Internet News Record
Edition
Palin: Ready to shake things up in New York
By JoAnne Allen (Front Row
Washington)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:05:55 PM
Sarah Palin on Thursday
endorsed Conservative Party
candidate Doug Hoffman over
Republican Party choice Dede
Scozzafava in a special
congressional election in upstate
New York that has the GOP
divided.
“I am very pleased to announce
my support for Doug Hoffman in
his fight to be the next
representative from New York’s
23rd Congressional district. It’s
my honor to endorse Doug and to
do what I can to help him win,”
Palin said in a statement posted on
Facebook.
“The people of the 23rd
Congressional District of New
York are ready to shake things up,
and Doug Hoffman is coming on
strong as Election Day
approaches!” she added.
Some political observers view
the election to fill the only open
House seat this year — with no
big names in the running — as an
important fight in a battle for the
Belkin issues a voluntary recall of some TuneBase models
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:40:11 AM
Quick note: If you purchased a
soul of the Republican Party.
Palin, the 2008 Republican vice
presidential nominee, made it
clear she thinks her party made
the wrong choice this time.
“Unfortunately, the Republican
Party today has decided to choose
a candidate that more than blurs
the lines, and there is no real
difference between the Democrat
and the Republican in this race.
Belkin TuneBase iPod dock after
April 1, 2009, click here to see if
your model has a thing for starting
fires. You probably don’t want
22/10/09 - 23/10/09
This is why Doug Hoffman is
running on the Conservative
Party’s ticket,” she said.
“Republicans and conservatives
around the country are sending an
important message to the
Republican establishment in their
outstanding grassroots support for
Doug Hoffman: no more politics
as usual.”
Palin lists what she says are his
that feature.
LibertyNewsprint.com U.S.
best Republican and conservative
attributes and best of all, she says,
Hoffman “has not been anointed
by any political machine.”
Moderate Scozzafava has been
plagued throughout her campaign
by grassroots conservative
activists who have questioned her
credentials, reports
Politico.com. Critics call her a
RINO — Republican in name
only.
The Democrat in the three-way
race, Bill Owens, got a show of
support from the head of his party
on Tuesday at one of two
Democratic fund raisers President
Barack Obama attended in New
York City.
The winner would succeed
former Republican Represenative
John McHugh, a nine-term House
member who resigned in
September after Obama tapped
him to be secretary of the Army.
For more Reuters political
coverage click here.
Photo credit:Reuters/Nathaniel
Wilder (Palin at Governor’s
Picnic in Fairbanks in July )
Options Update: BP
PLC volatility low at
26 into EPS and $81 oil
By Paul Foster
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 8:00:00 AM
Filed under: Home Depot (HD),
BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Options
BP PLC(NYSE: BP) closed at
$56.64. BP is expected to
announce Q3 EPS on October 27.
WTI Crude futures are recently
down .21% to $81.02 according to
Bloomberg. BP November option
implied volatility is at 26, January
is at 27; below its 26-week
average of 29, according to Track
Data, suggesting decreasing price
movement.
Home Depot(NYSE: HD)
closed at $26.72. HD is expected
to report Q3 EPS on November
17. HD November option implied
volatility is at 27, December is at
30; below its 26-week average of
35 according to Track Data.
Option Update is provided by
Stock Specialist Paul Foster of
theflyonthewall.com.
Options Update: BP PLC
volatility low at 26 into EPS and
$81 oil originally appeared on
BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Oct
2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see
our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Comments
2 Top News/ Internet News Record

Performers angry their music used in Guantanamo

interrogations
By David Alexander (Front musicians have joined the statement released by the obtained at least 20 declassified whose music was used without
Row Washington) National Campaign to Close campaign, charging that some documents that refer to blasting their knowledge as part of the
Submitted at 10/22/2009 3:35:42 PM Guantanamo. inmates had been subjected to Guantanamo detainees in an effort Bush administration’s misguided
The newly formed campaign, loud music for 72 hours in a row. to “create futility” and encourage policies.”
Interrogators at the U.S. prison led by retired Lieutenant General “Guantanamo may be Dick them to talk. The musicians joined the
at Guantanamo Bay liked to blast Robert Gard and retired Brigadier Cheney’s idea of America, but it’s Gard, a senior military fellow at campaign just a day after former
rock ‘n’ roll music at inmates to General John Johns among others, not mine,” he added. “The fact the Center for Arms Control and Vice President Dick Cheney gave
try to induce them to talk. is increasing pressure on the that music I helped create was Non-Proliferation, said “the a spirited defense of U.S.
Now some of the folks that Obama administration to move used in crimes against humanity torture that went on there is interrogation methods during a
made that rock ‘n’ roll music are ahead with the president’s pledge sickens me — we need to end disgraceful and puts our troops at speech to the Center for Security
blasting back. to close the prison. torture and close Guantanamo risk every day.” Policy.
Trent Reznor, Tom Morello, “Guantanamo is known around now.” “Guantanamo will remain al “To call enhanced interrogation
Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, the world as one of the places Thomas Blanton, executive Qaeda’s biggest recruitment tool a program of torture is not only to
Rosanne Cash, Bonnie Raitt, where human beings have been director of the National Security unless it’s shut down,” he added.
R.E.M., Pearl Jam and other tortured,” Morello said in a Archive, said his group has “I sympathize for the musicians PERFORMERS page 4
Internet News Record
The First Draft: Executive pay crackdown
By David Alexander (Front
Row Washington)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:18:24 AM
For a quiet day, there was
surprising consensus among
editors about the top news — big-
time bankers who got government
bailout money are going to get
their paychecks slashed.
The coverage was fairly
straight, but there was a certain
glee about the way the story made
its way to the top spot in most
newspapers.
“Pay slashed at bailout firms,”
the Wall Street Journal headlined
its story.
“U.S. will order pay cuts at firms
with bailout aid,” The New York
Times said.
“Obama ‘pay tsar’ to order deep
cuts,” the Financial Times
reported.
The networks were less
charitable. CBS’s “The Early
Show” flashed the headline “Big
cuts for big shots” during its
report, while ABC’s “Good
Morning America” flashed the
headline “Payback: Government
to limit exec. salaries.”
According to unnamed Obama
administration officials cited in
most of the stories, the president’s
adviser on executive
compensation, Ken Feinberg, will
soon recommend a plan that
would cut overall compensation in
half and would slash cash salary
payouts by an average 90 percent.
The plan would apply to those
big banks and auto firms that
received large amounts of bailout
money from the federal
government.
The bailout was extremely
controversial with the public and
triggered public anger after it was
revealed that employees at some
of the firms were continuing to
draw multi-million dollar salaries
and huge bonuses.
Under Feinberg’s plan top
earners at AIG’s financial
products unit, which was blamed
for risky bets that threatened the
stability of the insurer, would not
get more than $200,000 in
individual pay.
The unit became a symbol of
Wall Street insensitivity after AIG
decided to pay employees in the
unit $165 million in retention
bonuses despite having taken
$180 billion in taxpayer funding.
Critics of the bailout welcomed
Feinberg’s plan to crack down on
soaring executive pay.
“The public has a lot of
questions about whether or not
these dollars that were given to
Top News/ 3
banks were wasted and whether or
not they were squandered on
bonuses and, you know, high
executive compensation,” Ryan
Alexander of Taxpayers for
Common Sense told CBS News.
But others expressed concern
that government decisions to hold
down pay could lead to an exodus
of top talent from the firms.
“Now that politicians have
gotten the taste for trying to
control the pay at some firms,
what’s to stop them from
imposing those rules on
everyone,” Dan Mitchell, a senior
FIRST page 4
4 Top News/ Gadgets/ Tech News/
White House hits back at Cheney
“dithering” comment
By Caren Bohan (Front Row
Washington)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 2:15:30 PM
The White House is firing back
at former Vice President Dick
Cheney who accused President
Barack Obama of “dithering” and
being “afraid to make a decision”
on whether to send more U.S.
troops to Afghanistan.
“I think it’s a curious comment,”
White House spokesman Robert
Gibbs told reporters at his midday
briefing.
“I think it’s pretty safe to say
that the Vice President was for
seven years not focused on
Afghanistan,” Gibbs added.
“Even more curious, given the
fact that (an) increase in troops sat
on desks in this White House,
including the vice president’s, for
more than eight months, a
resource request filled by
President Obama in March,” he
said.
Speaking to the Center for
Security Policy, a Washington
think-tank, Cheney said the White
House needed to “stop dithering
while America’s armed forces are
in danger.”
“Having announced his
Afghanistan strategy last March,
President Obama now seems
afraid to make a decision, and
unable to provide his commander
The Android-powered Motorola Zeppelin breaks cover in China
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:23:15 AM
/a> And here we have another
Motorola phone powered by
Android. This little bugger was
on the ground with the troops he
needs to complete his mission,”
Cheney said.
General Stanley McChrystal,
the U.S. and NATO commander
in Afghanistan, has recommended
a troop increase of 40,000. Obama
has been holding a series of policy
meetings with his top advisers to
review the request and has said he
wants to make a thorough review
of the strategy before deciding
whether to approve more troops.
“What Vice President Cheney
calls ‘dithering,’ President Obama
calls his solemn responsibility to
the men and women in uniform
and to the American public,”
Gibbs said. “I think we’ve all seen
spotted over in China and claims
to be the world's first Android
GSM/CDMA phone whenever it
launches. The Zeppelin is said to
pack the standard Motorola 802.11 b/g, GPS, Bluetooth, a 3.1-
Android kit with a 5MP camera,
what happens when somebody
doesn’t take that responsibility
seriously.”
What do you think? Is Obama
“dithering” as Cheney says, or
acting in a thorough manner as the
White House says?
Click here for more Reuters
political coverage
PHOTO CREDIT:
REUTERS/Pool (Cheney in and the Pyramids?
K a b u l i n M a r c h 2 0 0 8 ) , By David Hambling (Wired Top L a b o r a t o r y a n d y o u g e t
R E U T E R S / K e v i n L a m a r q u e Stories)
(Obama with Afghan President Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:23:00 AM
Hamid Karzai at the White House
in May)
Internet News Record
PERFORMERS
continued from page 2
disregard the program’s legal said. “In the fight against
underpinnings and safeguards,”
Cheney said. “Such accusations
are a libel against dedicated
terrorism, there is no middle
ground, and half-measures keep
you half exposed.”
professionals who acted For more Reuters political news,
honorably and well.” click here.
He said alleged Sept. 11 Photo credit: Reuters/Deborah
mastermind Khalid Sheikh Gembara (Prisoners at
Mohammed would not have Guantanamo Bay take part in
begun giving U.S. interrogators morning prayers); Reuters/Joshua
useful intelligence against al Roberts (Cheney speaks at
Qaeda had he not been subjected American Enterprise Institute in
to the harsh techniques. May)
“To completely rule out
enhanced interrogation in the
future, in favor of half-measures,
is unwise in the extreme,” Cheney
FIRST
continued from page 3
fellow at Cato Institute, told CBS. Photo credit: Reuters/Keith
He told ABC’s “Good Morning Bedford (Protest in New York’s
America” the decision could lead Times Square last year over
to top positions at the companies government bailout of financial
being occupied by “second rate industry)
people” and reduce the dynamism
of the U.S. economy.
For more Reuters political news,
click here.
Super Concrete in the U.S. Military, Iran —
geopolymers, synthetic super-
cements. It's the stuff that might
explain how the pyramids were
T a k e a m a v e r i c k F r e n c h built — and might just lead to
scientist, a secretive caste of American bombs bouncing off
ancient stone masons, add in the impervious bunkers.
U.S. Air Force Research
inch 320x480 touchscreen, plus
an FM radio and HDMI output.
It's just too bad that we can't see
the front side.
Internet News Record
Senator: Is there enough money on
planet to subsidize healthcare?
By Donna Smith (Front Row
Washington)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 3:14:04 PM
All the government subsidies in
the world will not be enough to
make health insurance premiums
affordable for Americans without
more cost control and competition
in the proposed sweeping reform
backed by President Barack
Obama, one Senator says.
No that’s not a Republican
talking, it’s a Democrat.
As congressional Democrats
work to narrow their differences
over healthcare reform some are
worried that people will be unable
to afford the premiums on the
medical coverage they will be
required to buy.
Legislation being considered in
the Senate and House of
Representatives include
substantial subsidies, but will that
be enough to make insurance
affordable? Democratic Senator
Ron Wyden does not think so.
“My own theory is there will not
be enough subsidy money on the
planet to get the kind of
affordability if that is the only
approach you use,” Wyden said.
“The approach that is going to
get more cost containment more
quickly for more people is
New AC/DC Box Set Packs Rarities Into
Functioning Guitar Amp
By Eliot Van Buskirk (Wired
Top Stories)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:01:00 AM
The hard-rocking band's latest
deluxe offering, AC/DC
Backtracks, digs into the past for
competition and choice,” he said.
Democrats are focusing on
creating a new government health
plan to compete with private
insurers as one way to provide
more competition. Republicans
are opposed to what the
Democrats are proposing.
Democratic Senator Thomas
Carper said lawmakers are
discussing ways to give states
“plenty of options” to provide
“competition and choice that
works to the advantage of
consumers, not insurance
companies.”
Beyond a government run
vintage recordings and
memorabilia. But its unique
packaging points to a future of
increasingly elaborate collectibles
cooked up to entice hard-core
fans.
insurance plan and nonprofit
cooperatives, some ideas being
considered include states standing
up their own public plans, and
allowing states to create compacts
to allow plans to be sold across
state lines.
Click here for more Reuters
political coverage
Photo credit: Reuters/Natalie
Behring (Protesters at an HMO in
New York in October)
Top News/ World/ Tech News/
Arguing pilots fly 150
miles past runway
By Haroon Siddique (World
news and comment from the
Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:29:54 AM
Conversation about airline
policy meant Northwest Airlines
pilots 'lost situational awareness'
says flight safety board
Many a person has missed their
stop on a bus or train at one time
or another because they were
engrossed in a weighty
conversation or a book.
But when the pilots of
Northwest Airlines flight 188
became distracted it had more
serious consequences as they
overflew their Minneapolis
destination by 150 miles.
"They were in a heated
discussion over airline policy and
they lost situational awareness,"
the US National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) explained.
When the pilots got their
"situational awareness" back they
turned the Airbus A320 around
and landed it safely on
Wednesday evening, apparently
without any of the 144 passengers
realising they had taken a
roundabout route.
Ground controllers lost contact
with the pilots just before 7pm
and radio contact was not re-
established for more than an hour.
The Federal Aviation
Administration notified the
military, which put fighter jets on
alert at two locations.
The flight was scheduled to land
at 8.01pm local time but
5
eventually arrived at 9.15pm,
according to Ed Stewart, a
spokesman for Delta Air Lines,
which owns Northwest. Delta has
suspended the pilots while it
carries out an internal
investigation, and the cockpit
voice recorder and flight data
recorder were being sent to
Washington for analysis.
Federal officials are
investigating whether pilot fatigue
might have played a role, but an
NTSB spokesman, Keith
Holloway, said the idea that the
crew may have fallen asleep was
"speculative".
Andrea Allmon, who had been
travelling from San Diego on
business, said no one on the plane
knew anything was amiss until the
end of the flight when police
boarded. She was "horrified"
when she discovered what had
happened.
"When I do my job I do my job,"
she said. "These guys are
supposed to be paying attention to
the flight. The safety of the
passengers should be first and
foremost. [It's] unbelievable to me
that they weren't paying attention.
Just not paying attention."
• Air transport
• United States
Haroon Siddique
guardian.co.uk© Guardian
News & Media Limited 2009 |
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6 World/ Finance/
Taking Zimbabwe's plight to the world
(World news and comment
from the Guardian |
guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:57:03 AM
Mugabe and the White African
is a covertly-filmed documentary
about a white Zimbabwean
family's stand against Robert
Mugabe's land reform campaign.
Co-director Andrew Thomson
reveals how the film was made
against enormous odds
Michael Campbell is one of a
handful of white farmers still left
in Zimbabwe since Robert
Mugabe began enforcing his
controversial land seizure
program, an initiative intended to
reclaim white-owned land for
redistribution to poor black
Zimbabweans. Since 2000,
formerly thriving farms that
employed thousands now sit
derelict while poverty and hunger
are rife among the majority of the
country's citizens. But Campbell,
74, refuses to back down. Our
film, Mugabe and the White
African, follows Campbell and his
family's unprecedented attempt to
take Mugabe to an international
court on charges of racial
discrimination and violation of
their human rights, against the
backdrop of the 2008 presidential
elections.
It was always our intention to
make a really cinematic film, as
well as a powerful documentary.
So we needed to shoot on a large
format: a departure from the
hidden-camera news footage that
more commonly comes out of
Zimbabwe. Images and sound are
so important in adding texture and
layers to a place, and we wanted
the audience to feel really
immersed.
But having big cameras, a sound
crew and proper recording devices
did make it even harder to shoot
in a country where filming is, to
this day, banned (the only
exception appears to be for al-
Jazeera). We risked imprisonment
or worse if caught – one reason
why we get so little news coming
out of the country. What makes
our film special is that it offers the
only insight the outside world has
of what is going on behind
Zimbabwe's closed borders, of life
lived under Mugabe's regime.
We were filming during last
year's contested presidential
elections, so security was even
more tense than usual. On the
ground this meant you couldn't go
far before you hit a roadblock
manned by the interior security
force. It was pretty hairy getting
about. We always used different
borders on each of the five trips,
different transport, and I slept in
different safe houses every night
to keep moving. Our golden rule,
which I was only forced to break
once, was to always travel
separately from the equipment.
We got away with it - just. After
every trip there would be the
inevitable knock on the door of
Michael Campbell's farm. The
security forces were never more
than two days behind me.
I'm quite used to working in
hostile environments. I've
previously made films in Iraq,
Afghanistan and, most recently,
Gaza. But filming in places like
that is considerably more
straightforward than shooting in
Zimbabwe. In Gaza, the buck
stops with Hamas. There, if
you've got their blessing, you can
stand on a street corner and film.
In Zimbabwe you couldn't. There
was no rule of law. You were not
supposed to be there, full stop.
Zimbabwe was an infinitely
scarier country to shoot in. You
were never quite sure who was
your friend or enemy. Mugabe
had instilled such mistrust in
people.
One of the white farmers we
followed said you could be
standing in church with someone
who, the next day, would turn up
at your farm with an iron bar in
his hand and a gang of armed
thugs by his side. There was
constant fear all over the country.
It sounds odd to say it, but in
Gaza people felt and looked
happier. They smiled. Life went
on. But in Zimbabwe, it had
stopped. It was not like in the rest
of Africa, where you could have
people selling mangoes and
tomatoes on the roadside; it was
like a country that had shut down.
There were just shadows. This
was the picture in 2008 and,
according to most reports, the
situation has only worsened.
Zimbabwe is a former British
colony, and so there's a tendency
to presume the white farmers
shouldn't be there. Part of what
appealed to us about making this
documentary is that it wrestles
with some uncomfortable
questions. At one point, Michael
Campbell's son-in-law, Ben
Freeth, asks, "Can you be white
and African?" Well can you be
white and American, or black and
American? Of course you can.
Racism is a terrible thing, whether
it's perpetrated by whites or
blacks.
This film is ultimately about
human rights, the rule of law and
democracy. These are universals
we should all care about.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of a
terrible dictator, responsible for
serious human rights abuses, and
those who oppose the regime are
abducted, beaten, tortured and
killed.
And what does the world do?
Currently, very little. African
leaders seem loath to criticise one
of their own and the west sits on
the fence, paralysed by the fear of
being called neo-colonialists or
racists.
Zimbabweans need the west not
to wobble on sanctions. They
need them to stick to the stance
that the power-sharing
government, the so-called unity
government, is anything but. It is
a government of disunity that
shouldn't be formally
acknowledged. To say that we in
the west recognise the
government in Zimbabwe would
be a catastrophic mistake for the
millions of ordinary
Zimbabweans trapped in their
own country. It would send out all
the wrong messages that Mugabe
is someone we could do business
with. If this film can go some way
towards bringing to an outside
audience the injustices going on
inside Zimbabwe – and, more
importantly, get something done
about it – then I feel that we as
film-makers will have succeeded.
• Mugabe and the White African
is showing at the Ritzy at 6.30pm
tonight, as part of the London film
festival
• London film festival
• Documentary
• Zimbabwe
• Robert Mugabe
guardian.co.uk© Guardian
News & Media Limited 2009 |
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Internet News Record
Top 10 Investment
/ Finance Websites:
September 2009
(Financial Sector and Stocks
Analysis from Seeking Alpha)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:40:29 AM
click to enlarge
Note: The Hitwise data featured
is based on US market share of
visits as defined by the IAB,
which is the percentage of online
traffic to the domain or category,
from the Hitwise sample of 10
million US internet users. Hitwise
measures more than 1 million
unique websites on a daily basis,
including sub-domains of larger
websites. Hitwise categorizes
websites into industries on the
basis of subject matter and
content, as well as market
orientation and competitive
context. The market share of visits
percentage does not include traffic
for all sub-domains of certain
websites that could be reported on
separately.
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Internet News Record World/ Gadgets/ 7

Taliban bombs strike Pakistan restaurant, base and

wedding
By Declan Walsh (World news Peshawar suburb next to the that centres of Islamic scholarship occurred around Kotkai, home of
and comment from the Khyber tribal agency, injured at were beyond the reach of the the Taliban leader Hakimullah
Guardian | guardian.co.uk) least 13 people. The complex militants, and triggered the Mehsud, where the army said it
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:23:33 AM houses a restaurant, wedding hall government-ordered closure of captured an important height
and sports club. every school and university in the overlooking the village during
At least 26 dead in attacks that Police released a photograph of country. engagements that killed seven Unusually Bashful
bring number of people killed in a clean-shaven man wearing The prime minister, Yousaf Taliban. Motorola Zeppelin
the region in the last three weeks sunglasses who they suspect was Raza Gilani, told the cabinet this On another front aimed at the
to more than 200 the bomber. week that the country's nuclear Taliban hub of Ladha, the army Android World Phone
Taliban violence again rocked A third blast ripped through a infrastructure was safe. A militant said the Taliban were firing Spied in China [Rumor]
Pakistan this morning as militants bus carrying a wedding party in seizure of a nuclear weapon is a rockets from the mountain slopes
attacked a strategic airbase, an Mohmand tribal agency, north- nightmare scenario for many against the advancing forces. The By John Herrman (Gizmodo)
upmarket restaurant and a bus east of Peshawar, killing at least western officials; Pakistan's statement said six Uzbek fighters Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:58:19 AM
carrying wedding guests, killing 18 people including four women military says security precautions including a commander had died.
at least 27 people and wounding and three children. make it virtually impossible. The army's version could not be A terrible blemish? A crack?
dozens. The paramilitary Frontier Corps Islamabad has an increasingly independently confirmed. South Sexually explicit default
The bloodshed in North West m o u n t e d a d r i v e a g a i n s t besieged air, with a mushrooming Waziristan is out of bounds to wallpaper? Whatever the reason,
Frontier province brought the Mohmand militants 15 months number of barricades, soldiers and foreign journalists and considered we're not allowed to see the front
number of people killed in the last ago, but despite some success sandbagged walls reminiscent of too dangerous for most Pakistani of Moto's GSM/CDMA world
three weeks to more than 200, as a pockets of dogged resistance Baghdad or Kabul. This morning reporters, even those from the phone, the Android-powered
sweeping army assault pressed in remain. District officials said the workmen hastily fortified an local Mehsud tribe. Zeppelin. But we can see the
on the Taliban's mountain fortress apparent remote-controlled blast embassy wall along the city's A militant spokesman told back, and so we will.
of South Waziristan. may have been intended for one Margalla road, which was hit by a Reuters they had lost three men Snapped by Chinese site
The first blast occurred at of the FC convoys that frequently suicide bomber earlier this year. since fighting started last DIGI.QQ, the Zeppelin is an odd
Kamra, the country's top air force pass on the same route. The benchmark Karachi stock Saturday. duck: It looks rugged, with an
research and maintenance "Militants might have hit the bus exchange has fallen by 6% this • Pakistan etched rubber back and what
complex, east of Peshawar, when mistakenly," said a government week due to investor worries • Afghanistan appears to be some kind strap
a bicycle-riding suicide bomber official, Zabit Khan. about the country's future. • Taliban anchor, and cracked open, it
detonated his payload at the The multifaceted attacks of The army drive into South Declan Walsh reveals twin compatibility, for
entrance to a major air force base. recent weeks – targets have Waziristan is reaching the end of guardian.co.uk© Guardian both CDMA and GSM carriers. In
Nine people were killed. included a UN office, an Islamic its first week, with soldiers and News & Media Limited 2009 | other words it may be, as
The army strenuously denied u n i v e r s i t y a n d t h e a r m y Taliban fighters engaged in heavy Use of this content is subject to DIGI.QQ calls it, the first
suggestions the base was part of headquarters– suggest a new fighting in several places across our Terms & Conditions| More Android travel phone. This seems
the country's secretive nuclear s t r a t e g y o f v a r i e d a n d the mountainous terrain. Feeds reasonable!
weapons programme. unpredictable attacks. An army statement today said Other specs include a 3.1-inch
Hours later, an explosion in the An attack on the International 13 militants and two soldiers had 480x320 screen, a 5-megapixel
car park of a recreation complex Islamic University in Islamabad been killed in the previous 24 camera with flash and HDMI
in Hayatabad, an upmarket this week shattered assumptions hours. The heaviest fighting output. Release is unofficially
pegged at Q1 for China, with a
Japan's Windows 7 Whopper Is Real, and It's Horrifying [Windows 7] wider release later, though I
By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) congealed by man. [ wouldn't be at all surprised to see
CheapAssGamer Thanks this one sit tight in Asia for a
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:00:43 AM
Ashcraft!] while. [ DIGI.QQ via
CheapAssGamer took the Akihabara to try the Windows 7 the most desiccating pile of AndroidOS.in via Engadget]
voyage to a Burger King in Burger. Apparently, $14 buys you adipose flesh ever to be partially
8 World/ Gadgets/ Internet News Record

US asks Swiss to extradite Polanski The dangers of late night Internet

By Jimin Brelsford
By Mark Tran (World news and rejected his appeal to be freed office of international affairs (CrunchGear)
comment from the Guardian | from prison, citing a "high" risk (OIA) as to Polanski's presence in Submitted at 10/22/2009 9:50:51 PM
guardian.co.uk) that he would try to flee. Switzerland. The Swiss sent an
Submitted at 10/23/2009 2:21:23 AM The 76-year-old Oscar-winning urgent fax stating that Polanski Cruising Craigslist usually
director, who holds dual French was expected in Zurich to receive brings up some interesting things.
Roman Polanski expected to and Polish citizenship, was a film award – as the website of And this is definitely one of the
appeal if Swiss agree to request to arrested at the request of the US the city's film festival had already most terrible and yet oddly funny
send him to US over statutory when he flew to Switzerland to announced. posts I’ve seen in a while.
rape charge receive a lifetime achievement The emails, released to the When doing the Empire Strikes
The US has asked Switzerland prize. The arrest followed a tip-off Associated Press, show that on 22 Back costume of Chewbacca,
to extradite the director Roman by Swiss officials to the US September Swiss officials asked most people would just get a few
Polanski, who was arrested last authorities, who have been the US if it wanted him arrested. C3PO parts and throw them over
month as he arrived in Zurich to pursuing the director since his The officials also alerted the Los their back. One resident of Austin,
attend a film festival. admission to the statutory rape of Angeles district attorney's office, Texas however, wants to take it
"The US extradition request is a 13-year-old in 1977. which immediately began drafting the next step. This guy is looking that I want to hit and I think we
based on a warrant issued by the Polanski was accused of plying an arrest warrant. Polanski was for: will be the hit of any event we
superior court of the state of a teenager with champagne and arrested four days later. A double amputee (someone attend.
California for the county of Los drugs during a modelling shoot, • Roman Polanski missing both legs – preferably at Hey, dude’s upfront about it. If
Angeles on 1 February 1978, on before raping her. He was initially • United States the hip) to accompany me as you’ve always wanted to be
which date Polanski had failed to indicted on six counts, including • Switzerland C3PO for the evening. We should everybody’s favorite protocol
appear before the judge as was rape by use of drugs, child Mark Tran meet ahead of time so that we can droid, but you’re missing a few
required by his bail conditions," molesting and sodomy. Polanski guardian.co.uk© Guardian work out the backpack/harness appendages, this might be for you.
the Swiss justice department said pleaded guilty to the lesser charge News & Media Limited 2009 | system. There are a few parties
in a statement. of unlawful sexual intercourse and Use of this content is subject to
Polanski is expected to appeal if fled in 1978 amid a legal dispute our Terms & Conditions| More
the Swiss government agrees to over his sentence. Feeds
the extradition request. This week, Emails from the Swiss justice
Switzerland's top criminal court office show that it alerted the US

Thomas Cholmondeley freed from jail

By Xan Rice (World news and Baron Delamere, was sentenced conviction for the second killing, is not known whether he will groups such as the Masai.
comment from the Guardian | to eight months in prison in May Cholmondeley had already served remain in Kenya. His two young While Kenya's political elite
guardian.co.uk) for shooting dead Robert Njoya. nearly three years in jail. Though children live in the UK with their families are now the largest
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:18:33 AM The trial, which began in 2006, he originally confessed to mother, who separated from property holders in the country –
was one of the most sensational in shooting Njoya, Cholmondeley Cholmondeley after the first largely through dubious deals –
Member of Kenya's most famous K e n y a ' s p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e later changed his story, suggesting shooting. land ownership by white families
white settler family was sentenced history, coming just a year after that a white rally driver friend The Delamere name is remains a source of discontent
to eight months for manslaughter Cholmondeley had killed an who was with him had fired the synonymous with the British among some of the landless poor.
of black poacher undercover game warden on his fatal shot. colonial era in Kenya. • Kenya
A member of Kenya's most family's 19,000 hectare (48,000 Prison officials said that Cholmondeley's great- Xan Rice
famous white settler family has acre) Soysambu estate in the Rift Cholmondeley had been released grandfather, the third Baron guardian.co.uk© Guardian
been freed from jail five months valley. today from Nairobi's Kamiti Delamere, was the most News & Media Limited 2009 |
after being convicted of the The first case was dropped by prison under rules allowing prominent of the white settlers Use of this content is subject to
manslaughter of a black poacher. the state, prompting claims of inmates who have served two- who arrived more than a century our Terms & Conditions| More
Thomas Cholmondeley, the high-level interference in the thirds of their sentence and ago, carving out ranches from Feeds
Eton-educated son of the fifth judicial process. At the time of his behaved well to be freed early. It land that belonged to local ethnic
Internet News Record
Jean Sarkozy on La Défense board
By Haroon Siddique (World
news and comment from the
Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:31:14 AM
Jean Sarkozy says any victory to
become chief of public agency
would have been 'stained with
suspicion'
Jean Sarkozy, son of the French
president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has
won a seat on the board of the
management committee of Paris's
business district after he
abandoned his campaign to head
the organisation following
accusations of nepotism.
The 23-year-old was until last
night the leading candidate to
head Epad, the £100m-a-year
public agency that runs La
Defense, Europe's biggest purpose
Does your bank have a "living will?"
By Connie Madon
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 9:00:00 AM
Filed under: Good news,
Launches, Management, Industry,
Employees, Market matters,
Money and Finance Today,
Federal Reserve, Recession
Now here's a simple,
straightforward plan for British
banks that are deemed "too big to
fail": By the end of the year, large
British banks will be required to
draw up "living wills," in which
they outline procedures to help
them wind down in the event of
failure.
The "living wills" will also
include ways of separating the
Lucky No. 7 Is Microsoft's Best Windows Yet
By Brian X. Chen (Wired Top
Stories)
-built business district.
In a live TV interview, he
announced would not stand in the
December election because of
fears that a successful campaign
would be "stained with
suspicion".
The news that the second-year
law student hoped to replace
Epad's outgoing president, one of
his father's closest political
associates, brought a furious
reaction when it broke two weeks
ago.
Sarkozy would have been the
frontrunner in the election
because key votes are cast by state
appointees on Epad's management
committee – two-thirds of whom
belong to his father's UMP party
or its allies. Instead, he took a seat
on the 45-member board today.
banks' deposit-taking arms from
securities trading units.
The Financial Services
Authority (FSA) will also require
the "too-big-to-fail" banks to hold
Windows 7 has huge
improvements over Vista. But can
Sarkozy Sr was heavily
criticised by political opponents.
The centrist politician François
Bayrou called Jean Sarkozy's
nomination an "enormous abuse
of power" and compared the
president to Louis XIV.
There was also unease within
the Conservative majority.
Sarkozy said he had spoken to his
father before making the decision
to withdraw.
• France
• Nicolas Sarkozy
Haroon Siddique
guardian.co.uk© Guardian
News & Media Limited 2009 |
Use of this content is subject to
our Terms & Conditions| More
Feeds
more capital as protection in the
event of a bank failure. The
authority has said that bumper
bank profits are to be used to
bolster balance sheets -- not for
bankers' bonuses.
The message to the banks is
clear: We want you take care not
to put the country in jeopardy
again or create havoc throughout
the world.
Continue reading Does your
bank have a "living will?"
Does your bank have a "living
will?" originally appeared on
BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Oct
2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see
our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Comments
the restructured OS make up for
Microsoft's past sins?
World/ Finance/ Tech News/
Amazon's third quarter is
just what shareholders
wanted
By Steven Mallas
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 8:30:00 AM
Filed under: Earnings reports,
eBay (EBAY), Wal-Mart (WMT),
Amazon.com (AMZN), Best Buy
(BBY)
Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN),
simply put, had a quarter to die
for, the kind that all shareholders
have on their wish lists. The Q3
numbers, which were released on
Thursday after the bell, speak for
themselves. Net sales: up 28%.
Operating income: up 62%. Per-
share profit: up 67% to 45 cents.
Free cash flow for the trailing
twelve months: up 98%. Yep,
Amazon's fundamentals seem to
be heading in the right direction.
According to our earnings
preview, Wall Street was on
record as wanting to see 33 cents
Nokia Sues Apple for
Patent Infringement
By Tarmo Virki (Wired Top
Stories)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 11:21:00 AM
The world's top cellphone maker
sues Apple, saying the iPhone
development infringes Nokia
patents. The 10 patents in the
lawsuit are for techn that's
fundamental to devices using
GSM, UMTS and local area
network (LAN) standards, Nokia
says.
9
per share on the bottom line.
Amazon's management did a fine
job of supplying further evidence
to the market that the company's
online business model is not only
here to stay, but that it should
provide shareholders with a
significant amount of value over
time.
Continue reading Amazon's
third quarter is just what
shareholders wanted
Amazon's third quarter is just
what shareholders wanted
originally appeared on
BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Oct
2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see
our terms for use of feeds. Read|
Permalink| Email this| Comments
Killer Disease Short-
Circuits Frog Hearts
By Brandon Keim (Wired Top
Stories)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 11:00:00 AM
Scientists discover how a disease
that's killing amphibians around
the world actually works. The
finding could help fight the
disease and save species that will
otherwise almost inevitably go
extinct.
10 Finance/ Gadgets/ Internet News Record

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Fraud Called 'Disturbing?'

(Financial Sector and Stocks the next housing domino to teeter. Ginnie Mae CEO Resigns After 1 portion of the 74K + 19K = 93K document an individual claiming
Analysis from Seeking Alpha) • And a HUD audit released this Year on the Job] frauds were part of that group the credit actually purchased a
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:15:49 AM month suggests that fund may • Warning [ Sep 18, 2009: (good portion as in ALL of them), home.( that is so pathetic; talk
soon face trouble again; over the Washington Post - FHA's Cash it seems we spent about shouting from the mountain
Ahem... consider me "shocked" fiscal year, its capital ratio Reserves Will Drop Below $16 billion for about 260,000 - "fraudsters... come to us!")
at this Reuters story. Who could dropped to 3 percent, from 6.4 Requirement] additional home sales • Extension in its current form
ever foresee fraud, especially at p e r c e n t , r e f l e c t i n g a s h a r p • Warning [ Oct 14, 2009: NYT- I'm no math genius but that would cost about a $1 billion a
t h e F H A w h i c h n o w h a s increase in claims. By statute, that FHA Problems Raising Concerns means we spent month. A proposal in the Senate
o v e r t a k e n t h e e n t i r e U . S . capital ratio must be at least 2 of Policy Makers] $61,000 for each incremental to double the credit and extend it
mortgage market - an institution percent. Well not to worry I am sure - as NON fraud home owner until June would cost about $17
which until a few weeks ago did Gosh we are almost replicating the Wall Street dogma goes... if (i.e. those who would not have billion.
not even have a risk control to the shade of black v white, the the stock market is going up, bought a home without a tax Anyhow, just smile to yourself
officer? [ Dec 11, 2008: Freddie, exact same steps of 2003-2007 everything must just be fine in the credit). Sounds like a great use of as you hear great tales of housing
Fannie Considering Waiving that got us here the first time Ponzi scheme economy. "our money".* By the way, even rebounds, and remember how the
Appraisals for Refinancing] around. But this time we skip go For an alternative to that view, the National Association of government-supported economy
... we are going from semi (the banks) and the bailouts will please see: Popout Realtors agrees with the roughly really works. (borrow money we
government (Fannie/Freddie) to be hidden on the balance sheet of Doo dooo doo dooo doo doo 350,000 figure. [ Sep 1, 2009: don't have from the future - or
fully government "efficiency"? the Federal Reserve as the "great • Thousands of individuals Cash for Clunker Housing Asia, to create "prosperity" today!
Cripes. sucking sound" you hear is all claiming the first-time home Working Wonders] But of course Don't worry about the bill -
• ...some housing industry these loans being hidden inside buyer's $8,000 tax credit may this non-biased group says we someone else deals with that
experts worry that F.H.A. may the offices of Ben Bernanke aka have been trying to scam the should extend the plan - after all minor issue) Bravo to the 4 year
soon be hit by a wave of mortgage The Great Liquidator system, including purported 4- its working great... at putting old by the way - I am sure one of
-related fraud and abuse that it is Oh well, all we can do is spit in year-olds and illegal immigrants, taxpayer money in their pockets. those mornings in May, June,
ill prepared to deal with. the wind and chuckle... should I according to a watchdog report • Assuming four-fifths of those August et al we rallied the stock
• Over the years, the Department even bother adding this to the list released Thursday. (subsidized) homes were sold by market 2% on "housing strength /
o f H o u s i n g a n d U r b a n since its not FHA specific? • Treasury Inspector General for realtors at a 5% fee, and that the recovery" based on his work and
Development, which oversees • Warning: [ May 6, 2009: FHA Tax Administration J. Russell average home price is $150,000, many others like him. Good job
F.H.A., has been slow to weed out - The Next Housing Bust] George told a House panel tha t then the tax credit has put $2.6 (fraudster) people - you've added
mortgage lenders that abuse or • Warning: [ May 8, 2009: more than 19,000 people filed billion in the pockets of brokers. untold billions of market cap to
defraud the agency and profit Minyanville- Subprime Lending 2008 tax returns claiming the Doo doo doo do doo do do. the stock market via your
through means like certifying is Back with a Vengeance] credit for homes they had not yet More.... "innovation".
unqualified borrowers. (the circle • Warning: [ May 13, 2009: Tax purchased. • He told a House Ways and p.s. I have unsubstantiated(and
of life - isn't this how we got here C r e d i t a s M o r t g a g e D o w n • George said his office had Means oversight subcommittee made up) reports that Goldman
in the first place?) Payment Now Official Federal identified another $500 million in that they also found 580 taxpayers Sachs has identified / located said
• There are also growing Government Policy] claims, by some 74,000 taxpayers, under the age of 18 who claimed 4 year old, and offered him a job
concerns that subprime fraud • Warning: [ Jul 6, 2009: WSJ- where there were indications of $4 million in first-time home upon the age of 18. This is exactly
artists have set their sights on No Money Down or Negative prior home ownership. buyer credit. One was 4 years old. the type of minds that thrive in the
F.H.A. “It looks like an incoming E q u i t y T o p S o u r c e o f Let's stop there... we were told 580 more frauds? $4 million? culture - to find such a prodigy at
tsunami,” said HUD’s inspector F o r e c l o s u r e s ] that this wonderful credit only Ah, just a rounding error - put it this age... oh heavens.
general, Kenneth M. Donohue. • Warning: [ Aug 12, 2009: WSJ added about 350,000 additional with the rest of the IOUs! This content has passed through
• The fallout for both - The Next Fannie Mae - sales... i.e. people who would of • The report further faults the fivefilters.org.
homeowners and taxpayers could F H A / G i n n i e M a e ] not bought a home if not for the IRS for failing to take its advice
be substantial if F.H.A. becomes • Warning: [ Aug 14, 2009: credit. So assuming a good that a third party be required to
Daily Crunch: Discovery Edition
By Bryce Durbin (CrunchGear) unicycle solution Moleskines than you require
Submitted at 10/23/2009 12:00:39 AM Windows startup and shutdown The Windows 7 Burger King
sounds through the ages Whopper is gross
Video of the Honda U3-X auto- Never lose your remote control again with this simple, cheap DIY More information about
Internet News Record
Dollar Not Going Anywhere Soon - An Alternative to
Sumitomo's Projection
(Financial Sector and Stocks
Analysis from Seeking Alpha)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:49:00 AM
Congratulations go to Sumitomo
Bank's chief strategist, Daisuke
Uno, who on the 15th made the
announcement that the dollar
would lose its reserve status
within two years and subsequently
fall to 50 yen, an especially bold
call considering that the dollar is
as unpopular as the Nikkei was
popular in 1989.
Despite the newfound
assertiveness of our Japanese
friends, I find it hard to believe
the increasingly urgent
pronouncements on the dollar's
demise. As a general principle, it's
difficult to envision a currency
which has been the lifeblood of
the world's free economies for the
previous 60 years going from
considerable strength in 2008 to a
second coming of the German
mark by 2010. If we look at some
of the fundamental shifts in the
global economy, it's obvious that
the U.S. faces no serious
challenges to its economic
dominance in the near future.
Sure, it is clear that many
emerging economies are going to
grow at a brisk pace and gain
relative to the U.S. in an
impressive fashion. But even with
China growing at a sustained 9%
a year, it will take almost 25 years
for China's $2.2 trillion GDP to be
in the range of the U.S.'s present
$14.4 trillion GDP. This at least
demonstrates that the U.S. dollar
will play an important role in the
global economy in the foreseeable
future. Yet even this calculation
assumes absurdly low U.S. rates
of growth (sustained period of sub
1%) and an absurdly long period
of high sustained Chinese growth
(they've been growing at almost
10% for almost 2 decades).
Generally speaking, economies
don't grow at 10% for decades at a
time. Further, serious economic
disruption within China will
quickly bring into focus the
problems of having a market
economy within an authoritarian
political structure. Russia is
another potential time bomb
considering its serious
demographic problems, declining
natural resource reserves,
authoritarian government
(wearing democratic clothes), and
penchant for assertive
nationalism. My point is that
while emerging markets certainly
have explosive potential, many of
them also have serious issues that
they will have to confront down
the road. The U.S. will remain
highly important to the global
economy over the next five
decades because of its stable
political and legal systems, highly
liquid and well regulated financial
markets, and its brute size. Above
all else, it's in the interest of
Finance/ 11
countries like China and Russia to
preserve the dollar's value
considering the proportions of
their reserves in dollar form.
Thus, any one expecting a
collapse of the dollar might do
well to extend their time horizon.
I fully understand the lack of
fiscal and monetary constraint in
this country, but I also think the
Fed learned its lesson about
leaving rates too low for too long,
the American consumer will save
more and spend less, and there
will be significant political
pressure to reduce the deficit.
Fears of hyperinflation will be for
naught. Despite the bleak
technical picture for the dollar
index as a whole, I'd like to
survey the dollar-yen relationship
and provide an alternative thesis
to Sumitomo's '50 yen' projection.
First, let's take a look at the long-
term chart of the USD/JPY
relationship.
This chart gives the dollar yen
rate from the mid 70s onward.
You'd be surprised how hard it is
to find reliable historical forex
charts. The above graph ends in
2004, but idea for the past few
years is relatively simple: the
dollar gained to about 124 during
the summer and has recently
probed the 1994 lows in the zone
between 86-100.
The interesting point here is that
the yen has not even touched its
1994 highs of the 75-80 area. In
contrast, it appears to be
consolidating above that level.
While far from certain, it's
possible that we could be
witnessing a massive double
DOLLAR page 13
12 Finance/
Wells Fargo Is Doing Worse than It Seems
(Financial Sector and Stocks
Analysis from Seeking Alpha)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:47:21 AM
Reggie Middleton on Wells
Fargo's 3Q09 Reported
Performance
Results Review - 3Q09
Wells Fargo & Co. ( WFC)
reported higher-than-expected
earnings for 3Q-09, beating
consensus estimates for the
second time in a row, primarily on
back of increased revenues from
mortgage banking. Although
WFC's reported EPS at $0.56 was
up 14.0% y-o-y, it declined 2.0%
q-o-q in 3Q09. A y-o-y growth in
earnings reflected strong growth
in non-interest income (up
169.8% y-o-y) and net interest
income (up 83.1% y-o-y) led by
higher customer base and increase
in product offerings to its existing
customers, partially offset by
increased provisions for credit
losses (up 144.9% y-o-y and
20.2% q-o-q) during the same
period. Excluding the impact of
gains from mortgage servicing
rights (MSR) and hedging gains
(included in mortgage revenues
and overall constituting a part of
non-interest income), the
Company's earnings declined in
3Q2009 on q-o-q basis. The
contracting base of interest
earning assets (q-on-q) along with
higher loan losses provides a
significant headwind to the
company's valuation in the near-
term.
In 3Q-09 WFCs' net charge-offs
increased to $5.1 billion, or 2.5%
of average loans (up 156.2% y-o-
y and 16.5% q-o-q) primarily due
to higher charge-offs from
Wachovia's loan portfolio which
contributed 33.8% to total net
charge-offs. Wachovia's net
charge-off rate deteriorated
sharply to reach 1.66% in 3Q09
from 0.92% in 2Q09 while WFC's
legacy loan portfolio charge-off
rate rose 2 basis points to 3.37%
in 3Q09 from 3.35% in 2Q09.
Further, non-performing assets
also rose 27.9% q-o-q to $23.5
billion as of September 30, 2009,
or 2.9% of total loans, reflecting
deterioration in the Company's
consumer loans and Wachovia's
commercial and commercial real
estate nonaccrual loans.
Click to expand
The major support for WFC
came from mortgage banking
revenues which increased to $3.1
billion (up 243.8% y-o-y),
representing 13.7% of the total
consolidated revenues in 3Q09
compared with 8.6% in 3Q08. Out
of total mortgage banking
revenues reported in 3Q09, $1.5
billion were related to"non-
recurring" mortgage servicing
rights (MSRs) and hedging gains.
Excluding the impact of these
items, the Bank's non-interest
income contracted 4.7% q-o-q to
$9.3 billion in 3Q09 as compared
to $9.7 billion in 2Q09. In 3Q09,
non-interest revenues (including
MSR and hedging gains)
accounted for 48.0% of the total
net revenues against 47.7% in
2Q09 and 38.5% in 3Q08.
More importantly, net interest
income declined 0.7% q-o-q to
$11.7 billion in 3Q09 from $11.8
billion in 2Q09 despite 0.06%
increase in net interest margin off
lower average earning assets in
3Q09. Net interest margin,
however, declined significantly on
y-on-y basis - to 4.36% in 3Q09
from 4.79% in 3Q08 - as decline
in yield on interest earning assets
exceeded the decline in yield on
interest bearing liabilities. The
tough credit environment and
decline in loan demands
contracted the total interest
earning assets in 3Q09. WFCs'
total loan portfolio contracted
2.6% q-o-q to $800.0 billion in
3Q09.
Net income to common
shareholders reached $2.6 billion
(increasing 2.4% q-o-q in 3Q-09)
primarily off higher mortgage
banking revenues (which included
$1.5 billion gains from MSRs and
hedging gains in 3Q09 versus
$1.0 billion in 2Q09), lower non-
interest expenses over 2Q09 off
FDIC charge of around $565
million in 2Q09 and decline in tax
rate of 2.0%. Excluding the
impact of gains from mortgage
services rights and hedging gains
(recorded in 3Q09 and 2Q09), and
FDIC charge off recorded in
2Q09, net income in 3Q09
declined 47.7% to $1.1 billion
from $2.2 billion in 2Q09.
Click to expand
In 3Q09, provision for loans
losses increased significantly to
$6.1 billion or (3.06% of total
loans), up 20.2% q-o-q, while net
charge-offs rose to $5.1 billion
(2.48% of total loans) with an
increase of 16.5% q-o-q. Total
non-performing assets (NPAs)
also increased to $23.5 billion
(2.93% of total loans) from $18.3
billion (2.23% of total loans) at
the end of 2Q09 and $6.3 billion
(1.53% of total loans) at the end
of 3Q08. The growth in NPAs
was driven by deteriorating
Wachovia's loan portfolio.
Internet News Record
Here I introduce you to another
"I told'ja so" starting as far back
as September of 2007:
• Will the commercial real estate
market fall? Of course it will.
• Do you remember when I said
Commercial Real Estate was sure
to fall?
• The Commercial Real Estate
Crash Cometh, and I know who is
leading the way!
The allowance for credit losses
totalled $24.5 billion or (3.1% of
total loans) in 3Q09 as compared
to $23.5 billion or (2.9% of total
loans) in 2Q09. An increase in
$1.0 billion credit reserve was
estimated by the management as
inherent losses on its portfolio as
of 3Q09, particularly from
commercial loan portfolio.
Further, loans 90 days or more
past due and still accruing
increased to $18.9 billion, or 2.4%
of total loans, in 3Q09 as
compared to $16.7 billion, 2.0%
of total loans, in 2Q09. The banks'
Texas ratio also worsened to
32.5% in 3Q09 compared with
29.9% in 2Q09 and 20.7% in
3Q08.
In closing, and in short on
WFC, I told you so. Many times,
and these days, most of the time,
the economic truth is not reflected
share prices, CNBC nor
accounting numbers. You can be
sure to get the unbiased record
from your buddy Reggie, though.
So as to not simply pick on Wells,
JP Morgan ( JPM), this country's
most respected bank, is really in
the same position save a trading
arm that had artificially high
margins that are already on the
decline (I will post an article on
FICC risks and revenues next).
See " Reggie Middleton on JP
WELLS page 13
Internet News Record
Financial Czar Actions and Reform
Regressions
(Financial Sector and Stocks
Analysis from Seeking Alpha)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:40:39 AM
The government economic team
is getting positive media feedback
from their announcement that the
appointed pay czar, Kenneth
Feinberg, is restricting pay at big
banks. The fact is, it applies to
only seven banks, those which
have not paid back bailout funds.
The cuts will apply to the 25
highest- paid executives at AIG,
Bank of America ( BAC),
Citigroup ( C), General Motors
Co., GMAC Inc., Chrysler Group
LLC and Chrysler Financial. The
cuts will not apply to Goldman
Sachs ( GS), Morgan Stanley(
MS) and JPMorgan Chase ( JPM).
The WSJ reports that pay will be
capped at $500,000, which will
encourage more pay in stock to
make up for loss of cash
compensation. This gesture is one
step towards appeasing an angry
public, but hopefully not a
distraction from the real amounts
owed by all the biggest banks to
the taxpayer nor a free pass for
the late action on this.
In other regulatory reform news,
the NYT reports:
Reaching a compromise on an
issue that threatened to derail
financial regulatory legislation,
the House Financial Services
Committee voted on Wednesday
to give the federal government the
power to block the states from
WELLS
continued from page 12
Morgan's Q309 results" and " If a
Bubble Bubble Bursts Off
Balance Sheet, Will Anyone Be
regulating large national banks in
some circumstances. The Obama
administration had opposed any
efforts by the federal government
to pre- empt state officials from
imposing more rigorous banking
standards. A group of Democrats
with close ties to the banking
industry had sought a complete
federal pre- emption, which
would have the effect of sharply
limiting any state regulation of
banks.
The newly established U.S.
Consumer Financial Protection
Agency will act as a clearing
house for bank loans, credit cards
and other financial products, but it
has been scaled back and watered
down and will no doubt be rife
with bureaucratic challenges. The
agency will have oversight over
major banks- those with more
than 10 billion dollars in assets. It
ended up with exemptions for a
range of financial players as
described in this next paragraph...
The committee exempted auto
dealers, as well as credit,
mortgage and title insurers, from
CFPA oversight. Banks with less
than$ 10 billion in assets-- which
is the vast majority of U.S. banks-
- and credit unions with less than$
1.5 billion in assets won a partial
CFPA reprieve..........In another
change from Obama's proposal,
the committee dropped a
provision that would have
required banks to offer" plain
vanilla" products, like 30- year
There to Hear It?: Pt 2 - JP
Morgan, then download:
This content has passed through
fixed- rate mortgages. It also
softened an Obama provision that
would have given state
governments wide latitude to
write and enforce consumer
protection rules that are tougher
than the CFPA's. States still could
do that, under the committee's
bill, but federal regulators could
block state rules if they were
found to" significantly interfere"
with a national bank's business.
As for the derivatives
legislation, a long time in coming,
the House Agriculture Committee
approved legislation bringing
unregulated over- the- counter
products, such as swaps, under
federal oversight for the first time,
but eliminated end- users from the
legislation who use derivatives
markets to hedge their price risk.
Given the severity of the
societal risk and taxpayer
indebtedness at stake, all of this is
a start and better than nothing, yet
is greatly lacking. I f there is any
doubt as to the motivating forces
behind- the- scenes that determine
the inadequate decision-making
by our congressional leaders,
answers can be found in the WSJ
article, Wall Street Steps Up
Political Donations, Lobbying.
Doubt in addition to the foxes
running the henhouse, that is.
Disclosure: No stocks or ETFs
owned.
This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
fivefilters.org.
Finance/ Tech News/
DOLLAR
continued from page 11
bottom in the dollar yen. Any
move above 150 would probably
indicate a new bull market in the
dollar yen. A move below 76
would be quite bearish, yet I will
make the argument that this is
unlikely. Let's take a look at some
weekly charts to discuss the
present price action in relation to
these significant long-term levels.
These charts run from 2007 to
the present. The downtrend
resistance line is clear in both
charts. The challenge for the
dollar is to break this trend line. If
it were to do so, it would indicate
significant bullishness. What's the
chance of this happening? Well I
think the most important aspect of
these charts is the secondary
bottom which occurred over the
last few weeks. If the downtrend
was fully in control, it would have
made more sense for the recent
bottom to fall below the bottom of
Dec08/Jan09 of 87. Nevertheless,
there was clear selling exhaustion
above this level.
In addition, we see the clear
rising sequential bottoms in the
RSI. A third aspect to note is the
tendency of the dollar-yen to
hover near the trend line during
this previous down leg. In the first
two down legs, the price neared
the trend line and plummeted.
When a reversal is near, price
tends to hug the trend line. While
this is speculative, the solid shot
down in Aug/Sep and the
FCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules, Now the
Fight Begins
By Ryan Singel (Wired Top
Stories)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:30:00 AM
The FCC votes to create binding
openness rules for the internet.
13
accompanying oversold condition
may have provided the spark for a
break of the line. Nevertheless,
even if 87 support doesn't hold,
we have room to the downside
before we break that significant
long-term 76 level. As a pair, the
dollar-yen is an excellent trading
vehicle because of the low
correlation with the equity
markets and the dollar's other
pairs. Movements in these
markets could contribute or
detract from dollar-yen strength.
I will be the first person to sell
the dollar yen if it breaks below
that 87 level, yet I would suggest
that when everyone is zigging it
may be time to zag. Further, I'm
not convinced that a break of
2007-2009 trend line will mean
that the dollar yen has set a
double bottom. It's possible it will
simply set a double top near the
2007 high and fall further.
Nevertheless, I believe that the
Japanese economy has structural
problems, especially
demographic, which make its long
-term prospects disconcerting.
The dollar may not be the reserve
currency in 20 years, but I think
you'll be able to get more than 50
yen for it.
This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
Now it's time for advocacy
groups, Google and AT&T among
other, to start yelling over what
the exact rules should be.
14 Finance/ Gadgets/
Incredibly, bill to end health care Before the bell: Earnings
insurers' anti-trust exemption
gaining steam in Congress
By Joseph Lazzaro
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 5:30:00 PM
Filed under: Politics Sometimes,
in American politics/public
policy, the unexpected occurs. A
year ago, if you had said health
care reform in 2009 would lead to
the end of the health insurance
industry's anti-trust exemption,
you probably would have been
classified as a candidate for 24-
hour observation.
It still hasn't become law yet,
but on Wednesday the above took
one more step toward becoming
reality as the U.S. House
Judiciary Committee approved a
bill that would curb the health
insurance industry's limited
exemption from antitrust law and
would allow the U.S. Justice
Department to enforce laws
relating to price fixing and market
allocation, The New York Times
reported. The committee voted 20
-9 in favor of the measure, with
three Republicans joining 17
Democrats.
Continue reading Incredibly,
bill to end health care insurers'
enthusiasm shows signs of
slipping
anti-trust exemption gaining
steam in Congress
Incredibly, bill to end health
care insurers' anti-trust exemption
gaining steam in Congress
originally appeared on
BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Oct
2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see
our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Comments
By David Schepp
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 7:30:00 AM
Filed under: Before the bell,
International markets, Earnings
reports, Microsoft (MSFT),
Fortune Brands (FO), Economic
data, Honeywell Intl (HON), Oil,
S and P 500, DJIA, Recession,
NASDAQ Wall Street watchers
can be excused for feeling a little
whipsawed this week. After
watching stocks lose ground early
in the week, they roared back
Thursday, riding high on a bevy
of upbeat earnings reports. That
enthusiasm remains partially on
display this morning with two of
the three major U.S. stock indexes
showing a positive opening ahead
of the morning bell.
At about 7 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq
Composite Index and S&P 500
were slightly higher, while the
Dow Jones industrial average was
down by about 4 points. The Dow
Internet News Record
New Apple ad “Broken
Promises” has PC in flip
-up shades; what’s not to
like?
By Devin Coldewey
(CrunchGear)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 6:31:03 PM
Oh, PC. Your hijinx extend back
so far that in those days, you had
long hair! Apple wins again!
While this newest Apple ad
(about which I am being paid
millions to post) is entertaining in
a sort of superficial, nudge-nudge
amirite kind of way, I don’t think
gained 1.3 percent Thursday to it’s really as compelling as most
close the session at 10,081.31, led of the other ads, even as lacking
by the strong earnings reports in facts as those were. I guess
from five of the benchmark these ads are so simple to make
index's 30 component stocks. that they can afford to just run
Continue reading Before the with every idea, no matter how
bell: Earnings enthusiasm shows vague or half-baked. In the end, I
signs of slipping think all this one is going to do is
Before the bell: Earnings pique viewers’ curiosity about
e n t h u s i a s m s h o w s s i g n s o f Windows 7 — that is, if they
slipping originally appeared on haven’t already dismissed it out of
BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Oct hand.
2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see And does anybody think it’s a
our terms for use of feeds. little weird that Mac doesn’t
Permalink| Email this| Comments change his look over the last 20
years of OSes there? I used
System 7 for a long time and
buddy, it is not the same shirt and
jeans as OS X.

Back to school with Apollo Group (APOL)

By Steven Halpern In The Long and Short Advisor, University of Phoenix, the Group (APOL) originally
(BloggingStocks) he recently chose Apollo College of Financial Planning, appeared on BloggingStocks on
Submitted at 10/23/2009 9:30:00 AM Group(NASDAQ: APOL) -- a Insight Schools Inc., Institute for Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST.
leader in providing higher Professional Development, and Please see our terms for use of
Filed under: Stocks to Buy education to working adults -- as a Western International University. feeds. Permalink| Email this|
In his new advisory service, Sy new "long" recommendation. Continue reading Back to Comments
Harding looks for both long and The advisor explains, "Founded school with Apollo Group
short opportunities, based on both in 1973, Apollo now has more than 80% working full time. Its (APOL)
technical and fundamental factors. than 420,000 students, with more s u b s i d i a r i e s i n c l u d e t h e Back to school with Apollo
Internet News Record Gadgets/ 15

ACCESS and Emblaze Mobile unveil ELSE INTUITION, the

Linux-based mobile OS of your dreams
By Tim Stevens (Engadget)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 7:14:00 AM
It's been a long, long time since
Emblaze Mobile and ACCESS
engaged in holy cellphone
matrimony, and the fruit of that
relationship is finally coming to
bear. It's called ELSE
INTUTION, a Linux-based
mobile platform that comes with
such a hyperbolic press release
that we can't help but think every
other mobile manufacturer should
just pack up and go home. It's said
to match the functionality of "top
ranked MP3 players, best-in-class
GPS devices, and more, while
maintaining an exceptional ease
and simplicity of use." Golly. At
this point we only have a few
images to go by, and though they
do look plenty nice, we wouldn't
consider our minds blown just yet
ACCESS is the company that
turned Palm OS into Garnet OS
and then failed to win anyone
over with its Access Linux
Platform, so what could go wrong
here? What's it going to be,
readers: WebOS or ELSE?
Update: Another right-handed
pic (ironically taken on an
iPhone) added after the break.
-- particularly those of us with a [Via AV Watch]
left-handed bias. Remember, Continue reading ACCESS and
Emblaze Mobile unveil ELSE
INTUITION, the Linux-based
mobile OS of your dreams
ACCESS and Emblaze Mobile
unveil ELSE INTUITION, the
Linux-based mobile OS of your
dreams originally appeared on
Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009
07:14:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds. Read|
Permalink| Email this| Comments

John McCain's "Internet Freedom Act"

Seeks to Block FCC's Net Neutrality Rules
[Blockquote]
By Danny Allen (Gizmodo)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:55:00 AM

When the FCC voted to

formalize net neutrality guidelines
yesterday, it took minutes for the
cable industry to bitch about plans
to forbid them (and wireless
carriers) from selectively blocking
types of Internet use. Surprise!
McCain's not a fan either.
He's introduced the " Internet
Freedom Act", which would block
the FCC's rulemaking process. He
says the rules would create
"onerous federal regulation", and
constitute a "government
takeover" that would stifle
innovation.
"Today I'm pleased to introduce
the Internet Freedom Act of 2009
that will keep the Internet free
from government control and
regulation," McCain said. "It will
allow for continued innovation
that will in turn create more high-
paying jobs for the millions of
Americans who are out of work or
seeking new employment.
Keeping businesses free from
oppressive regulations is the best
stimulus for the current
economy."
I'm trying to keep politics out of
this, but apparently his view of
"Internet Freedom" refers to big
business freedom, not American
citizens. It's strange, because I
always thought that thriving
competition was the best way to
boost jobs and protect us
consumers. Apparently not. [
Computerworld]
Stick This Thing to Your Kid and
You Won't Lose Them [GPS]
By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) feature, if we're studying the GPS
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:40:00 AM tracking page properly, is that you
can assign your children with
The Insignia Little Buddy is a v a r i o u s b a r n y a r d a n i m a l
$100 child-tracking GPS system. iconography. That'll teach little
You simply duct tape the Little piggy the consequences of being
Buddy to your kid, and you'll late.
never lose the little bugger again The Little Buddy will be on sale
(involuntarily). at Best Buy shortly, and we
A web interface positions you assume the service could come
various little ones on a map with some sort of monthly cost. [
marked with your custom "safety Best Buy via navigadget]
zones." But the most enticing
16 Gadgets/ Entertainment/
Motorola's Zeppelin spotted, Yamaha's EC-f electric
found to contain Android motorcycle has two wheels and
rather than hydrogen one plug
By Tim Stevens (Engadget)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 8:13:00 AM
Last week's blurry little roadmap
from Motorola gave us our first
glimpse of the codename
Zeppelin, and now just a few days
later the back half of the thing has
floated its way into the hands of
someone at DIGI.QQ.com. The
Android-powered handset is said
to sport a five megapixel camera
with flash, WiFi, a 3.1-inch 480 x
320 screen, HDMI output, and, in
a first for Android, dual SIM slots
marked GSM and CDMA --
technically an R-UIM slot for
CDMA, actually, which pretty
much limits this thing to China.
And indeed, rumor has it release
will come behind the Great Wall
sometime in the first quarter of
next year, with worldwide
shipments (of some other variant,
we'd imagine) sometime later.
Sure, that's a long time to wait if
your contract expiration is nigh,
but we hear that Droid thing is
pretty neat.
[Via AndroidOS.in]
Filed under: Cellphones
Motorola's Zeppelin spotted,
found to contain Android rather
than hydrogen originally appeared
on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009
08:13:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds. Read|
Permalink| Email this| Comments
Internet News Record
Dell's Adamo
'crazyhinge' XPS
demonstrated on video
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 9:30:00 AM
So, Dell finally revealed just
exactly what was going on with
its ultrathin Adamo XPS-- to an
extent, anyway -- but there's
always room for a little more
detail, and that's where the folks
at Zive Computer come in. This
lovingly filmed video of theirs
shows off all the physical
intricacies of the XPS, the hinge
in action from multiple angles,
By Tim Stevens (Engadget) worrying about that green ring and even a bit of pretend typing
turning red. That, of course,
Submitted at 10/23/2009 8:46:00 AM on that odd-looking keyboard.
assumes this will ever actually Sure, we're still in the dark on
Motorcycles are light, small, and have riders, which is doubtful plenty of specs, but we've already
easily able to ride up on sidewalks given the fate of most fanciful gathered enough on this thing to
in search of hidden power plugs. Tokyo Motor Show concepts like make it clear it's unlike anything
They're the perfect electric vehicle this.
else on the market. Hit up the read
but, despite a few notable Filed under: Transportation link for the vid.
exceptions, they're still powered Yamaha's EC-f electric
Filed under: Laptops
by dino juice. Yamaha, makers of motorcycle has two wheels and Dell's Adamo 'crazyhinge' XPS
the raucous crossplane crank R1 one plug originally appeared on demonstrated on video originally
sportbike, has decided to go a Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23
little bit cuter for its vision of the 08:46:00 EST. Please see our Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please
rechargeable future, the EC-f. It terms for use of feeds. Read| see our terms for use of feeds.
features an aluminum frame, a Permalink| Email this| Comments Read| Permalink| Email this|
lithium ion battery, and styling
Comments
cues that will have riders
Crazy in Love: Hollywood's Hottest Couples!
(ETonline - Breaking News) Brad and Angie! Take a look at
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:20:00 AM some of Hollywood's hottest
couples! Who else made the cut?!
George and Elisabetta! David Take a look!
and Victoria! Khloe and Lamar!
Internet News Record
Sony S-Frame DPP-F700 Digital
Photo Frame/Printer: $200 in
January [Digital Photo Frames]
By Danny Allen (Gizmodo)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:02:18 AM
The sleek-looking S-Frame DPP
-F700 is finally headed to the U.S.
It's got a 7-inch (800 x 480)
display that doubles as a digital
photo frame and image editor for
printing 4 x 6-inch photos in 45
seconds.
Print quality is 300 x 300dpi,
and basic edits include zoom,
crop, brightness, contrast, hue,
and sharpness adjustment. To
print whatever is on the screen at
Stars Shimmer in Cartier in Beverly Hills
(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:19:00 AM
The stars were rocking Cartier at
the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style
Awards in Beverly Hills on
Thursday night.
Decked out in diamonds, Demi
the time, you (or grandma) can
just hit the Screen Capture button.
As you can see in the pics, the
F700 can sit vertically or
horizontally, and it will
automatically rotate photos as you
do.
1GB of storage comes built-in,
and you can print from your PC,
USB sticks, and a variety of
media cards, including SD and
xD. No RAW format support, but
the F700 will print JPEG, TIFF
and BMP image files. [ Sony]
Moore singled out one piece that
stands above the rest. Pointing to
her ring finger, she said, "The best
one is right there." She was
referring to her 1937 Cartier
wedding band that represents her
marriage to Ashton Kutcher.
Princess Grace, known in
Windows 7 Whopper claims its
first victim (video)
By Joseph L. Flatley
(Engadget)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 9:09:00 AM
Few brave souls will even
attempt to consume the Windows
7 Whopper, and fewer still will
achieve that first dyspepsic bite --
as you can plainly see in this
video. Indeed, we were sure that
this was some sort of promotional
stunt for Microsoft in Japan, but
now reports are filtering in that
these have been available in
Texas for years now. Of course, in
Hollywood as Grace Kelly, was
posthumously honored with the
Rodeo Drive Walk of Style
Award. Her son, Prince Albert II
of Monaco, accepted the award on
his mother's behalf.
Gadgets/ Entertainment/ Fashion/ 17
Nokia Booklet 3G
running Windows 7
Starter unwrapped at
Best Buy
By Thomas Ricker (Engadget)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 7:41:00 AM
If your pulse is racing like
Windows 7 on an Atom processor
then this Nokia Booklet 3G is
surely the cause. The premium
the Lone Star State it's not called netbook running Microsoft's not
the Windows 7 Whopper, it's so premium 32-bit, Aero-less
called "lunch."
[Via Pocket-lint]
Starter Edition OS (see the
sticker?) is the first demo unit to
Continue reading Windows 7 arrive at Best Buy. Buyers better
Whopper claims its first victim enjoy looking at that Windows
(video)
flag 'cause with Starter, it's the
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops only wallpaper you're ever going
Windows 7 Whopper claims its to get.
first victim (video) originally
Gallery: Nokia Booklet 3G
appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 running Windows 7 Starter
Oct 2009 09:09:00 EST. Please unwrapped at Best Buy[Thanks,
see our terms for use of feeds. Caffoni]
Permalink| Email this| Comments
Nokia Booklet 3G running
Windows 7 Starter unwrapped at
Best Buy originally appeared on
Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009
07:41:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds. Permalink|
Email this| Comments
Runway Visions: Vera Wang Bridal
By ELLE.com (ELLE News
Blog) All Photos: Kelly Stuart
Submitted at 10/22/2009 3:33:54 PM
18 Gadgets/ Tech/
No More Hardware Players from
Slacker [Internet Radio]
By Danny Allen (Gizmodo)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:51:42 AM
Slacker's G2 player was pretty
cool, but hardware from an online
music service always seemed
odd—especially when Slacker
and Pandora apps are available for
BlackBerries and the iPhone. So
I'm not surprised that they're
exiting the hardware biz.
Slacker told the Wall Street
Journal that the G2 will be phased
out in the second half of next
year, saying "it no longer fit with
the company's long-term
strategy."
The $4 bucks a month
subscription based streaming
service, and access from hardware
like the Logitech Squeezebox and
Bravia TVs isn't going anywhere,
though. In fact, it looks like that's
where Slacker will refocus its
efforts. [ Wall Street Journal via
Electronista]
The real life Burger King Windows
7 Whopper is a disgusting joke to
humanity
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:23:10 AM
OMG. When I asked our
Japanese readers to send in a pic
of the Burger King Windows 7
burge r, I was half hoping that it
really didn’t exist. But nope, here
it is. You probably shouldn’t look
at this before breakfast, btw.
It blows my mind that some
marketing guru would think that
slapping the Windows 7 name
onto a seven patty burger would
Internet News Record
SmarterFox
updates to 3.0,
changes name
By Jessica Dolcourt
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 6:07:02 PM
SmarterFox, one of my favorite
Firefox productivity add-ons,
recently updated to version 3.0. In
the process, it added a new
feature, fixed some miscellaneous
bugs, and changed its name to
FastestFox.
For a major version upgrade,
changes are slim. The most
notable new feature is the ability
for FastestFox to automatically
surface related search results from
Amazon and OneRiot at the top of
a Google results page. The related
search results show up in addition
to an original SmarterFox bar that
lets you repeat a search on
OneRiot, Amazon, Yahoo,
Twitter, and Delicious. The
FastestFox release notes are quick
to mention that you can disable
related search results.
Version 3.0 adds relevant results
from Amazon and
OneRiot.(Credit: FastestFox)
For as much as FastestFox can
do, I'm not particularly thrilled
improve the Windows image. Of with either the name change--
course it took an equally moronic always a pain for users--nor the
Burger King suit to agree to sell pushed search results, which
out and show the world that outmaneuver Google in grabbing
Burger King is willing to create your eyeball at the top of the
the world’s most unhealthy foods. results page. That said, the
Look at that thing. It’s a tower of extension doesn't crimp any of the
cardiac arrest. The meal better app's original usefulness; just its
come with a voucher for a buy own branding.
one bypass, get one free. Gross. Originally posted at The
Just gross. Download Blog
[thanks for the pics, Christoph]
Internet News Record
Barriers loom on road to plug-in cars
(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:00:00 AM
DETROIT--For plug-in electric
cars, it's no longer a question of if.
It's a question of when and how.
After many years of buildup,
plug-in vehicles aimed at
mainstream buyers are set to
come to the market starting next
year. But even with the
momentum around plug-ins, many
questions remain unanswered
over how this technology
transition will impact the ailing
auto industry and how the cars
will received by consumers.
"You have the feeling that we're
at the beginning of something that
could be very special," said David
Cole, the chairman of the Center
for Automotive Research, which
is funded by government and
corporate sources, during the
opening of the Business of
Plugging In conference here on
Tuesday. "There are a great many
uncertainties, but we have to
recognize that the key invention is
here with the lithium ion battery."
The sold-out conference, which
attracted about 600 people,
represented the varied groups
needed to deliver these vehicles:
automakers and supply chain
suppliers, electricity utilities,
policy makers, tech entrepreneurs,
and investors.
Regardless of the initial
volumes of electric-vehicle sales,
the stakes in this shift are high.
Electric vehicles promise to
reduce pollution from
transportation, decrease oil
imports, and provide economic
opportunity for a broad number of
businesses.
Compared to biofuels or
hydrogen fuel cell technologies,
the large automakers and several
start-ups have coalesced around
electrification, to a greater extent.
But there still remains the
question of how much money
consumers are willing to pay and
how easily they can adjust strong
habits.
"We've placed big bets in this
area...(but) the question is: will
consumers want these vehicles?"
Bill Ford, the chairman of Ford
Motor, said during a Wednesday
talk. "The short answer is, it
depends on how many trade-offs
they need to make...and I think
customers aren't prepared to make
many trade-offs at all."
Hybrid premium
Plug-in cars come in various
forms, but the larger battery
means a higher purchase price
than today's hybrids or equivalent
gasoline models. If consumers are
going to accept that up-front cost,
automakers need to convince
them that owning an electric car is
cheaper in the long run. One idea
that automakers are seriously
considering is leasing batteries,
which could make the monthly
payments for a new electric car
comparable to a gasoline version.
The actual prices for many cars
aren't yet known, since companies
have not yet decided. Nissan's all-
electric Leaf sedan, set for its U.S.
debut next month and availability
next year, is said to be in the
$25,000 to $30,000 range.
Industry executives estimate that
the electric Chevy Volt, due late
next year, will be in the $40,000
range.
Fueling up an electric car is less
expensive than running the
equivalent gasoline-only vehicle,
and auto industry executives say
the maintenance is simpler on
electric drives (no more oil
changes, for example). Jonathan
Lauckner, General Motors' vice
president of global program
management, on Tuesday said the
cost per mile of the Volt could be
a sixth of a gasoline car's, offering
as much as $1,500 a year in
savings. Those savings get better,
if gas prices go up and if drivers
can charge up more than once a
day.
And consumers want this
information. Surveys show that
consumers are drawn to plug-ins
for environmental reasons, but
fuel savings are actually more
important, according to a survey
of U.S. drivers done by Ernst &
Young. Safety, of course, is
another high priority.
"We've always had a disconnect
between the purchase price and
the usage cost, where consumers
way undervalue the usage costs,
which will continue to be a
problem here," Richard Curtain,
of the Institute of Social Research
at the University of Michigan,
said during a panel on
Wednesday. "If it got to less than
a $5,000 premium, that would
allay many of the concerns of the
consumer."
Industry executives say volume
production, a goal of the
Department of Energy's$2.4
billion grant program launched in
August, will help bring down
costs in the coming years, much
the way hybrid components fell in
price. But that up-front premium
is tough to totally erase, given that
electrification is competing with a
deeply entrenched technology: the
internal combustion engine.
Battery improvements will help
the cost picture as well. Many
companies are working on
batteries--a new generation of
lithium ion batteries and other
chemistries--that can pack more
energy. More "energy-dense"
batteries means that drivers will
get a longer driving range from a
battery of a given size.
Ultracapacitors, another storage
method, have also been proposed
as way to work with batteries in
vehicles.
Technology horse race
The different routes automakers
are taking to electrification affects
costs. General Motors' Chevy
Volt has generated plenty of buzz,
but company executives say its
design will make at least the first
generation of the car pricey. GM
hopes to wring thousands of
dollars from the Volt power train,
notably the battery and power
electronics in the second
generation of the car.
Fisker Automotive, a start-up
that received a$528 million loan
from the Department of Energy, is
using a similar power train for its
planned Karma and Nina high-end
luxury cars. Called an extended-
range electric vehicle or a series
hybrid, these cars will run on
battery charge only in the
beginning--40 miles in the case of
the Volt--and then use an internal
combustion engine to operate a
generator for the electric motor on
longer trips.
A handful of automakers--Ford,
Nissan, Think, and Coda
Automotive among them--are
making all-electric vehicles, also
called battery-electric vehicles.
Because of the limited range of
about 80 miles to 100 miles, these
cars are being sold as second cars
in the United States or Europe or
for city driving.
By contrast, Toyota, which has
already sold millions of Priuses,
believes that the way to sell large
volumes of plug-in cars is to build
on the existing hybrid technology,
Tech/ 19
where batteries and the gasoline
engine both propel the car.
"We think that blended (mode) is
going to be the only way to reach
the cost parity that the consumer
is going to want," said Justin
Ward, the advanced power train
program manager at the Toyota
Technical Center. "There (are) a
lot of high-end cars, but how high
do you go before it becomes
unattainable for the general
consumer?"
Infrastructure
Electric and hybrid cars aren't
going to take over the market any
time soon, because of cost and
because they face competition
from more efficient gasoline
engines and diesels. Market
researcher IHS Global Insight
projects that pure-electric and
range-extended electric vehicles
will account for just more than 1
percent of the total market by
2014, with hybrids and plug-in
hybrids being nearly 21 percent.
But even though plug-ins of
various types will be a niche in
the early years, utilities need to
start preparing now. On a local
level, utility executives are
concerned that just a few plug-in
cars, which can pull as much juice
as a whole house when charging,
will strain local power grids.
That's particularly true, if
consumers install faster 220-volt
charging ports, which will cut
charge time to about two or three
hours, from six or eight.
The way to avoid stressing the
grid is to charge cars at off-peak
times, utility executives say.
Pacific Gas & Electric, considered
one of the most aggressive
utilities in embracing new
technologies, plans to offer
BARRIERS page 26
20 Tech/ Tech Tips/ Internet News Record

European laws present challenges for Google Books

(CNET News.com) libraries to discuss the benefits of information. which was disputed by authors took it a step further. "The most
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:00:00 AM the project. The settlement is Even the hardiest Google and publishers in 2005 but important thing in Europe is to
obviously a U.S. matter, but the opponents agree that a digital authorization to do so is a key part review our copyright laws. We
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--As c o n t e n t i o u s i s s u e s i n t h e library of the scope Google is of the proposed settlement. need to adapt it to the digital age."
Google closes in on a November 9 settlement do not exactly apply to proposing will have tangible Copyright laws vary across This, of course, is part of the
deadline to submit a revised Europe, because Google says it benefits for the world. This is Europe, but the concept of fair use opposition to Google's settlement
settlement in the Google Books has not scanned out-of-print but especially true for the European generally does not exist, and most in the U.S. Instead of leaving it up
case, it continues to pull out all c o p y r i g h t - p r o t e c t e d b o o k s libraries, which store books dating books are protected by copyright to Congress to reform U.S.
the stops to reassure the world it p u b l i s h e d i n E u r o p e . as far as the 17th century that are for 70 to 80 years after the death copyright laws to settle once and
has the best of intentions. Therefore, in Europe Google crumbling with the advance of of the author, the librarians said. for all whether digitizing out-of
The controversy over Google's has only scanned public domain age. Few people are able to see Historical works are in the public print but copyright-protected
s e t t l e m e n t w i t h g r o u p s works held by its library partners those books because of their value domain, but that's just a fraction books should be allowed, the
representing book authors and and books for which it has and the remoteness of their of the overall number of books settlement is granting that unique
publishers rages on, almost a year negotiated scanning rights with location, but putting them online stored in libraries throughout the sweeping right to a single
after it was first reached. After rights holders. Still, the settlement could allow the world to read world. corporation, and forcing others
Google was sued in 2005 for process is being watched closely books they would have once Out-of-print books will only be who may want to digitize these
digitizing books without explicit by European authors who have traveled thousands of miles to see, available as limited previews to books to cut licensing deals with
permission, it reached a proposed had books published in the U.S., allow researchers from around the searchers with links to stores at an organization funded by Google
settlement in October 2008 that as well as European librarians world to study their contents, and which they can be bought, but and staffed by directors picked by
would give it unique rights to scan who are a little jealous over the preserve the knowledge for future those books will be part of a the groups representing authors
out-of-print yet copyright- resources their American generations. database that is available to and publishers.
protected books, exciting some counterparts could enjoy under But some, such as German researchers and librarians through So while Google works
librarians but raising the ire of the settlement. Prime Minister Angela Merkel, an institutional subscription. feverishly on a new settlement in
many within the publishing and "It's like everyone in the U.S. are wary about a single company Researchers outside the U.S. the U.S. ahead of a November 9th
literary communities. gets to use cell phones and I'm controlling such a library. "The won't have access to that database, deadline, its legal battles may be
Nevertheless, Google has made stuck with a landline," said Sarah German government has a clear which means U.S. libraries and just beginning. Chinese authors
painstaking attempts to engage Thomas, Bodley's librarian and position: copyrights have to be universities would have an are reportedly gearing up to
with its enemies in the publishing director of Oxford University's protected on the Internet," The advantage. oppose Google's efforts, and its
world. Dan Clancy, engineering L i b r a r y S e r v i c e . " I t ' s a Guardian quoted her as saying last "We ask our researchers what mission of organizing the world's
director for Google Books, has tremendous barrier to advancing week. they want, and they say, 'we need information may be stymied if
traveled the country meeting with knowledge." In any event, at the moment a Google Books European European copyright laws forbid
opponents and supporters, Make no mistake: getting this European libraries are on the settlement. We need access to the digitization of a huge swath of
patiently explaining Google's settlement finalized is easily one outside when it comes to books that are out of print but are books published in the last
position and preaching the value of Google's highest priorities of unlocking the knowledge stored in still in copyright,'" said Klaus century.
of a publicly available archive of the year. There are financial the millions of out-of-print but Ceynowa, deputy director general This content has passed through
digital books. incentives--Google will host links copyright-protected books on for the Bavarian State Library in fivefilters.org.
On Thursday, Google hosted a to book stores and place ads on their shelves. Google's argument Germany.
group of four librarians from the search result pages--but this is all along in the U.S. has been that Manuela Palafox, head of digital
Europe, where Google has signed also a core part of Google's it was allowed to scan those types editions at the University of
partnership agreements with five mission to organize the world's of books under fair-use laws, Complutense of Madrid, Spain,

Ubuntu 9.10 Release Candidate Available for Download [Updates]

By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) anyone already using the beta or working hard on papercut-type from. It is, of course, a free
who can't wait 6 more days to see
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:00:00 AM annoyances throughout the download that runs on most any
how the Linux OS looks and system. If you've already platform. Announcing the Release
All platforms: The more stable, feels. downloaded the beta, hit the link Candidate for Ubuntu 9.10[The
heavily bug-fixed Release The RC release doesn't have to find upgrade instructions, and Fridge]
Candidate of Ubuntu 9.10 is much new in the way of features but Ubuntu's team has been newcomers can grab a torrent or
available for download, for beyond what we saw in the beta, direct download of an ISO to boot
Internet News Record Tech/ Entertainment/ 21

European laws present challenges for Google Books

By Tom Krazit (Webware.com) libraries to discuss the benefits of information. which was disputed by authors took it a step further. "The most
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:00:00 AM the project. The settlement is Even the hardiest Google and publishers in 2005 but important thing in Europe is to
obviously a U.S. matter, but the opponents agree that a digital authorization to do so is a key part review our copyright laws. We
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--As c o n t e n t i o u s i s s u e s i n t h e library of the scope Google is of the proposed settlement. need to adapt it to the digital age."
Google closes in on a November 9 settlement do not exactly apply to proposing will have tangible Copyright laws vary across This, of course, is part of the
deadline to submit a revised Europe, because Google says it benefits for the world. This is Europe, but the concept of fair use opposition to Google's settlement
settlement in the Google Books has not scanned out-of-print but especially true for the European generally does not exist, and most in the U.S. Instead of leaving it up
case, it continues to pull out all c o p y r i g h t - p r o t e c t e d b o o k s libraries, which store books dating books are protected by copyright to Congress to reform U.S.
the stops to reassure the world it p u b l i s h e d i n E u r o p e . as far as the 17th century that are for 70 to 80 years after the death copyright laws to settle once and
has the best of intentions. Therefore, in Europe Google crumbling with the advance of of the author, the librarians said. for all whether digitizing out-of
The controversy over Google's has only scanned public domain age. Few people are able to see Historical works are in the public print but copyright-protected
s e t t l e m e n t w i t h g r o u p s works held by its library partners those books because of their value domain, but that's just a fraction books should be allowed, the
representing book authors and and books for which it has and the remoteness of their of the overall number of books settlement is granting that unique
publishers rages on, almost a year negotiated scanning rights with location, but putting them online stored in libraries throughout the sweeping right to a single
after it was first reached. After rights holders. Still, the settlement could allow the world to read world. corporation, and forcing others
Google was sued in 2005 for process is being watched closely books they would have once Out-of-print books will only be who may want to digitize these
digitizing books without explicit by European authors who have traveled thousands of miles to see, available as limited previews to books to cut licensing deals with
permission, it reached a proposed had books published in the U.S., allow researchers from around the searchers with links to stores at an organization funded by Google
settlement in October 2008 that as well as European librarians world to study their contents, and which they can be bought, but and staffed by directors picked by
would give it unique rights to scan who are a little jealous over the preserve the knowledge for future those books will be part of a the groups representing authors
out-of-print yet copyright- resources their American generations. database that is available to and publishers.
protected books, exciting some counterparts could enjoy under But some, such as German researchers and librarians through So while Google works
librarians but raising the ire of the settlement. Prime Minister Angela Merkel, an institutional subscription. feverishly on a new settlement in
many within the publishing and "It's like everyone in the U.S. are wary about a single company Researchers outside the U.S. the U.S. ahead of a November 9th
literary communities. gets to use cell phones and I'm controlling such a library. "The won't have access to that database, deadline, its legal battles may be
Nevertheless, Google has made stuck with a landline," said Sarah German government has a clear which means U.S. libraries and just beginning. Chinese authors
painstaking attempts to engage Thomas, Bodley's librarian and position: copyrights have to be universities would have an are reportedly gearing up to
with its enemies in the publishing director of Oxford University's protected on the Internet," The advantage. oppose Google's efforts, and its
world. Dan Clancy, engineering L i b r a r y S e r v i c e . " I t ' s a Guardian quoted her as saying last "We ask our researchers what mission of organizing the world's
director for Google Books, has tremendous barrier to advancing week. they want, and they say, 'we need information may be stymied if
traveled the country meeting with knowledge." In any event, at the moment a Google Books European European copyright laws forbid
opponents and supporters, Make no mistake: getting this European libraries are on the settlement. We need access to the digitization of a huge swath of
patiently explaining Google's settlement finalized is easily one outside when it comes to books that are out of print but are books published in the last
position and preaching the value of Google's highest priorities of unlocking the knowledge stored in still in copyright,'" said Klaus century.
of a publicly available archive of the year. There are financial the millions of out-of-print but Ceynowa, deputy director general Originally posted at Relevant
digital books. incentives--Google will host links copyright-protected books on for the Bavarian State Library in Results
On Thursday, Google hosted a to book stores and place ads on their shelves. Google's argument Germany.
group of four librarians from the search result pages--but this is all along in the U.S. has been that Manuela Palafox, head of digital
Europe, where Google has signed also a core part of Google's it was allowed to scan those types editions at the University of
partnership agreements with five mission to organize the world's of books under fair-use laws, Complutense of Madrid, Spain,

Anne Hathaway and Neil Patrick Harris Head to Olympic City of 'Rio'
(ETonline - Breaking News) actors are in negotiations to lend excursions of a nerdy macaw who of Meatballs.' Actor Rodrigo film along with Blue Sky Studios
Submitted at 10/23/2009 12:10:00 AM their voices to the animated flick escapes from his cage in a small Santoro, a native of Rio de and director Carlos Saldanha,
'Rio,' according to The Hollywood Minnesota town for the colorful Janiero, is also reportedly cast in would not confirm this casting
Anne Hathaway and Neil Patrick Reporter. city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 'Rio.' According to The news.
Harris are flying down to Rio, or Produced in 3D digital Harris recently lent his voice to Hollywood Reporter, Fox
their voices are at least. The animation, 'Rio' will chronicle the the movie 'Cloudy with a Chance Animation, who is behind this
22 Tech/ Entertainment/
Tech advice from Tim Berners-Lee
By Rafe Needleman
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:00:00 AM
Tim Berners-Lee at the Web 2.0
Summit.(Credit: Rafe
Needleman/CNET)
SAN FRANCISCO--When Tim
Berners-Lee, inventor of the
World Wide Web, entered the
room for the final interview at the
Web 2.0 Summit, the audience
stood up for him.
Appropriately so, since most of
those present here Thursday owe
their livelihoods to his invention.
In an on-stage interview with Tim
O'Reilly, the audience was
listening to Berners-Lee not just
for his perspective but his
guidance. While not explicitly
called out in the discussion, there
was good advice in what he had to
say. Here's what I heard:
Don't build your laws into the
Web."Technology shouldn't tell
you what's right and what's
wrong," Berners-Lee said. "The
rule of law applies on the Web.
It's a platform for humanity." He
does not appear believe that it is
appropriate to code local laws
onto the global platform,
preferring to leave enforcement to
existing means--police and courts.
Fault-tolerance is vital.
Responding to question from
O'Reilly about the "404" page
Dutch Court Orders Pirate Bay To Delete Torrents
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 2:31:22 AM
Earlier this year, a Dutch court
issued a default judgment against
The Pirate Bay, ordering it to
delete certain torrents and block
Dutch web surfers from reaching
the site. The Pirate Bay's founders
being one of the critical
inventions on the Web, Berners-
Lee said, "It was a trade-off and a
design choice." But, he added,
"The great thing is you can write a
bunch of links and you don't have
to wait" for them all to work.
Building a tight system where
everything is guaranteed to work
is possible in smaller
configurations but not on a global
scale.
If you want it everywhere, give
it away. The Twitter founders
must have heard this message
before they built their product.
When asked why Berners-Lee
never thought about charging for
the Web, the answer was practical
and capitalistic. "Because we
wanted it everywhere," He said.
"We wanted an URL for every
page." And he got it. Ubiquity
would not have been possible
with competing, paid hypertext
systems.
Large companies are the enemy.
I'm interpreting here, from this
statement: "I'm worried about
anything large coming in to take
control, whether it's large
companies or government." For
example, he said that large social
networks like Facebook end up
with undue control over
communications because they are
not open to other systems. As he
said, in the old days of e-mail,
protested the ruling, noting that
they had not been properly
informed of the case in the first
place, and that other items in the
lawsuit were highly questionable -
- including what appeared to be
falsified documents submitted by
BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy
agency.
you could e-mail anyone,
anywhere, from any system. They
all interconnected. With large,
closed systems, users cede control
to the owners.
Small open companies can
topple big closed ones. Berners-
Lee believes that if you have
small companies that connect to
each other in an open way (for
example, small social networks
using a standard to connect their
networks), then it's possible that
the lone, closed system, no matter
how large, can fail.
Separate design from device.
The growth of mobile devices is
one example of how thinking
about Web design for one size
screen--a PC or laptop--can cut a
product off from growth. Another:
not considering the increase in the
number of users with "huge
screens" on which a design
created for, say, and 800x600
Flash window, will appear tiny
and weak.
Consider content as app. Thanks
to HTML 5, which Berners-Lee
calls a competing platform more
than a content standard, Web
pages can turn into widgets, and
some apps won't be
distinguishable from Web pages.
Forge trust. Berners-Lee says,
"One of the whole gating factors
of getting the whole world of Web
apps to take off is trust." He says
The court has now annulled the
original default judgment, but the
new ruling is basically the same
thing. The founders were told to
delete torrents and block Dutch
surfers from at least part of the
site. The court also rejected the
claim that the founders do not still
own the site, saying they
that when Web apps get data from
different services and those
services similarly reach out to
others, how do users, customers,
and companies ever learn to trust
a single site? What's the solution?
He doesn't know, but believes it's
an opportunity: "If we get a really
good solution to the problem, then
Web apps will be amazing."
Make the Web work for more
people. As Berners-Lee says, only
20 percent to 25 percent of
humans uses the Web even
though 80 percent "have signal,"
that is, they could get on the Web
where they are if they had the
tools or desire to do so. He
believes that one of the reasons
use of the Web is lower than its
availability is that much of the
Web isn't designed for all
cultures. The World Wide Web
Foundation is Berners-Lee's
platform for pushing for more
Web access for the world. He puts
the challenge this way: "It's about
figuring out what is the little thing
we can tweak so that people can
get online, 15 years before they
would otherwise?" More people
connected means more
empowered people. Which, by the
way, means more of a market for
Web inventors.
Originally posted at Rafe's
Radar
presented no evidence that the site
had actually been sold to another
entity, or any evidence of who
now owned the site. While I still
think it's questionable to force the
site to block results of what is
really a search engine, there is a
point about who owns the site. I
recognize why The Pirate Bay has
Internet News Record
Inside Donny
Osmond's Top-Secret
'DWTS' Rehearsal
(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 12:25:00 AM
Still riding on "Cloud Ten,"
Donny Osmond knocked out the
"Dancing with the Stars" judges
this week with his Argentine
Tango, drawing a personal best
score of 29, the highest score of
the season. Now, we're with
Donny and pro partner Kym
Johnson in their Las Vegas
rehearsal studio to see what
they're cooking up next!
"Still living on that cloud," says
Donny of their victory. But now,
Donny and Kym have to lock
down the Jitterbug by Monday
night, and Donny says, "It's kind
of bittersweet -- we love the fact
that we got 29, but we really are
starting over. You're just starting
from ground zero."
"We take it week by week,"
agrees Kym. "It feels really like a
competition now to me. … I think
we're in a good place -- hopefully
they'll take us seriously."
done what it's done, but it almost
feels like they're trying to be too
cute about the ownership issue.
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story
Internet News Record
Tech advice from Tim Berners-Lee
(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:00:00 AM
Tim Berners-Lee at the Web 2.0
Summit.(Credit: Rafe
Needleman/CNET)
SAN FRANCISCO--When Tim
Berners-Lee, inventor of the
World Wide Web, entered the
room for the final interview at the
Web 2.0 Summit, the audience
stood up for him.
Appropriately so, since most of
those present here Thursday owe
their livelihoods to his invention.
In an on-stage interview with Tim
O'Reilly, the audience was
listening to Berners-Lee not just
for his perspective but his
guidance. While not explicitly
called out in the discussion, there
was good advice in what he had to
say. Here's what I heard:
Don't build your laws into the
Web."Technology shouldn't tell
you what's right and what's
wrong," Berners-Lee said. "The
rule of law applies on the Web.
It's a platform for humanity." He
does not appear believe that it is
appropriate to code local laws
onto the global platform,
preferring to leave enforcement to
existing means--police and courts.
Fault-tolerance is vital.
Responding to question from
O'Reilly about the "404" page
being one of the critical
inventions on the Web, Berners-
Lee said, "It was a trade-off and a
design choice." But, he added,
United States Files Extradition Request in Roman Polanski Case
(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:26:00 AM
According to the Associated
Press, the United States has
officially requested that Roman
"The great thing is you can write a
bunch of links and you don't have
to wait" for them all to work.
Building a tight system where
everything is guaranteed to work
is possible in smaller
configurations but not on a global
scale.
If you want it everywhere, give
it away. The Twitter founders
must have heard this message
before they built their product.
When asked why Berners-Lee
never thought about charging for
the Web, the answer was practical
and capitalistic. "Because we
wanted it everywhere," He said.
"We wanted an URL for every
page." And he got it. Ubiquity
would not have been possible
with competing, paid hypertext
systems.
Large companies are the enemy.
I'm interpreting here, from this
statement: "I'm worried about
anything large coming in to take
control, whether it's large
companies or government." For
example, he said that large social
networks like Facebook end up
with undue control over
communications because they are
not open to other systems. As he
said, in the old days of e-mail,
you could e-mail anyone,
anywhere, from any system. They
all interconnected. With large,
closed systems, users cede control
to the owners.
Small open companies can
topple big closed ones. Berners-
Polanski be extradited back to the
U.S. The director is currently
being held in prison by the Swiss
government in Zurich.
Polanski was arrested in Zurich
on September 26 for having sex
Tech/ Entertainment/ 23
"One of the whole gating factors
of getting the whole world of Web
apps to take off is trust." He says
that when Web apps get data from
different services and those
services similarly reach out to
others, how do users, customers,
and companies ever learn to trust
a single site? What's the solution?
He doesn't know, but believes it's
an opportunity: "If we get a really
good solution to the problem, then
Web apps will be amazing."
Make the Web work for more
people. As Berners-Lee says, only
20 percent to 25 percent of
humans uses the Web even
though 80 percent "have signal,"
that is, they could get on the Web
where they are if they had the
tools or desire to do so. He
believes that one of the reasons
use of the Web is lower than its
availability is that much of the
Web isn't designed for all
cultures. The World Wide Web
Lee believes that if you have not considering the increase in the Foundation is Berners-Lee's
small companies that connect to number of users with "huge platform for pushing for more
each other in an open way (for screens" on which a design Web access for the world. He puts
example, small social networks created for, say, and 800x600 the challenge this way: "It's about
using a standard to connect their Flash window, will appear tiny figuring out what is the little thing
networks), then it's possible that and weak. we can tweak so that people can
the lone, closed system, no matter Consider content as app. Thanks get online, 15 years before they
how large, can fail. to HTML 5, which Berners-Lee would otherwise?" More people
Separate design from device. calls a competing platform more c o n n e c t e d m e a n s m o r e
The growth of mobile devices is than a content standard, Web empowered people. Which, by the
one example of how thinking pages can turn into widgets, and way, means more of a market for
about Web design for one size s o m e a p p s w o n ' t b e Web inventors.
screen--a PC or laptop--can cut a distinguishable from Web pages. This content has passed through
product off from growth. Another: Forge trust. Berners-Lee says, fivefilters.org.
with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. been forwarded to the proper
After pleading guilty, he fled the authorities for a hearing on the
U.S. in 1978. matter, according to the AP.
The Justice Ministry says the
U.S. put in this request on
Thursday. The paperwork has
24 Tech/ Entertainment/ Internet News Record
Win Chance to
iCurrent: A news aggregator that works Spend Halloween
By Rafe Needleman mainstream categories (in my If there's a channel you like, you enough technology to put that
(Webware.com) examples: Technology, Sports, can invite other users to it, and news in front of them. with Heidi Klum
Submitted at 10/22/2009 2:54:00 PM Health). invite them to join iCurrent in the It's fast and easy to add sources (ETonline - Breaking News)
I found that the system picked process. If you invite someone to the default list for any
Submitted at 10/23/2009 12:01:00 AM
There have been dozens, maybe good stories in my channels, and outright, you can also pre- category.(Credit: Screenshot by
hundreds, of companies that have from good sources, and that it populate their channel lineup with Rafe Needleman/CNET) Want to trick or treat with the
tried to create useful Web browser c a t e g o r i z e d t h e m m o s t l y your channels. This is an There are some improvements stars? Modelinia is putting your
s t a r t p a g e s a n d c o n t e n t correctly. It's easy enough to important method to spread the that I'd like to see: The interface is seamstress skills and creativity to
aggregation sites. Popular themes recategorize topics and add or love on iCurrent, as it's going to just a little busy when it comes to the test in a contest that could win
include RSS readers, widget remove news items. For example, be hard, otherwise, for people to adding and removing sources and you the chance to party with Heidi
collection pages, and user-filtered I wanted news on "San Francisco hear about this product. And, as channels, although it's not Klum on Halloween night.
news hubs. I've seen and tried a Muni," but iCurrent originally put CEO Ramana Rao told me, unclear. More importantly, All those who are age 21 plus
lot of them but rarely use them it in "Business." I moved it to "Google will probably whack it," coverage of local news is not that are challenged to post a photo of
after a quick look. A new project, "News." I also added CNET News meaning that iCurrent stories good, which is a shame in a news their best Halloween costume.
iCurrent, has potential to break to the "Sources" list for the topic, won't show up in the Google reader that can be highly The winner will receive two
out of that swamp for me and just in case we ever cover it. index. personalized. I'd also like to see a tickets to the ultra-exclusive and
other users. The iCurrent main screen blends Not that they should. The mobile version. star-studded Halloween party
iCurrent contains no magical your custom content with news service doesn't repackage stories, The product is in private beta hosted by supermodel and
t h i n k i n g o r h e a d - s l a p p y categories you haven't yet flagged it just links to them. When you now and should be available "Project Runway" Heidi Klum in
reconceptualizations of news. It's (orange box).(Credit: Screenshot want to read a story, you get it shortly. You can sign up to be Hollywood.
just an aggregation service done by Rafe Needleman/CNET) from the original source, with a alerted when it goes public. I Are you in or are you out? Click
well, with useful and clear On the front page of iCurrent, frame at the top (which can be recommend that. here to enter and vote. The entry
features for users, and a you get stories from your disabled) that leads you back to Rao says iCurrent will make deadline is October 25.
s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d s h a r i n g designated topics in the middle iCurrent. money from advertising. It might.
mechanism. column of the page, and general iCurrent rewards the engaged It's more likely it'll make money
You tell iCurrent what you're and trending news on the right. reader, but it doesn't require much when Yahoo or Microsoft buys it.
interested in (examples: Windows The blend is important -- it keeps work at all to make it a See also: Meehive,
7, Formula 1, the Public Option), you informed on topics you might compelling experience. As I said YourVersion.
and the system will find stories on not be looking for. And it's how at the top of this story, there's Originally posted at Rafe's
that topic from its solid lineup of you build up your channels at nothing really amazing here, just a Radar
sources, and create a "channel" first, by adding topics from the good understanding of how
for you that exists in one of its general stories you see. today's users consume news, and

Law Students Suing Law Students Ends In Settlement

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) anonymous commenters, after of course lawsuits were filed -- this case, it looks like no when it comes to the First
Submitted at 10/23/2009 12:19:56 AM they posted some mean things some very badly (such as against precedent will be set at all, as the Amendment issue. In the end, I
about them. There's no denying one of the guys who helped run parties have all settled and the think the context of the content
We've covered the lawsuit over that the comments were pretty the site and was clearly protected terms of the settlement are remains important -- and content
comments on the site AutoAdmit obnoxious, though it's not clear from liability). confidential (found via Thomas in such a forum, where it was
for the past couple years. The that, given the context, anyone Some were hoping that this O'Toole). pretty obviously ridiculous, is the
quick summary is that AutoAdmit took them seriously. The women lawsuit would create new rules The issue is a tough one, sort of thing that's better left
is an online forum for law school claimed that they had trouble concerning online defamation or certainly. It's no fun to be on the ignored, rather than filing a
students where, like many online getting jobs because of the other "mean" content online. For receiving end of such speech -- lawsuit over it.
f o r u m s , s o m e t i m e s t h e comments, but there was little example, there's been a push for a but should it be illegal or should Permalink| Comments| Email
conversations get pretty mean. evidence to support that either. DMCA-style "takedown" system there be an automatic takedown This Story
Two female Yale law students Still, you had a bunch of law that would require sites to take system on such content? That
sued the site and a bunch of students angry with each other, so down such content. However, in seems extreme and questionable
Internet News Record Tech/ 25

Low-cost Windows 7 laptops hit retail

(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:20:00 PM
Windows 7 has spawned a new
breed of inexpensive laptops at
retailers like Best Buy and Frys.
At many stores on Thursday,
Best Buy refreshed almost its
entire stock of laptops: all running
Windows 7 and all sporting new
model numbers. Frys--a
megastore electronics retailer with
locations throughout California,
Arizona, and Texas--also
refreshed many of its laptops with
new Windows 7 models.
One of the most inexpensive
Windows 7 arrivals is the
Gateway model EC1410U. This
tiny laptop is distinctly Netbook-
like in appearance but uses a more
powerful Celeron M ULV 743
processor (1.3GHz, 1MB cache)
than the Atom-chip fare found in
Netbooks. In addition to the
Windows 7 Home Premium
Edition 64-bit version, other
features include 2GB of memory
and a 250GB hard disk drive.
Small Gateway laptop comes in
a Netbook-like package but uses a
more powerful Celeron processor
than the Atom chip found in
Netbooks--and it's cheap at
$399(Credit: Best Buy)
Many seductive Windows 7
newcomers are categorized as
"ultrathins." These slim designs
are typically discernibly bigger
than Netbooks (though, as
evidenced by the Gateway above,
it's now always clear-cut) and
pack more processor horsepower.
The Toshiba Satellite T-135
(model: T135-S1309), which falls
into this category, is priced at
$549 at Best Buy and comes with
Windows 7 Home Premium
Edition 32-bit operating system, a
13.3-inch display, a dual-core
power-efficient Pentium
processor, 3GB of memory, a
320GB hard disk drive
(5400RPM), and built-in Web
cam.
The HP dm3 (model: dm3-
1035dx), also an ultrathin and also
priced at $549, packs 3GB of
memory like the Toshiba but
that's where the similarity ends.
The HP uses a 7200RPM 320GB
hard disk drive (as opposed to the
5400RPM drive on the Toshiba),
comes with the Windows 7 Home
Premium Edition 64-bit version
(compared with the Toshiba's 32-
bit version), an AMD Athlon Neo
X2 dual-core processor (versus
Intel Pentium on the Toshiba),
and ATI Radeon HD 3200
graphics (unlike the Toshiba's
Intel integrated graphics).
$549 Toshiba T135 weighs less
than 4 pounds and boasts a dual-
core processor and 320GB hard
disk(Credit: Best Buy)
$349: Gateway LT2030U Atom
chip-based Netbook(Credit: Best
Buy)
Gateway is also offering a bona
fide Netbook. The $349 LT2030U
houses an Atom N270 processor,
1GB of memory, a 250GB hard
disk drive, and--typical of many
Atom-based designs--a 10.1-inch
screen. It weighs in at 3 pounds
with Microsoft's light-duty
Windows 7 Starter Edition--which
doesn't support native DVD
playback, multi-monitors, nor the
Aero user interface.
$499: 15.6-inch Dell Inspiron
laptop with 2.16GHz dual-core
processor(Credit: Best Buy)
Not to be outdone, Dell is also
offering a new inexpensive
Windows 7 Inspiron model (I1545
-4203JB) with a 15.6-inch screen
and a 2.16GHz Intel Pentium dual
-core processor T4300 processor.
It comes with 3GB of memory, a
250GB hard disk drive, and the
Windows 7 Home Premium
Edition 64-bit OS.
Frys was selling many of the
same, or similar, low-cost models
as Best Buy but also included
some new high-powered
Windows 7 laptops too, such as
the HP dv7-3080. This 17-inch
model comes with a quad-core
Core i7 720QM processor, an
Nvidia GT 230 graphics chip, a
500GB hard disk drive, and
Windows 7 Home Premium
Edition 64-bit. It is priced at
$1,449 at Frys.
This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.

Apple Fires Back at Windows 7 in New Ads

By Barb Dybwad (Mashable!)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:59:51 PM
Apple’s “I’m a PC” and “I’m a
Mac” dynamic ad duo are at it
again in three new “Get a Mac”
commercials that take direct aim
at today’s Windows 7 launch.
In “Broken Promises,” PC Guy
flashes back to Windows editions
over the years (with fashion or
lack thereof to match), each
promising not to have “any of the
problems my last operating
system had.” The ad ends with the
line “this time it’s gonna be
Apple! What do you think, are the ads
Check out the aforementioned effective, or has Apple gone too
ad embedded below, and the other far with this one?
two ads over at Apple. The latter [Thanks, Erictric]
pair both feature Windows users Tags: ads, apple, mac,
eagerly getting ready to make the MARKETING, Windows 7
different. Trust me.” Ouch, switch — not to Windows 7, but
to a Mac.
26 Tech/ Sports/
BARRIERS
continued from page 19
customers a 220-volt charger that
has a timer so consumers can take
advantage of lower rates at off-
peak times. Using a smart-grid
technology, a car charger could
pick its charge time and rate by
communicating through a smart
meter.
But what if someone can't
charge at home? Like others,
utility industry group the Edison
Electric Institute advocates new
building codes demanding that all
new buildings are wired so that
charging stations can be added in
places such as underground
parking garages in apartment
buildings or retail areas,
according to Anthony Earley, the
chairman of the institute and CEO
of utility DTE Energy.
A few charging stations will go
a long way, according to people
who spoke at the conference. "We
act like this is a chicken-and-an-
egg problem, but it's really not,"
said Mark Duvall, the director of
electric transportation at the
Electric Power Research Institute.
"They are not enabling
technologies, in my opinion, but
they can help."
If plug-in electric vehicles are
wildly popular with consumers
and fleet owners, the industry will
Angels hold off Yankees, force Game 6 in Bronx
By Associated Press
(ESPN.com)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 11:48:46 PM
Fast Facts
• The Angels improved to 2-7 in
their last nine ALCS games with
Thursday's win.
• Kendry Morales got the go-
ahead hit in the seventh, with his
first multi-hit game of the
then face the challenge of having
sufficient capital to scale up.
During a discussion on battery
technologies, academics said that
even now, there isn't a sufficient
workforce to do the engineering
required for electric vehicles, with
the most glaring hole in materials
science.
Although higher manufacturing
should significantly cut battery
prices, there were regular
questions about the supply of
lithium at the conference. Overall,
auto and battery company
executives said lithium supply is
not a pressing concern. Lithium
could be extracted from different
sources and can be recycled, said
Yet Ming Chiang, the chief
scientist of battery upstart A123
Systems and professor of
ceramics at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
The U.S. auto industry has an
opportunity to be reinvigorated
with electric auto technologies, as
its seeks to transition from the
"rust belt to the green belt,"
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm
said Wednesday. China,
meanwhile, is investing heavily in
electric transportation, which
national leaders see as a way to
"leapfrog" to the latest
postseason.
• Jeff Mathis was 3 for 4 and
became the first player to have six
straight hits against the Yankees
in the postseason. He's also the
first player since Kenny Lofton in
2003 with six straight hits in any
postseason.
• A.J. Burnett allowed four runs
in the first inning. He had allowed
nine first-inning runs in 33 starts
technologies, said Yibing Wu, the
managing director of Legend
Holding, the company that makes
Lenovo laptops and is moving
into clean energy.
On an environmental level, plug
-in hybrid cars have 30 percent
lower carbon emissions, even if a
car is fueled by coal-fired power
plants, Earley said. That's
particularly important on a global
level, since hundreds of millions
of cars are expected to be sold in
the coming years in developing
countries, said Ann Marie Sastry,
a University of Michigan
professor and a co-founder of a
Khosla Ventures-backed battery
company Sakti3.
"The small car is absolutely
going to be essential for
electrification and to all of us
because it doesn't matter where
the carbon comes from--whether
we generate it or it comes from
the emerging economies," Sastry
said. "It's imperative (that) the
United States play a role in this
technology development because
of our own interest in climate
change."
This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
this season.
• Thursday's Game 5 loss was newspaper subscriber and/or a
t h e f i r s t t i m e i n Y a n k e e s ' Cablevision subscriber.
postseason history they were
down 4-0 before recording an out. this is. It is not a plan to build a
-- ESPN Stats & Information
This content has passed through It's a plan to try to reduce churn
fivefilters.org.
Cablevision Puts Up Newsday's
Paywall; But Really Just Using
It As A Churn Reducer
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:12:26 PM
When Cablevision first bought
Newsday, Charles Dolan admitted
the company knew very little
about the newspaper business, but
promised to consult widely with
newspaper experts in coming up
with a plan. That seemed like a
really really bad idea, since all the
newspaper experts we've seen
don't seem to even recognize what
business they're really in. But, it
looks like that's exactly what
Dolan did. Back in February, the
company announced that it was
going to put up a paywall for its
content. Since there had been no
update or any action since then,
I'd actually begun to wonder if the
company was rethinking that idea.
No such luck. Apparently it just
took a bit of time to fully plan out
Newsday's self-destruction.
The company has announced
that it will start charging a
whopping $5/week (not month,
but week) to access the website
unless you're an existing paper
Let's be absolutely clear what
21st century news organization.
elsewhere, by putting up a slight
hurdle for Cablevision cable
customers and Newsday
newspaper customers to prevent
Internet News Record
them from leaving. Cablevision's
customer base and Newsday's
subscriber base overlaps quite a
bit, so for plenty of those folks
there will be no change at all. But
this won't do anything to actually
help the news organization grow.
Those who don't subscribe to the
paper edition or who use a
competitor for broadband (like
Verizon Fios which is pushing
hard in Cablevision's market) will
simply go elsewhere. While the
NYC papers don't cover Long
Island news quite as completely,
they do a pretty good job with the
basics, and other local news
sources will fill in the rest.
Cablevision is basically saying
that it's giving up in the online
news business. It's an admission
that it doesn't know how to
compete. This won't help it sign
up new customers, and may only
barely help it prevent old
customers from leaving.
It's basically a suicide play for
Newsday. This is really a
disappointment, since Cablevision
-- amazingly -- had actually been
one of the most forward thinking
cable companies out there in
terms of offering real value on the
broadband side of things. But
apparently it bought Newsday as
an asset to let it wither away.
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story
Internet News Record Tech/ Media/ 27

Microsoft: Strong Windows demand Mozilla Raindrop: Is the

helps earnings Intelligent Inbox
(CNET News.com) disappointing July quarter when On the Windows front,
Coming?
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:45:00 AM the company reported weaker-
than-expected results.
Microsoft saw the number of PCs
shipping with Windows grow 6
Microsoft said "strong" demand The company said Friday it is percent in the quarter even though By Barb Dybwad (Mashable!)
for Windows and Xbox buoyed continuing to cut costs. In the PC sales overall were anywhere Submitted at 10/22/2009 5:55:06 PM
the company's financial results for current fiscal year, which runs from flat to up 2 percent.
the past quarter. through the end of June, Microsoft cited, among other Mozilla Labs announced a new
The software maker said Friday Microsoft said it now expects things, the fact that more project today: Raindrop is an
that it earned $3.57 billion, or 40 operating expenses of $26.2 Netbooks are using Windows “exploration in messaging
cents per share, on revenue of billion, a drop of $300 million compared with a year ago. innovation” brought to you by the
$12.92 billion for its fiscal first from its prior forecast. For the current fiscal year, same team behind the
quarter, which ended September Liddell will lead a conference Microsoft said it expects Thunderbird open source email
30. Microsoft also deferred $1.47 call with analysts at 7:30 a.m. Windows sales to roughly reflect client.
billion in revenue ahead of the PDT, which CNET will be the PC market, while Office unit Built around the idea that “email early stages. In fact at a lowly
launch of Windows 7. Adding that l i s t e n i n g i n o n . M i c r o s o f t sales will lag. It expects its server isn’t fun anymore,” Raindrop version 0.1 release, the platform is
back in, revenue would have been normally releases its earnings in unit to slightly outpace the overall aims to be a sort of intelligent still only available to developers
$14.39 billion and per-share the afternoons, but it moved the market, while entertainment unit inbox filtering system that kicks at this point.
earnings would have been 52 report from Thursday afternoon so sale should be roughly flat. For its minor messages and notifications Still, we look forward to seeing
cents. it wouldn't step on the toes of the online business, Microsoft said it to the sidelines while what comes out of Raindrop. Like
Those results topped forecasts, Windows 7 launch. expects to outperform the broader foregrounding messages from Google Wave, it’s an attempt to re
although sales are still down from Microsoft continued to lose a market, excluding its MSN Mom and other important people -imagine web-based
a year ago. significant amount in its online Internet access business. you actually know. communication for the modern
"We are very pleased with our business, with the operating loss Here's a chart of last quarter's Raindrop also wants to pull in era from the ground up. Raindrop
performance this quarter and growing to $480 million from segment-by-segment results, messages from Twitter, Facebook, will also borrow some elements
p a r t i c u l a r l y b y t h e s t r o n g $321 million a year ago. Revenue though keep in mind that the IM, and eventually any other from Wave like the ability to view
consumer demand for Windows," for its online business, which Windows numbers are affected by communication platform with an images and videos inline, and it
CFO Chris Liddell said in a includes Bing and MSN, dropped the amount that Microsoft API. Direct messages and will be interesting to see what
statement. "We also maintained to $490 million from $520 million deferred because of the coming @replies would be seen as more other parallels might emerge
our cost discipline, which allowed a year ago. However, Microsoft launch of Windows 7. important and therefore between the two.
us to drive strong earnings said it has seen a mid-single-digit Update at 6:45 a.m. PDT: More foregrounded over regular not Check out an introductory video
performance despite continued increase in U.S. search revenue. details added throughout. specifically to you messages. The about Raindrop below and let us
tough overall economic The company sold 2.1 million This content has passed through idea is to make a people-centric know what you think. Do you
conditions." Xbox consoles in the quarter, fivefilters.org. communication tool that brings have any suggestions for the team
The earnings report came a day according to a PowerPoint chart your various services together in working on re-inventing online
a f t e r M i c r o s o f t l a u n c h e d posted on Microsoft's investor one interface, instead of communication? Or do you even
Windows 7 and followed a Web site. constantly playing a game of plan to get your hands dirty and
“find that browser tab” when you get involved with the open source
MediaDailyNews: BIAP Becomes FourthWall Media want to check up on a particular Raindrop project?
conversation or thread. Reviews: Facebook, Google
(MediaPost | Media News) brand identity can be seen at the Partners include Time Warner While the concept is extremely
company's new web site, Cable, DISH Network, and Wave, Twitter
Submitted at 10/23/2009 7:10:05 AM
exciting to those of us very weary Tags: communication, email,
www.fourthwallmedia.tv. several smaller operators, as well of slogging through almost
BIAP, a provider of interactive FourthWall Media delivers rich as NBC Olympics adn eBay. facebook, mozilla, raindrop,
unparseable email accounts and twitter
television and advertising interactive services to nearly 25 This content has passed through wielding a formidable array of
solutions, launched a new brand million set-top boxes, across fivefilters.org. web-based communication tools,
identity name change: FourthWall multiple platforms, operators, Raindrop is still in the very, very
Media. The new name, logo and products, and geographies.
28 Tech/ Sports/ Internet News Record

How To Get Spectrum Back From

TV For More Useful Purposes Dear Lobbyists: When Crafting
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) that's unused, but close to used any reasonable way to get that
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:13:20 PM spectrum. The broadcasters insist
there will be interference, while
spectrum back without paying for
it.
Astroturf Letters, Remember To Do
If you look at how our radio technologists insist the technology
spectrum is allocated today, you i s g o o d e n o u g h t o b l o c k
In the link above, Adam Thierer
suggests we just give the current
A Search & Replace On XYZ Corp.
discover that TV broadcasters i n t e r f e r e n c e . holders property rights in the By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) the Arkansas Retired Seniors (or
have a huge chunk of spectrum So, it's interesting that, just as spectrum, and assume that they'll Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:28:00 AM perhaps the lobbyist directly)
(that chart doesn't directly display we're hearing of the first tests of then sell it off to those who can do forgot to change out the
how much spectrum is actually white space networks, the FCC is something more innovative with it We were just talking about how boilerplate statement: "XYZ
included -- I remember seeing also talking to broadcasters about (or change and do something one of the worst tricks of DC organization shares this concern."
another chart, which I can't find other ways to reclaim some more innovative themselves). I've lobbyists is to get various special XYZ organization, huh? Here's an
now, that shows proportionally spectrum and put it to use on long been a proponent of giving interest groups to send letters on editing tip for AT&T's lobbyists:
h o w m u c h m o r e s p e c t r u m something more useful and up the ridiculous idea of having your behalf, even though those are when crafting such letters with
broadcasters have). This was productive. Apparently, the plan the government decide how each really written by the lobbyists b o i l e r p l a t e l a n g u a g e t h a t ' s
given to them -- entirely for free - on the table right now would be slice of spectrum must be used. themselves. The quote in that supposed to get changed at a later
- years ago, when spectrum wasn't for broadcasters to give up the Why not let the companies who original article that highlights the date before being sent off to the
used for much. These days, spectrum in return for a cut of the control the various slices of practice shows how it works:"You FCC, you should highlight that
however, spectrum is precious for revenue the government would spectrum make use of it as they go down the Latino people, the text in a different color. Saves
so many different things, and get in auctioning off the spectrum see fit? It seems more likely that deaf people, the farmers, and embarrassing mistakes like this
certainly much of it could be put for wireless use. Of course, some we'd get more efficient uses of the choose them.... You say, 'I can't one.
to better use. Of course, the may find it distasteful that public spectrum. So, it's good to see use this one--I already used them In researching this further, Karl
broadcasters aren't thrilled with spectrum that was given to these more thinking about ways to put l a s t t i m e . . . ' W e h a d t h e i r also can't find any other evidence
giving up any of their windfall. companies for free can then get some of that spectrum to better letterhead. We'd just write the that the Arkansas Retired Seniors
For years, they dragged their feet, sold off with at least some of the use, but it would be nice if we letter. We'd fax it to them and tell exist. Separately, he found
kicking and screaming, about money going to those who never allowed the market, rather than them, 'You're in favor of this.'" another mistake by the lobbyists
switching from analog to digital bought or truly "owned" the the government, to figure out how Indeed. Well, it looks like in the when it sent a different anti-net
broadcasting, which was needed spectrum in the first place. But, to best use it. process of faxing and telling a neutrality letter from Grumman
to reclaim some spectrum. More given that the FCC set things up Permalink| Comments| Email senior citizen's group what they Shipbuilding(ship builders against
recently, they've been fighting in a way where it basically created This Story were in favor of, AT&T's anti-net neutrality?). This one wasn't as
attempts to use "white space" a de facto ownership structure of neutrality lobbyists forgot to do a egregious, but the lobbyists forgot
spectrum -- which is spectrum the spectrum, it's difficult to see bit of searching and replacing. to remove the header info that
Karl Bode points us to a hilarious says "Governor/PUC Letters to
Lemaire-less Wild Weak Where It Counts letter filed with the FCC about net FCC on Net Neutrality" with the
neutrality(pdf), officially on neat little classification system the
By Adam Gretz (FanHouse) known in the first eight years of behalf of the Arkansas Retired lobbyists use: "Letter 2: Specific
Submitted at 10/23/2009 10:00:00 AM its existence. Seniors Coalition -- the exact type to Investment and Employment."
But how much of an impact has of group often used in these Wonder what the original header
by Adam Gretz the coaching change, and a new astroturfing campaigns -- which for XYZ organization was?
Filed under: Wild, NHL s y s t e m , h a d o n t h e t e a m , suggests that someone didn't Permalink| Comments| Email
Coaching The Minnesota Wild are especially defensively? proofread the letter first: Right in This Story
off to a slow start, winning just Lemaire-less Wild Weak Where the first paragraph, it looks like
two of their first eight games. A It Counts originally appeared on
couple of weeks ago, our resident Fanhouse NHL Blog on Fri, 23
Wild expert, Bruce Ciskie, argued Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please
that not all of Minnesota's early resulted in Todd Richards taking see our terms for use of feeds.
season struggles were due to the over for Jacques Lemaire, the Permalink| Email this| Linking
offseason coaching change that only coach the franchise had Blogs| Comments
Internet News Record Tech/ 29

The End Draws Near: Court Orders Pirate Bay to
Erase Torrents
By Stan Schroeder
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 1:02:40 AM
If you’ve been following the
Pirate Bay drama, you know that
this site will never be what it used
to be. However, amidst all that
hubbub and even after the (so far)
unsuccessful sale of the site, the
actual site remained operational.
Thus, many users who were
there just for the torrents perhaps
didn’t even notice that something
is wrong. This is about to change.
TorrentFreak reports that the
Amsterdam court ruled that The
Pirate Bay must remove all
copyrighted torrents from the site
within three months.
The Dutch court initially ruled
that Pirate Bay must block access
to Dutch citizens; a decision
which the site’s founders decided
to appeal. It worked to some
extent, as that judgment has now
been nullified, but the Court now
decided that The Pirate Bay –
while not guilty of copyright
infringement – is guilty of
assisting copyright infringement,
a phrase we hear a lot in cases
such as this one.
Now, Dutch anti-piracy body
BREIN will supply a list of
copyrighted works to The Pirate
Bay, and the operators of the site
must remove them within three
months, facing a fine of $7,500
per person, per day.
The problem with this decision
is the fact that The Pirate Bay has
always refused to admit any guilt
of copyright infringement and has
probably never had plans to
devise a system for removing
copyrighted works from its
servers. With a bunch of lawsuits
looming over the founders, they’ll
probably have to comply with
BREIN’s requests and stop users
from uploading new torrents
whatsoever. It may be just one
country (Netherlands), and the
Pirate Bay can choose to appeal
this decision, too, but the lawsuits
are piling up. Although The Pirate
Bay founders always claimed that
the site can live on without them,
in the end simply shutting it down
might be the least painful route
for everyone.
Tags: the pirate bay, torrents
Sergey Brin:
Yahoo shouldn't
abandon search
By Caroline McCarthy
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 3:07:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO--He wasn't
on the program, but nobody was
disappointed that Google co-
founder Sergey Brin showed up at
the Web 2.0 Summit on Thursday
afternoon and agreed to sit down
for an onstage chat with
conference organizer John
Battelle.
Sergey Brin, Google co-
founder(Credit: Google)
Battelle said Brin had been
extended an invitation to speak
but turned it down, to which Brin
joked, "I didn't say no, I just never
responded."
But it was an appropriate time

Free music and a chance to win more from Tap Tap Revenge 3
By Mike Schramm (The to win their entire catalog for free. this Friday can get you a free Williams) to three lucky
Unofficial Apple Weblog First up, the free stuff for premium two-pack -- all you have commenters.
(TUAW)) everybody. Today, October 22, to do for that is email your iTunes Continue reading Free music
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:00:00 PM they're giving away the great reciept (or a screenshot of it) to and a chance to win more from
song"Fireflies" by one of my "freemusic AT tapulous DOT Tap Tap Revenge 3
Filed under: Gaming, Software, favorite new music acts, Owl com" and put your TTR3 TUAW Free music and a chance
O d d s a n d e n d s , F r e e w a r e , City. It just happens to also be the username (and only your to win more from Tap Tap
Developer, iPhone, App Store Tap number one song in iTunes today username) in the email subject Revenge 3 originally appeared on
Tap Revenge 3 is apparently as well, which is a pretty big deal line. The Unofficial Apple Weblog
going gangbusters over on the for Tapulous -- it's the first time And hey, if that's not enough (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Oct 2009
App Store -- Tapulous has gotten they've been able to pair up a TTR free stuff, keep reading -- here at 20:00:00 EST. Please see our
in touch with us to let us know track release with a #1 on the TUAW, we're giving away terms for use of feeds.
a b o u t t w o d i f f e r e n t f r e e download charts. up. Additionally, if you don't have licenses to TTR3's entire premium Read| Permalink| Email this|
promotions they're doing lately, as To get that free song, just sign the app yet, buying the app before catalog( the whole thing, from A Comments
well as give you readers a chance in to the application and pick it Perfect Circle to Robbie
30 Tech/ Fashion/ Internet News Record

Sid Meier bringing International Kindle

Civilization to Facebook Buyers Surprised With
By Don Reisinger
(Webware.com) Refund
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:35:00 AM
Network will welcome users into
a life-like world. Players will be
able to take on others in battle,
share technological innovations, By Barb Dybwad (Mashable!)
Civilization Network is coming form a government, win elections, Submitted at 10/22/2009 7:40:47 PM

to Facebook in 2010.(Credit: manage growing cities, and more.

Firaxis Games) Meier also said that users can Just a couple of weeks ago
Famed video game developer "spy on enemies and work with Amazon announced a new
Sid Meier, best known for the f r i e n d s t o c r e a t e t h e g r e a t international version of the Kindle
Civilization franchise, announced Wonders of the World." He didn't digital reader. The original order
price was $279, just $20 more good news you can take all the
on a Civilization Facebook page say how users will control way to the bank.
Thursday that a new title called elements of the game. than the U.S. version of the
Kindle that got a price cut the The device started shipping
Civilization Network is on its way Civilization fans will be happy October 19, and as tech journalists
to the social network. to know that users can play as same day to $259.
Lo and behold, folks who pre- start to get their hands on the
According to Meier, he has been often as they'd like in the game's international Kindle they’ve noted
"looking at ways of expanding the "fully persistent environment" for ordered the international Kindle
it oddly ships with a U.S. plug,
Civilization gameplay experience free. got an email from Amazon letting
them know that “due to strong has relatively slow 3G service, Street Chic: New York
to include solo, competitive, and Meier wrote on the game's and curiously allows you to web By ELLE.com (ELLE News
c o o p e r a t i v e p l a y t o t a k e Facebook page that he'll be customer demand,” the company
has decided to drop the price of browse to Wikipedia and only Blog)
advantage of the uniqueness of looking for beta testers, once the Wikipedia (and only the English
social networks." Civilization closed beta is ready. Civilization the worldwide Kindle to $259 to Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:00:00 AM
match the U.S. version. Those version, at that).
Network will allow users to join Network will launch in 2010 on If you’ve ordered and received A colorful scarf adds a funky
with friends to "create the world's Facebook. who pre-ordered will
automatically get a $20 refund your international Kindle. what edge to leggings and a tee.
most powerful, richest, smartest, If you want to stay up-to-date are your thoughts on the device? Scarf from India, Michael Kors
or just plain coolest civilization," o n C i v i l i z a t i o n N e t w o r k credited to their Amazon
accounts. If you’re considering an eReader shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses
Meier said. happenings, join its Facebook fan but haven’t picked one up yet, Photo: Lee Satkowski
L i k e s o m a n y o f i t s page here. Amazon referred to it as
“consolidating our family of 6 what’s holding you back? Think you are Street Chic? E-
predecessors, Civilization Reviews: KIndle, Wikipedia mail us your photo and you could
Kindles,” and it does certainly
simplify things. It also marks one Tags: 3g, amazon, books, digital appear in ELLE.com's Street Chic
of those rare moments as a books, e-ink, ereader, GSM, Daily.
consumer to receive a Kindle, wikipedia Follow ELLE on Twitter.
spontaneous bit of good news —

AT&T activates 3.2 million iPhones in 3Q

By Ken Ray (The Unofficial
Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Submitted at 10/22/2009 4:00:00 PM
Filed under: iPhone Reports of
trouble for AT&T's 3G network
have done nothing to keep people
from the iPhone in the U.S.
The nation's second largest
wireless carrier announced third-
quarter earnings Thursday
morning that were full of iPhone The company's earnings were TUAW AT&T activates 3.2
goodness. AT&T( T) activated a relatively flat, having posted a million iPhones in 3Q originally
record 3.2 million iPhones in 3Q, profit of $3.2 billion, or 54 cents a appeared on The Unofficial Apple
40% of which went to people new share for 3Q '09 versus $3.23 Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Oct
to the company. billion or 55 cents a share for 3Q 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see
Wireless data was the of '08. AT&T did, however, bring our terms for use of feeds.
supporting star of the show. in enough to beat analyst Permalink| Email this|
Services such as messaging, expectations. The street was only Comments
Internet access and the like were looking for earnings of 50 cents a
up 33.6% from 3Q of 2008 to account for 29.4% of AT&T's share.
$3.6 billion. Data sales now wireless revenue. [via MediaPost, Marketwatch]
Internet News Record Tech/ 31

With a rebel Dell, Psystar tries more, more, more

By Sang Tang (The Unofficial Psystar giveth and Psystar must
Apple Weblog (TUAW)) also taketh. One wonders how
Submitted at 10/22/2009 7:00:00 PM Psystar will react when people
illegally use Rebel EFI, just like
Filed under: Hacks, Mods, Snow Psystar is allegedly misusing Mac
Leopard OS X, as pirated versions
Psystar, that pesky little thorn in inevitably circulate around the
Apple's side, has released Rebel Interwebs. Three new "Get a
EFI. According to Psystar, the Thanks to everyone who sent
app, available for $49.99 through this in. Mac" ads premiere,
the company's site, "allows for the
easy installation of multiple
[via The Loop]
TUAW With a rebel Dell,
aimed at Win 7
operating systems," including Psystar tries more, more, more By Michael Rose (The
Mac OS X, on a vanilla PC. originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Besides bypassing EFI an ISO download), with a two other words, back up your data if U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g (TUAW))
requirements, Rebel EFI can also hour time limit. you are attempting such a thing. (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:30:00 PM
detect for Mac OS X compatible To each their own, and if Second, and more importantly, 19:00:00 EST. Please see our
and incompatible hardware, and running Mac OS X on non-Apple there's the issue of licensing: terms for use of feeds. Filed under: Switchers, Video,
automatically download specified hardware floats your Apple prohibits the installation of Read| Permalink| Email this| Apple Domestic TV watchers
appropriate drivers. Skeptical? No boat, then you should also be Mac OS X on non Apple-branded Comments
worries: the app is free to try (as aware of the risks involved. In machines.
SERGEY
BART Checks In on Foursquare for continued from page 29
to hear from one of the minds companies out there." He said he's
Mass Transit Promotion behind Google because one of the
most evident trends at the
conference is that the search
disappointed that Yahoo is
retreating from the fight and
planning to strike a deal with
By Jennifer Van Grove transit agency is also looking for market is heating back up. On Microsoft instead.
(Mashable!) even more creative ways to tap Wednesday alone, Microsoft "I think Yahoo had a number of
Submitted at 10/22/2009 5:00:05 PM into the location-based potential announced a partnership with innovations there, and I wish they
t h a t F o u r s q u a r e o f f e r s f o r Twitter and Facebook for real- would continue to innovate in
The Bay Area Rapid Transit promotions, and highlighting local time search results, Google search," Brin said. He didn't go
system (BART) in San Francisco businesses. announced a similar deal with into specifics.
has just made history as the first We think it’s genius and hope to Twitter, and Google executive Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz had
transit agency to partner with see the idea get spread to other Marissa Mayer previewed a new been slated to speak at the
Foursquare, the location-based metropolitan areas. In fact, this "social search" feature in Google conference on Wednesday but
application and game that we biased writer, who just so happens Labs. canceled at the last minute, citing
think has the potential to be as now be able to unlock a BART- to be the mayor of many local San Brin talked about the new a bad case of the flu.
important as Twitter(they also just themed badge, and also become Diego venues, would love to see competition with a "bring it on" Originally posted at The Social
launched 15 new cities). eligible for $25 in promotional the San Diego Metropolitan attitude. "I think what Bing has
We’ve already seen local tickets that will be awarded Transit System strike up a similar reminded us is that search is a
businesses take the plunge, randomly to Foursquare users a r r a n g e m e n t . R e v i e w s : very competitive market," he said.
offering up special location-based who check-in at stations during F o u r s q u a r e "There are many interesting
d e a l s t h a t F o u r s q u a r e the months of November, Tags: BART, foursquare, public
automatically serves up to users D e c e m b e r , a n d J a n u a r y . transportation, transit,
as they check-in, but now BART From the official BART t r a n s p o r t a t i o n
is getting in on the action to announcement of the deal, we also
encourage more public transit use. learned that this is just the
Regular BART commuters will beginning of the partnership. The
32 Tech/
Chamber Of Commerce
Uses DMCA Claim Against
Yes Men Prank Site
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:47:38 AM
There was a lot of news a few
days back when notorious
pranksters, Yes Men, set up a fake
press conference pretending to be
the US Chamber of Commerce,
announcing that it had changed its
controversial stance on climate
change -- which had recently
driven some large companies,
including PG&E and Apple, to
leave the CoC. The fake press
conference, along with a fake
website and fake press release,
apparently fooled some in the
media -- including Reuters -- until
someone from the real Chamber
of Commerce burst into the room
and confronted the pranksters.
The video is great: Part of the
hoax was a fake website at
www.chamber-of-commerce.us,
and apparently the real Chamber
Internet News Record
THREE
continued from page 31
who tuned into the NBC Thursday of the mix? We can certainly hope
comedy lineup or the Yankees- so -- but by all indications,
Angels playoff game on Fox were Windows 7 is no Vista, and it's
treated to three new Get a Mac
ads in heavy rotation tonight, all
quite a bit harder to sell against an
operating system that doesn't
focused on the launch of the latest actively shoot itself in the foot.
Windows version. You can watch
all three ads ( Broken Promises,
Heck, it's possible that there may
even be a few Mac diehards in the
Teeter Tottering& PC News) over
on Apple's site.
opening day lines to buy Win7.
Thanks to everyone who sent
of Commerce has sent a DMCA While these ads are pretty funny this in.
takedown on the site. The EFF is (Broken Promises, in particular, TUAW Three new "Get a Mac"
responding in support of Yes features some excellent work by ads premiere, aimed at Win 7
Men, saying that the site is a the wardrobe department), it's not originally appeared on The
parody, which is protected fair clear if the message of upgrade Unofficial Apple Weblog
use. While I think that the challenges from XP to Win7 is (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Oct 2009
Chamber of Commerce is pretty g o i n g t o r e s o n a t e . A p p l e ' s 22:30:00 EST. Please see our
dumb to issue the takedown -- marketing team may describe terms for use of feeds.
only giving the Yes Men more Windows 7 as 'antiquated tech,' Read| Permalink| Email this|
attention -- I'm not sure that the but the big M clearly is expecting Comments
parody defense will stick here. plenty of PC users to buy brand
While the site is for the purpose new machines to run Win7 rather
of criticism, the site is most than upgrading their old gear.
certainly not an obvious parody. Will they consider a Mac as part
It's designed to look real. Thus,
the bigger issue may actually be
trademark infringement, not Snow Leopard Fixes: the angle-bracket "copy
copyright infringement, as the site
could certainly confuse users, but email" behavior
there are other ways to deal with By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial
such things that don't involve a Apple Weblog (TUAW))
DMCA takedown. Submitted at 10/22/2009 6:00:00 PM
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story Filed under: OS, How-tos, Snow
Leopard Snow Leopard
introduced many welcome
changes to Leopard and one huge
annoyance. When copying an
email address from Mail, Snow
Leopard wraps the address in""
brackets, for example, "". When
pasting, you've got to go back and World. That was very simple and behavior originally appeared on
remove the brackets. most welcome. The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Mac Daddy World has While most users are happy (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Oct 2009
identified the preference setting with Snow Leopard, there are 18:00:00 EST. Please see our
and posted the simple Terminal these annoyances. Is there terms for use of feeds.
commands that will eliminate the something bothering you? Read| Permalink| Email this|
brackets. I tried it and it's working TUAW Snow Leopard Fixes: Comments
perfectly! Thanks, Mac Daddy the angle-bracket "copy email"
Internet News Record
Xcode Tip: Updating your
documentation
By Erica Sadun (The Unofficial
Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Submitted at 10/22/2009 5:00:00 PM
Filed under: Developer
It appears that the Dev Center at
Apple just updated its
documentation set today. If you're
using Xcode 3.2 and you want to
update your documentation, you
might be looking in the wrong
place.
Before 3.2, you used to update
your documentation in the
Developer Documentation
window (Help > Developer
Documentation, or Command-
Option-?). Now you'll find your
documentation sets in the Xcode
Preferences window (Xcode >
Preferences... or Command-, and
then choose the Documentation
tab). Also, if checked, Xcode will
automatically update your
documentation when you launch
it.
This Documentation panel
offers subscription options for
installing a documentation set
(such as, for example, Mac OS X
Legacy Library or iPhone OS 2.2
Library) as well as a handy Check
and Install Now button that lets
you request the latest updates. Use
this to keep on top of the latest
documentation updates.
Thanks, Scott Lawrence and
@zadr
TUAW Xcode Tip: Updating
your documentation originally
appeared on The Unofficial Apple
Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Oct
2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see
our terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
Amazing: Classical Music Piece
Reconstructed With 1000 Phones
[Video]
By Stan Schroeder
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:24:48 AM
If you want to create a viral
video these days, you need to do
something great and unique. A
couple of days ago, Sony
Australia smashed a PS3 slim into
a Bravia LCD TV at high speed.
Now, Vodafone NZ hired a
production team to orchestrate
cellphones into “playing”
Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture.
The effort took 1000 phones and
53 different ringtone alerts,
synchronized to recreate the
famous classical piece. The
resulting video is nothing short of
amazing; you can also see the
“making of” videos below.
Review: FlashForward - Gimme Some Truth
By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:02:00 AM
(S01E05) FlashForward took us
to Washington, DC to see the
political ramifications of the
blackouts, as well as some of the
maneuverings that the city is
made of, at least in this reality.
Also in this reality, Peter Coyote
is President. I've always liked
him, and I like how he plays the
characters as a very regular and
relatable guy.
We were introduced to a new
character in Senator Joyce
Clemente (Barbara Williams), and
she's definitely set up to be a
Tech/ TV/ Tech News/
If you like the resulting tune,
you can download it to your
computer, as well as the 53
ringtones used to create it, over at
the Vodafone NZ site.
Kudos to Engadget for digging
this one up.
Tags: ad, cellphones, classical
music, viral video, vodafone
major thorn in the side of the
ongoing investigation. There was
always something a little wacky
about the LA office taking Mark's
vision and building an entire
33
Netflix to Launch
Streaming-Only
Service...but Not in the
U.S.
By Sarah Perez
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 7:13:02 AM
During yesterday's Q3 earnings
call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
revealed the company's plans to
launch a streaming-only service
which will allow users to watch
movies via their PCs without
having to sign up for the DVD-by
-mail portion of the Netflix
service. Unfortunately, this new
streaming-only option won't be
investigative force around it just
because they felt like it. And now,
they have to face the music and
justify their very existence.
It made for some pretty intense
television. That and the bullets
flying at the heads of our intrepid
heroes.
Continue reading Review:
FlashForward - Gimme Some
Truth
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-
Free, Episode Recaps,
FlashForward
Permalink| Email this| |
Comments
34 Tech Tips/ Media/
NETFLIX
continued from page 33
streaming-only option won't be
available to any Netflix
subscribers in the U.S. Instead, it's
a part of the company's new
international efforts which will
launch in the second half of 2010,
starting off small in one market
then expanding into other
countries one-by-one.
Sponsor
Hastings wouldn't reveal which
overseas market would be first to
get the new service "for
competitive reasons," but he did
say that their initial approach is to
prove their model before the
expansion into other countries. By
"proving their model," what he
probably means is figuring out
how to turn a profit off a
streaming-only option. The
company has never attempted
anything of the sort and will
probably need some time to tweak
it in order to make it work. It's
likely that Netflix wouldn't even
go this route if they had their way,
but apparently, DVDs-by-mail
isn't isn't an option for them
overseas. When questioned about
this, Hastings cited the "tricky"
postal systems in other countries
as making it too difficult to mail
physical disks.
Although Netflix will try to
make a streaming-only service
Gridvista Makes Organizing Screen Real Estate Simple [Downloads]
By Jason Fitzpatrick
(Lifehacker)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:30:00 AM
Windows: If you've looked at
screen-organizing tools before but
felt overwhelmed by bells and
whistles you'd never use, you'll
want to check out the simple but
effective layouts and features in
work abroad, the company really
doesn't think there's a demand for
this type of offering within the
U.S. In fact, when responding to a
reporter's question regarding
Netflix's plans for an a la carte
option (there isn't one), Hastings
said that while they're "open-
minded to" an a la carte service
that came without the DVD
option, the company hasn't seen
much interest in something of that
nature in the States. "Everybody
also wants to get DVDs," said
Hastings. "All the new releases
are on DVD, the vast catalog is on
DVD. When there is demand, it
will make sense for us to meet
that demand for streaming
only."...But There is Demand for
Streaming-Only
While that may be true - people
do want the new releases - the
demand for the physical media is
arguably an artificial one created
by the entertainment industry.
Studios simply refuse to offer
their movies and TV shows via
Netflix's on-demand streaming
library until they've been able to
pull in a nice profit from disk
sales first. This, in turn, forces
consumers to not only purchase
but also desire the DVD-by-mail
part of the Netflix service as
opposed to a separate, unbundled
Gridvista.
Gridvista has five potential
configurations available ranging
from the entire screen as a single
pane to a four-pane configuration.
Multiple-monitor users who have
been put off by screen managers
that ignore extra monitors can
rejoice, you can configure each Gridvista—a really handy feature
m o n i t o r s e p a r a t e l y w i t h when you use a side monitor for
option of on-demand content
only.
In other words, to say that the
demand for streaming-only
doesn't exist isn't exactly accurate.
After all, Netflix reported that
their streaming stats are now at an
all-time high with 42% of
subscribers having streamed at
least 15 minutes of one TV show
or movie during the last quarter.
This number is up from 22%
during the same period last year.
Considering that Netflix's
subscriber base itself has grown
28% over the past year, this figure
means that the raw count of
subscribers actively engaged in
streaming has now more than
doubled over last year. Hastings
even said himself that the
numbers were "a good marker of
increasing streaming adoption."
Although the demand for new
releases would probably have
many subscribers sticking with
the hybrid DVD/streaming
service, by forgoing a streaming-
only option it seems that the
company is overlooking an
opportunity to pick up a sizable
group of more casual users. There
are likely a number of people who
would appreciate the option to
pay a little less in order to to gain
access to the on-demand content
only - content which includes a
much smaller catalog than what's
available by mail. Given the
company's integrations into game
consoles, set-top boxes, and even
some TVs, there's actually no
need to even own a DVD player
anymore to watch Netflix movies.
The content is on-demand.
Streaming media is the future,
not physical disks. Hollywood
knows this too, but as with the
music industry, they're fighting
tooth-and-nail to keep the old
business model afloat for as long
as possible. So far, it's working.
As long as they control the
method of distribution and keep it
limited to physical media it will
look like DVDs are what the
people want. But the people really
want streams. From music
(Pandora, Spotify) to TV (Hulu,
iPlayer) and yes, to movies via
Netflix, streaming media is
rapidly becoming the method of
choice for many of today's
consumers. The future is an on-
demand world and Hollywood
would do better to figure that out
now than try to delay the
inevitable. Discuss
your social networking, instant
messaging, or other partial-screen
communication applications.
Gridvista adds three buttons to
application titlebars, an extensions
button with a send-to-screen
functionality, a lock-to-grid
functionality to keep windows
fixed to their particular pane, and
an always-on-top button to keep
Internet News Record
MediaDailyNews:
Newsday To Begin
Charging For Its Dot
Com
(MediaPost | Media News)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:45:18 AM
News Corp. CEO Rupert
Murdoch has promised to begin
charging for access to the
company's online news sites.
Long Island-based Newsday
could provide a gauge on
customer uptake. The paper will
begin charging $5 a week for
access to some of the paper's sites
on Oct. 28, including sports. But
home subscribers of the paper and
those who have broadband service
through Cablevision -- which
owns Newsday-- will continue to
have access to the full site free.
The paper said that approximately
75% of homes on Long Island
currently have home delivery or
the Cablevision Internet service.--
David Goetzl
This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
windows in the foreground. You
can also set Gridvista to
remember panel configuration and
which Windows are assigned to
which panels, in between
sessions. Gridvista is free and
works on Windows XP and up.
Gridvista[via Gizmo's Freeware]
Internet News Record Tech News/ 35

Phone Modders, Take

Open Microblogging Service Hires Note: HTC Releases
Former Creative Commons Strategist Hero Source Code By Jolie O'Dell
By Alex Williams Internet microblogging. 50 different hats."
(ReadWriteWeb) identi.ca, the open network According to the bio on his (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:07:07 PM
Submitted at 10/23/2009 1:42:00 AM micro-blogging service is based blog, Phillips worked from 2005
on the StatusNet tool. to 2008 building the community
An all-star team is forming at Phillips and Vibber join a team and business development Following weeks of requests
S t a t u s N e t , t h e o p e n led by Evan Promodou, the strategy for Creative Commons. from open-source developers,
m i c r o b l o g g i n g s e r v i c e f o r founder of StatusNet, whose Phillips "worked with hundreds of HTC has released the Hero
businesses and communities. The previous work included creating businesses through Creative Android source code on their
newest addition is Jon Phillips, the Open Content travel guide, Commons 50+ international developer site.
former community and business Wikitravel. jurisdictions to integrate Creative In response to the mobile devs,
development manager for Phillips, who is an avid Commons licensing, and managed HTC has previously stated it was
Creative Commons. microblogger (@rejon) writes on globally successful projects such waiting for its own developers to
Phillips joins Brion Vibber, who the StatusNet blog: as ccSalons, the Case Studies, provide the source before
came from the Wikimedia I'm super enthused about the Metrics, and CC+ projects. He releasing it publicly. As late as
Foundation where he served as direction Status.Net is heading as recently completed the special last week, HTC representatives
chief technology officer. a free network service, as a project, the Public Domain Wiki, had emailed developers saying, projects will be more swiftly
Sponsor business, and as a leader in funded by the Rockefeller "At the moment we do not know opened.
The news is significant as it software and culture with a focus Foundation from Creative when the kernel source for the The Hero, as a device, is
reflects the interest in open-source locally on niche communities on Commons, Wikimedia Hero will be released," and "We significant in itself, hence the
alternatives to the proprietary scaling internationally (more on Foundation, Access Copyright, are still pushing our developers to enhanced perception of cruelty in
microblogging services that that soon). Right now, we are and Internet Archive. provide us with the source code HTC's not releasing its source
currently dominate the market in working very hard towards some Pretty impressive. and for the links to be added." code sooner. It's created huge
the consumer and enterprise big releases slightly under the We expect some major pushes Since the Android kernel is waves in geek circles, beating out
communities. radar with the push towards from the open-source licensed under the GPL, this delay the iPhone for Gadget of the Year
According to their web site, Status.net hosted services and microblogging community. was creating both dissatisfaction at the prestigious T3 awards and
StatusNet makes sites that use Status.Net 1.0 software. Phillips arrival is a sure sign that and controversy in the generating enough gadget-geek
open-source software to create Phillips says he will help with major efforts are underway to community. slavering to power a small city.
and distribute open content. The some large projects Status.Net is make StatusNet a leader in this Sponsor So, will the gadget geeks and
c o m p a n y a l s o p r o v i d e s building, including an upcoming realm. However, just as a few modevs have to push for open
professional support contracts and relaunch. He will be there to help Discuss developers were beginning to talk sourcing every time a cool,
customization for companies that ease some of Evan's work load so about enforcement actions, the Android-powered device is
use StatusNet software on their he can be freed up to be "uber- company posted the code, and released? Where was the major
own servers for intranet or CEO rather than having to wear everyone lived happily ever after. malfunction that led to these
Or something along those lines. delays? Were the HTC engineers
GPL non-compliance and hints of thrown under the bus to allow
internal process and delivery leadership to save face, or do the
issues don't mode well for the HTC powers that be simply need
mobile manufacturer. After to get their engineering team
unfavorable coverage of the under control? Let us know your
company's "foot-dragging" on thoughts in the comments.
Slashdot and long threads of Discuss
modev complaints, we do hope
that HTC's future Android
36 Tech News/ Fashion/
CNN.com Gets a Radical Redesign
By Frederic Lardinois
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 3:18:26 PM
CNN.com, one of the top 25
websites in the US, just
announced a radical redesign of
its service at a press event in New
York City. The new CNN.com
homepage will be split up into
three parts. On the left, CNN will
now highlight breaking news
stories, the middle section will
feature older stories and a
'highlights' section, and the right
sidebar will be customizable with
personalized weather and sports
scores. Right beneath the fold, the
new CNN will feature a list of
'editor's choice' stories - similar to
the NYTimes's 'Inside
NYTimes.com' section. The new
site will go live next Monday.
Sponsor
According to CNN's General
Manager of CNN.com Kenneth
Estenson, CNN.com currently
gets about 1.7 billion page views
and 100 million video views
every month. In total the CNN
homepage has been called up over
120 billion times since its first
iteration in 1996.
CNN clearly put a lot of thought
John Galliano's Foray into Watches
By ELLE.com (ELLE News
Blog)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 2:05:10 PM
Hot on the heels of his Paris
collection, John Galliano has just
launched his first-ever watch line. market finds. They have a very
The timepieces are inspired by classic, gentlemanly feel with
antique pocket watches and flea-
Internet News Record
Mozilla's Raindrop: An
announced a partnership with
TED, which will bring TED
videos to a completely new
Open Conversation
into this redesign. As William
audience. NewsPulse
Hsu, CNN's VP for News have a new feature called
The new homepage will also Aggregator
Advertising Sales for Asia Pacific 'NewsPulse.' This will allow users By Dana Oshiro
told Exchange4media.com earlier to reorganize news stories by (ReadWriteWeb)
this week, the CNN team "did a c o r r e s p o n d e n t , s u b j e c t , o r Submitted at 10/22/2009 5:24:00 PM
l o t o f r e s e a r c h , b i o m e t r i c keyword. Today's press event was
research, in Europe" ( update: a low on specifics, but this looks While most conversation
aggregators are concerned with bot and spam messages, it's more
CNN spokesperson just told us like a good way to personalize difficult to discern between
t h a t t h i s s t u d y w a s d o n e CNN's homepage and to find harnessing your river of data,
Mozilla is breaking it down into personal and general messages
independent of the site redesign). interesting content on the site. from real people. With Raindrop,
According to Hsu, these studies Similarity to CNN Go manageable raindrops. According
CNN also recently launched to a morning blog post on the users messages are categorized
showed that very few users ever and prioritized. For example, in
w e n t b e y o n d t h e c u r r e n t CNN Go, which focuses on news Mozilla Labs site the company is
launching the prototype for Twitter your direct messages and
homepage. Because of this, the for the Asian market and also has reply messages are highlighted
new homepage will show far a more magazine-like layout. Raindrop 0.1, a product that
they're calling "open messaging while the rest of the stream is cast
more content but will also make it What About the Competition? aside. Meanwhile, mailing list
easier for readers to navigate the We have also heard that for the open web". While
MSNBC will soon launch a Mozilla's Snowl Firefox Add-On messages are also given their own
site. category, separate from personal
More Emphasis on Video - redesign of its own. While we made it possible to follow streams
aren't aware of any specifics yet, and rivers of messages in your emails. As with most Mozilla
Including Videos from TED products, the group will
At today's press event, CNN the new MSNBC will focus on existing browser, Raindrop offers
what appears to be a much cleaner encourage front-end widgets and
also stressed that the new site will adding value to news wire stories code from outside 3rd party
integrate more of its TV product. b y b r i n g i n g t o g e t h e r m o r e interface and an API to hack on
your own personal conversation developers.
Instead of keeping video and text material from NBC's affiliates and While the tool certainly shows
separate, the new CNN.com will a larger focus on interactive dashboard.
Sponsor promise, it is currently only
bring the two together. 50% of elements designed specifically for available to developers. The
CNN's users already watch both MSNBC. Discuss Raindrop's mission is to "make
it enjoyable to participate in group's first priority is to build a
the video and read the story, so downloadable installer. To ensure
bringing the two closer together is conversations from people you
care about, whether the that you're one of the first non-
a smart move for CNN. CNN also developer testers, keep an eye on
conversations are in email, on
twitter, a friend's blog or as part
of a social networking site."
labs.mozilla.com/raindrop.
Raindrop UX Design and Demo
round-faces, gold tones and Essentially, Raindrop is cutting from Mozilla Messaging on
leather bands, but it is the small out the noise and pulling in the Vimeo.
chain hanging off the face that information that is actually of Thanks to Arjo for the tip!
gives it the Galliano charm. Here interest. Discuss
is a picture of the man himself While email clients can filter
modeling his latest creation.
—Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin
Follow ELLE on Twitter.
Internet News Record Tech News/ Tech Tips/ Sports/ 37

BART Promos on Foursquare: Free 'Point-A-Minute Melo' in Best

Tickets for Check-Ins
By Dana Oshiro
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 6:21:00 PM
For once the Bay Area Rapid
Transit service has more to brag
about than its endless supply of
used under-the-seat bubble gum
and noxious mystery smells.
According to its site, Bay Area
Rapid Transit will be the first
transit agency to partner with
location-based game sensation
Foursquare.
Sponsor
ReadWriteWeb first covered the
point-based check-in service in
March, and since then Foursquare
has spread like wildfire across the
US and to the UK. As of next
month, users from Dublin to
Milbrae will have a chance to win
the coveted title of Mayor of one
of the most utilized transit
services in the Bay Area. From
November onward, the transit
authority will award $25
promotional tickets to random
users who check-in at one of 34
BART stations. During the three
month pilot program, the agency
will also look for new ways to
reward Foursquare mayors and
incorporate local discounts from
mybart.org venue partners.
Said BART website manager
Timothy Moore,"We hope this
partnership will encourage users
to check out different stations and
neighborhoods, and will show
people who aren't already BART
riders some of the great things to
do that are easy to get to on
transit."
Despite the fact that a number
of BART-related Foursquare tips
are going to document urine stains
and public drunkenness, the
reality is that absolutely anything
beats driving the US-101 during
rush hour traffic. BART check-ins
are likely to encourage tired
drivers to get out of their car and
into a greener and less frustrating
alternative. Those interested in
official BART tips can visit the
transit authority's profile page at
foursquare.com/user/SFBART.
Discuss
Shape Ever
By Chris Tomasson
(FanHouse)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 11:25:00 PM
by Chris Tomasson
Filed under: Nuggets, NBA
Preseason DENVER -- If you
Google Gunnar Peterson, you get
articles such as "How Kim
Kardashian Got Thin'' and "Want
J. Lo's Body?''
But what about Melo's body?
Kardashian proudly notes she
dropped from 128 to 113 pounds
thanks to Peterson, the Beverly
Hills, Calif., celebrity trainer. 'Point-A-Minute Melo' in Best
Meanwhile, Denver forward Shape Ever originally appeared on
Carmelo Anthony says he Fanhouse NBA Blog on Thu, 22
dropped from 240 to 228 with the Oct 2009 23:25:00 EST . Please
help of Peterson. see our terms for use of feeds.
But Kardashian isn't leading all Permalink| Email this| Linking
NBA players in the preseason in Blogs| Comments
scoring. Neither is Jennifer Lopez.

Best Portable Apps Suite? [Hive Five Call For Contenders]

By Jason Fitzpatrick application suite" is a collection Apps Suite. Please don't include question we get: "Which tool is
(Lifehacker) of portable applications that may your vote in a reply to another the best?" Once a week we'll put
Submitted at 10/22/2009 5:00:00 PM or may not—but often commenter. Instead, make your out a call for contenders looking
does—have a menu system or vote and reply separate for the best solution to a certain
Portable applications are quite some unifying piece of additional comments. If you don't follow this problem, then YOU tell us your
handy; it's great being able to take software that improves usability. format, we may not count your favorite tools to get the job done.
a piece of software you use at Whether or not the unification vote. To prevent tampering with Every weekend, we'll report back
home with you anywhere you go, a s p e c t i s t h e r e , a p o r t a b l e the results, votes from first-time with the top five
settings and all. So what could be application suite needs, at the very commenters may not be counted. recommendations and give you a
better? A whole suite of portable least, to bundle a handful of After you've made your chance to vote on which is best.
apps, packaged neatly together. portable apps together in one easy nomination, let us know what For an example, check out last
Photo by Team Dalog. download. makes it stand out from the week's Hive Five Best Software
This week we want to hear Hive Five nominations take competition. Update Tools.
about which portable application place in the comments, where you to make your nomination clear, About the Hive Five: The Hive
suite you love. For the purposes post your favorite tool for the job. please include it at the top of your Five feature series asks readers to
o f t h i s H i v e , a " p o r t a b l e We get hundreds of comments, so comment like so: VOTE: Portable answer the most frequently asked
38 Tech Tips/ Sports/ Internet News Record

Remains of the Day: Windows 7

BitTorrent Party Edition [For What
It's Worth] Google Reader Sorts Feed
By Adam Pash (Lifehacker) for trying to sell Hackintosh new 5-minute snooze button.
Submitted at 10/22/2009 4:00:00 PM computers, today released a $50
application that claims it will let
[Google Operating System]
• Current Tech Web Award: Items by Personalized
Kindle is coming to the PC, you put Snow Leopard on any PC. Lifehacker Lifehacker gets a big
unauthorized Hackintosh seller The site's currently down, so
Psystar claims they've got an app either they're getting a lot of
high five from Current's Sarah
Lane, and we couldn't be happier!
"Magic" [Feeds]
that will turn any PC into a Mac, attention or Apple has murdered [Current] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Sound cryptic, overly personal,
and someone throws a NSFW them. [Psystar via Gizmodo] • Google Chrome Artist Themes Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:30:00 AM and a tad bit 1984? Then you'll
Windows 7 BitTorrent party. • Kindle for PC It's not available They're not new, but Google did probably want to avoid using the
• Hosting Your Windows 7 yet, but sometime soon Kindle is make a cool new video about Want Google's computers to tell "Sort by Magic" option in your
Torrenting Party If you didn't get launching a multi-touch, full-color them. [YouTube] you which RSS feeds should be F e e d S e t t i n g s d r o p - d o w n .
that excited about the idea of Kindle app. [Amazon] • FCC: We're Going to Make looking at in Reader, and which Paranoia aside, this seems like a
throwing a Windows 7 launch • Microsoft Store A fancy new Net Neutrality the Law FCC rolls feed items to read first? It's now helpful option for those who
party, this borderline NSFW Microsoft store just launched off out two new provisions to their possible, as Reader introduces a frequently skip the folder-by-
Windows 7 BitTorrent party the excitement of Windows 7. proposed net neutrality plan that"Sort by Magic" filter and an folder view and head right for
might be more your speed. [Funny • Google Calendar Snooze If you look like a big boost for net " E x p l o r e " s e c t i o n w i t h their burgeoning "All Items"
or Die via Gizmodo] always leave Google Calendar neutrality. [Gizmodo] recommended feeds. mega-feed.
• Psystar's OS X-on-anything running so you can get pop-up Both features are actually Unlike the old "auto" ranking,
software Psystar, the company notifications when an event is improvements and interface lifts this new ranking is personalized
that's been sued many times over approaching, the site has added a to older features. The "Explore" for you, and gets better with time
section is nothing more than the as we learn what you like best -
Video: Jeff Schultz Beats Ondrej Pavelec With 175- Recommended Items list that the more you "like" and "share"
Reader has always offered, but stuff, the better your magic sort
Foot Shot given its own left-hand sidebar will be.
section with green-colored icons. Tell us how "magic" sorting and
By Bruce Ciskie (FanHouse) puck with a mind of its own. They also threw a "Popular" feed t h e n e w l y - p r o m o t e d f e e d
Submitted at 10/22/2009 9:00:00 PM Video after the jump. into Explore, letting you skim recommendations suit your style
Video: Jeff Schultz Beats through items across the web that in the comments. Reading gets
by Bruce Ciskie Ondrej Pavelec With 175-Foot have been frequently read, liked, personal with Popular items and
Filed under: Capitals, Thrashers, Shot originally appeared on and linked, then have them Personalized ranking[Official
Eastern, NHL Videos Vesa Fanhouse NHL Blog on Thu, 22 delivered in an order based on Google Blog]
Toskala has more company. Oct 2009 21:00:00 EST . Please "what we think you'll like best."
A couple years ago, Toskala see our terms for use of feeds.
allowed an improbable goal from Permalink| Email this| Linking
over 190 feet away against the close to duplicating Toskala's feat Blogs| Comments
New York Islanders. Since then, until Thursday night in Atlanta. It
guys have allowed bad goals left was there that Thrashers goalie
and right, but few have come Ondrej Pavelec was fooled by a
Internet News Record Tech Tips/ Apple/ 39

iTunes Tweets: How Spamtastic!

By Liam Cassidy Twitter however they wish, but
(TheAppleBlog) the best Twitter personalities have
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:00:00 AM in common at least this one salient
Joined October 15, 2009 property: they don’t simply
Right now, as you read this, 2 tweets advertise their wares. They
there are five iTunes-flavored 2,164 followers actually share their real lives with
profiles over on Twitter, “ See Where the Wild Things the Twitterverse.
providing their followers with Are this weekend? Check out the The Twitter profile dedicated to
SMS-length dispatches on music, first movie written by co-writer Podcasts is by far the least
podcasts, TV shows and other D a v e E g g e r s , A w a y W e pedestrian of the lot, and manages
content on offer in Apple’s titan Go:http://tinyurl.com/yjoocqe“ to occasionally sound like its
digital media platform. @itunestv author actually cares about the
Ninite Bulk-Installs Great Free They are, it must be said, almost
entirely pointless. For some
Joined October 16, 2009
1 tweet
content, is enthusiastic about the
content, and is driven to share
Windows Apps [Installation] reason this week they’ve received
a fair bit of coverage from the
1,810 followers their love of the content. But I’m
“ Watching Act 2 of I Kissed A being very generous here. I
By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) installation with an absolute Mac tech press, but there was Vampire. http://bit.ly/Eynfm“ wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:40:00 AM minimum of pop-up (and remains) both little good to Riveting, no? Little Value consistently interesting, but then,
questions—none of them, in face, say about them and little incentive These accounts serve as little “interesting” is such a subjective
Windows: If you're upgrading to with most installs—and then it's to actually follow them. more than adverts for iTunes term on Twitter. After all,
Windows 7 from XP, you'll spend done. Here’s a quick rundown of the content. But that’s what you’d knowing that Bob in Wyoming is
a lot of time grabbing installers The selection is pretty great, accounts (stats as they stood at expect, right? Me too, and that’s now brushing his dog, or Barbara
and Next-Next-Next-clicking too, with many of the must-have time of writing) plus one random not really the problem I have with in Essex just did a double-sneeze
through setup wizards. Unless you apps we've fawned over in the example tweet from each. them. is hardly the stuff of journalistic
use Ninite to check off the best p a s t l i k e V L C , A u d a c i t y , @itunestrailers The problem is that, with excellence. But then, it’s not
free software and install it all at IrfanView, Paint.Net, uTorrent, Joined March 12, 2009 perhaps the exception of one, they supposed to be, is it?
once. and many more. In fact, Ninite 466 tweets read exactly like those trashy, And yet, the authors of these
This post can be fairly short offers the majority of our 2009 1,164,348 followers URL-packed, soulless memos iTunes Twitter accounts remain
because Ninite works exactly as Lifehacker Pack, give or take a “ 10 new trailers now live: from users claiming to be “Media anonymous. The bit.ly’d ads keep
advertised. Head to Ninite's web few recommendations. http://www.apple.com/trailers/ Marketing Evangelists” but whose on flowing. This isn’t marketing
site, check off the free downloads Ninite's installers are free #indie #comedy #drama #family spamtastic Tweets contribute brilliance on Apple’s part. It’s
you want from each category, downloads for Windows systems #doc #action“ nothing of real value to the turgid, mechanical, conveyer belt
g r a b t h e c u s t o m i n s t a l l e r only. Ninite @itunespodcasts Twitterverse. A stream of endless link-posting.
download that it serves up, and Joined June 18, 2009 bit.ly’d links to content you might Apple is a famously tight-lipped
run it. Ninite runs through each 43 tweets (but probably don’t) care about is c o m p a n y . B e y o n d i t s
4,119 followers of value to no one. meticulously rehearsed official
“ Grab the season four premiere It wouldn’t be so bad if the e v e n t s a n d s p o r a d i c p r e s s
o f “ D e x t e r ” f o r f r e e : tweets were sometimes infused releases, it usually has nothing to
http://tinyurl.com/ycwvnhs“ with some personality. If we got say. And with these five Twitter
@itunesmusic to know a little about the person accounts, Apple proves it’s
Joined September 15, 2009 tweeting them, we might start to possible to continue saying
8 tweets connect and, y’know, care. After nothing… 140 characters at a
6,362 followers all, connecting with people by time.
“ Pre-order Norah Jones’ newest discovering what they’re doing or Growing mobile data use turned
album, “The Fall”, out 11/17. thinking is the founding purpose up heat on carriers in Q3. Read
h t t p : / / t w . i t u n e s . c o m / B X B of Twitter. Sure, there are no hard the, " Mobile Q3 Wrap-up."
#iTunes“ rules and people are free to use
@itunesmovies
40 Apple/ TV/
A Patent Nightmares are Made Of: OS X With
Ads
By Liam Cassidy
(TheAppleBlog)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:07:30 AM
Halloween has come early this
year, and I’m not talking about
today’s release of Windows 7.
Engadget reports(and I find it
difficult to share this with you,
dear readers, because I know it
will cause you discomfort), in
April last year, Apple filed a
patent application for (shudder) an
ad-supported operating system.
That’s right. Mac OS X festooned
with ads.
The abstract of the patent reads
as follows:
Among other disclosures, an
operating system presents one or
more advertisements to a user and
disables one or more functions
while the advertisement is being
presented. At the end of the
advertisement, the operating
system again enables the
function(s). The advertisement
can be visual or audible. The
presentation of the
advertisement(s) can be made as
part of an approach where the user
obtains a good or service, such as
the operating system, for free or at
reduced cost.
Oh Steve, say it ain’t so. Tell us
Patent Application 20090265214
is the result of too many late
nights in “creative meetings” with
your minions at Cupertino. Tell us
it’s a misguided concept you’ve
since abandoned (and wish had
never made it through the red
tape, to be filed with the USPTO).
To hell with it, you can even tell
us you’re just patent trolling, and
that’ll still be preferable to the
unthinkable, horrifying possibility
that you actually took this idea
seriously.
What on earth would motivate
Apple to consider something like
this? It can’t be the competition.
The upcoming Chrome OS from
Google may well be ad-supported
in some manner, but we have to
hope it’ll be implemented the
same way Google currently
injects ads into Gmail. Perhaps
Apple explored the possibility of
an ad-supported OS as a means
for offering cheaper Macs? But
the cost of a Macintosh computer
is tied closely to its hardware and
besides, since when did Apple
start searching for ways to deliver
cut-price computers? This isn’t
Dell we’re talking about.
Here’s an extract from the
(typically lengthy) patent
description:
The operating system is
configured to present one or more
of the advertisements to users of
the computer device. In some
implementations, the operating
system can disable one or more
functions during the presentation
of the advertisements and then
enable the function(s) in response
to the advertisements ending. That
is, the operating system can
disable some aspect of its
operation to prompt the operator
to pay attention to the
advertisement.
This paints a picture of some
twisted low-level hijacking of the
OS while ads are played. For
example, imagine your pointer
suddenly stops responding to
mouse movements (or disappears
altogether) only to be restored
after a commercial or two (for
products you don’t want, or
simply can’t afford) finish
assaulting your senses with bright
colors and boisterous music. What
makes this worse is that you hit
the mute key ages ago, but the OS
temporarily turned the sound on
again. You know, because you
can’t enjoy all the subtly exquisite
levels of torment an ad has to
offer unless you get the full
audio/video experience.
Yep, that’s a cold sweat that just
broke out on your brow. Sadly,
there’s more of this horror. The
patent also describes an OS-
provided framework of which
third-party applications can take
advantage to deliver the same ad-
driven pain:
The software platform provides
a framework upon which one or
more application programs (e.g.,
programs, services, user
interfaces) may be executed. For
example, the operating system can
disable input to, or output from,
one or more of the application
programs while the advertisement
is being presented.
So imagine, if you can bear to,
an ad-supported version of
iWorks. You’re writing that essay
or juggling multiple documents to
prepare that report that was due
yesterday. You’re lost in a world
of footnotes and references,
utterly absorbed in your task
when suddenly, boom! — every
Pages window freezes. There’s
not a blinking carat to be seen
anywhere. Then a horrible ad for
life insurance starts playing —
you know, that one you hate so
much that, when it plays on TV, it
sends you diving for the remote in
a mad dash to hit the mute button.
But you’ve already learned that
mute won’t help you now.
It plays for 30 skin-crawling
seconds. You’re desperately
trying to stay focused on your
suspended workflow, grinding
your teeth as you endure this
torment. But then — the horror!
— it’s followed by another ad,
this time for Microsoft Office!
30 more seconds (and severely
worn tooth enamel) later, you’re
settling back into your
document… then boom! It’s time
for the OS to hang, because
Burger King wants to tell you
about its new Windows 7
Whopper…
OK. Dry those tears. Have a
stiff drink. This isn’t real. I mean,
it might have been prototyped
(gods forbid) but just because
there’s a patent for this ghoulish
monster, that doesn’t mean it’s
going to happen.
Not yet, anyway…
In Q3, NewNet focus turns to
business models and search. Read
the, " NewNet Q3 Wrap-up."
Internet News Record
Spoilers Anonymous:
Lost, Melrose Place,
The Mentalist and more!
By Isabelle Carreau (TV
Squad)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 9:00:00 AM
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a
weekly column here at TV Squad
where we supply you with the dirt
on some of the more popular
shows on the air. We'll never put
spoilers up here on the main page
in order to help the reformed stay
unspoiled. If you have anything to
add to the group, feel free to step
up and let yourself be heard,
either with our tips form or by
emailing us at tvsquad at gmail
dot com, or call and leave a
message at(775) 640-8479. Your
anonymity is guaranteed, if you
wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for:
90210, Bones, Desperate
Housewives, Eastwick, Ghost
Whisperer, Grey's Anatomy,
Heroes, Lost, Melrose Place,
Smallville, The Mentalist, and
Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS
FOLLOW!)
Continue reading Spoilers
Anonymous: Lost, Melrose Place,
The Mentalist and more!
Filed under: Spoilers
Anonymous, Reality-Free
Permalink| Email this| |
Comments
Internet News Record Apple/ TV/ Media/ 41

Microsoft Becoming Apple With Adult Swim picks up sitcoms

First Retail Store, Online PC Sales
By Darrell Etherington
(TheAppleBlog)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:37:34 AM
Talk about biting someone else’s
style. Not only is Microsoft trying
to add some cool factor to its
brand using celebrity influence, a
game which Apple has long had
in the bag, now it’s also opened
its first official brick-and-mortar
retail store, and it even just began
offering PC hardware for sale via
its online store. Next thing you
know, Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer will be wearing black
turtlenecks.
A revamp of the web site is part
of the Windows 7 launch
campaign, and it includes a brand
new store that stocks more than
just software. You can now
purchase a range of Windows 7-
toting computers from HP, Acer,
Dell, Lenovo and Sony, which are
the real heavy-hitters in the PC
arena. You can also pick up a
single desktop, a Lenovo A600 all
-in-one. Selection seems slim, but
Microsoft is being a good copycat
and not overwhelming consumers
with an overabundance of choice.
All of the computers available
on Microsoft’s web site come in
web site to order their machine,
but Microsoft isn’t playing to that
crowd. Instead, it’s aiming at first
-time buyers or people with little
to no computer expertise who just
want the buying process to be as
simple as possible.
And if you’re not too keen on
the fancy new Internets, you can
always take a trip down to
Scottsdale, Ariz., where Microsoft
today opened its first retail store.
Here’s Microsoft’s own
description of what it’s like, since
I’m a little out of reach of the
Scottsdale area:
As soon as you enter the store,
there are laptops on large cedar
tables, with seating so shoppers
can sit and tinker. The walls are
lined with giant LCD screens that
envelop the space with landscapes
and product images designed to
create interest and spark curiosity.
create a multimedia experience.
Toward the back are laptop bags
and an array of software titles
before you turn the corner and
reach a veritable mecca for Xbox
enthusiasts — a gaming zone
featuring a 94-inch widescreen,
with immersive sound, seating
and an array of controllers to play
with.
Sounds like the whole premise
is designed more around showing,
rather than selling, as early
speculation suggested. Microsoft
is clearly pushing the experience,
rather than trying to sell the
component parts. I’d say
something snarky about how this
points to a lack of imagination on
the part of your average PC
customer, but being Mac users,
I’m sure we can all come up with
much more creative snark on our
own.
All of this image and
distribution re-imagining on
Microsoft’s part is great news for
one company: Apple. There’s no
better sign that you have your
main competitor on the ropes than
when it resorts to parroting your
moves. All Apple needs to do is
continue to set the trend, and
watch as Microsoft tries to follow
from Conan O'Brien, Rob
Corddry
By Danny Gallagher (TV
Squad)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 9:32:00 AM
Two very unique comedies will
get a time slot on an equally
unique cable network.
Conan O'Brien's "Conaco"
production company and actor
Rob Corrdry both scored spots on
produce new ones. Corrdry
Adult Swim for two new live- originally pitched the show to
action sitcoms.
Comedy Central, but negotiations
O'Brien's company won a spot broke down with the network,
for Eagleheart, a show about a
probably because the show didn't
fading TV star who wins a chance have enough bimbo strippers and
for glory once more on a
shirtless fat guys to fill their quota
production in Texas, but (cough, Secret Girlfriend, cough).
constantly clashes with the low-
Filed under: Other Comedy
level TV exec in charge of the Shows, Programming, Web, Adult
show.
Swim, Pickups and Renewals,
Corrdry's medical drama spoof Reality-Free
web series Childrens' Hospital
Permalink| Email this| |
will also go to Adult Swim. The Comments
channel will show re-edited
versions of the episodes that aired
on TheWB.com as well as
MediaDailyNews: Levin Adds Fizz
To New Firm
(MediaPost | Media News) marketers with insight that could
help them adjust their strategies.
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:45:18 AM

stock configurations only, with no it. Levin was president of worldwide

customization options beyond the
ability to choose a color on select
models. Users looking for more in
the way of upgrades should still
continue onto the manufacturer’s
Below the images, stylish all-in-
one PCs are set up with Zunes,
Xboxes, headphones and
widescreen displays, showing
how all the items work together to
As Q4 begins, online video is
now mainstream. Read the, "
Connected Consumer Q3 Wrap-
up."
Robert Levin, the former
marketing chief for three
Hollywood studios, has joined the
board of advisors of a fledgling
company that tracks online buzz
about films. Fizziology monitors
chatter on sites such as Twitter
and Facebook, as well as blogs
and message boards, about
coming releases and can provide
marketing at Disney Studios,
Sony Pictures and MGM. Plans
call for Fizziology to begin
tracking online buzz about video
games, music and TV.--David
Goetzl
This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
42 Apple/ TV/ Internet News Record

It’s Windows 7 Day: Are We the More Doctor Who tidbits

By Brad Trechak (TV Squad)
Early Adopters? Submitted at 10/23/2009 8:03:00 AM

Prepare for some spoilers. Don't

By Darrell Etherington near future.
(TheAppleBlog) As Mac users, we have a say I didn't warn you. By the way,
tendency to also be gadget Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor (or
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:34:28 AM
addicts. I’ve found we’re more the 12th, depending on how they
Apple did pretty much interested in all tech, not just our spin David Tennant's extraneous
everything they could to steal own, perhaps because we consider regeneration) in case you didn't
some of Windows 7’s thunder by ourselves connoisseurs in the area know.
announcing some pretty major thanks to our impeccable taste. Actually, it's not that bad. From
hardware changes earlier in the For me, and for many others that I an article posted on The Doctor
week, but Thursday is here know, that interest translates into Who News Page, it is learned that
nonetheless, and that means a pretty heady case of gadget-lust, his new companion, Amy, is a
Microsoft’s latest OS is on store one of the symptoms of which is police officer. In a few photos, he
shelves now, ripe for the picking. represent a big chunk of the early early-adopterese. And also a also seems to be wearing the
Question is, will Mac users be adopter crowd for this new willingness to acknowledge when remnants of Tennant's outfit.
helping with the harvest? incarnation. a company besides our beloved From the description, the Doctor
I’m getting a copy (might pick Everyone I know who is buying Apple releases a smart, well- is probably going through some
up a burger, too), but for me it’s a a copy of Windows 7, upgrade or designed product. post-regenerative trauma. When was slightly injured in the
legitimate business expense, so otherwise, uses a Mac. It may not Fact is, Windows 7 is a huge has the Doctor ever regenerated process). Between Matt Smith's
the decision, even without an be their primary machine (yes, improvement on its predecessor. I without trauma? Never, I think. age and that plot device, it's like
upgrade path (I’ve just been using that does actually happen), but say that as someone who’s been I know they film out of order, Steven Moffat is trying to copy
the Windows 7 RC on my iMac, they have one nonetheless. Most using preview versions since the but it feels odd to know already the Peter Davison era.
and don’t have an existing retail of those people are planning on first beta was released. It’s not what his outfit is going to look Filed under: OpEd, Doctor
license), it makes financial sense installing Windows 7 on a boot Snow Leopard, don’t get me like. Here is one other possible Who, Reality-Free
for me to have access to a camp partition or a virtualized PC wrong, but that won’t stop me minor spoiler: in the scenes Permalink| Email this| |
Windows machine. Maybe you’re using Parallels or VMware from being among the first to filmed, the Sonic Screwdriver Comments
in the same boat. Fusion. jump on board. Anyone else gets destroyed (and Matt Smith
The question isn’t really I know you’re thinking that I making that jump today? If you
whether Mac users are also probably surround myself with are, what are your reasons? Do
Windows users, since recent like-minded people, and as a you consider yourself an early
research on the subject seems to result have a lot of Mac-using adopter with tech in general?
indicate that yes, there is in fact friends, but that isn’t the case. The In Q3, Uncle Sam was the green
p l e n t y o f c r o s s o v e r . I ’ m majority of people I know are IT king maker. Read the, " Green
wondering whether it might be the exclusively PC users, and not a IT Q3 Wrap-up."
case that Apple fans not only buy single one that I’ve talked to plans
Windows, but that we might also on upgrading today, or even in the

Survivor winner appointed to FCC post

By Allison Waldman (TV
Squad)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 8:30:00 AM
Lately, what we've been hearing
about reality television has been
awful. The winner of Big Brother
became a drug dealer by using his
prize money to bankroll his illegal
activities. A family that appeared affairs bureau for the FCC. Filed under: Other Reality
on Wife Swap perpetrated a hoax That's the Federal Shows, OpEd, Survivor,
involving their six-year-old son Communications Commission. Celebrities, Big Brother (US)
and a helium balloon. Is there Chairman Julius Genachowski Permalink| Email this| |
anything good to say about reality made the appointment, and it Comments
TV? wasn't because Yul did well in
Here's something. Survivor: challenges.
Cook Islands winner Yul Kwon is named deputy chief of the Continue reading Survivor
joining the FCC. He has been consumer and governmental winner appointed to FCC post
Internet News Record Apple/ TV/ Sports/ 43

Nokia Sues Apple Over iPhone

By Charles Jade the back of Nokia’s innovation.”
(TheAppleBlog) Supposedly, every iPhone
Submitted at 10/22/2009 11:58:57 AM introduced since 2007 uses
technology that infringes on
Mobile phone giant Nokia Nokia patents.
declared an intellectual property Considering Nokia didn’t sue
war against Apple today, alleging Apple in 2007 and seek an
the iPhone infringes on 10 patents
relating to wireless technologies
injunction to stop the iPhone from
being sold, it’s likely this lawsuit It’s Always Sunny
and standards.
Of course, the lawsuit has
is a way of moving stalled royalty
negotiations forward. Apple will
in Philadelphia in
nothing to do with Nokia losing
smartphone market share to
probably settle. A guess of $10
per iPhone in royalties would be
October
Apple, as the chart from AdMob $210 million to date, not an (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)
indicates (Nokia owns Symbian insignificant amount, and a little Submitted at 10/22/2009 7:03:52 AM
OS), and the legal action couldn’t The patents in question relate to According to Ilkka Rahnasto, less profit off each iPhone going
possibly have anything to do with GSM, UMTS, and wireless LAN VP of Legal & Intellectual forward, but someone has to help The Philadelphia Phillies’
Nokia’s latest earnings report. standards covering “wireless data, Property at Nokia, it is a “basic Nokia innovate. history is littered with failure.
Last quarter, the mobile phone speech coding, security and principle” in the industry that In Q3, Uncle Sam was the green Longtime fans still lament the
maker lost $832 million, sales encryption.” Nokia states that t h o s e c o n t r i b u t i n g t o IT king maker. Read the, " Green team’s late-season collapse that
declining 20 percent year over more than 40 companies have technological development be IT Q3 Wrap-up." cost it the National League
year. No, Nokia is going after entered into licensing agreements, c o m p e n s a t e d . A p p l e i s pennant in 1964. And then there’s
Apple on “principle.” but not “unprincipled” Apple. “attempting to get a free ride on the embarrassment of being the
first professional team to lose
Review: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - The World Series 10,000 games. But suddenly the
Phillies are a model franchise
Defense standing four wins from repeating
as World Series champions.
By Annie Wu (TV Squad) lot funnier than the Wife of Bath, some Greenman. Reuters Like a savvy veteran,
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:32:00 AM I can promise you that. Continue reading Review: It's Pedro Martinez leads with his non
There were a lot of excellent Always Sunny In Philadelphia - -pitching arm in spraying Ryan
(S05E06) Ooh! Things I learned moments (read on to find out who The World Series Defense Howard with Champagne.
in high school! This episode of won the "Best Retch-Face" award, Filed under: OpEd, It's Always For the second straight year, the
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia which is as coveted as it is Sunny in Philadelphia, Episode Phillies ousted the Los Angeles
was presented as a frame story, imaginary) and they made for a Reviews, Reality-Free Dodgers with ease and in five
just like The Canterbury Tales. solid episode, though not one to Permalink| Email this| | games. The Dodgers went down
D i d t h e g a n g o u t - C h a u c e r i m m e d i a t e l y j u m p i n t o m y unreasonable weekly expectation Comments
Chaucer!? Well, no, but it was a favorites. Admittedly, that's an anyway. Oh well. At least we got

Dana White Talks Dan Henderson, Bernard Hopkins, Chuck Liddell, More
By Ariel Helwani (FanHouse) happening on a daily basis. Not Liddell's fighting future. Blog on Fri, 23 Oct 2009
Submitted at 10/23/2009 2:17:00 AM only is this weekend UFC 104, White discussed all those issues 02:17:00 EST . Please see our
but news continues to break on a and much more. Check out the terms for use of feeds.
by Ariel Helwani whole host of topics. FanHouse video interview (which includes Permalink| Email this| Linking
Filed under: MMA Videos, spoke to White on Thursday about mature language) below. Blogs| Comments
UFC, FanHouse Exclusive LOS whether Dan Henderson will re- Dana White Talks Dan
ANGELES -- As is usually the sign with the organization or head Henderson, Bernard Hopkins,
c a s e i n t h e w o r l d o f U F C to Strikeforce, Bernard Hopkins' MMA, "Big" John McCarthy not Chuck Liddell, More originally
president Dana White, a lot is recent negative comments about working at UFC 104 and Chuck appeared on Fanhouse MMA
44 Game/
IT’S
continued from page 43
without much fight Wednesday
night, 10-4. The Phillies likely
will face the New York Yankees,
who hold a 3-1 lead over the Los
Angeles Angels heading into
Game 5 Thursday night. If the
Yanks do advance, the Phillies’
task won’t be easy.
“The team that will be standing
between the Phillies and their
third World Series title ain’t the
Tampa Bay Rays this year,” Bob
Ford writes in the Philadelphia
Inquirer. “If the New York
Yankees can finish off the Los
Angeles Angels tonight, the
Phillies will need to do more than
just score runs in the next round.
They are going to have to pitch a
whole lot better than they have
thus far, and the scary part is they
enter the World Series with only
one consistent starter in the
postseason.”
ESPN’s Jayson Stark marvels at
the transformation of the Phillies
franchise in the past two years.
“Before last October, this team
had won only four postseason
series in the history of the
franchise. And now it’s won five
series in a row,” Stark writes. “It
wasn’t so long ago that this
franchise had played in two
World Series in its first 100
seasons of existence. And now it’s
about to play in its second World
Series in 12 months.”
The Phillies’ preferred
opponent? The Yankees, of
course, Jeff Passan writes at
Yahoo Sports. In the New York
Daily News, John Harper says
general manager Brian Cashman
deserves much credit for the
Yanks’ success.
For the Dodgers, where to start?
The pitching was horrendous and
the hitting was feeble. In five
games the Phillies outscored
them, 35-16. This did not look
like the same team that had the
National League’s best record in
2009. The big unknown is how
they’ll respond after consecutive,
crushing losses to Philadelphia in
each of the past two years’ NLCS.
“For some groups, like the
Phillies, a few October
disappointments help forge a
championship character,” Ramona
Shelburne writes in the Los
Angeles Daily News. “For others,
too many bitter autumn aftertastes
mark the beginning of the end. A
downward spiral it takes years to
undo. Which group will these
Dodgers become?”
In the Los Angeles Times, T.J.
Simers laments everything that
went wrong for the Dodgers. The
Press-Enterprise’s Jim Alexander
says the Dodgers won’t improve
without an ace at the front of the
staff.* * *
Until college football gets a
playoff system, there will be
endless debates over who really is
the national champion, especially
when conferences not part of the
Bowl Championship Series field
an exceptionally strong team that
isn’t given a berth in the title
game. Last year, undefeated Utah
of the Mountain West Conference
didn’t play for the national title
despite strong credentials.
Politicians continue to stand at
the front of the chorus of football
fans grousing about college
football’s lack of a playoff. On
Wednesday, Utah senator Orrin
Hatch called for the Justice
Department to investigate the
BCS. Earlier this week, the
Journal’s Washington Wire blog
noted that politicians have created
a “Playoff PAC,” which will
strive to get pro-reform candidates
elected to Congress.
Still with college football,
Yahoo Sports columnist Dan
Wetzel says it’s folly for top-tier
programs to schedule non-
conference behemoths. Doing so
can have disastrous consequences.
Oklahoma’s title aspirations all
but ended when Sooners
quarterback Sam Bradford hurt
his shoulder playing BYU. USC’s
were damaged when quarterback
Matt Barkley had to sit out a
game because of an injury
suffered against Ohio State;
without him the next week, the
Trojans lost to a conference
opponent. “If you’re a big-name
program, it’s foolish to prove
yourself outside of the mandated
league games,” Wetzel writes. “A
monster showdown might be fun
to play in, but it isn’t
proportionately rewarded by
either the voters or the computers.
All it does is open you up to a
loss, an injury or an emotional
letdown. You’re best served
staying home and playing
patsies.”
The Ohio football team making
the most noise this season isn’t
the normally powerhouse Ohio
State Buckeyes — they’re ranked
only 19th — but the fifth-ranked
Cincinnati Bearcats, the Journal’s
Darren Everson and David
Biderman report.
Finally, ESPN’s Ivan Maisel
looks ahead to the second half of
the season.* * *
By now, football fans outside
Washington, D.C., are aware of
the sorry state of the Redskins.
Talk has again surfaced about
getting the team to change its
nickname, which some consider
racist. In the Washington Post,
Courtland Milloy makes the case
for retiring Chief Zee,
Washington’s unofficial mascot,
and getting a new team nickname,
too.* * *
Women’s sports have a tough
time getting noticed in the U.S. —
even top-notch tennis and golf.
The WNBA, which recently
crowned the Phoenix Mercury as
champions, isn’t on the sports
radar even with the heft of the
NBA behind it. Last year, four-
time champion Houston folded
and this week the Detroit Shock
announced it was moving to
Tulsa. At Slate, Josh Levin tries to
find a business model that would
work in the WNBA.
– Tip of the Fix cap to reader
Don Hartline and Fixer emeritus
Carl Bialik.
Found a good column from the
world of sports? Don’t keep it to
yourself — write to us at
dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll
consider your find for inclusion in
the Daily Fix. You can email
Garey at ris84rap@gmail.com.
Internet News Record
James Cameron's
Avatar launches for
everything Dec. 1
By Xav de Matos (Joystiq)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 1:00:00 AM
Ubisoft's website lists James
Cameron's Avatar as launching
across all platforms -- Xbox 360,
PS3, PC, DS, Wii, PSP, Wifi-
enabled Toilets and Toasters that
also cook hot dogs -- for
December 1. As we're often
skeptical with what we read on
the Internet, we decided to find
out if the listing was accurate.
According to Ubisoft, the game
will indeed launch in North
America on December 1.
The date thrusts gamers into the
Avatar universe more than two
weeks before the film hits theaters
on December 16. Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3 players -- with the
proper set up-- will also be able to
experience the game in 3D.
Whether or not James Cameron
will record what seems like an
hours-long video introduction
outlining every detail of the game
and movie experience to
accompany the launch is unclear.
Gallery: James Cameron's
Avatar (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)
James Cameron's Avatar
launches for everything Dec. 1
originally appeared on Joystiq on
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EST.
Please see our terms for use of
feeds.
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Internet News Record Sports/ Game/ 45

Napa County DA: No charges will be filed against

Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable
By Associated Press legal process to conclude and now McGuinn, were not immediately which delayed the case.
(ESPN.com) this matter has been resolved," returned Thursday. He told "It should be further noted that
Submitted at 10/22/2009 11:42:37 PM Raiders spokesman Mike Taylor Comcast Sportsnet California that within the past week and a half,
said. "Our focus has been and he did not understand the decision Mr. Hanson showed up Analyst: DS and PSP
No Charges Will Be Filed remains on the New York Jets." not to press charges. unannounced at the police growth 'peaked,' iPhone
Against Cable No Charges Will Commissioner Roger Goodell "All I know is they had abundant department and made a statement
Be Filed Against Cable said last week that criminal evidence to proceed, but they to the effect that since the Raiders to drum future growth
NAPA, Calif. -- Oakland charges need not be brought chose not to," McGuinn said. "I had not given him what he asked By Alexander Sliwinski
Raiders coach Tom Cable won't against Cable for the NFL to don't know why they didn't." for, he would now fully cooperate (Joystiq)
f a c e c h a r g e s a f t e r b e i n g discipline him if he broke the Lieberstein said there was not with the prosecution," Lieberstein Submitted at 10/23/2009 2:00:00 AM
investigated over allegations that league's conduct rules. enough evidence for a jury to said.
he assaulted one of his assistants, "We will review the decision convict Cable of any offenses Lieberstein said there were DFC Intelligence analyst David
ending a two-month saga that was announced earlier today by the beyond a reasonable doubt. inconsistencies in what Hanson Cole thinks that Nintendo and
a cloud over the team's season. Napa District Attorney and the Lieberstein said interviews with told the police and what he said in Sony devices will still lead the
Napa County district attorney facts developed in the underlying the three assistants established media interviews. He said those handheld market by 2014, but that
Gary Lieberstein said Thursday investigation," the league said in a that Cable did not punch Hanson were not cleared up in a follow-up the iPhone/iPod Touch will drive
that the investigation concluded statement Thursday. "Following or make any verbal threats. He interview Wednesday. growth, thanks to a little thing
no charges were warranted. that review, we will take said evidence showed Cable "Something happened but even called the App Store.
"Our duty is to do the right thing appropriate action, if any, under became angry and rushed toward he doesn't know how it IndustryGamers took note of the
for the right reasons," Lieberstein our policies." Hanson, but Washington stepped happened," Lieberstein said. "I new report, where the analyst
said. "Under the facts and The alleged attack occurred at between the coaches. don't even think he has a good believes that the worldwide
circumstances of this case, it the team's training camp hotel on Cable ran into Washington, who idea." mobile and portable games market
would be a miscarriage of justice Aug. 5 in Napa, after Cable called bumped into Hanson and knocked Cable has said the pending case will reach $11.7 billion by 2014,
to pursue criminal charges and we Randy Hanson into a meeting him out of his chair. The was not a distraction to his which includes the PSP and DS,
will not ask our citizens to give up with defensive coordinator John witnesses also told authorities that coaching, and the players have with Apple's devices pushing 24
their valuable time for jury duty, Marshall and defensive backs Cable then grabbed Hanson by the said it has not been an issue percent of software sales.
nor will we allow our criminal coaches Lionel Washington and shirt but never struck or around the team. The company found that of over
j u s t i c e s y s t e m t o b e Willie Brown. threatened him. Cable did not talk "Honestly it hasn't even been in 8,000 surveyed respondents, 54
compromised." Hanson told Yahoo! Sports this to police. the locker room," receiver Louis and 69 percent of North
Cable has denied the charges month that Cable came up from Lieberstein said that because Murphy said. "Nobody has really Americans and Europeans,
from the beginning and said behind him and knocked him out Hanson did not file a police report spoke on it. Stuff stays in the respectively, had played a game
s h o r t l y b e f o r e t h e d i s t r i c t of his chair. Hanson said he broke at the time of the alleged incident, locker room. Whatever goes on on their phone in the last year.
attorney's announcement that he his jaw and cracked two teeth police were unable to search the the outside goes on the outside." The report found that the the most
trusted in the legal system. Cable after hitting a table. Hanson also hotel room for any physical Copyright 2009 by The popular service for purchasing
said he does not intend to speak to alleged that Cable threatened to evidence that might have Associated Press apps for their phone was Apple's
the media again until Friday. kill him before the other coaches corroborated Hanson's story. He This content has passed through App Store -- shocking, right?
"The Raider organization waited pulled him away. said Hanson did not talk to the fivefilters.org. Analyst: DS and PSP growth
patiently for a comprehensive Calls to Hanson's attorney, John police until the end of September, 'peaked,' iPhone to drum future
growth originally appeared on
Joystiq on Fri, 23 Oct 2009
02:00:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.
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Comments
46 Sports/ Game/
The Count: Is Durant a Top Scorer, an Albatross
or Both?
(WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 2:20:40 PM
Could an NBA team that won
28% of its games last season
really have been better off when
its supposedly best player — by
virtue of being its leading scorer,
leading three-point shooter and
leading free-throw shooter — was
sitting on the bench? Associated
Press Kevin Durant scores
proficiently, but does he make his
team better?
That was the provocative
contention of sports-numbers
analyst Wayne Winston of
Indiana University about the
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin
Durant, who last year, at age 20,
ranked fifth in the league in total
points and outscored the
Thunder’s second-ranked scorer
by nearly nine points per game.
But Winston’s statistical measure
of choice eschews points and the
rest of the box score stats. Instead
he evaluates players using
something called adjusted plus-
minus, which is like hockey’s plus
-minus — a team’s scoring
margin when a player is on the
floor. The “adjusted” part means
Winston controls for the quality
of the player’s teammates and of
the opposing players on the floor
— so that if Durant is always
facing opponents’ starting five,
this won’t count against him.
And Durant’s adjusted plus-
minus last season was about -9,
meaning he cost his team nine
points per 48 minutes. That was
almost entirely because of bad
defense, which is hard to measure
in the box score.
ESPN’s Henry Abbott posted
the finding, along with intense
analysis of what it means and
what might be causing it, on his
blog. The post has gotten 169
comments, many of them fiercely
defending Durant. The third-year
Thunder forward responded
himself, on Twitter. And Winston
posted more stats fleshing out the
finding on his blog.
David Berri, who favors box-
score-based statistical analysis,
wrote on his blog that Durant was,
indeed, below-average in his
rookie year by that measure, but
improved into an above-average
player last season. While on-the-
ball defense isn’t captured in the
box score, “I am not convinced
Durants supposed problems on
defense trump his box score
numbers,” Berri wrote.
But Basketball Reference’s Neil
Paine pointed out that Durant’s
box-score defensive numbers —
rebounding, blocks and assists —
don’t suggest good things about
his overall defensive ability.
Other players with Durant’s
height and similarly low output in
those categories have poor
defensive reputations. “Since
defense is half the game, why is it
so hard to swallow that Durant’s
overall impact, largely
undetectable via conventional
stats but apparent through point
differential-based metrics like
[adjusted plus-minus], is a net
negative at this stage of his
career?” Paine asked.
On Basketball Prospectus,
Kevin Pelton suggested that the
problem may be how Durant and
his teammates are being used,
rather than Durant’s actual skills.
“On the Mavericks or any other
team, Durant might thrive in a
different role,” Pelton wrote.
“This is a weakness of any
statistical rating system, not
something germane solely to
adjusted plus-minus, but that’s
why analysts must be careful to
supplement the bottom-line
numbers with skill-based statistics
and observation.”
Winston said that’s mere
speculation. “The bottom line is,
the way Durant was used, his
impact on the team was most
likely not above average,”
Winston told me. “Of course, if he
was used differently he might
have a better impact, but we can
only judge him on what happened
so far.” He added, “The most
logical explanation is that for the
part of basketball that is not
captured by the box score, Durant
must perform at a below-average
level.”
Such plus-minus ratings
gathered notice, and controversy,
when Winston’s then-employer,
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark
Cuban, posted some surprising
numbers earlier this year. Earlier
this month, on his blog, Winston
announced that he is no longer
working for the Mavs. “We
greatly enjoyed our time with the
Mavs,” Winston wrote on his
blog. “Mark is a great person and
a terrific owner.” Cuban told me
he was “very happy” with
Winston’s work but wanted to
bring statistical analysis in-house
rather than employing Winston as
an outside consultant. “We
thought it needed to be an internal
core competency,” Cuban said.
Internet News Record
Keighley promises
even better exclusives
at the VGAs
By Justin McElroy (Joystiq)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:00:00 AM
We're not convinced that Spike
TV had the most quality people
handling their interviews on the
red carpet of the Scream 2009
awards. As you can see in this
video interview, the ham 'n' egger
behind the camera actually asked
Geoff Keighley how he gets so
many exclusives when everybody
knows Geoff Keighley secretes
exclusives glandularly.
The interviewer does do one
thing right though, getting
Keighley to promise that he'll
have even better exclusives than
last year in the 2009 VGA
ceremony. He's made similar
promises in the past and
delivered, most notably during
last year's show in which God of
War 3 debuted. We just can't
imagine how much spicy food
he'll have to eat to pull that off.
That's right ... Geoff Keighley is
basically Turbo Teen.
[Via BigDownload]
Keighley promises even better
exclusives at the VGAs originally
appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Oct
2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see
our terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
Internet News Record Sports/ Game/ 47

Report:Isiah Thomas says he's hurt by Magic Missed calls

cause ump switch
Johnson comments, new book for World Series
By Associated Press aspects of the book were first wouldn't have to talk about this the latest salvo in a strained By Associated Press
(ESPN.com) reported by SI.com. stuff in such a public venue." relationship, once made famous (ESPN.com)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:32:25 PM In the book, which chronicles When Thomas was not on that by the pre-finals kiss and a pair of Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:58:32 PM
the careers of Bird and Johnson, 1992 Olympic roster, there was crowd-pleasing 1-on-1 battles in
PTI Magic, Isiah Feud PTI the former Los Angeles Lakers widespread speculation that the final moments of the 1992 NEW YORK -- Stung by a rash
Magic, Isiah Feud great who retired from basketball Michael Jordan tried to keep the NBA All-Star game. But even of blown calls in the playoffs,
MIAMI -- Hall of Fame players in 1991 after being diagnosed Detroit Pistons guard off the team. during those 1988 finals, Johnson Major League Baseball is
Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson with HIV said Thomas questioned Jordan denied those claims, and Thomas let their competitive breaking tradition and sticking
famously kissed each other's his sexuality and that several Thomas said he took the Bulls star sides boil over, jostling with each with only experienced umpires for
cheek moments before tip-off of players did not want him on the at his word, and tried to get past other after physical play later in the World Series.
Game 1 of the 1988 NBA Finals. original "Dream Team" that easily the slight. the series. Longtime crew chiefs Joe West,
Today, the relationship clearly won Olympic gold. "I rooted for the USA because I In Johnson's words, he and Dana DeMuth and Gerry Davis,
isn't anywhere near as close. "Isiah killed his own chances wanted them to win," Thomas Thomas are now "cordial. That's along with Brian Gorman, Jeff
In Thomas' mind, a 17-year-old when it came to the Olympics," said. "You move on. But that was about it." Nelson and Mike Everitt will
wound has been reopened in a Johnson said in the book, an a big hole in the resume. It hurts Last fall, Johnson said he would handle the games, three people
new book that Johnson and Larry advance copy of which was me that he's taking credit for it." not recommend Thomas for any with knowledge of the decision
Bird wrote with author Jackie obtained by The AP. "Nobody on Thomas also denied questioning other NBA jobs, after Thomas' told The Associated Press this
MacMullan. In the book, Johnson that team wanted to play with Johnson's sexuality. stints with both the Indiana Pacers week.
says, among other things, that he him. ... I'm sad for Isiah. He has In the book, Johnson said the and New York Knicks were rocky The people spoke on condition
played a role in keeping Thomas alienated so many people in his failed relationship with Thomas is at times - particularly so in New of anonymity because an official
off the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. life, and he still doesn't get it. He "the biggest personal York. Johnson said he "separated announcement has not been made.
"I'm just disappointed and hurt," doesn't understand why he wasn't disappointment of my life ... the personal from the In 24 of the last 25 World
Thomas told The Associated Press chosen for that Olympic team and nothing else is even close." professional" when telling Knicks Series, the six-man crew has
on Thursday night before a that's really too bad. You should One passage has Johnson officials that they should consider included at least one umpire
promotional event for his men's be aware when you've ticked off discussing how he called the guest Thomas to coach their team. working the event for the first
basketball team at FIU. "I never more than half of the NBA." quarters of his Southern The book, "When the Game time -- baseball likes to reward
thought it was him who kept me Thomas said he declined a California home "the Isiah Was Ours," is to be officially newer umpires, plus replenish the
off the Olympic team. That hurt." chance to be interviewed for the Room," noting that he would released Nov. 4. supply of umps with Series
“ book. According to its index, he leave house keys for Thomas at Copyright 2009 by The experience.
I never thought it was [Magic appears on at least 26 pages. the hotel when the Pistons came Associated Press In each of the last two years,
Johnson] who kept me off the "I wish he would have called to Los Angeles. This content has passed through there were three new umps
Olympic team. That hurt.”-- Isiah me," Thomas said. "I always "He was like my brother," fivefilters.org. working the World Series.
Thomas believed that our friendship was Johnson said.
Thomas' disappointment with good and close enough that we The comments by Johnson are

Dante's Inferno draws fire for baby murder Achievement

By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 4:00:00 AM
Dante's Inferno is getting flak
from a nanny group over an
Achievement for killing
unbaptized babies -- not
ironically, it's named "Bad
Nanny." As GamePolitics points
out, the International Nanny
Association (INA) released a
statement calling the 'cheevo
"offensive to our association," as
it seemingly defies the INA's goal
to "promote and educate the
public regarding the selfless work
nannies do to support families."
We here at Joystiq are
thoroughly offended too, though
mostly because we know that
more than one person on staff will Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:00:00 EST.
be once again be forced into a Please see our terms for use of
morally compromising position in feeds.
the endless hunt for virtual Read| Permalink| Email this|
grandeur. Comments
Gallery: Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno draws fire for
baby murder Achievement
originally appeared on Joystiq on
48 Sports/ Popular News/ Internet News Record

Jim Zorn to finish season as Officials seize cocaine

Washington Redskins coach, VP submarine
(BBC News | Americas | World supply lines following a
Vinny Cerrato says Edition)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 6:31:45 PM
crackdown launched by Mexico's
President Felipe Calderon.
The president has deployed
By ESPN.com news services on a three-year contract. the team. Guatemalan and US authorities more than 45,000 troops to fight
(ESPN.com) Zorn, who has been widely Former longtime NFL assistant h a v e s e i z e d a m a k e s h i f t drug gangs since he took office in
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:53:36 AM criticized as the Redskins have Sherman Lewis, recently hired out submarine loaded with cocaine December 2006.
struggled, essentially was forced of retirement as a consultant, will with a US street value of $200m At least two other submarine-
Zorn To Finish Season As Coach to relinquish his offensive play- call plays for the Redskins (2-4) (£120m).
Zorn To Finish Season As Coach like vessels have been found by
calling duties Monday, a day after for their Monday night game The submarine, which had 10 anti-drug patrols in the waters
Jim Zorn will remain the head Washington lost to the Kansas against the Philadelphia Eagles. tonnes of cocaine on board, was around Central America.
c o a c h o f t h e W a s h i n g t o n City Chiefs. Team owner Daniel Snyder stopped by the coast guard some
Redskins for the rest of this The BBC's Jeremy McDermott,
Although he didn't say he was initially hired Zorn as offensive 2 8 0 k m ( 1 7 5 m i l e s ) o f f in Medellin, says drugs smugglers
season, a team executive said given an ultimatum, Zorn said coordinator before promoting him G u a t e m a l a ' s P a c i f i c c o a s t . often use such makeshift vessels -
Friday. then that he would comply with to head coach. Zorn enjoyed Four Colombians and one constructed in steel and fibreglass
NFC East blog the request "because I want to success as the quarterbacks coach Mexican man on board the vessel - as they are difficult to detect
ESPN.com's Matt Mosley writes stay here and win ... Sometimes for the Seahawks, but he had were arrested.
about all things NFC East in his we have to do things that are using a conventional radar.
never been a coordinator. Guatemala is becoming an Our correspondent adds that the
division blog. uncomfortable." ESPN.com's Mike Sando important transit point for illegal vessels, which can cost up to $1m
• Blog network: NFL Nation Zorn's friend and former Seattle c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h i s r e p o r t . drugs moved north by Mexican each, are often sunk after use.
Team executive vice president Seahawks teammate, Hall of Information from The Associated trafficking cartels.
of football operations Vinny Fame receiver Steve Largent, said Print Sponsor
Press was used in this report. These cartels are increasingly This content has passed through
Cerrato made the announcement during a radio interview Tuesday This content has passed through m o v i n g i n t o n e i g h b o u r i n g fivefilters.org.
Friday morning on his show on that Zorn considered resigning fivefilters.org. Guatemala in a bid to ensure safe
ESPN 980 Radio in Washington, when that decision was made, but
D.C. Zorn has one year remaining ultimately decided not to quit on
MISSED
continued from page 47
CB Bucknor was in line to work miss on a pickoff and Tim McClelland missed an obvious that did not include a World
the World Series for the first time McClelland's call on a tag play, double play Tuesday night in the Series rookie was 1997.
this year. But he missed two calls among others. ALCS. World Series umpires are
in Game 1 of the division series Scott missed again Thursday West, DeMuth and Davis each chosen from the pool of 24
between the Red Sox and Angels, night in Game 5 of the AL have worked three World Series umpires who work in the first
damaging his chance to get championship series, ruling New and have been major league round, with those two dozen
picked, one of the three people York's Johnny Damon out after he umpires for more than 25 years. picked on merit. ALCS and NLCS
said. clearly beat Angels first baseman Gorman, Nelson and Everitt all umpires aren't in play, because
Umpiring mistakes caused Kendry Morales' toss to pitcher have called one World Series, and umps don't work in consecutive
anxious moments for MLB in the John Lackey. have been on the big league staff rounds of the postseason.
first two rounds: Phil Cuzzi's foul The problems have ramped up for at least 11 years. Copyright 2009 by The
call on a drive by Joe Mauer that calls by fans for expanded use of At least a pair of first-time Associated Press
was fair by a foot, Jerry Meals' instant replay. Loading up with World Series umpires have been This content has passed through
error on a ball that bounced off veteran umpires, however, is no on each of the last five crews. fivefilters.org.
Chase Utley's leg, Dale Scott's guarantee of getting it right. Starting in 1983, the only crew
Internet News Record
Yanks Reveal Cracks, Make Life
Harder
By Jay Mariotti (FanHouse)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 1:51:00 AM
by Jay Mariotti
Filed under: MLB ANAHEIM,
Calif. -- "This is mine! Come on,
Scioscia! This is MINE!" John
Lackey shouted at his manager on
the mound, scowling at him, then
inserting a spicy word or two.
Mike Scioscia, long respected as
one of the game's wisest
tacticians, didn't agree with his
pitcher's assessment. He asked for
the baseball and told Lackey to
leave, even though he owned a 4-
0 lead over the Yankees, had just
retired the second out of the
seventh inning, was burned on a
ball-strike call to Jorge Posada--
now there's a shock, more bad
umpiring -- and wanted very
much to face Mark Teixiera and
end a based-loaded rally.
For a time Thursday night, this
stood as one of the most
Wall St set to rise after Microsoft results
(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:03:34 AM
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embarrassing managerial
decisions in recent playoff
history. Rather than stick with his
best and gutsiest starter, Scioscia
out-strategized himself and
summoned veteran lefty Darren
Oliver to face Teixiera, who was
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Sports/ Economy/ 49
hitting .133 for the postseason
when a wild night began near
Disneyland. Teixeira promptly
ripped a shot out by the rock pile
and fountains at Angel Stadium,
clearing the bases with a double.
When Scioscia followed by
intentionally walking Alex
Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui made
him pay again with a game-tying
single. Scioscia made another
move, going to young righty
Kevin Jepsen. You know what Volunteering My Beard for
was next: Robinson Cano said
hello with a triple, driving in two
runs for a 6-4 lead.
Tennessee Bet
Yanks Reveal Cracks, Make By Clay Travis (FanHouse) decided until the fourth quarter.
Life Harder originally appeared Submitted at 10/22/2009 8:00:00 PM I'll explain why as I break down
on Fanhouse - Jay Mariotti on Fri, the game, but know this, right
23 Oct 2009 01:51:00 EST . by Clay Travis now Alabama fans are rolling
Please see our terms for use of Filed under: Alabama, their eyes and banging on their
Tennessee their talking typewriters -- as
feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Linking Alabama opened as a 16.5 point computers have yet to reach
favorite over Tennessee. So I did Alabama -- " Your an idiot,"
Blogs| Comments
what any self-respecting they're about to type in their
Tennessee fan would do when magic invisible letters-- you know
faced with this obstacle: I it as e-mail -- to me.
wagered my beard that Tennessee
will cover that spread with
Volunteering My Beard for
Tennessee Bet originally appeared
Registration and Subscription Memphis radio host Chris on Fanhouse NCAA Football
You will be unable to register as Vernon, the man behind the cult Blog on Thu, 22 Oct 2009
a new user or start a new classic video, Colonel Reb Is 20:00:00 EST . Please see our
s u b s c r i p t i o n d u r i n g t h i s Crying. Given that I've been terms for use of feeds.
maintenance period. rocking the beard since 2002, I'm Permalink| Email this| Linking
There may be other aspects of very confident in my bet, almost Blogs| Comments
the service that are impacted as confident that this will be a
temporarily. single-digit game that isn't
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50 Game/ Fashion/ Internet News Record

Ashley Olsen and Isaac

Mizrahi on the Future
of Women’s Fashion
By ELLE.com (ELLE News
Blog)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 1:30:42 PM

THQ forcing Star Wars: Trench

Sega lighters set on fire what
Nintendon't
By JC Fletcher (Joystiq)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 9:42:00 AM
Now that there's a lighter in the
shape of a Sega Saturn, we think
Segata Sanshiro would insist that
people start smoking. Through
November 6, retailer Net-You is
accepting pre-orders on these
beautiful Sega Hard Memorial
Zippo Lighters made by
Banpresto, which feature the
likenesses of the Sega Mega
Drive and Sega Saturn, for
¥10,500 (roughly $115) each.
That's quite a bit more than
you'd pay for the real systems in
Akihabara, but, then, the real
systems can't get your "just light
the bag" charcoal started. Now is
time to the 68000 cigarette on
fire!
[Via Andriasang]
Sega lighters set on fire what
Nintendon't originally appeared
on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Oct 2009
09:42:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
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Run onto iPhone
Last night I scurried to the 92nd
Street Y on the Upper East Side
By David Hinkle (Joystiq) scruffiest Nerf herder will be able
(where I also take tap lessons, but
that's a whole other Chic Week
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:00:00 AM to afford it. post) to witness a discussion on
Jedi mind click your mouse past the future of women's fashion.
Because blowing up the Death the break for a trailer. The panelists? Robin Givhan,
Star never gets old, THQ is Continue reading THQ forcing Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion
recreating the climactic space Star Wars: Trench Run onto writer for the Washington Post;
battle from the conclusion of the iPhone Isaac Mizrahi, creative director of
first Star Wars film in an all-new THQ forcing Star Wars: Trench Liz Claiborne; and Ashley Olsen,
game for the iPhone. Star Wars: Run onto iPhone originally who co-runs fashion brands The
Trench Run will appear in the appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Oct Row and Elizabeth and James.
App store soon, IGN reports, and 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see (The room buzzed when sister
will feature a tilt-based control our terms for use of feeds. Mary Kate arrived in a Balmain
scheme. There's no word on a Read| Permalink| Email this| jacket and took her seat near the
price yet, but given the platform, Comments front.)
we're willing to bet even the Moderated by Glamour editor-in

Halloween Costume Inspiration from Patricia Field

By ELLE.com (ELLE News V-neck T-shirt, jeans, apron, of Field stylists: Ziggy Stardust, If you’re in New York and need
Blog) spatula, and a bottle of “EVOO.” Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Sex a last-minute getup, the Patricia
Submitted at 10/22/2009 10:01:17 AM Technically a costume, but and the City girls, Peg Bundy, Field Boutique will have extended
seriously lacking in wow factor. flapper, Grace Jones, 1980s hours for the holiday: 11am to
I’ll admit: I’m the laziest As I plan a costume for the Madonna, Minnie Mouse, 9pm October 26-28, and 11am to
Halloween costume-planner ever. actual holiday (Rach was just a dominatrix, Vargas girl, 1980s 10pm Oct. 29-31.
Example: On Saturday, for my warm-up), I’m loving the ideas groupie, Playboy bunny, Jem and —Kari Wethington, Copy Editor
first spooky party of the season, I Sex and the City stylist Patricia the Holograms, Betty Page, sailor Follow ELLE on Twitter.
dressed up (or, down, really) as Field offers at her boutique in her website. pin-up, Jessica Rabbit, and Lil
Rachael Ray, complete with black Manhattan’s East Village and on Some ideas offered up by House Kim.
Internet News Record
ASHLEY
continued from page 50
-chief Cindi Leive, the group
talked Michelle Obama, who
Mizrahi praised for being "an
actual woman," while Robin
commented on the democracy of
the First Lady’s fashion, saying
that although Mobama’s J. Crew
ensembles quickly sold out, “no
one went out and bought a $2000
Jason Wu dress.”
Olsen was mostly microphone
shy unless directly addressed, but
she and Mizrahi both gushed
about the trend they want to see
more of: "Flat shoes!" (Olsen said
she has a thing for Toms shoes,
though the 5-inch maroon
platform pumps she wore
suggested otherwise.)
Microsoft earnings beat
forecasts
(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:05:02 AM
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When it came to question time, I
couldn’t resist asking, “What are
fashion magazines doing right?
And what are they doing wrong?”
“There’s too many movie stars
on covers! I like models,” Mizrahi
said, followed by applause.
Givhan said, “The one thing I
admire about fashion magazines is
that they celebrate fashion. It’s
not about taking it apart and being
Debbie Downer.” “Yeah, that’s
your job,” joked Mizrahi.
—Julie Vadnal, Editorial
Assistant
Follow ELLE on Twitter.
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Fashion/ Economy/ 51
Fed pay rules
to rein in risk-
taking
(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 4:08:24 PM
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By ELLE.com (ELLE News and Pacino in Heat, and Patinkin site
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Submitted at 10/22/2009 1:23:54 PM Click here to take a look at what • Accessing News by Email
the honorees, the presenters, and Briefings & News Alerts
This past Monday evening, I had many others who came out to We have removed the
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making Julianne Moore and Honorees Julie Andrews, Katie We apologise for any
R e n é e Z e l l w e g e r , a n d t h e Holmes and Emily Blunt flank the i n c o n v e n i e n c e c a u s e d .
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52 Popular News/ Economy/
Arson-related heart attacks murder? DA says yes
(AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:08:59 AM
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. –
Retired accountant James
McDermith's mad dash to retrieve
a camper and pack it with
belongings as a wildfire chewed
closer to his home six years ago
may have cost him his life. But it
wasn't the flames or smoke that
got him.
The 70-year-old church deacon
was one of five men to have a
heart attack during the 2003 blaze
that surged through the San
Bernardino Mountain foothills.
With evidence that stress from
the wildfire led to the deaths,
prosecutors took the unusual step
this week of charging a suspected
arsonist with five counts of first-
degree murder that could signal a
tough new standard for arson
cases in a region held hostage by
fire.
Proving that case, however,
could be a challenge: all the
victims had a history of heart
disease, and prosecutors might be
hard-pressed to get a jury to see
murder in the medical mix.
Under state law, any death that
occurs during the commission of a
felony, including arson, can be
charged as first-degree murder —
but a conviction will hinge on
how much time elapsed between
the crime and the death and if any
other factors contributed.
"There's nothing inherently
wrong with attempting a felony
murder conviction in this case,"
said Robert Weisberg, director of
the Stanford Criminal Justice
Center at Stanford University.
"But the judge could conceivably
say I'm not even going to give this
to the jury ... because it's too hard
to say the fire actually caused the
deaths."
Prosecutors insist they have a
strong case and are confident they
can link the deaths to the arson.
Investigators pored over
hundreds of tips, witness reports
and other evidence over six years
and were finally able to file
charges Wednesday, just four
days before the statute of
limitations was to expire. Rickie
Lee Fowler, a 28-year-old convict
currently in prison for burglary,
was indicted on five counts of
murder, one count of aggravated
arson and one count of arson of an
inhabited structure.
He has not appeared in court
and no attorney was listed in court
records.
Following a phone tip,
investigators interviewed Fowler
several months after the fire, but
didn't have enough evidence to
press charges. They went back to
him in 2006 and 2008, when he
finally provided additional
information that helped detectives
close the case, Supervising
Deputy District Attorney Victor
Stull said.
Stull would not say what he
said, but defended the district
attorney's decision to charge
Fowler in a potential death
penalty case. He should have
known that people could die —
even from heart attacks — when
he tossed a lighted roadside flare
into the brush.
"You can anticipate someone
having a heart attack every now
and again, but (these were) three
on the same day, within hours of
each other and the others followed
just days after," Stull said. "The
arsonist takes his victims as he
finds them."
Fowler's case highlights a new
determination to charge alleged
arsonists with murder whenever
possible in a region plagued by
wildfires that repeatedly lead to
firefighter and civilian deaths,
said John Maclean, who has
written four books on arson
wildfire prosecutions.
Earlier this year, prosecutors in
neighboring Riverside County
won a death penalty conviction
against Raymond Lee Oyler, an
auto mechanic who set the 2006
Esperanza wildfire that killed five
federal firefighters. Oyler is
believed to be the first person in
the U.S. to be convicted of first-
degree murder and sentenced to
death in a wildland arson case.
Investigators are trying to
determine who set the Station
Fire, a wildfire north of Los
Angeles that resulted in the deaths
of two firefighters who drove off
the road in thick smoke.
Maclean called the Oyler
conviction a watershed moment
for prosecutors seeking to stem
arsons that ravage the region
every fall.
"The lesson of the Esperanza
Fire is that anyone who starts a
fire deliberately is putting himself
in jeopardy of the death penalty,
even if there was no intent," said
Maclean, who is currently writing
a book on Oyler's case. "The cat's
out of the bag here. You don't
have to have an Oyler case
anymore to go for first-degree
murder or in fact to go for the
death penalty."
Like the other victims,
McDermith had a history of heart
disease, said his daughter-in-law,
Lisa McDermith. He had a
quadruple bypass in the early
1990s and was having trouble
breathing in the thick smoke from
the wildfire.
When he died, he was driving
from his home in Highland to San
Bernardino to retrieve his RV
from a mobile home park so he
could load it with clothing and
camp out in a church parking lot
during the evacuation. A crew
checking electric wires nearby
spotted him in distress and did
CPR until an ambulance arrived,
but McDermith was dead by the
time he arrived at the hospital.
Another man, 93-year-old
Charles Howard Cunningham,
had a heart attack as he watched
his home burn.
Lisa McDermith said because of
the victims' pre-existing
conditions, she was surprised
when a detective said Fowler
would likely be charged with
murder.
"Who knows how much longer
these people would have lived? It
was a very stressful situation with
the fires, the smoke, they couldn't
breathe, they were starving for
oxygen," she said. "I think that
exacerbated all of their health
issues and I really believe that
murder charges are justified."
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fivefilters.org.
Internet News Record
Spate of
attacks rocks
Pakistan
(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:53:56 AM
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Internet News Record Popular News/ Economy/ 53

Pilots should have had warning of airport UK economy

shrinks in third
approach (AP) quarter
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) 37,000 feet just before 9 p.m. apparently unaware what was midmorning flight from Honolulu
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:39:03 AM EDT Wednesday. Contact with happening as they passed their to Hilo, Hawaii. The plane passed (Financial Times - US
controllers wasn't established until destination, police on the ground its destination and was heading homepage)
W A S H I N G T O N – T w o 14 minutes later, according to the were preparing for the worst and out over open ocean before Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:29:22 AM
Northwest Airlines pilots who National Transportation Safety the Air National Guard had put controllers raised the pilots. The
overshot their destination by 150 Board, which is investigating the fighter jets on alert at two captain was later diagnosed with Related content and features
miles before turning back should incident. locations. sleep apnea. Dear FT.com User,
have had numerous warnings as As of Thursday, NTSB Andrea Allmon, who had been Air traffic controllers in Denver We are undertaking planned
they approached and passed i n v e s t i g a t o r s h a d n o t y e t traveling from San Diego on had been in contact with the maintenance work. Our aim is to
Minneapolis: cockpit displays, examined the plane's cockpit business, didn't know anything Northwest pilots as they flew over keep service disruption to a
controllers trying repeatedly to voice recorder and flight data was amiss. the Rockies, FAA spokeswoman minimum, however we have
reach, the city lights twinkling recorder, which were being sent to "Everybody got up to get their Laura Brown said. But as the detailed below areas of the service
below. Washington for analysis. luggage, and the plane was plane got closer to Minneapolis, that might be impacted by the
Yet the pilots didn't discover "It just doesn't make any sense," swarmed by police as we were she said, "the Denver center tried work.
their mistake until a flight said Bill Voss, president of the getting our bags down from the to contact the flight but couldn't FT.com Site Services and
attendant in the cabin contacted Flight Safety Foundation in overhead bins," she said. get anyone." That was just before Systems
them by intercom, said a source Alexandria, Va. "The pilots are She said they were kept on the 8 p.m. You may experience difficulties
close to the investigation who saying they were involved in a plane briefly while police talked Denver controllers notified their when:
wasn't authorized to talk publicly heated conversation. Well, that to the crew. Allmon said she was counterparts in Minneapolis, who • Logging in
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plane was over Eau Claire, Wis., former chief of major accident "unbelievable to me that they The FAA had notified the • Accessing portfolio
and the pilots had been out of investigations at the NTSB, said it weren't paying attention. Just not military, which was ready to • Accessing News by Email
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The crew told authorities they landing preparations. suspended from flying while none took to the air. subscription barrier from all
were distracted during a heated Those preparation should have Delta Air Lines Inc. conducts an ___ articles for the duration of the
discussion over airline policy, the begun when the flight was still internal investigation, said AP Airlines Writer Joshua work to reduce the risk of
Federal Aviation Administration 100 miles or more away from Anthony Black, a spokesman for Freed and AP writer Steve disruption to your service.
said. But federal officials are Minneapolis, he said. It would the Atlanta-based airline, which Karnowski in Minneapolis We apologise for any
investigating whether pilot fatigue require a fairly dramatic event to acquired Northwest last year. He contributed to this report. inconvenience caused.
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the pilots and didn't know whether said. commercial pilots may fly and http://bit.ly/2QV9hX maintenance period.
it was possible they had fallen The bright lights of Minneapolis remain on duty. The NTSB also National Transportation Safety There may be other aspects of
asleep. The pilots have been should have alerted the pilots that cautioned government agencies Board http://www.ntsb.gov the service that are impacted
suspended from flying by their they were over their destination, this week about the risks of sleep This content has passed through temporarily.
airline while it, too, investigates. just as the dimmer lights of Eau apnea contributing to fivefilters.org. We apologise for any
The plane, en route from San Claire should have warned them transportation accidents. inconvenience caused.
Diego with 144 passengers and a they were in the wrong place, In January 2008, two go! This content has passed through
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destination of Minneapolis at While the passengers were least 18 minutes during a
54 Popular News/ Media/ Internet News Record
MediaDailyNews:
Mom to unknown Fla. child killer: "We'll get Havas Reports Weaker
Than Expected Results
you." (AP) (MediaPost | Media News)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Diena Thompson said she does So far, the police have not made "We're here for you. You're in our Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:45:18 AM

Submitted at 10/23/2009 5:24:10 AM not know any details of the an arrest but have questioned prayers."
investigation. She said she hopes more than 155 registered sex The sheriff said the quick Havas, the parent of MPG,
ORANGE PARK, Fla. – The the killer gets the death penalty. offenders in the area. State online discovery of Somer's body, two Media Contacts, and agencies
mother of a 7-year-old Florida girl "I hate him. I hate him," she said records show 88 sex offenders days after she disappeared, may such as EURO RSCG, Thursday
whose body was found in a on the CBS "Early Show." live in Orange Park, a suburb of have saved precious evidence that reported weaker-than-expected
landfill made a promise on "Every morning when I get up, I about 9,000 people just south of could lead to her killer. third-quarter results, reflecting the
n a t i o n a l T V F r i d a y t o t h e just get up thinking it's just all a Jacksonville Naval Air Station. "Had we not done this tactic, I lagging effects of the global
unknown killer: "We'll get you." bad dream, and you come out and At an intersection about halfway believe that body would have economic recession on the major
Diena Thompson, mother of y o u s e e e v e r y t h i n g t h a t into her walk, where Somer would been buried beneath hundreds of agency holding companies. Paris-
Somer Thompson, appeared red- everybody's brought and you have crossed the street and turned tons of debris, probably would based Havas said organic
e y e d o n a l l t h r e e n e t w o r k know it's real," she said. right on the road that led straight have gone undiscovered forever," revenues fell 9.3% from the third-
television morning shows the day Missing child posters featuring home, a purple ribbon — which Beseler said. quarter of 2008, though it net
after investigators identified the Somer's face, with chubby cheeks supporters and family members The girl disappeared in a income remained relatively stable.
body they found after sorting and thick brown bangs, still have been wearing — was tied to heavily populated residential area Havas noted that the rate of
through tons of debris at a plaster nearly every utility pole the pole of a stop sign. about a mile from a stretch of fast revenue erosion appears to be
Georgia landfill. along the mile-long route from On Thursday evening, a steady -food restaurants and other easing, and that as bad as the third
"We're coming for you. We'll get her elementary school to her flow of people — many of them businesses. Investigators will -quarter was, it was an
you, and hopefully justice will be home. parents, clutching the hands of presumably try to pinpoint the improvement from the second
served," she said on ABC's "Good Investigators on Thursday young children — walked down trash bin or garbage can where quarter of the year, when organic
Morning America." searched a vacant home a couple that same road toward Somer's she was dumped, based on the revenues fell 9.8%.
Somer vanished on her one-mile of blocks into Somer's daily route, house to support her grieving trash around her and the truck's North America actually
walk home from school Monday just past a wooded area and across family with a candlelight vigil. pickup route. performed somewhat better,
in a heavily populated residential the street from a playground and Around a tree across the street "I fear for our community until declining only 7.8% during the
area in the Jacksonville suburb of baseball diamonds. from the girl's house, supporters we bring this person in. This is a second quarter, while Europe was
Orange Park. Searchers combed "It's crazy to think something had created a memorial, leaving heinous crime that's been off 10.5%.
the area before investigators, like this could happen here," said hundreds of stuffed animals, committed," Beseler said. "And Havas attributed its North
following garbage trucks that neighbor Andrew Carlson, 17, as flickering candles, signs and we're going to work as hard as we American results to stronger
collected trash Tuesday, spotted he watched officers in protective balloons. can to make this community performance from its Euro RSCG
her lifeless legs in a landfill about white suits go in and out of the Diena Thompson came out with safe." network, especially in the
50 miles away. empty house and comb through a purple ribbons tied in her hair to ___ healthcare and financial services
An autopsy to establish the construction trash bin outside. thank the group who sang " Associated Press writers Brent sectors.
cause of death is done, but Construction crews had been Amazing Grace" and "You Are Kallestad in Orange Park, Suzette Havas' results mirror those of
authorities Thursday would not working on the house, which was My Sunshine," then recited the Laboy, Sarah Larimer and other major agency holding
disclose their findings. At a news damaged in a fire several months Lord's Prayer. Jennifer Kay in Miami and companies that have reported
conference, Clay County Sheriff ago, he said. "I wish I could hug every one of Katrina Goggins in Columbia, recently.
Rick Beseler would not say if Authorities say Somer you," Thompson said. "I love S.C., contributed to this story. On Wednesday, Omnicom
S o m e r h a d b e e n s e x u a l l y squabbled with another child every one of you." This content has passed through reported that worldwide revenues
a s s a u l t e d o r a n s w e r o t h e r Monday and then walked ahead of Cries of support came from the fivefilters.org. declined 14.4% during the third
questions about the condition of the group of kids and was never crowd of about 200: "The quarter of 2009.
the body. seen again. community is behind you!" and This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
Internet News Record Popular News/ 55

19-year-old Norwegian takes Monopoly world

title (AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) competitors to the Caesars Palace either." The tournament games also
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:49:37 AM hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Knappskog mortgaged his other used a third die — known as the
Strip to represent their home properties and loaded up on hotels speed die — that sped up the
LAS VEGAS – A lucky swap countries as national champions. for Oriental, Vermont and action significantly. The
and some eager building propelled After taking out 24-year-old Connecticut Avenues, seeing his tournament die manipulates
a 19-year-old Norwegian student R u s s i a n O l e g K o r o s t e l e v , opponents' tokens within range of moves and often forces players
to the top of board game fame and Knappskog bankrupted American the spaces on the board. into spaces where they have to
sent three would-be tycoons to the champion Rick Marinaccio, a 26- The move was risky because his pay rent during the late stages of
poor house at the Monopoly year-old corporate lawyer from iron token faced a gauntlet side of games.
World Championship in Las Buffalo, N.Y., who was trying to developed magenta and orange The world tournament, held
Vegas. become the first U.S. player to properties, and Knappskog said he periodically and last staged in
Bjorn Halvard Knappskog, who win the board game championship may have lost if his opponents Tokyo in 2004, began Wednesday
graduated this year from the Oslo since 1974. dodged his hotels. at Caesars Palace with players
Private Gymnasium school, Knappskog was the only player "Either they come to me and I from 41 different countries.
captured the title on Thursday without a monopoly after trades get enough money to survive, or I Games were played in English,
when the battleship token of 25- gave Marinaccio the magenta go out," he said. with interpreters on hand to help
year-old Geoff Christopher of property group, Christopher the He finished with $6,888 in cash players who spoke different
N e w Z e a l a n d l a n d e d oranges and Korostelev the more and assets in the game. languages negotiate trades with
consecutively on Pacific Avenue expensive greens. Knappskog said he planned to one another.
and North Carolina Avenue, and But the game turned when take a helicopter tour Friday night The real-estate trading game
he couldn't afford the combined Korostelev swapped Knappskog a of the Grand Canyon and the Las based on the streets of Atlantic
$1,600 rent. cheaper light blue property to gain Vegas skyline, then visit friends City, N.J. first sold in 1935, after
"(I'm) the most surprised you the red property group, giving in Los Angeles before returning inventor Charles B. Darrow of
could ever be," Knappskog told K n a p p s k o g a n i n e x p e n s i v e home from his first trip to the Germantown, Pa., showed the
The Associated Press. "I think this monopoly with cash to develop. United States. games to Parker Brothers
was a really good final. It was the The moved surprised Knappskog The final lasted about 45 executives. More than 275 million
best game I played in the whole and the other players because minutes, quick for a tournament copies of the game's various
tournament." Korostelev couldn't afford to game and far less time than a versions have sold in 106
Knappskog won $20,580 in real build on the property group and typical casual Monopoly game. countries, according to toy and
money for the title — the total didn't negotiate for cash. Home games traditionally take game distributor Hasbro, Inc.
amount in the bank of a standard "I thought I was in such a great longer because of popular house This content has passed through
Monopoly game. The other position," Marinaccio said. "I rules — like $500 under Free fivefilters.org.
finalists won nothing beyond the didn't see that coming and I don't Parking— that give players more
trip that brought each of the 41 think New Zealand saw that chances to stay competitive.
56 Popular News/ Internet News Record
FAA investigators
'Distracted' pilots fail to land may be focusing on
(BBC News | Americas | World "fatigue issues". airline managed to speak to the paying attention to the flight. The
Edition) The plane's cockpit voice pilots. safety of the passengers should be balloon call (AP)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:11:25 AM recorder and flight data recorder The Federal Aviation first and foremost," she said. (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
have been taken from the plane Administration (FAA) contacted Doug Church, a spokesman for Submitted at 10/23/2009 2:58:14 AM
An inquiry has begun after a US and are being sent to the board's the military and two fighter jets the National Air Traffic
plane heading from San Diego to laboratory in Washington, DC. were put on alert. Controllers' Association, told the DENVER – The parents who
Minneapolis missed the airport it Questions have been raised There were initial concerns the Wall Street Journal controllers at reported last week that their 6-
was meant to land at by 150 miles about how the pilots could have plane had been hijacked or had the airport began worrying about year-old son may have been on
(240km). missed any warning signals - faced other problems and that was terrorism as a factor when they board a giant, runaway balloon
Contact with the Northwest including city lights and cockpit why the crew were not could not reach the crew. could potentially be in more
Airlines plane was lost for an hour displays showing that they were responding. He said when the controllers trouble with the Federal Aviation
as it flew at 37,000ft, sparking no longer on the right path. Northwest Airlines merged with eventually made contact, to allay Administration for making a
hijack fears. The NTSB's former chief Delta Air Lines in 2008. their fears the crew had been phone call than for setting loose
The crew said they had been investigator into major accidents, In a statement, Delta Air Lines threatened or overpowered, they the saucer-shaped craft, aviation
d i s t r a c t e d b y a " h e a t e d Ben Berman said pilots learned to said the plane's pilot and co-pilot made the pilots prove they were experts say.
discussion" but officials will become instinctively aware of had been "relieved from active still in control of the plane. Most FAA rules on the release
check if they had fallen asleep. when they needed to start landing flying". Once they were satisfied, the of unmanned balloons, rockets
Flight 188, carrying 147 preparations and it would take a It said a decision would be plane made its way back to the and kites don't take effect until
passengers, landed safely at "fairly dramatic event" to distract made about them once its own airport. aircraft or property are put in
Minneapolis after contact was them, AP reported. internal investigation and one by Were you a passenger on the danger or the craft enters
resumed. The plane left San Diego at the FAA and the safety board plane? If you have any restricted airspace. Hobbyists
A statement released by the 1500 local time (2200 GMT) for were over. information you want to share don't even need a pilot's license to
National Transportation Safety what would normally be a three- Brent Bjorlin, who was on the with the BBC, you can do so fly an engine-less craft weighing
Board (NTSB) said: "The crew hour journey. flight, told the Minnesota Star using the form below: less than 155 pounds.
stated they were in a heated Air traffic controllers lost radio Tribune newspaper that the The BBC may edit your Most likely, analysts say, the
discussion over airline policy and c o n t a c t w i t h t h e p l a n e passengers had not realised what comments and not all emails will FAA is focusing on a phone call it
lost situational awareness." approximately an hour before it had happened until they landed be published. Your comments received from the boy's father,
Wrong path was due to reach its destination of and security officials boarded the may be published on any BBC Richard Heene, who reported the
Board spokesman Keith M i n n e a p o l i s - S t P a u l plane. media worldwide. out-of-control aircraft was loose.
Holloway told the Associated International/Wold-Chamberlain Fellow passenger Andrea Print Sponsor "That's what they're going to be
Press news agency that reports Airport. Allmon said it was "unbelievable" This content has passed through looking at, that call," said Joseph
that the pilots may have fallen The plane missed its intended that the pilots had allegedly not fivefilters.org.
asleep were "speculative" but the stop and continued on for a been paying attention.
investigation would look at further 16 minutes before the "These guys are supposed to be

US asks for Polanski extradition

(BBC News | Americas | World
Edition)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 1:44:51 AM
The US has formally asked
Switzerland to extradite film
director Roman Polanski on sex
charges, Swiss officials say.
Polanski has been wanted in the
US since he fled the country in
1978, after pleading guilty to
having unlawful sex with an
under-age girl.
He was held in Zurich after
travelling from France to collect
an award at the city's film festival
in September.
The director recently lost an
appeal to be released on bail from
a Swiss jail.
The Swiss justice ministry said
in a statement that if it approved
the US request, Polanski might
appeal against the decision.
"The US Embassy in Bern
submitted the formal extradition
request... within the deadline of
40 days stipulated under the
bilateral extradition treaty," the
statement said.
Earlier this week Swiss
authorities defended their action
in informing the US that Polanski
was travelling to Zurich.
The tip-off led to the 76-year-
old's arrest.
Swiss officials said they were since taking flight, and has settled
obliged to take Polanski into in France.
custody after learning that the In recent years, his lawyers have
decades-old warrant was still tried to have the case dismissed.
valid. Print Sponsor
The director, who holds dual This content has passed through
French and Polish citizenship, fivefilters.org.
was originally charged with six
offences, but pleaded guilty to
unlawful sex with the 13-year-old
girl following a plea bargain.
He has not set foot in the US
Internet News Record
FAA
continued from page 56
Gutheinz Jr., a retired Army pilot
and former FAA and U.S.
Department of Transportation
inspector. "If this guy was calling
the FAA reporting a false
emergency, and that disrupted
other air traffic, that would be the
bigger issue here."
Richard and Mayumi Heene
(HEE-nee) reported last week that
their son Falcon was in the
escaped balloon hurtling through
the air as millions watched on live
TV. The boy was later found safe
at the family's Fort Collins home,
and authorities say they believe
the balloon scare was a hoax. The
FAA is saying little about what it
is investigating.
The balloon episode caused a
brief disruption at Denver
International Airport last week,
with some planes sent to different
runways as a precaution, but no
flights were grounded.
If authorities determine the
phone call was a hoax, the U.S.
Department of Transportation
could pursue a federal criminal
case.
Argentina launches new debt deal
(BBC News | Americas | World
Edition)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 1:44:33 AM
Argentina plans to launch a new
debt swap, which it hopes will
end a long-running saga that
started from a massive default
eight years ago.
Latin America's third-largest
economy is trying to rebuild its
reputation with international
investors and sell bonds to raise
money.
It wants to buy $20bn in
outstanding defaulted bonds held
by investors who refused a
Mary Schiavo, a former
inspector general for the
Transportation Department, said
she suspects the FAA will wait for
local law enforcement to figure
out whether the Heenes' reports
were intentionally false.
"They have to prove intent for a
criminal case," Schiavo said.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim
Alderden said he expects to
recommend charges including
conspiracy, contributing to the
delinquency of a minor, making a
false report to authorities, and
attempting to influence a public
servant. The most serious charges
are felonies and carry a maximum
sentence of six years in prison.
Alderden said authorities also
would seek restitution for the
costs of the balloon chase, though
he didn't provide a figure.
FAA Spokeswoman Laura
Brown said violating federal
balloon rules could result in
penalties that "could be anything
from a warning letter to a civil
penalty."
"There's not a lot more we can
previous offer in 2005.
Argentina defaulted on $95bn of
bonds in 2001, a record amount at
the time.
Since the 2001-2002 economic
crisis, Argentines have seen a
president chased through the
streets by rioting mobs and seven
subsequent presidents come and
go.
But Argentina's economy has
recovered relatively strongly. The
country wants to raise at least
$1bn in fresh capital.
Steep discount
President Cristina Fernandez's
predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, had
say about the investigation right
now," she said.
Brown wouldn't say how long
the investigation could take or
what possible fines would be. The
FAA typically levies large fines
only against commercial airlines
that break federal safety rules. Its
largest fine ever was $10.2
million against Southwest
Airlines last year for flying planes
that had missed critical safety
checks, though that fine was later
reduced to $7.5 million.
Gutheinz said he doubts the
FAA knows what to make of the
alleged Heene hoax. Agency
investigators spend most of their
time reviewing large operations,
not investigating kooky episodes
that grab the public's attention.
"Every once in a while you get a
drunk pilot, or a student flying a
plane they're not supposed to fly,
but nothing like this," he said.
"This is just something no one's
ever imagined happening."
This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
restructured most of the debt, and
repaid money borrowed by the
International Monetary Fund.
Economy Minister Amado
Boudou said investors would have
to take losses of at least 65% to
enter the new swap, an even
deeper discount than what was
offered in 2005.
The 2005 offer was accepted by
some 75% of bondholders who
owned the defaulted debt.
"The proposed transaction is
certainly a win-win for Argentina
and investors alike," said Robert
ARGENTINA page 58
Popular News/ 57
Honduras discussions
'break down'
(BBC News | Americas | World Counter-offer
Edition) But Mr Micheletti's negotiator,
Submitted at 10/23/2009 3:37:06 AM Vilma Morales, was unmoved by
the deadline.
Envoys for ousted Honduran "This committee, having
President Manuel Zelaya say talks c a t e g o r i c a l l y r e j e c t e d t h e
with the interim government have midnight ultimatum... states that
broken down. our answer or counter-offer will
Mr Zelaya's team of negotiators be presented tomorrow at 1000
had set a deadline of the end of (1600 GMT) Friday," he said,
T h u r s d a y f o r t h e i n t e r i m AFP news agency reported.
government to agree to terms Mr Zelaya's camp accuses the
allowing his return to power. interim government of using
However, negotiators for delaying tactics to prevent the
interim leader Roberto Micheletti ousted leader serving out his
said that although they had remaining weeks in power before
rejected the deadline they were the election.
still open to dialogue. Mr Micheletti's team rejects
They said they would present a this. They have proposed that the
new proposal to Mr Zelaya on country's Supreme Court and
Friday. Congress should submit official
Mr Zelaya, who was ousted in proposals to the negotiating
late June, is currently taking commission on Mr Zelaya's
refuge in the Brazilian embassy in possible reinstatement.
the capital, Tegucigalpa. The Supreme Court was the
His term of office is due to end body that ordered Mr Zelaya to be
a t t h e e n d o f J a n u a r y a n d removed from office in June,
p r e s i d e n t i a l e l e c t i o n s a r e arguing that he had violated the
scheduled for the end of c o n s t i t u t i o n . C o n g r e s s
November.
Analysts say the stumbling
overwhelmingly backed this.
Mr Zelaya was sent into exile
block is whether Mr Zelaya can on 28 June after trying to hold a
return to the presidency ahead of vote on whether a constituent
those elections. assembly should be set up to look
On Thursday his negotiators set at rewriting the constitution.
the midnight deadline and called Despite attempts by the interim
on Mr Micheletti to take heed of government to keep him out of
international calls for Mr Zelaya's Honduras, he made a surprise
reinstatement. return in September when he took
When it expired, negotiator refuge in the Brazilian embassy.
Mayra Mejia said: "We consider Print Sponsor
the dialogue has been exhausted, This content has passed through
we cannot continue to give fivefilters.org.
deadlines."
58 Economy/
ARGENTINA
continued from page 57
and investors alike," said Robert
Koenigsberger, a managing
partner at hedge fund Gramercy
Advisors, which holds a lot of
Argentine debt.
"The market environment for a
deal such as been contemplated
will have a very high level of
participation."
Last year, Ms Fernandez
pledged to repay the entire $6.7bn
of defaulted debt still owed to
foreign governments.
She said Argentina would use
about one-sixth of the nation's
reserves to pay the debt.
Print Sponsor
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fivefilters.org.
Europe.view: Welcome home
(The Economist: Daily
columns)
Submitted at 10/22/2009 1:52:27 AM
Europe.view
Oct 22nd 2009
From Economist.com It is high
time to abolish the concept of
ethnic minorities
SHOULD the Polish ethnic
minority in Germany have the
same rights as the German ethnic
minority in Poland? It sounds fair:
Germans in Poland get schooling
in the mother-tongue, street signs
in both languages and guaranteed
representation in parliament.
Poles in Germany get almost
nothing. But why only the Poles?
What about the Czechs and
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Hungarians? Or the Turks? For
that matter, what about the British
in Poland? They have their
cultural festivals (Last Night of
the Proms in Cracow is already a
major annual event). And why are
we talking only about in Poland?
The British minority in Slovakia

Smart phones: Dial L for lawyer

(The Economist: News and the standardisation of Apple seems to refuse to play by many patents covering a wide Research in Motion, which makes
analysis) manufacturing (most devices are these rules or, at least, does not range of technologies. Nokia has the BlackBerry, have eroded
Submitted at 10/22/2009 11:56:55 PM made by the same bunch of want to pay as much as Nokia also chosen a legal battleground Nokia’s lead. In the second
companies in Taiwan and China) demands. that has a reputation for dealing quarter of 2009 the Finnish firm’s
Smart phones are all part of the reason. So too is Nokia has apparently negotiated with patent cases relatively share of the global smart-phone
O c t 2 3 r d 2 0 0 9 | S A N the multiplication of “patent with Apple for quite some time. swiftly. Mr Lindvall says that one market fell from 47.4% to 45%,
FRANCISCO trolls”, firms with the sole Its suit, which was filed in the Delaware intellectual-property while Apple’s soared from 2.8%
From Economist.com A nasty purpose of trying to extract state of Delaware, involves ten case he was involved in came to to 13.3%, according to figures
legal spat among tech giants pits money for patents which they patents that cover everything from trial in a year, whereas in other from Gartner, a research firm.
Nokia against Apple have bought somewhere else. All wireless-data transmission to states similar litigation can drag By entangling its rival in legal
TENSION has been building this make intellectual property an speech coding and encryption on for much longer. red tape, Nokia may be hoping to
behind the scenes for some time e v e r h o t t e r a n d t h u s m o r e technologies that it claims are Why is Nokia spoiling for a slow its progress. But Apple,
between two of the world’s d i s p u t e d c o m m o d i t y . “essential” to building a device fight now? Other handset sellers which rang up a record quarterly
technology titans. That friction On the other hand, the legal that complies with standards used have licensed its technologies, so profit this week, will not be
became public on Thursday fireworks between Nokia and in modern wireless networks. the firm can make a strong case deflected easily. The chances are
October 22nd when Nokia, the A p p l e i s a c l a s h o f t w o Nokia argues that all of these that Apple should do so too. And that it will look for an excuse to
world’s biggest maker of mobile civilisations. When it comes to patents have been infringed by if it wins, it stands to make a tidy counter-sue Nokia—a common
phones, lobbed a lawsuit at Apple, p a t e n t s , t h e m o b i l e - p h o n e Apple since the first iPhone was sum of money: Gene Munster of tactic in intellectual property
alleging that its American rival’s industry has mostly operated like shipped in 2007. Piper Jaffray, an investment bank, cases—or find some other legal
iPhone infringes a number of a club. Players jointly develop Asked about the allegations, an has estimated this could amount ruse to confound its assailant. Fee
Nokia’s patents. Apple, in the new technical standards, say for Apple spokesman said the to $6-12 for every iPhone sold. As -hungry lawyers will have their
words of one of the Finnish firm’s the next generation of wireless company does not comment on some 30m iPhones have been smart-phones on speed dial.
executives, is “attempting to get a n e t w o r k s , w h i c h i n c l u d e pending litigation. But in private purchased, the Finnish firm could Back to top ^^ Readers'
free ride on the back of Nokia’s intellectual property from all its top brass must be livid. The pocket $180m-360m. That would comments
innovation”. sides. They then license or trade scope of Nokia’s legal challenge come in handy—the firm made a The Economist welcomes your
On one hand, this is just another off their patents among each other has certainly raised eyebrows whopping loss in its most recent views.
o f a g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f or to newcomers under “fair and among legal experts. “They’ve quarter. This content has passed through
intellectual-property disputes in reasonable” conditions. Having kind of declared war on the Although Nokia denies this, the fivefilters.org.
the mobile-phone and, indeed, the g r o w n u p i n t h e c o m p u t e r iPhone”, says Scott Lindvall, a move is related to Apple’s stellar
information-technology industry. industry, where standards and partner at Kaye Scholer, a law performance in the smart-phone
Ever increasing complexity, the sharing of intellectual property firm. He notes that it is rare to see market, where it and other
growing importance of software has much less of a tradition, a single lawsuit that involves so companies such as Canada’s
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EUROPE.VIEW:
continued from page 58
may not be quite as big as the
Hungarian one, but it has its
quirks too—such as playing
cricket.
Getting silly about all of this is
easy; finding a sensible rule is
more difficult. Size clearly
matters, but how small is too
small? Surely the smaller
minorities are the ones that most
need protection. And the biggest
ones (Mingrelians in Georgia, for
example) are hardly minorities at
all.
Another common but useless
rule of thumb is history. If, as
some might argue, recent
migrants do not deserve minority
status, then what is “recent”? Go
back far enough, and everyone
moved somewhere from
somewhere else. Neither
Hungarians nor Slavs are the
original inhabitants of the
Carpathian basin.
Nor does it help much to look
for degrees of difference from the
“host” population. Most Irish
speak English, but are sometimes
treated as a minority in Britain.
Scots don’t get that privilege.
Status doesn’t count either. You
can enjoy statutory protection as a
persecuted underclass, or as a
superior economic and political
elite.
The best answer would be to
abandon the notion of ethnic
minorities altogether. The whole
idea of ethnicity is a spurious
hangover from the past anyway. If
it depends on DNA, then what
about intermarriage and adoption?
If it depends on ancestry, get out
that copy of the Nuremberg laws.
Cultural or linguistic definitions
also fail: how many Roma speak
Romani, for instance?
Not only is the concept of an
ethnic minority artificial, but the
notion also engenders all sorts of
bad attitudes and habits. It
encourages clientilism, where self
-appointed “community leaders”
try to grab as much as possible
from the public cake, in theory for
their constituents, but in practice
often for themselves. That
encourages ill-feeling between the
“minorities” and for the
“majority” which feels left out. It
leads to mis-spending of
taxpayers’ money. Instead of
dealing with specific problems
(such as poverty, or dreadful
schools) attention is diverted to a
diffuse one (racism).
Ethnic-minority privileges are a
ratchet as well as a racket: given
enough lobbying, they are
introduced, but are then hard to
removed, even if the original
grievance has long since been
ameliorated.
The biggest complaints from
many ethnic minorities are really
about something else: bad
behaviour by the authorities.
Much better, therefore, to
concentrate on solving that with a
clean and responsive government,
good laws and a good justice
system. That kind of public
administration makes special
treatment for anyone much less
necessary and encourages the
social mobility that defuses all
kinds of collective grievances,
real or imagined.
Some problems—such as the
protection of small
languages—are reasonable
candidates for state intervention,
for example in subsidising
particular bits of the education
system. But the demand for that
should be assessed by politicians,
preferably local ones, who are in
turn judged by their electorate. If
that leads to ghettoisation or other
bad results, then national
politicians may intervene: again,
voters, not unelected monitors,
will decide if they have done so
rightly.
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comments
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views.
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Economy/ 59
This week's top stories
[23 October 2009]
(The Economist: News these attacks originate. See article
analysis) • IRAN'S nuclear programme
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:01:16 AM will come under the spotlight
again with the resumption of talks
The coming days on Monday October 19th between
Oct 18th 2009 the state and six powers intent on
From Economist.com Microsoft curtailing its activities. Putting
l a u n c h e s a n e w W i n d o w s pressure on Iran would prove
operating system, and other news easier if Russia were to agree that
• MICROSOFT has been trying the country poses a serious risk.
to create some buzz around the Iran has promised that it will
launch of its new operating open, at the end of the week, to
system, Windows 7, on Thursday U N i n s p e c t o r s a u r a n i u m -
October 22nd. The new product enrichment plant that it has kept
should do well. Its predecessor, secret until recently. Iran has also
Windows Vista, was a let-down pledged to ship some low-
so many computers still run an enriched uranium out of the
older operating system, XP. country to prove it is not trying to
Windows 7 reflects a shift of make nuclear weapons. See article
computing from PCs in homes • BARACK OBAMA recently
and offices to the “cloud”: relying decided not to pursue a land-
on huge data centres. Because so based shield in eastern Europe as
many services can be downloaded a means of responding to the
or are available online, Windows threat of Iranian missiles. His vice
7 is Microsoft’s first operating -president, Joe Biden, will visit
system to come with fewer Poland, Romania and the Czech
features than the previous one. Republic, beginning on Tuesday
See article October 20th, to reassure
• NERVOUS Pakistanis will America’s Eastern European
wonder how many more suicide allies that cancelling the missile
bombs and other deadly assaults system has not lessened America's
they will have to endure from commitment to defending the
Islamist extremists after more region. Meanwhile, America’s
than 160 people have died in defence secretary, Robert Gates,
terrorist attacks over the past will visit another pair of allies,
fortnight. Pakistan's army has Japan and South Korea. See
l a u n c h e d a l o n g - h e r a l d e d article
offensive against Taliban Back to top ^^ Readers'
militants in the lawless tribal comments
region of South Waziristan on the The Economist welcomes your
border with Afghanistan. Despite views.
at least three army offensives and This content has passed through
peace deals with militants, the fivefilters.org.
region has been a jihadist haven
since 2001 and is where many of
60 Media/
Research Brief: Four Out of Five Never Leave
Home Without It
(MediaPost | Media News)
Submitted at 10/23/2009 6:15:48 AM
According to the newly released
global mobile phones survey from
Synovate, revealing just how
attached Americans are to their
cell phones, 82% of Americans
never leave home without their
phones, and 36% of people across
the world (42% of Americans) say
they 'cannot live without' their cell
phone.
Overall, 23% of respondents
across 11 markets, including 504
in the US, own more than two
mobile phones. Americans are
among the most likely to own at
least two at 33%, along with the
French (34%). Brits and
Americans were the most likely to
own a smartphone at 21% and
20%, respectively.
Synovate's global head of
media, Steve Garton, said these
small-but-powerful devices are so
ubiquitous that by last year, more
human beings owned one than did
not!
Barton points out a unique
opportunity for marketers in that
"... most people do not think of
phones as a media platform at
all... (they) tend to classify the
mobile phone differently to
mainstream media like television,
radio, print, outdoor and even the
internet."
Around a third of US
respondents agreed they did not
know how to use most of the
features on their phones,
according to the report, but
putting aside the almost
ubiquitous calling and SMS
functions, the three features most
used on a regular basis are:
The survey showed that the US
and the UK lead the way in
mobile functions that require 3G
access:
• Overall, 17% of respondents
use email on their mobile on a
regular basis, led by 26% in the
US and 25% in the UK.
• 17% use Internet browsing,
topped by the UK at 31% and the
US at 26%
• 11% say they social network
regularly via mobile, again led by
the UK (17%) and the US (15%)
Cameras are clearly very
important to mobile phone owners
as well. An overall 62% use the
camera regularly, led by 76% in
the UK, 71% in France, and 68%
in the US. This is also the feature
that Americans most want to see
improved in their phones (31%).
This survey showed that 31% of
people across 11 markets have
lied about their whereabouts via
text, one in five has set up a first
date and 12% have broken up
with someone. The survey
showed how text is used:
• One third of all respondents
globally had flirted with their
partners by text, including 36% of
Americans
• 15% have flirted with someone
other than their partners, led by
the Brits (26%) and Russians
(24%), while 16% of Americans
say they have done this
• 20%, or one in five respondents
across 11 markets, have set up a
first date via text, including 9% of
Americans
And, for potentially bad news:
• 12% have broken up with
someone via text, led by 23% of
Filipinos. Just 4% of Americans
have done this
• Overall, 8% of respondents
have been dumped via text, led by
20% of Malaysians, while only
5% of Americans have been
dumped via text
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• 35% agreed that they have
hidden behind text to say no or
send a difficult message, led by
49% of Filipinos. Least likely to
hide behind text are Canadians
(79% say they haven't done this)
and Americans (71%)
• 31% agreed they have lied
about why they were running late
or where they are, led by 57% of
Filipinos. Least likely to lie via
text (so they say) are the Dutch
(84% say they haven't) and the
Americans (79%)
For additional information,
please visit Synovate here.
The Synovate In:fact survey on
mobile phones was conducted in
June 2009 across 11 markets and
with over 8,000 urban mobile
phone owners. The markets
covered are Canada, Denmark,
France, Malaysia, the
Netherlands, the Philippines,
Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, the
United Kingdom (UK) and the
United States of America (US).
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