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<title>Haaze.com / Kavita01 / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony Ericsson profits slump, but Android helps]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-ericsson-profits-slump-but-android-helps</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-ericsson-profits-slump-but-android-helps</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>estavstvtt</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-ericsson-profits-slump-but-android-helps</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sony Ericsson saw its profits cut in half during the first quarter, but the company managed to stay in the black despite a drop in shipments and a blow to its supply chain from the Japanese earthquake.Android smartphones such as the Xperia X10 have helped buoy Sony Ericsson.(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)For the quarter ended March 31, the mobile phone maker reported net income of 11 million euros ($15.7 million), down from 21 million euros in the year-ago quarter. Despite the drop, results beat the average of analysts' estimates, which had called for a loss of 27.1 million euros, according to Bloomberg. Sales fell 19 percent to 1.145 billion euros from 1.405 billion a year ago.Sony Ericsson has been refocusing its product portfolio on higher-end Android smartphones, a strategy that seems to be bearing some fruit. Overall, the company estimates that its share of the smartphone market during the quarter was 5 percent in terms of units and 3 percent in terms of value.&quot;Sony Ericsson's profitability continues as we accelerate our shift towards an Android-based smartphone portfolio, with smartphones comprising over 60% of our total sales during the quarter,&quot; CEO Bert Nordberg said in a statement. &quot;Towards the end of the quarter we introduced the highly anticipated Xperia Arc and Xperia Play, which have been well received by both operators and consumers around the world.&quot;But the new Experia smartphones didn't have a great impact on shipments since they were released later in the quarter. And along with the rise in smartphones has been a decline in the number of feature phones, leading to an overall drop in shipments. For the quarter, the company shipped 8.1 million phones, 23 percent fewer than the 10.5 million shipped a year ago. Those numbers disappointed analysts, who had been forecasting shipments of 9.6 million units, Bloomberg said.The mobile phone maker has also been feeling the effects of last month's earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The devastation has led to disruptions in Sony Ericsson's supply chain, another factor that has stalled phone shipments. A week after the earthquake, the company was already expecting issues with its supply chain as the area affected in Japan is home to a large number of component suppliers. The disruptions are also likely to continue to constrain supplies.&quot;The second quarter and possibly third will be difficult because of Japan,&quot; said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi, according to Reuters.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The best in bots at RoboGames (photos)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-best-in-bots-at-robogames-photos</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-best-in-bots-at-robogames-photos</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 16 Apr 2011 07:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marrrtiniice84</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-best-in-bots-at-robogames-photos</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Arriving from across the United States and around the world for a robotics competition that's becoming well known as the place for bot builders to compete, hundreds of engineers and their mechanized counterparts are in San Mateo, Calif., this weekend for RoboGames 2011.The doors opened at noon Friday and already in the pits sparks were flying and the smell of solder was in the air. Teammates shouted urgently for wire and batteries, and final preparations were being made for the first competitions.The passionate community, which will send its various creations into competitions ranging from kung-fu android battles to urban Mech Wars to soccer and hockey, is proving that builders in basements and backrooms can engineer some of the best bots in the world.    James Martin     Full Profile E-mail James Martin   E-mail James Martin If you have a question or comment for James Martin, 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       James is the photojournalist for CNET News, shooting the geeks and gadgets of Silicon Valley.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[mSpot offers movie rental subscription service]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mspot-offers-movie-rental-subscription-service</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mspot-offers-movie-rental-subscription-service</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>jajal9</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mspot-offers-movie-rental-subscription-service</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Some of the mSpot Movie Club films.(Credit:Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)mSpot has launched a new subscription service that claims to save customers cash on movie rentals.When users sign up for mSpot Movie Club, they can opt to pay $4.99, $7.99, or $15.99 per month for inclusion in the program. The cheapest option gives people 20 credits to put toward their rentals, while the two higher options offer customers 40 credits and 80 credits, respectively.mSpot is best known for allowing customers to rent films and stream them to iOS- and Android-based devices. The company's service, which includes new releases and older films, can also be accessed from a PC orMac. However, unlike Netflix, which requires people to pay a single, $8 monthly fee for access to all of its content, mSpot customers pay $4 per new film they want to rent.With the help of mSpot Movie Club, the company is trying to change that--sort of. After customers pick their plans and receive their credits, they can apply them to a respective rental, rather than pay cash. So, if a person wants to rent &quot;Tangled,&quot; for example, Movie Club members will need to give up 15 credits to do so. Non-club members must pay $3.99. However, 15 credits is not necessarily the norm. There are other films on the mSpot service that will cost customers 10 or even 5 credits.After a person's monthly allotment of credits is used up, they can opt to buy more for 25 cents per credit.According to mSpot, just 45 percent of its films can be purchased with credits. All the others still require users to dole out cash.Aside from getting credits, Movie Club members can also rent films for a slight discount. Non-club members pay $3.99 for &quot;The Fighter,&quot; for example. Club members will only be charged $3.25. In other cases, like &quot;The Social Network,&quot; mSpot knocks off 99 cents from the standard $3.99 price tag.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Vudu streaming comes to Web browsers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-streaming-comes-to-web-browsers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-streaming-comes-to-web-browsers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:10:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>tihixaf</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-streaming-comes-to-web-browsers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Vudu streaming is coming to Web browsers.(Credit:Vudu) The Vudu video-on-demand streaming service has long been available on a wide variety of connected home entertainment products, including networked TVs, Blu-ray players, and even the PlayStation 3. But now subscribers will be able to watch Vudu movies through computer Web browsers, too.As with rivals Netflix and Amazon, the Vudu browser experience is pretty much the same as what you'll find on those other Vudu venues--the identical content library (albeit limited to standard-definition, thanks to studio restrictions) at the identical pricing. The video should work on any computer browser (Windows,Mac, Linux) that's compatible with the latest version of Flash. (In-browser Vudu streaming should be active at Vudu.com later today.) Watching premium video in a Web browser is hardly a unique offering--plenty of providers from Hulu to Facebook already deliver similar services. But for Wal-Mart Stores-owned Vudu, adding PC screens to the mix adds yet another way to access videos you rent or own. Where else might we see Vudu in the future Vudu general manager Edward Lichty told CNET that &quot;any device that can connect to the Internet is something we want to be on.&quot; When asked specifically about products like theiPad, he replied that he suspectsyou'll be seeing Vudu ontablets this year, but added &quot;we have nothing specific to announce&quot; at this time. Other interesting tidbits: Lichty said 80 percent of Vudu customers are also Netflix subscribers, but they use Vudu to watch new releases that aren't available on Netflix streaming. And--while Vudu is the only Internet-delivered video service that offers 3D content, Lichty indicated that 3D streaming on Vudu is &quot;fairly modest&quot; to date.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[YouTube opens up live streaming to partners]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-opens-up-live-streaming-to-partners</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-opens-up-live-streaming-to-partners</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pnominbemaya</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-opens-up-live-streaming-to-partners</guid>
<description><![CDATA[YouTube today is flipping on the switch to let some of its users stream videos live.The move marks a big shift in the functionality of the video-hosting service, which up until now has been designed to let users upload videos they've already taken. Under the new system, they can simply hit a button and be streaming video live to other users.In a post today announcing the feature, the company said the new live feature is only being rolled out to a select group of users, specifically YouTube partners.&quot;The goal is to provide thousands of partners with the capability to live stream from their channels in the months ahead. In order to ensure a great live stream viewing experience, we'll roll this offering out incrementally over time,&quot; the company wrote on the YouTube blog.The shift to live video streaming has been a long time coming for YouTube. In a video interview from early 2008, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen said the company planned to roll it out by the end of the year. YouTube followed through with a live concert, in part to help test its scaling capabilities, then began using it to live-stream some of its events, including press conferences and its I/O developer series.In September of last year, YouTube expanded its live-streaming efforts to some additional partners, including Next New Networks, which the company ended up acquiring last month. By adding live video streaming, YouTube joins a handful of other companies that offer the feature to both consumers and businesses. That list includes Brightcove, Ustream, Justin.TV, Kyte, and Livestream. Live video streams are also likely to play a big part in YouTube's reported plan to bring original content series to its programming lineup, paving the way for real-time news shows and other live broadcasts. In the meantime, Google continues to group together live content on a special page, along with its other content channels.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[preGame 46: An app for the disorganized gamer]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pregame-46-an-app-for-the-disorganized-gamer</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pregame-46-an-app-for-the-disorganized-gamer</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 07:10:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>limsirterleik3</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pregame-46-an-app-for-the-disorganized-gamer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Zynga appoints DreamWorks CEO to board]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zynga-appoints-dreamworks-ceo-to-board</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zynga-appoints-dreamworks-ceo-to-board</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:11:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Arravargy</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zynga-appoints-dreamworks-ceo-to-board</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Zynga is beefing up its board of directors by announcing today that it has added Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO and co-founder of DreamWorks Animation.Katzenberg, who created the animation studio along with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, marks the sixth board member of the privately held social-games company, which earned a jaw-dropping profit of $400 million on $850 million in revenues last year.Jeffrey Katzenberg(Credit:DreamWorks)Zynga CEO and founder Mark Pincus made the announcement in a blog post today on the company's Web site: &quot;I knew he'd be a great fit for the board after he suggested that the blockbuster of 2011 could be ShrekVille.&quot;Pincus continued to joke that Katzenberg will help recruit a seventh member to the board (maybe Jack Black or Mike Myers).But more seriously, Katzenberg's appointment signals Zynga's desire to evolve from a well recognized and successful Silicon Valley start-up to a large consumer brand name and entertainment company.Social gaming on Facebook so far is in its infancy.Zynga has been able to profit handsomely off no-name games, like FarmVille, CityVille, and Mafia Wars. Critics argue that it will have to turn those franchises into brands as the market matures and gets inundated by well-recognized brands. That progression has already started to take shape with Electronic Arts' acquisition of Playfish and what Disney has planned with its purchase of Playdom.Having an answer to this question will be key as Zynga considers raising up to $250 million in capital, and positions itself for a potential IPO.&quot;DreamWorks Animation is a revolutionary technology company, a recognized consumer brand and, at its core, a media company. It's easy to see the value that Jeffrey will add to Zynga as we grow and look for more ways to delight our players,&quot; Pincus wrote.In a statement, he added: &quot;Jeffrey redefined storytelling when he launched DreamWorks Animation. He turned an independent studio into a brand name and his vision will be an asset as we work to define the future of play.&quot;Katzenberg can offer that outside perspective as the board's only member not in Silicon Valley. He joins Pincus' Owen Van Natta, Zynga's executive vice president of business' Bing Gordon, partner at Kleiner Perkins' Brad Feld, managing director of Foundry Group' and Reid Hoffman, founder and chairman of LinkedIn.Story Copyright (c) 2011 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Nuclear crisis highlights prospects for renewables]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-crisis-highlights-prospects-for-renewables</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-crisis-highlights-prospects-for-renewables</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 Mar 2011 07:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rumerrills</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nuclear-crisis-highlights-prospects-for-renewables</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The threat of a meltdown at nuclear reactors in Japan has prompted scrutiny of renewable power options by many nations as growing public unease pushes top consumers to either go slow or halt any immediate expansion in nuclear power.Japan, one of the world's top nuclear power generators and a key advocate of the technology, plans a review of policy to tap sources such as solar. China too may double its target for photovoltaic capacity over the next five years, and Taiwan is studying cutting nuclear output. Germany and Switzerland are either shutting older reactors or suspending approvals.Investors are already betting on the change, carrying global benchmark indexes to their highest in 14 months.The global FTSE Cleantech index has spiked more than 8 percent since Japan's earthquake struck on March 11,beating a rise of around 2 percent in the MSCI all-country world stock index. The WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation index of alternative energy stocks has gained around 12 percent.&quot;If nuclear contributes less, then something has to make up the difference and that could very easily be renewables,&quot; Paul Hanrahan, president and chief executive of New-York listed global power firm AES said in Singapore.Giving a fillip to the sector, China, the world's biggest energy consumer, has already announced plans to raise the price of power generated from renewable sources over the next two years to help encourage investments.China's renewable-energy law obliges grid firms to buy all the renewable electricity produced in their region, even though it is more expensive than coal-fired power, but it also allows them to charge &quot;additional&quot; fees for clean electricity sources.Besides trying to double solar power capacity, renewable energy officials have urged more government support, saying promotion of clean-energy sources could help fill any likely supply gap if safety concerns were to slow China's nuclear program.Related Stories: &amp;149' Energy CEO: Costs, not safety, block new nukes &amp;149' Will Japan's nuclear crisis affect U.S. energy debate &amp;149' U.S. drops to No. 3 in clean-energy investing&quot;Nuclear power can probably improve China's energy security, but whether it improves overall national security is something that needs to be thought about deeply,&quot; Li Hejun, chairman of the China New Energy Chamber of Commerce, which lobbies on behalf of the renewable sector.After the Japanese nuclear disaster, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared a three-month moratorium on an extension her government had given last year to 17 nuclear reactors, carrying their lifespan an average of 12 years beyond a prior 2022 cut-off date.Taiwan's state-run Taipower also said it was studying plans to cut nuclear power output.&quot;Whatever their exact outcome, the Fukushima events are likely to shift the energy policy balance toward renewables,&quot; PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a report on March 28.Swiss Energy Minister Doris Leuthard suspended the approvals process for three nuclear power stations so safety standards can be revisited after the crisis in Japan.Robin Batchelor, a fund manager at BlackRock responsible for $8.2 billion in energy-related funds, said renewables were not really in focus for fund managers prior to the crisis in Japan, adding that the disaster may prompt countries to have a rethink.In Europe, 'the ball is already rollling' In Europe, the bloc's Renewable Electricity Directive missed a 2010 target of a 21 percent share for renewable energy out of total electricity generated, and now aims for it to account for 20 percent by 2020, the body said on its Web site.Industry executives and experts say the events unfolding in Japan will help speed the push toward this goal. &quot;The ball is already rolling here in Europe as you have seen with the way the Green Party is advancing in Germany,&quot; said Thorbjoern Jensen, oil market analyst at Global Risk Management. &quot;You will certainly see a bigger push on the part of all governments here in Europe to diversify their slate for power generation.&quot;In 2010, nearly half the value of power sector deals concluded in the renewables sector globally originated from Europe. The overall value based on deals done in the region was just over $13 billion, according to PwC.Hydro accounts for around 13 to 14 percent of the total power generated in Asia Pacific' renewables, excluding hydropower, will account for only 2.3 percent in 2010 and are only expected to increase to 4 percent by 2030.Wind, solar, and biomass power are the largest contributors to the renewable contribution.The renewable share of world electricity generation is expected to increase to 23 percent in 2035 from 18 percent in 2007, supported by high oil prices and government incentives, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report last December.The bulk of that increase in renewable electricity supply will be fueled by hydro and wind power, the department said.&quot;Renewables are a big player in the mix, there will still be other sources of energy but the share of renewables will increase,&quot; said Evgeny Fedorov, chief executive of EuroSibErnego, Russia's largest private power generator and one of the world's biggest hydro-electric power players. Still, much as governments around the world talk about boosting the renewable energy sector, an immediate surge in spending flows is unlikely because projects will take time to prepare and get off the drawing board, analysts said.Investment in renewable energy across the globe was expected to maintain the momentum seen in 2010, when the number of deals in green energy projects rose 66 percent versus the previous year, the PricewaterhouseCoopers report showed. Overall investments in clean energy, excluding research and development funding, in the Group of 20 major economies rose 33 percent last year to $198 billion amid recovery from the recession, according to the report.China was ranked ahead of Germany and the United States with private investments in the sector pegged at $54.4 billion.The cost equation Cost may be another factor discouraging large-volume spending in renewables. Renewable projects on which work may have begun, and will be ready in the next five or so, will be far more expensive to run than thermal power projects.The U.S. Energy Information Administration says that in 2016, onshore wind, the least expensive renewable energy source, will be 80 percent more expensive to run than a combined cycle, gas-fired electricity.But conventional nuclear power will still be the lowest price energy option in 2016, according to an EIA projection issued in December 2010. That is probably part of the reason for South Korea, a major global supplier of nuclear plants, to carry on with its nuclear plans despite the crisis at its neighbor Japan.Nuclear power accounts for 31.4 percent of South Korea's electricity generation needs, and the world's fifth-largest oil importer has a target to increase that to 48.5 percent by 2024.It has 7 reactors under construction, with plans to build 6 more and bring to 34 the number on-stream by 2024.But renewable power must battle reliability concerns, compared with thermal or nuclear power, as supplies of sunlight, wind or water are not always steady, a hurdle the sector must overcome before it can displace conventional sources.&quot;Renewables, yes, to a certain extent you can use, but it can only supplement, it cannot replace,&quot; said Che Kalib Mohamad Noh, chief executive of Malaysian power company Tenaga Nasional, adding that conventional fossil fuels and nuclear power would play a pre-eminent role for the foreseeable future.Story Copyright (c) 2011 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Facebook detour through China: Accident or not]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-detour-through-china-accident-or-not</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-detour-through-china-accident-or-not</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>floaraagell</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-detour-through-china-accident-or-not</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Barrett Lyon&amp;39's blog revealed that traffic destined for Facebook was mysteriously re-routed through China. (Credit:Blyon.com) A funny thing happened to some traffic heading to Facebook earlier this week. It ended up going out of the way through China. Barrett Lyon, an entrepreneur and network security expert who blogged about the incident on Tuesday, suggested it was merely an accident. But Rodney Joffe, senior technologist at DNS (Domain Name System) registry Neustar, disagrees and described it as &quot;route hijacking.&quot;  &quot;It's real. It is happening. It can't be described as an 'accident' anymore,&quot; Joffe, who observed similar traffic snafus involving China last year, said in an e-mail to CNET today.  China is notorious for its efforts at censoring the Internet, and free speech activists worry about the government being able to snoop on citizens' Internet communications, although what officials there would want with U.S. citizens' traffic is anyone's guess. Here's what happened, according to Lyon's post: &quot;Quietly this morning customers of AT&amp;T browsing Facebook did so by way of China then Korea. Typically, AT&amp;T customers' data would have routed over the AT&amp;T network directly to Facebook's network provider, but due to a routing mistake their private data went first to Chinanet then via Chinanet to SK Broadband in South Korea, then to Facebook. This means that anything you looked at via Facebook without encryption was exposed to anyone operating Chinanet, which has a very suspect modus operandi.&quot; In his analysis, Lyon speculates that most likely nothing happened to the data. &quot;Yet China is well known for its harmful networking practices by limiting network functionality and spying on its users, and when your data is flowing over their network, your data could be treated as any Chinese citizens.' Does that include capturing your session ID information, personal information, emails, photos, chat conversations, mappings to your friends and family, etc One could only speculate, however it's possible.&quot; Lyon also questions whether Facebook or AT&amp;T should have notified customers of the problem, whether Facebook should enable SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption by default (that became an option in early February), and whether high-profile sites should be allowed to route to non-authenticated networks.  &quot;This happens all the time--the Internet is just not a trusted network,&quot; he wrote. &quot;Yet I prefer to know that when I am on AT&amp;T's network, going to U.S.-located sites, my packets are not accidentally leaving the country and being subject to another nation's policies.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Crysis 2: If you can make it there...]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=crysis-2-if-you-can-make-it-there---</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=crysis-2-if-you-can-make-it-there---</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>burtmmrmbr</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=crysis-2-if-you-can-make-it-there---</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AKG wireless headphones latest victim of Bluetooth quality curse]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=akg-wireless-headphones-latest-victim-of-bluetooth-quality-curse</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=akg-wireless-headphones-latest-victim-of-bluetooth-quality-curse</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>overmatsapa</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=akg-wireless-headphones-latest-victim-of-bluetooth-quality-curse</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Banking via mobile device jumps 54 percent]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=banking-via-mobile-device-jumps-54-percent</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=banking-via-mobile-device-jumps-54-percent</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 07:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sagvoy</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=banking-via-mobile-device-jumps-54-percent</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:ComScore)The number of people accessing their bank or brokerage accounts through mobile devices surged 54 percent in the fourth quarter last year compared with the same period in 2009, according to a new report from ComScore. During the fourth quarter of 2010, 29.8 million Americans tapped into their bank, credit, or brokerage accounts via cell phones and other mobile devices, according to the Mobile Financial Advisor report released yesterday. Drilling down further, 18.6 million people accessed their financial accounts via amobile browser, 10.8 million used a mobile app, and 8.1 million used text messaging, said ComScore. Those numbers include people who used more than one of the three methods to access their accounts. But overall, the use of mobile apps showed the greatest surge, up 120 percent since the final quarter of 2009.&quot;More people are turning to the convenience of mobile devices for their financial service needs, fueled in part by the adoption of smartphones, 3G devices, and unlimited data plans,&quot; ComScore Vice President Sarah Lenart said in a statement.Accessing their information through a mobile device was the primary method used by 36 percent of credit card holders and 26 percent of banking customers. Only a small number of people said they spoke with someone on the phone or in person to conduct their business.Though mobile banking has grown increasingly popular, a large number of customers still prefer using computers and other fixed online devices to access their accounts. Voicing their resistance, these people pointed to such concerns as a lack of security on the mobile device, the costs of accessing data, and the slow connection speeds.To compile its Mobile Financial Advisor report, ComScore relied on surveys conducted through its MobiLens services and measurements and surveys done through its Mobile Metrix product.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Target picks Microsoft's virtualization software]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=target-picks-microsofts-virtualization-software</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=target-picks-microsofts-virtualization-software</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Crissy6d6</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=target-picks-microsofts-virtualization-software</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Retail giant Target plans to roll out Microsoft's virtualization technology to its 1,700 stores, giving the software giant's enterprise cloud computing efforts a new boost. Microsoft announced a new deal in which Target will manage such operations as inventory, point-of-sale, and supply-chain management remotely with Microsoft's Hyper-v software. In addition, Target will roll out 15,000 virtual machines using the technology across the country.VMware, run by former Microsoft senior executive Paul Maritz, dominates the software virtualization business. But Microsoft has been working to cut into that lead with acquisitions and new software. The market offers one of the best opportunities for growth in enterprise computing as companies push to reduce costs by shedding hardware and running systems over Internet infrastructure.TargetThat's why Target is deploying the new Microsoft technology. It's being used to run cash registers and the computers used to guide restocking inventory. The retailer, which manages all of its store technology remotely, says it will reduce the number of servers in its stores from seven to two, eliminating 8,000 servers in the process. That cuts not only the cost of replacing the hardware, but also the expense of maintaining it and even the price of the electricity used to power it. Microsoft doesn't believe it will reduce its server software revenue. &quot;Virtualization can lead to consolidation of hardware resources, but shouldn't negatively impact software licensing,&quot; says David Greschler, Microsoft's director of virtualization and cloud strategy for its server and tools business.The Target deal is a feather for virtualization efforts at Microsoft, which wants to prove its software can handle large, mission-critical applications. &quot;Particularly as organizations are contemplating cloud computing, they find comfort in knowing the Microsoft platform can virtualize and manage all kinds of applications--Microsoft's, a third party's or homegrown--on a massive scale,&quot; Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of the company's management and security division, said in a press release.Hoping to grow its virtualization business, Microsoft has built tools into its Windows Server software to make it easier to run its Hyper-v technology. And while it still trails VMware, it's picked up customers in recent years including Del Monte Foods and Costco Wholesale. That said, Target has been a longtime customer of Microsoft's Virtual Server software, so upgrading to Hyper-v was the logical move, says Brett Waldman, senior research analyst at IDC. &quot;Landing a large, named client like Target is always a big deal, but it does not seem like VMware was ever seriously considered in this case study,&quot; Waldman says. What's more, Hyper-v is included in the license for Windows Server 2008 R2, which Target is using, making moving to VMware even more of an expense.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[T-Mobile: Business as usual for now]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=t-mobile-business-as-usual-for-now</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=t-mobile-business-as-usual-for-now</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Mar 2011 07:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>shyhhyhhhh</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=t-mobile-business-as-usual-for-now</guid>
<description><![CDATA[AT&amp;T announced today it had entered into an agreement to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion. The news was unexpected and sent the technology world into a frenzy, and naturally, it has many AT&amp;T and T-Mobile subscribers wondering what's next.Of course, T-Mobile customers have more to gain or lose in this deal, and to ease some of the early anxiety, the carrier has posted an FAQ on its Web site, outlining how the acquisition will impact their service. For now, you won't see much of a change. T-Mobile will continue to act as an independent company until the merger goes through, which the company expects will take about 12 months. Until then, your service, data plans, selection of phones (read: noiPhone just yet), and billing will remain the same. In addition, T-Mobile states that any contract plans entered into before the change of ownership will be honored. The carrier goes on to explain how the acquisition is good news for customers, as it will improve voice and data service and ensure 4G LTE coverage for 95 percent of the population--something T-Mobile says that neither it or AT&amp;T could have done on its own. We have reached out to T-Mobile for additional information on how the acquisition might impact the product portfolio, data plans, and contracts and will update this story once we have more information, but the carrier says that customers will receive advance notice of any changes to service.Despite this reassurance, the reaction from T-Mobile customers has been apprehensive to say the least. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Mozilla mirroring Chrome's fast, phased releases]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mozilla-mirroring-chromes-fast-phased-releases</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mozilla-mirroring-chromes-fast-phased-releases</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>resbimmarlk</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mozilla-mirroring-chromes-fast-phased-releases</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Mozilla plans an orderly shift from raw new code to a polished final version of Firefox every 16 weeks.(Credit:Rob Sayre/Mozilla)A faster, regular release schedule isn't the only idea Mozilla is adopting from Google's browser. The organization also is embracing a plan to giveFirefox a similar spectrum of test and stable versions to try to bring new features to market swiftly.The general idea is to issue new versions of Firefox with varying levels of maturity, with the more mature versions geared for larger audiences, according to a draft document published by Mozilla programmer Rob Sayre.The goal of the overall effort is to inject more competitiveness into a browser that deserves credit for reinvigorating a market left stagnant by the dominance of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Firefox still is the No. 2 browser in worldwide usage, but now Google's Chrome has attracted many technophilic early adopters, and the brand-new IE9 gives Microsoft a competitive browser again.The biggest risk coming with the new Firefox release philosophy is leaving behind the slower-moving users. Firefox has gained mainstream acceptance, but the fast-moving, auto-updating philosophy of software development can be at odds with, for example, conservative IT departments.Mozilla plans a cascade of gradually maturing releases over a 16-week cycle.(Credit:Rob Sayre/Mozilla)Chrome comes in four or five flavors, depending on how you're counting. The most raw &quot;nightly&quot; version is built, well, nightly, to include the latest patches. The developer release is more settled down but still designed as a proving ground for new features. The beta release is where final testing takes place, and the stable release is for the mainstream market. In between the nightly and developer releases is the &quot;Canary&quot; version, but it's only for Windows, and it's updated irregularly. For example, it doesn't yet have the new Chrome logo that's in the developer release.Mozilla is moving toward a similar model, but it uses different terms and doesn't have Canary. The draft document lays out placeholder version names of &quot;mozilla-central (or 'nightly'), firefox-experimental, firefox-beta, and Firefox.&quot; Like Google, Mozilla calls the release mechanisms channels.For now, Mozilla has just nightly builds, a sequence of beta and release-candidate releases, then the final version. The newest, Firefox 4, is due March 22, and under the faster schedule, versions 5, 6, and 7 are also due this year.Here's how Mozilla describes the process to produce a new Firefox every 16 weeks:Firefox uses a schedule-driven process, where releases take place at regular intervals. That means each release happens regardless of whether a given feature is ready, and releases are not delayed to wait for a feature to stabilize. The goal of the process is to provide regular improvements to users without disrupting longer term work...The nightly channel gets new features as soon as they are ready, but it has the lowest stability of the four channels. The UI might change each day, and Web sites might not work at times. The firefox-experimental channel gets new features at regular intervals, but some of them might be disabled if it looks like they need more work. The beta channel receives only new features that are slated for the next Firefox releaseThe change comes with several consequences. One big consequence of the new schedule is to security. Firefox users would need to embrace the constant updates, because old versions of Firefox won't be maintained..&quot;This proposal makes security updates occur along with Firefox releases, meaning we'll no longer be maintaining old branches,&quot; the document said. &quot;Having security branches for each major update is untenable if we release as often as we aim to.&quot;Another consequence is a move closer to the auto-update ethos that Chrome embodies. &quot;This proposal also requires changes to our software update behavior to make them happen more automatically in the background and interrupt the user less often. Otherwise, we will disrupt fx-beta users too much,&quot; the document said. &quot;There will also need to be an option for users to completely disable automatic updates, so that they can manage their own upgrade process.&quot;Mozilla plans to draw 500,000 experimental users and 1.5 million beta users from the existing beta-tester community.The schedule is designed to produce a new Firefox version every 16 weeks, but because the beta channel feeds in more frequently, releases could theoretically come more rapidly. &quot;Under this system, there is a choice to ship a general Firefox release at week 16 and every six weeks thereafter. That doesn't mean a release will happen every six weeks, but the option will be available,&quot; the document said.Critical security fixes also could arrive independently of the regular schedule.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Key Japan-made iPad 2 parts in focus]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=key-japan-made-ipad-2-parts-in-focus</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=key-japan-made-ipad-2-parts-in-focus</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sanysan</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=key-japan-made-ipad-2-parts-in-focus</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Flash memory chips and batteries, major components in theiPad 2, appear to face different fates, owing to the location of the manufacturing facilities in different parts of Japan. iPad 2(Credit:Apple)Clarity is hard to come by in Japan, especially in the earthquake-stricken areas. But the impact of the continuing crisis on two major technologies used in Apple's latesttablet is pretty clear. While Toshiba's manufacturing production of flash memory continues to recover, lithium-ion battery production is not faring so well, as it was much closer to ground zero. Flash memory/Toshiba: The world's largest supplier of flash memory--and major Apple supplier--provided updates dated March 14 and 15 for its massive Yokkaichi factory, located about 500 miles south of the earthquake's epicenter. As of March 14, production had stopped partially, but had &quot;almost recovered.&quot; On March 15, the company issued another update, stating that the complex &quot;is now operating as usual.&quot; Compared to other component factories located in hard-hit Iwate and Miyagi prefectures that's a fairly upbeat report, but it still hints at prolonged downtime at some facilities since the earthquake struck on March 11. The biggest problem that Toshiba will face in Yokkaichi hinges on the supply chain. &quot;A mid-term impact on the overall supply chain, including material procurement, is anticipated, as are short-term problems with logistics,&quot; a report said on March 15. &quot;We continue to carry out a detailed investigation of the status of the plants and their recovery.&quot; Lithium-ion batteries: iSuppli analyst Wayne Lam believes that the battery cells in the iPad 2 may be made in Japan, though the outer battery pack is marked &quot;assembled in China.&quot; &quot;That's our understanding,&quot; Lam said in a phone interview. &quot;Based on 'Apple Japan' markings on the cell. We can probably call it a Japanese cell,&quot; he said. Japan is a prolific manufacturer of all kinds of batteries, particularly lithium ion. Sony, for example, has stated that operations have been affected at battery factories in Fukushima and that obtaining a stable power supply and raw materials are ongoing problems. If, in fact, battery cells are coming from earthquake-impacted areas in Japan, that could result in future disruption of supplies for products like the iPad 2. Updated at 11:25 a.m. PDT: adding comments from iSuppli's Wayne Lim about the iPad's batteries.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Four things to expect from Apple tomorrow]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=four-things-to-expect-from-apple-tomorrow</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=four-things-to-expect-from-apple-tomorrow</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>WolfTrek1a</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=four-things-to-expect-from-apple-tomorrow</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts&amp;39' Novell Theater in San Francisco, where Wednesday&amp;39's Apple event is taking place(Credit:James Martin/CNET)It's hard to believe it's been a little more than a year since the originaliPad's introduction. Since its unveiling last January, Apple has sold more than 15 million of the devices, well beyond the company's original expectations, as can be witnessed by the long wait times in its first few months of availability.Competitors like Motorola are just now beginning to release iPad competitors like theGoogle Android-based Xoom, with HP trailing not too far behind with the WebOS-powered TouchPad due this summer. Meanwhile, Microsoft is plotting to make Windows squeeze into all matter of form factors in its move to support ARM processors in the next version of the OS. That brings us to tomorrow, when Apple is expected to detail the next major version of the iPad at an invite-only event here in San Francisco. CNET will be there to bring you the news, as it happens, with our live blog. In the interim, there's a small laundry list of things that can be expected alongside a successor to Apple's slate effort:A new iPadIf you're expecting Apple to release a follow up to the iPad tomorrow, chances are you're right. As with rumors leading up to the original iPad's release, there have been all the signs a product refresh is on the way, from reseller supply chains drying up, to a number of purported parts showing up from overseas manufacturing facilities. The new iPad is said to be thinner than the original, as well having a slightly smaller bezel--the black area around the screen where users keep their thumbs while holding the device. That bezel could also be white, according to a photo that surfaced this week on 9to5Mac. A claimed white bezel that could end up as a color option for the iPad 2. (Credit:9to5Mac)Other exterior design rumors have pointed toward a possible change in case material from metal to something that's &quot;similar to carbon fiber.&quot; That possible detail came last month from iLounge, which also reported that Apple was working on a 7-inch variant of the iPad, which may not end up for production in the immediate future.As far as the specs go, a report from The Wall Street Journal in early February pointed to the iPad successor getting a more powerful processor, along with a built-in camera for video conferencing, and models that will work on both AT&amp;T and Verizon's networks. The camera rumor on its own is a particularly safe bet based on evidence that Apple had been testing iPad units with cameras since the launch of the first unit, and has since launched FaceTime-ready cameras on theiPod Touch and on its latest MacBook Pro laptops. According to a report by Engadget last week, the newer unit is also said to be packing a very important improvement in its internals: more memory. The current iPad carries 256MB of RAM, with the iPad 2 said to be packing 512MB, matching what can be found in Apple's iPhone 4. Why is memory important, you may be wondering Similar to the effect of increasing the amount of RAM in your computer, this lets the device store more information in that space, without having to dump extraneous bits to make room for the new. In real-world use this could mean keeping more Web pages and applications open without losing whatever you had been doing due to the system asking running applications to free up their memory usage. Finally, there's that important issue of cost. Will it cost more than the current iPad Apple has a solid track record of bringing the price of its products down as they progress, though the original iPad was no cheap affair, ringing in at close to $260 in parts for its bottom model, and rising to $348.10 for the top of the line, according to estimates from an iSuppli teardown. It's also been selling rather well, with Apple moving 7.33 million iPads in the last three months of 2010. The other, longstanding item that would suggest Apple does not plan to bring the price down is the current price of the iPod Touch, which tops out at $399 at retail--$100 less than the entry-level iPad.  (Credit:Apple)iOS 4.3 and beyondThe follow-up point release for iOS 4.2, 4.3 brings a few new features like AirPlay support for apps, as well as the personal hot-spot feature that was introduced for Verizon iPhone owners. Other major tweaks include a software option to adjust whether the switch on the iPad is used to mute the volume, or lock the screen orientation, functionality Apple had changed after the iPad had been released.  iOS 4.3 was first seeded to developers in January, and has received two betas since then. Rumors pointed to it being on its way in mid-February, though it would make sense for Apple to hold its release to coincide with any additional features that may be unveiled tomorrow.Given that the company also hosted a preview event for iOS 4 in April last year, we could even get a sneak peek at features that could come with that next version. Changes to MobileMe MobileMe (formerly .Mac) is the paid add-on service Apple has been pushing with its iOS devices and computers since its introduction in mid-2008. More recently, however, boxed copies of the tool have been phased out at Apple's stores, in favor of being sold as digital licenses to customers post-purchase. A remote iOS device-tracking service, which had been one of the key selling points for the service, was also turned into a free feature for owners of current generation iOS devices when Apple released iOS 4.2 in November. (Credit:Apple) So where does that leave MobileMe as a product Apple still positions it as an e-mail, calendaring, Web site, and media host, along with pulling duties as a storage and synchronization service. Though a recent report by Cult of Mac points to Apple wanting to build on that and possibly include things like a live video streaming tool, and geolocation features like a check-in tool and place pages.  New small-business tech support service  This is the one non-consumer-oriented item that's likely to appear at tomorrow's event: a tech support service aimed at small businesses.  Reportedly dubbed &quot;Joint Venture,&quot; details of the service leaked out to blog AppleInsider yesterday, saying the $500 a year service would provide coverage for up to five Mac computers, and give purchasers priority tech support at the Apple's Genius Bars. Other perks are said to include group training sessions and a priority tech support line. This is in contrast to Apple's existing ProCare service, which runs $99, covers up to three machines, and is aimed at individuals. Apple reportedly briefed its retail store employees on its plans to introduce the service this past weekend. Any we missed, or ones you think have no chance at panning out Let us know in the comments. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google blames software update for lost Gmail data]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-blames-software-update-for-lost-gmail-data</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-blames-software-update-for-lost-gmail-data</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dorfitzeni</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-blames-software-update-for-lost-gmail-data</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google said today a storage software update was responsible for causing some Gmail users to lose access to their e-mail data and said full functionality would be restored soon. Some Gmail users complained yesterday of suddenly and mysteriously losing e-mails, contacts, and folders. Google originally said 0.29 percent of the user base was affected by the issue but has since revised that figure to less than 0.02 percent, or about 40,000 of the service's 200 million accounts.In an update on the situation this evening, Ben Treynor, Google VP of engineering and site reliability czar, apologized for the inconvenience and said the company expects to have the lost data restored soon. &quot;The good news is that email was never lost and we've restored access for many of those affected,&quot; Treynor wrote in a company blog. &quot;Though it may take longer than we originally expected, we're making good progress and things should be back to normal for everyone soon.&quot;Treynor explained that, even though Google keeps multiple copies of the data in multiple data centers, sometimes &quot;software bugs can affect several copies of the data.&quot; As a safety measure, the company backs up data on offline tapes, which makes restoring the data more time consuming than transferring requests between data centers, Treynor said.When Google realized the software update was responsible for introducing the bug, it stopped the deployment and reverted to the old software version, Treynor said.The issue came to Google's attention yesterday when users started lighting up the company's support forums with complaints of lost e-mails. &quot;I have lost ALL on my emails/folders etc. from gmail. Why would this happen How can I restore everything&quot; wrote user bkishan wrote in the forum.Treynor also cautioned that e-mail sent to affected users between 6 p.m. PT yesterday and 2 p.m. today likely went undelivered but that the message sender should have received a notification that the e-mail was undelivered.Affected users can follow Google's efforts to restore their data on the Apps Status Dashboard. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Lower wind, solar prices to usher speedier adoption]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lower-wind-solar-prices-to-usher-speedier-adoption</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lower-wind-solar-prices-to-usher-speedier-adoption</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:11:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>wanminlim1y</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lower-wind-solar-prices-to-usher-speedier-adoption</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Rapid recent solar and wind price falls are likely to bring new markets and mass adoption a step closer over the next decade and raise the prospects of mergers.The financial crisis coupled with a ramp-up in China, which now leads the world wind and solar manufacturing, have led to over-capacity and pressured prices in the past three years.Natural gas is the main fossil fuel rival and still wins on price after U.S. shale gas finds created a global glut.But wind and solar are now competitive in niche markets after prices of turbines fell by a fifth and solar panels by a half since 2007. New markets are emerging as they fall further.&quot;We see it as an extremely potent and powerful trend for the coming decade,&quot; said Rupesh Madlani, renewables and clean technology analyst at Barclays Capital, adding that the rate of adoption may take people by surprise.For renewable energy, 2010 was a year of contrasts.The global wind market shrank for the first time in two decades, with fewer turbines installed than in 2009, but the world added a record amount of solar power, reaping the benefit of generous incentives in Europe.The price of solar panels, or modules, is expected to fall another 10 percent to 25 percent in 2011.Modules prices would halve again in the next two to three years, predicted Madlani. But other analysts said that the longer outlook is clouded by conflicting pressures.Additional demand from new markets such as India, China, and the Middle East may counter an expected paring of subsidies in key markets such as Italy and Germany, they said.WindWind turbine prices are not expected to rise this year or next, given a continuing glut and aggressive pricing by smaller suppliers, even while rising steel prices add inflationary pressures.Price falls have coupled with technology development to increase competitiveness.A wind turbine can now generate electricity at a cost of about 6 to 8 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), depending on construction and financing costs, compared with about 3 to 7 cents for gas and coal, say analysts.Denmark-based MAKE Consulting reported strong growth in turbine orders in 2010 for delivery over the next couple of years, up 48 percent on 2009.&quot;Prices have bottomed,&quot; at about 1 million euros per megawatt, said MAKE Consulting's Steen Broust Nielsen.In the windiest sites, in Scotland, Ireland, and Brazil, wind is already competitive with coal, said Jefferies bank analyst Gerard Reid.&quot;That's a very significant moment,&quot; he said. &quot;But in the majority of countries, like Germany, you're nowhere near that.&quot;Wind turbines are quicker to install than large gas-fired, coal-fired, or nuclear power plants, which is a big plus in emerging markets, where growing, more affluent populations are demanding more electricity, said Barcap's Madlani.For the first time, China last year topped the world in cumulative installed capacity.An advantage of solar power is that it supplies electricity at the hottest time of the day, in line with peak demand for air conditioning and when electricity prices are highest.Even so, solar panels generate power at a cost of more than 15 U.S. cents per kWh even in the sunniest climates, making it competitive only in a very few retail power markets such as southern Italy and Hawaii. Elsewhere it depends on subsidies.Italy is expected to rein in its support for solar energy from 2012, with implications for global demand. &quot;The pace of (global) price declines could accelerate,&quot; said Shyam Mehta, at GTM Research.Merger Those solar companies that weather the price storm could be set up for a mass market with strong returns, driving expectations of acquisitions by leading electronics and semiconductor companies.&quot;The number one company in the world holding solar patents is Samsung, but they're not sure how to jump into it,&quot; said Jefferies' Reid. &quot;Semiconductor companies like Intel are also looking closely.&quot;In the wind market, a merger among existing niche players could create a global player to rival Vestas, GE, and Siemens.Buyers could include emerging eastern giants, or outsiders. China's Goldwind acquired Germany's Vensys in 2008, while diversified U.S. manufacturer United Technologies bought Clipper Windpower last year.Story Copyright (c) 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cisco calms worries with solid quarter]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cisco-calms-worries-with-solid-quarter</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cisco-calms-worries-with-solid-quarter</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ramesh01</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cisco-calms-worries-with-solid-quarter</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Cisco Systems allayed concerns about its second-quarter results with earnings that topped expectations.The networking giant reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.5 billion, or 27 cents a share, on revenue of $10.4 billion. Non-GAAP earnings were 37 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 35 cents a share.As noted in a preview, analysts were expecting Cisco to rebuild its order backlog. Demand throughout the quarter looked solid. Indeed, Cisco CEO John Chambers said &quot;the quarter played out as we expected.&quot;Read more of &quot;Cisco calms worries, posts solid second quarter&quot; at ZDNet's Between the Lines. <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[Road Trip Pic of the Week, 1/20: What is this]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=road-trip-pic-of-the-week-120-what-is-this</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=road-trip-pic-of-the-week-120-what-is-this</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:10:41 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Andreye</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=road-trip-pic-of-the-week-120-what-is-this</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If you know what this is and where this photograph was taken, you could win a prize in the Picture of the Week challenge.(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)That's an odd hillside, with some very strange portholes built into it. Is it a Hobbit house What is it actually, and where is it locatedIf you know, you could win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Week challenge.If you have the answer, please e-mail it to me no later than 6 p.m. PT Friday (to daniel--dot--terdiman--at--cnet--dot--com, and PLEASE include &quot;Picture of the Week&quot; in the subject line). I'll choose a winner at random from among everyone who sends in the correct answer by the deadline. Please forgive me if you don't hear from me if you're not a winner. I get dozens of responses for each challenge. Also, I've turned off comments because some people would post the correct answers there. I hate to shut down discussion, but I want you to figure out the answer on your own.One caveat: no individual can win more than two prizes. However, now that it's 2011, I'm resetting the tally, and past two-time winners are eligible again. The Road Trip Picture of the Week challenge takes place each Thursday, and the photos could come from anywhere, not just Road Trip 2010 locations. Plus, they might be related to stories I've written in the past. So, please have fun playing today, and then come back each Thursday. For most of last summer, Geek Gestalt was on Road Trip 2010. After driving more than 18,000 miles in the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest and the Southeast over the last four years, I drove 5,266 miles this summer looking for the best in technology, science, military, nature, aviation and more throughout the American Northeast. You can follow me on Twitter at @GreeterDan and @RoadTrip and find the project on Facebook. And look for Road Trip 2011 coming this summer.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PS3, iPhone hacker sets sights on Windows phones]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ps3-iphone-hacker-sets-sights-on-windows-phones</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ps3-iphone-hacker-sets-sights-on-windows-phones</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kethy</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ps3-iphone-hacker-sets-sights-on-windows-phones</guid>
<description><![CDATA[LG&amp;39's Quantum, one of the first Windows Phone 7 devices.(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)Although Microsoft gave the team that created theWindows Phone 7 home brew unlocker ChevronWP7 a very friendly &quot;please stop doing this&quot; several months ago, it's gone in a slightly different direction with the infamous hacker who cracked both Sony'sPlayStation 3 and Apple'siPhone wide open. Earlier this week, hacker George Hotz, who is better known as &quot;GeoHot,&quot; announced that he was beginning work on a jailbreak for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform. Shortly thereafter, Brandon Watson--who runs developer platform product management for Microsoft, offered Hotz a Windows Phone over Twitter, saying &quot;geohot if you want to build cool stuff on wp7, send me e-mail and the team will give you a phone--let dev creativity flourish wp7dev.&quot;Microsoft now says the two exchanged a few notes following the tweets.The move marks yet another occasion where Microsoft has publicly--instead of legally--dealt with people who've sought to go around boundaries the company has set up to protect its products. As with the previously mentioned ChevronWP7 tool, which was designed to let users install home brew software on Windows Phones, Microsoft's Watson got in touch with the creators to get them to come to company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters to talk about bringing such functionality to the platform. In return, the ChevronWP7 team agreed to take their tool down. There's also Kinect, Microsoft's hot-selling accessory for the Xbox 360, which tinkerers cracked open a few days after its release. In that case, Microsoft originally threatened the strong arm of the law, before relenting and admitting during a radio interview that, on an hourly basis, the team was receiving videos of &quot;cool, neat, creative experiences&quot; people had tinkered together. Besides the PS3, Hotz is famous for developing a number of jailbreaks for Apple's iOS devices, as well as a tool that would let iPhone users unlock the device for use on multiple phone carriers. Though last July, Hotz said he would be &quot;retiring&quot; from further iOS hackery, citing that people were taking his work too seriously and that it had just been a hobby' even so, Hotz continued to put out beta releases of his &quot;limera1n&quot; iOS jailbreaking tool. More recently, Hotz's involvements have centered around Sony's PS3. Hotz created a software tool that would let users re-enable the &quot;other OS&quot; option, which Sony had removed as part of a system firmware update. Sony, in turn, took legal action against Hotz, claiming that Hotz's jailbreak violates both the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Computer Fraud Abuse Act. Last week Hotz appeared on G4TV's Attack of the Show to discuss Sony's restraining order against him, which was filed earlier this month. Hotz argued that while Sony was going after him because the company viewed his tool as an exploit that would allow game piracy, his tool had been designed only for home brew applications. Assuming those are Hotz's intentions with Windows Phone 7 platform, we could see an alternative to Microsoft's Marketplace application akin to what ChevronWP7 first promised. The real question is whether Hotz will follow Microsoft's lead and play nice, or if he'll try to crack the company's newest smartphone platform wide open.  Update at 12:10 p.m. PT: A Microsoft spokesperson further elaborated on the company's exchange with Hotz, saying: &quot;Brandon Watson and GeoHot exchanged a few notes following Brandon's Twitter posting yesterday. They discussed providing GeoHot with a device. Microsoft in deeply invested in sustaining strong relationships with a wide range of developers and enthusiasts and are always interested in what we can learn from those communities.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Boeing resets Dreamliner delivery to third quarter]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=boeing-resets-dreamliner-delivery-to-third-quarter</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=boeing-resets-dreamliner-delivery-to-third-quarter</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:10:56 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>StephTanner</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=boeing-resets-dreamliner-delivery-to-third-quarter</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In October 2010, this Boeing 787 Dreamliner, designated ZA006, became the sixth and final 787 to join the flight test program. (Credit:Boeing)Rebounding from its latest scheduling setback, Boeing now says that it expects to deliver its first 787 Dreamliner in the third quarter.In December, the company resumed flight testing of its marquee commercial aircraft, which had been halted in early November because of an onboard fire sparked by a faulty electrical power panel.Boeing said today that the rescheduled delivery date factors in the time that it needs to produce, install, and test updated software and new power distribution panels in both flight test and production versions of the Dreamliner. Of the six 787 aircraft being used for flight tests, four have received interim software and hardware improvements and have undergone extensive ground testing and review en route to returning to flight status. The other two aircraft will return to flight &quot;in the days ahead,&quot; Boeing said.If Boeing makes the third-quarter target for deliveries, the Dreamliner will be more than three years behind schedule. The Japanese carrier All Nippon Airlines originally was scheduled to receive the first 787 in May 2008.The Dreamliner made a splashy public debut in July 2007, but its transition from drawing board to commercial service has encountered repeated turbulence, from supply chain shortages to a machinists' strike. The aircraft completed its maiden flight in December 2009. The design of the aircraft, which Boeing says will be especially fuel-efficient, is notable for the flair of its curved wingtips and for its extensive use of carbon fiber composite materials.Behind the scenes of Boeing's Dreamliner project (photos) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Adobe tackling 'Flash cookie' privacy issue]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=adobe-tackling-flash-cookie-privacy-issue</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=adobe-tackling-flash-cookie-privacy-issue</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>benjamneee</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=adobe-tackling-flash-cookie-privacy-issue</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Adobe Systems is offering assurances that it's adapting Flash Player to make it easier for people to protect their identities online.Since time immemorial, browsers have been able to store small text files called cookies that Web sites have been able to use to track people's identity online--for example when Amazon wants to present product suggestions.That's always raised hackles among those who'd rather not register their identities with any number of servers on the Internet, so for years people have been able to manage cookies, including rejecting them in the first place or deleting them at will.The cookie, though, was only the beginning of a much larger trend toward storing data on a browser's computer. Nowadays, we have or soon will get standards for Application Cache, Local Storage, Indexed DB--and Adobe Systems' Flash Player.Individually, these technologies are useful for various Web chores including identity tracking. Collectively, they make it possible for Web site operators to track identity in a more sophisticated fashion: unless people delete all forms of locally stored data, a Web server could reconstitute a regular cookie with, say, data stored using Flash or the other mechanisms. This idea is known as the &quot;supercookie&quot; for its relative tenaciousness and sometimes a &quot;Flash cookie&quot; for the involvement of Flash.Browser makers are expanding their data-wiping abilities beyond just regular cookies, and at least in some browsers, some new storage technologies ask users' permission before storing data. Now Adobe's Emmy Huang published a blog pointing to progress in getting browsers to be able to control information stored by Flash through a new aspect of the browser plug-in application programming interface (API).&quot;Representatives from several key companies, including Adobe, Mozilla and Google have been working together to define a new browser API (NPAPI ClearSiteData) for clearing local data, which was approved for implementation on January 5, 2011,&quot; Huang said. &quot;Any browser that implements the API will be able to clear local storage for any plug-in that also implements the API,&quot; Huang said.Huang also pointed to support added to Flash Player 10.1 for private-browsing features of Internet Explorer,Safari,Firefox, and Chrome. With that support, Flash Player deletes locally stored information when a private-browsing session ends.More changes are coming, she added:We know the Flash Player Settings Manager could be easier to use, and we're working on a redesign coming in a future release of Flash Player, which will bring together feedback from our users and external privacy advocates. Focused on usability, this redesign will make it simpler for users to understand and manage their Flash Player settings and privacy preferences. In addition, we'll enable you to access the Flash Player Settings Manager directly from your computer's Control Panels or System Preferences on Windows,Mac and Linux, so that they're even easier to locate and use. We expect users will see these enhancements in the first half of the year and we look forward to getting feedback as we continue to improve the Flash Player Settings Manager.         Stephen Shankland     Full Profile E-mail Stephen Shankland   E-mail Stephen Shankland If you have a question or comment for Stephen Shankland, 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       Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[British Library app brings Beowulf, The Beatles]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=british-library-app-brings-beowulf-the-beatles</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=british-library-app-brings-beowulf-the-beatles</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Renata86</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=british-library-app-brings-beowulf-the-beatles</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Bewoulf, as viewed in the iPhone version of the British Library&amp;39's Treasures app(Credit:British Library)Injecting some high-brow culture into a smartphone realm more characterized by people texting at dinner and playing video games on the subway, the British Library has released an application to allow exploration of some of its collection.OK, so perhaps it won't mean people rushing to read Beowulf in the original Old English from 1,000 years ago. But it's nice to know the option is there, and the application comes with commentary from experts such as a video on Beowulf by linguist David Crystal.In any event, it is encouraging at least to this history and museum fan that the Treasures app gives a new digital lease on life to a wide range of historic cultural artifacts. The app will cost $4 foriPhone and Android and $6 foriPad once a half-price promotion ends January 24. Among Treasures' subjects:&amp;149' The Gutenberg Bible, Lindisfarne Gospels, and Sultan Baybars' Qur'an'&amp;149' Handwritten lyrics by The Beatles'&amp;149' Original scores by Mozart, Schubert, Handel, and Purcell'&amp;149' Charles Dickens' handwritten draft of &quot;Nicholas Nickleby&quot;'&amp;149' The writings of Jane Austen as a teenager'&amp;149' The battle plan of Admiral Horatio Nelson before beating the French at the Battle of Trafalgar'&amp;149' Letters by Galileo and notebooks from Leonardo da Vinci'&amp;149' Oracle bones from China about 2,000 years ago'&amp;149' And it's the British Library, so of course there has to be a version of the Magna Carta from 1215.I had problems running the app on an AndroidNexus One phone, though. First came a seemingly interminably waiting spinner. Next came a note that assets would have to be downloaded to my SD card, a bugaboo of the Nexus One's limited internal memory. Fine--but then the installation progress bar crawled up to 19 percent over something like an hour.Update 9:17 a.m. PT: After a little more futzing, I got the app to work better. Although an initial installation on an LG Optimus One faltered the same way as on the Nexus One, with the download eventually stopping altogether and the application not able to show any pictures or play any video or audio, a reinstallation went better.And I understand better why the download went so slowly: If you set the Android app to download all assets, it's a 1.16GB chunk of data. An option to download just photos is much smaller but obviously misses out on a lot of data.Happily, things are better on iOS. &quot;Our iPhone and iPad users...are not required to download all the assets and can stream the larger media files, such as images and video,&quot; said Sayoko Knight Teitelbaum, a representative of Toura, which helped develop the app. &quot; However, Android requires a user to download all...I believe there may be some changes in Honeycomb [the upcoming Android 3.0] that could help.&quot;A redesigned update to the Android version is due later this quarter, Teitelbaum said. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Verizon iPhone a blessing for AT&T customers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-a-blessing-for-att-customers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-a-blessing-for-att-customers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>dermedikus</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-iphone-a-blessing-for-att-customers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[More than a year ago, when talk of perceived problems with AT&amp;T's wireless network hit a fever pitch online, I was among those who asserted that the performance problems some were having were due to the iPhone, as AT&amp;T had become the first network to have to deal with millions of people using smartphones all the time. As an AT&amp;amp'T iPhone user, I say, welcome!(Credit:Geeky Gadgets)Sure, smartphones had been around, but not in the numbers they hit when theiPhone 3G came out, and people didn't devour data as much as they did once the App Store opened. I blamed the problems mostly on iPhone users, like myself. (And I wasn't the only one.)That said, if Verizon, as expected, announces an iPhone for its network tomorrow, and, as expected, some AT&amp;T users jump ship for the new carrier, it might actually be a good thing for AT&amp;T--and its remaining users.Analysts from the Yankee Group estimate that 2.5 million iPhone users on AT&amp;T might migrate to Verizon in the first year due to AT&amp;T's overtaxed network, and that represents about 3 percent of AT&amp;T's 93 million customers (though estimates range from 1 million to 6 million). But those are iPhone users, which use the lion's share of AT&amp;T's wireless data. (Some estimates put it at as much as 65 percent.)A migration on that scale means AT&amp;T might take a small revenue hit, but it also means that much of the data that those 2.5 million iPhone users eat will be freed up for the other several million iPhone users.Some analysts suggest that Verizon will sell 13.2 million iPhones in 2011, including subscriber turnover from AT&amp;T, which is expected to sell 8.8 million itself, even with competition from Verizon.This is all academic, though, as the expected Verizon iPhone is not yet available. There's no telling how many users will switch, though it's almost certain that some will.One more variable to consider: AT&amp;T's 3G is based on GSM's HSPA, which tends to be faster than Verizon's CDMA-based 1xEV-DO rA. It's possible AT&amp;T iPhone users who switch to Verizon will actually get slower 3G speeds than they had before, which might cause some backlash that could keep some users from switching.AT&amp;T Executive Vice President Larry Solomon noted the possible difference in speeds, saying, &quot;The iPhone is built for speed, but that's not what you get with a CDMA phone. I'm not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane.&quot;This was, of course, a way to try to talk up his own network while throwing a slight diss to the competition. But Solomon can't keep that small percentage who are frustrated with AT&amp;T's coverage issues from leaving for what they think might be greener pastures, and that might be OK. Freeing up 3G bandwidth on its network while losing little in revenue is a good thing for AT&amp;T--and its users.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: Qualcomm inks wireless power pact with Powermat]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-qualcomm-inks-wireless-power-pact-with-powermat</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-qualcomm-inks-wireless-power-pact-with-powermat</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:10:27 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>winmansufes</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-qualcomm-inks-wireless-power-pact-with-powermat</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A Powermat wireless charging setup that bundles a receiver wrapped around an iPhone with a pad for charging it wirelessly.(Credit:Powermat)Mobile phone chipmaker Qualcomm has inked a partnership to explore wireless charging technology with Powermat, a specialist in the area.Wireless charging holds the promise of ridding people of a lot of wires but poses risks that different devices will use incompatible charging methods, so it's no surprise that part of the partnership involves building an industry alliance around the technology.Qualcomm's current wireless approach, called WiPower and using a method called near-field magnetic resonance technology, is on display atCES this week.In their deal, the companies agreed to a broad partnership designed to explore the technology and adapt it to Qualcomm products. Specifically, the companies plan to:...investigate the convergence of tightly and loosely coupled wireless power technologies to deliver a flexible coupling wireless power solution' work together to build an industry alliance that supports flexible coupling-based wireless power' investigate the development of dual-mode receiver ASICs [processors called application-specific integrated circuits] that work with Qualcomm's Wipower technology and that are backward compatible to Powermat's charging mats' and have Powermat offer a single-mode wireless power solution based on Qualcomm's WiPower technology that will supplement the current Powermat product line.&quot;We are extremely excited with the prospect of working closely with one of the industry's premier wireless power companies to bring innovative wireless power solutions to market,&quot; said Steve Mollenkopf, a Qualcomm executive vice president, in a statement.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: Panasonic's mid-line plasmas get 3D, Internet]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-panasonics-mid-line-plasmas-get-3d-internet</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-panasonics-mid-line-plasmas-get-3d-internet</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>juwanparmic</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-panasonics-mid-line-plasmas-get-3d-internet</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Panasonic&amp;39's TC-PST30 series is the company&amp;39's mid-tier model, yet still offers 3D and Internet connectivity.(Credit:Panasonic) LAS VEGAS--Today at its press conference Panasonic announced what amounts to a modest number of TV series, and the one placed solidly in the middle is the TC-PST30. Given its excellent feature set, however, this it might hit the value sweet spot. According to Panasonic's press material the only thing the ST30 is missing compared to the step-up GT30 is THX certification. Otherwise, both get the &quot;short-throw phosphors&quot; and &quot;Infinite Black panel,&quot; which makes us believe that the two might share very similar picture quality.  The ST30 is also the least-expensive 2011 Panasonic plasma to display 3D sources, and the company is touting a new SD card slot that handles 3D still photos and videos. The press material doesn't mention 2D to 3D conversion, however, which was present on the GT25 models from last year. The ST30's other big step-up feature is Viera Connect, Panasonic's new Internet TV suite. The service, which received a name change from the VieraCast of yore, keeps all of the old services and adds a few new ones, including Hulu Plus, MLB.TV, MLS Matchday Live, NBA Game Time, NHL Game Center and Facebook.  Panasonic also touted a few other notable content partners, including fitness-related Withings, Body Media, and ICON Health &amp; Fitness, all of which can interact with optional fitness gear--scales, arm monitors and excercise equipment. The company is partnering with Gameloft to offer titles like racer Asphalt 5, as well as with other game developers.  And yes, like Samsung and LG's new Smart TV platforms, Viera Connect will have an App store with free and paid offerings, complete with developer's kits. There's even an on-line store &quot;featuring an ever-growing catalog of hardware products.&quot; On the other hand Viera Connect apparently lacks the web browsers found on some of those competitors' Smart TV offerings, and no Panasonic plasma has built-in wi-fi--you'll still need to buy the $80 USB dongle.Get ready for the Viera tablet.(Credit:Panasonic) The new system will also interact with Panasonic's upcoming Android tablet, although exactly how was not specified.  Pricing was not announced for the ST30 series, but it will be available sometime this spring.Panasonic TC-PST30 series features:Plasma TV3D compatibleInfinite Black panelShort throw phosphors3D-compatible SD card slotViera Connect Internet suitePanasonic TC-PST30 series models:Panasonic TC-P42ST30: 42-inchPanasonic TC-P46ST30: 46-inchPanasonic TC-P50ST30: 50-inchPanasonic TC-P55ST30: 55-inchPanasonic TC-P60ST30: 60-inchPanasonic TC-P65ST30: 65-inchEditor's Take: I'm really curious to see whether the ST30 and GT30 indeed offer basically identical black level performance. I am leery of the lack of THX, however, since color accuracy without it has long been a Panasonic Achilles heel. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[BlackBerry PlayBook: Car battery not included]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blackberry-playbook-car-battery-not-included</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blackberry-playbook-car-battery-not-included</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 28 Dec 2010 08:10:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Crespinnecips</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blackberry-playbook-car-battery-not-included</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If Research in Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook is to succeed at market the way the company hopes, there are a few engineering hurdles to overcome. The most significant, according to Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu, is the device's relatively poor battery life.Sources tell him the tablet currently lasts just a few hours per charge, compared with rivals like Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which lasts about six, and theiPad, which lasts upward of 10. If true, that's an untenable situation for RIM, which really needs to hit the mark with the PlayBook, and it may cause a delay of the launch--if only for a bit.&quot;From our understanding, this [is] likely why RIMM pushed out its launch to the May 2011 quarter,&quot; Wu writes. &quot;Keep in mind that QNX (the OS on which PlayBook runs) wasn't originally designed for mobile environments but rather for devices like network equipment and automobiles where battery life isn't as much a constraint.&quot; In other words, as promising as plugging QNX into a tablet form factor with a dual-core processor and a gig of RAM sounds, it's proving to be a bit of a challenge. So what's the solution Most likely a bigger battery. But obviously that will add to the heft of the device and perhaps require a design concession or two.Given that, Wu takes a conservative view of PlayBook's prospects' he figures RIM will sell 700,000 units in 2011, far less than the 1 million to 8 million that other analysts have been calling for. &quot;As we have said before, we are not convinced that tablets outside of the iPad will see high volume success,&quot; he concludes.Story Copyright (c) 2010 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Hands-on with Ford's Sync AppLink and Pandora]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-fords-sync-applink-and-pandora</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-fords-sync-applink-and-pandora</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 28 Dec 2010 08:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Neha</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-fords-sync-applink-and-pandora</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cash is dead, says Dwolla]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cash-is-dead-says-dwolla</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cash-is-dead-says-dwolla</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mandidmdda</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cash-is-dead-says-dwolla</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Dwolla is a relatively new online payment system that's designed to hit PayPal where it hurts: the transaction fees.PayPal transactions, as well as credit-card payments, incur fees based on a percentage of the transaction amount in addition to a transaction fee. Dwolla transactions cost 25 cents each. The whole idea is to move cash cheaply--for businesses and for consumers. Dwolla founder Ben Milne says his retail payment kiosk is cheap, too. It's virtual, relying on Web-connected point-of-sale systems on one side and consumers with smartphones on the other. A consumer selects the store he or she wants to pay and enters the amount on the smartphone app' the register clerk can see a payment come in and close the transaction. In the future, Dwolla's mobile app, which is currently very bare-bones, will get location awareness so it will know what store you're in when you go to use the system to send a payment. But Dwolla is about more than saving consumers and retailers money on fees, Milne says. It's also closely tied in to social networks, today's de facto address books. From the Dwolla site, you can pay anyone in your Facebook or Twitter circle. All you have to do is start typing in their online name to find them. With Paypal, you can pay people if you know their e-mail address. Back in 1999, the company that eventually became PayPal had a strong person-to-person angle, except instead of relying on smartphones and the Web, the original PayPal made it possible for Palm Pilot users to &quot;beam&quot; money to each other over their devices' infrared links. Assuming I fund my Dwolla account, I&amp;39'll be able to easily send money to Facebook friends.(Credit:Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)Can Dwolla become the next PayPal--the scrappy payment company that's more convenient, more personal, and cheaper to use than the big guys (debit cards, credit cards, and PayPal itself) And, more importantly, when you're dealing with a service that connects to your bank account, is scrappy what you want The companies funding Dwolla have well-established relationships with the banking industry, at least in Iowa, where the company is based. The Veridian Credit Union gives the company a footprint in banking, and The Members Group does financial transaction processing and serves as Dwolla's backbone for executing money transfers. In Dwolla's hometown of Des Moines, a small number of businesses (like the Mars Cafe and Crown Cleaners) are currently taking payments with the system. Milne seems proud to tell me that the service has over 2,000 active users. In other words, it's barely off the ground. But Milne believes that lowering transaction costs and making it easier and cheaper for people to pay one other and small businesses is the right pitch for today. He says that people of his generation--he's 28--don't carry much cash around for incidental day-to-day expenses. He adds that the popularity of services like Mint, which tracks everything you spend electronic money on, highlight a problem of paying with cash: you can't track what you've spent. (On the flip side, when you don't want to leave any sort of record, that's cash's big bonus.) Dwolla does have a scary element: it can reach into your bank account. But then again, so can Mint, and it's doing pretty well. Other than that, it's a low-risk service to try. There are no fees unless you use it, and when you do, the 25 cents per transaction is close enough to free to not dissuade people from trying it out. For day-to-day cash transactions, Dwolla has the potential to become a major service. It will be interesting to see if the organizations behind existing electronic payment systems lower their rates or launch competing flat-fee services to keep this new and smart start-up at bay.See also: Oodle's social classifieds<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Trendnet intros new four-port wireless N media bridge]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=trendnet-intros-new-four-port-wireless-n-media-bridge</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=trendnet-intros-new-four-port-wireless-n-media-bridge</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 Dec 2010 08:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>kocdeba</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=trendnet-intros-new-four-port-wireless-n-media-bridge</guid>
<description><![CDATA[TrendNet&amp;39's new wireless N bridge, the TEW-640MB.(Credit:TrendNet)If you're looking to connect those Ethernet-ready game consoles or set-top boxes to your wireless network, there are two ways: get a wireless dongle from the original vendor or get a wireless bridge. For the latter, there's now another choice. Trendnet, just announced Thursday a new 300Mbps Wireless N Media bridge, model TEW-640MB, that supports the dual-stream wireless N with a cap speed of 300Mbps. The device works with any wireless router. It is designed to hook any device with a network port into the wireless network. The new bridge is one of a few on the market that comes with four network ports, meaning it can handle four Ethernet-ready devices at a time right out of the box. This is a great feature if you want to connect multiple devices to one place, such as to your entertainment center.According to Trendnet, the TEW-640MB sports the latest in wireless encryption technology to ensure security, advanced Multiple Input Multiple Output antenna technology, and Quality of Service features that prioritize Internet traffic for gaming, Internet calls, or video streams. The device also supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup, which allows it to be hooked to a wireless network via the press of a button. The TEW-640MB comes with a three-year warranty and is available this month at the estimated price of around $70.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[The 404 718: Where it's snowing in space (podcast)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-404-718-where-its-snowing-in-space-podcast</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-404-718-where-its-snowing-in-space-podcast</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>oillymint</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-404-718-where-its-snowing-in-space-podcast</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Hands on with the new Dell Vostro V130]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-the-new-dell-vostro-v130</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-the-new-dell-vostro-v130</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>winliab365</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=hands-on-with-the-new-dell-vostro-v130</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[ITC to probe Apple patent claims against Motorola]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itc-to-probe-apple-patent-claims-against-motorola</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itc-to-probe-apple-patent-claims-against-motorola</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>erythitle</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itc-to-probe-apple-patent-claims-against-motorola</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. International Trade Commission is officially stepping in to investigate Apple's claim of patent infringement against Motorola.The ITC announced yesterday that its probe will examine a complaint that Apple filed with it on October 29 against Motorola. The charges are detailed in two lawsuits by Apple against Motorola in which Apple alleges that the sale of Motorola's Droid,Droid 2, Droid X, and other smartphones and related software violate several Apple patents.In one of the suits against Motorola, Apple cites patent No. 7,479,949, which covers methods by which touch screens detect contact with fingers. The two other patents included in this suit are Nos. 6,493,002 and 5,838,315, both of which refer to elements of the graphical user interface. The other suit refers to patent Nos. 7,812,828, 7,663,607, and 5,379,430, which also focus on technologies for the touch screen and GUI.In its complaint with the ITC, Apple is specifically charging that Motorola has violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which covers patent violations of products imported into the U.S. Apple is asking the ITC to issue an exclusion order and a cease and desist order, which would stop the import of the devices in question.Motorola initially sued Apple in early October, claiming infringement over 18 different patents related to wireless communications.The patent courts have been busy this year with a slew of lawsuits flying back and forth between some of the major tech players. Earlier this year, HTC and Apple launched patent suits against each other. In September, Apple filed a suit against Nokia in the U.K. after Nokia launched its own suit against Apple in 2009. And Microsoft recently filed two patent-related suits against Motorola, while Motorola just opened its own complaint with the ITC against Microsoft.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Guy creates bot to auto-buy cheap gifts online]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=guy-creates-bot-to-auto-buy-cheap-gifts-online</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=guy-creates-bot-to-auto-buy-cheap-gifts-online</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Lynda</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=guy-creates-bot-to-auto-buy-cheap-gifts-online</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The secret sauce that gave Hunkin his idea.(Credit:Randall Munroe)Being that I'm a famous geek-culture Internet celebrity, people send me gifts all the time. Why, just today I walked out of my apartment to find an eye patch, chopsticks, a John Elway coffee mug, and a power supply for a PowerBook 1400cs. Thank you, readers, for your kind gifts!But not everyone can be a well-known blogger. Take, for example, Paul Hunkin, a Ph.D. student in New Zealand. He set up an Internet bot to randomly buy low-priced stuff, with free shipping, from an online auction site. Paul, you see, likes to get packages. This way, he gets one, on average, every three days. The bot even tweets what it bought (these watch batteries, for example,) so Paul, and anyone else, can keep track.The thing was inspired by this wonderful old strip at XKCD, a nerd Web comic that you should be reading if you aren't. A quote from Paul's Web site:Google didn't reveal anyone doing this already, and after asking a few people, the general opinion was that doing this was a terrible idea that would inevitably end badly. So obviously I had to do it.Poor life choices are, in my opinion, a mark of disturbed genius. Hunkin's script uses Python, and it gains a dollar a day and runs every evening at 8 p.m. Each time it runs it has a one-in-three chance of purchasing something' that way if it doesn't find anything it likes, it can save up for slightly more pricey items.Paul includes more tidbits on his Web site, like an overview of the algorithm the bot uses to pick what to buy, but sadly no downloadable source code.Paul, if you're reading this, please make it available. More people, including Yours Truly, want to get random packages. And really, this could help out the global economy, don't you think&amp;quot'Look what my bot got me today!&amp;quot'(Credit:http://twitter.com/trademe_xkcd576)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[iFixit digs into Microsoft Kinect's guts]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ifixit-digs-into-microsoft-kinects-guts</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ifixit-digs-into-microsoft-kinects-guts</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:11:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Savariya</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ifixit-digs-into-microsoft-kinects-guts</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft Kinect(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)Microsoft's Kinect motion-gaming peripheral, which launched yesterday, has already been torn apart by the folks over at iFixit, who have revealed some rather interesting components inside the device.iFixit, a DIY repair site, was apparently quite surprised by what is packed into the relatively small Kinect. The site said the device boasts so many built-in sensors, that only the Pleo dinosaur robot comes close to matching it. And due to how &quot;mechanically complex&quot; the device is, iFixit believes it was &quot;clearly designed by a team accustomed to designing large hardware, like theXbox.&quot;Aside from a slew of sensors, iFixit found four microphones in the Kinect. The device includes two infrared cameras for &quot;depth detection&quot; and &quot;one standard visual-spectrum camera used for visual recognition.&quot;Microsoft&amp;39's Kinect in pieces, thanks to iFixit.(Credit:iFixit)In addition, the Kinect boasts a motor and a three-axis accelerometer &quot;to increase the accuracy of the panning motor.&quot; But it os the Kinect Prime Sense PS1080-A2 that makes the device work. According to iFixit, the Kinect's sensors are connected to the Prime Sense PS1080-A2 to be processed &quot;before transmitting a refined depth map and color image to the Xbox.&quot;Overall, iFixit gave the Kinect a 6 out of 10 for &quot;repairability,&quot; saying that fixing the Kinect without a service manual &quot;will be quite a challenge.&quot;Microsoft's Kinect launched yesterday to much fanfare. For now, the device is still available in some locations, but how long before it's sold out is anyone's guess. Microsoft expects to sell 5 million Kinect units by year's end amid its competition in the motion-gaming space with Sony'sPlayStation Move and theNintendo Wii. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[T-Mobile copies Apple to get at Apple]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=t-mobile-copies-apple-to-get-at-apple</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=t-mobile-copies-apple-to-get-at-apple</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Yara</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=t-mobile-copies-apple-to-get-at-apple</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Oh, look. It's Justin Long in a skirt. And with lipstick.In a strangely aggressive new campaign, one that suggests that the company has the largest 4G network, T-Mobile has decided to wear the clothes of Apple's recently deceased &quot;Get a Mac&quot; campaign in order to kick AT&amp;T (and Apple) in its nether regions.I had always thought of T-Mobile as the brand that represented families in which depressed fathers had trouble controlling their offspring. But here is the company making bold, manly declarations about having a vaster 4G network than anyone else.Reid Walker, T-Mobile's vice president of communications, explained to TechFlash: &quot;If you look at how consumers are viewing 4G, it's all about speed. When they see some of the current claims out there, they believe they're getting the fastest phone on the market, which is not always the case, as you look at some of the competitive analysis in the market.&quot;Apparently, T-Mobile has an HPSA+ network, which is far finer and faster than, say, Sprint's Clearwire WiMax affair. Apparently. But I would defy you to find anyone with a brain and no feet in the swamp of tech who could explain to you what 4G truly represents. Other than some vague notion of speed.Apparently the International Telecommunications Union recently declared that WiMax and LTE aren't really 4G. But who on earth (the real earth) is following this wonderfully arcane debate Isn't everyone too busy checking Facebook on their iPhones So T-Mobile has decided to use the structure of an Apple ad to take a swipe not at Sprint, but at AT&amp;T. And, therefore, implicitly at Apple.We see a girl in a stripey dress trying to be a cross between Justin Long and former T-Mobile spokesperson Catherine Zeta-Jones. She explains something slightly technical about video chat and offers that her myTouch 4G is far better than aniPhone 4 because an iPhone 4 has an old bald AT&amp;T person on its back. This old bald person looks nothing like John Hodgman's alleged Bill Gates. But there will be those who will wonder whether this largely hairless dude bears a strangely irrelevant resemblance to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer.I ask everyone out there, because I find myself wallowing in confusion: will anyone get this Will anyone care Will everyone rush out to hook up with T-Mobile I also ask myself: if you're going to give Apple a hard time, why would you mimic their rather beloved ads Oh, I get it. Because that will be more memorable. Well, perhaps.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Dating site for 'uglies' heralds first engagement]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dating-site-for-uglies-heralds-first-engagement</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dating-site-for-uglies-heralds-first-engagement</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 30 Oct 2010 07:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Cheery</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dating-site-for-uglies-heralds-first-engagement</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Have you lost hopeAre you sick of slogging away on sites such as Match.com and eHarmony.com to find the partner of your dreams Or at least the partner who will put up with your dead lizard collection, your back hair, and your difficult morning breathThen perhaps it is time to be honest with yourself. Perhaps it is time to look in the mirror and decide that you should be at the Ugly Bug Ball. Or, more accurately, on it.The Ugly Bug Ball is a dating site for those who are aesthetically challenged. That is the creators' description, not mine. Though I am surprised that this site doesn't already include at least 95 percent of society. &quot;We deal in reality&quot;, the site says. So for those who wonder whether a site for the more Shreky (and, who knows, techy) has no chance of success, might I reveal that the Ugly Bug Ball has just announced its first engagementThe Telegraph tells me that Tom Clifford and Janine Walker, two of the Ugly Bug Ball's members, are to be betrothed.Some of the people who have signed up for the site.(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)If you are cynical enough to imagine that it has taken some time for them to become used to their unique features, then you are to be uniquely pitied. For it was only in August that Clifford, 36, wrote to Walker that he had &quot;a face that makes children cry.&quot; (Personally, I feel he was using a technique known as &quot;underpromise and overdeliver.&quot;)Walker, 31, offered the Telegraph a moving tribute to Clifford and to their relationship: &quot;I appreciate that Tom isn't Brad Pitt, but then I'm no Angelina Jolie either.&quot;The Ugly Bug Ball is so pleased to herald the site's first engagement that it has offered the beautiful, happy couple a honeymoon-- in an Ugly Bug caravan in Wales. However, perhaps the most surprising, human, and moving aspect of this site resides in the sort of people who believe they qualify as ugly. While I wouldn't dream of offering a desperate cliche about beauty being in the eye of the beholder, it seems clear that there is some extremely peculiar beholding going on in the world. Vogue has a lot to answer for. As does the National Enquirer.It might make some wonder how it is that certain people behold themselves as beautiful. Yes, they're the folks who put stunning pictures of themselves up on Match.com and eHarmony in the hope that no one will notice that, in real life, they bear rather more resemblance to, well, character actors.The Ugly Bug Ball surely represents something more real and, simultaneously, refined. One can only wish Clifford and Walker lasting happiness. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. In the heat of the night and in the cold light of morning.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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