tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67903102720568915222024-03-05T13:48:15.502+05:30Waynes FavoritesThis Web Blog will Share All Latest News, Current Affiars, Business News.Also Shares The latest web technology news social networks: Facebook, Google, Twitter, MySpace and YouTubeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger506125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-6927977234070007502009-05-22T14:31:00.000+05:302009-05-22T14:31:04.617+05:30Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Inbox previewWhenever I open up my inbox at work, I'm never surprised to find several new messages waiting to be read. The same thing can't always be said about my personal Gmail account. Sometimes I end up checking my mail only to find nothing new there.<br /><br />No big deal, really. But now imagine that you access Gmail on a super slow connection from a remote place in Ethopia where it might take minutes to completely load your inbox. The disappointment is larger when you find out that there is nothing new to read and you could have saved all that time.<br /><br />To ease this pain a bit, we created a new feature in Gmail Labs called Inbox Preview. While Gmail is loading, a simple, static preview of your inbox with your ten most recent messages is displayed. Turn it on from the Labs tab under Settings, and if you're on a slow connection you'll know from the start if it's worth the wait. <br /><a href="http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-in-labs-inbox-preview.html">Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Inbox preview</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-6384737835146278272009-04-24T10:16:00.000+05:302009-04-24T10:16:48.562+05:30View TIFF and PPT Files Online Directly in Your Browser<a href="http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/powerpoint-and-tiff-file-viewing.html">Official Gmail Blog: PowerPoint and TIFF file viewing</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-41281019445800507622009-04-09T18:35:00.000+05:302009-04-09T18:35:12.015+05:30Official Google Blog: Click-to-Buy expands to 8 new countries<a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/click-to-buy-expands-to-8-new-countries.html">Official Google Blog: Click-to-Buy expands to 8 new countries</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-62276832632327947602009-03-13T10:38:00.006+05:302009-03-13T11:11:18.294+05:30Essential Social Networks for Entrepreneurs<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ads.sixapart.com/custom?id=6906107&width=728&height=90&js=1"></script><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODFqqu3yHO-uro3Fcs-1c7j31u34SdfY5sTbEsdtDtQRdzM42Bd5CWQgY95Tk0gw_CJ1-YIjdDeA2UdxGIaIlULkzxHO6C4Q-882lGmtJ4ZNPop9qUazjLbZJBSfbi8byA6c4bSKzIaST/s1600-h/social-media.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODFqqu3yHO-uro3Fcs-1c7j31u34SdfY5sTbEsdtDtQRdzM42Bd5CWQgY95Tk0gw_CJ1-YIjdDeA2UdxGIaIlULkzxHO6C4Q-882lGmtJ4ZNPop9qUazjLbZJBSfbi8byA6c4bSKzIaST/s400/social-media.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312540851088216610" border="0" /></a><br /><p>Looking for a job? Consider creating your own. There are a number of social resources to help you connect with other entrepreneurs and get your business ideas off the ground.</p> <p>Here are the top 10 social networks for entrepreneurs. Each helps entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with the guidance, tools and resources they need to setup their company and gain exposure.</p> <em>Have another social site to add to this list? Tell us about it in the comments<br /><br /></em><hr /> <h2>1. Entrepreneur Connect</h2> <hr /> <p>Entrepreneur Media, the company that produces Entrepreneur Magazine, started a social network over a year ago specifically for entrepreneurs and small business owners called <a href="http://econnect.entrepreneur.com/" target="_blank">Entrepreneur Connect</a>. Like all social networks, you have the opportunity to create your own profile, explore the community, share ideas with other entrepreneurs and network. Unlike most social networks, this one frowns upon too much self-promotion and applauds idea sharing. </p> <p>You can use this network to connect to service providers, suppliers, advisers and colleagues. Just like LinkedIn and Facebook<a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336650-Facebook" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336650-Facebook?format=whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05"><span>Facebook reviews</span><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1236347272" alt="Facebook reviews" /></a>, there are professional groups that you can join or create. Another cool feature is that you’re able to start your own blog and possibly have it appear on the main page. This is similar to what Fast Company has done with their website.</p> <hr /> <h2>2. PartnerUp</h2> <hr /> <p><a href="http://www.partnerup.com/default.aspx" target="_blank">PartnerUp</a> is a social network for entrepreneurs who are searching for people and resources for business opportunities. Anyone can join, but business partners, co-founders, executives and board members will get the most out of this one. In this network, you can ask or offer advice, find commercial real estate and find service providers like accountants and marketers for your business. </p> <p>The big differentiator with this social network is the commercial real estate “MoveUpSM” program that serves entrepreneurs who have experienced a hard time trying to find office space for their business. They also have a Resource Directory that allows small and mid-sized businesses to advertise their services.</p><hr /> <h2>3. StartupNation</h2> <hr /> <center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqmWYsC5PuM0mFNPqxWW3UN10SZ3Ty_Wm9Wj_yFmyM0qODh4XbLgX_ocTxMz8YQu2LeiiXSTXG1MGmQ3gn_uKUen_zXyt_YDu-cWKH-m6bxNtHQ8r3JEZCaB5GIgg5iLVLt8x22HRKCUs/s1600-h/startupnation.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqmWYsC5PuM0mFNPqxWW3UN10SZ3Ty_Wm9Wj_yFmyM0qODh4XbLgX_ocTxMz8YQu2LeiiXSTXG1MGmQ3gn_uKUen_zXyt_YDu-cWKH-m6bxNtHQ8r3JEZCaB5GIgg5iLVLt8x22HRKCUs/s400/startupnation.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312541623058427474" border="0" /></a></center> <p>Most social networks neglect the content aspect that makes <a href="http://www.startupnation.com/" target="_blank">StartupNation</a> so useful. With articles, forums, blogs, on-demand seminars, and podcasts, entrepreneurs will be better prepared for their ventures and have the resources required to make better business decisions. </p> <p>There are a wide range of topics being discussed on StartupNation right now, including business planning, marketing and web-based business. The site also offers a series of competitions, such as a dorm-based 20 contest and an elevator pitch competition. If you’re an entrepreneur or hope to become one, this site is definitely one you can’t miss out on.</p> <hr /> <h2>4. LinkedIn</h2> <hr /> <p>It’s difficult to leave <a href="http://linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> off of any social networking list because it’s so useful for anyone who’s either searching for a job, is trying to network with like-minded individuals, or building a company. LinkedIn offers many resources for entrepreneurs, such as groups, including the very popular “On Startups” group that has over 54,000 members. </p> <p>Entrepreneurs on LinkedIn should brand themselves properly so they can attract the right kind of business opportunities, and perform searches to find service providers or partners. As an entrepreneur, you should also be looking to participate in LinkedIn Answers, events and applications to spruce up your profile and become a valuable member to your community.</p> <hr /> <h2>5. Biznik</h2> <hr /> <p>This isn’t another LinkedIn clone. Instead, <a href="http://biznik.com/" target="_blank">Biznik</a> brands itself as a social network that “doesn’t suck.” The Biznik community is composed of freelancers, CEOs, and the self-employed. Like the other networks, this is a place for you to share ideas, instead of posting your resume. It is mandatory for all members to use their real names and provide real data, and Biznik editors actually review all profiles to ensure compliance with that policy. There are three levels of membership, including basic, active ($10 a month for an enhanced profile) and supporting ($24 a month for increased visibility).</p> <hr /> <h2>6. Perfect Business</h2> <hr /> <p>If you want to meet thousands of serious entrepreneurs, experts and investors from a variety of industries, then <a href="http://www.perfectbusiness.com/" target="_blank">Perfect Business</a> might be the perfect social network for you. The type of people you’ll find are potential business partners, potential clients and advisers. Additionally, the site has leading business partners like Entrepreneur and Virgin Money. </p> <center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSs91XuN_VFa-JSYKoGyFQFY68nDUj2Gr0ZsMCSGNUlu2ouj3MPpyJ26oE6MJO1p53ijnWjoJCm7UvJKn-JN1YnTnhy0bcx-gOt7JWB9NLEbmuujnCPR8b_deCsZKgj1vHxPEKNJe1HT3/s1600-h/perfect-business.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSs91XuN_VFa-JSYKoGyFQFY68nDUj2Gr0ZsMCSGNUlu2ouj3MPpyJ26oE6MJO1p53ijnWjoJCm7UvJKn-JN1YnTnhy0bcx-gOt7JWB9NLEbmuujnCPR8b_deCsZKgj1vHxPEKNJe1HT3/s400/perfect-business.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312541864730459058" border="0" /></a></center> <p>From business networking to a video center where you can learn from successful entrepreneurs, a business plan builder and even an investor center, you’ll have most of the resources you need to create or regenerate your business. There is a free basic membership and a gold membership that costs $29.99 per month.</p> <hr /> <h2>7. Go BIG Network</h2> <hr /> <p>The <a href="http://www.gobignetwork.com/" target="_blank">Go BIG Network</a> embraces job seekers, in addition to funding sources, service providers and entrepreneurs. In this social network, you post requests for help, which are then routed to other people in the network that can answer your questions or support you. Members of this social network can search through profiles of other members, contact them or post a request (a classified ad) to talk about what they are looking for (such as a business partner). The profiles on this network are targeted and specific so it’s easy to find an investor in a particular region.</p> <hr /> <h2>8. Cofoundr</h2> <hr /> <p>The <a href="http://cofoundr.com/" target="_blank">Cofoundr</a> network is made up of idea makers, entrepreneurs, programmers, web designers, investors, freelancers and executives. The primary purpose of joining this network is to start a new web venture. Unlike most of the social networks already listed here, Cofoundr is a strictly private network, which means that you can’t view member profiles before you register for an account. </p> <p>Membership requires having a valid university or work email address, which means high schools students and younger aren’t allowed. The first thing you have to do is sign up, then specify your abilities and the people you are trying to network with and finally, post your idea on the bulletin board or in the forum.</p> <hr /> <h2>9. The Funded</h2> <hr /> <center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQv7NQR0a00uNQLiQWqnUo3f-cmSe9ljaFj2WLpmfd7xWVkO2h3yXjB485beYnU43hMG9tsONEXa5LK4-Aqj1l_Ad9BVFNgeT-9CKfJq_fdoENXiyRjoJMLxdZwsdGZS1LkP5_vJonI5e/s1600-h/the-funded.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQv7NQR0a00uNQLiQWqnUo3f-cmSe9ljaFj2WLpmfd7xWVkO2h3yXjB485beYnU43hMG9tsONEXa5LK4-Aqj1l_Ad9BVFNgeT-9CKfJq_fdoENXiyRjoJMLxdZwsdGZS1LkP5_vJonI5e/s400/the-funded.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312542115343727874" border="0" /></a></center> <p><a href="http://thefunded.com/" target="_blank">The Funded</a> is an online community of entrepreneurs who research, rate and review funding sources. Entrepreneurs can view and share terms sheets to assist each other in finding good investors, as well as discuss the inner workings of operating a business. General benefits of this site include viewing facts, reviews and commentary on funding resources, and accessing RSS feeds of the most recent public comments by members. </p> <p>By joining the site, you have access to detailed fund profiles with specialty, reference investments, and investment criteria, in addition to accessing partner vCards that have full contact information of all partners at venture funds. In order to get any value out of this social network, you pretty much have to become a member.</p> <hr /> <h2>10. Young Entrepreneur</h2> <hr /> <p>If you’re young, entrepreneurial and socially active or just curious, then <a href="http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/" target="_blank">Young Entrepreneur</a> is a great starting point for you. This community appears as a discussion forum, with topics such as e-commerce, search engine optimization, marketing, IT & Internet, and franchising. Aside from their main forum and threads, there is a popular blog and some great videos. </p><br /><script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ads.sixapart.com/custom?id=6906107&width=728&height=90&js=1"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-64250012957388783752009-03-12T11:21:00.006+05:302009-03-12T15:47:14.814+05:30Newspapers are Using Social Media to Save the Industry<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ads.sixapart.com/custom?id=6906107&width=728&height=90&js=1"></script><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Dxxt0Ar369DJU2lG33G-18DNGCcPF1H-a9SAaYQIb8hcexu5K2wAolBccXLL_VkaNUGTql0xdytJGrtSR0mB9updYE-eraA7bDHIbUZXEmQNcwRZ6Gk-Gvbjd81rXXaqzcPuY6MEz3TQ/s1600-h/newspaper.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Dxxt0Ar369DJU2lG33G-18DNGCcPF1H-a9SAaYQIb8hcexu5K2wAolBccXLL_VkaNUGTql0xdytJGrtSR0mB9updYE-eraA7bDHIbUZXEmQNcwRZ6Gk-Gvbjd81rXXaqzcPuY6MEz3TQ/s320/newspaper.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312175885660929922" border="0" /></a><br /><p>These days, everyone knows that one of the hottest stories any newspaper can cover is that of its own demise. The collapse of print advertising and the downturn in sales, at the news stand and through subscriptions, has led to a frantic search for new ways to monetize content that’s often available online for free.<br /></p> <p>Social media gives any business an interactive channel to communicate with its current and future customers. For newspapers, that channel can increase the chances of survival in a market where commoditized information has diminished the value of individual brands. Here are ten ways newspapers are using social media to save the industry.<br /></p><h2>1. Twitter headline feeds</h2><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx_4Wl42NSn9vY7ytukbdv2b5w2YGaRpHFCzQEf4_7a8g7MT0iSkNRzeSq0G_ugAfJj0bU0p1di1ryxM8L0AZjtaeA0CUd9dTYlILiJoKfR3kWLchT24FciGbWGFw15YpsjNb15skncv8/s1600-h/nytimes-twitter-image.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx_4Wl42NSn9vY7ytukbdv2b5w2YGaRpHFCzQEf4_7a8g7MT0iSkNRzeSq0G_ugAfJj0bU0p1di1ryxM8L0AZjtaeA0CUd9dTYlILiJoKfR3kWLchT24FciGbWGFw15YpsjNb15skncv8/s400/nytimes-twitter-image.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312176249557445346" border="0" /></a>With more than 280,000 followers, the <a href="http://twitter.com/nytimes" target="_blank">New York Times’ main Twitter feed</a> dwarfs the <a href="http://twitter.com/wsj" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a> (19,000+), the <a href="http://twitter.com/washingtonpost" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> (4,800+), and the <a href="http://twitter.com/chicagotribune" target="_blank">Chicago Tribune</a> (5,200+). Many metropolitan and small-town dailies have followed suit, creating a Twitter<a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336651-Twitter" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336651-Twitter?format=whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-07"><span>Twitter reviews</span><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_07.png?1236347272" alt="Twitter reviews" /></a> handle as an extension of their brand, but the Times, like other large dailies, has gone one step further, establishing channels for <a href="http://twitter.com/nytimesbooks" target="_blank">Books</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/nytimesarts" target="_blank">Arts and Entertainment</a>, and other sections. These are sub-channels that support personalized interaction, a point of interest for advertisers.<br /><br /><h2>2. Acquiring providers of social media services</h2><br />In November, 2008, Gannett Co., publisher of 85 daily newspapers, acquired <a href="http://www.ripple6.com/" target="_blank">Ripple6, Inc</a>., maker of a social networking platform that links marketers to end users. By investing in a company that has already helped Procter & Gamble with its social media initiatives, Gannett will be better able to collaborate with its advertisers. Look for more acquisitions, or partnerships, as legacy publishers broaden their online portfolios.<br /><br /><h2>4. Promoting and monetizing user-generated content</h2><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q4frfA39iw9Cl_FfhyphenhyphenxmrMFHU2EPNeGqwp76DFlTXU7kQWi6C9BgPWn6yQ9v6BqfZmlaBm42FfFHQd1DdohuC_ryhRzNZwtt4QxEyV5YxUDMO8ggVbKIMBcFQPS9VoRLPipMYh6N3MOk/s1600-h/capture-cincinnati-image.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q4frfA39iw9Cl_FfhyphenhyphenxmrMFHU2EPNeGqwp76DFlTXU7kQWi6C9BgPWn6yQ9v6BqfZmlaBm42FfFHQd1DdohuC_ryhRzNZwtt4QxEyV5YxUDMO8ggVbKIMBcFQPS9VoRLPipMYh6N3MOk/s400/capture-cincinnati-image.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312179691987215202" border="0" /></a><br />In 2007, the Cincinnati Enquirer created <a href="http://www.capturecincinnati.com/" target="_blank">CaptureCincinnati.com</a>, a photo-sharing site where over a thousand local photographers uploaded nearly 12,000 images. The best shots were featured in Capture Cincinnati, a coffee table photo book that included a DVD, selling at a retail price of $39.95. Last year, the numbers continued to improve, and the Enquirer expects strong sales of the 2008 edition as well. Marketers might call this bundling products, but whatever you call it, the Enquirer probably won’t argue.<br /><br /><h2>5. Story-based communities</h2>The Toronto Globe and Mail uses <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/index.php" target="_blank">Cover It Live</a>, a live-blogging/discussion tool that provides interactive coverage of breaking news and live events such as conferences and hearings. Real-time comments, audio and video postings, and polls are among the types of content that can be recorded and then embedded in the story, like this piece <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090122.wsubwayshootingblog0122/BNStory/National" target="_blank">on a subway shooting in January</a>.<br /><br /><h2>6. Collaborative outsourced news services</h2>While British startup <a href="http://www.yoosk.com/" target="_blank">Yoosk</a> bills itself as an “interactive news magazine,” it represents the type of outsourced service many newspapers may wind up using as their own resources dwindle. Yoosk allows its users to put a question to politicians and celebrities, to comment on the publicly viewable answers, and to submit their own ideas for interview features. Its founders hope to collaborate with established news sites, including newspapers willing to outsource parts of their magazine sections.<br /><br /><h2>7. Customized delivery</h2>Denver-based <a href="http://www.medianewsgroup.com/home/" target="_blank">MediaNews Group</a>, publisher of such major dailies as the Denver Post and Oakland Tribune, has announced plans to test a “customized news delivery service called ‘I-News’ or ‘Individuated News” this summer with the LA Daily News. This service would allow subscribers to choose from different categories, including news from other parts of the country. Blending the offerings of regional newspapers into a separate platform may help more of them survive.<br /><br /><h2>8. Branded communities</h2><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MdaEn-JTQqn_Rtd57ET5ZgyBYnRhcmD12FM5GrO0fm4Km6RPMRQ1fEYeRrSSjH0mocXLPiyFrOTHQhm_Hz9q0n0mgbZyWAWx5a7ELOdIXqUmT-z4QQqURlgugHlKwezs8BFieOihp32g/s1600-h/mystl-image.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MdaEn-JTQqn_Rtd57ET5ZgyBYnRhcmD12FM5GrO0fm4Km6RPMRQ1fEYeRrSSjH0mocXLPiyFrOTHQhm_Hz9q0n0mgbZyWAWx5a7ELOdIXqUmT-z4QQqURlgugHlKwezs8BFieOihp32g/s400/mystl-image.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312180283439972722" border="0" /></a>The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has launched <a href="http://my.stltoday.com/" target="_blank">MySTLtoday</a>, a branded community featuring areas such as user-created groups, user-posted content, and special interest sections like St. Louis’ BestBridal. Excerpts from shared stories are printed each week in the legacy paper. This might seem old-school, but it strengthens a traditional middle American brand, and it promotes more interaction, which helps advertisers pinpoint their targets.<br /><br /><h2>9. Publishing APIs for third-party developers</h2>The New York Times has taken the lead in an area sure to attract other organizations. By publishing application programming interfaces, or APIs, for third-party software developers, the <a href="http://developer.nytimes.com/" target="_blank">Times Developer Network</a> has encouraged the creation of a new class of social media applications. Developers have already produced mashups that combine Times content with other resources. Advertisers should see new opportunities to embed messages tailored to the end user, and the Times may partner with those developers it deems worthy, avoiding the incremental cost of creating new applications internally. <p>UK’s The Guardian has announced similar plans to <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/03/10/guardian-opens-up/">open up its content</a> with <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/open-platform">Open Platform</a>.</p><h2>10. Burning the boat that brought you</h2>Unfortunately, this isn’t the most agreeable method for many, but social media applied to a smaller, virtual organization might be the way of the future. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer may move to an online-only version of its daily newspaper. This is the ultimate way to save a paper through social media: make the Web its only channel of distribution, and leverage the history of the brand. Loyalty won’t be hard to track, and the test of that loyalty will be the price point established by subscriptions, for individual sections or the entire publication. The argument “would you save this paper for the price of a latte?” becomes very cogent, especially in Seattle.<br /><br /><p><script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ads.sixapart.com/custom?id=6906107&width=728&height=90&js=1"></script></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-36879518031694300682009-03-12T10:34:00.008+05:302009-03-12T11:14:36.649+05:30Add Video Narration to Your Presentations : Slidesix<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ads.sixapart.com/custom?id=6906107&width=728&height=90&js=1"></script><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6R1bY7pDvmWZvtJlav7LzwbYICBUMYjHPhgG1Bj3dUq82-Pafr4IFL82eMyzYH9r3A-2bhQpQh1wlzpEmu8ACKR-zmN8BM-4KoPGTrEvKWgIas6BlAM9TgteaX8JcWCKCqyd36lctGtz/s1600-h/slidesix_logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 40px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6R1bY7pDvmWZvtJlav7LzwbYICBUMYjHPhgG1Bj3dUq82-Pafr4IFL82eMyzYH9r3A-2bhQpQh1wlzpEmu8ACKR-zmN8BM-4KoPGTrEvKWgIas6BlAM9TgteaX8JcWCKCqyd36lctGtz/s320/slidesix_logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312163809361354322" border="0" /></a><br />Slidesix is multimedia enabled presentation sharing. Simply upload, add multimedia, enhance and share!<br /><br />Slidesix allows users to upload their public or private presentations and share them across all Web browsers. The genius feature, though, has to be that Slidesix supports multimedia creation so that users can record video narration to accompany their presentations and walk viewers through each slide.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefNicRxp93eda8HMhjpURNnG-02sQfJCEhMUNs2QPfeZBTcjlNrAmf0qPPj8yDbQTbZRcvpx7CsCr7WGGVSx9gEv1N8W_DROoHMdhakbLkSDI3oFeT2UVqb5V07BBgzXO8cmybIZd6FpS/s1600-h/slidesix.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefNicRxp93eda8HMhjpURNnG-02sQfJCEhMUNs2QPfeZBTcjlNrAmf0qPPj8yDbQTbZRcvpx7CsCr7WGGVSx9gEv1N8W_DROoHMdhakbLkSDI3oFeT2UVqb5V07BBgzXO8cmybIZd6FpS/s400/slidesix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312164347974977810" border="0" /></a><br />Anyone can upload a presentation to the site, but to use Slidesix’s advance feature set, users will need to create an account. Once they do they can start uploading presentations (Keynote file types not supported) to their management console.<br />In the management console, members can get a global view of all their presentations, tweak them, record video narration using their webcam, attach files or external clips from sites like YouTube<a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336658-YouTube" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336658-YouTube?format=whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05"><span>YouTube reviews</span><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1236347272" alt="YouTube reviews" /></a> and Vimeo<a href="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336792-Vimeo" target="_blank" rel="http://www.blippr.com/apps/336792-Vimeo?format=whtml" class="blippr-inline-smiley blippr-inline-smiley-05"><span>Vimeo reviews</span><img class="wp-smiley" src="http://static1.blippr.com/images/inline-face_05.png?1236347272" alt="Vimeo reviews" /></a>, add notes, watch the playback, and save presentations for sharing. Public Slidesix presentations can be viewed by all visitors, include video stats, and support viewer comments, so if you want to keep your presentation private and share it with just a few individuals, make sure to indicate that during the upload process.<br /><p>For a look at how the video narration adds to (or subtracts from) presentations, check out this Slidesix demo:</p><br /><p></p><center><object data="http://slidesix.com/viewer/SlideSixViewer.swf?alias=What-Is-SlideSix" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="300"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="scale" value="noScale"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="src" value="http://slidesix.com/viewer/SlideSixViewer.swf?alias=What-Is-SlideSix"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></object><p></p><br /><p></p></center><p></p><br /><script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ads.sixapart.com/custom?id=6906107&width=728&height=90&js=1"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-72290773244460368042009-03-09T10:47:00.003+05:302009-03-09T17:55:04.139+05:30Alex Rodriguez miss 6-9 weeks due to hip surgery,<p>TAMPA, Fla. – Alex Rodriguez's spring training saga took another unexpected turn: He's headed for hip surgery Monday that will sideline him for six to nine weeks — and that's not all.</p> <p>The <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_0">New York Yankees slugger</span> will need a second operation after the season, assuming he can play all the way through. Dr. Marc Philippon, who will perform the initial procedure in Colorado, said he's confident Rodriguez will be able to do that once he recovers.<abbr title="2009-03-08T17:27:06-0700" class="timedate"></abbr><!-- end .byline --> <!-- end: .hd --> </p><div class="bd"> <div id="yn-story-related-media"> <div class="primary-media"> <div id="yn-story-main-media" class="ult-section yn-style1"> <div class="photo-big"> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090303/capt.26895542c4f7448ba4a37148bfe44a1f.dominican_republic_marlins_spring_baseball_fljr219.jpg?x=213&y=315&xc=1&yc=1&wc=277&hc=410&q=85&sig=OLzhjaF4bImqxVnOTAqHCw--" alt="Dominican Republic's Alex Rodriguez prepares to bat during the third inning of" width="213" height="315" /><cite class="caption">Dominican Republic's Alex Rodriguez prepares to bat during the third inning of an exhibition spring baseball</cite></div></div></div></div></div> <p>"Well, it's better than him missing the whole year," <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_1">Yankees manager Joe Girardi</span> said. "It could have been a lot worse."</p> <p>The decision Sunday came after Rodriguez and the Yankees spent the week mulling treatment options for his torn labrum, and it was yet another jolt to the three-time MVP during a tumultuous month in which he admitted using steroids from 2001-03 with Texas.</p> <p>The arthroscopic procedure that was chosen gives Rodriguez a chance to return early this season — general manager <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_2">Brian Cashman</span> said he expects <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_3">A-Rod</span> back "sometime in May." But it also means he'll need another, more extensive operation in the fall.</p> <p>Philippon said Rodriguez ultimately decided (with the team's support) to put off that surgery, which likely would have kept him out until at least July because it could require three to four months of rehabilitation.</p> <p>Still, his injury not only leaves the Yankees with a huge hole at third base and in the middle of their lineup, it causes major concerns about the health of a player in the second year of a record $275 million, 10-year contract.</p> <p>A noted hip specialist with the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic, Philippon spoke to reporters from Vail, Colo., on a conference call Sunday with Cashman. Also on the call was team physician Chris Ahmad.</p> <p>Philippon said he is confident in the "85-90 percent range" that Rodriguez will be able to play through the rest of the regular season after he recuperates from surgery.</p> <p>"I firmly believe this approach will be successful and allow Alex to return," Philippon said. "We've had very good success with this approach. Short term, we feel the risk is very limited that he will re-tear his labrum during that six-, seven-month period."</p> <p>The decision eliminates the option of Rodriguez treating the injury with rest and rehab and playing through the season without surgery. But this operation will not completely correct the hip.</p> <p>"The surgery that will just repair the labrum tear right now would shorten his rehab," Cashman said. "Then, following the conclusion of the season, going in and repair the remaining aspects that need to be repaired."</p> <p>Now that a treatment plan has been chosen, Cashman said Rodriguez is feeling better.</p> <p>"When it first happened, he said he was `bummed.' That was the exact word," Cashman said. "Alex texted me and he was really positive. He is excited. This is what he wanted to do."</p> <p>Rodriguez also has a cyst in his right hip that was drained Wednesday. He had additional tests Friday to test the hip's strength and flexibility.</p> <p>Once he returns to the lineup, Rodriguez will likely get more days off than usual.</p> <p>Cashman could not guarantee that <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_4">A-Rod</span> will be ready for the start of spring training next year following the second surgery this fall.</p> <p>The Yankees have an insurance policy that will reimburse some of Rodriguez's $32 million salary this year, a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team doesn't discuss insurance publicly. Typically, insurance on baseball contracts pays back a team a specified percentage of the salary of a player on the disabled list, after a period of days for a deductible. </p><p>Rodriguez's hip had been fine until he experienced stiffness during spring training this year. The injury forced the 12-time All-Star to skip the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_5">World Baseball Classic</span>, where he was to play for the Dominican Republic. </p><p> Philippon attributed the labrum tear to the rotational stress that Rodriguez — "a very strong hitter, strong batter" — places on his hip. </p><p>"Because of all the test findings, analysis, the function of Alex, I feel it's in his best interest to have his labrum repaired, remove part of his impingement and therefore stabilize his labrum," he said. "The goal here is to allow Alex to rehab rapidly in a safe manner." </p><p> Rodriguez will stay in Colorado for the foreseeable future. </p><p>"We'll keep Alex with us certainly for the first few weeks," said Philippon, who has treated several sports stars including golfer Greg Norman and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_6">figure skater</span> Tara Lipinski. "The main reason being we're going to put him on the fast track so we will be very aggressive on his rehab. We'll check on Alex twice a day." </p><p> Rodriguez could swing a bat as a range-of-motion drill as soon as seven days after surgery. </p><p>"It's better news than some of the reports. It's good for him. He can get that out of the way and hopefully get back to us soon," <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_7">Yankees captain Derek Jeter</span> said at the WBC in Toronto. "We can't sit around and wait for him to come back. You've got to go out there and play. That's what good teams are about. It's more than one person." </p><p> On Thursday, Rodriguez's brother, Joe Dunand, told <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/storytext/bba_yankees_rodriguez_surgery/31229903/SIG=10p3v2824/*http://ESPNdeportes.com"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_8">ESPNdeportes.com</span></a> that the slugger was going to have surgery, with a projected 10-week recovery. But later that day Cashman said <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_9">A-Rod</span> would be treated conservatively in the hope of avoiding surgery. </p><p> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_10">Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon</span>, speaking from Lakeland, where New York played the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_11">Detroit Tigers</span>, said Rodriguez was doing the "right thing" in addressing the injury now. </p><p>"I think it's better to get it out of the way, especially since he's going to be in New York for eight more years after this year. So you might as well take care of it," Damon said. </p><p> The leading candidate within the organization to take over at third is <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_12">Cody Ransom</span>, a 33-year-old who has a .251 average and 24 RBIs in 183 at-bats over six <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_13">major league seasons</span>. </p><p> Since joining the Yankees before the 2004 season, Rodriguez has averaged 42 homers and 123 RBIs, with a .303 average. </p><p> Girardi said if the season started today, Ransom would replace Rodriguez at third. </p><p>"It's going to create something different for us, so we're going to have to take a look at some of these other guys," Girardi said. "There's still four weeks left in camp, and it opens up an opportunity for someone." </p><p>Last year, Rodriguez was sidelined from April 28 to May 20 because of a strained right quadriceps — his fifth career trip to the disabled list. An MRI exam at that time showed what Cashman called an "irregularity" in the right hip. </p><p> The labrum is cartilage that lines the hip joint. It can be torn through injury or repetitive wear and tear. When <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_14">arthroscopic surgery</span> is recommended, the doctor makes small incisions to insert specialized instruments into the joint space and either removes the torn piece of labrum or repairs the cartilage with a suture. </p><p> Dr. Kevin Plancher, a top orthopedic and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_15">sports medicine specialist</span> in New York who trained and worked at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic, said hip conditions such as <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236558439_16">A-Rod</span>'s are common in sports but are probably most prevalent among hockey players. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-89462420987157465112009-03-07T14:02:00.002+05:302009-03-07T14:06:56.995+05:30Owens' agent predicts deal by end of next week<p>IRVING, Texas – <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_0">Terrell Owens' agent</span> predicts the well-traveled receiver will find a new team by the end of next week.</p> <p>Owens is back on the market after being released by the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_1">Dallas Cowboys</span>.<abbr title="2009-03-06T08:18:20-0800" class="timedate"></abbr><!-- end .byline --> <!-- end: .hd --> </p><div class="bd"> <div id="yn-story-related-media"> <div class="primary-media"> <div id="yn-story-main-media" class="ult-section yn-style1"> <div class="photo-big"> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/San-Diego-Chargers-Terrell-Owens/photo//090305/483/ba370fb577c441b284fbbf3e865b6e5e//s:/ap/20090306/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_cowboys_to_cut" class="media"> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090305/capt.ba370fb577c441b284fbbf3e865b6e5e.cowboys_to_cut_football_ny158.jpg?x=213&y=177&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=341&q=85&sig=Mtz9bStrvA89g0lG9Pn4Ew--" alt="This is an Aug. 9, 2008 file photo showing Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell" width="213" height="177" /></a><cite class="caption"> Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens</cite></div></div></div></div></div> <p>"There are several teams that are interested in signing Terrell," agent <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_2">Drew Rosenhaus</span> wrote in a text message Friday to The Associated Press. "I have been in negotiations with these teams. I will not identify these teams at this time. Terrell and I expect to have a deal in place by the end of next week if not sooner."</p> <p>Owens is among the NFL's career leaders in catches, yards and touchdowns. But the Cowboys are the third team to get rid of him because of his divisiveness. He left after eight seasons with the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_3">49ers</span> and two with the Eagles. There's speculation the Raiders or Redskins, among other teams, might be interested in him.</p> <p><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_4">The Cowboys</span> cut him Thursday after three seasons. While his on-field performances were quite good, his behavior off the field — and sometimes on the sideline and in the huddle — made Owens too much of a distraction for <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_5">team owner Jerry Jones</span>.</p> <p>"In the aftermath of the season, we talked about change," Jones said in a statement. "Some of what is changing involves the process and some of it involves people. This is a decision that was made based upon consideration for an entire team.</p> <p>"We will move on now with a new team — a new attitude — and into a new stadium. The evaluation process and the prospect for change will continue at every level of the organization."</p> <p>So Owens won't get a chance to thrill crowds in the Cowboys' new home this year. Nor will he get a chance to turn off his teammates with his histrionics.</p> <p>Owens released a statement on his Web site thanking Jones, coach <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_6">Wade Phillips</span> and the organization for "the opportunity to be a member of the team for the past three years."</p> <p>"A big thanks to the fans — you've been awesome! I look forward to the upcoming season and continuing to play in the NFL," Owens added.</p> <p>Where that will be is anyone's guess. Because many of the headlines T.O. creates are about ego and attitude. Jones wants the focus on winning, something the Cowboys haven't done in the playoffs since 1996.</p> <p>Owens caught more touchdown passes than any NFL receiver over the last three years and was a big part of Tony Romo's emergence from an unknown backup to a starlet-dating <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_7">Pro Bowl</span> quarterback with a $67 million contract.</p> <p>Yet the Cowboys went 0-for-2 in the playoffs with Owens, and didn't even make it this past season. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_8">Dallas</span>' late-season collapse — capped by a lackluster effort in a win-and-you're-in finale in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_9">Philadelphia</span> — emphasized that a new approach was needed.</p> <p>Jones was slow to go along. Just a few weeks ago, he indicated Owens wasn't going anywhere and firmly said the idea of locker-room problems were "a figment of the result. You didn't hear about those things when we were winning."</p> <p>Dallas also released safety <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_10">Roy Williams</span> on Thursday.</p> <p>Cutting Owens and Williams will cost the Cowboys about $14 million against the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_11">salary cap</span>. There's no telling how much more Dallas will lose in jersey sales and other publicity Owens generated. Then again, the $1.1 billion stadium that's opening next season should generate plenty of interest and souvenir sales.</p> <p>Owens learned he was being cut Wednesday night and sent <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_12">text messages</span> to his friends. Cowboys receiver Sam Hurd said Owens' reaction was "more shock than anger."</p> <p>"He didn't give me an explanation. He just said, `Wow,'" Hurd said Thursday. "I really didn't believe that he seen that coming. ... He said it's tough, but it's a business." </p><p> What's next for T.O.? </p><p> It remains to be seen what kind of market there is for a 35-year-old with a proven track record — good and bad. </p><p> Al Davis and the Raiders might be interested. Or maybe <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_13">Daniel Snyder</span> will want to add another big-name star to the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_14">Washington Redskins</span>, especially to take advantage of the animosity T.O. might bring to his two games a year against the Cowboys and the Eagles. </p><p>"I don't think (being released) is going to stop him from playing football," Hurd said. "He's going to be back on somebody's team." </p><p> Don't look for him to replace <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_15">Laveranues Coles</span> on the Jets. The team has no interest in Owens because of the distractions he'd bring, a person familiar with the team's thinking told The Associated Press on Thursday. </p><p> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_16">The Cowboys</span> signed Owens in March 2006, despite the bitterness some fans had for him having celebrated on the team's midfield star logo while playing for the 49ers. At his introductory news conference, Owens declared, "Getcha popcorn ready" and he certainly kept things interesting. </p><p>His first season included an accidental overdose that police initially called a possible suicide attempt and an obviously strained relationship with <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_17">coach Bill Parcells</span>. Yet it also included the most TD catches in the NFL and the birth of Romo's stardom. </p><p> With a new coach and coordinator in 2007, Owens set a club record with 15 TD catches and Dallas tied the best record in franchise history at 13-3, only to lose its first playoff game. He tearfully supported Romo afterward, then a few months later received a $34 million contract extension at a news conference that featured a humongous bowl of popcorn. </p><p>The Romo-Owens relationship appeared to fray late this past season, with Owens upset about everything from game plans to pass distribution. He had 213 yards in one game, but cracked 100 yards in only one other game, the otherwise forgettable finale. </p><p> Dallas already has a replacement as the top receiver in another <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_18">Roy Williams</span>, who led the NFC in yards receiving in 2006. The Cowboys gave up a first-, third- and sixth-round pick in the upcoming draft to get him from Detroit midway through last season. </p><p> In addition to Williams and Hurd, the Cowboys also have receivers <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_19">Patrick Crayton</span> and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_20">Miles Austin</span>, plus <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_21">Jason Witten</span>, among the best receiving tight ends in the NFL. </p><p> What Romo and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_22">offensive coordinator</span> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236356317_23">Jason Garrett</span> no longer have are any concerns about is whether No. 81 is happy. </p><p>"I know it takes a lot of pressure off Romo," Hurd said. "A guy like him demands the ball and you want to get him the ball. Now he can look at all of us and see which one is open on any given play. ... I don't think that was a problem. That's just what could and might start happening." </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-90024973887224877502009-03-07T13:54:00.001+05:302009-03-07T13:58:21.530+05:30Celtics beat Cavs at home to tighten East race<p>BOSTON – <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_0">Paul Pierce</span> scored 29 points, reserve <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_1">Leon Powe</span> had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_2">Boston Celtics</span> beat Cleveland 105-94 on Friday night to move within <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_3">percentage points</span> of the Cavaliers in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.<abbr title="2009-03-06T23:25:28-0800" class="recenttimedate"></abbr><!-- end .byline --> <!-- end: .hd --> </p><div class="bd"> <div id="yn-story-related-media"> <div class="primary-media"> <div id="yn-story-main-media" class="ult-section yn-style1"> <div class=""> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090307/capt.9046e144e2ab4853aa61683edad54c41.cavaliers_celtics_basketball_bxg103.jpg?x=213&y=235&xc=1&yc=1&wc=370&hc=408&q=85&sig=5Rki6B.KfWwnfGDVu94g7Q--" alt="Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James has the ball knocked away from him by Boston" width="213" height="235" /><cite class="caption">Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James has the ball knocked away from him by Boston Celtics' Kendrick Perkins</cite></div></div></div></div></div> <p><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_4">The Cavaliers</span> (48-13) lead <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_5">Boston</span> (49-14) in winning percentage .787 to .778, though the Celtics took the lead in the head-to-head tiebreaker, 2-1, with an April 12 game in Cleveland remaining.</p> <p>Mo Williams scored 26 for <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_6">Cleveland</span> and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_7">LeBron James</span> had 21, shooting just 5-of-15 from the field to go with 9-for-12 from the line. He spent the final minutes on the bench after the Cavaliers couldn't narrow a double-digit deficit.</p> <p>All-Star forward <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_8">Kevin Garnett</span> missed his seventh straight game for Boston with a strained knee muscle, and backup Glen "Big Baby" Davis was ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant foul. Powe filled in and reached season highs in both points and rebounds, giving the Celtics a spark with a blocked shot and a basket at the other end that opened a 94-83 lead.</p> <p>After James missed a 3-pointer, Powe grabbed the rebound and Pierce hit a pair of free throws, then Powe dunked to give the Celtics a 98-83 lead — their biggest of the game.</p> <p>The home team has won the first three matchups of the season series, and home court could prove even more important if they meet again in the playoffs. Boston eliminated the Cavaliers in the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_9">Eastern Conference semifinals</span> last year en route to its NBA-record 17th championship; the home team won all seven games in the series.</p> <p>The crowd noise at tipoff was reminiscent of last spring's playoffs, but nothing in the first half really excited the fans as much as James' missed dunk with 8 minutes left in the first period. Bringing the ball back with for a tomahawk slam, he instead banged it off the back of the rim — to the delight of the sellout crowd.</p> <p>The intensity returned in the second when the players went chest-to-chest under the Cavs basket after Davis wrapped up <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_10">Anderson Varejao</span> to prevent an easy layup. James and Ray Allen began jawing at each other while officials tried to separate them. They were each called for <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_11">technical fouls</span>, as was Cavs center <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_12">Zydrunas Ilgauskas</span>.</p> <p>Davis was called for a flagrant foul and ejected — exacerbating Boston's problem at power forward. (All seemed to be forgiven later in the third, when Allen fouled James to stop him from an easy basket; James helped Allen up and gave him a friendly tap on the behind.)</p> <p>After the free throws, James hit a 3-pointer and Williams followed with a fadeaway jumper that cut Boston's seven-point lead to 55-54. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_13">Cleveland</span> soon made it 57-all, but Pierce hit a jumper before Allen hit a 3-pointer and then scored on a breakaway, losing the handle of the ball only to have it bounce off James and back into Allen's hands for the reverse layup.</p> <p>Boston led 68-63 when Pierce hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it an 11-point game.</p> <p>Notes:@ It was the first time in NBA history that two teams leading their divisions by at least 17 games had met. ... Joe Smith, who was traded last summer in the deal that brought Williams to Cleveland, returned after buying out his contract with Oklahoma City and re-signing with the Cavs on Thursday. ... Cleveland forward <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_14">Ben Wallace</span> missed his fifth straight game with a broken right fibula. ... Cleveland shot 38 free throws to 12 for Boston. ... James went 13:11 between <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236410766_15">field goals</span> as the score went from 55-52 to 88-77.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-50681955910704856072009-02-24T10:47:00.000+05:302009-02-24T10:49:15.025+05:30Venus salutes Peer in Dubai victory speech<div class="yn-story-content"> <p>DUBAI – <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235247658_0">Venus Williams</span> raced to her 40th career crown on Saturday, but ensured that the raging <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235247658_1">Shahar Peer</span> controversy was not forgotten during her Dubai Open title celebrations.<abbr title="2009-02-21T12:14:01-0800" class="timedate"></abbr><!-- end .byline --> <!-- end: .hd --> </p><div class="bd"> <div id="yn-story-related-media"> <div class="primary-media"> <div id="yn-story-main-media" class="ult-section yn-style1"> <div class=""> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090221/capt.photo_1235247229593-2-0.jpg?x=213&y=245&xc=1&yc=1&wc=356&hc=410&q=85&sig=XWNacSwrZYNHXRBxJRm27Q--" alt="Venus salutes Peer in Dubai victory speech" width="213" height="245" /><cite class="caption">Venus Williams of the US holds her trophy after beating France's Virginie Razzano in the final match</cite></div></div></div></div></div> <p> Williams told a packed crowd that it was "a shame that one of our players couldn't be here", in a direct reference to the United Arab Emirates' widely-condemned decision to refuse to grant Israeli player Peer a visa.</p> <p> "I thought she had to be mentioned and I felt I was going to, whether anyone else did or not," said <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235247658_2">Wimbledon</span> champion Williams, when it was remarked that she was the only one at the prize-giving ceremony to recall what had happened.</p> <p> "I had the opportunity because I had the microphone. I thought how brave she (Peer) was to come over here, to play in Doha (last year), and suddenly here not (allowed to).</p> <p> "I thought of <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235247658_3">Althea Gibson</span> who was excluded," she continued referring to the woman who overcame discrimination and exclusion to become Wimbledon's first black champion in 1957.</p> <p> "She played and I thought of people who stood up and played with her when no-one else would.</p> <p> "My dad grew up in a place where if you spoke too much, it was your life. I had a small opportunity to say something where everyone would listen.</p> <p> "It also made me think of all the people who gave something for me to be here. I am not hear to rock the boat or upset anyone - I'm just here to try to do what's right, to represent what's right, and I think the right things will happen next week on the men's tour.</p> <p> "I think a lot of that was because of what Shahar went through, because everyone cared."</p> <p> "I feel confident everyone will have the opportunity to play next year. If that wasn't the case then we would evaluate but everyone has had the opportunity to do the right thing," she said referring to the visa given to Andy Ram, another Israeli to play in the men's ATP event here next week.</p> <p> Williams, who eased past France's <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235247658_4">Virginie Razzano</span> 6-4, 6-2 to win the Dubai title, was also referring to the host of penalties announced by the WTA on Friday to punish the tournament for the Peer affair.</p> <p> Organisers were hit with a record 300,000-dollar fine and told to post a two-million-dollar guarantee to ensure various conditions of entry were met for the 2010 tournament.</p> <p> "Some wrong decisions were made but let's hope they were made for the right reasons," said Venus. "Let's hope we will move on."</p> <p> Despite the women's tournament ending on Saturday, there was no sign of the controversy disappearing.</p> <p> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235247658_5">Dubai Open tournament director</span> Salah Tahlak said that there were doubts over whether or not an apology would be made to 21-year-old Peer.</p> <p> "We would not say we are sorry. We have done our best. It is not our responsibility to issue a visa. It is other departments' responsibility," said Tahlak.</p> <p> "We should not mix politics with sport. We are purely sport. We have done a lot for tennis in the region."</p> <p> Tahlak said he was not sure whether or not an apology would be made by the tournament to Peer. He also denied any errors of judgement had been made. </p><p>Commenting on his statement on Tuesday that Peer's visa had been denied for security reasons, he said: "Whatever reason was given last week, we had our reasons. Maybe then it was still fresh what happened in Gaza and we made that very clear in the statement."</p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-26288623611494057442009-02-24T10:44:00.002+05:302009-02-24T10:47:19.427+05:30Fergie facing defensive headache ahead of Mourinho meeting<div class="yn-story-content"> <p>MILAN, Italy – <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_0">Manchester United</span> face a defensive injury crisis ahead of Tuesday's crucial <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_1">Champions League</span> round of 16 first-leg clash away to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_2">Inter Milan</span>.<abbr title="2009-02-23T17:56:34-0800" class="timedate"></abbr><!-- end .byline --> <!-- end: .hd --> </p><div class="bd"> <div id="yn-story-related-media"> <div class="primary-media"> <div id="yn-story-main-media" class="ult-section yn-style1"> <div class=""> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090224/capt.photo_1235440460850-1-0.jpg?x=213&y=142&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=273&q=85&sig=XVzczHM6xlq0PgDc3B9BzQ--" alt="Fergie facing defensive headache ahead of Mourinho meeting" width="213" height="142" /><cite class="caption">Manchester United's English midfielder Paul Scholes (centre) and team-mates warm up during a training</cite></div></div></div></div></div> <p> <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: rgb(220, 238, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_3">Sir Alex Ferguson</span> is already deprived of Serbia centre-back <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_4">Nemanja Vidic</span> through suspension while veteran <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_5">Gary Neville</span> and <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_6">Wes Brown</span> are both definitely out.</p> <p> Northern Ireland centre-back <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_7">Jonny Evans</span> also picked up an ankle injury during Saturday's 2-1 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_8">Premier League victory</span> over Blackburn, while fellow defender <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_9">John O'Shea</span> missed that game with a heel problem sustained in the 3-0 win over <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_10">Fulham</span> last Wednesday.</p> <p> It means that Ferguson could be left with only one recognised senior centre-half in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_11">Rio Ferdinand</span>, while the only other defender at his disposal to have played first-team football before this season is <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_12">France's Patrice Evra</span>.</p> <p> It has all left Ferguson a bit worried ahead of the most eagerly anticipated tie of the round.</p> <p> "We've got some injury issues of course and I just hope we can get two centre-backs out there on Tuesday," he said.</p> <p> "At this moment in time, it's very doubtful. Jonny Evans is unlikely to be playing, he's looking very doubtful and I'm just hoping to have John O'Shea available because we don't have Gary Neville and we don't have Wes Brown.</p> <p> "We're having a nightmare with defenders this season. Hopefully we can patch it up for Tuesday because this does leave us very, very short."</p> <p> It means at least one of twin teenage full-backs Rafael and Fabio Da Silva is sure to play and maybe even both.</p> <p> Otherwise Ferguson will have to look at the possibility of throwing a midfielder into his backline although there are few feasible options.</p> <p> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_13">Ryan Giggs</span> and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_14">Paul Scholes</span> have always been attacking players while <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_15">Darren Fletcher</span> has had the odd run-out at right-back but never in the heart of the defence.</p> <p> Then there is <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_16">Michael Carrick</span> but his form in midfield has been one of the main reasons behind United's stunning recent run and his passing would be sorely missed if he had to step back.</p> <p> It is probably the worst possible part of the team to be depleted ahead of the trip to the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_17">San Siro</span>.</p> <p> In Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano, Inter have one of the best strike pairings in Europe and the two forwards always provide a stern test for any central-defensive partnership, let alone a make-shift one.</p> <p> United may well have to resort to a dogged defensive display, aiming to hit their hosts on the break.</p> <p> That is something that <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_18">Inter coach Jose Mourinho</span> is most concerned about.</p> <p> "I don't want my players to feel under pressure, I want them to enjoy themselves and the first thing I will tell them is that I have great belief in their ability to win it," said the Portuguese boss.</p> <p> "I've known Manchester since 2004, they're the best counter-attacking team in the world and can kill their opponents in transition (from defence to attack). </p><p>"They have (Dimitar) Berbatov, who has fantastic technical qualities and then (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Wayne) Rooney, (Carlos) Tevez or Park (Ji-sung) who can make the difference, give them width and pace. Our concentration will have to be spot on." </p><p>If anyone can instil confidence in his players it is Mourinho himself who has only lost once to Ferguson in 12 previous encounters. </p><p>As coach of Porto he earned a win and a draw at the same stage of the competition in 2004 before leading the Portuguese side to the title. </p><p> And with Chelsea he only lost once in 10 games against Ferguson, winning four times and drawing five. </p><p>However, United have the edge in previous meetings between the two teams as back in the 1998-99 season United eliminated Inter 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals on their way to lifting the title. </p><p> Three United players, Neville, Giggs and Scholes, survive from that tie as well as <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235441038_19">Inter's captain Javier Zanetti</span>.</p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-976757768069958732009-02-24T10:43:00.000+05:302009-02-24T10:44:15.404+05:30Barkley pleads guilty in Scottsdale to DUI charges<p>SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235436570_0">Charles Barkley</span> will serve time in jail after pleading guilty Monday to charges of driving drunk.</p> <p>According to Scottsdale court records, the 45-year-old former NBA star pleaded guilty to two <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235436570_1">misdemeanor charges</span> related to the same drunken driving arrest.</p> <p>Barkley, who works as a TV analyst, is set to begin a five-day jail sentence on March 21. The Hall of Famer must pay more than $2,000 in fines and attend an alcohol treatment program. Under Arizona law, he'll also be forced to install an <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235436570_2">ignition interlock device</span> on his vehicles.</p> <p>His attorney was not immediately available for comment.</p> <p>Barkley was stopped by police Dec. 31 shortly after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub. He was arrested after failing a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235436570_3">field sobriety test</span>. He had a blood-alcohol level of .149 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent in Arizona when he was pulled over.</p> <p>After a six-week leave of absence, Barkley resumed his studio analyst role for TNT last week.</p> <p>"This is just my bad, no excuses," Barkley said in an interview with TNT colleague <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235436570_4">Ernie Johnson</span> posted on NBA.com before he returned to work.</p> <p>"I think that a DUI is unacceptable," he added. "That can't happen and I've got to challenge other people, not just celebrities or jocks. You have to really think before getting behind the wheel after you've been drinking."</p> <p>Barkley conceded at the time he could face jail time.</p> <p>"I think it's going to be good for me, to be honest. I need to make sure drinking is not a problem for me," he said. "I just want some professionals to talk to me about it."</p> <p>If they tell him to stop drinking, "then I'll have to stop drinking," he said.</p> <p>Asked if he could do that, he replied, "I feel I can do anything that I put my mind to."</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-29855241509114716712009-02-24T10:36:00.000+05:302009-02-24T10:39:07.754+05:30Colts agree to release WR Marvin Harrison<p>INDIANAPOLIS – <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_0">Marvin Harrison</span> refused to take a pay cut. The <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_1">Indianapolis Colts</span> couldn't afford to keep him without one.<abbr title="2009-02-23T17:03:08-0800" class="timedate"></abbr><!-- end .byline --> <!-- end: .hd --> </p><div class="bd"> <div id="yn-story-related-media"> <div class="primary-media"> <div id="yn-story-main-media" class="ult-section yn-style1"> <div class=""> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090223/capt.c3e5a87388c74cc9bcaf59aa8e564202.colts_harrison_football_ny155.jpg?x=213&y=245&xc=1&yc=1&wc=355&hc=408&q=85&sig=mIudZ642R4CjIWwvC1glPQ--" alt="In this Dec. 11, 2005, file photo, Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison" width="213" height="245" /><cite class="caption">In this Dec. 11, 2005, file photo, Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison</cite></div></div></div></div></div> <p>On Monday, the two sides reached agreement on one thing: Harrison will be a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_2">free agent</span>.</p> <p><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_3">Agent Tom Condon</span> told The Associated Press that Indianapolis has agreed to release the franchise's all-time leading receiver, although an official announcement is not expected until Tuesday or Wednesday.</p> <p>The decision comes one day after <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_4">team president Bill Polian</span> said he hoped to cut a deal that would keep Harrison in Indy. When Harrison said no, the Colts said farewell.</p> <p>"Basically, we were not able to come to any kind of agreement, it was not contentious and the Colts have agreed to release him," Condon said in a phone interview.</p> <p>Team officials declined comment and a message was left by The Associated Press at the office of team owner Jim Irsay.</p> <p>It's not a surprising move because the Colts would save about $6 million, based on Harrison's base salary. They would still be charged for prorated bonuses from the $66 million deal he signed in December 2004.</p> <p>The Colts found it too expensive for a 36-year-old receiver coming off one of the least productive seasons of his career.</p> <p>Harrison ranks second in NFL history with 1,102 receptions, and the move will disappoint many Colts fans, who embraced Harrison as a favorite. They referred to Harrison, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_5">Peyton Manning</span> and <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_6">Edgerrin James</span> as "The Triplets," and Harrison was one of the franchise's most identifiable player in the last decade.</p> <p>His penchant for toe-tapping catches along the sideline and incredible grabs in the middle of the field helped the Colts build one of the league's most successful franchises in this decade.</p> <p>But longtime teammates understood why Harrison wanted to become a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_7">free agent</span>.</p> <p>"I think whatever Marvin chooses to do for himself, he has to do," center <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_8">Jeff Saturday</span> said Sunday night. "I love Marvin as a friend and as a teammate."</p> <p>Indianapolis took Harrison in the first round of the 1996 draft and when Manning arrived two years later, the tandem began a record-setting journey.</p> <p>They combined for more completions, yardage and touchdowns than any duo in league history.</p> <p>Harrison made eight Pro Bowls, won a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_9">Super Bowl ring</span>, and his 14,550 yards rank fourth on the NFL's career list. He is No. 5 all-time with 128 TD catches and holds all major single-season and career receiving marks for the Colts.</p> <p>Over the past two seasons, though, Harrison hasn't been up to his usual standards.</p> <p>He missed all but five games in 2007 because of injuries, underwent offseason knee surgery and then caught 60 passes in 2008 — far less than half of his NFL record 143 in 2002.</p> <p>Philadelphia police also believe one of Harrison's guns was used in an April shooting in his hometown. No charges were filed against Harrison, and the man who made the accusation was convicted on a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_10">misdemeanor charge</span> of lying to police. </p><p> On the field, Manning has looked more frequently for three-time <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_11">Pro Bowl selection</span> <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_12">Reggie Wayne</span> and <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_13">Anthony Gonzalez</span>, a first-round pick in 2007. </p><p> Yet coaches and Polian insisted Harrison's skills had not deteriorated. </p><p> "What I saw is a guy who is as quick as he's been, with the same hands, and he has the ability he's always had," new coach Jim Caldwell said Thursday at the NFL's annual scouting combine. </p><p> And Polian insisted he still wanted Harrison back in his familiar No. 88 jersey. </p><p>"Hopefully, we'll find a way to work through that (the contract)," Polian said Sunday. "I don't know if we will, but we hope to." </p><p> They couldn't. </p><p>Now Harrison will look for work elsewhere. Some have speculated that he would like to play with his hometown Eagles and former college teammate <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_14">Donovan McNabb</span>. </p><p> The Colts will have a vastly different look next season. </p><p> Former <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_15">coach Tony Dungy</span> retired in January and was replaced by Caldwell. Caldwell has hired new defensive and special teams coordinators and three of the four longest-tenured players on the roster are heading to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_16">free agency</span>, which opens Friday. </p><p> Saturday said Sunday night he intended to test the market despite getting an offer from the Colts late last week. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_17">Punter</span> <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235437412_18">Hunter Smith</span>'s agent, Thomas Mills, said last week Indy would not try to re-sign Smith before free agency began. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-71612246168409765832009-02-24T10:27:00.000+05:302009-02-24T10:29:46.996+05:30Rare Jaguars Spotted in Arizona and Mexico<p> The once-common jaguar has become a rare sight in North America, thanks to hunting and <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_0">habitat fragmentation</span>. <abbr title="2009-02-22T08:05:26-0800" class="timedate"></abbr><!-- end .byline --> <!-- end: .hd --> </p><div class="bd"> <div id="yn-story-related-media"> <div class="primary-media"> <div id="yn-story-main-media" class="ult-section yn-style1"> <div class=""> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090221/i/r3081077287.jpg?x=213&y=158&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=304&q=85&sig=sG3qU8bg3VUD.EOVC6Ucyw--" alt="Extremely rare jaguar is released into wilderness southwest of Tucson" width="213" height="158" /> <cite class="caption">An extremely rare jaguar, fitted with a satellite tracking collar, is released into the wilderness southwest</cite></div></div></div></div></div> <p> Now two were spotted in exceedingly rare and unrelated events this month. </p> <p> The <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_1">Arizona Game and Fish Department</span> <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=19ccuhh3t/*http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=animals&c=news&l=on&pic=090221-arizona-jaguar-02.jpg&cap=A+jaguar+was+caught+and+collared+with+a+satellite+tracking+device+for+the+first+time+ever+in+Arizona+on+Feb.+18,+2009.+Credit%3A+Arizona+Game+and+Fish+Department&title="><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_2">caught and collared a wild jaguar</span></a> in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_3">Arizona</span> for the first time, officials said Thursday. While a handful of the big cats have been photographed by automatic cameras in recent years, the satellite tracking collar will now help biologists learn more about this animal's range. </p> <p> Meanwhile, a jaguar was <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=196d71r2o/*http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=animals&c=news&l=on&pic=090221-jaguar-mexico-02.jpg&cap=A+jaguar+is+photographed+in+central+Mexico+in+by+an+automatic+camera.+The+image+was+released+Feb.+10%2C+2009.+Credit%3A+Octavio+Monroy-Vilchis+et+al.%2FSINC&title="><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_4">spotted in central Mexico</span></a> for the first time in a century. Scientists photographed the cat with an automatic camera set alongside a trail thought to be frequented by the spotted felines. </p> <p> Jaguars (Panthera onca) once ranged from <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_5">southern South America</span> to the southern United States. By the late 1900s, none were thought to exist north of Mexico, but two independent sightings in 1996 confirmed jaguars still reached as far north as Arizona and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_6">New Mexico</span>. Remote cameras have also <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=11vf9j8jj/*http://www.livescience.com/animals/090128-amazon-jaguars.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_7">photographed jaguars in the Amazon</span></a>. </p> <p> The species has been protected outside of the United States under the <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=12m81f8ba/*http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=374&gid=26"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_8">Endangered Species Act</span></a> since 1973. That protection was extended to jaguars in the United States in 1997, the year after their presence here was confirmed. </p> <p> Details of the sightings below. </p> <p> </p> <p> The Arizona cat </p> <p> The male cat in Arizona was captured southwest of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_9">Tucson</span> during a study aimed at monitoring habitat connectivity for mountain lions and black bears. The healthy beast weighed in at 118 pounds with a thick and solid build. </p> <p> Satellite tracking showed the cat traveled more than 3 miles from the capture site in the first day after its release, officials said. </p> <p> "While we didn't set out to collar a jaguar as part of the mountain lion and bear research project, we took advantage of an important opportunity," said Terry Johnson, endangered species coordinator for the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_10">Arizona Game and Fish Department</span>. "More than 10 years ago, Game and Fish attempted to collar a jaguar with no success. Since then, we've established handling protocols in case we inadvertently captured a jaguar in the course of one of our other <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_11">wildlife management activities</span>." </p> <p> Biologists are trying to determine if the collared jaguar is Macho B, a male cat that has been photographed by trail cameras periodically over the past 13 years. </p> <p> In 1997, a team was established in Arizona and New Mexico to protect and conserve the species. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_12">The Jaguar Conservation Team</span> (JCT) began working with <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_13">Mexico</span> two years later, recognizing that the presence of jaguars in the United States depends on the conservation of the species in Mexico. </p> <p> Interestingly, the project set up to do all this is funded by <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_14">Arizona Lottery ticket</span> sales. </p> <p> The Mexico cat </p> <p> No jaguars had been spotted in central Mexico since the start of the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_15">20th century</span>. </p> <p> Scientists trying to find footprints, excrement or any other signs of the jaguars had in recent years interviewed residents, none of whom had ever seen one. Nonetheless, the researchers now report having obtained three photographs of a male jaguar and ten excrement samples that have been attributed to the jaguar, said Octavio Monroy-Vilchis of Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. </p> <p> In a statement, researchers explained there are 15 areas in Mexico in which it is unknown whether jaguars still exist, whether their populations are stable, and if their habitat is adequate. These areas are important for scientific studies, because they could include crucial zones for the felines' long-term survival. </p> <p> "The photographs provide information about new recording sites, and allow us to deduce that the area where the animal was observed may be a corridor connecting jaguar populations," Monroy-Vilchis said. </p> <p> Largest cats </p> <p> Jaguars are the only cats in <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_16">North America</span> that roar. They're considered the <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=117cg7t0v/*http://www.livescience.com/topic/cats"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_17">largest cats</span></a> in the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_18">Western Hemisphere</span>. Adults commonly weigh up to 211 pounds (96 kg), though 300-pounders have been reported. In the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_19">northern range</span> they typically weigh between 80-120 pounds, however. </p> <p> Females breed year-round and have litters of one to four cubs that stay with their mother for nearly two years. </p> <p> Jaguars can live in several types of forest, grassland and dry habitat. They prey on a variety of animals, including fish, birds and reptiles. The largest contiguous area of habitat now remaining for jaguars centers in the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_20">Amazon Basin</span>. </p> <ul><li><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=12l4jbu26/*http://www.livescience.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=LS_121508_CatWalk"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_21">Video - How Cats Walk and Stalk</span></a></li><li><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=12m81f8ba/*http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=374&gid=26">Gallery: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife</a></li><li><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=117cg7t0v/*http://www.livescience.com/topic/cats"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_22">Cat News, Information and Images</span></a></li></ul> <ul><li>Original Story: <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=121ahmhed/*http://www.livescience.com/animals/090221-jaguar-sightings.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_23">Rare Jaguars Spotted in Arizona and Mexico</span></a></li></ul> <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=10sog4vj6/*http://www.livescience.com"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_24">LiveScience.com</span></a> chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_25">scientific discoveries</span> and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=117mpvsb4/*http://www.livescience.com/php/video/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_26">videos</span></a>, <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=11krriias/*http://www.livescience.com/php/trivia/archive.php/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_27">Trivia & Quizzes</span></a> and <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=113laf0jb/*http://www.livescience.com/top10/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_28">Top 10s</span></a>. <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=11l1bffbd/*http://www.livescience.com/common/community/forums/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_29">Join our community</span></a> to debate hot-button issues like <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_30">stem cells</span>, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_31">climate change</span> and evolution. You can also sign up for free <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=11p64qa86/*http://www.livescience.com/php/community/newsletter.php"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_32">newsletters</span></a>, register for <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=11h1lbbo0/*http://www.livescience.com/livescience_rss.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_33">RSS feeds</span></a> and get cool gadgets at the <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/rarejaguarsspottedinarizonaandmexico/31058049/SIG=10uhfri3c/*http://livesciencestore.com/"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235406525_34">LiveScience Store</span></a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-65677299347643127272009-02-24T10:20:00.000+05:302009-02-24T10:26:34.153+05:30Major stock market indexes fall to 1997 levels<p>NEW YORK – <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_0">Wall Street</span> has turned the clock back to 1997. Investors unable to extinguish their worries about a recession that has no end in sight dumped stocks again Monday. <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090223/capt.46db779e85f44b3ca0ef732aecd02ae7.aptopix_wall_street_nyrd108.jpg?x=213&y=128&xc=1&yc=1&wc=409&hc=246&q=85&sig=CBCpQd1412Q84REOxHy27g--" alt="Specialist Peter Mazza works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock" width="213" height="128" /><cite class="caption">Specialist Peter Mazza works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb. 23</cite></p> <p>The <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_1">Dow Jones industrial average</span> tumbled 251 points to its lowest close since May 7, 1997, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index logged its lowest finish since April 11, 1997. It's as if the decade's dot-com surge, collapse and subsequent recovery never occurred.</p> <p>The Dow is just over 100 points from 7,000. Both indexes have lost about half their value since hitting <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_2">record highs</span> in October 2007.</p> <p>"People left and right are throwing in the towel," said Keith Springer, president of Capital <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_3">Financial Advisory Services</span>.</p> <p>Investors pounded most financial stocks even as government agencies led by the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_4">Treasury Department</span> said they would launch a revamped bank rescue program this week. The plan includes the option of increasing government ownership in financial institutions without having to pour more taxpayer money into them.</p> <p>Although the government has said it doesn't want to nationalize banks, many investors are clearly still concerned that this could be a possibility as banks continue to suffer severe losses because of the recession. They're also worried that banks' losses will keep escalating as the recession sends more borrowers into default.</p> <p>"The biggest thing I see here is the incredible pessimism," Springer said. "The government is doing a lousy job of alleviating fears."</p> <p>The Treasury and other agencies issued a statement after <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_5">The Wall Street Journal</span> reported Citigroup is in talks for the government to boost its stake in the bank to as much as 40 percent. Analysts said the market, which initially rose on the statement, wanted more details of the government's plans.</p> <p>"It's only a very partial picture of what we may get," said Quincy Krosby, <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_6">chief investment strategist</span> at <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_7">The Hartford</span>. "This proverbial lack of clarity is damaging market psychology."</p> <p>Meanwhile, technology stocks fell after The Journal reported that <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_8">Yahoo Inc.</span>'s new chief executive plans to reorganize the company. But the selling came across the market as pessimism about the recession and its toll on companies deepened.</p> <p>"There's no where to hide anymore," said <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_9">Jim Herrick</span>, director of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_10">equity trading</span> at Baird & Co.</p> <p>The market's decline extends massive losses from last week when the major stock indexes tumbled more than 6 percent. While falling to their 1997 levels, the major indexes plunged through the lows they reached in late November, at the height of the credit crisis.</p> <p>"There's no main driver of the down day," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "There's just so much skepticism in the overall market and (the question is) is the government doing proper things to get us out of this problem. Obviously the stock market is voting no."</p> <p>The Dow dropped 250.89, or 3.41 percent, to 7,114.78. It last closed this low on May 7, 1997 when it finished at 7,085.65. The Dow hasn't traded below the 7,000 mark since October 1997. The index is down 14 percent over the past 10 sessions.</p> <p><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_11">The Standard</span> & Poor's 500 index fell 26.72, or 3.47 percent, to 743.33. It was the lowest close since April 11, 1997, when it ended at 737.65.</p> <p>When the indexes were last at these levels, they were in their ascendancy, climbing amid the dot-com boom. But 1997 was also the year that saw stock prices later plunge amid a growing <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_12">financial crisis in Asia</span>. Far away from <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_13">Wall Street</span>, it was the year that the U.S. first heard the name <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_14">Monica Lewinsky</span>, whose relationship with President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment and trial. And it was the year that the world was stunned by the death of Britain's Princess Diana, on Aug. 31.</p> <p>On Monday, the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_15">S&P 500</span> did close above its Nov. 21 trading low of 741.02. But the 14-month recession has decimated the major indexes: The Dow is down 49.8 percent from its <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_16">record highs</span> of October 2007, while the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_17">S&P 500 index</span> is down 52.5 percent.</p> <p>Detrick warned that a move below the S&P's Nov. 21 low could set off "violent selling" as even more confidence drains from the market. </p><p> The technology-laden <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_18">Nasdaq composite index</span> dropped 53.51, or 3.71 percent, to 1,387.72. </p><p> Investors looking for a bottom also dumped smaller stocks. The <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_19">Russell 2000 index</span> of smaller companies fell 16.38 or 3.99 percent, to 394.58. </p><p> Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 6 to 1 on the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_20">New York Stock Exchange</span>, where consolidated volume came to 6.35 billion shares compared with heavy volume of 8.12 billion shares on Friday. </p><p> Morgan Smith, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_21">investment counselor</span> for Burns Advisory Group, said investors are now pushing out their expectations for a recovery in the industry until after this year. </p><p>"Everyone is trying to grasp at some type of bottom," Smith said. "The market is just trying to figure out if it has priced in a worst-case scenario." </p><p> Among tech stocks, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_22">Hewlett-Packard Co</span>. fell $1.96, or 6.3 percent, to $29.28, and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_23">Intel Corp</span>. dove 70 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $12.08. </p><p>Other big losers included General Electric Co., which dropped to a 14-year low of $8.80, but ended down 53 cents, or 5.7 percent, at $8.85. <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_24">Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc</span>. tumbled 48 cents, or 7.6 percent, to $5.81. </p><p> Some financial stocks managed to gain, including <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_25">Citigroup</span>, which rose 19 cents, or 9.7 percent, to $2.14, and <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_26">Bank of America Corp</span>., which gained 12 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $3.91. </p><p> Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.77 percent from 2.79 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.28 percent from 0.26 percent Friday. </p><p> The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_27">gold prices</span> fell. </p><p> Light, sweet crude fell $1.59 to settle at $38.44 per barrel on the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_28">New York Mercantile Exchange</span>. </p><p> Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.99 percent, <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_29">Germany's DAX index</span> fell 1.95 percent, and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235447598_30">France</span>'s CAC-40 slipped 0.82 percent. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.54 percent. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-81489947912823643292009-02-24T10:16:00.000+05:302009-02-24T10:18:51.540+05:30McCain questions Obama about helicopter at summit<p>WASHINGTON – <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_0">President Barack Obama</span> never had a helicopter, which he says might explain why he's perfectly happy with the current <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_1">White House</span> fleet and doesn't need a more costly one. At the conclusion of a fiscal summit Monday, Obama faced questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, including his former presidential rival, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_2">Sen. John McCain</span>. <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090223/capt.46908a4b3a4d483baaa3d06cd71b2468.aptopix_obama_whcd119.jpg?x=213&y=148&xc=1&yc=1&wc=409&hc=284&q=85&sig=jhJbDWlocJOathDXsGI.6Q--" alt="Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. listens during remarks of the Fiscal Responsibility" width="213" height="148" /><cite class="caption">Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. listens during remarks of the Fiscal Responsibility Summit, hosted by President</cite></p> <p>McCain bemoaned cost overruns in military procurement. The new fleet of 28 <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_3">Marine One</span> helicopters being built by <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_4">Lockheed Martin Corp</span>. — now over budget at $11.2 billion — will cost more than <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_5">Air Force One</span>.</p> <p>Obama said the helicopter he has now seems adequate, adding that he never had a helicopter before and "maybe I've been deprived and I didn't know it."</p> <p>Obama said he has already talked to <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_6">Defense Secretary Robert Gates</span> about reviewing the program and its <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_7">ballooning costs</span>.</p> <p>"It is an example of the procurement process gone amok, and we're going to have to fix it," Obama said.</p> <p>The Navy — which is in charge of overseeing the helicopter program — reported to Congress in January that its price tag had nearly doubled. That notification triggered a formal process mandating the program be re-certified as a <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_8">national security requirement</span> by senior Pentagon leadership.</p> <p>The Navy waited nearly a year before formally disclosing the information to lawmakers as it sought to find ways to keep the program within budget. Those efforts failed.</p> <p>Gates already has warned of tough cuts in the upcoming fiscal 2010 budget as the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_9">Pentagon</span> faces the pressure of paying for two wars during a recession.</p> <p><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235442332_10">Lockheed Martin spokesman</span> Troy Scully said in a statement, "We are committed to the program's success and are confident we can deliver the required number of helicopters compliant with the specifications that emerge from the ongoing review."</p> <p>A Navy spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment Monday evening.</p> <p>The helicopter, which will be outfitted with communications equipment, anti-missile defenses and hardened hulls, is dubbed Marine One whenever the president is on board. The aircraft is expected to be similar to Air Force One, unlike the 30-year-old helicopters they would replace.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-53655767179553326992009-02-24T10:07:00.001+05:302009-02-24T10:13:53.274+05:30Obama pledges to slash deficit — after increase<p>WASHINGTON – Urging strict future restraint even as current spending soars, President <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_0">Barack Obama</span> pledged on Monday to dramatically slash the skyrocketing annual <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_1">budget deficit</span> as he started to dole out the record $787 billion <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_2">economic stimulus package</span> he signed last week.</p><p><cite></cite> <!-- end .primary-media --> </p><div class="secondary-media ult-section"> <div id="yn-story-secondary" class="ult-section"> <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090223/capt.75195d74d61547198470fb0fb469bacb.obama_fiscal_summit_dcpm109.jpg?x=213&y=308&xc=1&yc=1&wc=284&hc=410&q=85&sig=MaW8IU7zpw3rtmhjCQLQjw--" alt="President Barack Obama pause as he speaks at the close of the Fiscal" width="213" height="308" /> <cite class="caption">AP – President Barack Obama pause as he speaks at the close of the Fiscal Responsibility Summit</cite></div></div> <p>"If we confront this crisis without also confronting the deficits that helped cause it, we risk sinking into another crisis down the road," the president warned, promising to cut the yearly deficit in half by the end of his four-year term. "We cannot simply spend as we please and defer the consequences."</p> <p>He said he would reinstitute a pay-as-you-go rule that calls for spending reductions to match increases and would shun what he said were the past few years' "casual dishonesty of hiding irresponsible spending with clever accounting tricks." He called the long-term solvency of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_3">Social Security</span> "the single most pressing fiscal challenge we face by far" and said reforming health care, including burgeoning <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_4">entitlement programs</span>, was a huge priority.</p> <p>Wall Street seemed unimpressed by all the talk. The Dow Jones industrials dropped 251 points for the day.</p> <p>Obama goes before Congress and the nation Tuesday night to make the case for his agenda and his budget plans, which the White House is to release in more detail on Thursday.</p> <p>On Monday, he sought to prepare people for tough choices ahead.</p> <p>He summoned allies, adversaries and outside experts to what the White House characterized as a summit on the nation's future financial health one week after triumphantly putting his signature on the gargantuan spending-and-tax-cut measure designed to stop the country's economic free fall and, ultimately, reverse the recession now months into its second year.</p> <p>At the same time, federal regulators announced a revamped program to shore up the nation's banks that could give the government increasing ownership. It was the administration's latest attempt to bolster the severely weakened banking system without nationalizing any institutions, which the White House has said it does not intend to do.</p> <p>Obama said there would be another summit next week on <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_5">health care reform</span>. "It's not that I've got summititis here," he added wryly.</p> <p>By the president's account, the administration inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit for the current fiscal year from the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_6">Bush administration</span> — that's the figure Obama says he'll cut in half — and the stimulus law, coupled with rescue efforts for ailing automakers, the financial industry and beleaguered homeowners will raise this year's red ink to $1.5 trillion.</p> <p>The administration hopes to trim the deficit by scaling back Iraq war spending, raising taxes on the wealthiest and streamlining government.</p> <p>"We are paying the price for these deficits right now," Obama said, estimating the country spends $250 billion — one in every ten dollars of taxpayer money — in interest on the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_7">national debt</span>. "I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay."</p> <p>As an example of a purchasing process "gone amok," the president said he had ordered a thorough review of his new fleet of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_8">Marine One</span> helicopters, now far over budget. He was asked about the fleet by former presidential rival <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_9">John McCain</span> at the end of the White House meeting.</p> <p>"The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me," Obama said, to laughter. "Of course, I've never had a helicopter before. So, you know, maybe I've been deprived and I didn't know it."</p> <p>Earlier, Obama met with Republican and Democratic governors who are poised to benefit from his unprecedented emergency economic package. He told the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_10">chief executives</span>, attending a three-day <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_11">National Governors Association</span> meeting in Washington, that he would begin distributing $15 billion to their states within two days to help them with Medicaid payments to the poor.</p> <p>The recession has strapped state budgets, in particular in regard to the Medicaid program that is jointly underwritten by states and the federal government. In total, states will eventually receive $90 billion for Medicaid from the new law.</p> <p>One month into office as the economy continues its downward spiral, Obama is seeking to balance twin priorities: turning around dismal conditions with a huge injection of spending while lowering huge <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_12">budget deficits</span>. With his re-election race just a few years away, he also has an interest in avoiding being labeled as a big-government, big-spending Democrat.</p> <p>The White House meetings opened a jam-packed <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_13">White House</span> week that includes a State-of-the-Union-style address to Congress Tuesday night and the president's first <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_14">budget proposal</span> on Thursday. A common thread: addressing <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_15">current economic turmoil</span> while controlling the country's long-term costs. </p><p> "This will not be easy," Obama told his White House audience, which included congressional leaders, 2008 <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_16">GOP presidential nominee</span> McCain, and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_17">Republican Sen. Judd Gregg</span> of New Hampshire, who recently backed out as Obama's commerce secretary. </p><p> After Obama spoke, attendees broke into five groups to brainstorm how to address costly areas including military weapons, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_18">Social Security</span>, health care and tax reform. </p><p> During one, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_19">Rep. Henry Waxman</span>, D-Calif., said, "Our deficit really cannot be controlled until we figure out how to deal with <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_20">health care costs</span>." At another, <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_21">House Republican leader John Boehner</span> of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_22">Ohio</span> proposed raising the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1235448194_23">Social Security retirement age</span> to 70 over a number of years. </p><p> Afterward, Obama emphasized areas where he said there was agreement and consensus on moving forward in a bipartisan way, including that the country must ensure people have retirement security, that the tax process must be simplified and that the existing budgeting process isn't working. He also directed his team to pull together a final report from the sessions in 30 days. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-1395033498568731052009-02-17T18:32:00.000+05:302009-02-17T18:33:12.189+05:30Charges Against The Pirate Bay Partly Dropped<img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/pirate-bay-logo.png" alt="piratebay" align="right" />It’s only their second day in court, and <a href="http://thepiratebay.org/">The Pirate Bay </a>already seems to be winning the legal battle against the plaintiffs - Universal, Warner Bros, MGM, EMI, 20th Century Fox, Colombia Pictures, and Sony BMG. <p>According to TorrentFreak, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/50-of-charges-against-pirate-bay-dropped-090217/">half of the charges against The Pirate Bay have already been dropped</a> due to lack of evidence. Therefore, the prosecutor has dropped all charges related to “assisting copyright infringement,” with the remaining charges being related to “assisting making available.”</p> <p>It seems that the prosecutor was simply unable to prove that the .torrent files - which are important evidence in this case - are in any way related to The Pirate Bay’s torrent tracker. </p> <p>So, the Swedish court seems to have recognized that a torrent search engine, which doesn’t store actual copyrighted files, cannot be guilty of copyright infringement. This is already a huge victory for The Pirate Bay, even if they lose on other charges - which now seems unlikely. What seemed to be a long legal battle might turn into a short (and sweet, for The Pirate Bay) affair. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-82786403444706273902009-02-17T10:07:00.001+05:302009-02-17T10:08:43.491+05:3020+ Great Twitter Tools for Firefox<h1></h1><div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 30px;"> <script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://mashable.com/2009/01/29/twitter-tools-for-firefox/'; digg_title = '20+ Great Twitter Tools for Firefox'; digg_bodytext = 'People love Twitter, and they love Firefox, so it only seems natural that there would be quite a few tools to merge these two items.\n\nWhether you want to have a full Twitter client inside of your browser, or just the ability to share parts of a site, a whole Web page or just the URL of the site you are reading, there is a tool for you. Take a lo'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script><iframe src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.php?u=http%3A//mashable.com/2009/01/29/twitter-tools-for-firefox/&t=20+%20Great%20Twitter%20Tools%20for%20Firefox&b=People%20love%20Twitter%2C%20and%20they%20love%20Firefox%2C%20so%20it%20only%20seems%20natural%20that%20there%20would%20be%20quite%20a%20few%20tools%20to%20merge%20these%20two%20items.%0A%0AWhether%20you%20want%20to%20have%20a%20full%20Twitter%20client%20inside%20of%20your%20browser%2C%20or%20just%20the%20ability%20to%20share%20parts%20of%20a%20site%2C%20a%20whole%20Web%20page%20or%20just%20the%20URL%20of%20the%20site%20you%20are%20reading%2C%20there%20is%20a%20tool%20for%20you.%20%20Take%20a%20lo" scrolling="no" width="52" frameborder="0" height="80"></iframe> </div><p>People love Twitter, and they love Firefox, so it only seems natural that there would be quite a few tools to merge these two items.</p><p> <img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/firefox.png" alt="firefox" title="firefox " class="alignright size-full wp-image-26501" width="145" height="140" /></p> <p>Whether you want to have a full Twitter client inside of your browser, or just the ability to share parts of a site, a whole Web page or just the URL of the site you are reading, there is a tool for you. Take a look through these 20+ tools and there is sure to be something that appeals to you.</p> <p>As with all Firefox tool lists, we do recommend you don’t install all of these unless you want your browser to slow down considerably.</p> <p><em>What is your favorite Twitter tool for Firefox?</em><br /><span id="more-66457"></span></p> <hr /> <h2>Clients</h2> <hr /> <center><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-66459" title="twitter toolbar" src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/twittertoolbar.png" alt="twitter toolbar" width="550" height="177" /> </center> <p><a href="http://www.friendbar.com/" target="_blank">Friendbar</a> - See your incoming tweets right in the toolbar as well as post updates of your own. Also works with Facebook friends.</p> <p><a href="http://www.greenspace.info/twitter/line/en.html" target="_blank">Twitter Line</a> - Displays incoming tweets from your friends timeline in a toolbar, and allows you to post updates to your own account.</p> <p><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9751" target="_blank">Twitter StatusBar</a> - A discrete tool that collapses into your status bar when not in use. Just click on the “T” symbol to bring it up and send out your latest update.</p> <p><a href="http://www.bestwebimage.com/web-building-resources/twitter-toolbar-10/" target="_blank">Twitter Toolbar</a> - A toolbar that allows you to post updates any time you want as you browse. Also includes pre-written messages for common sayings on the service.</p> <p><a href="http://www.twitbin.com/" target="_blank">TwitBin</a> - Opens up a Twitter client in your sidebar so you can send and read tweets no matter where you are on the Web without changing tabs or windows.</p> <p><a href="http://engel.uk.to/twitkit/" target="_blank">TwitKit</a> - A sidebar Twitter client that breaks down into tabs for @replies, account stats, public timeline, sending tweets, your friends’ latest tweets and a list of all your followers.</p> <p><a href="http://www.chrisfinke.com/addons/twitterbar/" target="_blank">TwitterBar</a> - Type your tweets in the address bar and press the icon at the end to send them. Also allows you to easily tweet about the page you are currently looking at by leaving it in the address bar when you type out your message.</p> <p><a href="http://twitterfox.net/" target="_blank">TwitterFox</a> - A Twitter client for Firefox that will allow you to see your friend updates, add your own, retweet, delete read tweets from your stream and more.</p> <hr /> <h2>Utilities</h2> <hr /> <center><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-66458" title="power twitter" src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/powertwitter.png" alt="power twitter" width="550" height="493" /> </center> <p><a href="http://www.blogrovr.com/" target="_blank">BlogRovR</a> - While mainly a tool to help you see linked blog posts as you surf the Web, you can also send out tweets about what you are reading and share them with your followers.</p> <p><a href="http://clipmarks.com/" target="_blank">Clipmarks</a> - Clip parts of a Web page that you specifically want to share, and then share them with all of your Twitter followers amongst other services.</p> <p><a href="http://labs.laan.com/blog/dashblog/" target="_blank">DashBlog</a> - DashBlog lets you easily tweet about items you find on the web such as videos, text, quotes, images and more. Also works with Tumblr, WordPress and Blogger.</p> <p><a href="http://www.feedly.com/" target="_blank">Feedly</a> - A magazine style feed reader that allows you to tweet about any post you read and find interesting.</p> <p><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6396" target="_blank">Mahalo Share</a> - Share sites you find interesting across multiple services including Twitter.</p> <p><a href="http://getsatisfaction.com/83degrees/products/83degrees_power_twitter" target="_blank">Power Twitter</a> - Power Twitter adds several features such as revealing the URL behind TinyURLs, embedding of YouTube videos, showing Flickr streams and a whole lot more.</p> <p><a href="http://www.stocktwits.com/addons" target="_blank">StockTwits</a> - A Firefox add-on that works with the <a href="http://www.stocktwits.com/" target="_blank">StockTwits</a> site. It will turn any StockTwits tagged tweets on the site into a link back to the StockTwits site so you can follow the conversation.</p> <p><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8964" target="_blank">Tw-autocomplete</a> - Allows for autocomplete of Twitter usernames for @ and D messages as you are typing them on the Twitter site.</p> <p><a href="http://tweetstalk.com/" target="_blank">TweetStalk</a> - Adds a “Stalk” button next to the “Follow” button on Twitter so you can follow someone without them knowing it. Can also create an RSS feed of their tweets so you can read them in your favorite reader.</p> <p><a href="http://twitthat.com/" target="_blank">TwitThat</a> - A bookmarklet that lets you tweet about the current Web page you are reading.</p> <p><a href="http://twittereyes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">TwitterEyes</a> - An extension to be used specifically on the Twitter site that will keep track of your characters entered and assist you in shortening your message when necessary.</p> <p><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/10279" target="_blank">Twitter Search</a> - The name says it all for this handy tool that gives you access to the real-time Twitter search.</p> <p><a href="http://www.foxytunes.com/twittytunes/" target="_blank">TwittyTunes</a> - Works with FoxyTunes to submit the songs you listen to that you wish to share with the Twitter community. If you choose not to use it with FoxyTunes, you can also post about sites and videos you are viewing.</p> <p><a href="http://shorttext.com/twitzer.aspx" target="_blank">Twitzer</a> - Allows you to tweet messages longer than 140 characters by adding a link to the overflow text, you can also de-Twitzer text and have it displayed directly on the Twitter site</p> <p><a href="http://www.yoono.com/" target="_blank">Yoono</a> - Yoono allows you to combine various social networks, instant messengers and other tools into your sidebar, and allows you to send tweets no matter where you are on the World Wide Web at the time.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-61065168040413900842009-02-17T10:01:00.001+05:302009-02-17T10:03:24.026+05:30GroupieGuide: Free Website-In-a-Box for Groups [Invites]<h1></h1><p>Chances are you either organize your own group or consider yourself a member of one. There’s a variety of existing options available for setting up an online presence for your group, but one new service aims to give groupies a free way to rally around each other with an instant website.</p><p> <img class="alignright size-full wp-image-108464" style="margin: 10px;" title="groupieguide logo" src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/groupieguide-logo.jpg" alt="groupieguide logo" width="164" height="45" /></p> <p><a href="http://groupieguide.com/home" target="_blank">GroupieGuide</a>, which has launched in private alpha, offers a neatly organized home for your group, complete with compartments for news, pictures, discussions, and events.<br /><span id="more-108463"></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-108467" style="margin: 10px;" title="groupieguide" src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/stp-training_s-groupieguide.jpg" alt="groupieguide" width="598" height="468" /></p> <p>The site pretty much takes all of the hassle out of creating a fully-functional website to connect group members, promote events, facilitate discussions, and share photos. Essentially, it’s a website-in-a-box tailored just for groups. Administrative users just need to add a few group details, tweak the appearance, schedule an event, and they’ll have a nice looking group site they can call their own.</p> <p>Right now you’ve got some limitations when it comes to modifying the group’s appearance, though you can add a logo and banner picture, customize the color, or upload a background picture, and theme options are planned for the near future. Domain customization will also be offered in the future as a paid feature.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-108466" style="margin: 10px;" title="groupie guide" src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/groupie-guide.jpg" alt="groupie guide" width="598" height="441" /></p> <p>With GroupieGuide adding events is super simple, but if you’re looking for event management, the site might disappoint. GroupieGuide does support event additions, and even adds them to the home page, but there’s no clear way for group members to RSVP for events, so you’ll need to rely on other sites like Eventbrite to coordinate and manage your events.</p> <p>Since groups tend to be social and have at least one aspiring photog among their ranks, GroupieGuide would also be wise to beef up their pictures page. The site currently supports photo uploads, but an easy way to import group photos across popular social sites would definitely encourage more group members to add their photos to the fray. </p> <p>All in all, GroupieGuide offers group a fantastic package deal and online home, and it’s completely free - for now - though premium options will be made available for a fee. If your group needs a home, we can take you behind the curtains of the private alpha site. <strong>The first 50 people to <a href="http://mashable.groupieguide.com/invites" target="_blank">sign up here</a> will get full access to GroupieGuide.</strong></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-9376884876082796602009-02-17T09:59:00.001+05:302009-02-17T10:01:18.487+05:30Twitter Professors: 18 People to Follow for a Real Time Education<h1></h1> <p>Never before in history has it been easier to glean from the knowledge of others who will give it away to you for free. It’s equivalent to getting higher education. I’m talking about Masters level stuff. And it’s all available right there on Twitter. I call the people I follow who contribute above and beyond the basic answer to “what are you doing?” my professors of Twitter.</p><p> <img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/back-to-school.jpg" alt="back-to-school" title="back-to-school" class="alignright size-full wp-image-108184" width="263" height="177" /></p> <p>Many of them don’t even know it and that’s the beauty. There is no course outline, no costly tuition (yet anyway), no declared major, and you can take as many electives as you want. There’s also no hard and fast list of required experience to be my personal Twitter Professor and tenure is non-existent. I do have very simple guidelines I keep in my head when designating my Twitter Professors:</p> <blockquote><p>1) RT really smart stuff from the people they follow saving me from sifting through even more of a stream of Tweets.</p> <p>2) Have insightful Tweets in and of themselves (not just links).</p> <p>3) Inspire me to engage in conversation with them or with others.</p> <p>4) Write really great articles/blog posts on subjects I want to learn about or point to interesting articles I would never have read otherwise.</p> <p>5) Expand my world experience through their stream of Tweets.</p></blockquote> <p>Usually, it’s a combination of many things and there is no way to quantify it, there’s no real formula and there’s no one particular Tweet that I can pull from to summarize their contributions. I just feel out the people I like to follow most. </p> <p><em>Below are 18 people I follow for a real time education. Please suggest your own Twitter professors in the comments.</em></p> <hr /> <h2>Christopher Penn</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cspenn1.png" alt="cspenn-image" title="cspenn-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108476" width="588" height="249" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/cspenn" target="_blank">@cspenn</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof:</strong> Like many of the Twitter Professors, he gives information freely for which others might charge an arm and a leg. He provides a daily heads up on what to look out for by analyzing real financial indicators. Because of @cspenn, I know to track the TED spread and the BDI and why. He also gives advice about online marketing. Oh, and he co-founded Podcamp.<br /><strong>Courses offered:</strong> Finance, Online Marketing<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://www.christopherspenn.com/" target="_blank">christopherspenn.com</a>, <a href="http://www.financialaidpodcast.com/2008/12/24/the-twitter-power-guide-ebook/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweetstream&utm_content=christmas%2Beve&utm_campaign=Twitter%2BeBook%2BPromo" target="_blank">The Twitter Power Guide</a></p> <hr /> <h2>JOHNABYRNE</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/johnabyrne.png" alt="johnabyrne-image" title="johnabyrne-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108488" width="581" height="242" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/JOHNABYRNE" target="_blank">@JOHNABYRNE</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof:</strong> He really engages people on Twitter, which is admirable for an Editor-in-Chief at a national business magazine’s website. Sure he could have assigned some lackey intern to Twitter all day, but he didn’t. I’d expect nothing less from a self-professed “Digital Journalism Advocate.” I even know the important people he’s HAVING lunch with and what they are going to talk about. He asks for suggestions on questions to ask them. He doesn’t just tell you afterward that they ordered the bisque and it was a little cold. He also gave us a list of all the other BusinessWeek writers that Twitter, which is where I found <a href="http://twitter.com/shirleybrady" target="_blank">@shirleybrady</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/stevebaker" target="_blank">@stevebaker</a>.<br /><strong>Courses offered: </strong>Business, Finance, Journalism<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/" target="_blank">BusinessWeek.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Jeremiah Owyang</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/jowyang.png" alt="jowyang-image" title="jowyang-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108477" width="579" height="249" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/jowyang" target="_blank">@jowyang</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof:</strong> As the Senior Analyst in Social Computing at Forrester Research, @jowyang provides an endless stream of information about that voodoo that we do. Then he tried an experiment and purposely stopped Twittering for 20 days to refocus. Boy did I miss him. I learned that the world won’t blow up if I leave Twitter for 3 weeks, but if it did, I’d have to find out about it with everyone else in the world. He also cuts a mean run as a Salsa dancer.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Social Media Web Strategy<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://web-strategist.com/blog/" target="_blank">web-strategist.com/blog</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Beth Kanter</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/kanter1.png" alt="kanter-image" title="kanter-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108490" width="575" height="166" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/kanter" target="_blank">@Kanter</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof:</strong> When I got my job at a nonprofit (<a href="http://twitter.com/ALSofGNY" target="_blank">@ALSofGNY</a>) I dove right into Social Media as the primary way to connect with patients, families, caregivers and potential donors. I sought out others to learn how to do it better and @Kanter’s name came up. @Kanter imparts all her wisdom about how nonprofits can benefit from Social Media.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Nonprofits 2.0<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://beth.typepad.com/" target="_blank">beth.typepad.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Ann Handley</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/marketingprofs.png" alt="marketingprofs-image" title="marketingprofs-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108491" width="576" height="250" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/MarketingProfs" target="_blank">@MarketingProfs</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof:</strong> Chris Brogan says about Ann: “She’s connected to LOTS of great people, so when I see who she’s talking about, I pursue and learn more.” Agreed. Ann has the coolest job title in the world as Chief Content Officer. She uses social media to share marketing resources with the crowds, and I’m here picking up the tidbits.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Content Marketing<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://www.annhandley.com/" target="_blank">annhandley.com</a>, <a href="http://mpdailyfix.com/" target="_blank">mpdailyfix.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Chris Brogan</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chris-brogan.png" alt="chris-brogan" title="chris-brogan" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108479" width="579" height="253" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan" target="_blank">@chrisbrogan</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof:</strong> If I left him off the list, I’d get phone calls. The man is always pushing a boundary of New Media whether it’s doing a paid post for Kmart as a trusted blogger and lighting up the blogosphere or telling you why you’re micro-famous, dammit and you’re special so go out and conquer the world, no charge for the moxie. He’s one of the biggest proponents of giving away value to get value that I know.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Online Business Communications<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/" target="_blank">chrisbrogan.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Sarah Evans</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/prsarahevans.png" alt="prsarahevans" title="prsarahevans" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108480" width="583" height="249" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/prsarahevans" target="_blank">@PRsarahevans</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof:</strong> Founding #journchat alone is enough to make this list, IMHO. She has created a community, fostered it and is committed to making it grow, but brave enough to let it grow on its own. It’s a lesson that, if you love something, set it free – well, you know the rest. No wonder her bio says that philanthropy and volunteerism rank high on her priority list.<br /><strong>Courses Offered:</strong> Communications, New Media, Community Building.<br /><strong>Required Reading: </strong><a href="http://prsarahevans.com/" target="_blank">prsarahevans.com</a>, <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23journchat" target="_blank">#journchat</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Tara “missrogue” Hunt</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/missrogue.png" alt="missrogue" title="missrogue" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108493" width="575" height="257" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/missrogue" target="_blank">@missrogue</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof:</strong> I didn’t know what a “whuffie” was until I met her. It’s what she calls “the store of social capital that is the currency of the digital world.” This professor has me sitting up straight in the front row and paying attention. I like her sincere style. Hunt specializes in marketing to existing communities but admits that she’s somewhat of a marketing whore (her words) and dedicated consumer. When she’s “handing out whuffie like it’s growin’ on trees,” you know I’ll be first in line.<br /><strong>Courses Offered:</strong> Online Community Marketing, Personal Branding<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://www.horsepigcow.com/" target="_blank">horsepigcow.com</a>, <a href="http://www.horsepigcow.com/book-the-whuffie-factor/" target="_blank">Whuffie Factor</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Jennifer Leggio</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/mediaphyter.png" alt="mediaphyter" title="mediaphyter" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108494" width="583" height="245" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/mediaphyter" target="_blank">@mediaphyter</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof:</strong> Is there ever a time of day that I’m on Twitter and @mediaphyter is not imparting her opinion and knowledge? She blogs and tweets about the crossroads of technology and social media. Whether she’s fighting for or against the media, she usually comes out on top.<br /><strong>Courses Offered:</strong> Social Media, Technology, Communications<br /><strong>Required Reading: </strong><a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/feeds/" target="_blank">blogs.zdnet.com/feeds</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Jay Rosen</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/jayrosen.png" alt="jayrosen" title="jayrosen" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108481" width="583" height="239" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu" target="_blank">@jayrosen_nyu</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof:</strong> A real life professor at NYU J-School who spends a good amount of time offering his commentary and advice. His linkouts always follow a theme from one side of an argument to another until he’s sure you’ve got the best of what is being said on a subject, then gives a little more. What I really like is that he doesn’t “do lifecasting but mindcasting on Twitter.”<br /><strong>Courses Offered: </strong>Journalism, New Media.<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/" target="_blank">journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Laurel Touby</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/loureltouby.png" alt="laureltouby-image" title="laureltouby-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108482" width="579" height="259" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/laureltouby" target="_blank">@laureltouby</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof:</strong> I don’t think any of my other Twitter Profs go out and live Tweet from conferences and meetings more than @laureltouby. As co-creator of mediabistro.com, she’s the one who gets me all the info on media, PR and journalism (when it’s not a Monday evening and I’m on #journchat). Her entrepreneurial energy comes through in her feed as she treks around the country attending conferences, meeting people, and making connections.<br /><strong>Courses Offered:</strong> Media, Media, Media, Networking<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/" target="_blank">mediabistro.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Meryl at Beanstalk</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/meryl333.png" alt="meryl333" title="meryl333" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108483" width="588" height="238" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/Meryl333" target="_blank">@Meryl333</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof:</strong> What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding? Nothing according to @Meryl333. I look to her for reaction to just about everything in current events, which is usually positive and calming. She even shares her Jewish cooking. Sometimes I think I can smell the latkes frying on the stove while she Tweets. Yummy. Good food, good advice and just enough guilt.<br /><strong>Courses Offered:</strong> Peace, Love and Understanding<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://twitter.com/Meryl333" target="_blank">@Meryl1333</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Shel Israel</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/shelisrael.png" alt="shel-israel-image" title="shel-israel-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108496" width="532" height="245" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/shelisrael" target="_blank">@shelisrael</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof:</strong> His breadth of interest and knowledge may make him the Dean of Twitter. He and I may not see eye to eye on brands on Twitter, but at least he respects my opinion on the matter. I also notice that he’s not immune to chasing an idea down a rat hole just in case there’s something under there, which is why he’s spending his days interviewing the people behind the brands on Twitter for a section in his new book, Twitterville, set to be published this fall. But while you wait you can get a ton of info by following his links to his interviews, which he’s posting on his website.<br /><strong>Courses Offered:</strong> Social Media, Journalism.<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://redcouch.typepad.com/" target="_blank">redcouch.typepad.com</a>, <a href="http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/twitterville/" target="_blank">Twitterville</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Conversations-Changing-Businesses-Customers/dp/047174719X" target="_blank">Naked Conversations</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Andrew Maynard</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/2020science.png" alt="2020science" title="2020science" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108497" width="581" height="247" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/2020science" target="_blank">@2020science</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof: </strong>Maynard is a “scientist gone over to the dark side” according to his profile, and I am glad he did. He communicates all the good stuff on his blog that you really don’t get everywhere else. Then he adds in his bio, as if it’s a minor thing” “Oh, and am the Science Advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotech.” Super smart guy on Twitter alert.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Science<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://2020science.org/" target="_blank">2020science.org</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Jeffrey Levy</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/levyj413.png" alt="levyj413" title="levyj413" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108484" width="581" height="259" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/levyj413" target="_blank">@levyj413</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof: </strong>He’s a Government 2.0 pro and with a long resume just on his Twitter profile. Watching his Tweets, I learn about Government on the Web, get info on how Government 2.0 is shaping up, and specific links to government websites for a ton of other information.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Government 2.0<br /><strong>Required Reading: </strong><a href="http://twitter.com/levyj413" target="_blank">@levyj413</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Chris Heuer</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chrisheuer.png" alt="chrisheuer" title="chrisheuer" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108485" width="583" height="245" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/chrisheuer" target="_blank">@chrisheuer</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof:</strong> Do I need another Social Media professor? Probably not, but I make an exception for Heuer. He promotes a way to bring legitimacy to and awareness of Social Media to the public. He co-founded Social Media Club to bring together like-minded people: You and me.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Social Media<br /><strong>Required Reading: </strong><a href="http://www.chrisheuer.com/" target="_blank">chrisheuer.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Brian Stelter</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/brianstelter.jpg" alt="brianstelter" title="brianstelter" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108498" width="575" height="251" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/brianstelter" target="_blank">@brianstelter</a><br /><strong>Why he’s my Prof: </strong>Stelter offers a smart, critical view of television and media. And if you didn’t guess by now, I likes me some media. He intersperses his Tweets with TV factoids, comments about his workday at the New York Times and links to his articles – a 360 degree view of what it’s like to be a media journalist and blogger with The Gray Lady. Ok I’ll admit it; I’m living vicariously through his Tweets.<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> Media, Journalism<br /><strong>Required Reading: </strong><a href="http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/" target="_blank">tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Fern Ellen Cohen</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/fec139.png" alt="fec139-image" title="fec139-image" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108499" width="590" height="207" /> </center> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/fec139" target="_blank">@fec139</a><br /><strong>Why she’s my Prof: </strong>Cohen (no relation) hasn’t posted much yet, but who else is letting you know the interests and experiences of someone with a fatal neurological disease that robs you of your ability to move, breathe and speak and has no treatment and no cure? Yeah. Makes you think, right? Puts things into perspective? That’s what a good Professor does. She’s a former teacher, who used to talk a lot but according to her bio, ALS has forced her to “sit down and shut up.” That did not stop her from communicating and what better way to communicate to the world when you can’t travel far from home or speak aloud than the World Wide Web?<br /><strong>Course Offered:</strong> How to be both earnest and funny in the face of tragedy<br /><strong>Required Reading:</strong> <a href="http://fernals.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">fernals.blogspot.com</a></p> <hr /> <h2>Help me find more professors</h2> <hr /> <p>As you can see from my list, there is no lack of people out there Twittering about media, public relations, social networking and journalism. (In fact, there are a tremendous number of Twitter profiles claiming to be Social Media experts, ninjas or demigods.) My regret is that none of the Twitter Profs on my list are in the arts. Plenty are writers, but none are writing fiction. I’m looking for artists that Twitter about their craft while opening other’s eyes to the world of their chosen profession. Or even better, a real university professor twittering about art history, literature, performing or dramatic arts, etc. Are you out there? I’d like to take your class next semester.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-9171825231217441792009-02-17T09:57:00.000+05:302009-02-17T09:59:15.337+05:30Flash On Most Smartphones: Not Yet. Flash on the iPhone: Maybe Never<h1><a href="http://mashable.com/2009/02/16/flash-smartphones-iphone/"><br /></a></h1>Reading between the lines and past the <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2009/02/15/mobile-flash-apps-get-better-distribution-more-money/" target="_blank">Adobe Flash Lite Distributable Player</a>, <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-10164745-78.html" target="_blank">Adobe’s announcement</a> prior to this year’s Mobile World Congress isn’t all that exciting.<br /> <img class="alignright" src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/adobe_flash_logo.gif" /><br /><p>In short, the full version of Flash is coming to most smartphones - Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile devices, as well as Palm Pre - in early 2010. Which pretty much means they’ll really be announcing it at the next year’s MWC. </p> <p>As far as Flash on the iPhone goes, the neverending saga continues. But the news is not good. From the mouth of Anup Murarka, director of Technology Strategy and Partner Development for Adobe: “We would love to see it on the iPhone, too, but it’s Apple’s decision on when and how they support any new technology. So we will continue to work on it.”</p> <p>In other words, Adobe’s got absolutely nothing to announce, and we’re not only talking about an official release; they haven’t even decided whether they’re doing it or not. I guess we’ll just have to wait some more, maybe even until the next version of iPhone - preferably packing some faster hardware - is out. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-15047123834813207982009-02-17T09:55:00.000+05:302009-02-17T09:57:27.731+05:30Facebook Responds to Concerns Over Terms of Service<h1></h1><div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 30px;"> <script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://mashable.com/2009/02/16/facebook-tos-response/'; digg_title = 'Facebook Responds to Concerns Over Terms of Service'; digg_bodytext = 'Today’s hoopla over changes to the Facebook Terms of Service have prompted a rare blog post from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In the post, Zuckerberg falls short of apologizing for the changes, but rather, uses the opportunity to explain why Facebook more or less keeps your content indefinitely. \n\nHe writes, “When a person shar'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script><iframe src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.php?u=http%3A//mashable.com/2009/02/16/facebook-tos-response/&t=Facebook%20Responds%20to%20Concerns%20Over%20Terms%20of%20Service&b=Today%u2019s%20hoopla%20over%20changes%20to%20the%20Facebook%20Terms%20of%20Service%20have%20prompted%20a%20rare%20blog%20post%20from%20Facebook%20founder%20and%20CEO%20Mark%20Zuckerberg.%20%20In%20the%20post%2C%20Zuckerberg%20falls%20short%20of%20apologizing%20for%20the%20changes%2C%20but%20rather%2C%20uses%20the%20opportunity%20to%20explain%20why%20Facebook%20more%20or%20less%20keeps%20your%20content%20indefinitely.%20%20%0A%0AHe%20writes%2C%20%u201CWhen%20a%20person%20shar" scrolling="no" width="52" frameborder="0" height="80"></iframe> </div><p><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/zuckerberg-r.gif" align="right" />Today’s hoopla over <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/02/16/facebook-tos-privacy/">changes to the Facebook Terms of Service</a> have prompted a rare blog post from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In <a href="http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=54434097130" target="_blank">the post</a>, Zuckerberg falls short of apologizing for the changes, but rather, uses the opportunity to explain why Facebook more or less keeps your content indefinitely. </p> <p>He writes, “When a person shares information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they’ve asked us to share it with. Without this license, we couldn’t help people share that information.” This is true – without making this part of the Terms of Service, someone could technically claim they didn’t know anyone would see their Status Updates, as silly as that may sound.</p> <p>Continuing, Zuckerberg explains why the site keeps content indefinitely. “When a person shares something like a message with a friend, two copies of that information are created—one in the person’s sent messages box and the other in their friend’s inbox. Even if the person deactivates their account, their friend still has a copy of that message. We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work.”</p> <p>That makes sense as well, but I don’t think it gets to the heart of the issue that has people so concerned about Facebook’s terms of service, as the company fails to answer the question of why this piece of the TOS was removed: “You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.”</p> <p>Ultimately, Facebook’s stance can be summarized as “trust us, we won’t do anything bad.” Zuckerberg writes, “In reality, we wouldn’t share your information in a way you wouldn’t want. The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work.”</p> <p>In the end, this fiasco isn’t going to change the way I use Facebook, and I imagine it won’t do much to alter other user’s plans either. Their terms of service, like those of any other company operating on the Web, are designed to put their interests first, and eliminate just about any potential legal risk that their lawyers can think up. </p> <p>Once again though - like with Beacon and the <a href="http://mashable.com/2008/09/18/zuckerberg-responds-to-new-design-criticism/">Facebook re-design revolt</a> - Facebook has done a poor job of communicating the changes, leaving Zuckerberg on the defense instead of proactively keeping users informed on potentially controversial moves the company is making. </p> <p>Chances are Facebook won’t abuse the privileges they are granted under their TOS. The backlash over doing something insane like using member photos without permission would be enormous and Facebook is smart enough not to do it. But as a user, it’s another reminder that what you do on the Internet is probably permanent, and much of it, probably outside your control. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-32165954521034388952009-02-17T09:53:00.000+05:302009-02-17T09:54:46.447+05:30Facebook: All Your Stuff is Ours, Even if You Quit<img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/facebook-logo-spaced.png" alt="facebook-logo-spaced.png" align="right" />The Consumerist has noticed a seemingly slight but very important (and disturbing) <a href="http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-anything-we-want-with-your-content-forever" target="_blank">change in Facebook’s terms of service</a>, regarding user-generated content. <p>In short, all of the content you’ve ever uploaded on Facebook can be used, modified or even sublicensed by Facebook in every possible way - <strong>even if you quit the service</strong>.</p> <p>The TOS says the following:</p> <blockquote><p><em>You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.</em></p></blockquote> <p>It also <strong>used to contain</strong> another bit that is <strong>now missing</strong>.</p> <blockquote><p><em>You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.</em></p></blockquote> <p>This is also reinforced by the “Termination” section:</p> <blockquote><p><em>The following sections will survive any termination of your use of the Facebook Service: Prohibited Conduct, User Content, Your Privacy Practices, Gift Credits, Ownership; Proprietary Rights, Licenses, Submissions, User Disputes; Complaints, Indemnity, General Disclaimers, Limitation on Liability, Termination and Changes to the Facebook Service, Arbitration, Governing Law; Venue and Jurisdiction and Other.</em></p></blockquote> <p>Sure, most users don’t really care (or think they don’t care) about all this, but the idea that you now cannot stop Facebook from using your content should you ever want to is frightening to say the least. </p> <h3> <hr />Is Facebook Connect the reason?</h3> <hr /> <p>Commenter OrtensiaCadmium on Consumerist finds a probable reason for this change in Facebook TOS. </p> <p>“That’s fairly common language in terms for various sites such as Facebook. While it gives Facebook some far-reaching and scary possibilities, the basic idea is that things you upload may end up residing on servers outside of Facebook’s direct control. These broad rights make it so that you can’t sue Facebook for some cached content on some other server…”</p> <p>Yes, with Facebook Connect in place, it’s likely that Facebook simply must do this in order to avoid possible lawsuits over content that isn’t even stored by them anymore. However, the same commenter rightfully notices that “…yes, it also means they can sell your photos or use them in advertising with no recompense to you.”</p> <hr /> <h3>It’s not just your stuff, it’s everyone’s stuff</h3> <hr /> <p>The possible implications of this TOS change go beyond these concerns. Sure, you can choose not to use Facebook at all, but that doesn’t mean a thing. Someone can still take your photo, slap it on Facebook, and now <strong>neither you nor the author of the photo</strong> can stop Facebook from using the photo in whichever way they please. </p> <p>Looking at it globally, millions of people are uploading bits of information on everyone and everything, to a huge online database, and by doing so they’re automatically <strong>giving away the rights</strong> to use or modify this information <strong>to a private corporation</strong>. And not only that; they now also <strong>waiver the right</strong> to ever take it back from it. </p> <p>Facebook should take a long, deep look into how it treats its users. Until now, users had <strong>options</strong> with regards to how the data they generated on Facebook was used. Now, they have no options whatsoever, rather than quit the service altogether. It’s a <strong>major difference</strong>; I’m not going to take it lightly, and neither should you. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6790310272056891522.post-50932496532652722772009-02-16T15:21:00.001+05:302009-02-16T15:24:04.521+05:30HOW TO: Create Groups for TwitterOne of the most demanded features for Twitter has been the ability to create groups, allowing members to focus on different sets of people they’re following. For example, you could create groups for all of your fantasy league friends, colleagues at work, friends in real life, family members, and so on.<br /> <img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/groups.jpg" alt="groups" title="groups" class="alignright size-full wp-image-108279" width="249" height="176" /><br /><p>Because Twitter still does not provide any group feature, it has opened the floodgates for countless third party solutions. There are many different ways Twitter members can create virtual groups. Here is a roundup of some of the most popular methods employed today.</p> <p><em>Have another method to tell us about? Let us know more in the comments.</em></p> <hr /> <h2>Third Party Services</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/tweetworks.png" alt="tweetworks" title="tweetworks" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108281" width="590" height="197" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="http://www.tweetworks.com/" target="_blank">TweetWorks</a></strong> - My favorite of the bunch because it’s so quick and easy to setup a group. Here’s one that I created called <a href="http://www.tweetworks.com/groups/view/Writers" target="_blank">Writers</a> for people interested in writing. Groups can be public or private, which is a plus. Another good option is the ability to post messages just to your group or to the group and the public Twitter timeline at the same time. Currently there is a limit to the number of private groups you can create or join but eventually there will be a premium account with an unlimited option. You don’t need to join the service, but you do need to login with your Twitter account (<em>If you’re concerned with security, you can view their <a href="http://tweetworks.com/pages/privacy">privacy policy here</a></em>).</p> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/twittangl.png" alt="twittangl" title="twittangl" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108285" width="590" height="236" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="http://www.twittangle.com/" target="_blank">TwitTangle</a></strong> - You don’t just create groups on this service but also tag and rate your friends which helps you filter your timeline any way you want. The best feature is batch grouping which lets you drag and drop many friends easily into the groups you’ve created. You’ll need to use your Twitter name and password to login to this service.</p> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/twitag.png" alt="twitag" title="twitag" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108289" width="590" height="218" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="http://www.twitag.com/" target="_blank">TwitTag</a></strong> - This isn’t really a group tweeting service, but a tag searching service that you can use to filter tweets according to whatever unique hashtag you’ve established for your group. For example, you could include a hashtag like #MyNewGroup in any message you post on Twitter and TwitTag will group all of those messages together on its service.</p> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/filttr.jpg" alt="filttr" title="filttr" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108293" width="590" height="247" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="https://filttr.com/" target="_blank">Filttr</a></strong> - A new service that provides the ability to establish groups according to filters (hence its name) that you apply to your own Twitter stream. You create your groups by simply clicking each name you want to add to that group.</p> <hr /> <h2>Twitter Clients</h2> <hr /> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/tweetdeck.png" alt="tweetdeck" title="tweetdeck" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108304" width="590" height="264" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/" target="_blank">TweetDeck</a></strong> - This has become one of the most popular Twitter clients because of the way you can create groups with all of your contacts and filter messages the way you want them. It requires Adobe Air and sports a slick black interface.</p> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/twhirl.png" alt="twhirl" title="twhirl" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108303" width="320" height="400" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="http://twhirl.org/" target="_blank">twhirl</a></strong> - Another wildly popular Twitter client that also includes support for Friendfeed. While there’s no inherent way to create groups for Twitter (as you can with TweetDeck), you can use its Friendfeed connection to access Friendfeed’s Rooms feature which acts like a grouping tool.</p> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/journchat.png" alt="journchat" title="journchat" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108347" width="590" height="274" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="http://twitter.com/" target="_blank">Twitter</a></strong> - You can use Twitter’s <a href="http://search.twitter.com/" target="_blank">powerful search tool</a> to create an adhoc group similar to the method explained in TwitTag which involves using unique hashtags for your groups.</p> <hr /> <h2>Your Own Twitter Service</h2> <hr /> <p>If none of these floats your boat then why not roll your own Twitter-like service for your group? Many solutions offer free ways to do so with little effort on your part.</p> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/yammer.png" alt="yammer" title="yammer" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108297" width="590" height="486" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="https://www.yammer.com/" target="_blank">Yammer</a></strong> - Most likely the most popular Twitter-Clone service around today. The biggest complaint is that all members must have the same domain in their email address.</p> <center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qXVVdrrqAg4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qXVVdrrqAg4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> </center> <p><strong><a href="http://twingr.com/" target="_blank">Twingr</a></strong> - The members are not restricted to using the same domain in email addresses here. Every group gets their own URL such as <strong>http://GroupName.twingr.com</strong>.</p> <center><img src="http://ec.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/qikcom.png" alt="qikcom" title="qikcom" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108301" width="500" height="300" /> </center> <p><strong><a href="https://www.qikcom.com/" target="_blank">QikCom</a></strong> - Similar to Yammer except Qikcom offers several premium accounts that include more administrative functions and tools. You can customize the free accounts with your own logo and add as many employees as you want.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://laconi.ca/trac/" target="_blank">Laconi.ca</a></strong> - You can host your own Twitter-like service on your own server inside your firewall if you want thanks to this open source solution that continues to gain traction. This is the technology that <a href="http://identi.ca/" target="_blank">Identi.ca</a> runs on so you can test it out without installing it.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0