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<title>Haaze.com / Dakota01 / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:06 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Oppo's awesome-sounding Blu-ray player]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=oppos-awesome-sounding-blu-ray-player</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=oppos-awesome-sounding-blu-ray-player</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pnominuckTess</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=oppos-awesome-sounding-blu-ray-player</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Oppo BDP-95(Credit:Oppo Digital)Oppo Digital's Blu-ray and DVD players have found favor with the most demanding high-end customers. I knew that Oppo has collaborated with a number of high-end audio companies (Ayre Acoustics, MSB Technology, NuForce, and others) on a number of products, but I didn't know Oppo made improvements on its own products based on feedback from those high-end companies. The Oppo BDP-95 ($999) may have a lot in common with the company's BDP-93 ($499) 3D universal Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-Audio player, but the BDP-95 really is a very different, potentially better sounding Blu-ray player. I say potentially because the $999 player's upgraded digital-to-analog converter and audio circuitry won't make a nit of difference if you're using the player's HDMI v1.4a connections.I spoke with Oppo's Jason J. Liao, CTO and VP of product development, to learn more about the BDP-95. It was targeted to home theater buyers who have already invested in above-average-sounding receivers built before the advent of high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio high-resolution soundtracks. There's also a market for buyers with older receivers lacking HDMI connectivity, but have receivers with 5.1 or 7.1 analog inputs. The BDP-95 can process those high-resolution movie soundtracks and route them over its 7.1-channel analog connections. Liao thinks the BDP-95's digital-to-analog converters (DACs) might be better sounding than the DACs found in many receivers, even those sporting the latest HDMI connectivity.He was especially proud of the BDP-95's Sabre32 Reference ES9018 digital-to-analog converters (DACs)' sourced from ESS Technology. I said converters because the player uses two DAC chips--one for the 7.1-channel output--and one dedicated to stereo output, which uses four DAC channels stacked together. The player features fully balanced analog circuitry, like the type seen only on high-end players costing many times more than the BDP-95. The stereo output offers both XLR (balanced) and RCA single-ended connectors. The player can also play high-resolution (up to 192-kHz/24-bit) WAV files burned to DVDs or USB thumbdrives, so you don't need a computer to play files in your home theater or hi-fi system. Liao told me the BDP-95 can play multichannel WAV or FLAC files via network streaming with DLNA. Unfortunately, the Oppo cannot be used as an USB-DAC.The BDP-95&amp;39's rear panel(Credit:Oppo Digital)Chances are, the DAC probably sounds better than the one in your receiver, and the BDP-95's analog circuitry is also better than your receiver's. Liao pointed out the bulk of the player's internal real estate is taken up by its analog circuitry. The BDP-95 weighs 16 pounds and that's about 5 pounds more than the BDP-93. The weight differential comes from the player's larger, custom-designed power transformer, larger audio board, and stiffer chassis. It feels nice and solid. One other thing: the rear-mounted cooling fan's noise might be audible in very quiet rooms. I started my auditions comparing the BDP-95 with the older BDP-83SE Blu-ray player and I found the newer model's sound had more body and soul. With the Allman Brothers' &quot;At Fillmore East&quot; SACD I heard a more lifelike presence from the band's two drummers, and the sound of Duane Allman's guitar filling that old theater brought back memories! The BDP-83SE was in the ballpark alright, but the BDP-95 was more natural-sounding. Instruments had more body and the soundstage was more open, and less &quot;attached&quot; to my Magnepan 3.6 panel speakers. No, it's not a huge difference, but if you have a high-end system, it's a difference definitely worth upgrading to. Paul Simon's new &quot;So Beautiful or So What&quot; LP comes with a code that provides access to a free 96-kHz/24-bit WAV digital download. Burned to a DVD the album sounded remarkably pure and clean. The LP, presumably mastered from the same digital source, sounded a little warmer, but the download's sound was otherwise close to the LP. I have a feeling more and more LPs will be sold with high-resolution downloads in the coming years. The BDP-95 also played ultra-high-resolution 176.4-kHz/24-bit WAV files on DVDs from MA Recordings and Reference Recordings. Puente Celeste's &quot;Nama&quot; from MA was a standout' the group hails from Argentina. The album was recorded &quot;live,&quot; without compression, overdubs, or processing of any kind, and it sounds as lifelike as they come. The band's hand percussion instruments sounded so real I felt like I could touch them. It's funny' high-resolution audio doesn't immediately seem more &quot;detailed,&quot; it just sounds more like the band is in the room with you. To finish up I compared the BDP-95 with a PS Audio PerfectWave Transport and DAC ($3,000 each) with high-resolution WAV files. The PS Audio gear produced a deeper and broader soundstage, and was more dynamically alive. Considering the price differential I'd still say the BDP-95 did a fine job. The PS gear only plays CDs and WAV files, so sure, the Oppo does a lot more stuff, but for hard-core audiophiles with deep pockets, the PS Audio gear is highly recommended. If you're not ready to invest $6,000 on the PS gear, buy the BDP-95, and you'll be glad you did. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[HTC profit triples on huge smartphone demand]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=htc-profit-triples-on-huge-smartphone-demand</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=htc-profit-triples-on-huge-smartphone-demand</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>aalina387</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=htc-profit-triples-on-huge-smartphone-demand</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Smartphone maker HTC took home record profits and revenue in the first quarter thanks to surging consumption of its smartphone lineup.HTC&amp;39's Evo 4G(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)For the quarter ended March 31, the Taiwanese company earned $14.8 billion in Taiwan dollars (US$513 million), almost triple the NT$5 billion profit from the year-ago quarter. Net income easily surpassed the average analyst estimate of NT$12.8 billion as compiled by Bloomberg.Revenue soared to NT$104.2 billion, a gain of almost 175 percent from the prior year and a leap over the NT$95 billion forecast by the average analyst, said Bloomberg.Related links &amp;149' Best Buy to sell Wi-Fi HTC Flyer &amp;149' Gartner: Android market share to near 50 percent &amp;149' Ask Maggie: HTC Thunderbolt vs. Droid BionicHTC has been a major beneficiary of the rising demand for Android phones, especially those offering higher 4G speeds. Sold through Sprint, the HTC Evo 4G was the first 4G phone to hit the market. Adding to its high-speed lineup, the company recently unveiled the Thunderbolt through Verizon Wireless and the Inspire through AT&amp;amp'T.Though HTC didn't reveal the number of smartphones shipped during the first quarter, it had announced in January that it expected to ship 8.5 million handsets, up 157 percent from a year ago. Looking ahead, HTC is branching out into thetablet market with its upcoming 7-inch Flyer, aka Evo View, slated to launch this spring.HTC's market value recently surpassed that of global leader and rival Nokia, reported All Things D and other sources. The company is now worth around $33.8 billion, inching past Nokia's market capitalization of $32.84 billion.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Net trade group protests French data retention rules]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=net-trade-group-protests-french-data-retention-rules</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=net-trade-group-protests-french-data-retention-rules</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Crysta7</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=net-trade-group-protests-french-data-retention-rules</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A trade group that represents Google, Facebook, and other Internet companies active in France is upset over French regulations that require the companies to retain personal data on their users for a full year.The French group Association of Internet Community Services (Google Translate version) is taking its case to France's Conseil d'Etat, or State Council, on behalf of several Internet companies, which also include eBay and online video site Dailymotion. Launching its appeal with the State Council, which is considered the Supreme Court in France in charge of public law litigation, ASIC is looking to have the decree struck down.Established in early March, the decree is directed toward e-commerce sites, video and music services, and providers of Webmail. It requires such companies to store names, addresses, phone numbers, and even passwords of their users for one year. The rationale behind the rules is that such data must be made available to law enforcement and various government agencies in the event of an investigation.In an e-mail to CNET, Benoit Tabaka, the head of ASIC, explained the concerns behind the decree.The European Commission has so far not been consulted on or involved in discussions about the decree, which Tabaka believes is mandatory and necessary.&quot;Our companies are based in several European countries,&quot; Tabaka said. &quot;Our activities target many national markets. So it's clear that we need a common approach.&quot;The decree also opens up privacy concerns as it requires online companies to retain user passwords, which Tabaka doesn't see as the type of data that would even be needed as identification in a police matter. Further, a breach of security in any system would expose those passwords. Storing the passwords themselves could also be tricky, he explained, since they would need to be saved in a full, clear manner to be usable, but the companies don't currently store passwords in full.Tabaka said that the legal challenge against the decree will be launched before the end of the week. He expects a response from the State Council at the beginning of next year.As a trade group, ASIC works on behalf of the interests of its Web 2.0 member companies as they do business in France. The group was created in late 2007 by AOL, Dailymotion, Google, and Yahoo.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Nuclear safer than coal, China official says]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-safer-than-coal-china-official-says</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-safer-than-coal-china-official-says</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>husan33</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-safer-than-coal-china-official-says</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Even in the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis, nuclear power remains a safer and cleaner choice for China than coal, Pan Ziqiang, the chairman of the science and technology committee at the China National Nuclear Corp., said today.Before Japan's earthquake and tsunami, Beijing was bullish about the prospects of nuclear power in China, fast-tracking the approval of dozens of reactors along the coast as part of a wider plan to ease dependence on heavily-polluting fossil fuels.Since the quake, China has been at pains to show that its existing nuclear facilities are completely safe, and has already suspended all new project approvals pending a nationwide inspection into reactors and construction sites.China's cabinet, the State Council, also said it would also &quot;adjust and improve&quot; its plans for the sector.&quot;We've recently drawn up recommendations saying that these inspections [announced by the State Council] are completely necessary, but I personally believe that the nuclear power development plan should not be changed,&quot; Pan, an industry veteran of nearly 60 years, told reporters in Beijing.&quot;Everybody knows atmospheric pollution from coal is very serious...Nuclear basically has no harmful pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions are 1 percent of a coal-fired power plant.&quot;Many of the projects currently under construction use tried and tested designs from Russia, France, Canada, and the United States, but China will also build the world's first &quot;third-generation&quot; AP1000 reactor, built by U.S.-based Westinghouse, a unit of Japan's Toshiba.Related Stories: &amp;149' Japan reels from earthquake, nuclear crisis (roundup) &amp;149' Energy CEO: Costs, not safety, block new nukes &amp;149' Will Japan's nuclear crisis affect U.S. energy debate &amp;149' Nukes 101: Up close and personal with nuclear powerChina will also be one of the first countries to build new European Pressurized Reactors designed by France's Areva, prompting critics to claim that China has become the testing ground and shop window for unproven technologies.Pan said the dangers had been exaggerated.&quot;From a safety perspective, up to now China has never had an incident higher than level 2. From the 1950s when development began, there hasn't been a single death caused by radiation--not one--and there hasn't been a single fatal disease [caused by radiation]. Of course, there have been skin burns, and 10 people were killed in a work accident in 2007, but this is very far from the amount of deaths from China's coal industry.&quot;Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident has been rated at level 5 on the IAEA's nuclear event scale, the same as the fire that destroyed the core of Britain's Windscale nuclear plant in 1957, but lower than the level 7 accident at Chernobyl in 1986.Pan said the impact of the Chernobyl accident, the worst in the industry's history, had also been exaggerated. He noted that a World Health Organization report in 2005 put total fatalities at 56, far lower than had previously been estimated, and found no evidence of increased cancer risks apart from an initial spike in thyroid cancer among children drinking contaminated milk.&quot;We need to adopt stricter management and strengthen the safety culture and our monitoring [but] I think we should accept nuclear development.&quot;China's official capacity target still stands at 40GW by 2020, but many in the industry--including Pan--have said a target of more than 80GW would be feasible.Officials from both the government and its two state-owned nuclear contractors have stressed that China's plants are far more advanced than Japan's stricken Fukushima complex, which was first commissioned four decades ago.China's coastline is also less vulnerable to the sort of catastrophic tsunami that struck northeast Japan, they have said.There have been no serious safety accidents at China's existing nuclear projects, but the scale of its future plans has alarmed experts worried about a shortage of qualified technical staff as well as a lack of transparency.Yesterday, the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. opened its Daya Bay nuclear facility to selected journalists from nearby Hong Kong. International media were not invited to participate.Rumors of leaks from the plant last year led to protests in Hong Kong, and the company promised to be more transparent when it came to monitoring possible radiation problems in the region.Inside a nuclear power plant (photos) Story Copyright (c) 2011 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[How to permanently block sites from Google search]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-permanently-block-sites-from-google-search</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-permanently-block-sites-from-google-search</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>designerbagssbr</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-permanently-block-sites-from-google-search</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google recently updated its algorithm to take down Web sites that use SEO to game search results and up their ranking, but spam still dominates results. Search for something like &quot;how to lose weight&quot; and a flurry of content farms will appear.Content farms simply hire low-paid freelancers to write articles about every topic in existence, allowing their Web sites to rank high in Google search results. The result Unqualified, haphazardly written posts that can bury more reputable sources and delay the time it takes to get the answers you're looking for. In response to these content farms, you can now permanently block Web sites from search results. Make use of this tip (in the video below)--Google is likely noting users' blocks to identify Web sites it should manually lower the ranking of.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[How to search using IE9's One Box]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-search-using-ie9s-one-box</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-search-using-ie9s-one-box</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 07:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>conveyancing</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-search-using-ie9s-one-box</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[LinkedIn hits 100 million users]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=linkedin-hits-100-million-users</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=linkedin-hits-100-million-users</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Celina</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=linkedin-hits-100-million-users</guid>
<description><![CDATA[LinkedIn announced today that it now has 100 million users.According to the professional-networking site, approximately 44 million of its users are in the U.S. LinkedIn said that it's adding about 1 million new users to its service every week. The company reported that 20 percent of its members are in the service industry, while 9 percent of users are in the &quot;high-tech&quot; sector. Apple, Amazon, eBay, and Cisco are among the &quot;most represented companies on its site.&quot; They're flanked by EMC and Campbell's. LinkedIn, which launched in 2003, announced plans earlier this year to go public. Although the United States is home to the biggest number of LinkedIn users, it can't compete with the growth LinkedIn is seeing elsewhere. The social network said that 2010 year-over-year growth in Brazil is 428 percent. Mexico, India, and France are trailing with growth rates of 178 percent, 76 percent, and 72 percent, respectively.Of course, LinkedIn isn't the only social network that's enjoying continued success. Facebook currently has over 600 million active users around the globe, and that figure continues to grow. Twitter is watching 1 billion tweets hit its service every week, according to data it released last week, and about 460,000 accounts are being added to the social network every day.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Yes, there are iPad alternatives]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yes-there-are-ipad-alternatives</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yes-there-are-ipad-alternatives</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>EldewJefEndurece684</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yes-there-are-ipad-alternatives</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There are other options.(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)A week ago, just after Donald Bell posted his positive review of the iPad 2, I posted a list of tablet alternatives to Apple's device. My intention was to show CNET readers the broad availability oftablets on the market, and to demonstrate what promising products are still to come. At the time I considered it a pretty innocuous post, but I should have known better when an Apple product is involved.Over the weekend I began to receive reader e-mails asking me what the point of such a list was. TheiPad was the best, of course, so suggesting that there could be alternatives was unhelpful and irresponsible. More readers commented on the post itself. As commenter &quot;Segal2011&quot; put it, &quot;Only a sucker would buy one of those tablets. I'd hate to be Kent German when someone follows his advice and buys one of these devices only to find out they are not an alternative to the iPad.&quot;As your mother might have said, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. But I don't hate being me and I don't feel any shame about offering CNET readers a range of tablet options. It's very true that the Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the Dell Streak 7 aren't quite like the iPad. But that's the whole point. Like Apple's tablet, each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and each will appeal to a particular user's needs and budget. If those aren't alternatives, I don't know what are.Sure, some products are better than others, but I wouldn't want to live in a world where we all use the same gadget. Not only would I be out of a job, but it would be a pretty boring marketplace if every tablet was exactly the same. And to use dime-store philosophy, if everything was the same then how would we really know what was goodSo go easy on the people that just don't want to buy an iPad. Even if the iPad really is the best tablet ever, people have a right not to buy it. And if they buy something else, they're not losers or ignorant. They are just choosing a product that appeals to them. And there's nothing wrong with that.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Florida, Carolinas getting smart grids in $500M push]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=florida-carolinas-getting-smart-grids-in-500m-push</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=florida-carolinas-getting-smart-grids-in-500m-push</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:11:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>TonyMontac</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=florida-carolinas-getting-smart-grids-in-500m-push</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Progress Energy is moving forward with its plan to spend $500 million to upgrade two of its electric utilities in Florida and the Carolinas to a smart-grid system.Together the two utilities provide electricity service to over 3.1 million customers. The Raleigh,N.C.-based company is paying for the upgrade in part with a $200 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The grant came out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and is part of the high-profile push by the Obama administration and many state leaders to upgrade U.S. electric grids.The project is also a boon to IBM's efforts to grow its presence in the potentially lucrative industry of smart-grid analytics. Progress Energy plans to use IBM's WebSphere software platform as a tool to integrate distribution management and demand response systems. Big Blue has also been hired to help install and implement the systems in conjunction with Progress Energy, IBM announced today.IBM has run several pilot programs to test smart-grid systems in the past four years, including a consumer-level one in North Carolina in 2009 which found that on average, the introduction of smart-grid technology and smart meters cut electricity use by 15 percent.In the case of Progress Energy, however, IBM's services will concentrate on equipment and system upgrades, analytics, and management that will enable the company's utilities to better control things like voltage levels, as well as electricity distribution across power lines.IBM is one of a number of blue-chip companies getting into the smart-grid industry in recent years through software and services. Many of them have done so by buying smaller companies with existing technology, as is the case with Johnson Controls' purchase of EnergyConnect, Honeywell's purchase of Akuacom, and Siemens' acquisition of Site Controls.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Telecom tycoon beats out Gates for top billionaire]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=telecom-tycoon-beats-out-gates-for-top-billionaire</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=telecom-tycoon-beats-out-gates-for-top-billionaire</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rezinu-PKv2011</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=telecom-tycoon-beats-out-gates-for-top-billionaire</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Forbes' latest list of the world's billionaires still points to Bill Gates and other familiar faces in the tech world, but Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Helu again took first place as the richest.Carlos Slim Helu(Credit:carlosslim.com)Helu, whose family fortune is estimated by Forbes at $74 billion, up from $53.5 billion last year, owns America Movil, Latin America's largest wireless carrier. But the mogul upped his wealth over the past year through a series of mining and real estate deals as well as gains in the peso and the Mexican stock market.Still in no slouch in second place, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is worth $56 billion after having given away $30 billion through the Gates Foundation in an effort to combat disease, hunger, and other global problems. Seventy percent of his wealth is held in an investment fund, while the rest is in Microsoft stock.Another billionaire well known in the tech world is Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who made fifth place with a net worth of $39.5 billion. That marks an $11.5 billion increase since last year courtesy of a 30 percent gain in Oracle's stock price. Though he slashed his salary as head of Oracle to $1 in 2009, he's managed to scoop up $960 million in compensation over the past five years, according to Forbes, mainly from cashing in on stock options.Further down the list were such tech players as Google founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin, each one with fortunes of $19.8 billion thanks in large part to the huge run-up in Google stock. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made the list with a net worth of $18.1 billion, now $5.8 billion richer than last year as the price of Amazon stock has shot up 50 percent, according to Forbes.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg(Credit:Facebook)With the growing popularity of Facebook, its founder Mark Zuckerberg joined the billionaires club last year and now is back with a net worth of $13.5 billion. A big jump from his $4 billion fortune in 2010, Zuckerberg's wealth grew by 238 percent thanks to funding from investment firms such as Goldman Sachs, which increased Facebook's valuation to $50 billion.Tracking the spread of wealth around the world for the past 25 years, Forbes found that the combined fortunes of all the world's billionaires this year hit $4.5 trillion. To rank the planet's richest people, more than 50 Forbes reporters worked throughout 13 different countries to tally each person's public holdings, private companies, real estate, art, and other possessions.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Mefeedia: HTML5-compatible video on the rise]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mefeedia-html5-compatible-video-on-the-rise</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mefeedia-html5-compatible-video-on-the-rise</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:10:14 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>orvalluppr</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mefeedia-html5-compatible-video-on-the-rise</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The debate between using Adobe Flash or HTML5 for online videos could be winding down, but the war among different video formats is heating up.A whopping 63 percent of all videos on the Web are now HTML5-compatible, compared to only 10 percent just a year ago, according to video-sharing site Mefeedia. Instead of relying solely on Flash to display their videos, many more Web sites are adopting video formats that can run directly in HTML5-compatible browsers.The majority of the sites uncovered by Mefeedia are using H.264, the most common video format since it's also compatible for playback using Flash. Google's VP8, or WebM, video codec is second on the popularity charts, followed by Ogg, aka Ogg Theora.With Apple's no-Flash requirement, Mefeedia says that sites such as YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip TV, and Vimeo are among those striving to support video on iOS devices. Specifically, mobile devices now represent 5 percent of the traffic to Mefeedia's site, up from 1 percent a year ago.Although HTML5 has shot up in popularity as an alternative to Flash, the array of video codes supported within HTML5 are themselves battling for dominance. H.264 may currently be the most common among the three on the Web, but lately it's divided different companies against each other.Google recently dropped a bombshell by announcing it would no longer support H.264 in its Chrome browser and would instead push for its own WebM codec. Many in the industry decried the decision, but Google justified it by saying that H.264 carries with it some hefty royalty fees, while WebM is open source. Apple and Microsoft are members of a patent pool called MPEG-LA that actually licenses the code for H.264, while Mozilla and Opera are stuck paying the licensing fees.The debate over HTML5 video formats is one that could be with us for awhile. This means that for the time being, many Web sites will need to continue to support more than one format for their videos. In Mefeedia's eyes, &quot;Web video is maturing and becoming more complex.&quot;To compile its findings, Mefeedia analyzed the videos indexed on its site (around 30 million from more than 30,000 video sites). The index includes videos from such content partners as Hulu, CBS, and ABC as well as videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and DailyMotion. Mefeedia specifically looked at videos that can play within HTML5's &quot;video&quot; tag, which in most cases means videos encoded using H.264.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Site-loading speed battle: Motorola Xoom vs. Apple iPad]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=site-loading-speed-battle-motorola-xoom-vs--apple-ipad</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=site-loading-speed-battle-motorola-xoom-vs--apple-ipad</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ismarterguy</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=site-loading-speed-battle-motorola-xoom-vs--apple-ipad</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta to hit mid-April]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gears-of-war-3-multiplayer-beta-to-hit-mid-april</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gears-of-war-3-multiplayer-beta-to-hit-mid-april</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 08:10:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sonia01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gears-of-war-3-multiplayer-beta-to-hit-mid-april</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Gears of War 3 creator Cliff Bleszinski, left, talks about his new game at the February Xbox Showcase event in San Francisco.(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)SAN FRANCISCO--Fans of the Gears, put a big circle around April on your calendars: the public multiplayer beta of Gears of War 3 will be opening up around the middle of that month.At Microsoft'sXbox February Showcase event here today, the company announced the timing of the Gears of War 3 beta opening, as well as a slew of other game-related new items. Among them: that on March 15, the Halo: Reach &quot;Defiant Map Pack&quot; would go on sale' the availability of Halo Waypoint, a mobile stat-checking feature for the mega-hit franchise that will be accessible online or forWindows Phone 7' new add-ons for Fable III' the March 22 release of Crysis 2 3D' and much more.Each year, Microsoft hosts a showcase event like this one to reveal the games and add-ons that it will be highlighting in coming months. With the Game Developers Conference set to start Monday here as well, one thing is clear: the video game industry is in full swing as winter fades away and spring gets ready to emerge.Although Microsoft has sometimes used the Xbox showcase event in the past to release news about the console itself, today's event was entirely about games.The Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta &quot;will give fans a chance to experience three new Versus Multiplayer modes on four new maps,&quot; Microsoft and Gears developer Epic Games said in a release. The full version of the game is expected to be released September 20 worldwide, except in Japan, where it will hit on September 22. And Microsoft and Epic said that fans of the game will get a chance to help decide which maps will appear in the beta. They can do so by visiting the Gears Facebook page.The Halo: Reach Defiant Map pack will introduce players to three new battlefields, the release said. &quot;Set in the heat of the legendary Battle of Reach, the three new warfronts--Condemned, Highlands, and Unearthed--are primed for nonstop action in Firefight and all competitive multiplayer modes.&quot;And since Halo is so crucial to the success of Xbox, Microsoft couldn't resist more news about the franchise. The Halo Waypoint will let players share all their game stats and let them &quot;compare against friends from the palm of your hand.&quot;Another big upcoming release is that of Lionhead Studios' Fable III, which will be available for PCs in North America on May 17. The game will bring players &quot;back to Albion.&quot;Other games and add-ons announced at the event included:&amp;149' Homefront, from Kaos Studios and THQ, which &quot;asks civilians to stand united, fight back, and defend their 'Homefront.&quot; The game and all add-ons will be available on Xbox Live and in stores on March 15.&amp;149' Child of Eden, from Q Entertainment and Ubisoft. This is a &quot;multi-sensory shooter from the mind of...Tetsuya Mizuguchi that will send players diving into a kaleidoscopic matrix of synchronized music and mind-bending visuals.&quot;&amp;149' Batman: Arkham City, from Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and DC Entertainment. Expected to be released this fall, the game follows on the original Batman: Arkham Asylum, &quot;sending players into Arkham City, the new maximum security home for all of Gotham City's thugs, gangsters, and insane criminal masterminds.&quot;&amp;149' Age of Empires Online for Windows, from Gas Powered Games. &amp;149' Shift 2: Unleashed, from Slightly Mad Studios and Electronic Arts. This is the 17th game in the Need for Speed series, and according to Microsoft, this version features an all-new rendering engine as well as a full graphics overhaul. The game will launch on Xbox on March 29.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Report: iPad 2 media event to be held March 2]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-ipad-2-media-event-to-be-held-march-2</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-ipad-2-media-event-to-be-held-march-2</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>minsirparxd4</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-ipad-2-media-event-to-be-held-march-2</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:James Martin/CNET)Apple could announce the next-generationiPad as early as next week, according to a report today.AllThingsD hears from &quot;multiple sources&quot; that Apple is planning on holding a media event next Wednesday, March 2, to introduce the iPad 2. The event will take place in San Francisco.Apple hasn't sent official invitations yet, but it's been widely assumed Apple would start selling an updated version of its populartablet about a year after the original device went on sale. The iPad debuted in stores the first weekend in April 2010. An introduction at a press conference on March 2 would give Apple about a month before sales begin.The AllThingsD report hit several hours after a rumor began making the rounds this morning that the next iPad would be delayed until this summer.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[SudoGlove: Bend index finger to accelerate car]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sudoglove-bend-index-finger-to-accelerate-car</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sudoglove-bend-index-finger-to-accelerate-car</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:11:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>maralyn45</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sudoglove-bend-index-finger-to-accelerate-car</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The glove in the SudoGlove system contains flex, force, and vibration sensors, plus a 2D gyroscope on the wrist.(Credit:Jeremy Blum) Here's one case where giving the finger while driving is a very good idea. The index finger, that is. Bending it makes the remote-controlled car in the SudoGlove system accelerate. Tilting your hand turns the car. Pressing your ring finger makes it go in reverse. Pinkie pressure turns on the headlights, siren lights, and siren sounds. Clapping honks the horn.  Jeremy Blum wears the glove and control module (click to enlarge). (Credit:Jeremy Blum)  The SudoGlove, designed and built by engineering students at Cornell University, allows wearers to control a modded RC car using hand gestures. But it has implications for any hardware containing a wireless transceiver, says Jeremy Blum, a Cornell junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering and one of the students who worked on the SudoGlove as a final project for an information science class.  &quot;All the processing is done on the glove side of the system, and simple 8-bit control values are transmitted that can be used to do just about anything on the control end,&quot; Blum told CNET. Just the other night, Blum created a computer interface that can be controlled by the glove. He'll display it and the hand-controlled RC car at BOOM 2011, Cornell's technology and innovation showcase, on March 9. But unlike other gestural gloves that can be used to control virtual objects, the SudoGlove (so named for the Sudo programming command) is aimed at bridging the gap between users and traditional hardware devices.  &quot;By removing the distance between the user and traditional hardware devices,&quot; the students say, &quot;our goal is for SudoGlove to feel more like an extension of the body as opposed to an external machine.&quot;   To make the SudoGlove, Blum and peers Joe Ballerini, Tiffany Ng, and Alex Garcia outfitted a standard RC car with an Arduino Pro Mini microcontroller and other electronics components. An XBee wireless module receives commands from the glove, and an Arduino Pro Mini processes them and tells the reworked car what to do.(Credit:Jeremy Blum) The tricked-out Reebok glove got a flex sensor, two force sensors, a vibration sensor, and a 2D gyroscope on the wrist. The glove sends data to a battery-operated control module worn on a belt holster.  In all, the project involved 250 hours of combined labor, 150 feet of wire, and 600 lines of code. Even in a world where technology increasingly bows to the will of motion, that might seem like a lot of work to go into a toy car. Then again, maybe it's a small price to pay if the simple bend of a finger drives all of our gadgets one day.          Leslie Katz    Full Profile E-mail Leslie Katz   E-mail Leslie Katz If you have a question or comment for Leslie Katz, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.   Submit your question or comment here: 0 of 1500 characters       Leslie Katz, senior editor of CNET's Crave, covers gadgets, games, and myriad other digital distractions. As a co-host of the recently retired CNET News Daily Podcast, she was sometimes known to channel Terry Gross and still uses her trained &quot;podcast voice&quot; to bully the speech recognition software on automated customer service lines. E-mail Leslie.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Bing continues to grab more searches]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-continues-to-grab-more-searches</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-continues-to-grab-more-searches</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:10:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>resbimmarlk</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bing-continues-to-grab-more-searches</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Though Google is still king of the U.S. search engine market, the company saw its share drop slightly in January, while Bing continued to pick up more steam, according to ComScore.For the first month of 2011, the market researcher said Friday, Google's share of all searches dropped by 1 percentage point to 65.6 percent. At the same time, Bing's share crept up by 1.1 point to reach 13.1 percent. That left Yahoo pretty much flat with a 16.1 percent cut of all searches for January.Those numbers follow a pattern that's marked the past several months in which Google sheds a smidge of share, while Bing edges up a bit more. However, the changes have generally been measured in fractions of a percentage point rather than the full point seen in January. Looking at the hard numbers, the total number of core searches rose from 16.4 billion in December to 16.9 billion in January--a 3 percent increase. Google was No. 1, accounting for 11.1 billion of those searches in January. Yahoo took second place with 2.7 billion, while Bing took third place with 2.2 billion. The total core searches here reflected 1 percent increase for Google over December, a 4 percent jump for Yahoo, and a 13 percent increase for Bing.(Credit:ComScore)Per usual, ComScore's figures look specifically at explicit core searches, meaning search terms manually entered on a Web page. The data also takes into account all of a company's search sites. So in the case of Google, the results cover searches on its main page as well as those at YouTube, Google News, Google Images, and other properties.Beyond examining core searches, ComScore also tracked &quot;powered by&quot; searches. For January, Google's share of &quot;powered by&quot; searches at its own sites as well at on AOL and on Ask.com was 68.2 percent, while Bing searches on Microsoft and Yahoo sites hit 25.6 percent. Here too, January continued a familiar pattern of Google losing a small percentage of its &quot;powered by&quot; share and Bing winning a little bit more.Another recent report echos ComScore's findings for January. Data released last week by Experian Hitwise showed a dip in searches at Google and a rise for Bing.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Netflix not into ads]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-not-into-ads</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-not-into-ads</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>kohlline142</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-not-into-ads</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Netflix may have thought about it, but the company won't be bringing ads to its streaming service.Speaking to Fast Company in an interview posted today, Netflix Vice President of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey said the topic of bringing advertising to the company's streaming service has been brought to the table from time to time over at Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif., but the arguments in favor of ads haven't been all that compelling.&quot;Every time, we shoot it down,&quot; Swasey said.Netflix's streaming service has relied on a subscription model since its launch. Previously, customers that had unlimited DVD rental plans were allowed to stream content from Netflix for as little as $9 per month. After launching a streaming-only service in Canada last year, Netflix then brought a streaming-only option to the United States as well. It costs $7.99 per month.The success of Netflix streaming has caused the company to shift its focus. In a statement to investors last year, CEO Reed Hastings said that &quot;by every measure,&quot; Netflix is &quot;a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail.&quot;Netflix's decision to nix the idea of bringing advertising to its service stands in stark contrast to the strategy of one of its top competitors, Hulu Plus, which offers a subscription fee--$7.99 per month--and places ads in the content it streams.Hulu's ad-supported model has been met with some complaints from users who would like to see the commercials go. However, Hulu claims on a Web page detailing its business model that advertising is necessary to keep the price of its service down.&quot;Hulu's goal for this subscription product has always been to offer the largest content selection to users for the lowest price,&quot; the company writes on its Web page. &quot;By making Hulu Plus an ad-supported subscription service, we were able to offer the low price of $7.99 to subscribers for the deepest library of current TV programming online.&quot;Netflix, on the other hand, isn't after &quot;current&quot; content. Swasey told Fast Company that Netflix prefers &quot;to have complete seasons of the series rather than day-after broadcast.&quot; Perhaps most importantly, Netflix can offer that content and push cash into the hands of content providers without relying on advertising to pull it off. And Swasey believes that model works best for all stakeholders.&quot;Netflix is a new money provider,&quot; Swasey told Fast Company. &quot;This is new money in the system, which is good for content owners.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Prizefight: Canon EOS 60D vs. Nikon D7000]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=prizefight-canon-eos-60d-vs--nikon-d7000</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=prizefight-canon-eos-60d-vs--nikon-d7000</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>doremelotrzyna</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=prizefight-canon-eos-60d-vs--nikon-d7000</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Detroit mayor: 'No RoboCop statue'' Geeks: 'Grrr']]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=detroit-mayor-no-robocop-statue-geeks-grrr</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=detroit-mayor-no-robocop-statue-geeks-grrr</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:10:46 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>winbugpnos2u</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=detroit-mayor-no-robocop-statue-geeks-grrr</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Even Seattle has a Jimi Hendrix statue.(Credit:Twitter/Matt Hickey)Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has shot down on Twitter an idea for the last remaining thing that would have gotten me to visit that city again. He said there are no plans to erect a statue of RoboCop.RoboCop, of course, is the titular character in one of the greatest films of all time. Set in postindustrial Detroit, the movie presents the half-man half-bot police officer as a fighter for truth and justice--even if it means going above the law (and other cliches).It's an iconic film that could be considered a pinnacle of the ultraviolent action cinema of the '80s. And it was directed by the great Paul Verhoeven, the mastermind behind &quot;Showgirls&quot; (go on, I dare you to dis &quot;Showgirls&quot;)' &quot;Starship Troopers'&quot; and &quot;Basic Instinct.&quot; There's nothing he's done that's bad, and &quot;RoboCop&quot; is perhaps his finest work.Bing had asked the people of the Internet for ideas on how to help with the city's revival. A user, @MT, suggested the statue, as Philly has one of Rocky. A RoboCop statue, @MT posits, would &quot;kick Rocky's butt.&quot; I tend to agree.Sadly, Bing doesn't appear to. His response was &quot;There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop [sic]. Thank you for your suggestion.&quot; Twitter, predictably, went crazy with tweets and retweets by those in support of just such a statue. I am now one of them.&quot;Duh. Of course Detroit should get a Robocop statue,&quot; wrote one Twitter user. Said another: &quot;The Robocop statue in Detroit should be at least double the size of the Statue of Liberty.&quot; There is also a Facebook group, almost 1,300 strong as of this writing, in favor of a RoboCop statue in downtown Detroit. Mayor Bing, I am among those who can think of no better symbol for the revival of Detroit than the badass part-robo, all-cop who helped bring order to a crime-ridden Detroit in an epic film. Please reconsider.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[FCC chairman proposes changes to subsidy program]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-chairman-proposes-changes-to-subsidy-program</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-chairman-proposes-changes-to-subsidy-program</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dosolungal</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=fcc-chairman-proposes-changes-to-subsidy-program</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Federal Communications Commission is planning to overhaul the $8 billion phone subsidy program to include funding for broadband in underserved communities. The FCC is expected to vote on an order tomorrow that will open comments for revising the Universal Service Fund, or USF. In a speech today at the Information Technology &amp; Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C., FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined his proposal for revising the fund. And he talked about the importance of taking action to reform USF now.&quot;While the world has changed around it, USF--in too many ways--has stood still, and even moved backwards,&quot; Genachowski said. &quot;The program is still designed to support traditional telephone service. It's a 20th century program poorly suited for the challenges of a 21st century world. Where USF has changed over the years, it's too often changed for the worse.&quot;He continued that well-intentioned policies have been put in place over the years that have weighed down the program. And he suggests revamping the USF to make it more efficient in providing services to rural communities. He also suggested revising inter-carrier compensation, a system by which carriers charge each other for accessing portions of each other's networks. &quot;In its current state, the program is not getting the job done,&quot; he said. &quot;It's leaving millions on the outside looking in, and wasting taxpayer dollars every year. That's unacceptable. We need to be responsible fiscal stewards, to get the most bang for our USF buck. Particularly in light of its inefficiencies, we need to control the costs of USF.&quot;The USF, which has been used to help pay for traditional phone service in rural communities and Internet access to schools and libraries, has grown from a $2.3 billion fund in 1998 to nearly $8 billion in 2010. The program is funded by fees that long-distance telephone providers charge to consumers. Genachowski's plan calls for phasing out the support of regular phone lines over the next several years and instead have it fund broadband deployments in rural areas and underserved communities. Congressional leaders, telephone companies, and consumer groups have long supported the idea of revising the program. But getting wide support for specific proposals has been difficult as companies that might lose funding when the program is revised have fought it.The FCC discussed broad proposals for overhauling the USF program in the National Broadband Plan, which was released last year. The FCC's action tomorrow will open a formal proceeding to get public comment on ways to reform the program, including suggestions for changing the formula for how the program is funded. The agency is not expected to take specific action to change the USF until later this year.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google calls Microsoft a copycat (week in review)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-calls-microsoft-a-copycat-week-in-review</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-calls-microsoft-a-copycat-week-in-review</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dadjhu</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-calls-microsoft-a-copycat-week-in-review</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google has a harsh word to describe Microsoft: plagiarist.After noticing curious search results at Bing, then running a sting operation to investigate further, Google has concluded that Microsoft was copying Google search results into its own search engine. The story began with Google's team for correcting typographical errors in search terms, which monitors its own and rivals' performance closely.Next came the sting, which featured a one-time code that manually ranked a page for a specific term. Google then had employees type in those terms from home using Internet Explorer with both Suggested Sites and the Bing Toolbar enabled, clicking the top results as they went. Two weeks later, Bing showed the Google results that had been hand-coded.A Bing executive acknowledged monitoring what links users clicked but essentially described it as letting humans help gather data through crowdsourcing.However, another executive was adamant that Microsoft was not using Google's search results.&quot;We do not copy results from any of our competitors. Period. Full stop,&quot; Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's senior VP of its Online Services Division, wrote in a post on Bing's community blog. &quot;We have some of the best minds in the world at work on search quality and relevance, and for a competitor to accuse any one of these people of such activity is just insulting.&quot;&amp;149'&amp;nbsp' Google, Microsoft trade barbs over Bing 'copying'&amp;149'&amp;nbsp' Microsoft: Google's Bing test was 'good subterfuge'More headlines<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Panasonic Lumix ZS10, ZS8 compact megazooms announced]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=panasonic-lumix-zs10-zs8-compact-megazooms-announced</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=panasonic-lumix-zs10-zs8-compact-megazooms-announced</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:10:54 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>gearsandgeardrivess</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=panasonic-lumix-zs10-zs8-compact-megazooms-announced</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Panasonic)One of the few segments of point-and-shoots that's growing is megazooms, a category that Panasonic pretty much started. Now all manufacturers have them, though, so trying to standout isn't easy. Panasonic's going the feature-dump route, by packing in as much as possible into the ZS7 refresh, the ZS10. The basic specs include a 24mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with a 16x zoom (with nano coating to reduce ghosting and flare), a 3-inch, 460K-dot resolution touch-screen LCD, and a 14-megapixel MOS sensor. The sensor is the same type that's found in the FZ100 and it's paired with Panasonic's Venus Engine FHD processor. This combo allows for high-speed burst shooting--full resolution at 10 frames per second--and full HD movie capture in AVCHD format. (Sadly, it doesn't have that camera's raw capture option.) The high-speed shooting also gets you 3D photos. The ZS10 will apparently fire off 20 shots and then picks the two best for overlaying to create a 3D MPO file that can be played back on 3D-enabled TVs, computers, and photo frames. Also added is an Intelligent Handheld Nightshot that works like everyone else's, but firing a bunch of shot and then stacking them up to remove blur from hand shake and reduce noise. Of course, it's chock-full of Panasonic's other Intelligent technologies, too.GPS returns as a key feature as does a manual shooting mode, though it's now joined by aperture- and shutter-priority modes. And for those that like to share what they've shot, Panasonic's gone and done something extra special creepy. Whenever you format your SD memory card in the camera, it embeds the Lumix Image Uploader on your card. You can then tag photos and videos in camera for uploading to sharing sites. Connect the camera to a computer or insert the SD card into a reader and the Uploader goes to work. If all that sounds like too much camera for you, you can opt for the streamlined version, the ZS8. That backs you down to a regular 14-megapixel CCD and a 3-inch 230K-dot resolution LCD, and 720p movie capture. You lose the GPS, the touch controls, and all the high-speed shooting capabilities. At least the lens stays the same. Both models will be available in March. No pricing was announced, but I'm guessing they'll stay about the same as their predecessors: $400 for the ZS10 and $300 for the ZS8. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[A primer on online reputation management]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=a-primer-on-online-reputation-management</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=a-primer-on-online-reputation-management</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dnnhrgrw</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=a-primer-on-online-reputation-management</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There&amp;39's increasing interest in the field of online reputation management as the Web becomes a bigger and bigger part of our lives.(Credit:Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)Are you really who Google says you are Go ahead, check the first 10 listings that come up on a Google search for your name. Depending on how common a name you have, the results are likely to produce links to your Facebook profile, or a LinkedIn resume, or that time in high school you scored eight points against a bitter rival. But chances are you might also see something on that first page that's either embarrassing, silly, or just plain wrong. If the prospect of a future employer, customer, or romantic interest seeing that link raises your blood pressure, you can turn to several reputation management firms in hopes of getting more control over your presence in search results. This is without question a murky field: for every person who has moved on after an honest mistake there are others trying to cover up shady behavior or hide the truth. But reputation management consultants believe that people have the right to control how their name is presented to the world. Google may be the de facto public record of our times, but it's never going to tell you how it decided that those 10 links were the most relevant details of your life. &quot;Google is not God, it is not the First Amendment, and it's not the truth,&quot; said Michael Fertik, founder of Reputation.com. &quot;It's probably the best machine of the last 10 years, but it's just a machine.&quot;How it works Online reputation management is a cross between a number of different fields, including forensic analysis, search-engine optimization, and legal maneuvering, said Michael Roberts, a senior consultant for Rexxfield. Many firms are hired at the request of those who believe they have been libeled on Web sites, and firms such as Rexxfield can work on their client's behalf to get that content removed from a particular site through take-down notices and other conventional legal means.Michael Roberts, senior consultant at Rexxfield.(Credit:Rexxfield) However, this isn't always an easy thing to do, as anonymous accounts are often used and damaging content can be removed from one site before the legal process gets rolling and moved to another site, Roberts said. That means Rexxfield and other reputation management firms often resort to side projects aimed at finding a way to get more content into Google's database linked to that person's name. There are many ways to go about this, some more ethical than others. For example, several consultants interviewed for this story didn't think there was anything wrong with convincing clients to join social-networking services under their names, start a personal blog or Twitter feed, or create a home page on a domain with their name. Links to prominent services like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Flickr carry a lot of weight with Google, and can push unwanted content to the Google Ghetto, otherwise known as page two. But there are plenty of companies willing to play on the darker side of this game. Fertik said a common technique is to try and sneak a client's name into a site with a lot of rank with Google, such as IMDB.com. There are apparently a lot of &quot;co-producers&quot; on small films in IMDB that didn't necessarily contribute much to the product, he said. If your name is relatively common, some will create fake blogs purporting to be other people who share your name, which won't boost your own presence but will create enough new content under searches for that name as to push the undesirable results farther out on Google. And the bottom feeders of the business are not above spam-bots and even distributed denial-of-service attacks to force sites with damaging content off the Web entirely. Then there are the tactics in the middle, which are relatively widespread but few are willing to admit they employ. This includes things like &quot;astroturfing,&quot; or the creation of anonymous commenter accounts to buttress a positive piece of content or lash out against a negative one. The rise of content farms like Yahoo's Associated Content or Demand Media also allows firms to write articles for those services using a client's byline, which can simply be explained away as a way to earn a little cash on the side. Several consultants interviewed said they had clear procedures regarding the types of cases they wouldn't accept, such as those involving crimes against a child or extremely serious violent crimes. For less serious but still weighty matters, Roberts noted that &quot;if somebody has turned their life around, we're willing to help.&quot;What would Google do Google declined provide access to any employees to discuss the subject of reputation management but sent over this statement: Our goal is to help people find relevant information. So, we don't condone reputation management campaigns that attempt to hide relevant information. While there is nothing in our guidelines that explicitly forbids reputation management, if we uncover link schemes or other violations, we reserve the right to take action in response. We are constantly working to improve our algorithms to ensure people find the most relevant information possible for their searches. Rexxfield and Google have had interactions, but mostly in the legal sense regarding things like take-down notices, Roberts said. Talking with the search people about specific results would be a waste of time, he said: &quot;We don't bother because they won't do it.&quot;Reputation.com founder and CEO Michael Fertik(Credit:Michaelfertik.com) Fertik said Google is definitely aware of the services that his company provides but declined to get into details on specific conversations that may or may not have taken place.&quot; The work done by consultants in this field requires them to study Google's ranking results very closely, and over time Reputation.com has identified &quot;hundreds&quot; of ways to influence Google's rankings, Fertik said. However, many of those are only applicable in very specific cases, or for short periods of time, or too much trouble to be really worth the effort, he said. Still, Reputation.com says it has identified &quot;a few gems&quot; for getting things done in Google that it naturally declines to disclose. &quot;What we have to do is spend as much time in useful observation as possible, and hope and verify that our beliefs are right,&quot; Fertik said.Revenue from reputation Fertik's company is one of the larger ones in the reputation management field and has been around since 2006, when it was founded as Reputation Defender (the company changed its name last week). It has received funding from Kleiner Perkins and Bessemer Partners, among others, and currently has110 employees based in Redwood City, Calif. Reputation.com has three levels of products, ranging from around $5 a month to more detailed services for business customers that can cost as much as $10,000 a year. Rexxfield, a much smaller outfit that is about to expand according to Roberts, doesn't publish its price list, preferring to work out pricing with individual clients. The field is quickly evolving from those who sought reputation management services to hide things to those who are looking to put their best foot forward on the Web. &quot;People put thought in the way they dress beforethey go on a date or before a job interview,&quot; Fertik said, and as the Web becomes an even bigger part of our lives, it's natural that people will want to make themselves look as good as possible, he said. This will definitely continue to be a balancing act between those who want to be seen as the arbiters of what is relevant on the Web and those who want greater control of how their identity is presented to the world: for both good reasons and bad. But not everyone who wants to change the way they look on Google is trying to game the system, according to Fertik. &quot;I think there's a flaw in the thinking that anything that is a change of Google is manipulation,&quot; he said. &quot;Google's statement reflects their wish that we believe that they are God.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple reveals top apps of all time]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-reveals-top-apps-of-all-time</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-reveals-top-apps-of-all-time</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jan 2011 08:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ernieppnpe</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-reveals-top-apps-of-all-time</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The top iPhone apps of all time.(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Apple has unveiled its list of the all-time topiPhone andiPad apps as it inches closer to the 10 billionth download in its App Store.According to the company, Doodle Jump is the most popular paid iPhone app of all time. The game is followed up by Tap Tap Revenge 3 and Pocket God. Surprisingly, Angry Birds, which has 50 million active users across several different platforms, took the fourth spot. Tap Tap Revenge 2.6 captured the fifth spot in Apple's list.Out of the top 10 paid iPhone apps of all time, 9 are games.On the free side of iPhone apps, Facebook reigns supreme, inching out Pandora and Google's mobile app. Song-discovery app Shazam captured the fourth spot in Apple's list, followed by Movies by Flixster. Paper Toss was the only game to make it into the top 10 free apps.When it comes to the iPad, games haven't taken on as much importance, Apple revealed. The top paid iPad progam of all time is music-discovery app, SoundHound. It's followed by StickWars, FlightTrack, Backbreaker Football, and Calorie Tracker.When it comes to free iPad apps, the list isn't all that different from the iPhone's. Pandora took the top spot for free apps on Apple'stablet, followed by Google's Mobile app, Movies by Flixster, and Google Earth. Yelp rounded out the top five. Facebook didn't make it in the free iPad list for one good reason: the company has yet to offer an official iPad app. Apple's App Store has enjoyed unbridled growth since its launch in 2008. In just nine months, it hit 1 billion downloads, and followed that up with 5 billion downloads back in June. Now, the marketplace is closing in on 10 billion downloaded apps. As of this writing, more than 9.9 billion apps have been downloaded. Apple announced last week that the person who downloads the 10 billionth app or fills out an entry form just prior to the 10 billionth app being downloaded will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card to commemorate the event. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Android in 2011: Bigger, faster, thinner, lighter]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-in-2011-bigger-faster-thinner-lighter</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-in-2011-bigger-faster-thinner-lighter</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sanya01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-in-2011-bigger-faster-thinner-lighter</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The 4-inch screen, 1GB RAM, dual-core processor, and 1930mAh battery will likely make the Atrix 4G one of 2011&amp;39's top phones.(Credit:Motorola)After taking a few days to decompress and wrap my head around the Android news from CES 2011, I started to notice a couple of trends with the new devices. Not only are these phones getting substantially faster with bigger screens, but they are growing thinner and lighter at the same time.As expected, the next crop of Android phones are going to be much faster than today's handsets. We have dual-core smartphones like LG's Optimus 2X and the Motorola Atrix 4G on the horizon, and companies like Samsung are pushing out single-core processor handsets with impressive 1.2GHz speeds.  And when you factor in 1GB memory capacities, you have two ingredients for 2011's &quot;superphone.&quot; Well, at least for the first half of the year. At the rate things are moving, it's pretty difficult to forecast beyond six months.DisplaysWith screen size, big is in. What started with HTC's Evo 4G continues this year in force. In fact, it appears that the minimum display size for touch-screen phones now hovers around 4 inches or higher. Not only does a quick look show that some of the key handsets announced atCES have screens of 4.3 inches or larger, but Samsung's Infuse 4G is headed for AT&amp;T with a 4.5-inch screen. Anything larger and we'll be into Dell Streak andtablet territory.  It's really funny considering that last summer plenty of people balked at the Evo because it was considered too big. Was the success of the Sprint phone a driving factor in the new designs or are handset makers simply moving the needle whether we like it or notAs screen size grows, the technology behind them is improving as well. Motorola introduced us to qHD displays on its Droid Bionic while Samsung is ushering in the era of the Super AMOLED Plus screens. Without doing a full comparison between the different screen types available, it's sufficient to say that each will be brighter, more efficient, and better for outdoor visibility. DesignSomewhat conversely, these new handsets are becoming thinner and lighter. While the average user might not be able to detect it right away, the next generation of Android smartphones come in with an average thickness of around 0.39 inch (10mm) or less. Maybe I'm wrong, but I could swear I heard at least three companies announce the thinnest smartphone on the planet at last week's CES. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, for example, has a 0.34 inch (8.7mm) profile while the iPhone 4, which Apple hailed as the &quot;world's thinnest smartphone&quot; last year, compares at 0.36 inch (9.3mm) thick.  Looking at LG's Optimus Black, we have a phone that starts at 0.36 inch (9.2mm) at its widest point, but dwindles down to as low as a very trim 0.23 inch (6mm) at its narrowest. If a 0.12-inch (3.3mm) difference doesn't sound like much, consider this: the Optimus Black is 33 percent thinner than theiPhone 4 in certain spots. PowerThings look promising on the battery front with Motorola's Atrix 4G. Indeed, Moto has squeezed a 1930mAh battery into a feature-laden handset. Promised talk time is nine hours plus a rated standby time of 10.4 days. Though that's in perfect-world conditions, it's most welcome over the Samsung Nexus S' 1500mAh battery.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AMD CEO resigns' search on for new leader]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ceo-resigns-search-on-for-new-leader</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ceo-resigns-search-on-for-new-leader</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>PerchidloZX</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amd-ceo-resigns-search-on-for-new-leader</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AMD CEO Dirk Meyer will step down after reaching an agreement with the company's board over his departure, AMD said today.Former AMD CEO Dirk Meyer(Credit:AMD) Thomas Siefert, AMD's CFO, will fill Meyer's spot on a temporary basis as the company searches for a new CEO. It doesn't sound like the decision was entirely Meyer's. &quot;...the board believes we have the opportunity to create increased shareholder value over time. This will require the company to have significant growth, establish market leadership and generate superior financial returns. We believe a change in leadership at this time will accelerate the company's ability to accomplish these objectives,&quot; AMD said in a press release Monday. Meyer had been with AMD since 1995, holding a variety of prominent engineering roles before becoming the man-in-waiting to succeed Hector Ruiz at the top spot, which he did in July 2008. During his tenure as CEO, AMD regained its financial footing to a certain degree, helped out by the settlement of its antitrust lawsuit against Intel for $1.25 billion in November 2009. His departure comes as a bit of a surprise to the chip industry, judging by comments on Twitter from people like Microsoft's Rahul Sood, who worked closely with AMD for years developing gaming PCs for his Voodoo PC and later Hewlett-Packard, which acquired Sood's company. &quot;woah...Dirk Meyer resigned from @amd. that was completely and totally unexpected...,&quot; he wrote. AMD also announced preliminary revenue results for its fourth quarter, ahead of next week's expected announcement of its full financial results. Revenue will be $1.65 billion, slightly ahead of what analysts were expecting for the quarter.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Volvo S60 adds performance to safety]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=volvo-s60-adds-performance-to-safety</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=volvo-s60-adds-performance-to-safety</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>husan33</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=volvo-s60-adds-performance-to-safety</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)Volvo earned its safety reputation by equipping itscars with heavy metal, making them big, boxy tanks able to protect occupants from a nuclear blast. But it's the 21st century, and Volvo has gone high-tech, using electronics to actually prevent accidents. Hence the automatic braking, collision warning, and pedestrian detection on the new Volvo S60.But this car has more to offer than just not hitting people and other cars. Its engine makes it step lively, while a tight suspension and all-wheel drive deliver impressive handling. It is the kind of car that should have BMW engineers looking over their shoulders.Check out our 2011 Volvo S60 review.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The 5 best PC (only) games of 2010]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-5-best-pc-only-games-of-2010</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-5-best-pc-only-games-of-2010</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:10:27 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mepeveb</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-5-best-pc-only-games-of-2010</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Tosh has an onscreen presence most movie characters can only aspire to. (Credit:Eric Franklin/CNET)With the advent of services such as Valve's Steam and Microsoft's Games for Windows Live, not to mention Blizzard's continued support, PC gaming--considered dead a few years back--isn't showing any signs of slowing down.The platform has continued to successfully offer exclusive experiences you won't find on a console, while at the same time playing host to some of console gaming's biggest blockbusters, like the Call of Duty and Mass Effect series. Editors' note: Eric Franklin is aware that the Call of Duty series was begotten on the PC. He was there, he played it with headphones and has the occasional tinnitus to prove it.While Jeff Bakalar covered the overall top 10 2010 games list earlier, I couldn't sit idly by while PC gaming got the short end of the stick. Instead, through tenacity, charm, and a bit of pleading I was able to secure a more than serviceable medium-size list.The top 5 best PC-only games of 2010 (photos) What follows is a list of the top five PC games released in 2010 that didn't also appear on a console. It was important for me to show PC gaming's unique quality, and what better way than with exclusive (for now at least) games We'll see if we're able to compose such a list next year, but with the large amount of hotly anticipated MMOs, not to mention anything from Blizzard, I'll think we'll be in good shape. Before delving into the top 5, check out the games that missed it by that much. Honorable mention:Total War: NapoleonAlien SwarmFootball Manager 2011Bejeweled 3Stalker: Call of Pipryat.Also, look for continued and expanded PC gaming coverage on Crave in the coming year. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple, Shutterfly, others set holiday shipping deadlines]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-shutterfly-others-set-holiday-shipping-deadlines</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-shutterfly-others-set-holiday-shipping-deadlines</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Riya01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-shutterfly-others-set-holiday-shipping-deadlines</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Apple)If you still need that perfect gift this Christmas, you can always make something special, like a book, calendar, or other personalized item. But if you're going to do it, you should hurry.Many of the services on the Internet that handle making personalized gifts have begun to announce shipping deadlines for customers to create the product and still have them in time for Christmas.There are a number of places, including Apple, Shutterfly, Snapfish, and Blurb.com, that allow you to create a gift that is more creative--and certainly more focused and individual--than buying something off the shelf at a big box store. But people who want to take advantage of these service should get a move on.Mac users who want to order one of Apple's iPhoto books, cards, or calendars must have their orders in by December 18 to be delivered with standard shipping by December 24. If you want express shipping, you have an extra day--until December 19--to place your order.Apple is offering its new iPhoto letterpress cards this year for the first time. The cards are available in 12 holiday themes.Shutterfly says its customers have until December 21 at 4:00 p.m. to order photo books and calendars and still receive their products by December 24. Shutterfly has quite a few other products available, and deadlines vary depending on what you order. Check out the company's shipping page for details on specific products.Snapfish has also set its order deadlines. With more than 130 products available, including different size calendars and books, order deadlines range from December 17 to December 21, depending on the product. You can visit Snapfish's shipping page for shipping details on each product.And DIY book-publisher Blurb.com says its customers need to order their custom books by Sunday, December 19, and pay for next-day shipping in order to get them to their destinations in time for Christmas.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Rumor: Updated MacBook Pros, iMac in early '11]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-updated-macbook-pros-imac-in-early-11</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-updated-macbook-pros-imac-in-early-11</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>MichelleSampson</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-updated-macbook-pros-imac-in-early-11</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Is the iMac poised for an update in the next six months(Credit:Apple)Apple may be planning to offer new options in its iMac and MacBook Pro lines within the next six months, a report from DigiTimes claims.Citing &quot;sources from upstream component makers,&quot; DigiTimes reported today that Apple will offer &quot;a slight change in chassis design&quot; on its MacBook Pro models next year. The sources also told the publication that Apple is planning to introduce a new display size for the iMac, as well as a new price on the all-in-one computer.DigiTimes' report, which should be classified as an absolute rumor until Apple comments, follows earlier evidence that some changes are afoot in Apple's MacBook product line.Last week, sources told CNET that Apple is planning to ditch Nvidia GPUs in the next update to its MacBook line to make way for Intel's Sandy Bridge processors. The sources told CNET that Sandy Bridge processors will be made available in MacBooks that feature 13-inch screen sizes and under. In its larger MacBook Pro models, the sources expect Apple to offer Advanced Micro Devices' GPUs.The Sandy Bridge processor from Intel is notable for being the first of its kind in the &quot;mainstream&quot; market to feature a graphics chip grafted atop a processor. Sandy Bridge is expected to deliver better performance than competing components, potentially making it a fine choice in Apple's refreshed MacBook line.Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Anonymous explains self amid WikiLeaks drama]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=anonymous-explains-self-amid-wikileaks-drama</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=anonymous-explains-self-amid-wikileaks-drama</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:12:45 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>kburgessks45</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=anonymous-explains-self-amid-wikileaks-drama</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Anonymous group that has been attacking Web sites of organizations that it deems enemies of WikiLeaks has apparently issued a press release to explain its motivations and structure.&quot;Anonymous is not a group of hackers,&quot; Anonymous representatives wrote in a statement (PDF) issued today. &quot;We are average Internet citizens ourselves and our motivation is a collective sense of being fed up with all the minor and major injustices we witness every day.&quot;The group said it does not intend &quot;to steal your personal information or credit card numbers&quot; and does not plan on attacking the &quot;critical infrastructure of companies such as MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, or Amazon.&quot; Instead, Anonymous said that its Operation: Payback is designed to &quot;raise awareness about WikiLeaks and the underhanded methods employed by the above companies to impair WikiLeaks' ability to function.&quot;&quot;It is a symbolic action,&quot; Anonymous said. &quot;As blogger and academic Evgeny Morozov put it, a legitimate expression of dissent.&quot;Anonymous has launched a slew of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks over the past week on companies, government agencies, and organizations that it believes are &quot;impairing&quot; WikiLeaks. The group took both Visa.com and MasterCard.com offline earlier this week. Anonymous noted in the apparent press release that there were &quot;calls&quot; to take down Amazon.com, but it claims those attacks never materialized.Citing Amazon's decision to stop hosting WikiLeaks on its servers, Anonymous confirmed that some of its members wanted to target the online retailer.&quot;After the attack was so advertised in the media, we felt that it would affect people, such as consumers, in a negative way and make them feel threatened by Anonymous,&quot; the group wrote. &quot;Simply put, attacking a major online retailer when people are buying presents for their loved ones would be in bad taste.&quot;But that didn't stop the organization from attacking PayPal for preventing users from donating money to WikiLeaks in support of its efforts. Anonymous asserted that it was not trying to hurt PayPal's &quot;ability to process payments,&quot; but that it had been slowing the company's &quot;network down just enough for people to notice and thus, we achieve our goal of raising awareness.&quot;Assuming the press release is real, the decision on the part of Anonymous to explain itself is an interesting one. The group seems to be concerned with being viewed as vigilantes who launch online attacks to the detriment of consumers. It also seems to fear the possibility of being misunderstood and wants to distance itself from the belief that it's a rigid organization acting at the behest of a handful of leaders.&quot;Anonymous has a very loose and decentralized command structure that operates on ideas rather than directives,&quot; the statement said.Also today:&amp;149'&amp;nbsp'Police in the Netherlands are investigating an apparent attack on police and prosecutor Web sites in that country after arresting a 16-year-old individual yesterday for allegedly being involved in Anonymous attacks on financial institutions. A police representative told the Associated Press that authorities &quot;assume it is hackers,&quot; but said that they were &quot;not sure yet.&quot;&amp;149'&amp;nbsp'Moneybookers, another online-payment company, was targeted by Anonymous this morning. The site was reportedly down for a few minutes. Anonymous targeted Moneybookers for informing WikiLeaks in August that it had shuttered its account on the service due to the controversy surrounding the organization.&amp;149'&amp;nbsp'Although sensitive documents have already been leaked, the U.S. government apparently is working to limit such revelations in the future, Wired is reporting. According to the publication, the U.S. military is asking troops &quot;to immediately cease use of removable media on all systems, servers, and standalone machines residing on SIPRNet.&quot; Wired claims that directive came from a document it obtained. The document was reportedly written by Maj. Gen. Richard Webber, the commander of the U.S. Air Force's Network Operations.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Windows Phone developers to get paid a bit sooner]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=windows-phone-developers-to-get-paid-a-bit-sooner</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=windows-phone-developers-to-get-paid-a-bit-sooner</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:10:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mary01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=windows-phone-developers-to-get-paid-a-bit-sooner</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There's some good news for developers who have not yet gotten paid for their app sales as part of the new Windows Phone Marketplace: payday is coming a little sooner than the company had first announced. Instead of getting that money sometime in February, Microsoft has moved up its first round of developer payouts to the fourth week of January. Thus far, developers have been unable to cash in on software that has been on sale since late October, while Microsoft has worked to get its payment system up and running. After this first round of payments is out, Microsoft says it will be sending them every month. Payouts will also include sales of apps and games from both its Windows Mobile 6.X andWindows Phone 7 marketplaces. This morning Microsoft also rolled out a counterpart to the sales process in the form of a reporting tool that gives developers a detailed view of how their applications are performing on the marketplace. This breaks down how many downloads their apps have received, and whether those were paid or unpaid, as well as what country the buyer was from. No word yet on whether these will be updated more than once a day.In a blog post announcing some of the additions, Todd Brix--who is Microsoft's senior director of mobile, said the company has also been listening to criticisms over its App Hub registration process, which is how developers sign up to publish applications to Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace. &quot;We've heard you loud and clear that the registration and submission process hasn't been ideal and has been frustrating to too many developers,&quot; Brix said. &quot;In response, we've made a number of fixes and enhancements throughout the process over the last 2 months, including a number of new improvements available today.&quot;Brix also said that 91 percent of applications that get submitted to Microsoft are certified and published within two days, and that 86 percent of the 1,000 or so developers who join the program have an account ready to use in 10 days. So far that's tallied up to 18,000 registered developers. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 marketplace now has close to 4,000 applications, up from a little more than 1,000 at the platform's launch in late October.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA['Avatar': Behind the scenes at Weta Digital]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=avatar-behind-the-scenes-at-weta-digital</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=avatar-behind-the-scenes-at-weta-digital</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mamapapa2010</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=avatar-behind-the-scenes-at-weta-digital</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Instead of computer-animating the Na&amp;39'vi, &amp;34'Avatar&amp;34' creators used a technique known as &amp;34'motion capture,&amp;34' which helps to create more natural-looking characters. Click on the image for more pictures from the behind-the-scenes tour.(Credit:Ty Pendlebury/CNET Australia)New Zealand may be known as the home of &quot;Lord of the Rings,&quot; but you may not know that it's also the unofficial birthplace of &quot;Avatar.&quot; You see, Peter Jackson's Weta Workshop in Wellington is behind the special effects of films such as &quot;Heavenly Creatures&quot; and &quot;Prince Caspian.&quot; But more famously, it has produced the effects in both the &quot;Lord of the Rings&quot; trilogy and &quot;Avatar.&quot; In fact, the company was working up until July to finish work on the Extended Edition of the &quot;Avatar&quot; Blu-ray version. To celebrate the release of the Avatar Extended Collector's Edition, CNET Australia got to go behind the scenes at Weta studios to witness how the movie was made. As this extensive photo gallery shows, we were taken through each step of the process--from motion capture through to the finished product.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Bargain-hunt with Window Shopper browser add-on]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bargain-hunt-with-window-shopper-browser-add-on</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bargain-hunt-with-window-shopper-browser-add-on</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>csandaussu</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bargain-hunt-with-window-shopper-browser-add-on</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Comparing KitchenAid stand mixers with a single click from Target's Web site works well.(Credit:Screenshot by Jasmine France)Like it or not, the holiday shopping season is upon us. Luckily for those of us who dread the thought of wandering through crowded malls and department stores with Christmas music assaulting our ears at every turn, this nifty little tool called the Internet is here to help save our sanity. Still, scouring dozens of Web sites for the very best deal on that perfect gift is exhausting on a whole 'nother level. To that end, Superfish--a visual search engine developer that just raised $4 million in funding--has created a nifty app called Window Shopper.Window Shopper is a browser add-on that's available for IE and Firefox. The extension is quite simple: if you're shopping for an item within any of the hundreds of available stores, a &quot;See Similar&quot; button will appear next to the photo of the item. Clicking the button brings up a bubble (your virtual window, as it were) that shows pics, prices, and availability of similar products.Just how similar the comparison items are varies, though. For instance, the KitchenAid stand mixer I searched for on Target.com populated a selection of the exact same product from across various sites (as shown in the screenshot above). However, a comparison for a pair of shoes on Nordstrom's Web site produced rather different results.In other words, the Window Shopper app may give you directly competing listings for the item you're interested in, or it may populate a list of similar (but different) products, possibly even from the same site. Thus, the usefulness varies depending on what exactly you're looking for: a better price or similar items. There doesn't appear to be a way to tinker with settings to focus in on what you need.The other issue is that it doesn't work on all sites (Zappos being a prime example), and the functionality doesn't activate if, say, there's a video instead of a still image in the main product slot (as with the Kindle on Amazon). Still, Window Shopper's still in beta--and it's free--so these are a minor complaints, really. It's worth checking out if you do a lot of online shopping.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA['Dancing with the Stars' voting hacked for Palin]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dancing-with-the-stars-voting-hacked-for-palin</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dancing-with-the-stars-voting-hacked-for-palin</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 20 Nov 2010 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>cailing</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dancing-with-the-stars-voting-hacked-for-palin</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Will the overly computer literate stop at nothing until they have rent society's fabric asunder Will they spend their days and nights in constant digital subterfuge in order to paint society in their own imageThese vital questions need to be asked because there are serious accusations of voting irregularities that go far beyond any that have been leveled before.No, I'm not talking about some obscure election for governor or district attorney. I am talking of Bristol Palin's stunning ascendance into the final of ABC's &quot;Dancing with the Stars.&quot;According to MSNBC, there are aggressive, pasa doble-type suggestions that hackers in the thrall of the Tea Party and their fellow travelers have taken ABC's e-mail voting system and infiltrated it as if they were the knife and it was but a shabby wheel of brie.MSNBC quotes someone on the HillBuzz blog who claimed: &quot;Lord have mercy, I voted for 3 hours online! I got 300 in.&quot; You will note the curiously religious flavor of this post. It smacks of a possible crusade that seeks to waltz its way to power. And note that it says &quot;Lord, have mercy,&quot; rather than &quot;Lord, please forgive me.&quot; There seems to be no guilt here, only fatigue.Another poster offered in reply to the 3 hour voter: &quot;Wow. You put me to shame with my measly 32.&quot;Could these Tea Party supporters be hacking into the DWTS voting system(Credit:CC Fibonacci Blue/Flickr)You might believe there is nothing wrong with hackers offering instructions as to how to game an online voting system. If you can manage to register any number of e-mail addresses in order to vote multiple times, they argue, that is surely the essence of free party, Tea Party enterprise.The problem, for some objective viewers of this century's seminal show, is that Bristol Palin seems famous for, well, being the accidentally pregnant daughter of a politician and isn't so good at stepping quickly or making the sort of sultry moves that are consistent with a campaigner for sexual abstinence.Those who defend her progress offer that she is the least showbizzy contestant, has made the most progress, and symbolizes the future of an America in which the country will be taken back from, well, other people with whom these defenders disagree.Should you believe I am exaggerating, or even making some oblique political point, might I offer you two consecutive posts from the HillBuzz blog. The first reads: &quot;We're taking back America!&quot; The second adds: &quot;One dancer at a time.&quot;For its part, ABC claims that it protects against nefarious laptop behavior by using cookies to ensure that no single computer can offer more than one vote for freedom, justice, and the jittering bug. But readers of these pages know that such a system is filled with mere possibilities for anyone with a devious mind and a passionate heart. One wonders, too, just how well ABC's security systems work in rooting out those with forceful intentions.None other than Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak forcefully expressed his concerns about the voting when he graced &quot;Dancing with the Stars&quot; with moves such as his signature &quot;worm.&quot; Indeed, he called the show &quot;fake,&quot; although later retracted the accusation.NBC reports that ABC is considering changing the voting system in order to give viewers less of an opportunity to affect results, which have seen excellent dancers such as the singer Brandy and the all-around wonderment that is Sabrina Bryan exit far earlier than they might have.I know there will be some who will look at this confounding controversy and wonder whether, in some future time, it might have implications for political elections that might be held entirely online.You should be concerned. One day, in a nearer future than one might imagine, presidents will, indeed, be voted on for their dancing ability, rather than their talents in altering America's inexorable quickstep over quicksand.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Home Depot selling Philips 60-watt equivalent LED online]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=home-depot-selling-philips-60-watt-equivalent-led-online</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=home-depot-selling-philips-60-watt-equivalent-led-online</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:10:27 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>NOheart</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=home-depot-selling-philips-60-watt-equivalent-led-online</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Home Depot, which is making an aggressive push into LED lighting, has started selling a Philips LED bulb designed as a replacement for the 60-watt incandescent.The price of the Philips 12-watt bulb, sold using the Ambient LED name, is $39.97 each. The bulbs, which are dimmable, are expected to be in stores in December.Philips LED glows warm (photos) View the full galleryThe Philips 12-watt LED is significant because it matches the amount of light, at 800 lumens, given off by the popular 60-watt incandescent bulbs. It can be used for general lighting, such as overhead lights and desktop lamps and consumes 12.5 watts.The cost of the bulb, which is significantly higher than other lighting technologies, is just below what Philips and Home Depot said the expected price would be last month. In terms of light color, it gives off a relatively warm, yellow light with a rating of 2,700 Kelvin. The color rendering index, a measure of color accuracy, is 80. Its average life is listed at 25,000 hours and it does not contain mercury or lead.Home Depot now also sells a number of other LED bulbs, including a general-purpose 40-watt equivalent LED from Lighting Science Group, priced at just under $20, which has a cooler white light. It is working on a bulb that could be used as a 60-watt replacement.Home Depot also sells a downlight from Cree and other spotlights, which have been the traditional strength of LEDs because they give off directional light.The Philips bulb being sold at Home Depot, called the EnduraLED A19 Bulb 2700K by Philips Lighting, has an odd shape and look that's designed to disperse light better than traditional LED bulbs.The bulb looks sort of like a crown and has aluminum fins that run down the side to take away heat. Heat dispersal is particularly important to ensure the promised longer life of LED over incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent bulbs. The phosphors, the material that converts the blue light of LEDs to more pleasing light, coat the plastic exterior of the bulb, rather than being placed near the LED light source as other manufacturers have done. In terms of efficiency, the 12-watt Ambient LED, clocks in at 64 lumens per watt, according to LightingFacts, a site run by the Department of Energy. That's slightly better than EnergyStar-certified CFLs, which are rated to last between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, according to the DOE.Lighting manufacturers are pushing heavily into LED technology for certain applications in part to meet mandates around the world to improve efficiency. People in the industry say that the quality of light from LEDs now matches that of other lighting technologies. Now, lighting manufacturers are trying to bring the costs down and improve the efficiency to better compete on price.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Transcript: Senate hearing on TSA, full-body scanners]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=transcript-senate-hearing-on-tsa-full-body-scanners</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=transcript-senate-hearing-on-tsa-full-body-scanners</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marmonju34</dc:creator>
<category>Politics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=transcript-senate-hearing-on-tsa-full-body-scanners</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The topic for today's Senate Homeland Security hearing was supposed to be air cargo security.But in the wake of growing public concern about the Transportation Security Administration's new procedures to screen air travelers, that's where the discussion kept returning. CNET is providing excerpts from the transcript of the hearing, in which committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman calls the scanners &quot;necessary for the security&quot; of the American people and TSA Administrator John Pistole says his agency's screeners are &quot;there to protect you and your loved ones.&quot; (See related article.)This image of an adult man was taken using a Rapiscan Secure 1000backscatter X-ray scanner(Credit:John Wild (johnwild.info))As the Thanksgiving travel season draws near, the reaction to TSA's new procedures has been visceral and sharply critical, driven by cell phone recordings of security line incidents, privacy and health concerns, and Web sites including the Drudge Report, which published a photograph of a hands-on examination of a nun with the caption: &quot;THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON.&quot; Yesterday's Colbert Report called them machines &quot;that X-ray your X-rated parts,&quot; and a software engineer from Oceanside, Calif., became an Internet sensation after telling a TSA screener: &quot;If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested.&quot;Thanks to the federal stimulus legislation, TSA has been able to buy approximately 373 whole-body scanners and install them in at least 68 airports around the country. A few weeks ago, with only a one-paragraph mention on TSA's Web site, the screening procedures were changed to offer air travelers a choice of either full-body scans or what the TSA delicately calls &quot;enhanced patdowns.&quot;Read on for the transcript excerpts. SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I-CONN.): I want to ask you a question related to TSA that's very much in the news, which is the so-called pat-down procedures that follow and are associated with the use of the whole-body imaging scanners, which I recall because we held hearings on this subject after the Christmas Day bombing attempt. And most of us were calling for you to go to the whole-body scanners, either in the Amsterdam variety or what--what you've done.And I--I wanted to give you an opportunity before the committee really to explain the pat-down procedures that have troubled people and why you think that they're justified.PISTOLE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is an ever-evolving nature of the terrorist plot that has been well-described here this afternoon. The challenge for TSA and the whole U.S. government and our allies around the world is to develop both the best techniques and tactics, enabled by the best technology, to detect those plots.As we've heard the various plots outlined here this afternoon, it is clear that we have to be one step ahead of the terrorists. And it's obvious that we are not always in that situation, as evidenced by the last three plots that would--could have been successful.So it really comes down to a balance, where partnership on the one hand, working with the traveling public and the security safety issues on the other hand, and what is a proper mix So what we try to do is understand--we want to be sensitive to people's concerns about privacy about their personal being and things, while ensuring that everybody on every flight has been properly screened.We've recognized--I particularly recognize that reasonable people can disagree as to what that proper balance or blend is between privacy and security and safety.That being the case, I think everybody who gets on a flight wants to ensure and be assured that everybody else around them has been properly screened and, oh, by the way, everybody else on that flight wants to make sure that I have been properly screened or you have been properly screened.So how do we reach that balance And that's what we--that is the challenge that we go through. I believe the advanced imaging technology is the best technology we have today to detect the nonmetallic device that was well-designed, well-concealed, such as we saw on Christmas Day.What I am concerned about, and I know many share this concern, is if we have an individuals who opts out of the advanced imaging technology--let's say Abdulmutallab [CNET editor's note: this is a reference to last year's underwear bomber] had done that, if that had been the case in (inaudible). If he had opted out, thinking that, well, I'm not going to receive a thorough pat-down, so I can get on that flight, and if that had been successful on Christmas Day, I think we might be having a different dialogue here this afternoon and in the public.But what I want to assure and reassure the public is we are concerned about your safety, your security, and your privacy. Let's work together in partnership to ensure that we can have the best way forward.LIEBERMAN: Let me just take this a moment or two more. Just make clear, if you will, to the committee and public who may be listening, watching, how does someone get subjected to a pat-down procedurePISTOLE: There's actually a very small number or percentage that would actually have the pat-down. And it would really occur almost exclusively in situations where somebody has opted out of the advanced imaging technology or that they have alerted on that because there's something still in their pockets or they may be trying to carry some contraband on the flight.LIEBERMAN: In other words, either they've chosen not to go through the scanner or they have gone through and there's some alert.PISTOLE: There's alert, or through the walk-through metal detector and there's alert, and so there's some basis for doing that. There--so, and even with that, it is a very small percentage of all the passengers. So very few people, even though the information out there--the public out there, because it is a new technique, if you will--the other thing I've said here--I've been in Europe several times in the last few months and observed the pat-downs being done in many airports.And it's very similar. Our pat-down approach is very similar to what is being utilized in Europe and, as we know, around the world. It's even much more thorough in other parts of the world.LIEBERMAN: Yes. I know, Chris, you have a same-gender person, TSA employee, doing the pat-down. I presume they're put through training to--this is a difficult balance because, obviously, they are--this has to be a more intimate and intrusive investigation because of the choice that has been made earlier or what the machine has shown, but that they're--they're instructed in a way that will determine whether somebody is potentially dangerous but also, in doing so, try to do minimal harm to their privacy.PISTOLE: Correct. They go through training. And the clearest outcome of that training is to be professional and to give clear guidance and a lot of clarity as to what they are going to do in terms of the actual pat-down and to make sure that the passenger understands that and responds to that.There's been a lot of publicity out there about a certain individual who recently tried to travel but did not want to have that pat-down. And I think, if people get away from just the passenger to hear what the security officer was saying, very cool, calm, professional. And that's what we expect out of our security officers, to do this in a way that is professional.And, again, the bottom line is, if you have two planes that are getting ready to depart and one, you say, everybody has been thoroughly screened on this plane and you can either go on that plane or we have another plane where we have not done a thorough screening because people didn't feel comfortable with that, I think most of if not all the traveling public would say, &quot;I want to go on that plane that has been thoroughly screened.&quot;LIEBERMAN: Yes, I--I agree with you. I think you're doing the right thing. I think perhaps the reaction to the pat-down procedures got ahead of TSA's or the department's description of what you were doing and why you were doing it.But if, God forbid, that bomb on Abdulmutallab's body had gone off on the plane over Detroit, Congress and I dare say the public would have been demanding not just the body imaging equipment but pat- downs. Because I understand the privacy sensitivities, of course. It's awkward' it's unusual. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of--we get on those planes and we want to have the confidence that nobody on the plane has evaded security in a way that will allow them to blow up the plane and kill everybody else on it.So it--this is unfortunately the world in which we live. It wasn't our choice. But--but we have to do everything we can to protect the traveling public. And I think that what you're doing here with the pat-down procedures is difficult' it's sensitive, but it's necessary for the security--homeland security of the American people.SEN. ROLAND BURRIS (D-ILLINOIS): Mr. Chairman, I--I don't have much longer in the Senate, but we ought to look at these private contracts. And I'm concerned about the number of private contractors not only TSA but the other government agencies are going to, and then dealing with liability. [CNET ed. note: Roland Burris was appointed to President Obama's Senate seat and is succeeded by Republican Mark Kirk.]Because I'm wondering where the liability is going to be if one of those passengers who feel that they have been over screened, just what the liability there would be. And, in terms of the underwear bomber, would patting down have caught the underwear bomber in your--your estimationPISTOLE: Yes.BURRIS: Not the machine, but the patting downPISTOLE: Yes.BURRIS: Because this--the--allegedly it was in a diaper type of arrangement.PISTOLE: Yes.BURRIS: So they are going that deep in terms of patting down individualsPISTOLE: The pat-downs are based on the latest intelligence and the information that we have. And...BURRIS: There was no intelligence on this gentleman that was on the flight to Detroit. I mean, you know, he was on the plane.PISTOLE: That's right. That's why we changed the policy.BURRIS: So, OK. And our personnel have received--our personnel have received adequate trainingBecause, Mr. Chairman, do we know what will happen, with the litigation coming out of this Because the pilot's association and the flight attendant's association are getting ready to bring some type of action, as I'm getting information, because of the excessive patting down a flight attendant and the pilots. Is that the case, sirPISTOLE: That had been the case.Pilots have, of course, not generally gone through the advance (inaudible) technology because they are allowed to keep their shoes on and that's a different issues. But I've had a number of conversations with representatives of the pilots associations and we are actively exploring options as it involves pilots because we're using a risk- based approach, and the question--it just begs the question: If you have somebody who's in charge of the aircraft who can put the aircraft down, as could be the case, then why do we have the screening for themSo actually in the near future, I will be announcing some new policies on that.BURRIS: That would help. There's also a question, Mr. Pistole, about the degree of X-rays that these individuals have to go through in the course of their day-to-day work and what that will do to their physical health, is it not, if--if they go through the X-ray machine rather than the excessive pat-downPISTOLE: Sure. And that's one of the concerns that I think has been raised. What I rely upon is the scientific literature and the studies that have been done using these specific machines, including FEA (ph), National Institute of Science and Technology, and Johns Hopkins. They've all done independent assessments of the advanced imaging technology machines, the amount of radiation, and I've seen several analogies, but one that sticks in my mind is going through one of these machines is similar to receiving about three minutes--is it seconds or minutes--three minutes of radiation that you would receive at 30,000 feet on a normal flight.So it's very minimal, well within the established scientific standards for safety, and we're always trying to update that independent validators, others who have opinions about that. BURRIS: And how about the protection of the TSA personnel I mean, if I get accused of, you know, grabbing a lady's breast or, you know, or the female gets too close to the male genitals--I mean, how are they protected nowPISTOLE: OK, so it's always same gender security officers who would do that pat-down, and then people can request a private...BURRIS: Well, have you a witness there with that pat-downPISTOLE: You're welcome to have a witness there present.BURRIS: So the TSA person--can the TSA person request a witness employee to be there with her or him when he is patting him down or she is patting her down Can they have a person there with them there to protect themPISTOLE: It's not our current policy, but unless it goes into a private screening area, the closed-circuit TV would capture virtually all of that because every checkpoint has C.C. TV-enabled.BURRIS: I see my time is up. But I--I'm also concerned about our TSA personnel, and I listen to these people, &quot;please take care of the TSA personnel.&quot; Some of them don't have health insurance. Some of them working part-time. And I'm listening to these complaints, and as the new administrator, I'm counting on you to take care of those people who are going to take care of us getting on these airplanes. Because we can't have disgruntled TSA personnel...PISTOLE: Absolutely.BURRIS: ... trying to protect us on these flights.PISTOLE: I couldn't agree with you more, Senator. I appreciate your support. Thank you, sir.BURRIS: God bless you.LIEBERMAN: Thank you.Thanks very much, Senator Burris.SEN. JOHN ENSIGN (R-NEVADA): Are you going to, you know, allow certain groups to be exempted from that because of, you know, religious beliefsPISTOLE: Senator, we try to be sensitive to each individual and in groups that have particular sensitivities as to whether it's head-wear or certain garb or sensitivities about being viewed or touched and everything. So we try to be sensitive to those issues. At the same time, the bottom line is we have to ensure that each person getting on each flight has been properly screened. And so we have options such as, if somebody does not want to go through the advanced imaging technology, it is optional. They would just do the walk- through metal detector and then--and have a pat-down that would identify any possible items.They can request private screenings. So if they don't want to be screened in public, they can go to a private area, have a witness with them.And so we try to address those concerns in every way possible, recognizing, again, in the final analysis, everybody on that flight wants to be assured with the highest level of confidence that everybody else on that flight has been properly screened, and including me and you and everybody.ENSIGN: I realize this is a difficult question for you, but--so are you going to make no exceptions, thenPISTOLE: Everybody...ENSIGN: I know you're trying to responsibly accommodate.PISTOLE: Yes.ENSIGN: But within those reasonable accommodations, OK, let's just say that--that, listen, you know, my religious whatever does not allow me to be touched by somebody else, does not allow me to go through that screening. So what happens in those casesPISTOLE: So a very small percentage of people would have and will continue to receive pat-downs. So if somebody comes through...ENSIGN: So they have to at least go through the pat-down, if not the screeningPISTOLE: No, they--unless there is an alarm in the walk- through metal detector or they opt out of the advance imaging technology, they would in all likelihood never receive a pat-down. So it's--the pat-down is only a very, very small... ENSIGN: No, no, I--let me--maybe not (inaudible) my question. If somebody is--a random screening. I just got randomly screened at the airport. For whatever reason, my number seems to come up quite often.But if that, you know, happens and either the imaging, OK, was one of the options or, you know, the pat down--let's just say I don't--I don't want either of them because of religious--because of religious reasons. What happens to mePISTOLE: So while I respect and we respect that person's beliefs, that person's not going to get on an airplane.ENSIGN: OK. And there will be no exceptions because of religion. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Vudu coming to PS3 with updated interface]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-coming-to-ps3-with-updated-interface</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-coming-to-ps3-with-updated-interface</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anna01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-coming-to-ps3-with-updated-interface</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Vudu is coming to the PS3, and bringing an updated user interface.(Credit:Vudu)PlayStation 3 owners are about to get yet another option when it comes to online entertainment.As of November 23, the Vudu pay-per-view movie service will arrive on Sony's gaming console with an updated user interface. (Vudu says the new interface is more friendly for navigating with input devices like mice and thePlayStation Move.) The same &quot;Vudu 2.0&quot; UI will be rolled out on other Vudu-supported devices--including many Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players, the D-Link Boxee Box, Windows PCs and Macs--before the end the year. Vudu offers more than 4,000 HD movies for rental and purchase, and the PS3 will offer Vudu's optimal 1080p HD resolution and 5.1 surround sound on supported titles.For PS3 owners, the announcement constitutes more great news on the home entertainment front. Vudu will join the Netflix, Hulu Plus, MLB.TV, and NHL Gamecenter services on the console, in addition to the native PlayStation Store (which also supports the purchase of movies and TV shows). For Wal-Mart's Vudu service, meanwhile, the new PS3 partnership provides millions of potential new customers in the U.S.To sweeten the deal, Vudu will be offering new customers a $5.99 credit--effectively giving users a free movie to try out the service.Related: Quick guide to Internet TV<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Police told to text to save money]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=police-told-to-text-to-save-money</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=police-told-to-text-to-save-money</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 14 Nov 2010 08:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anna01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=police-told-to-text-to-save-money</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There is something both lovable and just about British policemen. They roam the streets, dispensing righteousness, without the aid of a gun. Which makes it safer for the average British citizen to know that if they happen to offer a policeman a slurry quip they will not be offed within a nanosecond of the punchline.However, it seems as if the British police is struggling to make ends meet, technologically speaking. For the Daily Mail solemnly reports that bobbies on the beat are being trained to text to save money.You see, British policemen have radios attached to their lapels. However, the company that happens to own the network upon which the police urgently ask for backup, Airwave Solutions, is alleged to charge quite a lot of money for the service.Personally, I am highly suspicious of any company that has the word &quot;solutions&quot; in its name. Claiming you are a solution is merely a ruse behind which lurks a company that creates problems.Step away from that radio. It&amp;39's too expensive.(Credit:CC Steve Punter/Flickr)So who could be stunned to discover that the British policepersons are being taught to text in order to avoid using their radios The Mail declares that Airwave Solutions makes more profit than UK cell phone provider Vodafone. And one reason that they might have such healthy profits is that they reportedly charge 2 British pounds (around $3) for every second that the police exceed some pre-arranged limit of talk time.Please consider that. $3 a second. No cell phone provider, no lawyer, no lap dancer would surely even think of charging that sort of money.The Mail quotes Clive Chamberlain, chairman of the Police Federation in Dorset (a sweet, picturesque part of England that spawned Thomas Hardy and some very fine alcohol rehabilitation clinics) as saying: &quot;Airwave is a very expensive system which was forced upon the police service by the Government.&quot;Chamberlain added: &quot;We are being told that texting more has the potential to save tens of thousands of pounds because it costs only 4p to send 1,000 texts.&quot;And so British policemen are attending special courses during which they are taught to text. This means that instead of telling someone at central control that they are about to apprehend a hound or just clocking off for some plaice, chips and peas, they will text information according to sixteen numerical codes.How very modern. It's a little like ordering from a restaurant menu by the number rather than the dish. This numerical texting mullarkey is, however, said to be restricted to the transmission of routine information. If a policeman is hurtling in chase of a serial killer, he is still allowed to use his radio. Former Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick did offer somewhat wisely: &quot;If officers are trying to push buttons they won't be looking to see what is going on around them and to that extent it's risky.&quot;However, isn't it comforting to know that it isn't just you who signed up for an expensive cell phone plan without realizing it Isn't it gratifying to realize that someone, somewhere, far bigger than you, is having to be very careful about the minutes he spends conveying his whereabouts<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Going once, going twice...$161,600 for that Apple Computer]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=going-once-going-twice---161600-for-that-apple-computer</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=going-once-going-twice---161600-for-that-apple-computer</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>chdresource</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=going-once-going-twice---161600-for-that-apple-computer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple 1(Credit:Christie&amp;39's)If you're a gadget geek with some spare change--make that a lot of spare change--here's a golden opportunity to indulge. Later this month the first Apple computer--including a letter signed by none other than Apple co-founder CEO Steve Jobs to the original owner--will go on sale at a famous London auction house.The Christie's brochure describes the computer as a &quot;historic relic,&quot; and judging by current technological standards, I suppose that's an accurate description. Just in case you can't remember, the Apple-1, introduced in 1976, came without a casing, power supply, keyboard, or monitor. Still, it was enough to turn Apple into a household name as it also was the first personal computer sold with a fully assembled motherboard. Back during those rollicking days of the early personal computer era, most personal computers got sold as self-assembly kits. Based on the standards of that era, this was consumer-friendliness with an underscore.Jobs and his co-founder, Steve Wozniak, priced the first Apple-1 computers at $666.66. The machines were shipped to customers from Jobs' parents' house. Christie's says that all of the components are still in their original box. The machine will get put on the auction block November 23. Bidding is set to begin at $161,600.Read more of &quot;Going once, going twice...$161,600 for that Apple Computer&quot; at CBSNews.com.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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