Microsoft Corp said on Thursday its "Courier" tablet PC, vaunted by some as a potential rival to Apple Inc's iPad, will not be launched as a product, at least not in its current form.
The device -- which has never been publicly acknowledged by Microsoft -- appeared to be a thin, twin-screen, pen and touch-operated portable PC that resembled an opened notebook, in photos published by tech blog Gizmodo.
There was some excitement earlier this year that Microsoft would unveil Courier at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but instead Chief Executive Steve Ballmer touted a Hewlett-Packard Co slate-like device in his keynote speech.
The company indicated on Thursday that Courier will not see the light of day in its current form, but did not rule out Microsoft launching its own slate or tablet PC in the future.
"At any given time, across any of our business groups, there are new ideas being investigated, tested and incubated," said Frank Shaw, head of Microsoft's PR department, in a blog on the company's site today. "The 'Courier' project is an example of this type of effort and its technologies will be evaluated for use in future Microsoft offerings."
Gulf of Mexico Big Slick
A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has become far worse than initially though crept toward the coast Thursday as government officials offered help from the military to prevent a disaster that could destroy fragile marshlands along the shore.
An executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said on NBC's "Today" that the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.
"We'll take help from anyone," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.
The Coast Guard has urged the company to formally request more resources from the Defense Department.
But time may be running out: Oil from the spill had crept to within 12 miles of the coast, which could coat as soon as Friday. A third leak was discovered, which government officials said is spewing five times as much oil into the water as originally estimated – about 5,000 barrels a day coming from the blown-out well 40 miles offshore.
Suttles had initially disputed the government's estimate, or that the company was unable to handle the operation to contain it.
But early Thursday, he acknowledged on "Today" that the leak may be as bad as the government says. He said there was no way to measure the flow at the seabed and estimates have to come from how much oil makes it to the surface.
If the well cannot be closed, almost 100,000 barrels of oil, or 4.2 million gallons, could spill into the Gulf before crews can drill a relief well to alleviate the pressure. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez, the worst oil spill in U.S. history, leaked 11 million gallons into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.
As dawn broke Thursday in the oil industry hub of Venice, about 75 miles from New Orleans and not far from the mouth of the Mississippi River, crews loaded orange oil boom aboard a supply boat at Bud's Boat Launch. There, local officials expressed frustration with the pace of the government's response and the communication they were getting from the Coast Guard and BP officials.
An executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said on NBC's "Today" that the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.
"We'll take help from anyone," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.
The Coast Guard has urged the company to formally request more resources from the Defense Department.
But time may be running out: Oil from the spill had crept to within 12 miles of the coast, which could coat as soon as Friday. A third leak was discovered, which government officials said is spewing five times as much oil into the water as originally estimated – about 5,000 barrels a day coming from the blown-out well 40 miles offshore.
Suttles had initially disputed the government's estimate, or that the company was unable to handle the operation to contain it.
But early Thursday, he acknowledged on "Today" that the leak may be as bad as the government says. He said there was no way to measure the flow at the seabed and estimates have to come from how much oil makes it to the surface.
If the well cannot be closed, almost 100,000 barrels of oil, or 4.2 million gallons, could spill into the Gulf before crews can drill a relief well to alleviate the pressure. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez, the worst oil spill in U.S. history, leaked 11 million gallons into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.
As dawn broke Thursday in the oil industry hub of Venice, about 75 miles from New Orleans and not far from the mouth of the Mississippi River, crews loaded orange oil boom aboard a supply boat at Bud's Boat Launch. There, local officials expressed frustration with the pace of the government's response and the communication they were getting from the Coast Guard and BP officials.
Sago chair by Wan Khamsiah Wan Ali
Design, then, is the most effective element towards saving the environment. Take another example, a well designed piece of furniture. It should be durable enough to withstand long years of repeated use, since there must be thousands of badly made chairs discarded everyday. At the same time, a good chair should be affordable enough for the masses.
Wan Khamsiah Wan Ali, 23, believes she has a solution to meet both. “Twelve tonnes of sago waste is discarded daily in Sarawak,” Khamsiah told StarMetro recently.
“Most of the waste ends up buried or thrown into rivers. But waste is only waste if can’t find another use for it.”
Her solution is ingenious.
While preparing for her final year project during her Industrial Design Bachelor’s Degree at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), she figured why not compact sago waste, forming plywood like building materials.
This process is not new, but Khamsiah’s usage of sago waste is.
Since the 1980s, medium-density fibreboards (MDF) has been one of the major manufacturing materials, used from making speaker cabinets to ceiling boards.
The engineering is pretty simple. Breakdown any soft or medium density wood, combine it with wax, to form panels by applying high pressure.
MDF, although not aesthetically pleasing, can be laminated with a layer of high quality wood.
For Khamsiah’s sago MDF, she has found a ratio of one part sago waste to three parts polystyrene works best. It allows the composite material to be light but tough.
With the material in hand, the Unimas undergraduate fashioned a chair. “It’s a modular design,” she said, sitting on one.
“My design allows the chair to be used for one person, or it can unfold to sit two. In the unfolded position, the top is concave for better ergonomics, but for older people, who may find it harder to sit down and stand up, the chair can be turned upside down. This increases the sitting height.”
Khamsiah’s creativity is an advantage of youth, the period where new ideas come easily, when experimentation is not bounded by cynicism or by notions of being overly “practical” or “realistic”.
What Khamsiah’s ingenuity also proves is the importance of knowledge. Her awareness of environmental issues, coupled with her keen eye for a good statistic – the amount of sago waste produced everyday – allowed her to integrate ideas, producing something new and original.
Wan Khamsiah Wan Ali, 23, believes she has a solution to meet both. “Twelve tonnes of sago waste is discarded daily in Sarawak,” Khamsiah told StarMetro recently.
“Most of the waste ends up buried or thrown into rivers. But waste is only waste if can’t find another use for it.”
Her solution is ingenious.
While preparing for her final year project during her Industrial Design Bachelor’s Degree at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), she figured why not compact sago waste, forming plywood like building materials.
This process is not new, but Khamsiah’s usage of sago waste is.
Since the 1980s, medium-density fibreboards (MDF) has been one of the major manufacturing materials, used from making speaker cabinets to ceiling boards.
The engineering is pretty simple. Breakdown any soft or medium density wood, combine it with wax, to form panels by applying high pressure.
MDF, although not aesthetically pleasing, can be laminated with a layer of high quality wood.
For Khamsiah’s sago MDF, she has found a ratio of one part sago waste to three parts polystyrene works best. It allows the composite material to be light but tough.
With the material in hand, the Unimas undergraduate fashioned a chair. “It’s a modular design,” she said, sitting on one.
“My design allows the chair to be used for one person, or it can unfold to sit two. In the unfolded position, the top is concave for better ergonomics, but for older people, who may find it harder to sit down and stand up, the chair can be turned upside down. This increases the sitting height.”
Khamsiah’s creativity is an advantage of youth, the period where new ideas come easily, when experimentation is not bounded by cynicism or by notions of being overly “practical” or “realistic”.
What Khamsiah’s ingenuity also proves is the importance of knowledge. Her awareness of environmental issues, coupled with her keen eye for a good statistic – the amount of sago waste produced everyday – allowed her to integrate ideas, producing something new and original.
Top 10 Hottest Brands of 2010
In ranking it's "Good Brands of 2010", PSFK, a trends research and innovation company, said being a "good" brand in 2010 requires more than just "a widely used product." Maybe so. Still, that's one thing PSFK's top 11 brands undoubtedly have in common. Call it "imagination" or "innovation" or even "social consciousness" but cutting edge products and services drive the success of these brands.
#11 - Facebook - Facebook has 400 million users checking in daily and soon plans to introduce satellite portals on other websites through which Facebook friends can interact, according to the New York Times.
#10 - Nintendo - Nintendo recently announced the release of a 3-D gaming on its DS System that doesn't require glasses, says PSFK's Good Brands 2010 Report.
#9 - Foursquare - Foursquare is a location-based social networking service for mobile devices that allows users to "check in" at venues (restaurants or shops), and earn digital "badges" that can be exchanged for deals at those venues. As of March 2010, Foursquare had more than 500,000 users visiting 1.4 million venues, according to the company's blog. BLOGTACTIC'S COMMENT: How can Foursquare be a hottest brand when on half million people used it?
#8 - Twitter - Twitter has begun advertising to users using small ads or "Promoted Tweets" that will appear at the top of search results if users conduct a search on the site, says a WSJ report.
#7 - Nike - Bigtime Nike athletes like Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger may be wrapped up in scandal, but the company still "understands, anticipates, and inspires the desires of its broad consumer base," says PSFK's Good Brands Report.
#6 - IKEA - A new IKEA marketing campaign recently furnished 4 Parisian subway with sofas and lamps, says a WSJ report.
#5 - Ace Hotel - Ace Hotel designs its rooms with local flair to offer visitors a more authentic feel, says the PSFK report.
#4 - MIT - MIT's SENSEable City Laboratory recently developed the Copenhagen Wheel, a bicycle wheel that through its connection to an iPhone uses a biker's energy to monitor speed, collect data on air pollution, even show the proximity of a rider's friends, according to a MIT website.
#3 - Jamie Oliver - Oliver, who has quickly become the face of a healthy eating revolution, lead a campaign to improve meals in schools that raised over $1 billion in the UK, according to PSFK's report.
#2 - Apple - Apple's S&P 500 market value just surpassed Microsoft's according to a WSJ report. Apple now has the second largest market cap in the S&P behind Exxon Mobil.
#1 - Google - With new tools like Buzz, Wave, and the operating system Android, Google continues to churn out apps and services that improve access and openness--two online ideals the company lives by. Google's most recent tool exposes government agencies from around the world that have tried to censor content from Google services.
Recommended reading:
* Google Most Valuable Global Brands 2009
#11 - Facebook - Facebook has 400 million users checking in daily and soon plans to introduce satellite portals on other websites through which Facebook friends can interact, according to the New York Times.
#10 - Nintendo - Nintendo recently announced the release of a 3-D gaming on its DS System that doesn't require glasses, says PSFK's Good Brands 2010 Report.
#9 - Foursquare - Foursquare is a location-based social networking service for mobile devices that allows users to "check in" at venues (restaurants or shops), and earn digital "badges" that can be exchanged for deals at those venues. As of March 2010, Foursquare had more than 500,000 users visiting 1.4 million venues, according to the company's blog. BLOGTACTIC'S COMMENT: How can Foursquare be a hottest brand when on half million people used it?
#8 - Twitter - Twitter has begun advertising to users using small ads or "Promoted Tweets" that will appear at the top of search results if users conduct a search on the site, says a WSJ report.
#7 - Nike - Bigtime Nike athletes like Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger may be wrapped up in scandal, but the company still "understands, anticipates, and inspires the desires of its broad consumer base," says PSFK's Good Brands Report.
#6 - IKEA - A new IKEA marketing campaign recently furnished 4 Parisian subway with sofas and lamps, says a WSJ report.
#5 - Ace Hotel - Ace Hotel designs its rooms with local flair to offer visitors a more authentic feel, says the PSFK report.
#4 - MIT - MIT's SENSEable City Laboratory recently developed the Copenhagen Wheel, a bicycle wheel that through its connection to an iPhone uses a biker's energy to monitor speed, collect data on air pollution, even show the proximity of a rider's friends, according to a MIT website.
#3 - Jamie Oliver - Oliver, who has quickly become the face of a healthy eating revolution, lead a campaign to improve meals in schools that raised over $1 billion in the UK, according to PSFK's report.
#2 - Apple - Apple's S&P 500 market value just surpassed Microsoft's according to a WSJ report. Apple now has the second largest market cap in the S&P behind Exxon Mobil.
#1 - Google - With new tools like Buzz, Wave, and the operating system Android, Google continues to churn out apps and services that improve access and openness--two online ideals the company lives by. Google's most recent tool exposes government agencies from around the world that have tried to censor content from Google services.
Recommended reading:
* Google Most Valuable Global Brands 2009
Groggle typosquatters on Google
The difference between Groggle and Google is the letter "r". Google however argues that Groggle is "substantially identical with and deceptively similar to" its own trademarks.Cameron Collie, a web entrepreneur from Brisbane, has spent several years working part-time with a mate on Groggle, a location-based alcohol price comparison website service allowing consumers to search for the cheapest price on liquor products in their area.
After obtaining all of the relevant Groggle domain names for each country and registering the business, Collie applied to register Groggle as a trademark. His site was already in the beta test phase and Collie, 36, was planning a formal launch within weeks, as well as an accompanying iPhone app.
The trademark application was accepted by IP Australia but, with just days left for other companies to launch an objection, Google's lawyers sent Collie a cease and desist letter.
The letter, seen by this website, demands that Collie withdraw his trademark application, change the company name and transfer all domain names to Google.
So, so do you think Groggle is typosquatters on Google?
I for one think Groogle has a nice logo, using a bottle cap as a theme.
Recommended reading:
* What if everyone whose account was canceled sued Google?
* Koogle Search Engine For Ultra-Orthodox Jews
All-India 3G licence hits 79 billion rupees
Bids for one set of nationwide third-generation (3G) mobile spectrum licences in India reached 79 billion rupees (RM5.7 billion), or 126 per cent above the base price, on the thirteenth day of an auction, government data showed.Seventy-six rounds of bidding had been completed by Saturday, the Department of Telecommunications said on its website.
The auction started on April 9 and is still on.
The base price for one set of pan-India licences had been set at 35 billion (RM2.51 billion) rupees.
The government will sell four such licences — three from the auction and one set to the state-run telecoms firms who would have to match the highest bid price paid by the private operators.
Nine mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone’s Indian unit, are participating in the auction.
There is no bidding on Sunday. The auction resumes on Monday.
Recommended reading:
* India leaping into 3G wireless Internet
Shanzhai - fake iPads
The first news about pirated iPads. The Chinese ability to clone just about everything is getting better by the day. Just three weeks after the US launch, bootleg versions of Apple's hot-selling iPad tablet PCs have begun showing up on the shelves of online and real-world shops in piracy-prone China.
Apple recently delayed the iPad's international launch after huge demand in the United States caught the maker of trendy iPhones and MacBooks off guard. But Chinese consumers looking for knock-offs of the company's latest must-have product need look no further than a teeming electronics mall in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boomtown near the border with Hong Kong.
Here, tiny shops are stuffed with pirated versions of everything: from Microsoft's newest Windows 7 operating system, a steal at $US2 ($2.15) each, to a range of Apple products, from iPhones to MacBooks and the lightweight MacBook Air.
After extensive queries with multiple shopkeepers, one surnamed Lin offered the sought-after item in a dark back room on the market's fifth floor away from the hustle and bustle.
Hefty and thickset with three USB ports and a more rectangular shape than the original, this knock-off with iPad aspirations, which runs a Windows operating system, looks more like a giant iPhone. It costs 2800 yuan ($440), making it slightly cheaper than the iPad's cheapest $US499 price tag.
"This is just the first rough version," says Lin, a crew-cut agent, speaking in bursts of quick-fire Cantonese.
"While the shape isn't quite the same, the external appearance is very similar to the iPad, so we don't think it will affect our sales that much," he added, explaining the difference was due to the difficulty sourcing matching parts because of the quick two-month turnaround time for the first version's development.
Hard-working Chinese bootleggers are rushing to fill a vacuum that won't last for long, created by unexpectedly strong demand for the iPad in its first weeks on the market.
The 10-inch entertainment device, on which one can read books, play music and videos and surf the internet, sold more than 500,000 in its first week alone, and continued strong US demand has led Apple to delay the product's international launch to the end of April.
Chinese counterfeiters have rushed to fill the iPad gap.
Taobao, China's largest online marketplace, contains hundreds of listings for the coveted product, many real but some dubiously labelled as "China goods" with claims to have even better features than the real deal.
Like the models in the Shenzhen market, these fake iPads also retail for about 2800 yuan each, compared with 4000-6000 yuan for those marketed as real.
Analysts and gadget fanatics expect the iPad to do well in Asia given Apple's strong branding and the rising number of affluent middle-class consumers. But few are surprised by the quick appearance of a counterfeit version in a country where pirated movies often appear in markets in the same week as their theatrical release.
"China is basically a market that has the ability to clone everything, so it's really not surprising," said Edward Yu, chief executive of Beijing-based researcher Analysys International.
"I don't think piracy is a bad thing for the iPad given that China has a huge population. Maybe the clone iPads will give more of the potential users a look and feel."
Back in Shenzhen, Lin said factories around China's Pearl River Delta - the country's biggest export manufacturing hub - were working hard on an updated version of the pirated iPads to feed strong demand.
"This is just the first rough version," Lin said. "Eventually, the factories will be able to make a much better copy."
Recommended reading:
* Top 10 Copyright Piracy Nations
* Shaoxing, China is a city of hackers
Apple recently delayed the iPad's international launch after huge demand in the United States caught the maker of trendy iPhones and MacBooks off guard. But Chinese consumers looking for knock-offs of the company's latest must-have product need look no further than a teeming electronics mall in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boomtown near the border with Hong Kong.
Here, tiny shops are stuffed with pirated versions of everything: from Microsoft's newest Windows 7 operating system, a steal at $US2 ($2.15) each, to a range of Apple products, from iPhones to MacBooks and the lightweight MacBook Air.After extensive queries with multiple shopkeepers, one surnamed Lin offered the sought-after item in a dark back room on the market's fifth floor away from the hustle and bustle.
Hefty and thickset with three USB ports and a more rectangular shape than the original, this knock-off with iPad aspirations, which runs a Windows operating system, looks more like a giant iPhone. It costs 2800 yuan ($440), making it slightly cheaper than the iPad's cheapest $US499 price tag.
"This is just the first rough version," says Lin, a crew-cut agent, speaking in bursts of quick-fire Cantonese.
"While the shape isn't quite the same, the external appearance is very similar to the iPad, so we don't think it will affect our sales that much," he added, explaining the difference was due to the difficulty sourcing matching parts because of the quick two-month turnaround time for the first version's development.
Hard-working Chinese bootleggers are rushing to fill a vacuum that won't last for long, created by unexpectedly strong demand for the iPad in its first weeks on the market.
The 10-inch entertainment device, on which one can read books, play music and videos and surf the internet, sold more than 500,000 in its first week alone, and continued strong US demand has led Apple to delay the product's international launch to the end of April.
Chinese counterfeiters have rushed to fill the iPad gap.
Taobao, China's largest online marketplace, contains hundreds of listings for the coveted product, many real but some dubiously labelled as "China goods" with claims to have even better features than the real deal.
Like the models in the Shenzhen market, these fake iPads also retail for about 2800 yuan each, compared with 4000-6000 yuan for those marketed as real.
Analysts and gadget fanatics expect the iPad to do well in Asia given Apple's strong branding and the rising number of affluent middle-class consumers. But few are surprised by the quick appearance of a counterfeit version in a country where pirated movies often appear in markets in the same week as their theatrical release.
"China is basically a market that has the ability to clone everything, so it's really not surprising," said Edward Yu, chief executive of Beijing-based researcher Analysys International.
"I don't think piracy is a bad thing for the iPad given that China has a huge population. Maybe the clone iPads will give more of the potential users a look and feel."
Back in Shenzhen, Lin said factories around China's Pearl River Delta - the country's biggest export manufacturing hub - were working hard on an updated version of the pirated iPads to feed strong demand.
"This is just the first rough version," Lin said. "Eventually, the factories will be able to make a much better copy."
Recommended reading:
* Top 10 Copyright Piracy Nations
* Shaoxing, China is a city of hackers
Is Google really Earth Friendly
I'm a bit too late to blog about Earth Day but one article called "Eating our way through Earth Day" that I read prompted me to question if Google is really Earth friendly.
Last month, Google Maps biking directions launched in the U.S. and Google hope that having these directions on hand will help you find less carbon-intensive ways to commute to work or meet friends. Just the other week Google added a new feature in Google Finance that reports companies’ carbon disclosure rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Oh come on Google, we all know that Google operates huge data centres around the world that consume a great deal of power. Anytime you made a Google search, it has a definite environmental impact. Read Google negative effect on the environment.
It is also ironic that Google has it own PowerMeter tool. Google PowerMeter is a free energy monitoring tool that allows you to view your home's energy consumption from anywhere online. Unfortunately, Google PowerMeter is only available in the US, UK and Germany.
Recommend reading:
* Save The World From Global Warming - How to
* Saving money on your fuel bill
Last month, Google Maps biking directions launched in the U.S. and Google hope that having these directions on hand will help you find less carbon-intensive ways to commute to work or meet friends. Just the other week Google added a new feature in Google Finance that reports companies’ carbon disclosure rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Oh come on Google, we all know that Google operates huge data centres around the world that consume a great deal of power. Anytime you made a Google search, it has a definite environmental impact. Read Google negative effect on the environment.
It is also ironic that Google has it own PowerMeter tool. Google PowerMeter is a free energy monitoring tool that allows you to view your home's energy consumption from anywhere online. Unfortunately, Google PowerMeter is only available in the US, UK and Germany.
Recommend reading:
* Save The World From Global Warming - How to
* Saving money on your fuel bill
Top 10 Security Risks
Top 10 biggest security risks, and how to fix them or rather, how to avoid them.
1. Leave Your Wi-Fi Wide Open - Leaving your Wi-Fi unprotected by a password, thus sharing your Internet connection with the rest of the world, may seem like a harmless and, heck, even a swell, neighborly thing to do. But, in the cyberworld, it's the equivalent of leaving all the doors and windows of your house open while you're away.
2. Don't Hide Behind a Firewall - At the moment you connect a PC to the Internet, it'll be probed for vulnerabilities within minutes by roving malicious programs, and, if any are found, will quickly be under siege. Thus, activate your Firewall. Any firewall is better than no firewall.
3. Open an E-mail From a Stranger - Anti-virus software is only as good as its most recent update, so fresh new viruses, Trojan horses and other malware continue to be spread by the most obvious mechanism possible: e-mail. Or rather, by the nincompoops who defy what should be common sense and spread those diseased e-mails. Oh, and let's not forget about phishing adventures, either. First things first, if you receive an e-mail from any source claiming to be your bank, credit card company or any other business with which you're affiliated, know that there shouldn't be a link to your log-in or account info in an e-mail. The only time you should log into any site that involves business is after you type the Web address in your browser. (A popular phishing technique is to put links in e-mails that take people to lookalike Web sites, where fooled users input their password info.) Also, if you receive an e-mail from anyone you don't recognize, you should be instantly suspicious; after all, typically, the only people who have your e-mail address are people you know. If there's no subject line, or an odd one, simply delete the e-mail.
4. Use Publicly Shared PCs - One of the surest ways to take your entire private world public is to visit an Internet café in some far off land (or around the corner for that matter) to check e-mail, pay bills online or update your Facebook status. That may sound extreme, and wildly unfair to the Internet café industry, but the unfortunate fact is that if you use a shared computer anywhere, you've just played Russian roulette. There is simply no foolproof way to tell whether or not your log-in info and passwords have been recorded by the PC's owner, or by someone who has fiddled with the machine (whether in person or via a downloaded virus). Call us paranoid all you want, but we're right.
5. Use Weak Passwords - There's a saying we just coined this moment that goes: "Give me a Google search of just about anyone, and you've given me his or her passwords." It's not strictly true, but try to tell us without laughing that you don't have at least one important password -- the sole source of security you have online -- that is a version of your social security number, birthday, old phone number or ZIP code. Read alsoTop 10 Hacker's Favourite Passwords
6. Don't Password Protect Your Hardware - It's so awesome being a thief these days. When you swipe someone's laptop or smartphone, you not only get their hardware, but -- since so few people bother using passwords -- you get all of their private data, as well. It's like two-for-one day, every day!
7. Don't Install System Software Updates - You know all those pesky little notifications in the bottom corner of your monitor that never seem to go away? Yeah, those mean that you haven't updated your software in a few months or years. And they also mean that you haven't installed those crucial patches of all the vulnerabilities you've been reading about in the news. They might also explain why your computer is running so slowly.
8. Download and Install Cracked Software - Look, we get it; $600 is crazy money to pay for Photoshop, especially since you only need it to put together that one killer LOLcatz the world has been awaiting. Well, besides the fact that you're dealing in stolen goods (and you are), you're taking a tremendous risk by installing software that doesn't come from a trusted source. The torrent may be named "Photoshop," but it may as well say "Trojan" for all you know. Even if it ends up being Photoshop, that doesn't mean it hasn't been hacked in some malicious way that you can't detect. Just remember, crack(ed software) is wack.
9. Use an Administrator Account for Matters Other Than Security - A study from last year showed that about 90-percent of Windows 7 security vulnerabilities occurred when users set up accounts with administrator privileges. In English, that means that your log-in account has the ability to install software and otherwise fiddle with the software guts of your computer. Plus, if your computer encounters malicious software, having administrative privileges often makes it easier for those nasties to dig deep into your system. And, as Windows 7 is far more secure than previous versions, it only gets worse the older your PC is.
10. Plug a Found USB Stick Into Your PC - This one is a bit of a rarity, but apparently cagey-hacker types have taken to putting malicious software on USB sticks and memory cards. Then they leave them out in the open with the hopes that they'll find their way into the hands of curious techies and corporate PCs. We have to admit, it's pretty genius. Read Free malware-infected USB drives from IBM
Source: switched.com
1. Leave Your Wi-Fi Wide Open - Leaving your Wi-Fi unprotected by a password, thus sharing your Internet connection with the rest of the world, may seem like a harmless and, heck, even a swell, neighborly thing to do. But, in the cyberworld, it's the equivalent of leaving all the doors and windows of your house open while you're away.
2. Don't Hide Behind a Firewall - At the moment you connect a PC to the Internet, it'll be probed for vulnerabilities within minutes by roving malicious programs, and, if any are found, will quickly be under siege. Thus, activate your Firewall. Any firewall is better than no firewall.
3. Open an E-mail From a Stranger - Anti-virus software is only as good as its most recent update, so fresh new viruses, Trojan horses and other malware continue to be spread by the most obvious mechanism possible: e-mail. Or rather, by the nincompoops who defy what should be common sense and spread those diseased e-mails. Oh, and let's not forget about phishing adventures, either. First things first, if you receive an e-mail from any source claiming to be your bank, credit card company or any other business with which you're affiliated, know that there shouldn't be a link to your log-in or account info in an e-mail. The only time you should log into any site that involves business is after you type the Web address in your browser. (A popular phishing technique is to put links in e-mails that take people to lookalike Web sites, where fooled users input their password info.) Also, if you receive an e-mail from anyone you don't recognize, you should be instantly suspicious; after all, typically, the only people who have your e-mail address are people you know. If there's no subject line, or an odd one, simply delete the e-mail.
4. Use Publicly Shared PCs - One of the surest ways to take your entire private world public is to visit an Internet café in some far off land (or around the corner for that matter) to check e-mail, pay bills online or update your Facebook status. That may sound extreme, and wildly unfair to the Internet café industry, but the unfortunate fact is that if you use a shared computer anywhere, you've just played Russian roulette. There is simply no foolproof way to tell whether or not your log-in info and passwords have been recorded by the PC's owner, or by someone who has fiddled with the machine (whether in person or via a downloaded virus). Call us paranoid all you want, but we're right.
5. Use Weak Passwords - There's a saying we just coined this moment that goes: "Give me a Google search of just about anyone, and you've given me his or her passwords." It's not strictly true, but try to tell us without laughing that you don't have at least one important password -- the sole source of security you have online -- that is a version of your social security number, birthday, old phone number or ZIP code. Read alsoTop 10 Hacker's Favourite Passwords
6. Don't Password Protect Your Hardware - It's so awesome being a thief these days. When you swipe someone's laptop or smartphone, you not only get their hardware, but -- since so few people bother using passwords -- you get all of their private data, as well. It's like two-for-one day, every day!
7. Don't Install System Software Updates - You know all those pesky little notifications in the bottom corner of your monitor that never seem to go away? Yeah, those mean that you haven't updated your software in a few months or years. And they also mean that you haven't installed those crucial patches of all the vulnerabilities you've been reading about in the news. They might also explain why your computer is running so slowly.
8. Download and Install Cracked Software - Look, we get it; $600 is crazy money to pay for Photoshop, especially since you only need it to put together that one killer LOLcatz the world has been awaiting. Well, besides the fact that you're dealing in stolen goods (and you are), you're taking a tremendous risk by installing software that doesn't come from a trusted source. The torrent may be named "Photoshop," but it may as well say "Trojan" for all you know. Even if it ends up being Photoshop, that doesn't mean it hasn't been hacked in some malicious way that you can't detect. Just remember, crack(ed software) is wack.
9. Use an Administrator Account for Matters Other Than Security - A study from last year showed that about 90-percent of Windows 7 security vulnerabilities occurred when users set up accounts with administrator privileges. In English, that means that your log-in account has the ability to install software and otherwise fiddle with the software guts of your computer. Plus, if your computer encounters malicious software, having administrative privileges often makes it easier for those nasties to dig deep into your system. And, as Windows 7 is far more secure than previous versions, it only gets worse the older your PC is.
10. Plug a Found USB Stick Into Your PC - This one is a bit of a rarity, but apparently cagey-hacker types have taken to putting malicious software on USB sticks and memory cards. Then they leave them out in the open with the hopes that they'll find their way into the hands of curious techies and corporate PCs. We have to admit, it's pretty genius. Read Free malware-infected USB drives from IBM
Source: switched.com
Adaburnu-Golmar hotel - Turkey's first nudist hotel opens
Nudist foreign tourists will be able to work on their full-body tan on the sun-kissed Turkish coast from next week, when the mainly Muslim country opens its first naturist hotel, a report said Sunday.Open exclusively to foreigners, the beachfront nudist-only hotel opens on May 1 near the major southwestern resort of Marmaris, a small revolution in Turkey's conservative society, Milliyet newspaper reported.
'Nudism is allowed inside the hotel premises, but not on the nearby public beaches,' Ahmet Cosar, bookings manager at the Adaburnu-Golmar hotel, told the newspaper.
For guests who are determined to shun bathing suits, the hotel will provide a shuttle bus to and from a private naturist beach.
Hotel bogel pertama di Turki
Pelancong-pelancong kini boleh menikmati sinaran matahari sambil berbogel di pesisiran pantai Turki bermula minggu depan apabila negara Islam itu membuka sebuah hotel yang membolehkan mereka tidak memakai sebarang pakaian, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.
Dibuka khusus untuk pelancong asing, hotel bogel yang menghadap pantai itu akan dibuka pada 1 Mei depan terletak berdekatan sebuah resort.
"Pelancong dibenarkan berbogel di dalam kawasan hotel tetapi bukan di kawasan pantai awam berdekatan," kata Pengurus tempahan hotel Adaburnu-Golmar, Ahmet Cosar.
Bagi tetamu yang bertekad untuk tidak memakai pakaian mandi, pihak hotel akan menyediakan bas untuk ke pantai bogel persendirian.
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Gmail Accounts Hacked
It appears that Gmail has been hit with a broad, while crude, attack that has hijacked a number of user accounts, sending spam offers of cheap Viagra to the hacked person's contacts.
The first reports trickled in about a week ago, but the level of spam seems to have increased in the last couple of days.
Details are slim, but the spam messages are reportedly being sent via Gmail's mobile site, leading some to suspect there may be a bug in the product. Google has indicated that investigation had not revealed any vulnerabilities in Gmail (either the mobile or full desktop versions), and speculated that it might be simpler for an automated bot to be programed to use the mobile version.
It's likely that the log-in credentials for these accounts were harvested using traditional phishing techniques or malware, hardly a Gmail-specific issue. As usual, much of this problem probably could have been avoided with good browsing habits.
In another development, Google Hack Leaked to Internet; Security Experts Urge Vigilance. The code that was used to hack Gmail accounts in China is now publicly available on the Internet, and security experts are urging computer users throughout the world to be highly vigilant until a patch can be developed.
Gmail Password Hack utility is now widely available from warez sites, downloader sites and torrents sites. If you think your Gmail account has been compromised or already compromised, backup your contact list and remove it so that Gmail will not send spamming emails (peddling Viagra pills and other pharmaceutical products). Next, change your Gmail password. Download the latest anti-virus software and rescan all your PC or laptop drives for virus and trojans.
Recommended reading:
* Google Trends Hacked - Google funds terrorism
* Google Trends Hacked - ƞīɢɢɛʀș ʟɨƙɛ ƙḟƈ
The first reports trickled in about a week ago, but the level of spam seems to have increased in the last couple of days.
Details are slim, but the spam messages are reportedly being sent via Gmail's mobile site, leading some to suspect there may be a bug in the product. Google has indicated that investigation had not revealed any vulnerabilities in Gmail (either the mobile or full desktop versions), and speculated that it might be simpler for an automated bot to be programed to use the mobile version.
It's likely that the log-in credentials for these accounts were harvested using traditional phishing techniques or malware, hardly a Gmail-specific issue. As usual, much of this problem probably could have been avoided with good browsing habits.
In another development, Google Hack Leaked to Internet; Security Experts Urge Vigilance. The code that was used to hack Gmail accounts in China is now publicly available on the Internet, and security experts are urging computer users throughout the world to be highly vigilant until a patch can be developed.
Gmail Password Hack utility is now widely available from warez sites, downloader sites and torrents sites. If you think your Gmail account has been compromised or already compromised, backup your contact list and remove it so that Gmail will not send spamming emails (peddling Viagra pills and other pharmaceutical products). Next, change your Gmail password. Download the latest anti-virus software and rescan all your PC or laptop drives for virus and trojans.
Recommended reading:
* Google Trends Hacked - Google funds terrorism
* Google Trends Hacked - ƞīɢɢɛʀș ʟɨƙɛ ƙḟƈ
Dell Lightning, a Windows Phone 7 portrait slider
That's right -- a portrait smartphone slider from Dell and powered by Microsoft Windows Phone 7. The renders on these slides look slick as hell, but they're no match for the spec sheet, which looks even better: 1GHz QSD8250 Snapdragon processor, WVGA 4.1-inch OLED display, AT&T and T-Mobile 3G, five megapixel autofocus camera, 1GB of flash with 512MB RAM plus 8GB of storage on a MicroSD card, GPS, accelerometer, compass, FM radio, and full Flash support including video playback.
The ship date is pegged at Q4, indicating this is a WP7 launch device, and Microsoft's told engadget.com Flash won't make it into the OS initially. Here's the real kicker, though -- other slides in the deck indicate this thing is getting an upgrade to LTE in Q4 of 2011.
Related link:
* Dell Lightning: the ultimate Windows Phone 7 device leaks
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* Microsoft Kin One smartphone unviels
* Top 10 mobile phones for 2010
SEO: Windows Phone 7 | Dell Lightning | smartphone portrait slider
The ship date is pegged at Q4, indicating this is a WP7 launch device, and Microsoft's told engadget.com Flash won't make it into the OS initially. Here's the real kicker, though -- other slides in the deck indicate this thing is getting an upgrade to LTE in Q4 of 2011.
Related link:
* Dell Lightning: the ultimate Windows Phone 7 device leaks
Recommended reading:
* What is augmented reality phone
* Microsoft Kin One smartphone unviels
* Top 10 mobile phones for 2010
SEO: Windows Phone 7 | Dell Lightning | smartphone portrait slider
Facebook Like can improve your blog traffic
Facebook Inc. announced an ambitious plan to get its tentacles further out into the Internet by better linking people, places and things, as it looks to turn a massive audience into a pool of well-understood consumers.
A centerpiece of the changes involves a simple button, offered to other Web sites, that says "Like." For free, other Web sites can install a Facebook "Like" button that users can click on to signal their interest in a piece of content, such as a band or an article. The user's approval then shows up on his or her Facebook page, with a link back to the site.
The idea is that other Web sites will drive traffic back to Facebook.com, and in turn receive traffic from Facebook. Other sites can also offer personalized modules, telling individual users what their Facebook friends have done on the site, such as review a restaurant.
The new "Like" buttons transmit data about user activity back to Facebook. If they like a band, for example, a link to the band could appear in their interests. Since advertisers can already target ads to users' interests, the new buttons could give advertisers more data to target ads to, but Facebook said it isn't currently launching any new ad-targeting products in conjunction with the service.
Mr. Zuckerberg said Wednesday that the company has no current plans to sell ads on other sites.
Facebook said more than 70 partners have signed up to embed "Like" buttons or other customization widgets on their sites, including ticketing site Fandango.com and CNN.com.
Related links:
* PCWorld.com - Facebook Decides You'd Rather 'Like' than 'Be a Fan'
A centerpiece of the changes involves a simple button, offered to other Web sites, that says "Like." For free, other Web sites can install a Facebook "Like" button that users can click on to signal their interest in a piece of content, such as a band or an article. The user's approval then shows up on his or her Facebook page, with a link back to the site.
The idea is that other Web sites will drive traffic back to Facebook.com, and in turn receive traffic from Facebook. Other sites can also offer personalized modules, telling individual users what their Facebook friends have done on the site, such as review a restaurant.
The new "Like" buttons transmit data about user activity back to Facebook. If they like a band, for example, a link to the band could appear in their interests. Since advertisers can already target ads to users' interests, the new buttons could give advertisers more data to target ads to, but Facebook said it isn't currently launching any new ad-targeting products in conjunction with the service.
Mr. Zuckerberg said Wednesday that the company has no current plans to sell ads on other sites.
Facebook said more than 70 partners have signed up to embed "Like" buttons or other customization widgets on their sites, including ticketing site Fandango.com and CNN.com.
Related links:
* PCWorld.com - Facebook Decides You'd Rather 'Like' than 'Be a Fan'
Make money from traveling
This article present you with strategies on how to turn your travel experiences into cold, hard cash. It may not be exactly on how to make money online from traveling as there as also elements on how to save money. Ultimately, the tips include how you can enjoy an almost free traveling and get paid for it.Frugal authors Sharon Harvey Rosenberg and Myscha Theriault offer tips on how to make money from your travels.
We wanted to extend a Middle East tour, but a shrinking budget threatened to halt our plans.
An international teaching position in Kuwait solved the cash crunch with paid housing and utilities, annual roundtrip airfare, a relocation allowance and an attractive salary.
Additional regional travel opportunities and numerous freelance tutoring offers sweetened the deal.
The lesson plan: Whether you're flying over local or international borders, it's possible to make money while travelling. Here are a few strategies:
Photos: Web-based micro stock companies such as Shutterstock and Dreamstime provide royalty earning opportunities for travellers with digital cameras and creative eyes. Images from your journeys can earn fees ranging from lunch money to full-time wages, depending on your skill and portfolio. Read Make Money Online With Photos
Second-hand cash: Treasure hunt while you travel. Thrift shops and outdoor markets can be a source of unusual souvenirs and cash. Hand-made crafts, antique jewellery and vintage clothing can be purchased, packed and resold through online auctions, including eBay, TripleClicks and ShopGoodwill.com, the online marketplace for Goodwill Industries. We have friends who have made money hunting for antiques, books and music during holiday trips. Read Sell Your Unwanted Stuff Online For Cash
Writing: Start a travel blog to document your trips. Passive income can be earned from advertising networks such as Chitika or Google, affiliate sales programs and paid advertisements for high-traffic blogs. Online writing samples can lead to freelance assignments.
Network: Whether you are in sales or customer service, you can develop profitable leads during an out-of-town trip. Seminars, retreats and industry conferences offer opportunities to acquire new contacts or to spend face time with customers from other markets. Check in with industry trade associations or local civic groups. Read People Networking - Make friends online
On the fly: Pick up paying gigs as you go. The International Educator (www.tieonline.com) features classified ads from schools around the world offering tax-free salaries, relocation allowances, plane tickets and paid housing for certified classroom teachers.
Native language speakers can teach business and conversational English with job leads from the ESL Cafe and www.seriousteachers.com.
Not a teacher? Not a problem. Anyworkanywhere.com lists jobs around the world for nearly any type of work, including management, driving and delivery, resort staff, tour guides and more.
Telecommute: Worldwide Work at Home provides online listings of telecommuting positions such as telemarketing, customer service, and online tutoring, making it possible for long-term house sitters to stay on the road while earning money.
Recommended reading:
* Make extra money without getting a second job
Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit
Thou shalt not show Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit. Revolution Muslim, a radical Islamic website warned the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution for depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit. That offensive depiction was found in South Park 200th episode.
In the 200th episode of South Park, broadcast in the US and UK last week, Muhammad appeared several times inside a bear suit. Figures from other religions were also depicted, including a drug-snorting Buddha and Jesus watching pornography.
Wednesday's 201st episode saw any spoken references to Muhammad bleeped out, while a prominent banner stating "censored" was used in the programme.
The images of the prophet in a bear outfit were substituted with Santa Claus in the same costume.
Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous. The caricatures published in Denmark sparked mass protests worldwide.
Related link:
* Comedy Central Censors 'South Park' Episode After Muslim Site's Threats
* South Park creators warned over Muhammad depiction
Recommended reading:
* Face of Prophet Muhammad
In the 200th episode of South Park, broadcast in the US and UK last week, Muhammad appeared several times inside a bear suit. Figures from other religions were also depicted, including a drug-snorting Buddha and Jesus watching pornography.
Wednesday's 201st episode saw any spoken references to Muhammad bleeped out, while a prominent banner stating "censored" was used in the programme.
The images of the prophet in a bear outfit were substituted with Santa Claus in the same costume.
Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous. The caricatures published in Denmark sparked mass protests worldwide.
Related link:
* Comedy Central Censors 'South Park' Episode After Muslim Site's Threats
* South Park creators warned over Muhammad depiction
Recommended reading:
* Face of Prophet Muhammad
Heathrow airport after the Iceland volcano ash
Heathrow airport after the Iceland volcano ash. Headache for the stranded passengers, headache for the pilots and headache for the air traffic controller.
Facebook Connect to be disconnected
As part of its unveiling of its "Open Graph" product suite at the F8 developer conference here, Facebook is getting rid of the standalone "Facebook Connect" product that it unveiled at the last F8 two years ago.
"We are actually eliminating the Facebook Connect brand," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a press conference following his keynote address. "We figured that 'Connect' is not descriptive for users."
Facebook director of platform product, Bret Taylor, chimed in. "Facebook Connect was just an initiative to have [the] Facebook log-in work on external Web sites, but the underlying framework is the same," Taylor said. "Making that [Connect] distinction was actually causing some developer confusion."
For the first time, Facebook is adopting the open-source OAuth authentication standard to power user log-ins. But logging into your Facebook account on external sites is only a small part of the Open Graph package: sites will have access to a one-click "Like" button that connects to Facebook, more "social plug-ins" to pull an individual user's Facebook friends and their activity into third-party sites, and a toolbar that aggregates all these features as well as live chat.
Facebook has been unapologetic about the "iteration" of its products, launching new ones and cutting out other features that it's deemed defective or unsuccessful. Facebook Connect, by all accounts, had been a huge success with over 80,000 partner sites implementing the product and a quarter of Facebook's 400-million-plus users used it to log into third-party sites. But with the Open Graph rollout, Connect in its original form has been rendered more or less obsolete.
Logging in, at this point, is just a small part of Facebook's planned dominance of the Web.
"We are actually eliminating the Facebook Connect brand," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a press conference following his keynote address. "We figured that 'Connect' is not descriptive for users."
Facebook director of platform product, Bret Taylor, chimed in. "Facebook Connect was just an initiative to have [the] Facebook log-in work on external Web sites, but the underlying framework is the same," Taylor said. "Making that [Connect] distinction was actually causing some developer confusion."
For the first time, Facebook is adopting the open-source OAuth authentication standard to power user log-ins. But logging into your Facebook account on external sites is only a small part of the Open Graph package: sites will have access to a one-click "Like" button that connects to Facebook, more "social plug-ins" to pull an individual user's Facebook friends and their activity into third-party sites, and a toolbar that aggregates all these features as well as live chat.
Facebook has been unapologetic about the "iteration" of its products, launching new ones and cutting out other features that it's deemed defective or unsuccessful. Facebook Connect, by all accounts, had been a huge success with over 80,000 partner sites implementing the product and a quarter of Facebook's 400-million-plus users used it to log into third-party sites. But with the Open Graph rollout, Connect in its original form has been rendered more or less obsolete.
Logging in, at this point, is just a small part of Facebook's planned dominance of the Web.
Make money with coInternet.co
.CO is the new domain extension that offers people and companies more choice in branding their online presence with a truly global, recognizable, and credible domain name. To some, .co represents a potentially profitable opportunity. The only catch is that, you need to get that .co domains first and hope that it can sell. This all relate to making money from buying and selling domains name. And as with new introduction of domains extension, early birds get to pick the best.
Quick Facts about .CO domains
Who can register .CO domains?
You can! .CO will enjoy liberal registration policies following international best practices. Anyone in the world can register and transfer .CO domains — with no domicile or burdensome documentation requirements.
Any registrant in the world will be able to create their opportunity and have more choice in branding online by securing global, recognizable and credible .CO domain names.
Where can I register .CO domains?
As a premium domain name space, .CO domains will only be available through a select list of some of the world's largest and most well-respected registrars.
When will .CO domains become available?
The new era of .CO is coming this summer! The launch involves a multi-phase plan to ensure the stable and orderly distribution of domains – including a comprehensive Sunrise Period for trademark holders; a Landrush Period for anyone interested in registering names of high commercial value; and finally the public launch of .CO in the summer of 2010.
Create Your Opportunity with .CO
Associated globally with the words “COmpany,” “COrporation” and “COmmerce” – the .CO domain is easy to recognize, simple to remember and flexible to use. And that makes it the perfect platform for today’s socially networked individuals, entrepreneurs and companies to create .COmmunities, share .COntent, and .COnnect, .COmmunicate and .COllaborate. Sound interesting? If you can afford to invest and have spare time, check on the suggested .CO domains that are hot and attractive:
1. TES.CO
2. TEL.CO
3. MEXI.CO
4. DIS.CO
5. CO.CO
6. LO.CO
Quick Facts about .CO domains
Who can register .CO domains?
You can! .CO will enjoy liberal registration policies following international best practices. Anyone in the world can register and transfer .CO domains — with no domicile or burdensome documentation requirements.
Any registrant in the world will be able to create their opportunity and have more choice in branding online by securing global, recognizable and credible .CO domain names.
Where can I register .CO domains?
As a premium domain name space, .CO domains will only be available through a select list of some of the world's largest and most well-respected registrars.
When will .CO domains become available?
The new era of .CO is coming this summer! The launch involves a multi-phase plan to ensure the stable and orderly distribution of domains – including a comprehensive Sunrise Period for trademark holders; a Landrush Period for anyone interested in registering names of high commercial value; and finally the public launch of .CO in the summer of 2010.
Create Your Opportunity with .CO
Associated globally with the words “COmpany,” “COrporation” and “COmmerce” – the .CO domain is easy to recognize, simple to remember and flexible to use. And that makes it the perfect platform for today’s socially networked individuals, entrepreneurs and companies to create .COmmunities, share .COntent, and .COnnect, .COmmunicate and .COllaborate. Sound interesting? If you can afford to invest and have spare time, check on the suggested .CO domains that are hot and attractive:
1. TES.CO
2. TEL.CO
3. MEXI.CO
4. DIS.CO
5. CO.CO
6. LO.CO
McAfee anti-virus screwed up SVCHOST.exe - How to fix it
Havoc descended on mission-critical stores across the globe this morning after their cash registers were knocked out by a botched McAfee anti-virus update. The routine anti-virus update confused a valid Windows file with a virus, disrupting millions of computers around the world.The registers running Windows XP that were affected couldn't be operated and there were a number of stores that actually had to be closed because there were too many registers down in those stores for the store to be able to trade.
Universities, hospitals and businesses were among those reporting problems after the update misidentified a valid Windows system file as malicious code and caused computers to continually reboot.
The problem hit corporate users of Microsoft's Windows XP Service Pack 3 operating system, according to McAfee, which released another update later in the day to fix the problem and urged customers to download it.
The Internet Storm Centre, an initiative of the SANS Technology Institute which monitors problems on the web, said "the affected systems will enter a reboot loop and lose all network access".
The centre said it received reports of "networks with thousands of down machines and organisations who had to shut down for business until this is fixed".
The McAfee software slip "pretty much took Intel down today", said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
Enderle told of being at the computer chip titan's headquarters in Northern California for an afternoon of meetings when laptop computers began crashing around him.
"Much of Intel was actually taken out," Enderle told AFP. "I imagine most companies running Intel and McAfee were literally taken out."
But McAfee's head of global support, Barry McPherson, said the company believed less than one half of 1 per cent of its enterprise accounts globally were affected.
From BrianSeekFord - How to fix the McAfee SVCHOST crash from the virus definition update
It turns out, that they put in a bad signature that quarantines your SVCHOST.exe which could cause your explorer to crash. Good times, right?
So, the fix is pretty easy:
1 Restart into safe mode with networking
2 open a Command window. If your explorer isn't started, hit CTRL - ALT - DEL and hit Task Manager. Hit File, run. CMD.EXE and enter.
3) type DEL C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\Engine\avvscan.dat
4 type cd c:\windows\system32\dllcache
5 type copy SvcHost.exe ..\
6 Restart your PC. You are good to go!
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New US $100 super note
U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve introduced the newly design high-tech USD100 bill aims to thwart counterfeiters with advanced security features. The "new Benjamins" to be released in February 2011 retain the traditional look of the U.S. currency, with Benjamin Franklin's portrait.
They aim to foil counterfeiters with difficult and costly to reproduce features such as a blue three-dimensional security ribbon with alternating images of bells and the number 100 that move and change as the viewing angle is tilted. Read Fake money templates
The new notes, which cost slightly more to produce, also feature a bell image inside a picture of an inkwell that changes from copper to green when tilted, as well as a large "100" that does the same.
"As with previous U.S. currency redesigns, this note incorporates the best technology available to ensure we're staying ahead of counterfeiters," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at a Treasury Department unveiling ceremony. "Welcome to the new Benjamins."
The $100 note is the most often counterfeited denomination of U.S. currency outside the United States due to its broad circulation overseas. It is the highest-denominated note issued by the Federal Reserve.
The approximately 6.5 billion older design $100s already in circulation will remain legal tender after the new notes are released next year.
BEATING THE SUPERNOTE
In recent years, U.S. officials have been trying to combat the continued production of extremely high-quality counterfeit $100 notes they say are produced in North Korea, dubbed the "supernote," which are undetectable to nearly all but the most sophisticated currency experts.
The U.S. Secret Service, the agency charged with policing the cash dollar's integrity, maintains that less than 1/100th of one percent of the $890 billion in physical U.S. currency in circulation is counterfeit. But Secret Service officials say they still encounter supernotes and other highly sophisticated fakes from overseas.
In the United States, the $20 note is the most frequently counterfeited denomination.
The new Benjamins have been in development since 2003. The blue security ribbon is woven into the note's fabric -- not printed on. Another security strip, visible to the left of Franklin's head when the note is held up to light, is embedded into the fabric. Like the old note, the new one has a watermark of Franklin's portrait, also visible when held up to light.
The old notes will be destroyed and replaced as they pass through the Federal Reserve system.
John Large, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's criminal investigations division, said the features were designed to make it easy for merchants and consumers to verify the $100 note's authenticity with a quick examination.
"The best defense against counterfeiters we have is an educated public that can easily authenticate the new $100 note," Lange said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said U.S. officials will work to educate people around the world about the new design. Unlike in the past, when most cash dollars were held domestically, as many as two thirds of Federal Reserve notes now in circulation are outside the United States, he added.
Some interesting comments from this topic:
1. Ask yourself this: what happens when people counterfeit? It causes inflation and steals the buying power from anyone on a fixed income. Sort of like U.S. monetary policy. The Federal Reserve wants to make sure they maintain their monopoly on printing money out of thin air and using it to acquire real wealth by stealing from everyone else. - KirkPatrick
2. Note the irony as Benjamin Franklin wrote: “The refusal of King George to allow the colonies to operate on an honest, colonial money system (i.e. free of a Central Bank), which freed the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators (i.e. the Federal Reserve) was probably the prime cause of the revolution.” - KirkPatrick (again)
SEO: Super note | photo of new $100 | new Benjamins | fake $100
They aim to foil counterfeiters with difficult and costly to reproduce features such as a blue three-dimensional security ribbon with alternating images of bells and the number 100 that move and change as the viewing angle is tilted. Read Fake money templates
The new notes, which cost slightly more to produce, also feature a bell image inside a picture of an inkwell that changes from copper to green when tilted, as well as a large "100" that does the same.
"As with previous U.S. currency redesigns, this note incorporates the best technology available to ensure we're staying ahead of counterfeiters," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at a Treasury Department unveiling ceremony. "Welcome to the new Benjamins."
The $100 note is the most often counterfeited denomination of U.S. currency outside the United States due to its broad circulation overseas. It is the highest-denominated note issued by the Federal Reserve.
The approximately 6.5 billion older design $100s already in circulation will remain legal tender after the new notes are released next year.
BEATING THE SUPERNOTE
In recent years, U.S. officials have been trying to combat the continued production of extremely high-quality counterfeit $100 notes they say are produced in North Korea, dubbed the "supernote," which are undetectable to nearly all but the most sophisticated currency experts.
The U.S. Secret Service, the agency charged with policing the cash dollar's integrity, maintains that less than 1/100th of one percent of the $890 billion in physical U.S. currency in circulation is counterfeit. But Secret Service officials say they still encounter supernotes and other highly sophisticated fakes from overseas.
In the United States, the $20 note is the most frequently counterfeited denomination.
The new Benjamins have been in development since 2003. The blue security ribbon is woven into the note's fabric -- not printed on. Another security strip, visible to the left of Franklin's head when the note is held up to light, is embedded into the fabric. Like the old note, the new one has a watermark of Franklin's portrait, also visible when held up to light.
The old notes will be destroyed and replaced as they pass through the Federal Reserve system.
John Large, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's criminal investigations division, said the features were designed to make it easy for merchants and consumers to verify the $100 note's authenticity with a quick examination.
"The best defense against counterfeiters we have is an educated public that can easily authenticate the new $100 note," Lange said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said U.S. officials will work to educate people around the world about the new design. Unlike in the past, when most cash dollars were held domestically, as many as two thirds of Federal Reserve notes now in circulation are outside the United States, he added.
Some interesting comments from this topic:
1. Ask yourself this: what happens when people counterfeit? It causes inflation and steals the buying power from anyone on a fixed income. Sort of like U.S. monetary policy. The Federal Reserve wants to make sure they maintain their monopoly on printing money out of thin air and using it to acquire real wealth by stealing from everyone else. - KirkPatrick
2. Note the irony as Benjamin Franklin wrote: “The refusal of King George to allow the colonies to operate on an honest, colonial money system (i.e. free of a Central Bank), which freed the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators (i.e. the Federal Reserve) was probably the prime cause of the revolution.” - KirkPatrick (again)
SEO: Super note | photo of new $100 | new Benjamins | fake $100
Expose your business with Google Places
Business exposure is important especially if your business is small. Now Google is helping small businesses with another kind of listing through its new service called Google Places. The geo-location service literally allowed you to put your business on the map, Google Maps that is.
If you are used to promoting your URL in the forum, blog comments, backlink and so on, Google Places presents you with another avenue to leave your URL in their maps, in addition to your company name, address, contact and short description about your physical business.
Four million businesses have already claimed their Place Page on Google through the Local Business Center, which enables them to verify and supplement their business information to include hours of operation, photos, videos, coupons, product offerings and more. It also lets them communicate with customers and get insights that help them make smart business decisions.
Google Places will continue to offer these same tools, but the new name will simplify the connection with Place Pages. This reflects their ongoing commitment to providing business owners with powerful yet easy-to-use tools.
Google is also introducing several new features:
* Service areas: If you travel to serve customers, you can now show which geographic areas you serve. And if you run a business without a storefront or office location, you can now make your address private.
* A new, simple way to advertise: For just $25 per month, businesses in select cities can make their listings stand out on Google.com and Google Maps with Tags. As of today, we’re rolling out Tags to three new cities — Austin, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. — in addition to ongoing availability in Houston and San Jose, CA. In the coming weeks we'll also be introducing Tags in Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, Boulder and San Francisco.
* Business photo shoots: In addition to uploading their own photos, businesses in select cities can now request a free photo shoot of the interior of their business which we'll use to supplement existing photos of businesses on Place Pages. We've been experimenting with this over the past few months, and now have created a site for businesses to learn more and express their interest in participating.
* Customized QR codes: From the dashboard page of Google Places, businesses in the U.S. can download a QR code that’s unique to their business, directly from their dashboard page. QR codes can be placed on business cards or other marketing materials, and customers can scan them with certain smartphones to be taken directly to the mobile version of the Place Page for that business.
* Favorite Places: We're doing a second round of our Favorite Places program, and are mailing window decals to 50,000 businesses around the U.S. These decals include a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to directly view the mobile Place Page for the business to learn more about their great offerings.
On thing for certain is that TechCrunch think that with Google Places, concerns rise that Google just wants to link to its own content. As usual, Google does want to monopoly their searches and monopoly do reduces innovation.
With 20 percent of all Google searches having a local intent, there’s a huge opportunity there for the small business owner. But before you can be found, you have to be listed. Add your business today to Google Places.
If you are used to promoting your URL in the forum, blog comments, backlink and so on, Google Places presents you with another avenue to leave your URL in their maps, in addition to your company name, address, contact and short description about your physical business.
Four million businesses have already claimed their Place Page on Google through the Local Business Center, which enables them to verify and supplement their business information to include hours of operation, photos, videos, coupons, product offerings and more. It also lets them communicate with customers and get insights that help them make smart business decisions.
Google Places will continue to offer these same tools, but the new name will simplify the connection with Place Pages. This reflects their ongoing commitment to providing business owners with powerful yet easy-to-use tools.
Google is also introducing several new features:
* Service areas: If you travel to serve customers, you can now show which geographic areas you serve. And if you run a business without a storefront or office location, you can now make your address private.
* A new, simple way to advertise: For just $25 per month, businesses in select cities can make their listings stand out on Google.com and Google Maps with Tags. As of today, we’re rolling out Tags to three new cities — Austin, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. — in addition to ongoing availability in Houston and San Jose, CA. In the coming weeks we'll also be introducing Tags in Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, Boulder and San Francisco.
* Business photo shoots: In addition to uploading their own photos, businesses in select cities can now request a free photo shoot of the interior of their business which we'll use to supplement existing photos of businesses on Place Pages. We've been experimenting with this over the past few months, and now have created a site for businesses to learn more and express their interest in participating.
* Customized QR codes: From the dashboard page of Google Places, businesses in the U.S. can download a QR code that’s unique to their business, directly from their dashboard page. QR codes can be placed on business cards or other marketing materials, and customers can scan them with certain smartphones to be taken directly to the mobile version of the Place Page for that business.
* Favorite Places: We're doing a second round of our Favorite Places program, and are mailing window decals to 50,000 businesses around the U.S. These decals include a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to directly view the mobile Place Page for the business to learn more about their great offerings.
On thing for certain is that TechCrunch think that with Google Places, concerns rise that Google just wants to link to its own content. As usual, Google does want to monopoly their searches and monopoly do reduces innovation.
With 20 percent of all Google searches having a local intent, there’s a huge opportunity there for the small business owner. But before you can be found, you have to be listed. Add your business today to Google Places.
Three-year-old Aelita Andre makes money
Aelita Andre was just two when her paintings went on show in a gallery in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. The story was told on the front page of The Age, then repeated around the world. Aelita Andre now at the age of three is becoming more cuter and is making $A28,000 for one of her painting. And she can't even tie her shoelaces yet. To some, making money can be an uphill tasks while for the lucky ones, it's a breeze (and for Aelita, she's not even aware of it).Aelita was dubbed ''the pee-wee Picasso'', but her parents were called far worse: exploitative, deceptive, manipulative.
They were ''using her as a randomly programmed automatic paintbrush'', wrote Germaine Greer in The Guardian.
''Good news for smother- mothers and stage parents everywhere,'' said designfederation.net in a response typical of the blogosphere.
But during an afternoon spent in their two-storey Bundoora home on the eve of Aelita's fourth exhibition in just over a year, the word that best describes Kalashnikova and Andre is indulgent.
The ground floor of their home is given over to their only child. There's a toy drum kit in front of the television, an electronic keyboard on an ottoman, a wooden toy train set on a large, low table.
And on every wall, there are Aelita's bright, bold abstract acrylic paintings, the paintings that garnered so much interest and inspired so much debate, the gamut of which effectively ran from ''my two-year-old could do that'' to ''there's no way a two-year-old could do that''.
The truth, as it happens, lies somewhere in between.
Aelita's canvases are primed for her by her parents in the strong reds and blacks and blues that help make them so distinctive. She uses professional-grade paints and brushes and rollers.
Her every gesture on the canvas (and elsewhere) is encouraged, whether it be pouring a pot of paint over it or dumping a mountain of cotton balls on top of it. Her parents insist everything else is her own work, but with advantages like those, some observers say, any child could turn out work that looks professional.
''That's exactly right,'' her father says. ''That's what I'd encourage parents to do. And then the art world is going to be flooded with all this material produced by kids, and what's going to happen then to adult avant-garde artists? Down the gurgler. It's an enormous threat for that reason.''
Andre isn't arguing against the avant-garde so much as for the child. His child especially, but not exclusively.
''What Aelita does, I don't see other kids do. But maybe all the other kids who would have been as good as Salvador Dali, say, went off to become accountants or bank managers because their parents put them through a traditional education that didn't value the arts. We're simply giving our kid these professional materials and the time and saying, 'Go for it'.''
In the past 15 months, Aelita has certainly done that.
She had a second show in Fitzroy in April, a show in Hong Kong in December, and has a stall at the massive Art Melbourne show from Thursday.
Thirty-two of her paintings have been sold to collectors around the world - ''Amsterdam, Vienna, Moscow, Singapore'', Kalashnikova rattles off their locations. Her first painting on canvas, Russian ''Mir'' Space Station in Cherry Blossom, was bought recently by a Hong Kong collector for $HK200,000 ($A28,000). That's a pretty good effort for a painter who can't yet tie her shoelaces.
Andre is certain that much of the criticism directed at him and his wife stems from the fact that Aelita's achievements make some parents feel they've failed in their own parenting. ''They're thinking, why did I not encourage my kid and treat them the same way these guys did? So it brings out guilt,'' Andre says. ''And the only way you can mentally handle guilt is to criticise the people who are doing it because you're not going to criticise yourself.''
But what of the charge of exploitation, the one that depicts Andre and Kalashnikova as a pair of fringe artists (they collaborate on film projects, he paints, she is a photographer, but they take commercial work to pay the bills) who have found mainstream success vicariously through their daughter?
''This is Aelita's money, it's not my money,'' says Kalashnikova defensively.
''It's in a trust fund, it's hers,'' Andre adds. ''People say, 'You're making money off a child'. It's not my money, it's hers.''
Kalashnikova claims she struggles every time she sells one of her daughter's works. ''I feel guilty that I am touching her work, that I am selling it. Two of them I bought back.''
Then why sell them at all?
''Because people offering money for her work legitimises it,'' she says. ''This is how society works. Most of the time I develop relationships with the buyers. They buy it because they feel positive about it. People have told me, 'We're not buying because a two-year-old did it, we're buying it because we love it'.'' But Andre will admit there's a polemic aspect to his daughter's burgeoning career. He argues that the acceptance of his daughter's work as art is a challenge to, and challenged by, the mainstream because it puts the lie to the notion that the artist's intention is key to a work's value.
''The arguments we've had against Aelita are basically that because she doesn't have intention, it's not great art. But Jackson Pollock spent years trying to unlearn how to paint. He boozed himself up trying to get back to a childlike state. Are you trying to tell me that every one of his marks was intentional? How do we know it wasn't a case of 'I'll grab my house-paint and see what happens'? You can never know the mind of the artist.''
Would he concede, then, that to some degree this whole caper is a bit of an up-you to the mainstream? ''From my point of view, yes,'' says Andre. ''But it's only an up-you because the establishment can't defend itself.''
Make money with Pawpaw
This is article about how Thomas Pennington Lucas, a botanist make money with tropical remedy made from pawpaw (or fermented papayate ointment). This product has been around for decade and has since became a trusting product. In this case, age does matter. The reason for its popularity is the natural virtues of the pawpaw. Celebrities and women around the world strengthen it popularity and improve sales.
Fortune does grow on trees
It's the cure-all product that is a favourite of stars and celebrities across the globe.
Cate Blanchett, Miranda Kerr and Rose Byrne are never caught short without the distinctive $5 red tube.
An ever-growing legion of fans claim it heals all kinds of ailments, including boils, burns, mosquito bites, sunburn, cuts, chapped lips and cracked skin.
Little do they know the century-old tropical remedy, Lucas' Papaw Ointment, is the product of a Brisbane family.
Its secret formula has been passed from generation to generation in the Lucas and Talbot clans.
Kevin Talbot, a 74-year-old fourth-generation producer, now heads the operation.
He is fiercely proud of his family business and just as protective.
As he stood in the Acacia Ridge factory on Beaudesert Road, where his daughter Lynette, son-in-law David and son Graham also work, tears welled in his eyes when he spoke of the family firm.
"We're so proud. It's amazing," he said.
"Lucas Papaw has more than a cult following now. Everyone wants it."
The grandfather-of-three laughed at suggestions the small red tube, synonymous with the ointment, has become a fashion statement for celebrities and women in Australia and across the world.
The reason for its popularity, he said, is the natural virtues of the pawpaw.
"It just works," he said.
Mr Talbot's great-grandfather, English surgeon and botanist Thomas Pennington Lucas, discovered the healing capabilities of the pawpaw upon migrating to Australia in 1876.
"He thought they were doing too many operations in England and he wanted to find an alternative," Mr Talbot said.
It was in the Sunshine State where he perfected the formula for the fermented papayate ointment.
The Queenslander-style house pictured on the red packaging is in fact Dr Lucas' Vera Papaw Hospital, built on the corner of Moray and Sydney Streets in New Farm.
"Here patients were treated only with Dr Lucas' pawpaw remedies, which at the time included throat lozenges," Mr Talbot said.
It became impossible for the family to continue Dr Lucas' work in the special hospital once he passed away.
"But it was possible to make it available for public benefit," Mr Talbot said.
Bickfords Australia was the first company to distribute the ointment, before it gained worldwide attention.
Although not all tradition has been lost.
"We still peel the pawpaws by hand," Mr Talbot said.
The factory, steeped in history, stands on land near Dr Lucas' first Acacia Ridge pawpaw plantation.
The enamelled cast iron bowl used to mix the ointment by hand when Mr Talbot's mother ran the business from a wooden hut, since replaced by the factory, still sits in the warehouse.
"I hope to pass this business to my grandchildren," Mr Talbot said.
Meanwhile he is content mixing papayate just as generations before him have.
Fortune does grow on trees
It's the cure-all product that is a favourite of stars and celebrities across the globe.
Cate Blanchett, Miranda Kerr and Rose Byrne are never caught short without the distinctive $5 red tube.
An ever-growing legion of fans claim it heals all kinds of ailments, including boils, burns, mosquito bites, sunburn, cuts, chapped lips and cracked skin.
Little do they know the century-old tropical remedy, Lucas' Papaw Ointment, is the product of a Brisbane family.
Its secret formula has been passed from generation to generation in the Lucas and Talbot clans.
Kevin Talbot, a 74-year-old fourth-generation producer, now heads the operation.
He is fiercely proud of his family business and just as protective.
As he stood in the Acacia Ridge factory on Beaudesert Road, where his daughter Lynette, son-in-law David and son Graham also work, tears welled in his eyes when he spoke of the family firm.
"We're so proud. It's amazing," he said.
"Lucas Papaw has more than a cult following now. Everyone wants it."
The grandfather-of-three laughed at suggestions the small red tube, synonymous with the ointment, has become a fashion statement for celebrities and women in Australia and across the world.
The reason for its popularity, he said, is the natural virtues of the pawpaw.
"It just works," he said.
Mr Talbot's great-grandfather, English surgeon and botanist Thomas Pennington Lucas, discovered the healing capabilities of the pawpaw upon migrating to Australia in 1876.
"He thought they were doing too many operations in England and he wanted to find an alternative," Mr Talbot said.
It was in the Sunshine State where he perfected the formula for the fermented papayate ointment.
The Queenslander-style house pictured on the red packaging is in fact Dr Lucas' Vera Papaw Hospital, built on the corner of Moray and Sydney Streets in New Farm.
"Here patients were treated only with Dr Lucas' pawpaw remedies, which at the time included throat lozenges," Mr Talbot said.
It became impossible for the family to continue Dr Lucas' work in the special hospital once he passed away.
"But it was possible to make it available for public benefit," Mr Talbot said.
Bickfords Australia was the first company to distribute the ointment, before it gained worldwide attention.
Although not all tradition has been lost.
"We still peel the pawpaws by hand," Mr Talbot said.
The factory, steeped in history, stands on land near Dr Lucas' first Acacia Ridge pawpaw plantation.
The enamelled cast iron bowl used to mix the ointment by hand when Mr Talbot's mother ran the business from a wooden hut, since replaced by the factory, still sits in the warehouse.
"I hope to pass this business to my grandchildren," Mr Talbot said.
Meanwhile he is content mixing papayate just as generations before him have.
Leaked photo of iPhone 4G - iPhone HD
Images purportedly showing the next-generation iPhone 4G have been leaked on to the web after a prototype was reportedly left on the floor of a bar. Another hint is that the next generation of iPhone 4G might be branded as iPhone HD.Apple is expected to reveal a new iPhone model in June, which is when it typically holds an iPhone-related media event. The new model will refresh the iPhone line following fresh attacks from competitors, including the HTC Desire and other Google Android-based phones.
Engadget published the images over the weekend, sparking a barrage of speculation that the device was actually a knock-off iPhone made in Japan.
Engadget also said it had confirmed through a source that the depicted handset is the next iPhone, and that the device would include a higher resolution screen, front-facing camera for video conferencing, 80GB of storage and a higher resolution camera on the back with flash.
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Daniel Tzvetkoff charged for laundering $US500 million
Fallen Australian IT entrepreneur Daniel Tzvetkoff, who filed for bankruptcy early this year, has been arrested in Las Vegas on charges that he helped gamblers and illegal internet gambling companies launder $US500 million (A$540 million).
In a case unsealed in New York, prosecutors accused Mr Tzvetkoff, 27, of processing gambling proceeds and making them appear legal to banks, starting in early 2008.
He created dozens of so-called shell companies in a scheme that he once wrote was "perfect," prosecutors said.
Mr Tzvetkoff was charged on four counts, including bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to operate and finance an illegal gambling business.
If convicted, he could face up to 75 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Mr Tzvetkoff stopped processing transactions in March 2009 after leading gambling websites accused him of stealing $US100 million.
Mr Tzvetkoff, who had a penchant for exotic cars and mansions, has also been sued by a former business partner for failing to keep accurate financial records.
He was forced to sell his share of Brisbane nightclub Zuri Lounge after his financial collapse in 2009.
His former lavish lifestyle included the acquisition of Queensland's most expensive home, on the Gold Coast; a 98-foot super yacht and a 2008 spot on the BRW Young Rich List.
In a case unsealed in New York, prosecutors accused Mr Tzvetkoff, 27, of processing gambling proceeds and making them appear legal to banks, starting in early 2008.
He created dozens of so-called shell companies in a scheme that he once wrote was "perfect," prosecutors said.
Mr Tzvetkoff was charged on four counts, including bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to operate and finance an illegal gambling business.
If convicted, he could face up to 75 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Mr Tzvetkoff stopped processing transactions in March 2009 after leading gambling websites accused him of stealing $US100 million.
Mr Tzvetkoff, who had a penchant for exotic cars and mansions, has also been sued by a former business partner for failing to keep accurate financial records.
He was forced to sell his share of Brisbane nightclub Zuri Lounge after his financial collapse in 2009.
His former lavish lifestyle included the acquisition of Queensland's most expensive home, on the Gold Coast; a 98-foot super yacht and a 2008 spot on the BRW Young Rich List.
Mind reading software
Mind reading may no longer be the domain of psychics and fortune tellers - now some computers can do it, too. Software that uses brain scans to determine what items people are thinking about was among the technological innovations showcased this week by Intel, which drew back the curtain on a number of projects that are still under development.The software analyses functional MRI scans to determine what parts of a person's brain is being activated as he or she thinks. In tests, it guessed with 90 per cent accuracy which of two words a person was thinking about, said Intel Labs researcher Dean Pomerleau.
Eventually, the technology could help the severely physically disabled to communicate. And Pomerleau sees it as an early step toward one day being able to control technology with our minds.
"The vision is being able to interface to information, to your devices and to other people without having an intermediary device," he said.
For now, the project's accomplishments are far more modest — it can only be used with prohibitively expensive and bulky fMRI equipment and hasn't yet been adapted to analyze abstract thoughts.
The system works best when a person is first scanned while thinking of dozens of different concrete nouns — words like "bear" or "hammer." When test subjects are then asked to pick one of two new terms and think about it, the software uses the earlier results as a baseline to determine what the person is thinking.
The software works by analyzing the shared attributes of different words. For example, a person who is thinking of a bear uses the same parts of the brain that light up when he or she thinks of a puppy or something else furry. A person thinking of a bear also shows activity in the amygdala — home of the fight-or-flight response.
While Intel primarily makes computer processors and other hardware, it often works to develop and demonstrate new technologies in an effort to stimulate the market and advance its reputation.
Other innovations on display at Intel's event in Manhattan included:
- Mobile phone technology that would use motion, GPS and audio data gathered through users' phones to track what they're doing and who they're with. The technology can distinguish activities such as walking, giving a business presentation and driving. It also compares audio readings from different cell phones to determine who is in the same room.
This would allow users to share their activity information with their close friends and watch avatar versions of their friends throughout the day. It would also let users track and analyze data about how they spend their time.
- "Dispute Finder" technology that monitors users' conversations and internet browsing to warn them when they encounter contested or inaccurate information. The software mines the internet to find instances in which writers have claimed something is untrue. It then uses speech recognition technology to monitor conversations.
- A transparent holographic shopping display that could be used in department stores to point consumers to featured items. Shoppers could also use the giant screen to search the store's inventory, call up maps, and send item information to their cell phones.
- A TV set-top box that connects wirelessly to your laptop and monitors your internet search history, as well as your TV viewing, to offer relevant video.
ABACUS 2007-AC1 fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing Goldman Sachs Group Inc of committing fraud in a complicated transaction involving securities known as collateralized debt obligations. The particular deal that Goldman entered into with Paulson and others was called ABACUS 2007-AC1.
Here's how the ABACUS 2007-AC1 deal worked, according to the SEC's complaint:
1) Hedge fund manager John Paulson tells Goldman Sachs in late 2006 he wants to bet against risky subprime mortgages using derivatives. The risky mortgage bonds that Paulson wanted to short were essentially subprime home loans that had been repackaged into bonds. The bonds were rated "BBB," meaning that as the home loans defaulted, these bonds would be among the first to feel the pain.
2) Goldman Sachs knows that German bank IKB would potentially buy the exposure that Paulson was looking to short. But IKB would only do so if the mortgage securities were selected by an outsider.
3) Goldman Sachs knows that not every asset manager would be willing to work with Paulson, according to the complaint. In January 2007, Goldman approaches ACA Management LLC, a unit of a bond insurer.
ACA agrees to be the manager in a deal, and to help select the securities for the deal with Paulson. In January and February 2007, Paulson and ACA work on the portfolio, coming to an agreement in late February.
Goldman never tells ACA or other investors that Paulson is shorting the securities, and ACA believes that Paulson in fact wanted to own some of the riskiest parts of the securities, according to the complaint.
4) Goldman puts together a deal known as a "synthetic collateralized debt obligation" designed to help IKB and Paulson get the exposure they want. IKB takes $150 million of the risk from subprime mortgage bonds in late April 2007. ABN Amro takes some $909 million of exposure as well, and buys protection on its exposure from ACA Management affiliate ACA Financial Guaranty Corp in May 2007.
Goldman's marketing materials for the deal never mention Paulson's having shorted more than $1 billion of securities. Goldman receives about $15 million in fees.
5) Months later, IKB loses almost all of its $150 million investment. In late 2007, ABN is acquired by a consortium of banks including Royal Bank of Scotland. In August 2008, RBS unwinds ABN's position in ABACUS by paying Goldman $840.1 million. Most of that money goes to Paulson, who made about $1 billion total.
Here's how the ABACUS 2007-AC1 deal worked, according to the SEC's complaint:
1) Hedge fund manager John Paulson tells Goldman Sachs in late 2006 he wants to bet against risky subprime mortgages using derivatives. The risky mortgage bonds that Paulson wanted to short were essentially subprime home loans that had been repackaged into bonds. The bonds were rated "BBB," meaning that as the home loans defaulted, these bonds would be among the first to feel the pain.
2) Goldman Sachs knows that German bank IKB would potentially buy the exposure that Paulson was looking to short. But IKB would only do so if the mortgage securities were selected by an outsider.
3) Goldman Sachs knows that not every asset manager would be willing to work with Paulson, according to the complaint. In January 2007, Goldman approaches ACA Management LLC, a unit of a bond insurer.
ACA agrees to be the manager in a deal, and to help select the securities for the deal with Paulson. In January and February 2007, Paulson and ACA work on the portfolio, coming to an agreement in late February.
Goldman never tells ACA or other investors that Paulson is shorting the securities, and ACA believes that Paulson in fact wanted to own some of the riskiest parts of the securities, according to the complaint.
4) Goldman puts together a deal known as a "synthetic collateralized debt obligation" designed to help IKB and Paulson get the exposure they want. IKB takes $150 million of the risk from subprime mortgage bonds in late April 2007. ABN Amro takes some $909 million of exposure as well, and buys protection on its exposure from ACA Management affiliate ACA Financial Guaranty Corp in May 2007.
Goldman's marketing materials for the deal never mention Paulson's having shorted more than $1 billion of securities. Goldman receives about $15 million in fees.
5) Months later, IKB loses almost all of its $150 million investment. In late 2007, ABN is acquired by a consortium of banks including Royal Bank of Scotland. In August 2008, RBS unwinds ABN's position in ABACUS by paying Goldman $840.1 million. Most of that money goes to Paulson, who made about $1 billion total.
American Family Association asking Muslim-Americans to convert to Christianity
Bryan Fischer, a Director at American Family Association is asking Muslim-Americans to convert to Christianity or leave. And I thought Americans have freedom of worship whatever faith they bloody well please. Bryan Fischer is a bigotry.
It seems like only a week ago that the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer (who is the AFA's Director of Issues Analysis, perhaps because he has so many personal issues that need to be analyzed by professional psychopharmacologists), was saying that the Christian thing to do would be to round up all Muslim American citizens and deport them to Muslim countries, because surely that would solve a lot of problems? You know, by sending happy American citizens to other countries?
The most compassionate thing we can do for Muslims who have already immigrated here is to help repatriate them back to Muslim countries, where they can live in a culture which shares their values, a place where they can once again be at home, surrounded by people who cherish their deeply held ideals. Why force them to chafe against the freedom, liberty and civil rights we cherish in the West?
"Those who are willing to convert to Christianity and renounce Islam, Allah, Mohammed and the Koran may be welcomed, for they can become not just good Christians but true Americans." - Bryan Fischer
Source: HuffingtonPost - American Family Association To Muslim-Americans: Convert To Christianity Or Leave
It seems like only a week ago that the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer (who is the AFA's Director of Issues Analysis, perhaps because he has so many personal issues that need to be analyzed by professional psychopharmacologists), was saying that the Christian thing to do would be to round up all Muslim American citizens and deport them to Muslim countries, because surely that would solve a lot of problems? You know, by sending happy American citizens to other countries?
The most compassionate thing we can do for Muslims who have already immigrated here is to help repatriate them back to Muslim countries, where they can live in a culture which shares their values, a place where they can once again be at home, surrounded by people who cherish their deeply held ideals. Why force them to chafe against the freedom, liberty and civil rights we cherish in the West?
"Those who are willing to convert to Christianity and renounce Islam, Allah, Mohammed and the Koran may be welcomed, for they can become not just good Christians but true Americans." - Bryan Fischer
Source: HuffingtonPost - American Family Association To Muslim-Americans: Convert To Christianity Or Leave
Israel banned iPad imports
iPad Wi-Fi too hot for Israel. Israel has banned imports of Apple's hottest new product, the iPad, citing concerns the powerful gadget's wireless signals could disrupt other devices.UPDATES:
* Apr 26 - Israel on Sunday lifted a ban on Apple's popular iPad tablet computer, ending restrictions that had been imposed over concerns the gadget's wireless signal could disrupt other devices.
Israeli customs officials said they have already confiscated about 10 of the lightweight tablet computers since Israel announced the new regulations this week. The ban prevents anyone - even tourists - from bringing iPads into Israel until officials certify that they comply with local transmitter standards.
The US Federal Communications Commission allows devices with Wi-Fi capability in the US to broadcast at higher power levels than are allowed in Europe and Israel - meaning that the iPad's stronger signal could throw off other wireless connections.
"If you operate equipment in a frequency band which is different from the others that operate on that frequency band, then there will be interference," said Nati Schubert, a senior deputy director for the Israeli Communications Ministry. "We don't care where people buy their equipment. But without regulation, you would have chaos."
Some Israelis successfully got the popular devices into Israel before the ban.
Amnon, a software developer who took an iPad into Israel legally but asked that his last name be withheld to avoid potential government repercussions, said he and other high-tech businessmen needed the iPad to develop new applications for the device.
"There are several hundred people in Israel who make their livelihood developing apps ... and there are going to be companies that suffer, because they can't deliver the services they're supposed to be delivering," he said.
The iPad combines the features of a notebook computer with the touch-pad functions of the iPod. It went on sale in the US on April 3. Apple this week delayed its international launch until May 10, citing higher than expected demand.
Israeli officials said the ban had nothing to do with trade and was simply a precaution to make sure that the iPad would not affect wireless devices already in use in Israel.
Although Israeli standards are similar to those in many European nations, Israel is the only country so far to officially ban imports.
Schubert said he expects the problem to be resolved as Apple moves closer to the international release.
In the meantime, confiscated iPads will be held by customs - for a daily storage fee - until their owners leave the country or ship the gadgets back to the US at their own expense.
Apple's chief distributor in Israel, iDigital, declined to comment on the decision, and messages left at Apple's headquarters in California were not returned.
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Mazda 3 (Axela) recalled
Mazda recalled nearly 90,000 vehicles in Japan and China because of a problem with the transmission, a company spokesman said Thursday.The recall was for about 35,000 of a passenger car called the Axela in Japan, the spokesman said. The company also recalled about 55,000 of the same model in China that is called the Mazda 3 there.
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India leaping into 3G wireless Internet
600 million Indians have been exposed to mobile telephony using the 2G technology. Now, the Indian government is planning to upgrade the platform to 3G and that will revolutionized their population access to the digital world.In the good old days, Indians would wait for years for a telephone line to be installed in their homes and workplaces.Until the early 1990s, a phone was seen as a luxury.
But today, India's vast underclass is almost as well connected as the rich in what is hailed as a telecom revolution that has delivered mobile telephony to nearly 600 million people in just a little over a decade.
The nation is now preparing for another giant leap into the digital world as it auctions off its airwaves for third-generation (3G) services to enable super-fast multimedia streaming on wireless networks.
Industry leaders Vodafone Essar, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Telecom and six other companies began bidding last week for slots in 22 zones -- called circles -- of India's telecom market.
The auction, with a reserve price of $787 million, is being held online on a secure Web site, according to officials.
The process is expected to run for days or weeks. The government has not set a closing date for the auction.
The government wants to award the 3G frequency space later this year, said Satyendra Prakash, a spokesman for the communications ministry.
Also, there will be a follow-up auction of broadband wireless access that has attracted 11 bidders, telecommunications officials say.
Analysts forecast that 3G systems will boost India's internet penetration with technology allowing quick access, data transfer and entertainment on mobile handsets.
India's online market has not kept pace with the country's booming mobile-phone business despite the country's image as an IT powerhouse.
Raj Pal, an adviser at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, says the nation had barely 15.24 million internet users in December last year. Among them were 7.82 million broadband subscribers, he added.
Independent surveys suggest about 71 million Indians claimed to have logged on in 2009, still a tiny fraction of the country's population of 1.2 billion.
Analysts now foresee another revolution ahead as the current second-generation (2G) mobile services are replaced by a successor.
"3G is going to do to the Internet in India what 2G did to mobile telephony," said Kunal Bajaj, India director of British-based consultancy firm Analysys Mason.
More than 130 countries already are using the third-generation platform, he said.
India has announced a program aimed at linking up all its 250,000 village councils by 2012 in a bid to plug massive broadband divides between rural and urban communities as the country emerges as one of the world's few growth markets.
Indians often complain of poor connectivity and abrupt termination of mobile calls. Bajaj explains that is because of signal congestion on cell-phone towers.
Experts believe 3G technology, for now, will be used to improve existing services on strained networks.
"The initial focus is expected to be on improving quality of calls," says Bajaj. "It will shift to multimedia application over a period of time," he adds.
Recommended reading:
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* Biometric ID Cards For India 1.2 Billion Citizens
* Kodinji India - Village of Twins
Secret of how rich people get rich
How do rich people get rich? By turning money into more money or simply money make money. An upcoming book by Kaye Thomas explains in plain English the secret of successful investing: Turning money into more money. Below are some simple rules in successful investing and multiplying your fortune.While everyone goes through good times and bad times, the 1980 Harvard Law School graduate suggests sticking to four main rules for success:
1) Create and maintain a regular programme of saving, in an amount that makes sense relative to your income level and financial goals.
2) Create and maintain an appropriate division of your money between bonds and stocks, in a ratio that makes sense in relation to your time horizon and risk tolerance.
3) Within each division, create and maintain good diversification.
4) Keep investment expenses to a minimum.
“Every investment has two sides. A great deal for one side is a lousy deal for the other, and no one wants a lousy deal. When investment looks amazingly good, ask yourself why would offer to enrich you at his expense. Ask yourself why isn’t everyone buying this investment if it’s so great. The better an investment looks, the more likely there’s a hidden catch,” Thomas writes.
“Disastrous investment results can nearly always be traced to a violation of one or more of these rules,” he says, adding that the easiest way to follow these rules is to invest in low-cost index funds.
So now you have no excuses.
Why product and brand failed
Famous companies do have its share of product and brand failures. These failures occur on an ongoing basis to varying degrees within most product-based organizations. This is the negative aspect of the development and marketing process. It is a fact that fewer than 10% of all new products/services produce enough return on the company's investment to survive past the third year. Read also Top 10 Technology Product Failure
In most cases, this “failure rate” syndrome ends up being a numbers game. There must be some ratio of successful products to each one that ends up being a failure. When this does not happen, the organization is likely to fail, or at least experience financial difficulties that prohibit it from meeting profitability objectives. And it can become fatal for a start-up company. The primary goal is to learn from product and brand failures so that future product development, design, strategy and implementation will be more successful.
Studying product failures allows those in the planning and implementation process to learn from the mistakes of other product and brand failures. Each product failure can be investigated from the perspective of what, if anything, might have been done differently to produce and market a successful product rather than one that failed. The ability to identify key signs in the product development process can be critical. If the product should make it this far, assessing risk before the product is marketed can save an organization’s budget, and avoid the intangible costs of exposing their failure to the market.
Defining product and brand failures
A product is a failure when its presence in the market leads to:
* The withdrawal of the product from the market for any reason, such as obsolete design;
* The inability of a product to realize the required market share to sustain its presence in the market due to poor sales or flooded with cheaper competitors products;
* The inability of a product to achieve the anticipated life cycle as defined by the organization due to any reason; or,
* The ultimate failure of a product to achieve profitability. For example, over budget of advertisements and marketing cost.
Failures are not necessarily the result of substandard engineering, design or marketing. Based on critic’s definitions, there are hundreds of “bad” movies that have reached “cult status” and financial success while many “good” movies have been box office bombs. Other premier products fail because of competitive actions. Sony’s Beta format was a clearly superior product to VHS, but their decision to not enable the format to be standardized negatively impacted distribution and availability, which resulted in a product failure. The “Tucker” was a superior vehicle compared to what was on the market at the time. This failure was due to General Motors burying the fledgling organization in the courts to eliminate a future competitor with a well-designed product posing a potential threat to their market share. Apple has experienced a series of product failures, with consistent repetition as they continue to fight for market share.
Product failures are not necessarily financial failures, although bankruptcy may be the final result. Many financially successful products were later found to pose health and safety risks. These products were financial and market share successes:
* Asbestos-based building materials now recognized as a carcinogenic—Insulation, floor tile and “popcorn” ceiling materials produced by a number of manufacturers.
* Baby formula that provided insufficient nutrients for infants resulting in retardation—Nestle’s.
* The diet medication cocktail of Pondimin and Redux called “Fen Phen” that resulted in heart value complications—American Home Products (http://www.settlementdietdrugs.com/).
What successful products may be next? Frequent and high dosages of Advil are suspected to correlate with liver damage. Extended use of electric blankets are suspected by some to increase the chance of cancer. The over-the-counter availability and high use of Sudafed is feared by some physicians and is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Product failures and the product life cycle
Most products experience some form of the product life cycle where they create that familiar—or a variant—form of the product life cycle based on time and sales volume or revenue. Most products experience the recognized life cycle stages including:
1. Introduction
2. Growth
3. Maturity (or saturation)
4. Decline
In some cases, product categories seem to be continuously in demand, while other products never find their niche. These products lack the recognized product life cycle curve.
Failure, fad, fashion or style?
It is important to distinguish a product failure from a product fad, style or a fashion cycle. The most radical product life cycle is that of a fad. Fads have a naturally short life cycle and in fact, are often predicted to experience rapid gain and rapid loss over a short period of time—a few years, months, or even weeks with online fads. One music critic expected “The Bay City Rollers” to rival the Beatles. Do you know who they are? And the pet rock lasted longer than it should have, making millions for its founders.
A “fashion” is what describes the accepted emulation of trends in several areas, such as clothing and home furnishings. The product life cycle of a “style” also appears in clothing as well as art, architecture, cars and other esthetic-based products. The “end” of these product life cycles does not denote failures, but marks the conclusion of an expected cycle that will be replaced and repeated by variations of other products that meet the same needs and perform the same functions.
The benefits of studying failures
Gaining a better understanding of product failures is important to help prevent future failures. Studying the history of product failures may generate some insight into the reason for those failures and create a list of factors that may increase the opportunity for success, but there are no guarantees.
Examples of product failures
The following is an abbreviated list of product failures that may provide insight that will help to identify product and brand success factors:
Automotive and transportation
* Cadillac Cimarron
* Pontiac Fiero
* Chevrolet Corvair
* Ford Edsel
* The DeLorean
* Crosley
* The Tucker
* The Gremlin, the Javelin and a complete line of other models by American Motors
* GM’s passenger diesel engine
* Mazda’s Wankel rotary engine
* Proton Juara
* Firestone 500 tire
* Goodyear tires used on the Ford Explorer
* Concorde—supersonic airliner
Computer industry
* IBM’s PCjr—introduced in March 1985
* Apple’s Newton
* Apple’s Lisa
* Coleco’s Adam
* Percon’s Pocketreader—hand held scanner, now operating under the company name PSC
* Bumble Bee’s software version of the book “What Color is Your Parachute”
* OSX
Entertainment
* Quadraphonic audio equipment
* World Football League
* Women’s National Basketball Association
* World League of American Football
* United States Football League
* “He and She,” “Berrengers,” every spinoff done by the former cast of “Seinfeld,” and dozens of other television shows each year.
* “Of God’s and Generals,” “Heavens Gate,” “Water World,” “The Postman” and other movies—with a disproportionately high number produced by Kevin Costner.
Food and beverage
* Burger King’s veal parmesan
* Burger King’s pita salad
* McRib—and still being tested and tried
* Nestle’s New Cookery—but a successor, Lean Cuisine, is a big hit
* Gerber’s Singles—dinners in jars, for adults—early ’70s
* Chelsea—“baby beer”
Photographic and video
* Polaroid instant home movies
* SX-70 (Polaroid instant camera)
* RCA Computers (Spectra-70)
* Video-disc players
* DIVX variant on DVD
U.S. currency
* Susan B. Anthony Dollar coin—niche in San Francisco, Las Vegas
* Two-dollar bill
* Twenty-cent piece
Malaysia currency
* Two-ringgit bill
* One-ringgit coin
Other products
* DuPont’s CORFAM —synthetic leather
* Mattel’s Aquarius
* Timex’s Sinclair
* Clairol’s Touch of Yogurt Shampoo (1979)
* Sparq portable mass storage
* Rely tampons
* Relax-a-cizor—vibrating chair
* Louisiana World Exposition—and its gondola
Common reasons for product failures
In addition to a faulty concept or product design, some of the most common reasons for product failures typically fall into one or more of these categories:
* High level executive push of an idea that does not fit the targeted market.
* Overestimated market size.
* Incorrectly positioned product.
* Ineffective promotion, including packaging message, which may have used misleading or confusing marketing message about the product, its features, or its use.
* Not understanding the target market segment and the branding process that would provide the most value for that segment.
* Incorrectly priced—too high and too low.
* Excessive research and/or product development costs.
* Underestimating or not correctly understanding competitive activity or retaliatory response.
* Poor timing of distribution.
* Misleading market research that did not accurately reflect the actual consumer’s behavior for the targeted segment.
* Conducted marketing research and ignored those findings.
* Key channel partners were not involved, informed, or both.
* Lower than anticipated margins.
Using these potential causes of a product or brand failure may help to avoid committing those same errors. Learning from these “lessons” can be beneficial to avoid some of these pitfalls and increase the chance for success when you launch that next product or brand.
Originally published on Bplans.com.
In most cases, this “failure rate” syndrome ends up being a numbers game. There must be some ratio of successful products to each one that ends up being a failure. When this does not happen, the organization is likely to fail, or at least experience financial difficulties that prohibit it from meeting profitability objectives. And it can become fatal for a start-up company. The primary goal is to learn from product and brand failures so that future product development, design, strategy and implementation will be more successful.
Studying product failures allows those in the planning and implementation process to learn from the mistakes of other product and brand failures. Each product failure can be investigated from the perspective of what, if anything, might have been done differently to produce and market a successful product rather than one that failed. The ability to identify key signs in the product development process can be critical. If the product should make it this far, assessing risk before the product is marketed can save an organization’s budget, and avoid the intangible costs of exposing their failure to the market.
Defining product and brand failures
A product is a failure when its presence in the market leads to:
* The withdrawal of the product from the market for any reason, such as obsolete design;
* The inability of a product to realize the required market share to sustain its presence in the market due to poor sales or flooded with cheaper competitors products;
* The inability of a product to achieve the anticipated life cycle as defined by the organization due to any reason; or,
* The ultimate failure of a product to achieve profitability. For example, over budget of advertisements and marketing cost.
Failures are not necessarily the result of substandard engineering, design or marketing. Based on critic’s definitions, there are hundreds of “bad” movies that have reached “cult status” and financial success while many “good” movies have been box office bombs. Other premier products fail because of competitive actions. Sony’s Beta format was a clearly superior product to VHS, but their decision to not enable the format to be standardized negatively impacted distribution and availability, which resulted in a product failure. The “Tucker” was a superior vehicle compared to what was on the market at the time. This failure was due to General Motors burying the fledgling organization in the courts to eliminate a future competitor with a well-designed product posing a potential threat to their market share. Apple has experienced a series of product failures, with consistent repetition as they continue to fight for market share.
Product failures are not necessarily financial failures, although bankruptcy may be the final result. Many financially successful products were later found to pose health and safety risks. These products were financial and market share successes:
* Asbestos-based building materials now recognized as a carcinogenic—Insulation, floor tile and “popcorn” ceiling materials produced by a number of manufacturers.
* Baby formula that provided insufficient nutrients for infants resulting in retardation—Nestle’s.
* The diet medication cocktail of Pondimin and Redux called “Fen Phen” that resulted in heart value complications—American Home Products (http://www.settlementdietdrugs.com/).
What successful products may be next? Frequent and high dosages of Advil are suspected to correlate with liver damage. Extended use of electric blankets are suspected by some to increase the chance of cancer. The over-the-counter availability and high use of Sudafed is feared by some physicians and is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Product failures and the product life cycle
Most products experience some form of the product life cycle where they create that familiar—or a variant—form of the product life cycle based on time and sales volume or revenue. Most products experience the recognized life cycle stages including:
1. Introduction
2. Growth
3. Maturity (or saturation)
4. Decline
In some cases, product categories seem to be continuously in demand, while other products never find their niche. These products lack the recognized product life cycle curve.
Failure, fad, fashion or style?
It is important to distinguish a product failure from a product fad, style or a fashion cycle. The most radical product life cycle is that of a fad. Fads have a naturally short life cycle and in fact, are often predicted to experience rapid gain and rapid loss over a short period of time—a few years, months, or even weeks with online fads. One music critic expected “The Bay City Rollers” to rival the Beatles. Do you know who they are? And the pet rock lasted longer than it should have, making millions for its founders.
A “fashion” is what describes the accepted emulation of trends in several areas, such as clothing and home furnishings. The product life cycle of a “style” also appears in clothing as well as art, architecture, cars and other esthetic-based products. The “end” of these product life cycles does not denote failures, but marks the conclusion of an expected cycle that will be replaced and repeated by variations of other products that meet the same needs and perform the same functions.
The benefits of studying failures
Gaining a better understanding of product failures is important to help prevent future failures. Studying the history of product failures may generate some insight into the reason for those failures and create a list of factors that may increase the opportunity for success, but there are no guarantees.
Examples of product failures
The following is an abbreviated list of product failures that may provide insight that will help to identify product and brand success factors:
Automotive and transportation
* Cadillac Cimarron
* Pontiac Fiero
* Chevrolet Corvair
* Ford Edsel
* The DeLorean
* Crosley
* The Tucker
* The Gremlin, the Javelin and a complete line of other models by American Motors
* GM’s passenger diesel engine
* Mazda’s Wankel rotary engine
* Proton Juara
* Firestone 500 tire
* Goodyear tires used on the Ford Explorer
* Concorde—supersonic airliner
Computer industry
* IBM’s PCjr—introduced in March 1985
* Apple’s Newton
* Apple’s Lisa
* Coleco’s Adam
* Percon’s Pocketreader—hand held scanner, now operating under the company name PSC
* Bumble Bee’s software version of the book “What Color is Your Parachute”
* OSX
Entertainment
* Quadraphonic audio equipment
* World Football League
* Women’s National Basketball Association
* World League of American Football
* United States Football League
* “He and She,” “Berrengers,” every spinoff done by the former cast of “Seinfeld,” and dozens of other television shows each year.
* “Of God’s and Generals,” “Heavens Gate,” “Water World,” “The Postman” and other movies—with a disproportionately high number produced by Kevin Costner.
Food and beverage
* Burger King’s veal parmesan
* Burger King’s pita salad
* McRib—and still being tested and tried
* Nestle’s New Cookery—but a successor, Lean Cuisine, is a big hit
* Gerber’s Singles—dinners in jars, for adults—early ’70s
* Chelsea—“baby beer”
Photographic and video
* Polaroid instant home movies
* SX-70 (Polaroid instant camera)
* RCA Computers (Spectra-70)
* Video-disc players
* DIVX variant on DVD
U.S. currency
* Susan B. Anthony Dollar coin—niche in San Francisco, Las Vegas
* Two-dollar bill
* Twenty-cent piece
Malaysia currency
* Two-ringgit bill
* One-ringgit coin
Other products
* DuPont’s CORFAM —synthetic leather
* Mattel’s Aquarius
* Timex’s Sinclair
* Clairol’s Touch of Yogurt Shampoo (1979)
* Sparq portable mass storage
* Rely tampons
* Relax-a-cizor—vibrating chair
* Louisiana World Exposition—and its gondola
Common reasons for product failures
In addition to a faulty concept or product design, some of the most common reasons for product failures typically fall into one or more of these categories:
* High level executive push of an idea that does not fit the targeted market.
* Overestimated market size.
* Incorrectly positioned product.
* Ineffective promotion, including packaging message, which may have used misleading or confusing marketing message about the product, its features, or its use.
* Not understanding the target market segment and the branding process that would provide the most value for that segment.
* Incorrectly priced—too high and too low.
* Excessive research and/or product development costs.
* Underestimating or not correctly understanding competitive activity or retaliatory response.
* Poor timing of distribution.
* Misleading market research that did not accurately reflect the actual consumer’s behavior for the targeted segment.
* Conducted marketing research and ignored those findings.
* Key channel partners were not involved, informed, or both.
* Lower than anticipated margins.
Using these potential causes of a product or brand failure may help to avoid committing those same errors. Learning from these “lessons” can be beneficial to avoid some of these pitfalls and increase the chance for success when you launch that next product or brand.
Originally published on Bplans.com.
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