Today Show

English Syntax | lectures (videos)

2011-07-29T22:58:00.002Z

This video playlist contains lectures about some basic information about sentence structure (syntax) and sentence types. It also includes examples of common sentence problems in written English.

More info: There are links to more sentence identification and sentence building exercises on the Writing Index of that website.

[hit the next button to shift to the following lesson.]

Time Regained (film)

2011-07-29T17:47:00.000Z

Time Regained (French: Le Temps retrouvé) is a 1999 French drama film directed by Raúl Ruiz. It is an adaptation of the final volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. The plot is about the anonymous narrator of In Search of Lost Time who reflects on his past experiences while lying on his deathbed.

The choice to develop the last volume of In Search of Lost Time allows the film to refer to the entire series of books. For example, the film shows an episode of the first novel, Swann's Way, usually referred to as "the lady in pink", as a flashback of Time Regained.

subtitles in English

pygmalion (movie)

2011-07-29T17:01:00.001Z

This public domain classic centers around a conceited language professor who tricks his snobby peers by teaching a girl from the gutter to behave like a lady—and everyone thinks she is a princess! Nominated for a best Picture Academy Award, and won one for Best Screenplay (Written by famed playwright George Bernard Shaw and adapted by Ian Dalrymple). Also, the play was later remade as My Fair Lady, which also won several Oscars. Stars Oscar-winning actors Leslie Howard and Dam Wendy Hiller. NOTE: Contains profanity.

aljazeera et alarabiya fréquence sur nilesat

2011-03-11T17:50:00.002Z

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How Arab block access to websites

2011-02-06T02:52:00.000Z

Blocking and filtering
The simplest censorship tools include monitoring and blocking of posts or entire websites like Facebook and Twitter.

When the Saudis started blocking content a decade ago, they blocked entire websites. In some Gulf countries, users would get a message informing them that the government had deemed the site in question inappropriate. In other countries, users get no warning and can't tell if their own computer or Internet connection is malfunctioning.

But CPJ’s O’Brian says censorship has become stealthier and more sophisticated in many Middle Eastern countries.

"That means you can pluck out one video from YouTube rather than banning YouTube entirely. "So now the question here is: Is that better censorship or not?" O'Brian asked. "At least in Turkey, individual Turkish users are aware that what they're seeing has been censored by the authorities. If you have a very subtle level of blocking, that means you might never ever realize that there's a huge swath of the Net that you're forbidding from being seen."

Filtering is done by keyword, IP address and domain name to intercept undesirable chatter and block access to external sites. Countries like Egypt did not filter and only blocked websites temporarily - until recently.

Faced with massive protests demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and his government, Egyptian authorities shut down social media sites and mobile SMS communication. Other countries followed suit as the protests spread to Yemen and Jordan.

Syrian bloggers writing to Global Voices, a global online community of bloggers, note that the official media has all but kept Syrians in the dark about the turmoil outside their borders.

Libyan authorities don't bother to block internal websites. Instead, they block Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that link citizens to external servers like Google's, effectively insolating them from the world.
Morocco does very little blocking and maintains a more open online environment than most in the region. Lebanon does not filter, according to Jillian York, OpenNet Initiative Project Coordinator at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, while Saudi Arabia does less filtering than Syria. Most Gulf countries filter out pornography and social content deemed offensive to Islam.

Much of the filtering is done using U.S.-made software.

"One of the more popular tools is SmartFilter, which is owned by McAfee, which is also now owned by Intel," said York. "And SmartFilter provides [a] Web database with over 25 million websites that can be blocked in over 90 categories ... so internet service providers (ISPs) can also create user-defined categories that then allow them to block websites that aren't in the provided database."
According to York, SmartFilter is used in Tunisia, Sudan, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

When asked about the use of SmartFilter in the region, a McAfee statement said the company "has no control over, or visibility into how an organization implements its own filtering policy," The company added that "we do not provide any categories that would allow someone to discriminate on the bases of race, religion, political persuasion, gender, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic."
McAfee says its software does not include categories that would allow someone to differentiate and censor political speech. Questions regarding the use of SmartFilter in Tunisia were unanswered.
York says these programs were originally meant for home use or school use to block websites from being accessed by children.

“But when they are used by a government, these governments can then use them to block any sort of material. And so... these companies are essentially deciding what is acceptable content… and then by selling their software to governments, they are essentially deciding that for the citizens of those countries," said York.

Websense is another filtering software used in Yemen to block websites and political content. York says when OpenNet Initiative inquired about this, Websense responded that “they do not sell to ISPs for any sort of government-imposed censorship," and " would not allow the government of Yemen to update their software."

But York argued that once the software is out there, it becomes easy for governments to find a way to update it.

When asked about the use of the software in Yemen, Websense unequivocally stated that if the Yemeni government is using Websense products to restrict internet activity, “they are doing so without a valid license and therefore are doing so without permission and illegally.”
Websense says if its products are being used in such a manner, it will actively seek to terminate any such activity.

These countries get screwed over yet again. This time it's not from the decadent West, but from their own internal internet censors. As the author points out stopping the free flow of information only limits the social, cultural and political progress in the affected countries. And citizens wonder why they are so behind in all aspects of society.

For more info : This Article Source

Join a forum be active get traffic

2011-02-03T02:56:00.001Z

Image source

Every one is talking about participating in forums, let say it is an assurance to guarantee traffic and back-links to your site. It’s a popular technique.You may think it is very easy as just signing up, participating by writing a few posts, and then traffic will boost back to your blog for ever. No, you're obliged to pay your dues. Joining a forum is like joining a Mafia, and here are basic rules to follow: (if you don't want to hear) “Forget about us because we will not forget you”

(Hey, firstly, consider this disclaimer: While this will for sure ruin your day, you have to know that I’m a 25 year-old hunter from the suburbias.I acquired knowledge about Mafia and gangs from Gangster's Academy on the Historia Channel. And in any means I am not inspiring you to join existent gangs.)

1. Be popular in streets

Do not bear in mind joining a gang, start pushing people around, and await them to serve you loyally. You have got to show them what it takes. Your life depends on how you respond to them using massive destruction words. The considerable traffic I get from forums is from that I’ve been active on for a while; people perceive who I am. People know me, man. They know what I’m capable of, and they esteem that.

2. Don’t be a fuzz. Who ever you are or whatever you do, don’t be a cop

No one likes annoyance. Don’t be aggressive and violent, and don’t ruin other people’s fun. The other gang members will banish you and maybe even put a bomb in your car.

3. Get fresh tattoos, not weak ones

Tattoo is your forum signature. You wouldn’t want a tattoo with a silly sign on it, right? Cool. Make your signature as something to be proud of, something that interpret you and your blog advantageously.

Put in mind too, some forums do not allow signatures; to find your blog people have to click on your user name. Avoid these. The first mentioned, which allow signatures will help direct importantly great traffic to your site.

4. Start a gang scandal

You want to get observed? You want people out for your blood? You want to live in dishonor? Start a gang war. You want to get noticed on a forum? Start up a theme that will get so many replies. Like what?

How I see it, I think two relevant types of forum posts that will get audience attention: controversial subjects, and cases that everyone has opinions about. Asking for people’s opinion about controversial things is self-explanatory and obvious, I think. As far as issues that may influence a decision. Some examples are, “What would you do with $1000000?”, “When/how did you believe ____?”, and “What’s your favorite actor/book/movie and why...?” Note how each question is free or open and can be adapted to some degree to any one. The more people your post attracts, the more people view your signature. Then the more people will click on it to visit your site.

5. Take a risk and step forward for dangerous missions no one else wants to do

Make yourself visible be cooperative by providing assistance and always be ready to provide help Err… In other words… be as helpful as you can. The value of your work is very worthy.

6. Be in a state of action in your gang

If you’re out on the battlefront, people will distinguish you in your gang, badly behaving, commit robbery... Same thing goes with forums. When writing always consider your self as your readers; also the value of what you're writing about should be welcomed (I'm repeating note 5), but quantity is also important. Don’t just look to your subject from one perspective and say this is going save the day (remember to use simple words because you don't knew the exact targeted audience in the net).

7. If you don't follow these rules find another bridge to sit under

Don't make it your objective to insult, disrespect or otherwise berate a post or user. Flaming can result in permanent "water damage" to your account and ban it forever. Respect each other and each person's opinions. No one has the right to attack an individual, group, or idea. Failure to follow these simple rules is the fastest way to lose the ability to post.

Know the rules, follow the rules. If you don’t, you’ll get banned. You don’t want to attack your gang members and wake up in the morning with your house on fire.

That's it follow the listed rules and guarantee your life to fight another day. People will admire you; tomorrow you come to be an online gangster boss you’ve always wanted to be.

Technical Info about backlinks :

Backlinks are incoming links to a website or web page. Inbound links were originally important (prior to the emergence of search engines) as a primary means of web navigation.

Search engines often use the number of backlinks that a website has as one of the most important factors for determining that website's search engine ranking, popularity and importance.

''Most commercial search engines provide a mechanism to determine the number of backlinks they have recorded to a particular web page. For example, Google can be searched using link:wikipedia.org to find the number of pages on the Web pointing to http://wikipedia.org/. To find link information on Yahoo type linkdomain:http://www.wikipedia.org. Google only shows a small fraction of the number of links pointing to a site. It credits many more backlinks than it shows for each website.
Other mechanisms have been developed to track backlinks between disparate webpages controlled by organizations that aren't associated with each other. The most notable example of this is TrackBacks between blogs. Source ''

Note : concerning commenting in this blog or any other blogs using CommentLuv. It is one of the best plugins available. It allows any blog owner to reward the people who comment with a direct link in order to build backlinks. So to build backlinks to your blog, start to include your blog link in commentLuv area as in below ; Thank you.

Ten tips for improving your site's visibility

2011-01-26T02:30:00.001Z

1. The three largest search engines all provide you into a small look into their inner working. If you are serious about promoting your site you need to be signed to all three of these free services. Signing up for all three services is a must but Google Webmaster Tools by far gives you the most detailed information out of the three.

Some of the features in Google Webmaster are very imortant to otipmise you website.

2. Consider your self as your readers: explain to your visitors which site's terms they may use in order to find you online (don't use a list of empty keywords, instead of this embody these terms within a text).

3. make sure to choose relevant titles for each of your pages: these titles are visible in the search results. (there are many methods to do this, actually if you did not, the first words that will appear in search results is your blog name) buil the hierarchy of your content clearly(<h1> </ h1> <h2> etc..), And create unique and useful content.

4. remember to check the quality of your meta tags: the quality descriptions can be used in the excerpts in the begining of your pages, or "snippets". Properly calibrated (by determine the correct capacity and their value ). they will help improve the quality and quantity of your traffic.

5. Help your visitors to understand the content of your pages using simple URLs that attract the inttention to visit your site: for example, this better "example.com / products / gadgets.html" than this "example.com / asdasd / rewiruewr? Asd = 2131209840392 '

6. Make sure all important content is accessible via a direct link from a page already indexed. For example, think about creating a link from your homepage to your "Recent coupon".

7. Use a text version for the majority of your content and your navigation. Reserve the use of JavaScript and Flash to value a section or a part of your page.

8. Use the ALT tags to categorize your images. indexing robots, the "Googlebots", do not understand images. So help them to categorize your images correctly and take them into account in search results, ! The ALT tag (<img src="angry.gif" alt="Angry face" />)is like a meta tag for images: it contains additional information, which are accessible by users who can not see your images. If you use the "googlebots" they can be based on this information to better understand what are your images.

9. To verify order and cleanliness in appearance of your site, and how it will show up to others who use different browsers, use a text browser such as Lynx or Lynx web browser: http://lynx.isc.org/.

10. before all, think about your users! If after applying these tips you are able to direct or fillter traffic from Google and other search engines, congratulations - but do not underestimate the contribution provided by the experience of your website's user ! Add to favorites, share, discussions are other promoting tools you need to consider. Test and measure the impact of your changes, visibility and design using Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer.

If you want to go beyond these ten tips, add me in FB http://www.facebook.com/towardaznzar or follow me in twitter @subme,I will post more articles, which will allow you to go further in optimizing your site.

Natural Christmas Tree Decorations in Morocco

2011-01-07T23:57:00.000Z

This might look like a lazy father's hastily photoshopped answer to the question "Where do baby goat's come from?" But in fact, it's a real photograph taken of real goats in in Morroco.

Claiming Goats

When food became sparse on the ground, the hoofed creatures simply learned to climb trees. Pretty cool, though we'd imagine it loses some of its luster the first time you park under a tree and your car gets crapped on by a goat.

Use Twitter to better manage crisis

2011-01-04T02:10:00.000Z

src : twitter blog
It began with a simple “let me know” Tweet a few hours after Sunday’s blizzard dumped more than two feet of snow on New Jersey’s largest city. Soon, Tweets by Newark residents were providing Mayor @CoryBooker with critical real-time information as he directed the massive cleanup.

Booker is no stranger to Twitter. He has logged nearly 5,000 Tweets and gained more than one million followers since joining in 2008. In the last four days, he’s demonstrated to his community tangible examples of individual engagement that may have even inspired others to act in kind.

Patrolling the streets of his city with a Blackberry in hand, Booker responded to a report of a woman in labor – arriving to aid the expectant mother before EMS could get to the scene. As residents reported unplowed streets and stuck cars, the mayor dispatched city plows and tow trucks, often showing up himself to help shovel or push.

Booker is setting a great example for how local public officials can use Twitter to better manage crisis. His effort did not go unnoticed. Check out Vanity Fair’s list of the “10 Most Valiant Snow-Rescue Tweets from Cory Booker,” and coverage from the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, or this piece by Frank Reed for more.

5 application to manage twitter in desktop

2011-01-02T23:07:00.001Z

You've recently become a Twitter addict and your life revolves around your timeline. However, it happens to you yet you drown in the flood of tweets that runs constantly.These 5 applications will manage your Twitter from desktop !

Recent studies have shown that the relative use of the website Twitter was far from those held by third-party applications, which continue to grow day after day.

The problem with such competition, it becomes very difficult to choose among hundreds of software that are emerging. Nevertheless, effectively manage your tweets remains a priority, it's why I propose a review of these applications, which in my opinion, worth the detour.

I want to remind you that I recently changed my Twitter account. You can now follow me back by subscribing to @subme, never to miss any of the news ^ ^

1): Seesmic Desktop, the safe bet

Seesmic has been one of the first to develop its application. After many developments, the current version is now dedicated to the office successful and I do not hide it, one of my favorites. Using the Adobe Air platform, Seesmic does not install anything on your PC (if not Adobe Air itself). The updates are quiet, very useful plugins many and the rate of API is very interesting (basically, you can flood it without constraint). Available for both Mac and PC, you will not be disappointed (especially since you can have running a plethora of social networks).

2): TweetDeck: The heavyweight

TweetDeck is the direct competitor of Seesmic, and was widely imposed in the twitosphère. With an extremely careful design and compatibility with any test, again, the management of your tweets is simplified to the maximum. Again, the rate of API is very advantageous, not to mention the extensive management of your conversations all of your tweets are at hand, and monitoring of real-time search is extremely well managed. TweetDeck is unquestionably one of the best customers.

3)HootSuite : the outsider

Less careful, a little more rough and still in English, HootSuite still managed to win in the Twitter universe. Its strength lies mainly in the fact manage its network so extensive, while always keeping an eye on a full range of advanced statistical. In addition, customization of the dashboard can be pushed to the extreme, to best meet your expectations. HootSuite should therefore provide a benefit to bilingual you are, without forgetting the love of numbers.

4)Twhirl : The Minimalist

Twhirl compiles nearly all the features of its competitors, yet it has a huge failure since its creation: the design itself was (frankly) sloppy. By this, visual ergonomics on the application is deeply questionable, which makes it very difficult to read and follow tweets (especially if your timeline is active). If you do not follow a lot of people, and your use of Twitter is moderate, however Twhirl is a perfect companion to keep an eye on what's happening on Twitter. Hoping that developers will soon fix the display, which would then make the application much more attractive.

5)Blu: the masterpiece

Blu was my first Twitter client for the desktop, and boasts a minimalist. Having been developed for Vista by the excellent team of Thirteen 23, the application is unfortunately still in beta. Visually cons, Blu is a pure gem, repackage your desktop to look through its lens and its sober colors. Performance-wise, many bugs are still present, and the rate of API is pathetic. But I repeat myself certainly, but Blu is a real visual treat, to test just for that!

Jude the Obscure, the 'Good Times' Embedded Within the Tragedy

2010-12-09T23:29:00.002Z

An examination of Thomas Hardy's tragic novels; tracing their 'good times' to reveal Hardy's celebration of life.

Sue and Jude at the Agricultural Fair

As many critics have noticed the natural world and rural Wessex do not really feature in this last official novel; the agricultural fair is as close as the couple get to an affinity with the natural world. It has a positive effect on Sue, normally pale in colour and evasive in manner, at the fair;

‘Sue’s usually pale cheeks reflecting the pink of the tinted roses at which she gazed; for the gay sights, the air, the music, and the excitement of a day’s outing with Jude, had quickened her blood and made her eyes sparkle with vivacity.’

Barbara Hardy notes that this presentation of Sue shows that her ‘sexual coldness, is not a deep or permanent condition.’

The excitement of a holiday, a break from the monotony of life has enlivened Sue. She is flushed with blood rushing under the skin, her eyes sparkling as a sure sign of life. Most importantly she is glad of this occasion to holiday with Jude. Barbara Hardy continues; ‘freedom comes not from wildness but from relaxed pleasures outside the routines and boundaries of work, institutional life and conventional codes.’

In this instance Sue thinks not of the past and her aversions to marriage but happily and freely calls Jude her ‘husband’, this is uttered without hesitation or afterthought.

Before the section begins Hardy characteristically describes the scene; ‘the most familiar object in Stoke-Barehills nowadays is its cemetery, standing among some picturesque medieval ruins…modern tombs, and modern shrubs, having a look of intrusiveness amid the crumbling and ivy-covered decay of the ancient walls.’ It is striking that he chooses to place this agricultural fair on a site so steeped in history. Amongst these decaying ruins the reader has been trained to feel that good times will be scarce. Jude and Sue so easily fall into dismay about the state of their lives when presented with utterances of the past. However in this instance, they manage to avoid all associations with the past and enjoy the moment even if the future sits miserably beside them in the form of Father Time.

Sue and Jude: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Sue and Jude’s actions speak louder than their words in this moment, for example in Jude’s teasing; ‘he playfully gave her [Sue] a little push, so that her nose went among the petals’; and in Sue’s facial expressions, ‘then she looked up at him, and smiled in a way that told so much to Arabella.’; also in their desire to be close, ‘Jude’s hand sought Sue’s as they stood, the two standing close together so as to conceal, as they supposed, this tacit expression of their mutual responsiveness.’

For a couple who are constantly discussing rather than enjoying living, this moment is truly lived in. In his book, The Expressive Eye, J. B. Bullen states that in the case of Jude and Sue;

‘Existential anxieties, problems about faith, and doubt about action and moral judgement, and above all about the value and status of marriage, are expressed in debate, discussion, and argument, all of which allow no time to observe or contemplate those things lying beyond the sphere of immediate interest. It is as if their anxieties actually generate a form of sensory deprivation, which forces them to exist in a kind of limbo, cut off and remote from external sources of pleasure and joy.’

The roses section at the fair is a moment in which undoubtedly the couple stop their discussions and absorb their surroundings, immersing themselves in life and all of its joys. It is noted earlier in the text that the couple make up two halves of the same whole. Here especially, the reader can identify with this statement feeling Sue and Jude to be complete with each other. Jude’s love for Sue is never really doubted, at the agricultural fair Sue’s love for Jude is felt strongly; ‘I feel that we have returned to Greek joyousness, and have blinded ourselves to sickness and sorrow, and have forgotten what twenty-five centuries have taught the race since their time’.

Not only is she happy with Jude, she is also free from history. To sum up her analysis of the fair in Good Times in Jude the Obscure Barbara Hardy comments; ‘once more, a rare scene where the lovers relax, have fun, share creativity and love the creativity in each other. It is a working-class, Victorian, bower of bliss.’ This quotation is very apt.

Jude Escapes a Weighty Past

There are other moments in Jude the Obscure that are completely free from the weight of the past. The opening section seems weighted with disaster for the young boy however there are also a handful of memorable, joyful occasions. These all centre on the young child’s desire to see, and then to enter the city of Christminster.

This place allows the boy a chance to indulge in escapism, it gives him something to dream of and to aim for when all else seems bleak in his life. It does not matter that the reality of Christminster is not all that he had hoped as it still allows him somewhere to fix his hopes onto in the early stages of his life.

That Christminster can hold the attention of a child for as long as it does with Jude is exceptional. After the tiler informs Jude that the best time to see it is on a clear day as the sun goes down it takes on a myth-like status, mysterious and yet just on the brink of accessibility; ‘the time I’ve noticed it is when the sun is going down in a blaze of flame, and it looks like- I don’t know what.’ Jude eagerly chimes in with a response, ‘the heavenly Jerusalem’; myth-making surrounding Christminster has begun.

When Jude is a child it is difficult to measure how elevating his good times are because he is not particularly in tune with the past and therefore does not really feel its weight and subsequent freedom from it. Even so, his moments on the Brown House roof straining to see Christminster are moments of release and escapism from a life that does not satisfy; ‘whenever he could get away from the confines of the hamlet…he would steal off to the Brown House on the hill and strain his eyes persistently; sometimes to be rewarded.’

Hardy still makes the reader aware of the past’s presence, ‘the Icknield Street and original Roman road [ran] through the district.’ That Hardy makes the reader aware of the Roman past, upon which the area is sitting, is important. Clearly the past will factor into the novel at some point and yet for the moment the character enjoys freedom from the oppressive timescales of the human.

Hardy and Jude

Jude’s early experiences tend to recall those of another young boy who was fascinated by the setting sun and its effects on the surroundings at such a time;

‘The staircase at Bockhampton…had its walls coloured Venetian red…and was so situated that the evening sun shone into it, adding to its colour a great intensity for a quarter of an hour or more. Tommy [Thomas Hardy, the boy] used to wait for this chromatic effect, and, sitting alone there, would recite to himself “And now another day is gone” from Dr Watts’s hymns with great fervency, though perhaps not for any religious reason, but from a sense that the scene suited the lines.’

Taken from The Life and Work of Thomas Hardy, it appears that the author had always been interested in precise moments. There was extreme joy to be had in his senses being awakened, and a fascination that the day had passed. When he developed into an adult Hardy formed the opinion that the day just passed joined a multiplicity of layers. Moments, for Hardy, are beautiful and inspire a certain wealth of happiness. As Jude ascends the ladder for the first time at night he is metaphorically stepping out of time and into an experience that is all his own;

‘He was rewarded; but what he saw was not the lamps in rows, as he had half expected. No individual light was visible, only a halo or glow-fog overarching the place against the black heavens behind it, making the light and the city seem distant but a mile or so.’

The city appears within reach and even seems to speak to him;

‘‘Suddenly there came along this wind something towards him – a message from the place – from some soul residing there it seemed. Surely it was the sound of bells, the voice of the city, faint and musical, calling to him, ‘We are happy here!’ He had become entirely lost to his bodily situation during this mental leap, and only got back to it by a rough recalling.’

Within these moments the senses are often alluded to and appear intensely realised, alive and absorbing everything. In the aforementioned instance Jude feels as though he is being caressed by a wind calling him towards the city of his dreams, he actually believes he hears the ‘faint .and musical’ notes of the voice. In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Tess’ hearing and sight are heightened as she crawls through the undergrowth towards Angel Clare; likewise Sue is utilizing her various senses at the agricultural show, she wants to touch and smell the roses and put her face right into their blooms.

Happy moments in Thomas Hardy, it appears, are comprised of a freedom from a weighted past, heightened awareness of the senses, and an opportunity to just live in and enjoy the moment. None of the previously mentioned episodes are particularly vital to the storyline, they all function within it and aid it but Hardy could have arrived at the same conclusions at the end of his novels without using them. These then are indulgent moments or glimpses at true happiness for the characters, moments outside of time and place made effective and noticeable because of their rarity; if on every other page they would lose their potency and cease to be celebrated.

Summary English Phonology

2010-11-28T18:28:00.001Z

The Nightmare Before Christmas

2010-11-28T02:17:00.002Z

The Nightmare Before Christmas from Lunchboks on Veehd.

Calling all students: registration for the 2011 Google Online Marketing Challenge is now open!

2010-11-24T21:29:00.001Z

"Thanks to the Google Online Marketing Challenge which is open to any university and any discipline around the globe, at graduate or undergraduate level."

What’s the timeline?Registration closes: January 14, 2011

Challenge starts: January 31, 2011

Challenge ends: June 10, 2011

Winners announced: July 2011

The Google Online Marketing Challenge is a global student competition open to any higher education institution anywhere in the world. The 2010 Challenge had over 12,000 students in 60 countries competing. This year, we would like the Challenge to reach even more people ... and we need your help in getting the word out!

How does it work?Teams of 3-6 students receive US$200 of online advertising with AdWords and then find local businesses to work with to devise an online marketing campaign. Teams outline a strategy, run their campaign, assess the results and provide the business with recommendations to further develop their online marketing activities. The winners are judged by an international panel of independent academics.

In the ever changing world of online marketing, the Challenge is a great way for you and your classmates to get some hands-on marketing experience. It's a skill that will come in handy as you graduate and prepare to enter a tough job market, but most importantly: it's a fun and engaging way to gain real-world experience helping businesses develop their online marketing strategies.

How can I register?Your professor, lecturer or whoever teaches you, enters their student team into the Challenge. If you think your professors might be interested in signing their classes up for the Challenge, let them know about this opportunity! Your professors can obtain more information in the Academic Guide which will provide them with all the details they need to help them decide if the Challenge is right for their class.

Christmas Tree Virus Hoax Spreads on Facebook [WARNING]

2010-11-23T23:33:00.002Z

Source ::Christmas Tree Virus Hoax Spreads on Facebook [WARNING]

There’s a new message spreading quickly on Facebook users’ walls, warning people about an application called “Christmas Tree.” The message is fake to our knowledge. No Internet security firm has issued a threat warning about such an application.

The message comes in several different forms, claiming the Christmas Tree Facebook app will either crash your computer or steal your personal data.

A typical message looks like this: WARNING!!!!!!…..DONOT USE THE Christmas Tree application on Facebook ().Please be advised it will crash your computer. Geek squad says it’s oneof the WORST trojan-viruses there is and it is spreading quickly. Re-post and let your friends know ( from a friend )

Besides the fact that Geek Squad, a company that does IT service and computer repairs, is not a reliable source for info on new malware, Sophos claims it’s not aware of any malicious Facebook app using the Christmas Tree name.

Of course, with the message spreading as quickly as it is, it wouldn’t surprise us if someone actually created a malicious app bearing that or a similar name. That’s the problem with fake warnings: They create confusion and after a while it gets hard to distinguish the fake threats from the real ones.

Please, don’t repost the Christmas Tree virus warning, or any similar threat, unless you’re sure it comes from a credible source.

Tutorial: Setting up a free CDN for your website with Google App Engine

2010-11-23T22:06:00.003Z

The purpose of this tutorial is to exploit the possibilities of Google App Engine to built a free CDN for a site of average size.

This tutorial is for webmasters who want to optimize the overall response time of their websites and save bandwidth.

This is not a miracle cure, but an optimization among others not to be overlooked.

What is a CDN?

CDN stands for Content Delivery Network: you can see it as a network of data centers spread across the planet, and that each data center offers one or more replications of the content of others.

When a user requests a resource (an image, video, data file ...) is the closest datacenter that responds well, performance is significantly improved, and the load distributed across the network.

Specifically, in our case, the CDN will be used to deliver static content from our website (images, js, and css), we limit ourselves to these types of files because they typically represent 70% of the bandwidth of a site, most of the quota free for a Google AppEngine is limited to one gigabyte per day and 500MB of storage, it is of course to pass a paid account for very low rates (less than the 8cts GB of extra bandwidth by day).

Here we go ...

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What do you know about webmaster tools ?

2010-11-22T04:00:00.002Z

The three largest search engines all provide you into a small look into their inner working. If you are serious about promoting your site you need to be signed to all three of these free services. Signing up for all three services is a must but Google by far gives you the most detailed information out of the three.
Some of the features in Google Webmaster Tools are the following

Top search queries – Impressions shows what searches your site appears in. Clickthrough shows what searches provided clickthroughs to your site
Links to your site – What sites are linking to your site
Sitemaps – Submit your sitemaps and see how many pages Google has indexed
Keywords – What are the most popular keywords on your site
Crawl errors – Find out if there are any errors when the crawler receiving your site
Crawl stats – Gets graphs of pages crawled per day, kilobytes downloaded per day and time spent downloading a page
HTML suggestions – Look for duplicate tags, missing tags, etc
Fetch as Googlebot – View your site the way the crawler sees it
Malware details – Google search now provides built in malware detector. If Google determines there is malware on your site and this section gives you details into this.

Google Webmaster Tools
Yahoo! Site Explorer
Bing – Webmaster Center

Facebook Decides What To Put Into Your News Feed

2010-11-18T19:34:00.004Z

Want to figure out how Facebook decides what to put into your News Feed? Check out these tips:

1. Facebook’s Bias Against Newcomers :

2. Facebook’s Catch-22

3. The Velvet Rope: “Top News”

4. “Most Recent” News Is Censored, Too

5. “Stalking” Your Friends Won’t Get You Noticed

6.Having Friends Who Stalk You WILL Help Your Popularity

7. Links Trump Status Updates

8. Photos and Videos Trump Links

9. The Power of Comments

10. Why Facebook Really is Like High School

1. Facebook's Bias Against Newcomers. If there's one thing our experiment made all too clear, it's that following 500 million people into a party means that a lot of the beer and pretzels are already long gone. Poor Phil spent his first week shouting his updates, posted several times a day, yet most of his ready-made "friends" never noticed a peep on their news feeds. His invisibility was especially acute among those with lengthy, well-established lists of friends. Phil's perpetual conversation with the ether only stopped when we instructed our volunteers to interact with him. A dynamic which leads to…

2. Facebook's Catch-22: To get exposure on Facebook, you need friends to interact with your updates in certain ways (more on that below). But you aren't likely to have friends interacting with your updates if you don't have exposure in the first place. (Memo to Facebook newcomers: Try to get a few friends to click like crazy on your items).

3. The Velvet Rope: "Top News": The real fun began when we eventually instructed different subgroups of our volunteer-friend force to interact with Phil in a controlled manner.

Suddenly, Phil began popping up on feeds. But which ones? The current newsfeed system offers users two options: "Top News," a highly selective feed of updates from friends, and "Most Recent," a "fire hose" that shows updates in reverse chronological order.

A bunch of interactions, however, still do not guarantee that you'll get on anyone's Top News, which is how a vast majority of Facebook users get their information. Some of our volunteers reported frequent sightings of Phil's updates in their Top News feeds, while others saw him rarely—and in some cases, never. Top News will show you hours-old updates from some friends while ignoring newer postings from others.

Facebook has a reason to do this: If users saw all of the posts for all of their friends, they might be overwhelmed (or bored) and tune out—a disaster for Facebook, which needs eyeballs to earn revenue. But in doing so, Facebook's ranking system makes judgments about items it thinks you'll be interested in.

What became clear after two weeks was that it's not the amount of activity you have, but the type (more on that below).

4. "Most Recent" News Is Censored, Too. As veteran Facebook users know, it's a simple matter to switch from the filtered-and-prioritized Top News feed to the "fire hose" of Most Recent. In Most Recent, items are displayed in reverse chronological order. So many users naturally assume that Most Recent contains every update from all of their friends.

Even with test-subject posting updates, links, photos, and videos several times a day, a few of beta testers found that the items didn't appear in their Most Recent feeds. (At least, not until we took additional steps to up Phil's visibility.) If you've never tinkered with the "Edit Options" button on your Most Recent feed, this underscores why you should check it out—there's a little-used setting that caps the number of friends shown in the feed.

5. "Stalking" Your Friends Won't Get You Noticed. Maybe you've fretted about it while poring over photos of an old flame or estranged friend on Facebook—or maybe you've diligently worked to get on someone's radar by clicking all over their page. Do Facebook's mysterious algorithms factor your stealthy interest in another person into that person's news feed?

To find out, our test subject spent several days obsessively checking out the posts and photos of some volunteers who had yet to spy him in their feeds. The result was clear: The stalking accomplished precisely nothing.

6. Having Friends Who Stalk You WILL Help Your Popularity. Stalking does work in the other direction, we found. After Phil spent days posting updates in vain, with most of our volunteers seeing none of them, we tasked a handful of friends to start showing more interest in Phil. Even though he wasn't showing up in their feeds, they sought out his Facebook page repeatedly, clicking on links he had posted and viewing his photos. This was the point at which Phil finally began to break through. It took a few days of constant clicking, but not only did the friends doing the stalking begin to see Phil in their Top News feeds—others who weren't stalking began noticing him as well.

7. Links Trump Status Updates. We're sure you consider all of your musings fascinating—but Facebook doesn't. At various points in our test, Phil switched between writing plain status updates and posting links to content elsewhere on the Web. Even before some of our friends began stalking Phil, for those who were seeing updates from him, links appeared more frequently than status updates—presumably because links are more effective at driving "user engagement," which translates into people spending more time on Facebook.

8. Photos and Videos Trump Links. Just as links proved more potent than status updates in making it past Facebook's filter, so did photos and videos Phil posted. Here, too, it is likely a matter of engagement. Think about times you've spotted a thumbnail-size photo from a friend in your feed and clicked to see it full-size. Facebook likes clicks, and photos deliver them.

9. The Power of Comments. If items you post attract comments from a few friends, it clearly raises your visibility overall. When our selected volunteers began stalking Phil, he finally appeared to many users for whom he had been a no-show. But when we stopped the stalking and moved on to the next phase of our trial, directing a different group of users to not only look in on Phil but also repeatedly add comments to his items, he surfaced on the feeds of still more friends.

10. Why Facebook Really is Like High School: After weeks of testing and trying everything from having Phil post videos to getting some of his friends to flood him with comments, by the end of our experiment, a few of our volunteers had still literally never seen Phil appear in their feeds, either Top News or Most Recent. These were the "popular kids"—users of Facebook with 600 or more friends. (Conversely, those with only 100 to 200 friends were among the first to spot Phil.) So the key, as you build your coterie of friends, is making sure to include some without huge networks. They'll see more of your feeds, interact in Facebook-approved ways, and up your visibility with all.

You might think you've shared those adorable new baby photos or the news of your big promotion with all of your friends. Yet not only does Facebook decide who will and won't see the news, it also keeps the details of its interventions relatively discreet.

All the while, Facebook, like Google, continues to redefine "what's important to you" as "what's important to other people." In that framework, the serendipitous belongs to those who connect directly with their friends in the real world—or at least take the time to skip their news feed and go visit their friends' pages directly once in a while.

The original Source : thedailybeast.com. by Aka anonymous follow him on twitter @tweber

I'm just spreading the word...Thank you any critics and suggestions are welcome...have a fab day

Activities in Morocco for tourists

2010-11-17T01:56:00.002Z

Morocco is the case as most countries, while it is not possible to do everything in one trip especially in a big country like Morocco. However, travelers want to get the most out of their journey. So the following is a perfect program while in Morocco.

Windsufing, Agadir and Essaouira

If you prefer outdoor activities or simply feel like you need a little water on your skin, you should attempt this well-loved sport. These two destinations are famed for providing ideal conditions in which to windsurf.

Kasbah Glaoui, Telouet

This amazing relic conjures up images of horse-mounted Arab and Berber warriors riding through plains of Telouet. It is truly inspiring and well worth a visit.

International Arts Festival, Asilah

If you are an art lover and enjoy shopping, you have to make a trip to Asilah during the month of August. Every year an arts festival is held here and a riot of color and music grace your senses.

Souks, all through Morocco

Where ever you are you should always take a turn towards the local souks and feast your eyes. There is so much on display here that you can literally spend hours just looking at it all. Prices are usually not too bad either.

Skiing, Ouka'meden

Skiing season is between February and April and this wonderful, unassuming resort boasts a ski lift and terrain to suit all levels and styles. If you are fond of skiing you should definitely make a stop here.

Rock Carvings, near Ouka'meden

If ancient civilizations interest you, then no doubt you'd enjoy looking at these great pre-historic rock carvings of animals.

Trekking, the Atlas Mountains

Whether trekking appeals to you or not, a trek through the Atlas Mountains can leave you flabbergasted at the heavenly natural beauty of the area.

Camel Trekking, Zagora

Unless you already have an affinity for these animals, you probably shouldn't try a camel trek that lasts longer than a day. While the experience can feel authentic and provide an interesting way to see the sights, it can also make you feel sore and tired. Despite these after-effects, it is still well worth the effort.

Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh

Go to this amazing city square festival to enjoy a conglomeration of acrobats, story tellers, musicians and snake charmers. Every night people of interest get together in the city square to entertain and delight (and of course, make some money).

Goats, Souss Valley - Agadir

If you want to see a truly unique and amazing sight, have a look at the goats of the Souss Valley. These goats naturally climb Argan trees in order to forage on the higher limbs. It is comical and astounding at the same time.

create 3D images of objects in motion

2010-11-06T05:46:00.001Z

We developed technology that allow to create three-dimensional images of objects in motion. Picture transmitted hologram in real time. An example of such a hologram are the 3D-image shown in the epic George Lucas 'Star Wars'. On Thursday, November 4, told the media.

To view this image does not need any additional devices, as is the case with the bulk films.

The basis for the developed technology were new photoreactivity materials. Their properties allow you to set the refresh rate of images in two seconds. This speed creates a sense that an observer watching the image in real time.

To record an image using multiple cameras that "look" to an object from different angles (the more cameras, the more precise and realistic to the final projection). Taken with the camera information is encoded and outputted in the form of short laser pulses that interact with the radiation of another laser operating as a "zero level". Result of the interaction is recorded on a plate covered with photoreactivity of the polymer. Each laser pulse corresponds to a separate "hogelyu" (short for holographic pixel, which means "the holographic pixel") - that is three-dimensional pixel.

Created a holographic image disappears after a few minutes or seconds, depending on the experimental conditions. The new image is recorded on the same plate, and completely erases the old version.

To play a recording requires a polymer-coated 3D-screen, equipped with the above-described laser system. Holographic images can be transmitted over the Internet if the connection speed allows it. While researchers have demonstrated its technology at the screen diagonal of 10 inches (25.4 centimeters), however, they said, the laboratory has already successfully conducted a test for 17-inch screen (43.2 inches).

Phosphate: Morocco's White Gold

2010-11-06T03:07:00.003Z

Phosphate is used in everything from fertilizer to rechargeable batteries. And Morocco's King Mohammed VI has cornered the market

In UN-patrolled Western Sahara, phosphate goes to port via a 62-mile-long conveyor belt Michael Fay/National Geographic/Getty Images
By Brendan Borrell and Daniel Grushkin

This article source "http://www.businessweek.com"

In May 2009 a petite brunette from Paris wearing black heels scrambled up a pile of mine tailings on the outskirts of the Moroccan town of Khouribga. From up there, Béatrice Montagnier, a hotel specialist with the hospitality consulting firm Horwath, took in the view: parched plains scoured by bulldozers; an old warehouse baking in the sun; a jumble of two-story concrete block homes with a rectangular minaret beyond them. She spun around 360 degrees snapping photos with her pink cell phone and imagining the future: a planned 800-acre resort project that would attract visitors from around the world. How many hotel rooms would they need? she wondered. Should it be three stars or four? And where would the museum be going? There was one issue—project funding—about which Montagnier had no questions. The estimated $1 billion needed to build the resort would come from the ground beneath her feet.

Miners have been working in Khouribga for almost a century, but only now is the area poised to become central to the global economy. Back in the 1920s pioneers started tunneling through the earth here, digging through layers of sediment formed under an ancient sea, looking for phosphate-rich rock and occasionally plucking out the tooth of a 30-million-year-old shark. The phosphate extracted from the rock, used in fertilizer, detergent, food additives, and more recently lithium-ion batteries, sold for decades in its raw state for less than $40 per metric ton. Those days are gone. It's currently trading at about $130.

This is good news for King Mohammed VI, 47, who owns more than half the world's phosphate reserves. James Prokopanko, chief executive officer of Plymouth (Minn.)-based fertilizer giant Mosaic (MOS), has called Morocco the Saudi Arabia of phosphate, with all that implies about the King's power to influence prices and economies. Mohammed's strategy, by most accounts, is to drive the commodity's price higher yet—which means the cost of making everything from corn syrup to iPads will be going up as well.

Mohammed VI is the unofficial overseer of the state-owned phosphate monopoly, Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), Morocco's largest industrial company. He is also the power behind Montagnier's visit to Khouribga, which lies on the Plateau des Phosphates, halfway between the modern city of Casablanca and the salmon-colored souks of Marrakech. Today it is a scrappy mining town of 160,000 that doesn't even merit a mention in Fodor's. That's about to change, says Montagnier, repeating the words of her client: "It's time to give back to Khouribga what the earth gave to us."

The project will be called the Mine Verte, or "green mine," and it will be a fantasyland glorifying the country's mineral inheritance. The plans are grand, in the Dubai style. As is the fashion these days in Arab monarchies, the Mine Verte will be environmentally sustainable, thus the "green." Fossils hidden in OCP warehouses will be displayed in a sparkling museum powered by wind and sun. A depleted mine will be transformed into gardens, performance spaces, and housing for OCP employees and other visitors, all designed by top French and Moroccan architects working with London-based environmental consultants BDSP. Plans for a "mega-amusement park" on the premises include an equestrian center, a cable car, and an indoor ski slope on a pile of mine waste. Even bungee jumping made the list; the King is a thrill-seeker, fond of jet-skis and sports cars, who once flew his Aston Martin DB7 to London for repair. In all, the Mine Verte will be a glittering monument to geologic good fortune.

Read the entire article businessweek.com

HUGE: Facebook Testing Places Powered Deals Service

2010-11-03T16:55:00.000Z

HUGE: Facebook Testing Places Powered Deals Service: "HUGE: Facebook Testing Places Powered Deals Service"

Why Argan oil reduces scars and skin discoloration ?

2010-11-02T22:40:00.003Z

Applied regularly, Argan Oil diminishes the appearance of scars, cuts, insect bites, stretch marks and blemishes.

Argan Oil is ultra rich in vitamin E, known for its healing power. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals in your skin that cause damage. The oil also contains fatty acids, which hydrate and replenish your skin for a regenerating effect.

Today, millions of people are affected with acne. Although, not a worrisome condition, acne can be quite embarassing, esspecially when attending public functions. Why? This is because, acne invades the top layer of the skin and brings unwelcome change that is seen in the form of pimples, blackheads and whiteheads. Of all the treatment options, many prefer natural acne cures such as argan oil. Acne does respond quite well to this new remedy. Why Does Acne Occur? The reason is simple? The sebaceous glands that are mainly located in the face and the back, produce sebum (oily substance) that does the job of keeping the superficial skin moisturized. It acts like a skin lubricator that prevents the skin from losing moisture. These sebaceous glands are attached to the hair follicles (a small pouch like structure that acts like a hair root). The sebum uses the follicle's pores to arrive at the skin surface. However, trouble begins when these glands start producing sebum more than required. As too much sebum is being produced, it results in blockage of skin pores. The blocked pores become breeding ground for skin bacteria, that eventually result in pimples and blackheads. Read more on best acne treatments. Argan Oil Extracted from the nuts of the argan tree, this oil is often recommended for skin care. The reason being its high vitamin E content that promotes a healthy skin. It is observed that with regular usage of argan oil, the skin starts looking better and better. Even skin problems like eczema can be effectively treated with argan oil. Read more on argan oil benefits. Argan Oil for Acne Is argan oil good for acne? Yes, of course. This is a natural remedy to put an end to this skin problem. Argan oil benefits are plenty and one of them is for the treatment of skin diseases like acne. To make the skin free from acne, over the counter medications might not work, but certainly one won't be disappointed by using argan oil. Acne removal seems easy and affordable with argan oil. How Does Argan Oil for Acne Work As we all know, the excess production of sebum brings this skin problem. Now, how does argan oil help in this regard? Application of argan oil stops overproduction of sebum, which helps to reduce acne. In other words, argan oil prevents sebum from being produced in excess amounts. This helps to unclog the pores, in turn reducing acne possiblities. Daily usage of argan oil promotes balanced sebum production, thereby allowing facial skin to get rid of acne. Products containing 100% argan oil have indeed proved to be beneficial for acne sufferers. Daily application of argan oil is definitely useful to improve this condition. If argan oil for acne is used everyday, within a couple of weeks, one will see a noticeable positive change in the appearance of the skin. One can certainly get rid of acne, and get back the natural glow of the skin. Argan Oil for Acne Scars In some cases, although acne clears away, it leaves a scar, thus spoiling the appearance of the skin. Scars left behind after acne heals, causes skin discoloration. Usually a considerable amount of time passes, before the scar completely disappears. Studies show that when argan oil is used everyday, it can reduce the appearance of scars. Being rich in vitamin E and omega 3 essential fatty acids, using it daily is bound to make the skin softer and eventually free from scars.

On the whole, a good looking charming skin can boost confidence and provide great looks. This can happen only when one uses appropriate skin care products like argan oil. Acne and other skin disorders can be 'shown the boot', once one decides to use argan oil on a daily basis.

Business English Dictionary NEW (CD-ROM)

2010-11-01T17:32:00.002Z

A dictionary designed for learners who need to understand, speak, read and write English for business.Key featuresVocabulary from the main areas of business, including: accounting,banking, computing, finance, import and export, international trade,law, management, sales, shipping and the stock exchange. Clear explanations of over 4,000 business words and phrases that are easy to understand but contain enough detail to make them useful for both students of business and experienced business people. Speciallydesigned for quick and easy access. On the left-hand side of every page there are definitions and examples of words or phrases; on the right there is a separate language information column containing abbreviations, pronunciation, collocations (words commonly used with the headword), American variants, and notes on grammar and usage. Over5,000 authentic examples, invaluable in helping learners with the English needed in real business situations. Many are based on the British National Corpus.Comprehensive cross-reference system leading learners to information about related words and helping with vocabulary building.

---application-version (only UNRAR and start)

in 2 files (52/58)

Hot topics 2010

2010-10-31T14:11:00.003Z

Any attendees might wish to add their views below.

Honourable Mention: Robots

Iain Thomson: Let's be honest, I wasn't expecting to get a story from this presentation but who can resist robots?

As it turns out the talk was really rather interesting. Dr. Singer from the Brookings Institute was inspirational about the future of robotics and the questions that it raised. From a security standpoint it's clear that a lot more of our physical security systems are going to be robotic in the future, but what really grabbed my attention was the ethics of using such technology.

It's pretty much a given that we're going to see the friendly building security guard replaced by a mechanical equivalent. However, how far are we going to let such machines be capable of independent action? That's the question that keeps me up at night.

Shaun Nichols: Pretty much all men love robots, especially robots with guns. Yes, they may be unstable and highly dangerous, but they're still really cool.

That said, I'd rather not see a robot guarding anything until researchers can at least ensure that the thing won't suffer a system error and start unloading into crowds of people.

The Singer keynote provided both an interesting outlook on the long-term future of robotics and a nice dose of reality on where the field actually was.

Honourable mention: Blacklisting and whitelisting

Shaun Nichols: How bad has malware gotten? Well, now instead of creating tools to filter out all the software you're not supposed to use (blacklisting) companies are pitching tools that only allow software that IS safe to use (whitelisting.)

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