E-reader Newspaper 09/12/09 - 10/12/09 http://www.LibertyNewsprint.

com

Holder huddles with New York team on 9/11

trials
By Jeremy Pelofsky (Front on Tuesday that a grand jury was Homeland Security.
Row Washington) hearing evidence against the self- “For a detainee who is brought
Submitted at 12/9/2009 12:02:38 PM
professed mastermind of the here for purposes of prosecution,
attacks Khalid Sheikh they are paroled — and that’s the
U.S. Attorney General Eric M o h a m m e d . technical term used — but they
Holder on Wednesday flew to The five men are not expected to are paroled into the country only Is $200 a Reasonable
New York to huddle with his arrive in New York until early for purposes of prosecution,” Cost For Enhancing an
team that will be in charge of next year at the earliest because DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano iPhone's 3MP Photos?
prosecuting and imprisoning the first the Obama administration told the Senate Judiciary
five men accused of plotting the must give Congress 45 days Committee. “There are no
[IPhone]
Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. advance notice about how they immigration benefits that accrue By Kat Hannaford (Gizmodo)
The closed-door meeting at the will secure the prisoners and to that.” Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:32:05 AM
federal courthouse in downtown address any security issues. She said that if a detainee was
Manhattan included the Holder has come under acquitted in a trial, the Obama $200 is a fair wedge of cash for
prosecutors from the Southern b l i s t e r i n g c r i t i c i s m f r o m administration would proceed to any iPhone accessory, but
District of New York and Eastern Republicans for deciding to try deport the individual. Factron has something special
District of Virginia as well as the accused 9/11 conspirators in from Guantanamo would be For more Reuters political news, tucked up its little aluminum
representatives of the FBI, U.S. criminal court instead of a afforded any immigration status click here. casing. Fisheye, super-wide and
Bureau of Prisons, the Marshals military court, arguing that they — and therefore some rights — - Photo credit: Reuters/Kevin close-up lenses can be screwed
Service, and the New York s h o u l d n o t b e b r o u g h t t o when they are in the United Lamarque (Holder testifies to on, enhancing those 3-megapixel
Police Department, according to American soil from the U.S. States, an issue Republican Congress last month) photos you like taking so much.
an administration official. military prison at Guantanamo Senator John Cornyn raised on Of course, they're sold
A spokeswoman for Holder Bay, Cuba. Wednesday during an oversight separately, securing Factron even
declined to provide details about One tangent concern has been hearing for the Department of more of your dosh, but it's a heck
the meeting. NBC News reported whether the terrorism suspects of a lot easier than duct-taping an
SLR lens to your iPhone. [
Facebook in Vietnam: Social-networking blues Factron via CrunchGear]

By Dong Ngo (Webware.com) CNET's Dong Ngo reports from social network. But is the Digital Media
Submitted at 12/9/2009 1:00:00 PM
Hanoi on troubles that local users government to blame?
have been facing in accessing the Originally posted at News -
2 Top News/ Finance/ Gadgets/
Obama picks Palin foe for Alaska pipeline job
By Patricia Zengerle (Front
Row Washington)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:13:46 PM
President Barack Obama picked
Larry Persily, a former-aide-
turned-critic of former Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin, to be
federal coordinator for Alaska
Natural Gas Transportation
Projects.
In that position, Persily — who
became one of Palin’s most vocal
in-state critics — would oversee
plans for a massive, long-desired
Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Obama asked Drue Pearce, the
Republican who held the job in
the Bush administration, to leave
the post last month.
Persily is a former Alaska
journalist who has worked for
both Democratic and Republican
politicians. He worked for more
than a decade on oil and gas
issues for three Alaska
governors, including Palin.
He resigned from her office
before she was picked as John
McCain’s running mate on the
ticket that lost to Obama and Joe
Biden. Since then, he has
been quoted repeatedly
Ultra Petroleum is undervalued
By Joseph Lazzaro
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 10:40:00 AM
Filed under: Stocks to Buy
Independent oil/gas company
Ultra Petroleum Corp's ( UPL)
stock has meandered since my
criticizing Palin.
For example, Persily called Palin
a flamethrower, telling CNN:
“She yelled fire in a crowded
theater. She really did, in some of
her speeches –’palling around’
with terrorists and some of the
other slurs she was hurling in the
way of Obama and the
Democrats.”
“That turned off an equally big
chunk of the American public
that found it distasteful,
destructive, divisive, mean and
June 4, 2009 buy
recommendation at a price of
$46, but I'm reiterating the call,
and investors should view the
sideways action as chance to
scoop-up shares. Here's why:
Ultra's growth prospects are
strong, with three-year reserve
ignorant. Whereas others said,
‘Way to go girl. You stick it to
them,” he said.
On the Huffington Post website,
Persily questioned Palin’s
assertions in her stump speech
and during her debate with
Biden.
Some conservatives criticized
the appointment as payback for
Persily’s harsh comments about
Palin.
Click here for more Reuters
political coverage
replacement rates that are among
the best in its class; below-
competitor operating expenses
represent another UPL
advantage. Likely firming, then
rising, natural gas prices in 2010
adds to the positive story.
Continue reading Ultra
Picture credits: A section of the
Trans-Alaskan Pipeline is seen
heading south near Glenallen,
Alaska August, 10 2008.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson and
Former Alaska governor and
2008 Republican vice
presidential nominee Sarah Palin
attends a signing for her book
“Going Rogue”, in Fairfax,
Virginia December 5, 2009.
REUTERS/Mike Theiler
Petroleum is undervalued
Ultra Petroleum is undervalued
originally appeared on
BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec
2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see
our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink| Email this| Comments
E-reader Newspaper
FACTRON SIMPLEX:
$200, lens-friendly
duralumin iPhone case
By Serkan Toto (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:42:25 AM
Duralumin, an aluminum alloy
used in airship frames and auto
body panels, isn’t necessarily the
first material springing to one’s
mind when it comes to cell
phones cases. But Japan-based
Factron actually used it for its so-
called FACTRON SIMPLEX, an
iPhone case that lets you use a
number of lenses (sold
separately) with your iPhone
camera.
The case is both designed and
made in Japan and has “the same
precision screws used in
wristwatches”. It weighs 48g (the
iPhone itself weighs 133g) and
can be used both for the 3G and
the 3GS.
The main selling point, apart
from the nice design, is that the
FACTRON SIMPLEX is lens-
friendly, meaning it lets you
mount several lenses and use
them with your iPhone camera.
And, what a coincidence, Factron
sells those, too.
Factron sells the case in their
international online store for
$199.80. Scroll down the product
page to see which lenses are
compatible to it.
E-reader Newspaper
Can Obama keep Democrats in line
on healthcare to the end?
By Tabassum Zakaria (Front
Row Washington)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:18:45 PM
So President Barack Obama
goes to Capitol Hill over the
weekend and late Tuesday Senate
Democrats reach a healthcare
compromise on a public
insurance option (Republicans
oppose the legislation so every
Democrat vote is needed to move
it along).
Lots of day-after grumbling
from both sides of the political
spectrum: The Chamber of
Commerce still opposes it and
liberal activist group
MoveOn.org said senators had
“bargained away the heart of
healthcare reform.”
Well, for critics it’s not likely to
get any better on the public
option front.
If the bill makes it to the final
stages before becoming law, the
Senate version would need to be
melded with the House version.
And a true compromise would
require the Senate to take on a
stronger public option and the
House to weaken its hand.
One lesson from covering
Capitol Hill is that nothing is a
done deal until the final vote is
See what's new in Chrome beta
By Seth Rosenblatt
(Webware.com)
in.
So that leaves plenty of room for
lobbyists to meddle — because
on the Hill the finished version of
major legislation is rarely
anything like what the bill looked
like at the start.
As a common paraphrase of the
John Godfrey Saxe quote goes —
laws and sausages are two things
you don’t want to see made.
Obama basically just wants
Congress to enact something he
can call healthcare reform, and
claim victory on his signature
domestic issue.
If he is able to continue keeping
his Democrats in line, he may
The new Chrome beta makes
rocket-powered browsing more
accessible to Apple's computers--
Top News/ Finance/ Tech/ 3
Analyst upgrades, downgrades
and initiations: AOL, CKR,
DKS, GEF, MLM, TROW ...
By Eric Buscemi for revenue growth in 2010,
(BloggingStocks) partly due to MoCA deployments
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:40:00 AM
from new customers and design
wins for its silicon tuner product.
Filed under: Analyst reports, The firm set a $5 target.
A n a l y s t u p g r a d e s a n d • T. Rowe Price ( TROW) was
downgrades, Analyst initiations upgraded to buy from hold at
Analyst Upgrades Jefferies.
• Dick's Sporting Goods ( DKS)
• Stephens upgraded Martin was upgraded to buy from neutral
Marietta ( MLM) to overweight at BofA/Merrill.
from equal weight on valuation • Massey Energy ( MEE) was
a n d e x p e c t a t i o n s t h a t upgraded to overweight from
infrastructure and highway neutral at JPMorgan.
spending will increase. The firm
raised its target on shares to $105 Continue reading Analyst
just get it. from $95. upgrades, downgrades and
But it is by no means a done • Janney Montgomery upgraded initiations: AOL, CKR, DKS,
deal, and if this were a Broadway Shutterfly ( SFLY) to buy from GEF, MLM, TROW ...
show it would be close to neutral to reflect valuation and a Analyst upgrades, downgrades
intermission… reduced pricing overhang after and initiations: AOL, CKR,
Do you want Obama to succeed Kodak ( EK) raised its 4x6 DKS, GEF, MLM, TROW ...
in getting healthcare reform? prices. The firm raised its target o r i g i n a l l y a p p e a r e d o n
Click here for more Reuters on shares to $21 from $18. BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec
political coverage • Thomas Weisel upgraded 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see
Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed Entropic Communications ( our terms for use of feeds.
(Obama announcing funding for ENTR) to overweight from Permalink| Email this| Comments
community health centers), market weight. The firm thinks
R e u t e r s / R e i n h a r d K r a u s e the company is well-positioned
(sausage factory).
but it still lacks some key find out.
features. And just how does it Originally posted at The
compare with Safari? Watch and Download Blog
4 Top News/ Finance/
How Obama’s Nobel speech played
in Washington
By Deborah Zabarenko (Front
Row Washington)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:36:36 AM
For a man who just won the
Nobel Peace Prize, President
Barack Obama didn’t look all
that happy as he strode to the
lectern in Oslo. He had that
downturned smile that was
almost an acknowledgement of
all the critics who say the award
is premature — especially for a
commander-in-chief who has just
vowed to send 30,000 more U.S.
troops into harm’s way in
Afghanistan.
The speech itself didn’t make
much of a splash on morning
television in Washington. None
of the major TV networks carried
it live, though CNN did, cutting
away from Obama from time to
time to show an audience
listening attentively, with a few
eyelids drooping. But viewers
didn’t have many options if they
wanted to see the speech as it
Chinese New Year rally? A lesser-known seasonal indicator
By Steven Halpern
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:00:00 AM
Filed under: International New Year.
markets, Newsletters, S and P "With the growth of Asian
500, DJIA
Investors are familiar with the progressive shift in holiday "While the Christmas holiday
concept of a "Santa Claus" rally. shopping patterns.
happened. They could see a blink
of Obama sandwiched in between
the televised feature stories —
Dillie the Deer, a taped interview
with first lady Michelle Obama, a
duel interview with Clint
Eastwood and Morgan Freeman
to promote their new movie.
The Washington Post ran a live
feed on its Web site; after the
speech ended, there was a story
In his Next Inning newsletter,
however, Paul McWiliams looks
at a less well-known seasonal
pattern involving the Chinese
consumerism we've seen a
and a photo slide show. The New
York Times posted a text of the
address. The Drudge Report– a
one-stop online gateway for
some in Washington — ran two
small headlines about the Nobel
ceremony (”Obama defends US
wars as he accepts peace
prize…” and ”Norwegians
Incensed Over Obama Snubs…”)
over the main story. Just after the
speech it was “SNOW DRIFTS
TO 15FT!” but later it changed to
“DEMS TO LIFT DEBT
CEILING BY $1.8 TRILLION!”
Before the chattering classes
start weighing in on how he did,
let’s hear what you think? Was it
statesmanlike or disappointing?
Or something in between?
Photo credit: REUTERS/John
McConnico/Pool (President
Barack Obama poses with Nobel
Peace Prize medal and certificate,
Oslo, December 10, 2009)
E-reader Newspaper
Google ups search market
share in November, keeps
competitors guessing
By Brian White
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:00:00 PM
Filed under: Competitive
strategy, Google (GOOG)
Microsoft ( MSFT) has been
touting its "decision engine" Bing
since this past summer, and it
recently became the standard the same time, both Microsoft's
search engine underneath Bing and Yahoo! declined in
Yahoo!'s ( YHOO) massive user November. All this according to
database. Although Bing has web metric firm Hitwise.
been well-received and grew Continue reading Google ups
almost immediately after being search market share in
released, Google ( GOOG) has November, keeps competitors
finally quashed some of the guessing
enthusiasm by increasing its Google ups search market share
market share for Internet search in November, keeps competitors
in November back above 70%. guessing originally appeared on
Google's share rose to 71.6%, an BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec
increase of 1.4% from the prior 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see
month. While that may sound our terms for use of feeds.
small, a single percent in Internet Permalink| Email this| Comments
search market share can be
hundreds of thousands more
searches (or tens of millions). At
shopping season still dominates Chinese New Year rally? A
these seasonal patterns, the lesser-known seasonal indicator
Chinese New Year has originally appeared on
significantly grown in BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec
importance during the last 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see
decade. our terms for use of feeds.
Continue reading Chinese New Permalink| Email this| Comments
Year rally? A lesser-known
seasonal indicator
E-reader Newspaper
The other Nobel prize winners
By Mark Tran (World news
and comment from the
Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:36:14 AM
Barack Obama picked up his
Nobel peace prize in Oslo today,
but less high-profile recipients
have also been rewarded
Barack Obama was the centre of
attention when he picked up the
Nobel peace prize in Oslo,
Norway, today. But there were
also prizes for physics, literature,
medicine and chemistry, in a
parallel event in Stockholm,
Sweden.
In Charles Kuen Kao, Woolwich
Polytechnic in east London –
now part of Greenwich
University – has its first Nobel
laureate. A Chinese-born Briton,
Kao studied at Woolwich before
joining a phone company in
Essex. He shares half of the prize
for physics with two Americans,
Willard Boyle and George Smith.
Kao made a discovery that led to
a breakthrough in fibre optics in
1966, when he calculated how to
transmit light over long distances
via optical glass fibres.
Optical fibres are the basis for
high-speed communications –
without fibre optics, there would
be no broadband for example.
The transfer of enormous
amounts of data – text, music,
images and video – around the
globe in a split second is possible
thanks to fibre optics.
Boyle and Smith share the award
because of their work in digital
imagery. They invented the first
successful imaging technology
using a digital sensor, a CCD
(charge-coupled device). The
CCD revolutionised
photography, as light could now
be captured electronically instead
of on film. CCD technology is
also used in many medical
applications – imaging the inside
of the human body, both for
diagnostics and for microsurgery
– and in barcode readers in
supermarkets.
Herta Müller, the German
novelist, is only the 12th woman
in 108 years to win the Nobel
prize for literature.
Born in Romania in 1953,
Müller refused to co-operate with
Nicolae Ceausescu's secret
police, lost her job as a teacher
and was the subject of repeated
threats until she emigrated in
1987. She now lives in Berlin,
where she has won several
literary awards, including
Germany's most prestigious, the
Kleist prize.
Oppression, dictatorship and
exile figure prominently in
Müller's novels, including
Herztier (published in English as
The Land of Green Plums),
considered by many to be her
best novel and Atemschaukel
(Everything I Possess I Carry
With Me).
The Nobel prize for economics
is shared by two Americans,
Elinor Ostrom and Oliver
Williamson, for their pioneering
work on how individuals co-
operate and share common
resources, and work together
within companies.
Ostrom – the first female winner
of the economics prize – was
recognised for her work on how
"common property can be
successfully managed by user
associations". She has examined
how politics, economics and the
legal system affect how natural
resources are used – and has
shown that community-driven
projects can be more efficent
than privatisation or socialism.
Williamson's work explores how
conflicts of interest are handled
in different ways by hierarchical
organisations, such as firms,
compared with stock markets. It
explains why it is sometimes
better for a company to develop a
product or service inhouse, rather
than buying it from outside.
The award for medicine marked
another milestone for women as
it was the first time that it was
won by two women at the same
time. Elizabeth Blackburn at the
University of California, San
Francisco, Carole Gredier at
Johns Hopkins University, and
UK-born Jack Szostak at Harvard
University were joint winners.
They solved a major problem in
biology – how the chromosomes
can be copied in a complete way
during cell divisions and how
they are protected against
degradation.
The discoveries by Blackburn,
Greider and Szostak, the award-
givers said, added a new
dimension to the understanding
of the cell, shed light on disease
mechanisms, and stimulated the
development of potential new
therapies.
The award for chemistry was
awarded to three scientists for
unravelling the mechanism by
which cells make proteins. The
process is fundamental for life
and describes how cells use
genetic code to produce the
building blocks of living
organisms.
The prize went to Venkatraman
Ramakrishnan, a US scientist at
the Medical Research Council's
prestigious Laboratory of
Molecular Biology in Cambridge,
Thomas Steitz at Yale
University, and an Israeli, Ada
Yonath at the Weizmann Institute
of Science in Rehovot.
• Nobel peace prize
• Nobel prizes
• Nobel prize for literature
• Medical research
• Physics
• Barack Obama
Mark Tran
guardian.co.uk© Guardian News
& Media Limited 2009 | Use of
this content is subject to our
Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
World/ Gadgets/ 5
The Sony motion
controller is
named “Gem”?
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:00:45 AM
Here’s what we know. John
Riccitiello, the CEO of EA,
spoke yesterday at the UBS 37th
Annual Global Media
Conference and said this,
“In the coming year, both Sony
and Microsoft have announced
new controllers. Motion sensor
controls, Natal and Gem, these
are likely to bring new
consumers into the marketplace”.
Kind of sounds like he knows
what he’s talking about, eh?
Of course Sony isn’t stating
anything, but the company really
should. We need something to
call their motion controller.
Microsoft codenamed its system
Project Natal, which makes it
easy to write about. Without a
codename for Sony’s system,
we’re forced to call it something
like the motion-wand-wiimote-
clone-with-the-blue-ball thing.
So, Sony, can we just call the
thing Gem and get on with it?
6 World/ Gadgets/ Tech/ E-reader Newspaper

Copenhagen: Barack Obama backs Norway-

Brazil forest protection plan
By John Vidal (World news hopefully to plant new trees." millions of tonnes of carbon. set up because it would require
and comment from the The president is not due at the Poor countries, especially in the satellite technology and pilot
Guardian | guardian.co.uk) conference for another week but tropics, are equally keen because projects. In addition, Onkyo DX Laptop Gives
his intervention comes at a they stand to receive vast cash governments will have to pass
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:26:24 AM
critical time in the summit where flow for protecting their forests. domestic legislation before it You Two Screens for
US president endorses scheme negotiations on deforestation are Brazil is critical in forest talks begins. Under $1000 [Laptops]
proposed by Norway and Brazil moving rapidly. because it not only is responsible Also in Copenhagen, Google By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo)
that would protect the world's The scheme is seen as attractive for nearly 20% of all global demonstrated a new technology
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:16:47 AM
rainforests with funding from because pilot studies have shown forest emissions, but it has the prototype that enables online,
rich countries which cannot cut it to be effective and has the largest swath of trees in the world global-scale observation and Dual screen laptops are nothing
their emissions at home backing of Prince Charles's and therefore stands to make measurement of changes in the more than a novelty. But I mean,
The US president, Barack Rainforest Project. more money than anyone else by Earth's forests. The technology, what a novelty!
Obama, made his first public Countries are more or less protecting them. which combines satellite Onkyo's DX laptop features two,
intervention in the Copenhagen unanimously behind finding a Today, the talks were moving photography, area-measuring 10.1-inch screens, both of which
climate summit today by backing way to reduce deforestation, quickly. The EU has proposed a software and a "cloud" run at a respectable 1,366×768
a plan put forward by Norway which accounts for 16% of world 50% cut in the rate of processing engine, will be resolution. They're
and Brazil which would protect greenhouse gas emissions, but deforestation by 2020 and a offered as not-for-profit service complemented by a 1.6GHz
the world's rainforests with are encountering sticking points complete halt by 2030. But Brazil to all nations. Athlon processor, 2GB of RAM,
funding from rich countries that which require the intervention of said it did not want a specific • Copenhagen climate change ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics,
cannot meet their commitments heads of state. target or timetable, arguing that conference 2009 320GB hard drive and
to cut emissions domestically. At least 20 different plans for Redd would be voluntary, and • Climate change Bluetooth/Wi-Fi n. It's preloaded
Speaking after he accepted the Reduced deforestation and that developing countries needed • Forests with Windows 7.
Nobel peace prize in Oslo, degradation (Redd) plans have to see how much money they • Deforestation (Yes, the astute among you will
Norway, Obama said: "I am very been put forward by many might receive before committing • Brazil notice that this laptop looks quite
impressed with the model that different countries, but talks are themselves to such an ambitious • Norway familiar, but under the Onkyo
has been built between Norway in the balance over the rights and global scheme. • Barack Obama brand, we've seen the best price
and Brazil that allows for safeguards for people who live in Obama's endorsement of the • Conservation to performance ratio yet.)
effective monitoring and ensures or depend on the forests; how the Brazil-Norway plan was • Endangered habitats Of course, you'll need to import
that we are making progress in money can be prevented from welcomed by non-governmental the DX to own one, but for $960,
avoiding deforestation of the falling prey to corruption; how to organisations who said that it John Vidal you can almost justify the tacky
Amazon. measure and verify claims of indicated that money had a good guardian.co.uk© Guardian News extravagance.[ Onkyo and
"It's probably the most cost- protection and the future of chance of being found to set up & Media Limited 2009 | Use of PCWatch via Engadget]
effective way for us to address existing forest industries. Redd schemes. this content is subject to our
the issue of climate change - Rich countries are eager to find a A global deforestation initiative Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
having an effective set of solution because a successful would take many years to
mechanisms in place to avoid deal will provide them with a establish, and would cost
f u r t h e r d e f o r e s t a t i o n a n d solution to "offset" hundreds of hundreds of millions of dollars to

Google Mobile app for iPhone gets an update

By Don Reisinger The new version of its the smartphone includes access to search results.
(Webware.com) Google Mobile app for Apple's customization options and faster
E-reader Newspaper World/ Gadgets/ Tech/ 7

Iran rights abuses 'worst for 20 years'

By Ian Black (World news and assembly, association and resulting from meningitis, died in political and religious figures in
comment from the Guardian | religion." suspicious circumstances. Iran."
guardian.co.uk) According to official figures, 36 Ebrahim Mehtari, a 26-year-old The report says government
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:47:16 AM people died in violence after the student, described being held in a officials "have done their utmost
election, but the opposition puts tiny cell, interrogated while to ensure that accounts of rape
Human rights group criticises the figure at more than 70. At blindfolded and accused of are discredited and not circulated
increase in political repression in least 4,000 people were arrested "working with Facebook further".
six months since reelection of after the poll on 12 June and networks" and tortured into Amnesty has harsh words for the iHandstick Doesn't
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad some 200 remain in jail. This making a confession. He said: show trials of leading opposition
Human rights abuses in Iran are week, 200 people were arrested "They frequently beat me on the figures. "The trials, broadcast to
Solve the iPhone's
now as bad as at any time in the during protests around university face; I was burned with cigarettes the nation, featured coerced Touchscreen Gaming
p a s t 2 0 y e a r s , A m n e s t y campuses on national students under my eyes, on the neck, 'confessions', 'apologies' and Controls Problem
International reports tomorrow in day. head. I was beaten all over … incrimination of others. Rather [Iphone Gaming]
a survey marking six months Protests began when the sitting They threatened to execute me than bringing people to justice,
since June's disputed presidential p r e s i d e n t , M a h m o u d and they humiliated me." the purpose was to validate the By Adam Frucci (Gizmodo)
election. Ahmadinejad, claimed victory An independent medical authorities' account of the post- Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:40:00 AM
Amnesty documents "patterns of over the leading opposition examination substantiated his election unrest and to make clear
abuse" by the Basij militia and candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, claims. But all the relevant the severe consequences of The biggest thing keeping the
revolutionary guards involving amid claims that the result had documents disappeared, the opposing the authorities." iPhone from rendering the
beatings, rape, death threats, been rigged. authorities refused to investigate • The caption to the picture with Nintendo DSi and Sony PSP Go
forced confessions, intimidation Amnesty quotes an unnamed and his family were warned not this article was amended on obsolete is its lack of physical
and official cover-ups. Many former detainee who was held to talk about the case. Wednesday 10 December 2009. buttons. You just can't play some
detainees have been subjected to with 75 others for more than Amnesty says Iran refused to co- Mashhad is in north-east Iran, not games with a touchscreen. And
show trials and five have been eight weeks in a container at the operate with its investigation and north-west as it originally said. this wacky iHandstick does
sentenced to death. notorious Kahrizak detention has denied the organisation entry This has been corrected. nothing to solve that.
"The authorities have resorted to centre in Tehran. He was told his into the country since the 1979 • Iran Instead, it pops the iPhone or
exceptionally high levels of son would be raped if he did not Islamic revolution. • Human rights iPod Touch into a Playstation-
violence and arbitrary measures " c o n f e s s " a n d w a s b e a t e n Many of the cases have been like grip, allowing you to hold it
to stifle protest and dissent," says unconscious with a baton . documented previously, but the Ian Black like a controller you're used to.
the 80-page report. "The courts Last month, Ramin cumulative effect of the data guardian.co.uk© Guardian News But the controls will remain the
have not been an instrument of Pourandarjani, a young doctor underlines what Amnesty calls "a & Media Limited 2009 | Use of same, and will maybe even be
justice to hold police, security who had treated inmates at clear pattern of systematic gross this content is subject to our harder to manipulate when
forces and other state officials to Kahrizak and had reportedly been human rights violations by Terms & Conditions| More Feeds holding it like that.
account … or to protect the rights forced to certify the death of at Iranian security forces condoned But hey, if you want to try your
t o f r e e d o m o f e x p r e s s i o n , least one torture victim as or even encouraged by powerful luck it's only $17. [ USB Fever
via Engadget]

Yahoo joins the real-time search parade

By Tom Krazit
(Webware.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:00:00 AM
Three Twitter posts related to a
specific query will begin popping Originally posted at Relevant
up on Yahoo later on Thursday, Results
although they won't appear as
quickly as in Google's approach
for real-time search.
8 World/ Gadgets/ Tech/ E-reader Newspaper

Manuel Zelaya refuses to leave Honduras as

asylum seeker
By Rory Carroll (World news government wants." congress and the supreme court – marginalised.
and comment from the The de facto authorities had become alarmed at the A way out of the impasse
Guardian | guardian.co.uk) withdrew their offer of safe president's alliance with seemed imminent last night when
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:30:24 AM passage when his terms became Venezuela's socialist leader, soldiers began clearing barriers
clear. There would be no further Hugo Chávez. from around the Brazilian
Ousted Honduras president talks with Mexico and Brazil Zelaya snuck back into embassy. The de facto regime
insists on travelling to Mexico as unless Zelaya accepted asylum, Honduras in September and said it would overlook corruption
a guest, causing offer of safe s a i d R e n e Z e p e d a , t h e surfaced at the Brazilian and treason charges to allow the
passage to unravel information minister. embassy. Security forces president to leave.
A dispute over political asylum "If these countries want to get surrounded it, blasted music and Zelaya said he would take the
today hindered a plan to fly the Zelaya out of Honduras, they will recorded pig grunts, and opportunity to leave Honduras –
ousted Honduran president have to do it according to the dispersed pro-Zelaya supporters with his wife and two children –
Manuel Zelaya to exile in law: by giving him asylum in with clubs, teargas and water and seek a neutral site for a Samsung bringing its
Mexico. their territories, but without a cannons, leaving the president meeting with Lobo to "find a familiar charging
The leftist leader was set to t i t l e . I f t h a t h a p p e n s , o u r marooned in his diplomatic peaceful solution to the situation stations to colleges
leave his Brazilian embassy government will accept that and refuge. in the country". The president-
refuge in the Honduran capital, they can take him immediately His options have dwindled since elect has proposed an amnesty around the U.S.
Tegucigalpa, in a deal with the without any problem." a 29 November election for Zelaya and the coup-plotters By Nicholas Deleon
country's de facto rulers which A Mexican government jet cemented the coup as a political who deposed him. (CrunchGear)
would have ended an at times which was on its way to fetch the reality and chose a new president, Before the exile deal collapsed
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:30:06 AM
surreal three-month siege. president was redirected to Porfirio Lobo, who is due to be Zelaya was reportedly expecting
The plan unravelled after Zelaya neighbouring El Salvador. inaugurated next month. to meet Mexico's president, Well here's ones way to get your
insisted that he travel to Mexico Brazil condemned the de facto Congress rejected a proposal to Felipe Calderón, and to attend a “brand” out there. Samsung will
as a "guest" rather than asylum g o v e r n m e n t ' s s t a n c e a s a n allow Zelaya's temporary return summit of leftist leaders in Cuba. install its mobile chargers (you
seeker, as the latter category attempt to humiliate Zelaya. "It is to power to hand over the • Honduras might have seen them at airports
would curb his efforts to be totally unacceptable," said the presidential sash. • Mexico here and there) at 15 colleges
reinstated as president. foreign minister, Celso Amorim. Brazil, Venezuela and other around the U.S. That's just step
He told Honduran radio he The fiasco is the latest twist in a leftist governments in the region Rory Carroll one. Step two is installing said
would leave on condition he crisis which has bedevilled Latin said they would not recognise the guardian.co.uk© Guardian News chargers at more than 50 colleges
could continue political activities. America since soldiers rousted election but the US and several & Media Limited 2009 | Use of around the country.
" I w a n t t o l e a v e a s a Zelaya from his bed on 28 June Latin American governments this content is subject to our
distinguished guest, not as and bundled him into exile. The signalled they would work with Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
political refugee like the interim traditional ruling elite – the army, Lobo, leaving Zelaya

Study: You'll wolf down 34GB of data today

By Don Reisinger Researchers at UC San Diego information. And yes, you still Home
(Webware.com) say Americans have a voracious, watch a lot of TV.
a n d g r o w i n g , a p p e t i t e f o r Originally posted at The Digital
E-reader Newspaper
Copenhagen diary: Mystery guests, taxpayer
travel, and cheering up Yvo
By John Vidal (World news
and comment from the
Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:44:37 AM
Day four: As the UN releases its
full conference accreditation list,
the UK government is vague over
its travel plans and Yvo de Boer
remains as gloomy as ever Who -
or what - are TheCompensators?
The UN has just released the list
of people accredited to the
official conference so it is
possible to see for the first time
exactly who is here or is due to
come. Actually it's quite difficult.
The list extends to three volumes
and more than 300 pages. But
just dipping in, we find that an
organisation called
TheCompensators has brought
nearly 150 people, including the
likes of her excellency Ms
Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain of
Jordan, Prince Albert of Monaco,
as well as George Clooney,
Tommy Lee Jones, Sir David
Attenborough, Werner Herzog,
the head of US chemical
company DuPont, the Bishop of
London and someone called "Mr
Richard Benson, the "founder of
A year on, Facebook Connect shows fast growth
By Don Reisinger
(Webware.com)
Virgin Unite". That could be Mr
Branson, but no one will confirm
it. But who - or what - are
TheCompensators? They might
sound like a rock band but their
their website is vague:
"TheCompensators collects
money to buy and then delete
emission allowances from the
European Union emission trading
scheme. By doing this we
decrease the number of emission
allowances available on the
markets". Hmm. To keep 150 of
the great and the good in the style
to which they are accustomed in
Copenhagen - the most expensive
city in Europe - suggests they
have been doing rather well.
Taxpayer travel
The multitudes at Copenhagen,
or on their way here, include two
ministers and 36 officials from
the UK's very own Department of
Energy and Climate Change
(Decc). When Lib Dem MP
Simon Hughes asked about their
travel arrangements in
November, the department said
that all 19 that had thus far
arranged their travel were
planning to fly. Decc estimated
the total bill to the taxpayer at
The social identity service has
attracted major sites and even
more platforms. But where
£17,500.
Still, at least they gave an
answer. The Department for the
Environment Food and Rural
Affairs and the Department for
International Development both
dodged the question by saying
they hadn't decided yet (or could
it be they preferred not to let on).
No 10 said it would reveal the
information later. When Hughes
travels to the conference at the
weekend he will be taking the
train. Day four rumours
Wild and substantiated rumours
swirling around the conference:
• The giant business lobby is
being briefed every evening by
European negotiators off the
premises in a quiet Copenhagen
bar.
• The US is going to offer a
paltry $800m as its contribution
to the $10bn a year quick-start
fund to help poor countries adapt
to climate change
• Much of the text of the
Mexican, British and Norwegian
proposal for a green fund came
from Climate Change Capital,
(CCC) a London-based
investment and consultancy firm
specialising in the low-carbon
Facebook is planning to take
Connect is a big unknown.
World/ Gadgets/ Tech/
industry. Just about everything
that the British are pushing seems
to have been proposed at some
point by CCC. Earlier this year
CCC said the government should
issue "carbon bonds". Cheer up,
Yvo
Will someone please hug Yvo de
Boer, the head of the talks. He
always looks a bit stressed at
these meetings but this year he
has a particularly gloomy air.
"It's like moving into a new
house. You do not know where
the books are, you can't find
anything in the kitchen, you
haven't put the curtains up. There
is a lot of nervousness and
uncertainty," he said today.
• Copenhagen climate change
conference 2009
• Climate change
• Yvo de Boer
John Vidal
guardian.co.uk© Guardian News
& Media Limited 2009 | Use of
this content is subject to our
Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
9
Sweet Deliverance, a
MenuPages iPhone App
Is Coming [IPhone
Apps]
By matt buchanan (Gizmodo)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:56:06 AM
Whining for the 431st time that
there's no MenuPages iPhone
app—basically, an app with
every menu for every restaurant
in major cities—I got a reply
from who appears to be Greg
Barton, the founder of
MenuPages. "Soon guys, soon."
Oh yes. [ Twitter]
Compare The Process
Between Engstrom's
Internet Bill Of Rights
And ACTA
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 5:26:00 AM
As a bunch of countries and
lobbyists continue to debate
ACTA in secret, it's interesting to
compare that to an ongoing effort
by Christian Engstrom, one of
two Pirate Party representatives
in the European Parliament, to
create an Internet Bill of Rights
by asking people what they want.
Which one sounds more like
government for the people, by
the people?
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story
10 World/ Finance/ Tech/ Politics/ E-reader Newspaper

Bond prices fall on fears that UK California tops U.S. for

next for credit rating cut green jobs
By Katie Allen (World news case of any big surprises," said Spain's outlook by ratings agency By Tom Johansmeyer
and comment from the Mohit Kumar, UK strategist at Standard and Poor's yesterday (BloggingStocks)
Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Deutsche Bank. and a downgrade to Greece's debt Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:20:00 PM
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:03:27 AM "There's all the sovereign by Fitch.
concerns. The UK is obviously Immediately following Darling's Filed under: Economic data,
Budget deficit could see Britain next in line and seen as the most pre-budget speech, bookmaker Green Stocks
could lose AAA credit rating and at risk sovereign. We don't Paddy Power cut the odds on If you still doubt that the next
join Greece and Spain on credit expect anything to happen [from Britain maintaining its AAA bubble will be green, check out
danger list the ratings agencies] before an credit rating from 3/1 to just 6/4. the latest from California. Green
UK government bond prices election but still it's at risk and In an analysis, published after and clean technology gigs surged be more sustainable. Though
have fallen sharply after the the market knows that." the PBR, Barclays Capital 36% from 1995 to 2008, beating these may seem like small
chancellor's pre-budget report did Yields, which move inversely to warned of a "long, hard winter" the state's overall 13% job- numbers, keep in mind that the
little to allay fears over the prices, had initially slipped back for the gilt market. Simon Hayes growth rate for the same period, green sector job market is twice
country's creditworthiness. further in the wake of the PBR and Moyeen Islam said: "For the according to Silicon Valley- the size of the state's biotech
Investors say Britain is next on given that the chancellor's gilt market, the PBR will come to based research firm Collaborative presence and two-thirds the size
ratings agencies' radar after estimate for Britain's budget be seen as the first chapter of the Economics. Since California's on of the software industry.
Greece's credit rating was cut deficit this year came in slightly story that will unfold over the the leading edge of this sector, Continue reading California tops
earlier this week and Spain came lower than expected at £178bn. next year: that of the fiscal many see it as a sign of things to U.S. for green jobs
under their spotlight. Alistair There was a brief fillip as credibility of the Treasury. come for the rest of the country. California tops U.S. for green
Darling's reaffirmation in the planned gilt issuance was revised "The issuance profile remains As of January 2008, there were jobs originally appeared on
PBR that he would halve the UK up less than expected. heavy, and there is little to only 159,000 green jobs in BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec
d e f i c i t w a s n o t e n o u g h t o But analysts said the chancellor suggest that the necessary fiscal California, less than 1% of the 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see
reassure jittery bond markets and had failed to come up with a consolidation is in place." state's total, following year-over- our terms for use of feeds.
analysts are predicting more price strong enough plan to tackle • Pre-budget report year growth of 5%. But, during Permalink| Email this| Comments
falls for gilts. Britain's record black hole in its • Financial crisis that same period, total jobs in the
City analysts say yields on UK public finances and worries • Economic policy state dropped 1%, suggesting that
government bonds – or gilts – i n t e n s i f i e d t o d a y o v e r t h e • Spain jobs in sustainability just might
have been out of kilter with the government's AAA lender status. • Greece
economy for some time and Bond prices slid, with March gilt
investors were waiting for the future contracts down more than Katie Allen
Video: Environmentalists
P B R b e f o r e t a k i n g s h o r t a full point. The spread for UK
positions in the gilt market. bonds against euro zone bonds
guardian.co.uk© Guardian News
& Media Limited 2009 | Use of
Disrupt Climate Deniers'
"We know a lot of accounts were jumped to its widest in a year.
looking to go short but didn't The concerns about the UK's
this content is subject to our
Terms & Conditions| More Feeds Conference
want to do it before the PBR in credit rating follow a cut to (Little Green Footballs) Americans for Prosperity, and
Lord High Denier Christopher
Twitter working on fix for 'misdirected' tweets Submitted at 12/9/2009 4:00:31 PM

Young environmentalists crash a

By Don Reisinger The microblogging service says
(Webware.com) it is looking into a problem
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:43:00 PM
causing users to see tweets in
their timelines that don't seem
intended for them. climate change denier’s
conference in Copenhagen
organized by industry front group
Monckton (fresh from his
appearance on the bat guano
crazy Alex Jones conspiracy
radio show) goes ballistic, calling
them “Hitler youth:”[Video]
E-reader Newspaper
'King of the paparazzi' jailed in Italy Dell: Twitter has
for trying to extort money from
celebrities
(World news and comment
from the Guardian |
guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:55:16 AM
Fabrizio Corona found guilty of
blackmailing footballers
A notorious Italian photographer
has been jailed for three years
and eight months after trying to
extort thousands of euros from
celebrities in return for not
selling embarrassing photos of
them to gossip magazines.
"King of the paparazzi" Fabrizio
Corona was found guilty today of
blackmailing sports stars
including the Brazilian footballer
Adriano, from whom he asked
€40,000 (£36,000) not to publish
pictures taken at a private party
where the former Inter Milan star
was entertaining several female
guests.
Corona's other victims were
former AC Milan footballer
Francesco Coco, who was
photographed shirtless at a Milan
disco, and MotoGP rider Marco
Melandri, photographed at a
nightclub standing next to a porn
star. But the Milan court
Air Force Joins CIA as Drone War Over Pakistan Grows
(Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:12:00 AM
Over the past year and a half, the
generated $6.5 million
in sales for us
acquitted Corona of trying to
extort €200,000 from Lapo
Elkann, a member of the Fiat-
owning Agnelli family, and of
attempting to blackmail another
Italian footballer, Alberto
Gilardino.
Corona, 35, said he was
"ashamed to be Italian" after his
jail sentence was read out. "It's
an embarrassment. It means they
should condemn all the photo
agencies in Italy, who do exactly
the same as I do," he said, adding
that he would appeal against the
decision.
None of Corona's victims turned
up at the trial.
Corona has always claimed he
was doing the celebrities a favour
by offering them the photos at
the same rates he would have
asked from the gossip magazines.
"I offered the photos at a good
price just to my friends. I could
have earned a lot more," he said.
Corona was backed up earlier in
the trial last year when a lawyer
representing Barbara Berlusconi,
the prime minister's daughter,
insisted a €20,000 deal to buy
photos showing her client leaving
U.S. has stepped up drone strikes
against militants in Pakistan --
killing as many as a thousand
people. Press accounts have
a nightclub looking the worse for
wear was not blackmail but
"almost a courtesy".
Corona has become a celebrity
in his own right since the
blackmail plot first hit the
headlines in 2006, dating
Argentinian model Belen
Rodriguez and making regular
television appearances including
a stint on a reality show, The
Farm, where he was voted off by
the public in the third episode.
In January judges will decide
whether Corona should stand
trial in Potenza for trying to
extort money from a host of other
Italian showbiz names.
• Italy
• Privacy & the media
• MotoGP
• Milan
• Internazionale
• Brazil
guardian.co.uk© Guardian News
& Media Limited 2009 | Use of
this content is subject to our
Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
largely credited the Central
Intelligence Agency with running
these missions. But the U.S. Air
Force also plays an important
World/ Finance/ Tech News/
By Brian White
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:40:00 PM
Filed under: Competitive
strategy, Dell (DELL)
Dell ( DELL) has been beat up
in the last few years as it has
struggled to gain market share,
compete at retail with its
consumer PCs and take on a
resurgent Acer, which recently
replaced it as the world's second-
largest manufacturer of PCs. One
thing Dell is doing right: using
social networking to make sales
that would have been most likely
lost otherwise.
Dell's Twitter account for its
outlet (used and returned)
product has generated $6.5
million for the company since its
inception. A hundred or so of
Dell's employees tweet at its
outlet account daily as a way to
move product at a discount.
role in the drone missions over
Pakistan. The military supplies
the aircraft. It monitors the flights
in and out of Pakistan. And, on
11
Apparently, it works well. Dell
also uses Twitter accounts in
Brazil and Canada, which
contributed to that sales figure as
well.
Continue reading Dell: Twitter
has generated $6.5 million in
sales for us
Dell: Twitter has generated $6.5
million in sales for us originally
appeared on BloggingStocks on
Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:40:00 EST.
Please see our terms for use of
feeds. Permalink| Email this|
Comments
occasion, Air Force pilots
remotely fly their own drone
missions over Pakistan.
12 Finance/ Gadgets/
Dick's Sporting Goods
scores an upgrade
By Beth Gaston Moon
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:20:00 AM
Filed under: Analyst upgrades
and downgrades, Good news
Dick's Sporting Goods ( DKS)
was shot out of a proverbial
cannon Thursday morning,
gaining more than 5% in the first
minute of trading.
Ahead of the opening bell,
Merill Lynch/Bank of America
upgraded the stock to buy from
neutral and lifted its price target
by five bucks to $28.
The bank noted that fourth-
quarter sales could be better than
expected, as recent cold weather
trends might send people into the
stores looking to supplement
their cold-weather wear. (Side
note: negative 16 wind chill in
Give Gaming Gear for the Greater Good
By David Diaz (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:00:06 AM
Cool merchandise. A great
cause. Pretty much a match made
in Valhalla. Today only, Major
League Gaming will be donating
50% of the proceeds from the
sale of MLG Merchandise and
purchases from Xbox Live to the
Histiocytosis Association of
E-reader Newspaper
Opera Mobile Browser Is Finally
Coming to Android [Android Apps]
By John Herrman (Gizmodo) for months now: Opera Mini is a loading, and has too many useful
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:48:37 AM
Java-based browser originally small features to list, making it
intended for dumbphones, which the first genuine competing
With the impending arrival of isn't that great; Opera Mobile, on browser on the platform—the
Chicago today, and yes, I still the fantastic Opera Mobile, the
the other hand, is a full, others are just variations on the
love living here). Android browser wars have extremely capable browser,
default browser.
C o n t i n u e r e a d i n g D i c k ' s officially kicked off. But wait,
which has long been Windows The only hangup is that as of
S p o r t i n g G o o d s s c o r e s a n Opera on Android? That sounds
Mobile's answer to the likes of now, the browser is only
upgrade sort of familiar! Here's what's M o b i l e S a f a r i a n d M o b i l e
available to OEMs, meaning that
Dick's Sporting Goods scores an actually going on, and why this is
Chrome. it wil come with some new
upgrade originally appeared on great news:
If the Android version is phones, but won't make an
BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec Opera has announced that it's
anything like the Windows appearance in the Android
2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see o f f e r i n g O p e r a M o b i l e t o
Mobile versions of late—and it Market, at least for now. We'll
our terms for use of feeds. OEMs—the people who actually
looks like it is—this is worth have to leave it up to the likes of
Permalink| Email this| Comments make your phones—to replace,
getting excited about. It's based XDA and Modaco to make it
or ship alongside, Android o n a c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t more broadly available, which,
default browser. This is very rendering engine than Android's let's face it Opera, they
different from Opera Mini, which default browser, supports server- absolutely will. [ TechCrunch]
has been in the Android Market side page compression for faster
America. throughout their bodies. and surgery.
This is the third year that the Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis is If you want to learn even more
competitive gaming league has an orphan disease which means about this disease and the
held its Give Back Day. not enough people have it so the Histiocytosis Association of
Here’s what MLG has to say government doesn’t fund America click here.
about Histiocytosis: research for it. There is no known So if there’s a gamer in your
One in 200,000 children and one cure. It is not transmittable or family or group of friends, check
in 560,000 adults are diagnosed hereditary and the only out the store here or hop on Xbox
every year with this disease. treatments out there are the same Live and help out a great cause.
They have an abundance of white organs and tissue. Tumors erode they use for cancer patients: It’s a clear win-win.
blood cells that attack healthy bone away and grow rapidly radiation therapy, chemotherapy,
E-reader Newspaper
Review and giveaway: Thirsty Light
Snowflake
By Scott Merrill (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:00:26 AM
Short Version: Much like the
original Thirsty Light, the Thirsty
Light Snowflake is a single
purpose gadget designed to tell
you when your Christmas tree is
thirsty. Drop the dongle into your
tree’s water, and hang the
ornament somewhere on the tree.
It blends in nicely with your
other ornaments, and blinks when
there’s no more water. It runs on
two AA batteries, and has an
on/off button should you decide
to try to kill your tree.
Review:
Unlike a lot of single-purpose
gadgets we review here at
CrunchGear, the Thirsty Light
Snowflake is surprisingly useful.
It doesn’t take up much space,
it’s easy to store with your other
Christmas ornaments throughout
the year, and it saves you a lot of
time and energy when it comes to
keeping your tree watered. Of
course, if you’re one of those
Scrooges with an artificial tree
Saturn's Hexagon May Be Solar
System's Coolest Mystery
(Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:09:00 AM
The very mysterious
haxagonally shaped jet stream
that circulates around Saturn's
north pole has been spotted for
then you won’t need this.
The Thirsty Light Snowflake a
fine looking ornament — not at
all chintzy or cheap — and won’t
attract any undue attention to
itself when the tree is fully
watered. The blinking is not
overly bright, nor rapid, so it’s
not going to cause seizures when
the tree is dry.
At $9, this is a terrific stocking
stuffer. Heck, grab two, and use
the first time since it was
discovered almost three decades
ago. Astronomers still don't know
what causes the flow to take such
unusually sharp turns.
one for yourself!
Product Page: Thirsty Light
Snowflake
Trident Design, creator of the
Thirsty Light Snowflake has
given us five to give away to
loyal CrunchGear readers! Leave
a comment here, and we’ll
randomly select five winners at 5
PM tonight. Be sure to include
your email address, so we can
contact you!
Got 5 Benjamins to Burn? We've Got 10 Awesome Gifts
By Wired Staff (Wired Top
Stories)
Gadgets/ Tech News/ 13
Sungale introduces 4.3-
inch Kula: the WiFi-
enabled portable TV
By Darren Murph (Engadget) WiFi, there's no mention of any
other protocol to tap into various
Submitted at 12/10/2009 10:19:00 AM
channel "packages," though we're
Not so keen on coughing up a not completely shutting out that
month's worth of WoW coinage possibility until we see this
in order to pay for FLO TV bugger at CES. Other specs
services? If so, and you can include 2GB of internal memory,
s o m e h o w k e e p y o u r s e l f an SD / MMC expansion slot and
surrounded by WiFi waves at all support for a slew of file formats.
times, Sungale just might have a Hop on past the break for the full
cheaper alternative. The outfit release, which naturally omits
has just revealed what it says is any semblance of a price tag in
its "first IPTV," though frankly it keeping with the elusive theme.
sounds more like a WiFi-enabled Continue reading Sungale
PMP with a knack for finding introduces 4.3-inch Kula: the
web programming. The 4.3-inch WiFi-enabled portable TV
Kula is described as an "ultra- Sungale introduces 4.3-inch
portable WiFi-enabled IPTV that Kula: the WiFi-enabled portable
allows users to access a large TV originally appeared on
n u m b e r o f l i v e s t r e a m i n g Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009
television programs from all over 10:19:00 EST. Please see our
the world, selectable by country, terms for use of feeds. Permalink|
language and topic like News, | Email this| Comments
Sports and Finance all without
the high rates." Aside from using
When 500 smackers blaze a hole heat.
in your pocket, use some of these
pricey toys to help snuff out the
14 Gadgets/ Tech News/
Philips E-Skins Could Have Your Gadgets
Changing Colors Like a Chameleon [Gadgets]
By Sean Fallon (Gizmodo)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:09:00 AM
This isn't the first time the
concept of color-changing
electronic skins has been tossed
around, but Philips is a big name,
and they have big plans that
extend beyond your portable
gadgets.
Electronic paper(e-paper) looks
like conventional paper and the
bright wash of color it generates
uses the ambient light for
rendition, just like conventional
paint, so no backlight is needed.
Which means that the vividness
of the color is maintained, even
in bright outdoor conditions.
Philips' technology allows
The Chevy Volt will of course support Blackberry and iPhone
apps
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:30:03 AM
GM has a lot riding on the
Chevy Volt. It’s not the vehicle
that will save the company from
failure, (the Chevy Cruze will do
that) but it’s huge PR halo car. It
will be the car that draws
everyone’s attention back to the
auto maker and having the car
work with a flashy iPhone and
different colors of ink to be built
into one layer with each color
controlled separately. This means
the layer can be transparent, the
same color as any one of the inks
or even a mixture of multiple
colors. Moreover, the saturation
Blackberry app should help with
that.
Not much is known about the
apps right now. In fact, the image
above was flashed on the screen
during the Volt’s presentation at
the L.A. Auto Show. It’s
probably a good guess that the
meter is referring to the Volt’s
batter life and the button might
even be able to start up the
gasoline engine remotely to
less expensive to realize, it
enables new applications. And
because e-skin makes use of the
ambient light, it is an inherently
energy-efficient system, making
it particularly suitable for
application in portable devices as
well.
While portable devices might be
the focus in the short-term, this
sort of technology could also be
used for larger equipment and
even wallpaper in your home. In
of each individual color can be other words, it might not be long
controlled accurately – so any before we can change the color
shade can be produced. Recently, and the entire ambiance of a
Philips successfully realized a room with the push of a button. [
simplified, yet advanced version Philips via Pocket-Lint]
of its e-paper technology: e-skin.
Since it is less complicated and
charge the battery. But of course Mercedes-Benz recently
apps like these can do so much announced its iPhone and
more. Blackberry app that can unlock
E-reader Newspaper
Wireless Brain-to-
Computer Connection
Synthesizes Speech
By Brandon Keim (Wired Top
Stories)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 4:40:00 PM
For the first time, a brain-
computer interface has wirelessly
translated brain waves into
sounds. It's a major step toward
mobile, wireless systems that can
help paralyzed people express
themselves.
doors, call for roadside
assistance, and even locate the
vehicle. No doubt the Volt’s app
will be similar, but hopefully
doesn’t cost $280 like the MB
option.
Don’t expect anything too crazy
though. It’s not like GM has the
know-how to install a system like
the one in James Bond’s BMW
750i.
GM-Volt via Jalopnik
E-reader Newspaper
Heated portable chair costs
$120, makes being outside
slightly less miserable
By Doug Aamoth
(CrunchGear)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:30:00 AM
If you’ve ever spent an extended
period of time outside during the
late fall or winter watching some
sort of parade, sporting event, or
interpretive dance, you’ll have no
doubt A) had plenty of time to re-
examine your life and B) wished
you’d brought a chair. Now add
C) to that list: wished the chair
you didn’t bring was heated.
According to Hammacher
Schlemmer, “This is the only
portable folding chair with a
heated seat.” It costs $120 and
“undetectable carbon fiber
heating elements woven into the
chair heat from 120º F to 140º F
to warm your legs and posterior.”
Now we’re talking.
The built-in battery is good for
four hours on the lowest setting
and two and a half hours on the
highest setting. Recharge time
Dec. 10, 1944: Web Visionary
Passes Into Obscurity
By Evan Hansen (Wired Top
Stories)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 9:00:00 PM
Belgian bibliographer Paul Otlet
Gadgets/ Tech/ Tech News/ 15
Ask TUAW: Simple
spreadsheets,
partitioning with Time
Machine, iTunes with a
NAS, and more
By Mat Lu (The Unofficial
Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:30:00 AM
Filed under: Features,
Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW
Welcome back to Ask TUAW,
our weekly troubleshooting Q&A
column. This week we've got
questions about sharing
peripherals, simple spreadsheets,
backup configurations, using a
takes about two hours and can be
Dell Adamo XPS: Exclusive NAS, and more.
As always, your suggestions and
done via standard AC or using
the included automobile adapter.
to John Lewis in the UK for questions are welcome. Leave
your questions for next week in
Last but not least, the chair
supports up to 275 pounds, the holiday season the comments section at the end
of this post. When asking a
there’s a fold-out cup holder, and By Laura June (Engadget) D D R 3 R A M , a n d G S 4 5 question, please include which
three pockets for stashing some
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:06:00 AM
integrated graphics -- will be machine you're using and what
snacks, magazines, and anything available there as of today, for version of Mac OS X is installed
else that’ll make the time spent If you're lucky enough to live in the base price of£1750 (that's on it(we'll assume you're running
w a t c h i n g 2 2 s i x - y e a r - o l d s the US, buying the super slim about $2,800). For a better idea Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if
chasing a soccer ball in the Adamo XPS is just a matter of of what this bad boy looks like, you don't specify).
wrong direction go faster. hitting up Dell's website -- and c h e c k o u t o u r h a n d s - o n Continue reading Ask TUAW:
The Only Heated Portable then ponying up nearly $2,000, impressions video after the break. Simple spreadsheets, partitioning
Chair[Hammacher Schlemmer] of course. Those in the UK, Continue reading Dell Adamo with Time Machine, iTunes with
however, have been sorely out of XPS: Exclusive to John Lewis in a NAS, and more
TUAW Ask TUAW: Simple
luck. Luckily for them, we're the UK for the holiday season
hearing that the much lusted-after Dell Adamo XPS: Exclusive to spreadsheets, partitioning with
laptop will be available at John John Lewis in the UK for the Time Machine, iTunes with a
Lewis department stores in time h o l i d a y s e a s o n o r i g i n a l l y N A S , a n d m o r e o r i g i n a l l y
dies, and with him his dream of for holiday shopping. That's appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 appeared on The Unofficial
the Mundaneum. It was to be a right, this hinged baby -- which Dec 2009 11:06:00 EST. Please Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu,
universal -- and interlinked -- boasts a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo see our terms for use of feeds. 10 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST.
weblike compendium of all the SU9400 processor, a 128GB Permalink| Pocket Lint| Email Please see our terms for use of
world's knowledge. SSD, a 13.4-inch WLED panel, a this| Comments feeds.
2 megapixel camera, 4GB of Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
16 Gadgets/ Tech/ Tech News/
AAXA P2 pico
projector gets tested and
lauded
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:26:00 PM
The first batch of pico projectors
weren't exactly world-beaters; the
resolution was low, lumens were
lacking and MSRPs were
startlingly high. Such is life on
the cutting edge. But AAXA's P2
is riding the second wave,
boasting a higher-than-average
800 x 600 resolution, 33 lumens
of brightness, 1GB of onboard
storage, a microSDHC expansion
slot, VGA / AV inputs, a built-in
speaker and an integrated media
player to boot. Our good pals
over at Gadling just got their
paws around one, and they
seemed duly satisfied with the
performance. Unlike many first-
generation units, this one
managed to throw up a
respectable image even in dimly
lit rooms, and while the 40-inch
'1000 Comic Books You Must Read'
Digs Into Pulp's Past
By Hugh Hart (Wired Top
Stories)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 3:12:00 PM
Tony Isabella's book maps the
E-reader Newspaper
Director Of New Moon
Says Jailing Of Girl For
Snippets Of Video Of
His Movie Is 'Terribly
Unfair'
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:29:00 AM
While he has no official say in
the matter, it is still worth noting
that Chris Weitz, the director of
the movie New Moon has said
that he thinks it's "terribly unfair"
that a 22-year-old girl was jailed
image was understandably the
best, it did manage to toss up a
Sony says PS3 motion controller and now faces felony charges
because her attempt to film some
100-inch visual when pressed.
Hit the source link for the full
was codenamed 'Gem,' might or of her sister's birthday
celebration caught less than four
writeup, and if you're planning
on buying in now, it's available
might not actually be called Gem minutes of New Moon on her
video camera (found via
for a sale price of $319. By Donald Melanson fast, as Sony would only go so Copycense). Weitz is not the
AAXA P2 pico projector gets (Engadget) far as to confirm to Kotaku that copyright holder and has no real
tested and lauded originally Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:58:00 AM
Gem was "an early code name say in what happens, but he does
appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 for the product," adding that they note that he's talking to Summit
Dec 2009 12:26:00 EST. Please We never heard much more of "haven't announced final name at Entertainment, the studio who
see our terms for use of feeds. the rumored Sphere codename this point." Not exactly a full-on made the film, to let them know
Permalink| Gadling| Email this| for Sony's PlayStation 3 motion non-denial denial, to be sure, but of his concerns, to see if there's
Comments controller since it cropped up a it would seem that the door for anything that can be done.
few months ago, but it looks like Gem is at least open a tiny crack. Of course, what should be done
we now finally have another [Thanks, Aaron] is that the law should be changed
name for it besides "PlayStation Sony says PS3 motion controller so we don't have these ridiculous
Motion Controller." That word was codenamed 'Gem,' might or situations at all. And hopefully
initially came from EA's John might not actually be called Gem he would stand behind such a
colorful galaxy of superheroes, Riccitiello, who let slip the name originally appeared on Engadget proposal. In the meantime, it's
both well-known and obscure, "Gem" during his talk at the UBS on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:58:00 just yet another in a long line of
with whom you should become 37th Annual Global Media EST. Please see our terms for examples of the law creating
acquainted. Leave a comment for Conference when speaking about use of feeds. Permalink Engadget punishment that is way out of
your chance to win a copy. Sony's and Microsoft's new Spanish| Softpedia, Kotaku| proportion with the "crime" when
motion controllers. Just odd Email this| Comments it comes to copyright and
enough to work? Well, not so copying of content.
Permalink| Comments| Email
This Story
E-reader Newspaper Gadgets/ 17

Yobo's handheld SNES

gives your old carts a
new lease on life (video)
By Joseph L. Flatley built-in joypad, TV outs and two
(Engadget) wireless 2.4Ghz controllers.
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:31:00 AM
Powered by either a replaceable,
rechargeable battery or the
If you've been lusting after the included AC adapter. Check out
ASUS Eee PC 1201N dons burgundy
various one-off SNES portable the video after the break to see
mods we've been posting 'lo what you've been missing.
garb, you still can't have one
these many years, this next item's Continue reading Yobo's By Vladislav Savov at this point. With the classical 1201N dons burgundy garb, you
all you: Yobo, a company known handheld SNES gives your old (Engadget) black model still only available still can't have one
for its various game system carts a new lease on life (video) Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:52:00 AM
on a pre-order basis (with a mid- ASUS Eee PC 1201N dons
clones and accessories, is now Yobo's handheld SNES gives January landing date) the closest burgundy garb, you still can't
offering a little something called your old carts a new lease on life Say hello to the little friend you you'll be getting to ASUS' Ion- have one originally appeared on
t h e F C 1 6 G O . A r i f f o n (video) originally appeared on already know and want, this time powered 12-incher is glamor Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009
Hyperkin's FC Mobile II(we're Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 dressed in a more extrovert red shots like these. Well, either that 09:52:00 EST. Please see our
assuming they share an OEM) 11:31:00 EST. Please see our attire. We don't yet know or a forthcoming Engadget terms for use of feeds. Permalink|
this guy accepts SNES cartridges terms for use of feeds. Permalink whether this 1201N variant will review, both are good. See one mobile + notebook| Email this|
for classic game play, and ups the Nowhere Else| Stone Age Gamer| be finding retail shelves or if it's more snap of the burgundy Comments
display size to 3.5-inches to boot. Email this| Comments just a pretty prototype, but that bruiser after the break.
Your hard-earned $60 gets you a doesn't make too much difference Continue reading ASUS Eee PC
device with a fully functional
18 Gadgets/ Tech/ Tech News/ E-reader Newspaper
Geeky Math
Mecha, Hovercycles and Flying Bikes: Meet the Equation Creates
Tony Stark of Wasilla, Alaska [Inventors] Beautiful 3-D World
By Alexis Madrigal (Wired Top
By John Herrman (Gizmodo) We've spotlighted Owen's work You can sum up the whole Stories)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:04:43 AM
before, back when he unveiled interview, and my unabashed
Submitted at 12/9/2009 9:00:00 PM
his 20-foot fire-breathing mech. Carlos enthusiasm, with his
Wasilla, Alaska: Home to As impressive and imposing as closing quote: An attempt to take the 2-D
m o o s e , h u m a n , a n d m o s t that was, I think it might be his The ones I'm dong now blow my fractal art known as the
notoriously, one Sarah Palin. Its least ambitious project. How mind, so I can't even imagine Mandelbrot set into three
most famous resident may be a about a hovering bike? A flying what I'll be building in 30 years. dimensions yields strange and
divisive one, but I think we can bike? With guns, potentially? Damn straight, guy. You are beautiful results.
all agree that Carlos Owen, A n d t h a t ' s j u s t w h a t h e ' s America. [ Neogentronyx via
backyard roboticist and aspiring tinkering with in his backyard who went to visit him in his VBS.TV]
mad scientist, is a hero. outdoor workshop.
right now, according to VBS.TV,

Dell's Adamo XPS now shipping to some (and we've got pics
to prove it)
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 10:47:00 AM
Dell's 9.99mm thin Adamo XPS
wasn't supposed to ship to even
the earliest orderers until
December 22nd, but it seems as
if a minor Christmas miracle has
happened over at Adam's office. feel free to cheer yourself up by Dell's Adamo XPS now shipping
In fact, those ordering one of perusing the gallery below. Or to some (and we've got pics to
these slimsters today won't see it slip into an infinite loop of prove it) originally appeared on
until mid-January, but if you got depression -- your call. Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009
in early, there just might be hope [Thanks, Adam] 10:47:00 EST. Please see our
for you yet. Oh, and if you're Gallery: Dell's Adamo XPS now terms for use of feeds. Permalink|
pretty certain that your order will Old Man Winter holds you down, shipping to some (and we've got | Email this| Comments
simply be delayed indefinitely as pics to prove it)

Editorial On Why The Patent System Should Be Abolished

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) CSMonitor, explaining why they ones, thereby decreasing the intellectual property does not protection even decreases
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:00:00 AM
think the patent system should be incentive to innovate. The bottom increase innovation and creation. innovation. The main finding is
abolished. If you've read their line: Contrary to widespread Extending IP rights may that making it easier to get
We've certainly discussed the work, there's nothing surprising, belief, economic theory does not modestly boost the incentive for patents increases ... patenting! No
work of David Levine and but if you have not, it's a quick provide support for the innovation, but this positive matter what your stance on this
Michele Boldrin plenty of times summary of the key points: As a continuous extension of IP. The effect is wiped away by the topic is, you have to admit it's
before -- and both were kind matter of theory, intellectual only answer to the question of negative effect of creating impressive to see it getting
enough to participate in our property is a double-edged whether IP serves the desired monopolies. There is simply no attention in a mainstream
CwF+RtB experiment earlier this sword. On the one hand, giving a purpose must be empirical. Does evidence that strengthening publication like the CSMonitor.
year. If you haven't read their reward increases the incentive to it work in practice? patent regimes increases Permalink| Comments| Email
book, then you are missing out. innovate. On the other, allowing A great deal of applied economic innovation or economic This Story
Now, Levine and Boldrin have a the monopolization of existing research has tried to answer this productivity. In fact, some
n e w e d i t o r i a l u p i n t h e ideas taxes the creation of new question. The short answer is that evidence shows that increased
E-reader Newspaper Tech/ 19

Facebook’s New Privacy Push Concerns Experts

By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!) Here’s what the Electronic All of these sources are
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:36:31 AM
Frontier Foundation concludes in essentially saying the same thing:
a lengthy commentary on the The privacy changes at Facebook
That didn’t take long. Just 24 changes: have the potential to create
hours after Facebook began “The Facebook privacy transition significant issues for those who AOL Relaunches: Will
r o l l i n g o u t a p r i v a c y tool is clearly designed to push don’t carefully review them, Monsters and Goldfish
announcement and settings tool users to share much more of their which, let’s be honest, is likely to
to its more than 350 million Facebook info with everyone, a be most users. Boost the Stock Price?
users, a number of privacy worrisome development that will commentary: Like other controversial By Pete Cashmore
experts and security firms are likely cause a major shift in A spokesperson from Web decisions the company has made, (Mashable!)
already out with statements p r i v a c y l e v e l f o r m o s t o f security firm Trend Micro adds Facebook surely weighed the Submitted at 12/10/2009 5:17:24 AM
advising against using the social F a c e b o o k ’ s u s e r s , w h e t h e r in a statement to Mashable: risks and rewards of this move.
network’s new recommended intentionally or inadvertently … “It’s laudable that Facebook has Their analysis likely concluded Today, AOL comes back on the
settings, which encourage users Even worse, the changes will taken continuous interest in this, that the benefits of being more NYSE following its spinoff from
t o s h a r e m o r e d a t a w i t h actually reduce the amount of but I would remind Facebook p u b l i c ( a n d s e a r c h - e n g i n e Time Warner (TMX) — and the
“everyone.” control that users have over some users that it is just not a private friendly) far outweighed the risk one-time Web titan is marking
The issue, as we highlighted of their personal data.” place. If you require strict of a lot more “Scandalous the transition with a rebrand.
yesterday, is that while Facebook A spokesperson from security privacy for y o u r Facebook photos cost so and so Gone is the blue AOL of old,
is spinning the changes as firm Sophos says in a statement communications, photos, etc., his/her job” stories. replaced with goldfish, monsters,
“setting a new standard in user to Mashable: find some other medium to share But really, there’s no turning butterflies and the partially lower
control,” another goal is clearly “ T h e s e c o u l d b e t h e m o s t them. I would encourage all back now. Millions of users have case “Aol” branding we
getting users to share more important clicks you ever make Facebook users to read and already been greeted by the new previewed previously. These
information publicly, which on Facebook. If you don’t read understand the privacy guidelines privacy tool, made changes symbols represent themes on the
makes its search partnerships carefully you could find that to be found on the site. and/or ignored it and moved on site; pick one to change the color
with Google and Bing all the e v e r y p o s t y o u m a k e o n Second, what gets revealed in using Facebook how they always scheme and background.
more valuable. And security Facebook, and your personal my FB page is entirely up to me. h a v e , u n a w a r e o f t h e At the core of this new
experts are seeing right through i n f o r m a t i o n , i s v i s i b l e t o I choose the photo, I make the ramifications of a change they independent strategy: content,
it. everyone in the world who has a comments. Striking a balance might spend 30 seconds thinking content, content. Not only is the
Experts Weigh In computer rather than just your between utter security (no about. homepage customizable to the
Here’s what the ACLU of Facebook friends. visibility at all, and if that’s what If it turns out that millions of content you want, but a “News
Northern California said in the Let’s make this clear. If you you need may I suggest a diary) users ultimately screw up their Feeds” tab provides an RSS
comments of our post yesterday: make your information available and entirely publicly visible and l i v e s s o m e h o w t h a n k s t o reader one click away from the
“As you’ve pointed out, the to ‘everyone,’ it actually means archived statements (as we have Facebook’s privacy settings, the homepage.
‘privacy’ changes are all about ‘everyone, forever.’ Because with Twitter) must lie the happy stigma that gets attached to the What do you think? Is the new
encouraging [users] to share even if you change your mind, medium we seek. Getting there site could end up being a AOL a step in the right direction
more stuff publicly.’ It’s great it’s too late — and although is not going to be instant because catastrophic blunder that sees the or the wrong one? And how will
that Facebook is making all users Facebook say they will remove it we don’t yet know what there s i t e l o s e i t s s e e m i n g l y AOL perform on its own?
think about privacy, but we are from your profile they will have means.” insurmountable lead, much like Tags: aol, nyse, tmx
concerned that the transition tool no control about how it is used I like that there is controversy MySpace and Friendster before
and other changes actually outside of Facebook.” about these settings. It shows it. Reviews: Bing, Facebook,
discourage or eliminate some The company has also produced people at least notice that there is Friendster, Google, Mashable,
p r i v a c y p r o t e c t i o n s t h a t this video demonstrating the new something going on.” A Huge MySpace, Twitter
F a c e b o o k u s e r s c u r r e n t l y privacy transition tool while Mistake? Tags: facebook, privacy
employ.” providing some security
20 Tech/ Entertainment/ E-reader Newspaper

Nokia to close its two U.S. flagship stores Heartland data

(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:40:00 AM
as hardware has become less
important to consumers and
through carriers in the U.S., a
fact that has hurt the company in
billion of the company's $29.9
billion in revenue in fiscal 2009.
breach lawsuit

Nokia, the world's largest maker

of mobile handsets, said
Thursday that it plans to close
two flagship stores in the U.S. as
it refines its sales strategy and
struggles to get a bigger foothold
in the North American market.
Nokia also said it plans to close
one of two stores in London. And
it will look for a new location for
its Sao Paolo store.
The U.S. Nokia stores that will
be closed are in New York and
Chicago. Nokia has 12 stores
worldwide. It opened the first
store in Moscow in 2005. Nokia
said closing the stores is part of a
new retail strategy that includes
more cooperation with operators
and other retailers.
Nokia's shift in strategy comes
as the company indicates it plans
to focus more on services and
applications through its online
Ovi store. Last month, the
company said it plans to limit the
number of devices it will launch
services and applications have
become more important.
It's hardly a surprise that Nokia
would shut down the U.S. stores
as it refines its retail strategy,
since this is one of the company's
weakest markets. While Nokia
still dominates the worldwide cell
phone market with about 37
percent market share, the
company's market share in the
U.S. is only in the single digits.
For years, the company has said
that it plans to focus on the North
American market, particularly the
U.S. But little progress has been
made.
Nokia executives say that the
company is developing new
products for the U.S. market and
that it's working with wireless
operators to get Nokia devices on
those networks. This is important
for Nokia since about 90 percent
of all cell phones sold in the U.S.
are sold through an operator. And
most are subsidized. Nokia
doesn't offer many products
the U.S. market.
But Nokia is making some
progress. Earlier this year, it
launched its E71x smartphone on
AT&T's network. That said,
other high-end devices, such as
the N97, are still not offered by a
U.S. operator.
Meanwhile, Nokia's competitors,
namely Apple and Research In
Motion, have taken advantage of
forming relationships with
carriers and their devices are
offered with hefty subsidies. As a
result, Apple and RIM have
much higher market penetration
than Nokia with respect to
smartphones.
Apple, which makes the popular
iPhone, has also been far more
successful with its retail strategy
than Nokia. The company now
has 279 stores that it's opened in
the past eight years since it
opened the first Apple store in
2001. These stores have become
a big revenue driver for the
company, generating about $6.6
Apple's flagship stores, or as the
company calls them "significant
stores," are especially designed to
draw in visitors with eye-
catching design and architecture.
Some of the stores, such as the
Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan,
which sits below a glass cube
across the street from the Plaza
Hotel, have become tourist
destinations. Worldwide some
170 million visitors entered an
Apple store in fiscal 2009.
Apple plans to open between 40
and 50 new retail stores in 2010.
More than half of these new
stores are expected to be outside
the U.S. Some of the countries
where Apple will open new
stores include the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia,
Italy, Switzerland, Germany,
France, and China.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
dismissed
(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:20:00 AM
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fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger

Google Mobile app for iPhone gets an update Our Trains Are Very
(CNET News.com) According to the company, the version. Users can change the Delicate Okay?
improved application features a color of Google Mobile and turn
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:57:00 AM
redesigned search results page, on a moving waveform when
[Nature's Fury]
Google Mobile App receiving with more results than in the users search by voice. By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker)
s e a r c h f r o m v o i c e . ( C r e d i t : previous version. The app also fivefilters.org featured article: Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:45:48 AM
Google) opens Web pages from those Normalising the crime of the
A new version of Google Mobile results within the program, which century by John Pilger Today in 'Things That Can Shut
for the iPhone is now available in Google says should help users Down the NYC Subway System:'
Apple's App Store, the search get where they want to go sooner. has also made its Bells and Delicate fallen leaves.
giant announced in a blog post T o m a k e t h e a p p m o r e Whistles feature more prominent
Wednesday. customized to the user, Google in the new Google Mobile
E-reader Newspaper
Study: You'll wolf down 34GB of data today
(CNET News.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:08:45 AM
Got a case of information
overload? You're not alone.
A study released Wednesday
from the University of California,
San Diego, reports that the
average American consumes a
whopping 34GB of data and
100,000 words of information per
day.
Over the course of 2008,
Americans as a group gobbled up
3.6 zettabytes of data. (In case
you missed the definition of
"zettabyte" in your daily data
binging, that's a million million
gigabytes.) For all you visual
learners out there, the researchers
helpfully point out that 3.6
zettabytes is equal to the
"information in thick paperback
novels stacked seven feet high
over the entire United States,
including Alaska."
Between 1980 and 2008, the
number of bytes consumed by
Americans increased 350 percent.
The average annual growth rate
was calculated at 5.4 percent.
Here's how TV and the Internet
stack up in the "How Much
Information? 2009 Report on
American Consumers."(Credit:
Carrie Underwood Says Ex Tony Romo Did Her Wrong
(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:55:00 AM
Country singer Carrie
Underwood opened up to Esquire
magazine, revealing what she
University of California, San
Diego)
Dubbed the How Much
Information? project, the study
measured data consumption both
at home and away from home. It
includes several information
sources, "including going to the
movies, listening to the radio,
talking on the cell phone, playing
video games, surfing the Internet,
and reading the newspaper."
Besides bytes and words, the
study also noted the number of
really thinks of her ex-boyfriend
and NFL player Tony Romo.
The publication asked the
country crooner if her song
"Cowboy Casanova" was about
Dallas Cowboy quarterback,
hours spent consuming
information.
In terms of time, traditional
media still has a strong hold on
the U.S. The study reported that
"a large chunk of the average
American's day is spent watching
television." On average, 41
percent of an American's day is
given over to watching television
shows, viewing recorded TV, or
watching DVDs.
Noncomputer sources, the study
says, account for more than three
Romo, who had a very public
breakup this year with another
performer, Jessica Simpson.
Underwood responded, saying,
"No. I would never immortalize a
guy that did me wrong. I would
Tech/ Entertainment/ 21
consoles, which have the
equivalent of special-purpose
supercomputers from five years
ago," report author Roger Bohn,
director of the Global
Information Industry Center at
UC San Diego's School of
International Relations and
Pacific Studies, said in a
statement. "Games today
generate their bytes inside the
home, rather than having to
transmit them over cables into
the house, but gaming is
increasingly moving online."
The study found that 16 percent
of daily information consumption
comes from the Internet. A
staggering 79 percent of all
American two-way
communications is done through
-quarters of U.S. households' the Internet.
information time. If you want to see what else UC
But if bytes are the standard by San Diego found in its study,
which American days are judged, click here.
it's the video game that takes the fivefilters.org featured article:
top prize. Researchers found that Normalising the crime of the
the average American consumes century by John Pilger
18.5GB of gaming data per day,
representing 67 percent of all
bytes they consume daily.
"Games are almost universal, but
most of the gaming bytes come
from graphically intensive games
on high-powered computers and
never give him that much credit." obviously very smart. But he's
The former "American Idol" not the smartest person I know."
contestant also offered her
opinion about the outspoken
reality show judge Simon
Cowell, saying "Simon's
22 Tech/ E-reader Newspaper

Yahoo joins the real-time search parade

(CNET News.com) cut a deal with Twitter for access the user must manually refresh
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:00:00 AM
to the "firehose," an automated the page to get new results.
feed of data from Twitter. Google's approach not only
Yahoo is ready to integrate real- Instead, it's using Twitter's public refreshes automatically due to its
time results from Twitter directly A P I a n d a d d i n g i t s o w n use of Twitter's firehose feed, but
onto its search pages.(Credit: algorithms to figure out which it also brings in content from
Yahoo) tweets are most relevant to the sources other than Twitter.
Not to be outdone by its rivals, query. The other major problem for
Yahoo is getting into the real- The thorniest problem with real- Yahoo, of course, is that its
time search business as well. time search is relevancy. So search share is dropping,
Days after Google announced its much content is created every something Yahoo CEO Carol
plan for integrating content from second on the Internet--from Bartz blamed on expiring toolbar
sources such as Twitter and tweets to status updates to new deals during an investor
blogs, Yahoo on Thursday plans blogs to new news stories such as conference Tuesday. While
to launch its own feature to this one--that it's a challenge to Yahoo says it is committed to
integrate tweets into search simply capture that data, let alone remaining a player in the search
r e s u l t s . M i c r o s o f t a l r e a d y decide which sources of data are market by coming up with new
displays Twitter results for more relevant and authoritative ideas for search presentation, this
queries placed on its Bing search than others. week shows just how easy it is
engine, although they displayed Yet there's clear demand for for Google to take a similar idea
on a separate page that is not answers to the question, "What is (real-time search) and put out a
directly integrated into the main happening right this second?" For hot topics, such as Obama or associated with that query, similar-if-not-better take on the
search results. And search engines are Tiger Woods, Yahoo plans to use Yahoo will surface three tweets same idea.
Yahoo will join Google witih presumably in the best position to the Twitter tab it added to the related to the topic and chosen by fivefilters.org featured article:
integrated results as of Thursday, deliver those answers, but unless News Shortcut feature already its algorithms, Cornett said. Normalising the crime of the
said Larry Cornett, vice president they are able to find a way to found in Yahoo search results. The main problem with Yahoo's century by John Pilger
of product management and harness the flood of real-time For other topics that are gaining approach is that it's not exactly
design at the company. But in a information and make sense of it, traction but don't necessarily real-time: the most recent results
crucial difference between the these services are unlikely to be have a huge amount of news, surfaced during a demonstration
two approaches, Yahoo has not very useful. p h o t o s o r v i d e o s a l r e a d y were 15 to 20 minutes old, and

Apple to Launch iTunes on the Web

By Pete Cashmore
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:04:31 AM
Following Apple’s acquisition of
Web-based music service Lala, it
didn’t take much to connect the
dots: Apple wants to take iTunes
to the Web.
Today the WSJ confirms as
much, citing “people familiar
with the matter.” The Journal It’s interesting, too, to consider
adds that the Web-based service the integration with Apple’s
would negate the need to devices: 10 cents per song for
download the iTunes software. music streamed to your iPhone,
You wouldn’t need to download iPod touch or Apple tablet
your music either; it could live on sounds like a compelling
the cloud, accessible anywhere proposition, does it not?
with a Web connection. Lala Tags: apple, iphone, ipod, Lala,
users current pay 10 cents to iTunes’ model – Apple might trending
s t r e a m a t r a c k f o r e v e r , choose to keep that model intact.
significantly undercutting
E-reader Newspaper
How to cram the entire Internet
Movie Database into your iPhone
By Steven Sande (The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW))
Submitted at 12/9/2009 5:00:00 PM
Filed under: Freeware, iPhone,
App Store, iPod touch, First
Look, App Review The Internet
Movie Database(IMDb), an
Amazon.com company, has just
released a free iPhone app [
iTunes Link] that puts the power
of the huge repository of movie
facts, fables, and trivia into the
palm of your hand.
I use IMDb regularly, so when I
saw that the app had been
released, I downloaded it
immediately. Upon launching,
the app will ask if you wish to let
it use your location -- this is used
to display show times and movies
for local theaters. While IMDb
doesn't exactly have a beautiful
interface, it's perfect for
navigating the huge amount of
information that is available.
The first page of the app
displays three major areas:
Movies, TV, and People. There's
also an Application area, which is
used only to display information
about the App. Movies is
subdivided into Showtimes,
Coming Soon, US Box Office
synopses of what has happened
on top TV shows during the
previous week. Under the People
heading, there's both
STARmeter, which shows a
listing of the top 25 stars as
measured by the number of times
that they've been searched for on
IMDb, and Born Today, which
lists actors (living and dead) who
were born on the current day.
If you love movies and TV, or
searching trivia about roles,
actors, and directors, then you
probably already spend a lot of
time with IMDb. The iPhone app
is just the icing on the IMDb
cake, and as a free app it should
Results, MOVIEmeter, and the be on the home screen of every
T o p 2 5 0 M o v i e s . T a p p i n g movie fan's iPhone. Check out
Coming Soon brings up details the gallery for screenshots of
about upcoming movies releases, IMDb in action.
including trailers that can be Gallery: IMDb App for iPhone
viewed on the phone. I love the TUAW How to cram the entire
Top 250 Movies, which is a list Internet Movie Database into
of the movies rated highest by your iPhone originally appeared
IMDb readers. It's a treasure on The Unofficial Apple Weblog
trove of information about many (TUAW) on Wed, 09 Dec 2009
of the classic movies of all time. 17:00:00 EST. Please see our
IMDb's TV section is split into terms for use of feeds.
US TV Tonight, which is a Read| Permalink| Email this|
schedule of upcoming shows on Comments
the major networks, and US TV
Recaps, which provides full text
More on Apple, LaLa
and the future of iTunes
By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial
Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:00:00 PM
Filed under: Apple Corporate,
iTS, Rumors, Internet, Internet
Tools, iTunes There's an
interesting article at The Wall
Street Journal(WSJ) today
(subscription required)
suggesting that Apple's recent
acquisition of LaLa could mean a
web-streaming model for a future
version of iTunes. The
speculation began last week, and
today more information has
emerged.
Quoting a source "...who has
been briefed on Apple's plans,"
the WSJ reports that LaLa
executives have been given key
roles at Apple, and that members
of the existing iTunes team will
report to them. The article also
reiterates the $85 million price
tag, which TechCrunch recently
disputed.
While a streaming model makes
sense for both Apple and
consumers -- Apple could sell
music through search engines,
etc. while customers could
eliminate space-hogging libraries
from their computers -- such a
move would be a radical
departure for Apple, which has
insisted that customers want to
"own" a physical copy of their
music.
Tech/ 23
Lala's service scanned your hard
drive for songs you own to
stream at will (think a web-based
version of Apple's Home
Sharing). Songs you don't own
could be streamed for $0.10 each
with a download "upgrade"
available. All of this would
require huge amounts of storage
and bandwidth from Apple.
Perhaps that's what the new
North Carolina server facility is
for.
As for Apple, mum's the word.
"Apple buys smaller technology
companies from time to time and
we generally do not comment on
our purpose or plans," said Apple
spokesman Steve Dowling.
[Via Mac Rumors]
TUAW More on Apple, LaLa
and the future of iTunes
originally appeared on The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW) on Thu, 10 Dec 2009
12:00:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.
Read| Permalink| Email this|
Comments
24 Tech/ E-reader Newspaper

Before there was Boot Camp, there Become JetBlue’s

were DOS Compatibility Cards Facebook Fan, Win Free
By Steven Sande (The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW))
Travel For a Year
By Jennifer Van Grove
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:30:00 AM (Mashable!)
Filed under: Hardware, Apple Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:50:28 AM

History, This Old Apple With

our zippy Intel Macs able to With nearly 1.5 million
eagerly boot up Windows 7 in followers on Twitter, JetBlue
Boot Camp, VMWare, Parallels, [@JetBlue] has mastered the
and VirtualBox, it's difficult to formula for success on the micro-
fathom that it was ever a problem medium. With barely 60,000 fans
to run Microsoft operating on Facebook, however, the which is the four round-trip
systems on our Apple boxes. brand’s social media savvy tickets and a vacation,
Sporting such amazing CPUs as Macs (they didn't).
The situation wasn't that good doesn’t appear to translate on the registrations need to create a
the Intel 486SX running at a Today's Windows compatibility
just a scant 15 or so years ago. world’s largest social network. travel team using JetBlue’s
whopping 25 MHz clock speed, is the best it has ever been on the
Back in the bleak days before the Rather than wait for their Facebook application. The team
the original cards worked with Mac platform, and usually the
triumphant return of Steve Jobs Facebook fan count to climb creator can then invite three
the Centris 610 and Quadra 610 o n l y " h a r d w a r e u p g r a d e "
to 1 Infinite Loop, Apple had a organically, JetBlue [ Facebook friends to join their team, and
and were released in 1994. By r e q u i r e d i s t o a d d s o m e
broad and confusing product line. Page] has just launched a while fans can only create one
the next year a second edition inexpensive RAM to the host
Since DOS and Windows 3.1 carefully crafted campaign to team, they can join the teams of
was released with an Intel Mac. Things might sometimes
were already entrenched in engineer Facebook fan inflation. other fans to become eligible for
486DX/66, and was targeted at change slowly, but at least in the
business worldwide, Apple knew The fan-focused campaign, more chances to win.
t h e P o w e r M a c 6 1 0 0 a n d world of technology, the change
that they had to have a way for dubbed the All-You-Can-Jet Fan In addition to the above prizes,
Performa 6100. is usually for the best.
Macs to run Microsoft operating Sweepstakes, revolves around an JetBlue will giveaway an
Further research shows that there TUAW Before there was Boot
systems in order to gain any sort ongoing promotion where being additional All-You-Can-Travel-
were several subsequent cards C a m p , t h e r e w e r e D O S
of traction in the corporate world. a fan of the brand on Facebook Jet pass for every 250,000 fans
that included even faster Pentium Compatibility Cards originally
Edible Apple ran a wonderful could net you either free round- they accrue during the promotion
and Cyrix 6x86 processors, were appeared on The Unofficial
retrospective yesterday that trip tickets, comped airfare and a period, which ends January 31,
called "PC Compatibility Cards," Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu,
looked at Apple's DOS vacation for you and three friends 2010. Check JetBlue’s Facebook
and were designed for use in 10 Dec 2009 09:30:00 EST.
Compatibility Cards. These were for five days and four nights, or Page for official rules and
other PowerMac models. I can Please see our terms for use of
basically PCs on a NuBus or PCI even unlimited free travel on eligibility requirements.
recall acquiring one of the feeds.
cards that were inserted into a JetBlue for a year. While the campaign isn’t the
Pentium-based cards and using it Read| Permalink| Email this|
slot in the Mac, using the Mac's Becoming eligible for the grand most innovative Facebook brand
to try to entice our one DOS Comments
power supply, floppy and hard prize — the JetBlue All-You-Can strategy we’ve seen, it is sure to
holdout department to move to
drives, and keyboard and mouse. -Travel-Jet pass — and the round encourage Facebook users to fan
-trip tickets is simple: Become a the airline in the hopes of free
fan of JetBlue and submit a ballot travel for a year. Reviews:
via their JetBlue Sweeps Page Facebook
tab. Fans can also enter daily for Tags: facebook page, jetblue,
extra chances to win these prizes. sweepstakes
In order to win the team prize,
E-reader Newspaper
Four free Christmas screen savers to Posterous Makes a Play
get your Mac in the holiday spirit
By Michael Grothaus (The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW))
Submitted at 12/9/2009 5:17:00 PM
Filed under: Software, Freeware,
Holidays I love this time of year.
I love the lights and the snow and
the holiday cookies. I also love
getting my Mac in the festive
spirit. From widgets to desktop
pictures to icons, there are
countless ways to dress your Mac
for Christmas. Here are four
festive screen savers. Best of all,
they're free.
Jubilee by Idle Time Software
displays Christmas or Hannukah
lights like you'd see them if you
were rocketing through your
neighborhood in a Ferrari. There
are four color schemes, including
a beautiful blue and white
Hanukkah theme. It requires Mac
OS X 10.4 + (including Snow
Leopard) and the Flash plugin.
XMas Tree by Joe Hillman is an
interesting 3D screen saver that
decorates your desktop with
textured ornaments. It's strangely
hypnotic as the screen rotates
around a beautifully generated
3D tree while Christmas music
plays in the background. Mac OS
X 10.5 + (including Snow
Leopard).
Silver Snow Clock is a simple
little saver that shows an ornate
pocket watch ticking the time
for Business Blogs
away as the holidays pass up by.
This gets a mention as one of my
favorites because of the 3D snow
that gently drizzles down the
screen. Mac OS X 10.5 +
(including Snow Leopard).
Last but not least is everyone's
favorite, Snowfall by Russel
Warnebolt. We first reported on
this almost three years ago, but it
still deserves top marks. Contrary
to popular belief, this screen
saver was never used in Apple's
retail stores (that one was, sadly,
Apple-internal only). Since
updating to 10.6.2, Snowfall
experiences slight jitters.
According to the dev: 'This
appears to be a newly introduced
bug in Quartz Composer on
10.6.2 that causes very poor
By Jennifer Van Grove
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:00:13 AM
Posterous has long supported
group blogging functionality,
which is 100 percent manageable
via a clever and simple method: e
-mail. Perhaps the one downside
to Posterous group blogs has
been that the original group
creator’s bio and information
appears front and center on the
group page.
Today the super-simple blogging
platform is remedying that and
introducing the Group Profile.
frame rate. On 10.6 and 10.6.1 By enabling the Group Profile
things are as usual, at least on my feature, you can now display
machines. Unfortunately this may group-specific — in lieu of
require a fix from Apple.' person-specific — information
Nonetheless, it's still the most on your Posterous site and even
beautiful Christmas screen saver automatically update a distinct
I've ever seen. Mac OS X 10.4 + group Facebook Page and/or
(including Snow Leopard). Twitter account.
TUAW Four free Christmas The addition of this feature
screen savers to get your Mac in shows the maturity of the
the holiday spirit originally blogging platform and highlights
appeared on The Unofficial the company’s ambition to serve
Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, more than just personal accounts;
09 Dec 2009 17:17:00 EST. now it caters to businesses, teams
Please see our terms for use of and professional users as well.
feeds. To configure your Group
P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | Profile, you’ll want to first select
Comments the appropriate blog from the left
-hand sidebar in your Posterous
settings dashboard. Then click on
Tech/ 25
the Group Profile tab and select
the button to enable the Group
Profile. Now you can enter a
name for your group, add a group
photo, pen a group bio and input
group social media account
information for autoposting
everywhere. With the latter
feature, any of your individual
contributions to the group will be
distributed via your Twitter and
Facebook accounts as well as the
group’s accounts.
With every new update,
Posterous adds value without
complicating the core simplicity
that appeals to most users.
Posterous’ Group Profile
functionality is yet another
indicator of progress in the
evolution of the platform, and we
think that business users will be
more than pleased with the new
feature set, especially now that
they can also apply their own
branding. Reviews: Facebook,
Posterous, Twitter
Tags: group blog, posterous
26 Tech/ E-reader Newspaper

Gaming Faceoff: Nintendo DS vs.

Sony PSP vs. iPhone/iPod Touch Blockbuster, Netflix Found Not To Have
By Ben Parr (Mashable!) the social media universe.
Submitted at 12/9/2009 11:01:53 PM
For portable gaming, do you
Infringed On Patent For Notifying You
prefer the dual screens of the Of The Status Of Your Rental Queue
The convergence of social media Nintendo DS, the raw power of
and gaming is becoming harder the Sony PSP or the versatility By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) possibly approved. It's patents
to deny. The domination of the and touchscreen of the iPhone Submitted at 12/10/2009 3:26:00 AM
like this one that make people
FarmVille Facebook game, the and iPod touch? We want your question what patent examiners
blockbuster acquisition of vote (and your comments) on the Slashdot points us to the news actually do. So it's nice to see the
Playfish by EA and the rise of the You may not think it, but the matter. The polls are open until that a lawsuit against Netflix and patent holder sent packing,
iPhone as a gaming platform iPhone and iPod touch are Sunday, December 13, at 12:00 B l o c k b u s t e r f o r p a t e n t though you have to wonder if
immediately come to mind as gaming forces to be reckoned p.m. Get to it! infringement has been dismissed GameFly, who had previously
examples of social media’s with. Who would win in a fight: by a California court. At issue settled a lawsuit over the same
impact on the game industry. That’s why gaming is the subject Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, or the was a patent, 7,389,243, that is patent is now regretting that
The latter especially interests us. of this week’s Web Faceoff, iPhone/iPod Touch?( online for a method for alerting users to decision.
In September, Apple SVP Phil where we take key tech, Web and surveys) the status of their rental queue. Permalink| Comments| Email
Schiller shared some interesting social media tools and pit them ` Read through the claims and look This Story
stats on the iPhone and iPod against one another for your vote. Tags: apple, gaming, ipod, iPod at the drawings and try to figure
touch as gaming platforms. Not only do we like to find out Touch, Nintendo, nintendo ds, out how such a patent was
While the Nintendo DS and Sony whether you prefer Windows 7 or sony, Sony PSP, web faceoff
PSP had 3,680 and 607 games Snow Leopard, but it’s also our
respectively, the iPhone app store opportunity to gauge the pulse of
had over 21,000 different games.

Apple maintains "Think Different" trademark

By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial television ads, print ads and Apple's new trademark TUAW Apple maintains "Think
Apple Weblog (TUAW)) slogans printed on Apple application for Think Different Different" trademark originally
Submitted at 12/9/2009 6:00:00 PM
packaging. (it's application 77882684 if you appeared on The Unofficial
The phrase was replaced with were wondering). It could mean a Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed,
Filed under: Apple Corporate, the " Switch" and " Get A Mac" revitalization of the campaign, 09 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST.
Steve Jobs, Apple History When campaigns, but didn't disappear but it's more likely that Apple Please see our terms for use of
Steve Jobs returned to Apple in for good. A portion of the poem just wants to keep it in their feeds.
1996, the public's perception of from the TV ad can be found on stable. Many consumers still Read| Permalink| Email this|
the company was grim. To make the high-res version of the think of Apple when hearing Comments
a long story short, Steve's plans TextEdit icon in Leopard and "think different."
f o r r e s u r r e c t i o n i n c l u d e d Snow Leopard. Earlier this year, This week, Patently Apple Like most iconic aspects of pop
changing that, and the"Think " T h i n k D i f f e r e n t " b e g a n reports that the US Patent & culture, there have been many
Different" campaign was among appearing on 21.5" and 27" iMac Trademark Office has published parodies. Here's my favorite.
the first steps. There were boxes. [Via MacNN]
E-reader Newspaper
Astroturf Health Insurance Lobbying
Group Paying Social Gamers To
Oppose Health Reform
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:13:00 AM
We've seen plenty of stories
of"astroturf" campaigns by
lobbyists looking to influence
public policy by pretending that
there's grassroots support for
some corporate position. And,
we've seen stories of virtual
goods scams taking place on
various social networks, which
are used to get unsophisticated
social gamers to sign up for
subscriptions to things that they
don't want. But what happens
when you combine the two?
Nicholas Carlson has an
That was Qik! After Ustream's debut in App
Store, Qik submits streaming app
By Steven Sande (The
Unofficial Apple Weblog
(TUAW))
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:35:00 AM
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion,
Video, Odds and ends,
Developer, iPhone, App Store
We were all a bit surprised when
Ustream's free Live Broadcasting
iPhone app [ iTunes Link] was
approved by Apple and tossed
into the App Store yesterday.
After all, it wasn't that long ago
that it seemed that no streaming
Tech/ Entertainment/ 27
After Forcing Down Some Sites
For Revealing Postal Codes, UK
Decides To Open The Data Up
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 11:23:00 PM
are realizing this. Starting next
year, the UK will free up postal
astounding story about a health not solve the ones we have." In code data so that anyone can use
insurance astroturf group that is exchange, you get some virtual It really was just a couple it. There are still some questions
using those social gaming "offer" currency to spend. months ago that the Royal Mail as to how this will be done, but
services to get gamers to contact The group behind this virtual in the UK was using a copyright it's a huge step forward from
their elected officials to oppose bribery astroturfing effort is claim to stop websites from shutting sites down to actually
health care reform in exchange backed by a who's who of offering public postal code data. freeing up the data.
for virtual currency in games. insurance trade associations... It made no sense that such data Permalink| Comments| Email
Yes, health insurance companies and when Carlson tried to contact should be proprietary, and it This Story
are basically trying to bribe a them for comment, the email appears that, finally, UK officials
bunch of Farmville and Mafia bounced. Nice to see that some
Wars players on Facebook to of the scammiest lobbying Michael Jackson Present
s e n d m e s s a g e s t o t h e i r groups out there have found in Spirit at 'A Family
representatives, that say: "I am some of the scammiest marketing Dynasty' Premiere
concerned a new government techniques out there as well.
plan could cause me to lose the Permalink| Comments| Email (ETonline - Breaking News)
employer coverage I have today. This Story Submitted at 12/10/2009 3:02:00 AM
More government bureaucracy
will only create more problems, The Jackson brothers cope with
the loss of brother Michael and
offer fans a rare peak into the
lives of the traditionally private
famous family in "The Jacksons:
A Family Dynasty." Jackie,
Jermaine, Tito, and Marlon
video apps would ever be jailbroken iPhones will certainly celebrated the launch of their
approved for the iPhone platform open up a new chapter in the reality show on Wednesday night
due to AT&T's reluctance to have iPhone story. in Los Angeles.
their network overwhelmed by TUAW That was Qik! After Marlon told ET that Michael is
self-produced live vidcasts of Ustream's debut in App Store, with them "always in spirit."
e m o g u i t a r p l a y e r s the app store, which allows Qik submits streaming app Jermaine said the late King of
" b r o a d c a s t i n g " f r o m t h e i r recording and eventual uploading originally appeared on The Pop "would be very, very proud
unheated rent-controlled flats. of video to their site, but not live U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g because we kept it real."
No sooner had the Ustream app video streaming. According to a (TUAW) on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 To get a glimpse of the
magically appeared than we blog post on the Qik site, the app 08:35:00 EST. Please see our dynamics of the brotherly love,
began to receive emails from Qik has been resubmitted and the terms for use of feeds. we asked which brother takes the
stating that they were submitting wait is on. Read| Permalink| Email this| longest to get ready. Marlon
their streaming video app for Having a choice of legal video Comments ragged on Jermaine, saying,
approval. Qik currently has Qik streaming apps that don't require "Jermaine takes three hours. He's
for 3GS [Free, iTunes Link] in worse than a female."
28 Tech/ Tech Tips/ Entertainment/ E-reader Newspaper

Is Everyone Who Received

Monday's Metro Toronto Guilty
Of Child Porn Possession?
By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) who will post almost anything --
Submitted at 12/10/2009 1:25:29 AM
removed the photo realizing that
under current laws, it was likely Track Freelance Job
We were just talking about how child pornography. Jesse points
current child porn laws that make out that this would appear to Pitches with a
y o u a c r i m i n a l b a s e d o n make a bunch of people at the Spreadsheet
incidental possession alone can Metro, all the recipients of the
be quite problematic. Reader paper on Monday, many people
Jesse highlights an example of who visited blogs like Torontoist
Amazon Disc+ On [Freelancing]
By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)
this. If you happen to have been and Gawker while they had those
in Toronto on Monday, and photos displayed... potentially at
Demand: Buy a DVD, Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:05:00 AM

If you're venturing into freelance

r e c e i v e d a c o p y o f M e t r o risk for possessing child porn
Toronto, a popular commuter (and in the case of Metro
paper, buried a few pages in was employees and these blogs, for
Stream it Immediately work for the first time, or
juggling quite a few contracts,
By Pete Cashmore Demand standard definition Web Worker Daily has a helpful
a "featured picture" of some kids distributing it as well) -- making (Mashable!)
celebrating at an annual parade them all potential felons who version as a gift with purchase. step-by-step on building a
by jumping around in a hot tub. could be required to sign up to be Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:35:56 AM
You’ll be able to instantly enjoy spreadsheet that will help you
The only problem? The male in on sex offender lists for the rest the video on demand version on track who's biting, who you're
This makes perfect sense: your Mac, PC, compatible device waiting on, and more.
the photo appears to be, well... of their lives. Isn't something
Amazon is launching Disc+ On or compatible TV when it is If, like certain red-faced
having a wardrobe malfunction. wrong with the law when that
Demand, allowing customers available.” Lifehacker editors, your
Not unexpectedly, a bunch of happens?
who purchase selected DVD or The downsides: Disc+ on spreadsheet jujitsu isn't quite up
sites were having some fun with Permalink| Comments| Email
Blu-ray movies to immediately Demand is only available on a to black belt levels, Celine
this... until some realized that This Story
stream their purchases through very limited number of titles Rogue's explainer should help
these were high school students.
Amazon Video on Demand. right now, and Amazon is you set up a table with drop-
At that point, even Gawker --
Such movies can be streamed promoting it as a “limited time down boxes, all the right fields,
from the Web or downloaded to offer” — we fully expect that and standardized data for easy
your TiVo, PC or Mac. demand will be high, and that the future input. With such a sheet in
The site reads: service could (and should) place, you can get a Getting-
“When you purchase select DVD become a permanent one. Things-Done-like handle on who
a n d B l u - r a y t i t l e s f r o m [via NewTeeVee] Reviews: Blu you've accepted work for and
Amazon.com you will also when it's due, who you're still
receive an Amazon Video On waiting to hear back from, and
who you can move past. How to
Nicole Richie Posts Fun Family Pics Track Freelance Job Leads Via
Spreadsheet[Web Worker Daily]
(ETonline - Breaking News) family on her Web site and baby daughter Harlow and new son up about her new bundle of joy,
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:19:00 AM
Sparrow was also striking a pose! Sparrow goofing off for the telling the publication, "I'm glad I
The photo post titled "Happy camera. had a girl before I had a boy. ...
New Pics! Nicole Richie posted Wednesday" featured four pics of In this past November issue of She just loves him so much."
some adorable photos of her Nicole, husband Joel Madden, People magazine, Richie opened
E-reader Newspaper Politics/ 29

Hot Air Comments of the Day

(Little Green Footballs) thread, no matter what the topic. 2009 at 12:07 PM yourself a chipee like one of true, it’s one more than Ogabe
Submitted at 12/9/2009 1:30:17 PM
Tick … tick … tick … it’s He also lifted Germany from a Tiger’s. has. Plus, Hillary has enough
getting closer to the time when depression. Obama’s trying to TXUS on December 8, 2009 at balls to replenish O’s and Adolf’s
Time for another episode of people will simply begin to take plunge us further into one. 6:40 PM and still keep a pair for herself
“Hot Air Comments of the Day,” matters into their own hands. I Darth Executor on December 9, […] (Slick Willy’s).
a look into the pestilent sewer of hope most of the military and law 2009 at 12:08 PM Libs are vile vermin, not only Darth Executor on December 9,
hatred, racism, talk of violent enforcement will be on board. Raving misogyny is also a out to kill babies, but hungry for 2009 at 12:07 PM
overthrow of the government, I have no idea what Obama’s common theme. In a thread about it. […]
calls for the murder of President thinking, but not all people will Barbara Boxer: Liam on December 8, 2009 at Ogabe will sign anything and the
Obama and “liberals” in general, simply accept his dictate to spend Hey Boxhead you sick racist 8:51 PM media scumbags will proclaim it
and all-around evil-minded the rest of their lives in misery f**k ! […] the greatest event since time
nastiness that is the Hot Air kissing his communist a$$. I wish your parents had the same M A D A M E began.
comments section. darwin on December 9, 2009 at attitude back in the day about MENGELE,oops,thats, Bishop on December 8, 2009 at
This isn’t “cherry-picking.” 3:01 PM abortion as you do now! SENATOR MADAME 3:46 PM
Every single thread of comments […] What a c**t!!! The best part of MENGELE !! A thread about Planned
at Hot Air is full of the kind of I find the idea that the US her hit the sheets! canopfor on December 8, 2009 Parenthood brings out the kind of
stuff you’re about to read. government should be cableguy615 on December 8, at 10:09 PM people who supported anti-
Starting with someone who overthrown slightly less radical 2009 at 9:23 PM Racial slurs and comparisons to abortion murderer Scott Roeder:
wants to personally take part in and wacky than stating that […] African dictators abound. A Nazism at it’s finest………
lynching President Obama. prudent people suffer an unjust If only Boxer had been aborted. popular slur for President Obama repugnant, disgusting, foul,
I couldn’t care less what the and unConstitutional Congress Gregor on December 8, 2009 at is “Ogabe.” perverted, lying mo fo’s….
Obamunist’s view is, I intend to until the Supreme Court okays 5:42 PM No longer will “Hail to the honest to god…i have less that
put the rope around his neck the Revolution. […] Chief” be played when Ogabe zero sympathy for these
when Obamunist hangs and I Chris_Balsz on December 8, Pfizer doesn’t half the V!@gra enters the room, it will now be people….none….
DARE for him or his lackeys to 2009 at 10:09 PM I’d need to sleep with Babs. the theme music from ‘The they get what they get and
send anyone after me. I guarantee […] TXUS on December 8, 2009 at Benny Hill Show’. deserve it…
our military will support me in Time has past for words. I’ll get 6:08 PM Bishop on December 9, 2009 at i will never shed a tear for
this, why?, because I work with back involved once the civil war […] 10:56 AM abortionists…..never
these good folk every day. begins in earnest. Most media Abortion Kills! […] JJKRN on December 9, 2009 at
nelsonknows on December 8, liberals should be killed or And, we are NOT going to pay Sometimes I just want to lock 2:38 PM
2009 at 7:34 PM imprisoned. for the two bags that your the doors, pile up my food in the Ugh. Now you’ll have to excuse
That ought to be good for a call Griz on December 9, 2009 at husband has to put over your basement and wait it out until me while I go take a shower.
from the Secret Service. 2:06 PM head to have sex with you, Ogabe is gone. Anyone still wondering why I
Here’s someone pining for the Lots of Hot Air’s denizens think ma’am. Bishop on December 9, 2009 at don’t want anything to do with
good old days. Obama is exactly like Hitler, but HornetSting on December 8, 11:17 AM the right wing?
I miss a good lynch mob. some of them disagree. They 2009 at 6:21 PM […] (Hat tips: KT, simoom, Alouette,
Shy Guy on December 9, 2009 think Obama’s worse than Hitler. […] –Hitler only had one ball. And Gus 802, Sharmuta.)
at 1:50 PM Yes, but Hitler was able to get Well said, but I would add that if he’s dead.
There are people calling for the Olympic games for Berlin. your woman’s so ugly you can’t Jimbo3 on December 9, 2009 at
violent revolution against the US Obama couldn’t match that! ;-) get it up, run her for the Senate of 12:02 PM
government in almost every UltimateBob on December 9, Calfornia or Maine, and get That’s a myth, but even if it was
30 Politics/ Entertainment/ E-reader Newspaper

You're Being Duped By the Climate Denial Industry

(Little Green Footballs) shifts makes sense. Solar cycles Climate Cover-Up, the educated males”; “Target 2: coal. As far as I can discover,
Submitted at 12/9/2009 9:00:32 PM
have been out of synch with the fascinating, funny and beautifully Younger, lower income women” none of the media outlets who
temperature record for 40 years. written new book by James – and the methods by which it use him as a commentator –
Since a whole lot of right- The Milankovic cycle, which Hoggan and Richard Littlemore. would reach them. One of its including the Guardian – has
wingers gleefully trumpeted describes variations in the Earth’s If every allegation it contained findings was that “members of disclosed this interest at the time
George Monbiot’s article in orbit, doesn’t explain it either. could not be traced back to the public feel more confident of his appearance. Michaels is
which he called for CRU head But the warming trend is closely leaked documents (I have expressing opinions on others’ one of many people commenting
Phil Jones to resign, I wonder if correlated with the accumulation checked all the sources), their motivations and tactics than they on climate change who presents
they’ll be equally eager to of heat-trapping gases in the findings would be unbelievable. do expressing opinions on himself as an independent expert
promote his latest article — atmosphere. The impact of these Nothing exposed by the hacking scientific issues”. while being secretly paid for his
which documents the enormous gases can be demonstrated in the of the Climatic Research Unit’s Remember this the next time you services by fossil fuel companies.
amounts of money the climate laboratory. To assert that they do server is one tenth as bad as the hear people claiming that climate The third example shows how a
denial industry is spending to not have the same effect in the least of these revelations. scientists are only in it for the list published by the Heartland
trick people into believing there’s atmosphere, a novel and radical When I use the term denial money, or that environmentalists Institute(which has been
no threat from global warming: theory would be required. No industry, I’m referring to those are trying to create a communist sponsored by oil company
The climate denial industry is out such theory exists. The science is who are paid to say that man- world government: these ideas Exxon) of 500 scientists “whose
to dupe the public. And it’s not fixed – no science ever is – made global warming isn’t were devised and broadcast by research contradicts man-made
working. but it is as firm as science can be. happening. The great majority of energy companies. The people global warming scares” turns out
I’m guessing … not. The evidence for man-made people who believe this have not who inform me, apparently to be nothing of the kind: as soon
Even if you were to exclude global warming remains as been paid: they have been duped. without irony, that “your article as these scientists found out what
every line of evidence that could strong as the evidence linking Reading Climate Cover-Up, you is an ad hominem attack, you the institute was saying about
possibly be disputed – the proxy smoking to lung cancer or HIV to keep stumbling across familiar four-eyed, big-nosed, commie them, many angrily demanded
records, the computer models, the Aids. phrases and concepts which you sack of shit”, or “you that their names be removed.
complex science of clouds and The third observation is the can see every day on the scaremongers will destroy the Twenty months later, they are
ocean currents – the evidence for contrast between the global comment threads. The book entire world economy and take us still on the list. The fourth
man-made global warming would s c a n d a l t h e s e e m a i l s h a v e shows that these memes were back to the Stone Age”, are the example shows how, during the
still be unequivocal. You can see provoked and the muted response planted by PR companies and unwitting recruits of campaigns Bush presidency, White House
it in the measured temperature to 20 years of revelations about hired experts. they have never heard of. officials worked with oil
record, which goes back to 1850; the propaganda planted by fossil The first case study I’ve posted The second case study reveals companies to remove regulators
in the shrinkage of glaciers and fuel companies. I have placed on reveals how a coalition of US how Dr Patrick Michaels, one of they didn’t like and to doctor
the thinning of sea ice; in the the Guardian’s website four case coal companies sought to a handful of climate change official documents about climate
responses of wild animals and studies; each of which provides a persuade people that the science deniers with a qualification in change.
plants and the rapidly changing shocking example of how the is uncertain. It listed the two climate science, has been lavishly
crop zones. denial industry works. social groups it was trying to paid by companies seeking to
No other explanation for these Two of them are drawn from reach – “Target 1: Older, less protect their profits from burning

President Obama Accepts Nobel Peace Prize

(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 5:09:00 AM
Barack Obama and wife
Michelle Obama traveled to
Oslo, Norway for the president to
receive the Nobel Peace Prize on
Thursday.
In his acceptance speech he
acknowledged, "I am the
Commander in Chief…in the
midst of two wars." In an effort
to achieve peace and prevent
attacks, Obama defended his
decision to deploy additional
troops.
He said, "The belief that peace is
desirable is rarely enough to
achieve it…Peace entails
sacrifice." The president
explained that the troops are
honored as "wagers of peace."
E-reader Newspaper Politics/ Tech Tips/ 31

Glenn Beck: Shill for Gold Five DC-Area Muslims

Merchants Arrested in Pakistan
(Little Green Footballs) with Goldline International, a syndicated radio show, where he (Little Green Footballs) missing men, Howard student
Submitted at 12/9/2009 10:41:37 AM
precious metals vendor that often endorses Goldline during Submitted at 12/9/2009 10:13:53 AM
Ramy Zamzam and Waqar Khan,
features the TV and radio host’s live commercial segments. have been mentioned in online
Glenn Beck is in trouble again, endorsement prominently on Additionally, Beck has had the Five Muslims apparently from postings, including a Facebook
this time for his blatant shilling their website. Critics charge that company’s CEO on as a guest. the Washington DC area have page that was set up Monday for
for the gold merchants who Beck is guilty of misleading his Advertisements for Goldline are been arrested in Pakistan: friends to offer their support.
c a p i t a l i z e o n m i s e r y a n d audience by often advising them also featured prominently on Breaking News: Pakistan Some of those pages, however,
discontent. The weeping, ranting to purchase gold in advance of Beck’s own website, where he Reportedly Detains Five D.C.- appear restricted to friends and
Beck is fleecing his flock, the potential collapse of the value recently promoted gold in an Area Muslims on Suspicion of associates.
preaching extreme right wing of the dollar on the world audio clip warning of an Terror. It is not clear where the men are
apocalyptic idiocy and getting c u r r e n c y m a r k e t , w i t h o u t apocalyptic future: A Pakistani newspaper reports believed to have gone, but an
rich off the gullible: Glenn disclosing that he is in fact a “When the system eventually the arrest of five foreign informed source told the IPT that
Beck’s gold-gate problem. “paid spokesman” for Goldline. collapses, and the government nationals after a raid in a town at least one left behind a farewell
Yet another controversy appears Beck’s on-air promotion of gold, comes with guns and confiscates, called Sargodha. The raid took video.
to be brewing around Fox News which includes advising viewers you know, everything in your place at the home of a member of According to the Facebook and
host Glenn Beck. Some are to construct “fruit cellars” and to home and all your possessions, the Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Twitter postings, Zamzam is
accusing him of a blatant conflict rely on a “three G system” of and then you fight off the raving Pakistani movement designated among the missing. He has been
o f i n t e r e s t c o n c e r n i n g h i s “God, Gold, and Guns” in the mad cannibalistic crowds that as a terrorist group by the U.S. active in the Muslim Students
frequent on-air promotion of an event of America’s collapse, Ted Turner talked about, don’t Treasury Department in 2001. Association, serving as president
investment sold by one of his dates back to his time as a host come crying to me. I told you: According to the report, “The of the MSA DC Council. A
main advertisers: Gold. for CNN Headline News. get gold.” DPO told that these people had Howard University
For some time Beck critics have Glenn Beck also regularly talks been living in Sargodha since spokeswoman has not responded
cried foul over his relationship u p g o l d o n h i s n a t i o n a l l y Nov 30 and it was quite a to questions from the IPT.
possibility that they were The disappearance comes as
Google Mobile App for iPhone engaged in acts of terrorism.” It
names the five as Ahmed
Abdullah, Waqar Hassan Khan,
U.S. officials are increasingly
concerned about the threat of
homegrown Islamist extremism.
Updates for Speedier Results Eman Hassan, Yasir and Rami
Zamzam and describes them as
This concern is prompted by a
spike in attacks like the Fort
two Yemenis, an Egyptian, a
[Updates] Swede and a U.S.-born Pakistani.
[Earlier…]
Hood massacre, and conspiracies
broken up by law enforcement
before any attacks took place.
By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) waveform and other neat-looking The identities of two of the
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:30:00 AM
visual tweaks, and settings to
pick a particular accent of your
Google's Mobile App has an language—like Australian, Irish,
update available in the App Store U.K., or U.S.—for better voice
that does a few things better. search recognition. [ Official
Most significantly, it opens browser for quicker browsing. It Google Mobile Blog]
search results in the app's own also offers a live-updating
32 Politics/ Tech Tips/ TV/ E-reader Newspaper

The Jewish Star: Losing the Right To Discovery Channel’s “Dirty

Be Right Jobs” Tops Tuesday Night
(Little Green Footballs)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 9:50:29 PM
post entitled “ Why I parted ways
with the Right” listed his
conservative stance, we can’t
help agreeing with Johnson on a
Among Key Demos
dissatisfaction, which included number of points. The right By Robert Seidman JOBS was the #1 primetime
Here’s a great editorial at Long the right wing’s support for (TVbytheNumbers) cable telecast among Persons 25-
wing’s embrace of Buchanan is
I s l a n d ’ s T h e J e w i s h S t a r , fascists like Pat Buchanan and disturbing, to say the least, as is Submitted at 12/9/2009 4:20:50 PM
54 and 18-49, and Men 25-54
responding to my post about white supremacists like Robert their wholehearted denial of and 18-49 in delivery and ratings.
“Why I Parted Ways with the Stacy McCain. Johnson also climate change without allowing Last night’s “Dirty Jobs” Strengthened by DIRTY JOBS,
Right:” Editorial: Losing the wrote about the Right’s support for any sort of compromise or averaged a 1.3 rating with adults Discovery was the #1 primetime
right to be Right. for anti-government conspiracy reasoned discussion. Johnson’s 18-49 and 2.917 million viewers cable network for Men 25-54
Something unheard of happened theories, anti-science craziness post made us ask, in turn, where overall. ratings and delivery.
on the Internet on November and the hatred reserved for has the sensible rightwing gone? Via Discovery: GHOST LAB, in its first season
20th. President Obama, which goes, in While the left has always had its DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S on Discovery Channel and airing
Defying all historical precedent, his words, far “beyond simply share of crazies (ever met a card- DIRTY JOBS TOPS TUESDAY directly following DIRTY JOBS
someone actually changed his criticizing his policies.” carrying Republican with a NIGHT at 10PM, ranked in the top ten
mind. “The American right wing has PETA membership?) it seems the AS #1 CABLE TELECAST IN among Men 25-54 on primetime
Charles Johnson, the popular pro gone off the rails, into the Right has begun to match them PRIMETIME AMONG KEY cable.
-Israel, rightwing blogger of bushes, and off the cliff,” kook for kook, loon for loon. DEMOS fivefilters.org featured article:
L i t t l e G r e e n F o o t b a l l s , Johnson wrote. “I won’t be going Read the whole thing… On Tuesday, December 8, 2009, Normalising the crime of the
announced he had severed his over the cliff with them.” the 9PM premiere telecast of century by John Pilger
ties with the political Right. A Despite our generally Discovery Channel’s DIRTY

How Do You Explain Computer Concepts to Non-Tech

Types? [Ask The Readers]
By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) User, reader Allan sent in this book was to be opened, one from Now it's your turn: How would
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:00:00 AM
explanation of computer basics the table would have to be closed you explain why Firefox or
he'd heard a sales person use (pagefile). The last part seemed Google Chrome are so much
If you've ever been called on to while helping a couple pick out a superfluous in this scenario, but better than Internet Explorer, if
diagnose, fix, upgrade, or shop computer for their grandchild: the overall description, with a you'd already covered the
for a new computer, you know He used the library analogy: The few stated benchmarks and security angle? Why do 64-bit
that hardware and software hard drive size was compared to questions about the grandchild's processors and operating systems
features can be hard to convey in the amount of shelving for books. habits, seemed a much better than matter to the average user? Let's
plain English. We're searching T h e C P U s p e e d w a s t h e average sales transaction. hear the best explanations you've
f o r t h e b e s t n o n - g e e k librarian's quickness on his/her That's pretty clean and simple, used, or received from others, in
e x p l a n a t i o n s y o u ' v e h e a r d . feet (this was a full service and a good variation on the "desk the comments.
In response to the How-To library), and the RAM was the could be opened simultaneously. covered with folders and files"
Geek's roundup of explanations size of the table at which one sat. When the table had been covered metaphor I can recall from my
at the Q&A tech forum Super Larger table meant more books with books, each time a new early school days.
E-reader Newspaper
Most Popular How-To Features of 2009 [Best Of 2009]
By Adam Pash (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:00:00 AM
We cover a lot of tips every day
on Lifehacker, but we get our
greatest pleasure from putting
together in-depth, step-by-step
guides. From Windows 7 to
Hackintoshes and beyond, here's
a look back at our most popular
how-to features of '09. How to
Do Everything with Windows 7
Windows 7 was a huge part of
2009, and the Lifehacker crowd
was eager to try it out early
on—but not necessarily ready to
ditch XP or Vista outright to do
so. This guide got you up and
running with a Windows 7 and
Vista/XP dual-boot system. Once
you got it up and running, our
complete guide to Windows 7 got
you started with the most
important parts of tackling your
new operating system. We toured
Windows 7's best, most
underhyped features, schooled
you on its impressive list of cool
new shortcuts, and detailed how
to pull a little XP mode in
Windows 7. It was a pretty good
year for Windows users. How to
Build a Hackintosh with Snow
Leopard, Start to Finish
The Apple tax is always a little
higher than a lot of people are
willing to pay, so this year's
guide to building a Hackintosh
with Snow Leopard, start to
finish, followed up by the
simplified guide to install Snow
Leopard on your Hackintosh PC,
no hacking required made a
pretty big splash. How to Crack a
Wi-Fi Network's WEP Password
Whether you're verifying the
security of your own network or
up to something a little more
dubious in nature, this guide to
cracking a Wi-Fi network's WEP
p a s s w o r d w i t h
BackTrack—followed by this
WEP cracking redux post that
took WEP cracking out of the
command line realm proved
popular. Google Wave First Look
Google Wave made a serious
splash this year, and while a lot
of people still aren't sure how to
best put it to use, there's no doubt
that there's a lot of interesting
technology going on there. We
did our best to help you
understand how you might use it
yourself, starting with our
Google Wave first look, moving
Tech Tips/ 33
computer hardware? Building a
computer from scratch is easier
than you think, and it's also one
of the most satisfying projects a
tech enthusiast can tackle.
Programmer 101: Teach Yourself
How to Code
Whether you just want to do
some simple scripting or you
want to start down the road to an
entirely new skill set, our 101
guide for teaching yourself how
to code is a great place to get
started. How to Fix Your
Relatives' Terrible Computer
If you didn't already fix every
one of your relatives' computers
over Thanksgiving, don't
worry—the holidays are quickly
approaching, and you know your
the resident IT person for your
friends and family. Our guide to
onto a few best use cases for Silent, Standalone XBMC Media fixing your relatives' terrible
Wave, and rounding it our with a Center On the Cheap computer can help. Photo by
guide to Wave keyboard T h e f u t u r e o f h o m e Justin Marty. Cut the Cable For
shortcuts, filters, searches, and entertainment isn't in your cable Good with Boxee and Apple TV
more with our Google Wave 101 box as you know it today—it's in If our above guide to building a
guide. Clean Up and Revive powerful home theater PCs. silent, standalone XBMC media
Your Bloated, Sluggish Mac There was a time when you'd center wasn't quite your bag of
Feel like your Mac isn't the need a big, noisy box next to chips, consider our step-by-step
speedy little box it used to be? your computer if you wanted to guide to cutting the cable for
Our guide to cleaning up and impress with your HTPC, but this good with Boxee and Apple TV.
reviving your bloated, sluggish guide to building a silent, You remember Boxee, right?
Mac will get your machine back standalone XBMC media center They're the killer media center
to running like a champ. (PC o n t h e c h e a p t u r n s a n folks who had to fight it out with
users, we've got you covered i n e x p e n s i v e , t i n y n e t t o p Hulu all year, and they just
here.) Prep Your Mac for Snow computer into a standalone updated with an impressive new
Leopard XBMC set-top box. The First- l o o k a n d f e e l . P h o t o b y
W i n d o w s u s e r s h a d t h e Timer's Guide to Building a philcampbell. Six Ways You
Windows 7 release, Mac users Computer from Scratch Should Be Using Twitter (that
had the Snow Leopard upgrade, Ever been interested in building Don't Involve Breakfast)
and this guide detailed how to your own PC from the bottom up Twitter may be taking the world
prep your Mac for Snow Leopard but always been a little scared of
MOST page 34
for a painless transition. Build a rolling up your sleeves with
34 TV/
MOST
continued from page 33
by storm, but it's often- and much
-maligned by many of our
readers. (47 percent of you say
you'd never even use it.) Say
what you will about tweeting, but
if you're not using Twitter for at
least search, we think you're
missing out. Properly Erase Your
Physical Media
A whopping 40% of the used
hard drives on eBay contain
easily recoverable personal data.
This guide details how to
properly erase your physical
media when you get rid of
anything containing a hard drive
so your personal data doesn't end
up in someone else's hands.
Photo by Robert Scoble. The
Definitive Guide to Finding Free
Wi-Fi
Spend a lot of time on the road
and out of the comfort of your
home or office? Our definitive
guide to finding free Wi-Fi can
help you find some fast internet
while you're out of your home
territory. Photo by°Florian. The
Beginner's Guide to Creating
Virtual Machines with
VirtualBox
We play around a lot with
various pieces of new software
and even entire operating systems
around these parts. Play it safe or
just play around with our
beginner's guide to creating
virtual machines with
VirtualBox, a free, open-source
virtualization tool. Use Firefox to
Fix the Web's Biggest
Annoyances
The web is an amazing place. It
can also be an extremely
annoying place. Skip the
annoying flashing ads, turn off
auto-playing movies and sounds,
skip the auto-refreshing pages,
and more with our guide to fixing
the web's biggest annoyances
with Firefox. How to Build a
Web Site from Scratch with No
Experience
Ever wanted to try your hand at
building a web site you've been
dreaming about—but have no
experience with web
development? We've been there
(I was proud to release
MixTape.me earlier this year),
and this guide for building a web
site from scratch with no
experience will point you in the
right direction. You're Backing
Up Your Data the Wrong Way
Your data is the most important
thing you've got on your
computer—in fact, it's
everything. If you aren't backing
it up correctly, one bad move and
all that information—and all
those memories—goes the way
of the dodo. If you're not sure if
you're backing up the right way,
this how-to will steer you in the
right direction. Ten Must-Have
Gmail Filters Available for
Download
If your inbox is overflowing and
you feel like you've lost control,
these 10 must-have Gmail filters
will get you started slicing and
dicing your inbox into a more
manageable place. An Exhaustive
Guide to Saving Your
Smartphone's Battery
If you spend a lot of time outside
your home or office, your
smartphone is likely your lifeline
to the rest of the world. Problem
is, your pesky battery can die
pretty quickly if you're not
mindful of how you're using it.
Follow our exhaustive guide to
saving your smartphone's battery
and you may be able to squeeze a
few more hours out of that
gadget of yours. Photo by[177].
Make Free VoIP Calls from
Google Voice
Soon free-calling functionality
may be built into Google Voice
(now that Google's bought
Gizmo5), but in the meantime,
here's how you can make free
phone calls using Google Voice.
Which Is Your Favorite
Lifehacker How-To Feature of
2008?( polls)
Got a favorite Lifehacker guide
on or off this list that we covered
in '09? Let's hear about it in the
comments.
E-reader Newspaper
ABC to Air “The Deep
End” Thursdays at 8pm
while “Flash Forward”
Is On Hiatus
By Robert Seidman
(TVbytheNumbers)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 6:25:29 PM
Josef Adalian reports that ABC
will air six episodes of the 20th
Century Fox Television produced
legal drama“The Deep End”
Thursdays at 8pm beginning
January 21. Still no word on
“Happy Town”…
After last Thursday’s telecast of
“Flash Forward’s” fall finale,
ABC promoted that the show
would return March 4th.
Originally, it was set to return in
January.
This seems like a “let’s throw
the 20th Century show to the
dogs during the Olympics and do
whatever we can to protect Flash
Forward” move.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger

It's Jon Gosselin vs. TLC, Round 312

By Brad Trechak (TV Squad) wants Gosselin to stop making don't even know who to side with title on a W2 form? Sound off in
media appearances and Gosselin
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:02:00 PM
in this divorce. Both of them the comments.
argues that his job as a "media seem like unfit parents these Filed under: Other Reality
Granted, I'm making a joke with personality" is his sole source of days. Shows, OpEd, Celebrities,
the "Round 312" thing. It only income. For example, if Gosselin didn't Reality-Free
feels like Round 312. However, Yes, Jon Gosselin's career is want his children to be exploited Permalink| Email this| |
the legal fight between Jon now that of "media personality". on television, why star in a Comments
Gosselin and TLC, the network While in the courtroom, I reality television show in the first
that made him famous, is going sincerely hope that the judge Mr. Gosselin to determine his place? Is "media personality"
to a Maryland courtroom. TLC orders a psychological test on fitness as a parent. Honestly, I even a career? Can one put the
E-reader Newspaper
MyWords Saves Common Words and Phrases in
Firefox [Downloads]
By Jason Fitzpatrick
(Lifehacker)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:30:00 AM
Firefox: Have a phrase or
snippet of code you use all the
time in Firefox? Assign a text or
keyboard shortcut to it in Firefox
and never have to write it all out
again.
Once you've installed MyWords,
a menu option is added to your
right-click context menu any time
you click in a dialogue box or
after highlighting text. From the
menu you can add words or
phrases to MyWords or tweak the
general setup of MyWords.
To use the phrases stored in
MyWords you can either use a
simple keyboard shortcut to
scroll through them (handy if you
only have a few) or if you have
many shortcuts stored you can
turn the keyboard shortcut into an
auto complete flag. In the
screenshot above we've assigned
"teotwawki" to "IT'S THE END
OF THE WORLD AS WE
KNOW IT". If we had MyWords
set to autocomplete we could hit
the shortcut trigger and then type
"teo" to give it a hint and it
Tech Tips/ Popular News/ Entertainment/
would auto complete the full
phrase.
MyWords is handy if you're only
using auto complete in Firefox, if
you want to use it elsewhere on
your PC check out homegrown
Texter and previously reviewed
PhraseExpress.
MyWords is free and works
wherever Firefox does. Have a
text-replacement or time-saving
tool that makes Firefox even
more awesome? Let's hear about
it in the comments.
MyWords[Mozilla]
35
Video: Fergie &
Husband Josh
Duhamel On the Run
(ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:21:00 AM
HTV cameras caught up to
Fergie and her husband Josh
Duhamel as they worked up a
sweat with an afternoon run.
The couple made headlines this
fall after an Atlanta stripper
alleged that she had a sexual
encounter with the actor.
Josh and Fergie seemed to be in
good spirits during their run but
avoided questions from
photographers. The two also
stepped out together for the Los
Angeles premiere of Fergie's new
film 'Nine' on Wednesday night.

Run Google Wave Inside Thunderbird 3 [Thunderbird 3]

By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) inside Thunderbird. The Hit the "Evaluate" button when
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:15:00 AM
Quetzalcoatal blog hacked you're done, and you'll see a new
together a little code that opens tab asking for your Wave login.
Google's Wave tool suffers from Wave cleanly and conveniently Log in, click "Remember" to
a "just another inbox" problem. inside one of these tabs, and even have Thunderbird remember your
So it's great to see Wave running keeps it open after you restart password, and now it's just like
inside a tab in Thunderbird, right Thunderbird. having a little browser tab
next to your email inbox, with a To load it up, head to the Tools opened on Wave. Google Wave
single JavaScript line. menu, select Error Console, and in Thunderbird 3[Quetzalcoatal
Among Thunderbird 3's new enter this line (be sure to select mediator;1'].getService(Compone Id("tabmail").openTab("contentT via Kabatology]
features is Content Tabs, a way a l l o f i t ) : nts.interfaces.nsIWindowMediato ab", {contentPage:
to monitor other web sites and Components.classes['@mozilla.o r).getMostRecentWindow("mail: "https://wave.google.com/wave/?
web-based messaging from r g / a p p s h e l l / w i n d o w - 3pane").document.getElementBy nouacheck"});

1 dead, 12 injured in Chicago high-rise fire (AP)

(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) April buzzed up: Exports up for 10 seconds ago 2009-12- Normalising the crime of the
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:37:53 AM
6th straight month, boost 10T09:57:03-08:00 century by John Pilger
recovery (AP) fivefilters.org featured article:
36 Tech Tips/ Tech News/ Entertainment/ E-reader Newspaper

Says danah boyd, Leverage the

Google Quick Scroll Finds
Your Search Terms on
Clicked Results [Downloads]
By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 5:30:00 AM
Google Chrome: Missed during
our launch day roundup of
Chrome extensions, Google's
Quick Scroll extension is a nifty
little tool for power searchers. It
offers in-page links to the terms
you searched for when you click
on a Google result.
In other words, it saves you the
trouble of Ctrl+F searching for an
exact phrase that you saw in
Google's little snippet when you
click and arrive on that page. It
can pinpoint multiple
occurrences of a phrase, or
clusters of words occurring close
Web's Most Disturbing Content
By Dana Oshiro fairly continuously, both to add
(ReadWriteWeb) to the number of effective eyes
Submitted at 12/10/2009 5:16:00 AM
on the street and to induce a
sufficient number of people in
Microsoft researcher danah boyd buildings along the street to
took a decidedly different watch the sidewalks."
approach when considering
social networking at today's
boyd believes this same concept
can be applied to online safety
LeWeb conference. In speaking and health. She explains, "The
to a room packed with more than activities. Nevertheless, boyd web makes available all parts of
a t h o u s a n d e n t r e p r e n e u r s , believes the visibility of violence, society and it's up to us to find a
investors and journalists, boyd drug use and criminal activity way to make it constructive."
explained how we tend to focus can also be used by regular With Facebook's user base often
t o g e t h e r . A s t h e G o o g l e on the positive aspects of social n e t i z e n s f o r c o n s t r u c t i v e cited as being bigger than the
Operating System notes, it's not n e t w o r k i n g s e r v i c e s . p u r p o s e s .
population of all but 4 countries
always available, in part because Technologists tend to praise web She references "eyes on the in the world, netizens have the
some Google search results text publishing for its ability to street" - a concept coined by visibility to do more than simply
snippets come from meta tags encourage artistic expression and urban sociologist Jane Jacobs in c o n s u m e c o n t e n t . b o y d ' s
and other data not shown on a public dialogue. In contrast, boyd her book The Death and Life of presentation reveals that while
page. makes the point that negative and Great American Cities. the internet has the power to
Here's Google's seven-slide disturbing web content can also Writes Jacobs:
uncover the abuses and
explanation of how it works: serve as a vehicle for change. "There must be eyes on the street, oppressions that are happening
Google Quick Scroll requires a Sponsor eyes belonging to those we might around us, ultimately it's up to us
development version of Chrome boyd explains how those who call the natural proprietors of the to decide whether or not to
running on Windows, or a beta m o n i t o r o n l i n e p r o f i l e street. The buildings on a street acknowledge and help remedy
(or daily build) version on Linux, i n f o r m a t i o n , t e n d t o h a v e equipped to handle strangers and them.
with Mac betas soon to follow. something to gain from it in a to insure the safety of both Photo Credit: Ewan McIntosh
G o o g l e Q u i c k S c r o l l ( b y negative way. For example, residents and strangers, must be * For more updates on LeWeb,
G o o g l e ) [ G o o g l e C h r o m e oppressive governments often oriented to the street. They follow along on the Social Media
Extensions via Google Operating monitor the web for signs of cannot turn their backs or blank Club House Discuss
System] criminal activity in order to sides on it and leave it blind. The
enforce laws or suppress certain sidewalk must have users on it

Darn: Steroids Have a Downside [Science]

By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker) for your body. The outside of cause serious kidney damage, it boards.
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:36:37 AM
your body, yes, totally ripped looks like, if you believe Either way, steroids do give you
bro. But inside, ripped in the bad "doctors" and "case studies" and beautiful breasts.
Oh shoot, unexpected setback: sense, like "your kidney has a rip " the New York Times" rather [Pic via]
Steroids may not be 100% good, in it, bro, ugly." Intensive steroid use appears to than the T-Nation message
E-reader Newspaper
Top 10 Real-Time Technologies of 2009
By Marshall Kirkpatrick
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 7:23:16 PM
The real-time web was hot this
year and it's likely to become a
standard expectation on sites all
around the world next year.
We've tracked this trend
extensively with a face-to-face
summit of industry leaders and
an 84-page research report on
The Real-Time Web and Its
Future.
Who were the big movers and
shakers in real time this year?
Check out our list of the top 10
below and let us know if there
are any important ones we
missed.
Sponsor
ReadWriteWeb's Best Products
of 2009:
Pubsubhubbub Pubsubhubbub,
created as a 20% project by
Googlers Brett Slatkin and Brad
Fitzpatrick, is described as "a
simple, open, server-to-server
web-hook-based pubsub
(publish/subscribe) protocol as an
extension to Atom and RSS." It
delivers updated content in real-
time from a pinged hub server
out to all subscribers that have
requested updates.
Real-time PubSubHubbub feeds
are already being published by
FeedBurner, Blogger,
LiveJournal, LiveDoor, Google
Alerts, Feedoor and the feed
republishing service Superfeedr.
Facebook's FriendFeed,
LazyFeed and the newest version
of Netvibes are consuming
Hubbub feeds so far, as are a
number of small sites and
services that are using the feeds
for machine-to-machine
communication.
Hubbub consuming applications
are reporting server traffic
savings of up to 85% and
engineers love it. RSSCloud
RSSCloud is a technology that's
been a part of the RSS 2.0 spec
for years but got a new burst of
development energy this year
when creator Dave Winer began
working on it in part as a way to
create a decentralized Twitter
experience.
RSSCloud is similar to Hubbub,
is often implemented in
conjunction with it but doesn't
deliver full content updates with
the notification of changes to a
feed. The first major move to
adopt RSSCloud was by blog
publisher WordPress.
The latest addition to the
technology is a new feature
called CloudPipe, which will
enable delivery of real-time feeds
to desktop and mobile clients,
even behind a firewall.
Creator Dave Winer has been a
key figure in an incredible
number of the most important
technologies of the read/write era
of the web. He created the first
popular blogging software (Radio
Userland), was the first to enable
podcast delivery in an RSS feed
visa-vi the now standard method
of enclosures, he built the web's
leading blog ping server
(weblogs.com), he ushered RSS
into the mainstream, he created
Tech News/ 37
feature. It kills what Bing and PubSubHubbub format. It's like
Yahoo are doing. It's simple but FeedBurner for the real-time web
elegant and effective. For certain and in fact just added publisher
search queries, real time web analytics ala FeedBurner today.
pages, Twitter updates, Facebook Superfeedr is a key enabler for
content, MySpace updates and other applications and if you
more will appear in a subtle, want an interesting view into the
streaming box in your results nitty gritty of the real-time web,
page, with a pause button. It's you should go subscribe to the
not live on the public site yet, it's Superfeedr company blog right
just a demo, but it's going to be now.
very, very big next year. Big Genestoux says the companies
the format for sharing bundles of enough that it belongs on the list using his service so far include
RSS feeds and other outlines this year just for being demoed. SixApart, Adobe, Twitterfeed,
(OPML), he wrote the XML- Twitter search StatusNet and a number of small
RPC framework (predecessor of Whether you're watching brand services such as Webwag,
SOAP) and the MetaWeblog API mentions for your work or E v e n t V u e , Q u u b ,
for remote blog management. participating in a semi-obscene AppNotifications, Excla.im and
Now Dave Winer is working on public ritual of riffs on a trending SmackSale. That's an impressive
real-time web technology and meme - millions of people now list and your company could well
we'd be fools to not watch what regularly watch the real-time be on it by next year. Tornado
he's doing. Facebook updates on Twitter search results This September, Facebook open-
F a c e b o o k , f o r a l l i t s pages. sourced the newly acquired
shortcomings, has turned more Twitter bought a search engine FriendFeed's real-time
than 200 million new people on called Summize in July of 2008, infrastructure. It's a fast,
to real-time streams of content built by a group of former AOL relatively easy way to add real-
pushed to their browsers in 2009. scientists and originally intended time flow to your application and
If you think this paradigm is to be a sentiment analysis developers around the world are
important, Facebook deserves a technology. It has become excited about it. We're all about
medal. Google Real-Time Search incredibly important this year. the potential here at
Honorable Mentions When the site's new GeoLocation ReadWriteWeb and we think
• Echo- real-time comment API gets put to more substantive Tornado has a lot of it. We hope
aggregation use, that search engine is going to to see big things from this project
• Evri- real-time semantic news become all the more important - next year. Breaking News
tracker in ways that could change our Online's iPhone App Breaking
• Lazyfeed- topical discovery day-to-day lives. News Online is an international
engine Next page: Top 10 Real-Time news organization founded by
• Netvibes- now probably the Technologies of 2009 6-10 now 19 year old Netherlands
m o s t p o p u l a r r e a l - t i m e Superfeedr native Michael van Poppel. Van
consuming feed reader in the Julien Genestoux's Superfeedr is Poppel somehow sold a video of
world a service that pulls in content Ossama Bin Laden to Reuters
feeds from around the Web and two years ago and has since built
Just this week the Big G showed then offers updates for those
TOP page 39
of its new real-time search f e e d s in XMPP or
38 Tech News/ E-reader Newspaper

wikiHow vs. eHow: Is The Wiki Way Better Than Content

Farms?
By Richard MacManus model when he realized that "it has a Creative Commons license, produces quality content -
(ReadWriteWeb) would fill the web with a bunch the company profits directly by although there have always been
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:00:00 PM
of mediocre content.""It's like it. instances of contentious content
eating a McDonald's burger vs. a The company vs. non-profit on the site. wikiHow founder
Jack Herrick knows a bit about wonderful, home cooked meal." Perfect Either issue may not be a big influence Jack Herrick: eHow content
Demand Media, one of the top 20 At the time Herrick thought that Jack Herrick admits that "wiki on many of wikiHow's current "lacks soul."
web properties in the U.S. and the mediocre content production content typically starts out as low volunteers, but it may prevent Herrick contends that wiki
t h e s u b j e c t o f s e v e r a l would hurt eHow's long term quality," but claims that "once it w i k i H o w f r o m s c a l i n g t o content is inherently better
ReadWriteWeb articles about b r a n d . A l t h o u g h h e n o w matures and receives enough W i k i p e d i a ' s s i z e . because "volunteer writers are
sites that are pumping thousands c o n c e d e s h e m a y ' v e b e e n edits it can be amazing." And that Next page: We compare passionate about their topics and
of pieces of content into the Web mistaken on that point, given i s r e a l l y t h e c r u x o f t h i s wikiHow to eHow and ask which we allow anyone to continuously
every day. Herrick sold the Demand Media's success over the argument. is better... Comparing wikiHow edit articles." In comparison, he
business he founded, eHow, to past couple of years. A quality wiki article, whether to eHow claims that sites like eHow
Demand Media in 2006. eHow is When Herrick sold eHow in it's found on Wikipedia or Although by no means a perfect produce "static, low quality"
one of Demand Media's flagship 2006, he began to work on wikiHow, will generally be one approach, I decided to choose a content that "lacks soul." Herrick
properties, but Herrick became wikiHow - a wiki how-to manual that has received a number of random topic and compare even used the ol' McDonalds
frustrated with the focus on which now competes with eHow. edits from people who know the wikiHow and eHow. The topic I analogy: "it's like eating a
quantity over quality. So he wikiHow currently generates 19 topic well. wikiHow itself has chose was: decorating a room McDonald's burger vs. having
c r e a t e d a n o t h e r b u s i n e s s , million unique visitors per done research which shows this. using Feng Shui. your friend who happens to be a
wikiHow, which he claims month, according to the company Herrick told us that in previous The wikiHow article had been great chef cooking you a
produces higher quality articles. (it's about to hit 20 million research, wikiHow found that contributed to by 8 authors and it wonderful, home cooked meal."
wikiHow has today unveiled a monthly uniques). Demand "the more people who edit an was a comprehensive, helpful Ultimately I don't completely
redesign (screenshot below). Media's eHow is still the market article, the more readers it article - complete with diagram buy Jack Herrick's argument that
However we were more leader in how-to content, attracted and the higher quality and video. wiki-produced content is
interested in the content quality however wikiHow is a small the article became." A comparable eHow article was necessarily better than paid-for
question, so we asked founder unfunded company with only 7 The problem is, there's no helpful too, although much less content from "content farms."
Jack Herrick what makes him employees. guarantee any given article will comprehensive and with no Both types of content could be
think wikiHow is any better than Herrick is convinced that the attract passionate volunteers to accompanying media. either good or poor quality,
Demand Media's content farms? wiki model for producing content edit it. Wikipedia is a non-profit The verdict? In this case the depending on the quality of the
Sponsor attracts "passionate volunteers." organization and so it's more wikiHow article was better. But people who write and edit it.
The newly re-designed wikiHow He thinks that the wiki way will l i k e l y t o b e a t t r a c t i v e t o your mileage may vary per topic How-to content needs to be
How Jack Herrick Went From "ultimately result in a higher volunteers - they're contributing and article. Which Approach is precise and well-researched,
eHow to wikiHow quality product," compared to to the world's knowledge base Better, Wiki or Paid Content? which requires time. The best
"When I ran eHow," Herrick told eHow. and no corporation is profiting When done on a large scale, is wiki how-to content is likely to
us via email, "we produced The other prong of Herrick's from that. wikiHow, on the other paid-for content (such as Demand be articles which have been
content in a manner somewhat argument is that eHow gets what hand, is a commercial enterprise. Media's eHow) better than edited by multiple people. But
similar to the way Demand it pays for in terms of content I t c a l l s i t s e l f a " h y b r i d volunteer wiki content? Herrick equally, well-informed writers
Studios does today (although at a quality. "When you pay $15 for organization," meaning a "for- makes a good case, but in reality can easily produce quality how-to
much, much smaller scale.)" a n a r t i c l e , y o u g e t a $ 1 5 profit company focused on it isn't black and white. articles in one go.
However Herrick ultimately product...and nothing more," he creating a global public good." The most famous example of a
became frustrated with that noted archly. Wikis Aren't But it's a company nonetheless. wiki, Wikipedia, generally WIKIHOW page 39
While the content of wikiHow
E-reader Newspaper
Smart Phones Show How the Times
are a Changing
By Alex Williams
(ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:15:30 AM
Look at how smart phones are
reaching into the enterprise and
it's clear a cultural shift is taking
place that is transforming the
relationship between IT and
business users.
Smart phones in the enterprise
are a user-driven phenomena.
People buy smart phones to do
work, but also for personal use.
IDC is estimating that by 2013, a
billion mobile devices will access
the Internet.
In light of this onslaught, how
do IT managers keep things in
check? MobileIron believes the
trick is in treating smart phones
as computers. By employing a
data-centric model, IT can
manage and control how smart
phones are used, while at the
WIKIHOW
continued from page 38
However, the feng shui
examples above showed that (in
this case) multiple wiki authors
produced better results than a
single paid contributer.
Let us know your thoughts about
which is better: wikiHow or
eHow? Or neither? Discuss
Tech News/ TV/ 39
TOP
continued from page 37
up the fastest, smallest news blazing new trails with its new
organization on the planet. The
American Red Cross watches
real-time ActivityStreams feed
normalization API. The API
information and applications. BNO closely for notices of new means activities from 70 different
Serving as a police agency is natural disasters. MSNBC paid social services can be read in a
ineffective. The real answer is to what have been a hefty sum for common language and 3rd party
develop a cooperative culture. control over the Breaking News services can slice and dice them
F o r e x a m p l e , M o b i l e I r o n Online Twitter account this to create new user experiences.
provides the capabilities for an month, but the organization's Several high-profile applications
same time creating a cooperative
enterprise to establish its own iPhone app lives on in the hands have already begun consuming
environment with users.
"app stores." IT can manage what of the original organization. activity feeds republished
Sponsor
applications may be accessed by It's a simple app but one that will through Cliqset and the company
MobileIron uses the data from keep you on top of world events says many more consumers are in
users.
smart phones to help IT
The MobileIron methods allow around the clock like nothing the works. This is the stuff that
administrators create social
for all sorts of opportunities. else. It's a great use of the distributed, interoperable
graphs for users that gives
Costly roaming charges can be iPhone's new Push feature, platforms are built on, where
insights into the business. Call
monitored as can service quality. implemented this year. Aardvark small innovators have access to
histories and SMS messages are
MobileIron demonstrates how Aardvark is a social search economies of scale.
no longer locked in the phone.
smart phones are becoming an engine that combines artificial Those are our picks! Check them
Instead, the information can be
icon for cultural change in the intelligence, natural-language out, let us know who we missed
aggregated and analyzed.
enterprise. In many ways, the processing and presence data to and get ready for a coming time
IT is slowly learning that the
social Web is changing how we create what the company calls when most of the web will be
days of using command and
view the way we work. The "the real-time Web of people." running in real time!
control tactics are ending. As
a d v e n t o f s m a r t p h o n e s It's got some heavy engineering Discuss
smart phones become ubiquitous,
accelerates that shift and will behind it and this author uses it
IT is struggling to keep up with
force the enterprise to alter the almost every day. Google is
security and the costs of
way IT has historically worked reportedly in the process of
managing how employees access trying to buy it. Cliqset We love
with business users. Discuss
a good technical standard and
stream reader startup Cliqset is
So You Think You Can Dance returning to once a
year format?
By Robert Seidman during the warm-up that the etc. If true, it will be interesting summer. For now, all we can do
(TVbytheNumbers) twice a year back to back season to see whether they keep is speculate.
Submitted at 12/9/2009 5:44:41 PM
format is too much for him. SYTYCD as a summer show Joe Adalian has some additional
According to Adalian FOX tried only, or take the ratings hit and speculation about what FOX
The Wrap’s Josef Adalian writes to downplay his comments, but keep it in the fall. For now, I’d might air instead next fall.
that at the So You Think You didn’t dismiss it completely guess even though SYTYCD has fivefilters.org featured article:
Can Dance live results show giving a fairly standard helped FOX with its year over Normalising the crime of the
tonight, executive producer Nigel boilerplate response about season year ratings gains in the fall, that century by John Pilger
Lythgoe told audience member’s schedules not being locked down, the show would return to the
40 Tech News/ Entertainment/ E-reader Newspaper

Netvibes Launches Ultimate News and Lifestyle Dashboard

By Dana Oshiro In addition to a number of allows users to monitor real-time
(ReadWriteWeb) magazine-style themes, some of brand conversations.
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:56:00 AM
the features designed for the real- Drag and Follow Widgets:
time web include: Facebook, Twitter and MySpace
I n l a t e N o v e m b e r , Multipurpose Navigation: Users widgets allow users to drag
R e a d W r i t e W e b a s k e d t h e will enjoy the ability to read their hashtags or usernames out of
question, Can Netvibes pull off feeds and insert widgets directly existing widgets in order to
integration of real-time feeds into into the Wasabi home page instantly create new specialized
its existing dashboard product?. Smart Reader: In addition to ones.
At the time, early testers were delivering users' RSS feeds, To test the product visit
just gaining access to Wasabi Netvibes Smart Reader lets users netvibes.com.
beta. As of today the service will check their Twitter, Facebook, promised, Netvibes' feed delivery widgets, users can take advantage Discuss
go live to the public with CEO widget apps, notifications, engine updates with full of the site's no-code push
Freddy Mini's presentation at the podcast subscriptions, photos and PubSubHubBub support. publishing and notification tools
Le Web conference. notifications. Publishing: In addition to being as well as free hosting. The
Sponsor The Real-Time RSS: As able to create more than 185,000 company's premium product also
Another 'Good Morning
Queen of Jordan Calls on Blogger Friends America' Anchor Set to
By Dana Oshiro In participation with the 1Goal Exit Show
(ReadWriteWeb) project, the Queen appealed to (ETonline - Breaking News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:59:00 AM
bloggers for their help. In a
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:39:00 AM
campaign to collect more than
This morning in her address to 300 million signatures in support ET has the latest...
LeWeb conference attendees, her of universal childhood education, Just days after Diane Sawyer
majesty Queen Rania Al she is asking bloggers to devote announced this was her last week
Abdullah of the Hashemite one day of tweeting and blogging on "Good Morning America,"
Kingdom of Jordan asked the to the 1Goal project. another anchor has decided to
question, "Did Michael Jackson Said Rania, "The classroom can leave the show.
change the fate of the green be a chrysalis for change...We After three years with the
revolution?" While CNN was can be lifestreaming and life popular morning show, news
slow to report on this year's changing." anchor Chris Cuomo announced
Iranian election protests, Twitter Sponsor surprised to find that 60% of For more information on how on Thursday that he will also be
became a powerful news vehicle. Interested in the power of those who replied answered no. y o u c a n p a r t i c i p a t e v i s i t exiting the program on Friday.
Nevertheless, after a week of activism and social change, As one way to rally netizens to j o i n 1 g o a l . o r g . Cuomo will be staying with the
" T e h r a n " a s T w i t t e r ' s t o p Q u e e n R a n i a t w e e t e d t h e participate in life changing social Photo Credit: Chris Heuer ABC family and heading over to
t r e n d i n g t o p i c s , M i c h a e l question, "Can the real-time web action, Rania called upon today's Discuss "20/20," where he will anchor
Jackson's sudden death quickly change the world?" Inundated attendees to join in her mission of alongside Elizabeth Vargas.
replaced it. with answers, the Queen was universal education for children.
E-reader Newspaper Tech News/ Apple/ 41

New Google App Apple Looking to Hire In-House

Approved for iPhones Video Game Talent
By Jolie O'Dell By Darrell Etherington
(ReadWriteWeb) (TheAppleBlog)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 7:05:56 PM Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:46:04 AM

We've just heard from our
friends at Google that their
mobile app is now available in
the App Store for iPhone users
everywhere.
In the new version of Google
Mobile, everyone's favorite
search company has redesigned
their results display to show more
results at one time. Also, users
will be able to open web pages
from search results from inside
the app. Other new features are
pretty impressive, too.
Sponsor
Users can now customize the
application by any color they
choose. Users with speedy
iPhone models can also choose to
turn on a moving waveform for
voice-activated searches. These
mods are available under a "Bells
and Whistles" setting for fancy
gizmodgery.
And speaking of searching by
voice, Google has worked out a
special sort of magic for sussing
out not only the language but
also the accent of the speaker.
"For example," writes software
Apple’s posted job listings seem
to provoke no end of exciting
speculation, and one of its latest
open calls for applications is
certainly no exception. New job
postings call for a software
engineer for the iPhone Gaming
Group, and a video game artist.
Last month’s call for a
game/media software engineer
was somewhat open to
interpretation, but this time
around, there’s no ambiguity
involved.
engineer Alastair Tse, "if you're Not that Apple hasn’t made
Australian but live in London, games in the past, as The iPhone
you can improve the recognition Blog points out. Texas Hold’Em
accuracy by selecting Australian is a game, after all, if not a
particularly ambitious one. But
in the Voice Search settings."
Google has also added such that casual game was a one-off,
languages as Mandarin and and was probably designed more
Japanese to its list of supported to get the ball rolling for third-
party developers than as a
languages.
For more information about the meaningful entry point into the
Google iPhone app, check it out gaming industry for Apple itself.
at Google's page or download it The new job postings, however,
free from the App Store. Discuss seem to indicate that Apple wants
to start taking gaming much more
seriously. The skill sets asked for
definitely go beyond what’s
required to create a simple video
poker simulator, at least. From
the call for an artist:
The interactive media group is
looking for a skilled artist who
wants to work as part of a small
highly motivated team to work
on interactive multimedia
experiences on the iPhone and
iPod touch. The position on the
team is to help design, visualize,
enable and implement interface,
3-D characters/environments,
animation, texturing as well as
original concept artwork.
Requirements also include the
“ability to model, animate,
texture and produce
bump/normal maps for 3-D scene
graph environments.” The
software engineer position is less
obviously game-related, but the
description does specifically
mention the iPhone Gaming
Group, and lists “experience with
game development” as an asset:
Please join us in taking the
revolutionary iPhone to the next
level. The iPhone Games Group
is looking for a proactive, highly
motivated engineer with 5+ years
experience, to share their
expertise in application and
framework development…You
will be responsible for
implementing new features in
existing applications as well as
developing complex applications
from top to bottom (user
interface design to design and
implementation of supporting
frameworks.)
Two job calls does not exactly a
gaming studio make, but it shows
that Apple is thinking about that
area. And how could it not,
really? It’s been pushing the iPod
touch as a gaming device, and
witnessed first-hand the success
of games on both it and the
iPhone, so it knows that’s a space
where money can be made. I still
believe the primary purpose of
any software effort on Apple’s
part is selling hardware, so I’d
expect to see new games from the
company to make especially
good use of the newer hardware
and software features of the
iPhone and iPod touch, including
peer-to-peer networking.
42 Apple/ Entertainment/ E-reader Newspaper

Dragons and Dictation Software: How the Failure Continues

By Liam Cassidy single-word utterances either, but spot on the page, you could have until after you’ve finished
(TheAppleBlog) fluid, organic sentences. Natural reached for the mouse, clicked, dictating. Most importantly, the
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:30:12 AM
speech, they like to call it. made your edit, completed your Dragon Dictate app doesn’t itself
It all sounds fantastic. But the sentence and wandered off to perform the speech-to-text
In late November, Gear Diary h a r d w a r e w a s a l o n g - t i m e watch last night’s episode of conversion; those short 20-odd
ran a short video sneak-peek of c o m i n g . P r o c e s s o r s w e r e at all, but with you, the user. You Stargate Universe. seconds of speech are recorded
Dragon Dictation for the iPhone, underpowered. Microphones see, you need to be carefully re- Dragon Dictation is nothing by the iPhone and transferred via
an app that, like its big brother w e r e t o o l o w - f i d e l i t y f o r trained not only in how you go special unless you already have a the web to a server which does
M a c a n d P C c o u n t e r p a r t s , dictation software to do its about the task of ‘writing,’ but very specific need for such all the real work, sending the text
converts spoken words into job reliably. also in how you control your software, like I said at the start of results back to your iPhone. So
written text. The teaser video Image courtesy of computer. It’s deliciously ironic this ranticle (a portmanteau of not only is there an unavoidable
begins with the words “An app S u m m e r R a i n 8 1 2 o n F l i c k r that, after a while spent training ‘rant’ and ‘article’ I suspect processing delay, but you also
that will transform your iPhone Sadly, higher quality yourself to speak the right words, would take an eternity to type have to be online to use it in the
usage.” microphones tend to be the right way, at the right speed using dictation software). first place.
It’s now available in the iTunes prohibitively expensive or must and with the right tone of voice, The problems with dictation So, is this really the app that’s
Store, and for a limited time, it’s be strapped to the head during you sound more like a robot than technologies can’t be blamed on going to transform how you use
free. But don’t rush to download use. (Not exactly user-friendly.) your computer ever could. Dragon Dictation; rather, they your iPhone? If you constantly
it just yet. While this is not a In any case, even when speech Challenges belong to those human interface use Voice Control then perhaps
review of the Dragon Dictation recognition and dictation works No one writes an essay or challenges that are the product of you’ll love it. But for everyone
app, it is a cautionary tale to be well, it’s a control mechanism lengthy document knowing in our bias towards using our hands else, this is likely one of those
skeptical of the hype. Because, m o s t o f u s f i n d h o r r i b l y advance exactly the words they for most activities. If your hands apps left to gather virtual dust,
unless you already have a very u n c o m f o r t a b l e . will use and in precisely what and arms work sufficiently well, another victim of the harsh
specific need for speech-to-text What do I mean by that? If order. If you’re anything like me, you’ll just prefer a mouse or reality of current voice-
t e c h n o l o g y ( s u b s c r i p t i o n you’ve never tried dictating an you write a few lines here, an edit keyboard. interaction technologies.
required), this app fails where all email, letter, article or essay, go there, a quick jump back to the For what it’s worth (even though I look forward to a Star Trek
dictation software has failed do it right now. I guarantee you’ll beginning to add something you I did promise this was not a future in which we all talk to our
before. A Quick Recap be returning to the keyboard in forgot… Writing is a creative review) Dragon Dictate has some computers and receive intelligent,
In the early 90’s people started next to no time. process that requires a lot of noteworthy limitations; Dictation useful responses. But don’t forget
t a k i n g d i c t a t i o n s o f t w a r e Dictation tools still require you flexibility. has to occur in short bursts of 20- that the crew of the Starship
s e r i o u s l y , a n d d e v e l o p e r s to explicitly dictate punctuation Just try moving your carat 30 seconds, which will swiftly Enterprise does the bulk of their
dreamed of a not-too-distant Star (an awkward skill to master). The around a page using only your become a nuisance if you happen computer work with their hands.
Trek-inspired world in which our fact is, until computers really are voice, and you soon realise that to speak s-l-o-w-l-y. There’s no (And it’s all dignified tapping
primary method of interaction as smart as those in Star Trek, the in the time it took to navigate realtime visual feedback, so you and swiping, mind you, not
with our computers would be via biggest problem with dictation successfully to that one particular can’t tell whether the speech-to- comically-impractical Minority
the spoken word. Not just stilted software is not with the software text conversion was successful Report arm-waving!)

LeAnn Rimes vs. Shanna Moakler: Stars Show Off Same Sexy
Style
(ETonline - Breaking News) It's a fashion face-off for style- beauty queen Shanna Moakler's stopping ensembles, see which
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:40:00 AM
savvy celebs! From country revealing mini-dresses, to Fergie stars are working the red carpet
crooner LeAnn Rimes and former and Gwyneth Paltrow's show- in a similar fashion.
E-reader Newspaper Apple/ Sports/ 43

Logos for the iPhone: Portable Biblical Heaven Changing of

By Matthew Bookspan
(TheAppleBlog)
Software is working to improve
this over time. I personally ran
• It is a free App, and with a free
registered account, you have 31
the Guard in
Submitted at 12/9/2009 11:00:22 AM
into this issue with the Jewish
Publication Society Tanakh, as it
books available
study/search/share.
to Detroit?
Carrying physical scripture with is not available yet for mobile • It has excellent overall By Adam Gretz (Fanhouse
y o u c a n b e c h a l l e n g i n g , distribution. The Application usability for reading and Main)
especially when you consider the The Home Page displays any searching. Submitted at 12/10/2009 2:30:00 AM
sheer physical space a Bible or recent news from Logos as well • The content you own with your
many Bibles require. Thankfully, as any custom reading plans you Logos account/destkop Filed under: Red Wings If
there are options now available have defined. application is shared with the there's been one question mark in
for portable scripture. And, one Logos Home Screen iPhone app (with some caveats). regards to the Detroit Red Wings
of the most recent newcomers for Logos Library Screen over the past two seasons --
the iPhone is Logos Bible Search is also wonderful with Negatives especially last season -- it's been
Software. Logos as you can: • Requires a live connection for the performance of veteran
Logos is considered one of the • Find relevant verses within the true usability. goaltender Chris Osgood. No
premier Bible study software current text, across all bibles, or • Requires an account to access matter how much he's struggled
companies, especially if you own your entire library (and it is fast) additional free content (this is in the regular season, he's still
a PC. Its desktop Macintosh • G o d i r e c t l y t o a What’s nice is that when you are moot if you have an account and been able to elevate his game in
offering is still in alpha, however book/chap/verse (very handy). want to view your own books). the playoffs, posting save
in the reader, you have multiple
its iPhone App is really • Not all of the content you’ve percentages of .930 and .926
options:
something you should consider. Logos Search Screen
• If you swipe up, you can use paid for is available due to during his past two postseason
Why? The biggest benefit is that The reader is very beautiful. licensing/distribution constraints. runs, helping lead the Wings to a
the Text Comparison to quickly
the app is free and that it has a Here are some of the things you • No offline mode — you must Stanley Cup championship (the
see a verse in multiple versions,
plethora of features that make it can do within the reader: be connected to browse the third of Osgood's 16-year career)
with differences highlighted.
really shine. How it Works • If you tap-and-hold on a Bible • One of the new features in v1.1 content. (There is a workaround: and to the deciding seventh game
Based upon the type of account word, you can see the linked
is that you can now share your get the content while online and of another Stanley Cup Final
you have with Logos, you get the cross references, which allows then it is locally cached). series.
thoughts with others via Even with all of his postseason
following content with the you to click footnotes and reveal
Facebook or Twitter by swiping
iPhone App: the reference text. Until now, BibleReader 4 from success, it's worth asking if the
up in the Reader and then
• No account (free): One sample • Again, if you tap-and-hold on a OliveTree was my preferred performance of 2003 second-
pressing the Share button.
book (30 Bible texts) word, the Reader will display the mobile application. However, round pick Jimmy Howard is
• Registered account (free): 31 underlying Hebrew or Greek (if with so much more flexibility in starting to push Osgood to the
Logos Sharing Conclusion
sample books (the 30 Bibles + 31 available). the application, I can honestly bench in the Motor City.
I spent the better part of the past
additional books) say that I prefer Logos. I do hope
few weeks using the app and I
• Registered account (free) + Logos Reader with selected admit that I am very impressed that Logos can provide an offline
paid product (whichever package word highlighted story that is more useful,
with it. I used it during both of
you own*): All of your books If you have multiple books my Temple visits and found the although if you do have a 3G or
(sources), you can tap to switch app to be responsive, even over Wi-Fi connection (especially Wi-
* Some books that you might to different verses (via the slider) Fi), the app is still very usable.
3G (and without performing the
have for your desktop software or via the book list:
caching trick below).
are not available on the iPhone Logos Reader + Tap to Change
Positives
due to licensing. Logos Bible Source
44 Apple/ Sports/ Popular News/ E-reader Newspaper

MacUpdate Winter Bundle: $450 Worth of Mac Puck Talk:

Apps for $50 Hockey in the
By Darrell Etherington
(TheAppleBlog)
prospective to-buy list, there’s no
better time to snatch them up.
application. Features support for
hex, octal and binary calculations
Music City
By Bruce Ciskie (Fanhouse
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:15:47 AM
Here’s a quick look at what’s and unit conversions, and is Main)
included in the deal: completely scriptable. Also
If you’re looking for a gift to • Path Finder– Finder your auction using templates and includes a companion dashboard Submitted at 12/10/2009 4:00:00 AM

buy yourself this holiday season replacement. Looks like Finder, a WYSIWYG editor, broadcast widget.
them using Twitter, and also keep • Machinarium– The much- Filed under: Predators, Western,
(or someone else, I suppose, b u t f e a t u r e s n u m e r o u s
an eye on auctions you’re loved Mac puzzle/adventure NHL Fans Going into the season,
though I never find that people enhancements, including a dual
bidding on. PayPal support is game. You’re a robot who has to the NHL's Central Division was
much like software gifts), the p a n e f i l e b r o w s e r , t a b b e d
also built-in. assumed to be the league's
MacUpdate Holiday Bundle has browsing, easy Mac package travel through a world of robots
• D r a g T h i n g – A n O S X to find your robot lover. On the toughest. We're past the quarter
just arrived and is well worth navigation, disk image creation
launcher. It’s a dock, but more way, you’ll run into countless pole, and the teams who emerged
considering. Like MacHeist and and OS X command line access.
versatile than the one that ships puzzles and brain teasers. as playoff teams last year --
many other software bundles, • S o c i a l i t e – U s e d t o b e
with OS X, and you can have • iRip– A utility for getting Columbus and St. Louis -- are
MacUpdate’s offers a heaping EventBox. It’s an aggregator for
more than one using DragThing. music from your iPod onto your floundering. Meanwhile, the
helping of software at a bargain your social networks and news
Billed as a way to keep your Mac. This is the one that made Nashville Predators, underfunded
basement price. sources, including Google
desktop clean, so that you can headlines a little while ago when and probably underappreciated in
The bundle includes 11 quality Reader, Facebook, Twitter and
have your files available without it had to change its name to iRip their home market, keep on
Mac apps, including both utilities RSS. Learn more in our recent
wasting all that space and because Apple took issue with its playing solid, competitive
and games, and if you’re lucky article about the program.
memory. hockey.
enough to be one of the first • Yep– PDF and document original name, “iPodRip.”
• Speed Download– Download To find out how they're doing it,
10,000 buyers, you also get three management app. It’s described
manager and accelerator. I’ve That’s the basic bundle, but as we figured we'd ask someone
additional pieces of software at by the developers as an iPhoto or
never used one of these, but this mentioned, you also get three who knows. Dirk Hoag writes the
no extra charge (around 1,200 iTunes for your iWork, Office
one does have the advantage of other apps if you buy it soon. popular On The Forecheck blog,
had been sold at the time of this and PDF files. You can navigate
doubling as a full-featured FTP T h o s e and he joins us to discuss the
writing). Best of all, if you’re your file structure to find them three are
client, which is good enough for PowerTunes(manage multiple chances of Nashville being a
unsure about any of the apps and move them, and also preview
me. legitimate playoff threat in the
included, you can download a them within the app. iTunes libraries), Holiday DVD
• HealthNut– Calorie tracker and Templates(self-explanatory) and Western Conference.
preview package that includes • Radio Gaga– Nothing to do
food diary. Just in time for FlagIt!(flag add-on for Apple Listen to the podcast above, or
trial versions of each. with the Lady of the same name.
helping exacerbate the guilt of Mail). The MacUpdate Holiday click here to download the file.
The total cost of the Holiday It’s an internet radio player and
Bundle is $49.99, which is a recorder. You can add your own stuffing your face over the Bundle is only available for
nearly 90 percent discount from stations or use the built-in holidays, and helping you stay on around 12 more days, so if you’re
the cumulative regular price of directory of more than 10,000. track with your consequent New going to bite, you’ve got less
$446.77. Even if two of the apps • Garage Sale– eBay auction Year’s resolution to lose weight. than two weeks to do it.
o n o f f e r a r e p a r t o f y o u r creator and client. You can build • PCalc– Scientific calculator

Police end SF State Univ sit-in; 33 arrested (AP)

(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Tony A buzzed up: New health 12 seconds ago 2009-12- Normalising the crime of the
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:05:41 AM
care benefits come at a price 10T09:55:04-08:00 century by John Pilger
(AP) fivefilters.org featured article:
E-reader Newspaper
Rumor Has It: Foxconn Receives
Order for Next-Gen iPhone
By Darrell Etherington
(TheAppleBlog)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:37:41 AM
The inevitable iPhone update is
looming ever closer in the
distance, and accordingly, the
iPhone rumor mill is heating up.
Today, news came that frequent
Apple manufacturing partner
Foxconn, a Taiwanese hardware
company, received an order to
build the new iPhone, which still
won’t arrive in consumer hands
until mid-2010.
News of the iPhone order comes
via Mobile Review’s editor in
chief, Eldar Murtazin, who
tweeted simply, “Foxconn
received order for next
generation iphone” early
Thursday morning. Murtazin is
known to have good connections
in the mobile phone industry, so
there’s a good chance that there’s
something solid behind the
The Playoff Plan: Five Tips and Ten Players to
Take You to the Title
By R.J. White (Fanhouse
Main)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:45:00 PM
Filed under: NFL Sleepers, NFL
Waiver Wire So here we are, in
the playoffs. You've over-
analyzed your Week 14 matchups the one thing that'll lock you in as
to no end, and you still feel your a 2 0 0 9 f a n t a s y f o o t b a l l
missing a key part of the puzzle, champion. Since we never leave
report. Engadget went so far as to
call him “the ultimate insider
when it come to all things
mobile,” which is no small
praise.
It also makes sense time-wise,
since Apple basically now has
about six months to ramp up
production enough to deal with
the massive demand that usually
accompanies the launch of its
iPhone products. It’s also worth
noting that this time around,
many people who got the iPhone
3G on contract through AT&T
will be at the end of their 2-year
agreement, and thus fully eligible
for a new hardware deal, which
should help boost sales even
further.
Thus far, details regarding what
the next iPhone will have that the
current generation doesn’t have
been scarce. But that hasn’t
stopped the rumor mill from
working overtime. Some suggest
we could see a CDMA or dual-
mode CDMA/GSM model, or
one that supports RFID
technologies. If it’s true that
production on parts of the iPhone
is going to begin soon, we likely
won’t have to wait long to see
these rumors multiply and
resolve into a more definite
picture of what’s to come.
you hanging, we've come up with
a list of ten concepts to keep at
the forefront of your mind for the
next few weeks. Following these
steps won't guarantee success --
nothing will -- but I do hope they
help out.
Apple/ TV/ Sports/ 45
What's On Tonight:
Survivor, Bones, The
Office, It's Always Sunny
By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:22:00 PM
• Travel Channel has a Man vs.
Food marathon all night.
• At 8, CBS has a new Survivor,
followed by new episodes of CSI
and The Mentalist.
• NBC has a new Community at
8, then new episodes of Parks
and Recreation, The Office, 30
Rock and The Jay Leno Show.
• FOX has new episodes of Philadelphia, followed by the
Bones and Fringe. season finale of The League.
• At 9, Bravo has a new Real • ABC Family has A Flintstone
Housewives of Atlanta, followed Christmas at 10.
by a new Real Housewives of
Orange County. Check your local TV listings for
• Comedy Central has a new Jeff more.
Dunham Show at 9. After the jump, the late night
• TLC has a new American talk shows.
Chopper at 9. Continue reading What's On
• Cartoon Network has a new Tonight: Survivor, Bones, The
Total Drama Action at 9, then a
new Johnny Test.
Office, It's Always Sunny
Filed under: Late Night,
• Spike has a new TNA Programming, Celebrities, Talk
Wrestling at 9. Show, What To Watch Tonight,
• Also at 9: Current has a new Reality-Free
SuperNews. Permalink| Email this| |
• At 10, FX has the season finale Comments
of It's Always Sunny in
46 TV/ E-reader Newspaper

TV Ratings: Modern Family returns strong; Glee exits at highs

By Robert Seidman
(TVbytheNumbers)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:03:54 AM

A very tight night with CBS

winning with adults 18-49 over
FOX and ABC by a very narrow
margin. FOX ruled the night
with adults 18-34, and CBS had
the most viewers overall.
It was a good night for the
comedies with Old Christine, The
Middle, Gary Unmarried and
Modern Family all improved
versus their season averages.
Only Cougar Town, with a 2.8
rating with adults 18-49 was
down from its prior average.
Criminal Minds and CSI: NY
were also up a bit from season
averages on CBS.
Glee’s fall finale tied with last
week’s season high with a 3.6/9
rating/share with adults 18-49
and was Glee’s highest-rated
episode ever with teens. Though
So You Think You Can Dance’s
numbers weren’t as good as
Glee’s, SYTYCD’s performance
with Women 18-34 (3.4/10) was headlined “Univision has Mercy Fast Affiliate Ratings: These include stations that did not air
second on the night only to on NBC,” En Nombre del Amor • At 12:35 a.m., Jimmy Fallon first national ratings, including the entire network feed, as well
Glee’s 5.4. A distant second to beat both of CBS’ comedies and (0.5/3 in 18-49 in local people demographics, are available at as local news breaks or cutaways
be sure, but ahead of everything Mercy with adults 18-34 in the meters) tied CBS’s LATE LATE approximately 11 AM (ET) the for local coverage or other
else on the night in that demo. 8pm hour, and Sortilegio bested SHOW (0.5/3). day after telecast, and are programming. Fast Affiliate
At 10pm CSI: NY edged out the Law & Order: SVU with adults released to subscribing customers ratings are not as useful for live
Barbara Walters Special on the 18-34. Full Details: daily. These data, from the programs and are likely to differ
“100 Most Fascinating People of In Late-Night Local People = National People Meter sample, significantly from the final
2009. The special was down 26 Meters Wednesday night: Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The are strictly time-period results, because the data reflect
percent with adults 18-49 from • Conan O’Brien (1.0/4 in 18-49 Nielsen Company. All Rights information, based on the normal normal broadcast feed patterns.
last year’s airing on 12/4/08. in local people meters) topped Reserved. broadcast network feed, and For example, with a World Series
Though we’re no longer posting CBS’s LATE SHOW (0.9/4) in You can see TV ratings from include all programming on the game, Fast Affiliate Ratings
the individual show data for Nielsen’s 24 local markets with other recent Overnight ratings affiliated stations, sometimes would include whatever aired
Univision, the blurb this morning People Meters. reports here. including network programming,
from Univision PR was RATINGS: page 47
Definitions: sometimes not. The figures may
E-reader Newspaper TV/ Popular News/ Economy/ 47
RATINGS:
Criminal Minds draws largest continued from page 46

from 8-11PM on affiliates in the – Live, Live+Same

audience since premiere; Christine Pacific Time Zone, following the
live football game, but not game
coverage that begins at 5PM PT.
Day(Live+SD) and Live+7 Day.
Time shifted figures account for
incremental viewing that takes
hits season high The same would be true of
Presidential debates as well as
place with DVRs which are
currently in approximately 24.4%
By Robert Seidman (2.9/07, -0.1 behind ABC) and episode (Nov. 25), CRIMINAL live award shows and breaking of all U.S. TV households.
(TVbytheNumbers) tied for second in adults 18-49 MINDS was up +9% in news reports. Live+Same Day(Live+SD)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:27:12 AM
(2.2/07, with FOX). Compared households (from 8.2/14), +19% Rating: Estimated percentage of include viewing during the same
to the last first-run episode (Nov. in both adults 25-54 (from the universe of TV households broadcast day as the original
via CBS: 25), THE NEW ADVENTURES 4.2/11) and adults 18-49 (from (or other specified group) tuned telecast, with a cut-off of
“ C R I M I N A L M I N D S ” OF OLD CHRISTINE was up 3.2/09) and added +700,000 to a program in the average 3:00AM local time when meters
D E L I V E R S L A R G E S T +19% in households (from viewers (from 13.61m, +5%). minute. Ratings are expressed as transmit daily viewing to Nielsen
A U D I E N C E S I N C E I T S 4.2/08), +26% in adults 25-54 This is CRIMINAL MINDS’s a percent. for processing. Live+7 Day
SEASON PREMIERE AND (from 2.3/07), +29% in adults 18- best deliveries in households, Share (of Audience): The ratings include incremental
H I G H E S T A D U L T 1 8 - 4 9 49 (from 1.7/06) and added adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 percent of households (or viewing that takes place during
RATING SINCE OCTOBER +850,000 viewers (from 6.86m, since Oct. 21, 2009, best viewers persons) using television who are the 7 days following a telecast.
“The New Adventures of Old +12%). This is THE NEW deliver since Sept. 23, 2009 (the tuned to a specific program, For more information see
Christine” Attracts Largest A D V E N T U R E S O F O L D season premiere). station or network in a specific Numbers 101.
Audience in a Year CHRISTINE’s best deliveries in CSI: NY was first in households area at a specific time. (See also, fivefilters.org featured article:
All Four CBS Series Post both households and viewers (8.4/14), viewers (13.00m), Rating, which represents tuning Normalising the crime of the
Increases Over Last First-Run since December 10, 2008. adults 25-54 (4.2/11) and adults or viewing as a percent of the century by John Pilger
Episode GARY UNMARRIED (4.5/07, 18-49 (3.2/09). Compared to the entire population being
CBS Wins Wednesday in All 7.16m) was tied for first in adults last first-run episode (Nov. 25), measured.)
Key Rating Categories 25-54 (2.9/07, with ABC) and CSI: NY was up +6% in Time Shifted Viewing– Program
CRIMINAL MINDS delivered tied for second in adults 18-49 households (from 7.9/15), +11% ratings for national sources are
its largest audience since its (2.4/07, with FOX, -0.1 behind in adults 25-54 (from 3.8/11), produced in three streams of data
season premiere, THE NEW ABC). Compared to the last first +14% in adults 18-49 (from
A D V E N T U R E S O F O L D -run episode (Nov. 25), GARY 2.8/09) and added +320,000 Police: Fla. workers Wall Street sees
CHRISTINE attracted its largest UNMARRIED was up +13% in viewers (from 12.68m, +3%).
audience in a year and all of the households (from 4.0/07), +26% For the night, CBS was first in
feared accused opening bounce
C B S ’ s s e r i e s s c o r e d h u g e in adults 25-54 (from 2.3/06), households (7.3/12), viewers office shooter (AP) (Financial
homepage)
Times - US
increases over their last first run +33% in adults 18-49 (from (11.58m), adults 25-54 (4.0/10)
episode, according to Nielsen 1.8/06) and added +470,000 and adults 18-49 (3.1/08). (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:17:19 AM
preliminary live plus same day viewers (from 6.69m, +7%). Updated Wednesday ratings will Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:36:36 AM
ratings for Wednesday, Dec. 9. CRIMINAL MINDS was first in be available this afternoon. Wall Street sees opening bounce
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF households (8.9/14), viewers fivefilters.org featured article: Matthew buzzed up: New health By Jamie Chisholm, Global
OLD CHRISTINE was first in (14.31m), adults 25-54 (5.0/12) Normalising the crime of the care benefits come at a price Markets Commentator
households (5.0/08), second in and adults 18-49 (3.8/10). century by John Pilger (AP) Published: December 10 2009
viewers (7.71m), adults 25-54 Compared to the last first-run 3 seconds ago 2009-12- 07:15 | Last updated: December
10T09:56:26-08:00 10 2009 17:17
fivefilters.org featured article: fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger century by John Pilger
48 TV/ Game/ Fashion/ E-reader Newspaper

All Brad wants for Review: The New Adventures

of Old Christine - Old Christine
Festivus Meets Young Frankenstein Restructuring layoffs
By Brad Trechak (TV Squad)
By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
hit Harmonix, the
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:02:00 AM
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:47:00 AM
band plays on
Another year come and gone, By Alexander Sliwinski
and now I have to give another (S05E10) When a bully is (Joystiq)
wish list regarding the state of revealed at the school Little
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:37:00 PM
television and what I view as my Ritchie attends, Christine is
ideal. Since I know that my tastes clearly worried that her son is MTV Games has confirmed to
are very different than those of being victimized. But while Old Joystiq that 39 positions at
the general public, I'm not Christine followed the traditional developer Harmonix were
expecting much in the way of sitcom formula for a bit at the eliminated today. The move was
agreement. But that's okay. We're beginning, by the time we part of a restructuring to "better
all different, and that's a good reached the end of the episode, it align [the] staffing to best suit
thing. had gone somewhere only [Harmonix's] product
Christine Campbell can take it. and turned it into a powerhouse development plans and schedules
• The end of reality television - I Even better we got a surprise performance all on its own moving forward." The publisher
just want this genre to die a return, though it's something I've through sheer force of will and claims that "those affected were
horrible, slow, painful death, kind of been waiting for all talent. primarily in QA. The others
preferably involving leeches. I season, and a hilarious guest Continue reading Review: The affected ranged from
recognize that there are some Moffat is behind the show and appearance by Amy Sedaris. I New Adventures of Old Christine administrative to other various
gems in this pile of crap, but I my expectations are very high. can't understand why Sedaris - Old Christine Meets Young roles within the company." At
loathe those sorts of shows that And disappointing a man with a hasn't blown up even bigger than Frankenstein least one staff designer seems to
appeal to the worst and most television blog at his disposal is a she has. If Michael Strahan can Filed under: Other Comedy have fallen under the "other"
gossipy nature within us. Get rid bad idea, Steven. get a big network comedy built Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free category.
of them all. Except for those on around him, why they hell can't Permalink| Email this| | Although Electronic Arts has a
the Food Network, because that Continue reading All Brad wants Amy Sedaris? Comments partnership with Harmonix, these
channel is cool. She took what could have been a layoffs are "totally and
for Festivus
• A stellar fifth year of the new Filed under: OpEd, Festivus, pretty ordinary guest appearance, completely unrelated" to EA's
Doctor Who- Admittedly, I was Reality-Free issues.
hesitant when they hired Matt Permalink| Email this| | Restructuring layoffs hit
Smith as The Doctor, who only C o m m e n t s Harmonix, the band plays on
yesterday just learned to walk. originally appeared on Joystiq on
However, the brilliant Steven Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:37:00 EST.
Please see our terms for use of
Street Chic: New York feeds.
Permalink| Email this|
By ELLE.com (ELLE News edgy black ensemble. Chic Daily. Comments
Blog) . Follow ELLE on Twitter.
Submitted at 12/10/2009 4:00:00 AM
Photo: Anne Ziegler Become our Facebook fan!
Think you are Street Chic? E-
White high-tops brighten up an mail us your photo and you could appear in ELLE.com's Street
E-reader Newspaper
FX renews The League
By Jonathan Toomey (TV
Squad)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:38:00 PM
Looks like FX has finally found
a friend for It's Always Sunny in
Philadelphia-- the network
announced yesterday that it was
renewing The League for a
thirteen episode second season.
While this doesn't come a
surprise, I'm still not 100% sold.
In my initial review of The
League, I wasn't high on it for
numerous reasons. There was far
too much reliance on one-off
Review: Nip/Tuck - jokes only intended to create
buzz (vaginal hubris, anyone?)
and Jon Lajoie seemed like he
Benny Nilsson had no purpose other than
singing YouTube-friendly potty-
By Jonathan Toomey (TV plans were obviously not on the
mouthed songs. Factor in the
Squad) table when Ryan Murphy and
utter lack of meaningful football
Co. shot these final episodes and
Submitted at 12/10/2009 10:25:00 AM references and the show was all
as far the creative team was
over the place.
( S06E09)"Being related by concerned, it was business as
blood doesn't make a family." - usual. Despite a few odd plot
Christian choices, "Benny Nilsson" set-up
As Nip/Tuck's penultimate w h a t c o u l d a r g u a b l y b e
Watch Shanghai blow up in Army of
season winds down, I'm having a M c N a m a r a / T r o y ' s b i g g e s t
hard time getting excited for next challenge yet -- staying in
week's finale knowing that the business.
Two: The 40th Day's intro
By Andrew Yoon (Joystiq)
final season kicks off right after Continue reading Review:
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:45:00 AM
the New Year on January 6th. Nip/Tuck - Benny Nilsson
With only a few weeks in- Filed under: OpEd, Nip/Tuck, Modern Warfare 2 has made
between the episodes, next week Episode Reviews, Reality-Free blowing up American capitals so
doesn't feel like the event that a Permalink| Email this| | passé. EA Montreal is far more
Nip/Tuck finale usually is. C o m m e n t s visionary, preemptively blowing
Regardless, FX's scheduling up the largest city of our future
masters: Shanghai. The explosive
TV/ Game/ Economy/ 49
UBS unveils
broker retention
scheme
(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:28:12 AM
The wealth management division
of UBS unveiled a new
compensation programme for its
financial advisors on Thursday
designed to reward brokers for
staying with the embattled Swiss
bank.
Robert McCann, chief executive
of UBS’ wealth management
Continue reading FX renews
The League
business in the Americas,
announced the new programme
in New York at a gathering of the
Filed under: Other Comedy
Shows, Sports, Programming,
Zurich-based bank’s top-
producing 300 US advisors.
Pickups and Renewals, Reality-
fivefilters.org featured article:
Free
Normalising the crime of the
Permalink| Email this| |
century by John Pilger
Comments
intro to Army of Two: The 40th Army of Two: The 40th Day's
Day certainly fits the studio's intro originally appeared on
new " blockbuster-type" focus Joystiq on Thu, 10 Dec 2009
and reassures doubters that this 11:45:00 EST. Please see our
game will be a more serious terms for use of feeds.
affair than the first. Perhaps Permalink| Email this|
you've noticed the deliberate lack Comments
of bromance in this clip?
Watch Shanghai blow up in
50 TV/ Entertainment/ Sports/ E-reader Newspaper

Review: Cougar Town - Israeli Group Waging Actual War on

Mystery Man Christmas [War]
By Joel Keller (TV Squad)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:28:00 AM
(S01E10) It's interesting; the
entire time I was watching this
episode, I really couldn't pinpoint
any comedic highs or annoying
lows. It was just a "nice" episode.
But that's not a bad thing. After
spending nine episodes careening
from one kind of show to
another, it was good to see an
episode that just slowed down,
let the characters breathe, and
showed why this is becoming
such a good ensemble.
Oh, and it gave us a chance to
see another one of the Bill
Lawrence Players: Scott Foley.
Forget The Unit or Felicity; I
always thought Foley's best job
By Pareene (Gawker)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:48:22 AM
In the United States, the " War
on Christmas" is a weird fantasy
in which people pretend that the
mere acknowledgment of other
religious/ethnic traditions is an
attack on Christianity/American
was as the awkward Sean on Values. In Israel, though, the War
Scrubs. So it's good to see him on Christmas is real.
back in the fold again. And If American conservatives want
judging by the story he's in, he's to know what a real War on
going to be around for awhile. Christmas might look like, they
Continue reading Review: should probably visit the Holy
Cougar Town - Mystery Man Land. Something called the
Filed under: Episode Reviews, "Lobby for Jewish Values" is
Reality-Free, Cougar Town actually, for real, campaigning
P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | | against restaurants that display
Comments Christmas trees and wreaths. And
it is just not just the nuts! Every
year, the Jerusalem Rabbinate
threatens to revoke the kosher
certification of restaurants that
Fliers and ads distributed among
the public read, "The people of
Israel have given their soul over
the years in order to maintain the
values of the Torah of Israel and
the Jewish identity.
"You should also continue to
follow this path of the Jewish
people's tradition and not give in
to the clownish atmosphere of the
end of the civil year. And
certainly not help those
display "Christian symbols." businesses that sell or put up the
And they have kick-ass fliers: foolish symbols of Christianity."
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e l o b b y ' s The "clownish atmosphere" of
Chairman, Ofer Cohen, they have Christmas? That is too far. It is
received backing by the rabbis, time for the United States to
"and we are even considering invade Israel and topple their
publishing the names of the tyrannical government, in order
businesses that put up Christian to protect the rights of their
symbols ahead of the Christian Christian minority.
holiday and call for a boycott
against them."

Barry Bonds' agent says slugger's career is over

By ESPN.com news services on with another team. But that League in three offensive him a job. Now, 2010 ... I'd say
(ESPN.com) hasn't happened, and his agent categories with the San Francisco it's nearly impossible," Borris
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:15:40 AM
doubts that it ever will, according Giants. But in November of said, according to the report. "It's
to the report. 2007, a federal grand jury an unfortunate ending to a storied
Barry Bonds still has yet to "It's two years since he played his indicted him on perjury charges, career."
formally retire from baseball. But last game, and if there was any alleging he lied when he testified If it's truly over for Bonds, his
the career of the major leagues' chance he'd be back in a major- he had never knowingly used career ends with 762 home runs,
reigning home run king is over, league uniform, it would have performance-enhancing drugs. 1,996 runs batted in and seven
his agent says, according to the happened by now," his agent, Jeff No free agent offers came the National League MVP awards.
San Francisco Chronicle. Borris, said Wednesday, following winter and spring. fivefilters.org featured article:
Bonds has insisted he won't a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e p o r t . "When 2008 came around, I Normalising the crime of the
r e t i r e , l e a v i n g o p e n t h e Bonds, now 45, last played in couldn't get him a job. When century by John Pilger
possibility that he might yet catch 2007, when he led the National 2009 came around, I couldn't get
E-reader Newspaper Entertainment/ 51

The Final Harvest: A Tragedy in Four Dishes [Top Chef]

By Joshua David Stein received Ashley and Jennifer, pregnant"+"indian"+"hirsute"
(Gawker) who should have taken from him Bryan, I am shocked!" The chefs
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:55:15 AM
the knife with her name therein look around uncomfortably.
transcribed and stabbed Kevin starts giggling and buries
Juiced and crushed like a repeatedly Mike Voltaggio about his head in his hands. Bryan
Concord grape, it is my solemn the head and heart and stood in looks helpless, wide-eyed and
duty to report from the Top Chef his spot—Michael meanwhile scared. A mischievous smile
Season VI Finale Part II held in bodily picked up like so much creeps across Padma's face.
Napa. I, Joshua David Stein, karmic dry cleaning and dragged "Well," she says, "you sought it
shall not fail you. by Hell's hounds and here you have it," stepping
With a heavy heart and a s o u t h b o u n d — g r i n n e d from the hallway into an erotic
quivering hand write I this tale of maniacally, her red face covered coupling no words could capture
woe. Season VI has fallen before in red blood justly spilled. Mike save, perhaps, in a magic
us. Its crowning moment and Voltaggio received Fat Cry Baby combination "iridescent" "filthy"
incandescent guillotining cruelly Boy Eli and Fat Cry Baby Girl "weird" and "creepy". No! It
coincided. Now there's nothing Jess. Friar Kevin received Ash, a would be neither of those things.
left but remnants and leftovers, benediction, and Preeti, the Top Instead, there are two nice
day old hardened regret to skim Chef equivalent of the Five Point looking old ladies at the door.
from the surface and reserve for P a l m E x p l o d i n g H e a r t Shit's either about to get real
stock. Three chefs and four Technique, tuberculosis or of a f u c k e d u p
dishes, four judges and two profound disagreement between ["grandmother"+"senior'+"swing
brothers. Knives were drawn h u s b a n d a n d w i f e a b o u t ers"] or real warm. Thankfully it
there, between the vines, yonder. circumcision. Blows all latent, w a s t h e l a t t e r .
For this the final finale, at the patiently waiting, felt only later ["mothers"+"reunion"+"crying"].
very moment when it was most in action and application but Mama Gillespie hugs Baby
important all variables remained when felt fatal. Kevin Gillespie. Mama
constant as to distill the plasma The chefs' courses numbered Voltaggio hugs both the boys.
of the the remaining three three and their choices somewhat the erotic charge of the self- Top Chef, there's another prize. The stakes are raised. Moms are
competitors, as to avoid tainting circumscribed: For the first abnegation. Jennifer expertly We'll be inserting a glass rod into now involved. It's like when
the original source, that which course chefs would be forced to cleaned Bryan's rock fish. Preeti, the urethras of the erect penises you're a kid in Junior High
would be judged, with the use all the ingredients from their s t u c k i n s w e e t m o l a s s e s , of the losing two chefs. Then School, say Abington Junior
b a c k w a s h o f m a s s e s o f identical mystery boxes. For the pondered the carrot, considered we'll be screening for the new High School, and you see a kid
q u e s t i o n a b l e m o l a r i t y , b y second course, chefs could do the lobster, sought satori in the R o b e r t D e N i r o c o m e d y who makes fun of you at the
definition a flawed and uneven whatever they please. The third hysopp and left Kevin in the Everything's Fine. A note to the Willow Grove Mall and you're
bunch, Bravo rounded up the course must be dessert. Into the weeds, his tender angel belly to chef who loses his erection first: with your Mom coming out the
once dismissed chefs of episodes kitchen to see the box. Not much be feasted upon by vultures. We'll take a small hammer and World of Science and he sees you
past and, through the cruel illogic doing: a rockfish, a crab, some That night, toothsome Kevin break that glass rod inside his (he's coming out of Challenges,
of knife block paired them in anise hysopp, a man, a plan, a stewed in a funk and the brothers penis. To avoid a similar fate, the the arcade) and your eyes meet
malevolent covalent bonds with canal, Panama. Mighty were the Voltaggio planned their range other chef must maintain an and you just hope that the bully
the remaining three. So from prep lists; scant was the time. Fat management. There was a knock erection for life." Or would it be respects the rules of adolescent
behind the vine they came, feet Cry Baby Eli creamed his pants at the door. Would it be Tom Padma, not wearing much of warfare and doesn't humiliate
first, like benighted children of w i t h s e r v i l e O u i , C h e f s , adding a twist. "Good evening, anything at all. "Good evening, you in front of your parents
the corn, The brothers Voltaggio delighting like the old ghost of Chefs. Here's the thing: In chefs. The producers forwarded
fared not too poorly. Bryan Foucault on the Tenderloin, in FINAL page 52
addition to winning the title of me your Google searches. "9 mo
52 Popular News/
FINAL
continued from page 51
because what could be more
devastating to a child than to be a
loser in the eyes of his parents?
But his eyes are dead to you,
glazed over by one too many
rounds of Street Fighter, and you
exhale as you walk away and
walk towards the Wall because
Ugly Kid Joe has a new single
you want to get on cassette. And
then the word "Loser!" hits you
like shrapnel, peppering your
skull. Your palms sweat and the
cookie scent piped out of Mrs.
Fields is now mixed with the
acrid tingle of fear. But you don't
dare turn around because for all
your mother knows, that "loser"
wasn't meant for you but some
other loser, hopefully a Momless
one. You are still simply the
Secretary of the Key Club, well
loved and eager to please. Or at
least you hope you are.
To lard the good cheer of
unexpected mom presence, that
fortifying maternal element, the
judges demand the contestants
create a fourth dish: A Mom
Dish. Sigh. Let's cut the crap and
skip ahead.
The producers have now roped
in a Voltaggio Mom as an
anabolic boost to a fading season
and a fraternal rivalry
assiduously cultivated at great
cost. This brings the body count
that has fallen victim to this
belabored narrative to two:
Jennifer Carroll and now this
Lady. Not cool: Moms are
civilians.
As for their food, the best I can
remember: Kevin's red balls in
yellow custard was the best Mom
dish. Toby Young liked Bryan's
sardines but that's because he's an
asshole. No one really liked
Mike's broccoli. For the second
course, Kevin's dish was, again,
the clear favorite except he
botched his mushroom. Bryan's
was bland and Michael won by
default. Third dish, Bryan's
venison was hands down the
favorite and for dessert, his again
was the only offering both well
executed and well thought out.
Kevin's was lacking a central
focus and Michael's flavors,
though bold and strong, were
offset by an over and improperly
cooked cake. The breakdown of
judges' opinions is illustrated in
this amateur grid below.
As the diagram makes
heartbreakingly clear, Bryan
should have been the winner.
Kevin pulled a Casey,
unfortunately, and though he
could blame Preeti he doesn't
and, furthermore, shouldn't have.
The fault was his own. He had,
by his own admission, a bad day
on the worst day to have one.
Instead the winner is Michael,
the Roman-looking one.
Certainly a good chef, Michael
Voltaggio, but not worthy of the
by now dubious honorific of Top
Chef and certainly not by the
logic to which the show itself
supposedly clings. I'm not quite
sure now, sorting through my
gripes, which ones are valid and
which ones aren't. I suppose, for
example, that it doesn't matter
that Mike is a dickhead for this
is, after all, a cooking show. He
isn't, in the reality tv show cliche,
"there to make friends." On the
other hand, character is the
currency and the bungee that
bind us week after week to the
show's and Padma's heaving
bosom even though, increasingly,
other things happening at
Wednesday night at 10 pm seem
more appealing [cf. toe clipping,
looking for an accountant,
reading up on circumcision.]
Furthermore, character, as much
as salt and pepper, is what gives
food flavor. In dinner too,
character is the narrative. But
good artists are often crummy
people. Alexander Pope was a
bitter little man. Picasso was no
great shakes himself. Celine was
a fucking Nazi for Christ's sake. I
love Roald Dahl but he wouldn't
love me because I'm a Jew but do
I still read The Wonderful Story
of Henry Sugar? I do.
I suppose, therefore I can
dismiss that gripe. Though if I
see Andy Cohen, I'll tweak his
nads (in a not nice way) for cross
contamination of two currencies
in a single market. But that
Michael won in a way that was
so clearly at odds with both
reality and the completely
isolated but nonetheless self-
contained terrarium of reality
television is a gripe that has the
added, if coincidental, value of
being true. Is it only the
$125,000 prize awarded to the
wrong Voltaggio that so irks me?
No, it is not. The crushing
moment isn't when Michael wins
but from when his mother from
the shadows comes to embrace
her son, the winner, while Bryan,
back to the camera, with his neck
stiff—for heavy is the crown and
heavier is not having one-
watches stoically at a distance.
Though it is Michael Mama
Voltaggio embraces, it's to Bryan
her eyes turn and there they stay.
And as Mother and Sons leave
the studio, the thunderous fact
that one's a loser, no matter how
unjust the outcome or the panel
deciding it, surely crashes heavy
on Bryan's soul, sweeping him
and us out to sea.
This is Joshua David Stein.
Thank you for reading. I'll see
you next year and thank you to
Yoni Lotan, again, for your
wonderful work.
E-reader Newspaper
1 Dead, Several
Injured in Chicago
High-Rise Fire
(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:48:44 AM
CHICAGO Hundreds of
Chicago firefighters worked to
put out a high-rise fire that left
one person dead and 12 people
injured.
The fire sent flames shooting out
of the condo building in the city's
Streeterville neighborhood. More
than 200 residents ran out into a
bitterly cold Chicago morning
after the fire broke out shortly
before 1 a.m. Thursday.
The 12 people injured included
five firefighters, but authorities
say none of the injuries appear to
be life-threatening.
Authorities say the fire started
on the 36th floor in the unit of
the woman who died. Fire
Commissioner John Brooks says
she was found near the front door
of the apartment, apparently
trying to get out.
The cause of the blaze is under
investigation.
More from MyFoxChicago.com.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
E-reader Newspaper Entertainment/ Economy/ 53

New York Times Afghanistan Ex-Bureau Chief Goes AWOL

After She's Promoted [Internal Memos]
By John Cook (Gawker) contact with her colleagues at the To those duties, especially in the thinking strategically about a
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:51:33 AM
Times for a week-and-a-half. Not past year, Carlotta has given rapidly-changing conflict with
that there's anything wrong with heart and soul. We have a bureau the harrowing demands of
As the war in Afghanistan that—as far as we're concerned, that continues to produce scoops keeping Western and local staff
intensifies, the New York Times Gall has earned the right to blow and works in close collaboration safe in what was certainly the
has relieved its Kabul bureau off steam any way she pleases by with Washington. And Carlotta most dangerous war zone our
chief Carlotta Gall of her duties, breaking the story of a taxi driver has helped ensure that our journalists had ever operated in.
ostensibly so she can do more n a m e d D i l a w a r w h o w a s dedicated and talented Afghan Afghanistan is beginning to
reporting. She's not happy about murdered by U.S. forces at staff has received continual challenge Iraq's record on that
and hasn't been showing up for Bagram Airbase in 2002. That among our competitors, that there training in journalism, video and score, and Alissa's dual
work. story was later expanded into a is no reporter who knows more writing for the Web. But the experience will be a sure guide.
According to a memo from lengthy dispatch by Gall's about Afghanistan than Carlotta price has been been fewer bylines Her time in Iraq showed her to
Times foreign editor Susan colleague Tim Golden that got Gall. For eight years, even while by Carlotta Gall. So now she will have a sure sense of the big
Chira, Gall will stay on at the much more attention than her the world's attention shifted to b e c o m e S e n i o r A f g h a n themes of a big story, She is no
bureau as a "senior Afghanistan original report and became the Iraq, Carlotta continued to live in Correspondent, and her brief will stranger to Afghanistan,where
correspondent" focusing on "the basis for the documentary Taxi to Kabul, where her brave and include the intersection of she reported with great rigor and
intersection of Pakistan with the the Dark Side. prescient reporting kept breaking P a k i s t a n w i t h t h e A f g h a n compassion about the war and
A f g h a n c o n f l i c t . " F o r m e r Still, as is often the case with new ground - and was an conflict. the toll it took on Afghans and
Baghdad bureau chief Alissa foreign correspondents, Gall has essential contributor to our We are very lucky that Alissa their society, beginning in 2001
Rubin will take over running the a reputation as a difficult person Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Rubin has agreed to shoulder the for the Los Angeles Times.
bureau, which is usually staffed to work with, and the Times' Afghanistan and Pakistan in daunting task of bureau chief. Alissa and Carlotta are members
by a small rotating handful of decision to pull her out of the 2008. Now that all eyes are S h e b r i n g s t o t h i s t a s k of a very strong team in
Times reporters and a larger bureau chief role at the very focused on Afghanistan again, exceptional journalistic skills, as Afghanistan and Pakistan that
n u m b e r o f l o c a l A f g h a n moment that Kabul becomes the a n d A m e r i c a n t r o o p s a n d her acute and wide-ranging includes some of our finest and
reporters. paper's most crucial foreign journalists are surging back, reports from Iraq demonstrated. most seasoned war
Chira's memo portrays the move outpost doesn't look like a vote of Carlotta's knowledge is more Alissa also has considerable correspondents. We will be well
as an attempt to take the day-to- confidence in her leadership valuable than ever. That's why experience in the security and positioned to continue our
day management of the bureau abilities. We hope she returns to we've agreed that she will return logistical challenges posed by a searching coverage of this
off Gall's plate so she can write the bureau soon and gets to work. to reporting full time, after years wartime bureau, acquired in Iraq conflict in a crucial year.
more stories. But we're told Gall Chira's full memo is below; e- when she has also assumed the as bureau chief for us and for the
was furious at the decision—so mails to Gall and to the Times increasingly time-consuming Los Angeles Times.
much so that she's "gone off the s e e k i n g c o m m e n t w e r e n ' t duties of bureau chief presiding As Baghdad Bureau Chief, she
reservation" on an unplanned i m m e d i a t e l y r e t u r n e d . over a rapidly-expanding bureau. w a s a b l e t o j u g g l e t h e
vacation and has been out of It is widely acknowledged, even considerable journalistic task of

Obama defends war in Afghanistan

(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:07:48 AM
Barack Obama on Thursday
defended the US military
operation in Afghanistan as he
accepted his Nobel peace prize
with a speech that came a week
after he announced plans to send
30,000 additional troops to the
war-torn country.
The US president insisted that
“the instruments of war do have a
role to play in preserving the
peace” as he sought to reconcile Normalising the crime of the
the prize with his status as the century by John Pilger
commander-in-chief of a nation
in the midst of two conflicts.
fivefilters.org featured article:
54 Entertainment/ Economy/
What the New York Times Lost in the Buyout
[Media]
By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:25:02 AM
The New York Times buyouts
are done, leaving only a round of
layoffs to get up to 100 staff cuts
before the year's end. In January,
the paper will be a different
place. A look at what was lost,
below.
The New York Times needed to
cut its staff. Its newsroom staff is
too big for the paper to survive
for the long term. And with a
newsroom that large, there is
inevitably dead weight. Still,
every person that leaves is
something lost for the paper.
Metro Section: It was bloated,
with 50 reporters but no
standalone section in the paper.
Buyout takers from the section
were Ralph Blumenthal, Nicole
Collins, Paul Nielsen, Tina
Kelley and Jenny 8. Lee, who
was the biggest individual brand
name to take the (meager) money
and run. With such a relatively
modest news hole, it's doubtful
that the departures will be very
visible in the print product; the
question is whether the NYT can
keep its City Room blog (which
Lee had a hand in) as excellent as
it's been. It could soon become
more important than the print
Metro section, in terms of
influence. Other, smaller blogs
by Metro staffers could well get
cut in the NYT blog purge, so
they're not as much of a
worry.(The same goes for every
other section, of course).
Business: It was also big, with
85 staffers, but more justifiably
so. But they lost some serious
quality reporters. Buyout takers
include Louis Uchitelle, Alex
Berenson, Jonathan Glater, Leslie
Wayne, Edmund Andrews, and
Geraldine Fabrikant. Andrews
and Fabrikant would probably be
E-reader Newspaper
Weak dollar and
oil demand shrink
US trade gap
(Financial Times - US
Lewis, David Johnston, and
David Stout are all leaving. Also, homepage)
the Business desk in DC has been Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:30:01 AM
rather decimated, we hear. The
paper will have to staff back up. The weaker dollar and slumping
Between pressure from the WSJ demand for oil narrowed the US
on a national scale, and the trade gap and signalled that the
increased DC focus of the US economy could be growing
weakened Washington Post, and faster than anticipated, commerce
Politico, the Times can't afford to department figures showed on
lose any ground in its DC Thursday.
coverage. Separately on Thursday, labour
More broadly, these buyouts department figures showed that
signal the end of the classic New new US jobless claims rose
York Times culture. The paper unexpectedly last week.
used to be a job for life, with fivefilters.org featured article:
tenure as strong as the most Normalising the crime of the
bureaucratic college and a century by John Pilger
bureaucracy as entrenched as The
Pentagon's. Those days, by
necessity, are ending for good.
Slowly, NYT employees are
being forced to show and prove
to justify their own paychecks.
Just like employees of normal
media outlets!
considered the two biggest names
A year from now, many more
leaving.
newsroom employees will be
Sports: They lost Jack Curry, a
gone. And things will be tighter
big name, and Giants reporter Joe
at the NYT. For better or worse,
Lapointe. The sports section is
they're going to lose some flab.
expected to get hit hard in the
And a fair amount of mystique.
round of layoffs, mostly because
[Special shout out to the many
the connection between the NYT
departing members of the NYT
and the very concept of "sports"
copy desk. Copy editors will
has always been tenuous.
soon be a luxury remembered
Although it's a very good section!
wistfully.]
It will survive.
DC: Stephen Labaton, Neil Facebook Wants
toFacebook's
Steal Your
FACEBOOKnewpage
"privacy"
55
settings are even more nefarious
By Ryan
than theyTate
first(Gawker)
appeared: The
social network has formally
E-reader Newspaper
FACEBOOK
continued from page 54
nationalized your friends list, like
some Cuban sugar plantation,
and published it to people who
hate you. You have no choice.
That's because the social
network has codified this new
state of affairs right there into its
written "Privacy Policy." A
comparison of the new and old
policies reveals this addition:
Certain categories of information
such as your name, profile photo,
list of friends and pages you are a
fan of, gender, geographic
region, and networks you belong
to are considered publicly
available to everyone, including
Facebook-enhanced applications,
and therefore do not have privacy
settings. You can, however, limit
the ability of others to find this
information through search using
your search privacy settings.
Facebook users have just begun
to realize this is happening.
Reuters' aggressive financial
columnist Felix Salmon took
note of this exciting new
"privacy" feature when his critics
France to impose tax on bank
bonuses
(Financial Times - US
homepage)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:03:51 AM
President Nicolas Sarkozy is to
follow Britain’s lead and impose
a one-off tax on bonus pay-outs
by banks operating in France.
The French government is still
on an investor website published
a list of his Facebook friends,
presumably for hate-mailing.
Former Gawker editor Doree
Shafrir blogged this morning
about how her once-hidden
friends, network and fan-page
subscriptions have suddenly been
published.
I've now set my privacy settings
so that only friends can search
me [ and find out you're a fan of
Howard Kurtz! Oy! -
Ed.]…which seems sort of
counterproductive to the whole
enterprise, doesn't it?
Indeed it does, and it's scant
protection: Shafrir's friends are
still listed to strangers on her
profile page, if you can find it.
There's a way to turn this off, too,
according to Salmon (see update
to his column), but anyone who
shares a friend with you will still
be able to see all your friends
(I'm looking at Salmon's now,
and we're not friends).
Really, as gossip bloggers, we at
Gawker should be happy about
working out the details, but
intends to bring Paris in line with
London by forcing banks to pay
50 per cent in tax on bonus pay-
outs for 2009 above €27,000.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
all this; it certainly makes it
easier to hunt down people
willing to confirm gossip about
their acquaintances. And it's
satisfying to have our conspiracy
theories confirmed— and quoted
by civil libertarians at the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
who, along with the ACLU, have
raised serious objections these
"privacy" changes.
But there's something
maddening about watching
Facebook bumble its way into
another privacy debacle, one
approaching in its disastrousness
the launch of the Beacon
advertising/stalking system a few
years back. If only Facebook's
investors agreed. But then they're
not exactly a pack of civil
liberties advocates, now are they?
(Top pic: Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg, by Simon Doggett)
Sports/ Economy/ 55
Backchecking With ...
Claude Giroux
By Christopher Botta
(Fanhouse Main)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 4:00:00 AM
Filed under: Flyers We get to
know NHL players with some
quick questions. Today's subject:
Flyers forward Claude Giroux,
the highly-skilled second-year
right wing who's a big part of
Philadelphia's present and future.
What is your first hockey
memory?
Winning the championship game month. I had headaches. There
in the Pee Wee provincial were a few days when I just felt
tournament in Burlington, lost. That was horrible. I would
Ontario as a ten-year-old. My not wish it on anybody.
town -- Hearst, Ontario -- is very Do you have any game-day
small, so winning that rituals?
tournament was a big surprise for If I have a good game, I'll wear
a lot of people and an incredible the same suit, shirt and tie to the
thing for the town. next game. I'll have everything
What's your favorite thing about cleaned, don't worry. I'm very
playing in the NHL? superstitious.
My first pre-season game in the If you could hit one opponent
NHL was against New Jersey. with a clean, hard check, who
The Devils started Martin would it be?
Brodeur, which blew me away. Georges Laraque. It's not like I
He was one of my favorite don't respect him or anything. I
players growing up. Playing with do. It's just that he's a real big
so many great players and guy who plays hard and I'm not
playing against the best in the the biggest guy. If I could get
world like Brodeur...that was him with a good hit, I think that
always the dream for me. We kid would be fun.
around about this, but I really am If you could be one of your
living the dream. teammates, who would it be?
What's the toughest aspect of life Simon Gagne. Sick hair.
in the NHL?
Last season I suffered a
concussion and I was out for a
56 Sports/
Wall Meets the Garden, Leaves a Memory
By Jay Mariotti (Fanhouse
Main)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 5:12:00 PM
Filed under: NCAA Basketball
NEW YORK -- The stinkeye,
they call it. John Wall, driven to
aggravation by his maniacal, foot
-stomping coach, flashed the
dirty look at least a couple of
times Wednesday night at John
Calipari. This will be a
fascinating sociological study,
the relationship between
basketball's next special player
and the college game's $31.65-
million, NCAA-defiant, diamond
-watch-glittering madman, a
coach further burdened by the
pressure of working at the
unforgiving insane asylum
known as the University of
Kentucky.
"He's the greatest kid,'' said
Calipari, painting a pretty picture.
"He'll walk into my office and
come in just to give me a hug.
He'll come in, not say a thing,
hug me and leave. He's unique
and special.''
"I wanted to play for him,'' Wall
said.
Is he sure?
With 7:16 left in his introduction
to mainstream America, Wall
intercepted a Connecticut pass,
drove to the basket without a
challenge and jammed home the
ball with a semi-whirlybird dunk.
Upon finishing, the freshman
didn't look at the Kentucky fans
behind the basket or slap hands
with his teammates. No, the first
thing he did was look at his
coach and give him a long stare.
This is no news flash: Calipari
has a tough-love bond with his
players, sometimes on the edge
of mutual hatred. But what this
early-season test told us, in the
SEC/Big East Invitational, is that
Wall and his fellow freshmen
could survive a mean experience
in the big city, including the
serial screamer in the Italian
leather loafers.
For all the starpower around him
-- including Calipari and Jim
Calhoun, two coaches who
should settle their longstanding
issues in a nearby Octagon -- the
silhouette was framed only on
Wall. Every so often, a
celebrated hoops phenom
converges upon the world's most
famous arena for the first time.
Such is what this event was about
in Madison Square Garden,
history and pomp, a mecca
welcoming a teenaged point
guard with otherworldly gifts and
a boundless future.
Barring illness, scandal or a
kidnapping by Rick Pitino or Roy
Williams, Wall will be the No. 1
pick in the next NBA draft.
Anyone who doubts the assertion
should have seen the wall of
NBA executives and scouts
analyzing his every twitch,
movement and explosive step in
a blue uniform that he'll wear
until March or April, then discard
for the franchise fortunate
enough to win the draft lottery --
did someone say the New York
Knicks? -- and a pro career sure
to be filled with legendary battles
E-reader Newspaper
program based a three-hour drive waited for his crease. With 40
from Manhattan up I-95, close seconds left, he drove hard to the
enough for fans to stampede the basket, got pounded by UConn's
Garden. "John right now is Alex Oriakhi ... and spun the shot
farther along today than they off the glass and through the
were," Calipari said. "Those two hole. Blessed with a hardbody, he
-- when they got it and they felt peeled himself off the floor and
the offense, they were unleashed flexed a muscle. "It was pretty
and they weren't afraid to make hard,'' Wall said of the hit. "I was
the play. When we're in a tough just trying to make a play. At the
game and it's on the road, is he end of the game, coaches want
going to make the play that those players who can make plays and
two did?" win games.'' Wall made the free
The answer came in the final throw and gave his team the lead
minutes of a sloppy but exciting for good in a 64-61, soul-
December game that whets the strengthening victory.
against Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, appetite for college hoops. He wound up with 25 points, 19
Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings Struggling with youth and in the second half after an
and other contemporaries. Did inexperience, Kentucky needed a admittedly selfish and foul-
Wall notice them? "I try to block surge. "We decided to ride John troubled first half. He added six
that out,'' he said, wisely. Wall is Wall at the end of the game,'' assists, prompting statistical
so spectacularly quick and Calipari said. "We were groping minds to ask this question: Who
powerful in the open court that for offense. We gave it to him was the last Knicks player to
he's just about unguardable. He and said, 'Make some baskets.''' have 25 points and six steals in a
has to work on the same issues He did just that, scoring 12 of his game at Madison Square Garden?
that dog other phenom guards, team's final 15 points. With three Would you believe Johnny
his jumpshot and his defense, but minutes left, Wall had the ball in Newman, in 1988? "Before the
he has plenty of time to massage the open court and chose to stop season, I said he was at least as
and uplift his game. and pop a jumper. Bang! So good as Derrick Rose,'' Calhoun
For now, I advise one and all to flabbergasted was Calhoun, he said. "Now that I've seen him in
enjoy his introduction to the turned to his bench and shrugged. person, he's all of that. Simply a
American hoops consciousness. Wall was only starting. UConn tremendous, tremendous player.
All in all, this is not just another rallied behind its own point He's no freshman, there's no
brick in the Wall, as his coach guard, Kemba Walker, to take a name like that beside him. He
eagerly emphasizes. Remember 61-60 lead with 72 seconds left. won the game tonight.''
how good Rose and Tyreke "Come on, John Wall!'' a female Naturally, Calipari was harder,
Evans were in their lone seasons Kentucky fan drawled from more discriminating. After a
for Calipari at Memphis? Wall behind the Seventh Avenue painful first half, he told Wall
already is better than both, he baseline. Even she knew what that he was "trying to do it all
says. What Calipari has wanted w a s c o m i n g , a m e m o r a b l e himself.'' The tone wasn't soft.
to know all along is how Wall moment from a player who "We drank the poison in the first
would respond in a difficult already is a legend in the half, listened to all the hype
environment: such as inside the Commonwealth.
WALL page 60
G a r d e n a g a i n s t U C o n n , a At the top of the key, Wall
E-reader Newspaper
Wonder Wall: Kentucky Freshman Takes Over the Garden
(WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:25:50 AM
John Wall first visit to Madison
Square Garden indicated that
there will be plenty more in his
future. Kentucky’s freshman
guard pumped in a season-high
25 points, including the game-
winning basket in the No. 4
Wildcats’ 64-61 victory over No.
12 UConn on Wednesday night.
Through the early weeks of
Wall’s college career, the results
have matched the hype. Wall has
played in eight of the Wildcats’
nine games — all wins — and is
averaging 19 points per game.
Getty Images Can you think of a
Wall pun worse than the one we
used in the headline?
Cue the accolades. “How can a
guy so young keep being so
clutch?” John Clay writes in the
Lexington Herald-Leader. “He
did it in his debut, making the
final shot to beat Miami of Ohio.
He did it Saturday against North
Carolina, putting together a
phenomenal first half that had the
visitors back on their Heels. He
did it again Wednesday night.
Bright lights. Big city. Big deal.”
“It is almost impossible not to get
swept up into the euphoria,”
ESPN’s Dana O’Neil writes.
“After two years of mediocrity,
Kentucky is good again. No
scratch that. Kentucky is really
good again.”
In the Hartford Courant, Jeff
Jacobs sees promise in the
Huskies despite the loss.* * *
They won’t be mentioned in the
same breath as the defending
champion Los Angeles Lakers or
Denver when discussing the
NBA’s western contenders, but
the Houston Rockets are building
a pretty good season without
injured stars Yao Ming and Tracy
McGrady. On Wednesday,
Houston scored a 95-85 win over
Cleveland, an Eastern
Conference power, to improve to
12-9. In the Houston Chronicle,
Richard Justice sees a promising
development. “One night, its
Trevor Ariza; the next, its Aaron
Brooks or Carl Landry or Chase
Budinger,” Justice writes. “
Down the stretch, they look for
the hot hand instead of the big
salary.”
With Yao out, enter Chuck
Hayes, who at 6-foot-6 is the
shortest regular center in NBA
history, Fanhouse’s Chris
Tomasson writes.* * *
It’s not as if Congress had
anything else to worry about. A
House subcommittee passed a
bill that would prevent the BCS
from promoting a game as a
national championship unless it
came about from a playoff. The
Washington Post’s Michael
Wilbon sees a lot of good should
the bill become law. “One, it’s
symbolic. It puts The Cartel on
notice that somebody its size is
watching,” Wilbon writes. “Two,
it says people in general are fed
up with the BCS’s arrogance and
sense of entitlement.”
At CBS Sports, Ray Ratto isn’t
sure much will come of the bill,
but it might bring about honest
debate about the BCS.* * *
The Tiger Woods story seems to
get more salacious every day. No
need to recap the alleged
misdeeds here of the universe’s
top golfer, whose image has
taken a beating in recent weeks.
Many are now reconsidering, in
the light of his “transgressions,”
how much of a role model he is.
In the Los Angeles Times, Chris
Erskine reminds readers of a role
model from the Showtime Lakers
who kept his virginity until
marriage despite the temptations
of playing in Tinseltown: A.C.
Green.
The Washington Post’s Tracee
Hamilton advises anyone who
feels slighted by an athlete’s less-
than-pristine behavior to forget
the moral outrage.* * *
South-central Florida is a great
repository for talented football
players, among them Steelers
wideout Santonio Holmes,
Patriots running back Fred
Taylor and Cardinals wideout
Anquan Boldin. Holmes and
Taylor played at Glades Central,
Boldin at Pahokee, two high
schools that, despite being in a
poor part of the state, have won
numerous state championships
and have churned out many NFL
players. Better still, the two
schools are bitter rivals that meet
annually in the Muck Bowl,
Sports Illustrated’s Austin
Murphy writes.* * *
The Fix picks the NFLs
Thursday game, ahead of its
Friday picks for the weekend:
Are you ready for some feeble
football? Like many others
games during Week 14 of the
NFL season, this one features
two mismatched teams and a
double-digit line. It’s the kind of
game that makes you grudgingly
want to see whether anything
more interesting is happening on
“Survivor: Samoa.”
Pittsburgh (-10) at Cleveland:
There’s no denying the Steelers,
only 6-6 and on a four-game
tailspin, aren’t the same team that
won the Super Bowl in February.
But their competition is
Cleveland, which they’ve
defeated a dozen straight times.
Bad enough that the Browns
can’t beat Pittsburgh, but they’ve
lost eight straight at home to
Pittsburgh, too. Look at the
gaudy stats: Steelers QB Ben
Roethlisberger is perfect against
Cleveland — 10-0. Pittsburgh’s
Sports/ 57
playoff hopes will vanish with a
loss. The Browns have a
monopoly on mediocrity this
season, winning only once in 12
games, and they’re on a seven-
game skid. Still, QB Brady
Quinn has tossed seven TDs and
no picks in his past three starts.
And they’re due. Somebody’s
due, anyway.
Pick: David: Cleveland, Garey:
Cleveland, Al Toonie:
Cleveland* * *
It didn’t happen on Wednesday
night, but soon Martin Brodeur
will have the all-time NHL
regular-season shutout record to
himself. He shares the mark with
Terry Sawchuk, at 103, a lofty
number that had stood since the
1969-70 season. Many thought
that record would never be
broken, but Brodeur’s mark will
be almost impossible to break no
active goalie has half as many. In
the New York Times, Jeff Z.
Klein writes that Sawchuk and
Brodeur were the best of their
eras.
– Tip of the Fix cap to reader
Don Hartline and Fixer emeritus
Carl Bialik.
Found a good column from the
world of sports? Don’t keep it to
yourself — write to us at
dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll
consider your find for inclusion
in the Daily Fix. You can email
Garey at ris84rap@gmail.com.
58 Sports/ Media/ E-reader Newspaper
Around the Net In
Report: Boston Red Sox trade Mike Lowell to Media: Bonnier To
Expand Into Book
Texas Rangers for Max Ramirez Publishing
By Gordon Edes (ESPN.com) responded to requests for But an official of another club returning Kevin Youkilis to third, (MediaPost | Media News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:19:52 AM
comment. that had been talking with the rejected that idea. Submitted at 12/9/2009 9:25:11 PM
Passing a medical exam may not Red Sox about Lowell said "I'm not for it," Francona said.
Red Sox Trade Mike Lowell Red be the formality it is in many Thursday that it was his "The guy has played third base The Swedish-owned Bonnier
Sox Trade Mike Lowell VIDEO trades. Lowell, who turns 36 on understanding that an agreement his whole life. He could do it, but Corp. has acquired Weldon
PLAYLIST Feb. 24, underwent surgery after had indeed been reached. I don't know if it's as easy as Owen Publishing and will create
• Red Sox Trade Mike Lowell the 2008 season for a torn labrum The official's belief was that the people think, and I don't know if a book division to manage it.
Red Sox Trade Mike Lowell in his right hip, which drastically Red Sox were prepared to pick it's in his best interests." Financial terms of the deal were
• Winter Meetings Update affected his mobility in the field up $9 million of the $12 million Francona said moving Lowell to not disclosed. Weldon Owen has
Winter Meetings Update last season. Lowell played in 119 owed Lowell in 2010. first base could actually increase annual revenues of
games, but missed a dozen games Lowell, who attended David the stress on his surgically approximately $20 million.
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Boston when he went on the disabled list Ortiz's charity golf tournament in repaired right hip, since it would Bonnier said adding Weldon
R e d S o x h a v e r e a c h e d a because of a strained hip. the Dominican Republic last introduce a whole different set of Owen will allow the company to
preliminary agreement to trade Lowell also missed nearly a weekend, said at the time that he movements at a new position. expand its existing magazine
third baseman Mike Lowell to month at the start of the 2008 had not "missed a single moment Ramirez, a 25-year-old native of brands and content into book
the Texas Rangers for catcher season with what was called a of sleep" because of rumors that Venezuela, was originally signed publishing projects. The
Max Ramirez, sources told sprained left thumb. the Red Sox -- uncertain that he by the Braves and has played company said it is considering
ESPN. Asked if the remaining hurdles would make a full recovery -- parts of the last two seasons with bookazines, collectible yearbooks
The Red Sox will pay $9 million to the deal were health or were planning to trade him. the Rangers. He is considered a and other book products for sale
of Lowell's $12 million salary. financial issues, Daniels said Lowell, who reiterated that better hitter than catcher. on newsstands and online.
The trade was first reported by "Any of the above. Both clubs doctors had told him he would Gordon Edes is Weldon Owen Publishing
FoxSports.com. have the ability to pursue other require a year to heal, said he felt ESPNBoston.com's Red Sox develops and publishes illustrated
A c a s h t r a n s f e r o f t h a t options." much better than he had last reporter. He has covered the Red reference, lifestyle and education
magnitude would also require Asked about the financial season. Sox for 12 years and has reported books and has worked with
approval from t h e portion of the deal, Daniels said The Rangers, if the deal goes on baseball for 25 years. several specialty retailer clients,
c o m m i s s i o n e r ' s o f f i c e . "The general parameters are through, would use Lowell as a Information from ESPN The including Williams-Sonoma and
However, on Thursday morning, understood and both clubs need right-handed designated hitter Magazine's Buster Olney and Pottery Barn.
Rangers GM John Daniels said to decide whether it's the right and part-time first baseman, a ESPNDallas.com's Richard fivefilters.org featured article:
the deal is not yet done. fit." position he has never played in Durrett was used in this report. Normalising the crime of the
"Reports of the deal were "There's a financial component to the big leagues. Lowell has fivefilters.org featured article: century by John Pilger
somewhat overstated," Daniels it, but I'm not going to address played 1,470 games at third base, Normalising the crime of the
said. that specifically. Both clubs winning the Gold Glove in 2005. century by John Pilger
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein left know what's on the table and Red Sox manager Terry
the winter meetings before the we'll continue to talk and work Francona, asked last week about
R u l e 5 d r a f t a n d h a s n o t through it." flipping Lowell to first and
E-reader Newspaper Sports/ Media/ 59
Around the Net In
The Count: Carmelo Anthony’s 20-Point Streak Media: Capital One
Adds To Agency
Not Quite Jordan-esque Relationships
(WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) games if he hadn’t sat after holds up. (MediaPost | Media News)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:17:54 PM
scoring 16 points in 12 minutes Meanwhile, David Berri, an Submitted at 12/9/2009 9:17:20 PM
in the 2004-2005 season finale. economist at Southern Utah
Allen Iverson’s second debut The next year, Iverson started University, reported in a 2006 Capital One Bank has enlarged
with the Philadelphia 76ers strong but Kobe Bryant finished book that Iverson hadn’t even its relationship with MDC
wasn’t a successful one in most stronger, scoring at least 20 been a Top 100 NBA player Partners' Kirshenbaum Bond
respects — Philly lost Monday to points in each of his last 62 during his career to that point. Senecal + Partners, awarding the
the Nuggets, 93-83, and Iverson games. The next season, though, This week, Berri wrote that agency advertising chores.
missed seven of 11 shots from Bryant scored just 15 points in logs don’t go back far enough to Iverson hasn’t played as well as KBS+P, through its specialized
the field. But in one personal t h e s e c o n d g a m e . N o t find the true record-holders in the average NBA player. marketing unit, has handled
respect, the game was successful: surprisingly, Michael Jordan tops this category. Wilt Chamberlain Defense has been both players’ direct for Capital One Credit
Philly limited Denver star them all. His best streak was 69 averaged 50.4 points per game in chief problem. Over the last three Cards and digital duties.
Carmelo Anthony to 14 points, games near the end of the 1990- 1961-62, and according to this years, Anthony has ranked 12th Last year, Capital One Bank
ending his season-opening streak 91 season. He scored 18 points in site he scored at least 26 points in in the league in a measure of how spent $27 million in measured
of games with 20 points or more 30 minutes in the season finale. all 80 games that season. (He well a player’s team did while he media, per Nielsen. Through
at 20. (He scored 34 points And 20 years ago Karl Malone also averaged more than 48 was on the floor in four key September, it spent $28 million.
Tuesday night.) That leaves started the season with a streak of minutes per game.) offensive factors — effective KBS+P will handle print, out-of-
Iverson’s 21-game streak of 20 24 games. In addition to Iverson’s and field-goal percentage, free- home, radio, digital and
points or more from four seasons I found these streaks by using Anthony’s prodigious scoring t h r o w s m a d e p e r 1 0 0 nontraditional marketing.
ago intact. That was Iverson’s Basketball Reference’s season- and Nuggets pedigree, both p o s s e s s i o n s , o f f e n s i v e - fivefilters.org featured article:
last full season with Philly — the finder tool to identify players’ players also share the burden of rebounding percentage and Normalising the crime of the
next year he played alongside seasons with the most games critics who question whether they turnover percentage. But he’s century by John Pilger
Anthony for the Nuggets. Getty with 20 points or more in the last contribute much to their teams. ranked 369th— well below
I m a g e s A l l e n I v e r s o n a n d 24 seasons, and then searching Wayne Winston, who analyzes average — in terms of team
Carmelo Anthony have had through some of them for streaks. players by how well their teams d e f e n s e i n k e e p i n g t h o s e
notable scoring streaks, but have Jordan holds the top four spots do with and without them on the measures to a minimum while
they helped their teams? on the list, including two seasons floor, reported earlier this season he’s been on the floor. And
W h i l e b o t h s t r e a k s a r e with 79 20-point games, and that the Nuggets have been better Iverson has ranked 51st and
impressive, Iverson had an even seven of the top 10. (Malone and w i t h o u t A n t h o n y — a f t e r 301st, respectively, in offense
better one the year before his 21- Bryant have the others.) Among adjusting for the strength of his and defense. Only Tim Duncan
game streak: He scored at least active players, Iverson has the teammates and opponents who and Kevin Garnett ranked in the
20 points in 57 straight games. most seasons with at least 70 have shared the floor with him. top 30 in each category.
That streak would have extended such games — three. Earlier this week Winston wrote
into the next season and run to 80 Basketball Reference’s game on his blog that the trend still
60 Sports/
WALL
continued from page 56
about John Wall,'' he said. "We
didn't make three passes in the
first half.'' At one point, Calipari
was looking for a straitjacket,
unable to handle this team of kids
who are learning not only to play
the game but simply perform the
fundamentals with common
sense.
"I'm gonna look like Dick Vitale
by the time the season is over,''
he said. "Or I'll be solid gray and
look like Bobby Cremins. We do
stuff and I'm like, 'What are you
doing?' We got up and one point
and celebrated like we won the
national title. Are you kidding? I
told them, 'Guys, if we don't start
getting better, we're setting
ourselves up.' '' For what, John?
It's the second week of
December, three months before
March Madness. That's what
Wall seemed to be conveying
with his eyes when he stared
down his coach, who said
afterward that his 9-0 team
should be "4-5.'' Sheesh.
But in his quirky way, Calipari
got to his star and penetrated his
Pats linebacker Adlius Thomas discusses being sent home
By ESPNBoston.com
(ESPN.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:32:35 AM
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Of
the four New England Patriots
players that according to a league
source were sent home from
Gillette Stadium for being late
for an 8 a.m. meeting
psyche. What came out when it
mattered was Wall's
extraordinary poise and desire to
have the ball in the crunch.
"There's no one who works
harder,'' Calipari raved. "He
hasn't missed a class, hasn't
missed a tutorial. No one works
harder in the weight room. No
one works harder in practice. All
of that is building his self-esteem
and confidence,''
The arrival of Wall coincides
with the Calipari experience,
which is greeted with glee in
Bluegrass country despite his
dubious record of dirt: He's the
only coach who had to vacate
two Final Four berths, at
Memphis, pending appeal, and
Massachusetts, because of
wrongdoing in his programs. Of
course, the UK faithful don't
care, having dismissed their own
scandals -- academic fraud and
recruiting under Eddie Sutton in
the late 1980s and a 1949 point-
shaving scandal in the Adolph
Rupp era. Even Wall was nailed,
suspended for a game and
Wednesday, three were spotted in
the locker room Thursday.
Randy Moss, Gary Guyton and
Adalius Thomas were spotted
during media availability.
Derrick Burgess was not seen
while the media was present.
When asked to talk about what
happened, Thomas said, ""I got
sent home. That's pretty much it,
required to pay back $800 in
expenses after he took unofficial
visits to schools with an agent.
The fans simply don't care. At
Lexington bars, they order a
drink called the "John Wall,'' a
blend of blue raspberry vodka,
sour mix and Sprite. There's also
a Wall Dance, based on his little
manuever during the Big Blue
Madness coming-out party. Seen
the show "Cougar Town'' on
ABC?
Actor Josh Hopkins, a Kentucky
fan, performed the Wall Dance
on the show recently.
All of which compelled Calipari
to ask his players a question the
other day: "Anyone got a
problem with John Wall getting
all the press?'' He looked at big
man Patrick Patterson, an All-
American and prime NBA
prospect in his own right.
"Patrick, you have a problem not
being talked about?'' Nope. "He's
phenomenal, one of the best
basketball players out there,''
Patterson said. "If we need a
crunch-time basket, we know
for being late.
"I think everyone woke up to the
snow yesterday. I didn't know it
was going to snow. There was
traffic. I can't run people over
getting to work. I don't do that. I
actually almost had a car
accident. It is what it is. He did
what he thought was best for
him. That's what he did."
who will knock down the shot.
John wants the ball. We get it to
him.''
Whenever he is asked to assess
himself, Wall rarely does.
Wisely, he deflects the attention
to the team or toward his own
deficiencies. How did he feel
about playing so well in the
Garden? "It feels good,'' he said.
"In the first half, I was struggling
and trying to do my thing. I made
turnovers and got into foul
trouble. In the second half, I ran
the plays.''
He did so much more than that,
of course. What he managed was
a shout-out to a sports world that
will be admiring him for, oh, the
next 20 years. We just wish
Calipari would leave him alone
sometimes.
If not, the stinkeye awaits.
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us
on Facebook
Thomas broke out a cartoon
reference when asked about
being stuck in traffic saying,
"What do you do? It's not the
Jetsons, I can't jump up and just
fly."
Bill Belichick wouldn't confirm
the decision to send the players
home on Wednesday.
"Anything that happens with
E-reader Newspaper
UFC 107
Workout
Photos
By FanHouse Newswire
(Fanhouse Main)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:42:00 PM
Filed under:@gallery
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlp
ublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=ex
pand_relative_urls&dataUrlNode
s=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizati
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=795763&uts=1260417715
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apper.swf KE Media Gallery
Feed
Cheerleaders perform during an
NFL football game between the
San Francisco 49ers and
Jacksonville Jaguars in San
Francisco, Sunday, Nov. 29,
2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
AP PHILADELPHIA -
UFC page 61
discipline on the team will stay
between me and the players,"
Belichick said Wednesday
morning.
ESPNBoston.com Patriots
reporter Mike Reiss contributed
to this report.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
E-reader Newspaper Sports/ 61
UFC
continued from page 60

NOVEMBER 29: A Philadelphia
Eagles cheerleader performs
during a game against the
Washington Redskins on
November 29, 2009 at Lincoln
Financial Field in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. The Eagles won 27
-24. (Photo by Hunter
Martin/Getty Images) Getty
Images PHILADELPHIA -
NOVEMBER 29: A Philadelphia
Eagles cheerleader performs
during a game against the
Washington Redskins on
November 29, 2009 at Lincoln
Financial Field in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. The Eagles won 27
-24. (Photo by Hunter
Martin/Getty Images) Getty
Images HOUSTON -
NOVEMBER 29: Houston
Texans cheerleaders perform at
Reliant Stadium on November
29, 2009 in Houston, Texas.
(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty
Images) Getty Images
ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 29:
A cheerleader for the Atlanta
Falcons performs during the
game against the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers at Georgia Dome on
November 29, 2009 in Atlanta,
Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C.
Cox/Getty Images) Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA
NOVEMBER 29: A Philadelphia
Eagles cheerleader dances before
the game against the Washington
Redskins during their game at
Lincoln Financial Field on
November 29, 2009 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty
Images) Getty Images
CINCINNATI - NOVEMBER
29: A Cincinnati Bengals
cheerleader is pictured during the
NFL game against the Cleveland
Browns at Paul Brown Stadium
on November 29, 2009 in
Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by
Andy Lyons/Getty Images) Getty
Images Buffalo Bills
cheerleaders perform during the
first half of an NFL football
game against the Miami Dolphins
in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday
Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David
Duprey) AP DENVER -
NOVEMBER 26: A member of
the Denver Broncos cheerleaders
performs during a break in the
- action against the New York
Giants during NFL action at
Invesco Field at Mile High on
November 26, 2009 in Denver,
Colorado. The Broncos defeated
the Giants 26-6. (Photo by Doug
Pensinger/Getty Images) Getty
Images ARLINGTON, TX -
NOVEMBER 26: Cheerleader of
the Dallas Cowboys perform at
halftime during a game against
the Oakland Raiders at Cowboys
Stadium on November 26, 2009
in Arlington, Texas. The
Cowboys defeated the Raiders 24
-7. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty
Images) Getty Images
Jack Nicklaus wants to
respect Tiger Woods'
privacy
By Associated Press championships, the most in golf
(ESPN.com) history. Woods is second with
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:13:36 AM
14.
Woods has remained out of the
PALM BEACH GARDENS, public eye since the crash
Fla. -- Jack Nicklaus said the Thanksgiving weekend and the
fallout over Tiger Woods' car scandal that quickly followed. He
crash and allegations of h a s acknowledged
extramarital affairs is "none of "transgressions" on his Web site.
my business." "He's a great athlete," Nicklaus
“ said. "He'll figure it out."
Time usually heals all wounds. I Nicklaus' first public comments
t h i n k t h e h a r d e s t t h i n g i s about Woods' situation came
obviously his family. That's a after an event honoring The
private matter for him and his Benjamin School's golf team,
family. ... He'll figure it out.”-- recent winners of a Florida state
Jack Nicklaus championship. Son Gary
"Our public is pretty forgiving at Nicklaus played on a state title
times," Nicklaus said Thursday. team at the school 26 years ago.
"Time usually heals all wounds. I Copyright 2009 by The
think the hardest thing is Associated Press
obviously his family. That's a fivefilters.org featured article:
private matter for him and his Normalising the crime of the
family." century by John Pilger
Nicklaus won 18 major

Texas Could Lose Earl Thomas to NFL

By Tim Povtak (Fanhouse their national championship Orlando for Thursday's College sophomore, who is draft eligible
Main) game next month against Football Awards show. and finishing a better-than-
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:55:00 PM
Alabama. He is one of three finalists for expected season that has
Sophomore safety Earl Thomas, the Jim Thorpe Award, given propelled him up the mock draft
Filed under: Alabama, Texas, who wears the No. 12 on the annually to the best defensive boards.
Bowl Games ORLANDO -- defensive side of the ball, could back in college football. The
Senior quarterback Colt McCoy be close behind McCoy in the other finalists are Eric Berry of
might not be the only No. 12 the NFL draft. Tennessee and Joe Haden of
season, he changed his tune
Texas Longhorns lose to the Although Thomas said last week Florida.
Wednesday night after arriving in
National Football League after that he planned to return next Thomas is a third-year
62 Sports/ Game/
New York Yankees
negotiating to re-sign
Johnny Damon, sources say
By ESPN.com news services
(ESPN.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:37:02 AM
The New York Yankees have
begun contract negotiations with
free agent outfielder Johnny
Damon, major league sources tell
ESPN The Magazine's Buster
Olney.
If the Yankees are unable to re-
sign Damon, they are likely to
look at free agents Mark DeRosa
and Mike Cameron as options for
their outfield, sources said.
Damon made $13 million in the
final season of a four-year, $52
million deal he signed after
leaving the Boston Red Sox in
free agency.
New York's acquisition of center
fielder Curtis Granderson from
Detroit, as part of a seven-player,
three-team swap that included
E-reader Newspaper
Arizona, was finalized
Wednesday.
"I don't think it affects what I can
still do. Either they come out and
pursue me or they don't," Damon
told the New York Post. "I still
know how to play baseball and
will make any team better."
Damon was New York's primary
left fielder in 2009 and averaged
144 games in the last four years.
He hit .282 with a career-high-
tying 24 home runs, 82 RBIs and
107 runs scored as the Yankees
won their first World Series since
2000.
Information from The
Associated Press was used in this
report.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Riccitiello addresses EA morale,
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger effects of negative press
By Alexander Sliwinski moves." The exec stresses that believe more what they read in a
(Joystiq) those who remain are "all excited newspaper than what they hear
Submitted at 12/10/2009 10:36:00 AM
about [EA's] move into digital from their own company." In
and direct-to-consumer" -- fairness, that seems rather
With a second year of major something that may not have understandable, given recent
layoffs at publisher Electronic been true when he brought up the events in corporate America.
Arts, questions about morale and strategy two years ago. Riccitiello addresses EA morale,
investor perception surround the Riccitiello also feels that there effects of negative press
company. EA CEO John was a lot of bad press relating to originally appeared on Joystiq on
Riccitiello told IndustryGamers EA's Q2 results -- the one with Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:36:00 EST.
that in the case of morale, those all the layoffs -- and that "a lot of Please see our terms for use of
who survived "understand the negative articles were written that feeds.
logic, they agree with it and entirely missed the point that Read| Permalink| Email this|
support it and think we're a [EA] felt [it] had a great first half Comments
stronger company for the ... sometimes people almost
E-reader Newspaper Game/ PopSci/ 63

Interview: Blizzard's
Frank Pearce on
Warcraft milestones
By Kevin Kelly (Joystiq)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:00:00 AM
Ranking the Players
Blizzard's Frank Pearce has been
In the Private Race
with the company since co- to Space
founding it in 1991 as Silicon & (Popular Science - New
Synapse, along with Michael
Pac-Man CE now on Morhaime and Allen Adham.
Today, he's the senior vice
Technology, Science News,
The Future Now)

iPhone, starting at $3 president and serves as the

executive producer of World of
Warcraft, which probably
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:15:37 AM

Who's on top? Find out in our

By JC Fletcher (Joystiq) interested in trying it out, we subjective ranking of the
includes the duty of swimming in
Submitted at 12/10/2009 11:30:00 AM
suggest picking it up with the crowded field of competitors
pools filled with gold coins, a la gunning for space
kind of haste reserved for
click for Super Pac-Man size running from ghosts -- the $3 Scrooge McDuck. The bustling private-space
Namco Bandai has just released starting price is a limited-time We talked to Frank about the industry is full of big-dreaming,
its fourth Pac-Man game to the sale. Might as well save your milestones that Warcraft recently thrifty innovators. Here we've
iPhone/iPod Touch App Store -- money for the DLC you know hit: 15 years for Warcraft and ranked 15 of the most serious
but it's Pac-Man Championship you'll be dipping into. five for World of Warcraft, and
Blizzard's Frank Pearce on contenders in order of their
Edition, so it's somewhat more Pac-Man Championship Edition how those games have changed Warcraft milestones progress toward the goal of
interesting than the usual lineup ($2.99): the company. Read on beyond
Interview: Blizzard's Frank bringing cargo and human
of classic ports that flood every Gallery: Pac-Man Championship the break for the details and find Pearce on Warcraft milestones passengers to space.
platform. And it's only $3! out what he thinks the developer
Edition (iPhone) originally appeared on Joystiq on In our subjective ranking, the
The iPhone version of the [Via AppShopper] has failed at, why another
Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. companies furthest along appear
revamped XBLA hit includes a Pac-Man CE now on iPhone, company might be able to do it Please see our terms for use of first in the list, weighted with
time-limited Championship starting at $3 originally appeared better and when you can expect a feeds. consideration for their ultimate
Mode with 5 courses, and a on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 Blizzard theme park to open. P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | goal: suborbit, orbit, the moon or
Mission Mode with 20 missions. 11:30:00 EST. Please see our Gallery: Blizzard Warcraft 5 & Comments beyond. Click here to launch the
D L C e x p a n d s t h i s t o 1 5 terms for use of feeds. 15 Year Anniversary Images gallery
Championship courses and 120 Continue reading Interview:
Permalink| Email this| .
missions, and adds a third C o m m e n t s
Challenge Mode. If you're
64 Game/ Fashion/ E-reader Newspaper

Sartorial
Sitdown With
Cintra Wilson
By ELLE.com (ELLE News
Blog)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 12:24:54 PM

Nintendo appealing Though perhaps best known for

her biweekly "Critical Shopper"

French flash cart ruling column in the Thursday Styles

section of the New York
By JC Fletcher (Joystiq)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:30:00 PM
In the statement, Nintendo noted
that Divineo still owes the
Dante's Inferno 'Divine Times—a post she’s held for
several years—writer Cintra
Wilson is far more than just a
company damages from a ruling
A Paris criminal court recently made in Nintendo's favor in
ruled in favor of Divineo, a Hong Kong last year. Last
Edition' heading crafty wordsmith or, as some
may think when reading her
company that sells DS flash carts. month, a Spanish criminal case
In a statement, Nintendo said that was dismissed against a company
it was "extremely disappointed selling DS flash carts, with the
exclusively to PS3 words ripped out of their
carefully constructed context, a
provocateur. Cintra the woman,
By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq) the same system that's being used though first and foremost a
with the decision by Paris judge in that case ruling that the to tear it apart. The demo is tough, platinum-bobbed cookie,
Submitted at 12/10/2009 12:00:00 PM
Criminal Court to find Max carts are not illegal since they can c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e o n t h e is also a supremely likeable, self-
Louarn, his company, Divineo, be used for many non-infringing EA has detailed a special edition PlayStation Network and will effacing woman who, no matter
and other co-defendants not purposes. of Dante's Inferno, titled the land on Xbox Live on December who you are or what you do, is
guilty in the criminal case Nintendo appealing French flash "Divine Edition," which is 24th.
i n v o l v i n g t h e s a l e a n d cart ruling originally appeared on 100% locked-in to learning more
coming exclusively to the Gallery: Dante's Inferno
distribution of game copying Joystiq on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 about you, and how the hell you
PlayStation 3 next February. For C o n t i n u e r e a d i n g D a n t e ' s both ended up at the same
devices," and that the company 12:30:00 EST. Please see our the same $60 the Xbox 360 Inferno 'Divine Edition' heading random party. When she’s not
"welcomes the prosecutor's terms for use of feeds. version costs, EA will give you exclusively to PS3
decision to appeal the judgment. Read| Permalink| Email this| hosting her monthly literary
the "special edition," which Dante's Inferno 'Divine Edition' group at Pasita(the members of
As a victim Nintendo will join Comments includes a developer heading exclusively to PS3 which range from writers of all
his appeal." commentary, a Wayne Barlowe originally appeared on Joystiq on kinds to doctorates in rocket
"digital art book," the game's Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. science to theater actors to the
soundtrack, and ... wait for it... a Please see our terms for use of occasional question-dodging
digitized "complete Longfellow feeds. friend up from DC who we all
translation of Dante Alighieri's Read| Permalink| Email this| know isn’t really a Foreign
Inferno." That's right, folks -- Comments Service Officer), Cintra is either
you can read the classic work on
scouring eBay for clothing her
boyfriends hate or actively
SARTORIAL page 65
E-reader Newspaper
SARTORIAL
continued from page 64
disobeying her friend Simon
Doonan’s advice to never earn a
living as a writer.
She’s been one of the most
influential writers in my short
career as a fashion journalist, and
fortunately, she agreed to open
up a little about herself, whether
she actually likes shopping, and
what we can look forward to
reading from her in the near
future.
Because your Critical Shopper
column often features fashion-
forward clothing boutiques,
readers tend to assume you’re
really into the stuff. Are you?
I’m crazy about fashion, and if I
had the means, I’d follow
Daphne Guinness around like a
toddler and imitate everything
she does. But I am an underpaid
writer, so I really can’t afford any
of that stuff. I try to keep impulse
-purchases under control. Even
the occasional, smart,
“investment” buys I justify for
myself have been quite debt-
enhancing.
I think of fashion as a very
immediate and fluid art form, so I
try to look at top-shelf, couture
boutiques the same way I look at
art galleries - I don’t need to own
the stuff to appreciate what it
means, and what it makes me
feel.
What about fashion girls, in
general? What is your impression
of women in the industry?
Honestly, I am such a weird,
rogue anomaly in the fashion
world. I barely know any of those
chicas. In my very limited
experience, the girls you see
running around at fashion week
tend to be quite smart, fretfully
beautiful girls who are perhaps a
little more tightly-wound and
insecure than their less-fabulous
counterparts. It seems they’re
rather cruelly competitive with
each other, which I presume is a
motivational habit they picked up
back in the nation’s top prep
schools. The people I really enjoy
and admire, on the scant
occasions I happen to be hanging
around the fashion scene, are the
hardcore fashion lifers like Lynn
Yaeger and Mr. Mickey
[Boardman]. They have a great
way of metabolizing fashion
ideas with their own creative
enzymes.
Which has been the most fun
Critical Shopper installment to
write? The one you’re most
proud of?
Writing that column is always
very fun for me. The structure of
the column is pretty tight and
specific, but since it is critical
and therefore subjective, there is
a certain contained rumpus area
where I am allowed to really fool
around with language. I try to
open myself completely to the
experience when I go to the
different boutiques, take in as
much information as I can, and
let the spaces themselves dictate
the column--so they’re all very
different to me, and I like
different pieces I’ve written for
different reasons.
But certain stores have inspired
me to get into rhapsodic fugue
states. I’d have to say the Dolce
& Gabbana article remains one of
my personal favorites; their
Madison Avenue space was so
over-the-top, it inspired a really
bonkers, somewhat ecstatic piece
of writing, which was also
informed by a certain paranoid,
political edginess that was in the
air at the time (it was written
shortly before the 2008
presidential election.)
Lately I am enjoying the pieces I
get to write about stores that have
a lot of history to chew on, like
Beretta or Tiffany.
When you go to a store in
preparation for writing the
column, do you ever tell the
people working there who you
are and what you’re up to?
I mostly succeed in doing it
anonymously, but sometimes I
have no choice. You can’t really
hang around high-end jewelry
stores trying on $37,000 tennis
bracelets and jotting down notes
for hours when there’s three
nervous attendants, you’re the
only person in the store, and you
don’t seem particularly interested
in buying anything. Sometimes I
lie to people and give them a fake
name, since there aren’t a whole
lot of Cintras running around, but
that always feels dirty to me. If I
really go nuts for a store, I will
sometimes tell them who I am
before I leave, because I know
they’ll be happy with the review.
Whenever someone tells me
fashion/style writing is inherently
vapid, I always forward your
latest column to them. How
would you respond to someone
who tried to tell you what you
write isn’t as elevated,
intellectually, as say, a column in
the Politics section of the paper?
Well, fashion isn’t an obviously
brainy thing to write about--it is a
fairly hermetic world that exists
in its own froofy bubble. I think
homophobia and sexism may
play a role in the trivializing of
fashion; I think it is regarded as
being something of a feminine
ghetto, to the extent that it is
tethered to the beauty industrial
complex and women’s magazines
(the stock in trade of which tends
to be largely inane articles about
How Getting My Teeth Veneered
Helped Me Have Better
Orgasms, etc.) But I think it’s a
mistake to write off fashion as
being devoid of intellectual
content.
Do you think it’s at all an
important subject to write about?
I don’t see fashion as separate
from the rest of society; it’s a
very eloquent voice in the
cultural dialogue and a really
strong indicator of what direction
the socio-politico-economic
winds are blowing. All of our
most immediate feelings about
the world we live in are reflected
in fashion, so yes, I do think it’s
important.
You can pick up a surprising
amount of social information
from the runway.
The prevailing themes in new
designs can be read like texts -
they contain quotes from history;
shapes and cuts from the past that
are intended to evoke the cultural
attitudes of certain eras that seem
to be repeating themselves.
A good example of this was the
65
windows of Barney’s right after
the Obama election. Most of the
looks during the last
administration were very
buttoned-up, Barry Goldwater-
revisited, modest suits and
dresses that were direct visual
quotes from the non-hippy,
establishment-wife looks of the
mid-60’s. It seemed like the
very minute Obama won, Simon
Doonan splashed out and filled
the Barney’s windows with big
dopey flowers, Women’s Lib-
type images of female rock stars
like Carly Simon, and various
other peacenik, free love, flower-
power symbols. Fashion had
been repressing its anti-war,
hippy protest looks before the
2008 election. Previous to the
administration change, designers
seemed to be collectively
drawing their inspirations from
socially conservative looks that
represented the other side of the
Vietnam conversation -- the dress
code of the ruling powers, as
opposed to the style of the
opposition. Things look a bit
more loose now than they did
just over a year ago.
What is the best advice you’ve
ever gotten from someone on
making it as a professional
writer?
It actually came from Simon
Doonan, who said, “Have a real
job on the side.” It’s a great
piece of advice that I’ve never
followed. Writing is a terrible
way to make a living.
Any upcoming projects you can
SARTORIAL page 66
66 Fashion/ Popular News/
SARTORIAL
continued from page 65
share?
Actually, I am very excited
about a new book I am working
on. It’s called
Fear and Clothing: Unbuckling
the Belt Regions to Expose
America’s Fashion Destiny.
It’s going to be a big road-trip
fashion research project about the
Bible Belt, Rust Belt, Frost Belt,
Sun Belt, Cotton Belt, etc. It’s
about how a region’s political
economy is reflected in its
fashion, and how fashion affects
how people feel about themselves
and their possibilities for the
future. It’s about “fashion
determinism”: you are what you
wear.
That sounds incredible. You’ve
had a big, pretty high-profile year
in 2009—what lesson have you
FKIA's Daily Double: Tongue in Chic
By ELLE.com (ELLE News
Blog)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 11:47:11 AM
Tis the season to promote
charitable shopping so why not
wear your message with
something like this William Tyler
cartoon chicken tank for Creative
Growth with a classic tweed
learned over the past 12 months,
if any? (yes, that is a leading
question)
I think it really began to make
more than just abstract sense to
me that if you stare at anything
long enough you will eventually
see the face of God. Everything
becomes everything and nothing
simultaneously if you zoom in or
out on it enough. Does that
sound like I’ve been drinking the
wrong kombucha?
No more than usual, but let’s
talk about something more
concrete: you have 5K to blow at
Barneys—where do you go first,
and how do you spend it?
For the record, I have never in
my life had 5K to blow at
Barneys, but if I did, I’d probably
end up buying something boring,
jacket like Nicolas Ghesquière’s
cheeky riff on a Chanel tweed
jacket? With jeans or skirt, it all
works wonders when sporting a
pair of metallic peep-toe faux
lizard Chanel pumps. Check out
Creativegrowth.org for more
funny tanks. Its 'this holiday’s
best insider secret and all
proceeds go to support emerging
E-reader Newspaper
sensible, indestructible thing that
I thought would last the rest of
my life for about 2K… and then
I’d buy all my Christmas
presents.
If there was a gun to my head
and I was forced to be frivolous
and self-indulgent, I’d head right
for the Rick Owens, Lanvin and
Givenchy and probably end up
with a long, bruise-colored
garment, platform bondage boots
and/or some tarted-up variation
on a big black bowling bag.
Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Redacto Obama defends war at
Nobel award
(BBC News | Americas | Please turn on JavaScript. Media
World Edition)
OBAMA page 67
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:05:29 AM
— Anne Slowey
Let me know what you
love—and if you have any
questions, e-mail me at
AnneSloweyFashionKnowItAll
@elle.com.
Follow ELLE on Twitter.
Become our Facebook fan!
young artists. Fashion loves art!
You should too!
E-reader Newspaper
OBAMA
continued from page 66
requires JavaScript to play.
President Obama receives his
Nobel Peace Prize medal -
Copyright Nobel Media AB
2009/NRK
President Barack Obama has
said the US must uphold moral
standards when waging wars that
are necessary and justified, as he
accepted his Nobel Peace Prize.
In his speech in Oslo, he
defended the US role in
Afghanistan, arguing the use of
force could bring lasting peace.
He also said his
accomplishments were slight
compared with other laureates.
Mr Obama was given the prize
in October for his "extraordinary
efforts to strengthen international
diplomacy and co-operation
between peoples".
Thursday's ceremony in the
Norwegian capital came days
after Mr Obama announced he
was sending 30,000 extra US
soldiers to the war in
Afghanistan.
He is careful to say that America
respects the cultures and
traditions of others - again, trying
to project the US as a defender
not an aggressor.
But he also wants to stand up for
"universal values". It is a difficult
balancing act.
His statement that "America has
never fought a war against a
democracy" might raise the issue
as to whether it has fought on the
side of non-democracies.
There was a mixed reaction
when he was named as the
winner of this year's prize,
becoming the fourth US
president to be given the honour.
Mr Obama's elevation to the
rank of fellow laureates such as
Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa
and Martin Luther King, before
he has even spent a year in office,
has sparked fierce debate.
Critics also said it was
inappropriate for the honour to
go to the commander-in-chief of
a country involved in conflicts in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Acknowledging the controversy,
Mr Obama said he accepted the
award with humility, adding:
"Compared to some of the giants
of history who have received this
prize... my accomplishments are
slight."
He could not argue with those
who said many previous laureates
were "far more deserving" of the
honour than him, he said.
Defending his Afghan troop
deployment, Mr Obama said
there were times when "the use
of force [was] not only necessary
but morally justified," as long as
force was proportionate and
civilian casualties minimised.
"Instruments of war do have a
role to play in preserving the
peace", he said.
"A non-violent movement could
not have halted Hitler's armies,"
he added. "Negotiations cannot
convince al-Qaeda's leaders to
lay down their arms."
He said the US "must remain a
standard bearer in the conduct of
war" to differentiate it from "a
vicious adversary that abides by
no rules".
Mr Obama also emphasised
alternatives to violence, stressing
the importance of diplomacy and
sanctions to confront nations like
Iran and North Korea over their
nuclear programmes.
While Russia and America were
working to reduce their nuclear
stockpiles, he said the
international community must
ensure Tehran and Pyongyang
did not "game the system".
"Let us reach for the world that
ought to be," Mr Obama said.
"We can understand that there
will be war, and still strive for
peace."
He paid tribute to anti-
government demonstrators in
Iran, Burma and Zimbabwe, and
said the US would always stand
on the side of those who sought
freedom.
Protests
Some anti-war demonstrators
gathered outside city hall, where
the ceremony was held.
"We are protesting against him
because... we don't think he is a
man of peace," one of them told
AFP news agency.
Amid high security, the US
president earlier signed the Nobel
Prize book of previous laureates
after arriving in Oslo with his
wife, Michelle.
There has been some
disappointment in Norway at Mr
Obama's decision to stay only
one day, even though Nobel
ceremonies are usually held over
three, and decline a traditional
lunch with the king.
At a news conference with
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberg, Mr Obama said he
and his wife wished they could
stay longer.
In the evening, Mr Obama is due
to wave to a torchlight procession
from his hotel balcony and attend
a banquet.
The Nobel Prizes for chemistry,
literature, medicine, physics and
economics are also being
presented, in the Swedish capital
Stockholm.
Each laureate, including Mr
Obama, receives a diploma, a
medal and 10m kroner ($1.4m;
£865,000).
Coinciding with the Nobel
ceremony, a statue of Mr Obama
as a young boy was unveiled in
the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, at
a park, near where the president
lived between 1967 and 1971.
Print Sponsor
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
Popular News/ 67
At Least 16 Die as
Huge Snowstorm
Batters U.S.
(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:34:15 AM
DES MOINES, Iowa Frigid
temperatures iced the Upper
Midwest on Thursday as a deadly
massive storm that dumped more
than a foot of snow in several
states from Iowa to New England
neared the end of its cross-
country trek.
The storm was blamed for at
least 17 deaths, most in traffic
accidents, in the Upper Midwest
and New England. Hundreds of
schools were closed, power was
knocked out to thousands of
people from Missouri to New
York and hundreds of flights
were canceled.
Commuters from Des Moines to
Chicago were warned of morning
temperatures reaching 10 degrees
at best and icy roads. Wind chill
values could dip to as low as
minus 25 in parts of Wisconsin,
Iowa and Illinois, according to
the National Weather Service.
"It's already very cold across the
entire region," said Casey
Sullivan, a weather service
meteorologist in Romeoville, Ill.,
adding that parts of northern
Illinois may hit only 2 degrees.
Des Moines, which saw 16
inches of snow by Wednesday,
could see a high near 9 degrees
but wind chill values could make
temperatures feel like negative
LEAST page 68
68 Popular News/ Media/ E-reader Newspaper
LEAST
Zelaya's exile move 'postponed' continued from page 67

25. In Madison, Wis., near where

(BBC News | Americas | On Wednesday, there were those interested in seeking a The US said the election were "a almost 19 inches of snow fell, the
World Edition) conflicting reports about the solution for Honduran necessary and important step wind chill could hit minus 20,
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:22:09 AM
negotiations between the democracy," he said. forward" for Honduras, and according to the weather service.
government and Mr Zelaya for A Honduran foreign ministry indicated it would accept the New England, also pounded by
Plans for ousted Honduran him to leave the country. spokesman said a safe-conduct result, but some Latin American heavy snow and strong winds on
President Manuel Zelaya to leave Sources close to the ousted pass had been signed, which nations, including Brazil, refused Wednesday, expected
for exile in Mexico are on hold, leader initially said he wanted to would have enabled Mr Zelaya to to recognise the poll. temperatures to hover around
the interim government of g o b u t h a d n o t c o n f i r m e d leave. Mr Zelaya was forced into exile freezing.
Honduras has said. whether he would be allowed But reports later emerged that no on 28 June after trying to hold a The storm was expected to move
Mr Zelaya was removed from safe passage and under what agreement had been reached on vote on whether a constituent off the coast of Maine by
power in June and forced into terms he would travel. the means and terms of Mr assembly should be set up to look Thursday night, having affected
exile but later returned and took Mr Zelaya told BBC Mundo he Zelaya's departure. at rewriting the constitution. about two-thirds of the country
refuge in the Brazilian embassy would not leave the country as an Mr Zelaya has been living in the His critics said the vote, which since hitting California earlier
in the capital. asylum seeker. Brazilian embassy since was ruled illegal by the Supreme this week, meteorologists
Officials said Mr Zelaya had to "I haven't requested asylum, I returning to Honduras from exile Court, aimed to remove the predicted.
apply for political asylum before don't want asylum and I won't on 21 September. current one-term presidency limit Wind gusts that reached more
leaving. accept asylum," he said. Conditions inside the embassy and pave the way for his possible than 50 mph and built snow drifts
Mr Zelaya, who insists he is still Correspondents say that are reported to be uncomfortable re-election. between 8 and 15 feet tall had
the president, said would not claiming asylum could reduce Mr and the building is surrounded by Mr Zelaya has repeatedly denied died down by Thursday, but
leave the country as a political Zelaya's ability to conduct soldiers and armed police. this and pointed out that it would officials still warned of blowing
refugee. political activities from abroad. 'Honduran reality' have been impossible to change snow and treacherous driving
He has refused to accept the Mr Zelaya said he wanted a After his election victory on 29 the constitution before his term in conditions.
l e g i t i m a c y o f p r e s i d e n t i a l negotiated solution that would November, Mr Lobo pledged to office expired on 27 January. "Take some extra time because
elections held last month, which allow him to continue political form a unity government and Print Sponsor the roads are gonna be slick,"
were won by Porfirio Lobo. actions abroad before agreeing to seek dialogue. fivefilters.org featured article: said Lori Getter, spokeswoman at
The Honduran Congress voted leave. He also urged the international Normalising the crime of the the Wisconsin Emergency
not to allow Mr Zelaya to serve "When the dignity and the office community to "understand the century by John Pilger
out his last two months of office. of the president are respected, I Honduran reality and stop LEAST page 69
'Electoral fraud' will be ready to have talks with punishing the country".

MediaDailyNews: New Group Buys Nielsen Titles

(MediaPost | Media News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:07:15 AM
It's official -- eight Nielsen
brands, including The Hollywood
Reporter and Adweek, have a
new home. e5 Global Media, a
new joint venture of Pluribus
Capital, a media partnership, and
Guggenheim Partners, a global
financial services firm, have
acquired several iconic titles
from Nielsen Co.
Lachlan Murdoch, head of
Illyria, a private investment
company, dropped out of the
bidding. He was initially
expected to participate in the
sale.
The purchase, for an estimated
$70 million, includes both the
magazines and Web sites of
Billboard, Brandweek,
Mediaweek, Back Stage and Film
International and CineAsia trade
shows, as well as the Clios, as
part of the deal.
James A. Finklestein, who co-
founded Pluribus, will become
chair of e5 Global Media.
Nielsen said it continues to
assess the strategic fit of other
Journal International. Plus, e5 p u b l i c a t i o n s . G r e g F a r r a r ,
gets Nielsen's film expo business, president of Nielsen Business
which includes the ShoWest, Media, stated that divesting the
S h o w E a s t , C i n e m a E x p o titles is an opportunity for the
company to "focus its investment
on its core businesses and those
parts of our portfolio that have
the greatest potential for growth,
including our leading trade show
group."
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
E-reader Newspaper Popular News/ 69
LEAST
Psychologist: Accused Smart continued from page 68

Operations Center. took advantage of an unplanned

Kidnapper Isn't 'Rational' In northern New York, up to a
foot fell on Wednesday and more
day off and hurled snowballs at
each other in a massive snowball
(FOXNews.com) when DeMier raised issues U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball than 3 feet was expected by the fight. Classes were canceled for
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:31:20 AM
related to his mental competency, will ultimately decide if Mitchell week's end. Areas in Maine and the first time in 19 years due to
the psychologist said. can proceed to trial in the federal New Hampshire received up to a weather.
SALT LAKE CITY A federal Mitchell also directed staff at the s y s t e m . A r u l i n g i s n o t foot of snow. Up to 7 inches of Some came holding trays as
prison psychologist says that the Missouri hospital to refer to him immediately expected when the s n o w f e l l i n n o r t h e a s t shields. Others were bundled up
suspect in the abduction of by his religious name, Immanuel hearing ends. Pennsylvania. to protect themselves from the
Elizabeth Smart understands the D a v i d I s a i a h , t h e p r o p h e t , Earlier in the day, Dr. Paul The storm drenched California below-freezing temperatures and
accusations against him but isn't D e M i e r s a i d . Whitehead, a Utah State Hospital in rain, blanketed the mountain winds that gusted to more than
competent to stand trial. But DeMier said that Mitchell psychologist, said the treatment West in snow and shattered 20 mph — though several went
Dr. Richart DeMier of the U.S. does understand the charges team that cared for Mitchell snowfall records in Flagstaff, shirtless, while at least one had
Medical Center for Federal against him, the court process believed he was close to being Ariz. earlier this week. Wind on pajamas.
Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., and the roles of the judge, f o u n d c o m p e t e n t f o r s t a t e gusts of up to 100 mph were "I figured with the day off, there
said he had determined that Brian p r o s e c u t o r s a n d d e f e n s e p r o c e e d i n g s i n 2 0 0 5 . reported in New Mexico, wind was no better way to spend it
David Mitchell is suffering from a t t o r n e y s . Mitchell's refusal to cooperate chills as low as minus 40 hit than with a snowball fight," said
paranoid schizophrenia. Mitchell, 56, has been indicted with an evaluator, however, southern Montana, and heavy Matt Moerel, 19, of Vadnais
D e M i e r s a i d d u r i n g a on federal charges of kidnapping ultimately forced the hospital to rain and flooding affected parts Heights, Minn.
competency hearing for Mitchell and unlawful transportation of a say it was impossible to make a of the South, according to the Many New England residents
in U.S. District Court Wednesday minor across state lines. d e t e r m i n a t i o n a b o u t h i s National Weather Service. braced for bone-chilling winds
that Mitchell is not making Smart was 14 when she was c o m p e t e n c y , W h i t e h e a d The storm felt like a rude after digging out from a foot or
rational decisions about his t a k e n f r o m h e r h o m e a t c o n c e d e d . surprise after an unseasonably more of snow. The weather was
criminal defense. knifepoint in June 2002. In Whitehead said that as Mitchell's warm and dry November in parts welcomed by 8-year-old Gavin
"If he believes he's going to be October, she testified she was treating physician, he had no of the Midwest. The massive Graham of Concord, N.H. He
miraculously delivered from raped after being forced into a official opinion about Mitchell's system is the first major blast of spent two hours sledding.
prison by God in two years time, religious marriage with Mitchell competency. wintry weather for many parts of "It was really good sledding. The
that's not a rational thought within hours of the kidnapping. However, he said he was the region. snow was puffy, and that was
process," said DeMier, who Federal prosecutors contend initially skeptical in 2005 that "I've been dreading this day," really good because we had little
evaluated Mitchell over 45 days a Mitchell is competent. A New Mitchell had mental illness, but said Kim Brust, shoveling the jumps already made," he said. "It
year ago. York forensic psychiatrist said he after nine months of observation s i d e w a l k i n f r o n t o f h i s was awesome having the day off
SLIDESHOW: The Elizabeth i s f a k i n g o r e x a g g e r a t i n g he diagnosed Mitchell with Minneapolis home before sunrise from school."
Smart Saga symptoms of mental illness to delusional disorder. Wednesday. "I was starting to fivefilters.org featured article:
Mitchell participated in less than avoid prosecution. fivefilters.org featured article: enjoy the global warming." Normalising the crime of the
five hours of formal interviews M i t c h e l l ' s f e d e r a l p u b l i c Normalising the crime of the While an inconvenience for century by John Pilger
and talked at length about his defenders claim he is unable to century by John Pilger many, others took an opportunity
religious beliefs but shut down assist them with his case. to play.
At least 3,000 University of
Wisconsin-Madison students
70 Popular News/ E-reader Newspaper

Promotion day arrives for white Serial Killer Suspect

Conn. firefighters (AP) Agrees to Fencing Off
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:18:53 AM
plaintiffs, said Wednesday that
his clients congratulate the newly
promoted firefighters.
statement.
David Rosen, an attorney for a
black New Haven firefighter who
of Home
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A group "Nobody is going to say these is suing the city and arguing he (FOXNews.com) premises.
of white firefighters who won a guys are unqualified," Thompson was unfairly denied a promotion, Submitted at 12/9/2009 11:32:01 PM
Cuyahoga County Common
discrimination case before the said. said Wednesday that his client, Pleas Judge Timothy McGinty
U.S. Supreme Court are receiving But Thompson, who is trying to Michael Briscoe, is happy for the CLEVELAND A registered approved defense requests to
their promotion badges Thursday intervene in federal court in New firefighters being promoted and sex offender charged with killing provide money to hire a private
in a ceremony that provides Haven to challenge the validity has congratulated several of 11 women and hiding their investigator and mental-health
symbolic recognition of their of the exams now that they have them. remains in and around his home consultant. But the judge stopped
victory. been certified, said the fight is "He's not trying to take a slot agreed Wednesday to let police short of issuing a defense-
The high court ruled in June that not over because the black away from one of the people fence off the house with barbed requested gag order that would
New Haven officials violated firefighters were not heard. In being promoted," Rosen said. wire to preserve evidence. have barred attorneys and police
white firefighters' civil rights other cases cities have been "There are other vacant Anthony Sowell, who pleaded i n t h e c a s e f r o m p u b l i c l y
when they threw out 2003 test r e q u i r e d t o m a k e m o r e positions." not guilty last week by reason of c o m m e n t i n g .
r e s u l t s i n w h i c h t o o f e w promotions than planned, he said. Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff insanity, appeared in handcuffs Authorities say Sowell, 50, lured
minorities did well. "They understand this is a 15- among the white firefighters who and dressed in an orange jail women to his home and attacked
The case became an issue in round fight," Thompson said of won and is being promoted, told jumpsuit at the pretrial hearing. them. The remains of 10 women
c o n f i r m a t i o n h e a r i n g s f o r his clients. "You don't decide the Senate in July during He responded with few words to and a skull were found in the
Supreme Court Justice Sonia who won in Round 3." Sotomayor's confirmation the judge's questions, waiving his residence or buried in the yard.
Sotomayor, who ruled against the That prompted an angry reaction process that the lower court r i g h t t o a s p e e d y t r i a l t o Sowell faces 85 counts including
white firefighters when she from Karen Torre, attorney for ruling against him "divides accommodate his new defense murder, rape, assault and corpse
served on a federal appeals court. the white firefighters. people who don't wish to be team. The waiver pushes back abuse in the slayings and in the
Fourteen firefighters who sued " A t t o r n e y T h o m p s o n ' s divided along racial lines." any trial until mid-2010. attacks on three women who
are being promoted Thursday to provocations and promise, to me, Ricci told the panel that Cuyahoga County assistant survived. He could get the death
lieutenant and captain. Another only demonstrates the need for "achievement is neither limited prosecutor Richard Bombik said penalty if convicted of any of the
10 firefighters, including four the Supreme Court to take up the nor determined by one's race but the state hasn't ruled out asking killings.
minorities, who took the 2003 issue of the constitutionality of by one's skills, dedication, the court to allow the trial jury to Also Wednesday, Mayor Frank
tests but were not plaintiffs in the that provision of Title VII that commitment and character." visit the Cleveland house. Health Jackson appointed a commission
court case also will be promoted. allows such people to paralyze fivefilters.org featured article: considerations would be a factor to review police policies for
Dennis Thompson, an attorney local governments and the civil Normalising the crime of the in any decision about a jury handling sexual assault and
for black firefighters who tried service and hold the public century by John Pilger walkthrough, he said. He did not missing-person reports, but it will
unsuccessfully last month to hostage to endless litigation over elaborate. not look into the Sowell case.
block the promotions of the the issue of race," Torre said in a During the hearing, both sides S o m e r e l a t i v e s o f v i c t i m s
agreed to let the city halt the 24- c o m p l a i n e d a b o u t p o l i c e
hour police guard outside the handling of missing-person
home and fence it off. Bombik reports. Police say some victims
said the security arrangements were never reported missing.
would allow the defense to make fivefilters.org featured article:
its own check of the house. Normalising the crime of the
Police have said they have century by John Pilger
completed their search of the
E-reader Newspaper Popular News/ 71

Storm blows east, leaves Midwest in Hacker to appeal over

bitter cold (AP) US extradition
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) overturned on the New York Service Meteorologist Tom (BBC News | Americas | 'Severe depression'
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:38:44 AM
State Thruway when the driver Paone said. World Edition) Ms Todner said there was new
made an unsafe lane change as The storm was still lingering Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:56:17 AM
evidence from psychiatrists with
BUFFALO, N.Y. – A deadly, snow and high winds blew over some sections of the upper experience of prisons - one
windy storm that tortured a wide through Buffalo before dawn Midwest on Thursday. C o m p u t e r h a c k e r G a r y English and the other American -
swath of the country for days Thursday, state police said. Parts of Michigan were under a McKinnon is mounting a fresh t o s u p p o r t h i s c l a i m t h a t
threatened to drop a foot or more Everyone on board had minor blizzard warning as the coldest High Court challenge to stop his extraditing him would violate the
of snow on parts of New York, injuries. air of the season crossed Lake extradition to the US. European Convention on Human
Pennsylvania and New England "The winds were just whipping Michigan and travelers were Solicitor Karen Todner said Rights.
Thursday before finally blowing the snow back across the road warned of below-zero windchills papers were lodged with the High She said his removal would
off the coast of Maine. and you couldn't get a lane or two and whiteouts. Court seeking a judicial review breach his right to life, not to be
Commuters from Des Moines to cleared or kept cleared," State As the storm moved on, its of the home secretary's decision s u b j e c t e d t o i n h u m a n a n d
Chicago braced for single digit Police Capt. Michael Nigrelli remnants continued to torment not to block his transfer. degrading treatment and his right
temperatures and icy roads, while said. travelers, utility workers and The home secretary has 14 days to private and family life,
wind chill values as low as While less than three inches of people headed to work and to respond before a judge contrary to articles 2, 3 and 8 of
negative 25 were forecast for snow fell on Buffalo, with winds school in hard-hit areas from the considers it. the convention.
parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and gusting between 50 mph and 60 mountain West eastward. Mr McKinnon, 43, who has After the 14 days in which Mr
Illinois. mph it was enough to blind In Northern Arizona, 25 to 30 Asperger's syndrome, is accused Johnson can respond, the case
"Like I stuck my face in the drivers, ground flights and force elk hunters remained stranded for of breaking into the US military will then go before a single judge
freezer," was how Bincy Mathew most area schools to close. a fourth day in below-freezing computer system. He says he was to be considered on paper.
described the Chicago air. Frequent thunder and lightning lit temperatures and searchers seeking evidence of UFOs. A court hearing may be needed
The storm will have affected up the sky. worried they were running low The computer systems he is before a decision is reached on
about two-thirds of the country "Yesterday we were on the warm on food and heating fuel. The accused of breaking into include whether a judicial review will be
b y t h e t i m e i t m o v e s o u t side of the storm but now the Coconino County sheriff's office the Pentagon. granted.
Thursday night, and has been storm has moved away into the said the hunters were trapped by The Glasgow-born man, now of Mr McKinnon's lawyers say he
blamed for at least 17 deaths, Quebec province so we've got the 2 to 3 feet of snow that fell Wood Green, north London, is suffering from "very severe
most in traffic accidents. cold air floating across the lakes Monday. faces 60 years in prison if depression" and is in danger of
In New York, a double-decker right now. Everything that's fivefilters.org featured article: convicted. killing himself in preference to
bus carrying 12 passengers from going on right now is pure lake- Normalising the crime of the Last month Home Secretary being extradited.
New York City to Toronto effect snow," National Weather century by John Pilger A l a n J o h n s o n t o l d M r They have fought a series of
McKinnon's family he could not long-running court battles and
block the move on medical the latest move is expected to be
grounds, leaving the way open h i s l a s t a t t e m p t t o a v o i d
for a trial in the US. extradition.
The latest legal submissions Print Sponsor
include an up to date medical fivefilters.org featured article:
report on his situation and two Normalising the crime of the
reports about the ability of the century by John Pilger
US prison service to deal with his
circumstances.
72 Popular News/ E-reader News/ E-reader Newspaper

Pakistan confirms US men arrested COOL-ER: New e-

(BBC News | Americas |
World Edition)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 7:01:23 AM
this week in the city of Sarghoda,
about 190 km (120 miles) south-
east of the capital, Islamabad,
on a video to members of the US
Council on American-Islamic
Relations (Cair).
reader allows sharing
officials said.
P a k i s t a n i p o l i c e s a y f i v e They were detained in a raid on
suspected militants arrested a house belonging to an uncle of
Nihad Awad, the council's
executive director, said the video
appeared to be "like a farewell".
for free (Sun-Sentinel)
(Yahoo! News Search Results average novel 15 times over.
during a raid on a house in one of them, the Pakistani "One person appeared in that for e-readers) Cost: $259.
Punjab province are US nationals embassy in Washington said. video and they made references My favorite feature, however. is
Submitted at 12/9/2009 11:32:49 AM
wanted by the FBI. Dr Usman Anwar, Sarghoda's to the ongoing conflict in the anything that saves consumers
Officials said they were the same police chief, said laptops, mobile world, and that young Muslims One of my favorite tech gadget cash, in this case being the ability
men who disappeared from their phones and maps of Pakistani have to do something," Mr Awad niches this year is e-readers, to share a copy of a copyrighted
homes in the US state of Virginia cities were recovered from the told Associated Press news electronic book-reading devices. ebook up to five times with
late last month. property during the operation. agency. They make great gifts for anyone of your choosing - no
Their families reported them Dr Anwar said the men had been He said the video had made him students, professionals on the go extra cost. That's the equivalent
missing after finding a farewell in direct contact with various "uncomfortable" and he had and any avid reader. of buying a DVD movie and
video message, showing scenes militant groups in Pakistan since advised the men's families to And there are bargains to be had being able to share up to five
of war and urging for Muslims to August. contact the FBI. with so many manufacturers copies with someone. Nice deal.
be defended. "They were offering their service The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan (some of which are well-known ebook bargains: Save 25 percent
Police said the men were to carry out attacks, although we in Islamabad says that while it is retailers-turned-manufacturers) off www.cooler-books.com until
arrested after offering their don't know what their target was not unusual for foreigners with now in the game, including Dec. 22.
services for attacks. at the moment," he told the BBC. suspected hardline Islamic links Amazon.com, Sony, Barnes & Wait for the next model?
The men hold US passports. He said the FBI was in Sarghoda to be arrested in Pakistan, it is Noble and others. Interead and AT&T today
Two of them are Pakistani- and was examining the evidence unusual for Americans who may One to consider: If you want to announced an agreement that will
Americans, while the remaining retrieved from the scene of the be wanted by the FBI to be share ebooks with friends and deliver users of the COOL-ER
three are of Eritrean, Ethiopian raid. detained. family for no cost, check out the 3G ereader, scheduled for release
and Egyptian origin, officials Video message Print Sponsor COOL-ER, made by South in mid-2010.
said. The five men, all students, were fivefilters.org featured article: Florida-based Interead. It has a 6- What do you say? Want to share
US authorities have not yet reported missing from their Normalising the crime of the inch, E-ink screen, stores up to 1 your thoughts about an e-reader
confirmed the men's identities. homes in northern Virginia by century by John Pilger GB internal membory (which y o u b o u g h t ? O r s h a r e
Phones and laptops their families in late November. holds about 300 ebooks) and e x p e r i e n c e s ?
The five were arrested earlier The families reportedly passed expands up to 4 GB, and uses fivefilters.org featured article:
low-energy technology so a Normalising the crime of the
single charge can last up to 8,000 century by John Pilger
clicks - enough to read an
E-reader Newspaper Popular News/ Economy/ 73

The Copenhagen
climate talks: Filthy
lucre fouls the air
(The Economist: News specific actions taken by
analysis) developing countries to curb
Submitted at 12/9/2009 10:37:42 PM
emissions. Embarrassed Danes
said the text was one of several
The Copenhagen climate talks unofficial papers that had been
Dec 10th 2009 | floated, not a basis for real
COPENHAGEN bargaining. The lead negotiator
From The Economist print for the “G77 plus China” group
edition Arguments over money o f d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s ,
dampened the euphoria at the L u m u m b a D i - A p i n g , w a s
start of the Copenhagen climate unsoothed. “This text…is a major
talks violation that threatens the
DESPITE the gloomy talk that success of the Copenhagen
p r e c e d e d t h e U N c l i m a t e negotiations,” he fumed, saying
conference, the opening was two years’ work had been swept

Heavy snowfalls blight US towns upbeat. Most big countries had aside.
vowed to cut or limit emissions Can there still be a deal? The
(BBC News | Americas | a snowstorm. (50mph) created snow drifts of during the previous few weeks. m a i n o b s t a c l e m a y n o t b e
World Edition) Blizzards, which are heading 4 . 5 m ( 1 5 f t ) , t h e N a t i o n a l As delegates arrived, America’s emissions cuts, which will not
eastwards, have been blamed for W e a t h e r S e r v i c e s a i d . E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o t e c t i o n change much, but the closely
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:41:32 AM
at least 16 deaths, most in traffic In northern Arizona, officials say Agency announced that carbon- linked issues of the shape of a
Please turn on JavaScript. Media accidents. they are searching for some 25- dioxide emissions were an deal and how much money it
requires JavaScript to play. Trapped 30 hunters trapped by up to 3ft of “endangerment” to health. This involves.
Heavy snowfall has caused In one such incident, a 28-year- snow that fell earlier this week. allows Barack Obama to regulate Everyone agrees that poorer
chaos across America's Midwest old woman was killed in Omaha, Across the country, flights have them, whatever Congress does. countries, including India and
states Nebraska, on Tuesday night been cancelled, roads closed and The happiness did not last. On China, need cash for climate
Blizzards in the Midwest of the when a lorry ploughing snow in a power cut off to thousands of December 8th a draft agreement “mitigation”—adopting green
U S h a v e b r o u g h t r e c o r d car park backed into her, police people. which had been discussed some technology and new approaches
snowfalls, burying cars, closing said. The snowstorm is forecast to weeks ago was leaked to the t o l a n d u s e a n d f o r e s t
schools and causing power cuts. In Iowa, meteorologists recorded continue eastward on Thursday, Guardian, a British newspaper. It c o n s e r v a t i o n — a n d f o r
Wisconsin declared a state of the highest snowfall there since bringing 3 to 5 inches of snow to caused a furore. The “Danish “adaptation”: coping with the
emergency after being hit by up 1988, which left motorists New England and the north-east. text” had been circulated by the anticipated effects of climate
to 48cm (19in) of snow on stranded. Print Sponsor hosts, but not to all parties; and it change, some of which (like a
Wednesday, while Iowa recorded Meanwhile in Madison, the fivefilters.org featured article: seems to confirm the futility of degree of sea level rise) look
its worst snowfall for 20 years. University of Wisconsin was Normalising the crime of the moves towards the legally unavoidable. America has joined
Illinois was also hit, and in forced to cancel classes for the century by John Pilger binding treaty that many still the list of countries accepting
Arizona, in the south-west, up to first time since 1990. want. such transfers, saying it will pay
30 hunters have been stranded by In Illinois, gusts of 80km/h It also seems to link any rich-to- COPENHAGEN page 74
poor transfers of money to
74 Economy/ E-reader Newspaper
COPENHAGEN
Europe.view: The neighbour from hell continued from page 73

its “fair share”. Rich countries

(The Economist: Daily seriously. Some wags even and influence people. The latest iteration of what is have talked of a “quick start”
columns) suggested that a “Primakov pressure for NATO to take a commonly known as the fund. The leaked Danish text has
Submitted at 12/9/2009 9:37:10 PM
prize” be established to mark the firmer stand will soon fizzle out. “Medvedev Plan”—the idea of it starting in 2010-12 at a value to
boost he had given to the cause. Instead, Russia is adopting the creating a new, realpolitik-based, be determined; the UN has
Europe.view Now the same tactics are at work opposite course. It habitually security architecture for Europe suggested $10 billion. To poor
Dec 10th 2009 again. As readers of this column violates Baltic airspace. It which would weaken NATO, countries, this sounds paltry:
From Economist.com Cack- may know, the black hole in maintains a vocal propaganda bypass the Organisation for responses range from “bribery”
handed Russian tactics are NATO’s security guarantee is offensive (such as a report being Security and Co-operation in to “it will not even pay for the
boosting NATO in eastern that it has no formal contingency launched in Brussels this week Europe, and sideline America. coffins”. Instead, the G77 has
Europe plans to defend its weakest by a Russian-backed think-tank, Apart from the ever-enthusiastic asked for 0.5% to 1% of the rich
IN THE 1990s, when enlarging members: the Baltic states of which criticises Baltic language Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime countries’ GDPs. That implies
N A T O t o t a k e i n t h e e x - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. If and citizenship laws). This minister, there seems little hundreds of billions of dollars on
communist countries still seemed Russia is NATO’s friend—so the autumn, it scandalised NATO enthusiasm for any version of top of existing development aid.
perilous and impractical, help thinking went in the early years opinion by running two big this plan in Europe. It might have The idea that rich countries will
came from an unexpected source. of this decade—no such plans are military exercises, without had a better chance when the hand over 1.2% to 1.7% of their
Yevgeny Primakov (pictured), a necessary. America has its own foreign observers, based on Bush administration was testing wealth in perpetuity is not going
steely old Soviet spook who military plans: chiefly putting highly threatening scenarios Atlanticist loyalties to to fly.
became first head of Russia’s powerful naval forces in the (culminating in a Strategic destruction, and when Gerhard Some transfers occur already.
Foreign Intelligence Service, then North Atlantic to, if necessary, Rocket Forces drill in which Schröder was running Germany Rich states meet emissions
foreign minister and even, sink Russian warships and shoot Russia “nuked” Poland). The and Jacques Chirac was president targets by paying poor countries
briefly, prime minister, liked to down planes menacing the Baltic exercises demonstrated weakness of France. Now it looks like a to do the cutting, under Kyoto’s
s a y t h a t i t w o u l d b e states. But NATO is paralysed by and incompetence, as well as non-starter. Clean Development Mechanism.
“impermissible” for the alliance the fear, felt strongly in countries force of numbers and nasty It is just what Polish, Czech and This system is under fire in
to admit ex-communist states. such as France and Germany, that thinking. But they made life hard Baltic politicians need to bolster Copenhagen for being too choosy
His remarks, and others in any real military planning will be for peacemongers and their arguments. But it is hard to or too arbitrary in the projects it
similar vein by leading Russian intolerably and destructively strengthened the arguments of see how this sort of thing helps backs. It is also too small: it
politicians, p r o v e d provocative towards Russia. NATO hawks and the twitchy Russia. abates only 330m tonnes of
counterproductive. The more the Faced with that constellation of eastern Europeans. Back to top ^^ Readers' carbon dioxide per year, and
Kremlin huffed and puffed about f o r c e s , a s e n s i b l e R u s s i a n Russia’s latest political move comments billions of tonnes must be cut.
ex-captive nations deciding their response might be to adopt softly adds insult to injury. It has The Economist welcomes your On Thursday, George Soros, a
own future, the harder it became -softly tactics. Make it clear that formally proposed a new security views. philanthropist, proposed turning
to dismiss those countries’ fears: the war in Georgia was a one-off treaty to NATO, which would fivefilters.org featured article: on a much bigger tap: he wants a
if your neighbour terms it (and a response to provocation). specifically prohibit the alliance Normalising the crime of the new use of Special Drawing
“impermissible” for you to install Give the Baltics and the Poles no from making military plans or century by John Pilger Rights, effectively the IMF’s in-
a burglar alarm, people will start reason to worry. Keep on using positioning forces in a way that house gold-backed “currency”,
taking your security worries economic ties to make friends Russia does not like. This is the mainly held by the rich countries.
The IMF extended an extra $153
billion to rich countries last year
to help them with the financial
crisis. Most of it was unused. Mr
Soros wants rich countries to
lend $100 billion-worth to poor
COPENHAGEN page 75
E-reader Newspaper
COPENHAGEN
continued from page 74
ones, creating a “green fund” to
jump-start mitigation. The IMF’s
gold reserves could pay the
(small) interest amounts that poor
countries would otherwise owe.
Other proposals abound. The
REDD initiative on forestry
should move lots of money to
countries which avoid felling
trees. If emissions from ships and
aircraft are cut, using a tax or an
emissions market, that could
provide cash. Less promisingly,
France wants a levy on financial
transactions. And the European
Climate Foundation, a think-tank,
says more could be taken from
existing carbon markets: cash
could be winkled from traders
who arbitrage the price difference
between green projects in poor
places and the “allocation” paid
by rich-world emitters.
The question of who gets paid
what, and how, feeds back into
the main issue in these and
inevitable future talks: to what
MediaDailyNews: Nielsen: U.S. Ad
Spend Falls 11.5%
(MediaPost | Media News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 9:22:39 AM
Only three media advertising
areas have shown growth through
the first three-quarters of this
year: cable TV, Spanish-
language cable TV and free-
standing newspaper inserts.
The Nielsen Company says
overall U.S. advertising spending
declined 11.5% from January
extent will obligations under the
Kyoto protocol be extended
beyond the developed countries
to developing ones? Rich
countries account for most of the
past emissions that now fill the
air, but less than half the world’s
current emissions.
Settling this question will mean
some differentiation between
developing countries, a term that
includes both industrial giants
and hapless victims, whose
interests are very different. Some
people think this was the reason
for the leaking of the Danish text.
Those most offended by it are the
smallest, weakest countries,
which are vulnerable and emit
very little. They are more
interested in strong action than in
who pays for it or who has to
make the cuts. The calculus is
different for the larger, more
industrialised emerging markets,
at least four of which—Brazil,
India, South Africa and
through September -- compared
to the same time period a year
ago -- to $83.4 billion.
Cable TV climbed 9.1%;
Spanish-language cable TV
improved 36.7%; and free-
standing insert coupons rose
11.2%. Sixteen other main
categories declined anywhere
from 0.5% for the Internet to
48.3% for local Sunday
China—saw the text before it
was leaked. They have more to
gain from keeping the onus of
action and payment on the
developed world alone.
These countries have produced
their own draft document, which
would absorb any new agreement
into the existing Kyoto
framework. If the leak serves to
firm up resistance to a deal that
spreads the duties of reduction
wider, China and other large
developing states may be the
gainers
Back to top ^^ Readers'
comments
The Economist welcomes your
views.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
supplements.
While cable generally posted
better numbers, other TV areas
showed mostly double-digit
declines. Broadcast networks
sank 13.9%; syndication TV
dropped 15.9%; Spot TV in the
top 100 DMAs sank 16%; and
spot TV in smaller markets, 100
MEDIADAILYNEWS: page 76
Research Brief: No
Apocalypse For Global
Newspapers
(MediaPost | Media News)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 5:15:17 AM
According to the World
Association of Newspapers and
News Publishers, in its annual
world press trends update, at no
time in the foreseeable future will
digital advertising
revenues replace those lost to
print, making the search for new
business models, including paid-
for online access for news, a
pressing concern for the
news publishing industry.
In a 182-billion dollar press
advertising industry, digital
revenues of newspapers
accounted for less than 6 billion
dollars last year and are forecast
by PricewaterhouseCoopers to
grow to no more than 8.4 billion
dollars by 2013. With print
advertising expected to decline,
PwC predicts that by 2013,
combined print and digital ad
revenues will be less than
print only ad revenues were in
2008.
Timothy Balding, co-CEO
of WAN-IFRA, said "These...
forecasts... demonstrate quite
simply that at no time soon will
digital advertising revenues come
close to achieving... revenues
required... to compensate for
falling print revenue... Should
these forecasts come close to
being true, new business models
Media/ 75
will have to be invented."
Yet "Despite the endless
predictions about the death of
newspapers, they actually
continue to grow, at least on a
global scale... the global
newspaper industry is far from
facing an apocalypse," Mr
Balding said.
The survey showed that
newspaper circulation grew, on a
global scale, by 1.3% in 2008,
the last full year for which data
exists, and almost 9% over five
years. The data shows consistent
newspaper growth in Africa, Asia
and South America, a long-term
slowdown in the US and
European markets. Over five
years, according to our survey,
newspaper circulation increased
in 100 of the 182 nations
for which we have reliable data."
And, "...newspaper companies in
the 'old' markets have embraced
digital platforms and new forms
of print publishing and, in doing
so, have actually grown their
audience reach and revenues,
even while their print circulations
have come under pressure,"
Mr Balding observed.
"But even here, a sense of
proportion demands that we deny
the idea that the apocalypse is
upon us," said Mr Balding. "A
circulation drop in Europe,
RESEARCH page 76
76 E-reader Newspaper
MEDIADAILYNEWS RESEARCH
continued from page 75 continued from page 75

through 210, were 12.6% lower. Change -25.0% for example, is less than 3% over • The US market has been
One lesser hit TV area was Spanish Language Cable TV B-to-B Magazines five years. hardest hit, with advertising
Spanish-language network TV, 36.7% -33.1% Some of the highlights from the revenues in the third quarter
down 4.6%. FSI Coupon Local Sunday Supplement presentation: of 2009 falling nearly 29% in
Radio generally fared a bit better 11.2% -48.3% • Globally, 1.9 billion people print and nearly 17%
than TV. Spot radio was down Cable TV Grand Total choose to read a newspaper every on digital platforms over the
9.6%, while network radio was 9.0% -11.5% day, or 34% of the world same quarter in 2008. But
off 10.2%. Internet** Source: The Nielsen Company population, while 24% use the revenue declines
Nielsen says many of the same -0.5% * All data from non-Internet internet. mirror declines in other
declining advertising categories Spanish Language Network TV media pulled from Nielsen's • The biggest newspaper industries.
continue to hurt media sales -4.6% Ad*Views database market in the world is India, with
results. Spot Radio ** Internet advertising 107 million daily sales. India, "....there still remains outside
Automotive factory/dealer -9.6% expenditures pulled from China and Japan account for forces, namely the economy, that
advertising was chopped 30.9% Network Radio AdRelevance database and more than 60% of the world's we have little control over,"
to $5.4 billion, and local auto ad -10.2% account for CPM-based, image- newspaper sales, with the USA concluded Mr. Balding.
dropped 26.9% to $2.4 billion. Spot TV 101-210 DMAs based advertising. These taking 14%. For more information from
Wireless phone media lost 5.4% -12.6% reported estimated expenditures • In terms of sales per 1,000 WAN-IFRA, the organization
to $2.5 billion; pharmaceutical National Sunday Supplement do not account for paid search adult population, Japan leads the created by the merger of the
was down 4.6% to $3.2 billion; -13.6% advertising, text only, paid fee world with 612, followed by World Association of
and motion picture advertising Network TV services, performance-based Norway with 576, and Finland Newspapers and IFRA, the
slipped 1.7% to $2.5 billion. -13.9% campaigns, sponsorships, with 482. In terms of research and service
Local Newspaper barters, in-stream ("pre-rolls") reach, 91% of Japanese continue organization for the news
Improving categories included -14.0% players, messenger applications, to read a newspaper daily, publishing industry, please visit
fast -food restaurants, up 1.8% to Outdoor partnership advertising, remarkable in such a them here. Or, access the
$3.1 billion and direct response -15.1% promotions and email campaigns, technologically advanced and magazine here.
commercials, 3.3% improved to Syndicated TV or house advertising activity. wired society. fivefilters.org featured article:
$1.8 billion. The overall top 10 -15.9% fivefilters.org featured article: • Advertising revenues fell an Normalising the crime of the
categories have fallen 12.7% to Spot TV Top 100 DMAs Normalising the crime of the estimated 20% in North America, century by John Pilger
$25.7 billion. -16.0% century by John Pilger 19% in eastern Europe, 16%
Year-to-Year Change in Ad National Magazine in western Europe, and 11%
Spend, by Media -21.4% in the Asia Pacific in 2009,
Media Category* National Newspaper according to PwC.
1Q-3Q 2009 -21.6%
vs. 1Q-3Q 2008 Local Magazine
E-reader Newspaper
Nook E-Reader Has Potential, but Needs Work (AllThingsD
Online via Yahoo! Finance)
(Yahoo! News Search Results
for e-readers)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 6:03:50 PM
Amazon’s Kindle has been the
king of the nascent, much-hyped,
category of wireless e-readers
since it came out in 2007. Now,
numerous companies are
determined to challenge the
Kindle with dedicated, mass-
market gadgets for reading digital
books and periodicals. The latest,
and potentially most important,
of these is a contender called the
Nook, produced by the giant
bookstore chain Barnes & Noble
Inc. (BKS), which started
shipping it this week.
The two devices look very
similar, but have key differences
in capabilities, user interface and
polish. Overall, after testing the
Nook for about a week, I don’t
think it’s as good as the Kindle,
at least not yet. At launch, the
Nook has the feel of a product
with great potential that was
rushed to market before it was
fully ready.
Like the latest standard-size
Kindle, which came out earlier
this year, the Nook is a roughly 8
-inch by 5-inch, ivory-colored
plastic tablet that costs $259 and
connects wirelessly to an online
store. The two devices have
essentially identical reading
screens, 6 inches when measured
diagonally, that allow for only
monochrome text and gray-scale
graphics, not color. Both come
with two gigabytes of internal
memory, enough to hold about
1,500 digital books.
Nook’s most obvious difference
from Kindle is that it also boasts
a second, smaller color screen
beneath the main reading screen.
This touch screen is used for
navigating and for typing via an
on-screen keyboard when
performing searches or adding
notes to books. Also, when the
touch screen is dark, it can be
swiped to turn pages instead of
using the physical page-turning
buttons at the sides of the main
screen.
The competing Kindle (formerly
called the Kindle 2, but now back
to just Kindle) uses a joystick,
Menu and Home buttons, and
pop-up menus on the main screen
for navigating. It has a physical
keyboard below the screen for
typing and can turn pages only
using physical buttons.
A customer tries a Nook e-reader
at a Barnes Noble store in
Manhattan on Monday.
Also, unlike the Kindle, the
Nook lets you lend certain digital
books to others for a limited
period, an innovation that
removes one of the most
common complaints about
buying books electronically
instead of on paper.
Another big difference: Nook
claims a catalog of just over one
million digital books, versus
389,000 for the Kindle. But this
is somewhat misleading, because
over half of the Nook catalog is
made up of free out-of-copyright
titles published before 1923, the
vast majority of which are likely
to be of little interest to average
readers. Barnes & Noble refuses
to say how many modern
commercial titles it offers, or
even whether it has more or
fewer of these than Amazon
(AMZN).
Amazon says it already has
nearly 20,000 of the most
popular such older books
available and plans to add
hundreds of thousands more in
the coming months, to bring its
total selection to more than one
million.
Amazon also offers well over
100 newspapers and magazines
and 7,500 blogs. Barnes & Noble
says it will have about 45
periodicals in the coming weeks,
but no blogs.
The Nook has a small color
screen for navigating and typing
notes.
Both devices offer downloads of
most best-sellers, but in a
random, unscientific test I
performed using print books
from around my house, I found
Amazon’s commercial e-book
catalog superior. Barnes & Noble
lacked digital versions of two
recent historical biographies I
own, and had no digital editions
of the works of one of my
favorite contemporary mystery
writers, Donna Leon. Amazon
had all these books in Kindle
editions. Barnes & Noble says
titles like these are being added.
During my tests, I found the
Nook slower, more cumbersome
to use and less polished than the
Kindle. I ran into various crashes
and bugs. And, while the
Kindle’s navigation system isn’t
exactly world class, it ran circles
around the Nook’s, despite the
great possibilities offered by the
latter’s use of the touch screen.
The Nook may be wonderful one
day, but, as of today, it’s no
match for the Kindle, despite
advantages such as lending,
because it’s more annoying to
use.
For instance, the Nook
constantly delayed taking me to
E-reader News/ 77
books while the main screen
displayed a message that said
“formatting.” Its standard
practice is to open books you
select not at the actual start of the
book, but at a description of the
book. Turning pages inside books
was slower than on the Kindle.
Looking up a word in the built-in
dictionary, a quick process on the
Kindle, was far harder on the
Nook. Even swiping the touch
screen to turn pages would
suddenly stop working for
periods of time.
The good news for those who
have ordered a Nook, which is
currently sold out, is that its
software can be updated, and
Barnes & Noble is promising to
fix the problems, starting with a
wirelessly delivered patch next
week that it says will improve the
speed a bit, get you closer to the
start of the book, and repair some
of the bugs.
Two things are worth noting
here. First, I also criticized the
design of the original Kindle and
the original Sony (SNE) e-reader,
both of which have improved in
subsequent iterations. (Sony,
which was in this market early, is
promising to release its first
wireless e-reader later this
month.)
Second, the entire e-reader
market is still in its infancy. The
lack of color in books and
NOOK page 79
78 E-reader News/
Paperbacks and hardcovers are giving way to e-readers (San
Jose Mercury News)
(Yahoo! News Search Results
for e-readers)
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:49:25 AM
Victoria McNary usually finds
romance and mystery in the
paperback shelves at the grocery
store. But one recent day she
stopped into Barnes & Noble to
consider curling up with a good
Nook.
Bigger than an iPhone, smaller
than a netbook, the Nook is
Barnes & Noble's entry into what
might be the next great gadget
war. It is challenging Amazon's
pioneering Kindle and Sony's
Reader in the quest to lure book
readers from paperbacks and
hardcovers to a digital device.
Amazon, Sony and Barnes &
Noble all report strong interest in
e-readers this holiday season,
with demand outpacing supply
for both the Kindle and Nook.
Meanwhile, with dozens of e-
readers already on the market,
Silicon Valley startups Spring
Design and Plastic Logic are
planning to unveil their own
models in January. And
anticipation is building that
mighty Apple, secretive as ever,
will put its big foot into the fray
with a pricey tablet in the spring.
Publishers of books, magazines
and newspapers are paying close
attention to the evolving market
that envisions tablet devices as an
alternative to paper. So is
Google, angling to build a
massive online store of e-books.
E-readers, some analysts predict,
will soar in coming years,
changing the dynamics of the
publishing industry much as
Apple's iPod changed the music
industry. A recent report by
Credit Suisse suggested that e-
reader sales will soar from 1
million in 2008 to 32 million in
2014. Amazon doesn't disclose
Kindle's revenues but the report
said they could climb from $624
million in 2009 to $1.8 billion in
2014.
For the moment, the competition
is for mainstream consumers like
McNary, a 59-year-old
Sunnyvale resident who had
dropped by the Barnes & Noble
on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
"I just ran out of room in my
house. I can't put another
bookshelf anywhere," she said.
Her doctor, she said,
recommended the Kindle after
noticing she was never without a
paperback. But McNary said she
prefers the Nook's colorful touch-
screen control panel, which
enables her to browse through
book covers. She listened as a
clerk explained that the Nook,
priced at $259, would pay for
itself in months because typical e
-book bestsellers are priced at
$9.99, below both paperback and
hardcover prices.
Another customer, Suha
E-reader Newspaper
While the Que will be able to Apple's tablet is envisioned as a
load e-books from Barnes & more media-rich experience than
Noble, Plastic Logic is marketing the e-readers now on the market,
the device primarily as a business employing the liquid crystal
tool. The business "road warrior," display (LCD) technology now
explained Plastic Logic used in the iPhone, not the E Ink
marketing executive Daren common to other readers.
Benzi, typically lugs a heavy load Andrew Eisner, director of
Askaroglu, was disappointed that of reports along with a laptop and content at Retrevo, an electronics
the Nook demo wasn't set up for smart-phone. research and shopping Web site,
an audio e-book. The Turkish The Que provides a superior said the improving high-
immigrant explained that, to m e a n s o f p r e s e n t i n g definition technology is reducing
improve his English, he likes to PowerPoints, PDF files, Excel the eye strain often associated
listen on earphones as he reads. s p r e a d s h e e t s a n d o t h e r with the LCD reading
He covets Amazon's top-of-the- d o c u m e n t s , h e s a i d . experience.
line Kindle DX, which boasts Spring Design, based in The Nook, however, seemed to
s y n t h e s i z e d t e x t - t o - s p e e c h Fremont, is developing a dual- suit McNary's needs. After
technology capable of reading the screen device called the Alex to decades of devouring page-
daily newspaper, but winces at its combine e-reading with Web turners, she acknowledged that
$489 price. surfing. A six-inch screen an e-reader would take "a bit" of
Some technologically savvy provides the glare-free reading adjustment. E Ink, unlike old-
consumers may also be waiting experience common to other fashioned ink on paper, takes a
for devices from Plastic Logic r e a d e r s b a s e d o n E I n k moment to materialize with every
and Spring Design, which have technology. Another, smaller turn of the virtual page.
t i m e d t h e r e l e a s e o f t h e i r screen employs Google Android In the end, McNary suggested,
products to coincide with the technology to allow readers to the tale matters more than
annual Consumer Electronics augment the text by, say, calling technology. "When you lose
Show in January. up a relevant map or YouTube yourself in a book," she
Plastic Logic, based in Mountain video. explained, "it's like you live the
View, has pioneered what it calls Looming in the wings is Apple, story."
"plastic electronics" based on known for such taste makers as Contact Scott Duke Harris at 408
technology developed at the the iPod to the iPhone. Yair -920-2704.
University of Cambridge in Reiner, an analyst with the fivefilters.org featured article:
England. It is creating a f i n a n c i a l r e s e a r c h f i r m Normalising the crime of the
lightweight touch-screen tablet Oppenheimer, recently predicted century by John Pilger
called the Que (pronounced Apple will ship a 10.1-inch touch
"cue") proReader with the -screen tablet in spring priced at
familiar size of 81/2 by 11 about $1,000. Apple is offering
inches. book publishers a better deal than
Amazon, he said.
E-reader Newspaper
NOOK
continued from page 77
periodicals alone is a huge
drawback. One day, I suspect
both of these products will look
like a 1996 Palm (PALM) PDA
does compared with an Apple
(AAPL) iPhone.
The Nook is a bit shorter and
narrower than the Kindle, but it is
an ounce heavier and
significantly thicker. It has a
cleaner look, because the bezel
around the screen is narrower and
there is no physical keyboard.
The touch screen adds a dash of
color, though it often goes dark
to save battery life.
Like the Kindle, the Nook has
built-in cellular connectivity with
no monthly charges. But it also
adds Wi-Fi, which is free at
Barnes & Noble stores, though
mostly unusable at other
commercial hotspots, because the
Nook lacks a Web browser that
would allow you to log in. The
Kindle has a crude Web browser,
but no Wi-Fi.
Speaking of battery life, the
Nook’s is worse than the
Kindle’s. It claims about 10 days
of typical use with wireless off,
and just two days with wireless
UPPER-INCOME
continued from page 79
a "new normal" spending pattern,
staying within a tight $4
spending range that has persisted
during the past four months.
"While the spending 'new normal'
may not be good for the larger
economy in the short-term, it
may be seen as a strong positive
for individual consumer
households."
on. In my week of tests, with
wireless on constantly, I had to
charge it three times. Amazon
rates the Kindle at 14 days of
typical use with wireless off and
seven days with wireless on,
which squares with my own
Kindle experience.
The Nook beats the Kindle in a
few areas. Lending is a key one,
though only about half of the
commercial titles are eligible for
lending, you can lend each one
only once to a given person, and
loans expire after two weeks. In
my tests, lending worked OK
after a couple of false starts.
Another is that Barnes & Noble
takes advantage of its stores. In
addition to getting free Wi-Fi,
Nook owners who enter a Barnes
& Noble store can read books on
their Nooks for free, and get help
from staff members.
Unlike the Kindle, the Nook also
has a slot for expandable memory
cards and a replaceable battery.
Barnes & Noble also has
companion PC, Mac, iPhone and
BlackBerry software for reading
e-books, even if you don’t own a
Nook. Amazon has such
Spending among upper-income
consumers (those making at least
$90,000 a year) had reached its
highest level of 2009 in October
and had closed the gap to -6%
compared to the same month a
year ago. The hope was that the
surge on Wall Street and the
seeming stabilization of housing
values had encouraged some
Gallup Poll/ 79
software, so far, only for the
iPhone and PC.
But, while Amazon will
synchronize your last page read if
you switch from reading a book
on one device to using another,
Barnes & Noble lacks that
capability yet, though it says it
will have it soon.
One more thing: The latest
standard-size Kindle allows
wireless book purchasing in
multiple countries. The Nook
does so only in the U.S.
My recommendation on the
Nook is to wait, even if you
prefer its features to the Kindle’s.
It’s not fully baked yet.
Upper-Income Spending
Find all of Walt Mossberg’s
columns and videos online, free,
at the All Things Digital Web
Reverts to New Normal
(All Gallup Headlines) dashing hopes that upscale
site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email
him at mossberg@wsj.com. Submitted at 12/9/2009 8:00:00 PM
retailers and big-ticket-item sales
fivefilters.org featured article: will do better this year.
PRINCETON, NJ -- In a sign Self-Reported Spending Down
Normalising the crime of the
that the new normal in consumer Across Incomes
century by John Pilger
spending continues unabated, Consumers' self-reported
upper-income Americans' self- spending on discretionary items
reported average daily spending among middle- and lower-
in stores, restaurants, gas income Americans (those making
stations, and online fell 14% in less than $90,000 a year) was
November, reverting to its down 20% in November from the
relatively tight ($107 to $121) depressed spending levels of a
pre-October 2009 average year ago. As expected, this
monthly range. Middle- and percentage decline from
upper-income consumers to l o w e r - i n c o m e c o n s u m e r November 2008 is more modest
abandon the 2009 spending new discretionary spending increased than the year-over-year declines
normal. November's results by 7% last month but remained of earlier in the year as year-ago
dashed these hopes, as upper- in its tight 2009 average monthly comparables have become easier
income consumers joined their range of $52 to $61. Still, to match. Although average daily
m i d d l e - a n d l o w e r - i n c o m e consumer spending by both spending among this group was
counterparts in spending 20% income groups continues to trail technically at its high for 2009
less than they had during the year-ago levels by 20%, even as last month, it continues to reflect
those comparables have gotten
UPPER-INCOME page 80 easier to match -- possibly UPPER-INCOME page 79
80
UPPER-INCOME
continued from page 79
financial crisis days of 2008 and
returning to the relatively tight
2009 daily spending range for
this group prior to October.
Self-Reported Spending Down
Across Age Groups
Consumers in the child-rearing
ages of 30 to 49 showed the
smallest November-over-
November discretionary
spending decline at 15% --
possibly because they have the
least ability to downshift their
spending as the holidays
approach. Younger consumers
aged 18 to 29 experienced a
larger decline of 23%. Those 50
to 64 years of age reduced their
year-over-year spending by 29%,
while those 65 or older had a
decline of 32%. Overall, those in
the 30 to 49 age group had the
highest average daily spending
level in November ($81), while
those 65 or older spent the least
per day ($52).
Self-Reported Spending Down
Across Regions
Year-over-year consumer
spending declined the least on the
two coasts, with the East cutting
average daily spending by 13%
and the West cutting spending by
17%. The declines were largest in
the Midwest -- down 38% --
while the South was in between,
at 24%. Overall, consumer
discretionary spending was
highest in the East and West ($71
and $75 average per day,
respectively) and lowest in the
Midwest ($56).
Self-Reported Spending Down
Across Genders
Overall, men claim greater
average daily spending than
women, possibly as a result of
having higher average incomes
and perhaps tending to more
aggressively report joint
spending. Men also report a
larger decline in discretionary
spending, at 27%, compared to
the 17% self-reported by women.
Spending New Normal
Overall self-reported consumer
discretionary spending has been
essentially flat on a monthly
basis throughout 2009 even when
broken out by age, income,
region, and gender. It has also
been down significantly
compared to the same months in
2008. The year-over-year
differences have declined
somewhat during recent months,
but much of this closure in the
2008-2009 spending gap is a
result of the easier spending
comparables from last year's
financial crisis.
Gallup's analysis of the
relationship between job creation
and consumer spending suggests
that these lower spending levels
are attributable, at least in part, to
today's dismal job-market
conditions. Further findings show
that the current lack of job
creation has its greatest impact
on middle- and lower-income
consumer spending.
In this regard, October upper-
income spending provided new
hope that the surge in the stock
market and the increased stability
of housing prices might be
encouraging these consumers to
break out of their year-long and
relatively tight spending range.
Instead, November's results show
that upper-income spending
reverted back to its new normal
range. Given the greater
discretionary spending flexibility
of upper-income Americans, this
reversion to the pre-October
spending range tends to give
added face-validity to the
argument that a consumer
spending new normal exists --
independent of the job situation -
- as 2010 approaches.
On a national level, the spending
new normal suggests slower
economic growth than otherwise
might be expected in the years
ahead. In turn, reduced consumer
spending will complicate the job-
creation problem, not to mention
fiscal and monetary policies. For
example, one might argue that
the federal government and
monetary authorities (the Fed)
need to take emergency actions
to offset a temporary spending
shortfall due to job losses, but the
same arguments do not
necessarily hold true when the
spending reduction results from a
new normal spending pattern --
generally speaking, the private
sector needs to adjust to such
changes in consumer behaviors.
For retailers, small businesses,
and the companies that supply
and support them, a new normal
spending pattern can mean
complex changes involving
downscaling, upselling (people
taking advantage to buy upscale
for less), inventory management,
and people-related adjustments.
The U.S. economy is designed to
allow the private sector to make
such adjustments in order to
optimize performance when
faced with such a rapidly
changing business environment.
Of course, the same does not
apply to maintaining the social
safety net, particularly in the face
of double-digit unemployment
and even higher
underemployment.
While the spending "new
normal" may not be good for the
larger economy in the short-term,
it may be seen as a strong
positive for individual consumer
households. Consumers, like
their business and banking
counterparts, would be well-
served to de-leverage by
spending less, saving more,
reducing their use of credit, and
thereby strengthening their
personal balance sheets. While
this may not provide the
immediate-term returns to the
economy of the over-leveraging
of recent years, a financially
stronger U.S. consumer implies
only good things for the longer-
term well being of both the U.S.
and global economies.
Review and export the complete
daily trends on these measures:
Economic Indexes; Consumer
Spending; Economic Outlook;
Economic Conditions; Job
Market
Learn more about Gallup's
economic measures.
Sign up for Gallup e-mail alerts
or RSS feeds
E-reader Newspaper
Get Gallup news on Facebook
and Twitter
Survey Methods
For Gallup Daily tracking,
Gallup interviews approximately
1,000 national adults, aged 18
and older, each day. The Gallup
consumer spending results are
based on random half-samples of
approximately 500 national
adults, aged 18 and older, each
day. Results for November are
based on telephone interviews
with more than 14,000 adults.
For these results, one can say
with 95% confidence that the
maximum margin of sampling
error is ±1 percentage points.
Results for the various breakout
reported here are based on
interviews with more than 1,000
respondents with a maximum
margin of error of ±3 percentage
points.
Interviews are conducted with
respondents on land-line
telephones and cellular phones.
In addition to sampling error,
question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys
can introduce error or bias into
the findings of public opinion
polls.
fivefilters.org featured article:
Normalising the crime of the
century by John Pilger
E-reader Newspaper PopSci/ 81

WISE Telescope, Launching Friday, Will Scope Out

Universe's Darkest Objects
By Rebecca Boyle (Popular Pasadena, Calif. That includes dawn to help it reach its orbital
Science - New Technology, the closest brown dwarfs, small destination, high above the
Science News, The Future nearby asteroids and distant dividing line between day and
Now) galaxies. night on Earth. From that perch,
Submitted at 12/10/2009 6:32:46 AM
"We will find those things, but the $320 million telescope will
we won't be able to tell you more snap a picture every 11 seconds,
The wide-field telescope is details about them," he said. taking about six months to map
intended to create a catalog of The other space telescopes will, the entire sky. WISE scientists
interesting items for Spitzer, however. When its mission is will review data every day, and
Hubble, and company to inspect complete, WISE's legacy will be plan to notify other space
more closely like any explorer's -- paving the telescope teams if they come
If the weather holds, NASA's way for others to accomplish across something particularly
newest space telescope will lift even more. interesting.
o f f F r i d a y m o r n i n g f r o m Like an atlas, or Google Maps, it The telescope has a four-
Vandenberg Air Force Base in will offer a broad picture and megapixel array, about four times
California, on a mission to map a l l o w m o r e p o w e r f u l the capability of the newest
the cosmos. observatories to zoom in to the infrared instrument installed in
The Wide-Field Infrared Survey "street view" level. the Hubble servicing mission
Explorer, or WISE, is unlikely to "It's like looking at the United earlier this year. By contrast, the
see the fanfare granted to the States and picking the Grand first infrared sky survey, taken
m o r e f a m o u s o r b i t i n g Canyon on a map, but then you with the IRAS satellite in 1983,
observatories, especially Hubble, actually go there to do more had a 62-pixel array, said Ned
Spitzer and Chandra. But the detailed sightseeing," said Jon Wright, the project's principal
small satellite is expressly Morse, Astrophysics Division investigator at the University of
designed to make each of them director at NASA headquarters in California-Los Angeles.
smarter. Washington. "This will be our Hubble telescope, are each Morse said it's an exciting time Eisenhardt said the full extent of
WISE will catalog hundreds of infrared data motherlode that uniquely suited to make for space telescopes, and WISE discoveries in WISE's survey
millions of the darkest objects in astronomers will mine for years discoveries in specific areas of will make them even stronger. may not be known for years.
the universe, seeking them out to come, looking for interesting the electromagnetic spectrum. "Our access to space allows us to "By no stretch of the imagination
through their warmth. It will take objects in order to do detailed But put them together -- as do these surveys and find out will the WISE science team be
note of every object farther away follow-up observations with scientists did last month to show more about the cosmos across the finding out everything in the
from the Sun than Earth is, said other observatories." the most complete image yet of electromagnetic spectrum," he WISE survey. That's why we are
Peter Eisenhardt, WISE project NASA's "great observatories," the Milky Way's center -- and said. "These types of sky surveys turning the data over to
s c i e n t i s t a t N A S A ' s J e t the Chandra x-ray telescope, the you get something really help us put the puzzle together." everybody else," he said.
P r o p u l s i o n L a b o r a t o r y i n Spitzer infrared telescope and the powerful. WISE is scheduled to launch at
82 PopSci/ E-reader Newspaper

Video: NASA Drops A Helicopter From Midair

to Test New Anti-Crash Tech
By Clay Dillow (Popular
Science - New Technology,
Science News, The Future
Now)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 2:49:18 PM
No stranger to rough landings,
NASA just engineered a crash of
its own design to test a new crash
countermeasure for helicopters.
NASA dropped a donated Army
MD-500 carrying four crash test
dummies from 35 feet, to
determine whether a new
honeycomb cushion made of
Kevlar strapped to the bottom of
the copter could absorb the brunt
of the impact. The result: a more
or less intact MD-500, and the
cool impact video below.
The helicopter swung by cables
from a 240-foot-tall structure
once used to teach moon-bound
astronauts how to delicately
impact the lunar surface. As it
approached the ground at a 33-
degree angle, pyrotechnics were
used to sever the guide cables so
the aircraft would impact and
react as though in a real crash.
All said, the impact simulated a
crash landing at about 33 miles
per hour vertical speed.
Aside from the test dummies --
one of which contained simulated
organs within its torso -- the
aircraft was fitted with
instruments recording 160
different channels of data. While
all that data still needs to be
crunched and compared, the
initial outlook appears to be
good. As for the dummies,
NASA said they appeared "only a
little worse for wear."
The honeycomb cushion was
developed as a way to protect the
next generation of spacecraft, but
NASA quickly realized it could
just as well save the lives of
aerial travelers here on Earth.
Though the skid landing gear
took a beating, the deployable
energy absorber preserved the
MD-500 well enough that
engineers plan to recycle it so
they can drop it again sometime
next year -- this time without
protection.
[ NASA via Network World]
Mysterious Light
Display Leaves
Norwegians and
Astronomers Puzzled
By Jeremy Hsu (Popular
Science - New Technology,
Science News, The Future
Now)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 10:39:45 AM
A Russian missile test or a
meteor remain the top guesses for
a strange spiraling light
phenomenon
A bizarre spiraling light show
over Norway has raised
MYSTERIOUS page 83

German Zoo's Bears Struck With Mystery Baldness

By Stuart Fox (Popular bear as well. bears in the past by varying the stress of doing hard time in
Science - New Technology, For almost two years, three bears diet and cage contents to create a animal lock down.
Science News, The Future at the zoo have been going bald. more stimulating environment. All I know is that if one of the
Now) And what began gradually has However, the German zoo bears appears with "Thug Life"
Submitted at 12/10/2009 8:29:05 AM
become a strange and worrying keepers are stumped. While they tattooed across her paws, the zoo
sight. Zoo keepers are stumped are applying an ointment to the keepers should probably start
C o u n t l e s s h o u r s w a s t e d by the cause, although they are bear's skin to prevent irritation (I worrying.
watching Locked Up have taught familiar with the problem. bet there weren't a lot of [ National Geographic]
me that prison changes a man. The spectacled bears, also volunteers for that job), they
And based on developments in a known as Andean bears, are Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia have don't know whether the balding
zoo in Leipzig, Germany, it South America's only indigenous dealt with balding spectacled results from malnutrition, some
seems like captivity changes a ursine species. Zoo keepers in kind of disease, or simply the
E-reader Newspaper
Partial-Hand Amputees Get Better Bionic Fingers
By Clay Dillow (Popular
Science - New Technology,
Science News, The Future
Now)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 12:12:25 PM
It seems like every few weeks
someone claims to have built the
newest and most revolutionary
prosthetic hand, and while
breakthroughs on that front are
amazing, what about all the
partial-hand amputees, those that
have only lost a finger or two, or
perhaps a thumb? UK firm Touch
Bionics has introduced a system
geared directly toward those that,
though missing a digit or four,
still have working muscle and
tendon in their hands. These
bionic fingers let their wearers--a
1.2-million-strong group that,
until now, has been largely
Cassini Sends First Full Images of Saturn's Mysterious Giant
Hexagon
By Jeremy Hsu (Popular
Science - New Technology,
Science News, The Future
Now)
Submitted at 12/9/2009 1:42:40 PM
Scientists suspect that the
hexagon pattern may represent an
unusually controlled jet stream
Saturn's north pole holds
something even more strange
than a globe-trotting Santa Claus
-- a giant hexagon shape within
the planet's atmosphere. Now
ignored--regain the ability to
type, use a fork and knife and
more.
Touch Bionics' ProDigits system
can be customized regardless of a
particular hand’s shape or which
digits are missing, allowing
clinicians to mimic the missing
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has
imaged the whole hexagonal
pattern in visible light for the first
time.
The hexagon has remained a
mystery ever since NASA's
Voyager spacecraft first
discovered it in the early 1980s.
Cassini has used its spectrometer
to observe the hexagon in both
visual and infrared light since
2006, but at lower resolution than sided shape represents the path of
the newest visible-light images.
Scientists speculate that the six- understand what controls the jet
digits.
For people like Maria Antonia
Iglesias, a former concert pianist
in Catalonia, Spain, who lost her
fingers to illness, ProDigits have
allowed here to do simple things
like hold a glass and write for the
first time. Though Iglesias was
one of the first amputees outfitted
with the system, there are now
more than 30 patients taking
advantage of ProDigits enhanced
dexterity and control. As you’ll
see, it sure beats a static
prosthetic. Check out the
anatomy. Each digit can bend,
prosthesis in the video below,
touch, and point individually, and
and see more photos in the
can take command from either a
gallery here.
myoelectric sensor that registers
[ Touch Bionics via Fox News]
muscle signals from residual
nerves and muscle in the hand, or
pressure activated switches that
are actually pushed by remnant
stream in such a rigid manner.
The latest image mosaics created
by Cassini show waves radiating
from the hexagon corners, and
also reveal a multi-walled
structure within each hexagon
side.
One of the most unusual features
within the new images is a large
spot inside the hexagon. The spot
could have connections to an
earlier large spot located outside
a jet stream, but still don't the hexagon, which was imaged
by Voyager but eventually
PopSci/ 83
MYSTERIOUS
continued from page 82
speculations ranging from a
Russian rocket test to an odd
meteoric display. The Norwegian
Meteorological Institute remains
unsure of the phenomenon's
origins, but astronomers have
said that it does not appear
connected to the Aurora Borealis,
also known as the Northern
Lights.
A blue light first appeared from
behind a mountain, and created a
giant spiral in the sky within
seconds. Perhaps even more
baffling, a green-blue beam of
light appeared to shoot from the
center. The entire display
remained in the sky for a good
ten to twelve minutes--enough
time for photographers across
Norway to shoot hundreds of
MYSTERIOUS page 84
disappeared in 1991. That's the
year when Saturn entered its long
winter polar night, with emphasis
on long – a whole Saturn year
lasts about 29 Earth years.
Cassini's latest photo
opportunity only came about
after Saturn's August 2009
equinox, which signaled the start
of northern spring.
[ NASA]
84 E-reader Newspaper
MYSTERIOUS
continued from page 83

images and capture video: for science. Inter-dimensional

Universe Today raises the research or the beginning stages
possibility that the spiraling of an alien invasion remain
pattern represents a tumbling farther down the probability list.
rocket stage spewing fuel. But Check out more photos of the
Russia denied having conducted phenomenon here
missile tests in the area. [via The Daily Mail, Universe
Update Today and Norwegian
It's also worth noting that a Meteorological Institute]
similar phenomenon apparently
appeared over China back in
April 2009:
We're still betting on some
rocket test gone awry, or else a
really far-out art display by a
guerilla artiste with a penchant