David Coursey, PC World Thursday, July 09, 2009 8:30 AM PDT
The amazing thing about Google is how a business that makes 97 percent of its revenue selling advertising has people convinced that it is a technology company. And then gets a free pass despite a series of failures outside its core competencies in search and online ad sales.
Right now, Google seems to be flooding the market with products that are not quite finished. People do not care because the products work well enough and are free. But, suppose people had to pay for them? Then where would Google be?
(See Related: Top 10 Google Flubs, Flops, and Failures
Even though Chrome will be a "free" OS , it will still come loaded on a computer people well be asked to spend perhaps $300 to $400 to purchase. That puts Google under real pressure to perform, something it has never really faced.
Google's Android smartphone OS is well-liked by some and seems to be gaining acceptance, even though its yet to prove itself with paying customers. My impression is that Android will ultimately demonstrate the importance of controlling both hardware and software if you want smartphone success. Apple, RIM, and Palm have that control, while Google and Microsoft do not.
Besides selling ads and providing search results, what successes has Google actually had in the technology space? There's, er, and, uh, and then what? OK, Gmail, but it relies on ad sales tied to content, making it an extension of the core search business.
Gmail does, however, demonstrate that Google is technically more than competent and is capable of real innovation. Nevertheless, its ability to turn innovation into profits remains tied to ad sales.
Based on results so far, there is little reason to believe Google can make its Chrome OS into the world-changer most everyone already seems to believe it will become. It may happen, and I would welcome it, but it is not a foregone conclusion.
Google's applications haven't done terribly well (especially in attracting paying customers), its ventures into selling radio, newspaper, and television advertising have run aground, it's first adventure into operating systems is moving slowly, and now it's going head-to-head with Microsoft on netbooks?
If any other company were doing this, we would say they were daft. However, being the darling that it is, Google's Chrome OS is already being treated as a foregone success.
Maybe that will happen. But, unless Chrome is dramatically more successful than all the Linux-based operating systems that have come before, there isn't a lot of reason to believe Chrome will do more than force netbook pricing concessions from Microsoft. If that.
My hunch is that Google will manage to get Chrome OS onto a bunch of netbooks and then hit a brick wall of unfulfilled customer expectation, at least initially, because the infrastructure doesn't exist to support a mostly web-based computing experience.
The counter argument is that the iPhone has managed to become a real computing platform that, if run on a netbook, could actually get a lot of work done. Provided people are willing to accept its limitations.
So, if you're willing to accept a netbook that is able to do whatever Chrome OS can manage, then you're set. If, however, you expect a netbook to do what your laptop does, only smaller and less expensively, then you will be disappointed and buy Windows instead of Chrome.
The move to cloud-based computing makes a lot of sense and I am a supporter, but still believe a hybrid computing experience that includes both installed and online applications makes the most sense for most users right now and, probably, for years to come.
To me, that says Windows today and maybe another OS someday, but not right away.
Nevertheless, we have to take Google very seriously. By decoupling its technology investments from the need to actually produce profits, Google has an ocean of money to spend in search of its next big thing and little pressure for an immediate return on that investment.
Nevertheless, Google has made a number of bets, only a few of them successful, while many more remain in play. While definitely the most interesting company in technology, Google is not software or online services company in the traditional sense. That is both Google's strength and its weakness.
Tech industry veteran David Coursey tweets as techinciter and can be reached via his Web site at www.coursey.com
See---http://harlemvoiceblogs.blogspot.com
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Apple pulls iPhone program containing pictures of topless women
Bloomberg News
1:15 PM PDT, June 26, 2009
Apple Inc. said it removed a program from its iPhone store yesterday because the developer added pictures of topless women, violating the company's policy against "offensive content.""Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content," said Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for the company. "The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content."
The $2 program, called Hottest Girls, was created by Allen Leung. He didn't immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. His Web site no longer contains information about the application.Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced the iPhone App Store in March 2008, saying the company would impose restrictions on the types of programs distributed. Prohibited programs include "porn, malicious apps, apps that invade your privacy," he said at the time.The App Store, which opened in July 2008, offers more than 50,000 programs that run on the iPhone and Apple's iPod Touch media player. The company gets a 30 percent cut of each application sold and distributes free programs at no cost to developers. Customers have downloaded more than 1 billion programs in the past year, according to Apple.
Click---http://harlemvoiceblogs.blogspot.com
1:15 PM PDT, June 26, 2009
Apple Inc. said it removed a program from its iPhone store yesterday because the developer added pictures of topless women, violating the company's policy against "offensive content.""Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content," said Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for the company. "The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content."
The $2 program, called Hottest Girls, was created by Allen Leung. He didn't immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. His Web site no longer contains information about the application.Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced the iPhone App Store in March 2008, saying the company would impose restrictions on the types of programs distributed. Prohibited programs include "porn, malicious apps, apps that invade your privacy," he said at the time.The App Store, which opened in July 2008, offers more than 50,000 programs that run on the iPhone and Apple's iPod Touch media player. The company gets a 30 percent cut of each application sold and distributes free programs at no cost to developers. Customers have downloaded more than 1 billion programs in the past year, according to Apple.
Click---http://harlemvoiceblogs.blogspot.com
Friday, June 19, 2009
Obama's 'national conversation' on fatherhood
By Mike Dorning June 20, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- President Obama, who barely knew his own father, devoted his afternoon Friday to promoting the importance of being a good dad, saying he wanted to start a "national conversation" on the subject.Two days before Father's Day, Obama attended events related to fatherhood -- gathering famous and not-so-famous dads for a series of service projects around Washington and a White House town hall meeting, then addressing young men on the South Lawn.
He spoke in deeply personal terms of "the hole in a child's heart" left by an absent father and of the powerful influence his Kenyan father exerted during the only visit the senior Obama made after he and the president's mother had divorced. Obama noted that during that visit -- when he was 10 -- his father gave him his first basketball and took him to his first jazz concert, stirring life-long interests."Fathers are our first teachers and coaches, they're our mentors and role models, they set an example of success and push us to succeed," Obama said at the White House. "When fathers are absent, when they abandon their responsibility to their children, we know the damage that does to our families."Although presidents typically mark Father's Day and celebrate the virtues of family, the attention Obama devoted was unusual. He also wrote an article to appear Sunday in Parade magazine and plans a Father's Day interview on CBS' "Sunday Morning." Friday's White House event was to be followed by regional meetings on fatherhood.
Reporting from Washington -- President Obama, who barely knew his own father, devoted his afternoon Friday to promoting the importance of being a good dad, saying he wanted to start a "national conversation" on the subject.Two days before Father's Day, Obama attended events related to fatherhood -- gathering famous and not-so-famous dads for a series of service projects around Washington and a White House town hall meeting, then addressing young men on the South Lawn.
He spoke in deeply personal terms of "the hole in a child's heart" left by an absent father and of the powerful influence his Kenyan father exerted during the only visit the senior Obama made after he and the president's mother had divorced. Obama noted that during that visit -- when he was 10 -- his father gave him his first basketball and took him to his first jazz concert, stirring life-long interests."Fathers are our first teachers and coaches, they're our mentors and role models, they set an example of success and push us to succeed," Obama said at the White House. "When fathers are absent, when they abandon their responsibility to their children, we know the damage that does to our families."Although presidents typically mark Father's Day and celebrate the virtues of family, the attention Obama devoted was unusual. He also wrote an article to appear Sunday in Parade magazine and plans a Father's Day interview on CBS' "Sunday Morning." Friday's White House event was to be followed by regional meetings on fatherhood.
The importance of fatherhood has been a touchstone for Obama throughout his public life, going back to the memoir he wrote after his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. The memoir, "Dreams From My Father," explored the role of his absent father in Obama's search for his own identity.As a politician, he regularly has used Father's Day as an occasion to exhort men, particularly African Americans, to fully embrace the responsibilities of fatherhood. In 2005, on the first Father's Day after his election to the U.S. Senate, he went to a black church in Chicago to challenge African American fathers to act like "full-grown" men. He gave similar speeches tied to Father's Day during both years of his presidential campaign, and frequently quotes the statistic that more than half of African American children grow up in single-parent homes.The fatherhood initiative continues Obama's efforts to ground his life story in the most traditional of values: hard work, advancement by education, and family.First Lady Michelle Obama describes her preeminent role as "mom-in-chief." Obama regularly speaks of raising his two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and frequently is photographed with his children at his side. He often said the most difficult part of his grueling two-year campaign for the presidency was the separation from his children, and has said one of his favorite things about life in the White House is that he lives above the office and can usually share breakfast and dinner with his family.In his essay in Parade, Obama speaks of the struggles that he faces in common with much of the country in balancing work and family life, noting that at times he has been "an imperfect father.""I know I have made mistakes," he writes. "I have lost count of all the times, over the years, when the demands of work have taken me from the duties of fatherhood.""On this Father's Day, I am recommitting myself to that work, to those duties," he writes, "to build a foundation for our children's dreams, to give them the love and support they need to fulfill them, and to stick with them the whole way through."
From the L.A.Times
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Tips for getting ready for the DTV switch
BY GARY DYMSKI gary.dymski@newsday.com
1:03 PM EDT, June 9, 2009
Starting Friday, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop analog broadcasts and switch to digital. To continue receiving their usual programming, viewers not connected to cable, satellite or another pay-TV service will need to acquire a digital tuner. Cablevision customers will not be affected by the transition.
However, Cablevision has eliminated the analog feed on certain channels in its Family Cable package, or expanded basice service, requiring about 150,000 subscribers to obtain digital equipment to continue receiving those channels. It costs $6.75 a month for each digital set-top box and $5.95 a month for navigation service.Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about the switch:Q. What can I do to continue watching TV when analog transmission ends?
A. You have three options:1. Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box with or without a government coupon.2. Connect to cable, satellite or another pay service.3. Purchase a television with a digital tuner. Q. How can I get a government coupon for a converter box?A. Your household is eligible for up to two $40 coupons for converter boxes. Call 888-388-2009 or apply online at dtv2009.gov.Q. Where can I use the coupons?A. Many large retail stores sell converter boxes and will accept the coupons. A list is at newsday.com.Q. Is it difficult to hook up a converter box to my set?A. The box plugs into the TV set. You'll still need your antenna, which works with the converter box. The boxes come with installation instructions, and an installation video is available at DigitalTips.org.
See---http://harlemvoiceblogs.blogspot.com
1:03 PM EDT, June 9, 2009
Starting Friday, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop analog broadcasts and switch to digital. To continue receiving their usual programming, viewers not connected to cable, satellite or another pay-TV service will need to acquire a digital tuner. Cablevision customers will not be affected by the transition.
However, Cablevision has eliminated the analog feed on certain channels in its Family Cable package, or expanded basice service, requiring about 150,000 subscribers to obtain digital equipment to continue receiving those channels. It costs $6.75 a month for each digital set-top box and $5.95 a month for navigation service.Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about the switch:Q. What can I do to continue watching TV when analog transmission ends?
A. You have three options:1. Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box with or without a government coupon.2. Connect to cable, satellite or another pay service.3. Purchase a television with a digital tuner. Q. How can I get a government coupon for a converter box?A. Your household is eligible for up to two $40 coupons for converter boxes. Call 888-388-2009 or apply online at dtv2009.gov.Q. Where can I use the coupons?A. Many large retail stores sell converter boxes and will accept the coupons. A list is at newsday.com.Q. Is it difficult to hook up a converter box to my set?A. The box plugs into the TV set. You'll still need your antenna, which works with the converter box. The boxes come with installation instructions, and an installation video is available at DigitalTips.org.
See---http://harlemvoiceblogs.blogspot.com
Friday, June 05, 2009
Obama urges laggards get ready for digital TV
Thu Jun 4, 2009 7:44pm ED
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned Americans on Thursday who have not prepared for the June 12 transition to digital television that their TVs could go dark if they do not get a converter box soon.
"I want to be clear: there will not be another delay. I urge everyone who is not yet prepared to act today, so you don't lose important news and emergency information on June 12," Obama said in a statement.
Congress originally mandated the nation's nearly 1,800 full-power television stations to switch to digital signals from analog on Feb. 17, and about one-third did so at the time.
But fearing that as many as 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households were not ready, lawmakers voted early this year to postpone the transition almost four months.
"The number of households unprepared for digital television has been cut in half. Still, some people are not ready," said Obama, who has been traveling in the Middle East.
"I encourage all Americans who are prepared to talk to their friends, family, and neighbors to make sure they get ready before it's too late," Obama said.
The switch is intended to free up airwaves for broadband and enhanced emergency communications for police, firefighters and other first responders.
A converter box for TVs that now rely on an antenna to receive a broadcast signal costs between $40 and $80.
The Commerce Department offers $40 coupons through its website at www.dtv2009.gov. It warns consumers who apply now that they may not receive a coupon in time. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Peter Cooney)
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned Americans on Thursday who have not prepared for the June 12 transition to digital television that their TVs could go dark if they do not get a converter box soon.
"I want to be clear: there will not be another delay. I urge everyone who is not yet prepared to act today, so you don't lose important news and emergency information on June 12," Obama said in a statement.
Congress originally mandated the nation's nearly 1,800 full-power television stations to switch to digital signals from analog on Feb. 17, and about one-third did so at the time.
But fearing that as many as 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households were not ready, lawmakers voted early this year to postpone the transition almost four months.
"The number of households unprepared for digital television has been cut in half. Still, some people are not ready," said Obama, who has been traveling in the Middle East.
"I encourage all Americans who are prepared to talk to their friends, family, and neighbors to make sure they get ready before it's too late," Obama said.
The switch is intended to free up airwaves for broadband and enhanced emergency communications for police, firefighters and other first responders.
A converter box for TVs that now rely on an antenna to receive a broadcast signal costs between $40 and $80.
The Commerce Department offers $40 coupons through its website at www.dtv2009.gov. It warns consumers who apply now that they may not receive a coupon in time. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Friday, May 29, 2009
Obama to name White House cyber official
Fri May 29, 2009 12:03pm EDT
By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would name a top cybersecurity official to the White House as he released a report that recommended how to safeguard the nation's cyber network.
"Cyberspace is real and so are the risks that come with it," said Obama in remarks at the White House.
Obama also said that his administration would not dictate cybersecurity standards for private companies.
The tech industry had pushed for a cybersecurity official to be in the White House to assure access to the president.
The cybersecurity review, headed by Melissa Hathaway, had urged the president to name a White House coordinator to oversee cybersecurity. It also said that the private sector must be involved.
"Now our virtual world is going viral," said Obama. "We have only begun to explore the next generation of technologies that will transform our lives in ways we can't even begin imagine. So a new world awaits, a world of greater security and greater potential prosperity if we reach for it, if we leap."
Holes in U.S. cybersecurity defenses have allowed major incidents of thefts of personal identity, money, intellectual property and corporate secrets.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would name a top cybersecurity official to the White House as he released a report that recommended how to safeguard the nation's cyber network.
"Cyberspace is real and so are the risks that come with it," said Obama in remarks at the White House.
Obama also said that his administration would not dictate cybersecurity standards for private companies.
The tech industry had pushed for a cybersecurity official to be in the White House to assure access to the president.
The cybersecurity review, headed by Melissa Hathaway, had urged the president to name a White House coordinator to oversee cybersecurity. It also said that the private sector must be involved.
"Now our virtual world is going viral," said Obama. "We have only begun to explore the next generation of technologies that will transform our lives in ways we can't even begin imagine. So a new world awaits, a world of greater security and greater potential prosperity if we reach for it, if we leap."
Holes in U.S. cybersecurity defenses have allowed major incidents of thefts of personal identity, money, intellectual property and corporate secrets.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Obama's new Supreme court pick
David --I am proud to announce my nominee for the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor.This decision affects us all -- and so it must involve us all. I've recorded a special message to personally introduce Judge Sotomayor and explain why I'm so confident she will make an excellent Justice. Please watch the video, and then pass this note on to friends and family to include them in this historic moment.
Judge Sotomayor has lived the America Dream. Born and raised in a South Bronx housing project, she distinguished herself in academia and then as a hard-charging New York District Attorney.Judge Sotomayor has gone on to earn bipartisan acclaim as one of America's finest legal minds. As a Supreme Court Justice, she would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Justice in 100 years. Judge Sotomayor would show fidelity to our Constitution and draw on a common-sense understanding of how the law affects our day-to-day lives.A nomination for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is one of the most important decisions a President can make. And the discussions that follow will be among the most important we have as a nation. You can begin the conversation today by watching this special message and then passing it on:http://my.barackobama.com/SupremeCourtThank you,
5-25-09
Judge Sotomayor has lived the America Dream. Born and raised in a South Bronx housing project, she distinguished herself in academia and then as a hard-charging New York District Attorney.Judge Sotomayor has gone on to earn bipartisan acclaim as one of America's finest legal minds. As a Supreme Court Justice, she would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Justice in 100 years. Judge Sotomayor would show fidelity to our Constitution and draw on a common-sense understanding of how the law affects our day-to-day lives.A nomination for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is one of the most important decisions a President can make. And the discussions that follow will be among the most important we have as a nation. You can begin the conversation today by watching this special message and then passing it on:http://my.barackobama.com/SupremeCourtThank you,
5-25-09
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Iran tests missile as election race starts
Wed May 20, 2009 3:01pm EDT
By Zahra Hosseinian and Fredrik Dahl
TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Iran had tested a missile that defense analysts say could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, a move likely to fuel Western concern about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Washington voiced concern after Ahmadinejad announced the test on the same day campaigning for the Iran's June 12 presidential election officially started.
U.S. President Barack Obama "has long been concerned" by any development in Iran's missile program, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. A U.S. official said the test was a "step in the wrong direction".
One Western expert saw the missile test as Iran's response to the Israeli prime minister's U.S. visit this week.
Coming a day after Iran's supreme leader accused the United States of promoting terrorism, the test was a further disappointment for the Obama administration, which is seeking rapprochement with Iran after three decades of mutual mistrust.
"Iran just keeps going in the wrong direction. We want them to engage with us, to talk about how we can make the region more stable. This is just a step in the wrong direction," the U.S. official said.
U.S. patience is "not infinite", the official added.
The United States and its allies suspect the Islamic Republic is seeking to build nuclear bombs, a charge Tehran denies, but Obama has offered a new beginning of diplomatic engagement with Iran if it "unclenches its fist."
A U.S. defense official confirmed the launch, although Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to say whether the U.S. military had any evidence of an Iranian missile test.
AT CROSSROADS
"Our concerns are obviously based on their nuclear ambitions and the implications that long- and medium-range missiles have with respect to that," Whitman told reporters. "Iran is at a bit of a crossroads. They have a choice to make.
"They can either continue on this path of continued destabilization of the region or they can decide that they want to pursue relationships with countries in the region and the United States that are more normalized," he said.
In Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini canceled a trip to Iran after Tehran demanded he meet Ahmadinejad in the same northern Iranian province where the missile launch took place, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
He would have been the most senior official from a European government to visit since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005.
Ahmadinejad, whose moderate challengers in the June 12 vote accuse him of isolating Iran with his anti-Western speeches, said the country had the power to send any attacker "to hell." Continued...
By Zahra Hosseinian and Fredrik Dahl
TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday Iran had tested a missile that defense analysts say could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, a move likely to fuel Western concern about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Washington voiced concern after Ahmadinejad announced the test on the same day campaigning for the Iran's June 12 presidential election officially started.
U.S. President Barack Obama "has long been concerned" by any development in Iran's missile program, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. A U.S. official said the test was a "step in the wrong direction".
One Western expert saw the missile test as Iran's response to the Israeli prime minister's U.S. visit this week.
Coming a day after Iran's supreme leader accused the United States of promoting terrorism, the test was a further disappointment for the Obama administration, which is seeking rapprochement with Iran after three decades of mutual mistrust.
"Iran just keeps going in the wrong direction. We want them to engage with us, to talk about how we can make the region more stable. This is just a step in the wrong direction," the U.S. official said.
U.S. patience is "not infinite", the official added.
The United States and its allies suspect the Islamic Republic is seeking to build nuclear bombs, a charge Tehran denies, but Obama has offered a new beginning of diplomatic engagement with Iran if it "unclenches its fist."
A U.S. defense official confirmed the launch, although Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to say whether the U.S. military had any evidence of an Iranian missile test.
AT CROSSROADS
"Our concerns are obviously based on their nuclear ambitions and the implications that long- and medium-range missiles have with respect to that," Whitman told reporters. "Iran is at a bit of a crossroads. They have a choice to make.
"They can either continue on this path of continued destabilization of the region or they can decide that they want to pursue relationships with countries in the region and the United States that are more normalized," he said.
In Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini canceled a trip to Iran after Tehran demanded he meet Ahmadinejad in the same northern Iranian province where the missile launch took place, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
He would have been the most senior official from a European government to visit since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005.
Ahmadinejad, whose moderate challengers in the June 12 vote accuse him of isolating Iran with his anti-Western speeches, said the country had the power to send any attacker "to hell." Continued...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Samsung Camcorders Stay Out of Your Face
By Rik Fairlie
Samsung’s two new camcorders have a cool design feature that you may not notice at first glance. The ultracompact SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 both employ the same Active Angle Lens design as their forerunner, the $500 HMX-R10.
I spent some hands-on time with the HMX-R10 at a recent Samsung event, and the Active Angle Lens design is both cool and clever. The lens is tilted downward, so the camcorder stays out of your line of sight when shooting, enabling you to interact with your subjects as you record them. In other words, there is no camcorder attached to your face. It takes a few minutes to get the hang of it, but the Active Angle Lens design brings a whole new feel to shooting video.
Both the SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 should handle very comfortably, based on my time with the HMX-R10. The space-age design is pretty sweet, too.
The SMX-C14 has 16 gigabytes of internal memory, plus an SD/SDHC memory card slot for expansion. The SMX-C10 is strictly bring-your-own SD memory card. Samsung says you can record more than six hours of video with 16 gigabytes of memory.
Both models shoot video at a high-definition resolution of 720 by 480 pixels, and also feature a 10X optical zoom, image stabilization, and a swiveling 2.7-inch LCD. Other features include time-lapse recording that enables you to record images at preset intervals that range from every 1 second to 30 seconds. Samsung ships both with software that lets you connect to computers via USB and edit and play video without installing software on the PC. They also offer a one-button straight-to-YouTube capability.
Look for the SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 in July. No word yet from Samsung on pricing.
nytimes.com----Personal Tech
Samsung’s two new camcorders have a cool design feature that you may not notice at first glance. The ultracompact SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 both employ the same Active Angle Lens design as their forerunner, the $500 HMX-R10.
I spent some hands-on time with the HMX-R10 at a recent Samsung event, and the Active Angle Lens design is both cool and clever. The lens is tilted downward, so the camcorder stays out of your line of sight when shooting, enabling you to interact with your subjects as you record them. In other words, there is no camcorder attached to your face. It takes a few minutes to get the hang of it, but the Active Angle Lens design brings a whole new feel to shooting video.
Both the SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 should handle very comfortably, based on my time with the HMX-R10. The space-age design is pretty sweet, too.
The SMX-C14 has 16 gigabytes of internal memory, plus an SD/SDHC memory card slot for expansion. The SMX-C10 is strictly bring-your-own SD memory card. Samsung says you can record more than six hours of video with 16 gigabytes of memory.
Both models shoot video at a high-definition resolution of 720 by 480 pixels, and also feature a 10X optical zoom, image stabilization, and a swiveling 2.7-inch LCD. Other features include time-lapse recording that enables you to record images at preset intervals that range from every 1 second to 30 seconds. Samsung ships both with software that lets you connect to computers via USB and edit and play video without installing software on the PC. They also offer a one-button straight-to-YouTube capability.
Look for the SMX-C14 and SMX-C10 in July. No word yet from Samsung on pricing.
nytimes.com----Personal Tech
Monday, May 04, 2009
Coming This Week: A Newer, Bigger Kindle
May 04, 2009 05:14pm EDT by Sarah Lacy in Internet, Media, Networking and Communication, Recession
Related: NYT, AMZN, NEWS, ^IXIC
Play VideoNow Playing
It seems that Amazon is not content to bask in its Kindle 2 glow. After a few weeks of rumors, several media outlets are reporting a new large-format Kindle will launch this week, likely on Wednesday. The speculation is that the new Kindle will be about the size of a sheet of paper, and still black-and-white. But the chatter is less about the specs and more about the impact of a newer, larger Kindle.
Much of the expectation had been centered around the new device making a real play at the education market, given the hefty price and weight of textbooks and younger generations’ willingness to read and process information through screens.
But a Sunday article in the New York Times shifted the debate from education to newspapers. As revenues fall by 30% or more, could a new Kindle reignite traditional media subscriptions the way it juiced book sales? Publishers hope so, including the Times. And Amazon isn’t the only horse in the race. The article mentioned competing e-readers are due out from Hearst, News Corp., and Plastic Logic in the next year.
My guest is blogger Om Malik of GigaOm. He was one of several bloggers who said a bigger format Kindle was too little too late for old media. But textbooks? That’s an industry the device could revolutionize.
Related: NYT, AMZN, NEWS, ^IXIC
Play VideoNow Playing
It seems that Amazon is not content to bask in its Kindle 2 glow. After a few weeks of rumors, several media outlets are reporting a new large-format Kindle will launch this week, likely on Wednesday. The speculation is that the new Kindle will be about the size of a sheet of paper, and still black-and-white. But the chatter is less about the specs and more about the impact of a newer, larger Kindle.
Much of the expectation had been centered around the new device making a real play at the education market, given the hefty price and weight of textbooks and younger generations’ willingness to read and process information through screens.
But a Sunday article in the New York Times shifted the debate from education to newspapers. As revenues fall by 30% or more, could a new Kindle reignite traditional media subscriptions the way it juiced book sales? Publishers hope so, including the Times. And Amazon isn’t the only horse in the race. The article mentioned competing e-readers are due out from Hearst, News Corp., and Plastic Logic in the next year.
My guest is blogger Om Malik of GigaOm. He was one of several bloggers who said a bigger format Kindle was too little too late for old media. But textbooks? That’s an industry the device could revolutionize.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
U.S. cybersecurity review done, heads to Obama soon
Reuters Friday, April 17, 2009; 11:04 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will soon receive the results of a 60-day review of cybersecurity that should weigh in on whether he should name a cybersecurity czar, the White House said on Friday.
The review could also make recommendations on how much should be budgeted to prevent potential hacker attacks on critical infrastructure and fight widespread Internet fraud.
"Today, the interagency group undertaking the review concluded its work and is now in the process of submitting its findings and recommendations for the President's review," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.
"After the President has had an opportunity to carefully review the group's report, we will begin discussing the results," he added.
The review, led by Melissa Hathaway, a top adviser to the former director of national intelligence, was ordered by the White House in early February. Its importance was driven home earlier this month when the Wall Street Journal reported that cyber-spies had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system.
The United States for several years has accused the Chinese and Russians, among others, of using cyber-attacks to try to steal American trade and military secrets.
Obama was in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday for a summit with Latin American and Caribbean leaders.
Obama's proposed fiscal 2010 budget, announced in late February, included $355 million for the Department of Homeland Security to make private- and public-sector cyber infrastructure more resilient and secure. The administration also said it would put "substantial" funding for cybersecurity efforts into the national intelligence program, but gave no details since that funding is kept secret.
Some of those funds will go to the National Security Agency, which is responsible for breaking codes and electronic spying.
The White House said previously that it would initiate a drive to develop next-generation secure computers and networking for national security applications; establish tough new standards for cyber security and physical resilience; battle corporate cyber espionage and target criminal activity on the Internet.
Industry executives and analysts say the cybersecurity market will be a fast-growing area in coming years and could generate more than $10 billion in contracts by 2013.
From washingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will soon receive the results of a 60-day review of cybersecurity that should weigh in on whether he should name a cybersecurity czar, the White House said on Friday.
The review could also make recommendations on how much should be budgeted to prevent potential hacker attacks on critical infrastructure and fight widespread Internet fraud.
"Today, the interagency group undertaking the review concluded its work and is now in the process of submitting its findings and recommendations for the President's review," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.
"After the President has had an opportunity to carefully review the group's report, we will begin discussing the results," he added.
The review, led by Melissa Hathaway, a top adviser to the former director of national intelligence, was ordered by the White House in early February. Its importance was driven home earlier this month when the Wall Street Journal reported that cyber-spies had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system.
The United States for several years has accused the Chinese and Russians, among others, of using cyber-attacks to try to steal American trade and military secrets.
Obama was in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday for a summit with Latin American and Caribbean leaders.
Obama's proposed fiscal 2010 budget, announced in late February, included $355 million for the Department of Homeland Security to make private- and public-sector cyber infrastructure more resilient and secure. The administration also said it would put "substantial" funding for cybersecurity efforts into the national intelligence program, but gave no details since that funding is kept secret.
Some of those funds will go to the National Security Agency, which is responsible for breaking codes and electronic spying.
The White House said previously that it would initiate a drive to develop next-generation secure computers and networking for national security applications; establish tough new standards for cyber security and physical resilience; battle corporate cyber espionage and target criminal activity on the Internet.
Industry executives and analysts say the cybersecurity market will be a fast-growing area in coming years and could generate more than $10 billion in contracts by 2013.
From washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Is Google evil?
BY Matt Marrone DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, March 19th 2009, 1:05 PM
Is Google evil?
In 2001, just a few years after Sergey Brin and Larry Page formed Google out of a garage, company brass adopted the phrase "Don't Be Evil" as a corporate motto and philosophy. And why not? Their search product revolutionized the Internet and their ad platform broke up the agency stranglehold to help empower the little guy.
Things got murky, though. Google began raising ethical concerns with various projects including mapping the entire planet, archiving classic works of literature and storing newspaper articles. With a project aimed at photographing every street in America and beyond, a feature that tracks the physical location of its users, an e-mail service that searches for keywords in written correspondence - and now with a new online service that records and transcribes voicemail - Google has raised eyebrows among privacy advocates.
Google has built a multi-billion dollar empire, with thousands of employees and a stock price envied around the world - but with great power comes great responsibility, and some fear the Mountain View, Calif.-based company could slowly be turning into a 21st century Big Brother.
Could Google, in fact, be evil?
Thursday, March 19th 2009, 1:05 PM
Is Google evil?
In 2001, just a few years after Sergey Brin and Larry Page formed Google out of a garage, company brass adopted the phrase "Don't Be Evil" as a corporate motto and philosophy. And why not? Their search product revolutionized the Internet and their ad platform broke up the agency stranglehold to help empower the little guy.
Things got murky, though. Google began raising ethical concerns with various projects including mapping the entire planet, archiving classic works of literature and storing newspaper articles. With a project aimed at photographing every street in America and beyond, a feature that tracks the physical location of its users, an e-mail service that searches for keywords in written correspondence - and now with a new online service that records and transcribes voicemail - Google has raised eyebrows among privacy advocates.
Google has built a multi-billion dollar empire, with thousands of employees and a stock price envied around the world - but with great power comes great responsibility, and some fear the Mountain View, Calif.-based company could slowly be turning into a 21st century Big Brother.
Could Google, in fact, be evil?
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Google Denies that White House 'Ditched' YouTube
DATE: 03-MAR-2009
By Chloe Albanesius
Google on Monday denied that the White House was dropping YouTube as its video provider of choice.
"One report stated that the White House had 'ditched' YouTube. That report is wrong," Steve Grove with YouTube news and politics wrote in a blog post. "The White House decision does not mean that the White House has stopped using YouTube. The White House continues to post videos to its YouTube channel, as do other agencies like the U.S. Department of Education and the State Department."
President Obama has posted several video messages to his transition Web site and whitehouse.gov via YouTube. Amidst privacy concerns over YouTube cookies, however, Obama's most recent weekly Saturday address used an embedded player on whitehouse.gov instead of the Google-owned video site.
Google has created a special embeddable video player that does not send a cookie until someone plays the video, Grove wrote.
"The White House also informs whitehouse.gov visitors about these cookies in its privacy policy," he said.
The news comes the same day that John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, provided an update on his office's 60-day cyber security review.
Among the goals of that review? To "safeguard the privacy rights and civil liberties of our citizens," Brennan said in a statement.
The government also wants to make sure its cyber-security efforts are coordinated between the executive branch, Congress, and the private sector, he said.
The review is set to be completed by April 2009, Brennan said. The team's recommendations will be presented to Obama, including an action plan to identify and prioritize further work related to cyber security.
By Chloe Albanesius
Google on Monday denied that the White House was dropping YouTube as its video provider of choice.
"One report stated that the White House had 'ditched' YouTube. That report is wrong," Steve Grove with YouTube news and politics wrote in a blog post. "The White House decision does not mean that the White House has stopped using YouTube. The White House continues to post videos to its YouTube channel, as do other agencies like the U.S. Department of Education and the State Department."
President Obama has posted several video messages to his transition Web site and whitehouse.gov via YouTube. Amidst privacy concerns over YouTube cookies, however, Obama's most recent weekly Saturday address used an embedded player on whitehouse.gov instead of the Google-owned video site.
Google has created a special embeddable video player that does not send a cookie until someone plays the video, Grove wrote.
"The White House also informs whitehouse.gov visitors about these cookies in its privacy policy," he said.
The news comes the same day that John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, provided an update on his office's 60-day cyber security review.
Among the goals of that review? To "safeguard the privacy rights and civil liberties of our citizens," Brennan said in a statement.
The government also wants to make sure its cyber-security efforts are coordinated between the executive branch, Congress, and the private sector, he said.
The review is set to be completed by April 2009, Brennan said. The team's recommendations will be presented to Obama, including an action plan to identify and prioritize further work related to cyber security.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
DTV call center has no problem handling calls
Play Video AP – What the stimulus bill may do for you
Slideshow:Economic Stimulus Plan
Security
Hackers Steal Thousands of Wyndham Credit Card Numbers PC World - Wed Feb 18, 5:30 PM ET
Hackers broke into a computer at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts last July and stole tens of thousands of customer credit card numbers, the hotel chain warns
NEW YORK – The federal call center set up to help viewers through the shutdown of analog broadcast TV signals at many stations this week has been able to easily deal with the volume of calls so far, the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday.
More than 28,000 people called 1-888-CALL-FCC on Tuesday for help getting their TV sets working, the commission said.
The call center was originally expected to handle 100,000 calls per day around Tuesday, when all U.S. full-power stations were supposed to give up on analog. The deadline was pushed to June 12, but 421 stations, a quarter of the total, elected to stay with the Feb. 17 date. Most big-city stations are holding off until June.
Since many of the 421 stations didn't shut down analog signals until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, more calls are expected on Wednesday. By 11 a.m. Wednesday, the volume was up 5 percent from the day before, the FCC said.
Many of the calls were from customers who didn't know they had to force their converter boxes or digital TV sets to "rescan" the airwaves to find stations that changed their channel assignments when dropping analog, the FCC said.
The abandonment of analog TV signals only affects sets that use antennas. Cable and satellite services are unaffected.
TV stations operated their own call centers or took calls from viewers on a less formal basis. None reported a storm of angry viewers. The National Association of Broadcasters said the DTV call center in Virginia, where two markets went digital, had only 150 calls on Tuesday.
Slideshow:Economic Stimulus Plan
Security
Hackers Steal Thousands of Wyndham Credit Card Numbers PC World - Wed Feb 18, 5:30 PM ET
Hackers broke into a computer at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts last July and stole tens of thousands of customer credit card numbers, the hotel chain warns
NEW YORK – The federal call center set up to help viewers through the shutdown of analog broadcast TV signals at many stations this week has been able to easily deal with the volume of calls so far, the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday.
More than 28,000 people called 1-888-CALL-FCC on Tuesday for help getting their TV sets working, the commission said.
The call center was originally expected to handle 100,000 calls per day around Tuesday, when all U.S. full-power stations were supposed to give up on analog. The deadline was pushed to June 12, but 421 stations, a quarter of the total, elected to stay with the Feb. 17 date. Most big-city stations are holding off until June.
Since many of the 421 stations didn't shut down analog signals until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, more calls are expected on Wednesday. By 11 a.m. Wednesday, the volume was up 5 percent from the day before, the FCC said.
Many of the calls were from customers who didn't know they had to force their converter boxes or digital TV sets to "rescan" the airwaves to find stations that changed their channel assignments when dropping analog, the FCC said.
The abandonment of analog TV signals only affects sets that use antennas. Cable and satellite services are unaffected.
TV stations operated their own call centers or took calls from viewers on a less formal basis. None reported a storm of angry viewers. The National Association of Broadcasters said the DTV call center in Virginia, where two markets went digital, had only 150 calls on Tuesday.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Burning smell fails to tip off driver who drags man 20 miles underneath van
BY Mike Jaccarino And Jonathan Lemire DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Updated Wednesday, February 11th 2009, 8:56 PM
A pedestrian hit by an SUV on a Queens street got stuck under a passing van that dragged him for an incredible 20 miles to Brooklyn, police said.
The gruesome journey began Wednesday on 108th St. in Corona - and did not end until the van driver finally noticed the man's mangled corpse in Brighton Beach nearly an hour later, police said.
"You can't imagine the shock I felt when I climbed out of the van and saw the body," said the van's driver, Manuel Gaspar Latune Sanchez.
"I was in shock," said Sanchez, a freelance deliveryman. "My nerves. ... I couldn't look anymore."
Sanchez had even stopped twice along the way, thinking he smelled something burning.
He did not make the terrible discovery until a passerby flagged him down on Brighton 10th Terrace - nearly 20 miles from the accident scene.
The man had been impaled on a metal skid plate on the underside of the van, and the back of his body had worn off during the long ride, police said.
It is not known if the man was alive when he was swept under the van, although he is believed to have been dead for most of the trip.
Investigators said the victim - whose body was too destroyed to identify immediately - was not in the crosswalk when he tried to cross 108th St. near 51st Ave. just after 6:10a.m.
The driver of an approaching Ford Expedition attempted to swerve, but the SUV slammed into the pedestrian, knocking him to the ground and then running over him with a rear wheel, police said.
Driver Gustavo Acosta pulled over and called 911.
When cops arrived moments later, they could not find the victim, who was already stuck under Sanchez's van.
Sanchez, who had been two cars behind the SUV, later told detectives he thought drivers were swerving to avoid a pothole.
The van's metal skid plate tore into the pedestrian, who was lying faceup in the street, and lodged in his sternum, hooking the victim to the van's chassis, police said.
A security video confirmed Sanchez pulled over a few minutes later and walked around the van.
Because the dead man - who cops said was about 5-feet-4 - could not easily be spotted from the road, Sanchez drove off again.
"I didn't feel it, and I didn't hear anything," said Sanchez, who had been listening to the radio. "I didn't know what happened."
Still oblivious, Sanchez got on the Long Island Expressway a few blocks away and then drove south on the Van Wyck Expressway and west on the Belt Parkway before exiting in Brighton Beach.
He stopped again at Brighton Sixth St., but again found nothing.
"I'm just so nervous and very sad," Sanchez said. "I'm very sorry for the family of the man."
Both men involved in the accident have clean driving records, and neither was charged, detectives said.
The dead man was not carrying identification, but cops found a broken iPhone a business card and a Western Union receipt in his pockets, sources said. A blue jacket was found along the route.
jlemire@nydailynews.com
Updated Wednesday, February 11th 2009, 8:56 PM
A pedestrian hit by an SUV on a Queens street got stuck under a passing van that dragged him for an incredible 20 miles to Brooklyn, police said.
The gruesome journey began Wednesday on 108th St. in Corona - and did not end until the van driver finally noticed the man's mangled corpse in Brighton Beach nearly an hour later, police said.
"You can't imagine the shock I felt when I climbed out of the van and saw the body," said the van's driver, Manuel Gaspar Latune Sanchez.
"I was in shock," said Sanchez, a freelance deliveryman. "My nerves. ... I couldn't look anymore."
Sanchez had even stopped twice along the way, thinking he smelled something burning.
He did not make the terrible discovery until a passerby flagged him down on Brighton 10th Terrace - nearly 20 miles from the accident scene.
The man had been impaled on a metal skid plate on the underside of the van, and the back of his body had worn off during the long ride, police said.
It is not known if the man was alive when he was swept under the van, although he is believed to have been dead for most of the trip.
Investigators said the victim - whose body was too destroyed to identify immediately - was not in the crosswalk when he tried to cross 108th St. near 51st Ave. just after 6:10a.m.
The driver of an approaching Ford Expedition attempted to swerve, but the SUV slammed into the pedestrian, knocking him to the ground and then running over him with a rear wheel, police said.
Driver Gustavo Acosta pulled over and called 911.
When cops arrived moments later, they could not find the victim, who was already stuck under Sanchez's van.
Sanchez, who had been two cars behind the SUV, later told detectives he thought drivers were swerving to avoid a pothole.
The van's metal skid plate tore into the pedestrian, who was lying faceup in the street, and lodged in his sternum, hooking the victim to the van's chassis, police said.
A security video confirmed Sanchez pulled over a few minutes later and walked around the van.
Because the dead man - who cops said was about 5-feet-4 - could not easily be spotted from the road, Sanchez drove off again.
"I didn't feel it, and I didn't hear anything," said Sanchez, who had been listening to the radio. "I didn't know what happened."
Still oblivious, Sanchez got on the Long Island Expressway a few blocks away and then drove south on the Van Wyck Expressway and west on the Belt Parkway before exiting in Brighton Beach.
He stopped again at Brighton Sixth St., but again found nothing.
"I'm just so nervous and very sad," Sanchez said. "I'm very sorry for the family of the man."
Both men involved in the accident have clean driving records, and neither was charged, detectives said.
The dead man was not carrying identification, but cops found a broken iPhone a business card and a Western Union receipt in his pockets, sources said. A blue jacket was found along the route.
jlemire@nydailynews.com
Thursday, February 05, 2009
House Votes to Delay Switch to Digital TV
House Votes to Delay Switch to Digital TV
By Brian Stelter
Television owners appear to have four more months to upgrade their old sets before they will no longer receive analog signals.
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to extend the transition to digital television by four months, ending a debate about whether to allow consumers more time to make the switch. Broadcasters were scheduled to cease analog broadcasts on Feb. 17, as part of a long-awaited move to digital broadcasting that will make the analog spectrum available for other applications, including for use by wireless companies and public safety agencies. The new deadline is expected to be June 12.
The Senate passed similar legislation last week, and President Obama has signaled that he will sign the bill. In a statement Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said that “the passage of this bipartisan legislation means that millions of Americans will have the time they need to prepare for the conversion.”
Most television owners, including those with cable or satellite connections, will not be affected by the signal change. But viewers with old antennas will lose service unless converter boxes are installed to translate the digital signals.
Last month The Nielsen Company estimated that 6.5 million households are completely unprepared for the switch, meaning that no televisions in those homes are equipped to receive digital signals.
Jan. 29: Digital TV Beckons, but Many Miss the Call
Mr. Obama had raised concerns about the impending switch during the presidential transition process last month. His transition team called financing for the switch inadequate and called on Congress to consider a delay.
On Wednesday, Ms. Brundage said the White House would “continue to work with Congress to improve the information and assistance available to American consumers in advance of June 12, especially those in the most vulnerable communities.” The stimulus package before Congress may include up to $650 million in financing for coupons to ease the transition.
“Wednesday’s vote came one week after House Republicans blocked the bill when it was in a special fast-track vote that required two-thirds support to pass,” The Associated Press reports. “This time, the bill passed the House under a regular floor vote, which only requires a simple majority.” The House voted 264 to 158.
Michael J. Copps, the acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said that the additional four months of transition time would afford “urgently-needed time for a more phased transition.”
In a separate statement, fellow commissioner Robert M. McDowell said the government should stay on message, saying: “If you need a converter box, get it today and hook it up today and start enjoying the benefits of digital television today.” Information on the transition is available at DTV.gov.
By Brian Stelter
Television owners appear to have four more months to upgrade their old sets before they will no longer receive analog signals.
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to extend the transition to digital television by four months, ending a debate about whether to allow consumers more time to make the switch. Broadcasters were scheduled to cease analog broadcasts on Feb. 17, as part of a long-awaited move to digital broadcasting that will make the analog spectrum available for other applications, including for use by wireless companies and public safety agencies. The new deadline is expected to be June 12.
The Senate passed similar legislation last week, and President Obama has signaled that he will sign the bill. In a statement Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said that “the passage of this bipartisan legislation means that millions of Americans will have the time they need to prepare for the conversion.”
Most television owners, including those with cable or satellite connections, will not be affected by the signal change. But viewers with old antennas will lose service unless converter boxes are installed to translate the digital signals.
Last month The Nielsen Company estimated that 6.5 million households are completely unprepared for the switch, meaning that no televisions in those homes are equipped to receive digital signals.
Jan. 29: Digital TV Beckons, but Many Miss the Call
Mr. Obama had raised concerns about the impending switch during the presidential transition process last month. His transition team called financing for the switch inadequate and called on Congress to consider a delay.
On Wednesday, Ms. Brundage said the White House would “continue to work with Congress to improve the information and assistance available to American consumers in advance of June 12, especially those in the most vulnerable communities.” The stimulus package before Congress may include up to $650 million in financing for coupons to ease the transition.
“Wednesday’s vote came one week after House Republicans blocked the bill when it was in a special fast-track vote that required two-thirds support to pass,” The Associated Press reports. “This time, the bill passed the House under a regular floor vote, which only requires a simple majority.” The House voted 264 to 158.
Michael J. Copps, the acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said that the additional four months of transition time would afford “urgently-needed time for a more phased transition.”
In a separate statement, fellow commissioner Robert M. McDowell said the government should stay on message, saying: “If you need a converter box, get it today and hook it up today and start enjoying the benefits of digital television today.” Information on the transition is available at DTV.gov.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Seniors: Don't cut B25 (life)line
BY ERIN DURKIN DAILY NEWS WRITER
Wednesday, February 4th 2009, 2:10 AM
Plans to ax a key bus line in East New York would leave thousands of elderly residents stranded - and scrambling for a way to get to doctors' appointments, shopping, church or the bank.
The B25, which runs from downtown Brooklyn to Broadway Junction, is one of six borough bus lines set to be eliminated unless the MTA gets a massive infusion of funds from the state.
Elderly riders rely on the bus to get downtown because there's no escalator leading to the A train at the Broadway Junction subway station.
"I'm old and arthritic," said Edith Stanley, 77, who takes the B25 to church every Sunday and to go shopping downtown. "I can't go up or down those steps with these legs. Leave the buses alone. We really need them."
Chris Banks, executive director of East New York United Concerned Citizens, estimated 2,000 to 3,000 seniors in Brownsville and East New York depend on the B25.
"We don't want the MTA to balance the budget on the backs of the less fortunate or the elderly," he said.
The MTA is urging the state legislature to approve a plan to raise $2.5 billion a year through a payroll tax and tolls on the East River and Harlem River bridges.
"We don't want to have to implement the service cutbacks," said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. "We are asking anyone who uses transit to contact their state legislators."
The agency faces a $1.2 billion budget gap this year. But Barbara Fisher, 72, who can't climb stairs because of upper respiratory problems, urged the authority to find savings elsewhere.
"I need that bus to get to the hospital, get my medicine and get some decent food," said Fisher. "I think it's very unfair that they're cutting that line."
Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York, Brownsville) plans to lead a march along the route of the B25 on Feb. 21 to protest the cut.
"This cannot happen," Barron said. "Our seniors will have to take the B15 to the 46 to the 48 just to get downtown. That's absurd."
That prospect was daunting for Delores McCowan, 74, who takes the B25 downtown to get to doctor's appointments and to go shopping.
"I really don't know what I would do" if the route was eliminated, she said, adding, "I would be stuck in the house alot."
Wednesday, February 4th 2009, 2:10 AM
Plans to ax a key bus line in East New York would leave thousands of elderly residents stranded - and scrambling for a way to get to doctors' appointments, shopping, church or the bank.
The B25, which runs from downtown Brooklyn to Broadway Junction, is one of six borough bus lines set to be eliminated unless the MTA gets a massive infusion of funds from the state.
Elderly riders rely on the bus to get downtown because there's no escalator leading to the A train at the Broadway Junction subway station.
"I'm old and arthritic," said Edith Stanley, 77, who takes the B25 to church every Sunday and to go shopping downtown. "I can't go up or down those steps with these legs. Leave the buses alone. We really need them."
Chris Banks, executive director of East New York United Concerned Citizens, estimated 2,000 to 3,000 seniors in Brownsville and East New York depend on the B25.
"We don't want the MTA to balance the budget on the backs of the less fortunate or the elderly," he said.
The MTA is urging the state legislature to approve a plan to raise $2.5 billion a year through a payroll tax and tolls on the East River and Harlem River bridges.
"We don't want to have to implement the service cutbacks," said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. "We are asking anyone who uses transit to contact their state legislators."
The agency faces a $1.2 billion budget gap this year. But Barbara Fisher, 72, who can't climb stairs because of upper respiratory problems, urged the authority to find savings elsewhere.
"I need that bus to get to the hospital, get my medicine and get some decent food," said Fisher. "I think it's very unfair that they're cutting that line."
Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York, Brownsville) plans to lead a march along the route of the B25 on Feb. 21 to protest the cut.
"This cannot happen," Barron said. "Our seniors will have to take the B15 to the 46 to the 48 just to get downtown. That's absurd."
That prospect was daunting for Delores McCowan, 74, who takes the B25 downtown to get to doctor's appointments and to go shopping.
"I really don't know what I would do" if the route was eliminated, she said, adding, "I would be stuck in the house alot."
Friday, January 23, 2009
Digital TV conversion puts customers at risk of glitches, further cost
WASHINGTON — In less than a month, on Feb. 17, all full-power stations plan to shut off analog signals and air digital- only broadcasts. Viewers with older analog TV sets will need to hook up a converter box to receive over-the-air programs. Digital TV sets will automatically receive the new signals. Cable and satellite subscribers should not be affected by the switch.
But many consumers are finding that upgrading to a digital set or adding a converter box may not be enough to get a reliable digital signal. Some will also have to buy more-powerful antennas to install in living rooms or on roofs, adding expense and frustration for the nearly 14 million households who rely on over-the-air signals.
“People are very surprised when they realize they can’t get [the channels],” said Barry Goodstadt, an independent analyst who has been studying digital reception issues. He predicts that 70 percent of households with indoor “rabbit ears” antennas will have to upgrade to more powerful equipment.
Problems with television antennas and reception were the most common issues among residents of Wilmington, N. C., a city that switched to all-digital broadcasting in September as a test case for the Federal Communications Commission.
About 75 percent of consumers who called help lines reported that their converter boxes did not appear to be working, according to a team of student volunteers answering calls. More than half of the callers were advised to change the direction of their antenna and to have their converter boxes scan for channels.
New digital audiences will probably discover the “digital cliff,” the all-or-nothing quality of digital reception. The picture is excellent until the signal weakens or is interrupted, causing the picture to disappear completely.
Digital signals are supposed to travel farther over flat terrain, but they are susceptible to interference from hills, trees, buildings, bad weather or planes flying overhead.
Meanwhile, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., is pushing a bill to delay the transition to digital broadcasting until this summer.
Thousands of coupons to help owners of older analog sets buy digital converter boxes have expired, according to Schumer, leaving some households unprepared for the transition.
This would ultimately leave consumers scrambling to purchase newer sets or digital converter boxes with their own money after the switch to digital- only broadcasting.
The proposed bill, also pushed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., would delay the transition until June 12, leaving enough time, in Schumer’s and Rockefeller’s opinion, to resolve problems with expired coupons and better prepare households for the transition.
Phillip Lucas of The Buffalo News Washington Bureau contributed to this report.
Friday, January 16, 2009
$650 million more sought for digital TV transition
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:23am EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the House of Representatives proposed $650 million to continue the coupon program for the transition to digital television, according to a summary of the economic stimulus legislation released by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
Congress mandated the February 17 switch to digital television, which will affect some 20 million consumers who do not already use the technology. Owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals must buy converter boxes, replace their TVs with digital models, or subscribe to satellite or digital cable service.
But the government has said it had run out of $40 discount coupons for consumers to help pay for converter boxes needed to keep their sets from going blank, leading to calls for delaying the analog switch-off and for more money in the economic stimulus package for the program.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:23am EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the House of Representatives proposed $650 million to continue the coupon program for the transition to digital television, according to a summary of the economic stimulus legislation released by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
Congress mandated the February 17 switch to digital television, which will affect some 20 million consumers who do not already use the technology. Owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals must buy converter boxes, replace their TVs with digital models, or subscribe to satellite or digital cable service.
But the government has said it had run out of $40 discount coupons for consumers to help pay for converter boxes needed to keep their sets from going blank, leading to calls for delaying the analog switch-off and for more money in the economic stimulus package for the program.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Waiting list in place for digital TV converter box coupons
Waiting list in place for digital TV converter box coupons
New applicants put on hold until more funds are freed up
Jon Yates What's Your Problem?
January 7, 2009
The picture just got fuzzier for those of you who waited until the last minute to apply for the federal government's $40 TV converter box coupons.With demand skyrocketing, the agency that oversees the program has exhausted the coupons it has on hand, so new applicants are being placed on a waiting list.That means if you apply for a coupon today, it might not arrive before Feb. 17, when TV broadcasters are mandated to switch from analog to digital signals.Without a converter box, analog televisions that are not hooked up to cable or a satellite service will not be able to receive digital signals after the switch.
Todd Sedmak, a spokesman for the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said viewers who have not yet applied for the coupons need to consider alternatives."If you're someone who needs to make the switch and you haven't gotten your coupon yet, you can buy a converter box without a coupon," he said. "You can buy a new TV or subscribe to cable or satellite service."In October, the Problem Solver set up a coupon-sharing program called Converter Boxes For Everyone. Almost 1,000 readers requested coupons from the Problem Solver after having problems with the federal system. More than 800 readers donated coupons.Many of you explained that you cannot afford the boxes, which cost $40 to $80, without the coupons. The latest glitch is a reflection of how the federal program was set up. In creating the program, Congress placed a $1.34 billion cap on the amount the government could promise in coupons at any one time. The cap includes coupons that have been redeemed or have been issued but not yet turned in or expired.The coupons are coded to expire in 90 days. When an unused coupon expires, $40 is put back into the program's budget and a new coupon is issued to the next person on the waiting list.As of Monday, the waiting list was 103,000 coupons, Sedmak said. According to federal statistics, roughly 300,000 unused coupons expire each week, meaning an equal number of new coupons will be printed and distributed. Given those numbers, it is possible applicants will spend only a short time on the waiting list.But even before the waiting list, it took three to four weeks for applicants to receive coupons. With 41 days before the switch, any delay could push the turnaround time past Feb. 17.And a flood of fresh applications is expected as the switch date draws near. In December, the government received 7 million coupon requests; 4.5 million had been anticipated. So far, the government says it has sent coupons to 12.6 million households that rely on televisions with antennas. The Nielsen Co. said in January 2007 that 14.3 million households rely on over-the-air television.So if you need the coupons and you haven't applied, do so immediately.It wouldn't hurt to also prepare a backup plan.yourproblem@tribune.com
New applicants put on hold until more funds are freed up
Jon Yates What's Your Problem?
January 7, 2009
The picture just got fuzzier for those of you who waited until the last minute to apply for the federal government's $40 TV converter box coupons.With demand skyrocketing, the agency that oversees the program has exhausted the coupons it has on hand, so new applicants are being placed on a waiting list.That means if you apply for a coupon today, it might not arrive before Feb. 17, when TV broadcasters are mandated to switch from analog to digital signals.Without a converter box, analog televisions that are not hooked up to cable or a satellite service will not be able to receive digital signals after the switch.
Todd Sedmak, a spokesman for the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said viewers who have not yet applied for the coupons need to consider alternatives."If you're someone who needs to make the switch and you haven't gotten your coupon yet, you can buy a converter box without a coupon," he said. "You can buy a new TV or subscribe to cable or satellite service."In October, the Problem Solver set up a coupon-sharing program called Converter Boxes For Everyone. Almost 1,000 readers requested coupons from the Problem Solver after having problems with the federal system. More than 800 readers donated coupons.Many of you explained that you cannot afford the boxes, which cost $40 to $80, without the coupons. The latest glitch is a reflection of how the federal program was set up. In creating the program, Congress placed a $1.34 billion cap on the amount the government could promise in coupons at any one time. The cap includes coupons that have been redeemed or have been issued but not yet turned in or expired.The coupons are coded to expire in 90 days. When an unused coupon expires, $40 is put back into the program's budget and a new coupon is issued to the next person on the waiting list.As of Monday, the waiting list was 103,000 coupons, Sedmak said. According to federal statistics, roughly 300,000 unused coupons expire each week, meaning an equal number of new coupons will be printed and distributed. Given those numbers, it is possible applicants will spend only a short time on the waiting list.But even before the waiting list, it took three to four weeks for applicants to receive coupons. With 41 days before the switch, any delay could push the turnaround time past Feb. 17.And a flood of fresh applications is expected as the switch date draws near. In December, the government received 7 million coupon requests; 4.5 million had been anticipated. So far, the government says it has sent coupons to 12.6 million households that rely on televisions with antennas. The Nielsen Co. said in January 2007 that 14.3 million households rely on over-the-air television.So if you need the coupons and you haven't applied, do so immediately.It wouldn't hurt to also prepare a backup plan.yourproblem@tribune.com
Monday, December 29, 2008
Zimbabwe 'to prosecute 140 white farmers'
Zimbabwe Video: Tutu accuses S Africa over Mugabe
HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe will prosecute 140 white landowners on charges of failing to vacate their farms under the country's controversial 2000 land reform programme, state media reported Sunday.
"A total of 140 farmers are to be prosecuted for failing to vacate farms after being issued with eviction notices," The Sunday Mail said, citing a report presented at the ruling ZANU-PF party's national conference.
The government ordered the white owners to leave by September 30 to make way for resettlement by landless blacks, under often-violent land reforms that critics blame for causing chronic food shortages in this onetime regional breadbasket.
The report did not specify what charges the farmers would face but law experts said it could be trespassing for failing to comply with the government ultimatium.
The report to the just-finished conference said another 278 farms owned by 13 countries would be spared from government seizure and prosecution under a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements (BIPAs).
This provision involves more than 522,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) owned by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mauritius, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, it said.
The government also recommended that 341 white farmers be allowed to continue farming across the country, and is drafting documents to give them a 99-year security of tenure on their properties "as the land reform programme nears conclusion," the report said.
A further 97 white farmers will be allowed to continue running conservancies or private game parks in six provinces, it said.
This brings to 438 the number of white farmers allowed to retain their land out of 6,708 operating in Zimbabwe before the reforms were launched eight years ago, The Sunday Mail said.
A total 1,530 new black farmers have received land offer letters from the government as of September 30 and the figure is expected to rise 1,800 by the end of this week, it added.
Under President Robert Mugabe's programme, at least 4,000 properties formerly run by white farmers have been seized for redistribution to blacks, the majority of whom lacked the skills and means to farm.
The chatoic programme is held largely responsible for the country's economic crisis, which has saddled Zimbabwe with the world's highest inflation rate and left nearly half the population in need of aid.
Mugabe, however, blames the food crisis on successive droughts and Zimbabwe's economic woes on Western-backed sanctions slapped on him and his aides for allegedly rigging his re-election in 2002.
Scores of frustrated white farmers have left the country to resettle in other African states, notably Nigeria. Many others have sought legal recourse to try to prevent the loss of their farms.
Nigeria, a regional powerhouse, invited the farmers to set up shop in April 2005 in a project located in Shonga in central Kwara state, which three years later is shaping up as an economic success story.
HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe will prosecute 140 white landowners on charges of failing to vacate their farms under the country's controversial 2000 land reform programme, state media reported Sunday.
"A total of 140 farmers are to be prosecuted for failing to vacate farms after being issued with eviction notices," The Sunday Mail said, citing a report presented at the ruling ZANU-PF party's national conference.
The government ordered the white owners to leave by September 30 to make way for resettlement by landless blacks, under often-violent land reforms that critics blame for causing chronic food shortages in this onetime regional breadbasket.
The report did not specify what charges the farmers would face but law experts said it could be trespassing for failing to comply with the government ultimatium.
The report to the just-finished conference said another 278 farms owned by 13 countries would be spared from government seizure and prosecution under a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements (BIPAs).
This provision involves more than 522,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) owned by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mauritius, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, it said.
The government also recommended that 341 white farmers be allowed to continue farming across the country, and is drafting documents to give them a 99-year security of tenure on their properties "as the land reform programme nears conclusion," the report said.
A further 97 white farmers will be allowed to continue running conservancies or private game parks in six provinces, it said.
This brings to 438 the number of white farmers allowed to retain their land out of 6,708 operating in Zimbabwe before the reforms were launched eight years ago, The Sunday Mail said.
A total 1,530 new black farmers have received land offer letters from the government as of September 30 and the figure is expected to rise 1,800 by the end of this week, it added.
Under President Robert Mugabe's programme, at least 4,000 properties formerly run by white farmers have been seized for redistribution to blacks, the majority of whom lacked the skills and means to farm.
The chatoic programme is held largely responsible for the country's economic crisis, which has saddled Zimbabwe with the world's highest inflation rate and left nearly half the population in need of aid.
Mugabe, however, blames the food crisis on successive droughts and Zimbabwe's economic woes on Western-backed sanctions slapped on him and his aides for allegedly rigging his re-election in 2002.
Scores of frustrated white farmers have left the country to resettle in other African states, notably Nigeria. Many others have sought legal recourse to try to prevent the loss of their farms.
Nigeria, a regional powerhouse, invited the farmers to set up shop in April 2005 in a project located in Shonga in central Kwara state, which three years later is shaping up as an economic success story.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Voting starts in Ghanaian presidential run-off
by Susan Njanji Susan Njanji – 2 hrs 13 mins ago
AFP/File – Nana Akufo-Addo (right), presidential candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party and John Attah Mills, …
ACCRA (AFP) – Ghanaians turned out Sunday to choose a successor to outgoing president John Kufuor in the second round of an election seen as a test of just how stable the west African nation is.
Nana Akufo-Addo of Kufuor's New Patriotic Party (NPP) is squaring off against John Atta-Mills of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of ex-president Jerry Rawlings.
The vote was forced into a run-off after neither of the leading candidates won more than 50 percent of ballots cast in the first round on December 7. The elections are only the third since the country's return to democracy in 1992.
The first round of voting was hailed by observers as peaceful but tensions have risen in the past few days, with the NPP and NDC trading accusations of plots to rig the election.
At polling stations Sunday voters were unanimous that they wanted peace.
"Before the election people were talking about possible fighting and war. But we don't want war in Ghana, we don't want what happened in Ivory Coast to happen here," said Lydia Amponseah, a 28-year-old hairdresser with a baby at her breast.
Neighbouring Ivory Coast, once held up as an African success story, has been in the grip of a political crisis since a failed coup in 2002.
Okyere Darko, a retired military officer of 60, echoed a similar sentiment as he voted in Accra's Abokobi district:
"We've seen troubles before - we don't want a repeat of that," he told AFP, referring to the years before democracy when Ghana suffered a series of coups.
After the first round the NPP's Akufo-Addo led with 49.13 percent of valid ballots cast while the NDC's Atta-Mills trailed with 47.92 percent.
But the NDC is now the largest party in parliament after it swept 114 seats out of the 230, while the NPP took 107 seats, according to new figures from the electoral commission.
Seven seats went to smaller opposition parties and two seats are yet to be determined.
The NPP lost 19 seats, all to the NDC.
On the eve of the runoff the two parties accused each other of trying to rig or disrupt the voting.
The NDC said it had noted irregularities in early voting, while the NPP said opposition leaflets were trying to inflame tribal and ethnic tension.
Kufuor called for calm: "I am appealing to all Ghanaians... we should all keep cool, go and vote, as a peaceful exercise, as a legitimate exercise."
The polls are being closely watched as a litmus test of whether the country has truly consolidated its democracy.
Some 12.5 million people are eligible to cast ballots in the polls which close at 5 pm (1700 GMT).
Last week Guinea, Africa's second-oldest independent state, was rocked by a bloodless coup, moments after the death of a its longtime leader Lansana Conte.
Mauritania's first democratically-elected leader was ousted in a coup in August.
AFP/File – Nana Akufo-Addo (right), presidential candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party and John Attah Mills, …
ACCRA (AFP) – Ghanaians turned out Sunday to choose a successor to outgoing president John Kufuor in the second round of an election seen as a test of just how stable the west African nation is.
Nana Akufo-Addo of Kufuor's New Patriotic Party (NPP) is squaring off against John Atta-Mills of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of ex-president Jerry Rawlings.
The vote was forced into a run-off after neither of the leading candidates won more than 50 percent of ballots cast in the first round on December 7. The elections are only the third since the country's return to democracy in 1992.
The first round of voting was hailed by observers as peaceful but tensions have risen in the past few days, with the NPP and NDC trading accusations of plots to rig the election.
At polling stations Sunday voters were unanimous that they wanted peace.
"Before the election people were talking about possible fighting and war. But we don't want war in Ghana, we don't want what happened in Ivory Coast to happen here," said Lydia Amponseah, a 28-year-old hairdresser with a baby at her breast.
Neighbouring Ivory Coast, once held up as an African success story, has been in the grip of a political crisis since a failed coup in 2002.
Okyere Darko, a retired military officer of 60, echoed a similar sentiment as he voted in Accra's Abokobi district:
"We've seen troubles before - we don't want a repeat of that," he told AFP, referring to the years before democracy when Ghana suffered a series of coups.
After the first round the NPP's Akufo-Addo led with 49.13 percent of valid ballots cast while the NDC's Atta-Mills trailed with 47.92 percent.
But the NDC is now the largest party in parliament after it swept 114 seats out of the 230, while the NPP took 107 seats, according to new figures from the electoral commission.
Seven seats went to smaller opposition parties and two seats are yet to be determined.
The NPP lost 19 seats, all to the NDC.
On the eve of the runoff the two parties accused each other of trying to rig or disrupt the voting.
The NDC said it had noted irregularities in early voting, while the NPP said opposition leaflets were trying to inflame tribal and ethnic tension.
Kufuor called for calm: "I am appealing to all Ghanaians... we should all keep cool, go and vote, as a peaceful exercise, as a legitimate exercise."
The polls are being closely watched as a litmus test of whether the country has truly consolidated its democracy.
Some 12.5 million people are eligible to cast ballots in the polls which close at 5 pm (1700 GMT).
Last week Guinea, Africa's second-oldest independent state, was rocked by a bloodless coup, moments after the death of a its longtime leader Lansana Conte.
Mauritania's first democratically-elected leader was ousted in a coup in August.
Zimbabwe 'to prosecute 140 white farmers'
Monday, December 22, 2008
UN warns 5.5m Zimbabweans need food, collapse of health system
Yahoo News 12-22-08
HARARE (AFP) – About half of Zimbabwe's population needs food aid, UN experts said Monday, as a first consignment of supplies designed to help fight a cholera epidemic arrived in the troubled southern African nation.
As President Robert Mugabe faced fresh calls to step down from Western powers, the UN's warning highlighted yet another crisis facing Zimbabwe as it also battles a deadly cholera epidemic and runaway inflation.
And in a further bid to tighten the screw on Mugabe, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she planned to lobby Washington's allies to impose sanctions against the regime in Harare.
"An estimated 5.5 million people may need food assistance," said the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutterhe, in a joint statement from four senior UN officials.
There was "just not enough food" in the country of around 12 million which was once the bread basket of Africa, he added, calling on Zimbabwe's government and the international community for increased help.
In the same statement, the special rapporteur on health rights, Anand Grover said the country's medical services could not control the cholera outbreak, which has killed more than 1,120.
"Zimbabwe's health system has completely collapsed. It cannot control the cholera outbreak which is spreading throughout the country, with a daily increase in the death toll," he said.
As the UN experts sounded the alarm bells, the children's fund UNICEF was delivering its first consignment of aid -- intravenous fluids, drip equipment, essential drugs, midwifery and obstetric kits -- to boost government services in the fight against cholera.
"This is a strategic measure to address a desperate situation," said UNICEF acting representative in Zimbabwe, Roeland Monasch.
Once seen as a post-colonial role model, Zimbabwe's economy has been in a downward spiral since the turn of the decade when thousands of white-owned farms began being seized under a controversial land reform programme.
Food production has since plummetted and inflation has skyrocketed, hitting 231 percent when the last official data was released in August.
Zimbabwe has also been in political crisis since elections in March when the long-ruling ZANU-PF party lost control of parliament and Mugabe was pushed into second place by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a poll for president.
Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, pulled out of a run-off after scores of his supporters were killed.
A power-sharing agreement signed by the two rivals in September was seen as an opportunity for the country to turn a corner but it has yet to be implemented amid disagreements over the control of key organs of state.
Under the terms of the power-sharing deal, Mugabe would remain president with Tsvangirai becoming prime minister.
But with Mugabe now declaring that Zimbabwe is "mine", both the United States and former colonial power Britain have the deal will be unacceptable as unless the 84-year-old Mugabe leaves office.
"Power-sharing isn't dead but Mugabe has become an absolute impossible obstacle to achieving it," said Britain's Africa minister Mark Malloch Brown.
"He's so distrusted by all sides that I think the Americans are absolutely right, he's going to have to step aside."
Malloch-Brown's comments came a day after the top US diplomat for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer, said Washington would not restore aid to the cholera-wracked country unless Mugabe stood down.
In an interview with AFP, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would consult Washington's allies about imposing international asset freezes and other sanctions against the Mugabe regime which Washington has already put in place.
"I am going to consult with our allies, particularly with some of our African allies and with the British and we will see," Rice said.
"But I think it high time that the international community step up the sanctions on this regime."
Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African nation ever since independence in 1980, has made clear that he has no intention of standing down.
In a defiant weekend speech at ZANU-PF's annual conference, he vowed that he would "never, never surrender" and that "Zimbabwe is mine."
HARARE (AFP) – About half of Zimbabwe's population needs food aid, UN experts said Monday, as a first consignment of supplies designed to help fight a cholera epidemic arrived in the troubled southern African nation.
As President Robert Mugabe faced fresh calls to step down from Western powers, the UN's warning highlighted yet another crisis facing Zimbabwe as it also battles a deadly cholera epidemic and runaway inflation.
And in a further bid to tighten the screw on Mugabe, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she planned to lobby Washington's allies to impose sanctions against the regime in Harare.
"An estimated 5.5 million people may need food assistance," said the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutterhe, in a joint statement from four senior UN officials.
There was "just not enough food" in the country of around 12 million which was once the bread basket of Africa, he added, calling on Zimbabwe's government and the international community for increased help.
In the same statement, the special rapporteur on health rights, Anand Grover said the country's medical services could not control the cholera outbreak, which has killed more than 1,120.
"Zimbabwe's health system has completely collapsed. It cannot control the cholera outbreak which is spreading throughout the country, with a daily increase in the death toll," he said.
As the UN experts sounded the alarm bells, the children's fund UNICEF was delivering its first consignment of aid -- intravenous fluids, drip equipment, essential drugs, midwifery and obstetric kits -- to boost government services in the fight against cholera.
"This is a strategic measure to address a desperate situation," said UNICEF acting representative in Zimbabwe, Roeland Monasch.
Once seen as a post-colonial role model, Zimbabwe's economy has been in a downward spiral since the turn of the decade when thousands of white-owned farms began being seized under a controversial land reform programme.
Food production has since plummetted and inflation has skyrocketed, hitting 231 percent when the last official data was released in August.
Zimbabwe has also been in political crisis since elections in March when the long-ruling ZANU-PF party lost control of parliament and Mugabe was pushed into second place by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a poll for president.
Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, pulled out of a run-off after scores of his supporters were killed.
A power-sharing agreement signed by the two rivals in September was seen as an opportunity for the country to turn a corner but it has yet to be implemented amid disagreements over the control of key organs of state.
Under the terms of the power-sharing deal, Mugabe would remain president with Tsvangirai becoming prime minister.
But with Mugabe now declaring that Zimbabwe is "mine", both the United States and former colonial power Britain have the deal will be unacceptable as unless the 84-year-old Mugabe leaves office.
"Power-sharing isn't dead but Mugabe has become an absolute impossible obstacle to achieving it," said Britain's Africa minister Mark Malloch Brown.
"He's so distrusted by all sides that I think the Americans are absolutely right, he's going to have to step aside."
Malloch-Brown's comments came a day after the top US diplomat for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer, said Washington would not restore aid to the cholera-wracked country unless Mugabe stood down.
In an interview with AFP, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would consult Washington's allies about imposing international asset freezes and other sanctions against the Mugabe regime which Washington has already put in place.
"I am going to consult with our allies, particularly with some of our African allies and with the British and we will see," Rice said.
"But I think it high time that the international community step up the sanctions on this regime."
Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African nation ever since independence in 1980, has made clear that he has no intention of standing down.
In a defiant weekend speech at ZANU-PF's annual conference, he vowed that he would "never, never surrender" and that "Zimbabwe is mine."
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Chinese ship rescued from pirates in Gulf of Aden
By David Clarke – 2 hrs 36 mins ago
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A multilateral force rescued a Chinese ship from Somali pirates on Wednesday, in a sign foreign navies patrolling the shipping lane linking Europe to Asia are adopting tougher new tactics.
The Chinese boat Zhenhua 4 was one of four vessels seized by pirates on Tuesday, the same day the United Nations Security Council took a strong stand against the attacks and authorized countries to pursue the gunmen on land.
A Kenyan maritime group said the crew locked themselves in their cabins and radioed for help. A warship and two helicopters came and fired on the pirates, but did not kill them, it said.
Chinese state media said a "multilateral" force with helicopters hovered over the ship and successfully fought off the pirates.
Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia this year has earned gunmen millions of dollars in ransom, hiked shipping insurance costs and caused international alarm.
The seizures have prompted some of the world's biggest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and send cargo vessels around southern Africa instead -- which could push up the cost of commodities and manufactured goods.
Foreign navies have rushed to patrol shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa nation, but have had little impact so far on the pirates who mostly operate out of northern Somalia.
According to the Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance program, there have been 124 incidents of piracy off Somali this year and some 60 successful hijacks.
Nearly 400 people and 19 ships are being held along the coast, including a Saudi supertanker with 2 million barrels of oil and a Ukrainian cargo ship with 33 tanks.
VERY ROBUST APPROACH
Last week the European Union launched an anti-piracy operation with warships and aircraft from Britain, France, Greece and Spain, and pledged to take a "very robust" approach.
China is reported to be seriously considering sending naval ships to the region to escort vessels and Kenya said this week it would sink any pirates carrying out attacks in its waters.
Mwangura said on Wednesday the Chinese vessel, with 30 Chinese crew, and a yacht with two on board had been seized off Yemen a day earlier. A tugboat and a 100-meter (330-ft) cargo ship belonging to an Istanbul-based shipping company were also taken in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday.
Analysts say the problem must be tackled on land as well, but the weak Somalian government says it does not have the resources to tackle the buccaneers.
The country has been in virtual anarchy since the collapse of a dictatorship in 1991. Islamist insurgents control most of the south and feuding clan militias hold sway elsewhere.
The fractured Western-backed administration controls only the capital Mogadishu and the seat of parliament Baidoa, while pirates are mostly based in the northern Puntland region.
The resolution passed by the 15-nation Security Council on Tuesday said states "may undertake all necessary measures in Somalia, including in its airspace" to stop the pirates.
The Security Council called on countries to "take part actively" in the fight against piracy and Washington said the United Nations should deploy a peacekeeping force.
Authorities in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland welcomed the decision to take the battle onto land.
"We, Puntland authority, have agreed to support this resolution. And we want our security forces to work with the U.N. forces because we are the main victims of piracy," Abdulqadir Muse Yusuf, Puntland's assistant minister for fisheries, told Reuters.
Iran also called for tougher action on Tuesday, saying five of its oil tankers had been attacked this year and the cost of crude could rise if strategic sea lanes went unprotected.
Somalia's neighbor Kenya also began extensive air and sea patrols this week. "We are daring them to try any attacks on Kenyan waters and we will sink them," Chief of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga said on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Wangui Kanina in Nairobi, Celestyne Achieng in Mombasa, Abdiqani Hassan in Bosasso and Ian Ransom and Sally Huang in Beijing; editing by Andrew Roche)
Microsoft releasing emergency patch for perilous IE flaw
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A multilateral force rescued a Chinese ship from Somali pirates on Wednesday, in a sign foreign navies patrolling the shipping lane linking Europe to Asia are adopting tougher new tactics.
The Chinese boat Zhenhua 4 was one of four vessels seized by pirates on Tuesday, the same day the United Nations Security Council took a strong stand against the attacks and authorized countries to pursue the gunmen on land.
A Kenyan maritime group said the crew locked themselves in their cabins and radioed for help. A warship and two helicopters came and fired on the pirates, but did not kill them, it said.
Chinese state media said a "multilateral" force with helicopters hovered over the ship and successfully fought off the pirates.
Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia this year has earned gunmen millions of dollars in ransom, hiked shipping insurance costs and caused international alarm.
The seizures have prompted some of the world's biggest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and send cargo vessels around southern Africa instead -- which could push up the cost of commodities and manufactured goods.
Foreign navies have rushed to patrol shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa nation, but have had little impact so far on the pirates who mostly operate out of northern Somalia.
According to the Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance program, there have been 124 incidents of piracy off Somali this year and some 60 successful hijacks.
Nearly 400 people and 19 ships are being held along the coast, including a Saudi supertanker with 2 million barrels of oil and a Ukrainian cargo ship with 33 tanks.
VERY ROBUST APPROACH
Last week the European Union launched an anti-piracy operation with warships and aircraft from Britain, France, Greece and Spain, and pledged to take a "very robust" approach.
China is reported to be seriously considering sending naval ships to the region to escort vessels and Kenya said this week it would sink any pirates carrying out attacks in its waters.
Mwangura said on Wednesday the Chinese vessel, with 30 Chinese crew, and a yacht with two on board had been seized off Yemen a day earlier. A tugboat and a 100-meter (330-ft) cargo ship belonging to an Istanbul-based shipping company were also taken in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday.
Analysts say the problem must be tackled on land as well, but the weak Somalian government says it does not have the resources to tackle the buccaneers.
The country has been in virtual anarchy since the collapse of a dictatorship in 1991. Islamist insurgents control most of the south and feuding clan militias hold sway elsewhere.
The fractured Western-backed administration controls only the capital Mogadishu and the seat of parliament Baidoa, while pirates are mostly based in the northern Puntland region.
The resolution passed by the 15-nation Security Council on Tuesday said states "may undertake all necessary measures in Somalia, including in its airspace" to stop the pirates.
The Security Council called on countries to "take part actively" in the fight against piracy and Washington said the United Nations should deploy a peacekeeping force.
Authorities in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland welcomed the decision to take the battle onto land.
"We, Puntland authority, have agreed to support this resolution. And we want our security forces to work with the U.N. forces because we are the main victims of piracy," Abdulqadir Muse Yusuf, Puntland's assistant minister for fisheries, told Reuters.
Iran also called for tougher action on Tuesday, saying five of its oil tankers had been attacked this year and the cost of crude could rise if strategic sea lanes went unprotected.
Somalia's neighbor Kenya also began extensive air and sea patrols this week. "We are daring them to try any attacks on Kenyan waters and we will sink them," Chief of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga said on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Wangui Kanina in Nairobi, Celestyne Achieng in Mombasa, Abdiqani Hassan in Bosasso and Ian Ransom and Sally Huang in Beijing; editing by Andrew Roche)
Microsoft releasing emergency patch for perilous IE flaw
Monday, December 15, 2008
Iraqi shoe-throwing reporter becomes the talk of Iraq
By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in a supreme insult has suddenly become the talk of Iraq, hailed by marchers as a national hero but blasted by the government as a barbarian.
The little-known Shi'ite reporter, said to have harbored anger against Bush for the thousands of Iraqis who died after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, had previously made headlines only once, when he was briefly kidnapped by unknown gunmen in 2007.
TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi remained in detention on Monday, accused by the Iraqi government of a "barbaric act." He would be sent for trial on charges of insulting the Iraqi state, said the prime minister's media advisor, Yasin Majeed.
His employer, independent al-Baghdadiya television, demanded his release and demonstrators rallied for him in Baghdad's Sadr City, in the southern Shi'ite stronghold of Basra and in the holy city of Najaf, where some threw shoes at a U.S. convoy.
"Thanks be to God, Muntazer's act fills Iraqi hearts with pride," his brother, Udai al-Zaidi, told Reuters Television.
"I'm sure many Iraqis want to do what Muntazer did. Muntazer used to say all the orphans whose fathers were killed are because of Bush."
Zaidi shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," at Bush in a news conference he held with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday.
The journalist then flung one shoe at Bush, forcing him to duck, followed by another, which sailed over Bush's head and slammed into the wall behind him. Throwing shoes at someone is the worst possible insult in the Arab world.
Zaidi was dragged struggling and screaming from the room by security guards and could be heard shouting outside while the news conference continued after momentary mayhem.
'BARBARIC'
The government said Zaidi had carried out "a barbaric and ignominious act" that was not fitting of the media's role and demanded an apology from his television station.
Al-Baghdadiya television played endless patriotic music, with Zaidi's face plastered across the screen.
A newscaster solemnly read out a statement calling for his release, "in accordance with the democratic era and the freedom of expression that Iraqis were promised by U.S. authorities."
It said that any harsh measures taken against the reporter would be reminders of the "dictatorial era" that Washington said its forces invaded Iraq to end.
At a university in Baghdad, students appeared to abandon routine classes to talk about Zaidi and his shoe-throwing. Continued...
View article on single page
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in a supreme insult has suddenly become the talk of Iraq, hailed by marchers as a national hero but blasted by the government as a barbarian.
The little-known Shi'ite reporter, said to have harbored anger against Bush for the thousands of Iraqis who died after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, had previously made headlines only once, when he was briefly kidnapped by unknown gunmen in 2007.
TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi remained in detention on Monday, accused by the Iraqi government of a "barbaric act." He would be sent for trial on charges of insulting the Iraqi state, said the prime minister's media advisor, Yasin Majeed.
His employer, independent al-Baghdadiya television, demanded his release and demonstrators rallied for him in Baghdad's Sadr City, in the southern Shi'ite stronghold of Basra and in the holy city of Najaf, where some threw shoes at a U.S. convoy.
"Thanks be to God, Muntazer's act fills Iraqi hearts with pride," his brother, Udai al-Zaidi, told Reuters Television.
"I'm sure many Iraqis want to do what Muntazer did. Muntazer used to say all the orphans whose fathers were killed are because of Bush."
Zaidi shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," at Bush in a news conference he held with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday.
The journalist then flung one shoe at Bush, forcing him to duck, followed by another, which sailed over Bush's head and slammed into the wall behind him. Throwing shoes at someone is the worst possible insult in the Arab world.
Zaidi was dragged struggling and screaming from the room by security guards and could be heard shouting outside while the news conference continued after momentary mayhem.
'BARBARIC'
The government said Zaidi had carried out "a barbaric and ignominious act" that was not fitting of the media's role and demanded an apology from his television station.
Al-Baghdadiya television played endless patriotic music, with Zaidi's face plastered across the screen.
A newscaster solemnly read out a statement calling for his release, "in accordance with the democratic era and the freedom of expression that Iraqis were promised by U.S. authorities."
It said that any harsh measures taken against the reporter would be reminders of the "dictatorial era" that Washington said its forces invaded Iraq to end.
At a university in Baghdad, students appeared to abandon routine classes to talk about Zaidi and his shoe-throwing. Continued...
View article on single page
Saturday, December 13, 2008
YouTube Videos Pull In Real Money
By BRIAN STELTER
Published: December 10, 2008
Making videos for YouTube — for three years a pastime for millions of Web surfers — is now a way to make a living.
Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Michael Buckley quit his day job in September. He says his online show is “silly,” but it helped pay off credit-card debt.
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Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Read All Comments (23) »
if (acm.rc) acm.rc.write();
One year after YouTube, the online video powerhouse, invited members to become “partners” and added advertising to their videos, the most successful users are earning six-figure incomes from the Web site. For some, like Michael Buckley, the self-taught host of a celebrity chat show, filming funny videos is now a full-time job.
Mr. Buckley quit his day job in September after his online profits had greatly surpassed his salary as an administrative assistant for a music promotion company. His thrice-a-week online show “is silly,” he said, but it has helped him escape his credit-card debt.
Mr. Buckley, 33, was the part-time host of a weekly show on a Connecticut public access channel in the summer of 2006 when his cousin started posting snippets of the show on YouTube. The comical rants about celebrities attracted online viewers, and before long Mr. Buckley was tailoring his segments, called “What the Buck?” for the Web. Mr. Buckley knew that the show was “only going to go so far on public access.”
“But on YouTube,” he said, “I’ve had 100 million views. It’s crazy.”
All he needed was a $2,000 Canon camera, a $6 piece of fabric for a backdrop and a pair of work lights from Home Depot. Mr. Buckley is an example of the Internet’s democratizing effect on publishing. Sites like YouTube allow anyone with a high-speed connection to find a fan following, simply by posting material and promoting it online.
Granted, building an audience online takes time. “I was spending 40 hours a week on YouTube for over a year before I made a dime,” Mr. Buckley said — but, at least in some cases, it is paying off.
Mr. Buckley is one of the original members of YouTube’s partner program, which now includes thousands of participants, from basement video makers to big media companies. YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, places advertisements within and around the partner videos and splits the revenues with the creators. “We wanted to turn these hobbies into businesses,” said Hunter Walk, a director of product management for the site, who called popular users like Mr. Buckley “unintentional media companies.”
YouTube declined to comment on how much money partners earned on average, partly because advertiser demand varies for different kinds of videos. But a spokesman, Aaron Zamost, said “hundreds of YouTube partners are making thousands of dollars a month.” At least a few are making a full-time living: Mr. Buckley said he was earning over $100,000 from YouTube advertisements.
The program is a partial solution to a nagging problem for YouTube. The site records 10 times the video views as any other video-sharing Web site in the United States, yet it has proven to be hard for Google to profit from, because a vast majority of the videos are posted by anonymous users who may or may not own the copyrights to the content they upload. While YouTube has halted much of the illegal video sharing on the site, it remains wary of placing advertisements against content without explicit permission from the owners. As a result, only about 3 percent of the videos on the site are supported by advertising.
But the company has high hopes for the partner program. Executives liken it to Google AdSense, the technology that revolutionized advertising and made it possible for publishers to place text advertisements next to their content.
“Some of these people are making videos in their spare time,” said Chad Hurley, a co-founder of YouTube. “We felt that if we were able to provide them a true revenue source, they’d be able to hone their skills and create better content.”
In a time of media industry layoffs, the revenue source — and the prospect of a one-person media company — may be especially appealing to users. But video producers like Lisa Donovan, who posts sketch comedy onto YouTube and attracted attention in the fall for parodies of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, do not make it sound easy. “For new users, it’s a lot of work,” Ms. Donovan said. “Everybody’s fighting to be seen online; you have to strategize and market yourself.”
Mr. Buckley, who majored in psychology in college and lives with his husband and four dogs in Connecticut, films his show from home. Each episode of “What the Buck?” is viewed an average of 200,000 times, and the more popular ones have reached up to three million people. He said that writing and recording five minutes’ worth of jokes about Britney Spears’s comeback tour and Miley Cyrus’s dancing abilities is not as easy as it looks. “I’ve really worked hard on honing my presentation and writing skills,” he said.
As his traffic and revenues grew, Mr. Buckley had “so many opportunities online that I couldn’t work anymore.” He quit his job at Live Nation, the music promoter, to focus full-time on the Web show.
There is a symmetry to Mr. Buckley’s story. Some so-called Internet celebrities view YouTube as a stepping stone to television. But Mr. Buckley started on TV and found fame on YouTube. Three months ago, he signed a development deal with HBO, an opportunity that many media aspirants dream about. Still, “I feel YouTube is my home,” he said. “I think the biggest mistake that any of us Internet personalities can make is establish ourselves on the Internet and then abandon it.”
Cory Williams, 27, a YouTube producer in California, agrees. Mr. Williams, known as smpfilms on YouTube, has been dreaming up online videos since 2005, and he said his big break came in September 2007 with a music video parody called “The Mean Kitty Song.” The video, which introduces Mr. Williams’ evil feline companion, has been viewed more than 15 million times. On a recent day, the video included an advertisement from Coca-Cola.
Mr. Williams, who counts about 180,000 subscribers to his videos, said he was earning $17,000 to $20,000 a month via YouTube. Half of the profits come from YouTube’s advertisements, and the other half come from sponsorships and product placements within his videos, a model that he has borrowed from traditional media.
On YouTube, it is evident that established media entities and the up-and-coming users are learning from each other. The amateur users are creating narrative arcs and once-a-week videos, enticing viewers to visit regularly. Some, like Mr. Williams, are also adding product-placement spots to their videos. Meanwhile, brand-name companies are embedding their videos on other sites, taking cues from users about online promotion. Mr. Walk calls it a subtle “cross-pollination” of ideas.
Some of the partners are major media companies; the ones with the most video views include Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, CBS and Warner Brothers. But individual users are now able to compete alongside them. Mr. Buckley, who did not even have high-speed Internet access two years ago, said his YouTube hobby had changed his financial life.
“I didn’t start it to make money,” he said, “but what a lovely surprise.”
Published: December 10, 2008
Making videos for YouTube — for three years a pastime for millions of Web surfers — is now a way to make a living.
Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Michael Buckley quit his day job in September. He says his online show is “silly,” but it helped pay off credit-card debt.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Read All Comments (23) »
if (acm.rc) acm.rc.write();
One year after YouTube, the online video powerhouse, invited members to become “partners” and added advertising to their videos, the most successful users are earning six-figure incomes from the Web site. For some, like Michael Buckley, the self-taught host of a celebrity chat show, filming funny videos is now a full-time job.
Mr. Buckley quit his day job in September after his online profits had greatly surpassed his salary as an administrative assistant for a music promotion company. His thrice-a-week online show “is silly,” he said, but it has helped him escape his credit-card debt.
Mr. Buckley, 33, was the part-time host of a weekly show on a Connecticut public access channel in the summer of 2006 when his cousin started posting snippets of the show on YouTube. The comical rants about celebrities attracted online viewers, and before long Mr. Buckley was tailoring his segments, called “What the Buck?” for the Web. Mr. Buckley knew that the show was “only going to go so far on public access.”
“But on YouTube,” he said, “I’ve had 100 million views. It’s crazy.”
All he needed was a $2,000 Canon camera, a $6 piece of fabric for a backdrop and a pair of work lights from Home Depot. Mr. Buckley is an example of the Internet’s democratizing effect on publishing. Sites like YouTube allow anyone with a high-speed connection to find a fan following, simply by posting material and promoting it online.
Granted, building an audience online takes time. “I was spending 40 hours a week on YouTube for over a year before I made a dime,” Mr. Buckley said — but, at least in some cases, it is paying off.
Mr. Buckley is one of the original members of YouTube’s partner program, which now includes thousands of participants, from basement video makers to big media companies. YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, places advertisements within and around the partner videos and splits the revenues with the creators. “We wanted to turn these hobbies into businesses,” said Hunter Walk, a director of product management for the site, who called popular users like Mr. Buckley “unintentional media companies.”
YouTube declined to comment on how much money partners earned on average, partly because advertiser demand varies for different kinds of videos. But a spokesman, Aaron Zamost, said “hundreds of YouTube partners are making thousands of dollars a month.” At least a few are making a full-time living: Mr. Buckley said he was earning over $100,000 from YouTube advertisements.
The program is a partial solution to a nagging problem for YouTube. The site records 10 times the video views as any other video-sharing Web site in the United States, yet it has proven to be hard for Google to profit from, because a vast majority of the videos are posted by anonymous users who may or may not own the copyrights to the content they upload. While YouTube has halted much of the illegal video sharing on the site, it remains wary of placing advertisements against content without explicit permission from the owners. As a result, only about 3 percent of the videos on the site are supported by advertising.
But the company has high hopes for the partner program. Executives liken it to Google AdSense, the technology that revolutionized advertising and made it possible for publishers to place text advertisements next to their content.
“Some of these people are making videos in their spare time,” said Chad Hurley, a co-founder of YouTube. “We felt that if we were able to provide them a true revenue source, they’d be able to hone their skills and create better content.”
In a time of media industry layoffs, the revenue source — and the prospect of a one-person media company — may be especially appealing to users. But video producers like Lisa Donovan, who posts sketch comedy onto YouTube and attracted attention in the fall for parodies of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, do not make it sound easy. “For new users, it’s a lot of work,” Ms. Donovan said. “Everybody’s fighting to be seen online; you have to strategize and market yourself.”
Mr. Buckley, who majored in psychology in college and lives with his husband and four dogs in Connecticut, films his show from home. Each episode of “What the Buck?” is viewed an average of 200,000 times, and the more popular ones have reached up to three million people. He said that writing and recording five minutes’ worth of jokes about Britney Spears’s comeback tour and Miley Cyrus’s dancing abilities is not as easy as it looks. “I’ve really worked hard on honing my presentation and writing skills,” he said.
As his traffic and revenues grew, Mr. Buckley had “so many opportunities online that I couldn’t work anymore.” He quit his job at Live Nation, the music promoter, to focus full-time on the Web show.
There is a symmetry to Mr. Buckley’s story. Some so-called Internet celebrities view YouTube as a stepping stone to television. But Mr. Buckley started on TV and found fame on YouTube. Three months ago, he signed a development deal with HBO, an opportunity that many media aspirants dream about. Still, “I feel YouTube is my home,” he said. “I think the biggest mistake that any of us Internet personalities can make is establish ourselves on the Internet and then abandon it.”
Cory Williams, 27, a YouTube producer in California, agrees. Mr. Williams, known as smpfilms on YouTube, has been dreaming up online videos since 2005, and he said his big break came in September 2007 with a music video parody called “The Mean Kitty Song.” The video, which introduces Mr. Williams’ evil feline companion, has been viewed more than 15 million times. On a recent day, the video included an advertisement from Coca-Cola.
Mr. Williams, who counts about 180,000 subscribers to his videos, said he was earning $17,000 to $20,000 a month via YouTube. Half of the profits come from YouTube’s advertisements, and the other half come from sponsorships and product placements within his videos, a model that he has borrowed from traditional media.
On YouTube, it is evident that established media entities and the up-and-coming users are learning from each other. The amateur users are creating narrative arcs and once-a-week videos, enticing viewers to visit regularly. Some, like Mr. Williams, are also adding product-placement spots to their videos. Meanwhile, brand-name companies are embedding their videos on other sites, taking cues from users about online promotion. Mr. Walk calls it a subtle “cross-pollination” of ideas.
Some of the partners are major media companies; the ones with the most video views include Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, CBS and Warner Brothers. But individual users are now able to compete alongside them. Mr. Buckley, who did not even have high-speed Internet access two years ago, said his YouTube hobby had changed his financial life.
“I didn’t start it to make money,” he said, “but what a lovely surprise.”
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
FBI: Illinois Governor Sought To "Sell" Obama's Senate Seat
FBI: Illinois Governor Sought To "Sell" Obama's Senate Seat
Wanted President-Elect to "Put Something Together . . . Something Big"
By BRIAN ROSSDecember 9, 2008
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wanted President-elect Barack Obama "to put something together…something big" in exchange for going along with Obama's choice to fill his vacant US Senate seat, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed following the Governor's stunning arrest.
In this file photo, Ilinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) during a news...
In this file photo, Ilinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) during a news conference following their apperance before the Base Realignment and Closure commission during their hearings at Saint Louis University, St. Louis. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wanted President-elect Barack Obama "to put something together…something big" in exchange for going along with Obama's choice to fill his vacant US Senate seat, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed following the Governor's stunning arrest. (James A. Finley/AP Photo)
"I've got this thing and it's f***ing golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for f***in' nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And I can always use it. I can parachute me there," Blagojevich said in a phone call secretly recorded by the FBI on November 5, the day after the election, according to the affidavit.
Click here to read the full affidavit. The FBI says Blagojevich wanted an appointment to the Obama cabinet as Secretary of Health and Human Services, a well-paying job or huge campaign contributions as the price for naming Obama's successor.
Wanted President-Elect to "Put Something Together . . . Something Big"
By BRIAN ROSSDecember 9, 2008
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wanted President-elect Barack Obama "to put something together…something big" in exchange for going along with Obama's choice to fill his vacant US Senate seat, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed following the Governor's stunning arrest.
In this file photo, Ilinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) during a news...
In this file photo, Ilinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) during a news conference following their apperance before the Base Realignment and Closure commission during their hearings at Saint Louis University, St. Louis. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wanted President-elect Barack Obama "to put something together…something big" in exchange for going along with Obama's choice to fill his vacant US Senate seat, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed following the Governor's stunning arrest. (James A. Finley/AP Photo)
"I've got this thing and it's f***ing golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for f***in' nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And I can always use it. I can parachute me there," Blagojevich said in a phone call secretly recorded by the FBI on November 5, the day after the election, according to the affidavit.
Click here to read the full affidavit. The FBI says Blagojevich wanted an appointment to the Obama cabinet as Secretary of Health and Human Services, a well-paying job or huge campaign contributions as the price for naming Obama's successor.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
How YouTube Broadcasts Your Taste in Videos
How YouTube Broadcasts Your Taste in Videos
By Saul Hansell
The slogan of YouTube is “Broadcast Yourself.” I’ve got to wonder if many YouTube users are broadcasting information about their tastes in video far more widely than they understand.
Google’s video site lets you subscribe to a “channel”—a collection of videos from one person or company—so you can get reminders about new clips from sources that interest you. When you do this, your user name and photo is usually listed on the page of the channel you are subscribing to. And there is no way for you to keep your subscription private.
That means that if you have some reason to want to follow videos from channels like Youth Suicide/Domestic Violence Health, ProstateCancerMD , Bankruptcy Attorneys or Best Resumes of New York, anyone in the world could find out.
YouTube never explains this when you sign up for an account or use the subscription feature. There are some other aspects of using YouTube’s site that also publish its users’ viewing choices without properly explaining what is happening.
Chris Dale, a YouTube spokesman said, “We’ve never had a complaint about this issue, but we’ll look into it.” Mr. Dale declined, however, to explain why the site is designed the way it is and whether this matter is an oversight or whether it believes that these viewing choices are facts that all its users would like to share.
Even if there haven’t been complaints, this matter shines the light on issues I think operators of all Internet companies need to consider as they rush to add various social features to their sites. (Indeed, today YouTube itself announced a new part of its site that mimic’s the Facebook newsfeed.)
If a site is going to take information about you and disseminate it to others, shouldn’t it be crystal clear what is happening? Moreover, for actions on a site that might be considered private, shouldn’t users have the choice about whether to make them public?
Video may even be a special case. After the video rental history of Robert Bork, a nominee for the Supreme Court, was published, Congress passed the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 banning the disclosure of video viewing records.
YouTube’s origin was a site to promote sharing of personal video. It was designed with many of the features popularized by social networks and sharing sites like Flickr.
Amid YouTube’s rapid growth, the site’s design has not kept up with how people actually use it. YouTube is now both a way for friends to trade videos with each other, but it is also a broad communication medium—a way for virtually any person or company, even the president elect, to distribute video on nearly any topic. My guess is that there are far more people who use YouTube as a video search engine and a form of casual entertainment than use it to communicate with others.
As I use YouTube, and I don’t think I’m alone, I use the subscription and favorites features not to share my tastes but simply as bookmarks to keep track of things I may want to look at again.
This can be seen in how YouTube creates a channel—essentially a profile page—for all users when they establish an account or sign in using their Google account. This page, which is open to anyone on the Internet, by default, lists the other channels you subscribe to, the videos you mark as favorites, and the playlists you have made. Users can remove these sections from their channels, using a rather complex page buried in the site’s options.
There is no requirement that you use your real name in your YouTube user ID or post any identifiable information on this page. But users may well leave clues to their identities on their profiles without knowing how they may be used.
The YouTube privacy policy is misleading because it implies that information is disclosed only after users take an explicit action to add features to their channel:
If you choose to add certain features to your channel page, then these features and your activity associated with these features will be displayed to other users.
Sure there are lots of people who want to broadcast themselves. But there are others who, like Chance the Gardner in “Being There” simply say “I like to watch.”
By Saul Hansell
The slogan of YouTube is “Broadcast Yourself.” I’ve got to wonder if many YouTube users are broadcasting information about their tastes in video far more widely than they understand.
Google’s video site lets you subscribe to a “channel”—a collection of videos from one person or company—so you can get reminders about new clips from sources that interest you. When you do this, your user name and photo is usually listed on the page of the channel you are subscribing to. And there is no way for you to keep your subscription private.
That means that if you have some reason to want to follow videos from channels like Youth Suicide/Domestic Violence Health, ProstateCancerMD , Bankruptcy Attorneys or Best Resumes of New York, anyone in the world could find out.
YouTube never explains this when you sign up for an account or use the subscription feature. There are some other aspects of using YouTube’s site that also publish its users’ viewing choices without properly explaining what is happening.
Chris Dale, a YouTube spokesman said, “We’ve never had a complaint about this issue, but we’ll look into it.” Mr. Dale declined, however, to explain why the site is designed the way it is and whether this matter is an oversight or whether it believes that these viewing choices are facts that all its users would like to share.
Even if there haven’t been complaints, this matter shines the light on issues I think operators of all Internet companies need to consider as they rush to add various social features to their sites. (Indeed, today YouTube itself announced a new part of its site that mimic’s the Facebook newsfeed.)
If a site is going to take information about you and disseminate it to others, shouldn’t it be crystal clear what is happening? Moreover, for actions on a site that might be considered private, shouldn’t users have the choice about whether to make them public?
Video may even be a special case. After the video rental history of Robert Bork, a nominee for the Supreme Court, was published, Congress passed the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 banning the disclosure of video viewing records.
YouTube’s origin was a site to promote sharing of personal video. It was designed with many of the features popularized by social networks and sharing sites like Flickr.
Amid YouTube’s rapid growth, the site’s design has not kept up with how people actually use it. YouTube is now both a way for friends to trade videos with each other, but it is also a broad communication medium—a way for virtually any person or company, even the president elect, to distribute video on nearly any topic. My guess is that there are far more people who use YouTube as a video search engine and a form of casual entertainment than use it to communicate with others.
As I use YouTube, and I don’t think I’m alone, I use the subscription and favorites features not to share my tastes but simply as bookmarks to keep track of things I may want to look at again.
This can be seen in how YouTube creates a channel—essentially a profile page—for all users when they establish an account or sign in using their Google account. This page, which is open to anyone on the Internet, by default, lists the other channels you subscribe to, the videos you mark as favorites, and the playlists you have made. Users can remove these sections from their channels, using a rather complex page buried in the site’s options.
There is no requirement that you use your real name in your YouTube user ID or post any identifiable information on this page. But users may well leave clues to their identities on their profiles without knowing how they may be used.
The YouTube privacy policy is misleading because it implies that information is disclosed only after users take an explicit action to add features to their channel:
If you choose to add certain features to your channel page, then these features and your activity associated with these features will be displayed to other users.
Sure there are lots of people who want to broadcast themselves. But there are others who, like Chance the Gardner in “Being There” simply say “I like to watch.”
Monday, December 01, 2008
TV Sales Becoming Litmus Test for U.S. Economy
By MATT RICHTEL
Published: November 28, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — In a volatile year that has turned many Americans into armchair economists, here’s an important indicator to watch this holiday shopping season: how many people are lugging home big, flat-screen televisions?
Shoppers comparing TVs on Friday at a Wal-Mart in Secaucus, N.J. Retailers use big discounts on televisions to lure consumers into stores.
The answer matters to more than just TV makers. Just as high-definition sets have become the hearth of the digital home, they are increasingly central to the fortunes of the consumer electronics industry and plenty of retailers.
And there’s reason for serious concern. While retailers are trying to use discounted TVs as a lure for shoppers, many would-be buyers continue to wait, and wait, for a magical price that is low enough to inspire a purchase. Others just have more pressing needs.
“The question is whether I buy a TV or something more important,” said David Lunsford, 62, who visited a Circuit City near here last week to shop for big-screen TVs. He would love to replace his aging rear-projection set, but he worried he needed to save money in case family members hit tough times.
“I’m a stable provider. They may turn to me,” said Mr. Lunsford, who works for the federal government.
Americans are expected to spend $28 billion this year on TVs, making them the largest segment of the $173 billion electronics industry. So far about half of American households have made the jump to flat-panel screens, which started out as status symbols but are on their way to becoming standard household appliances.
More people may choose to upgrade this year because of the national switchover to digital broadcast signals coming Feb. 17. The change, which will mostly affect people who watch over-the-air signals on older sets, has generated a good amount of consumer confusion — which could be good for sales of new sets.
TVs are also a gateway to a host of other products, like Blu-ray discs and their players, surround-sound audio systems, digital video recorders and cables.
All of these factors have led electronics stores like Circuit City and Best Buy and even less specialized chains like Sears, Wal-Mart and Office Depot, to put TVs front and center in their advertising recently, promoting them on the cover of Sunday circulars and on the home pages of Web sites. They are offering discounts — like 42-inch TVs for less than $700 and 32-inch sets for $450 — that come on top of recent steep price declines for the sets.
For the industry, the feeling is that if retailers cannot get TVs to move, the holiday season could be a bleak one indeed. In that sense, the TV market offers a glimpse of the broader tensions this year between wary consumers on the one hand and retailers and manufacturers desperate to spur sales on the other.
“The television becomes a litmus test of the robustness of the American economy,” said Richard Doherty, an electronics industry analyst with the research firm Envisioneering. In Mr. Doherty’s consumer surveys, the early word is mixed; many consumers want a new TV, but they think that if they wait to buy, retailers will drop prices further.
There were signs on Friday that more cuts might be necessary. At two malls outside Portland, Ore., the electronics stores were the only ones that were full of shoppers. But people seemed to be gravitating toward lower-priced items like video games instead of televisions.
Mr. Doherty’s firm tracked stores in New York and California
See -Harlem Blogospherehttp://harlemblogosphere.blogspot.com
Published: November 28, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — In a volatile year that has turned many Americans into armchair economists, here’s an important indicator to watch this holiday shopping season: how many people are lugging home big, flat-screen televisions?
Shoppers comparing TVs on Friday at a Wal-Mart in Secaucus, N.J. Retailers use big discounts on televisions to lure consumers into stores.
The answer matters to more than just TV makers. Just as high-definition sets have become the hearth of the digital home, they are increasingly central to the fortunes of the consumer electronics industry and plenty of retailers.
And there’s reason for serious concern. While retailers are trying to use discounted TVs as a lure for shoppers, many would-be buyers continue to wait, and wait, for a magical price that is low enough to inspire a purchase. Others just have more pressing needs.
“The question is whether I buy a TV or something more important,” said David Lunsford, 62, who visited a Circuit City near here last week to shop for big-screen TVs. He would love to replace his aging rear-projection set, but he worried he needed to save money in case family members hit tough times.
“I’m a stable provider. They may turn to me,” said Mr. Lunsford, who works for the federal government.
Americans are expected to spend $28 billion this year on TVs, making them the largest segment of the $173 billion electronics industry. So far about half of American households have made the jump to flat-panel screens, which started out as status symbols but are on their way to becoming standard household appliances.
More people may choose to upgrade this year because of the national switchover to digital broadcast signals coming Feb. 17. The change, which will mostly affect people who watch over-the-air signals on older sets, has generated a good amount of consumer confusion — which could be good for sales of new sets.
TVs are also a gateway to a host of other products, like Blu-ray discs and their players, surround-sound audio systems, digital video recorders and cables.
All of these factors have led electronics stores like Circuit City and Best Buy and even less specialized chains like Sears, Wal-Mart and Office Depot, to put TVs front and center in their advertising recently, promoting them on the cover of Sunday circulars and on the home pages of Web sites. They are offering discounts — like 42-inch TVs for less than $700 and 32-inch sets for $450 — that come on top of recent steep price declines for the sets.
For the industry, the feeling is that if retailers cannot get TVs to move, the holiday season could be a bleak one indeed. In that sense, the TV market offers a glimpse of the broader tensions this year between wary consumers on the one hand and retailers and manufacturers desperate to spur sales on the other.
“The television becomes a litmus test of the robustness of the American economy,” said Richard Doherty, an electronics industry analyst with the research firm Envisioneering. In Mr. Doherty’s consumer surveys, the early word is mixed; many consumers want a new TV, but they think that if they wait to buy, retailers will drop prices further.
There were signs on Friday that more cuts might be necessary. At two malls outside Portland, Ore., the electronics stores were the only ones that were full of shoppers. But people seemed to be gravitating toward lower-priced items like video games instead of televisions.
Mr. Doherty’s firm tracked stores in New York and California
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