Technical Problems

Due to technical problems with Google, I am currently not posting to this blog.

Health Care

Like many people, I'm trying to figure out this healthcare thing. What I want to see is a reduction in overall costs even at the expense of some total government expenditure. In other words, a little more government spending to save overall health costs is well worth it With Medicare and the Veterans Administration we have the best healthcare in the world. Can't can't we share it with our kids, our unemployed, our homeless, and our small businesses. I would like to see our healthcare not be a competitive disadvantage for our companies. I would like to see our healthcare not drive our middle class into bankruptcy. I would like to see our healthcare shared among all Americans.

If our lawmakers can figure that out, more power to them.

Testing, testing my voice

I'm back. With new speech recognition software to really speak my mind. I had previously switched to primarily citing other articles of interest. But I've had a lot of trouble with blogspot since I added a second blog. Until I figure it out I thought I would try this new software. It's not that I don't like typing out my hands only have so many more words left in them while my mouth seems unlimited.

So on this hot and rainy Sunday afternoon I thought I would revive this blog. It's only been two weeks since my last post but I miss it in the opportunity that blogging offers. So we'll see how it goes.

U.S. Scientists See H1-B Visas as Major Issue Against Progress, Says Survey

The nation's scientists see H1-B visa issues as a major barrier to scientific achievement, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. Some 56 percent surveyed felt that issues with the visa process for foreign students and scientists represented a massive impediment, second only to the 87 percent who saw lack of funding as a “very serious” or “serious” problem.

U.S. Scientists See H1-B Visas as Major Issue Against Progress, Says Survey

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E-Commerce News: Law: Obama Administration Plows Ahead With Controversial E-Verify Program

E-Verify is a free Web-based system operated by DHS in partnership with the Social Security Administration.It lets employers compare information from I-9 forms against federal government databases to verify employees' eligibility for employment in the United States.The Bush administration met with considerable opposition when it tried to extend E-Verify to federal contractors and subcontractors.The Obama administration is now moving forward with a requirement that will take effect on September 8 and apply to federal solicitations and contract awards. It will also cover businesses that receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

E-Commerce News: Law: Obama Administration Plows Ahead With Controversial E-Verify Program

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Bush’s Secret NSA Spying May Have Tainted Prosecutions, Report Warns | Threat Level | Wired.com

“This report leaves no doubt that the warrantless wiretapping program was blatantly illegal and an unconstitutional assertion of executive power,” Feingold said. “I once again call on the Obama administration and its Justice Department to withdraw the flawed legal memoranda that justified the program and that remain in effect today.”

Bush’s Secret NSA Spying May Have Tainted Prosecutions, Report Warns | Threat Level | Wired.com

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Report: Bush surveillance program was massive - Yahoo! News

The report says too few relevant officials knew of the size and depth of the program, let alone signed off on it. They particularly criticize John Yoo, a deputy assistant attorney general who wrote legal memos undergirding the policy. His boss, Attorney General John Ashcroft, was not aware until March 2004 of the exact nature of the intelligence operations beyond wiretapping that he had been approving for the previous two and a half years, the report says.

Most of the intelligence leads generated under what was known as the "President's Surveillance Program" did not have any connection to terrorism, the report said. But FBI agents told the authors that the "mere possibility of the leads producing useful information made investigating the leads worthwhile."

Report: Bush surveillance program was massive - Yahoo! News

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Sen. Kohl Demands Investigation of Wireless Carriers - washingtonpost.com

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, sent letters yesterday to the federal agencies overseeing communications and antitrust, calling for an investigation and for action on several regulatory proposals that could give smaller carriers and software firms a better shot at competing.

Sen. Kohl Demands Investigation of Wireless Carriers - washingtonpost.com

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NASA predicted Rift Valley fever outbreak

National Aeronautics and Space Administration researchers, including Assaf Anyamba, a remote sensing scientist with the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, used a blend of NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measurements of sea surface temperatures, precipitation and vegetation cover to predict when and where an outbreak would occur.

NASA predicted Rift Valley fever outbreak

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Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network's Plan to Dominate the Internet

Originally Google had considered acquiring Facebook—a prospect that held no interest for Facebook's executives—but an investment was another enticing option, aligning the Internet's two most important companies. Facebook was more than a fast-growing social network. It was, potentially, an enormous source of personal data. Internet users behaved differently on Facebook than anywhere else online: They used their real names, connected with their real friends, linked to their real email addresses, and shared their real thoughts, tastes, and news. Google, on the other hand, knew relatively little about most of its users other than their search histories and some browsing activity.

Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network's Plan to Dominate the Internet

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ThinkTech | ThinkTech blog, ThinkTech Hawaii | honoluluadvertiser.com | Honolulu, Hawaii

One, HB1405, would require Internet vendors to collect the Hawaii gross excise tax (GET) on purchases from Hawaii. 1405 would treat “advertising associates” in Hawaii as the “substantial nexus” required by Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court case.The other, SB1678, would call for Hawaii to join 23 other states in adopting a cooperative “streamlined” (euphemism) national Internet sales and use tax. 1678 could not be effective until Congress passes a law to authorize this bill under the Commerce Clause.

ThinkTech | ThinkTech blog, ThinkTech Hawaii | honoluluadvertiser.com | Honolulu, Hawaii

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Gates Establishes Cyber-Defense Command - washingtonpost.com

In a memo to senior military leaders, Gates said he will recommend that President Obama designate that the new command be led by the director of the National Security Agency, the world's largest electronic intelligence-gathering agency. The current NSA director, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, is expected to be awarded a fourth star and to lead the cyber-command.

Gates Establishes Cyber-Defense Command - washingtonpost.com

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How Apple, AT&T Are Closing the Mobile Web | Epicenter | Wired.com

Free Press, a group that advocates the idea of an open internet — that is, one in which consumers have the right to browse the web and run internet applications without restrictions — is the latest of several organizations to call out Apple for its inconsistencies. Free Press alleges that Apple crippled SlingPlayer, a TV-streaming application for iPhone, so that it would only work on a Wi-Fi connection; the initial version worked with a 3G cellular network connection as well as Wi-Fi. The SlingPlayer restriction is inconsistent with Apple’s approval of the Major League Baseball application, which provides live-streaming of sports events on both Wi-Fi and 3G connections, the group said.

How Apple, AT&T Are Closing the Mobile Web | Epicenter | Wired.com

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Investment Executive : U.S. exchanges expand presence in carbon market

The NYSE Euronext said that BlueNext, its majority-owned environmental trading exchange, is partnering with the China-Beijing Environmental Exchange, to set up an international carbon-trading related information platform. The two firms signed a deal that includes: a cross-marketing partnership; and, a comprehensive data sharing agreement that will promote investment- and buyer information of Clean Development Mechanism projects in China.

Investment Executive : U.S. exchanges expand presence in carbon market

CME has rival in new NY clearing house | Crain's Chicago Business

The new clearing house, New York Portfolio Clearing, will combine the NYSE Euronext's U.S. futures exchange and DTCC 's Fixed Income Clearing Corp. to offer risk management, clearing and settlement efficiencies for U.S. fixed income securities and derivatives.

CME has rival in new NY clearing house | Crain's Chicago Business

Facebook Taps Privacy Hawk as Lobbyist - washingtonpost.com

As a prominent privacy advocate, Timothy Sparapani, former senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that Internet companies have too much control over consumers' data. The self-described "privacy zealot" didn't join Facebook until seven months ago because he was uneasy about revealing personal information on the site.

Facebook Taps Privacy Hawk as Lobbyist - washingtonpost.com

CME has rival in new NY clearing house | Crain's Chicago Business

The new clearing house, New York Portfolio Clearing, will combine the NYSE Euronext's U.S. futures exchange and DTCC 's Fixed Income Clearing Corp. to offer risk management, clearing and settlement efficiencies for U.S. fixed income securities and derivatives.The deal could eat into CME Group's dominance of the interest-rate futures clearing business in the U.S. Currently, CME accounts for more than 95% of that market.

CME has rival in new NY clearing house | Crain's Chicago Business

Experts: Gov't Needs to Spend More on Cyber R&D - Business Center - PC World

The U.S. government has a 2009 R&D budget of about $143 billion, and only about $300 million will go to cybersecurity research, said Liesyl Franz, vice president of information security and global public policy at TechAmerica, a trade group. Funding for cybersecurity R&D and for training security professionals "requires immediate and sustained attention," she told the House of Representatives Research and Science Education Subcommittee Wednesday.

Experts: Gov't Needs to Spend More on Cyber R&D - Business Center - PC World

Social Networks Spread Defiance Online - NYTimes.com

Iranians are blogging, posting to Facebook and, most visibly, coordinating their protests on Twitter, the messaging service. Their activity has increased, not decreased, since the presidential election on Friday and ensuing attempts by the government to restrict or censor their online communications.

Social Networks Spread Defiance Online - NYTimes.com

Ezra Klein - Financial Reform for the Rest of Us

But that's what the administration is proposing to do. In particular, the inclusion of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency with the ability to regulate the sort of financial products that ordinary individuals come into contact with -- credit cards, mortgages, etc -- is a positive sign. An FDA for consumer finance, some are calling it.

Ezra Klein - Financial Reform for the Rest of Us

INO.com News - Officials: US set to win in WTO dispute with China

Two officials said the ruling would uphold a number of key U.S. arguments that China was violating international trade rules by forcing some American audiovisual goods to be distributed through Chinese state-owned companies.It will also find against Beijing for restrictive requirements on foreign makers of products from magazines to video games that do not extend to Chinese competitors, the officials said Tuesday.

INO.com News - Officials: US set to win in WTO dispute with China

Obama Blueprint Deepens Federal Role in Markets - washingtonpost.com

The White House makes its case for this approach in an 85-page white paper that describes the roots of the crisis. Gaps in regulation allowed companies to make loans many borrowers could not afford. Funding came from new kinds of investments that were poorly understood by regulators. Big firms paid employees massive bonuses, while setting aside little money to absorb potential losses.

Obama Blueprint Deepens Federal Role in Markets - washingtonpost.com

OpenNet Initiative Releases Report on Filtering in Asia | Berkman Center

ONI releases this report on the heals of the Chinese government's directive that Green Dam filtering software must be installed in all computers sold in the country. ONI issued an evaluation of the software last week, concluding that

OpenNet Initiative Releases Report on Filtering in Asia | Berkman Center

Credit Card Issuers Settle Accounts for Lower Balances - NYTimes.com

As they confront unprecedented numbers of troubled customers, credit card companies are increasingly doing something they have historically scorned: settling delinquent accounts for substantially less than the amount owed.

Credit Card Issuers Settle Accounts for Lower Balances - NYTimes.com

Geithner Gives Update on the Financial Rescue - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

“When the president came in, we had a financial system that was very damaged,” Mr. Geithner said at a conference on the economy hosted by Time Warner. “If you look at where we are today, we really made substantial progress.”

Geithner Gives Update on the Financial Rescue - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

Twitter Gets Credibility Boost, but Can It Monetize? - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

Iran’s election has been a boon for the company. Global media outlets including the BBC and CNN are broadcasting tweets about the protests. Twitter has proved such a useful source of information about the upheaval that the United States government asked the company to postpone a scheduled maintenance so it could stay online, Breakingviews notes.

Twitter Gets Credibility Boost, but Can It Monetize? - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

Obama Enlisted a Wide Consensus on Finance Rules - NYTimes.com

In doing so, the plan seeks to give Washington the tools to police the shadow system of finance that has grown up outside the government’s purview, and to make it easier for regulators to head off problems at large, troubled institutions or take control of them if they fail.

Obama Enlisted a Wide Consensus on Finance Rules - NYTimes.com

The New Straits Times Online: RazakSAT to be launched on July14

RazakSAT will be launched from Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of Marshall Islands witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak of Malaysia from the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, he said.

Ongkili said the satelitte which will orbit above the Equator would not only provide benefits in meteorology and remote sensing but bring in income as other countries could use it for a fee.

The New Straits Times Online: RazakSAT to be launched on July14

Sandvine CEO: "Unmanaged Is Not Neutral"

During a panel discussion on net neutrality yesterday at the Toronto Congress Centre, Sandvine's chief executive officer, Dave Caputo, explained why an unmanaged Internet is not neutral. The net neutrality panel also included Mike Lee, chief strategy officer, Rogers Communications and Skype's Christopher Libertelli, senior director, government and regulator affairs of the Americas.

During the panel discussion Mr. Caputo described five truths that explain why reasonable network management is critical for today's evolved Internet: * Network congestion happens;

* Each application places different demands on the Internet;
* Subscribers' usage is not equal;
* Capacity increases alone do not solve network congestion; and
* Service providers need to protect the quality of experience for all subscribers and applications.

Sandvine CEO: "Unmanaged Is Not Neutral"

Obama spells out major financial rules overhaul - Yahoo! News

The Obama plan would give new powers to the Federal Reserve to oversee the entire financial system and would also create a new consumer protection agency to guard against credit and other abuses that played a big role in the current crisis.Unveiling his proposal before an East Room audience, Obama blamed the financial crisis on "a culture of irresponsibility" and outdated financial rules that were created in the wake of the Great Depression of the 1930s but had been "overwhelmed by the speed, scope and sophistication of a 21st century global economy."The Obama plan would give the Federal Reserve new powers to oversee the entire financial system, hoping that the central bank will be able deal with the kinds of problems that were allowed to build to such an extent that they ended up overwhelming the system last year, resulting in the collapse of some of America's largest financial institutions.

Obama spells out major financial rules overhaul - Yahoo! News

Obama wants new financial agency for consumers - Yahoo! Finance

The draft document calls for removing restrictions on the Fed's ability to examine or impose restrictions on large financial holding companies and their subsidiaries. But Obama's proposal would require the Fed, which can independently use emergency powers to bail out failing banks, to first obtain Treasury approval before extending credit to institutions in "unusual and exigent circumstances."

Obama wants new financial agency for consumers - Yahoo! Finance

Google Fusion Tables Eases Data Management in the Cloud

The technology allows users to filter and aggregate the data, as well as visualize it on Google Maps and other visualizations from the Google Visualization API. In addition, users can discuss the data with ‘collaborators’ - those they share it with - by using a chat feature. If a collaborator with edit permission changes data during the discussion, viewers will see the change as part of the discussion trail.

Google Fusion Tables Eases Data Management in the Cloud

Report: Game Consoles the Prime Device for Web TV :: Communications Technology

While still at the early adoption stages, the impact of bringing Web video to the TV is expected to bring both opportunity and threats to a range of companies in the electronics and TV markets. By 2013, the revenue from Web-to-TV streaming services is forecast to grow to $2.9 billion.

Report: Game Consoles the Prime Device for Web TV :: Communications Technology

Google Says It's Actually Quite Small - washingtonpost.com

As might be expected, Google's presentation highlights the company's many good works and "don't be evil" corporate philosophy. But there's another element at front and center of the presentation: According to Warner and Kovacevich, their company holds only a 2.66 percent share of its total market.

Google Says It's Actually Quite Small - washingtonpost.com

James Champy: IT innovation in a time of economic crisis

IT innovation is more important than ever in a time of economic crisis. But how can CIOs continue to do more with less and at the same time be pioneers in the field of IT innovation?

James Champy: IT innovation in a time of economic crisis

Op-Ed Columnist - The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers - NYTimes.com

What is this fury about? In his scant 145 days in office, the new president has not remotely matched the Bush record in deficit creation. Nor has he repealed the right to bear arms or exacerbated the wars he inherited. He has tried more than his predecessor ever did to reach across the aisle. But none of that seems to matter. A sizable minority of Americans is irrationally fearful of the fast-moving generational, cultural and racial turnover Obama embodies — indeed, of the 21st century itself. That minority is now getting angrier in inverse relationship to his popularity with the vast majority of the country. Change can be frightening and traumatic, especially if it’s not change you can believe in.

Op-Ed Columnist - The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers - NYTimes.com

Cable group switches position: Net neutrality's OK | Digital Media - CNET News

The Net neutrality position is, in a nutshell, that no matter who you get your Internet access through you should have access to the same Internet as everyone else.But the large corporations have started using their influence to sell features to the large ISPs at prices that smaller ISPs can't match. Besides the Net neutrality issues, this is troubling.

Cable group switches position: Net neutrality's OK | Digital Media - CNET News

The Architecture Issue - Remaking Paris for the 21st Century - NYTimes.com

One of the first things Sarkozy did after he moved into the Elysée Palace was to convene a meeting of prominent architects and ask them to come up with a new blueprint for Paris. “Of course,” he said, “projects should be realistic, but for me true realism is the kind that consists in being very ambitious.” His job was to clean up the city’s working-class suburbs, and at the same time build a greener Paris, the first city to conform to the environmental goals laid out in the Kyoto treaty.

The results, a year later, may be the beginning of one of the boldest urban planning operations in French history. A formidable list of architects — including Richard Rogers, Jean Nouvel, Djamel Klouche and Roland Castro — put forward proposals that address a range of urban problems: from housing the poor to fixing outdated transportation systems to renewing the immigrant suburbs. Some have suggested practical solutions — new train stations and parks — while others have been more provocative, like Castro, who proposed moving the presidential palace to the outskirts.

The Architecture Issue - Remaking Paris for the 21st Century - NYTimes.com

Virgin Media and Universal launch music service - washingtonpost.com

The service, described by the companies as a world first, will allow Virgin Media's broadband customers in Britain to stream and download as many songs and albums as they like from Universal's catalog for a fee.

Virgin Media and Universal launch music service - washingtonpost.com

To The Mattresses

As long as the global economy was crumbling, business held back and even welcomed the infusion of hundreds of billions of government dollars to prop up the system. Business leaders, like everyone else, were frightened to death. They welcomed Big Government's exertions to keep the banks alive and gin up consumer purchasing power.

To The Mattresses

Buyer Beware

But now that the debate over health care has moved from abstractions to legislative specifics, the story is starting to sound familiar. A prime example: recent statements by the National Manufacturers Association, which represents large industrial companies. Most reform proposals would require businesses to contribute toward the cost of their employees' health insurance, either by providing coverage or paying into a fund for the uninsured. An NAM official told a USA Today reporter the group wanted the employer mandate "out of there." Other business groups, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, seem equally skeptical.

Buyer Beware

UPDATE 1-Ban CDS as instruments of destruction - Soros | Markets | Markets News | Reuters

"CDS are instruments of destruction which ought to be outlawed," Soros told a meeting of the Institute of International Finance, many of whose member banks and financial institutions are active participants in the huge CDS market.Going short on bonds by purchasing a CDS contract carried limited risk but almost unlimited profit potential. By contrast, selling CDSs offered limited profit and practically unlimited risk, Soros said.

UPDATE 1-Ban CDS as instruments of destruction - Soros | Markets | Markets News | Reuters

Op-Ed Columnist - The Big Hate - NYTimes.com

There is, however, one important thing that the D.H.S. report didn’t say: Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment.

Op-Ed Columnist - The Big Hate - NYTimes.com

Employees May Be Taxed for Texting If IRS Updates Work Cellphone Rules - washingtonpost.com

Under several proposals put forth this week, the IRS would more strictly enforce an existing law that classifies company-issued cellphones as a taxable benefit -- an idea decried by employers and wireless companies who argue that mobile phones are now essential tools in the workplace that shouldn't be considered income.The debate stems from a 1989 law that requires workers who use company cellphones for personal calls to count the value of those calls as income and pay federal income taxes for the minutes used. Employees are supposed to keep detailed records of their calls. Now that sending e-mails on mobile devices is more prevalent, data charges could also be subject to scrutiny.

Employees May Be Taxed for Texting If IRS Updates Work Cellphone Rules - washingtonpost.com

Google Says It's Actually Quite Small - washingtonpost.com

Three times in the past month, government agencies have targeted Google for antitrust reviews. An outstanding private lawsuit alleges that Google tried to kill a business-to-business search engine with predatory pricing. And during the waning months of the Bush administration, soon-to-be Obama antitrust chief Christine Varney declared that Google "has acquired a monopoly in Internet online advertising." Last month she asserted that the Bush administration had been too lax in combating monopolistic behavior and that the Obama Justice Department would no longer "stand on the sidelines."

Google Says It's Actually Quite Small - washingtonpost.com

Cyberwar - Privacy May Be a Victim in Cyberdefense Plan - Series - NYTimes.com

President Obama has said that the new cyberdefense strategy he unveiled last month will provide protections for personal privacy and civil liberties. But senior Pentagon and military officials say that Mr. Obama’s assurances may be challenging to guarantee in practice, particularly in trying to monitor the thousands of daily attacks on security systems in the United States that have set off a race to develop better cyberweapons.Much of the new military command’s work is expected to be carried out by the National Security Agency, whose role in intercepting the domestic end of international calls and e-mail messages after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, under secret orders issued by the Bush administration, has already generated intense controversy.

Cyberwar - Privacy May Be a Victim in Cyberdefense Plan - Series - NYTimes.com

Understanding spreadsheet risks - 11 Jun 2009

Spreadsheets (especially following the introduction of additional data capacity and processing efficiency in MS Excel 2007) are powerful analysis tools that, in many cases, are capable of delivering the same functionality as formally developed applications. Spreadsheets are often a viable and sensible alternative to IT-owned applications that are subject to lengthy software development cycles. As a result, they are a ubiquitous business tool.

Understanding spreadsheet risks - 11 Jun 2009

U.S. Should Still Pursue SEC-CFTC Combination, NYSE CEO Says - Bloomberg.com

The Obama administration may unveil a plan this month to overhaul U.S. financial regulation. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner may be reluctant to push lawmakers to overcome resistance to combine the two agencies, people briefed on discussions said earlier this month.

U.S. Should Still Pursue SEC-CFTC Combination, NYSE CEO Says - Bloomberg.com

When Implementing Search Engine Optimization Becomes A Problem - Going Back To The Basics

Search Engine Optimization is the basic of Internet Marketing to help give your site the online coverage it needs to make your page accessible to everyone on the World Wide Web. There are plenty of tips and tricks available in books or on the Internet to help you implement this on your page; but there might come a time that you'll hit a wall and your implementation is not doing you any good.

Daily News - When Implementing Search Engine Optimization Becomes A Problem - Going Back To The Basics

Cable group turns net neutrality around over ISP access fees - Ars Technica

Here's an issue that will probably keep the telecom lawyers growling at each other for just a decade or so. The American Cable Association has asked the Federal Communications Commission to stop Internet video content providers from charging ISPs wholesale access fees to their sites "at discriminatory rates, terms and conditions." The ACA filed their request as feedback in the agency's proceeding on its National Broadband Plan. The trade group represents about 900 small and medium sized cable/ISP operators, many serving rural areas.

Cable group turns net neutrality around over ISP access fees - Ars Technica

Honoluluadvertiser - China defends net filtering software amid outcry

Put on the defensive, state broadcaster CCTV announced on its noon news program Thursday that a "vast number of parents and experts" had endorsed the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" filtering software that must be packaged with all computers sold in China from July 1.

Honoluluadvertiser - China defends net filtering software amid outcry

Midsized firm taps cloud-based B2B integration for punchout e-commerce

Starting soon, customers who order through Mayer's online catalog will get punchout or roundtrip service -- that is, the ability to fill up a shopping cart, have the items translated automatically into a requisition order, then routed through their internal approval processes and -- once approved -- turned into purchase orders that pop up in Mayer Electric's ERP system. No double entry, crows Carden. Total data integrity. All of it handled in the cloud by an outside provider.

Midsized firm taps cloud-based B2B integration for punchout e-commerce

White House Cites Progress on Economy Under Plan - NYTimes.com

So Mr. Obama began a new effort on Monday to show that his stimulus plan was yielding concrete benefits, saying that his administration expects to save or create 600,000 more jobs this summer, as the federal government spends billions to expand care at health centers, spruce up national parks, hire teachers and improve military facilities.

White House Cites Progress on Economy Under Plan - NYTimes.com

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Continental Divide - Economy Shows Cracks in European Union - Series - NYTimes.com

The crisis has presented the European Union with its greatest challenge, but even many committed Europeanists believe that the alliance is failing the test. European leaders, their focus on domestic politics, disagree sharply about what to do to combat the slump. They have feuded over how much to stimulate the economy. They argue about whether the European Central Bank should worry more about the deep recession or future inflation. And they have rushed to protect jobs in their home markets at the expense of those in other member countries.

Continental Divide - Economy Shows Cracks in European Union - Series - NYTimes.com

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Bullion and Bandits: The Improbable Rise and Fall of E-Gold | Threat Level | Wired.com

The United States dropped its reliance on gold in 1971, but Jackson doubted the wisdom of this move. “Many a paper currency has spun out of orbit in a calamitous trajectory,” he once wrote. “There has never been an instance of gold or silver being discarded as worthless.”

It was time, Jackson mused, for a radical rethink of money. Had he been born in another era, he could scarcely have acted on his beliefs. But the nascent internet changed everything. The international, 24-hour churn of e-commerce cried out for a monetary system that transcended borders and time zones. So in early 1996, Jackson began programming a back-end system for a new electronic currency, practicing medicine by day, and coding by night.

He hired a software engineer to create the user interface, and four months later launched E-Gold.

As Jackson envisioned it, E-Gold was a private, international currency that would circulate independent of government controls, and stand impervious to the market’s highs and lows. Brimming with evangelical enthusiasm, Jackson proclaimed it a cure for the modern monetary system’s ills and described it at one point as “an epochal change in human destiny” and “probably the greatest benefit to humanity that’s ever been thought of.”

Bullion and Bandits: The Improbable Rise and Fall of E-Gold | Threat Level | Wired.com

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What Does it Mean to be Internet? - Fred Goldstein, ionary Consulting

It’s a simple question and it can be read two ways. One way is to ask just what constitutes the Internet, or makes something a part of the Internet. The other way is to ask whether and why it matters. Those are important policy questions in today’s world, where “Internet” is still a magic word, beloved of many policy makers but still widely feared.

What Does it Mean to be Internet?

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Hawaiian Telcom files reorganization plan - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

“The filing of the plan and disclosure statement is an important achievement in our restructuring efforts,” said Eric K. Yeaman, Hawaiian Telcom’s president and CEO, in a statement. “The plan provides for a significantly deleveraged capital structure, and the terms of the new debt give us greater financial flexibility to execute our business plan and invest in new products, better positioning the company for future success.”

Hawaiian Telcom files reorganization plan - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Russia To Push For Gold Standard

You have the US and the UK, with their insolvent banking systems, hoping that world leaders will adopt a massive, global spending scheme to jolt GDP back.

On the other side you have Continental Europe, which is showing surprising restraint, arguing (quite logically) that more borrowing isn't the answer to a debt crisis.

And then you have China and Russia, with totally different interests talkinga bout new global currencies to replace the dollar.And Russia, for one, wants the world to get back to gold.

Russia To Push For Gold Standard

What Is Facebook Actually Worth? - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

That’s not to completely dismiss the headline figure, it says. Under terms announced Tuesday, the Russian Internet investment group Digital Sky Technologies is plugging $200 million into the company for about a 2 percent stake. By that arithmetic, Facebook would indeed be worth $10 billion.For a company that, by its own admission, won’t generate positive cash flow until sometime next year, that’s an impressive figure to bandy about. True, Facebook’s last capital-raising 18 months ago, which brought Microsoft and the Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing in as investors, put a $15 billion price tag on the company. But considering the trajectory of financial markets since then, the valuation attached to Digital Sky’s trade actually looks even more robust, Breakingviews says.

What Is Facebook Actually Worth? - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

Your Antenna's Big Day - washingtonpost.com

Here's what's going on: Broadcasters are permanently turning off the analog signals they've been using for more than six decades and moving to all-digital programming. Why? Digital signals travel more efficiently, allowing broadcasters to air more channels with a higher-quality picture. The old analog airwaves will be repurposed for wireless communications networks for public safety officials. And companies such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless have bought the rights to use those airwaves to roll out new cellphone services for consumers.

Your Antenna's Big Day - washingtonpost.com

The Future of Money: DIY Currencies: Wired

Futurist Douglas Rushkoff, famous for correctly predicting the rise of social media, is trying to convince Craigslist's Craig Newmark to create "craigbucks." He thinks it's the obvious next step in the evolution of money. "People could buy and sell things exclusively on Craigslist using craigbucks," Rushkoff enthuses. "Sure they'll want to keep their Visas and their MasterCards, but they'll want a specialized, alternative form of cash too."

Dual Perspectives Article

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The Future of Social Media: Is a Tweet the New Size of a Thought?

The quandary is this: Most of the uses Twitter has been adapted to were already well-served by existing online tools — blogs, email, instant-messaging — and it's not entirely obvious how the subcompact message lengths and other constraints of microblogging represent an improvement. Identifying Twitter's comparative advantage, in other words — the compelling, real-world need that it alone among social media best fulfills — is hard. So hard that a recent blog post by legendary web-tech guru (and avid twitterer) Dave Winer all but conceded Twitter's core appeal might remain forever shrouded in the ineffable. "There's something there," wrote Winer. "The challenge is to figure out what it is."

Dual Perspectives Article

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E-Commerce News: Law: The Front Line of the E-Commerce Tax Battle, Part 1

On the front line of the e-commerce tax are online travel companies, or OTCs, such as Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) More about Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline (Nasdaq: PCLN) More about Priceline.ComTravelocity More about Travelocity and Orbitz (NYSE: OWW) More about Orbitz. The issue is whether the OTCs should be collecting hotel room occupancy taxes on the difference in the price between what the OTC pays the hotel operator and the amount that customer pays to the OTC. For example, assume that an OTC in a jurisdiction with a 10 percent hotel room tax pays a hotel US$100 for a room night and then charges its customer $150. The OTC pays $10 in room taxes -- but must the OTC collect a 10 percent room tax on the $50 markup? Increasingly, local tax authorities are saying that the additional tax must be paid.

The stakes are huge. On May 1, the San Francisco Tax Collector determined that Expedia owed $32 million in hotel room taxes, penalties and interest to the city. Expedia has filed a lawsuit to appeal this ruling, but this is just what a single city says it is owed by a single OTC in back taxes -- albeit a city that is one of the top tourist destinations in the United States.

E-Commerce News: Law: The Front Line of the E-Commerce Tax Battle, Part 1

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Plug-In Prius Coming This Year | Autopia | Wired.com

The plug-in will be based on the 2010 Prius, which rolled into Japanese showrooms last month. Toyota has already booked more than 80,000 orders for the car in Japan. It was the best-selling car in Japan last month; the Honda Insight topped the list in April. We’ve driven both cars; see our review of the Prius here and the Insight here.Plug-ins are touted for triple-digit fuel economy, but a test fleet of 17 plug-in Prius hybrids in the Seattle area has achieved an average of just 51 mpg. Officials there and plug-in advocates said the problem lies with driver behavior, not the technology.

Plug-In Prius Coming This Year | Autopia | Wired.com

recordonline.com - Times Herald-Record - Emailed Photo

THR/TOM BUSHEY Goshen's Jeffrey Pennings wins the 1,600-meter run during the Section 9 state qualifier at Middletown's Faller Field on Friday, June 5, 2009.

recordonline.com - Times Herald-Record - Emailed Photo

Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Story : Column by John I. Carney

In an age when money is tight, open source, advertiser-supported or other types of free software can be a lifesaver. Many are surprisingly sophisticated and feature-rich, and (especially the open-source ones) have active user forums where you can ask questions and troubleshoot problems.

Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Story : Column by John I. Carney

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides more thant $100 billion in new funding for the restoration and improvement of the American education system. This offers unprecedented opportunities for schools and campuses to make investments in students, teachers, programs, training and infrastructure, to prepare students to advance their education or enter the workforce. ARRA funding supports skill creation and program development in early learning, and for secondary schools and colleges, that help students gain skills and get jobs. Improving student achievement and positive reforms in schools are among ARRA’s guiding principals.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Web Firms, Advocates Draw Lines in Privacy Fight - InternetNews.com

"We've been an advocate of federal privacy legislation for a number of years, and we would actually like to see a real comprehensive approach to privacy legislation that creates some baseline standards across industries and across the country," Hintze said.

But tech companies whose revenue streams in advertising and other areas are increasingly tied to the quality of their data-collection operations, and would be wary of privacy legislation with specific restrictive conditions for online information.

Web Firms, Advocates Draw Lines in Privacy Fight - InternetNews.com

Momentum Builds for Updating Privacy Act - InternetNews.com

Today's event closely follows the release of a report on modernizing federal privacy policies from the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB), a panel within the Commerce Department comprised of government officials and representatives of the nonprofit, academic and private sectors that advises senior administration and agency personnel on security and privacy issues.

The groups' recommendations are similar. Both call on Congress to modernize the definition of personal information to account for the ways data is collected, stored and used in the digital age, and for agencies across the federal government to elevate citizen privacy to a higher priority.

Momentum Builds for Updating Privacy Act - InternetNews.com

Did Bing Just Leapfrog Yahoo Search? - washingtonpost.com

The company's analysis for Thursday finds that in the U.S. Bing overtook Yahoo to take second place on 16.28%, with Yahoo Search currently at 10.22%. For the sake of comparison: Google's U.S. market share is pegged at 71.47%, and its worldwide share at a whopping 87.62% (vs. 5.62% for Bing and 5.13% for Yahoo).

Did Bing Just Leapfrog Yahoo Search? - washingtonpost.com

With Bing, Microsoft Finds Some Good Web Search Ideas - washingtonpost.com

Bing suffers from some handicaps, starting with one whose initials happen to spell out: "But It's Not Google." Yet it works fairly well as a general-purpose search engine, outperforms competitors in a couple of areas and makes a major contribution to mobile Web searching. There's something to see here, and it's not just the hype that $100 million or so of marketing can buy.

Rob Pegoraro - With Bing, Microsoft Finds Some Good Web Search Ideas - washingtonpost.com

Cyber-Security Should Not Limit Enterprise Privacy

"From now on our digital infrastructure, the networks and computers we depend on everyday, will be treated as they should be—as a strategic national asset," Obama said during a press conference last week. "Protecting this infrastructure will be a national security priority. We will ensure that these networks are secure, trustworthy and resilient."

Cyber-Security Should Not Limit Enterprise Privacy

Obama's Government 2.0 Plans Moving Ahead - InternetNews.com

Ross described the new vision for diplomacy as a radical departure from the traditional gathering of a small cadre of diplomats around a mahogany table, sipping scotch and negotiating treaties in the dead of night. It's a slow ship to turn, to be sure, but he said the ultimate goal is to forge a path with collaborative technologies that can remake diplomacy around a more populist model.

Obama's Government 2.0 Plans Moving Ahead - InternetNews.com

Obama Team Stumps for Tech Policy - InternetNews.com

"Tech policy is at the heart of this administration's plans for the future," she declared.

Crawford held forth on a host of areas the administration has identified as priorities, including balancing security with privacy -- one of the prevailing themes of this week's conference -- as well as Net neutrality and universal access to high-speed networks.

Obama Team Stumps for Tech Policy - InternetNews.com

E-Commerce News: E-Marketing: Will ICANN Drop Its Most Revolutionary Idea?

ICANN, the Internet naming authority, is up against the wall. It may simply drop its greatest revolutionary idea of offering a brand new type of designer domain name to accommodate the cyberrealities of the widely expanded Internet of tomorrow.This new proposed platform would surely revolutionize marketing Click here to get the Free Email Design No-No's Guide from Lyris -- includes the top 10 things you need to know. and branding for big and small businesses around the world, offering more highly affordable tools for global reach than ever before -- but there are strong opponents who would like to kill this idea. Following are five reasons ICANN may abandon its plan.1) Fear of rejection. For some strange rea

E-Commerce News: E-Marketing: Will ICANN Drop Its Most Revolutionary Idea?

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Rising Interest on Nations’ Debts May Sap World Growth - NYTimes.com

Increased rates could translate into hundreds of billions of dollars more in government spending for countries like the United States, Britain and Germany.

Even a single percentage point increase could cost the Treasury an additional $50 billion annually over a few years — and, eventually, an additional $170 billion annually.

Rising Interest on Nations’ Debts May Sap World Growth - NYTimes.com

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Regulator to Detail Plan to Oversee Derivatives - NYTimes.com

Gary G. Gensler, the top regulator for futures trading, will provide significant new details of a plan announced three weeks ago by the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner. Mr. Gensler will disclose his proposal before the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the commission.

Lawmakers said they had been told that Mr. Gensler would propose two sets of regulations — one set for the individual dealers of derivatives and a second set for the marketplaces where the instruments are traded.

Regulator to Detail Plan to Oversee Derivatives - NYTimes.com

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Internet Mapping Project

The Internet Mapping Project was started at Bell Labs in the summer of 1998. Its goal is to acquire and save Internet topological data over a long period of time. This data has been used in the study of routing problems and changes, DDoS attacks, and graph theory.

Internet Mapping Project

Music In The Meltdown

When all this is over, the economic crisis will take lasting form in the American consciousness as a video montage. The images are already familiar: traders gaping in horror at the Stock Exchange ... Paulson testifying before Congress ... A foreclosure notice tacked onto a front-porch door ... Obama selling the bailout ... The Chrysler headquarters posted for sale on Craigslist (well, not really, not yet). It is as easy to envision this string of images as it is to conjure a mental highlight reel of the visual iconography of the Great Depression: the Dust Bowl photography of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, newsreel clips of bread lines and Hooverville shacks--and all of it set to the sound of Rudy Vallee singing "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" What, then, will play on the soundtrack of the montage of the current crisis? What is the music of our meltdown?

Music In The Meltdown

Sony Unveils a New PSP Portable Console - NYTimes.com

While previous iterations of the PSP have played games stored on small optical discs, the PSP Go is meant to download games and store them in its internal memory. The bottom of the console slides out from the main body to reveal game-control buttons.

Sony Unveils a New PSP Portable Console - NYTimes.com

Google pursues power in Washington - UPI.com

Obama shares the Internet giant's interest in expanding high-speed Internet access so people can use Web services more often. Obama also shares Google's interest in network neutrality: banning telecommunication companies from charging Web sites for faster delivery of their content, the Times reported.While Google is in a strong position to advance its agenda, so is rival Microsoft, another top Obama contributor and an old hand at besting its competition, said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights group.

Google pursues power in Washington - UPI.com

Googlers Keep Quitting To Join Obama (GOOG)

Google's head of global public policy, Andrew McLaughlin, is quitting the company to join the Obama administration, reports the Times. He's the third Googler to do so.Before him, Google (GOOG) project manager Katie Stanton quit to become director of citizen participation. Sonal Sha, from Google's for-profit charitable arm, Google.org, quit to lead the White House Office of Social Innovation.

Googlers Keep Quitting To Join Obama (GOOG)

10 Things You Didn't Know About Google's Search Business (GOOG)

The people Larry Page and Sergey Brin tasked with figuring out how Google should make money in 1998 were a pair of know-nothings in their early 20s. Salar Kamanger, Google's ninth employee, had been a biology major at Stanford. His partner, Eric Veach studied computer science. Together they implemented Google's now $21 billion business, AdWords. Neat.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Google's Search Business (GOOG)

Internet providers change FCC strategy - UPI.com

The issue pits access providers such as Verizon, Comcast, AT&T and other telecommunications companies against consumer groups and content providers such as Google who oppose efforts to restrict what Internet subscribers can access, based either on how much they're willing to pay or by the nature of the content or activity, the Washington publication Politico reported Tuesday.

Internet providers change FCC strategy - UPI.com

Supreme Court to Hear Business-Method Patent Case - washingtonpost.com

The justices said they will review a lower court decision that narrowed the class of patentable inventions, excluding some innovations that don't have a physical component. Because it came from the federal appeals court that handles all patent appeals, the ruling had marked a watershed in U.S. intellectual property law.

The issue is dividing companies. Microsoft, IBM and a financial-services industry trade group supported limits on business-method patents at the appeals court, while others, including consulting company Accenture and appliance maker Royal Philips Electronics, say the court's requirements on inventors are too strict.

Supreme Court to Hear Business-Method Patent Case - washingtonpost.com

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E-Commerce News: Wall Street: Cisco Makes Itself at Home on the Dow

"We believe our inclusion in the Dow demonstrates not only Cisco's role as a broad technology indicator, but how remarkably the Internet and networking have transformed the way businesses and consumers connect, communicate and collaborate," Cisco said in a statement.

Intel and Microsoft were the first Dow components that are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market rather than the New York Stock Exchange. Cisco will be the third.

The Dow Jones industrial average also includes the two largest telecommunications services providers in the U.S., AT&T (NYSE: T) More about AT&T and Verizon Communications More about Verizon, which both are major Cisco customers.

E-Commerce News: Wall Street: Cisco Makes Itself at Home on the Dow

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HawTel narrows its loss - Hawaii Business - Starbulletin.com

For April the company recorded a net loss of $6.1 million, down from $15 million in March, due mostly to the court's approval of an extension of its contract with consulting firm Accenture under new terms. In February, Hawaiian Telcom posted an $8.3 million loss.

Operating revenue remained relatively flat between March and April, ending at $34.5 million in April. Hawaiian Telcom continues to owe $2.4 million in interest income from loans that are still outstanding.

HawTel narrows its loss - Hawaii Business - Starbulletin.com

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Microsoft Is Kicking Xbox Up a Notch - washingtonpost.com

What's more, they won't have to use the buttons and thumbsticks that line a traditional game controller. A new motion-detecting and voice-recognizing camera that can "see" a player's arm and hand motions will allow Xbox owners to interact with the device with a wave of their hand or a spoken command.

The announcement was aided by several celebrities including Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, who showed up to talk up the latest version of the popular game Rock Band, coming this fall, which will feature 45 Beatles songs. "Whoever thought we'd end up as androids?" joked McCartney, as he and Starr promoted the game's graphics.

Microsoft Is Kicking Xbox Up a Notch - washingtonpost.com

Amateurs use Google Earth to uncover Kim’s sinister secrets - Times Online

Other enthusiasts, including some who had served in the US military in Korea, quickly began adding data, cross-checking facts and labelling locations.

The result is a portrait of a hidden country. It is so rich in raw intelligence that even the collators may not be aware of just how many state secrets are on their website.

Amateurs use Google Earth to uncover Kim’s sinister secrets - Times Online

Microsoft Bing Search Engine Launches Early

In addition, Bing incorporates a few dynamic elements into search, such as thumbnail video in the "News" and results pages that play whenever the user’s cursor drifts over them, in a manner reminiscent of Yahoo’s own search additions.
But during the D: All Things Digital conference in California last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer also attempted to downplay search’s importance to his company’s overall strategy, saying that he spent "more of my time on talent

Microsoft Bing Search Engine Launches Early

The Associated Press: Court says no exclusive cable rights in apartments

The decision from the Court of Appeals in Washington upholds a Federal Communications Commission ruling that banned the exclusive agreements as anticompetitive.

The deals involved a provider exchanging a valuable service like wiring a multiunit building for cable in exchange for the exclusive right to provide service to all the residents.

The Associated Press: Court says no exclusive cable rights in apartments

Microsoft Is Kicking Xbox Up a Notch - washingtonpost.com

Xbox owners will soon be able to listen to Web-streamed music, update their Facebook or Twitter pages and watch movies in high definition instantly on the device, without having to wait on a sluggish download.

What's more, they won't have to use the buttons and thumbsticks that line a traditional game controller. A new motion-detecting and voice-recognizing camera that can "see" a player's arm and hand motions will allow Xbox owners to interact with the device with a wave of their hand or a spoken command.

Microsoft Is Kicking Xbox Up a Notch - washingtonpost.com

With GM Out, Who Gets a Spot in the Dow... and How? - The Plank

Today, General Motors (GM) filed for bankruptcy. As a result, starting on June 8, it will no longer be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the market index calculated from the stock prices of 30 of the largest, most widely held companies in the United States. GM's removal will mark the end of an impressive 83-year stretch in the DJIA. And it won't be exiting alone: Citigroup will also be kicked out of the index the same day. Replacing the two once-behemoths will be The Travelers Companies, Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc.

With GM Out, Who Gets a Spot in the Dow... and How? - The Plank

Chevrolet Volt Charges On Despite Bankruptcy | Autopia | Wired.com

GM has made the Volt the centerpiece of its push to build smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles and it has spent nearly $1 billion developing the car. When we drove the Volt engineering mule in April, Laukner called the car “one of, if not the most important projects within the company.” General Motors reiterated that point today when spokesman Dave Darowitz said, “it’s still the No. 1 project at GM.”

Chevrolet Volt Charges On Despite Bankruptcy | Autopia | Wired.com

Bing balloons into public view | Beyond Binary - CNET News

Among the other naming changes that go along with the new search, Live Search Cashback is now Bing Cashback, while technology from Microsoft's Farecast acquisition now powers Bing Travel. Virtual Earth gets a name change (though not an upgrade in my book) and is now Bing Maps for Enterprise.

With Bing, Microsoft is trying to make the case that search today is still an often unsatisfying experience. That is a unique challenge for Microsoft. Although its research shows that most people repeat searches and give up without finding exactly what they are looking for, perceived satisfaction of search is actually pretty high.

Bing balloons into public view | Beyond Binary - CNET News

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Bruised by Google, Microsoft Tries to Revitalize Search - NYTimes.com

Many missteps have already been made. Despite investing heavily in search engine technology over the years, Microsoft has watched Google steadily erode at its market share. This time it is taking a more precise approach, working to help searchers with specific online tasks.

Bruised by Google, Microsoft Tries to Revitalize Search - NYTimes.com

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Obama launches cyberspace policy adventures - FierceTelecom

Obama announced a plan to create a cybersecurity coordinator post (don't call it a "czar") in his administration. It is not clear yet who will fill that position, though the job so far looks similar to the administration CTO and CIO posts that he created, in that it is not particularly clear how far-reaching any of these positions will be, how influential they will be in working with other government agencies or what sort of interface they will have with private enterprise.

Obama launches cyberspace policy adventures - FierceTelecom

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Obama Says He Will Name National Cybersecurity Adviser - washingtonpost.com

Obama said he will name a senior White House official to coordinate government efforts to protect a "strategic national asset": the digital networks that handle phone calls, e-mails, government and military data, and also control power grids, nuclear plants and airplane traffic.

Obama Says He Will Name National Cybersecurity Adviser - washingtonpost.com

President Obama Delivers Remarks on Cyber Security Strategy

But none of this progress would be possible, and none of these 21st century challenges can be fully met without America's digital infrastructure, the backbone that underpins a prosperous economy and a strong military and an open and efficient government. Without that foundation, we can't get the job done. It's long been said that the revolutions in communications and information technology have given birth to a virtual world.

But make no mistake, this world, cyberspace, is a world that we depend on every single day. It's our hardware and our software, our desktops and laptops and cell phones and Blackberries that have become woven into every aspect of our lives. It's the broadband networks beneath us and the wireless signals around us, the local networks in our schools and hospitals and businesses and the massive grids that power our nation.

It's the classified military and intelligence networks that keep us safe and the Worldwide Web that has made us more interconnected than at any time in human history. So cyberspace is real, and so are the risks that come with it. It's the great irony of our information age, the very technologies that empower us to create and to build also empower those who would disrupt and destroy. And this paradox, seen and unseen, is something that we experience every day. It's about the privacy and economic security of American families. We rely on the Internet to pay our bills, to bank, to shop, to file our taxes.

President Obama Delivers Remarks on Cyber Security Strategy

Time-Lapse Videos of Massive Change on Earth | Wired Science | Wired.com

Over the past decade, the number of people on Earth shot up by more than 13 percent, to nearly 6.8 billion people. To make room for all the hungry, breeding, CO2-emitting bodies on our small planet, we’ve ravaged Earth’s surface with staggering feats of deforestation, irrigation and urbanization — and NASA satellites have captured it all. Here are a few videos, compiled from images posted on NASA’s Earth Observatory, of some of the most impressive conquests of man over environment.

Time-Lapse Videos of Massive Change on Earth | Wired Science | Wired.com

Hulu Could Become An Ad Agency, Says NBC CEO (GE, DIS, NWS)

Web TV startup Hulu could become an ad agency, NBC CEO Jeff Zucker said at the All Things D conference today.

Hulu Could Become An Ad Agency, Says NBC CEO (GE, DIS, NWS)

The Associated Press: Obama to create cyber czar in awareness effort

Government and private industry need to better protect the nation's computer networks, the White House warns in a plan to be rolled out Friday as the administration sets broad goals for dealing with cyber threats.President Barack Obama is expected to say that cyber security is a top priority of the administration and to call for a new education campaign to raise public awareness of the challenges and threats cyber security involves.Completed six weeks ago, the much-anticipated cyber report has been delayed because policymakers in and outside the White House have been at loggerheads over how much power and budget-making authority the new office will have.

The Associated Press: Obama to create cyber czar in awareness effort

AT&T May Have Swayed ‘Idol’ Results - NYTimes.com

Representatives of AT&T, whose mobile phone network is the only one that can be used to cast “American Idol” votes via text message, provided the free text-messaging services at two parties in Arkansas after the final performance episode of “American Idol” last week, according to the company and people at the events.

AT&T May Have Swayed ‘Idol’ Results - NYTimes.com

Rob Pegoraro - Fast Forward: Web Radio Hits the Road - washingtonpost.com

For people at a desk, Web radio has long offered a terrific upgrade over the playlist-choked monotony of most FM stations. But a few things had to happen before people could order up Web radio to go.

First, wireless carriers had to offer data services fast enough for a digital stream of music -- then relax the absurd restrictions they first imposed on this access, which in some cases explicitly banned Web radio. Then phone developers had to make it easy for users to tune in, either through browsers on phones or programs provided through such simple software catalogues as Apple's App Store.

Rob Pegoraro - Fast Forward: Web Radio Hits the Road - washingtonpost.com

Synchronized Brain Waves Focus Our Attention | Wired Science | Wired.com

A deluge of visual information hits our eyes every second, yet we’re able to focus on the minuscule fraction that’s relevant to our goals. When we try to find our way through an unfamiliar area of town, for example, we manage to ignore the foliage, litter and strolling pedestrians, and focus our attention on the street signs.

Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that the brain’s control center syncs up to its visual center with high-frequency brain waves, directing attention to select features of the visual world.

“It’s been known that the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in focusing our attention, but the mystery was how,” said neuroscientist Robert Desimone, who led the study, published in Science Friday. “Now we have some insight into how it has that focusing role — through this synchrony with our sensory systems.”

This novel understanding of attention may inform future studies on disorders like schizophrenia and ADHD, in which patients are easily distracted and the prefrontal cortex is thought to be impaired. The region’s newly discovered role as a source of synchronized brain activity may be crucial to understanding these diseases.

Synchronized Brain Waves Focus Our Attention | Wired Science | Wired.com

Wired Struggles to Find Niche in Magazine World - NYTimes.com

But Mr. Anderson has yet to solve the equation for Wired. Under his editorship, the magazine is an editorial success, winning three National Magazine Awards last month, which tied it for the most honored magazine. And Mr. Anderson’s own profile is higher than ever, thanks to his books, which roll messy business trends into neat canapés that executives pass around. He gives 50 speeches a year for an estimated $35,000 to $50,000 apiece.

But that has not equaled success for Wired in the downturn. The magazine has lost 50 percent of its ad pages so far this year, ranking among the worst off of the more than 150 monthly magazines measured by Media Industry Newsletter. Only Portfolio, which Condé Nast shut down last month, and Power and Motoryacht fared worse.

Wired Struggles to Find Niche in Magazine World - NYTimes.com

Tougher Antitrust Division May Target Google - NYTimes.com

Last week, the Obama administration declared a sharp break with the Bush years, vowing to toughen antitrust enforcement, especially for dominant companies. The approach is closer to that of the European Union, where regulators last week fined Intel $1.45 billion for abusing its power in the chip market.

In this new climate, the stakes appear to be highest for Google, the rising power of the Internet economy.

Tougher Antitrust Division May Target Google - NYTimes.com