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Schwarzenegger recalls political advice from
Kennedy
By Peter Cooney (Front Row
Washington)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 12:30:07 AM
By Ross Kerber
BOSTON - Standing just a few
feet from the flag-draped casket
of Senator Edward Kennedy,
California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger shared the best
political advice he said he ever
got from the uncle of his
wife, Maria Shriver. When
speaking in public, stay away
from the specifics.
”He was a big believer in giving
the broad vision,”
Schwarzenegger told
Reuters. Once you start getting
into details, the questions never
stop, the Republican governor
said Kennedy, a Democratic Party
titan, once told him, adding,
“They’ll always try to squeeze
you for more details.”
Schwarzenegger spoke at the
end of an all-star political
gathering at the library and
museum for the senator’s late
brother President John F.
Kennedy. Billed as a
“celebration” of the
Massachusetts senator’s life and
career, the event was also part
wake and part political seminar as
political figures told tale after tale
about Kennedy, long a towering
figure in U.S. politics.
There was the time Kennedy
tried to squeeze into a subcompact
c a r w i t h f e l l o w
heavyweight, Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino. Arizona
Republican Senator John McCain
recounted delightful squabbles on
the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Speaking before picture
28/08/09 - 30/08/09
windows overlooking the Boston
skyline, former Iowa Senator John
Culver, who played football with
Kennedy at Harvard University in
the 1950s, got the biggest laughs
from the crowd of more than a
thousand. Culver recalled how the
young Kennedy once dragged the
unknowing Midwesterner to a
near-death experience crewing his
sailboat in rough seas.
“After a while, I was more
terrified of him than the storm,”
Culver said.
LibertyNewsprint.com U.S.
Days after Kennedy’s death on
Tuesday at age 77 from brain
cancer, the gathering was
another reminder of the Kennedy
family’s drawing power. Scores
of police and Secret Service
agents shut down roads leading to
the library and set up a rope line
to keep more than 100 journalists
and their cameras at bay at the
museum entrance.
More of the evening was spent
in laughter rather than tears.
Kennedy would have wanted it
that way, said Gerry Adams,
leader of Sinn Fein, a political
party in Northern Ireland and the
Irish Republic.
“Ted Kennedy was full of
crack,” Adams said, using an Irish
expression for fun and mischief
rather than a drug reference. “I
know that has a different meaning
here.”
Photo credit: REUTERS/Brian
Snyder (Attendees watch video at
Boston memorial service for
Senator Edward Kennedy)
Police arrest man who
reported 7 dead in Ga.
home (AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 7:27:50 AM
yan buzzed up: China denounces
proposed Dalai Lama visit to
Taiwan (Reuters)
2 seconds ago 2009-08-
30T07:41:03-07:00
3 Texas boaters missing
for a week rescued at sea
(AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 7:13:10 AM
Billfm10 buzzed up: Rep. Frank
eyes Fed audit, emergency
lending curbs (Reuters)
31 seconds ago 2009-08-
30T07:38:02-07:00
Blink-182 Struggles
Through Show Afte... -
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(Most Popular - Google News)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:00:54 AM
•
Post to:
2 Politics/ World/ Internet News Record

Ted Kennedy Jr brings self, others to

tears
By Deborah Charles (Front
Row Washington)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:13:36 PM

Senator Edward Kennedy’s son,

Ted Kennedy Jr., served up one of
the most e motional moments of
his father’s funeral on Saturday
when he recalled how the late
senator stood by him while he
struggled after losing his leg to
cancer.
Calling his father “my best
friend,” Ted Kennedy Jr told of a
winter day – a few months after
his leg was amputated — when
his father urged him to go
sledding on their steep driveway.
“And I was trying to get used to
my new artificial leg. And the hill
was covered with ice and
snow. And it wasn’t easy for me
to walk. And the hill was very
slick. And as I struggled to walk, I
slipped and I fell on the ice. And I
started to cry and I said, I can’t do
this. I said, I’ll never be able to
climb up that hill.
“And he lifted me up in his
strong, gentle arms and said
something I will never forget. He
said, ‘I know you can do it. There
is nothing that you can’t
do. We’re going to climb that hill
together, even if it takes us all
day.’”
“Sure enough, he held me
around my waist and we slowly
made it to the top. And you know,
at age 12 losing your leg pretty
much seems like the end of the
Phillip Garrido's house
(World news and comment
from the Guardian |
guardian.co.uk)
world. But as I climbed on to his
back and we flew down the hill
that day, I knew he was right. I
knew I was going to be OK. ”
“You see, my father taught me
that even our most profound
losses are survivable, and that is
— it is what we do with that loss,
our ability to transform it into a
positive event, that is one of my
father’s greatest lessons. ”
“He taught me that nothing is
impossible.”
Kennedy’s voice broke as he
told the story, and paused to wipe
his eyes.
He went on to tell other
Images from the California home then aged 11, in 1991
of the man charged with
kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard,
anecdotes: his father was a Green
Bay Packers recruit but he opted
to go to law school instead; the
elder Kennedy was a Civil War
buff and he used to pack the
family up into a car or rented
camper to visit the great
battlefields; and family vacations
“left us all injured and
exhausted.”
Photo credit: Reuters/Brian
Snyder (Ted Kennedy Jr wipes
away tears as he speaks at his
father’s funeral)
Youngest Kennedys
remember Ted Kennedy’s
causes
By Deborah Charles (Front
Row Washington)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 9:53:39 AM
In one of the most poignant
moments of the funeral service for
Ted Kennedy on Saturday, the
youngest members of the
Kennedy clan offered up prayers
for some of the causes dearest
to the late senator’s heart.
Max Allen, one of Kennedy’s
youngest grandchildren, offered
up a prayer:
“For what my grandpa called
‘the cause of his life.’ As he said
so often: ‘In every part of this
land that every American will
have decent quality healthcare as
a fundamental right and not a
privilege.’”
Other Kennedy children
mentioned his work with the poor
and to ensure that all people are
respected for what they can do.
His niece Kym Smith prayed:
“For my uncle’s stand against
violence, hate and war. And his
belief that peace can be kept,
through the triumph of justice and
that truest justice can come only
through the works of peace.”
His youngest namesake, Teddy
Kennedy III, ended the section of
prayers with one referring to his
grandfather’s support of President
Barack Obama during last year’s
presidential campaign:
“For my grandfather’s brave
promise last summer that ‘the
work begins anew, the hope rises
again and the dream lives on.’”
For more Reuters political news,
click here.
Photo credit: Reuters/Brian
Snyder (Ted Kennedy III speaks
at his grandfather’s funeral)
Internet News Record Politics/ Finance/ Gadgets/ 3

Senator Kennedy’s final resting spot
By Andy Sullivan (Front Row
Washington)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 1:58:40 PM
Senator Edward Kennedy will be
buried on Saturday near his
brothers, former President John F.
Kennedy and former Senator
Robert F. Kennedy, at Arlington
National Cemetery.
The site is about 200 feet south
of the eternal flame that marks
John Kennedy’s grave, a popular
tourist draw directly across the
river from Washington.
Robert Kennedy’s gravesite,
marked by a simple white wooden
cross, lies about 95 feet away.
It was not clear what type of
headstone will be on Teddy
Kennedy’s site, or whether it will
include a granite plaza similar to
those of his brothers, a cemetery
spokesperson said.
All three sites are on a steep
grassy hillside, directly below the
graceful mansion that was home
to Robert E. Lee, the general who
led Confederate troops in the
Civil War.
The U.S. government seized the
property during the war. As the
body count mounted, U.S.
generals turned the property into a
military cemetery to ensure it
would have no commercial value
were Lee to return. Lee’s son won
the property back in court, then
sold it to the government for
$150,000.
The cemetery now holds the
remains of more than 300,000
veterans of all of the nation’s
wars, from the American
Revolution through the conflicts
in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are
roughly 6,400 funerals each year.
Kennedy will join 155 other
members of Congress who are
buried at the cemetery.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Jim
Young (Funeral planners look
over the site where Kennedy will
be buried)
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(NVR)
By Louis Navellier
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:00:00 AM
Filed under: Stocks to Buy,
Housing
NVR(NYSE: NVR) is probably
the healthiest of all the major
home builders. In fact, the
company hasn't taken a single
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reported a quarterly loss for the
fourth quarter of 2008, but all of
the other quarters have recorded a
profit.
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shares are currently over $660 a 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see
piece, which is even higher than our terms for use of feeds.
Google. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Continue reading Home builder

Name-recalling in healthcare fight: Wellstone, Kennedy

By Tabassum Zakaria (Front jump out for everyone. oppose and to kill (healthcare
Row Washington) It takes a bit of digging into the reform). And it may stiffen the
Submitted at 8/28/2009 12:52:28 PM memory banks (or perhaps spine of a few Democrats,”
Googling) to refresh the brain Thomas Mann, senior fellow of
The healthcare fight has turned cells that the reference is to the governance studies at The
into a power struggle over names. 2 0 0 2 m e m o r i a l s e r v i c e f o r Brookings Institution, said.
Conservatives have the sirens Democrat Senator Paul Wellstone Click here for more Reuters
out warning about the“Wellstone which was criticized for turning political coverage
effect” in a jab at trying to knock into a political event. Backlash Photo credit: Reuters/Eric
out any inclination Liberals may contributed to Democrats losing Miller (Memorial service for
have to capitalize on the Kennedy that Senate seat. Wellstone in 2002)
name in pursuing healthcare Conservatives may be worrying Senator Robert Byrd proposed unlikely to shift the balance in the
overhaul, one of Senator Edward that the emotional effect from stamping Kennedy’s name on the healthcare debate.
Kennedy’s signature issues. Senator Edward Kennedy’s death legislation. “I don’t think it will bring any
Trouble is that the Wellstone may swing the healthcare debate But analysts say while the Republicans aboard, they have
analogy doesn’t automatically toward the left, especially after Kennedy name is powerful, it is decided not to legislate, but to
Pole Dancer Doll Doesn't Really Set the Perfect Role Model [Wrongmodo]
By Jesus Diaz (Gizmodo) It rotates. It has blinking lights, a unlike the USB Pole Dancer, this
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:20:00 PM disco ball, and a pole. And it's one is actually for kids. [Thanks
probably one of the wrongest toys you can give to any girl. Because, David]
4 Politics/ Top News/ Gadgets/ Tech News/ Internet News Record

Week in Apple: Snow Leopard

discoveri... - Ars Technica
(Most Popular - Google News) upgrade? Snow Leopard has "familiar with the matter" claim to
Submitted at 8/29/2009 12:08:36 PM finally arrived, and Analyst Gene have information on Steve Jobs'
Munster thinks Apple will sell 5 involvement in the project, while
Is it any surprise that this week's million copies of Mac OS X 10.6 Jobs says many of those details
top Apple news revolved around before fiscal 4Q ends at the end of are "incorrect."
Snow Leopard? It turns out that September, but we think he's Snow Leopard includes
the updated OS has built-in being too conservative. Let us rudimentary malware protection:
malware protection, Adobe CS3 know what you think in our latest Apple likes to tout Mac OS X's
will work on it (but it won't be poll. lack of malware, but it isn't
supported), and the $29 upgrade New Get a Mac ads beat dead completely immune. It's nice to
d i s k w i l l w o r k f o r PC virus horse, waste good jokes: know the company is taking an
everyone—even though the Apple brought in voice and active role in preventing it from
EULA forbids using it unless you character actor Patrick Warburton becoming a problem for users.
have Leopard. There are also new for one of its latest Get a Mac ads, $29 Snow Leopard retail disc
Mac ads and some legal drama, so but the constant berating of PCs will install over Tiger: It looks
read on to catch the highlights. Be for virus and "headaches" is like Apple has "conceded" that it's
sure to look for our Snow Leopard getting a little trite. possible to install Mac OS X 10.6
review on Monday. MacBook on life support, but straight on to a Mac with 10.4
Critics call shenanigans after Apple not pulling the plug yet: installed, despite Apple's official
Apple, AT&T letters to FCC: The lonely white polycarbonate stance that a Mac Box Set is
Everyone is puzzling over Apple MacBook that still remains in required to do so. That doesn't
and AT&T's letters to the FCC Apple's otherwise all-aluminum automatically mean that you
about the apparent rejection of a notebook lineup hasn't changed should, though.
Google Voice iPhone app. Ars significantly over the years. The 5th Ave Apple Store still rockin'
peers through the holes in their latest rumor suggests that Apple is through the recession: Apple's 5th
version of the mess. working to change that. Avenue retail store continues to
Adobe Creative Suite and Snow Recent Apple patent apps hint at pack in crowds and move millions
Kennedy funeral on the Web Leopard: what you should know: future iPhone improvements: in merchandise every year. Sales
By Deborah Charles (Front burial at Arlington Cemetery. Adobe has drawn the line in the Some newly published patent are so good even in this slow
Row Washington) The funeral begins at 10:30 a.m. sand between Intel and PPC for applications from Apple show economy that Apple continues to
Submitted at 8/29/2009 7:24:36 AM Eastern time (1430 GMT) and is upcoming versions of its Creative easy file and data transfers while a expand its retail operations.
expected to last two hours. Suite, and now it's doing so again call is in progress, as well as an Have a great weekend,
If you aren’t near a tv set this President Barack Obama will between CS3 and CS4 when it auto-speakerphone feature, easily everyone! (And don't forget to
morning and want to watch deliver the eulogy. Cellist Yo-Yo comes to Snow Leopard support. adaptable connectors, and an back up before you install Snow
S e n a t o r E d w a r d K e n n e d y ’ s Ma will play and opera star It might not please everyone, but improved shock sensor. Leopard. You can never be too
f u n e r a l , g o t o Placido Domingo will sing at the that's the price some of us pay for Jobs on top of every detail of careful.)
h t t p : / / t e d k e n n e d y . o r g / l i v e funeral at a Roman Catholic staying on the cutting edge. iTablet, according to rumors:
The website that was set up just basilica in Boston. Poll Technica: 5M copies of Another day, another Apple tablet
after Kennedy died from cancer is Photo credit: Reuters/Mike S n o w L e o p a r d ? W i l l y o u r u m o r . N u m e r o u s s o u r c e s
full of details on arrangements for Segar (Program for funeral of NASA's Most Awesomely Weird Mission Patches
the funeral, the procession and the Senator Kennedy)
By Alexis Madrigal (Wired Top making patches for its missions.
Video: Robert Loggia hired to whip PC into shape Stories) Here we go through the some of
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) The Tick isn’t the only celebrity Robert Loggia. But, yeah, you Submitted at 8/28/2009 11:37:00 AM the strangest, including ones
Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:29:55 AM PC hired in his never ending fight probably know the outcome. featuring a Teenage Mutant Ninja
against Mac. Now he’s turned to Perhaps the best habit NASA Turtle and Stephen Colbert.
picked up from the military is
Internet News Record
Experts: Kidnap victim faces difficul... - San Francisco
Chronicle
(Most Popular - Google News)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:40:01 PM
But Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 29,
spent her formative years in
captivity. Kidnapped at age 11 in
South Lake Tahoe, she gave birth
to two daughters when she was
just a teenager, and likely lived
with the near-constant threat of
fear and abuse for 18 years.
She was found Wednesday in
Antioch, and Thursday saw her
mother for the first time since
June 1991. But her recovery has
barely started, say experts in child
psychiatry and post-traumatic
stress.
How well she progresses, along
with her two children, depends on
the quality of professional help
she receives, and the strength of
her support network.
"Someone asked me if I think
she'll ever have a normal life. I'm
not sure 'normal' is the word,"
said Paula Fass, a history
professor at UC Berkeley and
author of the book "Kidnapped:
Child Abduction in America."
"But let's hope she can still live
decently and reconnect with that
earlier life. The challenge will be
to try to integrate these two parts
of her life - before she was taken,
and her children now - in a way
that can be meaningful." Few
cases like it
A case like Dugard's is virtually
unheard of. There are examples of
children being taken and held
captive for months or even years,
but none as long as Dugard, and
Mercedes Makes a Small Bet on Hydrogen
By Chuck Squatriglia (Wired
Top Stories)
none who were taken as children
and returned as adults.
The fact that Dugard now has
two children - both the offspring
of her accused captor, Phillip
Garrido, according to police -
further complicates her case.
Several child psychologists and
kidnapping experts compared
Dugard's captivity to the case of
an Austrian woman who was
found last year after being
imprisoned by her own father for
24 years and giving birth to seven
of his children.
Dugard "was kept for 18 years,
and through an important period
in child development, when kids
are busy becoming their own
persons. It's a difficult period of
time to miss out on," said Dr.
Stuart Lustig, a UCSF child
psychiatrist.
Dugard almost definitely
suffered from Stockholm
syndrome, a condition in which
captives become sympathetic to
their captors. Dugard's stepfather,
Carl Probyn, told media outlets
that she has expressed guilt for
bonding with Garrido.
It's common for kidnapped
children to feel some compassion
for their kidnappers, who abuse
them but also become their only
caretaker, child psychiatrists said.
That creates a cognitive
dissonance that isn't easily
resolved, especially for children
who don't have the life experience
to understand what's happened to
them.
"Children in this situation need
We'll see a (very) small number
of hydrogen fuel cell cars from
to protect themselves, and the
person who is the perpetrator is
the one providing the comfort.
Identifying with the aggressor
feels like protecting yourself,"
said Dr. Victor Carrion, an expert
in post-traumatic stress in children
at Lucile Packard Children's
Hospital. "This is not a conscious
decision. It's something that
happens in survival mode."
Probable PTSD
It's also likely that Dugard is
suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder - starting with the
initial trauma of being kidnapped
and kept up over years of abuse
and confinement, Carrion said.
According to police, Dugard has
lived in an encampment of tents
and sheds in Garrido's backyard
for most of the last two decades,
with little interaction with people
other than her captors and her
children.
Her daughters, too, were
isolated from the outside world -
they never attended school or
visited a doctor, police said. Just
as Dugard must find a way to
reintegrate with her family and
society, so must her children,
child psychiatrists said.
The children, ages 11 and 15,
will need to be evaluated -
psychiatrists will look at their
developmental progress, such as
their ability to learn, their
language skills, and how they
relate to others. The children may
also complicate Dugard's recovery
because they'll serve as a constant
reminder of her captivity, child
Mercedes by the end of the year.
Top News/ Tech News/
psychiatrists said. It may be
difficult for Dugard to separate
her love for her daughters from
her complicated feelings toward
Garrido.
But it's also possible, Fass said,
that having raised two children
may help Dugard in her recovery.
The children could give her focus
in the years ahead, and they may
have offered her some small
strength while she was held
captive, by allowing her to care
for someone else.
"Let's assume that the children
were her company, and allowed
her to exercise her caretaking
ability," Fass said. "I would think
those are two strengths that could
be played on in her recovery. She
wasn't entirely isolated, she wasn't
just by herself. She was taking
care of the children."
The key to reuniting Dugard
with her family, experts say, will
be to take it slowly. Her mother
and stepfather can't expect her to
be the 11-year-old girl who was
taken 18 years ago, and at the
same time Dugard can't expect her
family to be the same.
When families are reunited, it's
common for everyone to feel
some guilt, said Ernie Allen,
president of the National Center
for Missing and Exploited
Children. The children feel guilty
for not being able to escape or for
bonding with their kidnappers,
and the parents feel guilty for
losing them in the first place.
Allen said it will be critical for
Dugard and her family to be
5
patient with one another, and
especially with Dugard's
daughters. Must start over
"Parent and child typically want
to return things to the way they
were, and what we've found is
that - particularly with these kinds
of spans - families have to start all
over getting to know each other,"
Allen said. "The single most
important thing for a parent, even
when your child is 29 years old, is
to love your child
unconditionally."
Elizabeth Smart, who was
kidnapped seven years ago at age
14 and returned to her family nine
months later, said in an interview
on CNN on Friday that spending
quiet time with her family was
critical to her recovery. She
believes it's possible to be happy
and free again and to not let "this
horrible event take over and
consume the rest of your life."
Allen said recovery will be
difficult, but he's hopeful for
Dugard and her family.
"Despite the 18 years that have
been lost, despite the theft of
Jaycee's childhood, she's alive.
She's young, and she has hope for
the future," Allen said. "It's a very
complex situation, but we really
believe there's real hope here."
E-mail Erin Allday at
eallday@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A
- 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
6 Top News/ Gadgets/
Before aisle became a chasm, there wa... -
Baltimore Sun
(Most Popular - Google News)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:05:02 AM
C amelot, Schmamelot.
Despite some of the headlines,
what died this week was
something that never actually
was: The Kennedy Camelot, we
now know, was largely myth,
created in the wake of a
president's assassination and
offering a context in which to
process so traumatic a national
event.
But when Ted Kennedy died
this week, it was as a man, not a
myth. That is the price, or actually
the gift, of living to be an old man
rather than dying as a young one.
What he left behind was
something more earthbound than
lofty, more practical than poetic.
And yet, given our current
fractious politics, perhaps it is
exactly what we need.
The deceptively simple ability
to cross the aisle.
In the tide of tributes and
personal reminiscences since the
senator's death Tuesday night,
among the most touching have
been the ones from across the
political aisle - a phrase that may
need updating now that the aisle
seems to have widened into a
veritable canyon.
It shouldn't be so noteworthy,
but sadly it is, that the standard
bearer of Democratic liberalism
had so many deep and abiding
friendships with conservative
Republicans.
Among those friends were
Senate colleagues like John
McCain and Orrin Hatch, who
spoke at Kennedy's memorial
service Friday night, and even, as
Peggy Noonan wrote about in her
Wall Street Journal column this
week, Ronald Reagan.
That such political polar
opposites had such a warm
personal relationship is one of
those things that initially seems
surprising, but ultimately makes
perfect sense. As Noonan
characterized their meshing,
"grace met grace."
Today, when the dominant
mood of politics seems to be
anger, the concept of grace seems
quaint, naive even.
It's hard to imagine a less
graceful political moment than
now, although of course it is part
of living in such hyper-aware, self
-referential times to imagine that
everything is the best or the worst
that it has ever been.
But the fact that health care
reform, a cause near and dear to
Kennedy's heart, would become
the battleground of a particularly
vicious, take-no-prisoners
political war makes his death
seem even the greater loss.
Not that any one person, even
one so skilled a legislator as
Kennedy, could change the
perfect-storm dynamic that we
find ourselves in today. The usual
pressures from industry and
political groups, coupled with the
beet-faced anger of the town hall
protesters, have a chokehold on
efforts to reform the health care
system.
The lines are hardening by the
day, and you have to wonder who,
if anyone, will be able to broker
the kind of compromises that
Kennedy once was able to
hammer out, whether he was
working with President George
W. Bush on No Child Left Behind
or with McCain on immigration
reform. Even if those efforts
didn't end entirely in success -
immigration reform remains an
even hotter political button than
health care reform - at this point,
any bipartisan efforts seem like a
bit of a victory.
Instead, we are at the point that
even talking, let alone walking,
across the aisle is viewed in some
quarters as treasonous. A county
GOP official in Iowa was able to
draw cheers at a recent town hall
meeting by demanding that his
senator, Charles Grassley, a
Republican, drop out of bipartisan
talks with colleagues, the so-
called Gang of Six, who are trying
to develop a health care bill in the
Senate.
"I have a great deal of concern
with your continuing to
negotiate," the county chairman
said, according to a Bloomberg
News report. This to a senator
who already seems to come up
with daily deal-breakers for any
health care bill - it can't have a
public option, it can't have end-of-
life counseling, it should have not
just 51 but 80 of 100 Senate votes.
One man's passing in and of
itself is never the end of an entire
era, and yet it is sometimes only
after the death of someone as
looming on the landscape as
Kennedy that there is pause to
consider just how much that
landscape had been changing all
along.
The clubby, collegial Senate
that he came to symbolize no
doubt died before he did. And it
wasn't just the Senate, but
everything about politics - the
way politics is practiced, covered
by the media and followed by the
public.
You have to wonder what it was
like to serve over a span of time
that encompassed so much
change, from a time when it was a
largely patrician institution, to
now, when the heated debates on
the Internet and cable news and
talk radio tend to outshout those
of the so-called greatest
deliberative body in the world.
And you have to wonder what it
was like for Kennedy in particular
to live long enough to "comb gray
hair," as he once quoted an Irish
poet - during a eulogy for yet
another Kennedy, JFK Jr., who
died dark-haired.
His own was a messy,
complicated life, one not easily
placed in the good-or-evil, utter-
failure-or-total-triumph, one-or-
the-other categories that we use as
instant score cards these days.
It's ironic, but we've heard more
about how great compromise is
these last few days in regard to
the late legislator than to the
current health care legislation.
Any sign of moving toward the
middle in the health care debate
from either the left or the right, is
viewed as caving in rather an
attempt to compromise.
Perhaps that will be one of
Kennedy's legacies - to restore the
idea that to compromise is, well,
compromising.
Internet News Record
Remember the Game
Gun? The guy is taking
preorders on the final
version!
By Devin Coldewey
(CrunchGear)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 12:42:15 PM
I love this! A guy cobbles
together something totally cool in
his own home, it blows up on the
internet, and now he’s
(apparently) got backing and it’s
working with every console and
the PC. Yes, apparently you will
be able to buy the GameGun in a
retail package by Christmas,
though pricing hasn’t been
announced. I’m hoping that since
the “TheRedneckTechie” isn’t a
major corporation, he won’t be
trying to ding us too hard for this
thing. If I’m reading him right, he
just wants everybody to have one
because it’s awesome.
The order page will be here(for
all his engineering skill, his web
design is a little dated), and he has
this to say compatibility-wise:
We are getting ready to take
orders. Unit is definitely
compatible with OS/2 + and
thanks to one youtube user. This
is a standard mouse and keyboard
so I think it may be Mac
compatible also. I need a Mac -
But, I’m a PC. I’ll look into
that…
In the meantime you can enjoy
some concept sketches and videos
of him saying “Wireless game
gun!” And of course, this image:
[via Reddit]
Internet News Record
SoCal wildfire surges in size, threatens thousands
(AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 7:01:19 AM
LOS ANGELES – A wildfire in
the mountains above Los Angeles
has surged in every direction,
going in a single day from a
modest threat to a danger to some
10,000 homes.
The blaze nearly tripled in size
in triple-digit heat Saturday,
leaving three people burned,
destroying at least three homes
and forcing the evacuation of
1,000 homes and an untold
number of people.
A slight drop in temperatures
and an influx of fire crews from
around the state were expected to
bring some relief Sunday.
Mandatory evacuations were in
effect for neighborhoods in
Altadena, Glendale, Pasadena, La
Crescenta and Big Tujunga
Canyon.
The flames crept down the
slopes of the San Gabriel
Mountains despite mild winds
blowing predominantly in the
other direction.
"Today what happened is what I
call the perfect storm of fuels,
weather, and topography coming
together," said Captain Mike
Dietrich, the incident commander
for the U.S. Forest Service.
"Essentially the fire burned at
will; it went where it wanted to
when it wanted to."
Dietrich said he had never seen
a fire grow so quickly without
powerful Santa Ana winds to push
it.
Britain's Top Car Nut Bullish on Green Racing Tech
By Tony Borroz (Wired Top
Stories)
At least three homes deep in the
Angeles National Forest were
destroyed, and firefighters were
searching for others, Dietrich said.
Evacuation centers were set up
at two high schools and an
elementary school in the area.
The fire was the largest and
most dangerous of several burning
around southern and central
California and in Yosemite
National Park.
The fire especially grew to the
north and west, bringing new
concerns for the areas near Acton
and Santa Clarita.
More than 31 square miles of
dry forest was scorched by the
fire. It was only 5 percent
contained.
At least three people were
burned in the evacuation areas
and airlifted to local hospitals,
Dietrich said. He had no further
details on their injuries.
Air crews waged a fierce battle
against the southeast corner of the
fire, burning dangerously close to
canyon homes. Spotter planes and
tankers dove well below ridge
then pulled up dramatically over
neighborhoods.
The fire was burning in steep
wooded hills next to NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in northern
Pasadena.
In La Vina, a gated community
of luxury homes in the Altadena
area, a small group of residents
stood at the end of a cul-de-sac on
the lip of a canyon and watched
aircraft battle flames trying to
cross the ridge on the far side.
Lord Drayson tells us how auto
racing can go green, and why
At one point, the flying circus of
relatively small propellor-driven
tankers gave way to the sight of a
giant DC-10 jumbo jet unleashing
a rain of red retardant.
"We see a drop, we give a big
cheer," said Gary Blackwood,
who works on telescope
technology at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. "We've watched it
now for two days hop one ridge at
a time and now it's like we're the
next ridge."
A major goal was to keep the
fire from spreading up Mount
Wilson, where many of the
region's broadcast and
communications antennas and the
historic Mount Wilson
Observatory are located, officials
said.
A second fire in the Angeles
National Forest was burning
several miles to the east in a
canyon above the city of Azusa.
The 3.4-square-mile blaze, which
started Tuesday afternoon, was 95
percent contained Saturday. No
homes were threatened, and full
containment was expected by
Monday.
A wildfire on the Palos Verdes
Peninsula on the south Los
Angeles County coast was 100
percent contained Saturday
afternoon, according to county
fire officials.
Southeast of Los Angeles in
Riverside County, a 3 1/2-square-
mile fire in a rural area of the San
Bernardino National Forest was
30 percent contained as it burned
in steep, rocky terrain in Beeb
green racing isn't an oxymoron.
Top News/ Gadgets/ Tech News/
Canyon. No structures were
threatened.
To the north, in the state's
coastal midsection, a 9.4-square-
mile fire threatening Pinnacles
National Monument kept 100
homes under evacuation orders
near the Monterey County town
of Soledad. The blaze, 60 percent
contained, was started by
agricultural fireworks used to
scare animals away from crops.
The fire destroyed one home.
A state of emergency was
declared Saturday for Mariposa
County, where a nearly 5.5-square
-mile fire burned in Yosemite
National Park. The blaze was 30
percent contained, park officials
said.
Park officials closed a
campground and a portion of
Highway 120, anticipating that
the fire would spread north
toward Tioga Road, the highest
elevation route through the Sierra.
The number of firefighters was
expected to double over the
weekend to 1,000.
About 100 residents from the
town of El Portal were under
evacuation orders, said Brad
Aborn, chairman of Mariposa' s
Board of Supervisors. He said the
remainder of the town, an
estimated 75 people, were
evacuated Saturday morning.
___
Associated Press Writer Andrew
Dalton in Los Angeles contributed
to this report.
7
GameGun going to be
ready for retail by
Christmas, will be
console compatible
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:37:00 PM
Remember that RedneckTechie
and his insanely great GameGun
idea? Well, he's back with another
"slick" demo video, along with
some news for us: he's putting
together a retail version that will
be ready by Christmas. The gun
will also be compatible with Xbox
360, PS3, Wii and Windows and a
plug-and-play device. We're
incredibly short on details, and the
pre-order page isn't live just yet,
but if Mr. Redneck can pull this
off, we're gonna fall all over
ourselves to nab one no matter
what the price is. New vid is after
the break.
Continue reading GameGun
going to be ready for retail by
Christmas, will be console
compatible
Filed under: Displays, Gaming,
Peripherals
GameGun going to be ready for
retail by Christmas, will be
console compatible originally
appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29
Aug 2009 22:37:00 EST. Please
see our terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
8 Top News/ Gadgets/ Tech News/ Internet News Record

Kidnapped girl etched in Tahoe community's

heart (AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) But the community shared their where she was kept hidden from Tahoe Environmental Science
Submitted at 8/30/2009 5:11:32 AM nightmare and embraced them, the world in a secret, leafy Magnet School, has a memory
holding fundraisers, putting up backyard, where she lived in a garden out front, that started as
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. fliers and adorning the town in shed compound. Jaycee's Garden, said former Sony R&D explains
– Some knew her, others only pink ribbons to keep Jaycee in In South Lake Tahoe, the shy Principal Karen Gillis-Tinlin. some background on the
knew of her. But they will never t h e i r h e a r t s a f t e r s h e w a s girl last seen in a pink jacket and Butterflies painted on the walls PlayStation motion
forget the day 18 years ago when k i d n a p p e d J u n e 1 0 , 1 9 9 1 . pink stretch pants is in everyone's symbolize students who have
the blonde, blue-eyed 11-year-old In 2001, 10 years later, more hearts again, this time as a grown died. There are four; one was for controller
was snatched in broad daylight on than 100 people marched on U.S. woman, now 29, and the mother Jaycee. By Paul Miller (Engadget)
her way to a bus stop. 50, the main `highway through of two children fathered by her James Tarwater, school district
Submitted at 8/30/2009 9:14:00 AM
Her scream. A frantic sprint on town, in a pink ribbon parade to alleged abductor. superintendent, said news of
a mountain bike by her stepfather remember the little girl and raise Joy that she was alive was Dugard's reappearance was Well, it's no GameGun, but we
up the twisted mountain road as awareness of child safety and mixed with anxiety about her shocking and disturbing at the hear this " PlayStation motion
he tried to catch up to the Ford Jaycees' unsolved kidnapping. physical and emotional well- same time. controller" thing from Sony is
Granada and the unknown man Terry Probyn, who left Tahoe in being, and sadness over the loss "I think about all the students going to be "kind of a big deal."
and woman who had just ripped 1998 and moved to Southern of youth and innocence. I've had and watched grow during The SCEA R&D team was kind
his family's lives to shreds before California, returned for the "I used to drive by that bus stop the last 18 years," he said. "You enough to put together some
his eyes. anniversary. all the time," Sue Pritchett, a think of their potential." behind the scenes footage
A world renown tourist "Someone out there knows what retired South Lake Tahoe middle Potential denied Jaycee. detailing a bit of the genesis of the
destination, South Lake Tahoe on happened," she said at the time. school teacher, said while talking Bush, her former teacher, controller and some of its
the Nevada-California line is "We need peace. Give us that with a friend in Dugard's old agreed. technical prowess, and according
d o m i n a t e d i n s u m m e r b y gift." neighborhood. "We're all happy she's back. But to Sony this should be just enough
gamblers, boaters and beach It arrived, out of the blue, "I'm absolutely ecstatic that she's it's a life ruined," she said sadly. of a calculated tease to get us
goers. In winter, by gamblers, Wednesday night when she been found," Pritchett said. "But I "I hope in a few weeks, months, excited for TGS in late
skiers and snowboarders. received a call from investigators, hope she's OK." whatever it takes, I'll actually be September. We feel so
But beneath the facade of a saying her daughter had been On Friday, Sue Bush, Jaycee's able to talk to Jaycee and Terry," manipulated. Video is after the
tourist town, where workers come found alive. Nearly two decades fifth-grade teacher at Meyers she said. "Terry never gave up break.
and go with each passing season, of questions, what ifs, and Elementary School, recalled the hope." [Via Engadget Spanish]
is a tight-knit community that suspicions against Dugard's nightmare that day when one of Gillis-Tinlin said Dugard's Continue reading Sony R&D
never forgot Jaycee Lee Dugard, a stepfather, Carl Probyn, were her students didn't show up. rescue "is a wonderful ending," explains some background on the
little girl who loved the color replaced by tears of joy. "We got the call just before class but more importantly, "a PlayStation motion controller
pink. Phillip Garrido, 58, and his 54- started," she told The Associated beginning of the next segment of Filed under: Gaming,
Her mother, Terry Probyn, and year-old wife, Nancy, were Press. "Some of the kids already her life." Peripherals
stepfather, Carl, were relative arrested last week on suspicion of knew about it because they had South Lake Tahoe, she said, will Sony R&D explains some
n e w c o m e r s t o t h e T a h o e abducting Dugard. They pleaded witnessed it at the bus stop. The again bloom in pink bows and background on the PlayStation
community. not guilty Friday to a total of 29 kids were very agitated and upset. ribbons this time in celebration of motion controller originally
"They were brand new to the c o u n t s , i n c l u d i n g f o r c i b l e "We brought in counselors, and a life renewed. appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30
district," Sue Bush, Jaycee's fifth a b d u c t i o n , r a p e a n d f a l s e during the week we wrote letters Aug 2009 09:14:00 EST. Please
grade teacher, said Friday. "I met i m p r i s o n m e n t . to Jaycee and her mom. We kept see our terms for use of feeds.
them at parent-teacher conference Investigators said Dugard was her chair and desk set up." Read| Permalink| Email this|
twice." taken to a house in Antioch, The school, now called Lake Comments
Sony Sides With Google in 'Library of Future' Settlement
By Ryan Singel (Wired Top Sony comes to Google's rescue giant create the library of the for its e-book reader.
Stories) in the controversial Book Search future. Other tech companies hate
settlement, which lets the search it, but Sony says it will be good
Internet News Record Top News/ Apple 9

Obama tribute as Kennedy mourned

(BBC News | Americas | World members of the Senate
Edition) community.
Submitted at 8/29/2009 7:15:22 PM The procession then moved to
Arlington National Cemetery,
Please turn on JavaScript. Media where he was buried close to his
requires JavaScript to play. assassinated brothers - former
Hundreds gathered for Senator President John F Kennedy, killed
Kennedy's funeral in 1963, and Senator Robert
US Senator Edward Kennedy Kennedy, killed in 1968 while
has been buried with military running for president.
honours close to his assassinated Senator Kennedy's family
brothers at Arlington National joined in prayers and listened to
Cemetery in Washington. remembrances from his
The ceremony followed a day of grandchildren, prior to the burial.
tributes to the patriarch of A white-painted oak cross
America's most famous political marked the head of his grave and
dynasty. a marble footstone bore the
President Barack Obama, inscription: "Edward Moore
speaking at his funeral in Boston, Kennedy 1932-2009".
called the senator the greatest Please turn on JavaScript.
legislator of his time. Media requires JavaScript to play.
The service in Boston was also President Obama: "We loved
attended by three former this kind and tender hero"
presidents - Jimmy Carter, Bill As the sun set over the
Clinton and George W Bush. cemetery, a volley of three shots
Senator Kennedy died on ceremony of a state funeral. most famous political dynasty. trying to right wrongs, whether
rang out and a trumpet sounded a
Wednesday at the age of 77, from Before reaching the basilica, the He called Senator Kennedy a they were the result of his failings
cortege moved slowly through the "kind and tender hero", adding: or of ours." final farewell.
brain cancer. In the US, Senator Kennedy's
During a two-day public grey, rain-shrouded Boston " H e w a s t h e s o u l o f t h e A succession of nieces, nephews
death has been seen as the end of
viewing at the John F Kennedy streets. Democratic Party and the lion of and grandchildren also delivered
Presidential Library, some 50,000 As it did, it passed crowds of the US Senate." tributes, while cellist Yo-Yo Ma an era.
people lining up to say their last Senator Kennedy's son, Ted and tenor Placido Domingo both Although hailed as one of the
people paid their respects before most influential US politicians,
the Massachusetts senator's flag- farewells. Others leaned out of Kennedy Jnr, said it had not performed at the funeral.
draped coffin. windows some cheering and always been easy living with the Later, Senator Kennedy's body the senator's career remained
Senate 'lion' waving the American flag. Kennedy name but that he was was flown to Andrews Air Force blighted by the incident in 1969
At the funeral Mass at the Our The senator will be buried near "never more proud of it than Base in Washington before when he drove his car off a bridge
Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica his two brothers, who were today". transferring to a final motorcade. a t C h a p p a q u i d d i c k i n
in Boston, President Obama paid assassinated in the 1960s. Though In a heartfelt, emotional and at Hundreds of people gathered M a s s a c h u s e t t s .
many others in the Kennedy times humorous tribute to his outside the US Capitol - where He fled the scene and a female
tribute to his "friend and mentor". companion, Mary Jo Kopechne,
Music from Yo-Yo Ma set the family are also in public life, this father, he said: "He was not Senator Kennedy served for died.
tone for a sombre occasion which is widely regarded as the end of p e r f e c t b u t h e b e l i e v e d i n nearly five decades - and a brief
Print Sponsor
at times had the pomp and an important chapter in America's redemption. He never stopped prayer service was organised for
Thanks to TheAppleBlog Sponsors!
By Guest Column week’s TheAppleBlog sponsors: • Fuze Meeting: Share 2nd for a LIVE WEBINAR on
(TheAppleBlog) • Mozy: Back up your photos, only $5/month per computer for everything you see with everyone iPhone video distribution
Submitted at 8/28/2009 4:00:48 PM music, and files with Mozy for as unlimited storage. FREE Trial for in high definition, anywhere on strategies and solutions
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10 Top News/ Gadgets/
Police extend US kidnap inquiry
(BBC News | Americas | World
Edition)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 12:08:33 AM
Police working on the Jaycee
Lee Dugard kidnap case have
extended their inquiry to the
house next door to the property
where she was held for 18 years.
Phillip Garrido, who is accused
of abducting Ms Dugard aged 11,
reportedly took care of the next-
door house before the current
resident moved in.
He and his wife Nancy deny 29
charges in connection with the
case.
Mr Garrido is believed to have
fathered Ms Dugard's two
children, the first when she was
just 14.
She is believed to have been
living in tents and sheds in the
backyard of the Garridos' Antioch
home for 18 years.
Yellow crime scene tape now
also surrounds the next-door
property, which neighbours say
has been the home of Damon
Robinson for the past three years.
Mr Robinson had earlier told the
Associated Press news agency
that Mr Garrido used to act as a
caretaker for the property until
2006. Neighbours told AP he used
to visit and help out the previous
elderly resident.
'Like robots'
Jaycee Lee was bundled into a
car outside her home in 1991 in
South Lake Tahoe, 200 miles
(320km) from Antioch.
Her identity was rediscovered
last week, after Mr Garrido was
ordered to a parole meeting by
police officers whose suspicions
had been aroused by the
Internet News Record
BMW's Vision
EfficientDynamics
concept won't look a
tenth this wild when it
hits the streets
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 12:57:00 AM
We hate concept cars. Year after
year we see new concept cars
more fantastical and amazing than
the last, and year after year we see
cars hit the market that have had
all the magic ripped out of them
by safety regulations and market
realities. The newly unveiled
Vision EfficientDynamics car
behaviour of two girls with him. and abduction convictions but he But the officer only spoke to Mr from BMW is mainly here to
The two officers, Lisa Campbell said he had turned his life around. Garrido and did not enter his show us BMW's new diesel-based
and Ally Jacobs, met Mr Garrido They reported their concerns to property to carry out a search. plug-in hybrid drive system. But
on Tuesday as he sought to hold a his parole officer and Mr Garrido Police are now searching the it's also here to annoy us. Video is
religious meeting on the grounds was ordered to report to his office. Garrido home for clues to a after the break.
of the University of California at The Garridos attended with the number of prostitute murders in Continue reading BMW's
Berkeley, where the officers girls and a woman called Allissa, the 1990s. Vision EfficientDynamics concept
work. whose identity was then revealed Several bodies in the unsolved won't look a tenth this wild when
Officer Jacobs said something as Ms Dugard. murders were dumped near an it hits the streets
about the girls, aged 11 and 15, Held without bail industrial park where Mr Garrido Filed under: Transportation
alarmed them. Police have apologised for worked. BMW's Vision
"I think Lisa asked, 'do you guys m i s s i n g a n o p p o r t u n i t y i n Mr and Mrs Garrido are being EfficientDynamics concept won't
go to school?' and they both, like November 2006 to find Ms held without bail and a further look a tenth this wild when it hits
r o b o t s , [ s a i d ] ' w e ' r e h o m e Dugard. court hearing has been scheduled the streets originally appeared on
schooled'." Please turn on JavaScript. for 14 September. Engadget on Sun, 30 Aug 2009
The officer said they noticed the Media requires JavaScript to play. Ms Dugard and her children are 00:57:00 EST. Please see our
girls were "extremely pale in Jaycee saved by 'uneasy feeling' staying at a motel near San terms for use of feeds. Read|
comparison" to Mr Garrido, and An officer visited the Garrido Francisco after being reunited Permalink| Email this| Comments
had "penetratingly blue eyes and I h o m e w h e n a n e i g h b o u r - with Ms Dugard's mother, Terri
just got a weird uneasy feeling". reportedly the then-girlfriend of Probyn.
The officers said Mr Garrido Mr Robinson - alerted them to Print Sponsor
had told them of his previous rape suspicious behaviour there.
Internet News Record Top News/ Tech/ 11

Kennedy remembered for his years in NEWSMAKER-Japan's

the Senate (AP) Aso leads party to ... -
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) America." up that hill.'"
Submitted at 8/30/2009 5:10:26 AM Reuters Earlier, Obama delivered the
eulogy in Our Lady of Perpetual
"And he lifted me up in his
strong, gentle arms and said
WASHINGTON – Sen. Edward Help Church, packed with row something I will never forget. He (Most Popular - Google News) a fan of the "manga" comics
M. Kennedy, laid to rest alongside upon row of mourners including said, `I know you can do it. There Submitted at 8/30/2009 7:13:49 AM popular with youth.
his slain brothers John and former presidents George W. is nothing that you can't do.'" A Catholic in a land of Shinto
Robert, was remembered as a Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Kennedy's freshly excavated (For more stories on Japanese and Buddhism, the dapper dresser
"veritable force of nature" who Carter. gravesite was on a gently sloping politics, click [ID:nPOLJP]) was supposed to stand out from
worked tirelessly in the Senate for "He was given a gift of time that Virginia hillside, flanked by a pair By Yoko Nishikawa the grey men in suits that
nearly five decades on the causes his brothers were not. And he of maple trees. His brother TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - dominate Japanese politics.
he cared about deeply. used that time to touch as many Robert, killed in 1968 while Japan's Liberal Democratic Party The hope was that the grandson
Crowds lined the streets of two lives and right as many wrongs as running for president, lies 100 feet (LDP) picked Taro Aso as its of a prominent post-war prime
cities on a day that marked the the years would allow," Obama away. It is another 100 feet to the leader a year ago in the hope he minister would rally the party's
end of an American political era said in remarks that also gently eternal flame that has burned would turn around its sagging standing in the polls and call a
outside Kennedy's funeral in rainy made mention of Kennedy's since 1963 for John F. Kennedy, fortunes and preserve its five- quick general election.
Boston where he was eulogized "personal failings and setbacks." president when he was decade grip on power. But the global financial crisis
by President Barack Obama, and As a member of the Senate, assassinated. Instead, he led the conservative, pushed Japan into its worst
later in humid, late-summer Kennedy was a "veritable force of Saturday's events marked the pro-business LDP to a historic recession since World War Two
Washington. nature," the president said. But end of four days of public and defeat in a general election on and the chance was missed.
Kennedy, who died Tuesday at more than that, he was the " baby private mourning meant to Sunday. Aso tried to stem the tide with
age 77, more than a year after he of the family who became its emphasize Kennedy's 47 years in Aso said he took responsibility record stimulus spending to
was diagnosed with brain cancer, patriarch, the restless dreamer the Senate from Massachusetts, f o r t h e l o s s a f t e r m e d i a rescue the economy.
was buried Saturday on hallowed who became its rock." his standing as the foremost projections showed the LDP had But his efforts failed to win over
ground at Arlington National One of Kennedy's sons, Patrick, liberal Democrat of the late 20th shed two-thirds of its seats in the voters irritated by his brash
C e m e t e r y . A t a g r a v e s i d e wept quietly as another, Teddy Jr., century yet a legislator who lower house election, adding the manner and his party's apparent
enveloped in deepening darkness, spoke from the pulpit. Teddy Jr. courted compromise with party should pick a successor failings.
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, recalled the day years ago, shortly Republicans, a family man and soon. Though sometimes called "the
a r c h b i s h o p e m e r i t u s o f after losing a leg to cancer, that he last heir to a dynasty that began in After Aso became the party's man with a 1.5 metre radius" for
Washington, offered sympathies s l i p p e d w a l k i n g u p a n i c y the years after World War II. fourth leader in four years last his ability to win over those close
to Kennedy relatives and "an driveway as he headed out to go September, policy flip-flops and around him with amusing patter,
e x t e n d e d f a m i l y t h a t m u s t sledding. "I started to cry and I gaffes ravaged his approval voters grew tired of his off-the-
p r o b a b l y i n c l u d e m o s t o f said, `I'll never be able to climb ratings, sparking turmoil in the cuff remarks and lack of charisma
LDP and opening the way for the when giving speeches.
Apple store back up; no apparent changes opposition Democratic Party to Such remarks managed to
take power. offend people ranging from
By Chris Rawson (The error, and we apologize for the The prime minister's job was doctors and parents to the elderly,
Unofficial Apple Weblog misinformation. "filled with dark loneliness from while Aso has also been ridiculed
(TUAW)) TUAW Apple store back up; no beginning to end", Aso once said in the media for misreading kanji,
Submitted at 8/30/2009 4:23:00 AM apparent changes originally as his ratings dropped.
appeared on The Unofficial Apple the Chinese characters used in
T h e 6 8 - y e a r - o l d , w h o Japanese writing.
Filed under: Retail The Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 30 Aug represented Japan at skeet
Store is back up, with no apparent 2009 04:23:00 EST. Please see PRIVILEGED
s h o o t i n g i n t h e M o n t r e a l BACKGROUND Continued...
changes. It appears to have just our terms for use of feeds. Olympics in 1976, had cultivated
been a maintenance update. up with a new 2 TB Time Capsule Read| Permalink| Email this|
and a price reduction for the old 1 an image as a "cool old dude" and
An earlier post went out Comments
claiming that the store had come TB model. This was an editorial
12 Top News/ Entertainment
Peruvians bury mass grave victims
(BBC News | Americas | World
Edition)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 12:19:25 AM
Dozens of civilian victims of a
1984 massacre in Peru have been
buried, 25 years after they were
murdered during a bitter Maoist
insurgency.
The burials followed a two-day
funeral procession for some 90
victims recovered from a mass
grave last year.
The killing of more than 120
men, women and children in the
highland village of Putis was the
worst massacre in two decades of
bitter conflict.
A group for the victims' families
says they were killed by the
military.
The two-day procession passed
through Ayacucho, the Andean
California fire threatens 10,000
(BBC News | Americas | World
Edition)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 3:57:04 AM
A wildfire in the mountains
above Los Angeles is threatening
some 10,000 homes, California
officials have said.
The fire almost tripled in size on
Saturday, fuelled by hot weather
and dry brush, firefighters said.
About 1,000 homes have been
evacuated and a handful in Big
Tujunga Canyon have been
destroyed by the flames. Three
people were reported injured.
Hundreds of firefighters are
Travis Barker Reacts to DJ AM's Death
(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 9:15:00 PM
Travis Barker is reacting to the
Internet News Record
region which was at the centre of give the names of the officers who
the violence unleashed by the were stationed at the military base
Mao-inspired Shining Path rebels here in 1984," he said.
who sought to overthrow the state. No member of the Peruvian
The response was brutal military has been prosecuted for
repression, and the mass grave left the massacre.
at Putis is Peru's largest - 92 Peru's Defence Minister, Rafael
bodies were found but only 28 of Rey, has said there's no way of
them have been identified using getting the records.
DNA testing. But Peru's human rights
No prosecution ombudswoman, Beatriz Merino,
The funeral procession began on has called this unacceptable and
the sixth anniversary of Peru's says the state has an obligation to
Truth and Reconciliation see justice is done.
Commission. Some 15,000 people
Jose Coronel, who presided over
the commission in Ayacucho, said
disappeared between 1980 and
2000.
Bodies found at US trailer
there was still little sign of
reconciliation over the massacre
The remains of a little more
than 1% of them have been park
at Putis. exhumed. (BBC News | Americas | World The town of Brunswick is about
"There have been no steps Print Sponsor Edition) 240 miles (380km) south-east of
forward in terms of justice Submitted at 8/29/2009 4:16:21 PM the state capital, Atlanta.
because the armed forces refuse to Glynn County Police Chief Matt
Please turn on JavaScript. Media Doering said it was worst such
requires JavaScript to play.
Police recover bodies from the
incident he had dealt with in 25
years of police work.
trying to contain the fire, which "Today what happened is what I trailer park "We have never had such an
has burnt more than 31 sq miles call the perfect storm of fuels, A murder investigation is under incident with so many victims,"
(80 sq km) of forest. weather and topography coming way in the US state of Georgia he said. "It is not a scene that I
Officials said the blaze was only together. following the discovery of seven would want anybody to see."
5% contained, with the area's "Essentially the fire burned at bodies in a mobile home, police He said a family member had
steep, rugged hills making efforts will; it went where it wanted to say. alerted police but declined to say
to fight the fire more difficult. when it wanted to." The bodies were found shortly how the victims had died.
Mandatory evacuation orders Smoke from the blaze in the after 0800 (1200 GMT) at New Some of those killed had been
are in place for parts of Altadena, Angeles National Forest could be Hope Plantation trailer park in tentatively identified, he added,
Glendale, Pasadena, La Crescenta seen drifting across the skies Brunswick. but he would not release names or
and Big Tujunga Canyon. above Los Angeles. Police said two critically injured ages.
Evacuation centres have been A number of other fires are also people were found at the scene By early Saturday evening, four
set up at local schools. burning in southern and central and taken to hospital in Savannah of the seven bodies had been
On Saturday, Captain Mike California. 60 miles (97km) away. removed from the crime scene.
Dietrich, incident commander for Print Sponsor Local reports said those injured Print Sponsor
the US Forest Service, told the were two children.
Associated Press news agency:
death of his friend Adam "DJ gonna play 2night but I am for He went on to write, "I'll never amazing friend/DJ/human being."
AM" Goldstein. AM. My brother is gone. I love u forget everything we've been thru
The rock drummer tweeted on and miss u, I'll never forget all the and every time I play the drums
Saturday, "Don't know how I am good times we had." I'll think of you. U were an
Internet News Record World/ 13

Birth defects linked to coal pollution

By Gethin Chamberlain (World Uranium occurs naturally The findings have implications carried out in Germany, said that had seven operations to unbend
news and comment from the throughout the world, but is not only for the rest of India – the situation could no longer be his arms and legs.
Guardian | guardian.co.uk) normally only present in low Punjab produces two-thirds of the ignored. "There is evidence of "The government should
Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:22:47 PM background levels which pose no wheat in the country's central harm for these children in my care investigate it because if our child
threat to human health. There was reserves and 40% of its rice – but and... it is an imperative that their is affected it will also affect future
Observer investigation uncovers no obvious source in the Punjab for many other countries planning bodies be cleaned up and their generations," he said. "What are
link between dramatic rise in birth that could account for such high to build new power plants, metabolisms be supported to deal they waiting for? How many
defects in Punjab and pollution levels of contamination. including China, Russia, India, with such a devastating presence children do they want to be
from coal-fired power stations And if a few hundred children – Germany and the US. In Britain, of radioactive material," she said. affected? Another generation? I
Their heads are too large or too spread over a large area – were there are plans for a coal-fired "If the contamination is as can leave the house for work, but
small, their limbs too short or too c o n t a m i n a t e d , h o w m a n y station at the Kingsnorth facility widespread as it would appear to my wife is always with him.
bent. For some, their brains never thousands more might also be in Kent. be – as far west as Muktsar on the Sometimes she cries and asks why
grew, speech never came and their affected? Those are questions the The victims are being treated at Pakistani border, and as far east as God is playing with our luck.
lives are likely to be cut short: I n d i a n a u t h o r i t i e s a p p e a r the Baba Farid centres for special the foothills of Himachal Pradesh Every morning he sends a new
these are the children it appears determined not to answer. Staff at children in Bathinda – where – then millions are at high risk trouble."
that India would rather the world the clinics say they were visited there are two coal-fired thermal and every new baby born to a Doni Choudhary, aged 15
did not see, the victims of a and threatened with closure if plants – and in nearby Faridkot. It contaminated mother is at risk." months, is waiting to be tested,
s c a n d a l w i t h p o t e n t i a l they spoke out. The South African was staff at those clinics who first In the Faridkot centre last week, though staff say he shows similar
implications far beyond the scientist whose curiosity exposed voiced concerns about the Harmanbir Kaur, 15, was rocking symptoms to those who have
country's borders. the scandal says she has been increasing numbers of admissions gently backwards and forwards. tested positive and are treating
Some sit mutely, staring into warned by the authorities that she involving severely handicapped When her test results came back, him for suspected uranium
space, lost in a world of their may not be allowed back into the children. They were being born they showed she had 10 times the poisoning. His mother, Neelum,
own; others cry out, rocking country. with hydrocephaly, microcephaly, safe limit of uranium in her body. 22, from the state capital,
backwards and forwards. Few But an Observer investigation cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome Her brother, Naunihal Singh, six, Chandigarh, says he was born
have any real control over their has now uncovered disturbing and other complications. Several has double the safe level. with hydrocephaly. His legs are
own bodies. Their anxious parents e v i d e n c e t o s u g g e s t a l i n k have already died. Harmanbir was born in Muktsar, useless.
fret over them, murmuring soft between the contamination and Dr Pritpal Singh, who runs the 25 miles from Faridkot. Her "He is dependent on others.
words of encouragement, hoping the region's coal-fired power Faridkot clinic, said the numbers mother, Kulbir Kaur, 37, watched After me, who can care for him?"
for some sort of miracle that will stations. It is already known that of children affected by the her slowly degenerate from a Neelum asks. "He tries to speak
free them from a nightmare. the fine fly ash produced when pollution had risen dramatically in healthy baby into the girl she is but he can't express himself and
Health workers in the Punjabi c o a l i s b u r n e d c o n t a i n s the past six or seven years. But he today, dribbling constantly, my heart cries. When will he
cities of Bathinda and Faridkot concentrated levels of uranium added that the Indian authorities unable to feed herself, lost in a understand that his legs don't
knew something was terribly and a new report published by appeared determined to bury the world of her own. "God knows work? What will he feel?"
wrong when they saw a sharp Russia's leading nuclear research scandal. "They can't just detoxify what sin I have committed. When India's reluctance to
increase in the number of birth institution warns of an increased these kids, they have to detoxify we go to our village people say acknowledge the problem is
defects, physical and mental radiation hazard to people living the whole Punjab. That is the there is a curse of God on you, but hardly unexpected: the country is
abnormalities, and cancers. They near coal-fired thermal power reason for their reluctance," he I don't believe so," she said. heavily committed to an
suspected that children were being stations. said. "They threatened us and said "Every part of this area is expansion of thermal plants in
slowly poisoned. The test results for children born if we didn't stop commenting on affected. We never imagined that Punjab and other states. Neither
But it was only when a visiting and living in areas around the what's happening, they would there would be uranium in our was it any surprise when a team
scientist arranged for tests to be state's power stations show high close our clinic. kids." of scientists from the Department
carried out at a German laboratory levels of uranium in their bodies. "But I decided that if I kept A few miles down the road in of Atomic Energy visited the area
that the true nature of their plight Tests on ground water show that silent it would go on for years and Bathinda, Sukhminder Singh, 48, and concluded that while the
became clear. The results were levels of uranium around the no one would do anything about a farmer, watched his son concentration of uranium in
unequivocal. The children had plants are up to 15 times the it. If I keep silent then the next Kulwinder, 13, staring into space drinking water was "slightly
massive levels of uranium in their World Health Organisation's day it will be my child. The while curling his hands up under high", there was "nothing to
bodies, in one case more than 60 maximum safe limits. Tests also children are dying in front of me." his chin. Tests showed Kulwinder worry" about. Yet some tests
times the maximum safe limit. show that it extends across large Dr Carin Smit, the South has 19 times the maximum safe recorded levels of uranium in the
T h e r e s u l t s w e r e b o t h parts of the state, which is home African clinical metal toxicologist level of uranium in his body. He
momentous and mysterious. to 24 million people. who arranged for the tests to be has cerebral palsy and has already BIRTH page 16
14 World/
Obama leads elite at Kennedy funeral
By Gaby Wood (World news
and comment from the
Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:24:15 PM
A roll call of American
presidents gather to pay their
respects at Edward Kennedy's
funeral with politicians from
around the world
At six o'clock yesterday
morning, the streets around the
Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual
Help in Boston were already
being closed off. New metal
barriers were erected by the
minute, each possible path
blocked by every conceivable
branch of police – city, state, FBI
– as black-coated members of the
secret service huddled beneath
umbrellas in the bleak rainy dawn.
The Mission Church, as the 19th
-century building is locally
known, towers over modest red-
brick and wood-frame houses in a
district that is as unpretentious as
it is diverse. The people who live
there hung signs in the windows –
or just wrote impromptu messages
with their fingers on the misted-
up glass – honouring the man who
had caused the streets to close:
"Thank you, Senator Kennedy."
Edward M Kennedy, who died
of brain cancer on Tuesday at the
age of 77, was a man who made it
his life's work to, as President
Obama said in the funeral that
took place in the church hours
later, "give a voice to those who
could not be heard", and to "add a
rung to the ladder of opportunity".
After Bobby Kennedy's now-
famous funeral train from New
York to Washington in 1968 drew
vast numbers of onlookers, the
economist JK Galbraith said: "If
you were burying Ronald Reagan,
you would obviously want to do it
with an airplane; but if you are
going to bury Robert Kennedy,
his people live along the railway
tracks." Ted Kennedy's body was
eventually flown last night to be
buried with his brothers at
Arlington cemetery in Virginia,
but the days leading up to his
funeral have seen an outpouring
of emotion for the man who was
the senator for Massachusetts for
47 years and thought, as his
youngest son Teddy put it, that it
was the greatest place on Earth.
Yesterday, security around the
church increased exponentially
throughout the early morning,
until it became the largest security
operation the city had ever seen.
The arrangements were more
typical of a president's funeral
than a senator's. Almost 1,500
people, including President
Barack Obama and former
presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill
Clinton and George W Bush, as
well as 79 members and former
members of the Senate, strode
through the rain and up the steps.
Beneath the soaring ceilings of
the basilica, as they waited for the
service to begin, Hillary Clinton
smiled and chatted with George
and Laura Bush, Barack Obama
leaned back to laugh at something
Bill Clinton was telling him, John
McCain sat next to Democrat
Chris Dodd. There was a
respectful yet celebratory mood
among them, a tribute to the
warm, bipartisan spirit of a man
President Obama described as
"the lion of the Senate" and "the
soul of the Democratic party".
Yo-Yo Ma played a Bach
Sarabande, Placido Domingo sang
the "Panis Angelicus", and Boston
Cardinal Sean O'Malley led the
Roman Catholic service.
Kennedy's wife Vicki sat in the
front row, her eyes always
brimming but never
overwhelmed. It was only when
Kennedy's son Ted spoke,
acknowledging that it had not
always been easy to bear such a
name, that many in the audience
began to break down.
He told a story about a day
when he was 12 years old, soon
after he had lost a leg to bone
cancer, when his father took him
out sledging. Teddy Jr could
barely walk with his new artificial
leg, let alone go out in the snow.
"As I struggled to walk I slipped
and I fell on the ice and I started
to cry," he said from the pulpit,
starting to cry again at the
memory. He told his father that he
couldn't do it, could never get up
the hill, and his father, he said,
"took me in his strong gentle arms
and said: 'I know that you can do
it. There is nothing you can't do.
We're going to make it up that hill
even if it takes us all day.'"
Teddy's brother Patrick, who
followed their father and is now
representative from Rhode Island,
sobbed as he heard the story. "My
father," Teddy went on, "taught
me that even the most profound
losses are survivable."
After Teddy spoke, Patrick
came to meet him. They embraced
next to their father's white-draped
casket, and Patrick went up to
speak. "I admit," he said of his
own political career, "I used to
hang on to his coat sleeves, so
when I got to the Capitol, all I had
to do was set my compass to the
principles of his life."
As personal as the testimonials
were, it was natural that a man
who was a father – and, after his
brothers' death, honorary father –
to so many, should have touched
his family. But Kennedy's
humour, his kindness, his talent
and his sense of justice came
through best in the eulogy given
by Barack Obama, who described
him as a "kind and tender hero"
and spoke of his own "ache" at
Kennedy's passing. As the first
lady looked on, with sadness and
without sentimentality, Obama
spoke of Kennedy's love for his
second wife, Vicki. "It could not
have been easy for Ted to risk his
heart again." Speaking subtly of
the legend of Camelot, and of the
burdens placed on Ted Kennedy's
shoulders, Obama said there were
high expectations of him "because
of who he was, but he surpassed
them all because of who he
became".
When Ted Kennedy almost died
in a plane crash in 1964, the year
after his brother John had been
assassinated, Robert Kennedy
commented on their large,
dazzling, ill-fated family. "I guess
the only reason we've survived,"
Bobby said, "is that there are
more of us than there is trouble."
Four years later, Bobby was
killed. Ted, spent the decades that
followed working patiently on
what he called "the great
unfinished business of America",
and fending off more than his fair
share of trouble.
When he first came to the
Senate in 1962, he was dismissed
as a rather dim playboy who had
got a free pass to the seat vacated
by his newly elected president
brother. It was a privilege that left
him with much to prove. And he
did, going on to become, as
people have said repeatedly this
week, the most influential, most
consequential Democratic senator
of the 20th century.
Kennedy's imprint is left on a
broad array of legislation, from
Internet News Record
civil rights in the mid-1960s to
women's rights, voting rights,
health and education; he altered
the lives of people with
disabilities, people with Aids,
working people whose families
were sick. Senator John Kerry
pointed out on Friday evening that
JFK had spent 1,000 days in the
White House, Bobby had spent 80
days campaigning for president;
Ted spent more than 17,000 days
in the Senate, "and changed the
course of history". Chris Dodd,
US Senator for Connecticut and
Kennedy's close friend, said that
John had inspired America,
Bobby had challenged America
and Ted had changed America.
It's often said that Kennedy
spoke for the distressed and the
dispossessed because he himself
had suffered – the deaths of
siblings, eventually the sickness
of his own children – and because
his powers of empathy were
extreme. But he knew other kinds
of tragedy and trouble, too – self-
inflicted and inflicted on others.
In July 1969, the single most
damaging incident of his life took
place when he left a party on an
island called Chappaquiddick
with Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-
year-old former aide to Bobby,
and drove off a bridge into the
water. Afraid of the publicity a
police report would cause, he fled
the scene and left Kopechne to
die, not reporting the accident
until 10 hours later. His friend the
late Jack Newfield wrote that his
career became "an atonement for
one night of indefensible
behaviour"; Kennedy, Newfield
said, "converted persistence into
redemption".
His biographer Burton Hersh
OBAMA page 18
Internet News Record World/ Entertainment 15

Brown's new Afghanistan Taliban plan

By Mark Townsend, Gaby army capable of taking that talks would be limited to Camp Bastion, a shirt-sleeved Rupert Thornloe and company
Hinsliff (World news and responsibility for its own people prepared to renounce Brown shook hands with Royal commander Sean Burchill were
comment from the Guardian | country's defence could be violence, not those still actively Engineers, and said: "I think we recently killed in separate attacks.
guardian.co.uk) accelerated by a year, potentially fighting, but said Brown can get another 50,000 Afghan Brown was challenged by one
Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:26:29 PM speeding up the departure of Nato supported President Hamid army members training over the soldier over why they had to pay
troops. A major US review of the Karzai's view that Taliban next year. Stepping that up means income tax while fighting
Prime minister announces new military strategy due shortly is elements prepared to embrace that the Afghans can take overseas.
strategy on surprise visit to expected to focus on the same peace could be rehabilitated. responsibility for their own Downing Street also announced
Afghanistan and promises more issue. Senior British diplomats in affairs." Downing Street is an escalation in the number of
local troops to speed Nato Brown promised more armoured Helmand confirmed concerted proposing that Afghan troop drones to spy on bomb-making
withdrawal vehicles and specialist bomb attempts had begun to peel off numbers rise by 40,000 to factories in Helmand by next
Gordon Brown unveiled a fresh d i s p o s a l t e a m s , f o l l o w i n g Taliban elements, a move that 134,000 by next year, 12 months spring. Reaper drone flying hours
s t r a t e g y f o r t h e w a r i n widespread criticism of the could theoretically shorten the ahead of schedule, and to 240,000 are expected to increase by 80%.
Afghanistan yesterday, including protection offered to UK forces in conflict. The strategy echoes deals by 2011. An extra 270 armoured vehicles
a controversial "reconciliation" a conflict that has claimed 208 done with insurgents in Iraq, as That could ease frontline to protect troops from roadside
process for Taliban elements and British lives, including a Royal well as during the British pressures on British combat bombs will also be delivered to
speedier training of an Afghan Marine killed yesterday morning. campaign in Malaya, and in troops, 38 of whom have been southern Afghanistan by
army to replace Nato troops. The prime minister praised the Vietnam. killed in the past two months. Christmas, including the Mastiff,
Amid waning public support for "courage, bravery and patriotism" For some months there have Brown also announced another considered the most IED-proof of
the conflict, the prime minister of UK personnel in his visit to been active attempts to persuade 200 British troops would be all vehicles, the new Ridgeback
used a visit to a British military Camp Bastion, after a week that local Taliban fighters to down assigned specialist duties to troop carrier and Jackal II.
base in Helmand province to give confirmed 2009 as the bloodiest weapons, with incentives to countering IEDs (improvised Liam Fox, the shadow defence
the first insight into changes year on record since the US-led encourage them back into civilian explosive devices). They will be secretary, said the government
aimed at curbing the death toll invasion in Afghanistan eight life. However, they have had responsible for disrupting the had been "woefully slow" to
among UK soldiers. years ago. He admitted it had mixed success, with complaints bomb-making networks whose respond to the threat of IEDs and
A source close to Brown been a "most difficult summer". that promises made have not devices account for three-quarters challenged Brown to give more
suggested negotiations with Speaking yesterday to both main always been kept. of British fatalities. However, it details about British troop
insurgents sympathetic to the candidates in last week's Afghan Possible options under remains unclear whether these deployment. "What will happen to
Taliban, persuading them to national elections, the outcome of discussion to expand the will involve a fresh deployment or the extra 900 troops temporarily
switch sides, now formed a key which will finally be determined programme include linking such be taken from the existing force of deployed to provide increased
component of Britain's war effort. next month, Brown promised integration projects more directly 9,100. security for the elections – are
H e a d d e d : " T h e m o r e them thousands more troops. to foreign aid. The Afghan Brown spent several hours they coming home?"
reconciliation, the better." Officials declined to be drawn government would take the lead discussing troop numbers with • Afghanistan
Diplomatic sources in Helmand on any potential increase in in negotiations but western troops General Stanley McChrystal, US • Taliban
suggested such efforts could be on British troops, however, saying would be expected to facilitate commander on the ground, whose • Gordon Brown
a large scale: "A large part of the only that the deployment in them, partly by enforcing security review of the current strategy will • Foreign policy
Taliban are not really committed Helmand was "under review". so that local fighters have the be published shortly. He also met Mark Townsend Gaby Hinsliff
to their agenda. They are fighting David Miliband, the foreign confidence to switch sides. the head of the US marines guardian.co.uk© Guardian
for tactical reasons and can be secretary, first suggested last However, the UN has argued that fighting in Helmand alongside News & Media Limited 2009 |
brought back into mainstream month talking to lower ranks of talks at the most senior levels of UK forces. Use of this content is subject to
life." the Taliban, to encourage fighters the Taliban will ultimately be Among troops he met were our Terms & Conditions| More
Brown also suggested the on the ground to switch sides. necessary to resolve the conflict. soldiers from the Welsh Guards Feeds
planned training of an Afghan Downing Street stressed then Amid 42C temperatures in whose commanding officer
DJ AM's Autopsy Completed
(ETonline - Breaking News) York Medical Examiner's office results might become available. Goldstein was found dead at the
Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:42:00 AM has completed the autopsy on We've learned that it could take age of 36 on Friday. Click here
Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein. Read up to several weeks for the for his final Twitter message and
ET can confirm that the New on to find out how soon the autopsy results to be determined. star reactions to the sad news.
16 Gadgets/ Entertainment
BIRTH
continued from page 13
ground water as high as 224mcg/l
(micrograms per litre) – 15 times
higher than the safe level of
15mcg/l recommended by the
WHO. (The US Environmental
Protection Agency sets a
maximum safe level of 20mcg/l.)
Some scientists have proposed
that the ground water may have
been contaminated by contact
with granite rocks that rise above
the ground about 150 miles away
to the south in the Tosham hills,
in Haryana state. A continuation
of these rocks is believed to run
deep below the thick alluvial
deposits that form the plains of
Punjab.
Increasing demands for water,
in particular to irrigate the rice
crop, have led to greater
dependence on tube wells. That in
turn is depleting the water table in
the state at an alarming rate – by
at least 30cm a year, according to
one study – with the result that
water is being drawn from ever
deeper levels. However, this
theory seems to be in conflict with
evidence from parents of many of
the children, who say they use the
mains supply, which comes from
other sources.
There have also been claims that
the contamination may have been
exacerbated by depleted uranium
carried on the wind from the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan. At a
seminar in Amritsar in April,
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, a
former chief of the naval staff,
suggested that areas within a
1,000-mile radius of Kabul –
including Punjab – may be
affected by depleted uranium.
Tops & Flops: A Week in Fashion
(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:45:00 AM
Although the prevailing monsoon
winds blow either from the north-
east or the south-west, there are
times when a depression
originating in the Mediterranean
can result in rainfall in Punjab.
Meanwhile, smoke continues to
pour from the power station
chimneys and lorries shuttle
backwards and forwards, taking
away the fly ash to be mixed into
cement at the neighbouring
Ambuja factory. Inside the plant
last week, there was ash
everywhere, forming drifts,
clinging to the skin, getting into
the throat.
Ravindra Singh, the plant's
security officer, said that most of
the ash went to the cement works,
while the rest was dumped in ash
ponds. It would be more efficient
to burn better quality coal that left
less ash, he said. Every day the
plant burned 6,000 tons of coal.
He had no idea how much ash that
generated, but the stream of
lorries to take it away was
continuous.
The first coal-fired power
station in Punjab was
commissioned in Bathinda in
1974, followed by another in
nearby Lehra Mohabat in 1998.
There is a third to the east, at
Rupnagar.
Tests on ground water in
villages in Bathinda district found
the highest average concentration
of uranium – 56.95mcg/l – in the
town of Bucho Mandi, a short
distance from the Lehra Mohabat
ash pond. Such a concentration of
uranium means the lifetime cancer
risk in the village was more than
This week had its share of Whose looks were second rate,
fashion finds and outfits that and which were super great? You
should have been left behind. rate!
153 times higher than in the
normal population. Tests on
ground water in the village of Jai
Singh Wala, close to the Bathinda
ash pond, showed an average
level of 52.79mcg/l. People living
there said they used the ash to
spread on the roads and even on
the floors of their homes.
Scientists in Punjab who have
studied the presence of uranium in
the state have dismissed the
government denials as a
whitewash. "If the government
says there is a high level of
uranium in an area that would
create havoc – they don't want to
openly say something like that,"
said Dr Chander Parkash, a
wetland ecologist working at
Guru Nanak Dev University,
Amritsar.
Both he and Dr Surinder Singh,
who works at the same university
and has also carried out tests on
the state's ground water, said it
was clear that uranium was
present in large quantities and
should be investigated further.
Another scientist, Dr GS
Dhillon, a former chief engineer
with the irrigation department, is
convinced that the uranium has
come from the power stations and
accuses the authorities of failing
to control the ash ponds, which he
believes have contaminated the
ground water.
Their concerns are bolstered by
a report from the Kurchatov
Institute in Moscow, Russia's
leading state organisation for
nuclear research, published last
month in the Russian Academy of
Sciences' Thermal Engineering
Internet News Record
journal. The report's author, DA
Krylov, raised serious doubts
about the safety of coal-fired
thermal power stations (TPSs),
concluding that radiation from ash
residues and from chimney
emissions built up around coal-
fired power plants and posed an
additional risk to those living and
working in the area.
"Natural radionuclides contained
in coals concentrate in ash-and-
slag wastes and gas-aerosol
emissions as these coals are fired
at TPSs, with the result that an
elevated man-made radiation
background builds up around
TPSs," the report stated. The
Grado takes on
situation became worse, the report
said, if ash was used as a
the earbud with
construction material or as a
filling material for roads.
the GR8
A previous report in the By Paul Miller (Engadget)
magazine Scientific American, Submitted at 8/30/2009 4:21:00 AM
citing various sources, claimed
that fly ash emitted by power After years of shunning that
plants "carries into the most common of headphone
surrounding environment 100 styles, the earbud, Grado has at
times more radiation than a last taken a break from its over-
nuclear power plant producing the the-ear, vented diaphragm purism
same amount of energy", adding: (if you don't count the China-built
"When coal is burned into fly ash, iGrado) and created an in-ear pair
uranium and thorium are for the kiddies. The GR8 doesn't
concentrated at up to 10 times really look like anything special,
their original levels." but the couple of reviews that
• India have trickled in sound promising.
• Pollution The headphones are being built in
Gethin Chamberlain Japan, but have some proprietary
guardian.co.uk© Guardian Grado magic in there to at least
News & Media Limited 2009 | make them interesting -- and it
Use of this content is subject to certainly should, at $300 a pop.
our Terms & Conditions| More Read- Grado GR8 unboxing
Feeds Read- Grado GR8 product page
Filed under: Portable Audio
Grado takes on the earbud with
the GR8 originally appeared on
Engadget on Sun, 30 Aug 2009
04:21:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds. Permalink|
Email this| Comments
Internet News Record World/ Tech News/ 17

Japan opposition heads for historic Police recruits killed in

election victory Pakistan blast
By Justin McCurry (World exceed 70% may have been and poor," the DPJ said in a By Haroon Siddique (World have been one of the police
news and comment from the dashed by strong winds and heavy statement today. "We will change news and comment from the volunteers.
Guardian | guardian.co.uk) rain brought by an approaching Japan." Guardian | guardian.co.uk) "No, we don't have any such
Submitted at 8/30/2009 5:24:00 AM typhoon. Even voters who remain wary ofSubmitted at 8/30/2009 5:09:02 AM report – but yes, a suicide bomber
The Asahi exit poll was roughly the DPJ's spending promises said sneaked into the training for
Victory for Democratic Party of in line with recent opinion polls they were prepared to vote for theAttack in Swat valley, in which recruits," he said.
Japan would see Yukio Hatoyama showing the LDP's strength in the party. at least 14 people died, was He blamed the attack on the
leading first government for 15 lower house slashed from 300 "We don't know if the deadliest since army regained decision to relax a daily curfew in
y e a r s n o t l e d b y L i b e r a l seats to as few as 100. Democrats can really make a control of area from Taliban the area for the holy month of
Democratic party The election has proved difference, but we want to give At least 14 police recruits were Ramadan, saying security would
Japan's main opposition party is disastrous for the prime minister, them a chance," Junko Shinoda, akilled by a suicide bomber in be stepped up.
heading for a historic victory in Taro Aso, whose year in office civil servant, told the Associated
Pakistan's Swat valley today – the The Pakistani prime minister,
today's general election, with has been bedevilled by gaffes and Press after casting her vote in deadliest attack since the army Yusuf Raza Gilani, said: "We will
early polls suggesting voters have sleaze, as well as coinciding with Tokyo. regained control of the area from not allow the enemies of the
dealt a devastating blow to the Japan's deepest recession since the Newspaper editorials agreed the Taliban. country to succeed in their evil
ruling party amid the country's second world war. that Hatoyama's first task must be The blast, which happened in designs."
worst recession since the war. While Hatoyama represents a to steer Japan towards sustainedthe yard of the main police station Police blocked roads around the
An exit poll by the private shot in the dark, he has captured economic recovery. in Mingora, the major town in the area soon after the blast, ordering
broadcaster TV Asahi forecast the public imagination with "Whoever wins the election on north-west valley, came a day nearby residents to stay inside.
that the Democratic Party of promises of higher welfare Sunday, we want to ask the next after the army said it had Pakistani army officials said
Japan (DPJ) would win 315 seats spending, the introduction of a administration to swiftly deal with
destroyed a nearby training camp forces were restoring security in
in the 480-seat lower house, a m i n i m u m w a g e a n d c h i l d concerns about unemployment for suicide bombers. Swat and the surrounding areas
huge improvement on its current allowance, and a more equal uncertainty and deflation, which Members of a new community after a three-month military
115 seats. relationship with Japan's main are deepening simultaneously," police force set up to patrol the offensive took the valley back
Victory for the DPJ would see ally, the US. the Nikkei business paper said. region were being trained when from Taliban control, but suicide
its president, Yukio Hatoyama, "The ruling party has betrayed • Japan the attacker detonated his attacks and fighting have
installed as leader of the first the people over the past four Justin McCurry explosives, the provincial continued.
government not led by the Liberal years, driving the economy to the guardian.co.uk© Guardian information minister, Mian Five soldiers were killed in a
Democratic party (LDP) for 15 edge of a cliff, building up more News & Media Limited 2009 | Iftikhar Hussain, told the Geo TV suicide attack at a security
years and only the second for than 6 trillion yen (£39.4bn) in Use of this content is subject to
channel. checkpoint in the Swat valley on
more than half a century. public debt, wasting money, our Terms & Conditions| More Footage showed officers 15 August.
Early estimates showed turnout ruining our social security net and Feeds removing bodies from outside the Last month, the military
was high, but hopes that it could widening the gap between the rich police station, which has been d e c l a r e d M i n g o r a a n d t h e
bombed twice in recent months. surrounding areas to have been
Micah Baldwin on Startups That Suck The bodies of at least 14 police cleared of militants, except for
volunteers were brought to a local small pockets of resistance.
By Jolie O'Dell overwhelmingly positive. For hospital. • Pakistan
(ReadWriteWeb) someone who preaches the virtues Eight recruits injured in the • Taliban
Submitted at 8/28/2009 8:45:48 PM of failure, he has a lot of faith in e x p l o s i o n w e r e r e c e i v i n g • Global terrorism
ideas others would consider treatment, Ikram Khan, a hospital Haroon Siddique
Micah Baldwin has heard his doomed. Watch the video below, official, told the Associated Press.
share of pitches, and at Gnomedex guardian.co.uk© Guardian
and hear his words of wisdom. Idrees Khan, the local police News & Media Limited 2009 |
in Seattle, he spouted off to us Sponsor
about startup failure, including chief, said at least 20 people had Use of this content is subject to
another search engine) syndrome, Discuss been wounded. our Terms & Conditions| More
bad ideas, saturated verticals, the and changing jets mid-runway.
"rule of three," YASE (yet He denied reports that the Feeds
All in all, Micah is attacker was in uniform and could
18 Finance/
OBAMA
continued from page 14
suggested that Teddy had
understood the possibilities of the
Senate before Bobby died.
"Unlike his two brothers, who in
the end had taken the government
by storm," Hersh wrote in The
Shadow President: Ted Kennedy
In Opposition, "Edward Kennedy
now grasped that it was possible
to build influence out in a place
like the Senate in such a way that
in the end one became
impregnable. One became a
power centre, a kind of
counterpart to the presidency
itself."
Another biographer, Adam
Clymer, recalled that in 1971, a
Kennedy measure to create the
National Cancer Institute won the
support of Richard Nixon – on
one condition: that Kennedy
remove his name from the bill.
"Oh, hell, that's no problem,"
Kennedy said.
What of the future? In his
almost half-century-long fight for
rights, not privileges, Kennedy
described universal healthcare as
"the cause of my life". It's an issue
that has divided the country
viciously in recent weeks. Many
have said that had he lived, he
would have been able to usher
such a measure through, and there
have been exhortations to do so
on his behalf, including the
suggestion that the bill be named
after him.
As one of his last acts, Kennedy
himself wrote a letter to Deval
Patrick, the governor of
Massachusetts, requesting that the
law be changed so that, rather
than waiting until January to
replace him in the Senate, a
temporary replacement could be
found, in order that his vote – or
at least a vote – be counted when
addressing the healthcare bill.
Patrick, who spoke eloquently at
the memorial service of his friend,
said that many had asked him how
best to honour Kennedy's legacy.
His answer? "I say we should live
it."
• Edward Kennedy
• Barack Obama
• The Kennedys
• George Bush
• Bill Clinton
Gaby Wood
guardian.co.uk© Guardian
News & Media Limited 2009 |
Use of this content is subject to
our Terms & Conditions| More
Feeds
Internet News Record
Home builder stock #2: D.R.
Horton (DHI)
By Louis Navellier
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 1:00:00 PM
Filed under: D.R.Horton (DHI),
Stocks to Buy, Housing
D.R. Horton(NYSE: DHI) saw
its earnings-per-share plunge from
a profit of $3.90 in 2006 to a
staggering loss of $8.34 last year.
Fortunately, the worst is behind
us. This year D.R. Horton will
probably lose about $1 per share.
I don't like to see any loss, but Home builder stock #2: D.R.
this is a huge improvement. In Horton (DHI) originally appeared
fact, I think there's even a good on BloggingStocks on Sat, 29
chance D.R. Horton could start Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please
posting some earnings gains by see our terms for use of feeds.
next year. Permalink| Email this| Comments
D.R. Horton is also a buy.
Next: Home builder stock #3

Karzai extends Afghan vote lead

(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 7:44:33 AM
Karzai extends Afghan vote lead
By Matthew Green in Kabul
Published: August 29 2009
15:44 | Last updated: August 29
2009 15:44
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s
president, extended his lead over
his main challenger in the nation’s
presidential election on Saturday
as Gordon Brown visited UK
troops deployed in the south of
the country.
The latest batch of results from
last week’s election gave Mr
Karzai 46.2 per cent of the vote
compared to 31.4 per cent for
Abdullah Abdullah, his former
foreign minister, based on results
from 35 per cent of polling
stations.
The tally put Mr Karzai closer
to obtaining the 50 per cent
needed to avoid a run-off with Mr
Abdullah, although the count
could still change significantly as
the rest of the votes are tallied.
Final official results are not due to
be released until late next month,
after a commission to set up to
investigate allegations of fraud
has processed hundreds of
complaints.
Mr Abdullah has accused the
government of presiding over
“massive state-engineered”
rigging in the vote, marred by an
extremely low turnout in the south
and allegations of ballot-stuffing
and intimidation. Mr Abdullah’s
sympathisers have also been
accused of electoral abuses.
Facing mounting criticism at
home over his conduct of the war,
the British prime minister visited
a military base in Helmand
Province, where growing
casualties among UK troops have
helped make this the deadliest
year for international forces in
Afghanistan. The death toll for
British soldiers killed in
Afghanistan stands at 207.
Reports that turnout was very
low in areas secured at the cost of
British soldiers’ lives has fuelled
a wider debate in the UK over the
conduct of the war.
Mr Brown’s government has
faced months of allegations that it
has failed to provide enough
troops or equipment to support
forces engaged in heavy fighting
with Taliban insurgents.
Scenes of the bodies of British
troops returning in flag-draped
coffins shown repeatedly on
British television in recent weeks
have pushed Afghanistan higher
up the political agenda ahead of
general elections, which must be
held by June next year and which
Mr Brown is widely expected to
lose.
Mr Brown said UK forces were
being supplied with equipment to
protect them from deadly roadside
bombs and called for faster efforts
to train Afghan security services
to allow them to play a bigger role
in pushing back the Taliban.
”I’ve talked to Mr Karzai and Mr
Abdullah and I’ve made it
absolutely clear to them that we
expect over the next year that they
will train – and we will work with
them to do so – around 50,000
more Afghan forces,” Reuters
quoted Brown as telling reporters
at Camp Bastion, Britain’s main
military base in Afghanistan. He
did not comment on the election.
With four months of 2009 still
left to go, this year has already
become the deadliest yet for
international forces deployed in
Afghanistan since the Taliban
government was toppled in 2001.
Total fatalities among all forces in
the Nato mission have already
crept above the total of 294 who
lost their lives in the whole of
2008.
Copyright The Financial Times
Limited 2009. You may share
using our article tools. Please
don't cut articles from FT.com
and redistribute by email or post
to the web.
Internet News Record Finance/ Tech/ 19

DPJ sweeps to power in Japan

(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:54:00 AM
The Democratic Party of Japan
has won a historic victory in
Japan’s general election, after
prime minister Taro Aso
conceded defeat shortly after 10
pm on Sunday evening.
“I would like to express my
congratulations and expectations
on the Democratic Party’s
victory,” says prime minister and
Liberal Democratic Party leader
Mr Aso. Mr Aso said that he
would resign as leader of the
LDP.
As of 10.30pm in Japan,
national broadcaster NHK had
called 242 seats for the DPJ,
enough to give it an absolute
majority in the 480 seat lower
house.
NHK projects that the DPJ will
win between 297 and 329 seats.
Anything above 320 seats would
give the DPJ a two-thirds
majority, which would allow it to
pass bills with no need for
coalition partners in the upper
house, and so guarantee its
primacy for the next four years.
“We have to absorb the needs of
the people and respond to those
needs,” said DJP leader Yukio
Hatoyama.
Under the electoral system,
voters cast two votes: for an
individual candidate in one of 300
first-past-the-post constituencies,
and for a party in regional blocks
that return another 180 legislators
via proportional representation.
There were heavy defeats for
some LDP heavyweights in single
-seat constituencies. Nobutaka
Machimura, leader of the LDP’s
biggest faction, former finance
minister Shoichi Nakagawa, and
former LDP secretary-general
Tsutomu Takebe are lost their
seats on the northern island of
Hokkaido. All three may be
elected through proportional
representation lists.
Kaoru Yosano, the finance
minister, in Tokyo No. 1 district,
and former defence minister
Yuriko Koike, who was a rival to
Mr Aso for the LDP leadership, in
Tokyo No. 10 district, are both
reported to be trailing their DPJ
rivals.
NHK is projecting a turnout of
69 per cent, the highest since
1996.
ELECTION PLEDGES
Liberal Democratic Party
Raise 5 per cent consumption
tax after the economy recovers,
with all funds to be “returned to
the people”
Achieve 2 per cent economic
growth within
two years, create 2m
jobs within three years
and boost household disposable
income by Y1m by 2020
Make pre-school education free
and offer more financial support
for pensioners
Democratic party of Japan
No rise in consumption tax for
at least four years
End “bureaucrat-led”
government and strengthen
policymaking power of the PM
Pay Y26,000-a-month subsidy
for each child of up to age 15
Cut the corporate tax on small
and medium size businesses
Cut emissions
of greenhouse gases by
25 per cent from 1990 levels by
2020
At the Tsurumaki Middle
School in Tokyo No. 6 district, a
steady stream of voters passed
through the polling station on
Sunday morning, despite a light
drizzle.
Toshiyuki Tazawa said that he
had voted for the DPJ in the
constituency and for the small
Social Democratic Party on the
proportional representation list.
”The DPJ will surely become
much bigger but I want the Social
Democratic Party to continue as
well,” Mr Tazawa said. ”I can’t
give the DPJ positive support —
their money politics is just as bad
as the LDP and they haven’t set
out a strong vision — but anyway,
I oppose the LDP.”
Mikio Izumi, coming out of the
polling station with his wife, said
that he had voted for the DPJ in
both sections for one reason:
”Change”.
In Kanagawa No. 10 district,
Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of
former prime minister Junichiro
Koizumi, has won his father’s
former seat for the LDP. Former
LDP prime minister Shinzo Abe
has also been declared a victor in
his seat.
Apple Store is
currently down
By Michael Jones (The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW))
Submitted at 8/30/2009 1:00:00 AM
Filed under: Apple
Yes folks, it looks like the
online Apple Store is currently
down. Given that it is 10:00 PM
on a Saturday night over in
Cupertino, I'd say chances are
pretty good that it could just be
some simple maintenance, but
you never know.
We'll keep an eye out for any
changes and post an update if
anything exciting happens!
TUAW Apple Store is currently
down originally appeared on The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW) on Sun, 30 Aug 2009
01:00:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments

Earnings highlights: Burger King, Dell, Dollar Tree, J. Crew, Staples,

Toll Bros. ...
By Trey Thoelcke Here are some highlights from • Big Lots Inc.(NYSE: BIG) were lifted. Staples, Toll Bros. ... originally
(BloggingStocks) last week's earnings coverage reported better-than-expected • Dell Inc.(NASDAQ: DELL) appeared on BloggingStocks on
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:10:00 AM from BloggingStocks: numbers for Q2, sending shares said its Q2 earnings declined, but Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:10:00 EST.
• American Eagle Outfitters upward. they still topped analysts' Please see our terms for use of
Filed under: Earnings reports, Inc.(NYSE: AEO) Q2 profit fell • Burger King Holdings expectations. feeds. Permalink| Email this|
Dell (DELL), Diageo plc (DEO), short of estimates as same-store Inc.(NYSE: BKC) posted a better- Continue reading Earnings Comments
Staples Inc (SPLS), Toll Brothers sales declined. than-expected Q4 profit though highlights: Burger King, Dell,
(TOL), Burger King Hldgs • Ann Taylor Stores revenue declined. Dollar Tree, J. Crew, Staples, Toll
(BKC), Marvell Technology Corp.(NYSE: ANN) Q2 earnings • China Petroleum & Chemical Bros. ...
Group (MRVL), American Eagle beat very low expectations and Corp. posted a record Q2 profit Earnings highlights: Burger
Outfitters (AEO) same-store sales fell. after restrictions on fuel prices King, Dell, Dollar Tree, J. Crew,
20 Finance/ Internet News Record

China rebukes Burma after border Redbox is really

fighting irritating the studios, but
(Financial Times - US Burma border region”. offered no political quid pro quo
homepage)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 4:54:47 AM
“We also urge Burma to protect
the security and legal rights of
by the regime.”
Though China has been the key
they should calm down
Chinese citizens in Burma,” it patron of the Burmese military By Steven Mallas
A high-stakes bid by Burma to said. regime, Beijing also maintains (BloggingStocks)
bring to heel the ethnic militias Kitty McKinsey, with the UN ties with a number of the ethnic Submitted at 8/29/2009 12:10:00 PM
which have challenged its rule for High Commissioner for Refugees, enclaves and much of the border
more than 60 years has driven up said “We have reports that region is heavily sinicised, with Filed under: Competitive
to 30,000 refugees into China and between 10,000 and 30,000 Chinese traders involved in gems, strategy, General Electric (GE),
drawn a rare rebuke from the people have crossed the border timber and jade and entrepreneurs Time Warner (TWX), Walt
regime’s most important ally. [into China].” opening hotels and restaurants. Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA),
Fighting erupted last week The Chinese authorities have set The Kokang fighting has drawn News Corp'B' (NWS), Lions Gate
between government troops and up a tented camp in the city of in other ceasefire groups Entertainment (LGF) rental. This frightens content
members of a militia known as the Nansan, just across the border in including the United Wa State Coinstar's (NASDAQ: CSTR) makers. Executives at these
Myanmar National Democratic the southern Yunnan province, Army, which with some 20,000 Redbox, a convenient movie- companies believe that discs must
Alliance Army in the Kokang where the refugees are being fighters is the largest ethnic army. rental kiosk, has really shaken be defended since they are an
region of north-east Burma. The provided with food and medical The US Campaign for Burma, things up in the media industry. important way of amortizing costs
clashes broke a ceasefire which care. an overseas opposition group, said BloggingStocks has covered associated with making films.
the government and the militia The Kokang militia is one of 17 on Saturday that they expected the recent events surrounding this Even those entities that have
signed over 20 years ago. ethnic armies that have signed government to move against other asset: Zac Bissonnette wrote an decided to engage the Redbox
The ostensible spark for the ceasefire agreements with the ceasefire groups in the coming article earlier in the month model probably aren't happy
clashes was a move against a gun government. days and weeks to force them to discussing the subject of litigation about it. Lions Gate(NYSE: LGF)
repair factory the government The agreements have held for comply. with certain studios, and Brent surely doesn't enjoy the deflation
believed was being used as a front the best part of 20 years, but Some 40 per cent of Burma’s Archer covered a possible options of the DVD, but it is playing ball
for narcotics manufacturing, but tensions have built ahead of 56m people belong to an ethnic play connected to a deal with nevertheless.
fighting escalated, with Burmese planned elections next year with a minority, with most concentrated Viacom(NYSE: VIA). Continue reading Redbox is
troops taking control of Lougai, government demand that the in the highlands that abut the I won't rehash all of the details, really irritating the studios, but
the Kokang capital. groups convert their forces into country’s international borders. but let me boil it down to the they should calm down
The violence intensified on border guard units under the The government, led by Senior salient issue: studios such as Redbox is really irritating the
Saturday despite a call by the command of the national army. General Than Shwe, is keen to Disney(NYSE: DIS), General studios, but they should calm
Chinese authorities for calm, The ethnic armies see the break the power of the ethnic Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC down originally appeared on
although witnesses on the border demand as a threat to the effective armies before the elections. Universal, and Time BloggingStocks on Sat, 29 Aug
said it was calmer on Sunday, in autonomy of their enclaves and “When Than Shwe wakes up at Warner(NYSE: TWX) are all 2009 12:10:00 EST. Please see
part because 700 NDAA fighters none have yet submitted. night, he isn’t worrying about worried about the devaluation of our terms for use of feeds.
had fled across the border and The International Crisis Group, democracy, or international physical media. Redbox charges a Permalink| Email this| Comments
surrendered their weapons to the the Brussels-based research pressure,” said a western diplomat single dollar per day for a DVD
Chinese authorities. group, said the regime’s demand who did not want to be identified.
The Chinese foreign ministry for the ethnic armies to join the “He’s worrying about the ethnic
issued a statement on Friday border guard “would greatly groups,”
calling on Burma to “properly reduce their autonomy and would
handle domestic problems and represent a major concession in
maintain stability in the China- return for which they are being
Internet News Record
Leaders pay tribute to Kennedy
(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:02:41 AM
BOSTON, Aug 29 - President
Barack Obama hailed Senator
Edward Kennedy as the “greatest
legislator of our time” at the
funeral on Saturday of the
towering politician and patriarch
of the pre-eminent American
political dynasty.
Former presidents, senators and
representatives of both political
parties joined the large Irish-
American Kennedy clan for the
funeral Mass at a Roman Catholic
basilica.
“Ted Kennedy’s life’s work was
not to champion those with wealth
or power or special connections. It
was to give a voice to those who
were not heard,” Mr Obama said
in the eulogy at the funeral
attended by members of the U.S
political elite.
Dozens of lawmakers from the
last several decades – many of
whom had been Kennedy’s
fiercest foes on legislation --
attended the traditional Catholic
funeral Mass in the stone, 130-
year-old Our Lady of Perpetual
Help Basilica.
Mourners from Hollywood star
Jack Nicholson to Supreme Court
Justice Stephen Breyer packed the
church beneath soaring arches and
stained glass.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma played and
opera star Placido Domingo sang
as the sound of rain could be
heard pounding the roof.
Readings came from several
generations of Kennedys.
Mr Obama and former
presidents Jimmy Carter, George
W. Bush and Bill Clinton sat at
the front with their wives.
Since Kennedy’s death on
Tuesday of brain cancer at age 77,
Americans have staged a series of
memorials to the last of the
Kennedy brothers, and his death
has been treated like the passing
of a president.
Mr Obama called Kennedy “the
soul of the Democratic Party and
the lion of the U.S. Senate” who
had authored more than three
hundred laws.
“He was a product of an age
when the joy and nobility of
politics prevented differences of
party and philosophy from
becoming barriers to cooperation
and mutual respect, a time when
adversaries still saw each other as
patriots,” Mr Obama said.
“And that’s how Ted Kennedy
became the greatest legislator of
our time.”
Mr Obama remembered his
legislative achievements including
the Civil Rights Act, the
Americans with Disabilities Act,
immigration reform, children’s
health care and the Family and
Medical Leave Act.
Kennedy’s casket was to be
flown to Washington after the
funeral and taken to Arlington
National Cemetery to be buried
close to his brothers, former
President John F. Kennedy and
Senator Robert Kennedy, who
were assassinated in the 1960s.
Edward Kennedy’s early career
was overshadowed by the lives
and deaths of John and Robert,
but he went on to serve nearly 47
years in the Senate, where he
became a champion of liberal
Democrats and was both reviled
and respected by conservative
Republicans.
Police said about 50,000 people
came out to pay respects over the
past two days.
“Where would I be as a black
man without the Kennedys? They
believe in civil rights and that’s
why I am here to honour this great
man,” said Clint Haymon, one of
hundreds of mourners gathered
outside the church despite the
rain.
“We had to come here. He
committed a lot of his time to
causes we believe in,” said
Douglas Geer, 43, of Walpole,
Massachusetts, the father of an
autistic child. “Our child
benefited from his work.”
Kennedy chose Our Lady of
Perpetual Help Basilica because it
was where he prayed daily while
his daughter Kara, now 49, was at
nearby hospital battling lung
cancer in 2003.
Finance/ Tech/ 21
Hacker pleads guilty in Mass.,
charges pending in N.J.
By Tom Johansmeyer
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 10:10:00 AM
Filed under: Law, Scandals,
OfficeMax Inc (OMX)
Albert Gonzalez is calling it
quits. Accused of masterminding
the largest identity theft in the
United States ever, he has agreed
to plead guilty in U.S. District
Court in Massachusetts. Separate
charges filed in New Jersey,
however, remain.
The 28 year-old faces 15 to 25
years in prison and will forfeit Hacker pleads guilty in Mass.,
$1.65 million and a Miami condo charges pending in N.J. originally
(in addition to $1.1 million appeared on BloggingStocks on
already seized). If the judge Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:10:00 EST.
accepts the terms, this would be Please see our terms for use of
the longest sentence ever recorded feeds. Permalink| Email this|
for a hacking case. Comments
Continue reading Hacker pleads
guilty in Mass., charges pending
in N.J.
And Of Course: DOJ Announces
New Focus, Funding On
Intellectual Property Enforcement
By Michael Masnick (Techdirt) It's not a huge amount ($1.9
Submitted at 8/28/2009 4:40:00 PM million) and, as per the DOJ's
purview, the focus is on criminal
As we all know by now, the new intellectual property infringement,
administration hired a bunch of but you really wonder if there
the entertainment industry's aren't more important things for
favorite lawyers, and during the the DOJ to be focused on these
confirmation hearings for the days. Still... thanks to the Justice
most senior among them, a desire Department PR folks who sent me
to have the Justice Department a press release for the first time
focus more on intellectual ever. Apparently, someone there
property was a key point. So, it is reading us.
shouldn't be much of a surprise Permalink| Comments| Email
that the Justice Department has This Story
announced new grants to focus on
intellectual property enforcement.
22 Finance/ Gadgets/ Entertainment Internet News Record

‘Shorters’ retreat helps fuel volatility Home builder stock #3: KB Home
(Financial Times - US among short sellers,” said Gordon (KBH)
homepage) Charlop, managing director at By Louis Navellier
Submitted at 8/28/2009 11:30:51 AM Rosenblatt Securities. The low (BloggingStocks)
volumes and resulting short Submitted at 8/30/2009 9:00:00 AM
Short sellers have been deserting squeeze, in turn, have cast doubt
the US stock market in droves on the current rally’s Filed under: KB HOME (KBH),
during its sluggish summer sustainability. Stocks to Buy, Housing
sessions in a retreat that has “There is less legitimacy about KB Home(NYSE: KBH) was
helped fuel the recent volatile the rally in the last week as it has hit incredibly hard by the housing
trading in AIG and other beaten- been based on low volumes,” said bust. The stock fell from $82 to
down financial shares, analysts Jim Paulsen, chief investment just $7 per share. We haven't seen
said on Friday. strategist at Wells Capital shakeouts like that since the tech
Short sellers seek to profit from Management. bust.
price declines by selling borrowed Analysts said they expect that in Unlike some of the other home
shares and then “covering” their major equity indices had fallen to September, fundamentals will builders, KBH probably hit
positions with purchases of the the lowest levels since at least return as the main driver of equity bottom early. The company's loss
same stocks. When large numbers October 2007. prices. from last year wasn't as bad as its
of short sellers close their “The US Fish and Wildlife AIG officials declined to loss from 2007, and that's a good stock #3: KB Home (KBH)
positions by buying shares at the Service may have a new candidate comment on the share price. But sign. Home builder stock #3: KB
same time, the stocks involved for its endangered species list,” people close to the company said What I also like about KB Home (KBH) originally appeared
can register explosive – and often said Paul Hickey of Bespoke. “It’s executives attributed the sharp Home is that the stock's volatility on BloggingStocks on Sun, 30
inexplicable – gains. short sellers.” rise in the stock to a combination has calmed down, which is often Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please
Although stocks gave back Closing short positions has been of a short-sellers covering their the result of heavy institutional see our terms for use of feeds.
some of their gains in early particularly difficult recently positions and a widespread stock buying. Permalink| Email this| Comments
trading on Friday, the S&P has because of low summer volumes. market rally. Continue reading Home builder
climbed steadily in August to its At the same time, trading - which The said recent strong
highest levels in 10 months, with is now dominated by rapid-fire performances in the broader
some of the best performing computer systems - has become market had increased investors’
Senator Ted Kennedy Laid to Rest
stocks being those that were most fragmented across exchanges and expectations of the value of the (ETonline - Breaking News) Senator Robert F. Kennedy are
heavily sold short – AIG, Fannie various electronic platforms. The large businesses AIG has to sell in Submitted at 8/29/2009 6:08:00 PM buried.
Mae, Freddie Mac and Citigroup. result has been agony for short order to repay some $80bn in Colleagues and admirers lined
Analysts say short sellers have sellers of stock such as AIG, who federal aid. Recent comments by Sen. Ted Kennedy was laid to the steps of the U.S. Capitol and
been closing many of their have been squeezed, in the market Robert Benmosche, the insurer’s rest in Arlington National memorialized Kennedy when his
positions in recent weeks. Short place, as they try to buy shares to new chief executives, suggesting Cemetery in Arlington, VA, on motorcade made a stop there en
interest as a percentage of S&P close their positions. AIG shares the company will slow down its Saturday evening following his route to Arlington National
500 stocks fell to its lowest level has soared 260 per cent since disposals programme in order to funeral service earlier that Cemetery, known as the last
in eight months by mid-August, early August. reap as a high a price as possible morning in Boston. resting place for heroes and
according to the most recent data. ”Trading volumes are somewhat also helped, according to people Kennedy's final resting place is notables of United States history.
Bespoke Investment Group said lower and centred around a few familiar with the matter. next to where his brothers
average short interest in other stocks that have been in play President John F. Kennedy and

CrunchDeals: Garmin nuvi 885T for $310

By Doug Aamoth
(CrunchGear)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 9:00:28 AM
Amazon’s got a fully-loaded
Garmin nuvi GPS unit for $310
after a $53 discount, good today
only. The 885T features traffic, more. There’s also a built-in (touchscreen), four-hour battery
weather, Bluetooth, and even Bluetooth speakerphone and voice life, microSD expansion slot, and
“directs you to the preferred lane compatibility that allows you to is 0.7 inches thick.
while driving.” request information from the Garmin nuvi 885T 4.3-inch
Data is fed from MSN direct — device using spoken commands. Widescreen Bluetooth Portable
traffic, flight status, Doppler radar The GPS unit itself features a GPS Navigator[Amazon]
weather, gas prices, movie listings, stock info, news, and 4.3-inch widescreen display
Internet News Record
Tech.view: Machines in control
(The Economist: Daily
columns)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 1:15:15 AM
Tech.view
Aug 28th 2009
From Economist.com How real
is the threat of autonomous
technology?
HOLLYWOOD has made at
least half a dozen films based on
Mary Shelley’s gothic
masterpiece—mindless travesties
all of them, even the Kenneth
Branagh version released in 1994.
That is a pity because the parable
of the Genevan protagonist,
Victor Frankenstein, deserves
wider appreciation, especially
among those concerned about
technology getting out of control.
In the actual story, there is no
crazed assistant, no criminal brain
stolen from a grave, no violent
rampage, and no angry mob
hunting down and killing the
monster. Instead, the rejected
creation pleads to be accepted,
and cared for, by its creator and
tries hard to fit in with society.
Yes, there is violence and
revenge—it wouldn’t be a gothic
novel without them. In the end,
however, the autonomous being
departs to commit suicide after its
creator dies of disease.
What makes the tale such an
enduring classic are the moral
questions it raises about creation,
responsibility and unintended
consequences. The lessons are as
relevant in today’s world of
autonomous technology—whether
driverless vehicles or surgical
robots—as they were in 1818
when the melodrama first scared
the daylights out of Georgian
England.
Whether consciously or not, the
Royal Academy of Engineering in
Britain seems lately to have taken
Shelley’s fable to heart. In a
report published last week, the
academy urges opinion-formers to
start thinking seriously about the
implications of autonomous
technology—machinery that can
act independently by replicating
human behaviour. The intention is
to have such machines do the sort
of jobs people find dull, dirty or
dangerous. Many such systems
either already exist or are closer to
reality than is generally realised.
And right now, the ethical, let
alone the legal, framework for
dealing with any untoward
consequences of their actions
simply does not exist.
The academy looked at two
areas of the technology that are
expanding fast: autonomous
transport and automated help
around the home for the elderly.
Within ten years, driverless
vehicles that use lasers and radars
to sense their surroundings will be
able to thread their way through
traffic. They are already
widespread in controlled
environments such as warehouses,
airports and mines. Whether they
will be seen on the public
highways is not a technological
issue, but a political and legal
matter.
With their digital controllers
programmed to obey the highway
code, driverless trucks will be far
safer and more predictable than
human-operated vehicles. They
won’t suddenly pull out in front of
you, or refuse to give way when
they should. But if a mechanical
failure or software glitch should
ever cause a driverless truck to
collide with a car, who would be
legally responsible—the truck
company, the manufacturer, the
systems engineer? (Under today’s
product-liability law, the motorist
would doubtless get off scot-free,
even if the accident was his fault.)
There are similar concerns
about automatons designed to
watch over the elderly. Systems
exist to check when people are
awake, whether they have taken
their medication, and what their
vital signs are. Privacy issues
aside, such aids are to be
welcomed for their greater good.
But once sensor data can be
used to tell people with dementia
what to do and what not to do, the
potential for abuse can become
real. The benefits of such patient-
monitoring in the home may be
that the individual wanders
around less, suffers less
incontinence and sleeps better.
But can even the most responsible
of families and carers be trusted to
supervise such technology day in
and day out for years on end, to
stop accidents happening? The
answer may be not more
technology, but better social
engineering. For sure, people have
barely begun to think about such
issues.
In 2006, a survey by Elon
University and the Pew Internet
Project in America asked some
742 technology experts and social
critics whether autonomous
machines would leave humans out
of the loop. Slightly over half
thought people would not lose
control, but not all that many
fewer felt they might.
Respondents were invited to
give their views. A recurring
theme was that “technology
beyond our control” was rather
alarmist. The history of applying
automation to human tasks
(telephone operators, for instance)
had not left people unduly at the
mercy of autonomous
contraptions. Defying Shelley’s
prognostication, many
respondents felt few technologies
live beyond the control of their
creators: everything has a “choke
point” of one sort or
another—built in, often
subconsciously, for reasons of
convenience, safety or mistake.
That was three years ago, when
few were probably aware of how
quickly a technology known as
“evolvable hardware” was
emerging from the shadows. Like
the “brute-force” methods
standard in code-cracking and
computer chess, evolvable
machines try billions of different
possibilities. But the difference is
that they continually crop and
refine their trial-and-error
solutions—mimicking the way
natural selection works in the
wild.
How soon before evolvable
machines become cleverer than
people? Little over a decade is the
current consensus. One such
machine has already been
awarded a patent for something it
quietly invented on its own.
The temptation to surrender
control to machines that are
smarter, more vigilant and less
prone to boredom, irritation and
emotional outbursts than people
will be overwhelming. People will
do so for reasons of comfort,
convenience, safety and cost. So,
what happens when a one-in-a-
billion bug causes the software to
crash, or the safety valves are not
Economy/ 23
operated properly?
That is what happened at Three
Mile Island in 1979. Though the
nuclear power station was not an
autonomous system, it was
running automatically with its
human controllers outside the
loop. When things went horribly
wrong, inexperienced operators
tried desperately to take
command, only to make one
compounding mistake after
another—turning a control system
with good negative feedback into
a positive, runaway disaster.
Though now dated, Langdon
Winner’s oft-cited book “
Autonomous Technology” (MIT
Press, 1977) was one of the first
to call attention to the way the
complexity of big systems can
lead to loss of control and
disaster. That was two years
before the explosion at Three
Mile Island.
Dr Winner was also one of the
first to note that Frankenstein’s
invention represented a giant leap
in the capability of a certain kind
of technology. Yet, it was sent it
out into the world with no concern
for how best to include it in the
community. When the creature
returned as an autonomous force
with demands that it insisted were
met, its creator was unable to find
a way to repair the damage done
by his imperfect invention.
Shelley’s story may have been the
first to show how good intentions
behind technological inventions
can go awry. It surely won’t be
the last.
Back to top ^^ Readers'
comments
The Economist welcomes your
views.
24 Economy/ Gadgets/ Internet News Record

Avoiding recession
(The Economist: News marked the third consecutive economies have begun growing other crops. And industry
analysis) quarter of double-digit decline. rapidly in "sequential" quarter-on- contracted for the second straight
Submitted at 8/28/2009 2:49:47 AM At the same time, fiscal quarter terms, they are still quarter, falling 0.3%. Although
stimulus helped to support contracting quite sharply in year- the government's fiscal measures
Aug 28th 2009 domestic demand, boosting on-year terms. This highlights the boosted construction, which rose
F r o m t h e E c o n o m i s t government consumption as well fact that, while the lowest point of by 16.9%, and mining and
Intelligence Unit ViewsWire The as investment, in particular in the downturn has probably passed quarrying also recorded a big
economy of the Philippines is construction. (Public-sector (which quarter-on-quarter gain, growth in these areas was Bokeh Filter Turns
starting, just, to recover construction investment grew by comparisons would indicate), the more than offset by the decline in Blurry Lights Into
Like a number of its Asian a r o u n d 3 0 % i n t h e s e c o n d recovery is occurring from a low manufacturing. This underlines
neighbours, the Philippines has quarter.) Meanwhile, private base. Economic activity in those the weakness of demand for Distinct Shapes
begun to rebound from the consumption—the mainstay of the countries is still much weaker Philippine exports, which has hit [Photography]
economic downturn. In the three P h i l i p p i n e e c o n o m y — f e l l than at the same time last year. manufacturers hard. Outlook
months to June, year-on-year real somewhere between these two Not so in the Philippines, Despite the encouraging second By Dan Nosowitz (Gizmodo)
GDP growth recovered to 1.5% extremes. It grew by 2.2% year on however. Although the return to quarter, the Philippine economy Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:00:00 PM

from 0.6% in the first quarter. In year, an improvement on the first robust quarter-on-quarter growth faces a tough period of
seasonally adjusted terms, the quarter, when consumer spending of 2.4%—the highest in over two adjustment. Although an Bokeh, which is the out-of-focus
economy grew 2.4% from the increased by just 1.3% in real years, following a first-quarter increasing number of indicators in light distortion in the background
previous quarter, thereby avoiding terms from the same period a year contraction of 2.1%—fits the many countries suggest that the of a photo, is more and more seen
a technical recession. The global earlier, but far below the quarterly international pattern, the economy world economy is emerging from as an aesthetic element of
c r i s i s h a s n o t a f f e c t e d t h e average of 5.3% in the five years has not contracted at all in year-on recession, growth in the next three photography. This lens brings it
Philippines as badly as it has from 2004 to 2008. Private -year terms during the current or four years will be substantially more attention by shaping those
some other Asian economies, but consumption nonetheless made global crisis. Growth of 0.6% in lower than in the recent past. The blurs into stars, hearts, and more.
conditions will remain tough until the biggest contribution to GDP the first quarter appears to have Philippines will not feel the The Bokeh Filter is a physical
there is a sustained recovery in growth, of 1.7 percentage points. marked the low point in the impact of the weak recovery as lens that attaches to any
global demand. A key factor in this performance current cycle. Still, the recovery is directly as many other Asian mainstream DSLR and blocks out
In many respects the latest is that remittances from overseas far from entrenched. At just 1.5% economies, which are much more small pieces of light to create the
government data, released on F i l i p i n o w o r k e r s h e l d u p year on year, real GDP growth in export-dependent. But the indirect desired patterns. Changing the
August 27th, confirm a pattern of reasonably well—growing by the three months to June was far impact on private investment and cool blurry streetlights behind
r e c o v e r y s i m i l a r t o t h a t 3.1% in US-dollar terms in the below the 2004-08 quarterly consumption will be important. In your ladyfriend into hearts?
increasingly appearing in other second quarter—despite fears that average of 5.5%. addition, the country's chronic Cheesetastic. But used subtly (that
crisis-hit economies (both in the global downturn would In output terms, the service fiscal weakness means that public would mean using no shapes that
emerging markets and advanced drastically reduce such inflows. sector was the main driver of debt is relatively high, limiting the are also found in a box of Lucky
economies). Exports remain That said, remittance data have economic growth in the second government's scope to continue Charms), this could bring a really
extremely weak, reflecting the probably been flattered by the fall quarter. Services output rose by with fiscal stimulus if there is no cool element to some photos. And
severe problems in markets such in the peso compared with the 3.1% year on year, up from 2% in pick-up in external conditions to hell, if you're going for outright
as the US and EU. In real terms, same period last year. the previous quarter. Government support a self-sustaining recovery. cheese, might as well do it
the Philippines' exports of goods Where the Philippines differs services rose by 7.7% in real Back to top ^^ Readers' naturally and not in the edit room,
and services contracted by 16% from its neighbours—and indeed terms, reflecting stimulus comments right? [ Bokeh Filter via
year on year in the three months f r o m m o s t c r i s i s - h i t spending. Trade rose by 3% on The Economist welcomes your Geekologie]
to June, hit by the continued lack economies—is that the crisis has the back of strong growth in retail views.
of overseas demand for goods g e n e r a t e d l e s s p r o n o u n c e d activity. In contrast, agricultural
such as electronics, electrical economic ups and downs. Most growth slowed sharply due to
equipment and garments. This strikingly, whereas many other weak production of rice and some
Internet News Record Economy/ Gadgets/ 25

Japan's election: Braced for change

(The Economist: News tremors. As it got under way former prime minister, and the started to grow again, figures
analysis) nearly two weeks ago, there was LDP’s upper-house defeat two released on Friday showed that
Submitted at 8/28/2009 11:09:41 AM something quaintly old-fashioned years later. unemployment had crept up to
in the absence of television Their opinions fluctuate wildly, 5.7%, the highest level since the
Japan's election hoopla. Even the two main but they can be decisive. The second world war.
Aug 28th 2009 candidates for prime minister, Mr lesson for the 2009 election is that Whether the DPJ, an unknown
From Economist.com Japan Aso and Yukio Hatoyama of the winning the “flexicons” is crucial. quantity, can make a better fist of Canon EOS 7D
prepares for political upheaval DPJ, have resisted tearing into To this end, the DPJ has put running the economy is open to
after Sunday’s general election each other. And in a country forward youthful, telegenic question. Mr Hatoyama railed Specs Leak: More
IN A land of volcanoes and otherwise obsessed by mass-
earthquakes the seismic shift is all m e d i a , a b a n o n i n t e r n e t
candidates; typical LDP
candidates are in their late 60s and
against American-led “market
fundamentalism” preferring a
Megapixels! [Canon]
too common. But for decades campaigning also recalled a have little to say on matters woolly-sounding concept, that he By Dan Nosowitz (Gizmodo)
Japan’s political landscape has not bygone era. But if the LDP affecting younger voters. Mr calls fraternity. He says it means Submitted at 8/29/2009 6:30:00 PM
reflected the country’s geological thought that keeping politics off Hatoyama has also borrowed that activities such as
uncertainty. A general election on t h e w e b w o u l d t h w a r t t h e Barack Obama’s successful agriculture—already heavily We saw the poster and possible
Sunday August 30th should opposition, which enjoys more appeal for “change”. The DPJ protected—will not be left “at the lenses for Canon's EOS 7D
change all that. Opinion polls support from younger, wired says evicting the ruling party will mercy of the tides of globalism”. yesterday, and now it looks like
suggest that when voters go to the voters, as some DPJ politicians break the stranglehold on the Businessmen fear the noises the floodgates are open. A
polls for the powerful lower house claim, it seems to have failed. budget held by mandarins, giving coming from the DPJ that seem to photography forum has most of
of the Diet (parliament), the In a recent survey, support for it freedom to cope with Japan’s promise more worker-friendly the details you'll need, except the
opposition Democratic Party of the DPJ was more than twice that ageing population, the low birth- policies such as banning the use exact price and release date.
Japan(DPJ), will trounce the for the LDP among the young. rate and a dangerously lopsided, of temporary labour in It'll have a 18MP sensor, dual
Liberal Democratic Party(LDP), But strikingly, an even bigger export-oriented economy. manufacturing and raising the DIGIC 4 processors, ISO from
thus ending over 50 years of share of voters—a whopping Mr Aso has questioned the minimum wage. The DPJ has also 100 to 6400 (and some crazy
nearly continuous rule. 38%—said they were undecided. DPJ’s ability to pay for expensive promised to loosen Japan’s close 12800 mode), a 3-inch LCD in
The magnitude of the defeat These flighty voters, referred to as campaign promises, such as a ties to American foreign policy. addition to the 100% coverage
facing Taro Aso, the prime yawarakai hoshu-so, or “flexible ¥26,000 ($280) a month child So if Sunday’s election produces viewfinder and of course HD
minister and LDP leader, is c o n s e r v a t i v e s ” , a r e t h e allowance to push up the birth the political earthquake predicted video capabilities like its siblings.
startling. A poll in Thursday's kingmakers of Japanese politics. rate, heavily subsidised schooling, the next question will be whether It looks like it'll compete most
Asahi Shimbun suggests that the Typically in their 30s, they are dropping road tolls and income the DPJ is capable of delivering a directly with the king of prosumer
LDP’s representation in the Diet university-educated, middle-class, support to farmers. But these series of aftershocks too. DSLRs, the Nikon D300s. Past
could be more than halved to prefer stability to big changes and counter-attacks may not be Back to top ^^ Readers' rumors have suggested it'll cost
about 100 seats. The DPJ could do not care much about politics. enough to quell voters’ comments around $2700, but we'll wait and
take as many as 320 of the But they tend to vote as a block, dissatisfaction with the long rule The Economist welcomes your see: We wouldn't be surprised if it
chamber’s 480 seats. and can sway the outcome of of the LDP and the leadership of views. was actually a lot less. [
Japan’s political fault-lines have elections. They played a large part gaffe-prone Mr Aso as economic Engadget]
opened up despite an election both in the landslide victory in conditions remain difficult.
campaign that has hardly caused 2005 of Junichiro Koizumi, a Although Japan’s economy has

Utah Now Punishes Texting While Driving With Up to 15 Years in Prison [Crime]
By Dan Nosowitz (Gizmodo) act is inherently reckless and far stronger law than most of could be extremely severe—up to
Submitted at 8/29/2009 4:00:00 PM punishes it as harshly as drunk those already existing in other 15 years in prison. It's a harsh law
driving. states; California's, for example, but we can't deny that texting
The Senate may be trying to pass Passed after a texting driver punishes offenders with a tiny while driving is incredibly
a federal ban on texting while killed two scientists, the law fine, usually around $20. dangerous. [ NYTimes]
driving, but Utah recently passed would put texting while driving in driving if any crash happens. It's a In Utah, if you were to crash
a much stronger bill: It views the the same legal category as drunk while texting, the punishment
26 Economy/ Gadgets/ Tech/
Art.view: Flower power
(The Economist: Daily
columns)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 1:17:58 AM
Art.view
Aug 29th 2009
From Economist.com Arts and
crafts in a former torpedo factory
ALEXANDRIA,
VIRGINIA—particularly its well-
tended Old Town section—is the
sort of upscale suburb that rings
most major American cities. From
the array of pubs, sushi-restaurant
chains and pasta joints that line its
streets, you would never guess
that within 20 minutes you can
find some the best Korean,
Vietnamese, Chinese, Pakistani or
Bolivian food in America. Its 18th
-century homes have been
carefully maintained; now that the
nasty, dirty business of living in
them is done, they are at last free
to house upscale boutiques selling
ornate pepper-shakers, local wine,
birthday cakes for dogs and other
essentials. Yet this suburb was a
city before cars existed, making it
especially dense, walkable and
charming. It has also turned an
instrument of war into an
instrument of art.
The day after the armistice that
ended the first world war in 1918,
the United States Navy began
Medion's 24-inch X9613 multitouch all-in-one PC actually looks pretty hot
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:50:00 PM
Medion has never really been
our go-to manufacturer for new
hotness, but we're really digging
this new X9613 all-in-one model
it's showing off. Even better than
the sexy, the computer is fronting
a 24-inch multitouch display, a
building the US Naval Torpedo
station on the waterfront across
the Potomac and just downriver
from the Naval Research
Laboratory in south-west
Washington, DC. After a brief
period of production, it stored
munitions between the wars.
When the second world war broke
out, it built torpedoes for
submarines and aircraft; when that
war ended, the building was again
used for storage. In 1969
Alexandria bought the site, which
had grown to comprise 11
buildings, from the federal
government.
Five years later, after all the
debris was removed and walls
erected, the main building was
refitted to house artists’ studios. A
quarter-century (and several
extensive renovations) later, the
artists are still there: over 160 of
them sharing 82 studios, six
galleries and two workshops. The
Art League School and the
Alexandria Archaeology Museum
also share the space, bringing in
thousands more aspirants and
students. All of this makes the
Torpedo Factory, as it is now
called, a low-key, family-friendly
and craft-centred alternative to the
many worthy galleries across the
river.
miniature SideShow screen, a
gloriously large physical volume
knob, and a bunch of convenient
media controls along the bottom.
Internals aren't bad either, with a
Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor
and GeForce GT240M graphics.
The price range, unfortunately, is
rather steep at 1,499 to 1,900 Euro Lucky for us, US prices are
(about $2,142 to $2,714 US). usually quite a bit lower than
The building is three-storeys
tall; on the first floor the studios
and galleries are laid out along a
single long hall. The arrangement
grows more warrenlike—and the
sense of discovery concomitantly
more pleasant—as you ascend.
Artists work in a variety of media,
including painting, fibre,
printmaking, ceramics, jewellery,
stained glass and photography.
Don't anticipate anything game-
changing or jaw-dropping here.
Expect plenty of cats and cows in
different media, as well as
watercolours of beach houses,
ersatz Abstract Expressionist
paintings, stained glass made for
the walls of large suburban
houses, baubles and knick-knacks
and thingummies galore. All of it
is skilfully done; most of it is
pleasant.
The photography is an
exception: the Multiple Exposures
Gallery is first-rate, displaying not
merely beautiful pictures but
inventive techniques as well. On a
recent visit the gallery showcased
landscapes, including an
especially arresting wide-angle
aerial shot of a field in Fujian
after a storm. Crops glinted in the
rising sun like rows of wet
sapphires, the scalloped grey
clouds echoing the terraced
farming beneath.
The Torpedo Factory’s biggest
draw, however (particularly for
visitors with children), is not on
what is sold but in the
demystifying access visitors have
to artists. While the galleries
function traditionally, the artists
work and sell out of the same
studio; their raw materials and
works in progress—the artistry
behind the art—are all on display.
Many of them are happy and
eager to talk; one was soliciting
the help of passers-by to complete
a work (she wished to know how
to say and write a certain phrase
in Hebrew vernacular—a quest
that might take time to complete
in a yachty southern suburb). A
metal sculptor sat on a stool
patiently working a piece of metal
back and forth in his hands. The
centre of his studio was filled with
a huge hollow sphere made from
hundreds of cylinders of perhaps
anodised aluminium. It seemed
we were witnessing the first step
in a thousand-mile march.
Back to top ^^ Readers'
comments
The Economist welcomes your
views.
straight-up conversion, though
there's no promised roll-out just
yet to bank on. Video hands-on is
after the break.
Continue reading Medion's 24-
inch X9613 multitouch all-in-one
PC actually looks pretty hot
Filed under: Desktops
Medion's 24-inch X9613
multitouch all-in-one PC actually
Internet News Record
Yet Another Study
Shows File Sharers
Buy More Media
By Michael Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 7:40:00 PM
We've seen a bunch of studies
like this in the past, but people
keep submitting this, so figured
we'd do a quick post on it. Yet
another study has shown that
people who are more active in
unauthorized file sharing, also
tend to spend more on authorized
entertainment purchases. Now, to
be fair, the study was paid for by
a file sharing provider -- so, take
it with a rather large grain of salt.
But similar studies have been
done in the past as well, and it
seems to once again call into
question the rallying cry in
Hollywood that people just want
stuff for free.
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story
looks pretty hot originally
appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29
Aug 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please
see our terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
Internet News Record Economy/ Gadgets/ Entertainment 27

Regulatory Police: Safety in Numbers Ted Kennedy's

(Financial Sector and Stocks The banks don’t need to capture politicians and we have had weak political meddling would go
Funeral a Star-
Analysis from Seeking Alpha)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:03:27 AM
their own regulators: all they need
to do is capture the politicians
men who took direction too well.
It’s the individuals rather than the
unreported is lessened, or the
perception that it might be more
Studded Farewell
who appoint them. If you’ve got institution that have at times likely to be reported is enhanced. (ETonline - Breaking News)
Felix Salmon had a particularly Phil Gramm deciding who gets presented an independent central Either way, attempts to Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:40:00 AM
good post yesterday morning appointed, you’ve won your battle bank. influence policy would carry a
about bank regulation. He points before it’s even fought. As I’ve watched the infighting greater risk of exposure in a President Barack Obama, First
to an article in the Guardian He then goes on to argue that among the various regulators for a scheme that utilizes a group of Lady Michelle Obama and a host
discussing the remarks of Adair this state of affairs presents a piece of the regulatory pie these regulators. Quite simply, multiple of major public figures such as
Turner, the head of Britain’s good argument in favor of vesting past few months, I have warmed targets are harder to hit than a Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and
financial watchdog agency, in most regulatory responsibility in to the idea of a panel of overseers. single one. Jack Nicholson attended Sen. Ted
which he essentially said that the the Fed. His logic is that the Fed I think that there’s a lot to be Felix ended his post by saying Kennedy's funeral in Our Lady of
financial services industry is too is the most independent of all of gained in having a group of that effective regulation requires Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston
big and most of what it does is the various regulators and thus the people who have varying stripping power from politicians. I on Saturday morning.
socially useless. He went on to one most likely to be least perspectives on financial don’t believe that is possible. We “Ted Kennedy’s life’s work was
s u g g e s t a t a x o n f i n a n c i a l influenced by the politicians. institutions depending upon their have to learn to live with the not to champion those with wealth
transactions might be in order. Here is where I would part from specific mandates coming reality that they have and will or power or special connections,”
You can read the entire Felix. While he may be right that together and hashing out policy. retain power and try and utilize it President Obama said in his
Guardian article, and should the Fed is the hardest to corrupt By virtue of the fact that each to influence regulators. We need eulogy. “It was to give a voice to
because it’s excellent, but Felix’s via political meddling, that does have different mandates, they to make it hard for them to do that those who were not heard; to add
take from it was that our problem not mean it is incorruptible. It each bring a unique perspective and increase the odds that they a rung to the ladder of
is not regulatory capture but enjoys its independence at the on the industry that can help will be exposed when they try. opportunity; to make real the
rather political capture. behest of Congress and whatever bypass the blinders that come We might all take a vow to do dream of our founding.
Here is what Felix said: administration happens to occupy from repetitive analyses. one other thing. Whatever side of “He was given the gift of time
I think that making the the White House and they stand More to the point, though, is the aisle we might be on, when we that his brothers were not, and he
distinction, as Aditya does here, ready and willing to alter the that a panel of regulators is a see unnecessary interference from used that gift to touch as many
between “manifold failings” and status quo when it suits their much tougher target for the the political class we need to call lives and right as many wrongs as
“regulatory capture” is a very needs. political class to attempt to them on it. Call them on it all the the years would allow,” the
useful thing to do. A regulator In many respects, the manipulate. More regulators time, not just when we happen to president added.
who failed is not necessarily a independence of the Fed is really means more assistants and philosophically oppose the social
captured regulator. determined by the personality of analysts touching the data and goals of the interference.
Aditya’s also right that the real the individual who happens to be helping devise policy and that
problem here is that regulators are its chairman. We have had means more opportunity for
appointed by politicians, and it’s notoriously independent men who informal policing via whistle-
the politicians who are captured. have been willing to buck the blowers. The likelihood that

Canon EOS 7D pics and specs leak out

By Paul Miller (Engadget) 4 processors, which shoots stills at Chinese forum, so we're still leak out originally appeared on
Submitted at 8/29/2009 8:24:00 PM 8 FPS with ISO from 100 to 6400 obviously awaiting on official Engadget on Sat, 29 Aug 2009
and a special 12800 ISO mode. word from Canon -- but if the 20:24:00 EST. Please see our
We saw the top, we saw the The 3-inch LCD has a 920,000 rapid leakage rate is any terms for use of feeds. Permalink|
poster, and now it looks like d o t r e s o l u t i o n , w h i l e t h e indication, it can't be too far off. Email this| Comments
we've got more or less the whole viewfinder offers 100% coverage [Thanks, Darko]
deal: Canon's EOS 7D has been and a built-in digital level. Read- Spec breakdown
leaked in (most of) its gory detail. Naturally the camera picks up the expand upon them just yet. All Read- Forum source
A t t h e h e a r t t h e r e ' s a n 1 8 HD movie capabilities of the 5D, this info has been gleaned from a Filed under: Digital Cameras
megapixel sensor and dual DIGIC but no word on how it might Canon EOS 7D pics and specs
28 Economy/ Sports Internet News Record

The Two-Track Economy: What This week's top stories

This Means for Banks [28 August 2009]
(Financial Sector and Stocks matters politically, and partly of So now it’s all about whether (The Economist: News unemployment figures are
Analysis from Seeking Alpha) the way it impacts the rest of the you are a preferred client of analysis) published. The housing market
Submitted at 8/30/2009 7:09:28 AM process. Goldman Sachs( GS) or another Submitted at 8/28/2009 6:00:29 AM has started to show some
• The remaining big banks have big finance house. encouraging signs of life and
By Simon Johnson become bigger and more powerful If you’re on the inside track, this The coming days rallies of various stockmarkets
The notion of a two-track economically — the Washington is a great time to buy US assets Aug 2nd 2009 around the world have given
economy seems to be taking hold. Post emphasized deposits Friday; that are being dumped by people From Economist.com New optimists cause to cheer. President
We kicked the concept around good point, but only part of the without access to cheap credit, or evidence of the state of the Barack Obama has suggested that
pretty well last week — your 130 picture. The Financial Roundtable assets overseas (e.g., Asia, where American economy, and other the recession in America is
comments(as of Saturday is tickled pink about the the “carry” or interest rate news nearing an end. However
morning) helped clarify a great government’s “reform” proposals differential relative to the Federal • IN IRAN president Mahmoud unemployment typically continues
deal of what we know, don’t (except the consumer protection Reserve is already positive and Ahmadinejad is expected to to rise for a period even after a
know, and need to worry about. part), with good reason. the exchange rate risk is all consolidate his grip on power, recession has ended. A rapid
The two-track concept overlaps • Many smaller banks are getting upside). after disputed elections. On increase in unemployment would
with, and builds on, long-standing squeezed – as reflected in the If you’re on the outside track, Monday August 3rd the Supreme not only be bad news for the
issues of inequality in the U.S., latest news on the FDIC’s “ you are experiencing a version of Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, jobless but could indicate a
but it’s also different. Within danger/sick list”. The smaller Naomi Klein’s “ Shock Doctrine”. will hear Mr Ahmadinejad give greater risk of a weak recovery or
existing income classes, some banks really do not seem to Some (former) members of the the oath of office. Later in the a double-dip recession.
p e o p l e f i n d t h e m s e l v e s i n understand how they have been elite are in this category – this is week a public ceremony is For background, see article
relatively good shape and others done in by the big banks – if they another standard feature of planned. Although Mr • MEXICO'S president, Felipe
are completely hammered. did get it, they’d be up on Capitol emerging market crises and Ahmadinejad has emerged Calderón, will welcome Barack
N e w d i m e n s i o n s o f Hill and all over the media “recoveries”. But mostly, of triumphant in his contest with Obama and Stephen Harper,
differentiation are also taking hold arguing strenuously for much course, it’s nonelite on the outside opposition figures, his dominance Canada’s prime minister, to a two
within occupations and within tougher controls on bad big bank track and a more concentrated, of Iranian politics has been -day summit of North American
industries – the WSJ yesterday behavior. The lack of leadership reconfigured version of the elite constrained by fellow leaders in the western city
had nice illustrations. The among non-large banks is on the inside. conservative politicians. Guadalajara starting on Sunday
contours of this differentiation r e m a r k a b l e . This can lead to short-term See article August 9th. Discussions are likely
begin to shape our recovery or, if • The WSJ yesterday had the growth – the speed of recovery in • AMERICA'S secretary of state, to centre on measures to tackle
you prefer, who recovers and who data: borrowing costs for large many emerging markets surprises Hillary Clinton, sets off on a greenhouse-gas emissions, the
does not – it’s hard to say how banks are now lower than for many, from about 12 months after seven-country trip to Africa threat of swine flu and prospects
this will play out in conventional small banks. This is, of course, a the crisis breaks. But it also leads beginning on Wednesday August for economic recovery. Canada
aggregate statistics, but these are d i r e c t r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e to repeated crisis, to derailed 5th. Mrs Clinton will travel to and Mexico want assurances that
likely to become increasingly g o v e r n m e n t ’ s growth, and to a loss of income, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, America will not resort to
misleading. firefighting/firesetting strategy: status, and prospects for most of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape protectionism particularly in light
For now, I would highlight three unlimited cheap resources for society. Verde. She has sidelined recently of Mr Obama’s election rhetoric,
points about the two-track future large big banks; for small banks, by a broken elbow, by President which suggested that he wanted to
for banks – partly because this not so much. Barack Obama's recent trips, renegotiate the North American
including one to Africa, and by Free Trade Agreement.
Zito's gem inches Giants closer to wild-card spot the vice-president, Joe Biden, who For background, see article
By Associated Press Barry Zito gave up one earned run homer of the season and recorded has been enthusiastically Back to top ^^ Readers'
(ESPN.com) in 8 1/3 innings, and Brian Wilson his 13th three-hit game of the travelling the world. comments
hung on for his 32nd save in 29 year. For background, see article Readers have commented on
Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:38:28 PM
chances. -- ESPN Stats & Information • MORE evidence of the state of this article (the window for new
Fast Facts • Zito has won his last three health of America's economy will comments is now closed).
• The Giants closed to within starts at home. become available on Friday
one game in the NL wild card. • Pablo Sandoval hit his 21st August 7th, when monthly
Internet News Record
The coming days: The week ahead
(The Economist: News
analysis)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:39:06 PM
The coming days
Aug 30th 2009
From Economist.com The Dalai
Lama visits Taiwan, and other
news
• AS THE Dalai Lama makes a
five-day trip to Taiwan beginning
on Monday August 31st, visiting
victims of Typhoon Morakot,
which swept through the country
early in August, China-watchers
will study the intensity of the
reaction from Beijing. Relations
between China and Taiwan have
been warming recently, with talk
of a free-trade deal and friendly
bilateral meetings. But the
presence of the Tibetan spiritual
leader on Taiwanese soil has
already been condemned by
China. A particularly frosty
Chinese response is likely if
President Ma Ying-jeou meets the
visiting dignitary.
See article
• RUSSIA'S prime minister,
Vladimir Putin, and his Ukrainian
counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko,
will meet on neutral ground in
Warsaw on Tuesday September
1st at the invitation of the Polish
government. Relations are
strained after Dmitry Medvedev,
IM+ 3.4 to support Speech Recognition for Twitter and IM (for a price)
By Greg Kumparak
(CrunchGear)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:48:31 PM
Unlike some people around these
parts, I loves me some Twitter
(psst, follow me.) Thing is, just
Russia’s president, sent a nasty
letter to Ukraine’s president,
Viktor Yushchenko, alleging that
Ukraine had supplied arms to
Georgia. In addition Russia
accused Ukraine of making life
difficult for Russia’s Black Sea
fleet (which is based in a
Ukrainian port), signing
treacherous pipeline deals with
the European Union and kicking
out Russian diplomats. A more
conciliatory approach by Mr Putin
seems unlikely.
See article
• RATE-SETTERS at the
European Central Bank(ECB)
begin a two-day meeting on
Wednesday September 2nd. The
bank is unlikely to alter its main
policy settings but Jean-Claude
Trichet, its president, will use a
press conference to outline the
bank's latest economic forecasts.
See article
• A LONG-RUNNING row
between Boeing and Airbus over
the extent of state assistance to the
two firms may be brought closer
to a resolution. The World Trade
Organisation is set to rule on
Friday September 4th on a case
brought by America against the
European aerospace consortium
over government subsidies it has
taken, for example in the form of
launch aid for new planes. Europe
about every time I get a chance to
tweet, I can't. Maybe my hands
are covered in grease as I'm
stuffing my face with a delicious
burger; maybe I just don't want to
come home from a long day of
blogging and have to squeeze my
has lodged a counter-complaint
alleging that the American
planemaker gets an array of
subsidies from different American
agencies, research contracts for its
military arm as well as tax breaks
from several states.
See article
• FINANCE ministers
representing the G20 group of
rich countries will begin a two-
day meeting in London on Friday
September 4th. They are planning
to lay the ground for a summit
meeting of G20 leaders in
Pittsburgh at the end of the
month. The ministers are likely to
agree on the need to sustain
stimulus programmes to maintain
fragile recoveries. Bankers' pay
will also loom large in
discussions. Widespread disquiet
over the return of big bonuses
while the wounds of the credit
crisis are still raw has prompted
proposals for tougher rules
governing bonus payments in the
financial sector, but the G20 is
unlikely to adopt a “cap and tax”
system as mooted by France.
See article
Back to top ^^ Readers'
comments
The Economist welcomes your
views.
thoughts into 140 characters with
Economy/ Gadgets/
'Too Big to Fail' Has
Gotten Much Bigger
(Financial Sector and Stocks
Analysis from Seeking Alpha)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:52:40 AM
Once the market stabilizes,
something needs to be done to
isolate systemic risk in some of
these very large banks. Right
now, all of the largest institutions
have experienced huge market
share gains in mortgage and other
segments while at the same time
have huge risk taking operations.
Not to pick on poor Goldman (
GS), who gets enough heat these
days, but the taxpayer shouldn't
be guaranteeing one half of the
balance sheet while the other half
goes hunting in the hen house.
This applies to Bank of America (
BAC), Morgan Stanley ( MS)
(which is, as we speak, rapidly
increasing its balance sheet risk)
and virtually every other large
institution. Just to be fair,
Goldman took a lot of these risks
at the behest of the Fed, which
wanted to encourage risk taking
again to stabilize the market. At
some point, once the seas are
quiet the table needs to be re set.
At we get more visibility into a
situation where these institutions
have income that outstrips loan
losses, we need to look at ways to
dismantle the behemoths we have
my iPhone's made-for-babies
keyboard. Voice recognition
Twitter apps are intriguing, but
none of the major Twitter clients
have it yet (as far as I know), and
I'm just not hardcore enough to
drop money on any apps that
29
created and firewall these balance
sheets from proprietary trading
and risk taking.
I don't want the Administration
to go on some sort of pro cyclical
binge regulating the banks into
zero profits. Rather, the balance
sheets that by nature of size or
scope require underwriting by the
US taxpayer need to be
"firewalled" from those that
undertake speculative risks.
Guys like Jamie Dimon over at
JP Morgan ( JPM) should be a big
part of how we figure out how to
do this. Of all the CEOs, this guy
has the best regulatory head and
makes the most sense--he'd make
a great replacement for Geithner,
who is not a strong Treasury
Secretary. The battle plan, I
believe, is to reform our
regulatory system first then fix the
banks. However, I don't think
Geithner is strong enough to do
this. Jamie Dimon is though and,
if asked, he'll serve.
With bank profits finally
stabilizing, this process may be
coming sooner rather than later.
Just to appease the disclosure
gods, I am long the common,
preferred and debt of BofA,
Citibank ( C), and JP Morgan.
might offer voice-tweeting as its
sole functionality. Fortunately, an
already worthwhile app has come
along and solved all my problems
via upgrade.
30 Economy/ Gadgets/ Tech/
Real Estate Exposure Hurting Regional Banks
(Financial Sector and Stocks
Analysis from Seeking Alpha)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 5:46:29 AM
We received a thoughtful
comment from EPEON (on
Seeking Alpha) on the recent post
called Small bank, big bank - the
difference is real estate exposure:
I have reviewed a lot of small
banks and I have to say that your
analysis is true but entirely
misleading. Small banks (and
credit unions) do, indeed, have a
higher exposure to real estate
loans. However, the exposure is
usually to their own depositers
and or members. The banks and
credit unions have relationships
with these people and they know,
quite well, the credit worthiness
of these people.
Their default rate is usually far
lower then it was on the subprime
crap. So, the problem is not real
estate. Rather, the problem is
loaning money to people that are
not credit worthy.
This is an excellent point, and is
indeed part of the problem.
Smaller and regional banks lend
within their community, often to
clients they know well. However
just as their clients were stretched
on their real estate purchases, so
were the banks on their lending
practices. Part of the issue is that
regional banks have been poorly
CrunchDeals: Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 5:54:58 AM
Pocket video cameras might
eventually be killed off by the
iPod horde, but that doesn’t mean
that the current crop aren’t worth
your time. The Kodak Zi6 HD is a
diversified, with tremendous
exposure to real estate in their
communities. And as the
communities came under pressure
in the recession, so did the banks.
Here is a map showing housing
price to income ratio. No surprises
here - the overheated markets are
all showing up in yellow and
orange.
Source: CreativeClass.com
And here is a map of bank
closings. Again, it shouldn't be a
surprise given banks' exposure to
real estate in their communities.
nice little camera and Woot has a
nice deal one ‘em today.
Amazon sells the pocket cam
for $122, but if you can deal with
a refurb, Woot has one for only
$69.99. You even get your choice
of black, pink, or red. The little
camera can capture 720p video at
The overheated real estate areas
tend to get hit with more bank
closings. There are obviously
idiosyncratic local factors
affecting bank closings, but the
pattern is clearly there.
Regional banks' real estate
exposure will continue to pressure
their balance sheets, making it
harder to lend, compressing their
earnings, and forcing some to
close. And at this stage it's not the
sub-prime that is causing the
problem, it's the prime lending
into what was an overheated real
60 fps with 16:9 aspect ratio. All
that media gets stored on a
estate market as well as
commercial property and
construction loans.
Increasing FDIC fees (which the
FDIC will eventually have to do)
on secured deposits will make the
situation even worse.
The market definitely
recognizes this. The chart below
compares year-to-date
performance of KRE- the regional
banks ETF (down 24.7%), and
VFH- the Vanguard Financials
ETF (up 18.8%). Regional banks
are clearly struggling.
The small and regional banks
excessive real estate exposure and
lack of diversification has been a
major factor in bank closings and
is likely to continue pressuring
these institutions going forward.
From Bloomberg:
The U.S. added 111 lenders to
its list of “problem banks” in the
second quarter, a 36 percent
increase that pushed the group to
a 15-year high.
A total of 416 banks with
combined assets of $299.8 billion
failed the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp.’s grading system
for asset quality, liquidity and
earnings, the most since June
1994, the Washington-based
FDIC said in a report today.
SD/SDHC card and you can get
about 40 minutes to fit on a 2GB
card. Don’t expect production
quality video out of it, but we use
these cameras all the time and
they get the job done.
Internet News Record
Wouldn't The Last
Thing We Want During
A 'Cybersecurity
Emergency' Be For The
Gov't To Take Over
Private Networks?
By Michael Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 3:56:49 PM
A bunch of folks are sending in
this News.com story about a draft
of the latest cybersecurity bill,
that still includes bizarre and
totally unnecessary language that
would allow the President to
declare a cybersecurity
emergency and then be able to
take control over private computer
networks. First, the idea of the
whole "cybersecurity emergency"
that would require such a thing
still remains a science fiction idea.
Yes, there can be cybersecurity
attacks and they can cause all
sorts of problems, but these are
problems that generally are not
life-threatening or that can't be
handled reasonably.
But the bigger issue is why the
government should be taking
control over private networks.
This is the same gov't that doesn't
let people in the State Department
use Firefox and which thinks that
RealPlayer is the state of the art in
online video streaming. Even if
there were a "cybersecurity
emergency," I would think the last
people I'd want to take charge
would be the federal government.
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story
Internet News Record Economy/ Tech/ Entertainment 31
Questions Raised As To Why
Why Goldman's $4 Trillion Connected Nation Selected In Florida
Projection Is Wrong Despite Costing More Than Double
(Financial Sector and Stocks companies in its emergency prime equivalent. Economically By Michael Masnick (Techdirt) involved in other Connected
Analysis from Seeking Alpha) lending programs after losing a BofA could and should be using Submitted at 8/28/2009 5:18:00 PM Nation projects, raising questions
Submitted at 8/30/2009 5:34:18 AM Freedom of Information Act the sub-prime TALF financing, about Connect Florida's
lawsuit. but because TALF is a high We've already discussed how understanding of the Florida
From Bloomberg: Manhattan Chief U.S. District profile program and the media Washington DC darling market. So how did Connect
J a n H a t z i u s , c h i e f U . S . Judge Loretta Preska ruled against would learn that BofA is the only Connected Nation appears more Florida win? According to
economist at Goldman Sachs the central bank yesterday, large bank doing a sub-prime and more like a telco sponsored sources, one of the five judges
Group Inc. ( GS), said the Federal rejecting the argument that loan deal, they stayed away. From boondoggle to control gov't gave ISC the win, with an eight-
Reserve could double the size of records aren’t covered by the law Bloomberg: mapping mandates and collect point differential over CN. Two
the central bank’s balance sheet because their disclosure would JPMorgan Chase & Co., gov't money, without having to other judges gave CN a two-point
again if needed to support harm borrowers’ competitive Citigroup Inc. and American give up real data on broadband win. One other judge gave CN a
economic growth. positions. Express Co. are among issuers access. But, for some reason, 15-point win over ISC. Yet in
A rise in the balance sheet to $4 This suit, filed by Bloomberg that sold $21 billion of card- politicians just seem to love another curiosity, one judge gave
trillion is a “possibility,” Hatzius under the Freedom of Information backed debt this year through the Connected Nation (CN). Last time CN a 51-point win. That judge
s a i d i n a n i n t e r v i e w o n Act, will force the Fed to release Term Asset-Backed Securities I was in DC, it was all anyone was Bill Price, currently the
Bloomberg Radio in New York. t h e n a m e s o f t h e b a n k i n g Loan Facility, a Federal Reserve was talking about concerning broadband stimulus program
“It is going to depend on not just institutions who are borrowers lending program to spur bond broadband policy. However, there manager for the state of Florida, a
what inflation does, but also on under the various liquidity sales. Bank of America, the only are more and more questions position he has held for the past
whether the economy does move facilities. And there is nothing major card-issuer that didn’t sell being raised now. Apparently, three months. According to his
back to a slower growth pace.” that banks hate more than being any, lacks enough quality loans in Connected Nation got a big win in profile on the Linked-In social
This scenario is truly scary (and perceived as weak, which is what its credit-card trust to sell TALF Florida recently, despite the fact networking site, Price was vice
may also be great for Goldman would happen upon disclosure bonds without being labeled a that its bid for mapping was more president for business
because there would be that much that they had to borrow from the subprime issuer. than double the next runner up, development for BellSouth
more paper Goldman can sell to Fed. Institutions who are using So Goldman's projection on the ISC. Connect Florida -- a brand Business. Remember how
the Fed), but such a massive these facilities will now simply Fed's balance sheet doubling is new "affiliate" of Connected Connected Nation is really closely
b a l a n c e s h e e t b u i l d u p i s stop, unless they absolutely need just wrong. The securities Nation, bid $7.1 million. ISC, connected to the telcos? And a
increasingly unlikely. The Fed the Fed's support to survive. purchasing may continue for a which is actually based in Florida former telco exec who only
will continue its securities An example of this is Bank of while (although some in the Fed and has worked with Florida gov't recently got the state gov't job
purchases, but the lending facility America's ( BAC) refusal to are getting increasingly nervous agencies in the past, bid $2.8 suddenly happens to rate it up
usage will collapse, resulting in a participate in the TALF program about it), but the purchases will be million. ISC used references for massively over the second place
much slower balance sheet because its credit card portfolio offset by reductions in bank its actual work on the ground in competitor? Doesn't that at least
growth. Here is the reason (from would be classified as sub-prime. liquidity facilities. Florida, including "the Florida raise some ethics questions?
Bloomberg): TALF provides financing on sub- Department of Health, the Florida Perhaps there's more to it, and
The Federal Reserve must for prime cards as well as auto, with Department of Transportation, the perhaps there are good reasons
t h e f i r s t t i m e i d e n t i f y t h e leverage that's a bit lower than the Florida Department of Agriculture why Connect Florida is better
and two local businesses, than ISC. But it sure does seem
A Life in Pics: ET Remembers Michael Jackson on his 51st including an Economic like Florida owes the public an
Development Council. The ISC explanation of what those good
Birthday application also listed 11 contracts reasons might be.
(ETonline - Breaking News) surrounding his shocking death on popular recording artists of all the company has with Florida Permalink| Comments| Email
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:37:00 AM June 25, Michael Jackson will be time, with his greatest success state agencies." Connect Florida, This Story
forever immortalized for his during the 1980s. on the other hand, named out-of-
Saturday, August 29 would have world-famous songs, trademark Take a look through the decades state references who were
marked the 51st birthday of dance moves and chart-topping at the rare photos of a man who
Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. success. The international icon revolutionized music.
D e s p i t e t h e c o n t r o v e r s i e s was arguably one of the most
32 Gadgets/
Caffeine Dreams: Can I Taste the Perfect Coffee? [Taste Test]
By matt buchanan (Gizmodo)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:00:00 AM
I love coffee. Probably more
than you do. But I'm not as
obsessed as the people who
devote their lives to coffee,
forever searching for the perfect
cup through practices that mingle
science and voodoo. I want to be.
When I (or anyone) order a
macchiato at either of Ninth St.
Espresso's Alphabet City
outposts, it's always made by a
dude in his 20s wearing a baseball
hat and facial hair who appears to
move with a level of enthusiasm
rivaling that of an arthritic retiree
working as a night-shift security
guard at a library. It looks like he
simply doesn't care. At least, if
you don't watch closely.
After he presses the tamper into
a mound of brown, almost velvet-
like powder to compress it into a
perfectly even puck of coffee for
proper extraction, he gives the
portafilter a fast twirl, proving the
coffee is packed in tightly enough
that gravity can't wrestle it out.
The steel pitcher holding the
steamed milk is slammed into the
counter once then swirled, twice
and another swirl, three
times—then half of its contents
are dumped into a drain before
they're poured into a tiny cup with
hand movements that slink back
and forth so subtly they're almost
imperceptible, smoothly layering
the milk into a triple shot of thick
and rusty brown espresso, the
drink topped with an arabesque
mark of white in a small sea of tan
foam. I wasn't witnessing malaise,
but the skillful, measured
movements of a pro.
That's merely what I can
see—what I didn't know before
talking to Ninth St.'s owner, Ken
Nye, is everything leading up to
that. The $15,000 hand-built La
Marzocco machine my drink was
crafted with is the only one of its
kind in the U.S., an "almost
prototypish" model that stuffs the
state-of-the-art in espresso-
making technology into a retro
body style that evokes fine Italian
machinery as much as it does
coffeeshop centerpiece. The heart
of the machine is an electronic
PID-controlled triple boiler
system. Typical commercial
machines have two boilers—one
for the coffee, one for the
steamer—but Ken's machine has
separate boilers for each group
head (where the coffee comes
out), each of which can adjusted
to within a tenth of a degree.
Ken says that kind of
temperature control really matters.
He and others avow that taste
begins to change within half a
degree—as coffee gets hotter, it
tends to be more bitter, while
cooler coffee can be more sour.
(How important is temperature to
coffee? Ken keeps his shops at
exactly 73 degrees year
round—for the beans, not the
customers.)
Older machines just couldn't get
that kind of precision. They had a
typical variation of a few degrees
either way—which is why Ken
retired his 1970s machine, which
it sits, gorgeous as a classic car, in
the back of the shop. The new
machine is a glimpse of what
other top-of-the-line espresso
machines will perform like a year
from now, says Jacob Ellul-Blake
from La Marzocco R&D—though
they'll have even more
sophisticated, programmable
controls for pressure, too, giving a
barista exacting digital power
over nearly every parameter of the
coffee.
How those parameters are
changed is where engineering
meets art—it's entirely based on
taste. Artisan coffee-making may
be at last trodding toward digital
control en masse, making the
production of a cup of coffee
approximate voodoo-inflected
mad science. Ninth St.'s relatively
new $3000 Mazzer burr grinder is
also electronically controlled, its
older grinder relegated to
Internet News Record
pulverizing beans for decaf, while
water filters run amok throughout
the shop to ensure a mineral level
of 100-150 PPM/TDS, lest the
water be "lifeless" or too hard,
and damaging to the
equipment—but the very analog
rituals of tasting, like cupping,
prevail.
And despite all of the gear, what
this bleeding edge of the coffee
industry is attempting to imitate is
the old-school wine industry. To
see that, I had to step back a level,
from coffeehouse to roaster, so
Ken directed me to the current
supplier of his beans, Chicago-
based Intelligentsia Coffee.
Intelligentsia's New York
training lab, run by David
Latourell (formerly of the
Clover's progenitor, the Coffee
Equipment Company), is a large
white space divided into two
rooms. Two-thirds of the space is
the lab, with two long steel tables
pressed back against the wall,
cluttered by nearly $50,000 worth
of gear for making coffee:
Chemex to vacuum pot, caffe solo
to Clover. The other third of the
space is a dedicated cupping room
with a hydraulic table cut into a
stage. Intelligentsia is one of the
three big roasters, along with
Portland-based Stumptown and
North Carolina-based Counter
Culture, currently spearheading
the so-called third wave of coffee,
the second wave being, in a
nutshell, Starbucks.
The two big messages of the
third wave, if you buy into it as a
movement, are sustainability and
coffee as a "culinary experience."
By sustainability, that means
environmentally accountable and
fiscally beneficial to the farmers
CAFFEINE page 33
Internet News Record
CAFFEINE
continued from page 32
who grow the beans, long screwed
over by Big Coffee. But the
sourcing goes beyond just quality
and fairness: These people are
bringing wine's notion of terroir
into coffee—tasting precisely
where coffee is from, not just
down to the single-origin farm
level, but down to blocks of a
farm's land. (By the way, David
says that Starbucks' sourcing
practices are exceptionally solid,
so no ill should be spoken of them
in that regard.)
The incredibly nerdy and
exacting methods developed
lately for brewing coffee aren't
about convenience, like the drip
pot. They're designed to express
and articulate the particular
qualities and complexities
inherent to a coffee, to make it
possible to not simply taste coffee
like wine, but to talk about it in a
similar manner—"gilded by an
orange and lime citrus acidity, the
center of Itzamna radiates flavors
of fruit punch and caramel"—and
ascribing those qualities to a
particular origin.
The feedback loop of the
relationships with farmers that
these roasters have been building
for years now, David says, doesn't
just mean that coffee is more
responsibly harvested, but that
coffee is actually better now, and
there are coffees that were never
possible before, since farmers
have been refining their practice
to grow coffee that suits the tastes
of roasters who will pay more for
Trailer life
By Cris Stoddard (Flickr Blog)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 2:18:10 PM
No man should go through life
without once experiencing
healthy, even bored solitude in the
particular beans.
David is actually un-elitist as
they come, despite being at the
center of a movement that smacks
of cultural and culinary elistism.
For him, all the gear, all of the
mechanical extravagance and
precision, is all about taste and
getting the flavor profile you want
out of coffee. He refuses to judge
even those who drink Folgers and
like it (he just wishes they'd buy
coffee from somewhere that
practiced more ethical bean
sourcing). But I mean, how much
can you really taste the difference
between various coffees, or hell,
one coffee prepared different
ways? To find out, David made us
several cups of coffee, prepared
using the Clover, Chemex and
CafeSolo.
Clover is particular suited to
experimentation, since nearly
variable is can be manipulated
digitally and the process is easily
repeatable, potentially turning
every cup into a science project.
The Chemex delivers the cleanest
profile of any brew method,
plainly exposing the bean's flavor
profile—there's no muddling to
hide it, like with a French
press—and the Cafe Solo is kind
of like a reverse French press,
offering something a bit heavier
and richer. (We explained most of
the major ways to make coffee
earlier with Ken and David's help,
if you're curious.) We tried
Intelligentsia's La Soledad, from
Guatemala, Flor Azul from
wilderness, finding himself
depending solely on himself and
thereby learning his true and
hidden strength. – Jack Kerouac
Where will you get lost to this
weekend?
Nicaragua, and La Maravilla, also
from Guatemala.
Here's where I'm coming from,
going into this: I can tell the
difference good coffee and shitty
coffee. The latter, well, tastes like
shit. The former, I can drink black
and like, tasting something more
simply coffee, but that I can't
define. In other words, the
flowery descriptions adorning
bags of coffee from most
specialty houses haven't actually
played out like that on my tongue.
It's a rudimentary sophistication.
After an introductory cup of the
Flor Azul, we try the La Soledad
in the Clover with a 30 second
brew time. It's pleasant and fairly
light. There's a defining acidity to
it, but it's not bitter in any way.
David adjusts the steep time to 60
seconds. The resulting cup is
mellower, and loses a lot of its
punch. He makes a third cup, this
time upping the dose: Perfection.
A happy medium of the first two,
what people mean when they say
a coffee is "juicy" suddenly makes
sense to me. I can't tell you if it
was "pear" or "apple," but the
subtle bite of a tart fruit is there,
then it dissolves into something
smoother, almost "herbacious," as
David called it. Well, he also said
it tasted very "green," since for
him, coffee has strong color
connotations. This would prove to
be our favorite cup.
Next, we go to the Chemex. The
coffee is thinner than what came
out of the Clover, and the taste
Photos by Dr Strangelove! …
Tech Tips/ Picture 33
has a lot more acidity to it. And, I
can't believe I'm saying this, but I
picked up a weird cinammon note
that became a lot more
pronounced than it was with the
Clover. What. The. Fuck. Am I
really starting to taste like the
obsessives I've been talking to?
The cup that came out of the Cafe
Solo is initially a disappointment Build a Nintendo Arcade
that seemed overextracted, though
letting it cool longer made it to Get Your Old-School
better, rounding it out to Game On [Weekend
something more balanced, though Project]
ultimately kind of forgettable (I
know, because I forgot what it By Jason Fitzpatrick
tasted like and apparently didn't (Lifehacker)
deem it worthy of taking notes Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:00:00 PM
on).
Beyond David's advice to junk Playing old-school NES games
my albeit fancy drip coffeemaker is reassuringly awesome, but
for a French press or Chemex pot, playing them in emulation at your
I kind of wondered how much I computer is inauthentic and
learned would stick with me: I sometimes kludgey. Check out
mean, I actually did taste a real this awesome homemade
difference between all of the Nintendo arcade system and
coffees we drank, but I got to consider the possibilities.
compare them one after another. I If you liked the arcade cabinet
got a machiatto from Ninth St. on we shared with you last year but
my way home the next day, and you weren't sold on the styling,
there it was: Juiciness. I this table-top arcade cabinet might
remembered it. I understood it. Itbe what you're looking for.
was still there. Not merely "this Instructables user russm313
doesn't taste thin and burnt and turned an old PC and a 17"
shitty" like a machiatto does frommonitor into a table-top gaming
all but a handful of coffeehouses machine that runs NES games in
in New York, but layered on top emulation and even sports old
the subtle sweetness of the milk school controls. Check out the
and velvet mouthfeel is a tartnessvideo below to see it in action.
I can actually identify as "juicy." \
Fuck, it might just be peach. You'll need to do some
I guess there is no going back. shopping for a few specialty parts
like the joy stick and buttons, but
the parts aren't expensive. Read
over the full build guide at the
Evaristo El Santo Demonio, link below to see the parts list and
leahleaf, BetterOffDead (Claire step by step photos. How-To
Marie Vogel), tryred62, Lee Otis, Build a Nintendo Arcade[via
and Lost America. Make]
34 Gadgets/
Cooking with Magnets: An Intro to Induction [Taste Test]
By Mark McClusky (Gizmodo)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 3:00:00 PM
Induction stoves may be making
their way into restaurant kitchens,
but for home cooks they're still a
mystery. Fortunately, Wired
product editor (and food geek)
Mark McClusky volunteered to
enlighten us:
It took me nearly an entire
evening in the the kitchen at
Alinea before I realized what was
weird about it. Sure, there's the
stunning intensity of the chefs as
they prepare Grant Achatz'
intricate dishes, and the nearly-
operating room level of
cleanliness. But that's not what
struck me one night at the end of
service. What struck me is that I
didn't know where the stove was.
You see, in most restaurant
kitchens—like most home
kitchens—the stove is the focal
point of the room, the place that
all the action revolves around. If
you're running the sauté station in
most big restaurants, you're the
man, the line cook who's banging
out the most food in the hottest,
most extreme environment.
You're the alpha cook.
Not so at Alinea. Of course
there's a stove, but it's much
smaller than you'd expect for a
kitchen that puts out a couple of
thousand plates a night, just four
burners and a flat top. Instead, the
chefs at Alinea do the vast
majority of their cooking using
induction burners, portable ones
from CookTek.
Internet News Record
the cheapest (and most fun to use)
cookware around— cast
iron—works amazingly on
induction burners, as will all your
fancy pots as long as they've got
some stainless steel kicking
around in them. If in doubt, grab a
magnet from your fridge door to
check.
As far as specific models to
check out, Circulon makes a nice
burner, and Spanish appliance
giant Fagor has one. For the best
combo of power and price, check
out the Max Burton 6000, which
puts out 1800 watts for just $125
retail.
That's how to cook like they do
at the best restaurant in America.
Or, really, it's how to cook with
the same methods. The talent is
up to you.
Mark McClusky is products
editor at Wired magazine, and one
of the authors of the Alinea book.
You can follow him on
Induction is just plain cool. you pour into them into heat, from the burner, just the pan. Twitter@markmcc. Also check
Instead of using a flame like gas, compared to about 70% for Plus, there's the flexibility of out his Wired special: The Future
or radiant heat like standard electric burners and 40% for gas. portable burners like Alinea uses. of Food.
electric burners, induction burners That means you'll spend less to Frying something smelly? Got an Taste Test is our weeklong
use a magnetic field. The field cook on induction. outdoor power outlet? Set up a tribute to the leaps that occur
creates heat through the property And since the burner itself portable burner, and you can keep when technology meets cuisine,
outlined in Joule's first law—you doesn't create heat, it stays cool to the stink out of your house. Want spanning everything from the
do remember y o u r the touch—take the pan off, and to keep soup warm at a party? historic breakthroughs that made
thermodynamics, right?—in you can put your palm on it. That Throw a burner on the buffet, and food tastier and safer to the Earl-
which current passing through also means that they don't throw you're good to go. Grey-friendly replicators we
conductive material generates off ambient heat like gas or The one thing to keep in mind is impatiently await in the future.
heat. electric, so the kitchen stays much that your pans do have to be Top image found
UNCREDITED at Titanium Elite,
So what? Well, a couple of cooler. magnetic. That might be a pain in
things. First, induction is super- Then, there's the responsiveness the ass, especially if you're hip Green By Design and This Old
efficient. Induction burners of induction. Like gas, when you deep in anodized aluminum pots. House; most likely a promotional
convert about 85% of the energy turn it off, there's no residual heat But the good news is that some of image for Sauter cooktops.
Internet News Record Gadgets/ Tech/ TV 35

More comedy from The Pirate Bay Trademark Lawsuit For

Sale: Key partner says there’s no Using Kazoos To Quack
money, CEO has property repossessed Like A Duck
By Nicholas Deleon something when you have no By Michael Masnick (Techdirt) passengers to play as the truck
(CrunchGear) money, a concept that’s perhaps Submitted at 8/28/2009 6:44:00 PM goes from land to water. Now it
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:25:17 AM lost on people who are used to turns out, right nearby where I
getting things for free. When this article in the ABA am, in San Francisco, there's a
Years from now, when the Oh, there’s more. The CEO of Journal started off by noting tour called Bay Quackers, that
history of BitTorrent-related GGF, Hans Pandeya, has had his (accurately!) that the following does something similar, also
Internet piracy is written, there car and motorcycle repossessed story sounds like typical late-night involving quacking kazoos. Ride
will have to be at least one after being unable to pay back a fodder that makes lawyers look the Ducks isn't happy and has
chapter devoted to The Pirate tax debt of $110,000. bad for filing frivolous lawsuits -- sued Bay Quackers, saying that
Bay. It showed up just as the likes I can’t stress how bad that but then said "but the suit is the specific quack of the kazoo is
of Suprnova and LokiTorrent makes GGF look, if it’s even anything but silly" -- I expected trademarked.
were being shut down, and possible to make these guys look an article that would explain My first question is why Bay
quickly became the go-to place any worse. Here you have a convincingly why a trademark Quackers just doesn't get different
for, shall we say, the less savvy company that’s trying to buy, and lawsuit between two tourist tour kazoos. Well, actually, my first
BitTorrent user. It also became a turn legitimate, the best known operators that have passengers use question is a slightly unprintable
symbol of the copyright reform somehow, was to turn TPB piracy site on the Internet. kazoos to quack like a duck was question about why tourists might
movement, though the site’s legitimate, completely ignoring According to the company that not silly. But, I'm left scratching ride amphibious boat/trucks while
cavalier attitude toward any sort the makeup of its user-base. These was set to transform TPB into a my head. I found the article via using kazoos to sound like
of authority ultimately led to its people use TPB: do you really prim and proper organization, it Eric Goldman, who notes that"I ducks... but I figure that's a
undoing. (The whole “we’re t h i n k y o u c a n t a k e t h i s has zero money to do so. And can't imagine this lawsuit has a tangent. Either way, it's difficult
untouchable!” gimmick the site community (if you can even call it now, its CEO is seeing his good ROI." to see what benefit there really is
had played up was, we can now a community), take away the one personal property being hauled off H e r e ' s t h e b a s i c s t o r y . to this lawsuit, other than Ride the
say, ill advised.) thing it had going for it (“Free for his inability to pay tax debt. If
Apparently, there are some tour Ducks being pissed off that
But if an entire chapter is to be stuff!”), and completely turn it on you can’t afford a motorcycle, operations out there that involve someone else is using their idea.
devoted to TPB, then it only its head? Laughable. Even more you probably shouldn’t be in amphibious truck/boats, that take But ideas aren't protectable, and
makes sense that the sale of TPB laughable when you consider charge of a company that’s trying tourists around different places competition is a good thing. So,
being given at least two. It what a key would-be technology to spend millions of dollars to turn both on land and in water. One we're left with a silly lawsuit
emerged two days ago that Global partner of TPB 2.0, Peerialism, TPB into a shining beacon of company, Ride the Ducks, does about quacking kazoos that does,
Gaming Factory X, the company has said. And that is, essentially, legitimacy. this in various areas around the still, seem pretty frivolous.
slated to buy TPB for nearly two that GGF has no money. No Good luck to all parties country, and has trademarked the Permalink| Comments| Email
m o n t h s , h a d a c q u i r e d t h e money to buy TPB, and no money involved, of course, I’m just a sound of kazoos being used to This Story
financing required to go through to buy Peerialism. little bit skeptical. quack like a duck -- which it asks
with the acquisition. The plan, It is, in fact, difficult to buy

True Blood: Get a sneak peek at the Frenzy to come

By Mike Moody (TV Squad)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 6:01:00 PM
True Blood pulled in record
ratings for last week's insane
episode,"New World in My
View." The ep ended with most of
Bon Temps still zombified by
Maryann, Sam naked and on the
run, and Bill about to meet with Continue reading True Blood:
the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, Get a sneak peek at the Frenzy to
played by Evan Rachel Wood. come
Over at the Stackhouse place, Filed under: Video, Reality-
Sookie, Lettie May and Lafayette Free, True Blood
were left caring for a bruised Permalink| Email this| |
Tara, who's determined to rescue Comments
her man, Eggs. That's where the Sunday's ep, "Frenzy" picks up.
f o l l o w i n g p r e v i e w c l i p f o r Click through to watch.
36 Tech/ Internet News Record

More questions than answers on Google Books

By Tom Krazit (Webware.com) protected books for which it the University of Michigan, are
Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:19:00 PM doesn't have an explicit agreement also fully on board.
with the rights holders. If the But taking Google at its word
BERKELEY, Calif.--Google's settlement is approved, Google requires trust, and trust in
D a n C l a n c y h a d p a t i e n t l y will suddenly flip a switch and corporations is in short supply at
answered question after question offer full-text searches of those this point in American history. It's
regarding Google's' Book Search b o o k s , a s w e l l a s l i n k s t o taken perhaps longer than it
settlement with publishers and b o o k s t o r e s . should have, but Google is
authors until late in the afternoon Nothing vexes Google's gradually realizing that a fair
Friday, when he was finally left opponents more than the fact that portion of the public no longer
speechless. the company assumed that it had sees it as a cute little Silicon
A y o u n g m a n f r o m t h e the right to digitize nearly 100 Valley start-up with idealistic
University of California at years of written material without stars in its eyes, one that insists "
Berkeley's School of Information serious negotiations with those you can make money without
asked Clancy what kind of rights holders until it was sued. doing evil."
message was sent when Google Authors have until Friday to Google damaged that trust when
decided to "copy first and answer decide if they want to opt out of it began scanning books without
questions later." The question--for the settlement and preserve the permission, arguing that it was
which there's no safe answer, if right to sue Google on their own allowed to do so under fair-use
you're in Clancy's shoes--perhaps for digitizing their book without Google's Hal Varian told me last duplicate Google's efforts is laws. Publishers and author
underscored the core of the their permission, though they can month that one area that does limited. groups also harmed that trust
opposition to the settlement, tell Google to remove their books seem to increasingly benefit from Clancy declined to say how when they turned over the key to
reached in October, after Google from the Book Search archive, scale is translation: the more much Google has spent on the castle by bringing the lawsuit
was sued in 2005 for scanning out even if they remain in the class. copies of bilingual books that scanning books, but the Internet as a class action, suddenly making
-of-print works without explicit Everyone agrees that a Google has access to, the more it Archive spends about $30 for plaintiffs out of millions of
permission. searchable digital library of out-of can perfect its translation each book scanned. If Google's authors who did not necessarily
Google's Dan Clancy is charged -print books would be a very algorithm. costs are similar, that's $300 appreciate the future value of
with defending Google's position valuable asset for the world. As "The value of the book as data is million and counting; there are digital books in 2005, nor
before opponents of its book any owner of an e-book reader greater than value of the book about 23 million books in the authorize the negotiation of the
search settlement.(Credit: Tom such as Amazon.com's Kindle itself," said Peter Brantley, WorldCat database. Microsoft rights to their works.
Krazit/CNET) will tell you, the way we think director of the Internet Archive folded its book-scanning project, By the time the young man
If the class action settlement is about books is changing. and perhaps the most vocal critic once it realized that Google was caught Clancy off guard, he was
approved, Google stands to gain Think about it: libraries offer of the settlement. And who will aggressively going after that understandably drained from a
control of a priceless asset. Jason tons of out-of-print books, so it's control access to a valuable group market, said Tom Leonard, the long day spent under hot lights
Schultz, acting director of UC not like the collective knowledge of books? A for-profit head librarian at UC Berkeley, fielding questions, and at least one
Berkeley's Samuelson Law, of those books is inaccessible. Yet corporation, which, by the way, which had been part of a book- diatribe, from passionate
Technology, and Public Policy that knowledge exists in millions paid just $125 million for the scanning partnership with academics and activists.
Clinic, called it "the largest of hard-bound individual silos. license to that information. It paid Microsoft. The thing is, it's a fair question:
copyright-licensing deal in U.S. What if we could make all that $1.65 billion for YouTube. This is what frustrates Google, Google has the financial resources
history:" the right to display the knowledge instantly accessible Google likes to say that anyone to a certain extent: everyone and collective intelligence to do
contents of out-of-print books that from anywhere in the world? And can cut deals with the Book agrees that digital access to books nearly anything it wants in the
are still covered by copyright m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , w h a t i f Rights Registry, the nonprofit is important, yet no one else is world. Where will Google turn its
protection. researchers have the ability to organization set up after the willing or capable of doing it. information vacuum next? Will it
Google, however, has already analyze it? settlement to handle payments to And Google insists that it will be ask permission first?
scanned more than 10 million Amazing gains could be made right holders, to get similar access a fair steward of the material: the Originally posted at Relevant
books. At the moment, it's not in fields like linguistics. In to out-of-print yet in-copyright European Commission has backed Results
allowed to display more than a dismissing arguments that scale books. The thing is, the number of Google's efforts, and several
f e w s n i p p e t s o f c o p y r i g h t - makes a search engine better, organizations that can afford to university libraries, such as that of
Internet News Record
Shmoop sends your kids to school--online
By Don Reisinger
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 10:29:28 AM
Shmoop, an online learning tool
designed for high-school students,
has unveiled several new
categories and a whopping 115
iPhone apps.
The site now features study
guides on poetry, bestselling
books, civics, and biography. It
already offered in-depth
information on U.S. history and
literature.
The timing on Shmoop's
announcement is certainly
appropriate. School is about to be
back in session. Students will be
needing Shmoop's online
offerings to help them get through
class.
But just how they use Shmoop's
features is up for debate.
The basics
Shmoop is basically a study
guide, although the site's founder
Ellen Siminoff, said that it aims to
become the first online textbook
for high schools all over the U.S.
In either case, it provides in-depth
information on topics ranging
from the basics like what's in the
Bill of Rights to more obscure
topics like the U.S. Gilded Age.
The site does remind me of a
textbook on topics like U.S.
history, biography, and ethics.
Shmoop provides in-depth
information on great
novels.(Credit: Screenshot by Don
Reisinger/CNET)
But I'm not necessarily
convinced that Shmoop is as
useful to educators as the
company wants everyone to
believe. Siminoff was quick to
point out that several teachers
have been using Shmoop in the
classroom. But when pressed
about the possibility of students
using its material to help them
cheat or not complete
assignments, Siminoff said that
her company's focus on reading
battles that.
"Shmoop starts out every section
with a 'Why you should care,'
item," Siminoff said. "We sell
reading the book."
I'm not convinced of that.
Although Shmoop does provide a
nice resource for kids who have
already read a book for literature
class, it also provides a fine
resource for kids who decide they
don't want to read the book and
would rather use Shmoop to learn
all about it.
Each book listed on Shmoop's
site includes a basic summary, in-
depth analysis, themes, and other
information that practically every
teacher is referencing when they
ask students to write essays on
those topics. Similar to
CliffsNotes, Shmoop can be used
as a free alternative to actually
reading the book. It's an intrinsic
issue with Shmoop that I just
don't see the company fixing. It's
a necessary cost of doing business
for a site like this.
Information overload
Outside of that, Shmoop's
content is extremely informative.
In fact, the company hires Ph.D.
and master's students to write the
content on the site. Siminoff
wouldn't say how much they pay
those students, but once they write
an in-depth analysis, all
ownership is transferred from the
graduate student to Shmoop, so it
Tech/ Tech Tips/ 37
function as the site--study guides
for great novels. Considering
Apple's troubles with developers
in the past, getting 115 apps in its
store is quite a feat. It underscores
Shmoop's desire to bring its
can do what it wants with the offering to as many places as WinToFlash Turns Your
content. possible.
Shmoop features some Shmoop is on the iPhone Windows Installation
interesting biographies.(Credit: too.(Credit: Screenshot by Don DVD into a USB-Based
Screenshot by D o n Reisinger/CNET) Installer [Downloads]
Reisinger/CNET) Looking ahead
As good as the content is, it's Shmoop is a fine study guide for By Jason Fitzpatrick
limited. You won't find math help. students, but it also has the (Lifehacker)
You won't see any science topics. potential of being an assistant for Submitted at 8/29/2009 3:00:00 PM
So far, the company has decided those who don't want to study. It
to stick to novels, poetry, and has interesting content, but its Windows: Want to turn your
g e n e r a l h i s t o r y , i n c l u d i n g content won't appeal to many Windows installation DVD into
biography and civics. That's a people outside of high-school age. an installation flash drive?
problem. Until Shmoop can offer And its coverage is great for WinToFlash can do that and
all kinds of subjects, the chances history and literature buffs, but more.
of it gathering significant support math and science lovers are left WinToFlash can transfer
from the educational community out in the cold. Windows XP, Vista, and 7 onto a
are limited. So it seems that Shmoop is a flash drive as well as Server 2003
I also wonder if Shmoop will little perplexing. On one hand, it and 2008. WinToFlash can also
eventually expand its focus. The has the features users want. On transfer Windows Preinstallation
company currently only caters to the other hand, it's lacking many Environments to flash drive.
high-school students. Some of the other features those same users The process is simple and
content, Siminoff claims, can also are looking for. But since Shmoop mostly obvious. You tell
b e u s e d i n f i r s t - y e a r is still in its early stages, it's hard WinToFlash where the
undergraduate programs. I believe to fault a company that has installation files you want to
it. Considering the sheer breadth p r o v i d e d s o m u c h g r e a t transfer are located and either let
of the content the site offers on information to students. From the the transfer wizard take care of
important topics, I could see a common topics to the obscure, things, or specify settings like
freshman U.S. history class Shmoop provides every last what kind of format the flash
analyzing some of the content the detail. That counts for something. drive will undergo. In our test
site offers. But what about If you're a parent or a teacher, using a USB 2.0 generic flash
younger kids? Middle-school Shmoop is worth checking out. drive it took about 12 minutes to
students are just as much in need Just make sure to monitor your turn a Windows 7 installation
for this kind of service. Hopefully students to ensure that they're not DVD into a USB-based installer.
Shmoop will offer content for using it for anything other than a WinToFlash is freeware,
them, as well. study guide. Windows only. WinToFlash[via
I was also surprised to learn that Download Squad]
Shmoop, which already features
study guides for the Kindle, has
delivered 115 apps for the iPhone.
Those apps offer the same basic
38 Tech/ TV Internet News Record

Facebook's iPhone update paves the way for apps

By Josh Lowensohn important live text chat. with its own device and APIs--
(Webware.com) So is there room for third-party simply letting developers build
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:00:00 AM apps in this new ecosystem? specialized tools that work within
Definitely, and much more so its confines.
We still get a pitch about a new than would have been possible in But Facebook does have a few I've finally found
Facebook app now and again, but previous versions. things going for it--it's big,
truth is, that ship sailed long ago. Imagine, if you will, a way to popular, and helps Apple sell someone to root for
Most Facebook apps just don't sync up with applications you
have the wow factor they once did have installed in Facebook, then
more iPhones and iPods by being
a must-have application. It has
on the new Skins
when the platform was new. With use them right inside this new also maintained its own directory By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
the company's latest iPhone app iPhone app. This seems like a of applications for the last two Submitted at 8/30/2009 9:54:00 AM
update, however, the wow could l o g i c a l n e x t s t e p , t h o u g h years. And like Apple, what
be coming back on a smaller Facebook's current system for applications are able to do within The plan from the beginning was
scale. third-party developers has them the confines of the service is that every two years the cast of
In case you missed Thursday's b u i l d o n e v e r s i o n o f t h e i r limited; for mobile versions of Skins would be completely
news, Apple finally got around to application--one that works on apps, those limitations could be overhauled (almost) to keep it
approving the third version of Facebook's site. even tighter. fresh and young. As I started
Facebook's iPhone app. It's a big But Facebook could make What can be safely assumed is watching the second generation
step up from previous iterations, a v a i l a b l e n e w a p p l i c a t i o n - that Facebook would stand to run several weeks ago, I realized that
bringing in a number of features programming interfaces, or APIs, into the most trouble with Apple's most of these kids were so
f o r w h i c h u s e r s h a d b e e n that would let developers pipe the Facebook app; ones that let approval process. Having apps unlikable.
clamoring. some of that data to a mobile you update your Twitter status, that are installed inside an in-app As it progressed, I remembered
Facebook's new look sports v e r s i o n t o o . T h i r d - p a r t y see where your friends have marketplace means emulating that I found the first cast almost as
specific Facebook app icons that a p p l i c a t i o n s c o u l d t h e n b e traveled, or play a quick round of what the iPhone does with its own unlikable, and realized the pattern
can be rearranged.(Credit: CNET) programmed to work within the Scrabble. native application store, which is of Skins. The first season of each
One of the most interesting c o n f i n e s o f t h e F a c e b o o k To a certain degree, Facebook a big no-no. But again, this is generation shows us their
changes is how the app has been application itself, meaning that already put its foot in the door something Facebook could get weaknesses. They are children
designed to feel very familiar to each one could access other with a version of its Facebook a r o u n d b y l i m i t i n g w h a t who've discovered sexuality, but
the iPhone user interface. For official features as they do on the Connect service for iPhone applications are able to do, be it have no comprehension of real
instance, no matter what you're standard site. applications. Applications that running in a Web canvas page or world consequences. They don't
doing on the app, you can touch Message attachments in have implemented it can have simply piping their data through think about their futures or much
anywhere on the top of the screen Facebook's mail service let you their users log in with their Facebook as an intermediary. of anything beyond the next rush.
to go back "home." You can also expand upon the base features Facebook credentials. It also can Facebook certainly stands to Then, in the second season we
save shortcuts to a friend's profile using third-party services.(Credit: give the app access to their profile gain something by keeping people finally get to see them
or to one of the social network's CNET) a n d f r i e n d s l i s t t o p i p e inside of its application, despite transitioning into young
public-facing pages. One of the best examples of information back out. Simply the fact that there are currently no adulthood. I think it was the
These saved items go up on 3x3 how this works is the inter- making this information more a d s o r p a i d - f o r f e a t u r e s . jarring slap back to to the
grid that can be rearranged and network message system found on readily available within the app Considering that it can never get uninhibited children that threw
expanded, depending on how Facebook proper. Here you can would make inroads toward the latter as part of Apple's rules, me. But still, I needed someone in
many pages and contacts users take advantage of some of the standalone apps within it. in-application apps that could that young cast to care about.
decide to add. This makes it much applications you've added to What I'm talking about is quite present more ad space certainly Someone to root for.
simpler to hop back and forth expand what you can send in a different, though. These are seem like the next best thing when Continue reading I've finally
between certain parts of the site-- message as a virtual attachment. applications within the Facebook it comes time for Facebook to flip found someone to root for on the
that is, as long as you've planned How great would this be on the app that would have access to on that advertising switch. new Skins
ahead. iPhone, considering that you're other in-app Facebook apps. Originally posted at Web Filed under: Other Drama
To go with those items are unable to access many of the Would Apple be OK with this Crawler Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews,
standard Facebook features, device's own files or view kind of functionality? Almost Reality-Free
including a handful of its own unsupported attachments? The assuredly no. In fact, Apple has Permalink| Email this| |
first-party applications, such as same goes for accessing other basically done the same thing Comments
events, photos, mail, and the all- applications within the confines of
Internet News Record Tech/ 39

Is Apple the Enemy of the TV DJ AM’s Final Tweet

Industry? Microsoft Thinks So Draws Attention
By Ben Parr (Mashable!) TV industry. We can see his logic By Ben Parr (Mashable!)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 9:39:44 PM though: you don’t want one Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:08:44 AM

two or three years to adapt or be company to dominate online sales

Music’s long struggle with the thrown into chaos the music like Apple does with music in the Yesterday, on August 28th 2009,
web has been well documented. industry is currently experiencing: i T u n e s s t o r e . T h e m u s i c DJ AM was found dead in his
As consumers shifted from CDs “So realistically I think the industry’s been between a rock apartment in Manhattan. The 36 reach him for days. DJ AM was
to digital media, music labels, industry has about two to three and a hard place for a long time year old, whose real name was apparently still haunted by a
artists, and the RIAA have years to adapt or face its iTunes now. Adam Goldstein, was one of the serious plane crash as well.
struggled with how to cope. While moment. And it will take at least However, we think there are a best-known DJs in the world, So now speculation revolves
s o m e h a v e d e c i d e d t o s u e that long for media brands to lot of flaws to Highfield’s logic. helping found the Crazy Town around his Twitter account, which
consumers for $22,500 per song, build credible, truly digital TV doesn’t make its revenues rock band and working with has now been verified and is
others have found ways to brands. But, importantly, I do based on sales, as the music everyone from Will Smith to steadily growing in followers
embrace the web. believe TV does have a small two industry does, but by advertising – Madonna. despite likely to never be updated
Now Microsoft’s Director of to three year window in which to something that is both effective His tragic and early death has again. His last tweet, though, is
Consumer and Online in the UK respond.” and measurable on the web. resulted in an outpouring of love what is really giving people
predicts that the same turmoil is More than anything, Mr. We’ve also seen TV more readily and support from fans, celebrities, pause:
going to hit the television industry Highfield believes that TV needs embrace the web successfully, and friends alike. But a social Could his death be related to
in the next few years. And unless t o f i n d w a y s t o g e n e r a t e most notably with Hulu. media element has drawn cryptic last tweet? It seems very
the TV business “aggressively significant revenue from online So yes, TV needs to embrace attention, as a cryptic Twitter possible. Twitter’s become the
move its content online” and video and to make it easy for the online world or suffer losing update reciting a Grandmaster broadcasting tool of choice for
builds “a critical mass of content advertisers to buy ads in bulk for c o n t r o l o v e r i t s c o n t e n t Flash lyric may have have been most celebrities, for both good
that the traditional buyers of online TV. He also strongly d i s t r i b u t i o n . H o w e v e r , t h e DJ AM’s last message to the and bad, though there’s little
airtime will understand and buy suggested that the TV industry television industry is already light outside world. precedent for this sort of thing.
into,” they will face an “iTunes aggressively move its content years ahead of the recording While the circumstances of his Whether it was just him tweeting
moment” where their online online, on its own terms. industry in that regard. Reviews: death are not fully known, there is out lyrics, conveying a last cryptic
business becomes dependent on It’s interesting that it is a Hulu already a lot of information out in message to the world, or maybe
Apple. Microsoft exec making these Tags: apple, itunes, microsoft, the public. According to the New even a cry for help, we’ll
According to The Guardian, suggestions and mentioning tv York Times, he was found dead probably never know.
Microsoft’s Ashley Highfield Apple as the online enemy of the with a crack pipe and prescription Our condolences to his friends
believes that TV execs have just drugs several days after his last and family.
communication with friends – Reviews: Twitter
emergency workers broke down Tags: twitter
the door after friends tried to

Apple retail news: three new stores opened this weekend

By Joachim Bean (The in Germany. new store at the Stonebriar TUAW Apple retail news: three
Unofficial Apple Weblog First, the company opened a shopping complex in Frisco, new stores opened this weekend
(TUAW)) new store in Hamburg, Germany Texas. This store makes it the originally appeared on The
Submitted at 8/30/2009 8:00:00 AM on Saturday, which is now sixth store in the Dallas/Fort Unofficial Apple Weblog
Apple's second store in Germany, Worth area. (TUAW) on Sun, 30 Aug 2009
Filed under: Apple Corporate, after the store in Munich opened If you live in or are near one of 08:00:00 EST. Please see our
Retail While all of the attention last December. these areas, be sure to check out terms for use of feeds.
this weekend was around the Second, there's a new store in your new Apple Store. As always, Read| Permalink| Email this|
launch of Snow Leopard, Apple Dedham, Massachusetts at the we would love to hear your stories Comments
opened up three new retail stores; Legacy Place shopping center. in the state of Massachusetts. of your first visit or see your
two new stores in the US and one This store will be the ninth store Finally, Apple also opened up a photos!
40 Tech/
The Top 10 Essential Social Media
Stories This Week
By Pete Cashmore
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 4:27:18 PM
From an image editing disaster
by Microsoft to Yelp’s augmented
reality application to a rehab
center for Internet addicts, it’s
been a busy week in web news.
We were blown away by
Facebook’s latest iPhone app and
shocked by a new ad campaign
that informs drivers of the dangers
of texting while driving. Less
shocking: a new study suggested
that social media users are
somewhat narcissistic.
In Mashable news, meanwhile,
our Summer of Social Good
conference was a hit…and ended
on a high with an unexpected
marriage proposal.
Without further ado, here are
the top stories in social media this
week.
1. Microsoft Apologizes for
Photoshop Trainwreck– Microsoft
edited an image on its Polish
website, replacing a black person
with a white one. An apology was
issued for the mistake.
2. EASTER EGG: Yelp Is the
iPhone’s First Augmented Reality
App– Yelp sneakily launched an
augmented reality iPhone app this
week. We take it for a test run.
3. First U.S. Rehab Center for
Internet Addiction Opens Its
Doors– America’s first Internet
addiction center opens. A sign of
the times?
4. How Facebook Can Ruin
Your Relationships [VIDEO]– A
recent study showed that
Facebook increases jealousy in
relationships. Now we have video
evidence.
5. STUDY: Social Media Is for
Narcissists– are social media tools
used for narcissistic ends? A new
study appears to confirm it.
6. Apple Censored the Snow
Leopard: Now With 100% Less
Blood– Apple’s Snow Leopard
operating system arrives…with
the blood stains removed.
7. IT’S HERE: Facebook 3.0 for
iPhone Has Arrived– Facebook’s
latest iPhone app is here…and it’s
awesome. We look at the unique
features in this innovative new
social app.
8. Texting While Driving
Video: Will Graphic Imagery
Change People’s Behavior?– A
Internet News Record
Snow Leopard and
Microsoft Exchange first
impressions
By Chris Ullrich (The Unofficial
Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Submitted at 8/30/2009 3:00:00 AM
Filed under: Enterprise, First
Look, Snow Leopard One of the
things touted in this latest
incarnation of Mac OSX was its
ability to work with Microsoft
Exchange using Apple's Mail,
Address Book and iCal
applications. Well, I'm happy to
report that Snow Leopard does, in
graphic new ad uses shock tactics fact, work pretty well with Fortunately, if you are running
to warn of the dangers of texting Exchange 2007. Snow Leopard and Exchange
while driving. Will it work, asks Granted, this is only after
limited testing, and it doesn't, as 2007, setup could not be easier.
Adam Ostrow. All you need to do is launch
9. Dual-Screen Laptops?! Yes, yet, work as well as Outlook for Apple's Mail and select
T h e y ’ r e R e a l ( a n d C o m i n g Windows, but it is a step in the "Preferences" from the "Mail"
Soon)– One laptop screen not right direction. One thing to menu.
e n o u g h s p a c e f o r a l l y o u r consider before we go on is the Read on for more...
applications? Ben Parr clues us in fact that Snow Leopard will only Continue reading Snow Leopard
on a new dual-screen laptop that play nicely with Exchange 2007 and Microsoft Exchange first
provides oodles of screen real so if you don't have it or are not impressions
estate. planning on having it, these new
TUAW Snow Leopard and
10. Don’t Want to Let Go of Exchange features in Snow Microsoft Exchange first
Your Ex? Yes, There Are Apps Leopard won't work for you. impressions originally appeared
for That [Video]– A parody You'll have the same access to on The Unofficial Apple Weblog
iPhone ad offers to help stalk your Exchange 2003 from Mail (via (TUAW) on Sun, 30 Aug 2009
ex. IMAP) and Address Book that
03:00:00 EST. Please see our
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, you did under Leopard. terms for use of feeds.
AndrewJohnson Reviews: Yelp, That said, these new features of
Snow Leopard offer a nice Read| Permalink| Email this|
facebook, iStockphoto Comments
Tags: social, social media alternative to using the previous
version of Entourage or the new
Web Services Edition.
Internet News Record
BrowserPlus rides on Yahoo
Messenger coattails
By Stephen Shankland
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 11:49:00 AM
Yahoo has begun bringing its
BrowserPlus technology to a
broader audience, making
installation of the browser-
boosting plug-in a default part of
installing the beta of the new
Yahoo Messenger 10 that
emerged this week.
BrowserPlus gives Web sites
some better abilities taken for
granted in applications that run
natively on a computer, and
because it's a framework, new
abilities can be added later.
Among the current features are
the ability to drag files from the
desktop to the browser, to read
accelerometer data to judge a
computer's orientation, to edit
images, and to upload many files
at once.
BrowserPlus is installed by
default during the installation of
the Yahoo Messenger 10 beta.
Those who don't want it can
deselect it through the custom
installation path.
Yahoo announced BrowserPlus
in May 2008, then upgraded it and
made it open-source software in
November.
BrowserPlus is one of many
extras that can be disabled in the
custom section of the Yahoo
Messenger 10 beta
installation.(Credit: Screenshot by
Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Adobe Systems' Flash Player
plug-in is widely installed, but
plug-ins in general are hard to
propagate enough that Web site
programmers can safely assume
they can be used. One way to
tackle the issue is to piggyback on
the distribution of other, popular
software--a technique long
employed to encourage adoption
of browser toolbars.
Many companies are working
hard on the "Open Web," in
which advanced abilities are built
directly into Web standards such
as HTML 5. However, plug-ins
such as Flash, Microsoft
Silverlight, BrowserPlus, and
Google's Gears can advance the
state of the art faster.
Update 4:55 p.m. PDT: Yahoo
said it does in fact plan to include
BrowserPlus in the final version
of Yahoo Messenger. Also, it
shared this list of the browsers
and operating systems the plug-in
Tech/ 41
Finding Free Stuff via
Twitter Just Became
Really Easy
By Ben Parr (Mashable!)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 3:28:27 PM
Doesn’t it just feel great when
you get stuff for free? Free t-
shirts? I’ll take five. A contest to
win a Macbook? I’m game. the hottest free deals being shared
There’s even an eBay for free on Twitter, the most recent deals
stuff now. Freezly has found, and an archive
Still, finding free stuff is tough of past giveaways.
because it isn’t easy to find all the It’s surprisingly accurate at only
great free offers on the web. More picking out free deals and
and more though, people have giveaways. Free restaurant
turned to Twitter to help me find coupons, contests for Macbooks,
those deals. Many (myself T-shirt giveaways – we’ve found
included) have saved a bundle on the entire spectrum on this
quality clothing and free platform. Our only complaint is
giveaways. But Freezly looks to that the algorithm needs to
be the coolest and most efficient remove completed contests from
supports: way to find free stuff yet, and its the “hottest” page, but really
Windows XP: supports Firefox discovery algorithm is powered
that’s our only major criticism.
2 or newer, Safari, IE6 or newer, by tweets. Social media + finding free stuff
and Google Chrome
Freezly is a lot like Tweetmeme = awesome. Time for me to win
Windows Vista: supports in that it finds link and tweets and myself some T-shirts or maybe a
Firefox 3 or newer, Safari, IE6 or shows you their popularity based
motorcycle. Reviews:
newer, and Google Chrome on retweets. Freezly though only Tweetmeme, Twitter
Windows 7: Same as Windows picks up free giveaways and items
Tags: Freezly, twitter
Vista, in experimental status with its algorithm. You can see
Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5:
Recent versions of Safari and
Firefox 3 or newer
Mac OS X 10.6: Firefox 3 or
better (Safari support in the
works)
Updated 1:58 p.m. PDT to
correct the initial release date of
BrowserPlus.
Originally posted at Deep Tech
42 Tech/ Sports
Report: Wolfram Alpha to offer API Michael Jackson Alive?
for data feeds YouTube Hoax Makes the
By Dave Rosenberg
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:17:00 PM
SF weather(Credit: Screenshot
by Dave Rosenberg/CNET)
Wolfram Alpha, the
"computational knowledge
engine" developed by
Mathematica, will soon allow its
dynamic search results to be
queried and mashed up in a
variety of new ways.
According to the Guardian,
Wolfram will be opening its
curated data to be queried via an
application programming
interface, or API. Currently, you
can view results in a browser,
export them as a PDF, or "play"
them using a Mathematica plug-
in. The ability to use the data on
other sites and for other means,
such as computations in
spreadsheets, is appealing, if not
earth-shattering.
Wolfram's launch fanfare was
followed by much confusion
about what Wolfram actually is.
One thing that's clear is that the
service has an impressive amount
of data. What's not clear is if and
when it will ever make money.
APIs are at least a good start in
relation to monetization--holding
the Alpha data captive within its
site meant that it would never go
beyond its own traffic, a recipe
for disappointment and counter to
the link economy that has been
built around sites like Twitter.
In today's socialized Internet,
APIs to your data are the barrier
(or door) to getting users hooked
on your data. Regardless of
whether through an API that
controls a cloud service like
Amazon Simple Storage Service
(S3), or the ability to get
communications in and out of
Facebook, users want to consume
data in the way they feel most
comfortable. Any company that
creates or aggregates data needs
to make it available, if it expects
to ever hit critical mass.
CNET News' Tom Krazit
recently wrote about a licensing
deal between Microsoft's Bing
"decision engine" and Wolfram
Alpha (two non-search engines
join up to create a super search
engine?) that "allows Bing to
present some of the specialized
scientific and computational
content that Wolfram Alpha
generates."
If Microsoft is serious about
taking on Google's geek factor, would happen, and we should
and asserting its dominant
position in spreadsheets and
higher education as Bing grows,
then the data from Wolfram adds
a new dimension. From the By ESPN.com news services
consumer perspective, the more (ESPN.com)
informed the data is, the better, Submitted at 8/30/2009 7:03:51 AM
but both Bing and Alpha have a
long way to go to catch up to
Google.
Follow me on Twitter @
daveofdoom.
Originally posted at Software, Detroit Shock to three titles, will
Interrupted
Rounds
By Ben Parr (Mashable!)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 1:37:31 PM
People find interesting ways to
“prove” that Elvis and Tupac are
alive and that the Loch Ness
Monster really exists. So we
shouldn’t be shocked that some
people are trying to do the same
thing with the King of Pop,
especially around what would
have been his birthday.
Earlier this week, a video
surfaced on both LiveLeak and
YouTube purporting that not only
is Michael Jackson alive, but that
he faked his death and left the
Coroner’s van in perfect shape.
Conveniently, the video doesn’t
show the man’s face and cannot
make out the license plate
number. That hasn’t stopped this
video from racking up over 1.75
million views combined.
We should have known that this
Source: Bill Laimbeer joining Kurt
Rambis with Wolves
Bill Laimbeer is heading back to
the NBA.
The former Detroit Pistons
center, who coached the WNBA's
join Kurt Rambis' staff with the
Minnesota Timberwolves, a
league source confirmed to ESPN.
Former Kings coach Reggie
Internet News Record
have known that social media
would be used to spread this
almost certain hoax around. What
do you trust: one grainy video …
Or the entire Jackson family,
multiple government offices, and
scores of examiners? Yeah, we’ll
go out on a limb and call this one
a hoax.
Rather than dwelling on this, we
should be celebrating the man’s
life today on what would have
been his 51st birthday. So here’s
the video in question and a bonus
video that shows why he was truly
the King of Pop.
BONUS: Michael Jackson
Singing with Britney Spears
Reviews: YouTube
Tags: LiveLeak, michael
jackson, youtube
Theus also will join Rambis' staff.
Laimbeer's hiring was first
reported by the Minneapolis Star
Tribune.
Laimbeer, who has never
coached in the NBA, resigned as
the Shock's coach and general
manager in June.
Playing with the Pistons' "Bad
Boys" teams in the late '80s,
Laimbeer helped Detroit win back
-to-back titles.
Internet News Record Tech/ Tech News/ 43

YouTube Now Has Over 120 Million How To: Annotate

U.S. Viewers Images from Wikipedia
By Ben Parr (Mashable!) userbase, it could shoot up the By Steven Walling
Submitted at 8/29/2009 12:35:57 PM rankings. (ReadWriteWeb)
Now here are the comScore Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:00:00 PM
YouTube’s been on a high-speed numbers for total video views:
growth upswing. Last month, Again, no surprise that Google You may not know it, but most
YouTube became the 4th most dominates with a 41.9% video of the images in Wikipedia are
visited site on the web after it beat share. Viacom-owned videos (i.e. actually hosted on its sister
out Microsoft’s Live.com and Comedy Central, MTV, project, Wikimedia Commons. If
MSN, with 85.1 million U.S. Nickelodeon) were a surprising you find a favorite image on the
visitors. second in terms of video streams. encyclopedia that anyone can edit,
That number may not truly Google sites were the clear According to all of these numbers, click through and you'll quickly
reflect the viewership of the winner in online video, with 120.8 Hulu’s still a smaller player in the find yourself at its original page at
w e b ’ s m o s t p o p u l a r v i d e o m i l l i o n u n i q u e v i e w e r s . online video space. Its growth has the Commons project. With over
website, though. According to According to comScore, 120.3 halted as there are few new TV 4.9 million freely-licensed media
some astounding numbers from million of those viewers were for shows during the summer season files, it's a treasure trove that
comScore, online video is surging YouTube.com What may be more to watch. supplies nearly all of the photos
as 8.9 billion videos were viewed shocking is the average number of The numbers are actually for Wikipedia.
by 120.3 million U.S. citizens in video per viewer: 134.9. That’s significantly different than Now you can annotate images just click the "add note" button
July. That’s over 1/3 of the entire nearly 5 YouTube videos per day. Nielsen’s numbers for July, just from Wikimedia Commons in a underneath any image on its own
U . S . p o p u l a t i o n . J u s t a s A lot of this can be attributed to showing how tough it is to track fashion very similar to Flickr. The page. Then type in your text and
astounding is that over 21 billion embeds, which may not be these metrics. However, online big difference with the new either preview or save it. In
videos were viewed on the reflected as unique traffic on video is clearly surging and that feature is that annotations can be addition to simple text notes, you
Internet according to the new YouTube.com trend will continue with YouTube added by anyone, and no account can include wiki markup to add
numbers. YouTube Domination is necessary. While they don't links or for styling, and if your
Facebook, which is not thought as its reigning king. Reviews: annotation fails then you can add
comScore’s video matrix broke of as a video powerhouse, makes G o o g l e , H u l u , Y o u T u b e , show up directly in Wikipedia yet,
down the total number of unique this list as well with 20.5 million f a c e b o o k a new version of the system that it manually through editing the
viewers and the total number of video viewers. That’s a very small Tags: ComScore, ONLINE will appear in the free page's code.
videos viewed in the U.S. during fraction of its 250+ million VIDEO, video, youtube encyclopedia is under The image annotation gadget is
J u l y a c r o s s t h e t o p 1 0 - 1 2 registered users. If Facebook can development. basically just some JavaScript
websites. Here are the unique really begin to leverage its Sponsor written by a Wikimedia volunteer
viewers for online video in July: Anyone can currently add notes and made standard on the site. If
to images from Commons, and you're a regular user and you don't
changes to them are patrolled for like the boxes showing up on your
malicious content just like any images, then you can turn it off
text you might add to Wikipedia. via your user preferences. The
If you're familiar with adding advantage to logging in to add
notes to Flickr or any other photo notes is that a history of all your
sharing site, then this should be a annotations will show up in your
no brainer for you. user contributions history.
Once you find the image you According to the project's FAQ, a
want, either by clicking through version will soon be available for
from Wikipedia or searching use directly within Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Commons directly, Discuss
44 Tech/ Tech Tips/ Internet News Record

Snow Leopard: The new one

gigabyte, now slimmer than before
By Megan Lavey (The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW))
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:45:00 PM

Filed under: Hardware, Snow

Leopard We've gotten more than a
few emails over the past 24 hours
ruminating over how Snow
Leopard has changed the way that
file and drive sizes are calculated.
It's been traumatic for some,
having a psychological effect
similar to Pluto losing its status as
a full-fledged planet.
A great post over at MacFixIt
explains the math about
determining a file size -- and how
the folks at Apple decided to
follow the definitions of a
"gigabyte," "kilobyte" and
"megabyte" as they are commonly
used in English (or, put a different
way, just like in the metric
system). So, a kilobyte is actually
1,000 bytes, and"officially" has
been since 1999. Technically, the
word for a 1,024-byte chunk of
data is a kibibyte. Having kilo-,
mega- and giga- SI prefixes refer
to powers-of-10 in almost all
realms, and powers-of-2 in
information technology, was
apparently becoming too
confusing.
What does that mean in the real
world? MacFixIt sums it up best:
"For all intents and purposes it
means absolutely nothing! It does
not change anything in how the
computer runs, or how efficient it
is at storing items on the drive. It
has not compressed any of your
data or somehow altered it to 'free
up' any more space. Rather, it just
means that everything will be
reported as being slightly larger
than [it] used to be, with the
amount of difference depending
on the prefix being used (the
larger the prefix, the greater the
percent difference)." It's not a new
issue at all for people dealing with
changing clothing sizes,
especially for women. What used
to be a size 12 back in the 1950s
is considered a size 6 today. And
a kilobyte weighing in at 1,024
bytes yesterday is now 1,000
bytes today.
It's worth noting that you will
see different file sizes reported
when moving items between
Snow Leopard and earlier
systems, and the amount of free
space on removable drives will
appear to fluctuate -- but byte for
byte, you've got the same amount
of space in each case.
TUAW Snow Leopard: The
new one gigabyte, now slimmer
than before originally appeared on
The Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW) on Sat, 29 Aug 2009
22:45:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
Learn to Throw a Knife
[Fun]
By Jason Fitzpatrick
(Lifehacker)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 12:00:00 PM
You won't ever actually need
this skill, hopefully, but learning
how to throw a knife and hit your
mark definitely leaves you with a
feeling of action hero
accomplishment. Here's how to do
it the right way.
Wired's How-To Wiki states
that the key to a good throw, aside
from selecting a well-balanced
knife, is the grip:
From 12 feet, you'll throw a full
-spin rotation. Grab the knife by
the handle, as you would a
hammer, but keep your thumb
along the top edge for stability
and to prevent over-rotation.
Unlike say, learning to fold a
paper star, this isn't the kind of
thing you should just leap into, of
course. In addition to their tips
Wired has several in-depth
resources to share like
KnifeThrowing.info.
Even if you're not planning on
taking up the art of knife throwing
any time soon, you can still enjoy
the following video. This clip is
pulled from the show Time
Warp—think Mythbusters meets
stop-motion videography—and
shows off some pretty slick
weapons throwing in slow
motion. Jump to 1:50 to see them
in action.
Have a cool skill or trick you're
dying to share? Throw a link in
the comments below to show it
off. How-To: Throw a
Knife[Wired]
Internet News Record
This Twitter look-alike requires 1,400 characters
By Chris Matyszczyk
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:42:00 AM
Sometimes it's hard to know why
people do things. But it's easy to
see why some creative minds
have come up with Woofer.
This is a site whose look bears a
remarkable resemblance to
Twitter--right down to its pale-
blue colors. But its conceit is to
create an entirely new form of
blogging: "macroblogging." You
see, Woofer requires every post to
have a minimum of 1,400
characters. Yes, minimum. This,
of course, contrasts with Twitter's
"microblogging" platform, which
limits users to 140 characters per
tweet.
This means that finally, the
world has a site that devotes itself
to the full, deep gamut of people's
literary skills.
Let us bark for a literary
future.(Credit: CC
Alpharios101/Flickr)
Naturally, it is hard to quote a
Make Comfortable Noise-Isolating Earbuds for Less than a Dollar
[DIY]
By Jason Fitzpatrick
(Lifehacker)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 4:00:00 PM
Many people don't want or need
to spend hundreds of dollars on
premium earbuds, but want to
hear the ones they have more
clearly. Turn some basic and
inexpensive earbuds into a noise-
isolating pair with this simple
hack.
woof in full. However, woofs
seem to vary between
disquisitions on Twitter, such as
this from the culturally monikered
Sendafart, to this peculiar effort,
consisting of the word
"aaaaaaaaaaaaa" and purporting to
come from the quill of former
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Woofer has a clear link
All you'll need is a pair of
earbuds with the plug-on-a-post
design, as seen in the video
below, along with some basic
foam earplugs, and some basic
tools like a pair of scissors. Watch
the video below to see how to
quickly and easily modify the
foam earplugs to fit the earbuds:
One thing to keep in mind: foam over time. Not all earplugs are
e a r p l u g s a r e m e a n t t o b e equal however, when you're
disposable and they will get crudy
explaining in almost 1,400
characters that it is not affiliated
with Twitter. The link reads: "Is
this Twitter?" Click on it, and you
see, in very large type, "No,"
coupled with a link to the site's
legal notice.
However, some have
complained that once they create
a woof, the site somehow
manages to post their real Twitter
profile picture.
Woofer is run by a concern
called Join the Company, an
organization that claims to "build
entertaining Web sites that change
the way people use the Internet."
When you look at the site's three
principles of woofing, you begin
to believe that Woofer truly will
be the salvation of the language:
"1. Be eloquent. 2. Use adverbs.
3. DEA (don't ever abbreviate),"
the site says.
I dream of a world of
macrobloggers who write in full,
who never use acronyms, and who
create an online oasis for
complete literary expression in a
world of dogs eating dogs and
merely offering sound bites. But
let's see how long it takes before
Woofer gets caught in a flock of
terse legal complaints.
Originally posted at Technically
Incorrect
purchasing them take a close look
at the material. The absolute
cheapest foam earplugs are open-
cell and will quickly accumulate
dirt and earwax. Nicer, and barely
more expensive, disposable
earplugs are closed-cell and can
be cleaned and reused.
The open-cell plugs will have a
slightly porous look to them and a
texture that feels somewhat like
an eraser. The closed-cell plugs
Tech/ Tech Tips/ 45
Snow Leopard extends
Wake-on-LAN feature...
if your config is right
By Michael Rose (The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW))
Submitted at 8/29/2009 3:00:00 PM
Filed under: Wireless, Snow
Leopard It's been a stealth feature
of modern Macs for years: the
ability of a sleeping machine to
respond to a 'magic packet'
delivered over Ethernet and wake
up on command, either triggered
by a specialized app or by Apple
Remote Desktop. Handy,
especially for administrators who
might need to access remote and
sleeping workstations, but as the
world has moved more toward
wireless networking the Wake-On
-LAN capability became
have a slight shine to them and
have a much smoother and softer
feel. Either way, we'd recommend
buy a couple pairs and bulk
making replacements for when the
original set gets worn out.
Have your own trick for
modifying headphones? Sound off
in the comments.
46 Tech/
A&E Goes To Court To Defend Fair
Use Of 12 Second Clip Of Music
By Michael Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 6:00:47 PM
Avatar28 points us to a
potentially interesting lawsuit
over whether or not A&E's
decision to use 12-seconds of the
song Rocky Top in part of a TV
show is fair use. The article is
actually pretty comprehensive in
laying out all the details in the
case. A&E was doing an episode
of the show City Confidential
about some contract killings in
Knoxville, Tennessee. In setting
the scene, the show presents quick
clips of scenes around Knoxville,
including a photo of a UT football
player, with the 12-seconds of the
song playing in the background.
The song Rocky Top is apparently
one of (a few) official state songs
in Tennessee and is the
"unofficial" fight song of the
University of Tennessee (which
holds a special license to use the
song).
A&E claims that it's fair use,
since the music was being used in
part as a news report would use it.
The article compares it to both the
recent case where John Lennon's
Imagine was allowed in the movie
Expelled without a license... but
also to the infamous Bridgeport
ruling that basically said fair use
doesn't apply to music at all.
Some will say that A&E's case is
also weaker because it had
approached the children of the
songwriters (who now control the
copyright) about a license, and
then never got one, but that,
alone, doesn't change the fair use
calculation.
This is one of those cases that
really could go either way. As a
strong believer in fair use, it
shouldn't surprise anyone that I
think this is clearly fair use, and
that the four factors of fair use
support it (as should common
sense). But, others will surely
make the case in the other
direction. The thing that I wonder
is how allowing such a use could
possibly be a bad thing for the
copyright holders. It seems like
one of those cases where
copyright holders are suing just
because they have the copyright
and think that, because of that,
they absolutely have to sue. Either
way, kudos to A&E for standing
up for fair use.
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story
SNOW
continued from page 45
gradually less relevant.
Now, as Macworld explains, the
ability to wake sleeping Macs
remotely has been extended in
two vital ways with Snow
Leopard as a new feature called
Wake on Demand. First, the new
OS allows sleeping machines to
hand off Bonjour broadcast tasks
(advertising services like printer
sharing, web sharing, iPhoto &
iTunes libraries, etc.) to an
Airport Extreme base station or
Time Capsule, letting the
machine's services appear always-
on even if the actual Mac is
asleep; the Mac will wake
remotely when needed by a client.
This alone will allow multi-Mac
homes to sleep their machines
more often, saving energy and
aggravation.
The second feature requires that
you pair your recent-vintage
Airport with a recent Mac model
(all 2009 versions, and possibly
some 2008 models as well): you
Internet News Record
can wake the machine over Wi-Fi,
rather than just over Ethernet. If
you go to System Profiler, to the
Network section and the Airport
data sheet -- look for a line that
says "Wake on Wireless." If it's
there, you've got the capability.
Your mileage may vary but it's
certainly fun to try waking up
your machine remotely over the
WLAN -- or, for fun, your
spouse's machine, just to watch
them jump.
TUAW Snow Leopard extends
Wake-on-LAN feature... if your
config is right originally appeared
on The Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW) on Sat, 29 Aug 2009
15:00:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
Internet News Record Tech News/ 47

The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap and Simple Is Just

Fine
By Robert Capps (Wired Top
Stories)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 12:00:00 PM

When Good Enuf Is Great

Entire markets have been
transformed by products that trade
power or fidelity for low price,
flexibility, and convenience.
— Erin Biba
Phone
Net-based calls can be laggy,
and they sometimes drop out in
mid conversation. But they can
also be free—even international
calls—and it's easy to turn
conversations into shareable
MP3s. Skype now accounts for 8
percent of international calling
minutes, and the service added
nearly 38 million users in the
second quarter of 2009, a 42
percent increase over the same
period last year.
Books
Amazon's Kindle can't display
complex graphics, and paper still
has much higher resolution. But
the device does store hundreds of
titles in a slim package, ensuring
that you always have access to
whichever Philip K. Dick tale
you're in the mood for. The
Kindle is expected to generate
$310 million in revenue by the
end of 2009. Barron's estimates
that annual sales could reach $2
billion by 2012.
Televison
Its content may not be hi-def,
and you're stuck watching it on a
computer screen, but Hulu lets
you catch recent television shows
and popular movies whenever and
wherever you want. For free. No year ago. Ariel Braunstein noticed a quirk growth was in expensive digital
wonder it has 40 million unique In 2001, Jonathan Kaplan and in the camera market. All the cameras, but the best-selling units
viewers—up from just 7 million a GOOD page 48
48
GOOD
continued from page 47
by far were still cheap, disposable
film models. That year, a
whopping 181 million disposables
were sold in the US, compared
with around 7 million digital
cameras. Spotting an opportunity,
Kaplan and Braunstein formed a
company called Pure Digital
Technologies and set out to see if
they could mix the rich chocolate
of digital imaging with the mass-
market peanut butter of
throwaway point-and-shoots.
They called their brainchild the
Single Use Digital Camera and
cobranded it with retailers, mostly
pharmacies like CVS.
The concept looked promising,
but it turned out to be fatally
flawed. The problem, says Simon
Fleming-Wood, a member of Pure
Digital's founding management
team, was that the business model
relied on people returning the $20
cameras to stores in order to get
prints and a CD. The retailers
were supposed to send the used
boxes back to Pure Digital, which
would refurbish them, reducing
the number of new units it had to
manufacture. But customers didn't
return the cameras fast enough.
Some were content to view their
pictures on the tiny 1.4-inch LCD
and held on to the device,
thinking they'd take it in later to
get prints. Others figured out how
to hack the camera so it would
download to a PC, eliminating the
need to return the thing altogether.
Brisk sales combined with a
lack of speedy returns destroyed
the company's thin margins, and
the camera failed. But the
experience taught Kaplan and
Braunstein a lesson: Customers
would sacrifice lots of quality for
a cheap, convenient device. To
keep the price down, Pure Digital
had made significant trade-offs. It
used inexpensive lenses and other
components and limited the
number of image-processing
chips. The pictures were OK but
not great. Yet Pure Digital sold 3
million cameras anyway.
Kaplan and Braunstein also
learned something important
about camera retailing in general.
The market had long been split
into two main segments: point-
and-shoots (including
disposables) and single-lens reflex
cameras, which use
interchangeable lenses and other
high-end accessories. Not
surprisingly, the vast majority of
cameras sold then—as
now—were the handy point-and-
shoots; SLRs tended to attract
only serious hobbyists and
professionals.
Oddly, though, there was no
point-and-shoot analogue in video
cameras—and that's where the
pair saw their next opportunity.
Home videocams were almost
without exception expensive,
complicated devices loaded with
features like image stabilization,
night-vision mode, and onboard
color correction. And even with
tools like Apple's iMovie, it was a
hassle to get footage off the
cameras and onto a computer for
editing and sharing. In terms of
complexity and price, the
camcorder market resembled the
SLR market, but with no low-end
alternative. Kaplan and
Braunstein suspected that there
might be a place for a much
cheaper, simpler video camera. So
they decided to make one.
After some trial and error, Pure
Digital released what it called the
Flip Ultra in 2007. The stripped-
down camcorder—like the Single
Use Digital Camera—had lots of
downsides. It captured relatively
low-quality 640 x 480 footage at a
time when Sony, Panasonic, and
Canon were launching
camcorders capable of recording
in 1080 hi-def. It had a minuscule
viewing screen, no color-
adjustment features, and only the
most rudimentary controls. It
didn't even have an optical zoom.
But it was small (slightly bigger
than a pack of smokes),
inexpensive ($150, compared with
$800 for a midpriced Sony), and
so simple to operate—from
recording to uploading—that
pretty much anyone could figure
it out in roughly 6.7 seconds.
Within a few months, Pure
Digital could barely keep up with
orders. Customers found that the
Flip was the perfect way to get
homebrew videos onto the
suddenly flourishing YouTube,
and the camera became a megahit,
selling more than 1 million units
in its first year. Today—just two
years later—the Flip Ultra and its
subsequent revisions are the best-
selling video cameras in the US,
commanding 17 percent of the
camcorder market. Sony and
Canon are now scrambling to
catch up.
The Flip's success stunned the
industry, but it shouldn't have. It's
just the latest triumph of what
might be called Good Enough
tech. Cheap, fast, simple tools are
suddenly everywhere. We get our
breaking news from blogs, we
make spotty long-distance calls on
Skype, we watch video on small
computer screens rather than TVs,
and more and more of us are
carrying around dinky, low-power
netbook computers that are just
good enough to meet our surfing
and emailing needs. The low end
has never been riding higher.
Photo: Kenji Aoki, Lego
sculpture: Nathan Sawaya
Computers
On paper, netbooks might seem
like crappy toys. They have
almost no storage, processing
power, or graphics capability.
What they do have, though, is
accessibility: Cheap, small, and
light, they let you connect to the
Internet from almost anywhere.
Netbook shipments were up
sevenfold in the first quarter of
2009.
Trade Shows
It sounds lame, and it is: virtual
trade shows inhabited by eager
sales avatars and their potential
clients. No, it's not the same as
meeting face-to-face, but with the
economy flatlining, digital
confabs are a working alternative.
Analysts expect 5,000 virtual
events next year, an increase of
500 percent for the industry.
Advertising
They're not high-concept, and
they don't feature celebrities (or
even pictures). But text-based ads
are highly targeted, incredibly
cheap to produce, and make up 90
percent of Google's net revenue
(and 45 percent of all Internet ad
sales in the US).
-D Modeling Software
Rendering software like
AutoCAD is notoriously hard to
use. Google's SketchUp is dead
simple. The result: It has been
embraced by architects, engineers,
educators, and artists. The full
version costs $500—a pittance
compared to AutoCAD's $4,000
price tag. SketchUp has become
so popular, in fact, that Autodesk
has responded with its own lo-res
app: Project Dragonfly.
Illustrations: Quickhoney
So what happened? Well, in
short, technology happened. The
world has sped up, become more
connected and a whole lot busier.
As a result, what consumers want
from the products and services
they buy is fundamentally
Internet News Record
changing. We now favor
flexibility over high fidelity,
convenience over features, quick
and dirty over slow and polished.
Having it here and now is more
important than having it perfect.
These changes run so deep and
wide, they're actually altering
what we mean when we describe
a product as "high-quality."
And it's happening everywhere.
As more sectors connect to the
digital world, from medicine to
the military, they too are seeing
the rise of Good Enough tools like
the Flip. Suddenly what seemed
perfect is anything but, and
products that appear mediocre at
first glance are often the perfect
fit.
The good news is that this trend
is ideally suited to the times. As
the worst recession in 75 years
rolls on, it's the light and nimble
products that are having all the
impact—exactly the type of thing
that lean startups and small-scale
enterprises are best at. And from
impact can come big sales. "When
the economy went south before
Christmas last year, we worried
that sales would be affected," says
Pure Digital's Fleming-Wood.
"But we sold a ton of cameras. In
fact, we exceeded the goals we
had set before the economy
soured." And this year? Sales, he
says, are up 200 percent. (Another
payoff: In May, networking giant
Cisco acquired Pure Digital for
$590 million.)
To some, it looks like the
crapification of everything. But
it's really an improvement. And
businesses need to get used to it,
because the Good Enough
revolution has only just begun.
Speaking at an Online
publishers conference in London
GOOD page 49
Internet News Record
GOOD
continued from page 48
last October, New York
University new-media studies
professor Clay Shirky had a
mantra to offer the assembled
producers and editors: "Don't
believe the myth of quality."
When it comes to the future of
media on the Web, Shirky sternly
warned, resist the reflex to focus
on high production values. "We're
getting to the point where the
Internet can support high-quality
content, and it's as if what we've
had so far has all been nice—a
kind of placeholder—but now the
professionals are coming," Shirky
said. "That's not true." To
reinforce his point, he pointed to
the MP3. The music industry
initially laughed off the format, he
explained, because compared with
the CD it sounded terrible. What
record labels and retailers failed
to recognize was that although
MP3 provided relatively low
audio quality, it had a number of
offsetting positive qualities.
Shirky's point is crucial. By
reducing the size of audio files,
MP3s allowed us to get music into
our computers—and, more
important, onto the Internet—at a
manageable size. This in turn let
us listen to, manage, and
manipulate tracks on our PCs,
carry thousands of songs in our
pockets, purchase songs from our
living rooms, and share tracks
with friends and even strangers.
And as it turned out, those
benefits actually mattered a lot
more to music lovers than the
single measure of quality we had
previously applied to recorded
music—fidelity. It wasn't long
before record labels were
wringing their hands over
declining CD sales.
"There comes a point at which
improving upon the thing that was
important in the past is a bad
move," Shirky said in a recent
interview. "It's actually feeding
competitive advantage to
outsiders by not recognizing the
value of other qualit ies." In other
words, companies that focus on
traditional measures of
quality—fidelity, resolution,
features—can become myopic
and fail to address other, now
essential attributes like
convenience and shareability. And
that means someone else can
come along and drink their milk
shake.
To a degree, the MP3 follows
the classic pattern of a disruptive
technology, as outlined by
Clayton Christensen in his 1997
book The Innovator's Dilemma.
Disruptive technologies,
Christensen explains, often enter
at the bottom of the market, where
they are ignored by established
players. These technologies then
grow in power and sophistication
to the point where they eclipse the
old systems.
That is certainly part of what
happens with Good Enough tech:
MP3s entered at the bottom of the
market, were ignored, and then
turned the music business upside
down. But oddly, audio quality
never really readjusted upward.
Sure, software engineers have
cooked up new encoding
algorithms that produce fuller
sound without drastically
increasing file sizes. And with
recent increases in bandwidth and
the advent of giant hard drives, it's
now even possible to maintain,
share, and carry vast libraries of
uncompressed files. But better-
sounding options have hardly
gained any ground on the lo-fi
MP3. The big advance—the one
that had all the impact—was the
move to easier-to-manage bits.
Compared with that, improved
sound quality just doesn't move
the needle. Photo: Kenji Aoki,
Lego sculpture: Nathan Sawaya
Of course, there are those who
appreciate the richer sound of
uncompressed files, CDs, or even
vinyl records (regarded by some
audiophiles as the highest-fi
format available). But most of us
don't give it a second thought. In
fact, there's evidence that
consumers are simply adapting to
the MP3's thin sound. Jonathan
Berger, a professor of music at
Stanford University, recently
completed a six-year study of his
students. Every year he asked new
arrivals in his class to listen to the
same musical excerpts played in a
variety of digital formats—from
standard MP3s to high-fidelity
uncompressed files—and rate
their preferences. Every year, he
reports, more and more students
preferred the sound of MP3s,
particularly for rock music.
They've grown accustomed to
what Berger calls the percussive
sizzle—aka distortion—found in
compressed music. To them, that's
what music is supposed to sound
like.
What has happened with the
MP3 format and other Good
Enough technologies is that the
qualities we value have simply
changed. And the change is so
profound that the old measures
have almost lost their meaning.
Call it the MP3 effect.
We've seen it again and again.
Consider, for example, the rise of
cloud computing. For years,
software was something you
bought and installed on your hard
drive. A lot of it was made by
Microsoft, which solidified its
dominance by releasing ever more
powerful, feature-laden updates.
But with the advent of services
like Gmail and Zoho Writer,
many users are now turning to the
Web for basic tasks like word
processing, spreadsheets, and
email. These cloud apps have
inherent limits: They run through
a browser window and can't
directly access your local hard
drive or processor. They lack
features. Their performance
depends on the strength of your
Internet connection. Nevertheless,
tens of millions of people use
Gmail, while Zoho Writer boasts
1.8 million users and is growing
at a rate of 100,000 subscribers a
month. Microsoft, of course, is
now jumping into the cloud as fast
as it can. Redmond says that
Office 2010 will be largely cloud-
based. Not to be outdone, Google
recently announced a mostly
cloud-based operating system that
will work in tandem with the
company's Chrome browser.
Web tools are succeeding
because they're Good Enough.
They do most of what we need
from a word processor or a
spreadsheet or an email program
or even an OS. But, like the MP3,
they also offer other advantages.
You can access them from any
computer. If your hard drive
crashes, you don't lose your work.
And they are incredibly
cheap—free in the case of simple
tools or just a few dollars a month
per user in the case of business
apps.
Compare these qualities with
those of the MP3 and the Flip, and
a clear pattern emerges. The
attributes that now matter most all
fall under the rubric of
accessibility. Thanks to the speed
and connectivity of the digital
age, we've stopped fussing over
pixel counts, sample rates, and
feature lists. Instead, we're now
focused on three things: ease of
use, continuous availability, and
49
low price. Is it simple to get what
we want out of the technology? Is
it available everywhere, all the
time—or as close to that ideal as
possible? And is it so cheap that
we don't have to think about
price? Products that benefit from
the MP3 effect capitalize on one
or more of these qualities. And
they'll happily sacrifice power and
features to do so.
By traditional military
standards, the MQ-1 Predator isn't
much of a plane. Its top speed is a
mere 135 miles per hour. It has an
altitude ceiling of 25,000 feet. It
carries only two 100-pound
Hellfire missiles. It has a
propeller. By comparison, an A-
10 can travel 420 mph, cruise at
45,000 feet, and carry up to
16,000 pounds of bombs—not to
mention a 30-mm gatling gun. An
F-16 can reach a blistering 1,500
mph (Mach 2), climb to more than
50,000 feet, and back up its 20-
mm multibarrel canon with six
missiles.
All three of these aircraft are
used for surveillance and close air
support. But more and more, the
military is relying on the
unmanned Predator. In the past
two years, it has logged more than
250,000 flight hours, nearly all of
them in combat. It has been
deployed to the Balkans, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, and Iraq. Photo:
Kenji Aoki, Lego sculpture:
Michael Psiaski
Why, if manned planes are so
superior, is the Predator saturating
the combat market? Because
military aircraft are experiencing
their own version of the MP3
effect.
Over the past few decades, the
armed services—like many
industries—have been radically
GOOD page 52
50 Tech News/
ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 29 August 2009
By Andrew Lobo
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 1:00:38 PM
Here is this week's
ReadWriteWeb events guide.
Remember to download the
calendar in iCal format or import
it into your Google Calendar. You
can also import individual events
using the link beside each entry.
This events guide is a weekly
feature here on ReadWriteWeb.
We publish it every weekend, as
good a time as any to review your
conference plans.
Know of an event taking place
that should appear here? Let us
know in the comments below or
contact us.
Sponsor
10 September 2009: San
Francisco
Mobilize 09
GigaOM's Mobile Web
Conference is a one-day
conference that brings together
thought leaders of the next
generation mobile Web for talk,
demonstrations, and debate.
Participants will examine what
it means to have wireless
broadband speeds at the Gigabit
scale and how the explosion of
platforms creates new
opportunities beyond the
traditional handset for
entrepreneurs, investors, and
consumers. Over 50 speakers and
500 delegates will be there.
ReadWriteWeb readers save
$150 on the regular ticket price up
until August 14th. Register here
with the code "RWW".
21 – 23 September: San Diego,
California
DEMOfall 09 Conference
DEMOfall 09 promises to
showcase the most comprehensive
portfolio of credible emerging
technologies, vetted by
VentureBeat founder Matt
Marshall and leading technology
analyst Chris Shipley. Alpha
Pitch, a new DEMO program,
puts you in front of the most
promising entrepreneurs with
products in the alpha, prototype,
and development stages of their
life cycles. These are pre-revenue
companies that have no more than
one round of seed funding and are
ready for your investment dollars.
DEMO is the launch pad of
emerging technology and a true
market performer for visionary
investors, entrepreneurs, and
industry influencers alike.
ReadWriteWeb readers pay only
$1996. Save $500 off the standard
fee by registering before August
15th.
22 September 2009: London
Realising the Benefits of Web
2.0 in Financial Services
If you are responsible for
marketing, compliance, e-
business, customer
communications, or internal
communications at a financial
institution, you won't want to miss
this series of events:
The UK's first conference
focusing specifically on Web 2.0
in Financial Services:
• What is happening now?
Current applications and
experiences of social media in the
financial services market;
• Hear how social networking is
changing the approach of firms to
marketing, PR, and customer
interaction;
• Explore opportunities to
enhance internal communications,
process improvement, and
compliance;
• Understand the developing
legal and regulatory framework
for Web 2.0;
• Identify the next steps for
social media in financial services.
ReadWriteWeb readers get a
20% discount. Use the code
KM6298RRWEB.
22 – 23 September 2009:
Singapore
Social Networking World
Forum — Asia
This two-day conference hosted
by the Social Networking World
Forum - Asia features key
speakers from social networking
publishers, advertising agencies,
industry analysts, software
developers and equipment
manufacturers, pay-TV and
network service providers, mobile
operators, and more.
• Joint exhibition combining
social networking and mobile
social networking formats
• Evening networking reception
• Discount for early booking
(expires August 21st)
• Free pass for exhibition only
22 – 23 September 2009:
Melbourne, Australia
Marketing Now!
On September 22-23 a
movement of highly engaged,
passionate thought leaders and
professionals will gather in
Melbourne to demonstrate the
power of social media for
business today. Marketing Now!
brings together the best of the best
in new marketing innovation in
two intensive days of interactive
training designed to empower a
new generation of change agents
and business leaders. Marketing
Now! will change the way you
think about communications by
equipping you with the tools and
insight to foster advocacy and
community for your business.
Follow Marketing Now on
Twitter for conference updates.
30 September 2009: on Twitter
Twittamentary
Update: Call for submissions of
stories and videos is now open. In
this documentary, filmmaker Tan
Siok Siok peels away the hype
and explores the human
dimensions of how lives connect
and intersect, and then are
affected and changed, as result of
encounters on Twitter.
Twittamentary is created in the
open spirit of the Web. Twitter
users are invite to contribute ideas
and videos to the film. When the
film is completed, it will be
released online under a creative
commons license. In other words,
you are both the contributor and
the audience.
The 24-hour storytelling event
on 30 September 2009 shares the
videos submitted up till then in a
round-the-clock marathon in
which participants get to watch
the videos online, rate and
comment on them, and tweet
about them.
8 October 2009: San Diego
Mobile Application Stores
conference
As a partner seminar of
Intenational CTIA WIRELESS
I.T. and Entertainment, the
Mobile Application Stores
conference will focus on the
tremendous opportunities in the
Internet News Record
mobile apps stores eco-system.
The event is designed to give a
complete understanding of how to
capitalize on this exploding
market.
Participants will discuss strategy
and deployment in application
stores such as Apple (iPhone),
Google (Android), RIM
(Blackberry), Nokia (Ovi), Palm
Pre, and Microsoft, as well as
other emerging application stores.
To learn more, visit
www.mobileapplicationstores.co
m o r w r i t e t o
events@nextvisionmedia.com.
22 October 2009: London,
England
Cloud Computing World Forum
The Cloud Computing World
Forum is the perfect event for
professionals to learn and discuss
the future development and
integration of cloud services. This
one-day conference will provide a
focused platform for the global
cloud computing industry.
The Cloud Computing World
Forum is the place to meet all the
key decision makers from all of
the cloud service providers in one
place. Show highlights include:
• Hear from leading case studies
on how to integrate cloud
computing into working practices,
• Learn from the key players
offering services in the cloud,
• Benefit from pre-show online
meeting planner,
• Evening networking reception.
23 October 2009: Durham,
North Carolina
The Social Media Business
Forum
The Social Media Business
Forum will feature national and
local speakers from marketing
companies, technology
READWRITEWEB page 54
Internet News Record
The Real-Time Web: A Primer, Part 1
By Guest Author
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 4:00:21 PM
This is part 1 of a three-part
series on the fundamental
characteristics of the real-time
Web.
Like cloud computing less than
a year ago and social networking
two years ago, the real-time Web
is the new black on the tech
circuit. The trend has been
publicly bandied about this
summer, starting with a few
industry get-togethers, followed
by several enthusiastic
testimonials from investors
(notably angel investor Ron
Conway's widely posted list of
ways for Twitter to monetize). It
was then capped by a glowing
report in BusinessWeek in early
August.
Sponsor
That a serious trend is on the
rise would not be doubted by
those watching Twitter's rise in
usage and media popularity. In
fact, the debate this summer has
centered not on whether
something is afoot but rather on
what to call it. Ron Conway
favors "now media" in the belief
that it's a media phenomenon. But
most commenters, led by several
bloggers and lead investors, prefer
to call it "real-time Web" ("real-
time stream" is also popular).
The trend is not with Twitter
alone. Just as the social Web was
more than Friendster, then
MySpace, and now Facebook, the
real-time Web is more than just
140 characters bursts about what
your friends and acquaintances
are thinking and doing. The
number of people using Twitter
(44.5 million in June 2009) and
the purchase of FriendFeed by
Facebook for $47.5 million are
eye-opening figures alone, but the
number of independent
developers building on top of and
alongside the Twitter platform
make it something worthy of
close attention. Unlike the social
networking space, these are not
"Me too" networks or a mess of
widget applications. The depth
and breadth of the problems that
independent developers are
addressing are clear evidence that
a serious trend has formed, one
with significant implications for
both the technological
infrastructure of the Web and for
the companies that rely on the
Web.
As with other recent waves of
innovation (Web 2.0 and cloud
computing, for example) there is
no single definition of what the
term "real-time Web" means. As a
result, it is used as a catch-all
phrase for a number of
developments underway. At this
point, we can identify that the real
-time Web...
• is a new form of
communication,
• creates a new body of content,
• is real time,
• is public and has an explicit
social graph associated with it,
• carries an implicit model of
federation.
A New Form of Communication
One obvious way of looking at
Twitter is as a new form of
communication, with its own
protocols and ways of doing
things, and with similarities to
instant messaging (IM) and email.
The timing of communications on
it is near synchronous (i.e. it is a
continuous stream of up-to-date
messages), and its tone is
conversational and authentic
(marketing messages and ghost
tweeting are frowned upon, at
least for now). Like IM, email,
texting, and even the telephone,
technical constraints (in this case,
a 140-character limit) create a
rather special conversational
structure, giving Twitter-speak its
own distinct mode of
communication.
This arbitrary limit also
simplifies its usage, which has
had a tremendous effect on the
adoption rate. For one, the limit
makes it easy for adopters to pick
up the general etiquette, and thus
the barrier to participate is much
lower than it is for most things
tech. Plus, the technology
threshold is low: no authoring
software or templates (as one
might have for a blog) are needed,
nor do you have to create an
extensive profile, as you do with
social networking. Figures
suggests that many independent
bloggers, especially in
technology, media, and political
sectors, have dramatically reduced
their blogging schedules,
preferring instead to publish their
thoughts, or refer to the thoughts
of others, in 140-character
segments throughout the day,
rather than regularly come up
with 500-word blog posts.
One consequence of the 140-
character limit (and a key reason
why the real-time stream is so
easily adaptable to other uses) is
that messages are largely atomic
in nature. Each refers to an
individual item: a thought, link,
event, product, person, or
company. They also typically
contain some evaluative or
emotional component, such as
"Look at X because it's cool or
interesting" or "I support Y" or "I
disagree" or "this is no good."
This discrete nature of Twitter
messages means that items, and
the sentiments attached to them,
can be extracted and then
aggregated, allowing us to
measure the activity being
generated around a particular
subject and, in some cases, the
general feeling about it. This is
not unlike the way buy-and-sell
orders signal interest in a stock;
but in this case, any popular
subject matter can be tracked. In
combination with other factors,
this discrete nature and emotional
component allow for some
interesting usage and applications.
This deconstruction of content
is not limited to Twitter. The
movement to expose underlying
data and make it more actionable
is gaining momentum across
industries and platforms. One
example is the move to report
financial data in XBRL format
(eXtensible Business Reporting
Language). Another is the
growing use of microformats and
RDFa, which are small patterns of
HTML that represent data on
commonly published subjects on
Web pages, such as people,
events, blog topics, reviews, and
tags. Twitter's character limit and
accessibility, however, are the
simplest and most recognized
example of how elements of
connected data can provide value
both individually and in
aggregate. The Power of
Constraints
One of the more magical aspects
Tech News/ 51
of Twitter is that it reminds us
that arbitrary constraints can have
a liberating and profound effect
on creativity. It sounds counter-
intuitive, but coming up with a
host of examples doesn't take
long. If a group of high school
students were given the choice
between writing an essay about
their summer vacation or writing
a 300-word essay on the funniest
thing that happened in the last
three weeks, we could easily
guess which would get their pens
moving faster and lead to more
imaginative results.
Poetry shows a similar
relationship between constraint
and inspiration. Whether having
to keep to a certain meter or
follow a particular rhyming
scheme, poets come up with turns
of phrases and ideas that they
might not have otherwise
happened upon if they did not
need to fit words into a pattern.
The limitations also give them
license to play with language in a
way that would not make sense or
be valued in other modes. The
same goes for music, with its
meter and form, and even TV
shows and movies, whose time
restrictions and story constraints
can make for enjoyable, funny,
scary, or moving experiences. A
New Body of Content
Another characteristic of the
real-time Web is that it gives the
world a new body of content, one
that, unlike IM or email's, is
largely public. Plus the underlying
APIs allow third parties to make
use of the data through programs,
thus extending the reach of the
content. (Only 20% of Twitter
traffic comes from the site itself.
The other 80% comes from users
REAL-TIME page 55
52
GOOD
continued from page 49
changed by the Internet and other
modern communications
technologies. Now that the
military can digitize and share
information quickly, engagements
are conducted differently: Greater
emphasis is being put on
"situational awareness," the
ability of remote commanders to
know what's happening on a
battlefield at all times. This in
turn has altered what the military
looks for in a plane, much the
same way small digital files
changed what music fans value in
a recording.
There is at least one measure by
which the Predator has piloted
aircraft handily beat: the ability to
maintain a constant presence in
the air. That's because the drones
are relatively cheap to build, can
fly for more than 20 hours
straight, and don't require pilots
who need sleep, food, and
bathroom breaks (and who might
die if the plane is shot down). In
Afghanistan and Iraq, a Predator
is available pretty much anytime
the military needs one.
Accessibility, in other words, has
become a dominant aircraft
value—prized as much as, and
sometimes more than, speed,
altitude, and armament.
"Sustaining the sorts of
operations we conduct with the
Predator used to be virtually
impossible," says Eric
Mathewson, director of the Air
Force Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Task Force. "The idea of
putting an aircraft over an area of
interest 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year, was simply unsustainable."
Piloted aircraft are still valuable,
he's quick to add, but because the
Predator can linger, it has enabled
a new type of strategy—remotely
guided surgical strikes with fewer
troops and armaments. It's a
lesson that surprised the Air Force
and other services, Mathewson
says, but one that has been
learned definitively. "We're now
looking at aircraft capabilities for
the future that are even more
persistent," he says. "We're
exploring airships again, which
could stay airborne for up to five
years."
The impact of the Predator
illustrates the potential of the
MP3 effect to transform almost
any market. In fact, Good Enough
tech is already gaining a foothold
in two other huge industries: the
legal profession and health care.
Richard Granat is a pioneer in a
field called elawyering. It
shouldn't be confused with Web
sites that merely offer legal
documents for downloading,
Granat explains. Elawyering
involves actual lawyers, and
clients who use these services get
help sorting through legal issues.
Granat, who runs his own law
firm and cochairs the American
Bar Association's task force on
elawyering, has designed and
marketed a number of Web tools
that walk people through common
legal procedures. He created a
child-support calculator, for
example, which assists couples
going through relatively amicable
divorces. There's also a tool to
help people decide whether they
need Chapter 7 or Chapter 13
bankruptcy. These widgets then
generate legal forms, which may
be reviewed by a licensed
attorney who can make
suggestions or offer advice over
the phone.
It turns out to be a remarkably
efficient way of offering what
Granat calls legal transaction
services—tasks that are document
intensive. For everything from
wills to adoptions to shareholder
agreements, elawyering has
numerous advantages. It's
cheaper, for example; a no-fault
divorce, Granat says, might run a
fifth of what seeing an attorney
would cost. It's also
faster—customers can access the
tools anytime and never have to
interrupt their day to meet with
someone in a distant office.
Simply put, elawyering makes
certain legal services more
accessible.
There are trade-offs, of course.
"The relationship has less richness
than what you'd get from sitting in
a lawyer's office," Granat says.
"And if you have an issue that's
more complex, then you still need
to see a lawyer face-to-face." In
other words, it's a lower-fidelity
experience.
But for most simple legal
interactions, elawyering is, well,
Good Enough. It gets the job
done, even if it doesn't let you ask
every question or address every
contingency. And not
surprisingly, it's on the rise.
"Elawyering will be mainstream
in three years," Granat says. "I
predict that in five years, if you're
a small firm and don't offer this
kind of Web service, you're not
going to make it." Photo: Kenji
Aoki, Lego sculpture: Nathan
Sawaya
In the case of health care, the
Good Enough mindset can be
seen in a new initiative by Kaiser
Permanente. The largest not-for-
profit medical organization in the
country, Kaiser has long relied on
a simple strategy of building
complete, self-sustaining
hospitals—employing 50 doctors
or more—in each region it serves.
"It's an efficient model," says
Michele Flanagin, Kaiser's vice
president of delivery systems
strategy. "It offers one-stop
shopping: pharmacy and
radiology and everything you
want from health care in one
building." But that approach
forces patients who don't live near
a hospital to drive a long way for
even the most routine doctor's
appointment.
As it happens, though, Kaiser
has become one of the most
technologically advanced health
care providers in the country,
digitizing everything from patient
records and doctors' notes to lab
data and prescriptions and putting
it all online. The system is
networked, so patients can email
their doctor, check lab results, and
make appointments from their PC
or mobile Web device. Getting a
referral doesn't mean carrying
medical records from one doctor
to another, as it does at many
hospitals.
In 2007, Flanagin and her
colleagues wondered what would
happen if, instead of building a
hospital in a new area, Kaiser just
leased space in a strip mall, set up
a high tech office, and hired two
doctors to staff it. Thanks to the
digitization of records, patients
could go to this "microclinic" for
most of their needs and
seamlessly transition to a hospital
farther away when necessary. So
Flanagin and her team began a
series of trials to see what such an
office could do. They cut
everything they could out of the
clinics: no pharmacy, no
radiology. They even explored
cutting the receptionist in favor of
an ATM-like kiosk where patients
would check in with their Kaiser
card.
What they found is that the
system performed very well. Two
doctors working out of a
microclinic could meet 80 percent
of a typical patient's needs. With a
Internet News Record
hi-def video conferencing add-on,
members could even link to a
nearby hospital for a quick
consult with a specialist. Patients
would still need to travel to a full-
size facility for major trauma,
surgery, or access to expensive
diagnostic equipment, but those
are situations that arise
infrequently.
If that 80 percent number rings
a bell, it's because of the famous
Pareto principle, also known as
the 80/20 rule. And it happens to
be a recurring theme in Good
Enough products. You can think
of it this way: 20 percent of the
effort, features, or investment
often delivers 80 percent of the
value to consumers. That means
you can drastically simplify a
product or service in order to
make it more accessible and still
keep 80 percent of what users
want—making it Good
Enough—which is exactly what
Kaiser did.
Flanagin believes these clinics
will enable Kaiser to add
thousands of new members. And
they'll do it for less. The per-
member cost at a microclinic is
roughly half that of a full Kaiser
hospital. The first microclinic is
set to open in Hawaii early next
year. Medical care is now poised
for its own manifestation of the
MP3 effect.
The phenomenon certainly
won't stop with hospitals, lawyers,
and military campaigns. As more
and more industries move their
business online, they too will find
success in Good Enough tools that
focus on maximizing
accessibility. It's a reflection of
our new value system. We've
changed. To benefit from the MP3
effect, companies will have to
GOOD page 56
Internet News Record Tech News/ 53

Weekly Wrapup: Augmented Reality Apps, Top U.S.

Websites, Tweeting Teens, And More...
By Richard MacManus The report is a 75 page fastest-growing segment of SaaS productivity and enterprise
(ReadWriteWeb) collection of case studies, advice Twitter's population. tools, has decided to support
Submitted at 8/29/2009 6:00:00 AM and discussion concerning the SEE MORE WEB TRENDS Google Apps accounts for anyone
most important issues in online particular. Sentiment analysis is COVERAGE IN OUR TRENDS logging into its services. Although
In this edition of the Weekly community. You will also get a no short-term hot trend. It will CATEGORY A Word from Our the two companies have overlap
W r a p u p - o u r n e w s l e t t e r companion online aggregator that eventually become a key feature Sponsors in areas such as online document
summarizing the top stories of the delivers the most-discussed of search engines, which will We'd like to thank editing, the majority of Zoho's
w e e k - w e e x p l a i n w h y articles each day written by integrate the aggregate sentiment ReadWriteWeb's sponsors, suite is not in competition with
augmented reality is ramping up e x p e r t s o n c o m m u n i t y of the crowd into search results. without whom we couldn't bring Google. ReadWriteStart
(and look at three new iPhone management from around the In our post we take a look at five you all these stories every week! Our channel ReadWriteStart,
examples), analyze the top web. All of this is available for examples of how sentiment • Mashery is the leading provider sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark,
websites in the U.S., check out purchase at a price of $299. You analysis is starting to ramp up on of API management services. is dedicated to profiling startups
new Twitter statistics suggesting can download a free sample the Web. • WeeBiz, a business community and entrepreneurs.
that teens don't tweet, review section of the report here. Web Top 50 U.S. Web Properties: where you can find and share new When and How Founders
recent Wikipedia changes, and Trends Facebook Enters Top 5 For The business opportunities. Should Hire a Professional CEO
more. We also check in on our Augmented Reality: 5 Barriers First Time • Domain.ME, the official This is one post/chapter in a
two new c h a n n e l s : to a Web That's Everywhere Annual changes of note: registry for all .ME Domains. serialized book called Startup
ReadWriteEnterprise(devoted to Fifty years after its invention by Facebook #5 with a rocket; • Codero, Dedicated Hosting 101. For the introduction and
' e n t e r p r i s e 2 . 0 ' t r e n d s a n d the British Royal Navy for use by Twitter entered Top 50 in June; with Backup & Managed table of contents, please click
p r o d u c t s ) a n d fighter pilots, the technology of Demand Media, Answers.com Services. here.
ReadWriteStart(dedicated to layering information on top of our and Break Media sites to watch. • Mollom, stop comment spam There are two schools of
p r o f i l i n g s t a r t u p s a n d naked view of the world may soon comScore has just released their and build your community. thought about founders as CEOs.
entrepreneurs). cross over the line between latest Media Metrix rankings for • Crowd Science gives you One school says that founders
Sponsor science fiction and mass the Top 50 U.S. Web Properties. detailed visitor demographics. rarely make good CEOs: the skill
Subscribe to Weekly Wrapup consumer experience. "The If we compare the top 50 to one • hakia is a semantic search sets are simply different. The
You can subscribe to the i n t e r n e t s m e a r e d a l l o v e r year ago, we see that the top 4 is engine. other school says that no one has
Weekly Wrapup by RSS or by everything." An "enchanted still the same: Google, Yahoo, • Rackspace provides dedicated as much passion, drive, and deep
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RWW Weekly Wrap-up Email information hidden all around us notable entrant to the top 5: • Aplus provides web hosting understanding as the founder, and
Subscription form: inside out. A platform that will be Facebook. Last year the same list services for small business so they are best off remaining as
Purchase The ReadWriteWeb bigger than the Web. Those are by comScore had Facebook hosting needs. CEO.
Guide to Online Community the kinds of phrases being used to ranked number 16. As of July • IronScale, Managed Hosting. SEE MORE STARTUPS
Management describe the future of what's 2009, it is number 5; Facebook's The Cloud Gets Physical. COVERAGE IN OUR
Our First Premium Report for called Augmented Reality (AR), highest ranking yet. • MediaTemple provides hosting READWRITESTART
Businesses by specialists developing the Teens Don't Tweet? They May for RWW. CHANNEL Web Products
Recently we released our first technology to enable it. Big Start Soon • SixApart provides our The Wall Has Fallen: 3
p r e m i u m r e p o r t : T h e questions remain unanswered, "Teens don't tweet." Over the publishing software MT4. Augmented Reality Apps Now
ReadWriteWeb Guide to Online though, about the viability of what past few weeks, this fact has been ReadWriteEnterprise Live in iPhone App Store
C o m m u n i t y M a n a g e m e n t . could be a radical next step in reported time and time again by Our channel devoted to First Paris Metro, then Yelp,
Businesses seeking to engage with humanity's use of computers. analysts, bloggers, and 'enterprise 2.0' and using social now London Buses. The newest is
online communities on their own 5 Ways Sentiment Analysis is mainstream media. But before all software inside organizations. even selling database layers
websites or all around the social Ramping Up in 2009 you adults get too comfortable Why Zoho Wants You to Sign through in-app purchases.
web will find the guide invaluable The New York Times had an with your Twitter dominance, in With Google Apps It has been widely reported that
in getting up to speed on the state article this week about sentiment take a look at the recent data from Not long ago, Google revamped the API required to display
of the art and making sure their analysis, a trend which has been comScore. It appears that the its sign-on system using the Augmented Reality (AR) layers of
employees have the foundation accelerating on the back of the youngest Twitter users - those in federated protocols of OpenID.
they need to be effective. Real-time Web- and Twitter in the 12-24 bracket - are now the Now Zoho, a major provider of WEEKLY page 55
54 Sports
READWRITEWEB
continued from page 50
companies, and social networks
discussing ways in which business
communications have changed
because of social media. Sessions
will look at internal and external
communications methods for both
B2B and B2C companies and
provide actionable takeaway
items for attendees to immediately
implement in their businesses.
The forum targets business
owners, executives, business
communicators, key
organizational stake holders, and
anyone interested in gaining
practical knowledge about social
media.
Early bird registration is $125
until September 18, and $250
thereafter.
4 – 5 November 2009: Raleigh,
North Carolina
Internet Summit 2009
Internet Summit '09 will feature
over 75 speakers, including
representatives of major Internet
brands such as Twitter, Pandora,
Google, Salesforce.com, Digg,
Technorati, CBS Interactive,
Huffington Post, Blogger,
Tree.com, and many more.
Topics will include social
media, blogging, real time,
mobile, video, search, online
advertising, e-commerce,
analytics, the cloud, and more.
Join over 1200 entrepreneurs,
senior marketers, and executives
in the conversation about the
future of the industry and how to
capitalize on the shifting
dynamics of the Internet and tap
into its unlimited business
potential.
9 – 10 November 2009: Santa
Clara, California
Social Networking World
Forum — California
This event taking place at the
Santa Clara Convention Center
actually consists of three
conferences: two days dedicated
to social networking, one day
dedicated to enterprise social
media, and one day dedicated to
social TV. Key speakers include
social networking publishers,
advertising agencies, industry
analysts, software developers and
equipment manufacturers, pay-TV
and network service providers,
mobile operators, and more.
• Joint exhibition combining
social networking and enterprise
social media formats
• Pre-show online meeting
planner for delegates
• Discount for early booking
(expires September 25th)
• Free pass for exhibition only
10 – 13 November 2009: Las
Vegas
PubCon Vegas
PubCon Las Vegas is a multi-
track educational conference
hosted by SearchEngineWorld &
WebmasterWorld. PubCon events
are for thought leaders and
professionals in search engine and
Internet marketing to gather and
to share best practices in the
design, development, promotion
and marketing of their Internet
businesses and brands. PubCon
London 2009 is a social
networking event.
11 – 12 November 2009:
Denver, Colorado
Defrag 2009 Conference
As online data is growing and
fragmenting at an exponential
pace, individuals, groups and
organizations are struggling to
discover, assemble, organize, act
on and gather feedback from that
data. In the largest sense, we're all
looking to augment the pace at
which we achieve insights on raw
data -- to accelerate the "A-ha"
moment.
Defrag explores the intersection
of topics like:
• Business intelligence
• Business process management
• Social computing and analytics
• Next-level discovery
• Enterprise 2.0
• Next-gen email
• The semantic Web
1 – 3 December 2009: London,
England
Online Information & IMS 2009
Online Information and IMS
together create the largest event
dedicated to the information
industry. Consisting of an
exhibition delivering over 9,000
visitors from 70 countries, a
conference and a show-floor
seminar program, the event
provides an annual meeting place
for the global information
industry.
Online Information is once
again set to play host to thousands
of information professionals,
information end-users and
publishers from around the globe,
meeting suppliers of online
content, e-publishing, and library
management solutions. IMS
provides a forum for IT, business,
and information management
professionals to find unlimited,
relevant advice, educational
content and compare solutions
under one roof. Attend IMS and
meet suppliers of content
management, search solutions,
and Web 2.0 technologies.
15 – 16 March 2010: London,
England
2nd Annual Social Networking
World Forum — London
The 2nd Annual Social
Networking World Forum takes
place at the Olympia Conference
Centre in London. The two-day
event features four dedicated
conference streams:
• Social Networking World
Forum
• Enterprise social media
• Social TV World Forum
• Mobile Social Networking
Forum
The event features key speakers
from global brands, organizations,
social networking publishers and
developers, pioneering social
media leaders, top agencies,
content producers, and more.
• Full workshop program within
exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting
planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only
Download this entire events
calendar in iCal format. Discuss
Internet News Record
Baseball Brunch: 40
Time -- Game's Rules
About to Undergo
Annual Change
By Ed Price (FanHouse)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 10:00:00 AM
by Ed Price
Filed under: FanHouse
Exclusive, Baseball Brunch Every
Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties
out its notebook in Baseball
Brunch.
In two days, major league teams
will begin playing with different
rules than they did for the first
five months of the season.
Some clubs will have 25-man
rosters. Some will have 28-man
rosters. Some will have 32-man
rosters.
Some will have extra relievers if
the game goes to extra innings.
Some won't.
Some will have a pinch-running
specialist. Some won't.
That's what we get with
expanded September rosters.
Baseball Brunch: 40 Time --
Game's Rules About to Undergo
Annual Change originally
appeared on Fanhouse MLB Blog
on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:00:00
EST . Please see our terms for use
of feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Linking
Blogs| Comments
Internet News Record
REAL-TIME
continued from page 51
accessing the platform through
APIs.) Ron Conway and other
proponents of the real-time Web
see this new body of content as a
great opportunity for investment,
with the potential for companies
to shape, extend, present, and
amplify it in any number of ways.
On the surface, people consume
this body of content simply by
reading messages from people
they follow. Much like a stock
ticker, these messages scroll
across whatever client they use to
access it. When it first launched --
without the scale, celebrities, and
business leaders -- many people
failed to see the value of this
mode of interaction. It was
interesting, but not compelling.
Now with its scale, the
personalities using it, and a better
general understanding of how to
use it (less about your breakfast,
more insight, reaction, and
commentary), the channels have
become fascinating --
overwhelming if you follow a lot
of people, but fascinating
nonetheless.
The tipping point in Twitter's
WEEKLY
continued from page 53
data on top of the camera view of
a non-jailbroken iPhone 3Gs
would not be publicly exposed
until the launch of the next
version of the iPhone Operating
System, expected this Fall. Many
developers are patiently waiting,
but some have now found a way
around the restriction. This week
we discovered 3 AR-enabled apps
hitting the iTunes store.
Confused About Wikipedia's
Flagged Revisions? What's Really
Happening
Wikipedia's new 'flagged
adoption rate came when its
stream became searchable. This
happened in July 2008, when
Twitter purchased a tiny search
company called Summize and
renamed it Twitter Search. The
acquisition made it easier for
users and third parties to pull
specific words and tags from the
Twitter stream.
This new capability revealed
another layer of value, because it
enabled people to access
particular threads of information.
Users could now search for other
users, words, and specific topics.
An example from earlier this
summer was the aggregation of
the steady stream of messages
about the green revolution in Iran.
With APIs, we could create filters
to keep constant track of a person,
item, or topic. Real-time search
and filtering are still primitive,
though, and a tremendous effort is
being made to improve them. As
one investor puts it, a lot of
investment is being made "to
build filters that give you only the
portion of the firehose that makes
sense to you."
revision' policy will radically
change how entries about living
persons will be maintained. There
seems to be some confusion about
the extent to which these new
policies, once implemented, will
change the nature of Wikipedia.
According to some, Wikipedia
will cease to be free and open.
Instead, a group of editors with
dictatorial powers will patrol the
site. The reality, however, is far
less dramatic.
Opera Mini Is Most
Downloaded Mobile App
Content in digital format is not
really new. We saw this with
early Web pages, then MP3s,
blogs, videos, social network
profiles, and so on. The difference
is accessibility. Web pages have
to be crawled and indexed, which
limit the derivative use and
retransmission of their data. RSS
provided a revolutionary way to
syndicate content and made it
much easier to process by
machine. The accessibility of the
Twitter stream via APIs extends
this syndication idea even further
by providing much greater
immediacy and fidelity. As
Twitter and third parties introduce
better filtering mechanisms, that
stream and, by extension, other
content formats on the Web will
be able to be more effectively
harnessed and extended. Inside
Baseball Twitter
More advanced uses of Twitter,
such as retweeting, direct
messaging, and thread tagging,
make it a bit more of an insider's
game, but even their limits makes
them not all that difficult to pick
up. The interesting thing is that
The Opera Mini application is
now considered not only the
world's most popular mobile
browser, but also the world's most
downloaded app. According to
independent applications
marketplace GetJar, the browser
has been downloaded more than
25 million times from its store.
Bing Continues to Grow, But
Yahoo Loses Market Share
Since the launch of Bing,
watching the developments in the
search engine market is finally
interesting again. According to
these uses (RT for retweet,
@username for mentions, and
#keyword for hash tags) can be
followed mechanically and used
to capture these derivative
streams.
Stay tuned for part 2 in this
series on the real-time Web.
Guest author: Ken Fromm is a
serial entrepreneur who has been
active during both the Internet and
Web 2.0 innovation cycles. He co
-founded two companies, Vivid
Studios, one of the first interactive
agencies, and Loomia, one of the
top recommendation, discovery,
and personalization companies.
He has worked at the leading edge
of recommendations and
personalization, interactive
development, e-commerce and
online advertising, semantic
technologies and information
interoperability, digital
publishing, and digital telephony.
He is currently advising a number
of startups and looking at the next
big thing in Web 3.0. He can be
found on Twitter at@frommww.
Discuss
the latest data from Compete for
July, Bing continues to grow
slowly but surely. At the same
time, though, Compete notes that
Bing has not been able to convert
its growing search share into a
rise in paid clicks on ads on the
site.
SEE MORE WEB PRODUCTS
COVERAGE IN OUR
PRODUCTS CATEGORY
That's a wrap for another week!
Enjoy your weekend everyone.
Discuss
Sports 55
Dallas Makes
Strides in Loss
to 49ers
By Calvin Watkins (FanHouse)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 1:35:00 AM
by Calvin Watkins
Filed under: 49ers, Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Tx -- The
Cowboys offense can be good and
bad without wide receiver Roy
Williams.
The first-team offense scored 10
points and had a field goal
nullified by a penalty in a
preseason game on Saturday night
against the 49ers. Yet, this same
offense didn't score any first-
quarter points for the first time
this preseason.
Williams is out with a shoulder
contusion and coach Wade
Phillips said following the 49ers'
20-13 victory that his wide
receiver is feeling better.
Dallas Makes Strides in Loss to
49ers originally appeared on
Fanhouse NFL Blog on Sun, 30
Aug 2009 01:35:00 EST . Please
see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Linking
Blogs| Comments
56 Tech News/ Internet News Record

8-Story Antigravity Forest Facade Takes Root

By Cliff Kuang (Wired Top A plastic-coated aluminum frame Mueron| next image >>
Stories) is fastened to the wall and covered The gardens don't have to be
Submitted at 8/28/2009 12:30:00 PM with synthetic felt into which outside. Here's one designed for
plant roots can burrow. A custom the Taipei Concert Hall. Blanc
When Patrick Blanc was a boy, irrigation system keeps the felt first began experimenting with
he suspended plants from his moist with a fertilizer solution vertical gardens in his bedroom
bedroom wall and ran their roots modeled after the rainwater that 40 years ago, when he was 12.|
into a fish tank. The greenery trickles through forest canopies. next image >>
received nourishment from the But plants for this vertical Photo: Loram ipsum
diluted— ahem—fertilizer and landscape must be chosen with Before he was known as a
purified the water in return. Forty- care. Because the walls are so vertical gardener, Blanc was a
f i v e y e a r s o n , t h e F r e n c h high, conditions vary widely. The precocious botanist. Many of the
botanist's gardens have grown shade at ground level is perfect plants he uses are species he
massive in scale. One inside a for rare Asian nettles; on the brought back himself from across
Portuguese shopping mall is brighter upper stories, plants that Asia.| next image >>
larger than four tennis courts, and usually cling to windblown cliff Photo: Loram ipsum
there's one in Kuwait that's almost faces brave the blustery British A vertical garden adorns the
as big. But Blanc's recently breezes. underside of a bridge, Pont
completed facade for the Blanc, who still has a fish-tank Juvénal, in Aix-en-Provence.| next
A t h e n a e u m h o t e l i n setup in his apartment, says his more than 12,000 plants| next go up top. Ferns go below, where image >>
London(shown) could be his most creations will always reach image >> there's more shade.| next image Photo: Loram ipsum
high-profile project yet. Looming upward: "I leave horizontal Eighty percent of the plants at >> Blanc's largest garden lies on
over Green Park, it's an eight- gardens to others. I only think the Athenaeum are evergreen; 20 Blanc designed the first vertical Rue d'Alsace, in Paris, covering
story antigravity forest composed vertically."| next image >> percent are seasonal. They are garden in Spain, which covers an more than 15,000 square feet.
of 12,000 plants. The vertical garden at the planted according to entire wall facing the entrance of
Blanc uses a kind of techno- Athenaeum, which is eight stories environmental demands — those the CaixaForum Madrid, designed
trellis as the underlying structure: tall, has 260 plant species and that need more sun, for example, by starchitects Herzog & de
GOOD
continued from page 52
change as well. Flip has succeeded where more one thing everyone wants to do changing its focus. Once HD video even easier to share. "Well,
No one understands this better powerful videocams—and even with their footage is show it to components became available that we could add Wi-Fi or cell
than the folks at Pure Digital new Flip knockoffs from the likes someone else," he says. would not drastically raise the connectivity, so if you were
Technologies. Two years ago, the of Sony—have failed, Pure Even so, it's easy to imagine price of the camera or make it filming your kid's soccer game,
Flip Ultra nailed all three of those Digital's Fleming-Wood has an that feature creep will one day harder to use, "it made no sense you could be uploading the
accessibility traits: It was interesting answer: "I think it's seep into the Flip. After all, the not to go HD," Fleming-Wood footage to the Web in real time so
significantly less expensive than because we have a better company recently released models says. He points out that Pure Grandma could watch from
other digital video cameras—so product." What's odd is that that record in HD, so why not Digital has yet to include other home," he says with a
much so, it almost seemed an executives at Sony and Canon image stabilization or a bigger features like an optical zoom or daydreamer's enthusiasm. To do
impulse buy in comparison. It was would likely say the same LCD—or hey, how about a image stabilization, adding that he something that ambitious, of
much easier to use, not only for thing—after all, their models have touchscreen! "We will always knows people love the Flip course, might require sacrificing
shooting video but also for far more features and often prioritize accessibility over because of how simple it makes some of that HD image quality.
uploading clips to the Internet. produce sharper images. But features," Fleming-Wood insists. recording and sharing video. "We No problem, as long as it's Good
And its pocketable size and Web- Fleming-Wood is using a different The increase in pixel count, he will never sacrifice that." Enough.
sharing abilities made video definition of "better." He now says, is simply the result of When he thinks about how the Senior editor Robert Capps(
available anytime, anywhere. The defines quality entirely in terms of Moore's law advances in chip Flip line will improve in the rcapps@wired.com) wrote about
Flip hit the Good Enough trifecta. ease of use—how easy it is to speed and storage capacity, not a future, Fleming-Wood envisions Judd Apatow in issue 15.06.
When asked why he thinks the shoot and share the video. "The signal that Pure Digital is adding features that will make the
Internet News Record
The Future of the Facebook iPhone
App, According to the Man Who
Made It
By Marshall Kirkpatrick
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 7:29:59 PM
Apple approved the first update
to the Facebook app on the iPhone
in almost a year yesterday and it
was a huge hit. The app was built
by Joe Hewitt, whose previous
work includes the co-creation of
Firefox with Blake Ross. With 12
million downloads, Facebook's
app was the 2nd most popular free
app on the iPhone platform in
2008 behind Pandora.
I spoke with Hewitt yesterday
on the BadHairDay podcast and
the following are three three
features he identified as next steps
on the app's roadmap.
Sponsor
Contact list synchronization
between your Facebook friends
list and your phone's contact
list."It's a Terms of Service thing
more than a technical limitation,"
Hewitt said.
Push notifications."We are
working on push," Hewitt said
last night. "I plan to have it in the
next major update, the 3.1. It will
be the same kind of notifications
you get on the website. I probably
won't right off the bat give you
chat notifications. If you've ever
used Facebook's SMS
notifications, you can have pretty
granular control and it will be the
same level of notification in terms
of whose notifications you see
and what categories you see."
Saved, site-wide search. On the
Facebook website you can now
search across public updates and
other items beyond just friends
and pages. You can't do that on
the mobile app yet. "I hope but I
can't promise to get that into the
3.1 update," Hewitt said. "We're
still working on getting that into
the API. I'm also hoping to let you
save a search to your home
screen."
Saved search icons on the
beautiful new home screen?
Granular control over push
notification delivery so you can
get immediate news of just your
most important updates?
Automatic contact synching so
your friends' Facebook avatars
appear when they call you on the
phone?
Those sound like great features.
We're excited to see them
implemented with the same
attention to user experience that
this latest update showed.
What would you like to see on
the roadmap of the Facebook app
on the iPhone? Discuss
Tech News/ Tech Reviews 57
Apple, AT&T face yet
another iPhone MMS
lawsuit
(CNET News.com) announced on June 8, during
Submitted at 8/29/2009 3:44:00 PM Apple's Worldwide Developers
Conference keynote that MMS
For at least the third time this would not be available until later
month, Apple and AT&T are in the summer. AT&T confirmed
b e i n g s u e d b y a c o n s u m e r that time frame to Wired on
complaining of being duped into Friday.
believing that multimedia "We absolutely will offer MMS
messaging, or MMS, was already on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G
available on the iPhone. with 3.0 upgrades in late summer,
Filed in the Northern District of once we complete some system
Ohio on Wednesday ( PDF hosted upgrades that will ensure our
by Wired), plaintiff Deborah Carr c u s t o m e r s h a v e t h e b e s t
says Apple and AT&T misled the experience with MMS," an AT&T
public into believing that the representative said in a statement
iPhone 3GS was capable of cited by Wired.
sending and receiving MMS Carr's lawsuit does admit that
messages on the device. The Apple has a notice on its Web site
lawsuit claims that Apple's "print explaining that support for MMS
and video advertisements...on would be available from AT&T in
television, the Internet, the radio, late summer. However, the suit
newspapers, and direct mailers" characterizes the note as a
all mention the availability of "mouseprint disclaimer," referring
MMS on the device. to the small print.
Two similar cases--one in Technically, Apple has enabled
Illinois and another in Louisiana-- MMS in iPhone OS 3.0. The
were also filed against the proof is that 29 carriers around the
companies in August. world activated MMS on the
According to the latest lawsuit, iPhone when the new operating
first reported b y system was released on June 17.
InformationWeek, customers It's not available in the United
were told that MMS would be States because AT&T isn't ready
enabled on June 17, 2009, when to activate it yet, which was
iPhone OS 3.0 was released. disclosed on June 8.
That seems rather strange,
considering that Apple and AT&T
58 Tech Tips/ Tech Reviews Internet News Record

Apple says it's not to

blame for 'exploding'
This Week's Top Downloads iPhones
(CNET News.com) internal investigation, saying,
[Download Roundup] Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:39:58 PM

Apple's iPhone may be the

"We are waiting to receive the
iPhones from the customers."
As part of its investigation,
(Lifehacker) License Keys for Minimal Gmail, Google Reader darling of the mobile-phone Apple also looked into complaints
Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:00:00 PM B a c k u p ( W i n d o w s ) Tabs(Firefox) Last week we industry right now, but some users of the iPhone battery overheating
LicenseCrawler is a portable and showed you how to set up space- in France aren't singing its but again said it found no
• "Vacuum Places Improved" free tool for retrieving serial saving, permanent Gmail and praises, claiming that the device
Speeds Up Firefox with a Click of numbers and product keys from problems. "To date, there are no
Google Reader tabs in Firefox, a explodes or cracks without confirmed battery-overheating
Your Mouse(Firefox) On Monday your computer. A simple scan process requiring four Firefox warning.
we showed you how to speed up with LicenseCrawler ensures incidents for iPhone 3GS, and the
extensions to get up and running. However, after conducting an number of reports we are
Firefox by vacuuming your you'll never be left trying to Now it's a touch easier. internal investigation into the
fragmented database regularly reinstall software without the investigating is in the single
• Process Hacker is a Powerful cause of the broken touch-screen digits," according to the
using a copy-and-paste Error proper key. Task Manager Clone(Windows) glass, Apple denies that there is
Console command. Sounds like a statement.
• ChromePlus Is an IE-Tab and System information utility an underlying iPhone flaw. In The investigation's findings
pain, right? Vacuum Places M o u s e - G e s t u r e S p o r t i n g Process Hacker is an open-source, fact, Apple said that in all cases it
Improved handles it for you with C h r o m i u m B u i l d ( W i n d o w s ) don't mean much to France's
portable task manager clone with investigated, some kind of force Frank Benoiton, a consumer who
a mouse click. We're still waiting for serious loads of powerful features. was applied to the iPhone, causing
• OfficeTab Adds Tabs to extensions to hit the still-young said his wife's iPhone cracked,
• Notalon Helps You Take the glass to break, according to a and it "was not dropped and
Microsoft Office(Windows) Google Chrome browser, but if C o r n e l l - S t y l e BBC report Friday.
Windows only: Microsoft Office you're dying for more advanced experienced no unusual shock,"
Notes(Windows/Mac/Linux) If "The iPhones with broken glass he told the Associated Press.
plug-in OfficeTab adds tabbed Chrome functionality-like mouse our talk about Cornell-style note that we have analyzed to date
document support to Excel, Word, gestures, link dragging, IE tabs, France's trade minister declined
taking caught your eye and you show that in all cases, the glass to comment on a meeting with
and PowerPoint-one can only etc.-a tweaked Chrome build wished there was an easy to use cracked due to an external force
wonder why Microsoft doesn't called ChromePlus is worth a Apple about an investigation that
application for taking them, you'll that was applied to the iPhone," the country's consumer protection
include this feature by default. look. want to check out Notalon. Apple said in a statement cited by
• Stellarium Turns Your agency is conducting into the
• Import Facebook Phone • Get a Better Android the BBC. reports, according to Bloomberg.
C o m p u t e r S c r e e n i n t o a Numbers into Your Google Keyboard, No Rooting Last Tuesday, in response to a
Planetarium(Windows/Mac/Linux Contacts(Google Sync) Android The European Commission also
Required(Android) We listed a European Commission issued a warning using its rapid-
) Whether you're a die-hard users, iPhone users (anyone using reconfigured HTC Hero investigation into accusations of
astronomy buff or someone who'd Google Sync, in fact), and Google alert system, Rapex, which warns
virtual/"soft" keyboard as one of overheating and exploding of dangerous consumer products.
j u s t l i k e a n i d e a o f w h a t Contacts users in general with five great reasons to root your iPhones, Apple referred to its
c o n s t e l l a t i o n s a r e w h e r e , Facebook friends who list their Android phone, but reader Dana
Stellarium is a fantastic tool for phone number in their profiles points out a way to get that easier-
viewing the night sky from the will love this: to-type keyboard without having
comfort of your home. • Icon-Only PermaTabs to lightly hack your phone.
• LicenseCrawler Retrieves Collection Streamlines Your
Internet News Record
Use a Tea Bag to Freshen Small
Spaces [Clever Uses]
By Jason Fitzpatrick
(Lifehacker)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 1:00:00 PM
Need to freshen a small space
without a can of Lysol handy?
Don't buy over priced sachets and
fresheners—just grab a fragrant
tea bag.
The aisles of your local grocery
have all sorts of scented candles,
sprays, sachets of scented
material, and other items to mask
smells and fresh areas in your
home. Why spend money on over-
priced and chemical-laden scents?
While traveling, writers for the
home-centric blog Apartment
Therapy discovered a simple air-
freshening hack:
Yesterday we were flying back
to LA from Seattle and had to
take a series of smaller airplanes
with just the one compact
bathroom in the back. Normally
these get pretty...stuffy early on in
the flight and the people sitting
close to it definitely have a worse
flight. But on one of the flights we
noticed that upon entering the
bathroom it smelled kind of nice,
but not like an air freshener, it just
smelled pleasant. Shutting the
door, we realized what it was.
There, hanging on the back of
the door were 4 tea bags (Good
Earth Spiced Tea to be exact).
Because of the spices they held, it
filled the tiny space with a natural
aroma that wasn't overpowering
but just enough to absorb/mask
the other smells. One of the flight
attendants must have put the tea
bags there to make it more
pleasant for everyone. We loved
how simple a solution it was using
what they probably already had
on hand. We plan to raid our tea
drawer and try out some mint or
chai tea in a hall closet or our own
bathroom.
Tea is cheap, the scent of most
tea is mild and pleasant, and you
can easily refresh your little tea-
bag sachet by tossing it and
putting a new one in or with a
drop or two of essential oil.
Have a trick of your own for
freshening up small spaces around
the home? Let's hear about it in
the comments below. Instant Air
Freshener For Small Spaces
Tech Tips/ Apple 59
Apple Warns of
Programs Snow Leopard
Won’t Play Nice With
By Darrell Etherington
(TheAppleBlog)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 10:00:27 AM programs that Snow Leopard will
prevent from opening, though
In order to prepare for the arrival they will remain in their usual
of Snow Leopard, and hopefully location on your drive. Oddly
deflect some frustrated tech enough, two of Apple’s own
support calls, Apple overnight software offerings appear on this
u p d a t e d o o d l e s o f s u p p o r t list. Here are the most popular
documents and knowledge base offenders:
articles. One of said documents • Aperture 2.1.1 and below
could be vital to people looking to • Keynote 2.0.2 and below
upgrade today, as it contains the • Parallels Desktop 3.0
blacklist of really incompatible • EyeTV 3.0.0 to 3.1.0
software for 10.6. • Ratatouille 1.1
The list is split into two parts. I’ve only posted some of the
The first, which features software programs on the list, which will
that will be automatically moved probably be updated by Apple as
to an “Incompatible Software” n e w i n c o m p a t i b i l i t i e s a r e
folder, contains some familiar discovered. Note that Apple’s not
faces, like Unsanity’s Application saying these programs will break
Enhancer 2.0.1 and earlier, or prevent a Snow Leopard install,
versions of which caused a fair just that they most definitely will
amount of BSOD (including one not work with 10.6. If I happened
of my own) when users upgraded to have any of these currently
from Tiger to Leopard. At least installed on my system, I’d
your system won’t just seize up probably do my best to get rid of
and die this time around. Other a n y t r a c e o f t h e m u s i n g
programs on this list include: AppZapper or something similar
• Parallels Desktop 2.5 and before upgrading, just in case.
below Hurry! GigaOM's Mobilize
• AT&T’s Laptop Connect Card conference is on Sept 10th in SF.
(1.0.4, 1.0.5, and 1.10.0) See our final speaker lineup and
• Norton AntiVirus 11.0 topics. Mobile web is booming.
• launch2net 2.13.0 (for some 3G Join us!
USB dongles)
The second part contains
60 Tech Reviews Internet News Record

More questions than answers on Google Books

(CNET News.com) protected books for which it the University of Michigan, are
Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:19:00 PM doesn't have an explicit agreement also fully on board.
with the rights holders. If the But taking Google at its word
BERKELEY, Calif.--Google's settlement is approved, Google requires trust, and trust in
D a n C l a n c y h a d p a t i e n t l y will suddenly flip a switch and corporations is in short supply at
answered question after question offer full-text searches of those this point in American history. It's
regarding Google's' Book Search b o o k s , a s w e l l a s l i n k s t o taken perhaps longer than it
settlement with publishers and b o o k s t o r e s . should have, but Google is
authors until late in the afternoon Nothing vexes Google's gradually realizing that a fair
Friday, when he was finally left opponents more than the fact that portion of the public no longer
speechless. the company assumed that it had sees it as a cute little Silicon
A y o u n g m a n f r o m t h e the right to digitize nearly 100 Valley start-up with idealistic
University of California at years of written material without stars in its eyes, one that insists "
Berkeley's School of Information serious negotiations with those you can make money without
asked Clancy what kind of rights holders until it was sued. doing evil."
message was sent when Google Authors have until Friday to Google damaged that trust when
decided to "copy first and answer decide if they want to opt out of it began scanning books without
questions later." The question--for the settlement and preserve the permission, arguing that it was
which there's no safe answer, if right to sue Google on their own allowed to do so under fair-use
you're in Clancy's shoes--perhaps for digitizing their book without Google's Hal Varian told me last duplicate Google's efforts is laws. Publishers and author
underscored the core of the their permission, though they can month that one area that does limited. groups also harmed that trust
opposition to the settlement, tell Google to remove their books seem to increasingly benefit from Clancy declined to say how when they turned over the key to
reached in October, after Google from the Book Search archive, scale is translation: the more much Google has spent on the castle by bringing the lawsuit
was sued in 2005 for scanning out even if they remain in the class. copies of bilingual books that scanning books, but the Internet as a class action, suddenly making
-of-print works without explicit Everyone agrees that a Google has access to, the more it Archive spends about $30 for plaintiffs out of millions of
permission. searchable digital library of out-of can perfect its translation each book scanned. If Google's authors who did not necessarily
Google's Dan Clancy is charged -print books would be a very algorithm. costs are similar, that's $300 appreciate the future value of
with defending Google's position valuable asset for the world. As "The value of the book as data is million and counting; there are digital books in 2005, nor
before opponents of its book any owner of an e-book reader greater than value of the book about 23 million books in the authorize the negotiation of the
search settlement.(Credit: Tom such as Amazon.com's Kindle itself," said Peter Brantley, WorldCat database. Microsoft rights to their works.
Krazit/CNET) will tell you, the way we think director of the Internet Archive folded its book-scanning project, By the time the young man
If the class action settlement is about books is changing. and perhaps the most vocal critic once it realized that Google was caught Clancy off guard, he was
approved, Google stands to gain Think about it: libraries offer of the settlement. And who will aggressively going after that understandably drained from a
control of a priceless asset. Jason tons of out-of-print books, so it's control access to a valuable group market, said Tom Leonard, the long day spent under hot lights
Schultz, acting director of UC not like the collective knowledge of books? A for-profit head librarian at UC Berkeley, fielding questions, and at least one
Berkeley's Samuelson Law, of those books is inaccessible. Yet corporation, which, by the way, which had been part of a book- diatribe, from passionate
Technology, and Public Policy that knowledge exists in millions paid just $125 million for the scanning partnership with academics and activists.
Clinic, called it "the largest of hard-bound individual silos. license to that information. It paid Microsoft. The thing is, it's a fair question:
copyright-licensing deal in U.S. What if we could make all that $1.65 billion for YouTube. This is what frustrates Google, Google has the financial resources
history:" the right to display the knowledge instantly accessible Google likes to say that anyone to a certain extent: everyone and collective intelligence to do
contents of out-of-print books that from anywhere in the world? And can cut deals with the Book agrees that digital access to books nearly anything it wants in the
are still covered by copyright m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , w h a t i f Rights Registry, the nonprofit is important, yet no one else is world. Where will Google turn its
protection. researchers have the ability to organization set up after the willing or capable of doing it. information vacuum next? Will it
Google, however, has already analyze it? settlement to handle payments to And Google insists that it will be ask permission first?
scanned more than 10 million Amazing gains could be made right holders, to get similar access a fair steward of the material: the
books. At the moment, it's not in fields like linguistics. In to out-of-print yet in-copyright European Commission has backed
allowed to display more than a dismissing arguments that scale books. The thing is, the number of Google's efforts, and several
f e w s n i p p e t s o f c o p y r i g h t - makes a search engine better, organizations that can afford to university libraries, such as that of
Internet News Record Tech Reviews TV Sports 61

When the Apple tablet comes out, are Leno's new show to feature
you in?
(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 4:00:00 AM
The gadget industry is waiting in
suspense, wondering if you're
going to buy an Apple tablet.
Because if you do, they're going
to flip the production-line on
switch.
The ultra-thin MacBook Air
exudes some of the aspects of an
expected Apple tablet, according
to one analyst(Credit: Apple)
Apple has a knack for creating
new categories of devices. The
iPhone arguably created the high-
end smartphone segment and the
design was parroted by dozens of
device makers and carriers. The
MacBook Air inspired the
ultrathin laptop category.
The expected--and highly-
anticipated--Apple tablet would
do the same. Manufacturing
companies in Asia are eager to
find a new category of devices to
fill up their factories, according to
an analyst I spoke with recently
who monitors these things.
I will make an exception--which
I almost never do--and not
identify the analyst. He claims to
have seen a prototype of the
Apple tablet and would prefer not
to be identified. (Yeah, I know,
more than a few analysts claim
they have seen the furtive device.
musical guest mashups
But I will go out on a limb and
say I trust him. He claims the
MacBook Air has some of the
aesthetic qualities of the tablet.)
The point is that many Asia-
based manufacturers would be
quite pleased if the Apple tablet
was a success and, as a result,
ushered in a new device category.
Needless to say, companies like
Dell, Sony, and Acer would
quickly follow suit if consumers
started snapping up boatloads of
Apple tablets.
But Apple will stay above the
fray, according to this analyst,
offering a device that's very thin,
light--and expensive. In other
words, don't expect Apple to
bring out a $199 tablet, as you
may see from other companies
that market a media pad-type
device. Apple won't be bashful
about charging well over $500.
Competing devices will vary
widely. My prediction is that the
market outside of an Apple-
branded tablet will not be a
Windows-Intel enclave. Like cell
phones and media players, many
tablet devices will likely be
offered by carriers and device
makers using the ubiquitous ARM
processor that runs operating
systems like Google's Android or
the upcoming Chrome OS.
Why ARM chips? They're
cheap, very power efficient
(necessary for all-day battery
life), and have enough
horsepower to make a tablet
experience compelling. Texas
Instruments, Qualcomm,
Samsung, and Nvidia are either
offering chips now--or are slated
to bring out silicon next year--that
can easily scale up from
smartphones to larger devices like
tablets or media pads.
What's that? Don't think you
would buy one? Don't think a
tablet fills a market need? Get
back to me a year from now when
you have a sudden epiphany and
find yourself in an Apple Store or
Best Buy eying one as an essential
adjunct to your inner circle of
gadgets.
By Mike Moody (TV Squad)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 10:22:00 AM
Anyone out there genuinely
looking forward to The Jay Leno
Show? Anyone?
Like most Squadders, I'm not
too thrilled with NBC's decision
to hand over the nightly 10 p.m.
timeslot to Leno, leaving less
room on the sked for scripted
dramas. The thought of watching
Leno's incredibly bland stand-up
routine and more "Jaywalking"
segments in prime time doesn't
really appeal to me. But I might
just tune in, at least for a few
minutes every night, to check out
the show's musical segments.
Leno says he plans to showcase
interesting musical groupings artists and hitmakers - I don't
think we'll see people like Mos
when the show kicks off Sept. 14.
Up first will be Jay-Z with Def and The Silversun Pickups
sharing NBC's stage anytime soon
superstars Rihanna and Kanye
West. On Sept. 17, Leno will - but I'm looking forward to
seeing who else gets booked to
feature guitar legend Eric Clapton
performing with Bruce Hornsby perform together.
Filed under: Other Comedy
and the Noisemakers. Clapton and
Hornsby will perform "Space is Shows, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Permalink| Email this| |
the Place," a song from Hornsby's
new album. Comments
Leno's musical segments will
probably only feature mainstream

Michigan Players Allege Rules Violations by Rich Rodriguez

By Bruce Ciskie (FanHouse)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 10:30:00 AM
by Bruce Ciskie
Filed under: Michigan, Big 10
The NCAA has limits on the
number of hours players can be
required to do work within their
given sport. These limits are
designed to retain the perception
that student-athletes are purely
students first. They are rules some
fans assume are regularly broken
by big-time programs.
If a group of current and former
Michigan players have their way,
football coach Rich Rodriguez is
done getting away with allegedly
breaking these rules. The Detroit
Free Press has all the details.
Michigan Players Allege Rules
Violations by Rich Rodriguez
originally appeared on Fanhouse
NCAA Football Blog on Sun, 30
Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST . Please
see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Linking
Blogs| Comments
62 Tech Reviews TV
Report: Wolfram Alpha to offer API Todd McFarlane will be
for data feeds bringing back animated
(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 2:17:00 PM
SF weather(Credit: Screenshot
by Dave Rosenberg/CNET)
Wolfram Alpha, the
"computational knowledge
engine" developed by
Mathematica, will soon allow its
dynamic search results to be
queried and mashed up in a
variety of new ways.
According to the Guardian,
Wolfram will be opening its
curated data to be queried via an
application programming
interface, or API. Currently, you
can view results in a browser,
export them as a PDF, or "play"
them using a Mathematica plug-
in. The ability to use the data on
other sites and for other means,
such as computations in
spreadsheets, is appealing, if not
earth-shattering.
Wolfram's launch fanfare was
followed by much confusion
about what Wolfram actually is.
One thing that's clear is that the
service has an impressive amount
of data. What's not clear is if and
when it will ever make money.
APIs are at least a good start in
relation to monetization--holding
the Alpha data captive within its
site meant that it would never go
beyond its own traffic, a recipe
for disappointment and counter to
the link economy that has been
built around sites like Twitter.
In today's socialized Internet,
APIs to your data are the barrier
(or door) to getting users hooked
on your data. Regardless of
whether through an API that
controls a cloud service like
Amazon Simple Storage Service
(S3), or the ability to get
communications in and out of
Facebook, users want to consume
data in the way they feel most
comfortable. Any company that
creates or aggregates data needs
to make it available, if it expects
to ever hit critical mass.
CNET News' Tom Krazit
recently wrote about a licensing
deal between Microsoft's Bing
"decision engine" and Wolfram
Alpha (two non-search engines
join up to create a super search
engine?) that "allows Bing to
present some of the specialized
scientific and computational
Internet News Record
Spawn?
By Brad Trechak (TV Squad)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 8:46:00 AM
According to its creator Todd
McFarlane (via his Twitter
account), an animated version of
his comic book anti-hero Spawn
will be returning to the airwaves
in 2010. Spawn last had an
animated version on HBO in 1997
(and it had adult content such as
nudity, profanity and violence to
boot).
Honestly, other than a few cult
followers of the comic book, has
anybody even heard of Spawn
anymore? The character pretty
much jumped out of the
mainstream once the experiment
that was Image Comics failed.
Yes, I know Image is still around
animated series does return (or get
and the creators are still involved a reboot), it would be best served
with it, but it was intended as an
on Adult Swim (or one of the pay
experiment to see if comic book channels that would let it go
content that Wolfram Alpha creators could run a business as a
generates." uncensored).
collective. Most of the founders Filed under: OpEd, Animation,
If Microsoft is serious about spun off into their own companies
taking on Google's geek factor, and it failed. Reality-Free
and asserting its dominant Permalink| Email this| |
Spawn is too adult of a Comments
position in spreadsheets and character to ever reach the
higher education as Bing grows, mainstream anyway. It can't really
then the data from Wolfram adds be marketed to children. If the
a new dimension. From the
consumer perspective, the more
informed the data is, the better,
but both Bing and Alpha have a
long way to go to catch up to
Google.
Follow me on Twitter @
daveofdoom.
Internet News Record Apple 63

Snow Leopard: A Brief Introduction to the New Big Cat

By Darrell Etherington surprisingly fast, taking less than still does things the old-fashioned to list them all here, or to uncover
(TheAppleBlog) an hour start to finish. Apple has way, though I’m not sure why them all after spending such a
Submitted at 8/28/2009 12:00:34 PM streamlined the installation anyone would voluntarily use Fan short amount of time with the OS.
process by removing a lot of mode with Stacks anyway. Among my favorite early
I’m now running OS X 10.5.6 on drivers that used to be packaged Finder and Preview discoveries is the new naming
two of my three eligible Macs (the with the OS, since Snow Leopard A few little things really up scheme for screenshots. Gone are
fourth is a 12-inch PowerBook is programmed to go to the web to Finder’s game in Snow Leopard. the “Photo 1,” “Photo 2,” etc. that
G4), and so far, I couldn’t be find those later if and when There’s an icon size slider in the tell you absolutely nothing.
happier. I haven’t run into any t h e y ’ r e r e q u i r e d . S y s t e m bottom right-hand corner of every Instead, images are now labeled
nasty compatibility issues or P e r f o r m a n c e finder window, which is great “Screen Shot,” complete with the
really disastrous bugs (although The best comparison I can make news for universal access, and for date and time they were taken
F i n d e r o n c e a u t o - q u i t a n d in order to describe the general people like me who often have to underneath.
restarted when I was fiddling with s y s t e m performance “Share” menu that allows you to take application icon screenshots. Another nice touch is always
the menu bar), and general system enhancements Snow Leopard upload your movie directly to There’s also advanced icon having System Preferences
performance seems noticeably b r i n g s t o t h e t a b l e i s m y y o u r M o b i l e M e g a l l e r y o r viewing in Finder which allows accessible from the dock, even
improved. experience of moving from the YouTube, or to export to an you to preview movies and scroll when the SysPref app itself isn’t
All that said, if you’re looking iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS. iTunes-friendly format. Selecting through PDFs without even actually open. In Leopard, you
for big flashy changes, look Everything felt faster, tighter and the iTunes option brings up a activating live preview. could set your System Preferences
elsewhere. Snow Leopard is more responsive. My Macs dialog with three conversion Preview itself gets some great to open and auto-hide at startup,
exactly what Apple said it was all running 10.6 feel the same. options, allowing you to format usability enhancements, such as and then with a right click on the
along: a nice collection of system Initial boot-up times are t h e m o v i e f o r u s e o n a n better, more accessible screenshot icon in your dock, access all the
refinements and improvements, improved on both my MacBook iPhone/iPod, an Apple TV or just and import options and soft preference sub-menus quickly and
with a few experience-enhancing Pro and my Mac mini, albeit by for general computer use. Export preview using any available easily. Snow Leopard takes away
features thrown in for good only nominal amounts, but once and trim functions are also system color profiles. You can the first step, so that right-clicking
measure. Installation you’re actually up and running, available from the playback also preview a wider range of on the Preferences icon always
OS X users will find the the response times in Finder, control overlay. documents, even if you don’t have brings up that sub-menu.
installation process very much Exposé, Stacks and all bundled Exposé and Stacks the software that created it on Finally, Core Location tech will
simplified. For advanced users, system applications is markedly Two features that have become your system. That includes Word automatically update your time
probably too much so, in fact. improved. Launch times for non- inseparable from my daily Mac and Excel files. Exchange Support zone based on nearby Wi-Fi
Running the installer from the Apple apps doesn’t seem to be experience are Exposé and Stacks. For you business-types out hotspots it detects, so if you travel
Snow Leopard disc off of your much better, nor does in-app Exposé gets a major usability there, one of the big features of a lot, you won’t have to worry
desktop gives you only one install performance, but it may take time boost thanks to the inclusion of S n o w L e o p a r d i s b u i l t - i n about constantly switching your
option: a simple upgrade. In the for developers to incorporate code Dock access. Under both “All Exchange support. This wasn’t computer clock.
interest of time, and because I was to take advantage of Grand Windows” and “Application one I could test out personally, Right now, Snow Leopard is
curious to see how well it would Central Dispatch and OpenCL Windows” views, you’ll be able but Exchange support in 10.6 like a treasure box with lots of
work, that’s the option I used on technology. Quicktime X to click on open apps in the dock extends to Mail, Address Book, little prizes to uncover. If you’re
my MacBook Pro, though I Aside from a cool icon update, as well as open windows — and iCal, so you no longer have to spending your Friday poking
generally prefer doing a clean Q u i c k t i m e X a l s o g e t s a helpful if you’ve hidden a depend on Entourage to get by. around and you’ve found anything
install with any major point OS completely overhauled UI, which program, or for changing the iCal even does fancy things like I’ve missed above, please share
change. puts much more focus on the active application without leaving detecting scheduling conflicts and with the rest of the class. Join our
To run a clean install, users can content. Videos are framed in a Exposé. suggesting alternate times first live online event, “Analyzing
boot from the Snow Leopard disc minimalist, borderless window Stacks are now much more depending on availability. The Google’s Mobile Strategy: A
by holding down “C” during that has only a dark control bar at functional, since you can scroll in best part? You’re doing it all GigaOM Pro Research
startup. From there, you can use the top, and a playback overlay. Grid view and navigate through w i t h o u t u s i n g W i n d o w s o r Roundtable” on Thursday, Aug.
Disk Utility to format your target Like iMovie ‘09 and iPhoto ‘09 subfolders instead of having to Outlook. Lots of Little Things 27, at 10 a.m. (PST). Sign up for
drive and perform a fresh install. before it, Quicktime X is now click through to Finder. Fan view Snow Leopard brings so many our free webinar.
I n s t a l l a t i o n t i m e w a s more social thanks to a new little changes that it’s impossible
64 Apple
Does Intuitive + Easy = Dumb and Dumber?
By Liam Cassidy
(TheAppleBlog)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 8:00:30 AM
There is a problem with making
technology – particularly
computers – easy to use. The
simpler and more foolproof they
become, the less technically-
proficient users tend to be.
There’s that line from Rick
Cook’s 1989 book The Wizardy
Compiled; “Programming today is
a race between software engineers
striving to build bigger and better
idiot-proof programs, and the
Universe trying to produce bigger
and better idiots. So far, the
Universe is winning.”
Apple has made usability and
user-experience a core part of the
design philosophy in everything
they produce (Well, almost
everything. That’s right, I’m
looking at you, MobileMe web
apps). Mac OS X and, more
obviously, the iPhone OS are
shining beacons of the right way
to design user-friendly,
accessible, easy-to-use software.
What’s a Manual?
Did you need to read a manual
when you got your first iPhone?
Or how about your first iPod?
Even the least technically
proficient people I know own
such devices and they never once
cracked-open the “Getting
Started” booklet. These are the
same people, it should be noted,
who bought copies of “Windows
XP For Dummies” because they
considered that OS too difficult to
learn and use without a printed
guide to-hand.
The iPhone is probably the
ultimate user-friendly computer
(though not the most accessible,
but that’s a different matter). My
neighbor’s six-year old son once
took my iPhone from my hands
and brandished it proudly to his
friends, announcing “I’ve seen
these on TV”. He then
demonstrated to his impressed
buddies, with absolute
confidence, “This is how you take
photos… this is how you play
music…”
For a six year old with no
previous experience of an iPhone
other than what he had seen on
television commercials, he was
surprisingly adept with the thing. I
doubt he could have been quite so
confident (or impressed) with a
Windows Mobile phone or, even
worse, a Motorola. By the
Numbers
A recent article on MacRumors
reported analysts’ predictions that
Apple is expected to sell more
than 80 million iPhones in 2012.
Of course that’s not the same as
80 million iPhone users, but it’s
still a mammoth user-base. If
we’re to assume an OS
convergence across iPhones and
iPods (and maybe tablets, too?) in
the next three years, we can easily
assume a few hundred million
people all over the world owning
Mac OS X-powered devices that
are super-easy to use despite their
many and varied forms and
functions. A Nightmarish Tale
The end result? Well, in the
world of desktop computers the
drive toward user-friendliness has
today produced legions of end-
users who know how to send an
email but don’t know the
difference between POP3 and
IMAP; users that practically live
on Facebook but can’t tell you if
they’re using Firefox or Internet
Explorer to get there. Users that –
and I have personally experienced
this during years of providing
technical support to friends and
family – can’t even tell you what
Operating System they’re using;
Liam: What Operating System
are you using?
Friend: What’s that? Is it the
Internet? I use Google.
Liam: No, I mean… [thinks]…
The thing you see when you turn
your computer on.
Friend: I don’t see anything.
Liam: Well, you ought to see
something. It’ll probably say
‘Microsoft’ or ‘Windows
something-or-other’…
Friend: Where should it say
that? Do I have to click on
something?
…and so on.
I’ve had these conversations
(yes, exactly these sorts of
conversations, I’m not
exaggerating) with otherwise very
smart, very well-informed
individuals. University lecturers,
engineers, lawyers and doctors are
all categories of end-user I have
helped and who have all
responded precisely in that
stumbling, bewildered manner.
A telling point; I’ve never had
to provide tech support to fellow
Mac users. Sure, I’ve shared hints
and tips and recommended cool
software. But no Mac owner I
know has yet asked me how to
find their trash folder, email a
photo or connect to their wireless
router. (All examples of common
issues my Windows-using friends
have shared.) The Death of
Technical Proficiency?
These people are not dumb,
they’re simply computer illiterate.
When I was in high school in the
early 90’s, there was a lot of talk
about the importance of computer
literacy. Becoming computer
literate at that time meant learning
how to build your own network,
how to ping servers, how to patch,
bridge, daisy-chain and hack until
everything kinda-sorta-worked.
But this wasn’t the Reserved
Domain of the Geek. These were
Internet News Record
skills required of anyone who
wanted to use computers. Today,
the standard by which someone is
considered (generally) computer
literate has almost nothing to do
with technical proficiency, and
everything to do with throwing
sheep at friends on Facebook.
More than any other software or
hardware company, Apple has
removed the barriers to entry that,
when I was growing up, were
simply accepted landmarks in the
computer technology landscape.
The soon-to-be-released Snow
Leopard is the latest in a long
evolutionary line of carefully
researched and engineered efforts
at democratizing computer
technology – and all the potential
it unlocks for end-users.
For thirty years, in fact, Apple
has lead the way in creating
intuitive, user-friendly computer
technology. They’ve most
assuredly made the “ dent in the
universe” Steve Jobs spoke of.
But the more foolproof the
products become, as Rick Cook
warns, the greater the idiocy of
those who use them. I guess that
means there will always be a job
for a geek like me. But, really…
how much easier can it all get?
Hurry! GigaOM's Mobilize
conference is on Sept 10th in SF.
See our final speaker lineup and
topics. Mobile web is booming.
Join us!
Internet News Record
Weekly App Store Picks: Aug. 29, 2009
By Olly Farshi (TheAppleBlog)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 9:00:06 AM
Snow Leopard isn’t the only
exciting release this week, as ever
there are tons of new additions to
the App Store. Here are my top
picks from the week’s releases.
This week I’ve been looking at
iWound, Star6, Gangstar: West
Coast Hustle and Tasker.
iWound($4.99)
If I’m not in the mood for
gaming or tweeting, I tend to head
over to the ‘reading’ section of
my iPhone. Amongst others, I can
keep up with the latest global
happenings using the official New
York Times app, pore over the
pages of a classic book with
Kindle or jump headfirst into an
adventure with Comics. However,
there’s nothing there to sate my
creative appetite if I’m looking
for a little art, fashion,
architecture or design. Created by
Wound, this app presents the
perfect platter of visual creativity,
a feast for the eyes and
nourishment for your brain, all
packaged in digital magazine
form. The app’s current theme is
‘La Grande Illusion’, a concept
which manifests itself by
exploring awesome electro lady
Peaches, New York artist Amy
Bessone, London designer Marios
Schwab and David Rockwell,
award winning architect behind
the Kodak Theatre.
Star6($6.99)
It’s always a good week when a
new sound toy worthy of
recommending is released on
iPhone. While RjDj and Bloom
have the artistic sound-installation
side of things covered, Star6 has
arrived twirling its glow sticks
and stomping its feet — this is a
sound toy for folk who just want
to dance. The app packs in a stack
of samples, alongside an array of
different options for manipulating
the onslaught of audio. Although
you can upload and play with
your own samples, there are six
sample packs included, covering
hip hop, drum and bass, electro
and other mild headache-inducing
(yet sonically adorable) sound
effects. Those familiar with music
production and sound
manipulation will be pleased to
hear that there’s a granular
synthesis-powered audio engine,
allowing you to control pitch,
speed, gate, sample order and
randomness. However, even the
last sentence sounded like jargon
to you, you’ll still find it’s fun to
open the app, start tapping buttons
and see what kind of weird
rhythms you’re able to generate.
Gangstar: West Coast
Hustle($6.99)
A few months back Payback
was released for iPhone. The app
did a convincing enough
Apple 65
If you’re all about productivity
but you’ve got a hectic on-the-go
kinda lifestyle, Tasker may be just
the app for you. The app touts
itself as a “simple, yet powerful
task manager”, yet it’s so much
more than that. By keeping the
app’s focus solely on task lists,
the app’s designer, Scott Sykora,
has excelled in creating a task
manager that’s easy to use and
incredibly powerful. Tasks can be
ordered by date or place, allowing
you to drill-down to a specific day
and plan out your schedule on a
map, viewing and sorting tasks in
specific locations. As if that
wasn’t enough, task-entry has
impression of GTA 2 to warrant been refined into a fast, yet
recommending, however after effective process. There’s a
extended play it left me wanting variety of tools out there for
so much more. With the release of managing your tasks via the
the iPhone 3GS, games can now iPhone, Tasker is certainly worth
push previous technological considering for it’s simplicity and
boundaries even further. Gangstar potential effectiveness.
uses the iPhone’s usual touch ‘n’ That’s all for this week. I’ll be
t i l t i n t e r a c t i o n , b u t t a k e s back in seven days with more
advantage of the iPhone 3GS — a news from the week and picks
faster device that’s packing better from the App Store.
graphics than its predecessor. In the meantime, what apps
What results is the iPhone’s have you been using this week?
answer to GTA3: a fully 3D, free How will real-time change the
r o a m i n g , a u t o m o b i l e h e i s t enterprise? Find out at NewNet,
adventure. The game includes 50 GigaOM Pro's newest research
missions, an armory of weaponry, topic area.
and an entire city to cruise around
in — more than enough for a lazy
Sunday of iPhone gaming.
Tasker($2.99)
66 Apple TV Internet News Record

App Review: Keymote Makes As Lindsay Lohan ponders a

Shortcuts Even Easier reality show, I remember
By Chris Ryan (TheAppleBlog) missing, just tap the plus and add
it right alongside the rest.
when she had a career
Submitted at 8/28/2009 2:00:09 PM
The only thing to keep in mind
By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:32:00 PM
There are no shortage of iPhone is that you might find yourself
apps that function as remotes for using your phone more often than Do you remember the good old
your Mac, Apple TV, or just before. In case, my iPhone has days? The innocent times when
about anything else. become more of an auxiliary Lindsay Lohan was an up and
Keymote(iTunes link), by Iced keypad and so I needed to adjust coming young movie star. She
Cocoa, takes the concept to a new my sleep settings to keep my received critical acclaim for those
level by allowing custom phone awake. Additionally, early roles. She was beautiful and
“keysets” for all of your favorite Keymote requires the software voluptuous (and you know how
applications. you’re using be the active the kids love that!). Then she got
So why would anybody need an resides on the menu bar. Once application. This means if I call into drugs, drinking, partying,
app to do this when most apps you’ve paired the iPhone to your up Photoshop key commands and weighing less than 90 pounds, and
have keyboard shortcuts already? Mac from the app, you’re ready to create a new document, it invokes it all kind of fell apart. Since then,
Well the answer is simple if you roll. “Command+N.” If Photoshop she's cleaned up her act a bit.
consider the power of leveraging Keymote comes with several isn’t the active application, Which is great, Lindsay. But
the large screen on the iPhone. keysets out of the box but also “Command+N” will apply to Lindsay Lohan in a reality show?
When it launched sans a physical includes an in-app store that whichever app is active. The You do know what kind of
keyboard, Steve Jobs commented provides a larger wealth of free developers are aware of this celebrities appear in realty shows?
that it was a great idea to do away downloadable keysets for other limitation, and it’s something they Do you think Whitney Houston
with it, because there are times popular apps, all contributed by are working to address. and Britney Spears were at the
when you don’t need a full size users. Instantly download keysets track.
With a stylish user interface that heights of their careers when they Continue reading As Lindsay
keyboard. If you are typing in for Aperture, Adobe Illustrator, looks great not just on my iPhone, did their amazing stints in reality
numbers, it would be great to see Pages or any other app you use but as a “keypad” next to my Lohan ponders a reality show, I
television? remember when she had a career
l a r g e n u m b e r s i n s t e a d o f frequently. My favorite is the M a c , K e y m o t e i s a g r e a t Speaking of Brit-Brit, LiLo is
individual keys. Filed under: Other Reality
Numerical Keypad keyset which application for those whose working with her manager on the Shows, Industry, OpEd,
The same holds true for will help your stylish Apple regularly harness the power of project. Hopefully not the same
shortcuts. Why should I have to keyboard feel a little more shortcuts. Keymote is $3.99 and Celebrities, Celebreality
guy that helped develop Britney Permalink| Email this| |
press “Shift+Command+Delete” powerful. available for download on the & Kevin: Chaotic. The series is
to empty my trash when I could Comments
If there’s not a keyset for an App Store. If you’ve had the intended to follow Lohan as she
just use one button for that same application you like to use, feel chance to try it out, please share attempts to get her career back on
purpose? Keymote addresses this free to create your own and share your thoughts. Hurry! GigaOM's
usability blemish. it with others. If a particular Mobilize conference is on Sept
Keymote’s setup process is very keyset is not quite up to your 10th in SF. See our final speaker
simple and only requires that your standards, tap a key or spacer and lineup and topics. Mobile web is
iPhone and Mac share a Wi-Fi hold. Then you can just drag it to booming. Join us!
connection. Download the remote a better location. If a shortcut is
software on your Mac and it
Internet News Record
Marvel's Super Hero Squad
teaser site now live
By Mike Moody (TV Squad)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 8:04:00 AM
Being a big fan of Cartoon
Network's goofy Batman: The
Brave and the Bold, I'm really
looking forward to the debut of
Marvel's Super Hero Squad. The
show premieres Sept. 19 on
Cartoon Network, and Marvel has
already launched a teaser site
featuring a fun video preview that
could turn out to be the show's and MODOK.
opening montage.
Super Hero Squad is based on Super Hero Squad teaser site now b u r n i n g m a n : c a m p = [ c o d e ]
the toy line and video game of the live
same name. It features cute and
cuddly versions of Marvel heroes,
like Wolverine, Iron Man, and the P r o g r a m m i n g , A n i m a t i o n , b u r n i n g m a n : e v e n t = [ c o d e ]
Hulk, protecting Super Hero City
from a pint-sized Dr. Doom and Renewals, Reality-Free
other baby baddies. Judging by
the preview video, the show will Comments
even make room for kid-sized
versions of more obscure
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel
leaves game with apparent leg injury
By ESPN.com news services
(ESPN.com)
Submitted at 8/30/2009 12:24:14 AM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs
quarterback Matt Cassel left the
field favoring his left leg after
being sacked on the third play of
Kansas City's 14-10 preseason
loss to the Seattle Seahawks on
Saturday night. AFC West blog
ESPN.com's Bill Williamson
writes about all things AFC West
in his division blog.
• Blog network: NFL Nation
Burning Man Machine Tags
By Zack Sheppard (Flickr Blog)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 4:19:28 PM
(Updated to add information on
the art installation and event tags.)
For all of those going to
Burning Man this year, you can
now tag your photos on Flickr and
have them show up on the
Burning Man Earth pages for
theme camps, events, and art
installations.
characters like Fing Fang Foom How to:
It’s easy to do, the tag formats
are:
Continue reading Marvel's
• Theme camp:
• Art installation:
Filed under: Other Sci-
F i / S u p e r n a t u r a l S h o w s , burningman:art=[code]
• E v e n t :
Celebrities, Children, Pickups and
To get the codes just check out
Permalink| Email this| | the Burning Man Earth pages for
Cassel was injured the first time line breakdowns.
he dropped back to pass, dragged
down from behind by Brandon
He was supposed to play into
the third quarter against the
Mebane after the pocket
collapsed. Cassel called timeout,
Seahawks and show what he can
do with more of the playbook
then limped down the tunnel
toward the locker room with a left
available.
X-rays on Cassel's leg were
leg injury and didn't return. negative, but it's not clear if he
Signed to a a six-year, $63 will even be available for next
million contract in the offseason, week's preseason finale against St.
Cassel had a so-so first preseason Louis.
game against Houston, then spent The Chiefs haven't won any
last week's game against kind of game in nine months, a
Minnesota running for his life stretch that could continue to
because of numerous offensive grow if Cassel is out for an
Theme Camps, Art Installations,
and Events where your images
will soon appear. You can see the
codes at the end of the URLs and
on the page for each camp,
installation and event.
For Example:
If you have pictures of the
Center Camp Cafe and want to
share them with people visiting
that page on Burning Man Earth,
you would tag a photo:
burningman:camp=2399(see 2399
extended period.
"We just have to get over that
hump," said backup quarterback
Tyler Thigpen, who may have
hurt his chances of making the
team by going 8-for-15 for 56
yards. "We had three close games
that we could have won in the
fourth quarter. That was a hump
we couldn't get over last year and
it kind of carried over."
Information from The
Associated Press was used in this
report.
TV Picture Sports 67
in the URL for Center Camp
Cafe) After its tagged and
uploaded, the image should show
on the Burning Man page almost
immediately.
More info:
To learn more about the
Burning Man Earth project and all
the exciting things they are doing
with the new Burning Man API,
iPhone app, and more, check out
their site, this article at O'Reilly
Radar or visit their camp when
you get to the playa.
To learn more about machine
tags check out our FAQ.
And one last Burner's note,
when uploading and tagging your
pictures, please take a moment to
flag them with the appropriate
safety level as well. Have fun! :)
Photos from aeionic and
exuberance //.
NFL Watchers
Parse Vick’s Six
Preseason Plays
(WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)
Submitted at 8/28/2009 7:02:22 AM
It was only preseason football.
But for quarterback Michael Vick,
at least the focus was on the field
Thursday night. Associated Press
Michael Vick did this four times
NFL page 68
68 Game
NFL
continued from page 67
against the Jacksonville Jaguars
on Thursday night.
His appearance for the
Philadelphia Eagles was as short
as it was subdued: six plays, in
which he completed all four of his
pass attempts for 19 yards and
rushed once for a yard. He lined
up in the slot on another play.
More interesting was the reaction
of the crowd making its first
interactions with a player just
back from serving 18 months in
prison for his role in running a
dogfighting ring.
“If you were listening for cheers,
there were cheers, augmented by a
portion of the crowd that chose to
stand while delivering them,” the
Philadelphia Inquirer’s Bob Ford
writes. “If you were listening for
boos, there were some of those,
too, although not many by
Philadelphia standards and
definitely not many by dog-killing
felon standards. This was a
football crowd, after all, and it
came for playmaking not politics,
for spectacle not speeches.”
ESPN’s Matt Mosley thinks it
was wise for the Eagles to get
Vick into a meaningless
exhibition game so that if Vick is
reinstated by Week 6, there will
be less chance of a circus
atmosphere at his regular-season
debut.
CBS Sports’s Clark Judge
wasn’t impressed. He think the
Eagles’ attack suffered under
Vick and thrived under Donovan
McNabb. “I know, he hasn’t
played a game since December
2006, when he finished his career
with Atlanta in this stadium, and
he spent a year-and-a-half in
prison,” Judge writes. “But I
guess I expected more from him
and the Eagles. I guess I expected
Vick to play a complete series, or
most of a complete series, instead
of making cameos. I guess I
expected him to be more involved
in the Eagles’ red-zone offense,
too. But he wasn’t involved at
all.”
The Vick storyline was the only
reason Philadelphia’s 33-32 win
over Jacksonville merits a
mention in the Fix. Because, let’s
face it, preseason football has
about as much news value as
drying off at the beach with a wet
towel. Sports Illustrated’s Don
Banks gives five reasons why the
regular season should be
expanded. The Root’s Martin
Johnson, however, finds watching
the fourth quarter of exhibition
games fun.
Of bigger concern to the NFL
than the appeal of preseason
football is the likelihood of more
television blackouts this season
because the lagging economy may
decrease attendance, the
Washington Post’s Mark Maske
writes.
***
The Chicago Cubs have a $30-
million headache on their hands.
Right-fielder Milton Bradley,
whom they signed to a three-year
contract in the offseason, on
Wednesday alleged he’s been
taunted by racist chants at
Wrigley Field. (He didn’t provide
any examples.) Bradley, playing
for his seventh team in his 10-year
career, isn’t putting up the
numbers expected of someone
being paid such a handsome
salary. He’s batting only .255
after Thursday’s 0-for-5 effort
against Washington.
The Chicago Tribune’s Phil
Rogers urges general manager Jim
Hendry to release Bradley. “For a
variety of reasons, almost all of
his own making, Bradley has not
been a contributor for manager
Lou Piniella and the Cubs, at least
not in normal terms,” Rogers
writes. “You could count him —
and Hendry’s decision to get him
— as the leading contributor to
the epic 2009 disappointment.
And now, with his latest
comments creating an integrity
issue, he has to go.”
Tribune colleague Steve
Rosenbloom thinks Bradley might
be playing the race card to take
focus off his terrible season. “Was
Bradley’s statement about facing
hatred on a daily basis a vague but
severe venting only about being
booed for underachieving as a
baseball player?” Rosenbloom
blogs. “If Bradley can talk in
broad generalities, so can I. And
Cubs fans don’t seem to base their
boos [on] skin color.”
ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski
thinks there might be merit to
Bradley’s racism charge. “Just
because Wrigley Field security
says it is unaware of any reported
racial taunts directed toward
Bradley doesn’t mean they
haven’t happened,”
Wojciechowski writes. “It only
means nobody has complained
about them. It doesn’t take a leap
of faith to envision a scenario
where some overserved Bleacher
Bums go racial on Bradley.”
***
Enrique Oliu is just like
hundreds of color commentators.
Before games, he interviews
players and memorizes stats,
hometowns and other tidbits that
will make Tampa Bay Rays fans
tune into his Spanish-language
radio broadcasts. But he’s
different in one way: He’s blind.
The Los Angeles Times’s Kevin
Baxter has the story.
***
Motorcyclists know they can’t
repeal the laws of physics, but
they’ll test the limits this weekend
at the Red Bull Indianapolis
Grand Prix. While speeds hit 200
mph on straightaways, it’s on the
tight turns where racers show
their mettle on their motorcycles,
Phillip B. Wilson writes in the
Indianapolis Star.
***
The Sports Business Journal’s
Bill King notes that with so many
jobs lost at newspapers across
North America, sports coverage is
getting innovative, especially by
team Web sites.
– Tip of the Fix cap to reader
Don Hartline and fellow Fixer
David Roth.
Found a good column from the
world of sports? Don’t keep it to
yourself — write to us at
dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll
consider your find for inclusion in
the Daily Fix. You can email
Garey at ris84rap@gmail.com.
Internet News Record
Australia's PS3 Ultimate
Blu-ray Movie Kit is
only kind of ultimate
By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:00:00 PM
The word "Ultimate" really gets
thrown around a bit much in retail
circles -- for instance, in our
minds, the "Ultimate Blu-ray
Movie Kit" would possess every
Blu-ray movie ever made, a PS3
Slim, a machine that somehow
produced delicious sandwiches,
and a date with which to watch
the aforementioned films. The
date would also have to hate
sandwiches, because -- hey, hands
off, those are our sandwiches.
Sadly, Australia's recently
released "PS3 Ultimate Blu-ray
Movie Kit" doesn't include any of
those things -- rather, the $60
AUD (or $51 U.S.) bundle only
comes with a PS3 remote and two
films. Both of the two currently
available bundles come with 300,
but their second films vary -- one
includes 10,000 B.C., while the
other comes with Batman Begins.
If you're having a hard time
choosing between the two, then
you should probably get out of
our sight and never come back.
[Via Engadget]
Australia's PS3 Ultimate Blu-
ray Movie Kit is only kind of
ultimate originally appeared on
Joystiq on Sat, 29 Aug 2009
22:00:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
Internet News Record Sports 69

Report: Michigan football players Could Hakeem Nicks Save

allege NCAA violations the Giants From Brandon
By ESPN.com news services
(ESPN.com)
our sports."
One former player who started
about twice as many hours as the
allotted eight per week in the
Marshall?
Submitted at 8/29/2009 9:57:47 PM for Michigan last season told offseason. He asked strength By Dan Graziano (FanHouse)
ESPN Saturday night that the coaches why the workouts seemed Submitted at 8/30/2009 12:21:00 AM
DETROIT -- Several Michigan report was accurate. excessive and was told that some
football players claim the program The player, who asked not to be parts of the exercises, such as core by Dan Graziano
regularly violates NCAA rules identified for fear of repercussions work and injury prevention, were Filed under: Giants, NFL
limiting how much time they can from fans, said in-season Sundays not counted as required. Analysis EAST RUTHERFORD,
spend on training and practice at the football facility lasted from The player said the strength N.J. -- They may not yet have
sessions, according to a published 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., including a coach told him that the workout looked it this preseason, but the
report. one-hour lunch. That would be an plan had been approved by the Giants are good. As currently
Players from the 2008 and 2009 11-hour day. The NCAA daily NCAA. constructed, they must be counted
teams told the Detroit Free Press limit is four hours, the weekly Players told the Free Press that among the favorites in the NFC
for a story published on the limit 20. quality-control staff often when the season begins in two Saturday's game -- a game in
newspaper's Web site on Saturday The same player said required watched seven-on-seven weeks. Their biggest problem, which Steve Smith and Mario
that the amount of time they offseason workouts included three offseason scrimmages that are however, is the same one they had Manningham were dropping
spend on football activities during - h o u r l i f t s o n M o n d a y s , supposed to be voluntary and that last December -- their downfield passes left and right -- would have
the season and in the offseason Wednesdays and Fridays and two only training staff are allowed to deep threat is headed to prison gone down as another lost night if
greatly exceeds the limits. The hours of speed and agility on attend. and they don't seem to have not for the spectacular fourth-
players spoke to the newspaper on Tuesdays and Thursday. That's a The Free Press said five of the anybody on the roster with whom quarter performance of first-round
condition of anonymity because total of 13 hours; the NCAA limit 10 current or former players it to replace him. draft pick Hakeem Nicks.
they feared repercussions from i s e i g h t h o u r s o f r e q u i r e d interviewed gave similar accounts So soon after the Plaxico Could Hakeem Nicks Save the
coaches. workouts. of how the program is run and a Burress fiasco, the Giants don't Giants From Brandon Marshall?
Coach Rich Rodriguez and the This player said he would tell sixth player confirmed most of the necessarily want to pursue originally appeared on Fanhouse
university's compliance director, the Big Ten or NCAA what descriptions. Other players gave a disgruntled Denver receiver NFL Blog on Sun, 30 Aug 2009
Judy Van Horn, both denied that players were required to do and general idea of the program. None Brandon Marshall. But they 00:21:00 EST . Please see our
the football program was violating believes most of his former disputed the allegations, the haven't ruled it out either, and terms for use of feeds.
NCAA rules. teammates would, as well. newspaper said. how could they? You watch the Permalink| Email this| Linking
"We know the practice and A current member of the The players acknowledged they Giants play, and the deficiency is Blogs| Comments
offseason rules, and we stay Michigan football team, who has had signed forms stating NCAA obvious. They may well be one
within the guidelines. We follow started, also told ESPN his in- rules had been followed and had star receiver away from being a
the rules and have always been season Sundays at the football not told the university's Super Bowl team. Which is why
completely committed to being facility lasted from 10 a.m. to compliance department about
compliant with all NCAA rules," 9 : 3 0 p . m . , a l t h o u g h h e their concerns. One player told the
Rodriguez said in a written acknowledged the first two hours Free Press that athletes would get
statement to the newspaper. were spent in treatment, which is in trouble if they didn't sign.
Van Horn said her department not counted against the restricted ESPN's Joe Schad and The
conducts "in-person spot checks hours. Associated Press contributed to
of practice during the academic The player said this season this report.
year and summer. We have not players will be off on Sundays,
had any reason to self-report any practicing on Mondays.
violations in this area with any of The player said he worked out
70 Sports Internet News Record

New England Patriots coach Bill Starting Five: Rangers'

Belichick says quarterback Tom Brady Feldman Still Rolling on
not removed from game for injury Road
By Jeff Fletcher (FanHouse)
By Associated Press six times for 90 yards and both before." Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:00:00 AM
(ESPN.com) TDs as the Patriots beat the Belichick once listed Brady
Submitted at 8/29/2009 10:10:12 PM Redskins 27-24 on Stephen "probable" with a sore shoulder by Jeff Fletcher
Gostkowski's last-minute field on injury reports for several years Filed under: Cubs, Dodgers,
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- If goal. in a row, a practice that angered Giants, Rangers, Rockies, White
there's anything wrong with Tom On Brady's last play, he was opponents and led the NFL to Sox, Starting Five Starting Five is
Brady's throwing shoulder, New s m a s h e d t o t h e t u r f b y change its injury report our wrapup of the previous day's
England Patriots coach Bill Haynesworth after throwing an procedures. The NFL's current baseball action with a quick nod
Belichick isn't saying. incomplete third-down pass just media policy says: "Clubs must to what is ahead.
Belichick said Saturday that before the first two-minute ensure that all medical You Oughta Know ...
Brady came out of Friday night's warning. information issued to the media is That Scott Feldman is having a
game after a crushing hit from Brady was seen on the bench credible, responsible and specific big season for the Rangers,
Washington Redskins defensive flexing and rotating his right arm, in terms that are meaningful to especially on the road. Feldman
lineman Albert Haynesworth but when the other starters took teams, media and fans." beat the Twins, 3-0, on Saturday
because it was time for the the field for the first series of the Asked whether "sore shoulder" in Minnesota. Although Feldman
coaching staff to take a look at the third quarter, the two-time Super was specific enough to describe lasted just 5 2/3 innings, the
backups. He lumped any problem Bowl MVP was not among them. the injury, NFL spokesman Greg scoreless outing helped him
with Brady's right shoulder into He then left the sideline and Aiello said: "That is credible and improve to 10-1 with a 2.92 ERA
the category of normal "bumps returned to the locker room. specific information in on the road. Feldman has won his Statistics
and bruises" from a physical The team announced that he had compliance with our policy." last six road starts, equaling Adam Starting Five: Rangers' Feldman
game. AFC East blog a sore right shoulder. Brady missed most of last Wainwright for the longest streak Still Rolling on Road originally
ESPN.com's Tim Graham writes Brady did not speak to reporters season after he was injured in the in the majors this season. appeared on Fanhouse MLB Blog
about all things AFC East in his after the game. opener and had surgery to repair For the season, Feldman is 14-4 on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:00:00
division blog. Belichick said Saturday that he the ligaments in his left knee. His with a 3.72 ERA. He has a chance EST . Please see our terms for use
• Blog network: NFL Nation didn't have anything to add. health could be the sole difference to be the first Rangers pitcher to of feeds.
"I'm saying that we made the Asked whether Brady had an X- between whether the Patriots are win 15 games with an ERA below Permalink| Email this| Linking
d e c i s i o n t o p l a y o t h e r ray, Belichick said, "I'm not really Super Bowl contenders, like they 4.00 since Ken Hill went 16-10 Blogs| Comments
quarterbacks in the Washington comfortable getting into a public were when he led them to a 16-0 with a 3.63 ERA in 1996. More
game because we wanted them to diagnosis." record in 2007, or playoff also- Coverage: Scoreboard| Standings|
play," Belichick said in a "We played a physical game rans, like they were without him
conference call with reporters. against a really physical team," he last season.
"Tom had a desire to play, but said. "I'm sure after the game "You just know it's part of the
we made a football decision to there were a lot of guys who had game, and Tom's been through it
play other players because we bumps and bruises. That's pretty before," offensive lineman Matt
needed to see them at that position normal after a game like that." Light said Friday, "and you know
and make an evaluation there. Asked if Brady would be listed he can take it."
That's what I'm saying," he said. as "probable" if the regular-season Copyright 2009 by The
Brady completed 12-of-19 opener was next week, Belichick Associated Press
passes for 150 yards and two said, "We'll fill that report out
touchdowns, hitting Randy Moss when it comes. That's happened
Internet News Record Sports Game 71

The Count: Home, as Sweet as Any Is Stephen Jackson Headed for

Other Home Dallas?
By Tom Ziller (FanHouse)
(WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) much better at home one year tend Submitted at 8/30/2009 6:00:00 AM

Submitted at 8/28/2009 2:48:02 PM to maintain that pace the next

year? The answer was no. There by Tom Ziller
The Tampa Bay Rays and was only one exception — the Filed under: Mavericks,
Philadelphia Phillies are Colorado Rockies, who have by Warriors, NBA Rumors On
defending AL and NL champions, far the biggest home-field Friday, Warriors captain Stephen
respectively, and each team is advantage over the 11 years Jackson put himself on the trade
contending again for the playoffs. through last season (though it’s block. By late Saturday, dots were
But in one major respect they minuscule this year). “What this being connected, and Jackson was
differ markedly: The Rays play worse than that of the last-place means is that to analyze home- being rumored to be a possibility
much better at home, while the Pittsburgh Pirates. Last year field advantage, we should keep for the Dallas Mavericks.
Phillies thrive on the road. That’s wasn’t much different: The Rays in mind that every team except for Mike Fisher of
consistent with trends over the had the best record in baseball at the Rockies has pretty much the DallasBasketball.com reported
last five years, a period during home, 33 games over .500, but same home-field advantage,” that, separate from the Jackson
which the Rays have had the were one game under .500 on the Swartz writes. “Claims that rumor, Golden State coach Don
biggest home-field advantage in road, while the Phillies were crowds in different stadiums or Nelson had been talking to folks
the majors, and the Phillies have almost as good on the road as they that certain kinds of teams are in Dallas about potential trades.
had the smallest. But is that trend were at home. Overall, from 2004 more prone to have a home-field Of course, Nelson's son Donnie
runs the Mavericks front office, else going on? Tip-Off Timer:
meaningful or a fluke? Getty -2008, the Phillies were just two advantage are likely to be false, or Pettit Goes Bonkers in '58 Finals
Images percentage points better at home more politely, below the threshold which would make this wholly
uninteresting ... if not for the Is Stephen Jackson Headed for
Coors Field, site of the biggest than on the road, while the Rays of statistical measurability.” Dallas? originally appeared on
home-field advantage in the were nearly 18 percentage points His analysis is part of a longer ongoing war between the elder
Nelson and Mavs owner Mark Fanhouse NBA Blog on Sun, 30
majors. better, according to an analysis by series on home-field advantage in Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please
To the naked eye, it seems that M a t t S w a r t z o f B a s e b a l l baseball. His latest finding is that Cuban, which makes this sort of
aisle-reaching notable. see our terms for use of feeds.
way. The Rays are 21 games P r o s p e c t u s . home-field advantage is greatest Permalink| Email this| Linking
above .500 at home this season, But among the 30 major league between teams that don’t play So, is it Jackson that Nelson is
trying to peddle? Or is something Blogs| Comments
but nine games under .500 on the teams, one team has to be best, each other often, suggesting that
road. The Phillies, meanwhile, are and one has to be worst. Swartz familiarity with a field’s layout
a whopping 18 games over .500 tested home-field advantages over and conditions is the biggest
on the road — the best road the 2004-2008 period to see if factor explaining the home-field
record in baseball — but a there was any correlation from edge.
mediocre three games over .500 at year to year: Did a team that was
home, for a home record even

The evolution of Castlevania's 'Vampire Killer' theme

By Xav de Matos (Joystiq)
Submitted at 8/29/2009 11:30:00 PM
A wave of nostalgia washes over
us when we hear music from our
favorite classic franchises. One of
those iconic pieces is
Castlevania's "Vampire Killer"
series theme. The folks at Tiny
Cartridge(specifically, Joystiq's
own JC Fletcher) stumbled upon a
YouTube clip featuring every
version the classic track has
spawned since the origin of the
Castlevania franchise.
While musical style and
technology has evolved, this
video showcases how Kinuyo
Yamashita's original piece has
lived on throughout nearly two
Feel like taking a stroll down appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29
memory lane with us? Check out Aug 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please
the comparison videos after the see our terms for use of feeds.
break ... but stop holding our Read| Permalink| Email this|
hand. It's kind of weird. Comments
Continue reading The evolution
of Castlevania's 'Vampire Killer'
dozen Castlevania games(as well theme
as some non- Castlevania titles). The evolution of Castlevania's
'Vampire Killer' theme originally
72 Game Internet News Record

Edge reveals
LostWinds: Winter
of the Melodias
By David Hinkle (Joystiq)
Weekly Webcomic Submitted at 8/29/2009 4:30:00 PM

Swag Saturday: SingStar Wrapup is gearing up for WiIWare aficionados, brace your
hind quarters. UK gaming mag
Edge has revealed (via N-Europe)
Spectacular (PS3) PAX that a sequel to Frontier's
LostWinds is in the works, titled
By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq) • Leave a comment telling us By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) may have missed out on in the LostWinds: Winter of the
Submitted at 8/29/2009 7:00:00 PM how many plastic peripherals you Submitted at 8/29/2009 8:30:00 PM comments section! Melodias. While most of the core
already own (for any console). The Circle of Life(Penny gameplay elements in the sequel
Do you know how much we love • You must be 18 years or older Next weekend, we'll not only get Arcade) remain unchanged, Toku returns
you, dearest readers? So much so, and a resident of the US or a rare opportunity to meet the Professor Layton and the with one new ability: he can now
that while we're giving away a Canada, excluding Quebec.(Nous gaming webcomic world's poet D e b a t a b l e Lifestyle change the seasons, turning
sore throat-inducing pack of sommes désolés, Québecois!) laureates, Jerry and Mike from C h o i c e ( M N C ) Summer to Winter and vice versa.
SingStar and SingStar Queen this • Limit 1 entry per person. Penny Arcade, but during one of School Roll Call(BitF) There's no word on when the
week to one lucky reader, we're • This entry period ends at 7:01 the panels at PAX, we'll actually Design Decisions(Digital game will hit WiiWare right now,
not giving you any of those nasty pm ET on Sunday, August 30. get to see how the sausage gets Unrest) but if you live in the UK, you may
plastic peripherals that we know We'll randomly select one at that made. We're understandably Hit and Miss(2P Start) want to check out the latest issue
you hate so much. That's right -- time to receive: one copy of excited -- but we've got that Second Only to 'Will Not of Edge. The preview on
two singing games, none of those S i n g S t a r a n d S i n g S t a r sinking feeling in the pit of our Fix'(Virtual Shackles) LostWinds: Winter of the
ridiculous microphones! Queen(ARV $30 and $37, stomach we always get when we Grand Theft Mario(Walking in Melodias is apparently pretty
Lunacy you say? How about r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . think we've forgotten something. Squares) extensive and, if you're wondering
this? We'll throw in a • For a list of complete rules, We're sure it's nothing, but when Continue reading Weekly what all of the fuss is about, you
complimentary Joystiq sticker click here oh God we forgot to get plane Webcomic Wrapup is gearing up still have time to check out the
along with the fantastic SingStar Gallery: SingStar (PS3) tickets and event passes and we for PAX first game (which some of us
Swag Saturday Spectacular! All Gallery: SingStar Queen didn't book our hotel oh no oh no Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is think is quite excellent).
you have to do is leave a Swag Saturday: SingStar oh no gearing up for PAX originally [Via Go Nintendo; thanks,
comment below telling us how Spectacular (PS3) originally As we breath deeply into a appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29 Fernando!]
many plastic peripherals you appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29 nearby paper sack, check out our Aug 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please Edge reveals LostWinds: Winter
already own. A winner will be Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please seven favorite webcomics from see our terms for use of feeds. of the Melodias originally
chosen at random after the contest see our terms for use of feeds. this past week. You can vote for Permalink| Email this| appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29
ends tomorrow evening and Permalink| Email this| your favorite in the poll after the C o m m e n t s Aug 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please
emailed shortly thereafter. You C o m m e n t s jump, or tell us what strips we see our terms for use of feeds.
can thank us later, don't worry Read| Permalink| Email this|
about it. Comments
Internet News Record Game 73

First screens for The Ballad of

Gay Tony go airborne
By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq) DLC, still scheduled to arrive this
Submitted at 8/29/2009 5:30:00 PM Winter, further confirming his
main characteriness. All will be
Earlier today, Rockstar Games revealed this Tuesday we hope,
released its first volley of screens with the arrival of the first trailer
for upcoming GTA IV expansion, (and hopefully some new media
The Ballad of Gay Tony. From alongside that). For the time
what we can see in the four being, peep all four images right
images -- handed "exclusively to here.
fan sites," according to the [Thanks, Adriaan!]
Rockstar Games website-- it First screens for The Ballad of
appears as though air-based Gay Tony go airborne originally
warfare will be the focus this time appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29
around. Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please
Eagle-eyed fans will also notice see our terms for use of feeds.
that the protagonist is wearing the Read| Permalink| Email this|
same letterman jacket found in the Comments
teaser image Rockstar released
last week for the game's second