westhamlet

viacom makes a deal with joost

2007-05-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

Joost, the new P2P - based video start-up will "broadcast" Viacom's music videos, and other programs. The roster includes MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount motion pictures. This news was broke by The Wall Street Journal. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Viacom now becomes a "key launch partner".

Joost is about TV-like programming. Joost just recently closed a $45 million dollar financing deal.

Joost can be accessed with a broadband Internet connection and offers video content to viewers for free. Joost features more than 150 channels with programming across all genres, including: cartoons and animation; entertainment and film; sports; comedy; lifestyle and documentaries; and sci-fi. Warner Bros. Television Group also announced it will be bringing progam offerings to Joost as well. The Warner Bros. Television Group is experienced in bringing new television viewing models to the evolving television industry.

Joost offers instant messaging, chat and search in the television watching experience. The viewer has control over what and when to watch a program.

joost

p2p

rush limbaugh happenings

2007-05-10T09:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh made an offer to help the sagging ratings of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. He offered to be interviewed live. Rush said that he had been approached by other news media outlets for an interview...and so far has declined all of the requests.

His offer to CBS came from Rush himself and he was serious about the offer.

Recently Rush has come under fire for airing a parody song about Barack Obama called "Barach, the Magic Negro" that sounds like Al Sharpton is singing the song through a blow horn. Obama has played down the rumbling.

rush limbaugh

entertainment

military has own youtube channel

2007-05-08T15:10:00.000-05:00

The military has launched its own military youtube channel. It's called the Multi-National Force Channel. You will see combat action and eye-catching footage. One pundit says this should be a good counter to CNN's bias reporting on Iraq. The material will not be overly graphic. According to the L.A. Times, the channel was viewed 120,000 times in the first month.

Link to Operation Tomahawk Strike 11 video

It is the 17th most subscribed to youtube channel this month! A recently home-made video was seen over 354,00 times.

thedailyreel.com source story

technorati tag: iraq

technorati tag: youtube

bird flu symptoms reported in indonesia

2007-01-16T09:38:00.000-06:00

Health officials are alarmed at an increase in bird flu symptoms reported in an Indonesian hospital. The virus is said to have spread among birds in Vietnam and Thailand. Four Indonesians have died in the last week. Indonesia plans to prohibit people from keeping fowl in their backyards.

The World Health Organization says this spike in cases was expected.

Read the story from Reuters

technorati tag: bird flu

blogging reflections of 2006

2007-01-10T08:35:00.000-06:00

Bill Elmore of techrepublic.com wrote an interesting article about blogosphere of 2006. The item most talked about seems to be data breeches. Several high profile incidents were reported on. The "handling" of private data couldn't be more important. Companies that deal with this information need to ramp up their efforts to keep that data safe and away from possibilities of theft.

In Bill's article, he notes that data breeches aren't going away in 2007. Companies still won't put a high priority on keeping data safe. That's a word to the wise. Be careful yourself. We need to take preventative measures so our data isn't breeched.

link to Bill's article

technorati tag: blogging

technorati tag: Observations

technorati tag: events

iraq death toll at 2974

2006-12-26T11:55:00.000-06:00

The death toll in Iraq are one more than the number of dead from the 9/11 attacks on the WTC. Two deaths were announced on Monday, December 26, 2006 as a result of a car bomb explosion southwest of Baghdad.

Soldiers of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment stand guard. The writing on the wall in anti-American slogans.

technorati tag: iraq

tecnorati search: 9/11

u.s.trade deficit hit high

2006-09-12T19:06:00.000-05:00

The U.S. trade deficit hit a new high of $68 billion in July. The main reason was that the cost of oil imports rose. The figure represents a 5% rise from June's figure. 2006 as a whole is expected to go over 2005's 717 billion. Crude oil imports rose $28.5 billion.

Read the story from the BBC

technorati tag: economy

technorati tag: oil

create an IT defense checklist

2006-08-29T06:29:00.000-05:00

Take a proactive approach on data security as part of an overall IT strategy.

Inventory data - What do you have that's most at risk?

Consider encryption - Many people are encrypting more, both data in transit and at rest.

Encrypting isn't enough - Verify the source and its destination.

Avoid the "Bagel Defense" - Use firewalls, but also protect key data inside and monitor it for access.

Watch your firewalls - Use automated tools for monitoring firewall traffic.

Think beyong the network - Know all ways data can leave the network. Consider what to do if a laptop is lost or stolen.

Educate everyone - The more is known about security, the safer the data is.

Invest wisely - Don't be content with one security project. Consider going further.

tecnorati tag: IT

technorati tag: computers

version 2 of geodata.gov

2006-08-27T20:23:00.000-05:00

Geospatial mapping tools have gained a broader use and visibility for government agencies and private enterprise. The site (geodata.gov) offers access to an array of national and local mapping data. Version 2 has a marketplace capability so one can mark off an area on a U.S. map, define geospatial information that's being searched and identify other users who may be working with similar data on the system.

The marketplace tool is designed to grow communities (business and economic) of interest around specific geospatial data. Underlying metadata is harvested in a more automated way. One such area is the census information.

technorati tag: WORLD

technorati tag: Observations

bloggers: a study

2006-07-22T15:57:00.000-05:00

Pew Internet conducted a survey of bloggers and asked why they blog, etc. Many do it for themselves, and that's about it.

technorati tag: Blogging

new tropical storm could form around florida

2006-07-05T07:58:00.000-05:00

The National Hurricane Center said showers and thunderstorms were currently located over the Bahamas, central and eastern Cuba and southeastern Florida. Over the next couple of days, the system could drift slowly westward over the Florida Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico.

technorati tag: News

da vinci doings

2006-05-17T09:28:00.000-05:00

On the TODAY SHOW, actor Ian McKellan said that the Holy Bible should come with a disclaimer stating that what's inside is "fiction." Those remarks were made at Cannes, as the Today Show is on the road.

On Tuesday (05.16.06) the film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews. The audience was said to have laughed, moaned, and hissed after the movie was finished. Critics got their first look at the film, before the official festival debut. Critics at the screening were said to have grown restless during the film's two-and-a-half hour length.

technorati tag: Da Vinci Code

technorati tag: Entertainment

dolphins stadium gets new display

2006-04-12T11:22:00.000-05:00

Dolphins Stadium in Miami has a new HD display. The 720p is 50 feet high and 137 feet wide. Now I just hope it makes then win more at home!

technorati tag: technology

suggestion: to avoid bird flu, keep cats indoors

2006-04-10T08:01:00.000-05:00

In areas where bird flu is found in wild birds and/or poultry, people are urged to keep their cats indoors. Some scientists think that there is a feline potential to spreading the disease. Cats have been known to become infected with the H5N1 virus. Cats that may have been exposed to the virus should be quarantined.

technorati tag: H5N1

blog syndicate to launch

2006-04-10T06:20:00.000-05:00

Blogging and mainstream media will soon have one more reason to slowly erase the line that separates them. BlogBurst, from the blog tech company Pluck, will launch soon. This new service will be used by 600 bloggers to syndicate headlines and stories to newspapers. Pluck has signed up with Ganett and the Washington Post, to name just a couple of the publications.

technorati tag: Blogging

eff claims at&t forwards all internet traffic to the nsa

2006-04-07T20:42:00.000-05:00

The Electronic Frontier Foundation claims that AT&T forwards internet traffic to the National Security Agency. The documents in the suit were filed under seal.

technorati tag: Internet

fingerprints hide lifestyle clues

2006-04-02T12:09:00.000-05:00

Fingerprints could soon help police narrow down their list of suspects by giving clues about the lifestyle of whoever left the prints at the scene of a crime. The work started by examining the chemical components of fingerprints. These chemical components help in determining if the subject is a smoker, how old, if they use drugs or are on any medication, and personal grooming habits. The work hopes to give investigators clues on prints that have perhaps went unnoticed for days and weeks.

technorati tag: terrorism

technorati tag: science

simply irreversible

2006-03-31T13:32:00.000-06:00

The U.N. Security Council gave Iran 30 days to suspend uranium enrichment or face isolation. Iran has suggested its nuclear program is peaceful and has rejected the council's demand. Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki has siad the Iranian pursuit of nuclear power is irreversible.

technorati tag: iran

working to justify COPA

2006-03-31T13:11:00.000-06:00

The U.S. Justice Department sought information from a variety of Internet service providers as part of its probe related to the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). The law restricts the posting of sexually explicit material deemed harmful to minors.

technorati tag: Internet

a new H5N1 mutation reported

2006-03-29T07:36:00.000-06:00

The WHO reported 12 new H5N1 cases between March 1 and March 24. The new virulently fatal Asian mutation of the H5N1 strain creates a second genetic track for H5N1 to spread more easily from human-to-human.

technorati tag: H5N1

technorati search: H5N1

new warfare: fingerprint matching

2006-03-26T08:20:00.000-06:00

The U.S. Army is equipping soldiers with new instruments of warfare in Iraq. These are field kits used to collect digital fingerprints and other physical evidence from battle sites. The Pentagon has changed the way they look at Iraq - from combat theater to crime scene. Following an encounter with insurgents, soldiers sweep the area looking for physical evidence that will confirm if the same group of insurgents were responsible for mutiple attacks. Fingerprints is one area in which concentration is focused. Soldiers use an Automated Biometric Indentification System database to store evidence. Once in the database, the information is available for a number of applications. One such program is the identification card system for non-U.S.-born contractors in Iraq. The effort was launched as a result of the December 2004 attack in Mosul. The conclusion was that attack was conducted by a suicide bomber who gained access to the base. Now foreign contractors must submit to a security check. If cleared, they wear a biometrically encoded smart card that has fingerprint images on it. These images are stored in the database and when an explosive device is used in an attack investigators can check for fingerprint matches found at the attack scene. The work is risky at the forward areas and transmitting the data is a challenge. This effort has been used to catch and identify insurgents, terrorists, and other enemy combatants.

technorati tag: Iraq

lean XHMTL and precise CSS

2006-03-25T20:49:00.000-06:00

The use of CSS indentation makes for work to get done easier and faster. The use of image replacement gives meaning to usually useless images. This gives logos semantic meaning.

read more | digg story

technorati tag: css

false happiness can be bad for you?

2006-03-23T09:19:00.000-06:00

A German study suggests that forced happiness can be bad for your health. Being and staying unhappy is good for you. Does this means that the media in the U.S. will be around for a longer time? The study was conducted at an experimental call center where subjects were exposed to abuse from clients.

technorati tag: Culture

technorati tag: Daily Life

technorati search: media

oil shortage visionary

2006-03-22T10:17:00.000-06:00

According to Kenneth Deffeyes December 16, 2005 was the day the world started using the second half of oil. Deffeyes has now said he is no longer a prophet, but an historian.

technorati tag: peak oil

technorati tag: economy

republicans still search for a message

2006-03-21T19:56:00.000-06:00

GOP leaders are stumbling for a message that will carry them through the 2006 elections. President Bush and the House Republicans have not come through with a new Social Security plan, an energy plan that helps with less dependence on foreign oil, nor a health plan. These were Republican themes that have not come to fruition.

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) said that the GOP has went against its principles. The party has not stayed with a small-government approach. GOP leaders met in Memphis recently and the consensus was that the fiscal discipline is lacking. This has probably created a wedge between the more moderate and conservative congressional leaders. Getting policy matters in place for an agenda has proven more difficult.

President Bush has been talking about national security when it comes to the war in Iraq and the nuclear weapon problem in Iran. Are these issues enough for good GOP congressional showings in the 2006 general elections? We'll see.

technorati tag: Bush

technorati tag: politics

technorati tag: republicans