ve got to increase energy efficiency across our economy in our buildings and our automobiles.”

But despite renewed interest by the While House, the question remains: Does Kerry-Lieberman have the votes to pass? Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he won’t release the bill for a full floor debate if it doesn’t have 60 votes coming in. Besides the expected “nay” votes from entrenched climate change deniers, Senators Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Kerry (D-Mass.) a legislation that supports offshore oil and gas drilling. The provisions were included before the BP spill to sway Senators, with relatively little interest in actual climate change issues, to back their legislation. But given what’s happening in the Gulf, these could end-up torpedoing the legislation. Senators from key coastal states (New Jersey, Florida) have said they would vote against the legislation if it expanded offshore drilling. In a recent podcast Michael Levi at the Council on Foreign Relations, has a “hard time” believing Senators Kerry and Lieberman could line the 60 votes the bill needs to pass given what’s happening in the Gulf.

Reverberations from the global financial crisis, which has sent the euro south, is seriously testing China’s green aspirations. This week photovoltaic panel maker Yingli Green Energy said it would shelve its North American expansion because of the global financial instability. The news is a blow for Phoenix and Austin, which had been lobbying for the plant and the jobs and tax revenues that came with it. Yingli’s decision underscores a more general concern with Chinese green energy companies which can produce cheap PV panels or wind turbines but do not have the deep IP knowledge-base that over the long-term can make their products competitive, in good or bad times.

After a record-breaking 2009, thanks to unprecedented stimulus funding, the U.S. wind sector is set to experience a soft-landing in 2010, according to a forecast released Wednesday by IHS Emerging Energy Research, which predicted a 40- to -60 percent drop in new wind installations in 2010, compared to last year. IHS blames the slowdown on the ongoing global financial crisis; record-low natural gas prices, and ongoing regulatory uncertainty. “2010 marks the first time since 2004 that the U.S. wind industry will not surpass the previous year’s growth level,” said IHS Senior Analyst Matthew Kaplan, one of the study’s authors.

VC and PE Watch

This week we learned that Energate, a Canadian developer of home energy management solutions, is looking to raise as much as $14 million from current and new investors as part of a Series C that could happen in the next 12 months. On Thursday the company announced a $7.2 million Series B funding co-led by Montreal-based Cycle Capital’s Fund I and the Ontario Emerging Technology Fund (OETF).

Innova Dynamics, a developer of advanced materials that can be used in cleantech applications, raised $5.5 million in an inaugural financing led by Rho Ventures. MentorTech Ventures also participated in this Series A round.

Solar power plant developer SunEdison and energy-focused private equity fund First Reserve formed a venture to finance solar projects developed by SunEdison. The two companies will first invest an initial $165 million in the venture, which could eventually hold up to $1.5 billion in investment capital.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined cleantech-focused venture capital fund Khosla Ventures as a senior adviser.

Rambling

Could the tens – of – thousands of barrels spewing out every day out of the Deep Horizon well be a boon for cleantech? Yes, a controversial question but one worth posing. In the wake of the BP spill what’s for sure is that it will take a longer and it will be more expensive to develop offshore well. Analysts predict that the six months moratorium on deep water drilling announced yesterday could shave off 200,000 – to – 300,000 barrels per day from U.S. production by 2014. This will help tighten oil supply and increase prices. The reality though is exports from Canada or even the Middle East will easily make up for any decline in U.S. production. So, no the BP spill alone won’t be a game changer favoring cleantech. It is, however, one more rock-solid argument supporting renewable energies over hard-to – access fossil fuels.

Image: PicApp
Kevin C. Tofel 3:46 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Poll: Opera Says 2.6M iPhone Owners Use Opera Mini – Do You?
Some 2.6 million unique iPhone owners are using Opera Mini, according to its maker’s latest State of the Mobile Web report, the first full dataset since the browser arrived for Apple’s iPhone last month. In fact, the iPhone now tops the U.S. list of devices on which Opera Mini is used and is No. 3 on a worldwide basis. But while that sounds good, some of the numbers don’t seem to add up.

For starters, in light of the Opera Mini’s reported 58.9 million users in April, 2.6 million of them using the browser on an iPhone is nothing to sneeze at. And given historical data showing iPhone web use to be high, even when its worldwide market share is low, I’d expect them to greatly boost the overall page views served by Opera Mini. But that’s not the case as shown by Opera’s own graph of PVs in April:

In fact, the browser’s page view trend showed higher growth rates prior to the availability of Opera Mini on the iPhone, not after it. February is an outlier, but that’s likely due to having fewer days in the month. Opera says that in April, the 26.3 million page views transcoded was a scant 1.6 percent higher than in March. Wouldn’t you expect that the web-hungry iPhones would cause April’s numbers to jump? They would — if iPhone users were actually using Opera Mini. Much as I suspected would happen, I believe that Opera Mini is getting installed on iPhones, but it’s not actually being used for browsing in any significant way.

At last check, Opera Mini was ranked as the No. 3 free productivity application in Apple’s iTunes Store, which adds credence to the installation base. But the current version of Opera Mini has a solidly mediocre three-star rating, with 1,495 users giving it five stars and a nearly equal 1,424 users rating it with just one. Notably, you can’t make Opera Mini the default browser on an iPhone.

Opera’s data is on one side of the ring, while my own thoughts are in the other. Maybe this is a good time to for our readers that own an iPhone or iPod touch to cast the final punch. Forget what Opera says about who uses Opera Mini on the iPhone — the real question is: Do you?

Related content on GigaOM Pro (subscription required):
Nicholas Deleon 3:45 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

5,000 Hurt Locker lawsuits filed: Were you targetted?

The first Hurt Locker lawsuits are a-flyin’. Were you one of the lucky winners?

As you know, the movie’s producers hooked up with the U.S. Copyright Group, which, aside from the official-sounding name, is just another one of the many copyright infringement collection agencies out there. It’s about as federal as Federal Express, in other words.

Their gimmick is to send you a letter saying, “Hi. We have information from your ISP that says you downloaded The Hurt Locker using BitTorrent. You have two options: cut us a cheque right now for $1,500, or face the wrath of the U.S. court system.”

Five thousand such lawsuits have been sent so far.

I didn’t download the movie from BitTorrent, so I’m not expecting a letter.
Jules 3:45 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Walk in closet from kitchen wall panels

Materials: Ikea kitchen wall panels

Description: I didn’t want to have bypassing sliding doors for my bedroom closet and thought one door would save space. My house is old but didn’t have much in the way of good salvageable architectural details. I bought some Ikea kitchen cover panels (look for them in the damaged area, they are expensive otherwise) They usually have a lot there which are only damaged on one side. Got some construction adhesive, clamps, and a nail gun. The sliding mechanism for the door is just stock iron pipes and casters from any home store.

~ Mike Izzo, South Jersey
Rosa Golijan 3:40 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

AT&T Will Sell iPhone Insurance For $13.99/Month Through App Store [Att]

Looks like we’ll finally be able to insure our iPhones through AT&T soon. Word is that the carrier will allow us to purchase the iPhone insurance service right through the Apple App Store for $13.99 per month. More »

App Store – IPhone – Handhelds – Smartphones – Apple
Green Tech 3:34 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Solar panel installer training
Course is scheduled for this June 23rd and 24th at Onondaga Community College through SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. …

… “The advanced course is geared toward PV installers and engineers who have experience with PV systems. It offers participants an overview of commercial PV systems in a two-day workshop. The course is recommended for those who have taken an introductory installer course or have previous installer experience.” …

Via SUNY: PV Installer Course.
Sarah Miley 3:33 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

DC Circuit refuses evidentiary hearing for Uighur detainees

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] on Friday refused to order a new evidentiary hearing [opinion, PDF] in the case of five Chinese Muslim Uighurs detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archives]. Instead, in a per curiam decision, the court reinstated its original opinion, which gives political branches exclusive power in determining the release of non-citizens being held by the federal government. In April, the Supreme Court ordered the circuit court to reconsider [JURIST report] Kiyemba v. Obama [docket; CCR backgrounder] in light of the fact that each of the remaining Uighurs has received an offer of resettlement by another country. In response, the circuit court denied the petitioners’ request to remand the case to the district court [JURIST report] for an evidentiary hearing on whether any of the resettlement offers were “appropriate,” holding that it was in the power of the political branches to determine whether a country is appropriate for resettlement. The court further explained that even if the detainees had good reason to reject the resettlement offers, they still possessed no right to be released into the US:

In seven separate enactments – five of which remain in force today – Congress has prohibited the expenditure of any funds to bring any Guantanamo detainee to the United States. Petitioners say these statutes, which clearly apply to them, violate the Suspension Clause of the Constitution. But the statutes suspend nothing: petitioners never had a constitutional right to be brought to this country and released. Petitioners also argue that the new statutes are unlawful bills of attainder. The statutory restrictions, which apply to all Guantanamo detainees, are not legislative punishments; they deprive petitioners of no right they already possessed.

The Constitution Project [advocacy website], a bipartisan think tank focusing on constitutional issues, immediately denounced the judgment [press release]. The group criticized the court’s ruling for being too broad on the issue of the judiciary’s role the release of detainees. Authoring a separate concurring opinion, Circuit Judge Judith Rogers, agreed with the Constitution Project’s assertion that the ruling was too broad, but held that there was no role for the judiciary in this case because the five Uighurs “hold the keys to their release from Guantanamo. All they must do is register their consent” to the proposed resettlement offers.

The DC circuit court’s ruling came in a case informally referred to as Kiyemba I, which is separate from a different suit filed by the Uighur detainees, known as Kiyemba II. In March, the Supreme Court declined to rule [JURIST report] in Kiyemba II, on certain issues surrounding the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Lawyers for four Uighurs detained at Guantanamo were appealing [JURIST report] an April 2009 ruling [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] by the DC circuit court, which held that US courts cannot prevent the government from transferring Guantanamo detainees to foreign countries on the grounds that detainees may face prosecution or torture in the foreign country. Of the 22 Uighurs originally detained at Guantanamo Bay, 17 have accepted offers of relocation to other countries. Two Uighurs were transferred to Switzerland, six to Palau, four to Bermuda and five to Albania [JURIST reports].
Harvard Gazette Online 3:31 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Harvard Grads Choose Public Service Over Big Bucks

It’s college graduation season in the United States.

Even in today’s weak economy, students from prestigious Ivy League universities like Harvard have an extra advantage on the road to financial success. However, not everyone in Harvard College’s Class of 2010 is striving for a lucrative career.

Career choices

Graduation is just days away, and Robin Mount is even busier than usual.

The director of Harvard’s Office of Career Services is matching her students with the right employers and career opportunities, often in the fields of education, international development and public service.

Read more here.
Claudemir 3:28 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Série especial: Kia Soul Edition Irmscher 001

A Kia disponibilizou mais uma das várias versões especiais do Soul, em conjunto com a empresa customizadora alemã Irmscher. Seu mais novo modelo em serie especial se chamará Kia Soul Edition Irmscher 001.

Nessa versão, o modelo incorporá elementos mais esportivos e de maior requinte. Seu sistema de som foi levado mais a sério e ficou mais potente, seus bancos são revestidos em couro com suas laterais imitando fibra de carbono, com sua parte central disponível em couro vermelho. Outros detalhes internos como a capa de seu painel de instrumentos, volante e revestimento da manopla do câmbio, também receberam aplique de couro imitando fibra de carbono.

Por fora, o Kia Soul Edition Irmscher 001 também agradará aos mais jovens e que desejam um visual mais esportivo, oferecendo um pacote especial com novos detalhes em preto em sua carroceria, para-choques, capas dos espelhos retrovisores e na sua coluna, além de adesivos exclusivos da serie e de um jogo de rodas esportivas de 18 polegadas, calçadas com pneus nas medidas 225/45 R18.

A edição especial do Kia Soul Edition Irmscher 001será oferecido na Europa em todas as configurações existentes de motores do mercado local, incluindo a opção de escolher entre o cambio manual ou automáticom além de seus diversos níveis de acabamento.

Kia Soul Edition Irmscher 001

Fonte: CarScoop
Chris Morran 3:25 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Watch Out For Oil Spill Cleanup Investment Scams

In a joint statement from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission, investors have been warned today about the possibility of investment scams being operated by companies claiming to be involved in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reads the statement: “While some of the companies touting their role in the cleanup may be legitimate, others could be bogus operations that are only looking to clean out unsuspecting investors.”

In its attempt to alert consumers to the warning signs of a possible scam, the SEC and FINRA has stated to watch out for companies claiming one or more of the following:

• Products or technologies effective in remediating oil spils or restoring the ecosystem;

• Contracts or expected contracts with BP

• Technical expertise provided to BP or government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency

• Quick, exponential sales growth.

Slick promotions: Don’t get conned by oil cleanup investment scams [Consumer Reports]
Discover Main Feed 3:21 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Obsessive-Compulsive Mice Cured via Bone Marrow Transplant | 80beats
Obsessive-compulsive mice, which were once pulling their hair out from too much grooming, are now sitting pretty. Their cure? A bone marrow transplant. In a study published today in Cell, scientists show an unsuspected link between a psychological disorder and the immune system.

Here’s how they did it:

Step 1 – Finding the Problem

Since excessive cleaning is a behavior, scientists first thought to look for defects in the mouse brain. They noticed that mice with a mutant version of the gene Hoxb8 were the ones cleaning themselves bald. Hoxb8 is important for creating microglia–nervous system repair cells that search for damage in the brain.

Although some microglia start out in the brain, others are born in the bone marrow and move in. Overall, adult mice with faulty Hoxb8 harbored about 15% fewer microglia in the brain than normal. [ScienceNow]

Since many microglia move from bone marrow to brain, the scientists decided to give the compulsive mice, with the mutant Hoxb8 gene, a marrow transplant.

Step 2 — Treatment

They took marrow from mice with regular Hoxb8 and gave it to the compulsive mice mice. Within four weeks, the mice stopped their obsessive cleaning. Within about three months, they had a full coat of hair.

“A lot of people are going to find it amazing,” said Mario Capecchi at the University of Utah, who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2007 for his work on mouse genetics [and was a co-author of the paper]. “That’s the surprise: bone marrow can correct a behavioral defect.” [Guardian]

Step 3 — Prognosis

Scientists aren’t sure why a gene controlling immune cells (the microglia) appears to cure a psychological disorder, but they have some suspicions.

“Why couple behavior such as grooming to the host’s immune system?” the researchers ask in [the paper's] conclusion. “From an evolutionary perspective it may make perfect sense to couple a behavior such as grooming, whose purpose is to reduce pathogen count, with the cellular machinery–the innate and adaptive immune systems–used to eliminate pathogens.” [e! Science News]

Humans have a psychological disorder that mirrors this grooming and hair loss compulsion in mice–the obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder trichotillomania in which people pull out their own hair. But before jumping on this apparent marrow transplant cure, scientists would need to find the particular human gene responsible.

Capecchi warns that bone marrow transplants are too risky to be commonly used against, for example, OCD. Rather, a fuller understanding of the immune system-mental illness connection should produce new treatments. [Scientific American]

Related content:
80beats: Researchers Track the HIV Virus to a Hideout in the Bone Marrow
80beats: Obsessive Compulsive Sufferers May Find Relief With a “Brain Pacemaker”
Discoblog: Where Fat Makes Its Final Stand in the Anorexic Body: In the Bone Marrow
Discoblog: Want the Most Accurate OCD Diagnosis? Visit the Zoo
DISCOVER: Could an Acid Trip Cure Your OCD?

Image: flickr/Bascom Hogue
James Kendrick 3:21 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Typical Day With the Sprint EVO 4G

Photo taken with Palm Pre

I haven’t done a “typical day” post in a long time and as I’ve been running all over the place today it seemed like a good idea. I’ve only had the EVO for a day, and it’s already become second nature to reach for it when I need to do something. The day is a little over half done and here’s how it’s been so far.

The alarm went off at 5:30 as usual and I stumbled out of bed to get some fresh, preprogrammed coffee. The coffee maker with a timer is the single best invention ever, and I’ll fight anyone who disagrees with that. Cup of coffee in hand, I picked up the Sprint EVO 4G to get started. This is a first, I normally grab the iPad but without thinking I grabbed the EVO.

I went through the email that came in while I was snug in bed last night. I love the way Android handles my Gmail; it is like working with email on the desktop. The big screen of the EVO aids the feeling of no compromise doing this. Once caught up on the email I fired up Twitter to find out what was going on with those I follow. I really, really like the Twitter app on Android. It is even better than the Twitter page in the desktop browser, as it thoughtfully provides a home page with everything neatly organized. I like how tightly it is integrated with the browser on the EVO — hit a link for a web page or photo and the browser is opened almost instantly.

When my Twitter work was done, I went to the Google Reader page in the browser to spin through all the RSS feeds I follow. There are usually hundreds of items appearing overnight, and today is no exception. I spin through the item headlines, tapping on items to see a little more information and tagging those items of interest to spend more time with later. The big screen of the EVO helps me make short work of my feeds, all from the comfort of my easy chair.

After showering and getting ready for the day, I sat down in Mobile Tech Manor to get some quick work done. The EVO was sitting on the desk in front of me, and I found myself picking it up when it gave an audio signal that I had some new tweets to read from the people I follow. I like Friendstream, the social network aggregator that HTC includes as part of the Sense interface. The default notification sound is a soft, distinct tone that sounds when new tweets arrive. Checking them on the EVO as desired kept me from paying much attention to Tweetdeck on the Mac, and that led to better concentration to my real work. I was even able to respond to tweets on the EVO using the onscreen keyboard.

I like the keyboard on the EVO — that big screen makes for one that is wider than on other Android phones I’ve used. I make fewer typing errors on the EVO as a result. I usually just stay in portrait orientation to do this, where on other Android phones I always switch to landscape to get a bigger keyboard. Score one for the bigger screen.

After getting some writing done, including this week’s Mobile Tech Manor column, I needed to head out to FedEx and return the Nexus One to Adobe. I decided to go from there to the coffee shop to get some more work done before lunch, so I grabbed my backpack from the bag tree. I threw in the Ferrari One laptop and the iPad. I thought about grabbing the Sprint Overdrive modem as usual, then decided to use the mobile hotspot feature on the EVO instead. With the bag in hand and the EVO in my pocket I headed out the door.
More on Handhelds
Once I arrived at the coffee shop I pulled the Ferrari out of the bag to get it started, and used the HTC widgets on the EVO to turn on 4G and the mobile hotspot. These widgets are a convenient way to control battery consumption by turning off radios not in use. That’s why 4G was turned off — I don’t have coverage in my home office so I leave it turned off to keep the radio from attempting to find the network.

It takes almost a minute for the EVO to connect to the 4G network, which is as long as the Overdrive takes to do the same thing. I then hit turned on the Mobile Hotspot functionality and it took a little while for it to hit the Internet. I was beginning to think something was wrong when Windows 7 on the Ferrari told me I was good to go.

I also paired the iPad to the EVO hotspot, as I like to work with it alongside the computer. I use mind maps done on the iPad for writing projects, and it sits next to the computer. The 4G connectivity was nice and speedy, and both devices had good bandwidth for the duration of my writing session. I must admit it was darn convenient to have the EVO function as the hotspot, negating the need to bring the separate Overdrive.

Soon it was time for lunch, so I threw everything back in the bag and walked down the street to get a nice salad. I had a leisurely lunch break, reading a good e-book on the iPad while eating my salad. The waiter wanted to know if my reader was “one of those iPad things”, a question I get asked a lot. It was a nice lunch break that unfortunately was over too quickly.

That’s as far as I can go with this “typical day” look — I am back in the coffee shop writing this for your enjoyment. It’s a wonderful thing when technology works the way it’s intended, and it helps the work get done without incident. I have a feeling I’ll be buying one of these Sprint EVOs when they are available.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): Are You Empowering Your Mobile Work Force?
Serkadis 3:18 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

More Weakening: Restaurant Business Slides In April
Same store sales and customer traffic both showed declines in April. This was more than offset by a positive outlook in the “expectations index” and the overall index showed expansion in April.

Unfortunately the data for this index only goes back to 2002.

Read the whole post at Calculated Risk >

Join the conversation about this story »
Gregory T. Huang 3:17 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Feedjit, Survey Analytics, SEOmoz Climb Web Ranks
Internet, startups, IT

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Seattle 2.0’s monthly startup index reports that Cheezburger Network and Zillow still lead the pack of local Internet startups in terms of traffic estimates. Feedjit, Survey Analytics, SEOmoz, and Smilebox moved up the ranks in the top 10, while Sporcle, Entertonement, AppStoreHQ, Evri, Zulily, and Onehub made strong upward moves in the top 50. Seattle 2.0 CEO Jennifer Cabala noted that April was a good month for entertainment sites and information discovery services.

Comments | Reprints | Share:

UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS
Rosa Golijan 2:40 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Coming Soon: Printable Prescription Pills [Health]

Only a small portion of the pill you swallowed earlier is actually an active ingredient, the rest is filler. That bit of information is what caused researchers to explore a way to start printing active ingredients onto blank filler tablets. More »

Health – Printing – Medicine – United States – Business
Casey Chan 2:38 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Where Motorola stands on Android updates

Just to ease your fears or maybe tease you even more, Motorola has just updated their official Android update page and timeframes are thankfully getting a little more specific. Leading the way, of course, is the Droid which has completed its Android 2.1 update and the Milestone which is currently rolling out its own update in different parts of the world. Compared to the previous update, the Backflip now has Android 2.1 planned for Q3 and the Cliq and Cliq XT has 2.1 planned for Q2. Unfortunately the Devour’s upgrade is still "under evaluation". It’s very nice of Motorola to keep us updated on their Android 2.1 plans but we wonder if they’ve heard that Android 2.2 Froyo is out and about now.. [Motorola]

This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store
Gregory White 2:34 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

China Triples Size Of African Equity Fund To $3 Billion

China’s Africa development fund is set to triple in size to $3 billion, according to China Daily.

The China-Africa Development Fund (CAD) targets investment projects on the African continent, including both industrial and infrastructure enterprises.

Specifically, the fund has been involved in the creation of a glass factory in Ethiopia and a power plant in Ghana. The fund has also been involved in the creation of “trade zones” in Egypt and Nigeria.

Eventually, CAD is to top out at a total of $5 billion.

Check out where China is investing in oil projects around the world >

Join the conversation about this story »
Zach Bowman 2:31 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Rumormill: Buick wagons, hatchbacks and diesels, oh my!
Filed under: Sedan, Wagon, Europe, Hatchback, Buick, Opel, Rumormill, Luxury

2011 Buick Regal – Click above for high-res image gallery

A fresh batch of rumors kicking around the web are claiming that General Motors is seriously mulling bringing hatchback and wagon versions of the all-new Buick Regal to the States. In the brand’s ongoing quest to shed its status as a synonym for all things elderly, the Tri-Crest has raided the Opel parts bin, slipped a waterfall grille on the nose of the Insignia and called it a day. We were simply glad to hear that the car would be available with a turbo mill and a third pedal, but according to Car and Driver, things are about to get even more interesting.

It turns out the Insignia is available as a hatchback and a wagon in more civilized portions of the world. Jim Federico, the man who led the Regal to the fountain of youth, told C/D that the U.S. will be getting at least one of the other body styles within a few short years, and that there’s a good chance that both of them will show up on dealer lots at some point in the near future. Chances are that’s not exactly ground-breaking news by anyone’s standards, but it gets better. Federico has said that since American wagon buyers are suddenly smitten with the likes of the Jetta TDI Sportwagen, the Regal long-roof will boast an oil-burning powerplant.

Needless to say, our eyes are dish-plate sized at the news. Could Buick possibly offer an all-wheel drive diesel wagon with a six-speed manual transmission? We want to believe, but our skeptical side is in full go-mode on this one.

Gallery: 2011 Buick Regal

[Source: Car and Driver]
Rumormill: Buick wagons, hatchbacks and diesels, oh my! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 May 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Ben Popken 2:24 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Subway To Start Tessellating Cheese July 1?

Three years after the protests began, it seems Subway has finally listened to its customers and will start tessellating cheese on its sandwiches, according to what appears to be an internal weekly newsletter.

http://consumerist.com/assets_c/2010/05/subwaydownunder-40794.html','popup','width=1360,height=774,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">Click to enlarge.

As the image shows, and anyone who has gotten a Subway sandwich knows, most Subways layer their isosceles-cut cheese in an overlapping fashion. This means one side of the sandwich gets more cheese than the other and leaves pockets of zero cheese, resulting in a uneven flavor and texture distribution. As the newsletter says, “This will improve the cheese coverage on the sandwiches.”

We don’t know if this picture is real, although that would be a pretty weirdly specific and not very damning thing to hoax, and have reached out to Subway for comment

Back in 2007, Left-Handed Toons made a cartoon about this policy and helped launch a miniature movement, complete with protest tshirt, which soon fizzled out in the face of Subway not really caring/knowing about it. Now, 2 years, 11 months, and 13 days later, Subway has changed its policy. At least for the Australia/New Zeland area.

Heralding the victory, Drew at Left-Handed Toons writes, “Now is the time for the New Procedure. You can almost picture taking every homogenous bite. It’s okay now. Everything will always forever be okay now.”

Is this a regional test or the first stage in a worldwide phase-in? We can only pray. Or wait for official comment. Either/or.

Effective July 1 – Subway worldwide to phase in tesselated cheese on all sandwiches [Reddit]
Cheesey Victory [Left-Handed Toons Blog]
(Thanks to David!)

PREVIOUSLY:
Subway Cheese Scam Protest Tshirt Designed
Subway’s Incorrect Use Of Isosceles Cheese Actually A Vast Conspiracy
Dear Subway, Please Use Your Isosceles Cheese Correctly
Andy Behrens 2:22 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Tim Lincecum: Injured? Unfocused? Did the gamma rays finally wear off?
OK, so it’s probably not fair to Tim Lincecum (notes) that we won’t allow him to have a rough outing, ever. But he’s a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, and we tend to hold those guys to high standards.

Lincecum has tied his career high in walks (5) in each of his past three starts, and he hasn’t pitched beyond the fifth inning in his last two. He allowed six hits, six runs and four stolen bases in Wednesday’s loss to Washington. His average fastball this season is just 91.3 mph, three ticks below the velocity readings we’re accustomed to.

The locals are concerned enough to write headlines like this:

What the heck is wrong with Tim Lincecum?

If they’re asking the question, then perhaps the fantasy community should consider the issue, too. Before Lincecum’s start on Wednesday, a CSN Bay Area report suggested that he was dealing with a blister on his pitching hand. Lincecum and his manager both denied the report, but the hand itself was unavailable for comment…

Everyone wants answers on Lincecum. A blister would be an easy one, but he and Bochy both pooh-poohed a pregame television report that the pitcher was fighting a blister. But even as Lincecum was denying it was an issue, he kept his hands in his jacket pockets.

In fact, all recaps of the Giants’ loss seemed to mention the fact that his hands were hidden from view. Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News suspects that Lincecum may not have a blister, but a recurrence of another issue:

Back in spring training, Lincecum had a cracked nail on the middle finger of his pitching hand. He even let me snap a picture of it and send it as a joke to a college buddy of mine, who was thinking of drafting Lincecum on his fantasy team. (Note to geeks, and you know who you are: This is not a public service I provide at large.)

At the time, the nail problem wasn’t serious and didn’t look too ugly. But perhaps Lincecum is dealing with the cracked nail issue again. I can’t tell you for sure, because Lincecum had both hands very conspicuously buried in the pockets of his sweatshirt while he conducted his postgame interview.

But maybe he’s not really hiding anything. Maybe he was cold. Or maybe he has plush, inviting pockets. Or maybe he’s sick of having reporters photograph his hands. Dunno.

There’s no denying that Lincecum had control problems on Wednesday, whatever the reason. As Baggarly notes, Lincecum threw only two of 14 curveballs for strikes, and one of the stray curves hit a batter. He also struggled with command of his fastball. In the early innings the heater was 92-94 mph according to Gameday, but Lincecum dialed it down in the fourth and fifth (89-91), presumably in an effort to locate. Nothing really worked. He continued his season-long inability to prevent steals, too, as the Nats were 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts. Lincecum now leads all National League pitchers in steals-allowed (12-for-12) — no simple feat for someone who doesn’t generally allow many baserunners.

Manager Bruce Bochy had a closed-door meeting with his ace on Thursday morning, and his subsequent comments suggest that he’s more concerned about Lincecum’s focus than his health. Here are a few highlights:

"Basically, he’s fine [physically]. Like everybody in this game you’re going to have your hiccups. And Timmy, he’s a little hard on himself, I think, at times. A little frustrated. This guy has set the bar so high that he’s tough on himself when he doesn’t pitch like he’s accustomed to. … [Lincecum] has the ability to do a good job of holding onto runners, vary his
looks, sidestep and things like that. That got away from him. Got a little out of focus I think with runners on. That’s going to happen at times and as a pitcher, you learn from it. …

"There were times when he was working on his command out there, so he was trying to get the ball where he wanted it instead of letting it go. … Timmy, he’s got plenty of fastball. He was at 92 there. That’s kind of been his comfort, 91-92, which is a good fastball. What you don’t want to do is get caught in velocity, where you’re trying to add, and you lose command. I certainly don’t want him doing that. … Some of us — myself — were average players. We’re used to dealing with, you know, tough outings or at-bats, things like that. But you set the bar so high, it’s a little tougher for him, I think."

Well, that ended up being a huge block of text. Sorry. You can’t be expected to read a thing like that. I’ll tighten it up for you:

• Lincecum is apparently not hurt, might have hiccups.

• He’s paying no attention to baserunners, a problem when you walk five batters and hit another.

• His fastball is an easy 91-92 mph and he leads the league in Ks, so back off.

• Bochy thinks of himself as an average player, which is kind of a slap in the face to players who were actually league-average.

There’s no reason for serious concern here. You’ll recall that Lincecum had a miserable spring (0-2, 6.94 ERA) — which panicked a few of you — then won his first four regular season games in his usual dominant fashion (1.00 ERA, 10.7 K/9). His next start is on Monday against Ubaldo Jimenez (notes), in the must-watch pitching matchup of the year. Be there.

As MLB.com’s Chris Haft reminds us, no active pitcher has been more dominant than Lincecum through his first 100 games. But if you’re worried about the velocity thing (which could be a non-thing), I’ll happily take the Freak off your hands. I’m prepared to spend the rest of my day in trade negotiations…

—

Photo via US Presswire
Serkadis 2:20 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Using An Online Map As Part Of Your Criminal Activity Gets You A Longer Sentence In Louisiana
Here’s a bizarre one. Reader withersteen alerts us to a strange new law that has been passed in Louisiana, which will add from one to ten years to your prison sentence if you use an online map in the process of committing a crime:

A bill headed to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s desk would increase penalties for crimes committed with the use of an Internet-generated “virtual street-level map.”

Senate Bill 151 by Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, provides for an additional year in prison for crimes committed using the maps, including acts of terrorism or other criminal offenses like burglary or stalking.

An act of terrorism using the maps could mean an additional 10 years behind bars.

Apparently the bill passed by a vote of 89-0. I’m trying to figure out what the rationale for this law is, and the best I can figure out is that this is a bizarre kneejerk reaction to services like Google’s Street View, and the claims from some that such services could be used to “scout out” crime locations. Of course, the same is true of driving by a location. Will Senator Adley add a new bill that increases your prison sentence if you first drive by the location before committing the crime?

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

&rtv=p29198&rtv=f8626"/> .8626,cat.TechBiz
.rss"/>
Serkadis 2:19 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Video: Hennessey Venom GT prototype goes on the dyno

Hennessey Venom GT on the dyno

We’ve seen the Hennessey Venom GT driving around in Britain near Silverstone and today we get to see the base 725-hp go through some chassis dyno testing. According to Hennessey’s results, the base Venom GT will make 633-hp rear-wheel-horsepower and 641 lb-ft of rear-wheel-torque.

We can’t wait to see the 1,000-hp and the 1,200-hp twin-turbo V8 go under dyno testing.

Click here for more news on the Hennessey Venom GT.

Refresher: Weighing in less than 2,400 pounds, the Hennessey Venom GT is powered by GM’s supercharged 6.2L LS9 V8, which has been modified to produce 725-hp. Hennessey will also offer 1,000-hp and 1,200-hp twin-turbo V8 engine variants. Mated to a Ricardo 6-speed gearbox, the Venom GT is capable of hitting 0-60 mph in 2.2 seconds and will keep going until it hits 262 mph.

Hennessey Venom GT:

Hennessey Venom GT Prototype – Dyno Testing:

Hennessey Venom GT:

- By: Kap Shah
Serkadis 2:14 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Southampton’s Coppers Beach, Ranked the best Beach
Want some breath-taking view and some far-away-from-work vacation? In Southampton, Coopers Beach is the one, grabbed the best beach billing in the rankings.

And these best beach resort follow in the rankings Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida, Coronado Beach Place in San Diego, California, Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii, Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Beachwalk Kiawah Iceland Park, South Carolina; Hamo Beach in Maui, Hawaii and the Cape Florida State Park Key Biscayne, Florida.

Related posts:
Serkadis 2:12 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Changes in the Ford Explorer 2011

Ford changes the original version of Ford Explorer SUV. The new Explorer will be perfect at home, easier on fuel and nicer to drive around town. Jay Ward, a Ford spokesman, said “When we were working on the program we asked our current Explorer owners, ‘Do you guys need the ability to go off road’ and 100% said ‘Absolutely, yes.’ When we asked them, ‘How often do you go off road’, 70% said ‘Never’.” Ford is now making the next Explorer a car-based crossover SUV as it will share engineering with the Ford Taurus sedan. The new explorer will be offered with at least two engines, a turbocharged 4-cylinder (275 HP) EcoBoost engine and a non-turbocharged V6.

Ford sales analyst George Pipas said that between 1995 and 2002, Ford sold an average of 412,000 a year. There was then a rapid slide on the traditional truck-based SUVs and the Explorer. Ford sold only 52,000 Explorers last year and 74,400 in 2008. Ford felt that there was no need to reveal the 2011 Explorer early since it may harm the sales of the said model thus they ought not to release the model at one of the major auto shows.

Ford Explorer 2011 will be released either at the end of this year or early next year.

Related posts:
Serkadis 2:12 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Coopers Beach Is One Of The Best Beaches In America
With beautiful sight, pristine white sand and convenient parking facilities Southampton’s Coopers Beach has been chosen as one of the best beaches in America. This has been chosen as the best beach in an annual survey conducted. According to the director of Florida International University, Dr. Leatherman, New York has some of the best beaches in the world, but people are unaware of it.

Coopers Beach has made it to number one position among the other contenders and this is the first time when something like this has happened with New York. According to Leatherman, it is because of the quality of the water, cleanliness, facilities and safety. Maine beach is also one of the good beaches and it makes to the top place in the list.

Maine beach and Coopers beach both are being considered as one among 10 top beaches of the country. Coopers Beach is really beautiful, and especially the sand the color of water makes it look so beautiful. Everyone is hoping, now that the beach is in top most place it is our responsibility to keep the beach clean and maintain the facilities and make sure that it is always on top.

Related posts:
Marc Perton 2:11 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

CVS Misprices Meds, Offers Refunds If You Say Please

When CVS discovered that prices listed for brand-name drugs on its SilverScript Medicare site were mistakenly displayed at about 4% less than the drugs were actually being sold for, the company quickly fixed the glitch, according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal. But what happened to customers who saw the “low” prices and ended up paying more at retail? According to The Journal, CVS cut a deal with the government, allowing the company to offer refunds only to customers who asked for them. CVS then sent letters to the customers that said they could call and discuss “your options,” and made no mention of the possibility of a refund.

According to the Journal, a computer error caused CVS to provide inaccurate prices to SilverScript’s site, as well as the government’s Medicare site and other sources for Medicare information. The incorrect information was online from October 8, 2009 through January 8, 2010. After fixing the info, CVS contacted the government:

CVS notified the federal regulator, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, about the problem in January. A Medicare spokesman said regulators worked with CVS to craft a response plan, under which CVS would offer a refund for the price difference, but only to consumers who specifically requested that. The Medicare spokesman said CVS also agreed to help unhappy customers switch to another plan.

“The plan’s lapses are … under close scrutiny,” the spokesman said, adding that Medicare has received very few complaints about the problem. …

CVS sent letters of apology to affected customers starting in late March. A letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal didn’t mention the possibility of a refund, but directed a recipient with questions to call a toll-free number to discuss “your options.”

“Did I pay too much for medication?” the letter said in question-and-answer format. The answer: “No.” The letter said the drugs were “priced correctly at the pharmacy, but may have been higher than what the price-comparison tools estimated.”

That doesn’t sit very well with consumer advocates, including Judith Stein of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, who told the Journal that customers “should all get their money back” or get the advertised prices for the full year. “The burden should not be on the beneficiary to prove that’s why they chose the plan.”

Meanwhile, at least one customer who called CVS to ask for a refund was told he had to file a “grievance” and provide a printout of the site showing the lower price. CVS says that’s not the company’s policy, and that anyone who paid more than the advertised price is entitled to a refund. If they ask for one, that is.

CVS Charged Medicare Customers More Than Promised [WSJ.com]
Rick Leventhal 2:09 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

U.S. Marine Killed in Afghanistan
Dispatch from Forward Operating Base Payne in Southern Afghanistan:

Marines with the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (1st LAR) just assumed control of Helmand Province one week ago.

Now they’ve suffered their first casualty.

The 1000th U.S. Service member to die in Afghanistan (by AP’s count) was a Marine with the 1st LAR. He was on foot patrol in the southern Helmand River Valley Thursday afternoon when he was killed by an IED.

Fox News is not releasing the Marine’s name, but can confirm his family has been notified and he is on his way home.

Two other marines on patrol with him were wounded. The men were medivac’d from the scene and are being treated in a military hospital for schrapnel wounds. Sources tell me there was no loss of limbs and they’re expected to survive.

The other Marines on the foot patrol assisted with the medivac and continued on their mission.

The mood on the base is somber but otherwise normal. The Battalion Commander tells me the “battle rhythym has not been disrupted.” We see it firsthand. Marines are feeling the loss but remain focused. This is an unfortunate part of the job, they tell me. Everyone wants and hopes (and sometimes expects) wars to be fought without anyone dying but it’s just not possible.

This is the first casualty suffered by the 1st LAR since taking over this area of operations from the 4th LAR one week ago.

I spoke personally with the fallen Marine’s Company Commander, who I was embedded with during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He spoke very highly of his fallen brother, a man who’s bravery and valor is without question. The Company Commander was calm. His Marines understand the risk, he told me. They will mourn the loss and never forget and they will continue to serve.
Serkadis 2:08 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Report: Proton to announce Volkswagen tie-up soon

2008 Proton Satria Neo

Proton, an automaker based out of Malaysia, is getting set to announce a possible tie-up with Volkswagen in the next two weeks, according to people familiar with the plan. A company official has been quoted as saying they didn’t want to jump the gun, and that the fruits of the talks with VW will be made public in two weeks.

When asked about the venture VW had this to say in an email: “With reference to Malaysia, there are no concrete developments or agreements. We cannot confirm any statements to the contrary.”

Proton’s chairman has said that the company did not need to form a tie-up. it is speculated that some sort of contract assembly or rebadging arrangement in the works. The two companies were in talks back in 2007 regarding VW taking an equity stake in Proton, but those had stalled. Partnerships with Peugeot and GM have since been considered but never actualized.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
Betanews 2:08 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

VoIP picks up and moves to the cloud
By Jack M. Germain, E-Commerce Times

Voice-over-IP technology is getting a makeover, and service providers hope it will reinvent the industry. There’s a shift away from VoIP toward hosted unified communications — that is, integrated voice, instant messenger, e-mail, workflow applications, and procurement.

Eight companies formed the Cloud Communications Alliance at the Cloud Computing Expo held last month in New York City, banding together to help drive the development of cloud-based unified communications.

The alliance includes Alteva, Broadcore, Callis Communications, Consolidated Technologies, IPFone, SimpleSignal, Stage 2 Networks, and Telesphere. Together, the companies represent more than USD$100 million in combined annual revenue and collectively serve more than 110,000 business customers in the United States.

Businesses that have become comfortable with the cloud computing concept are beginning to recognize the advantages of converging cellphones, office phones and computers, as well as the redundancy and cost savings gained through allowing enterprise voice and data communications to reside in the cloud, noted Clark Peterson, chairman of the Cloud Communications Alliance and CEO of Telesphere.

To provide a true hosted unified communications solution for small businesses, Alteva has developed a way to interconnect its cloud-based voice and messaging services with Microsoft Communication Services’ product suite. Alteva’s new technology is also compatible with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS). Alteva is marketing the new UC solution to both its small business and enterprise customers.

Microsoft is actively pushing the capability of a fully integrated communications platform by partnering with Alteva, Comcast, and GoDaddy, among others. The goal is to provide users with more productive communications, improve employee productivity, and enhance office efficiency.

“The Cloud Communications Alliance is not just about Voice-over-IP, hosted PBX or unified communications. We’re introducing an entirely new way to build, deploy and scale enterprise communications systems that provide HD voice services along with a platform of advanced apps and features that allow businesses to work in ways they never imagined,” said Alteva CEO Bill Bumbernick.

It was very awkward sitting in a room full of telecom competitors when future alliance members first started meeting at quarterly trade shows two years ago, Louis Hayner, chief sales officer of Alteva, told E-Commerce Times.

The companies providing VoIP service were starting to recognize the growing need for end-users to be able to connect with other providers — a process called “IP Peering,” he explained.

One of the common problems those corporate representatives shared was how to come up with a standardized training approach. Not all VoIP service providers have the same level of features and functionality, noted Hayner.

“Cloud is all about collaboration,” he said. “Unified Communications is much like VoIP was in its early early days when the cost was too prohibitive. Collaboration among service providers will thrust the new technology forward.”

VoIP in the residential space continues to do well, according to Diane Myers, directing analyst for service provider VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research, and there are several different flavors of VoIP that will continue to grow with business on PBX.

“Last year was tough on the enterprise. Most were keeping a lock on new technology spending, but we saw at the end of last year things were starting to pick up,” Myers told E-Commerce Times. “We saw a really big spike for interest in hosted VoIP service.”

That interest, both from SMB users and larger enterprises, provides fresh opportunities for service providers, she said.

With over 100 vendors in this space, the choices for customers can be overwhelming. Hosted services can be scaled to fit the changing needs of users. Providers that can offer flexible solutions will take the lead in leveraging the emerging interest in hosted unified communications, suggested Myers.

Another opportunity driver is that more businesses are getting comfortable with outsourcing, she said.

A key challenge for smaller service providers is dealing with the hesitancy on the part of larger companies to work with them. Smaller companies come and go in the business world, so the business maturity of the service provider can be a deal breaker.

The eight founding companies of the Cloud Communications Alliance use a software platform provided by BroadSoft to deliver a range of cloud-based IP multimedia communications to enterprises and consumers, said Joe Gillette, CEO of Stage 2 Networks.

These unified communications components include hosted-IP private branch exchanges, video calling, unified communications, collaboration, and converged mobile and fixed-line services.

The organization of the Alliance marks an important milestone in the development of the cloud-based communications category. The group’s commitment to evangelizing cloud-based communications services will help drive customer adoption and broad-scale investment into this next generation of communications, said BroadSoft CEO Mike Tessler.

Besides the typical business benefits from banding together, each alliance participant must have attained certain levels of success. Each of the eight companies grew its business through last year, said Tessler.

“Flat sales is not a part of the membership criteria, but new positioning is important to separate us from a new round of competition to leverage the public Internet,” Stage 2′s Gillette told E-Commerce Times. “We need to focus on quality and service.”

All VoIP services are not the same, and unified communications is not the same thing as VoIP alone.

“Other companies claim to offer UC, but in actuality they are only referring to basic VoIP features such as voice mail messages as a .WAV file in your e-mail,” said Alteva’s Hayner. “True UC is much more than that.”

Alteva’s UC product — with the full suite of Microsoft Communication Services products integrated with Voice over IP phone service — allows for a truly cloud-based UC environment. The cloud environment combines basic business-based technology like voice with office communications such as instant messenger, video conferencing, desktop sharing and telepresence.

“This capability is changing the landscape of enterprise businesses, creating unprecedented productivity enhancements,” Hayner said.

Verizon, AT&T, NGT, Cbeyond, and 8×8 ranked among top business VoIP services leaders in the annual North America Business VoIP Services Leadership Matrix from Infonetics Research.

“VoIP services sold to the residential/SOHO market still make up the lion’s share (about three-quarters) of total VoIP service revenue,” said Infonetics’ Myers.

However, there was a pickup in business VoIP service revenue growth in late 2009, her research indicates.

Furthermore, service providers reported increasing interest in hosted VoIP services across all sizes of businesses, including large enterprises, Myers noted.

“We expect this trend to continue as more companies turn to hosted services for their voice needs, with business VoIP services making up almost a third of all VoIP service revenue by 2014,” she predicted.

The smaller VoIP service providers may face a fight for survival. Their challenge will be to pull customers away from the large established providers, according to Myers, and the way to do that is through meeting highly specific client needs.

Originally published on LinuxInsider.

© 2010 ECT News Network. All rights reserved.

© 2010 BetaNews.com. All rights reserved.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

&rtv=p29912&rtv=f21515"/> .21515,cat.TechBiz
.rss"/>

United States – SimpleSignal – BroadSoft – Voice over Internet Protocol – Unified communications
AdweekMedia 2:07 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Kraft flavored mayo works wonders on any fixer-upper sandwich

Kraft is bolstering its flavored mayonnaise with a dash of star power, courtesy of HGTV Design Star‘s Candice Olson, Genevieve Gorder and Vern Yip. Wel, OK, "star power" is pushing it, but they’re nevertheless the new faces of Kraft’s Sandwich Shop brand, making over humdrum sandwiches in TV spots from mcgarrybowen patterned after reality shows. There’s also a range of print material, including one ad that goes so far as to "deconstruct" the sandwich. For those of you trying to pinpoint the exact spot at which post-modernism died, look no further. The campaign is geared toward bored middle-aged women who look to makeover shows for inspiration, hence Kraft’s repetition of phrases like "go bold by stepping outside the flavor norm," which I can just hear Vern Yip saying with complete sincerity. Not for nothing, but mayonnaise hasn’t inspired much except possibly heart disease, and there’s a real difference between dramatically altering your appearance or living space and eating a BLT that tastes slightly different than before. It may still work, especially considering the amount of money Kraft is putting behind it, but it’s definitely a stretch.

—Posted by David Kiefaber
Annie Lowrey 2:03 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

The Crisis of Long-Term Unemployment
This week, Jesse Rothstein, the chief economist at the Labor Department, spoke at the Economic Policy Institute, and the organization just posted the slides. Congress is losing its stomach for funding extended benefits. But, as the slides show, long-term unemployment remains a major problem.

The chart underscores this point: For the economy to really start improving, hiring needs to be much stronger and the unemployment rate needs to start dropping much more quickly.
Serkadis 2:01 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

GM ends partnership with Reva, will make EVs a Motown exclusive affair

Chevrolet Spark – Reva Electric Car

GM has ended its partnership with Indian company Reva Electric Car Co., whereby the latter would help the former produce electric cars. GM has decided to make their electric car operation a Motown exclusive affair. The move comes after Mahindra & Mahindra has agreed to buy a 55 percent controlling stake in Reva.

GM India, which had originally planned an electric version of the Chevy Spark to be marketed in the country, will instead showcase the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid in Q4 2010. It is still unknown as to when there will be a full-fledged presence of electric vehicles in the Indian market.

According to GM insiders, a decision was reached about two months ago; GM had a parallel program by which they will develop electric cars on a global scale. The company had announced in January a plan to build a $246 million facility in which to build electric motors.

GM’s joint venture with Chinese company SAIC Motor Corp. will commence with the launching of small commercial vehicles late next year, with passenger vehicles to follow the year after.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
Laura Northrup 2:01 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds: Best Of The Cat Picture Drive

“Consumerist needs your help in order to alleviate our cat picture shortage!” we said.

“I’m broke,” a few readers replied. “But I have cat pictures!”

“Send ‘em over,” we said. And thus the great Cat Picture Drive of 2010 was born. Donations poured in from all over the world. Readers submitted them to our Flickr pool, and e-mailed them to us. It was magical. So here it is: a very special Flickr Friday, featuring the greatest kitteh pics.

(asrusch)

(bvcphoto)

(Christine)

(Ari)

(felixthedeadcat)

(aaron8301)

(dooley)

Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers go and upload photos of cats, and of other things, for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right, and start hitting “send to group” on your individual photos you want to add to the pool.
Serkadis 12:10 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz – Engagement and Pregnancy

Alicia Keys is pregnant and engaged Swizz Beatz. Keys and her producer-beau, Swizz Beatz, are “very happy” with the news. According to their reps, the couple is set to be wed “in a private ceremony later this year.” Alicia Keys, 29 year old, said “It is one of the most beautiful experiences to have in this life and I am looking forward to it when it is my time.” This is the first pregnancy of Keys and will be the third child of Beatz who had two sons from his previous relationships. The two sons of Kasseem Dean (real name of Swizz Beatz) are Kasseem Jr., 3, (from previous marriage to Mashonda Tifrere) and Prince Nasir, 9.

The couple had been together since fall of 2008. The announcement came after they attended a Black Ball in London for Keys’ “Keep a Child Alive” charity last May 27. They have a common bond for a long time career as Swizz Beatz served as Keys’ assistant chief in her album. They hit their intimacy when they were working on “Whitney Houston Million Dollar Bill.” 31 year old rapper Swizz Beatz is a music producer for artists like Beyonce, Jay-Z, JLO and Gwen Stefani.

Related posts:
Serkadis 12:07 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

MAP OF THE DAY: Here’s What BP THOUGHT Was The Worst Case Scenario

Is the massive oil spill that could wreck the Gulf Economy a black swan event?

BP keeps a 600-page Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response Plan, with maps to show how far the oil could spread, what environmental regions it could devastate, and how quickly the company could deploy those controversial dispersants (via Shreveport Times).

Of course, the actual oil spill response has been pretty disappointing. It turns out BP analysts were lying to themselves about how bad it could get.

BP GOM facilities

Worst case spill range

Worst case spill range #2

Worst case spill range — seabed map

Worst case spill range #3

Chemical dispersant plan

Chemical dispersant plan #2

Threatened regions

Threatened regions #2

Threatened regions #3

Estimated response time: Florida

Estimated response time: Mississippi & Alabama

Estimated response time: East Louisiana

Estimated response time: West Louisiana

Estimated response time: Texas

Environmental risks

Environmental risks: Florida

Environmental risks: Louisiana

Environmental risks: Texas

Which Coast Guard office to call when a rig goes down

Don’t miss…

Image: Sean Gardner/Greenpeace

Nausea-Inducing Photos Of Oil Entering The Marsh

Join the conversation about this story »
Annie Lowrey 12:06 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Congress Considers Funding Failing Pensions
Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, held a hearing to weigh the costs and benefits of funding certain ailing pension funds. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has proposed legislation to aid some pension funds fed by multiple employers, such as some Teamsters benefit plans. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who heads HELP, yesterday argued that allowing the plans to fail or slash benefits would be “catastrophic for working families”:

Although pensions are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the payout for insured benefits hasn’t increased in years, so many retirees would see their benefits slashed. Plus, the collapse of any multiemployer pension plan places an incredible strain on an agency already beleaguered by fiscal woes, and the failure of a large plan could cripple the agency.

Congress has already taken steps to provide targeted, short-term relief to ease them through these tough economic times, and funding relief will surely help some of these plans remain afloat. But for a handful of multiemployer plans, short-term funding relief simply isn’t enough. Those are the plans we are focusing on today — the minority of plans that are truly in dire straits. They find themselves bearing costs dumped on them by defunct employers that failed to pay their fair share while, at the same time, watching their contribution base shrink as industries and demographics change over time. Those plans need long-term help and systemic reforms. The challenges faced by multiemployer plans are real, and we need to face them head-on because, quite frankly, they are simply too big to ignore.

Casey’s Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act targets hard-stricken multiemployer pension plans, which have suffered during the recession as individual firms paying into the plan have gone belly-up or have withdrawn, leaving the other firms to shoulder bigger burdens. Casey argues that the remaining payees into the fund should not have to cover the “orphan employees” of collapsed firms, and suggests moving them into a new Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. fund — where the pension liabilities would be backed by taxpayers. But the PBGC is already running deficits. And any new bailouts, even to good causes, will have serious trouble getting past Congress’ deficit hawks.

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) spoke out in opposition to the plan yesterday. “Workers should not be burdened with wondering whether or not their pensions are secure,” he said. “We must come up with a plan to overhaul the multiemployer pension system. But we should not do it piecemeal with just a very small handful of companies. Otherwise, the system will end up a house of cards. Congress is an enabler to this situation because it would rather kick the can down the road than try to resolve the difficult problems today. Instead of providing false hope to a few retirees, we must address this issue with the seriousness it deserves and overhaul the system.”

Multiemployer pension plans cover around a quarter of workers with a pension. Deficit hawks worry that bailing out some pensions would lead to a broader and much more expensive reform, adding tens of billions to the national debt. Casey estimates his plan would cost $8 billion over 10 years.
BKessler 12:05 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

How the top kill operation works (if it works)
From Green Right Now Reports

We’ve had to learn a lot while watching the excruciating efforts to cap the gushing BP oil well deep in the Gulf of Mexico.

The latest lesson on the chalk board is about deep sea pressures. The water pressure is so great at a mile below the surface (about 2,640 PSI) that pumping material back into the ruptured oil pipe is an incredibly difficult feat. It calls for a special potion of drilling “mud” of just the right consistency to hold up against the force of the oil gushing out, and yet not freeze before doing its job or collapse at deep sea pressures and temperatures.

As with all previous attempts to cap the oil well break, this one carries a risk of failure, but also an added risk that it could cause the oil pipe to spring a new leak, unleashing more havoc into gulf waters.

“The top kill procedure has never before been attempted at these depths and its ultimate success is uncertain,” BP says.

Here’s a graphic of the “top kill” operation put out by the Deepwater Horizon Response team.

Bill Nye, the Science Guy, has been on CNN in recent days explaining how this drilling mud can work:
Chateau 12:04 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Unplugging A Girl From Her iPod
Byron writes:

Reformed “nice guy” here with some feedback and solution to a problem I’ve not yet seen in your experience.

Your blog so succinctly highlights the disparity between what women say they want and what turns them on. A crucial distinction that your haters fail to grasp. Sure (most) women want a beta provider but the best fuck doesn’t come after vacuuming the lounge room floor on a Saturday afternoon. It should be obvious to all but the most deluded denialists that this isn’t a rigid dichotomy but a perfect LTR partner can combine both to raise a brood and resist enough shit tests to maintain dignity and remain attractive.

Today I finally solved a common problem affecting this urban PUA – separating a woman (an easy 8 in this case) from her iPod. She sat next to me on the bus carrying a fashion bag with a label, blithely plugged into her pod. I casually pulled out my phone to “check Facebook” and after a few moments of indifference, gave her a lascivious look up and down and interrupted her with “Hey, what’s that store name on your bag ?”

She unplugged to tell me and I replied “I’m just going to pick out your new season’s wardrobe.” I was rewarded with a brief grimace, she plugged back in and she spent the next few minutes alternating glances between me and the store’s webpage. The bus ride was too short for any close but it was a good chance for some nonverbal game (smiles, raised eyebrows, nods, rolling eyes at the lingerie page) and I had successfully won her attention. Negs, common interest, rapport, innuendo, all in a packed bus with nary a word spoken.

This isn’t a half bad pickup opener to use on girls on buses and subways. It looks a little disjointed on paper, but I can see this working in the field with the right facial expressions. Logistics would have to be favorable as well; you’d need to be sitting or standing next to the girl. The neg as opener is also a favored tactic of mine.

The bigger theme here is how to get the attention of girls who are essentially deaf to the outside world thanks to their use of personal media players. Walk down any street in the city on any given day and at least half the hotties you pass will either be zoned out with headphones in their ears or tappity-tapping away text messages on their phones. And I’m guilty of this too. I can hardly walk a few blocks without using my iPod to listen to Earth, Wind and Fire. The PMP revolution has been both a blessing and a curse for the urban womanizing warrior. Obviously, it makes it more difficult to grab a girl’s attention, but it also provides a DHV opportunity for the enterprising player who is willing and able to disarm the iPod obstacle. After all, the iPod has probably accounted for a 50% reduction in hookups because of all the men cockblocked by its presence. It’s every single girl’s substitute father figure brandishing a shotgun in your face.

It makes sense to think of iPods as the equivalent of cockblocks. Address the iPod first and disarm it. Make a nonverbal gesture with your hand to your ear signaling the girl to remove her earpiece. That’s one way to unplug her so she can hear you. Another way is to simply talk loudly enough so that the girl will be able to hear you over the dulcet tones of Karen O. Most girls will unplug if they think someone is trying to talk to them.

Opening girls who are walking down the sidewalk with iPods is more difficult. You’ve only got a brief window to catch her attention and she’s not going to hear you until you’re right on top of her. Nonverbally signaling her as you and her close distance is an option, but most girls are not going to remove their earpieces because some random dude walking toward them is gesturing for them to do so. You’d have to instead make strong eye contact and open your mouth as if you’re about to say something, as if you’re a tourist about to ask for directions. This is probably the most elegant way to cajole a girl to unplug so that she may fall victim to experience the full joy of your player charms.

Filed under: Game and Related Bloggers, The Big City Life
Antonio 12:02 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Nissan 370Z Roadster ya a la venta

Asi es, desde hace unos días se encuentra a la venta el nuevo Nissan 370Z Roadster. Si queremos hacernos con este modelo, deberemos pagar los 52.000€ que cuesta.

Sobre la motorización de este vehículo, recordemos que hace uso de un motor 3.7 i V6 que desarrolla 328 CV de potencia. Esta motorización estará ligada a una caja de cambios manual de 6 velocidades.

Por otra parte, si lo deseamos, podremos elegir una caja de cambios automática de 7 velocidades aunque tendremos que sumar 2.400€ al precio del modelo. Sobre el equipamiento, de serie incluye ordenador de viaje, faros xenón, equipo de audio de alta calidad, tapizados en piel, sistema de navegación, climatizador y llantas de aleación.

Related posts:
Serkadis 12:02 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

2010 Bmw X6 Interceptor by Met-R

It appears that the best-looking tuning kit for the Bmw X6 called Interceptor is coming from Russia! Forget about Hamann and Lumma, as the new kit will show an impressive design consisting of a new front bumper with four fog lights, new side sills, a rear trunk spoiler and a new rear bumper with integrated exhaust system and air diffuser. More details to be revealed! Until then, take a look at the photos after the jump!

[via cardesign]

Source: Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots
Serkadis 12:01 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

BMW 530d passes crash test using emergency brake intervention
Filed under: Sedan, Europe, Safety, Technology, BMW, Diesel, Luxury

The new 2011 BMW 530d has easily passed its first crash test evaluation while using active emergency brake intervention. Like a number of other cars to come to market recently, the 5 Series is available with a radar-based active cruise control system that can use the brake system to manage vehicle speed and keep the car a safe distance from the vehicle in front. Recently these systems have been enhanced with emergency brake intervention that allows full braking force to be applied if crash is imminent – even when the cruise control is not being used.

However, current crash test procedures don’t allow for the activation of such systems. For example, in the European 40 mile per hour frontal offset test, the vehicle is expected to crash at 40 mph. In the real world, active braking would reduce the speed of the impact, likely reducing severity as well. However, applying full brakes also causes the nose to pitch down and the cars occupants to shift position can alter the test’s results.

As more cars get these types of systems, they need to be accounted for in crash testing, and BMW is working with German testing agency DEKRA to develop new procedures. Check out the official press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]
Continue reading BMW 530d passes crash test using emergency brake intervention

BMW 530d passes crash test using emergency brake intervention originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 May 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Nicholas Deleon 12:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Video: Short preview of Red Dead Redemption short film

Can we all agree that Red Dead Redemption is one of Rockstar’s finest games? It’s probably one of the best games of this generation, too. A 30-minute short film based on the game, directed by the guy (John Hillcoat) who directed The Road (good) and The Proposition (great), debuts tomorrow night on the Fox network at midnight. Set your DVR. Here we have a short trailer (that I should have posted yesterday).
AdweekMedia 12:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Soap fans getting majorly melodramatic over demise of SoapNet

Erica Kane’s airplane just took a nosedive on ABC’s once-great, now-middling soap All My Children, but that’s nothing compared to what’s about to happen to the network’s sister cable channel, SoapNet. It’s going bye-bye. For good. And excuse the well-worn expression, but hell hath no fury like a soap fan scored. First, a bit of background: Parent company Disney just announced it will take over SoapNet’s space on the TV dial with a 24-hour preschool channel. Instead of reruns of General Hospital and One Life to Live, viewers will be "treated" to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jungle Junction when the network transforms into Disney Junior in 2012. (Maybe it really is the apocalypse?) The bottom line for business, obviously, is that soaps are aging and dying (as are their fans—sorry!), and there’s much more upside to a cable net dedicated to tots and their tchotchke-demanding ways. Inculcate them early, and they’ll be Disnified for life, or so the thinking goes. Soaps, on the other hand, don’t sell a lot of swag, even if you count the Erica Kane Barbie doll (yes, there is one). SoapNet, for its part, is trying to be upbeat about it all, with a chatty glass-half-full feature on its homepage. "You get 18 more months of SoapNet," it says, towing the company line. Fans, meanwhile, are having none of it. "I am totally disgusted and appalled by this decision," says one. "This bites," says another. Diehards are threatening to boycott Disney and/or start some viral campaign to keep the network. I hate to tell them they’re probably swimming upstream, but go ahead and vent, fanatics. It might be more satisfying than counting the Lost rip-offs in All My Children.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley
GigaOM 12:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

GeoLocal: The Rise of Consumer Location-based Services

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Is Geolocation a Real Business or Just a Feature?

Infographic by Column Five Media
Rosa Golijan 12:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

You Killed My Counter-Strike Character, Prepare To Die [Crime]

After his Counter-Strike character died in a knife fight, 20-year-old Julien Barreaux spent six months tracking down the virtual killer. Then he grabbed a real kitchen knife and paid the man a visit. More »

Counter-Strike – History – Julien Barreaux – Working Class – Web Design and Development
Jesus Diaz 12:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

This Is Not NYC’s Newly Unveiled Subway Map [Design]

I love maps and I love subway maps. New York City is the largest in the world, with 660 miles of tracks, and it just got a new map. It is not the one you are seeing above. More »

New York City – Subway – Urban Transport – Transportation and Logistics – Transit Systems
Surur 12:00 pm on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Thank God, my iPhone hell is over
My HTC HD2 has been out of action for the last month, due to a charging issue. In that time I had the misfortune to get intimately aware of the iPhone and its failings while waiting for my device to get repaired.

Using my wife’s iPhone for the last 4 weeks has but confirmed I made the right choice in platform. Throughout the whole period I felt trapped inside Steve Job’s vision of how a phone should be used, and his various business deals with the carriers.

My frustration started early in the morning, when I tried to download my daily podcast. From what I could see there was no simple way to schedule the downloading of podcasts using the included software, with Apple clearly intending that I synchronize my device with a desktop every morning (who still does that?).

This resulted in the tedious process of loading iPod, clicking “Get more episodes”, being transitioned to the RSS feed for the iTunes app, and then having to click on download and start praying.

The reason I started praying was that the iPhone 3GS could not remain on my WIFI network to save its own life, requiring frequent trips to the settings page to toggle the WIFI, and of course podcasts over 20 MB (that means all of them) could not download over 3G.

Now multiply this for every podcast I want to download, and throw in not being sure of iTunes would continue downloading the podcast while I went into iPod to click “Get more episodes” and you can see how the so called Jesus Phone turned my morning sour very quickly.

Then off to work, where the iPhone turned up being so poor in entering text (compared to a hard keyboard) that I went back to using my aged HTC Kaiser to take notes, carrying both devices and surely looking a bit odd with a bulge in every pocket.

The iPhone also confirmed that the many connectivity issues I thought I had with Windows Mobile over the years had nothing to do with the OS. The phone would constantly lose the 3G signal, usually when you most wanted to use it, and of course on GPRS you could not pop out of the browser while it downloaded a page in the background and do something else. This was especially true when using the WordPress and Twitter apps, leaving me many times sitting and staring at a loading indicator (which trust me, is much more irritating than the Windows Mobile beach ball) and feeling like I am stuck in the dark ages. Not counting the numerous occasions it would appear I am connected to a cellular network and data just refused to work at all.

The solution was to install Opera Mobile on my trusty Kaiser, which was about the only thing which kept me from killing either myself or the phone.

Running into iPhone limitations when you least expect them remained disheartening, and as usual it was often my Kaiser which saved the day. A few weeks ago I was out of reach of WIFI and wished to tether my phone. Being in the UK and not under AT&T’s iron grip I thought this would be no issue. No such luck however, as pressing the tether button presented me with a screen asking me to call O2 and add tethering to my plan. Luckily my Kaiser did not force me to take out a whole new data plan just to make use of my tiny 500 MB allowance (curse you Vodafone!) on another device.

One of the most frustrating issues on the iPhone is checking e-mail. The process is more than tedious, and makes me feel that Jobs must have envied the file explorer on Windows Mobile, because the experience is much the same, with the need to step into and out of folders constantly, making checking 3 accounts a 3 minute versus 10 second affair. Again thankfully my Kaiser preserved my sanity.

Lastly, the much vaunted App store very much resembled a crap store, which promised a lot but delivered little. Crash Bandicoot racing was difficult to control, the WordPress app could not write a blog post to save its life, the official twitter app could really do with a scroll bar to prevent the mandatory 10 page scrolling when it updates and many of the 10 apps I downloaded were clearly just scams.

To end, I must admit some things were good on the handset, such as battery life, which easily lasted a whole day, except for the night when I was on call, and the fully charged iPhone I left by my bedside turned out mysteriously dead the next day. Visual voice mail was a treat, especially when my voice mails only turned up the next day, informing me of all the calls I had missed. They keyboard was also buttery smooth, except when it came to entering punctuation characters, where it failed miserably compared to HTC’s efforts, and refused to learn the website’s name ( no, its not EMPOWER!). The camera was also passable, except for the missing flash of course. Having to buy a special iPhone car charger did rankle somewhat, but at least they are not that difficult to find.

But now my HTC HD2 is back, and the nightmare is over, and I can wallow as much as want in the freedom of a truly open OS. Until Windows Phone 7 of course…
Discover Main Feed 11:58 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Scientist Smackdown: Did “Ardi” Change the Story of Human Evolution? | 80beats
The bones of our ancestors do not speak across time with ultimate clarity. The fossils with which scientists reconstruct our family tree are often fragments that offer hints and clues to where we came from. So it comes as no surprise when, as part of the flow of science, researchers offer counter-interpretations to even the most famous of finds.

That’s what happening to Ardi.

Last October Ardipithecus ramidus hit the main stage when, after 17 years of study, a large team led by paleoanthropologist Tim White published its work in the journal Science. The 4.4-million-year-old find shakes up our understanding of our own history, White said—primarily the story of how and when we learned to walk.

Ardi cast doubt on the widely accepted view that our ancestors became bipeds because they left the forest and entered a flatland savanna habitat that demanded it. But Ardi appeared to be a kind of hybrid, comfortable in the trees and on the ground. And, White said, analysis of the site where the fossil was found indicated that Ardi lived in a woodland habitat. If it’s true that early humans walked in the woods, then the “savanna hypothesis” would be swept away.

But not so fast. In today’s edition of Science, two teams of scientists respond (1, 2) with doubts about the story of Ardi.

The question of Ardi’s habitat was raised by Thure E. Cerling, a geochemist at the University of Utah, and seven other geologists and anthropologists. They said they used the White team’s own data for soils and silica from ancient plants, and found it did not support an interpretation that Ardi lived in thick woods. Instead, Dr. Cerling’s group said, “We find the environmental context of Ar. ramidus at Aramis to be represented by what is commonly referred to as tree- or bush-savanna, with 25 percent or less woody canopy cover” [The New York Times].

The second paper questions whether Ardi is really an early human at all, rather than a member of the chimpanzee line.

Ardi’s age is so close to that divergence date that no unequivocal determination can be made about whether she is in the ape or human lineage, says [primatologist Esteban] Sarmiento, who conducts research from home in East Brunswick, New Jersey. But White and co-authors disagree. In their response, the group says Sarmiento’s “tortuous, nonparsimonius evolutionary pathways” are not supported by many of the fossil’s characteristics [Nature].

White and colleagues issued responses to both questions (1, 2) in the same issue, and struck back in the press, too.

If Ardi were really ancestral to chimps, certain features of its teeth, pelvis, and skull would have had to later evolve back to their more ape-like conditions, an “evolutionary reversal that’s highly unlikely,” White said in an interview [AP].

White is sticking to his guns regarding Ardi’s habitat, too. While it’s true that the fossil record seems to show grasses where Ardi lived, there are also many fossils of forest-dwelling animals that suggest a wooded area, he argues.

Related Content:
The Loom: Ardipithecus: We Meet at Last
DISCOVER: Meet Ardi, Your First Human Ancestor
DISCOVER: The 2% Difference examines what sets us apart from chimpanzees
80beats: A Fossil Named Ardi Shakes Up Humanity’s Family Tree
80beats: No Tarzans Here: Earliest Humans Quickly Lost Their Ape-Like Climbing Abilities

Image: J.H. Matternes
Serkadis 11:58 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Question of the Day: Would you care if FoMoCo killed Mercury?

2010 Mercury Milan

If you guys haven’t heard already, there are reports going around that Ford Motor Company executives are working on a plan to kill the Mercury brand. The plan will be presented to directors in July. Sales of the brand have dropped 74 percent since 2000 and that leads us to believe that no one really cares to even consider the brand while shopping for a new car. Are we wrong? Let us know whether or not you would consider Mercury when shopping for a new vehicle and if you really care that the future may not have any Mercury cars on the roads.

For those of you wondering, Mercury currently offers only four models with the Milan (which is based on the Ford Fusion) being the only one to get a total redesign since God knows when. Other than that you have the Mountaineer, Mariner and the Grand Marquis.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section after the jump.

- By: Omar Rana
Serkadis 11:58 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Pentagon: If You Don’t Let The US Gov’t Spy On Your Network, You Place American Lives At Risk
The whole “cyberterorrism” fear mongering is being taken to even more extreme levels. At the Strategic Command Cyber Symposium, William Lynn III, the deputy defense secretary apparently told the audience that companies who operate critical infrastructure need to let the US install monitoring equipment or it puts everyone at risk. The NSA has apparently developed a monitoring system called Einstein (I wonder if they paid the license fee), and want to let companies “opt-in” to installing the gov’t's system on their own systems, or face the “wild west” and put everyone at risk. This sounds like blatant fear mongering to let the government tap into all sorts of private infrastructure systems. After all, the government has shown, time and time again, that once it gets access to information, it doesn’t take those whole “oversight” or “privacy rights” issues particularly seriously.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

&rtv=p29198&rtv=f8626"/> .8626,cat.TechBiz
.rss"/>
Zach Bowman 11:58 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Survey: More Canadians would go without sex than cars. Canuck that!
Filed under: Etc., Humor

As a nation, we’re pretty attached to our cars. Thanks to generations of poor civil planning and rampant urban sprawl, we’ve come to need personal transportation like most civilizations require fresh water. Turns out we aren’t the only ones, though. Our amiable neighbors to the north seem to be just as hooked on the automobile as their surly cousins down south. A new survey of Canadian drivers has found that car owners would gladly give up a number of essentials before parking their car once and for all – including sex.

According to The Toronto Star, the study found that two percent of the population would rather give up sex and just one percent chose driving as the thing they could go without, while 14 percent of those tallied would sacrifice coffee and 36 percent would ditch junk food.

The survey was organized by the World Wildlife Fund as a way to get people thinking about the benefits, both financially and environmentally, of taking public transportation. Of those surveyed, nearly 30 percent said that they always drive wherever they’re going. Our guess is that number would be significantly steeper if the survey took place here in the land of the deep-fried free.

[Source: The Toronto Star]
Survey: More Canadians would go without sex than cars. Canuck that! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 May 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Serkadis 11:57 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Sledgehammer’s Call of Duty game is an FPS?
It seems Sledgehammer Games isn’t straying too far off the beaten path for their upcoming Call of Duty game. The job listings on their website indicate that they’re working on a CoD FPS.
Serkadis 11:56 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Guatemala Volcano’s Eruption, Death Rises to Three
Guatemala’s active volcano named Pacaya erupted this May 28, 2010. The death toll from the erupting volcano climbs to three people and three remains missing.

The eruption killed a reporter from CNN affiliate Noti 7 and left three children between the age of twelve. missing. Later that day, two villagers from El Bejucal were confirmed dead because of the eruption, as said by David de Leon, spokesman for the national disaster commission. All of the three victims were crushed by rocks strewn by the volcano.

The eruption of Guatemala’s Pacaya (located about 15 miles or 25 kms south of Guatemala City), began about 7 pm (9 pm ET) last Thursday.

15 days of State of Calamity was declared by Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and called for calm as the eruption spreads ash over the capital. This caused prompting evacuations and also the city’s international airport have been shut down.

The government urged residents of the villages not to leave their homes unless there was an urgent need. At least 1,600 people closest to the volcano from the villages have been evacuated to shelters.

Related posts:
Felson Sajonas 11:55 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Ronnie Fieg x Sebago LightHouse Boot

Ronnie Fieg gets together with Sebago to follow up his dockside collection with these mono leather LightHouse boots. The boots represent a clean and classic look utilizing premium Sebago leathers on the traditional Dockside sole. 120 pairs made per style and priced at $140 these are available today on Davidz.com as well as the David Z. flagship store is soho.

Continue reading for more images.
Aaron Wiener 11:54 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

White House Confirms Efforts to Entice Sestak Out of Senate Race, Denies Impropriety
The White House responds to the Joe Sestak non-scandal, confirming that it worked to dissuade the Pennsylvania congressman from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the Democratic Senate primary but dismissing all charges of impropriety.

“We have concluded that allegations of improper conduct rest on factual errors and lack a basis in the law,” the memo reads.

First, it addresses the rumor that the administration offered Sestak the position of Secretary of the Navy. “The President announced his intent to nominate Ray Mabus to be Secretary of the Navy on March 26, 2009, over a month before Senator Specter announced that he was becoming a member of the Democratic Party in late April. Mabus was confirmed in May. At no time was Congressman Sestak offered, nor did he seek, the position of Secretary of the Navy.”

Then, it confirms that, as reported this morning by Greg Sargent, the White House enlisted Bill Clinton to see if Sestak would be interested in an uncompensated advisory role in the executive branch, on top of his congressional duties.

“It has been suggested that discussions of alternatives to the Senate campaign were improperly raised with the Congressman,” the memo continues. “There was no such impropriety. The Democratic Party leadership had a legitimate interest in averting a divisive primary fight and a similarly legitimate concern about the Congressman vacating his seat in the House. … There have been numerous, reported instances in the past when prior Administrations — both Democratic and Republican, and motivated by the same goals — discussed alternative paths to service for qualified individuals also considering campaigns for public office. Such discussions are fully consistent with the relevant law and ethical requirements.”

Full memo here. (h/t Marc Ambinder)
Mike Butcher 11:53 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Brits Queue Round The Block As The iPad Goes On Sale In London

The UK has been gripped by the launch of the iPad if the Twitpics are to be believed. As you can see from the below ( thanks jasonlan and joanikin) there was a large crowd queuing outside Apple’s flagship London store on Regent’s Street, in a line which literally snaked around the corner into Hanover Square. Believe me, that is a long line.

Some estimates have put the crowd at around 500 people outside, waiting to grab the iPad.
Mike Lillis 11:48 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Pelosi: No Tier V for Unemployment Benefits
One of the enduring confusions amid the debate over extending unemployment benefits revolves around the fact that the Democrats’ proposals don’t actually extend UI benefits at all. They simply extend the filing deadline to apply for existing benefits.

That dynamic hasn’t been lost on a growing number of unemployed folks who have exhausted all available assistance, and many of them are pushing for additional tiers of emergency help. Yesterday, though, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated that Tier V advocates shouldn’t hold their breath.

Asked by a reporter if Democrats “foresee having another tier of expanded benefits,” Pelosi responded:

Not — not — no. This bill will go into the end of November. At that time we will take up something, but not between now and then.

Pelosi also noted that local politics are playing at least as much of a role as ideology in the debate over whether Congress should extend even existing benefits.

“The phenomenon or the situation that I see is that members who are from low-unemployment areas are very concerned about the deficit,” Pelosi said. “Members who are from high-unemployment areas are very concerned about the jobs.”
Serkadis 11:45 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

2011 version of QX56 expected to boost model’s sales

2011 Infiniti QX56

Infiniti is counting big on its 2011 version of the QX56 to increase sales for the model, which has been suffering along with the rest of the segment as buyers move towards more fuel-efficient and smaller options. However, with more power and more fuel-efficiency, the 2011 QX56 is expected to recapture some of the full-size large SUV market.

“We will have months when we sell 800 to 900 of these,” Ben Poore, Infiniti’s vice president in charge of sales and marketing, told Edmunds.

Click here to get prices on the 2011 Infiniti QX56.

That brings Poore’s predictions to annual sales of as high as 10,800 units for the 2011 QX56. Sales of the outgoing model averaged at 1,226 units a month and totaled 14,715 in 2005, making that its record sales year. However, last year sales for the QX56 were the model’s worst, averaging 536 units a month with year-long sales totaling 6,440 units.

It seems like there may be some sun shining on the QX56 in 2010 because sales are averaging at 770 a month.

Refresher: The 2011 Infiniti QX56 is powered by a 5.6L direct injected V8 making 400-hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission, which helps add a 10 percent gain in fuel-economy. The 2011 QX56 can handle towing of up to a 8,500-pound towing capacity.

2011 Infiniti QX56:

- By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoObserver
Jay Yarow and Kamelia Angelova 11:44 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink
CHART OF THE DAY: How Google Invests Its Cash (GOOG)

Google (GOOG) has an astounding $26 billion in cash. Brent Callinicos is the guy responsible for investing it.

Brent runs a 30-person trading operation at Google and is developing a more agressive trading strategy by the day, reports Douglas MacMillan at Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Lately, Brent has begun moving away from a cautious cash management strategy towards more higher risk/return investments. He’s specifically targeting corportate debt ($4.9 billion), agency residential mortgage-backed securities ($3.3 billion) and foreign government bonds ($332 million.)

Follow the Chart Of The Day on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chartoftheday

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:
AndroidGuys 11:43 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Rumor Has It Samsung and T-Mobile Up to Something Big…

…And we think we already know what it is. Remember back a few weeks ago when we thought we knew what T-Mobile’s Project Emerald was? At the time we purported that it was related to the Samsung Galaxy S arriving on the carrier. After doing some digging around and reading we learned that the project might actually be related to a Sidekick handset. Well, a Samsung source is telling BGR today that they and T-Mobile are working on a major product launch for July. Read on to see what we though, and still do, think is happening.

The handset will be the Samsung Galaxy S. However, this will not be an all-out exclusive deal. T-Mobile will be one of four carriers to provide the phone…With the droid Incredible and HTC EVO getting a great deal of attention these last few weeks, Big Magenta has fast-tracked this phone for release the first week of July.

Might We Suggest…
- Samsung i897 Sounding More and More Like a Galaxy S
  
  A few months back a few documents were listed on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group website for a Samsung i897 handset. At the time it was found that the quad-band GSM device featured a 4.0-inch …
Gregory White and Vincent Fernando, CFA 11:42 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

The Selloff Intensifies: Here Are The 10 Trades To Watch Right Now

Heading into the weekend, the selling is intensifiying.

Indices are down, and anyone associated with Deepwater is getting hammered again.

The Risk Trade Is Off — everything from stocks to commodities to risk currencies are accelerating to the downside.

Continuing Crisis In The Gulf: BP down 5.18%

Continuing Crisis In The Gulf: Transocean (RIG) down 3.3%

Continuing Crisis In The Gulf: Halliburton (HAL) down 6.97%

Big Shale Oil Purchase: Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) down 0.55%

Spanish Banking Consolidation: Santander (SAN.MC) up 1.57%

Worldwide iPad release: Apple (AAPL) up 0.64%

Hurricane Threats: Orange Juice up 1.27%

CEO Pay Scandal: Schlumberger (SLB) down 4.98%

Schlumberger’s CEO is ranked 10th in the world for pay, after a $15.4 million windfall.

Oil Drilling Permits Suspended: Anadarko (APC) down 5.2%

As a result of new U.S. government rules, Anadarko has had drilling permits suspended.

Worried about the future of oil? China isn’t.

See how China is investing in oil projects around the world >

Join the conversation about this story »
Serkadis 11:40 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink
The 1-2-3-4 Formula for Unleashing Your Inner Grok
This is a guest post from Matt Garland of Healthy Lifestyle Design.

Do you have what it takes to unleash your inner Grok?

Everyone does. It’s inherent in our biology. And yet many don’t, not because of physical obstacles but mental ones. Such barriers manifest as false and misguided perceptions of Primal living’s complexity, difficulty, and restriction. Alas, these devilish traps inhibit many would-be Groks from realizing their full potential.

So, how do you evade these ensnarements and unleash your inner Grok?

You stop worrying about “how” you’ll live Primal and start thinking about “why” you should.

The “why” is essential. If you don’t know why you should adopt Primal living then you never will. How come? Because the “why” gives meaning to what you do. And when you have meaning you have the strength and resolve to succeed.

This simple 1-2-3-4 forumula will guide you to “why” Primal living is right for you. Have fun with it and get ready to unleash your inner Grok!

1. What do I have to lose?

People fear what they don’t understand. And I believe it’s safe to say that many don’t understand the reasons, science, benefits, and intentions of Primal living in the modern world. Hence, your inner Grok will remain scared and buried within under a blanket of misguided beliefs.

This is tragic because much of what conventional wisdom teaches you about Primal living is in fact untrue. Curiosity isn’t enough to overcome this insidious inertia. To unleash your inner Grok and fully reap the bounty of Primal living you must first define your fears.

This may sound like psychologist-talk and that may be true. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. And how it works is by putting your fears into blunt perspective. Fears are often grossly overstated and over-dramatized. Bringing them down to earth is a powerful means of controlling your fears – thereby not letting them control you.

So, what are your fears of living Primal? And what do you have to lose if you try?

Let me tell you what you WON’T lose:
- You won’t lose your “health” to hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, etc.
- You won’t lose your family
- You won’t lose your personal relationships
- You won’t lose your job
- You won’t lose your mind
- You won’t lose your freedom
- You won’t lose your self-identity or self-confidence
- And you definitely won’t lose your life
Put plainly, there aren’t any substantive, decisive, permanent, or dangerous reasons to not try out the Primal living philosophy.

Once you see this, acknowledge this, and believe this you will unleash previously unknown and untapped wells of curiosity, motivation, and determination for greatness of health and life.

2. What do I have to gain?

You’ve defined your Primal living worst-case-scenarios. You’ve discovered that they aren’t the apocalyptic crises propagandized by many. In fact, the costs are meager, even trivial in many cases.

But lose-framing alone won’t do the job. You must define all that you can gain from trying the Primal living lifestyle. Take this seriously because understanding benefits is a much greater force for inspiration and courage than merely acknowledging the low costs.

So, what all can you gain from trying to live Primal?

Think rationally but think big! Grok certainly did. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- I’ll have real-world experience to evaluate the Primal living philosophy on its merits
- I’ll become more self-confident by allowing myself to try something new to improve my health and life
- I’ll cultivate more energy and focus as I ween off of energy-draining processed foods
- I’ll gain more peace-of-mind and personal freedom from Primal living’s simplicity
- I’ll feel better as I allow my body to perform activities and functions that it was built to do
- I’ll reclaim my right to be the full authority of my personal health and happiness
- I’ll have fun trying new foods and new activities as well as by building new social relations that share the Primal living ideals
- I’ll develop much improved wellness from elevated quality of sleep, nutrition, relaxation, etc
Feel free to pause your analysis here and compare your lose-list with your gain-list. The dichotomy is surely profound – illustrating the incredible ROI of a Primal lifestyle.

Okay, break over. Time to carry on!

3. What do my friends and family have to lose and gain?

Humans do not live in isolation. We are social creatures. This relationship, network-building skill is a defining characteristic of our species responsible largely for our survival and evolution.

Grok knew this well. No member of the tribe was more important that the tribe itself.

Fully understanding this axiom is the next powerful means of unleashing your inner Grok because you’ll see that your choice to live Primal won’t only empower yourself but your tribe as well.

So ask your family members and dear friends about their thoughts on Primal living. Share your lose-versus-gain analysis. Describe your beliefs in unleashing the power of your true Grok.

And compliment the feedback you collect with your own thoughts about how your friends and family will benefit from a Primal you. Maybe you’ll determinate that:
- My friends and family will have a stronger, healthier, more energized me to be around
- My friends and family can learn from my learnings about Primal living
- My friends and family will gain more respect for me as I confidently pursue greater health
- My friends and family will become inspired by my example and want to try Primal living too
- My friends and family will better understand me and my beliefs in living a remarkable life
Such determinations are deeply personal to you. Make them meaningful and make them count.

And don’t be shy. Some won’t understand. Others won’t agree. That’s okay. Be respectful to all opinions but firm in yours. And always remember, “the sure path to failure and misery is trying to please everybody.” – Tim Ferriss

4. Can I take it for a test drive?

Hopefully by now you’ve seen the logic and benefit to Primal living and are ready to try. If so, let’s get to it!

But if you’re not, here’s the final step in unleashing your inner Grok – just TRY it!

Choosing to try Primal living is not a permanent, all-binding decision. There is no fine-print to be weary of. You’re in control, remember? So relax and simply take Primal living for a test drive.

Evaluate your progress mentally, physically, and emotionally after a few weeks. Like what you see and feel? Awesome! Keep going! Don’t like what you see and feel? Then pause and re-evaluate. Or even stop if you so choose. The choice is yours.

But do yourself right and give your Primal living trial a fair go. One week isn’t adequate enough. Aim for two. Nothing happens (positive or negative) overnight.

And lastly, you need not go “all-in” on Primal living at the start. Radical lifestyle changes have a much higher degree of failure. So it’s perfectly acceptable (even encouraged) to start slow. Adopt a few of the Primal lifestyle elements to begin with. Evolve from there.

What do you think?

Why is Primal living important and meaningful for you?

What obstacles have you evaded on your Primal lifestyle journey?

What advice would you give those just starting to unleash their inner Groks?

Please share your thoughts in the comments because all Groks (young and wise) will benefit!

(Photo: stuckincustoms)

About Matt:

Matt Gartland is a healthy lifestyle geek extraordinaire, blogger, world traveler, lifestyle entrepreneur, lifelong kid, bookworm, athlete, and more.

He writes at Healthy Lifestyle Design (HLD), where he unleashes his passion for remarkable and unconventional living propelled by amazing health. Follow Matt on Twitter and join the HLD Tribe on Facebook.

Related posts:
Paul Castillo 11:38 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Kanye West – Power

Ye has kept relatively quiet for some time now, but on his new single, Kanye emphatically announces his return to music. Power is just that, a powerful track laced with a gritty baseline and Mr. West going on with his braggadocios self, “I guess every superhero needs his theme music”.

Listen to the track now after the jump.

K p by user9196076
Phil Nickinson 11:38 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Android Central Podcast Episode 14

Short Description:

Phil and Jerry spill everything they've learned about Android 2.2 Froyo, Phil's time with the Evo 4G and still find time for a bunch of your voicemails and e-mails. Listen in!

Podcast MP3 URL:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/androidcentral/acpc14.mp3

Android 2.2 Froyo features
Evo 4G news
Other hardware news
Other software news
Google/Android news
- Google snags Palm webOS UI guru Matias Duarte to work on Android
This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store
Antonio 11:38 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink
Volkswagen Jetta, fotos espía

Finalmente ha sido cazado, por fin podemos ver el Volkswagen Jetta completamente al descubierto. Incluso, una de las fotos espía publicada es del interior de este nuevo vehículo. También debemos destacar que la unidad fotografiada no tienen ningún tipo de camuflaje.

Para este nuevo diseño, Volkswagen ha optado por hacer uso de unas ópticas más pequeñas de lo que nos tienen acostumbrados. En general, la nueva línea del Jetta es muy elegante a la vez que tiene algún toque deportivo.

Por otra parte, el modelo de las fotos corresponde a la versión americana. Sobre la europea no sabemos nada todavía aunque se rumorea que no contará con grandes cambios estéticos.

Related posts:
Sarah Miley 11:36 am on May 28, 2010 Permalink

Obama announces new regulations stemming from Gulf oil spill

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official website] held a press conference [transcript] Thursday to announce new regulations to mitigate future oil spill disasters and the current plan of action for resolving the crisis created by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill [BBC backgrounder] in the Gulf of Mexico. The government will be suspending several offshore drilling activities including exploration of platform locations in Alaska, pending lease sales in the Gulf and Virginia, and the drilling of 33 deepwater exploratory wells in the Gulf. The government will also suspend the issuance of new permits to drill deepwater wells for six months. Obama stated that increased government regulation in the oil industry was necessary to alter the “cozy and sometimes corrupt” relationship it has built with federal regulators, specifically the Minerals Management Service (MMS) [official website]. The president admitted that even though Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar [official profile] has worked hard to reform the once notoriously corrupt MMS, more action is necessary to ameliorate that agency’s malfeasance. Responsibilities of the MMS, which include not only providing permits, but also enforcing laws governing oil
drilling, will be divided so individuals who permit the drilling will be different from those that are in charge of regulation and enforcement of safety standards. New permits from the MMS will also require a 30-day safety and environmental review. When asked about the resignation of MMS director Elizabeth Birnbaum [official profile], Obama stated that he was not yet aware of the circumstances under which Birnbaum resigned, but that he had given Salazar command of the “top-to-bottom” reformation of the MMS and trusted him to secure a staff which is “operating at the highest level and aren’t making excuses when things break down, but are intent on fixing them.” Obama closed the press conference by reiterating his commitment to tackle the crisis created by the oil spill.

The US government has struggled to gain political control over the oil spill ever since the severity of the spill and the lack of federal regulation of offshore drilling became public. Last week, Obama signed an executive order establishing an independent commission [JURIST report] to investigate offshore drilling and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling will be charged with identifying the causes of the BP oil spill and developing options to mitigate future occurrences through laws, regulations and agency reform. The Obama administration has also asked Salazar to conduct a “top-to-bottom” reform of the MMS [speech text] and ordered immediate inspections of all deep water operations in the Gulf. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a result of an oil well blowout that caused an explosion 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf. The amount of oil spilled into the Gulf is part of an ongoing debate but the resulting oil slick has covered at least 2,500 square miles and has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez [JURIST news archive] as the worst oil spill in US history. The White House is keeping a daily chronology of events [text].