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You Weren't Hallucinating

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 11:02:00 +0000

Doesn't it feel like every time Apple releases a new iPhone, your old device starts acting up? Some users have wondered whether the company is messing with the performance of older devices to bully us into buying new ones. Apple isn't copping to that, but it did reveal just before Christmas that it has been using software tricks to slow down the processing speed of older phones. Why? Apple says it's so they won't malfunction as their batteries age. So what's the big deal? The company wasn't transparent about it, so some are using this as proof to show Apple can't be trusted. Apple says batteries in old iPhones can be updated for $80. Its fan base is not amused. Some eight consumer fraud lawsuits have already been filed.

credit:usatoday

Tunakupa Kile Unachokitaka

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 12:45:00 +0000

KARIBUNI STARTIMES MKUKI HOUSE KUJIPATIA KILE UNACHOKITAKA KWENYE UWANJA WA STARTIMES!! TUNAZO BIDHAA TOFAUTI TOFAUTI KULINGANA NA UHITAJI WAKO!!
TUPO GHOROFA NAMBA 2
KWA MAWASILIANO ZAIDI PIGA 0758253593

BIDHAA ZOTE KWA GHARAMA NAFUU SANA.
KARIBUNI NYOTE.

The Best Thing To Do Before Handling A Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 14:45:00 +0000

"Not my circus, not my monkeys."

-Common Polish saying.

Before you enter the lion's den, discuss the elephant in the room, or address the monkeys in someone else's circus, try this: Think about their top character strengths. Believe it or not, your sworn enemy, your disgruntled boss, your depressed client, and the politician you hate—all have strengths of character.

Research studies have shown that when therapists focus on their client’s strengths prior to a therapy session (called “resource priming”) that a number of positive outcomes unfold. These include:
Improved therapy outcomes
Higher use of strengths in the session
A stronger counselor-client relationship
More experiences of accomplishment (sense of mastery)

In these studies, the task for the practitioner is simple: Take about 5 minutes to reflect on your client’s strengths right before you meet with them. That's it.

The simplicity of this exercise and the benefits that emerge are palpable. So this has got me wondering….

Perhaps this could be applied much more widely than just the therapist-client encounter? Might this be a useful approach for anyone to take before they approach a problem? If you're dreading talking with someone, maybe do some "resource priming" first? If there's a sensitive discussion you need to have with a family member or a sticky, complicated situation to address with a friend, could you consider their strengths before you talk with them?

Envision the following:

*Teachers reflecting on the strengths of their students and the strengths of their classroom-as-a-whole before walking in to teach a lesson. Further, they consider how they can help the students explore and use their strengths during classroom lessons and projects.

*Managers reflecting on the strengths of their employees before entering a weekly meeting with them. Further, these employers take a moment to remember the best qualities of each employee before sending them an e-mail or phone message.

*Parents reflecting on the strengths of their children before their next interaction with them. While driving home, working parents could spend time considering ways in which they can validate and encourage their child’s strengths later that day.

*Romantic couples considering the strengths of their spouse or partner before engaging in a conflict or confrontation. Couples can consider the qualities of their loved one that they most cherish and appreciate (research shows this is connected with happier and more committed relationships).

If you want to try this out, here are some questions to reflect on before the conversation:
What are the signature strengths of the person I'm about to speak with?
How have they used their unique personality strengths in the past?
What would a strengths-oriented discussion with them look like?
How might I improve upon past conversations by using my own strengths?
Are there strengths of mine that get squashed when I'm around this person? What might I do to ensure I can bring these forward?

Final question for you:

Why not? Why not prime yourself so you can see, appreciate, and reinforce the best qualities of those you are interacting with? What have you got to lose?

credit:psychologytoday

Clinton Says She'll Call Trump Unfit To Handle Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 19:41:00 +0000

Hillary Clinton told USA TODAY on Wednesday she plans to make the case for why Donald Trump is "temperamentally unfit" to manage the nation's economy and pledged to end a tax loophole for wealthy Americans by executive action if necessary in a preview of a second major policy address, scheduled for next week, that casts the real estate mogul as dangerous and unqualified.

In her first interview after meeting with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night in Washington, Clinton also did not rule out one of his key demands as his Democratic presidential bid winds down: that party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz be replaced. While Clinton praised Wasserman Schultz for her commitment to defeating Donald Trump, she noted that she had not appointed the Florida congresswoman to head the Democratic National Committee and vowed that Democrats would go forward "with a new and invigorated party."

Earlier this month in San Diego, Clinton delivered a blistering speech that cast Trump as too dangerous to serve as the nation’s commander in chief due to his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, lack of foreign policy knowledge and his temperament. She's continued those attacks in the days following Sunday's Orlando nightclub massacre, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

In a speech in Columbus next Wednesday, Clinton said she will make "a similar case on the economy that I did on foreign policy: that Donald Trump is erratic and temperamentally unfit to be responsible for the world's largest economy."

Clinton pointed to one example of Trump's "incoherent" economic argument by noting that the billionaire has built his populist appeal around leveling the playing field for lower-income Americans, even though she said his tax plan gives a $3 trillion break to millionaires and billionaires over the next 10 years.

She pointed out that his proposal would lower rates for hedge-fund and private equity managers by creating a new, lower 15% bracket. "They would actually see their carried interest rate cut by one-third, making the loophole worse rather than closing it," she said. Previewing her speech next week, she said, "He's either completely incoherent or he hasn't thought one bit about his plan."

Clinton said she’ll pledge that, if Congress does not act, as president she'll ask the Treasury Department to use its regulatory authority to end a tax advantage, commonly referred to as the carried-interest loophole, that allows hedge-fund managers to pay a lower rate than other taxpayers by counting their income as investment income. Clinton will unveil a middle-class tax cut plan at a later date, according to her campaign.

Clinton’s speech will seek to undercut Trump’s appeal to middle- and lower-income Americans who’ve been drawn to his populist pledges to bring back manufacturing and coal jobs by slapping fines on China and cutting better trade deals.

The goal is to demonstrate how his rhetoric does not match his policies, which would disproportionately favor wealthier Americans, according to the campaign. The tax plan could be a ripe target since Trump initially indicated a willingness to raise taxes on the wealthy, then subsequently backed off those comments.

Regarding the meeting with Sanders, the presumptive Democratic nominee left open the door to several of his demands as he refuses to concede the race to Clinton, including changes to superdelegates and that Wasserman Schultz step down. Clinton and Sanders met after she carried the final Democratic primary in Washington, D.C.

“I’ve seen how committed she is to making sure Donald Trump is not the president,” Clinton said of Wasserman Schultz. “I’ve not heard any conversations in the party about changes,” she added, noting the Florida congresswoman was appointed by President Obama. "Obviously, we're going to go forward after this election with a new and invigorated party," she said.

As her campaign vets potential vice presidential candidates, Clinton gave another nod to Sanders, indicating she is prioritizing those with a progressive profile. “We've got a great group of Democrats that are progressive and who agree with me about the direction of the country,” she said, also noting that she is “just beginning” the process.

As for Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee has doubled down on his proposed temporary ban on Muslims following the Orlando shootings and even proposed broadening it. Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have been critical of the proposal, yet they have not withdrawn their endorsement of Trump as the party’s nominee.

"It's something that not just Democrats and the press are noticing but a lot of Republicans are noticing as well," Clinton said.

"Now he is accusing our president of somehow encouraging terrorists and it is really offensive, even pathetic," she said. "And I do wonder how Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can stay silent while their presumptive party nominee suggests that the President of the United States supports terrorists."

Finally, Clinton said she still has not heard from the FBI regarding its investigation into her private server as secretary of State. "I just hope they wrap it up soon," she said.

Clinton meets with local residents at the Jones St. Java House on April 14, 2015, in LeClaire, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall, AP

credit:usatoday

Kwanini Watu Tunapenda Kuzungumzia Mambo Ya Watu?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 08:44:00 +0000

Nimekuwa nikijiuliza sana maswali ya kwann baadhi yetu wanapenda kuzungumzia mambo yasiyowahusu!! Nikimaanisha kumzungumzia mtu fulani ambaye hakulishi wala hakuvishi!!

Nilipokuja kutulia nikagundua kuwa watu wengi wasiokuwa na kazi za msingi ndio huwa wanapata muda wa kusambaza mambo ya watu!! Hii inatokana na kutokujitambua na upungufu fulani wa akili!!

Sio lazima kupimwa na kujulikana kuwa una upungufu wa akili, vitu kama hivi pia vinaweza kuwa vigezo vya kudhihirisha kuwa una upungufu wa akili!!

Tuache majungu jamani tufanye vitu vya msingi ili walau tuonekane tuna akili kidogo.

Everything You Need

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 08:26:00 +0000

We can get various types of watches for men in women and we do accept orders from different parts of the country!! Take your time relax and choose what you feel can be best for you!! WELCOME

Grab One If You Like

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 31 May 2016 16:27:00 +0000

I provide various types of watches, the ones of ur size and above ur size!! You can place your order here and get what you desire!! 0714-408941 or 0718-758484

What's Your Favorite Color and Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 16:19:00 +0000

Although the question “What’s your favorite color?” conveys a sentiment that’s distinctly relatable and universal, the simplicity of this question belies its nuanced underpinnings. At the turn of the twentieth century, many scientists postulated that color preference was too idiosyncratic to be studied in the lab. However, new research suggests that color preference may have to do with a person’s affective response to objects of a certain color as well as personal experiences. This prediction has been coined ecological valence theory.(link is external)

Despite substantial variability in color preferences among individuals, testing has shown that there are patterns with respect to color preference. For instance, some research has shown that people tend to prefer color with deeper saturation. Furthermore, other research has shown that many people prefer blue and relatively few people like yellow or yellow-green.Ecological valence theory can best be explained using some examples. A person may prefer the color orange because she associates this color with things that she likes, such as navel oranges or baby carrots. Conversely, the reason why many people dislike the color brown may be because brown is associated with feces, dirtiness, decay and death. Alternatively, a person may prefer a certain color because of positive personal experiences. For example, maybe a man likes purple because as a child he fondly remembers being picked up after school in his dad’s purple Corvette.

Another prevailing hypothesis explaining color preference has to do with biology. Color preference may be rooted in individual differences in cone composition. Cones are photoreceptor cells located in the retina which enable color vision. Differences in cone composition could possibly yield differences in threshold sensitivities to certain colors thus resulting in variable color preferences.

In an informative article titled, “Ecological influences on individual differences in color preference,”(link is external) Karen Schloss and co-authors examined color preference and color dislike using sets of objects that were associated with certain colors. Their results support the ecological valence theory and fail to support biological hypotheses explaining color preference.

On a final note, ecological valence theory may be rooted in evolution. In other words, people like certain colors because objects associated with these colors are beneficial to them and promote well-being. For instance, a person may like blue because she associates the color with clean drinking water or fresh smog-free air. Thus, she may be compelled to approach blue objects. On the other hand, she may dislike yellow objects because of their association with bodily waste like urine or pus and be compelled to avoid yellow objects.

credit:psychologytoday

Next iPhone To Ditch Headphone Jack

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 17:18:00 +0000

NEW YORK— Is the headphone jack on the iPhone going the way of the iPod? According to the latest rumors, the answer is yes.

Although the latest iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are bound to be popular gifts this holiday season, that hasn't stopped the Internet from speculating on what will be in Apple's next iPhone. According to Japanese blog Macotakara, Apple will be getting rid of the 3.5 mm headphone jack that has been standard on iPhones and other devices for years.

Macotakara has been accurate in the past, most recently correctly predicting that the iPhone 6 would come in a 4.7-inch version and 5.5-inch 6 Plus variant.

According to the report's "reliable source," Apple will be replacing the included Earpods with those that plug in through the device's Lightning port. Users could also use Bluetooth wireless headphones, which have become increasingly more popular over the years. Those with older headphones will likely still be able to use them, though they would likely need an adapter that plugs into the Lightning port.

The move is said to allow Apple to make the next iPhone even thinner, which is in line with what the company has traditionally done following an "S" year like this past one was.

As usual with early rumors like this one, Apple has remained mum on the topic.

The move to change the headphone jack or ports on the iPhone is also not unprecedented for Apple. The first iPhone in 2007 had a recessed headphone jack that was deeper into the phone than most devices and required an adapter to work with many headphones. This part of the iPhone was largely criticized by critics and users and Apple returned to a standard port with the iPhone 3G in 2008.

The company switched to the now standard Lightning port in 2012 with the iPhone 5 after using the larger 30-pin connector on its iPhones, iPads and iPods. That move was initially met with a tepid response, though users and accessory makers quickly adapted.

The headphone rumor is one of many early iPhone 7 theories. Others that have popped up in recent days include an Apple patent that would allow the phone to be used with gloves (something rival Android and Windows phones can already do) and that the company has a patent to make the phones more water resistant.

If recent history holds true Apple will likely unveil the next iPhone in the fall of 2016, with plenty of rumors and speculation happening between now and then.

credit:usatoday

Sote Tuseme Hivi...............

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 14:14:00 +0000

Itabidi tuseme msemo mmoja wa marekani.........
****WHETHER HE WILL BRING DEVELOPMENT OR NOT WE WILL CHOOSE OBAMA TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT AMERICA IS FOR EVERYONE****

Na sisi tunasema...............
****WHETHER HE WILL BRING DEVELOPMENT OR NOT WE WILL CHOOSE LOWASA FROM UKAWA TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT TANZANIA IS FOR EVERYONE, NOT CCM ONLY****

Tunachotaka sio stori ni mabadiliko maana bila kuwa mabadiliko, hatutakuwa na maendeleo!!!!!

The New Rules of Success

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 16:01:00 +0000

Many people have been taught everything from algebra to zoology but not the keys to real-world success.

Some are time-honored, others reflect modern times.

Work long. An old saw is, "Work smart, not long." Alas, today's truth is that, in many workplaces, especially in prestigious organizations, working long is also key to being promoted and not "laid off."

Be low-maintenance. In a kinder world, bosses and coworkers would be particularly supportive of employees in need: who suffer from mental illness, have a family member with cancer, and simply who need tasks reexplained. But I'd be less than honest than to encourage you to open up about such things. In many workplaces, especially in prestigious organizations, everyone feels pressure to do more with less and so if you're perceived as high-maintenance, you become a candidate for being marginalized, shunted aside where others won't have to deal with your issues.

Alas, the rule for getting ahead in many if not most of today's workplaces: Be preternaturally pleasant. No, not necessarily chirpy, just moderately upbeat nearly all the time.

Get technical. The days are rapidly ending when you can afford to say "I'm not a math person" or "I'm not technical." While soft skills such as communication and organization are widely important, increasingly, they're valued only in concert with technical skills.

Attend You U. The old rule was "Degrees are worth it" But now, their price tag has gone throug the roof. At the same time, good courses are now available nearly free online (Udemy, Udacity, Coursera, edX, etc. In addition, there are free, time-effective YouTube and other online videos, and Google-findiable articles on every imaginable subject. All that has made You U an often-wiser choice: Create a curriculum personalized to your needs and that of your employer. You U enables you to learn what you want, when you want, far faster, and at dramatically lower cost. Just make sure your job applications make clear how your You U education not only was more practical but is evidence of your being a cost-conscious self-starter.

Learn how to play team ball. Individual initiative is largely being replaced by team effort. The successful team member must learn to express disagreement in ways that while tactful, gets the point across, be patient in the face of the inefficiency common in team efforts, and accept that credit must be shared, even often with those who didn't pull their weight.

As you move up, you must learn how to run a crisp meeting: tight agenda, friendly but professional tone, subtly encouraging conciseness, learning when to rely on consensus and when to make a leaderly decision, and ensuring that commitments made in the meeting are kept.

Communicate deftly. People are ever more sensitive to slights. So you must weigh whether the upside of providing feedback is worth the possible alienation. If so, with most people, you must exert great care in how you couch a suggestion. Except in extreme situations, you must prioritize letting them save face. So rather than, "I think you should do X because of Y," you're on safer ground if you say, "Because of Y, I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to do X. What do you think?"

Remember the Triple Bottom Line. In the old days, it was all about the bottom line: what will enhance profitability. Today, in a growing percentage of workplaces, there is a triple bottom line: profits, people, planet. As you make your decisions, it's wise to consider all three.

Beware The Third Rail. Race and gender are ever more difficult to discuss candidly. You may wish to be silent on the issue. Or if you speak up, it's much safer to opine in the politically correct direction: that you advocate reallocating more to women, people of color, the disabied, and LBGTs .The workplace highway is littered with people killed because they dared question that Orthodoxy.

Focus on The Other. Almost 100 years ago now, Dale Carnegie wrote the highly influential, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Its core advice is as valid today as ever: Focus on the other person. Let them talk; ask about them; help them get their needs met.

For example, perhaps the best question you could ask a coworker and especially your boss is, "How Could I Make Your Life Easier?" As legendary sales trainer Zig Ziglar said, To get what you want, help people get what they want."

credit:psychologytoday

KICKASSTORRENTS Disappears From Google After Penalty

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 09:54:00 +0000

Following what appears to be a severe penalty, popular torrent site KickassTorrents has become pretty much unfindable in Google. Meanwhile, the top search result in many locations points to a scam site that's serving malware to its visitors. For now, only DuckDuckGo presents the real site as a main result.

With millions of visitors per day KickassTorrents (KAT) is arguably the most visited torrent site on the Internet, outranking even the notorious Pirate Bay

After several domain hops KAT has been operating from the KAT.cr domain name for a few months now. However, in recent weeks many infrequent visitors have experienced trouble locating the site, leading to all sorts of problems.

Traditionally, the site has been easy to find through Google by entering the search terms “KickassTorrents” or “Kickass Torrents,” but this is no longer the case.

In fact, the official KAT.cr address is nowhere to be found in the top results. Instead, people see the unknown and unaffiliated Kickasstorrents.eu domain on top in many locations, as the screenshot below shows.

Google’s KickassTorrents search results

The KAT team informs us that Google began to penalize its pages a while ago, for reasons unknown. Perhaps there are ways to solve the problems, but the site is currently not doing any search engine optimization (SEO).

“It’s already about five or six months since we started to experience some kind of penalty from Google. The issue is that we were not performing any SEO activities at all,” KAT says.

What makes matters worse is that .eu site which tops Google search results is a scam. It doesn’t offer any torrents but instead prompts visitors to download File_Downloader.exe, which appears to be malware.

The KAT team finds it unfortunate that Google is sending tens of thousands of visitors to a shady site and encourages people to check the official Facebook and Twitteraccounts for the latest official domain name.

Interestingly, not all search engines treat KAT the same. In Bing the site’s official domain name is not on top either, but it’s listed on the first page. DuckDuckGo does the best job, identifying the correct domain and even tagging it as an “official site,” which is quite useful to estranged KAT users.

DuckDuckGo’s KickassTorrents search results

credit:torrentfreak

Utorrent Flagged As ‘HARMFUL’ By Anti-Virus Companies And Google

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 09:47:00 +0000

Several anti-virus vendors have begun blocking uTorrent after identifying the software as malicious or potentially dangerous. In addition, Google Chrome is currently blocking several pages on uTorrent's official website. According to the reports the popular file-sharing application is linked to riskware and trojans.

With millions of new downloads per month uTorrent is without doubt the most used BitTorrent client around.

The software is the main source of revenue for the San Francisco based company BitTorrent Inc. and generates income through advertisements and bundled software.

The latter now appears to be causing trouble as several anti-virus vendors have begun listing uTorrent as a security risk. The scanning result below from VirusTotal shows that at least six anti-virus applications, including ESET and Symantec, have flagged the software as problematic.

The anti-virus scans associate the uTorrent.exe file with Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT and the controversial OpenCandy bundling software. While this isn’t the first time that uTorrent has been flagged in this manner, we haven’t seen it being reported by this many independent tests before.

uTorrent’s Virustotal results

In addition to action by the anti-virus companies, uTorrent is also being blocked by Google in several ways. When attempting to download the latest stable release of the torrent client, Chrome flags the software as malicious and blocks the download, although this only appears to happen sporadically.

Google is also actively blocking several pages that link to uTorrent and other BitTorrent Inc. software. According to Google, parts of the uTorrent website contain “harmful programs.”

uTorrent.com warning in Chrome

The same “harmful software” warning from Google also prevented millions of peoplefrom accessing popular torrent sites earlier this month.

A Google spokesperson informed us that this was the result of the company’s increased efforts to block programs that make “unexpected changes” to people’s computers.

“Google Safe Browsing’s ability to detect deceptive software has steadily improved,” the company explained in a recent blog post.

“In the coming weeks, these detection improvements will become more noticeable in Chrome: users will see more warnings about unwanted software than ever before,” Google adds.

These and the other uTorrent threat reports all seem to be triggered by bundled third-party software bundled. There is no indication or evidence that the BitTorrent client itself is harmful.

Update: BitTorrent Inc’s Jordy Berson provided the following comment.

“BitTorrent’s products are developed in a secure environment, are securely signed and virus scanned. Our safety record has been consistently good. We are very conservative with partner ads and offers, using a small subset of available offers that are subject to our security and suitability tests.

Meanwhile, security vendors and browser security teams have the difficult task of tuning their heuristics and their block lists to catch offenders without implicating harmless software. The increase in false positives in recent months is a result of security companies becoming more aggressive with their tuning in the category of “potentially unwanted programs.” The issue is not unique to uTorrent, and we and other desktop software companies report false positives when they are spotted, with excellent cooperation from most security vendors.

We have stated this to our users for some time in the support section of our Web site, located here.”

credit:torrentfreak

Top 10 Most Pirated Movies Of The Week – 07/20/15

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 09:42:00 +0000

The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent are in again. 'Insurgent' tops the chart this week, followed by ‘Jurassic World.' 'Ted 2' completes the top three.

This week we have one newcomer and one returnee in our chart.

Insurgent is the most downloaded movie.

The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.

RSS feed for the weekly movie download chart.

Ranking	(last week)	Movie	IMDb Rating / Trailer

1	(…)	Insurgent	6.6 / trailer
2	(1)	Jurassic World (TS/Subbed HDrip)	7.7 / trailer
3	(7)	Ted 2 (Subbed HDrip)	6.9 / trailer
4	(3)	Home	6.8 / trailer
5	(2)	Spy (Subbed HDrip)	7.5 / trailer
6	(4)	The Longest Ride	7.1 / trailer
7	(5)	Mad Max: Fury Road (WEB-DL)	8.5 / trailer
8	(8)	Get Hard	6.1 / trailer
9	(10)	Cinderella	7.3 / trailer
10	(back)	Kingsman: The Secret Service	8.1 / trailer

credit:torrentfreak

Most Aussie Pirates Are The Industry’s Best Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 09:38:00 +0000

A survey commission by the Australian government has found that more than a quarter of all local Internet users consume content illegally online. Interestingly, while 7% of the population were found to be hardcore pirates who spend nothing on legitimate content, those who pirate and also buy legally are the industry's best customers.

As Australia continues to grapple with its online piracy problem, a new report commissioned by the office of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has revealed both the scale of the problem and an interesting twist.

Carried out in conjunction with the UK government and executed by TNS Global, the survey of 2630 people found that 26% of the population aged 12 years and up – 5.2 million people – had consumed illegal content online during the first three months of 2015.

That doesn’t mean that one in four Aussies never put their money in their pockets though. The survey found that just 7% of the population are hardcore pirates who never pay for anything and only consume illegal content. Other pirates buy legitimate content to some extent.

When drilling down further, however, the figures appear to worsen. Of all Internet users over 12 who also consumed media content in the first quarter of 2015, 43% said they had done so illegally. Movies proved the most popular among pirates, with 48% saying they had obtained them online without permission. Music came in second place with 37%, while TV shows (33%) and video games (22%) took up the third and fourth slots.

In terms of piracy volumes, the survey found that music was the most-download content with an estimated 254 million tracks obtained in the first quarter of 2015. Around 95 million movies, 82 million TV shows and 9 million video games add to the total.

On average, Aussie pirates downloaded or streamed around 16 items of content each in the first three months of the year, with music proving the most popular by file volume followed by TV, movies and video games.

When looking at overall consumption of digital content, around 66% of movies were obtained illegally versus 36% of TV shows. Music tracks and video games were neck-and-neck with 30% and 29% respectively.

When it comes to methods for obtaining unauthorized content the survey results present a slightly confused picture.

“Infringers were far more likely than non-infringers to use peer-to-peer methods,
in the form of BitTorrent software (26%), uTorrent (28%) and Pirate Bay (19%),
whereas 5% or less of non-infringers said they had used these services,” the survey notes.

Of course, uTorrent is BitTorrent software and the Pirate Bay requires the use of BitTorrent software in order to function. But in any event, it appears that BitTorrent methods are more popular with those who obtain content illegally than those who do not.

But perhaps the biggest question is what motivates these individuals to pirate.

Among all pirates, 55% said they consume content illegally because it’s free and a sizable 51% cited ease of access and convenience as a primary motivator. Speed was a factor among 45% of respondents, with 21% noting that they did not wish to wait for content to become available locally.

Interestingly, among pirates who said they never buy any content, 27% said they download illegally in order to “try before they buy”. Among those who consume legal and illegal content, that figure jumps to 38%.

So what might cause pirates to change their ways?

Perhaps unsurprisingly almost four out of ten infringers said cheaper prices on legal services would help. However, the next most popular responses were all about availability. If all content was made available legally that would help 38% of infringers to change their ways while 36% said that timely availability of content when compared to the rest of the world would be a good motivator.

Yet another sign that better legal services are the key to reducing infringement came with pirates’ assessment of various measures the government and rightsholders have lined up to tackle infringement.

Nearly a quarter of infringers said that the thought of being sued might help them change their ways while just 17% felt that a letter from their ISP could deter them from further piracy. Although not currently on the agenda, 21% said that Internet suspensions might prove effective.

Interestingly, when asked if anything at all could stop them pirating, just 5% of all infringers said nothing could, rising to 10% among hardcore “buy nothing” pirates.

Finally, the survey provides yet another timely reminder that branding all pirates as enemies of the entertainment industries is a very bad idea. When looking at four content types – movies, TV shows, music and video games – the survey found that those who consumed a mix of legal and illegal content SPENT MORE on legal content than those who only consume content illegally.

credit:torrentfreak

Youtube Faces Russia Web Block Over Pirate

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 09:33:00 +0000

YouTube has been given just days to respond to copyright infringement complaints or face blocking measures in Russia that for some could take down the whole site. The local telecoms watchdog says that since YouTube has failed to completely remove links to two TV series despite earlier complaints, action is being taken against the site.

Following intense pressure from local and international entertainment companies, on August 1, 2013 Russia introduced a brand new anti-piracy law.

Initially covering only movies, the law allowed websites offering ‘pirate’ content to be blocked by local ISPs if they fail to respond to complaints. Late November 2014 the law was further amended to include all copyrighted content except images.

The legislation has been used dozens of times to threaten unresponsive sites with blocking at the ISP level, but in many cases operators have complied to ensure they keep off Russia’s blocklist. Surprisingly the world’s largest user-generated content site YouTube today finds itself perilously close to becoming a new addition.

The problem dates back several months when TV shows owned by TNT-network appeared on the site without authorization. In April, YouTube received requests from local telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor to delete the content and apparently responded in a timely manner.

However, fresh monitoring carried out by Roskomnadzor this month reportedly found almost 140 links to the same content, an event that prompted the watchdog to initiate the start of the blocking procedure.

“On the application of the right holder ‘TNT-Teleset’ and in accordance with a decision of the Moscow City Court from April 7, 2015, tentative interim measures of protection of the exclusive rights to [two TV series] have been implemented against social networking website YouTube.com,” Roskomnadzor announced.

“Notification with a request to remove the unlawfully placed materials has been repeatedly directed at the administration of the Internet resource. Currently, access to the illegal videos has not been limited.”

For YouTube, the clock is now ticking. Roskomnadzor is alerting Russian users that on Monday July 27 YouTube pages will be added to Russia’s national register of copyright violators. However, due to the way blocking is sometimes implemented, Roskomnadzor warns that for some the entire site may be rendered inaccessible.

“The video hosting site has a huge audience, and for some users the resource could become completely unavailable,” Roskomnadzor’s Vadim Ampelonsky told local media.

“The administration of YouTube has always responded to our needs and removed illegal content. But in [this case] this hasn’t happened for reasons that aren’t apparent to us. We very much hope that we will not have to put YouTube on the blocklist registry.”

It’s unclear why YouTube hasn’t responded to the requests of Roskomnadzor. The company is usually responsive to complaints and it should be trivial to add the TV shows in question to its ContentID system so that uploads of the same can be spotted in the future. But in any event, YouTube has just days to respond before the banhammer falls.

credit:torrentfreak

Pirate Bay Led Hollywood The Way, Co-Founder SAYS By Ernesto

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 09:30:00 +0000

During his stay in prison, Pirate Bay co-founder Fredrik Neij was deprived of the Internet and forced to view broadcast TV. A grueling experience, but not as bad as it used to be, something the Pirate Bay can take credit for in part. Still, Fredrik believes that there's plenty of room for improvement.

Fredrik Neij, one of The Pirate Bay’s co-founders, was released early May after serving a 10-month prison sentence for his involvement with the site.

He has since returned to his home in Laos, where he’s picking up his life again. Speaking with TF, Fredrik says that he didn’t miss computers or the Internet as much as he’d expected.

What Fredrik missed the most about being ‘disconnected’ was instant access to news, information and entertainment. Instead of having access to the latest movies and TV-series without interruptions, he was forced to watch broadcast TV.

“Watching broadcast TV again for the first time in roughly 12 years was gruesome. I don’t know how people stand the commercial breaks without going insane,” Fredrik tells TorrentFreak.

However, the Pirate Bay co-founder also admits that quite a bit of progress has been made in recent years. In part, Hollywood and the video entertainment industry made these changes to give consumers something they would otherwise get on sites such as The Pirate Bay.

“I saw a lot of things that probably would not have existed without The Pirate Bay, like every channel having their own streaming services, and the short time between US premiere and it being aired on networks worldwide, usually just a few days or a week,” Fredrik says.

Netflix is a prime example of a video streaming service that has become a great success. But from a Pirate Bay user perspective there is still plenty of room for improvement.

For example, people should be able to get all their video entertainment at one service, instead of having to use a dozen or so. Similarly, blocking access to potential customers based on their location is an outdated business model that has to go.

“While I think all the new streaming services are great, if they want to take on piracy for real, they need to combine all services behind a common pay-wall so you don’t need several accounts to follow your favorite shows,” Fredrik notes.

“They also really need to address the geo-blocking problems and provide global availability of the all content at the same price. Until big media makes it as easy or easier to get all your media in one place no matter where you live, there will be a need for sites like TPB.”

Of course, The Pirate Bay doesn’t use any geo-blocking tools and the site also has a content library that beats any legal service. Because of this, TPB’s co-founder believes that the site will remain popular for a while.

Now that Fredrik’s back home he can catch up on Doctor Who and Archer again. He’s also closely following Pirate Bay related developments, last year’s raid in particular.

“Back when I ran things it only took three days to get back up from a raid. The new team took a good 6 weeks, but they have been doing a good job on TPB these last few years, and eventually restored the site to its former glory,” Fredrik says.

And even if the police managed to take the site down again, new Pirate Bays will take over as long as the demand is there.

“Even if TPB is permanently shutdown, the December raid shows that there will always be sites ready to fill the void. One again showing that meeting consumer demand is far more effective than trying to enforce lobby-bought laws with no support among the general public,” Fredrik concludes.

credit:torrentfreak

Why Good Looks Don't Guarantee A Great Relationship

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 09:46:00 +0000

This should be encouraging for all relationship-seekers:
Shallow readers, beware: Your partner’s level of attractiveness means less than you think for the quality of your relationship.

At least this is the conclusion of a new study exploring the science of close relationships, directed by psychologist Lucy Hunt and published in this month’s issue of Psychological Science. Hunt’steam surveyed 167 couples, either married or dating. They asked each partner to rate the level of satisfaction they currently experienced in their relationship. They also measured each partner’s attractiveness by having a group of trained undergraduates judge each partner’s looks (in other words, a scientific version of HotOrNot.com).

Here’s what they found: Attractiveness was not in any way related to relationship satisfaction. Couples who diverged on ratings of attractiveness were just as happy in their relationships as couples who were similar in attractiveness.

Hunt elaborates:

“We found that romantic partners who were similarly attractive were no more likely to feel satisfied with their relationship than romantic partners who were not similarly attractive. Specifically, in our sample of dating and married couples, we did not find an association between partner matching in attractiveness and satisfaction with the relationship for either women or men.”

Is this evidence that we should ignore our superficial instincts when considering whom to date? Not necessarily. Hunt cautions against jumping to the conclusion that physical attractiveness is an unimportant quality in finding a mate. "Physical attractiveness, itself, remains one of the most consistently and highly desired characteristics in a romantic partner,” she says. And, while ratings of objective attractiveness may not matter all that much, beauty is ever in the eye of the beholder.

"Perceptions of a partner's attractiveness can change over time, deviating from the ‘average’ perception of that partner's attractiveness," Hunt says. "So even if most people might rate a particular person as a 5 out of 10 on attractiveness, that person's partner may rate the person as an 8. In short, it is not that physical attractiveness is unimportant, but rather perceptions of attractiveness can change, becoming increasingly unique as individuals get to know one another better over time."

Hunt’s study also speaks to a broader debate in the field of close relationships research. “Our study suggests that similarity in attractiveness may not matter so much for relationship satisfaction,” she says. “This issue is still of some debate, with some evidence indicating that similarity in attractiveness does predict relationship satisfaction and some evidence indicating that it does not.”

More research must be done to figure out how much attractiveness really does matter, but the lesson from this study is nevertheless a good one: Looks aren’t everything, and many other qualities—intelligence, fidelity, etc.—also make for a good mate and a happy relationship. "Even if a person selects a partner who is relatively (objectively) unattractive, it may be that that partner is high on a wealth of other desirable characteristics," Hunt says.

Overall, Hunt believes that this research should be taken as a source of encouragement for relationship-seekers. “I think our findings are uplifting,” she says. “I would say that the goal is not to be as attractive as possible to the average person or to be instantly attractive at first glance, but to be attractive in the eyes of a particular individual one would be interested in pursuing.”

credit:psychologytoday

How To Safely Store Food In An Emergency

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 09:39:00 +0000

With hurricane season off to an early start, now's a good time to familiarize yourself with how to prepare for a power outage or other emergency situation. Heck, it's never a bad time, even if you don't live on the Eastern seaboard or in Tornado Alley.

Since you can be without power for hours, days, or even weeks, one of the most important things to take into consideration is food storage and safety. Not only do you want to maximize the life of your perishables, but you also want them to besafe to eat.

Read on and we'll explain how you can prepare your food for an extended outage, or skip straight to the second section if you're already in the midst of a power outage and/or storm for advice on what you can do right now.

How can I prepare?

If a storm is on the way, one of the best things you can do is freeze your food. The FDA recommends freezing both containers of drinkable water and perishable foods that you won't need right away.

"Take your small water bottles and you can just stuff the freezer with those," says James Judge, a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council. He adds that they will work much better than bagged ice when it comes to filling up remaining freezer space.

Frozen water bottles can also be used as ice packs for coolers, and will help keep food cold longer. Make sure to freeze any ice packs you have lying around, and invest in some bagged ice to fill in the cracks in the coolers. If you don't own any coolers, now's the time to buy some.
You want to make sure both your fridge and freezer stay at or below 40 degrees once power is out.

The FDA also recommends that you try to find stores that sell blocks of dry ice, as they'll be helpful if you're without power for multiple days at a time. If you don't fill your freezer to the brim, make sure to pack everything close together, so that when the power does go out, your food stays frozen longer.

Purchase thermometers for both your refrigerator and freezer. You want to make sure both compartments stay at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit once power is out. Any higher and you risk spoilage and/or food poisoning.

If you live in a flood-prone area, store non-perishables and bottled water on shelves to keep it away from potential flood waters.

Finally, don't forget to keep a good supply of non-perishable and canned foods that can be eaten without cooking. Ready.gov points out that you'll want to avoid foods that make you thirsty, so choose canned foods with a lot of liquid and reduced sodium.

The power's out. Now what?

First and foremost, do not open your fridge or freezer unless it's absolutely necessary. The FDA warns that your refrigerator will only stay cold for four hours and your freezer for 48 hours under ideal conditions.

Some appliances may last longer—a Frigidaire spokesperson told us that their fridges can last anywhere from eight to 24 hours—but you should play it safe and use thermometers if you have them.
"If you're not sure if the food is good, don't try to taste it or eat some of it."

If you expect to be without power for more than a few hours and it's safe to leave your home, buy some dry ice to keep your fridge and freezer cold. Now is also the time to pack coolers with ice and perishables if needed.

When it does come time to eat, the FDA strongly urges you to thoroughly cook perishable foods, especially meats, to the correct temperatures. Make sure that the food is still cold before cooking it. If it has been above 40 degrees for more than two hours, do not eat it—throw it away.

"If in doubt, throw it out," says the Red Cross's Judge. "If you're not sure if the food is good, don't try to taste it or eat some of it to find out if it's safe. That's dangerous."

And if you do manage to prepare hot food, hold off on putting leftovers in the fridge.

"The refrigerator or freezer may need to recover temperature, depending on the duration of power outage," says a Frigidaire spokesperson. "So it is advised to not load heavy or hot food loads into the refrigerator until it has recovered."

And Frigidaire adds that you shouldn't add any foods to your freezer during the outage—only the refrigerator, if necessary.

If you're dealing with flooding, have to remain in your home, and haven't done this already, move any non-perishable food and bottled water that has not been touched by flood water to high shelves.

The FDA warns that any food that has come into contact with flood waters should be discarded. The only exceptions are canned foods, foods in sealed pouches, or foods that have been sealed in watertight containers. These can be sanitized with soap and clean water, followed by either being boiled in water for two minutes or sitting in clean water with bleach (1 tablespoon per gallon of water) for 15 minutes.

What should I do after the storm?

You've made it through the storm and your power has come back on. Now you can begin the process of determining which food is still safe and what needs to be sanitized.

First, check the temperature of your fridge and freezer. If they are still at or below 40 degrees, you can keep your food. If not, you will want to dispose of it for safety's sake. FoodSafety.gov has two handy charts for fridges and freezers that will tell you exactly what can be kept and what should be thrown away.
If you own any wooden cooking instruments that came into contact with flood water, dispose of them.

If there was flooding, dispose of any non-watertight foods that came into contact with flood waters. The items that you keep should be sanitized with bleach. TheFDA says the same goes for any cooking surfaces or cookware.

If you own any wooden cooking instruments that came into contact with flood water, dispose of them—you can't fully sanitize them. The same goes for refrigerators and freezers. You should also run your dishwasher three times to clear its water lines and clean out your ice maker with bleach.

This might seem like overkill, but this is one case where it's better to be safe than sorry. The American Red Cross also suggests you download its Emergency app. It has a lot of the information we've included here, and plenty more. Please be careful and stay safe out there.

credit:usatoday

Cisco Systems Names Chuck Robbins Next CEO

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 May 2015 07:58:00 +0000

Cisco Systems appointed Chuck Robbins as its next CEO, ending the 20-year run of John Chambers, viewed by many as an icon in Silicon Valley.

Robbins will take over effective July 26, said Cisco in a statement released Monday. Chambers will stay on as Cisco's executive chairman and head the company board.

"We've selected a very strong leader at a time when Cisco is in a very strong position," said Chambers in a statement.

Shares of Cisco (CSCO) closed up 0.1% at $29.17. They're up nearly 5% for the year but are still less than half of what they were in 2000, before the dot-com bust.

Chambers joined Cisco in 1991, helping the networking giant boost its revenue from $1.2 billion when he became CEO in 1995 to $47 billion as of Cisco's 2014 fiscal year.

USA TODAY

With Chambers, Cisco was one (really) big family

"His legacy will be he's the guy who built Cisco even though he wasn't the guy at the very beginning," says Forrester analyst Glenn O'Donnell.

The shift at the top has been expected for a while, says O'Donnell, as Cisco joins other companies transitioning into newer businesses including the cloud. "As great a spokesman as John Chambers is for Cisco, I think it's going to need a different personality to lead it forward."

USA TODAY

Chambers' tenure was a tale of two eras

For its next CEO, Cisco leans on another company veteran in Robbins, who joined in 1997. Robbins most recently served as Cisco's vice president of worldwide operations.

"The opportunity that lies ahead for Cisco is enormous, and the ability to lead this next chapter is deeply humbling and incredibly exhilarating," said Robbins.


Robbins is seen as a "very respected" tech leader with a strong understanding of the cloud, says FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives. "Cisco as well as many of their traditional IT tech stalwart peers are facing challenges in their move to the cloud and need visionary leaders to be in the CEO helm for this all-important growth period," he says.

credit:usatoday

Zuckerberg, Tech Investors Fund AltSchool Initiative

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 May 2015 07:54:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO – Education reform just got a $100 million boost from a range of high-profile tech investors including Mark Zuckerberg and Laurene Powell Jobs.

AltSchool, a 2-year-old software-fueled elementary school initiative started by ex-Googler and Aardvark founder Max Ventilla, announced Monday a $100 million Series B round led by a mix of established venture capital firms and powerful social-good investors. To date, AltSchool's has raised $133 million.

AltSchool uses proprietary software that provides students with a personalized "playlist" lesson that teachers can keep close tabs on. Currently, a few hundred students in four Bay Area classrooms use AltSchool tech, and three more California classrooms are expected to come online this fall, plus one in Brooklyn.

"It's atypical to raise this much this quickly, but it will allow us to be aspirational," Ventilla tells USA TODAY. "The fact that we've got a mix of traditional investors and not-for-profits means we're blurring the lines. Everyone has the same vision, that it's good to have well-capitalized companies going after problems in large spaces."

USA TODAY

Change Agents: One tech vet's education dream

Besides substantial investments in the round by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan's Silicon Valley Community Foundation as well as Jobs' social justice-focused Emerson Collective, round leaders also include Series A investors Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz.

AltSchool offers teachers a more detailed way to interact with students via proprietary software. (Photo: AltSchool)

"It happens to be a great software investment that also will transform education as we know it," says Andreessen partner Lars Dalgaard. "The bias in this country toward standardized testing drives me crazy. We need to be teaching kids how to ask questions, not just to answer them. AltSchool can make education much more dynamic."

Education reform is a subject that's been debated almost as long as there's been education. But with the mushrooming of society's technological capabilities, there's a growing push to leverage tech to radically shift the way children learn.

Examples of tech-enabled education trends include online learning (so-called MOOCs, or massive open online courses) and tweaked collegiate experiences (San Francisco-based Minerva gathers students in the same city but their professor interactions are all online). But none has reached critical mass and most don't focus on the critical early-learning phase.

Max Ventilla, founder of AltSchool, has a vision for education that allows teachers to be their best selves leveraging technology. (Photo: Tom Hood)

For Founders Fund partner Brian Singerman, investing in AltSchool was simply a matter of "recognizing something that would have been great for me growing up, because kids simply don't learn at the same pace. AltSchool is a combination of technologists and educators joining forces to help teachers do their job better. They want to get away from the lectures and toward small-group education."

AltSchool aims to keep the traditional teacher-student and student-student relationships intact while using software to allow teachers to better assess the individual learning needs of each student, says Ventilla.

"We haven't had a new model in education for some time," he says. "Montessori schools are progressive, but that's an idea that's over 100 years old and there's no real role for technology in it. We think you can have intensely personalized learning aided by tech while preserving the benefits of one-on-one interactions."

Ventilla says his team presently consists of 110 employees, about 45 of whom are engineers. He is baffled that education seems to buck the traditional formula that defines success in tech.

Laurene Powell Jobs is one of the Series B investors in AltSchool, through her social-justice fund Emerson Collective. (Photo: Stephen Lam, Getty Images)

"In tech, desirability goes up the more people use something, and yet in education it's the opposite," as in, Harvard is very desirable in part because it will admit so few, he says.

"We will use this new funding to further explore the best practices in teaching, with a goal to create a platform that's available to all. Why are teachers still creating lesson plans from scratch? Why are they reinventing the wheel?" Ventilla asks.

"The energy should be put into tweaking lesson plans, assessing the student and communicating with parents. Our students are ranked 36th among developed countries (in math) and aren't doing much better in reading and science. That's got to change."

credit:usatoday

25 Websites To Help You Make More Money In Between Gigs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 May 2015 07:44:00 +0000

Yesterday, over 100 million dollars was made by people without a job. How did they do it? They had something to share. Remember in grade school when you shared your sandwich with the kid next to you? Well, there are now websites that hook you up with those who want what you have (apartments, cars, theater tickets, spouses, you name it), making helping others profitable. You can earn money if you have spare time, a spare room, or a spare tire.

Now, when I travel, I stay with delightful people in their homes, use their neighbors’ car, and call on Uber to take me to the airport. I also make money on the home I’ve vacated, renting it out through a service that does that sort of thing. I’ve gone from spending money on vacation to making money on vacation. I even found a great graphic designer on Elance.com (link is external) and found my book editor from her Craigslist (link is external) ad.

So, if your Kickstarter campaign didn’t turn your venture into Google, if you’ve aged out of the workplace, or you’re waiting for your big break, here are some ways you can take advantage of the new sharing economy.

1. Airbnb (link is external) out a room — Yes, ‘Airbnb’ is now used as a verb, just like Google. If you live in or near a desirable location (you can lie about your age and your weight, but this is harder) and have an extra room (or don't mind sleeping on the couch) you can earn around $100 a night hosting travelers. Minus some fees, that brings in something like 35K a year! (Also check out: Misterbnb (link is external) (a gay-friendly take on Airbnb), VacationRentals (link is external), and VRBO (link is external)).

2. Walk a dog. According to Rover.com (link is external) (ready to be your best friend), you can make $40 a day by dog-sitting. Take in two dogs and do the math. If you commit to 4 days a week, that comes to almost $17K a year. (Other ideas: DogVacay (link is external), Care.com, (link is external) and Fetch! Pet Care (link is external)).

3. Do you look cute in a chauffeur’s hat? Drive people around. If you’ve got a full house, you may want to get out for a few hours and go for a drive. Why not get paid for it? Uber (link is external) drivers who work just a few hours a night, five nights a week earn over $26K a year. (Check out Lyft (link is external) and SideCar (link is external), as well).

4. Sell stuff on eBay. (link is external)We all have shoes we no longer wear, sweaters we’re sick of, a fondue set or Turkish coffee maker we never use. There are folks willing to buy just about anything. Got a hobby? If not, get one, and then start monetizing it on sites like eBay (link is external), Amazon, (link is external) Craigslist (link is external), Etsy (link is external), and Threadflip (link is external). Even the most unlikely hobby can fatten up your bank account. Someone I know fixes old watches and then sells them on eBay, bringing in up to $100 a week. I know another guy that made $20K one year by reselling paint-by-number kits. (Hint: People love old crap. The kitschier, the better. Earn some green for that spring clean).

5. Help someone. Lend a helping hand and TaskRabbit (link is external)will put some cash in it. This site outsources people’s errands (grocery shopping, housekeeping, repairs, etc). The user lists a task and others post bids. What you earn depends on the task, but even just a few errands a week could bring in $15K a year. FancyHands (link is external) and Craigslist (link is external) offer a similar deal. If you're great with kids, check out Care.com (link is external) and SitterCity (link is external) (I know someone who charges $25 an hour-- IN CASH!) If you're interested in branding and advertisement, Gigwalk (link is external) is a cool way to get paid for helping companies do market research.

6. Can you write? Are you tech-savvy? Got an hour or two to spare? Become a freelancer and earn money for your skills, without even leaving the couch (or putting on pants!) Sites such as oDesk (link is external), Elance (link is external), PeoplePerHour (link is external), Freelancer (link is external) and Guru (link is external) list 100,000+ jobs every month within a wide range of job categories. The best part is its flexibility: long-term, short-term, pay-by-hour, pay-by-project - there's something for literally everyone. How much you make depends on the kind of work you're doing, but even writing up a short blurb for a website can earn you $50 or more.

Now, SHARE this with your friends and followers so they, too, can cash in on the SHARING economy!

credit:psychologytoday

Does Eating Your Carrots Make You More Creative?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 May 2015 07:40:00 +0000

Eating my veggies always makes me feel self-nurturing and virtuous, and that’s a boost to my happiness and self-esteem. But the mental health benefits of a well-nourished mind don’t end there. A new study hints that eating fruits and vegetables might also make me more curious and creative.

In previous studies, people who ate more fruits and vegetables reported feeling happier and more satisfied with their lives. This relationship persisted even when researchers controlled for factors such as income, education and physical activity.

In the new study (link is external), more than 400 young adults completed daily online diaries for two weeks. Each day, they recorded what they were eating, feeling and doing. Below, lead researcher Tamlin Conner (link is external), Ph.D., a psychology lecturer at the University of Otago in New Zealand, explains what the results revealed.

What were the key findings of your study?

Dr. Conner: On days when people ate more fruits and vegetables, they reported feeling much happier than they normally did. But even more strongly than happiness, daily fruit and vegetable consumption predicted states of eudaemonic well-being — how engaged and inspired people felt that day, how interested and curious they were in their environment and how creative they felt. In fact, these patterns for flourishing were almost twice as strong as the patterns found with happiness.

Might it be that people who ate fruits and veggies also tended to stay healthier and exercise more, and that’s what helped them flourish psychologically?

Dr. Conner: This is a good question. If people were having a healthy day, they might eat better, exercise more and feel better because of the exercise, not the diet. However, in follow-up analyses, I controlled for daily exercise and daily health ratings, and the original findings still held.

How could eating fruits and vegetables enhance someone’s psychological well-being?

Dr. Conner: I think there is likely to be a connection between fruit and vegetable consumption and the motivation or drive to engage in daily life — approach motivation, in scientific terms. There are biologically plausible pathways by why fruits and vegetables could promote engagement.

Vitamin C might be a key pathway here. It is an important co-factor in the production of dopamine, which is critical to mood and motivational drive. A recent study (link is external) found increased vitamin C levels in the blood following kiwifruit consumption, with corresponding improvements in emotional vitality.

B-vitamins and complex carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables also promote the synthesis of dopamine and serotonin, which are important to daily mood. At this stage, however, I cannot say exactly what the mechanism might be.

Because your research was correlational, it wasn’t possible to show causality. Could it be that feeling engaged and curious led to choosing healthier foods?

Dr. Conner: Yes, that’s very possible. There is a growing awareness that happiness and health are tightly linked, and the connection is bidirectional. This is why I’m shifting into intervention research, so that I can test for causal patterns and biochemical mediators.

I have a study running right now that aims to increase young adults’ fruit and vegetable consumption over a two-week period. This will allow me to test the causal effects of eating more fruits and vegetables on mood, engagement and curiosity. I will also be looking at a few select biochemical mediators, including vitamin C.

In the meantime, what are the practical implications of your research?

Dr. Conner: Pay attention to what you eat each day for a week, and then try to incorporate more plant foods the following week. Although at this stage I cannot say with certainty that eating carrots will make you more creative or that fruit will help you flourish, the evidentiary base is growing. So it probably wouldn’t hurt to hedge your bets and opt for a carrot rather than a candy bar if you want to feel better.

credit:psychologytoday

Microsoft Logs IP Addresses To Catch Windows 7 Pirates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 May 2015 07:22:00 +0000

A presumed pirate with an unusually large appetite for activating Windows 7 has incurred the wrath of Microsoft. In a lawsuit filed at a Washington court, the Seattle-based company said that it logged hundreds of suspicious product activations from a Verizon IP address and is now seeking damages.

Due to the fact that one needs to be present on most computers in order for them to work at all, operating systems are among the most pirated types of software around.

There can be little doubt that across its range in its 29 year history, Microsoft’s Windows operating systems have been pirated countless millions of times. It’s a practice that on some levels Microsoft has come to accept, with regular consumers largely avoiding the company’s aggression.

However, as one or perhaps more pirates are about to find out, the same cannot be said of those pirating the company’s products on a commercial scale.

In a lawsuit filed this week at a district court in Seattle, Microsoft targets individuals behind a single Verizon IP address – 74.111.202.30. Who he, she or they are is unknown at this point, but according to Microsoft they’re responsible for some serious Windows pirating.

“As part of its cyberforensic methods, Microsoft analyzes product key activation data voluntarily provided by users when they activate Microsoft software, including the IP address from which a given product key is activated,” the lawsuit reads.

Microsoft says that its forensic tools allow the company to analyze billions of activations of Microsoft software and identify patterns “that make it more likely than not” that an IP address associated with activations is one through which pirated software is being activated.

“Microsoft’s cyberforensics have identified hundreds of product key activations
originating from IP address 74.111.202.30…which is presently assigned to
Verizon Online LLC. These activations have characteristics that on information and belief, establish that Defendants are using the IP address to activate pirated software.”

Microsoft says that the defendant(s) have activated hundreds of copies of Windows 7 using product keys that have been “stolen” from the company’s supply chain or have never been issued with a valid license, or keys used more times than their license allows.

In addition to immediate injunctive relief and the impounding of all infringing materials, the company demands profits attributable to the infringements, treble damages and attorney fees or, alternatively, statutory damages.

This week’s lawsuit (pdf) follows similar action in December 2014 in which Microsoft targeted the user behind an AT&T account.

credit:torrentfreak

The Pirate Bay Is Down (Updated)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 May 2015 07:20:00 +0000

The Pirate Bay is down at the moment, causing a mild panic among many BitTorrent users. With the raid of last December fresh in mind some fear the worst, but the current issues appear to be caused by an SSL problem.

After weeks without any significant outages, the Pirate Bay has become unreachable since a few hours.

With the raid of a few months ago still fresh in memory some fear that the problems may be of a more serious nature.

It’s currently not clear what’s causing the problems. What we do know is that the site’s domain name is currently working properly.

The Pirate Bay currently displays a CloudFlare error message suggesting that TPB has an invalid SSL certificate.

This may be the result of a misconfigured or expired SSL certificate, which causes problems for sites that use CloudFlare’s full (strict) SSL feature.

Interestingly, some users report that they can still access the site via the Tor network, including the popular Pirate Browser.

The Tor traffic goes through a separate server, and it appears that this part of the site’s infrastructure is not going through CloudFlare.

TorrentFreak reached out to The Pirate Bay team for a comment on the situation and we will update this article if we hear back.

Update: The site is back for most people now.

credit:torrentfreak