What's going to catch you in 2007!

Opera v9.24 Build 8816 Final

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:57:00 +0000

The most full-featured Internet power tool on the market, Opera includes pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated searches, and advanced functions like Opera's groundbreaking E-mail program, RSS Newsfeeds and IRC chat. And because we know that our users have different needs, you can customize the look and content of your Opera browser with a few clicks of the mouse.

Download : Opera v9.24 Build 8816 Final sh
: Opera v9.24 Build 8816 Final International

This is a great opponent of FF and IE thanks to the outline website function is very good.

Mozilla Firefox v2.0.0.8 Final

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:55:00 +0000

Firefox is a free, open-source web browser for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X and is based on the Mozilla codebase. It is small, fast and easy to use, and offers many advantages over Internet Explorer, such as the ability to block pop-up windows.

Mozilla Firefox v2.0.0.8 for Windows

Wow, it's great that Firefox have improved themselves better than expected

Iriver - Nice Brand for MP3/MP4

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 04:40:00 +0000

Photograph: Marc Simon
Apple's IPod used to be the benchmark for portable MP3 players, but now everyone appears to be gunning for the IPod Mini. Joining competitors like the Rio Carbon and the Creative Zen Micro is IRiver's $280 H10. I tested a shipping version of the 5GB player, and its versatility and quality won me over.

The highlight of the H10 is an attractive 1.5-inch display that, along with an improved hardware-and-software interface, makes the player a joy to use. Navigating your music library is easy with the touch-sensitive slider control, and IRiver has dropped its oversimplified folder-structure interface for one that allows you to browse by genre, artist, album, or song title.

Music sounds good on the device--provided you upgrade to a better set of headphones than the included earbuds. You can add individual songs, but not albums or artists, to an on-the-fly playlist called QuickList. The player does more than just play music: You can listen to and record FM radio, record audio with a built-in mike, and display text files. The unit also stores and shows photos, but because it offers no easy way to output those photos to a TV or PC, that ability is more a novelty than a useful feature.

Included is a replaceable, rechargeable battery that ran about 10.5 hours between charges. Rounding out the package is an exceptionally useful, protective rubber-skin case that allows full access to the device's navigation controls.

So how does the H10 match up to the $250 IPod Mini? Though it's a hair larger, it offers an additional 1GB of storage. The touch-sensitive controls aren't quite as slick as the Mini's, but they're intuitive. Finally, the H10 has features--including the radio, recorder, and color screen--that the Mini lacks. If these features are worth an extra $30 to you, consider the H10.

How to Buy a Flat-Screen TV

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 04:11:00 +0000

Ready to buy a new flatscreen TV? PC World provides some straightforward tips to help you navigate the hurdles that you'll encounter while shopping. Should you go plasma or LCD? What sort of inputs do you need? What kind of video will best test different TVs? And when you're done watching this, read our comprehensive HDTV Buying Guide for more information.

"I haven't had any experience about using TV as a monitor for my PC. Does it good?"

Next Step to simulate real life.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 10:56:00 +0000

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- A Japanese computer science student fails to take a full load of university classes and loses his student visa. A 10th-grade Indian girl is detained because of a high school essay she wrote on the Department of Homeland Security.

These are two of the characters in "ICED!" -- a new video game that invites players to step into the shoes of foreigners who run afoul of the U.S. immigration system.

It is part of a burgeoning genre of video games that examine major social and policy issues such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the situation in Darfur and the Electoral College.

"The game allows you to get into the body of a person, so you can experience what they are going through. There are very few opportunities to get that perspective," said Mallika Dutt, head of the nonprofit Breakthrough, which produced the game and uses new media to highlight social issues around the world.

"ICED!" -- a play on the acronym for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement office -- is scheduled to be available for free download next month. It differs greatly from games like "Border Patrol," which popped up on the Internet last year and exhorted players to kill illegal immigrants as they entered the country.

"ICED!" seeks to show how immigration laws passed in 1996 expanded the number of crimes that can trigger deportation and limited immigrants' rights to appeal.

Players try to avoid deportation by keeping a low profile and performing community service. Shoplifting or jumping a subway turnstile loses points. Lose too many, and your character ends up in a federal detention facility.

"You can get a lot out of a game, more than from film and other media in some ways, because you are actively engaged rather than just a passive consumer," said Suzanne Seggerman, head of the nonprofit group Games for Change.

Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for ICE, said the agency was confident players would recognize the game is fiction.

"ICED!" gamers can become a Mexican high school graduate whose family overstayed its visa, or a Haitian war veteran who faces deportation when he turns to alcohol and crime after returning from Iraq.

In the first level, players keep a low profile in a city vaguely resembling New York. In the second level, they must navigate an immigration detention center. Programmer Heidi Boisvert estimates the game can take 10 to 30 minutes to play.

Boisvert and Natalia Rodriguez came up with the idea in graduate school and approached Breakthrough about helping them develop it. Boisvert said they didn't talk to immigration authorities, but they did speak to immigration experts, attorneys and advocacy groups, as well as their target audience of voting-age teens.

All of the characters they chose were based on real situations, including the case of a 16-year-old New York girl from Guinea who was accused of planning a suicide bombing and detained for six weeks in 2005 before the charges dropped.

Steven Camarota, head of research at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, questioned the value of a game that focuses on individual cases rather than the complex issues surrounding immigration. While the U.S. immigration system is flawed, it is also one of the most generous in the world, said Camarota, whose organization favors strict enforcement of current laws.

"Any reasonable person should say your immigration system should always be tempered with mercy and justice," he said. "But it's like anything else. What exactly do you gain by looking at a small aspect of the debate?"

Louis DeSipio, a University of California, Irvine, political science professor and immigration expert, believes players do gain something.

"It's very important, especially for younger people, to understand the diversity of American society. It's easy to assume that everyone is like you," he said. "A game like this can show that."

But unless they want to preach solely to the converted, such games need widespread distribution -- something most nonprofits like Breakthrough lack the resources to do -- and to be part of a larger outreach campaign, he added.

That was the thinking of "PeaceMaker" creator Asi Burak, whose game allows players to act as both Israeli and Palestinian leaders as they seek to diffuse tension in the Middle East. It is one of the few such games to be sold commercially, including on Amazon.com. Burak claims it has sold thousands of copies in 60 countries at $20 per download.

Burak said he conceived "PeaceMaker" as a way to promote empathy between the two sides. To his surprise, those who played were more excited about finally understanding the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Even if such games can explain political and social issues, they are only effective if they are fun to play, he cautioned.

"It's like a film," he said. "If it's not good, it's going to bore the audience."

from cnn.com

New Treatment Boosts Cancer Vaccine

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 01:05:00 +0000

The first clinical trials of a new type of cancer treatment that releases the “brakes” on immune cells indicate that this approach enhances attacks on tumors while sparing the body's own tissue.

The results of the phase I clinical trials of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 blockade therapy were published online on April 1, 2003, in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . The researchers involved in the study included James Allison , a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of California, Berkeley, Glenn Dranoff, Steven Hodi and colleagues from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

“The beauty of this treatment is that the antibodies by themselves are benign. After they clear from the system, immune regulation returns to normal.”
James P. Allison

"Well, the problem how strong our body is"

No.1 T.V. Earners

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:20:00 +0000

It may be the small screen, but these stars are making big bucks on TV. TV Guide released a list of the highest paid TV stars, broken down into categories -- among them television salaries overall, network prime-time per episode, daytime salaries and news anchors salaries. Check out who's cashing in on TV.

Oprah Winfrey ($260 million per year)

Mogul Oprah Winfrey is like the media Energizer bunny -- and her salary keeps going and going accordingly. With a self-titled magazine and talk show under her belt, one can only imagine that her own T.V. network wouldn't be far-off.
(Charles Rex Arbogast/ AP Photo )

Intel Eee PC Laptop $199-$299

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:45:00 +0000

Intel has joined hands with ASUSTek to introduce an array of low-cost portable, which includes a laptop that would be priced at $200, especially for use in developing countries.

The announcement of this revolutionary notebook dubbed ‘Eee PC’ was made at Computex 2007. This tiny full featured low-end laptop could well become part of the ‘OLPC’ Project.

To showcase the Eee PC, Jonney Shih, chairman and chief executive, ASUS, was invited to announce the low-cost laptop, which has been designed to help spread computing to poorer regions of the world.

In case you are wondering, the three Es in the Eee PC stand for Easy to Learn, work, play; Excellent Internet experience and Excellent mobile computing experience.

The new Eee PC laptop, which costs just $200 aims to provide access to knowledge and modern forms of education to people in developing countries. Thus, Intel has named it as a “World Ahead” initiative.

According to Sean Maloney, executive vice president at Intel and chief marketing and sales officer, “It will give people the chance to access the Internet and share in the 21st century opportunity.”

# Listed below are the features of the $200 Eee PC laptop: Display: 7-inches
# CPU & Chipset: Intel Mobile CPU and Chipset
# OS: Microsoft Windows XP/ Linux compatible
# Communication: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
# WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g
# Graphic: Intel UMA
# Memory: 512MB, DDR2-400
# Storage: 4/8/16GB Flash
# Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
# Audio: High-definition Audio CODECD; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
# Battery Life: 3 hours (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P)
# Dimension & Weight: 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1-3.5cm, 0.89kg

The Eee PC Laptop will be available sometime later this year and the cost is expected to range from $199 to $299 depending on the feature set. Intel said it hoped to ship about 200,000 of the notebooks this year after production begins later this summer.

*Great news ^^ I want to get one as well.

Ebay's coming to Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 11:51:00 +0000

That's a great news! From joining in WTO, Vietnam become an impressive aim of the world.

Unfortunately, The Vietnamese are still familiar with cash instead of credit card. Consequently, Paypal - the famous way to trade in the world - is a big block for those who want to do their businesses on Internet through Ebay.

Enjoy WORLD of ART

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:09:00 +0000

New Breath for ALL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:48:00 +0000

Wow, in the third quarter in 2007, I've been feeling a great forces from Techonology, especially in Entertainment.

Firstly, I talk about laptop trends. While Toshiba keep on improving their laptops' design, Sony do their best in MINIMIZE their products (I love to have one ^^); how you can help falling in love with these products towards to end-users.

Dell and IBM still put stable steps, Dell also introduces 2 new models and IBM with its famous reputation ranking no.1 in Stability and Good for Bussiness.

Acer doesn't want to look elder ones go along, they are on No.3 popular on the whole world behind Dell & HP (HP Laptop really spectacular!) but I don't think they can stand for long.

Secondly, Xbox360 has matured enough now compare with PS3 and Nintendo Wii. The Golden Age of PC Games may be in dangerous when these consoles make Games more interactive with gamers.

Mike
(If you see any mistakes in grammar or vocabulary in my post, FEEL FREE to correct it. That's the great help for me ^_^)

Dell Ships Ubuntu Linux PCs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 15:04:00 +0000

Two desktops and an Inspiron E1505n notebook PC running Ubuntu 7.04 Linux go on sale today.
Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service

'Great News for those want to safe some fee. Another benefits, ATI Card in Dell laptop only have lastest drivers for Linux (I don't know why they don't support ATI Card for Windows, even in Dell website) - I own a Dell Inspiron E1505 with ATI X1400'

Dell Inc. will officially launch its first three consumer PCs running the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux OS on Thursday, two desktops and an Inspiron E1505n notebook PC.

The new models give buyers a third choice when shopping for a PC at Dell: a machine with Windows installed, a machine with no OS, on which they can install one of their choice, and now a machine with Ubuntu Linux already installed. Other PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) and Lenovo Group Ltd. also sell PCs that run Linux, but mainly on customized machines, because retail demand for the open-source OS is tiny compared to that for Windows.

The PCs will be available in the U.S. after 4 p.m. Central Time from Dell's Web site at http://www.dell.com/open. The laptop starts at US$599, while the two desktops, the Dimension E520 and XPS 410n, start from $599 and $849 each, respectively. A comparable XPS 410 with Windows Vista Premium costs $899.

Dell announced what flavor of Linux it would use in the PCs, Ubuntu 7.04, earlier this month. It's the same OS Michael Dell, the chairman and CEO of the company, uses on his Dell Precision M90 laptop at home.

Dell is targeting the Linux enthusiast market with the PCs, and said the choice of systems is a response to customer feedback collected at www.ideastorm.com, a Web site set up to solicit customer suggestions. Over 100,000 people participated in surveys about the systems and what kind of Linux to install in the machines, Dell said in a statement.

The three PCs all use Intel Corp. Core 2 Duo microprocessors. The two desktops contain 1G byte of RAM and 250G bytes of hard disk space, while the laptop includes 512M bytes of RAM and an 80G byte hard disk drive.

Users will be able to choose from several hardware options on their Ubuntu PCs from Dell. The options offered contain the most mature and stable Linux driver support, and Dell plans to work with vendors to ensure more devices include Linux driver support in the future, it said.

Dell is offering hardware support for the PCs through its existing channels, with basic software help from several dedicated Web sites and Linux forums. Canonical Ltd. is offering software service upgrades from the Web site: www.ubuntu.com.

The company also created the Dell Linux Forum at www.dellcommunity.com for users to find resources, troubleshoot, discuss issues and share experiences about the new PCs.

Stop Smoking - Cut Your Risk of Lung Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 14:57:00 +0000

'Well, Imagine a day in future, you will spend your day in a hospital, does it good for you? To stop it, start now!"

Most people know that smoking causes lung caner. They are also aware their smoke is bad for the health of their family, friends, or anyone else who comes in contact with the cigarette smoke. However, these people say they just can't stop smoking. It isn't easy.

Along with all of the cancer causing ingredients of cigarette smoke, one of the main ingredients of cigarette smoke is highly addictive. If you want to quit smoking but just can't seem to, here are some statistics that might help you put down your smokes for good. Also included are some suggestions to help you stop smoking.

First, smoking is responsible for eighty percent of lung cancer deaths in women while ninety percent of men who die of lung cancer were smokers or were exposed to second hand smoke. Next time you light up around your children, think about these statistics. You are not only damaging your health, you are also damaging their health.

In a recent study lead by Stephen S. Hecht, a professor at the University of Missouri, the main cancer causing ingredient of cigarette smoke was found in the urine of infants who lived with parents who smoked. Infants who lived with non-smoking parents did not have this chemical in their urine. This new information is in addition to the knowledge that children of smokers are more prone to ear and lung infections than those of non-smokers.

Of the more than 4,500 chemicals that make up cigarette smoke 60 of them are known to be cancer causing. If a place of business was emitting this many cancer causing agents, the business would be shut down until it could clean up its emissions and protect its workers from these dangerous chemicals. Yet, cigarettes are freely sold and openly smoked. Luckily for non-smokers, many public places are becoming aware of the dangers of cigarette smoke and are declaring themselves to be smoke free.

Even if you have smoked all of your life, it doesn't make since to assume it's too late to quit now. Researchers have found that those who smoke increase their risk of developing cancer with the number of years they have smoked and the number of cigarettes they smoke each day. However, they have also found that if any given smoker stops smoking, their risk of developing lung cancer will decreases.

If you do want to stop smoking, smoking cessation products have improved in the last several years. You can buy nicotine patches or gum specially designed to help ease you gradually off of smoking and make the transition easier. There is also a new prescription smoking cessation medication that seems to be very promising. If you want to quit smoking and be healthier, talk to your doctor about which options are best for you.

It is well known that cigarettes are not good for you. They are also not good for your family or those who inhale your smoke. While cigarettes are addictive, stopping smoking is worth the effort as it can cut your risk of developing lung cancer. If you want to quit, there is help. A wide variety of over-the-counter and prescription medications are available to help you stop smoking.

For more information on cancer try visiting http://www.cancercondition.com - a website that specializes in providing cancer related information and resources including information on lung cancer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Samantha_Kay

SO Cute ^_^

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 07:09:00 +0000

1 Forget all sadness 2

2 Love them 3

3 They make you happy and 1

The best of CES

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:46:00 +0000

Story Highlights

• Highlights from this year's CES show in Las Vegas
• LG offers dual HD format player
• SanDisk's new MP3 player could trump Zune
• Apple iPhone steals some of CES thunder

By Marc Saltzman
Special to CNN

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- So many products, so little time.

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) -- the annual Las Vegas-based trade show in its 40th year -- serves as a peek into the future of high-tech gadgets and gizmos. And I got quite a peek.

With close to 2 million square feet of showroom floor space at the Las Vegas Convention Center, not to mention the dozens of surrounding hotels and other facilities showcasing new technology, it can be an exhausting convention for the roughly 150,000 attendees. I'm not sure what's more difficult: trying to steal Sharp's well-guarded 108-inch LCD TV or hailing a cab for dinner.

That said, a handful of products did impress, so the following is a kind of awards nod for some of the most talked-about doohickeys at this year's CES:

Smartest idea

For months, home theater enthusiasts have wrestled with this question: Which high-definition format should I invest in -- Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD?

Both offer comparable quality, similar pricing and the same number of films -- about 150 titles each. Well, now you don't have to choose between the two thanks to the LG (www.lge.com) Super Multi Blue Player, the world's first dual-format high-definition disc player capable of playing both Blu-ray Discs and HD DVDs in one tray.

The sleek black BH100, with touch-sensitive buttons on the top of the unit to play and pause high-definition films, is expected to launch this spring for an estimated $1,199.

Could this be the one product to end the format war?

Most pervasive theme

Streaming Web and PC video to your television proved to be one of the most common themes at this year's show, including solutions offered by heavyweights Microsoft and Sony.

The irony is that one of the coolest demonstrations was from Sling Media, a company known for delivering the opposite -- streaming television to your computer.

The SlingCatcher can best be described as a reverse Slingbox; instead of tapping into your local TV with your Internet-connected laptop or smartphone, the SlingCatcher is designed to deliver Web and PC video or audio to a television located in the home or to remote locations via the Internet.

Sling Media says this product will be available by the summer for about $200.

A better Zune?

Hard-to-impress media types were often caught buzzing about SanDisk's newest MP3 player that appears to trump Microsoft's just-launched Zune player when it comes to its community features.

While Microsoft's Zune uses Wi-Fi to let users share songs that can be listened to up to three times within three days, SanDisk's Sansa Connect takes better advantage of the technology by letting you access an online buddy list to hear what your friends are listening to (with no song limit or time restrictions) and then tag songs to purchase and download.

Along with MP3 and photo playback, the Sansa Connect also lets you stream Internet radio stations via Wi-Fi -- and even view album artwork on its 2.2-inch screen in real time.

This 4GB Flash player, which includes an option to expand the memory via MicroSD cards, will be available this March for $250.

Not the first, but the best

Be honest -- all your digital photos are just collecting digital dust on your PC's hard drive. Kodak has an alternative solution: the EasyShare Digital Picture Frames play a slideshow of your favorite pictures or video clips -- even set to music, if desired.

Two out of the four models shown here in Las Vegas -- an 8- and 10-inch digital frame -- also offers integrated Wi-Fi, so if you have a wireless network you can stream photos, videos or music from your PC in another room.

Other features include a multifunction remote control and optional interchangeable faceplates that let you tailor the frame to match your room or mood.

Due out by March, prices range from $129 to $279, depending on the frame size and wireless functionality.

Geekiest gadget (we really want)

The "Star Wars" geeks at CES -- and as you can guess, there's a whole bunch of them -- might trade a night with Princess Leia for this new R2-D2 high-definition projector.

Modeled after that lovable droid from the "Star Wars" flicks, Nikko Home Electronics' R2-D2 Mobile Entertainment System features a built-n LCoS projector (which can create an image up to 80 inches on a white wall), plus it houses a DVD/CD/MP3 player, stereo speakers, integrated iPod dock and eleven R2-D2 sound effects.

Control all the action with a remote control in the shape of the Millennium Falcon.

Suggested retail price in March should be around $2,500.

Best product that wasn't at the show

It doesn't matter what the 2,700 or so exhibitors were showing us journalists on Tuesday because we weren't paying any attention.

Instead, our faces were buried in our BlackBerrys, awaiting the iPhone press release from Macworld in San Francisco. And it was a doozie: the Apple iPhone is basically three products in one: a widescreen iPod with a 3.5-inch touch-screen display; a quad-band GSM smartphone (via Cingular) and a Wi-Fi-enabled device capable of text-messaging, VoIP calls, email, Web browsing and interactive Google maps.

The iPhone also offers Bluetooth connectivity for wireless headsets, a 2-Megapixel camera and a new music navigation feature called Album Flow that lets users browse their music library by flipping album artwork with their finger.

It won't be cheap, however; the iPhone will be $499 (4GB) or $599 (8GB), and slated for a summer release.

Source: CNN.com

Microsoft in hot water over Wikipedia edits

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:43:00 +0000

Wikipedia is known as the encyclopedia

that anyone can tweak -- but moderators block anyone

perceived as having a conflict of interest from posting entries.

Story Highlights

• Microsoft offered to pay a blogger to "correct" Wikipedia articles
• Wikipedia "disappointed" Microsoft would take this approach
• Microsoft says
entries were inaccurate and heavily slanted

(AP) -- Microsoft Corp. has landed in the Wikipedia doghouse after it offered to pay a blogger to change technical articles on the community-produced Web encyclopedia site.

While Wikipedia is known as the encyclopedia that anyone can tweak, founder Jimmy Wales and his cadre of volunteer editors, writers and moderators have blocked public-relations firms, campaign workers and anyone else perceived as having a conflict of interest from posting fluff or slanting entries. So paying for Wikipedia copy is considered a definite no-no.

"We were very disappointed to hear that Microsoft was taking that approach," Wales said Tuesday.

Microsoft acknowledged it had approached the writer and offered to pay him for the time it would take to correct what the company was sure were inaccuracies in Wikipedia articles on an open-source document standard and a rival format put forward by Microsoft.

Spokeswoman Catherine Brooker said she believed the articles were heavily written by people at IBM Corp., which is a big supporter of the open-source standard. IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brooker said Microsoft had gotten nowhere in trying to flag the purported mistakes to Wikipedia's volunteer editors, so it sought an independent expert who could determine whether changes were necessary and enter them on Wikipedia.

Brooker said Microsoft believed that having an independent source would be key in getting the changes to stick -- that is, to not have them just overruled by other Wikipedia writers.

Brooker said Microsoft and the writer, Rick Jelliffe, had not determined a price and no money had changed hands -- but they had agreed that the company would not be allowed to review his writing before submission. Brooker said Microsoft had never previously hired someone to influence a Wikipedia article.

Jelliffe, who is chief technical officer of a computing company based in Australia, did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

In a blog posting Monday, he described himself as a technical standards aficionado and not a Microsoft partisan. He said he was surprised to be approached by Microsoft but figured he'd accept the offer to review the Wikipedia articles because he considered it important to make sure technical standards processes were accurately described.

Wales said the proper course would have been for Microsoft to write or commission a "white paper" on the subject with its interpretation of the facts, post it to an outside Web site and then link to it in the Wikipedia articles' discussion forums.

"It seems like a much better, transparent, straightforward way," Wales said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

source: CNN.com

Multivitamin Mishaps (harm your health)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:00:00 +0000

New Report Finds That More Than Half of the Supplements Tested Fall Short of Their Claims

By JANET HELM (a registered dietitian and freelance nutrition writer in Chicago.)

Jan. 22, 2007— If you're like millions of Americans who take a multivitamin every day "just to be sure," you may have new reasons to doubt what's inside that pill or capsule.

A report just released by ConsumerLab.com revealed that more than half of the multivitamins tested did not contain what the label claimed: Either the nutrient levels fell short or exceeded what was safe.

Of the 21 brands of multivitamins the researchers randomly selected off store shelves and tested, only 10 met the stated claims on the label or satisfied other quality standards.

Most "shocking" was the amount of lead found in one multivitamin, said Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com, a White Plains, N.Y., company that independently evaluates dietary supplements.

The Vitamin Shoppe Multivitamins Especially for Women was found to contain 15.3 micrograms of lead per serving. Cooperman said this is more than 10 times the amount of lead permitted without a warning label in California — the only state to regulate lead in supplements.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Excess lead may be particularly damaging to pregnant women and young children.

Cooperman believes the contamination may be attributed to the herbs used in the supplement, but "we've not heard from Vitamin Shoppe," he said.

The second most "disturbing" finding, said Cooperman, was the amount of vitamin A found in a multivitamin for children.

Hero Nutritionals Yummi Bears contained 216 percent of the labeled amount of vitamin A, delivering amounts that exceeded what's been defined as an "upper tolerable level" for children. Too much vitamin A can weaken bones and cause liver damage.

Each serving provided 5,400 international units of vitamin A in the retinol form, which is substantially more than the upper tolerable level of 2,000 IUs for children ages 1 to 3, and 3,000 IUs for children ages 4 to 8.

Judy Blatman, vice president of communications for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association that represents the dietary supplements industry, had not seen the full report but she questioned the findings.

(Read More...)
Source: abcnews.com

'Grammar Girl' a quick and dirty success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:55:00 +0000

Story Highlights

• Mignon Fogarty created the "Grammar Girl" podcast in July
• It has been as high as number 2 on iTunes
• The podcasts have had more than 1.3 million downloads

By David E. Williams
CNN

(CNN) -- Grammar lessons often are associated with high school drudgery -- diagramming sentences and memorizing obscure rules in between passing notes in English class -- but an Arizona technical writer has turned the seemingly dry subject into a popular podcast.

Mignon Fogarty, the woman behind "Grammar Girl's Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing," has been explaining the finer points of commas, colons and split infinitives since July.

She recently weighed in on a dispute over apostrophes that divided the U.S. Supreme Court. Grammar wasn't the issue in the 5-4 decision, but Justice Clarence Thomas referred to "Kansas' statute" in the majority opinion, while Justice David Souter wrote about "Kansas's statute" in the minority.

Fogarty said both men were correct, but that she preferred leaving off the extra s.

"Justice Thomas' name ends with an s, so you might guess that he is more familiar with the issue," she told her audience.

Fogarty, 39, said she got the idea for the podcast, sort of an Internet radio show, during a California vacation. (Interactive: What is podcasting?)

"I was sitting in a coffee shop one day in Santa Cruz, California, on vacation and editing technical documents, because I work on vacation, and found so many grammar errors and it just hit me that grammar was something that I had expertise in that would lend itself to a short tip-based podcast," she said.

The show is currently the 47th most popular podcast on Apple's iTunes service, right behind "Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day." It has been as high as number two, Fogarty said. She said the shows have been downloaded more than 1.3 million times.

Fogarty said she's gotten some publicity, but that most of her audience comes from word of mouth.

"I get e-mails from people who say 'I just discovered your podcast and I've told everyone I work with' or 'I told every teacher at my school,'" she said. "I get a lot of e-mails like that, where people discover it and they just can't wait to tell everybody, which is really cool."

Sara Kearns, a librarian at Kansas State University, has been listening to Grammar Girl since October, and recommended it on the library's blog.

"I listen to Grammar Girl in chunks. A couple of weeks may go by and then I'll listen to 10 of them at a time," Kearns said in an e-mail interview. "The genius of Grammar Girl, apart from her ability to simplify grammar, is that she posts the transcripts so that I can stare at a gnarly piece of grammar until it clicks."

Fogarty said her audience ranges from schoolchildren in China to CEOs in the United States.

"I try to make it fun. I've even had people say 'I'm not that interested in grammar, I don't know why I listen.' But I'm glad that they do," Fogarty said. "I think people like that it's short. It's sort of a low-commitment podcast. And yet they learn something that's useful that they can put to use when they write their next e-mail."

The success of the show prompted Fogarty to produce two more podcasts "Mr. Manners' Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Polite Life" and "Money Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for a Richer Life." She said she's started selling ads and is even getting some interest from book publishers.

One drawback of her work, she said, is that listeners are nervous about writing her.

"I feel bad about that, I don't want people to be afraid to write to me, but about half of my e-mails start with some sort of pre-apology for errors they expect to make," she said.

She said they shouldn't worry, and that she doesn't send back e-mails with big, red correction marks.

Source: CNN.com

Work From Home Success Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:53:00 +0000

'GMA's' Tips Have Helped Thousands of People Find Jobs

By TORY JOHNSON

Dec. 18, 2006 — In "Good Morning America's" ongoing series "Take Control of Your Life," we've focused on ways to make money from home, and the response has been overwhelming.

We've been told that more than 11,000 "GMA" viewers from all walks of life are doing just that as a direct result of this series, including over 1,000 people who've discovered work as home-based customer service agents.

And the numbers are growing: I've responded to more than 5,000 e-mails on this topic, which is proof positive that flexibility — and specifically the ability to work from home — is the biggest workplace trend, given its tremendous interest to a wide range of people.

Parents, including Matthew Johnson, have told me they've become home-based agents because they crave the flexibility of working from home.

I've heard from others, including Jessica Park, with physical or emotional challenges that prevent them from working outside the home.

And retirees like Don Curtis just aren't ready to stop working — or they're looking to supplement their savings.

All of them have found success through this flexible-work option.

Businesses Take Note

Large businesses are responding as well.

Two companies we've featured, Alpine Access and Willow, say they've lured new corporate clients in retail, publishing and financial services since our segments have aired.

For example, Home Depot and Time Customer Service, Inc. have signed on with Willow, whose contracted agents will provide home-based customer service.

Alpine Access CEO Chris Carrington is bullish about the coming year based on the volume of interest his company is receiving, in part because of "GMA's" segments.

In fact, Alpine Access, Willow and LiveOps say they plan to hire and/or contract with a total of 20,000 new agents in 2007.

The growth of U.S.-based customer service agents working from home has brought improved retention over traditional call center settings.

It also results in an improved experience for customers, which is key to brand preservation and customer loyalty and satisfaction, according to top businesses that favor keeping their calls in the United States.

(Read More...)
Source: abcnews.com

A Vending Machine for iPods?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:46:00 +0000

(AP Photo)

As U.S. Consumers Get Comfortable Paying With Plastic, Automated Sale Terminals Are Selling Much More Than Soda

By CHRISTIAN LUPSA

Jan. 21, 2007 — Old-school vending machines, bulky bastions of high-calorie snacks and sodas, meet your new-school challenger: chic, upscale gadgets stocked with consumer electronics and pricey cosmetics.

As more of these machines pop up in high-traffic areas such as airports, the old quarter-chuggers may someday find themselves outvended.

The new vending machines sell iPods, cell phones, USB drives, headphones, DVDs, and a host of other gadgets.

This latest development in the $30 billion-a-year vending industry — a figure that only includes food and beverage sales — is a natural outgrowth of consumer clamor for control and round-the-clock convenience, say industry observers.

Pushing this trend are the computerization and networking of machines, as well as growing consumer confidence in cash alternatives. To put it another way, the more Americans are willing to swipe their transactions, the better vending does.

"Automated retail is in the midst of an explosion," says Michael Kasavana, a professor specializing in vending commerce at Michigan State University. "Self-service applications have become prevalent in all aspects of business, especially where labor costs have become excessive."

As the executive vice president for Zoom Systems, a vending machine seller in San Francisco, Mark Mullins loves automated retail.

Self-checkout aisles at grocery stores, ticket kiosks, vending machines — you name it — if Mullins can control it, he'll fiddle with it in no time.

"Anything that's automated, I say 'Let's give it a try,'" he says.

American society has given birth to "Generation P" (for plastic), says Kasavana, and paying with plastic is good business for Mullins. A Zoom machine in the Atlanta airport recently sold in the neighborhood of $50,000 in merchandise, Mullins says, without revealing the actual figure.

Before vending machines could expand into high-tech products, they had to overcome three roadblocks:

Gravity: Most machines drop sodas and snack foods several feet before a consumer can access them. But who wants to watch a $350 music player go through the same experience? Today's machines are equipped with robotic arms, conveyor belts and baskets. No more drops.

(Read More...)
Source: www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2007 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.

Woman drinks so much water she dies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:25:00 +0000

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A woman who competed in a radio station's contest to see how much water she could drink without going to the bathroom died of water intoxication, the coroner's office said Saturday.

Jennifer Strange, 28, was found dead Friday in her suburban Rancho Cordova home hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND 107.9 promised a Nintendo Wii video game system for the winner.

"She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying, and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."

It was not immediately known how much water Strange consumed.

A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death," said assistant Coroner Ed Smith.

John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death.

"We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred," he said.

Initially, contestants were handed 8-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes.

"They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Ybarra of Woodland. "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk."

Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles. "My bladder couldn't handle it anymore," he added.

After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given even bigger bottles to drink.

"I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for her kids."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Two of Richest Women in Entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:20:00 +0000

Singer Mariah Carey, formerly married to Sony music mogul Tommy Mottola, has sold 160 million albums.
Though her career took a temporary nose dive after her 2001 movie, "Glitter," bombed, the 36-year-old had enough juice to earn a $225 million net worth, placing her sixth on the Forbes list.
(Matt Sayles/AP Photo)

Britney Spears' recent domestic troubles didn't stop the former teen pop queen, now 25, from amassing a $100 million fortune, tying her with the Olsen twins for 11th place.
(Kevork Djansezian/AP Photo)

MySpace Hit With Online Predator Suits

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:15:00 +0000

Families Sue News Corp. and MySpace After Children Abused by Adult MySpace Users
By JESSICA MINTZ AP Business Writer

NEW YORK Jan 18, 2007 (AP)— Four families have sued News Corp. and its MySpace social-networking site after their underage daughters were sexually abused by adults they met on the site, lawyers for the families said Thursday.

The law firms, Barry & Loewy LLP of Austin, Texas, and Arnold & Itkin LLP of Houston, said families from New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and South Carolina filed separate suits Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging negligence, recklessness, fraud and negligent misrepresentation by the companies.

"In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users," said Jason A. Itkin, an Arnold & Itkin lawyer.

The families are seeking monetary damages "in the millions of dollars," Itkin said.

"Hopefully these lawsuits can spur MySpace into action and prevent this from happening to another child somewhere," he said.

Critics including parents, school officials and police have been increasingly warning of online predators at sites like MySpace, where youth-oriented visitors are encouraged to expand their circles of friends using free messaging tools and personal profile pages.

MySpace has responded with added educational efforts and partnerships with law enforcement. The company has also placed restrictions on how adults may contact younger users on MySpace, while developing technologies such as one announced Wednesday to let parents see some aspects of their child's online profile, including the stated age. That tool is expected this summer.

"MySpace serves as an industry leader on Internet safety and we take proactive measures to protect our members," Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief security officer, said in a statement. "We provide users with a range of tools to enable a safer online experience."

But he said Internet safety is a shared responsibility, requiring users to "apply common sense offline safety lessons in their online experiences and engage in open family dialogue."

(Read More...)

Source: abcnews.com

What Guys Really Want

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:09:00 +0000

Click and See:

http://www.box.net/public/tpi5nf9qs3

So funny ^^

Funny: Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:02:00 +0000