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<title>Haaze.com / Lamecheag / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Use iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot to add GPS to Wi-Fi-only iPads]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=use-iphone-4-personal-hotspot-to-add-gps-to-wi-fi-only-ipads</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=use-iphone-4-personal-hotspot-to-add-gps-to-wi-fi-only-ipads</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=use-iphone-4-personal-hotspot-to-add-gps-to-wi-fi-only-ipads</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Zachery Bir, on his Urbanape blog, explains how he used aniPhone 4 with the new Personal Hotspot feature in iOS 4.3 to add GPS to his Wi-Fi-onlyiPad. A tweet from Bir earlier in the day caused some skepticism when he posted:(Credit:Urbanape)From a technological standpoint, I must admit I was a bit skeptical as well. When deciding on which iPad 2 to get, I debated many of the same pros and cons as other customers wondering if the $130 upgrade to enable 3G on an iPad was worth the money.Ultimately, I decided to put the extra money toward more storage and I settled on a black, 32Gb, Wi-Fi-only iPad 2. Upon seeing a post from Daring Fireball's John Gruber about Bir's findings, I feel as though my decision may well be completely justified. Sharing your Personal Hotspot with a Wi-Fi-only iPad may enable GPS functionality.(Credit:Apple)Using an iPhone 4 and the Personal Hotspot feature, Bir reported, it seemed as though his iPad was able to maintain an uninterrupted GPS connection when traveling. Of course, this could be triangulating location awareness capabilities, but it doesn't seem likely that technology would be able to keep up with a moving vehicle uninterrupted.For the time being, connecting a Wi-Fi-only iPad (Bir's was a first-generation iPad) to an iPhone 4's Personal Hotspot seems to add a GPS or GPS-like capability.The true test, as noted in the comments on Bir's post, may be to drive where no other Wi-Fi signals are available and see if the location adjustments hold true. One commenter claims to have done so with negative results.More evidence that this could be a working solution can be found in a TabletMonsters.com post.In any case, when deciding whether or not to get an iPad with 3G, having an iPhone 4 with iOS 4.3 on hand can certainly be a deciding factor in your decision, thanks to the Personal Hotspot feature.What was your deciding factor in choosing a 3G-enabled iPad or not Let me know in the comments!<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[iTunes updated for CDMA iPhone]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itunes-updated-for-cdma-iphone</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itunes-updated-for-cdma-iphone</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itunes-updated-for-cdma-iphone</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Apple)Apple has released an update to iTunes that provides support for Verizon's CDMA version of theiPhone.Made available yesterday, the iTunes 10.1.2 update offers the information in its &quot;Read Before You Install iTunes&quot; note: &quot;iTunes 10.1.2 syncs music, movies, and more with iPhone 4 (CDMA model) and provides a number of important stability and performance improvements.&quot;Though not specifically detailing the other changes in version 10.1.2, Apple noted that the 10.1 update had added the ability to sync an iPhone,iPad, oriPod Touch with iOS 4.2 and use AirPlay to stream videos from iTunes to the newest edition of Apple TV. Verizon's iPhone 4 is slated to debut February 11. Current Verizon customers can preorder starting February 3. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Report: Charges dropped in Russian piracy case]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-charges-dropped-in-russian-piracy-case</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-charges-dropped-in-russian-piracy-case</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-charges-dropped-in-russian-piracy-case</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A Russian court has dropped piracy charges against environmental group Baikal Wave due to drastic changes made to Microsoft's licensing program for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) back in October, according to The New York Times.The case, which centered on the legitimacy of Microsoft software the group had been using, resulted partly in the launch of a new, unilateral software licensing program by Microsoft that would give NGOs free and unrestricted access to various Microsoft software. That program was also designed to keep similar investigations from happening in Russia, where software piracy had been used as a means to begin a larger investigation, as well as in other parts of the world.Microsoft's licensing changes, as well as a push by the company for the case to be dropped, helped lead to the end of the case, according to the Times. Though interestingly enough, the group had to contact the police officials in Russian province Irkutsk, which had been responsible for the confiscation of Baikal Wave's dozen computers, in order to find out that the investigation had ceased. In a related post on Microsoft's On the Issues blog, Nancy Anderson, deputy general counsel and corporate VP for Microsoft's worldwide sales group, said that unilateral software licenses for NGOs and media groups are now immediately available in 12 different countries, with more to be added to that list in the future. &quot;We are also making it available in countries where we had already planned to extend the existing program and have been working through the last steps in doing so,&quot; Anderson said. &quot;In preparing this software license we consulted with a number of organizations in multiple markets, including Russian civil society groups, to identify and address any open issues and help ensure smooth and efficient implementation of the licensing program.&quot;Anderson said that Microsoft is &quot;actively communicating the facts of the license to government officials&quot; in the 12 countries, as well as offering legal assistance to the organizations that are using it, and an easy way to provide records of that license. &quot;As part of this program, we will provide direct evidence, whenever it is needed, that NGOs and small, independent media in these 12 countries are covered by this software license,&quot; she said.Microsoft's unilateral license runs through January 1, 2012, after which groups that are taking advantage of it will need to move to Microsoft's standard NGO donation program. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Chevy Volt to pull combined 60 miles per gallon]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chevy-volt-to-pull-combined-60-miles-per-gallon</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chevy-volt-to-pull-combined-60-miles-per-gallon</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chevy-volt-to-pull-combined-60-miles-per-gallon</guid>
<description><![CDATA[General Motors today detailed the highly anticipated fuel economy label for the Chevy Volt, and it varies greatly depending on driving habits.The EPA fuel economy label on the gas-electric Chevy Volt gives it a combined rating of 60 miles per gallon. There are separate ratings for electric-only driving, which is 93 &quot;miles per gallon equivalent,&quot; and for gas-only driving, which is 37 miles per gallon.Click to enlarge.(Credit:Screen shot by Martin LaMonica/CNET) On a full battery charge, the Chevy Volt, which GM hopes to start selling next month, drives about 35 miles. After that distance, a gas engine kicks in to run a generator that charges the battery. In a call with reporters, GM executives took pains to point out that mileage will vary greatly depending on how frequently drivers recharge. &quot;If you try to boil it down to a single number, it becomes quite difficult,&quot; said Tony DiSalle, Chevrolet product marketing director. The Volt label provides additional information geared at showing the variety in miles per gallon and cost per mile a driver can expect. It shows that the cost per mile ranges from 4 cents per mile for 30 miles up to 9 cents per mile on gas only. Miles per gallon of gasoline can be as high as 168 mpg for a distance of 45 miles.With the rating, the Volt qualifies as the bestcar in the compact-car category on fuel economy, and it rates relatively well on greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants.Nissan on Monday announced that the all-electric Nissan Leaf will have a fuel economy rating of 99 mpg-equivalent. The Volt fuel economy in electric-only mode is 36 kilowatt hours per 100 miles, compared with 34 kilowatt hours per 100 miles for the Leaf.Last year, GM announced that it expected to get 230 miles per gallon on city driving. Today, GM executives said that rating was based on an earlier methodology from the Environmental Protection Agency.GM says that the electric range of the Volt will be between 25 miles and 50 miles depending on driving patterns, terrain, and weather conditions. The Volt label is unique in that it provides more information than a typical fuel economy label. GM expects that potential buyers for the $41,000, four-person sedan will be willing to spend some time understanding how mileage can vary, said Doug Parks, Chevrolet Volt's global vehicle line executive.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Why you're a pawn in Facebook vs. Google]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=why-youre-a-pawn-in-facebook-vs--google</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=why-youre-a-pawn-in-facebook-vs--google</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:10:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=why-youre-a-pawn-in-facebook-vs--google</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google would like Gmail users to think twice and say this is not all right.(Credit:Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)It should make us nervous when two of America's most important Web companies resort to sniping through the media over which service really has our best interests at heart. If you enjoy a good catfight in your tech news arena but can't be bothered to figure out what the hell Larry Ellison and Ray Lane are talking about, we present Google vs. Facebook: No, I'm More Trustworthy. Long headed for a collision, Google and Facebook are currently exchanging blows over which company is a better steward of personal information stored on the Web. This dispute has been simmering for years, but it boiled over last week when Google made a change to a key part of the terms of service, the part governing how Web services that allow their users to import Gmail contacts must treat that data. In short, Google said that anybody who wanted to automatically import Gmail contacts data had to allow the user to export that data just as easily. Google didn't even really try to hide that Facebook was the clear target of this change. In response, Facebook changed the way Facebook users could import Gmail contacts data by writing a script that allowed those users to automagically download their Gmail contacts as a CSV (comma-separated value) file, and then upload that file into Facebook with the press of another button. Google then expressed its &quot;disappointment,&quot; as if Facebook were an old friend who had made poor choices in life. A Facebook engineer then slammed Google in the comments thread of a Techcrunch post for its previous willingness to block contact export in Orkut (unless you live in Brazil or India you probably never uploaded data to Orkut in the first place, but that's another story) and saying that Facebook has always protected the ability of its users to &quot;own and control&quot; the data stored on the site. And today, Google added the digital equivalent of a cigarette-pack warning to the Gmail export contacts page, asking Gmail users &quot;are you super sure you want to import your contact information for your friends into a service that won't let you get it out&quot;Hypocritical mass This would all be merely amusing if not for the blatant hypocrisy of both companies when it comes to data issues. Facebook's argument has been that because the essence of its service is a network of connections to friends and other contacts, each account is effectively an individual node controlled by the person who operates it. To put this a different way, you do not have power over your friends list: If someone &quot;de-friends&quot; you from his or her Facebook contacts list, for example, you no longer have access to the contents of that person's profile that are not otherwise public, and he or she is sliced out of your &quot;social graph.&quot;Google won&amp;39't let Facebook directly import contacts from Google, so Facebook figured out a way around the restriction (click for larger image).(Credit:Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)Consequently, when it has come to contact exportation--first exposed by a goofy fiasco three years ago involving a Plaxo contact-importation script tested out by industry blogger Robert Scoble--Facebook has said that it doesn't support contact exportation because your friends' contact information belongs to them, not you.As it turns out, however, Facebook is merely choosy about where you can take a mass export of your Facebook contacts. Search Engine Land pointed out that Facebook has inked contact-importation deals with Yahoo as well as Microsoft, which is a major investor in Facebook. Google has a very valid point that the world would be a better place if personal data could move freely into and out of services. But Google also recognizes that data stored within closed social systems has value, as it did back in 2009 when it prohibited Orkut users from exporting their contacts data to other systems using pretty much the same rationale that Facebook has employed in the current dispute. Google has since changed that policy, but only after being called on the carpet about the discrepancy. When it launched Google Buzz, Google also quite wrongly assumed that your Gmail contacts were also your &quot;friends&quot; in a social-networking context. That meant for a brief period when Buzz first launched, some people who started using Buzz were horrified to learn that the names of their Gmail contacts were now listed on a public Google Profile page by default, allowing a wide swath of your contacts to see who else you frequently consorted with through Gmail. Again, Google fixed these issues, but only after an outcry. So for all the rhetoric from both companies about protecting your online privacy and right to control your data, each is quite willing to ignore those principles when it suits their business needs. Facebook would not have turned into a golden database of human behavior and consumer intent without the knowledge of its users that their updates, personal information, and preferences would only be shared among friends (and multinational corporations with API access and slick fan pages). But it also knows it can provide its users with more options and more convenience if it allows MSN and Yahoo users to feed status updates and play Farmville from outside of Facebook's walls, so it cut some deals. Google preaches openness and user freedom at seemingly every turn, and for the most part does a pretty good job living up to those ideals in providing an information service that has changed the world. But it is also relentless in its pursuit of any and all kinds of data, and time and time again has shown that it doesn't understand how to marry its technical prowess with social cues in order to get in on the social market that Facebook is poised to corner.Self-interest and your interests As we pointed out yesterday, this is merely a dispute over who gets to control Facebook data. And you, the user, are not really a party to this dispute. Facebook wants to dictate how your data can be used because it wants advertisers to overpay for access to that data. Google wants that data to be more open because there's no one better in the world at finding, indexing, and presenting open data than Google, and if a significant source of information is unavailable to Google, it becomes less important. In other words, it's a dispute over access to you, as opposed to a dispute over who has your back on the Internet. If you really want to control your data, don't put it on the Internet. If you really value convenient online access to your data, read the terms of service before you hit the upload button to make sure you actually agree with those terms. And if you're a business student looking for career advice, consider Web-based targeted marketing, be it social, search, or display. It will probably take the government at least five or so years to figure out what's really going on' that's plenty of time to make a score.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Analyst: Intel to impact 'non-Apple' tablets]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-intel-to-impact-non-apple-tablets</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-intel-to-impact-non-apple-tablets</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:10:36 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-intel-to-impact-non-apple-tablets</guid>
<description><![CDATA[An upcoming Intel Atom chip may blunt the growth of tablets based on the widely used ARM processor--with the possible exception of Apple, according to an analyst at UBS Investment Research. Uche Orji of UBS made the comments today in a research note upgrading Intel's stock to a &quot;buy.&quot; Windows tablets based on Intel's &quot;Oak Trail&quot; Atom chips could have a larger market impact than expected, Orji wrote. &quot;While tablet forecasts for 2011 in excess of 50m (50 million) are not unreasonable (our Atmel touch controller forecasts infers a tablet market size of 56m), none of these forecasts are likely to fully incorporate the scenario of a significant counter-attack from a new generation of notebooks and x86-based tablets that could ultimately limit the growth of ARM-based tablets (at least those that are non-Apple),&quot; Orji wrote. Apple's A4 processor, used in theiPad, is based on an ARM design. Orji is referring to future ARM-based tablets that use, for example, Qualcomm's dual-core Snapdragon chip and Nvidia's dual-core Tegra processor. Dell&amp;39's Inspiron Duo tablet-Netbook hybrid uses a dual-core Atom processor.(Credit:James Martin)Ashok Kumar, managing director and analyst at Rodman &amp; Renshaw, took a different tack  in a research note last week, saying that Qualcomm has &quot;secured major tablet wins with its third generation dual-core Snapdragon, MSM 8660.&quot; (See video of Qualcomm executive talking about the 8660.)Orji also had good things to say about Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridge chip technology, due to appear in PCs by early next year. &quot;As Intel drives ultra-low voltage versions of Sandy Bridge into ultrathin notebooks and its Oak Trail platform (we expect mainly) intoWindows 7 and MeeGo tablets as well as ultrathin netbooks, we believe there could be enough excitement around x86 processors in new form factors that help to mitigate the tablet threat,&quot; he wrote. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Study: Algae biofuels need 10 years of R&D to compete]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-algae-biofuels-need-10-years-of-rd-to-compete</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-algae-biofuels-need-10-years-of-rd-to-compete</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:11:35 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-algae-biofuels-need-10-years-of-rd-to-compete</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You could run acar and even an airplane using fuel made from algae, but it will take on the order of 10 years before the technology is mature enough to make a dent in petroleum use, according to an academic study. The Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of California at Berkeley earlier this week released an analysis of the state of the algae biofuels industry and projected some of its future needs. Its overall conclusion is that a significant amount of research and development is needed, even with the progress of the many algae biofuel companies now active in the field. Specifically, more biology research is needed focused on cultivating algae strains and genetic engineering to boost algae growth rates. Testing facilities are also needed to gain expertise in converting lab-scale research into production systems. &quot;It's clear from this report that algae oil production will be neither quick nor plentiful--ten years is a reasonable projection for the R&amp;D to allow a conclusion about the ability to achieve relatively low-cost algae biomass and oil production,&quot; according to the report's authors. (Click for PDF of full report.)The potential of microalgae for making liquid fuels has led to the creation of hundreds of companies in the field and many research efforts. In addition to being a replacement for petroleum oil, algae consume carbon dioxide, can be used to treat wastewater, and can be grown in different environments in both fresh and salt water.There are a handful of efforts which are close to pilot-scale production of fuels, including Sapphire Energy and Cellena Oil, which is backed partially by Shell Oil, the report notes. Another high-profile algae company is Solazyme, which has a unique fermentation-driven process for making oil and other chemicals, rather than the open pond and bioreactor approaches addressed in the report.But the total output from experimental open-pond facilities over the past year has been only a few tons of biomass and less than a hundred gallons of actual algae oil, the reports says. The primary problem is the costs. Making animal feed as a supplemental product after the oil is harvested from algae does not dramatically lower the costs, according to the Energy Biosciences Institute.&quot;Even with low capital charges, it is not possible to produce microalgae biofuels cost competitively with fossil fuels or even other biofuels without major advances in technology,&quot; it concludes. Even with its sobering assessment of the state of algae biofuels, the institute argues for continued research and development because algae biofuels can make a &quot;vital, even if modest, contribution to the US biofuels industry.&quot; The minimum research program should be five years, it said. Updated at 4:30 p.m. PT with correction to spelling of Solazyme and clarification on its technology. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Twitter versus Seesmic on Windows Phone 7]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-versus-seesmic-on-windows-phone-7</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-versus-seesmic-on-windows-phone-7</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-versus-seesmic-on-windows-phone-7</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Ina Fried/CNET)If you make Twitter part of your daily routine, like we do, you'll want to know which mobile app to use onWindows Phone 7.Seesmic and Twitter are both currently available in the Windows Phone Marketplace, and we tried them out head-to-head on our Samsung Focus.Twitter for Windows Phone 7We previewed Twitter prior to the Windows Phone 7 launch, but loaded up the official app for this app faceoff. Twitter's app fits in well with theWindows 7 design aesthetic, and it has all the features for contact management, retweeting, and photo-attachments as you'd expect. It does let you quickly select from a list of favorite follows (@users) to save you some typing, though we prefer apps that pop up a list as you type--Twitter for Windows 7 makes you choose in a separate screen. You can also easily select from a list of hashtags. Unfortunately, Twitter has work to do to speed up laggy scrolling. There's a good amount of settings and customization options, including switching among Twitter photo services and swapping between black and white themes. Switch profiles could be easier for multiple account-holders, and we weren't able to post to multiple profiles.Seesmic for Windows 7Seesmic's app also fits into the Windows 7 aesthetic fairly well. Instead of jumping straight into the timeline and lists of mentions, however, the top level shows you multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and general timelines for trends, the Twitter directory, and a search window.The benefit is easier profile management--tap a profile to see its timelines.Pros of Seesmic's Windows Phone app include composing to multiple accounts and replying to all users mentioned in a tweet, and triggering the on-board camera to add a photo (Twitter only goes into the library). It also includes an automatic link shortener, which will be great when Windows Phone 7 gets copy/paste. It falters in the lack of notifications, and doesn't include automatic update options in the settings. Seesmic can handle replies, but is inelegant when it comes to direct messages. In addition, the Settings choices were thin, and we received a fair number of failure and error notices. However, because of the profile management on the home screen, it's better for those who actively tweet from multiple accounts.Winner: Twitter--for nowCasual Twitter users won't have to dig down a layer into their profile to get to the Tweeting goods, and the app is seamless to use. There are more convenient ways to add usernames than the list Twitter has provided, but it's a clutch feature as far as we're concerned. Although Seesmic's photo and link-shortening extras are a bonus, it still needs work on basics like notifications and other settings options. Both Seesmic and Twitter have plenty of room for improvement, and new entrants are only a matter of time. The battle isn't over yet!Read more about Twitter, Seesmic, and other Windows Phone 7 apps in our hands-on slide show.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google speeds its new Web video software]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-speeds-its-new-web-video-software</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-speeds-its-new-web-video-software</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-speeds-its-new-web-video-software</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google has released the first significant update to its WebM video software, bringing better performance and adding a duck-related code name.The new software, called Aylesbury after the domesticated duck breed, is better at both encoding and faster at decoding WebM videos, said John Luther, Google's WebM product manager, in a blog post last week. Luther plans to detail Aylesbury this week at the Streaming Media West conference, which will include a detailed status report and a discussion of how it fits into the new HTML5 standard for Web pages.More specifically, Aylesbury is between 20 percent and 40 percent faster at decoding video, when measured in terms of frames per second, Luther said. That comes from better usage of single and multiple processing cores, better memory usage, and support for SSE3 processor instructions for audio and video chores.And for those who have to produce WebM video, encoding produces higher quality as measured by lower visibility of compression artifacts, he said.WebM uses a video codec called VP8 to encode and decode the video, combined with the Ogg Vorbis codec for handling audio. With its open-source, royalty-free WebM technology, Google hopes to invigorate Web video with a standard that doesn't come with the licensing barriers of today's widely used H.264 AVC technology.Aylesbury the name for the first incarnation of software called libvpx, the software library used to handle VP8 video. Google released the first version of WebM technology in May.The next version, named Bali after another duck, is due in the first quarter of 2011 and will emphasize faster encoding, Luther said.&quot;We like ducks, so we plan to use duck-related names for each major libvpx release, in alphabetical order. Our goal is to have one named release of libvpx per calendar quarter, each with a theme,&quot; Luther said.Separately, Google is trying to encourage adoption of a compressed still image format called WebP that's derived from WebM. It's starting with its own software, apparently: Google programmer Pascal Massimino has added WebP support to WebKit, the open-source browser engine used in Google's Chrome, Apple'sSafari, and manymobile browsers. A feature's inclusion in WebKit is a very useful step toward inclusion in WebKit browsers, but not enough to guarantee it will actually appear in those browsers. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Glitch hits Wyoming ICBM site computers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=glitch-hits-wyoming-icbm-site-computers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=glitch-hits-wyoming-icbm-site-computers</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Oct 2010 07:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=glitch-hits-wyoming-icbm-site-computers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[One-ninth of the American ICBM strike force went offline on Saturday, according to a report on the Web site of the U.S. magazine The Atlantic, as a series of control errors multiplied beyond the ability of engineers to compensate.The squadron of 50 missiles affected is stationed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, said the report. The weapons are controlled by five launch control center computers (LCCs), which periodically interrogate the on-board guidance systems of the weapons to confirm their status. According to the report, one LCC began to ping the missiles out of sequence, causing the guidance systems to return errors.Read more of &quot;US loses control of 50 nukes in cascading failure&quot; at ZDNet UK.Photos: A half-century of ICBMs <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google's Schmidt apologizes for latest weird non-joke]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-schmidt-apologizes-for-latest-weird-non-joke</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-schmidt-apologizes-for-latest-weird-non-joke</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-schmidt-apologizes-for-latest-weird-non-joke</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Great minds get bored. Especially if they constantly have to make appearances in the media to reassure lesser beings that they are, indeed, safe in the great minds' hands.At least that is what I surmise having seen Google CEO Eric Schmidt offer another interesting touch of dialog during a public appearance, for which he has now apologized.In a cozy chat on CNN's &quot;Parker Spitzer&quot; show, Schmidt recently suggested that if you're not overly fond of Street View's cameras photographing your house, you should simply move somewhere else. When I heard this, I wondered if there were sentences that had drifted off into space while they were being digitally transmitted. As Schmidt himself said on the show, Google Street Viewcars only come around once, so there's no real danger that you will be continually photographed going about your daily business.So why would he suggest that people should move to avoid Street View's withering glareCould this have been an attempt at humor Earlier this year, Schmidt opined that young people should have the option to change their identities in order to escape the online footprint of their barely pubescent indiscretions.When the less enlightened were somewhat perplexed by this suggestion, he sat down with Stephen Colbert to explain that he was kidding and that he needed to work on his stand-up (and sit-down) act.However, it now appears that, in suggesting that people should move house to avoid Street View, he may not have been joking. He was merely misspeaking.For Schmidt has reportedly issued a rather humor-free statement about his misstatements: &quot;As you can see from the unedited interview, my comments were made during a fairly long back and forth on privacy. I clearly misspoke. If you are worried about Street View and want your house removed please contact Google and we will remove it.&quot; Some will be relieved that this was not a joke. But if it was not a joke, what might have moved Google's CEO to offer such an odd suggestion My own suspicion is that he is simply bored and that he was, in fact, offering a one-liner. Which turned into a hook, one-liner and sinker.By issuing an apology, it seems that Google's PR people might feel slightly troubled. Might I therefore put forward a remedy to rectify a little of this weirdness Schmidt should surely appear on the CBS show &quot;Undercover Boss&quot;. [Disclosure: CNET News is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.] During the show, he would reveal all sorts of things about himself to Google employees (and, by extension, the rest of us). You know, personal stuff. Perhaps he has a secret soft-spot for Christina Aguilera. Perhaps he watches a lot of cartoons.As the Undercover Boss, he would also drive a Street View car and, unlike his own drivers, every time the car photographed something dubious, such as a vomiting Brit, a boy with a horse's head or even perhaps Paul McCartney, he would stop the car. He would go up to the people concerned and ask them for permission to use the image on Google's lovely Street View site.At the end of the show, naturally, he would also be seen rewarding Google employees whose lives might also need a little spark. He would not tell a joke during the whole show. But he would definitely laugh at everyone else's.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[White House gets so-so grades on privacy]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-house-gets-so-so-grades-on-privacy</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-house-gets-so-so-grades-on-privacy</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-house-gets-so-so-grades-on-privacy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Although it has touted privacy as a key concern, the White House isn't faring as well as it should in that area, at least according to a report card from a noted privacy group.The White House gets graded on privacy by EPIC.(Credit:EPIC)Released last week by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the 2010 privacy report card (PDF) gave the Obama administration a grade of C in consumer privacy, a B in medical privacy, a D in civil liberties, and a B in cybersecurity. Offered by a group of privacy experts at a Capitol Hill briefing, the 2010 report card reflects lower grades in a couple of key areas since last year.The C in consumer privacy is a step up from last year's &quot;Incomplete&quot; grade when the White House still needed to fill key posts at the Federal Trade Commission and was grappling with some pending investigations. But EPIC was disappointed with the administration's lack of progress this year in online privacy, asserting that the FTC hasn't tackled any significant investigations and has become a &quot;black hole&quot; for complaints the agency would have pursued in the past.The B for medical privacy is down slightly from 2009's A-. Last year, EPIC lauded the White House for passing the HITECH Act (PDF), which it called one of the best privacy laws in years. This year, the administration has expressed support for tighter online medical privacy controls but has failed to push through any new initiatives, according to EPIC.In civil liberties, the White House dropped to a D from last year's C+. Though it received custody of several &quot;troubling&quot; programs from the Bush presidency, according to EPIC, the Obama White House has failed to change much and has expanded certain programs the group believes violate civil rights. The administration has also failed at keeping alive the president's Civil Liberties and Privacy Oversight Board, an initiative that EPIC says even the Bush White House considered a priority.Finally, cybersecurity held on to the same B grade as last year, with EPIC noting that keeping the Internet open while also protecting the country from cyberthreats is a huge challenge. The group applauded the administration for its continued focus on the privacy rights of Internet users. But it noted the rising influence of the National Security Agency and said it would like to see greater transparency surrounding the NSA's role in cybersecurity.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Mixpanel wants to bring its real-time analytics to the masses]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mixpanel-wants-to-bring-its-real-time-analytics-to-the-masses</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mixpanel-wants-to-bring-its-real-time-analytics-to-the-masses</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mixpanel-wants-to-bring-its-real-time-analytics-to-the-masses</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Mixpanel, a company offering websites a way to track the details of user interaction in real-time, just announced a plan to expand its audience with what it calls a platform strategy.The new platform allows customers to offer Mixpanel tools to their own customers. One of the initial partners, for example, is business social networking startup Yammer, which recently announced its own platform for outside developers to build Yammer applications. With Mixpanel, Yammer can offer analytics tools to all its developers. And it should only take a few hours to set-up, according to Mixpanel chief executive Suhail Doshi.This isna4a4t just relevant to app developers, however. One of Mixpanela4a4s other customers is simple blogging service Posterous, and while Posterous isna4a4t one of the initial platform partners, Doshi used the company as an example of what the platform can do. He said that with Mixpanel, Posterous would be able to offer sophisticated analytics tools to all of its bloggers.When Ia4a4ve covered Mixpanel in the past and asked about how it compares to Google Analytics, the company emphasized the way it can help startups track their a4Aconversion funnela4, i.e. who&amp;'s actually registering on the site or purchasing a product. But Doshi said Mixpanel can actually help you track any information on your website that you want. So a blogging community could track pageviews, comments, subscribers, and a4Asharesa4. (In the Yammer example, Yammer chooses which data to show its developers.)Mixpanel will charge its platform partners using its normal data pricing plan, then those partners can charge their users for the analytics tools (or they can offer the tools for free).The Mountain View, Calif. company has raised $500,000 in funding. Doshi declined to offer exact customer numbers for Mixpanela4a4s existing tools, but he said a4Ahundreds of people are paying us every month.a4Next Story: Why Apple can&amp;'t beat Android Previous Story: Explore the intersection of electric vehicles and smart grids at The Networked EVPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: AnalyticsCompanies: Mixpanel, YammerPeople: Suhail Doshi          Tags: AnalyticsCompanies: Mixpanel, YammerPeople: Suhail DoshiAnthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Spotify Looking For A COO, Still Hoping For U.S. Launch This&nbsp'Year]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spotify-looking-for-a-coo-still-hoping-for-u-s--launch-thisnbspyear</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spotify-looking-for-a-coo-still-hoping-for-u-s--launch-thisnbspyear</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=spotify-looking-for-a-coo-still-hoping-for-u-s--launch-thisnbspyear</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Music streaming service Spotify has retained executive search firm Odgers Berndtson to assist them in finding a chief operating officer as the number two executive after founder Daniel Ek. A number of candidates, particularly in Silicon Valley, have been contacted for the job.Our first source on this story said that Spotify was actually looking for a new CEO to replace Ek. But Ek says this is inaccurate. &amp;''We&amp;'re looking for a COO to help run the company,&amp;'' he said by phone this morning.I also spoke with Ek about the story I wrote yesterday about acquisition attention from Google and Apple. Ek says Spotify has had absolutely no acquisition discussions with Apple at all, ever. &amp;''We don&amp;'t want to sell, we are here for the long term,&amp;'' he said. On the Google story he was less forthcoming, saying only that the story wasn&amp;'t correct in its entirety. &amp;''Google is a great partner,&amp;'' he said.I also asked Ek, since I had him on the phone, about Spotify&amp;'s U.S. launch plans. The company has been talking about a U.S. launch for well over a year, but it hasn&amp;'t happened yet. The complications appear to be over their very strong desire to offer a free version of the service here, as they do in Europe. Ek says that discussions with labels are ongoing, and that he still &amp;''hopes for a U.S. launch this year.&amp;''CrunchBase InformationSpotifyInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Netflix makes friends and enemies with ISP report cards, new social features]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-makes-friends-and-enemies-with-isp-report-cards-new-social-features</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-makes-friends-and-enemies-with-isp-report-cards-new-social-features</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lamecheag</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-makes-friends-and-enemies-with-isp-report-cards-new-social-features</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Netflix today issued its first report on Internet service provider performance,  ranking cable company Charter the best and wireless provider Clearwire dead last.  By  making the rankings public, Netflix likely hopes to shame ISPs into  providing better performance for their customers. The move is the latest  in a very public back and forth between Netflix and the ISP industry,  who arena4a4t taking too kindly to the movie servicea4a4s all-you-can-eat  video streaming.Popular  ISPs like Comcast, Cablevision and Cox all rank near the top of the  list, so it doesna4a4t seem as if the report is any sort of smoking gun  against the ISP industry. Still, Netflix plans to release new ISP  reports every month, so it will become readily apparent if any major  ISP starts to perform worse. In Canada, all of the ISPs ranked above 2.5  megabits per second, which puts them among the best American ISPs.Additionally, Netflix said it&amp;'s planning to resurrect some social features with extensive Facebook integration.When it comes to Facebook integration, Netflix said yesterday in a letter to its shareholders (PDF link) that it plans to offer integration with the social network,  together with a new initiative to divide household Netflix accounts into  personal accounts, All Things Digital reports. The company last year dropped its own social feature because less than two percent of users took advantage of it.  Integrating with Facebook would let users more easily share their  queues, and it also opens the door for synchronized group viewing of  Netflix streaming video.Netflixa4a4s  original Friends feature was difficult to use and never promoted very  well, so ita4a4s no surprise that it died off. It also seemed clear that  Netflix didna4a4t have the time or energy to spend on improving it. Now the  company doesna4a4t have to worry about building and managing its own  social network, it merely has to open the door for Facebook to do the  heavy lifting.Next Story: LinkedIn files for its IPO Previous Story: Microsoft&amp;'s Kinectified game business grows 55 percent &amp;8212' fastest-selling consumer electronics device in historyPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: streaming video, videoCompanies: Facebook, Netflix          Tags: streaming video, videoCompanies: Facebook, NetflixDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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