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<title>Haaze.com / Michle / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[SAE, IEEE partner on vehicle-to-smart-grid tech]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sae-ieee-partner-on-vehicle-to-smart-grid-tech</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sae-ieee-partner-on-vehicle-to-smart-grid-tech</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>nuingrebossmancur</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sae-ieee-partner-on-vehicle-to-smart-grid-tech</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This is a sample SAE J1772 charging system and coupler, the standard connection for plug-in vehicles.(Credit:SAE International)Two of the world's leading technology standardization groups have signed an agreement to partner on vehicle-to-smart-grid standards.The memorandum of understanding has been signed by the IEEE-SA (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association) and SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers). It is essentially a first step to both organizations agreeing on future standards related to smart grids and vehicle electrification, including vehicle-to-grid communications, the organizations said today.The immediate effect is that the two groups will share draft standards on any technology relating to smart grids and &quot;vehicle electrification,&quot; with the opportunity for each to have input on those drafts.This is significant because the SAE, which includes the world's leading automotive manufacturers, has already developed 46 standards relating to electric vehicle technology and is currently developing over 30 more with the help of 24 &quot;ground vehicle electrification committees&quot; totaling over 780 members, according to the SAE.Most notably the SAE established the SAE J1772, a standard charging system and coupler for plug-in vehicles that was agreed to in 2009 and officially published in January 2010. Since then, it has been widely adopted by automakers including Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota.Meanwhile, the IEEE has more than 100 smart-grid standards in development, including 30 that will directly impact the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, according to the IEEE.The hope is that the collaboration will lead to definitive global technology standards for the development and use of the technology so that neither consumers nor manufacturers are inhibited by compatibility or safety issues and so that the technology can move forward faster.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[MIT software could bring 'DNA origami' to the masses]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mit-software-could-bring-dna-origami-to-the-masses</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mit-software-could-bring-dna-origami-to-the-masses</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:57 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hundigranna</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mit-software-could-bring-dna-origami-to-the-masses</guid>
<description><![CDATA[DNA molecules are not merely carriers of information. They are also highly stable and programmable, which is why researchers have been working so feverishly on a design strategy called DNA origami.And now a team at MIT is developing a program that makes the game playable by more than just a select few.Mark Blathe of MIT(Credit:Dominick Reuter)DNA origami--constructing specific 2D and 3D shapes out of DNA strands--could prove to be a highly effective means of developing nanoscale tools, such as synthetic photocells that perform artificial photosynthesis and highly targeted drugs (think of sending a cancer drug to hunt down a specific tumor).But it's still young. Paul Rothemund of CalTech first introduced DNA origami in 2006 (thereby making the cover of Nature and delivering a TED Talk showing tiny DNA smiley faces), and William Shih's lab at Harvard Medical School was able to up the game from 2D to 3D a few years later.The result is that today a small number of brilliant and highly specialized minds are bent over a nanoscale game of origami, playing with various sequences to try to build specific shapes for specific tasks. Imagine a room of highly sophisticated gamers playing with building blocks in a world without Tetris' if they had the game, they'd be able to work faster.This is where the team at MIT, led by biological engineer Mark Bathe, comes in. They've developed software that makes it far easier, with a given DNA template, to predict the three-dimensional shape that will result.&quot;They're sort of building blocks, but it's even more crude because DNA is just a sequence,&quot; Bathe says. &quot;It's taking the places you would connect the DNA together and predicting with a computer what it would look like in the final shape. The goal is to really have this be in the inverse, so the designer wants to make a box or a basket or a gear and then the program tries different folding combinations to give you the shape you want.&quot;DNA comprises a string of four nucleotide bases called A, T, G, and C, with A binding only with T and G only with C. Rothemund found that he was able to get a long strand of DNA to fold using a viral genome that consisted of 8,000 of these nucleotides to create 2D stars, triangles, and yes, those smiley faces. That one strand served as a scaffold for the rest of the structure, with literally hundreds of shorter strands (only 20 to 40 bases in length) combining with the long strand to hold its desired shape.Bathe says his software presented a mathematical and computation challenge, but that because DNA is governed by physics in terms of how it bends and twists and folds, DNA origami is very clean and obedient. Proteins, he says, are much messier, making protein-folding far more complex, which is why the game Foldit exists. (Researchers opened the process up to the masses in the hopes that a greater volume of people working on the problem might speed up progress.)Bathe and his team, who haven't resorted to a game just yet, provide a primer of their software in the Feb. 25 issue of Nature Methods, and they're already working on making the program more automated and &quot;unsupervised,&quot; because at this point it's still largely manual.&quot;Designers still have to guess the rules and then based on the shape modify the rules to get closer to the shape,&quot; Bathe says. &quot;It's the Holy Grail to say, 'I want this,' and then it happens. We've made quite some progress already, so I think in the next half year to a year that should be coming out.&quot;Ever the optimist, Bathe was quoted in the MIT news release saying, &quot;Once nonspecialists can design arbitrary 3D nanostructures using DNA origami, their imaginations can run free.&quot; Ever the realist, I had to ask whether such an achievement might also be risky in the wrong hands. For Bathe, this is the conundrum we face in light of most advancements' the potential for progress, he hopes, far outweighs the risks.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sony PS3 data breach highlights what a loser I am]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-ps3-data-breach-highlights-what-a-loser-i-am</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-ps3-data-breach-highlights-what-a-loser-i-am</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>gazrlz</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-ps3-data-breach-highlights-what-a-loser-i-am</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sorry. No PixelJunk Monsters for now. (Credit:Screenshot by GameSpot)Every night it's the same forlorn ritual. I watch my TV, read my books, chase the cat into the bathroom and back--all in a vain effort to fill the gaping emptiness inside. Invariably at some point my hands reach for the beloved black controller, where I try--even though I know it won't work, but still you never know--to log on to the online network of mySony PS3 game console. It's been 7 days now (or is it 7,000) since the Sony PlayStation Network went down. We've since learned the company is taking the extreme step of rebuilding its network after a massive hacking attack. E-mail addresses, passwords, purchase history--and almost certainly credit card numbers--all sucked up by persons unknown. I wish I could get riled up over this latest security breach, but honestly it's the third time in three years I've received notification that my credit information may have been compromised. At this point in the Digital Age, I've become reconciled to the fact that lots of strangers are rummaging through the underwear drawer of my credit history. What's truly disheartening about Sony's security fumble is how much I miss posting my best scores on the Sony network. And more insidiously, the addictive nature of video games. My name is SunnyD11 and I am a PixelJunk Monsters addict. For those of you who don't know, PixelJunk Monsters is probably the best game ever created in the history of the universe. It incorporates all the great themes of mankind's history--players build fortresses with their gold and kill monsters before they kill our babies. Of course, like everything else in life, the devil is in the details. You only start out with a limited amount of gold. And there are different kinds of monsters that require different kinds of fortresses. A typical game goes like this: Buy two archer towers @100 gold each to kill the first wave of spiders' collect the gold that appears when the spiders die and buy one more cannon tower @120 gold to kill the giants' collect the gold (and blue gems to upgrade your fortresses) to buy beehive tower @450 gold to ward off mosquitoes, birds and bees' buy an electrical tower to electrocute the shielded monsters' etc.Related links&amp;149' Five questions for Sony about PSN breach&amp;149' Sony: We're 'rebuilding' PlayStation Network&amp;149' Sony: Personal info compromised on PSN&amp;149' Sony sued for PlayStation Network data breach If through error on your part, you fail to block the advancing waves of monsters, then one or more slip past your final defenses and start stomping around on the heads of your babies (or maybe they're villagers, but I think of them as my babies) until all 20 are dead. You lose. Or you win but with casualties.Like most video games, if you're truly invested, then your heart is pounding, your neck muscles and shoulders are clenched, and the flow of blood is constricted to your hand. You come out of your trance when the pins and needles start pricking in your hand, or your muscles cramp or bladder swells.It has occurred to me that my physical/mental experience on PixelJunk Monsters is quite similar to my job as home page editor at CBSNews.com. When breaking news happens, I tweet this, ticker that, send a breaking news e-mail, rank a story on the front door, receive instant messages from producers and graphic artists, etc. nlrText { float: right' width: 170px' padding: 5px' margin: 10px 10px 10px 0' font-family: verdana' font-size: 10px' border: 1px solid 999' background: FFFFEF' } nlrText h4{display: block' font-size: 1.4em' padding: 0' margin: 0' color: 900' }    Broader impact Additional services users can't access from a PS3 due to Sony taking PSN offline: Netflix Hulu Plus MLB.TV  PSN Plus  True confession: I think years of working in the news business have hardwired my brain to require this energy rush/adrenaline surge of multitasking. And when I get home my poor junkie brain turns to video games for another adrenaline fix. It's not good.After you've beaten all the levels, the next phase for those who are truly addicted is to start comparing your numbers to the gaming world at large. Which is where the Sony PlayStation Network comes in. We who are truly consumed eke out new satisfaction after we've beaten all the levels. We compare ourselves to Jonahbar, Blueskysarah, Fatima100, mandingo, and the others who labor alone.You're probably wondering why I can't continue playing the game, even if I can't log on to the network.SunnyD11 refuses to play PixelJunk Monsters while the network is down because he knows that he will achieve a stellar, once-in-a-lifetime result and there will be no way to record it for posterity.Helpful tipsOne of my co-workers notes that if you're wondering which credit card you might have registered on the Sony network, you can look through your old purchase e-mails from this sender: DoNotReply@ac.playstation.net, which will reference the credit card you used with Sony network. If like me, you're suffering a double whammy because you stream Netflix through your PS3, it's possible to connect a laptop to the TV and stream from your computer. I recently bought a laptop that had an HDMI port, and I simply disconnected the accursed PS3 and connected my laptop and streamed with quite good results to my TV.This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Verizon adds $50 unlimited prepaid plan]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-adds-50-unlimited-prepaid-plan</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-adds-50-unlimited-prepaid-plan</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sonjawinsa</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=verizon-adds-50-unlimited-prepaid-plan</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Verizon Wireless planted a bigger flag in prepaid this week with the announcement of its new &quot;Verizon Unleashed&quot; plans. Though only available in Southern California and most of Florida for the time being, the plans offers unlimited services for $50 per month.Verizon Unleashed will offer subscribers unlimited calling minutes regardless of time of day, unlimited calls to other Verizon subscribers, unlimited domestic messaging, and unlimited messaging to select carriers in Canada and Mexico. Unlimited mobile Web is a feature as well, though the plan is not available on handsets that have full HTML browsers. Verizon has long offered prepaid plans, but the $50 price point is significantly less than its current $94.99 plan for unlimited calling and texts. It also puts Big Red in direct competition with long-established prepaid operators like MetroPCS and Cricket Wireless, which offer prepaid plans in the same range.A comparison between the various options, however, shows that price alone may not be enough for Verizon to steal customers from its rivals. Granted, Verizon offers a nationwide home network, but the smaller carriers can counter with free nationwide roaming. MetroPCS's cheapest prepaid plan, which is $40 per month, brings unlimited calling, messaging, and Web-browsing for handsets with WAP browsers. The $45 per-month plan adds features like free international text messaging and directory assistance (Verizon charges $1.99 plus airtime for such calls) while the $50 per month plans adds additional MetroPCS services like MetroWeb Navigator (Verizon will charge extra for VZ Navigator), e-mail, and instant messaging.Cricket's$45 per-month plan also includes unlimited calling and texts plus unlimited 411 directory assistance, navigation services, international texts, and mobile Web for phones with standardmobile browsers. Like Verizon, Cricket also throws in three-way calling, caller ID, call waiting, and call forwarding. For smartphone users the $55 per-month plan offers additional services for BlackBerry and Android devices.For $50 per monthBoost Mobile delivers unlimited calling, messaging, e-mail and instant messaging, 411 directory assistance, push-to-talk service, and Web browsing on a selection of handsets that includes Android models like the Samsung Galaxy Prevail . Yet, Boost charges 10 cents to send international text messages.If you don't want a monthly fee, you can opt for pay-as-you go pricing. For $1.99 per day you'll get unlimited calling, but text and multimedia messages will be two cents each. Alternatively, for 99 cents per day, only calls to other Verizon subscribers will be unlimited. All other calls will be 10 cents per minute and text messages will be 10 cents each.Regardless of what you pay, though, you'll have to choose from just three handsets. The LG Accolade  offers decent call quality in a flip phone design, whereas the Pantech Caper and the LG Cosmos have full QWERTY keyboards.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Jobs, Apple execs discuss iPhones and location (Q&A)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=jobs-apple-execs-discuss-iphones-and-location-qa</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=jobs-apple-execs-discuss-iphones-and-location-qa</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marioniliopi</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=jobs-apple-execs-discuss-iphones-and-location-qa</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Although Apple was silent for several days after researchers raised issues about location information being stored on theiPhone, that wasn't because it was ignoring the issue. Apple CEO Steve Jobs told Mobilized that the company wanted to figure out exactly what was and wasn't happening, and then figure out the best way to explain a complex set of issues to its customers. Steve Jobs, seen here unveiling the iPad 2 last month, talked about iPhones and location today in an interview with All Things Digital. (Credit:James Martin/CNET ) &quot;We're an engineering-driven company,&quot; Jobs said in a telephone interview today. &quot;When people accuse us of things, the first thing we want to do is find out the truth. That took a certain amount of time to track all of these things down. And the accusations were coming day by day. By the time we had figured this all out, it took a few days. Then writing it up and trying to make it intelligible when this is a very high-tech topic took a few days. And here we are less than a week later.&quot; During the phone interview, Jobs and Senior Vice Presidents Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall talked about what information the iPhone is and isn't collecting, some lessons learned, and the need for the industry to do a better job of explaining things to customers. Jobs said that the company is leading the way when it comes to privacy and said Apple looks forward to testifying before any congressional inquiries on such issues. During the talk, the execs also touched briefly on the release of the long-delayed white iPhone. Also, Jobs declined to comment on when he might return full time to Apple. Here is an edited transcript of the interview:One of the challenges here is that, by their nature, location-based services require location information but that information is highly sensitive and can be used in a lot of ways. How does Apple approach this balance Steve Jobs: I think we do two things. Number one is we get consent from users if we are going to use location, or we never use location. That's what we do. It's very straightforward. We haven't been tracking anybody's location and the files they found on these phones, as we explained, it turned out were basically files we have built through anonymous, crowdsourced information that we collect from the tens of millions of iPhones out there. We build a crowdsourced database of Wi-Fi and cell tower hot spots, but those can be over 100 miles away from where you are. Those are not telling you anything abut your location. That's what people saw on the phone and mistook it for location.How would you differentiate Apple's approach to location information from, say, what Google and others are doing Jobs: Well, that's your job. Is there anything that you guys have learned over the last week or so and take away from this Scott Forstall: One thing I think we have learned is that, the cache we had on the system, the point of that cache, is we do all the location calculations on the phone itself so no location calculations are done separately. You can imagine in ideal world the entire crowdsourced database is on the phone and it just never has to talk to a server to do these calculations (or) to even get the cache.What we do is we cache a subset of that. We picked a size, around 2MB, which is less than half a song. It turns out it was fairly large and could hold items for a long time.We had that protected on the system. It had root protection and was sandboxed from any other application. But if someone hacks their phone and jailbreaks it, they can get to this and misunderstand the point of that. It's all anonymous and cannot be traced back to any individual phone or person. But we need to be even more careful about what files are on the phone, even if they are protected.Jobs: As new technology comes into the society there is a period of adjustment and education. We haven't as an industry done a very good job educating people, I think, as to some of the more subtle things going on here. As such, (people) jumped to a lot of wrong conclusions in the last week. I think the right time to educate people is when there is no problem. I think we will probably ask ourselves how we can do some of that, as an industry.A bunch of folks on the regulatory side, both in the U.S. and elsewhere said they are going to look into this. Do you guys plan on testifying before Congress How active do you personally and does Apple want to be Jobs: I think Apple will be testifying. They have asked us to come and we will honor their request, of course. I think it is great that they are investigating this and I think it will be interesting to see how aggressive or lazy the press is on this in terms of investigating the rest of the participants in the industry and finding out what they do. Some of them don't do what we do. That's for sure.It seems like one of the issues is on the app level. You have apps that do as little, on the Android side, as providing battery information and want access to the dialer and location information. Do you think consumers ought to be paying attention to the individual apps they are using and what sorts of permissions those apps (require) Jobs: We think so and that's why we were the first to institute a procedure that cannot be worked around by applications where if any application wants access to location data, it has to ask the user first. It has to get the user's permission on a per-application basis.You mentioned in the statement today that Apple is using the collective location data to build a collective traffic database. At our D8 Conference last year you talked about the importance of full disclosure by the industry. Do you think Apple and other companies need to let people know specifically what you guys are doing with the information and choose whether to participate in these commercial projects, or do you think Apple and others should have fairly broad use of anonymized data. Jobs: If people don't want to participate in things, they will be able to turn location services off. Once we get a bug that we found fixed, their phone will not be collecting or contributing any crowdsourced information. But nor will it be calculating location.Phil Schiller: Sometimes it helps people to understand an analogy that describes what these things are like because they are so new. I would think an analogy of a crowdsourced database is every time you walk into a retail store, many retailers have a clicker that counts how many people come in and out of the store. Nobody really cares about that because it is completely anonymous. It is not personal data. It is not anything to worry about. It's not something that people feel is private because it is really not about them. It's a coagulated total of all traffic. These crowdsourced databases are sort of like that.Things like that aren't so scary when you think about them in everyday terms.Is traffic the only thing you are using that collective data for, or do you have other plans Jobs: We mention the traffic service and I think that is all we are going to mention at this point in time before we have something to announce.But you are not saying that is the only thing you might use it for Jobs: We are building a crowdsourced database based on traffic and that is what we are saying.Is there a need for any finer level of control, or is the on-off switch the right way to go Forstall: We are really vigilant about privacy and location and we have worked really hard to make the experience as transparent as possible and give the user full control. As you say, whenever any user wants any application to access their location, the user has to approve that on a per-application basis. That's even true for Apple's built-in applications.In addition, whenever any application uses location, an indicator appears in the status bar. In settings, you can see a list of every single application on the phone that a user has approved for location and the ones that they have not approved for location. They can actually go and turn it off temporarily for an app, if they like. In addition, any application which has used location within the last 24 hours is shown, with an indicator in settings. So a user can know which applications that a user has approved for location, have actually used location recently. We think this is incredibly fine grain and the best out there.Do you guys think Google and others need to do a better job with this Do you feel you are being tarred with a brush for practices that others in the industry have Jobs: Ina, that's your job.Steve, how active have you been in examining this issue over the past couple of weeks Jobs: It hasn't been a couple of weeks. This all started last Wednesday and we put out our response this morning. It took us slightly less than a week. Scott and Phil and I have worked together over this last week, first to investigate the problem.We're an engineering-driven company. When people accuse us of things, the first thing we want to do is find out the truth. That took a certain amount of time to track all of these things down. And the accusations were coming day by day. By the time we had figured this all out, it took a few days. Then writing it up and trying to make it intelligible when this is a very high-tech topic took a few days. And here we are less than a week later.I was curious if you have an ETA about when you would be coming back full time Jobs: Look, we're here to talk about location today, not me.Story Copyright (c) 2011 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Study: Google to take Apple's app crown by July]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-google-to-take-apples-app-crown-by-july</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-google-to-take-apples-app-crown-by-july</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>amytalbot</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=study-google-to-take-apples-app-crown-by-july</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Distimo)Apple frequently touts the number of applications available to iOS users, which now sits north of 350,000. But that number could be in danger of coming in second place to rival Google in just a few months time.In a new report by market research firm Distimo for the last month of activity on Apple's various App Stores, the BlackBerry App World, GetJar, Google's Android Market, Nokia's Ovi Store, Palm's App Catalog, and Microsoft'sWindows Phone 7 Marketplace, the group found Google and Microsoft's efforts to be growing the fastest.&quot;If all application stores maintain their current growth pace, approximately five months from now Google Android Market will be the largest store in terms of number of applications followed by the Apple App Store foriPhone andiPad, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, BlackBerry App World and Nokia Ovi Store,&quot; the firm said in its findings. &quot;The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace will also be larger than the Nokia Ovi Store and BlackBerry App World prior to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace being available for even a full year.&quot;Distimo's research found that Google has already made headway on attacking Apple on the volume front, pushing past the App Store with 134,342 free applications versus the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch's 121,845 free applications. The firm estimates that Google will be 40,000 applications short of evening out with Apple's overall volume by the end of June, and will catch up completely in July. Distimo notes that any growth estimates are gauged on the past three months of activity across the ecosystem, which &quot;could easily accelerate or slow down.&quot;Not included in that calculation are sales and app volume counted from Amazon's recently launched Appstore, which is not to be confused with Apple's &quot;App Store&quot; (as on-going litigation points out). Amazon launched its currently Android-only mobile application store near the end of last month, which would make it too late to included in this round of tracking. Amazon's store contains many of the same apps available on the Android Market, though could end up building up a library of exclusives over time. Along with the volume tracking, Distimo's report released a year's findings about Apple's App Store for the iPad, which it says reached 75,755 applications at the end of March. Thirty percent of those applications are free, the firm said, with the average price for paid apps hitting $5.36. Interestingly enough, that $5.36 number is up from the early days of the store, when the average was $4.34 per paid application. Distimo says the trend is unusual, since other application stores tend to have a lowering average price as app volumes get higher. &quot;This is likely because the games category (which has generally had a high in-app purchase adoption rate) has lost some of its prominence to other categories,&quot; the report said.Based on Distimo's data, books reign as the supreme category on the iPad as of the end of March, with 16,712 book applications. Games come a close second at 13,861 applications. From there it drops off to education, followed by entertainment and lifestyle applications. Worth a mention here is a separate study from forecast firm Simba released earlier today, which found that nearly 40 percent of iPad owners haven't used the device for reading e-books. Most said they used their computer as a primary reading device.  Related:Android Market saw greatest surge in 2010 <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Chrome getting Flash cookie protection]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chrome-getting-flash-cookie-protection</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chrome-getting-flash-cookie-protection</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>seascaseaa</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chrome-getting-flash-cookie-protection</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Chrome lets people clear data stored by plug-ins such as Flash Player, helping to nip the idea of the &amp;34'evercookie&amp;34' in the bud.(Credit:Google)For privacy fans or others who want to keep their computers free of traces of what they've been doing online, Google's Chrome browser is getting an option to make sure Adobe Systems' Flash Player isn't getting in the way.Web sites often store details about a user in small text files called cookies that can record details such as usernames, browsing history, and advertisements that have been seen. But storage abilities in Flash mean that even if a person deletes regular cookies, a Web site could reconstruct particulars from Flash data. There are other storage mechanisms arriving in browsers, too, leading to the term &quot;evercookie,&quot; but Adobe is trying to take care of its responsibilities with a beta of Flash Player 10.3 that lets browsers delete that data.Now Chrome is getting a checkbox to take advantage of that feature.&quot;As of this week's Chrome Dev channel release, you can delete local plug-in storage data (such as Flash LSOs [local storage objects]) from within Chrome by clicking Wrench &gt; Tools &gt; Clear browsing data and selecting 'Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data,'&quot; said Chrome programmer Bernhard Bauer in a blog post yesterday. Chrome also can be set to delete such data when people shut down the browser.So far, Flash is the only known plug-in that takes advantage of the feature, Bauer said.Mozilla helped Adobe and Google develop the feature, so expectFirefox, too, to add support at some stage for the Flash data deletion feature.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[YouTube founders buy Delicious off Yahoo]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-founders-buy-delicious-off-yahoo</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-founders-buy-delicious-off-yahoo</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mhetherrrt</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-founders-buy-delicious-off-yahoo</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Yahoo)Social-bookmarking service Delicious has been purchased by AVOS, the company started by YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. Yahoo said in a statement that it will continue to run the Delicious service until about July. User information will then be handed over to AVOS.The new owners say they'll continue to run the site as it is. On a frequently asked questions page on Delicious, Yahoo says &quot;there may be a time of adjustment as AVOS relaunches Delicious, but the company's intention is to add new features and grow the service overall.&quot;&quot;We're excited to work with this fantastic community and take Delicious to the next level,&quot; Hurley, who's CEO of AVOS, said in a statement. &quot;We see a tremendous opportunity to simplify the way users save and share content they discover anywhere on the Web.&quot; As part of the transition, Yahoo says, users' public and private bookmarks will be preserved. In order to facilitate the changeover, Yahoo is asking users to agree to have their information transferred to the new company. Those who don't agree to AVOS' terms of service will not be able to access their bookmarks or the service, Delicious said.Delicious, which formerly went by the name &quot;del.icio.us,&quot; lets users save bookmarks to the cloud. These can be saved publicly or privately, with the company keeping track of how many times public bookmarks are saved by other users. That functionality turns the site into both a utility and a social news site of sorts, with particularly noteworthy or otherwise trending items surfacing on the front page.Yahoo acquired the site in 2005. Following the unveiling of a large list of companies that Yahoo planned to shut down as part of its cutbacks last year, Delicious noted that it was no longer a strategic fit at Yahoo, and said that it was seeking outside companies to acquire it. &quot;We spoke with numerous parties interested in acquiring the site, and chose Chad and Steve based on their passion and unique vision for Delicious,&quot; said John Matheny, Yahoo's senior VP of communications and communities.Hurley and Chen dropped hints about their new business venture during a discussion at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in Manhattan last month. At the time, Hurley said the pair were examining &quot;basic components that every Web site needs to get off the ground,&quot; as well as a possible video indexing system. Where Delicious' bookmarking service would fit in with those two is unclear. So far San Mateo, Calif.-based AVOS has been described by its founders as a &quot;new Internet company.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Calif. highways could be source of green energy]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=calif--highways-could-be-source-of-green-energy</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=calif--highways-could-be-source-of-green-energy</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ingriasirblogg0</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=calif--highways-could-be-source-of-green-energy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A rendering of Innowattech piezoelectric sensors installed under a highway.(Credit:Innowattech)It might seem a little ironic, but automotive traffic could be the next source of green energy. A bill for a pilot program that will harness road vibration and convert it to energy passed 6-1 in the California State Assembly's Natural Resources Committee yesterday. It will move to the Assembly Transportation Committee for voting next week.  California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) first introduced bill AB 306 in February. Piezoelectric generation captures energy thatcars, trains, or people generate as they move across surfaces and cause vibrations. These vibrations can be harnessed and converted to energy using piezoelectric materials underneath surfaces. Electricity stored in roadside batteries could power traffic signs and signals, or on a larger scale, be fed directly into the power grid. A .6 mile single-lane stretch of roadway can generate up to 44 megawatts of electricity in a year, enough to power 30,800 homes. And one of the good things about this energy strategy is that rush hour typically coincides with peak energy usage.Israel is already using piezoelectric generation on its highways, and Italy has plans to install the technology in a stretch of the Venice-to-Trieste Autostrada. Funding for this test project in Northern and Southern California would come from existing funds already set aside by California's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. Although a spokesperson familiar with the bill said the sensors built by Israeli technology company Innowattech or Michigan-based PowerLeap are inexpensive, no figures on the technology or installation cost could be given. However, a $50 billion backlog of road maintenance means there is ample opportunity to install piezoelectric sensors without needing to dig up roads. Determining whether or not it's cost effective to replace broken sensors before regularly schedule road maintenance is one of the pilot program's objectives. (Source: NBC LA) <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Software alerts parents of Facebook users (podcast)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=software-alerts-parents-of-facebook-users-podcast</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=software-alerts-parents-of-facebook-users-podcast</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>limbimsufx</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=software-alerts-parents-of-facebook-users-podcast</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sample warning screen from ZoneAlarm SocialGuard alerts parents to a suspicious Facebook &amp;34'friend&amp;34'.ZoneAlarm SocialGuard (download) from Check Point Software Technologies is a Windows program released today that allows parents to monitor children's Facebook activities to see if they're bullying, being bullied, friending strangers, or engaging in potentially dangerous online activities.No stealth modeFor parents to monitor their kid's profile, the child has to sign in once with his or her Facebook user name and password. That password is not passed on to the parent and the parent can't actually see the child's profile or what they're posting. Instead they get alerts of anything that the software considers to be suspicious.Requiring that the child or teen agree to be monitored not only protects the child's privacy but helps encourage conversations between the parent and the child, according to Bari Abdul, vice president of consumer sales at Check Point and a parent of three children. With this program, the parents can monitor their kids without having to friend their kids. Some kids find it embarrassing to have a parent show up on their friends list.TriggersThe program analyzes all friends to see if any appear to be &quot;socially separated,&quot; which means that there are few if any mutual friends. It also looks at each friend's profile to try to determine if the person may be lying about his or her age.The program also looks for certain words that might be associated with bullying or dangerous activity and if it repeatedly encounters words or links associated with sex, drugs, alcohol, suicide, gambling, hacking, hate speech, violence and other threats, it sends out a warning to parents. Parents can add their own words to watch out for certain types of ethnic or sexual slurs or anything else that they're concerned about. Parents can also enter their child's phone number and address to be notified if they show up in posts.Underage Facebook usersIn a podcast interview, Abdul (scroll down to listen) said that he and his spouse &quot;struggle with how to manage the independence that we give to them and at the same time monitor their social media habits.&quot; Abdul acknowledged that part of the market for the product are parents of children under the age of 13 who, according to Facebook's terms of service, are not allowed to be on the service. Separate studies in both the U.S. and Europe have shown that a substantial number of kids under 13 are among the more than 500 million Facebook users. A 2010 study commissioned by McAfee found that 37 percent of U.S. 10- to 12 year-olds were on Facebook and the recently released EU Kids Online study found that 38 percent of European 9- to 12-year-olds &quot;use social networking sites with one in five having a profile on Facebook.&quot; The authors of that European study called age restrictions &quot;not effective.&quot; Listen now:Download today's podcastSubscribe now:  iTunes (audio) |  RSS (audio)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Analyst to Netflix: Beware of desperate competitors]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-to-netflix-beware-of-desperate-competitors</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-to-netflix-beware-of-desperate-competitors</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mesol</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-to-netflix-beware-of-desperate-competitors</guid>
<description><![CDATA[After posting another sizzling quarter, Netflix seems poised for continued growth. But one analyst believes the company should watch out for the competition.&quot;We think that new services from Hulu, Amazon, Google TV and Apple, as well as the potential launch of a Dish Network/Blockbuster streaming service, each have the potential to create a bidding war for a relatively small amount of available content, and have even greater potential to create pricing pressure on subscriptions,&quot; Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote to investors in a research note today.Pachter is concerned that, in an attempt to catch up to Netflix, the company's competitors will be too willing to give content providers boatloads of cash for their programming. He believes that &quot;one or more irrational competitors could bid up the revenue share paid for content to the 60 percent paid by cable VOD providers, or to the 70 percent currently paid by Apple.&quot;Netflix currently charges customers $8 per month for a streaming-only option, and more for those who have a streaming-and-DVD-rental plan. If content prices go up due to competitive influence, Pachter believes Netflix will have no choice but &quot;to pay more in order to avoid seeing its churn grow.&quot; That, he says, could put a damper on its earnings.So far, Netflix's dominant position in the streaming market is helping it achieve impressive financial performance. The company announced its first quarter earnings yesterday, posting a $60 million profit on $719 million in revenue. It now has 23.6 million subscribers.Netflix might not only need to worry about trigger-happy competitors. CNET's Greg Sandoval said yesterday that his film industry sources told him that they are currently in the process of determining how much they should charge for their content. And once they figure that out, they could require Netflix to pay them more than it currently does.Such demands wouldn't be anything new. HBO said earlier this year that in order for Netflix to afford its content, the rental company would need to charge customers at least $20 per month for its streaming service.For its part, Netflix seems prepared to pay more for its content. Last year, the company told CNET that if it's &quot;successful, you'll see lower DVD expense and higher streaming expense.&quot;However, it doesn't want to overpay for content either. In response to HBO's claims, Netflix told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year that it's willing to &quot;figure out a deal [with HBO] that makes sense. If we don't, then the service doesn't have everything, and that's OK too.&quot;Plus, Netflix is thinking outside the box. Earlier this year, the company outbid HBO to acquire its first original program, &quot;House of Cards,&quot; starring Kevin Spacey. The show is expected to air next year. Netflix has already committed to 26 episodes.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Seized Web sites won't end up like drug dealers' cars]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=seized-web-sites-wont-end-up-like-drug-dealers-cars</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=seized-web-sites-wont-end-up-like-drug-dealers-cars</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>cobocumi</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=seized-web-sites-wont-end-up-like-drug-dealers-cars</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Screen shot of a public service announcement that visitors to seized Web sites will be redirected to. (Credit:Screen shot by Greg Sandoval/CNET)When the government seizes a dope dealer'scar, it can put the auto up for auction. But what happens when agents seize a Web domainThe U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) said today that those sites seized for trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods will now serve to help spread the government's message that &quot;unfairly devalue America's contributions, compromise American jobs, and put consumers, families, and communities at risk.&quot;The Obama administration and the U.S. Congress have declared war on online piracy and law enforcement agencies have seized more than 100 sites in the past year. Of those, 65 domain names now direct visitors to a public service announcement. ICE Director John Morton(Credit:Greg Sandoval/CNET)For example, visitors to Dvdcollects.com, a domain seized in November 2009, will now be redirected to an announcement on ICE's YouTube page. According to ICE, plenty of people are seeing these messages. &quot;There have been over 45 million hits to the seizure banner that notifies visitors that a federal court order has been issued for the domain,&quot; ICE said in a press release. ICE is one of the agencies that has been tasked with taking down sites accused of illegally distributing intellectual property. The agency said, however, that before it can start using the seized Web sites for its own purposes, it must give interested parties time to contest the forfeiture. Interested parties can file a petition with a federal court, ICE said in its statement. More to come<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA['South Park' MusicSkins: Cartman on your phone]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ccretspql</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You must respect my authority! (Click to enlarge.)(Credit:MusicSkins)Television shows have a way of escaping from the small screen into the real world. Now you can share your devotion to the foul-mouthed young residents of South Park, Colo., on your smartphone, laptop,iPod, ortablet with MusicSkins' new line of &quot;South Park&quot; images.There is a reason for this special skinning occasion. &quot;South Park&quot; just arrived for its 15th season (that's a long time to be stuck in fourth grade). Choose from character portraits or memorable scenes such as the &quot;Last Pizza Party.&quot; Am I the only one wishing Mecha-Streisand and the Loch Ness Monster were options MusicSkins are made from glossy 3M ControlTac vinyl for a tight, but removable, fit. Expect to pay around $15 to $20 per skin.The skins are available for most brands of cell phones and laptops, as well as a menu of more obscure devices. Consider sticking Chef to your Seagate external hard drive or slapping Captain Chaos onto your kids' Fisher Price iXL preschool learning device. It's never too early to start forming a crude sense of humor. They'll thank you when they get to college and &quot;South Park&quot; is still on the air.If &quot;South Park&quot; doesn't float your boat, you can upload your own images for a custom MusicSkin or browse the huge list of images that are ready to go. I'm totally checking out the Justin Bieber collection, but I think I'd rather skin my iPad with a panorama of run-down Baltimore buildings from &quot;The Wire.&quot;Decorating your phone or laptop with &quot;South Park&quot; is a good way to signal to potential mates that you're into skewing celebrities, social satire, and singing Christmas Poos. Now, every time you drop youriPhone, you can shout, &quot;I killed Kenny!&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[I'm wearing a 'terrorist' watch, and I bought it for $20 at Duane Reade]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=im-wearing-a-terrorist-watch-and-i-bought-it-for-20-at-duane-reade</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=im-wearing-a-terrorist-watch-and-i-bought-it-for-20-at-duane-reade</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>pnominbemaya</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=im-wearing-a-terrorist-watch-and-i-bought-it-for-20-at-duane-reade</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Great drugstore bargain, or ominous watch of terror(Credit:Scott Stein/CNET)Turns out the government's concerned about the threat possibilities of a low-tech piece of equipment--one that I just discovered on my own wrist.Around the time I started working at CNET, I bought a Casio watch from my local Duane Reade pharmacy. My other watch broke, I just had a kid, and having a watch made things easier: no fishing for myiPhone while holding the baby, plus it had a stopwatch for timing feedings.Who knew my watch would become this infamous According to training document on Wikileaks, the Casio F91W watch was worn on the wrist of a large number of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and has been linked to the manufacture of explosive devices. As I read this story, I glanced down at my very similar-looking watch, then checked the model number. It was different.Of course, then I read that the document includes the metal-banded A159W, too. Mine is technically the A158W. Still, it's essentially the same watch.What does this all mean Will I now get an extra shakedown at airports Will my watch be removed The truth is, there are several good reasons anyone--detainees, myself, or otherwise--would use this watch: it's cheap, versatile, and reliable. I can't remember the last time a cheap little gadget was given such an ignominious label, especially one that can be gotten for so little at nearly any corner store.Despite its apparent newfound fame in security circles, I won't be taking my Casio off. It works well. It doesn't cause me problems. Hopefully, neither will my next airport security check.(Source: Gizmodo via Boing-Boing via The Guardian--and thanks to Dan Ackerman for pushing me to write about it)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[ChoozOn aggregates the deal aggregators]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=choozon-aggregates-the-deal-aggregators</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=choozon-aggregates-the-deal-aggregators</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sallymy</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=choozon-aggregates-the-deal-aggregators</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Consumers are getting overloaded with group, local, and coupon deal sites, not to mention loyalty programs and credit card rewards. The smart consumer has to pay attention to some or all of these deals in order to avoid spending more than necessary. But while it's true that only suckers pay full retail, there are degrees. To be sure you're getting the best possible low-sucker-quotient deals out there, you need to scan a ton of different sources. Or you can hope that a new service, ChoozOn, can do it for you. Going into limited testing today, ChoozOn aggregates deal aggregation data from group deal sites like Groupon and its clones, coupon aggregators like RetailMeNot and its competitors, and various loyalty programs from retailers, credit card companies, and so on.  ChoozOn is the inevitable deal site meta-aggregator. CTO Usama Fayyad likes that there are so many competing, overlapping deal sites, and services. &quot;The more there are, the better for us,&quot; Fayyad says. ChoozOn lets users create watch lists for deals, made up of deals the user saves as well as recommendations from ChoozOn for incoming deals that fit the user's expressed interests. (Credit:ChoozOn) The service has a complex consumer offering. ChoozOn lets you set up monitors for brands or categories you like. If a deal surfaces on a camera you're interested in, you'll get an alert. You can also have the service recommend deals for you based on complex interactions of your particular business relationships. Say your credit card has a special deal at a retailer you've shopped at before--you'll get an alert. Finally, there's a social angle: you can set up your own &quot;buying clubs&quot; for deals you like and get rewarded when your friends take advantage of those deals. You get the most value out of the service if you give it your loyalty data for the retailers you do business with. You can also have your marketing e-mails sent to your own ChoozOn account, and it will process them for you and tell you which ones are likely important to you (OtherInBox is easier to use since it reaches into your existing e-mail inbox to get your marketing messages, but it doesn't do very much in the way of offer analysis.)  ChoozOn's greatest technical barrier to consumer adoption is this setup hassle, though. Entering loyalty and account data and redirecting e-mails is a lot to ask from consumers. The service will still be useful with limited specific information, like brand preferences, but like billing aggregation services, it's unlikely to become indispensable until a consumer commits to it by doing the data entry. The other big challenge: Facebook, which is launching its own deal service. It won't do everything ChoozOn does, but it doesn't have to. It's Facebook. Its viral tendrils of Likes and Sends will garner more attention to deals than ChoozOn can muster. And if Facebook uses its advertising algorithms to automatically find deals for users based on their own likes and their social networks, it'll be a serious threat to pretty much every company in the deal aggregation space. Previously:&amp;149' Facebook to test Groupon-like deals service (launching Tuesday)&amp;149' Warning: Coupons make you spend more&amp;149' Top sites for saving money on tech Meanwhile, ChoozOn's pitch to brands is that they can get their messages across more effectively to consumers that are interested in them, plus get data on which consumers, or which type of them, are marking their products or brands and ones they want to watch. ChoozOn will make money from referral fees (affiliate deals for purchases and lead generation for loyalty program sign-ups) and possibly from targeted advertising.  Fayyad told me that in addition to direct deals with more than 350 major brands for getting promotional data, the service has hooks into deal sites like Groupon and its competitors, many of which conveniently have APIs.  I got a quick demo of this product, and it looked useful and easy enough to understand. Although, as I said, consumers will have to set it up to make the most of it. There's a lot the company could do to improve that process, which I'll leave it as an exercise for the team. Also, users will have to remember to go to the site (compared to, say, Invisible Hand, which reminds you, when you most need reminding, if you're about to spend more than necessary). But the effort to set up or remember to use ChoozOn may be worthwhile. It looks like it'll be easier to scan this one site for deals and offers than it is to hit the Web and surf the necessary half-dozen sites to make sure you're not overpaying for something. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Mitsubishi i North American launch to begin on West Coast and in Hawaii]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mitsubishi-i-north-american-launch-to-begin-on-west-coast-and-in-hawaii</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mitsubishi-i-north-american-launch-to-begin-on-west-coast-and-in-hawaii</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>insyaaland</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mitsubishi-i-north-american-launch-to-begin-on-west-coast-and-in-hawaii</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Mitsubishi i will have an MSRP of $27,990 for the base ES model' customers in Hawaii will be eligible for a $4,500 clean energy rebate and a federal tax credit of $7,500 (subject to availability), reducing the EV's out-of-pocket cost to under $16,000 after rebates and credits.(Credit:Mitsubishi)The 2012 Mitsubishi i will be riding a big wave to Hawaii, the first North American state to receive the all-electriccar.The Japanese automaker today revealed that beginning this month, Hawaiian consumers will be able to reserve the Mitsubishi i for a refundable deposit of $299 on Mitsubishi's Web site.The Mitsubishi i will be available to test drive at Cutter Mitsubishi in Aiea, Hawaii, this fall. The energy-efficient, five-door Mitsubishi i will launch in Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington in November 2011. The vehicle will be available nationwide by the end of 2012.The Mitsubishi i, with an expected driving range of 85 miles, takes 6 hours at 240V and 22.5 hours at 120V for a full charge. Mitsubishi says it will waive the $99.99 home electrical inspection fee for the first 2,000 Hawaiian residents who place a reservation and purchase the vehicle. The home electrical system inspection is to make sure that the owner's home system can efficiently charge the Mitsubishi i.&quot;We thank Mitsubishi Motors for choosing Hawaii as one of the first states to receive the new 'i' electric car. Electric vehicles use a fraction of the fuel needed by traditional cars, so each EV on the road means we're reducing our dependence on imported oil and increasing our ability to reach Hawaii's goal of 70 percent clean energy within a generation,&quot; said Estrella Seese, acting energy program administrator for the Hawaii State Energy Office.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Facebook begins testing social-buying program]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-begins-testing-social-buying-program</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-begins-testing-social-buying-program</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mariavalo</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-begins-testing-social-buying-program</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A Facebook Deals offer for concert tickets in Austin.(Credit:Facebook)Facebook announced this evening it is ready to begin testing its new local deals offering--the social-networking giant's effort to cash in on the feverish interest in social buying.First revealed in March, Facebook Deals offers members local deals they can buy and share them with their friends on the network. The test will launch tomorrow in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco, but may be expanded to include other cities, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said in statement today.Users in the five test cities will be able to learn about offerings through e-mail and notifications, by clicking on the Deals tab on their Facebook home page, and through their News Feed when friends like or buy a deal.Facebook is working with a passel of other deals sites in the venture, including Opentable, Gilt City, Tippr, PopSugar City, Plum District, ReachLocal, Zozi, Home Run, KGB Deals, aDealio, and ViaGoGo. With 500 million members, Facebook brings a sizable user base in its challenge for dominance in the deals market, which brought in $873 million in revenue last year and could bring in $3.93 billion by 2015, according to a projection from consulting firm BIA/Kelsey. Chief among those competitors is Groupon, which has been riding meteoric growth with half-price massages, discounted restaurant meals, and travel bargains. Chicago-based Groupon, with 60 million users and more than 39 million deals sold in its two years in business, is expected to beef up its muscle with an initial public offering later this year. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Analysts: Motorola Xoom sales still weak]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analysts-motorola-xoom-sales-still-weak</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analysts-motorola-xoom-sales-still-weak</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:36 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sallyhj</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analysts-motorola-xoom-sales-still-weak</guid>
<description><![CDATA[New estimates for sales of Motorola's Xoomtablet--available since late February--are in, but even the most optimistic predictions are scarily small and pale next to theiPad 2's first-weekend sales numbers. With Motorola Mobility due to report first quarter earnings on Thursday, analysts today released a new round of sales estimates for the first tablet from a first-tier supplier to sport Google's Android 3.0 operating system. Let's break this news gently and start with the most rosy forecast. Sanford Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu expects Motorola to announce it shipped 200,000 Xooms, according to an AP report. Motorola Xoom continues to struggle in the shadow of the iPad.(Credit:Motorola)Another analyst went so far as to say that &quot;Motorola survivability risks have grown,&quot; according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, citing Global Equities analyst Trip Chowdry. Chowdry's estimates are all over the map, but his high end isn't very high at 120,000 (the low end is 25,000). How do these numbers stack up against the irrepressibly popular (and chronically sold out) iPad 2 Apple sold about 1 million units during the first weekend of sales. Estimates of early Xoom numbers were 100,000, according to Deutsche Bank. Sales of the Xoom began on February 24. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Rumor: New MacBook Pro case design coming]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-new-macbook-pro-case-design-coming</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-new-macbook-pro-case-design-coming</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>svetalakn</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-new-macbook-pro-case-design-coming</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A new rumor pegs Apple as preparing a new MacBook Pro case design to replace the current unibody aluminum case. The new case design should be present on the next revision of the MacBook Pro, which just saw an update back in February. According to the sources of the rumor, the early 2011 MacBook Pro update is the last with the current case design.MacRumors claims that its source is reliably confirming the updated design, first leaked on iLounge just before February's MacBook Pro update. As noted by MacRumors, the unibody design currently used for MacBook Pro models was first introduced in late 2008, changing the classic MacBook Pro look that had been a holdover from early PowerBook models. No details of what the case design might look like have surfaced, but if the rumor holds, expect to see leaked photos and information shortly.It is likely that the new design would take cues from iPhones, iPads, and iPods, possibly adding touch-screen capabilities, showing off the soon-to-be-releasedMac OS X 7 Lion's touch-friendly desktop operating system features borrowed from iOS.What's on your short list for new MacBook Pro features Let me know in the comments!<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Nook Color now lets authors sign e-books]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nook-color-now-lets-authors-sign-e-books</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nook-color-now-lets-authors-sign-e-books</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>peter</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=nook-color-now-lets-authors-sign-e-books</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You&amp;39'll still to visit the bookstore to get your book signed. (Credit:Barnes &amp; Noble)Lovers of literature know that having a book signed by a favorite author is something truly special. How do you sign an e-book though Hopefully not with ballpoint. Barnes &amp; Noble is set to debut a new feature for the Android-equipped Nook Color e-reader that lets authors digitally sign their e-books using a stylus.  Writer and illustrator Sandra Boynton will be one of the first authors to host an e-book signing, and it's scheduled for Barnes &amp; Noble's Upper East Side store in New York City (7 p.m. on Monday, May 2). The event will promote the digital version of her classic children's book &quot;The Going to Bed Book.&quot; (In keeping with the book's theme, Boynton suggests both adults and children arrive in their pajamas' I'll be the one in the &quot;Brilliant!&quot; Guinness flannels.)Other e-readers, such as the Sony Reader, already make it possible to write on pages. There is also a company named Autography that carries a patent for &quot;inserting an autograph or other salutation into an e-book.&quot;  Despite the existing technology, though, the phrase &quot;e-book signing&quot; hasn't hit the mainstream. It's an interesting play from Barnes &amp; Noble, a company that's redefining itself as paperback sales continue to dwindle due to increased competition from Amazon's Kindle.A representative for Boynton also confirmed that B&amp;N is looking to expand the option to other e-books in the future. Hopefully marathon book-signing sessions with a stylus will be less carpal-tunnel inducing than those conducted with a pen.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Rumor: Motorola prepping a pair of quad-core smartphones for early 2012]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-motorola-prepping-a-pair-of-quad-core-smartphones-for-early-2012</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-motorola-prepping-a-pair-of-quad-core-smartphones-for-early-2012</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marioniliopi</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rumor-motorola-prepping-a-pair-of-quad-core-smartphones-for-early-2012</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Might this be the Motorola &amp;39'Bullet&amp;39', a rumored quad-core Android smartphone(Credit:Droid-Life)We may still be in the first half of 2011, but that doesn't mean we can't start talking about devices rumored for next year. Droid-Life is reporting that it has received preliminary specs for a pair of Motorola handsets that likely won't arrive until 2012. And, as one might expect, the hardware is leaps above the stuff hitting shelves today.Both smartphones, the Bullet and Jet, should be 4G LTE capable for Verizon's network. What's more, the handsets will be among the first to offer Nvidia's new quad-core &quot;Kal-El&quot; Tegra 3 chipset. The Bullet should feature a 4.3-inch qHD display, at least 1GB DDR2 RAM, 16GB internal storage, and a 12-megapixel camera. The touch-screen handset also will feature an NFC chip, which suggests Android 2.3 at the very least.The Jet has a similar design, but will feature a QWERTY keyboard and a slightly smaller, 4-inch screen. It's worth noting that the camera in each device is rumored to include a new sensor, which could result in better images and bigger picture. According to reports, the Bullet will be on the market prior to the Jet, although both are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2012. Droid-Life has followed up with a picture of an Android phone that could be one of the two rumored handsets. According to the blog's latest information, Motorola is working on at least four models with similar specifications to the Jet and Bullet. Looking at the image, we can see a Micro-USB port and an HDMI output on a handset that somewhat resembles the current Droid X. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Kibot the robot entertains kids, spies on them]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kibot-the-robot-entertains-kids-spies-on-them</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kibot-the-robot-entertains-kids-spies-on-them</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>orvalluppr</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kibot-the-robot-entertains-kids-spies-on-them</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A child tries out Kibot the robot playmate during a launch event in Seoul. (Credit:AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)Korean children, already fast becoming a robot-friendly lot, have a new companion in Kibot, a monkey-faced bot that can read fairy tales, sing songs, take pictures, and make video calls via a display embedded in its tummy.  Wireless operator KT Telecom started delivering the multitasking monkey today for 485,000 won ($447), plus wireless packages that can be purchased in 12- or 14-month installments.  &quot;It's really cute,&quot; said my 9-year-old friend Stella, a co-worker's daughter who visited CNET's offices today. &quot;I would get one if it was in blue.&quot; (No luck' for now, it only comes in pink and gray).  Kibot (short for &quot;kid's robot&quot;) isn't just for kids, however. Parents can also remotely control the 8-inch-tall wheeled robot via mobile phone and, using Wi-Fi, monitor their children (a feature that made Stella a tad apprehensive). &quot;If I was sleeping, it wouldn't be that comfortable if I knew someone was watching me,&quot; she said. &quot;It would be freaky.&quot;  Big brother (or father) concerns aside, Stella thinks the robot playmate--which is aimed at kids younger than she is, 3 to 7--would be a hoot to have around.  She was especially excited by the video chat function, which lets kids make calls via the 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera simply by touching an RFID card bearing the picture of a familiar face (Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and so on) to the device.  Kibot, which runs on a rechargeable battery and is manufactured by iRiver, has plenty of other tricks up its sensor-enabled sleeves, too.  It responds to gestures, like pats, by turning and pleasantly saying, &quot;It feels good.&quot; When it encounters an obstacle, it can change direction to avoid it. It can take pictures and record and play back customized voices. It even serves as a language tutor for Korean and English. About the only things it doesn't do, seemingly, are scratch its head and swing from branch to branch. Kibot has a 3.5-inch display in its tummy. (Credit:KT Telecom) The Kibot home page (in Korean) offers about 300 children's songs, fairy tales, and animations. Upon purchasing Kibot, buyers automatically get 55 pieces of content' they can then select and download 10 additional pieces of media free of charge each month.  Robots and kids are not a new combination, of course. Telepresence robots have helped sick children attend school, and bots have babysat and been used to teach autistic children social skills and assist youngsters with motor deficits.  While KT Telecom is primarily touting Kibot as an entertainment and communications hub and not a therapeutic device, it's also promoting it as a socialization tool.  &quot;Before going to bed, my child puts Kibot by his bedside, and looks at it, and then falls asleep,&quot; said a mother of a 4-year-old boy. &quot;Actually, he used not to fall asleep without me beside him. Nowadays, strangely enough, he sleeps alone well.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Geo-tracking controversy homes in on iPhone (roundup)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=geo-tracking-controversy-homes-in-on-iphone-roundup</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=geo-tracking-controversy-homes-in-on-iphone-roundup</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>subcuisine</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=geo-tracking-controversy-homes-in-on-iphone-roundup</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple has come under fire following a researcher's report that iOS version 4 software for theiPad andiPhone stores users' location data. Microsoft collects locations of Windows phone usersWindows Phone 7 transmits a &quot;unique device ID&quot; to Microsoft with GPS-derived location data, similar to Google and Apple. But no location history is stored on the phone. (Posted in Privacy Inc. by Declan McCullagh)April 24, 2011 10:30 PM PDT Apple sued over location tracking in iOSA pair of individuals are suing Apple for tracking user information on its devices, saying the company should have done a better job of disclosing the practice, as well as offering a way to turn it off. (Posted in Apple Talk by Josh Lowensohn)April 25, 2011 5:12 PM PDT AG wants answers on tracking from Apple, Google Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants to know what both companies are doing with location information and why there's not a way to turn it off.(Posted in Apple Talk by Josh Lowensohn)April 25, 2011 1:41 AM PDT Your iPhone's watching you. Should you carefaq Apple has been found to be keeping a log of information on user whereabouts that is freely available for others who get their hands on the data. CNET finds out what data is stored, what devices are affected, and whether you can turn it off.(Posted in Apple by Josh Lowensohn and Elinor Mills)April 20, 2011 6:41 PM PDT  Alleged Jobs e-mail says tracking claims are 'false'In an alleged e-mail from Apple CEO Steve Jobs to a reader, the CEO says the company is not tracking user location, and that claims otherwise are &quot;false.&quot;(Posted in Apple Talk by Josh Lowensohn)April 25, 2011 10:53 AM PDT Android data tied to users Some say yesGoogle says its collection of location information from Android devices isn't &quot;traceable&quot; to a particular individual, a narrow claim that's already attracting criticism.(Posted in Privacy Inc. by Declan McCullagh)April 22, 2011 7:08 PM PDT Ask Maggie: iPhone 5 rumors and iPhone-tracking woesIn this week's column, a roundup of the latest rumors on the much-anticipated iPhone 5 and some perspective on recent privacy concerns related to the iPhone. (Posted in Signal Strength by Marguerite Reardon)April 22, 2011 2:36 PM PDT Lawmakers demand answers from Apple on iPhone trackingRep. Ed Markey is the latest politician on Capitol Hill to ask Apple for answers over a report that says the company's iOS software keeps track of users' location.(Posted in Signal Strength by Marguerite Reardon)April 21, 2011 2:07 PM PDT How police have obtained iPhone, iPad tracking logs It's no secret to police investigators that the Apple iPhone keeps track of its owners' approximate location. And Android devices appear to do the same as well.(Posted in Privacy Inc. by Declan McCullagh)April 21, 2011 11:59 PM PDT  Researcher: iPhone, iPad track users' whereaboutsAuthors of O'Reilly Radar story are speaking at the Where 2.0 conference about location-tracking information they have found in iPhones and 3G-capable iPads that are running iOS 4.(Posted in The Digital Home by Don Reisinger)April 20, 2011 9:44 AM PDT  related coverage Congressmen push for location tracking disclosureIn move that could influence the future of location privacy laws, two congressmen are asking for responses from AT&amp;T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile.(Posted in Privacy Inc. by Declan McCullagh)April 1, 2011 5:00 PM PDT Sen. Ron Wyden: Protecting mobile privacyq&amp;a CNET speaks with Ron Wyden, Democratic senator from Oregon, about his proposal to require police to obtain search warrants before monitoring your whereabouts.(Posted in Privacy Inc. by Declan McCullagh)February 2, 2011 4:00 AM PST Court allows warrantless cell location trackingPhiladelphia appeals court rules that no search warrant is needed for police to track Americans' cell phone whereabouts but says individual judges can &quot;sparingly&quot; require one.(Posted in Privacy Inc. by Declan McCullagh)September 7, 2010 1:44 PM PDT Feds push for tracking cell phonesJustice Department is expected to tell federal appeals court, in first case of its kind, that no warrant is required to obtain previous location data. (Posted in Politics and Law by Declan McCullagh)February 11, 2010 4:00 AM PST   .postBody h3, .postBody h4{font-size: 1.2em'margin: 10px 0 0 0 'padding: 0px'font-weight: bold'border-bottom: none'} <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google's WebM patent pals agree to share]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-webm-patent-pals-agree-to-share</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-webm-patent-pals-agree-to-share</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>svetalazz</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googles-webm-patent-pals-agree-to-share</guid>
<description><![CDATA[These days, patent lawsuits have become the big guns that tech companies use to battle their competitors. But when it comes to Google's WebM video technology, the company is trying to establish a neutral zone of patent peace.Today, Google is announcing a program called the WebM Community Cross License initiative designed to dispel patent-related threats looming over freely usable video technology for the Web.Under the effort, members who join agree to license any WebM-related patents to each other, a move that offers mutual reassurance that the technology is royalty-free in practice as well as in Google's aspiration.&quot;Each grants to the other members a patent license for any patents that may be essential to WebM,&quot; said Mike Jazayeri, Google's director of product management for WebM.So far Google has signed up 16 other organizations for the effort, some of them obvious allies such as browser makers Mozilla and Opera Software. But other allies, such as Samsung and LG Electronics, have video-related patents one could judge as commercially viable by virtue of their relevance to H.264, WebM's biggest video encoding technology rival.The effort is an attempt to counter doubts raised about the patent purity of WebM by MPEG LA, which licenses the H.264 patent pool and is investigating the creation of a similar pool for VP8, the video encoding technology that along with the Vorbis audio codec is the core of WebM. MPEG LA has said it believes VP8 violates others patents, though it hasn't revealed any details.Google hopes the WebM Community Cross License, combined with its own usage of WebM, will allay concerns.&quot;We felt comfortable in including it in our own products and services,&quot; Jazayeri said, mentioning its YouTube video site and Chrome browser. &quot;We're hopeful the CCL will bring clarity and confidence&quot; to those considering using WebM themselves.If MPEG LA offered a VP8 patent pool, it might be convenient for some companies interested in using VP8 that are worried about potential lawsuits from patent holders. But it also would severely undermine Google's ambition to create a patent-free technology. For example, it would preclude it from inclusion in open-source software such as Mozilla'sFirefox and in standards such as HTML5 that seek to sidestep patent encumbrances.&quot;We genuinely believe the Web is as ubiquitous today as it is because the early founders made the core technologies of the Web open and freely usable,&quot; Jazayeri said. &quot;That's critical.&quot;Many important video patent holders such as Microsoft, Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Sharp, and Sony aren't on the list, though--at least yet.&quot;This is just the beginning,&quot; Jazayeri said. &quot;We are in active discussions [to] engage those who benefit from the Web ecosystem.&quot;The full list of partners so far is:&amp;149' AMD&amp;149' Cisco Systems&amp;149' Google&amp;149' HiSilicon Technologies (for itself and on behalf of its parent, Huawei)&amp;149' LG Electronics&amp;149' Logitech&amp;149' Matroska&amp;149' MIPS Technologies&amp;149' Mozilla Corporation&amp;149' Opera Software&amp;149' Pantech&amp;149' Quanta Computer&amp;149' Samsung&amp;149' STMicroelectronics (for itself and its affiliate, ST-Ericsson)&amp;149' Texas Instruments&amp;149' Verisilicon Holdings&amp;149' Xiph.Org FoundationGoogle has taken other measures to promote WebM. It's removed H.264 support from Chrome, putting its browser in the Mozilla and Opera camp rather than the Internet Explorer andSafari camp when it comes to HTML5 video built straight into Web pages. It's also begun transcoding all uploaded YouTube videos into WebM--a mammoth task from a computing standpoint--and already has transcoded the most popular videos such that 99 percent of what's seen on YouTube can be seen in WebM.It remains to be seen how effectively Google can counter MPEG LA. Google is hoping to marshal allies under the banner of an unencumbered Internet.&quot;I think the comments they've made at this stage aren't helpful to innovation on the Web, and I think others share that concern,&quot; Jazayeri said.To prevail, though, Google and its allies will have to convince others that the commercial value of a livelier Web outweighs the commercial value of any WebM-related patents they have. Today's explosion of patent suits suggests that tech giants with big patent portfolios might not be so eager to lay down their weapons.Corrected 10:58 a.m. PTto reflect that Google's initiative is about WebM video technology, not its related WebP effort for still images.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[ROVs fail to find Japanese missing in tsunami]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rovs-fail-to-find-japanese-missing-in-tsunami</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rovs-fail-to-find-japanese-missing-in-tsunami</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:10:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>chrdoepner</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rovs-fail-to-find-japanese-missing-in-tsunami</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The underwater ROVs found sunken cars and lots of debris, but no bodies. (Credit:IRS)TOKYO--An international team of robotics and engineering specialists used remotely operated underwater vehicles to search for human remains in coastal areas of Japan flattened by last month's tsunami but failed to find any of the missing, the group said Sunday. The International Rescue System Institute, working with the Texas-based Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR), searched the waters off the annihilated communities of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, and Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture.Members used a Seamor ROV and a Seabotix SARbot. The diving machines turned up sunkencars, flotsam, and personal effects but no bodies. Robin Murphy of Texas A&amp;M University, director of CRASAR, was involved in the search, as were other U.S. colleagues. &quot;One lesson learned for future research is that we need simulation software that predicts where debris will go after a tsunami or hurricane (different versions since we believe the water behavior is different for those events),&quot; Murphy blogged.Working with the Japanese Coast Guard, the group used the ROVs to examine houses swept out to sea where dangerous conditions prohibit divers from searching for victims of the tsunami, which left thousands dead or missing in the towns. The researchers also used the machines to check whether submerged debris poses a threat to fishing boats, which are important to the local economy.  The video below, shot by the SARbot with image enhancement, shows a glove that Murphy and colleagues first took for a hand. They were told to expect bodies pinned under debris or partly buried in silt. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Leaks show Lenovo's secret ultrathin X1 laptop]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leaks-show-lenovos-secret-ultrathin-x1-laptop</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leaks-show-lenovos-secret-ultrathin-x1-laptop</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rasmare</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leaks-show-lenovos-secret-ultrathin-x1-laptop</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A view of the ultrathin Lenovo X1.(Credit:shop.tell-it.ch/)Documents and images purportedly from laptop maker Lenovo have turned up on several websites, detailing an upcoming ultrathin 13-inch laptop called the X1. From a listing on a Swiss reseller website and a widely distributed internal Lenovo PowerPoint presentation, we get the following list of specs, partially translated from the original German in this forum. Intel Core i5-2520M processor (dual-core, 2.50GHz, - 3.20GHz,)Max 8GB RAM160GB SSD13.3&quot; LED 1366 x 768 Corning Gorilla Glass 350 NITS Outdoor PanelIntel Integrated HD Graphics High Definition Dolby Home Theater v4 audio3G Mobile BroadbandTrackPoint, UltraNav Touch Pad + Fingerprint Reader + HD-Cameraintegrated Rapid Charge battery, will charge 2.5x faster than previous ThinkPad batteries, charging 80-percent in 30 minutes.16.5mm-21.5mm thickThe Gorilla Glass screen and rapid-charging battery sound especially interesting, although the price listed on the single reseller website is in Swiss Francs and comes out to around $2,900, with an availability date of May 20. Leaks like this should always be taken as hearsay, especially when it comes to price and date (we expect any similarly configured laptop to cost about half that). Stay tuned and we'll bring any official word on the X1 if Lenovo decides to officially announce this laptop.         Dan Ackerman     Full Profile E-mail Dan Ackerman   E-mail Dan Ackerman If you have a question or comment for Dan Ackerman, 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       New York native Dan Ackerman (follow him on Twitter), a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and his most recent album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Survey: Mac users more educated, less Harley-loving]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=survey-mac-users-more-educated-less-harley-loving</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=survey-mac-users-more-educated-less-harley-loving</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>friedhelmk</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=survey-mac-users-more-educated-less-harley-loving</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There can never be enough surveys about the differences between those who use Macs and those armed with PCs.Somehow, new information always emerges. Yes, it might be total nonsense. But it's the sort of total nonsense that makes the world the wonderful place it is.Hunch--the brainspawn of, among others, Flickr founder Caterina Fake--is a site that claims to personalize the Internet by infusing your laptop with your body odor (or something like that). More importantly, it took answers from 388,315 people and then cross-referenced the data with other questionnaires in order to cull vital computing information. The aim To create a definitive and multilayered analysis of what makes aMac user a Mac user and what makes a PC user someone who doesn't throw many parties.No, I am not being unusually mean. This data suggests that Mac users are 50 percent more likely to frequently throw parties than PC users. Does this mean that Mac users are more sociable Or that PC users are all chained-to-their-desk functionaries I wouldn't dare to declare.These wonderful figures also suggest that Mac users are younger, slightly better at the verbal side of life, and--um--rather more educated.There are some terribly strange assertions about PC people, however. On the one hand, they are, apparently, &quot;26 percent more likely to prefer fitting in with others.&quot; This might suggest a certain lamb-like quality. And yet they are also &quot;33 percent more likely than Mac people to say that two random people are more different than alike.&quot; Does this mean that PC people are conflicted between their need for acceptance and their blistering critical faculties Again, I merely put the facts out there. Others must chew on them like steaks tossed to starving Rottweilers.Perhaps less surprising is that PC users would choose a Harley over a Vespa, whereas the reverse is true of those sensitive, Euro-leaning Mac types.And when it comes to one of the fundamentals of personality type--french fries--there is massive divergence. PC users apparently will content themselves with fries from McDonald's. Not so those hummus-munchers (yes, it's proven by this survey) Macboys and girls. For they will choose to thrust their cash at bistro-type fries. (Are they sure McDonald's don't supply those to bistros)This might cause a little consternation, though: Mac users are, apparently, 21 percent more likely to believe they are &quot;computer-savvy gearheads.&quot;Oh, how the ego can cloud one's judgment. Still, PC users favor Rachel Maddow and Jay Leno over Jon Stewart and &quot;60 Minutes.&quot; Perhaps they are simply not gearheady enough to know how to make the remote control move to a channel not owned by NBC.So I leave you with your hackles and your wrenches raised, hoping that this data will either be debunked or confirmed in a fair fight, each round lasting no longer than 30 minutes. I have embedded Gisele Bundchen and a couple of computer-types in order to offer you respite, should you need it. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Canadians who tweet election results face jail]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=canadians-who-tweet-election-results-face-jail</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=canadians-who-tweet-election-results-face-jail</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Iloerika</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=canadians-who-tweet-election-results-face-jail</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It's lovely when old laws try to prevent new ways. It's like your grandma trying to take yourPlayStation away.Canada, for example, has section 329 of its Elections Act. It tells anyone who happens to be insensitive or insensate enough to transmit election results that they will be fined 25,000 quite valuable Canadian dollars--and, perhaps, be offered a mere five years in jail.So along come those bespectacled nerdy types who go and invent things like Twitter--mechanisms that allow you to be a town crier to an especially large and populous town. Now a Canadian in Montreal can broadcast an election result there before the polls have closed in Vancouver. Such a heinous act could clearly influence some hemp-adoring resident of the Canadian west coast to change his or her vote--or perhaps not even bother to wander to the polling station.John Enright, a spokesman for Election Canada, told The Huffington Post: &quot;We're not blind to the fact that social media has taken on its own dimension, especially among youth. As it stands now, 329 is still on the books. People should act in consequence to 329 and the possible repercussions.&quot;(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)Oh, but surely it could not be that tweetly enthusiastic electors will be confronted by mounties and led off to solitary confinement, deprived of their locally produced BlackBerrys.Well, it could. The law, you see, doesn't stop you from phoning a friend to tell them that some candidate favoring breaking ties with the U.S. and moving Canada to the rainforest has beaten out the local conservative.That would be mere communication. What 329 stands against is transmission. Yes, the mass loud-hailering of election results is a threat to democracy.Canadian broadcasters CBC and CTV have tried to get courts to erase this law before Election Night on May 2. But the courts won't hear of it before that date.And a blogger called Paul Bryan deliberately broke the law in 2000. It took seven years for the Canadian court system to decide that he was a bad boy and should be fined $1,000 (he also incurred rather large legal costs).You will be frozen like a margarita on discovering that there are now more tweeting dissenters in Canadian ranks. For there is a new Twitter hashtag--tweettheresults--which will create a community of resistance around the results-transmitting renegades.As one rebel, Susie Erjavec Parker--who describes herself as &quot;wife, Momma, baker consultant and leader--tweeted: &quot;How ignorant are CDN voters if tweettheresults would influence someone's vote Are we that uninformed, easily swayed, and immature really&quot;Ah, ignorance. Now, that would be a topic for another day. In the meantime, I am sure that additional Canadian jail cells have been readied for the mass arrests that will, no doubt ensue May 2.Perhaps they'll open a special jail camp and call it Guantweetamo.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cure your hangover--smash a pinata on YouTube]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cure-your-hangover-smash-a-pinata-on-youtube</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cure-your-hangover-smash-a-pinata-on-youtube</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:14 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>oirvinhughesf</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cure-your-hangover-smash-a-pinata-on-youtube</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There's something vaguely touching when a brand shows it understands your ways, rather than telling you how you ought to live.So who could fail to admire those who market Pepto-Bismol, a substance that looks recycled, but helps you cope with your body's need to emit that which you have cycled into itInstead of yet another singing, dancing, nauseating advertising effort, the Bismolites have decided to align their efforts online with events that are associated with excess.You know, like Nathan's Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest And Friday Nights at Wendy's (I'm only joking about one of those.)So, in anticipation of the anti-acidic desperation that will be felt around Cinco de Mayo--perhaps reaching its apogee on Sexto de Mayo--the Bismolites are offering you a suitably violent way of righting your constitution.On its YouTube channel, you can choose your pinata, your food, and your whipmaster. (Or at least I did, with the embedded results.)I know that you, because you are that way inclined, will want to share your videos with your closest beings on Facebook and Twitter. This, thankfully, you can do.You will even be able to enjoy Jimmy Kimmel enjoying this smashing fun on his show on May 4.More and more brands are claiming, like the Bismolites, that they are moving their marketing dollars to online areas, rather than keeping them fixed into your flat-screen televisions.However, brand managers will still scuttle around trying to justify the results of such fun and busily compare it to results achieved through mass marketing.Perhaps they shouldn't worry so much. Results are such ephemeral things, with influences that are often unmeasurable or simply unaccounted for. Numbers can be frightfully political.So, a brand manager might surely content herself that her friends can actually enjoy a piece of advertising for which she is responsible. There is a frisson of fun to be felt when your friends can even play along with your ad, rather than telling you, over the fourth tequila in some Cincinnati bar, that they saw your TV spot and it made them feel unwell.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Devil's Rope: Barbed wire snags Route 66 travelers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=devils-rope-barbed-wire-snags-route-66-travelers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=devils-rope-barbed-wire-snags-route-66-travelers</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>perewooni</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=devils-rope-barbed-wire-snags-route-66-travelers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It&amp;39's like a huge ball of twine, only much more pointy.(Credit:Amanda Kooser/CNET)MCLEAN, Texas--Most people don't think twice about barbed wire, unless they happen to be cattle ranchers, farmers, or junkyard owners. You don't have to be any of those to step into the Devil's Rope Museum on Route 66 here in McLean, Texas, and immerse yourself in the history and lore of the pointy fencing material.I'll admit that at first, I thought the idea of a museum dedicated to barbed wire was pretty weird and possibly a little dull. How many types of barbed wire can there really be As it turns out, thousands. Some of them have some real personality to them, too. One looks like a series of miniature spurs. Another comes in a cheerful shade of red. Some look like wicked ribbons. Festive, but dangerous.A pointed look at barbed wire (photos)  One surprise is the level of ingenuity surrounding the cult of barbed wire. Do-it-yourselfers have adapted the material into sculptures, crows have woven it into nests, and inventors have dedicated countless hours to one-upping each other on barbed wire design and technology. Barbed wire should make it onto every serious maker's materials list. The idea for barbed wire first popped up in the mid-1800s. An endless stream of innovations and adaptions have radiated out ever since. It's not all strings of wire at the Devil's Rope. You can ogle post hole diggers, cattle brands, decorative fence toppers, salesman samples, barbed wire art, and fence-making machines that could double as medieval torture devices.Related links&amp;149' Geek's guide to Route 66, part 1&amp;149' Cadillac Ranch: Texas-size lawn ornaments&amp;149' Route 66: Build your own giant Blue Whale&amp;149' Route 66 Muffler Men: Collect them allI was seriously considering starting up my own barbed wire collection by the time I made it into the gift shop. Like many offbeat and obsessive hobbies, it can add up. Certain pieces of rare barbed wire fetch hundreds of dollars among collectors. One thing is certain: I will never look at barbed wire the same way again. Drop me a line if you happen to have a spare 18-inch strand of &quot;Spur Rowel&quot; wire laying around. I need a centerpiece for my collection.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Dell XPS 8300 review: Jack-of-all-trades desktop]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dell-xps-8300-review-jack-of-all-trades-desktop</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dell-xps-8300-review-jack-of-all-trades-desktop</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>soyboackacrob</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=dell-xps-8300-review-jack-of-all-trades-desktop</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Now that the Sandy Bridge storage flaw has been resolved, it's back to business for Intel and its desktop partners. The first post-recall tower system we've reviewed, Dell's XPS 8300, makes a reasonable showing, but it seems we have to look to other vendors to really show off what these new &quot;second generation&quot; Core i7 chips can do.The Dell XPS 8300 is one of the first mainstream PC&amp;39's with Intel&amp;39's new Sandy Bridge CPUs.(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)With Intel's 3.4GHz Core i7 2600 chip, a fast AMD Radeon HD 5870 graphics card, a Blu-ray burner, and other amenities, this Dell offers a well-rounded configuration for just over $1,600.If we seem lukewarm on this PC, it's mostly due to the classic Dell problems. The shopping experience is confusing due to too many purchasing avenues on Dell's Web site. This particular XPS 8300 build also lacks some of the specialized features and attention to detail you can get for a similar price from more performance-oriented vendors. Dell's motherboard doesn't have a second graphics card slot, for example, which you can find in Velocity Micro's generally faster Z40 for less.Dell's other shortcoming is that it won't overclock its CPUs. This isn't news, but it's hard to feel excited about a stock 3.4GHz Core i7 2600, when Dell's competitors are bumping their chips to 4GHz and beyond using standard cooling hardware.Those interested in a straightforward desktop for versatile day-to-day computing and home entertainment will find the XPS 8300 meets their needs. If you're more inclined toward a PC with maximum performance for the dollar, we'd point you to Velocity Micro, Maingear, or another speed-oriented vendor.Read the full review of the Dell XPS 8300.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Enryu rescue robot gets Fukushima mission]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=enryu-rescue-robot-gets-fukushima-mission</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=enryu-rescue-robot-gets-fukushima-mission</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>cmarkmammm</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=enryu-rescue-robot-gets-fukushima-mission</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The T-53 Enryu can hoist about 440 pounds.(Credit:Tmsuk)TOKYO--Japan's robotics response to the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been disappointing so far, but a 5-ton rescue robot developed after the 1995 Kobe earthquake may see some action at the facility soon. Created by Fukuoka-based Tmsuk in 2007, the T-53 Enryu (PDF) is a hulking, 9-foot-tall machine on treads with a bulldozer attachment and giant arms to move debris. Enryu (or &quot;Rescue Dragon&quot;) is expected to clear highly radioactive rubble at the plant to provide machines and people better access, but it may need to be shielded with lead to protect it from radiation. It would be the second Japanese robot on the scene following a radiation detector robot, which apparently hasn't been used much. Each of Enryu's arms has six joints and can hoist about 220 pounds. The machine can be operated directly from the cab or remotely via suitcase-portable hardware, for which it has seven cameras. A lighter, more compact version of its predecessor T-52, the T-53 helped in recovery efforts after the 2007 earthquake that hit Kashiwazaki City in Niigata, home to the world's largest nuclear power plant by capacity. Despite that experience, Tmsuk has only recently sent the T-53 to a holding center in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, following a request from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Remote-controlled robot loaders from Qinetiq North America are also undergoing evaluation at the center. The robots will next be sent to J-Village, a site near the Fukushima plant where machines are decontaminated following exposure to radiation. Two iRobot PackBots, often used by the U.S. military, have already been used to explore and image the interior of reactor buildings. Here's some video of the T-53 at a demo. It won't have the stirring music at Fukushima. (Via Kyodo News)<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[How the iPad changes PC design]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-the-ipad-changes-pc-design</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-the-ipad-changes-pc-design</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Matthewu</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-the-ipad-changes-pc-design</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Consumers prefer light to heavy. Thin to thick. And that's why more laptops will, slowly but surely, begin to imitate the internals of theiPad. Reason 1--Flash memory: Apple's iPad (not to mention theiPhone) is a major force driving flash memory development and production. Apple obviously has a thing for flash chips (so much so that it has periodically made headlines about its ravenous appetite for this silicon delicacy). Laying down a solid-state drive (aka flash drive) on the main system board can alone make for a much smaller, lighter design (see photos). Want more proof Just look at this teardown of the 2011 MacBook Pro to see the relatively large size of a standard magnetic hard disk drive. And witness what's been occurring over the last couple of weeks. Flash memory and solid-state drive manufacturers like Micron-Intel, Toshiba, and SanDisk have all been tripping over themselves to announce denser flash memory. Here's what Micron Technology said: &quot;Intel and Micron...expect to unveil samples of a 16GB device, creating up to 128GBs of capacity in a single solid-state storage solution that is smaller than a U.S. postage stamp.&quot; Translation: next year denser, less expensive flash drives and solid-state drives. And, I predict, more laptops like the Air and Samsung's Series 9. Though higher-performance solid-state drives will likely never rival the gigabyte-per-dollar economics of the magnetic HDD, they will finally come down enough in price that 256GB (or larger) solid-state storage won't be a barrier to mainstream market designs in the last half of 2012. The iPad 2&amp;39's main circuit board: More ultra-portable laptops will mimic the iPad&amp;39's internals.(Credit:iFixit)The 2010 MacBook Air&amp;39's main board, like the iPad&amp;39's, packs a lot into a small space. And, come to think of it, the Air preceded the iPad (and the iPhone arrived before both). (Credit:iFixit)Reason 2--Processors: small, power-efficient ARM chips will gain in performance as manufacturing process technology advances and land in more feature-rich personal computing devices. Designs like Apple's A5 (and future A6) and Nvidia's Tegra are already taking on some of the characteristics of PC processors (two cores with symmetric multiprocessing). At the other end of the spectrum, Intel is racing to get its processors intotablets and even smartphones. And, more generally, Intel's PC-class processors are emulating chips like the A5 by packing more functionality onto the main processor, resulting in more power efficient silicon (the hallmark of the A5). Proof of the latter trend will come this summer when Apple puts Intel's most power-efficient Sandy Bridge chips into the MacBook Air.  Reason 3--Aesthetics: I think it's safe to say that consumers seem to like the iPad. Form and function combine to make it irresistible for many business users and consumers. By extension, this applies to the MacBook Air and similar laptop designs that emerge.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[LHC's record intensity speeds Higgs search]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lhcs-record-intensity-speeds-higgs-search</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lhcs-record-intensity-speeds-higgs-search</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>riarasnuristo</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lhcs-record-intensity-speeds-higgs-search</guid>
<description><![CDATA[LHS experiments are assembled underground. Here, a silicon tracking detector--a cousin to an ordinary digital camera sensor--is inserted into one of the LHC&amp;39's two general-purpose experiments, the CMS.(Credit:Michael Hoch/CERN)The Large Hadron Collider has surpassed a record set by Fermilab's rival particle accelerator for what's called luminosity, a milestone that improves the odds that the gargantuan scientific experiment will produce new physics discoveries.The LHC operators yesterday packed more bunches of protons into the beam, increasing the likelihood of collisions and therefore of the detection of very rare outcomes from those collisions.&quot;Beam intensity is key to the success of the LHC, so this is a very important step,&quot; said General Rolf Heuer, director of the CERN facility that operates the LHC, in a statement. &quot;Higher intensity means more data, and more data means greater discovery potential.&quot;It also means a better chance that the LHC will be the center of excitement in scientific circles, not the older, less powerful, but still significant Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab in Illinois. Last month, Fermilab reported enough progress in tracking down physicists' favorite unknown fundamental particle, the Higgs boson, to declare the Tevatron the &quot;frontrunner&quot; in the search. The Higgs boson is thought to be instrumental in endowing particles with mass.The LHC particle accelerator, an underground ring with a 27-kilometer circumference beneath Switzerland and France near Geneva, actually has two beams of protons traveling in opposite directions. The collective energy in each direction is 3.5 tera-electron-volts, or TeV, but because the beams travel in opposite directions, the energy adds up to 7 TeV. That's only half of the LHC's ultimate planned energy level of 14TeV, but it's enough that researchers think they'll be able to find new physical phenomena.Inside the Large Hadron Collider (photos) And finding new physics is important for the facility. It postponed a shutdown to upgrade the facility to the higher energy level, betting that there were good odds that the lower level would produce fruitful results. The Higgs boson--or rather a possible collection of them--is just one focus of the facility' the thousands of physicists at the LHC also hope to investigate subjects including the quark-gluon plasma, supersymmetry in among fundamental particles, and dark matter. To perform the research, the LHC accelerates protons (and sometimes lead ions) so they're tremendously energetic, then smashes them into each other to reproduce, for a fleeting moment, a little bit of what the universe was like in its earliest fractions of a second after the Big Bang.A proton must travel very close to the speed of light to attain energy of 3.5TeV. But even then, it's only got the energy of a flying mosquito. The LHC makes up for this apparent feebleness with numbers, though: It's designed to have enough protons that the total energy in the collider will be that of a 20,000-ton aircraft carrier traveling at 12 knots, according to James Gillies and Mike Lamont, writing on a CERN blog today.Reaching 3.5TeV is only one challenge. Squeezing more protons into each beam is also crucial, and LHC operators have been gradually increasing that number. Each beam consists not of a continuous stream of protons, but rather a series of bunches with about 100 billion protons each. Yesterday, the LHC got the number of bunches up to 480, which is what led to the record. Ultimately, the LHC is designed to accommodate 2,808 bunches.Each bunch is only a few centimeters long and--to maximize the odds that protons will actually collide--is compressed to the width of a human hair at the zones in the ring where collisions take place. With 100 billion protons in that volume, it may sound pretty crowded, but it's not. If protons were the size of marbles, a bunch would be as long as the distance from Earth to Uranus and the width as long a the distance from Earth to the Moon. Each marble would be more than 500 miles apart.Thus, LHC operators want to squeeze more bunches into each beam. They also want to run the beam for as long as possible to collect data from as many collisions as possible. Much of the existing LHC work has alternated between operational priorities to get the machine working properly and research priorities to actually investigate physics, but the LHC is about to embark on months-long run solely devoted to physics.&quot;There's a great deal of excitement at CERN today and a tangible feeling that we're on the threshold of new discovery,&quot; said Sergio Bertolucci, CERN's director for research and scientific computing.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[On the hunt for green-tech game changers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=on-the-hunt-for-green-tech-game-changers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=on-the-hunt-for-green-tech-game-changers</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>haywoodros</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=on-the-hunt-for-green-tech-game-changers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[To borrow a line from science fiction writer William Gibson, the future ofgreen tech is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed.Today is Earth Day, a good time to consider how the technology meant to preserve our environment and natural resources is progressing. If you consider individual green products, whether it's plug-in cars or home solar panel leasing, the impact on the giant scale of the energy industry is quite small. Hybrids, never mind plug-in hybrids, are less than 2 percent of total sales, and renewable energy is about 10 percent of electricity generation, with most of that from hydropower. But viewed in aggregate, there's clearly momentum. What's still up for grabs is where the innovations will come from and how quickly they will be deployed at scale, a question with big economic, environmental, and national security implications. Cool ways tech is helping the Earth (images) The debate over the pace and scale of green technology played out in front of me a few weeks ago at the Yale Climate and Energy Institute's annual conference. I walked away thinking that, even though there are big hurdles to making the economy cleaner, we'll look back five years from now and be impressed with the amount of change.In a keynote speech, David Lawrence, the executive vice president of Exploration and Commercial at Shell, gave a big-picture view of world energy, where he said fossil fuels will remain dominant for the next 40 to 50 years. Biofuels and wind are poised to play a more significant role, but the big winner in the future will be natural gas because it's abundant in the U.S. and burns cleaner than coal. The next day, I moderated a panel on advanced biofuels to discuss the potential of genetically manipulating microorganisms to make fuels directly or improve existing processes. One of the panelists, Flagship Ventures CEO Noubar Afeyan, challenged the notion of a slow, multidecade transition espoused by Lawrence.A veteran biotech venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Afeyan had seen the pharmaceutical companies 20 years ago say that they would lead the industry in pursuit of novel drugs because they had the means--both the R&amp;D and the sales networks. The reality turned out to be very different, as a number of biotech start-ups entered the market and grew to become public companies.There's no reason that the same kind of dynamic won't play out in energy, he argued. One example is Joule Unlimited, which projects it can make diesel fuel in bioreactors at competitive prices within a few years. Rather than count on the incumbents to lead on alternative energy, challengers with low-cost products will set the pace, he said. This will take a whileIs it realistic to expect that a lab full of scientists and eager start-up entrepreneurs will upend the hulking energy industry that's developed over decades Well, overnight success is unlikely, but with the right business models and technology, new technologies can make a dent in a slow and steady kind of way.Certainly, many clean-tech companies have run into a wall trying to scale up their products, for purely business reasons, such as the high costs of building factories or the difficulty of selling to conservative utilities. But by picking their niches, some promising green-tech companies have made real progress, even if the field of venture investors may be narrowing.Related links&amp;149' Chasing home efficiency, nudged by the sun&amp;149' Can green tech save the Earth It won't be easy&amp;149' Electronics recycling: Dealing with skeletons in the closetA few examples: BrightSource Energy has started construction of a huge solar power plant in Southern California, making it one of the few solar companies started in the past decade to cross over into large-scale operations.EnerNoc built a demand-response service by applying IT to the power grid, and has helped make efficiency a resource that grid operators increasingly rely on during peak times. Another company to go public is Gevo, which expects to be making by the end of next year specialty chemicals (an easier market to crack into than fuels) from sugar at the same cost as petroleum.ARPA-E researchers dig deep for energy innovation (photos) In the realm of scientific discoveries, dozens of companies and academics funded by the ARPA-E program are researching a dizzying array of approaches around cheap storage, biofuels, and repurposing carbon dioxide emissions. A high-profile one is Sun Catalytix, which is designing an &quot;artificial leaf&quot; to make hydrogen fuel from a solar cell soaked in a solution with its special catalyst. Its first market may be community energy systems in India.In many cases, the successful green-tech companies appear to be going after a relatively narrow market niche. But that's how many technologies will likely first take hold, showing where they work best before more people are willing to try them and banks are willing to invest in them.Reality check It's not just the energy business, either. Increasingly, corporations in all fields have &quot;green business&quot; efforts, which range from purchasing fleets of electric vehicles to making more eco-friendly packaging. Big companies are not only important customers but they also investing in, and sometimes acquiring, smaller green-tech outfits, bringing capital and distribution. Consumers, obviously, can live a more eco-friendly lifestyle and create demand for eco-friendly products as well.Even with all the advances on green technology, one has to recognize that it's a long-term transition off of fossil fuels. Energy moves slowly, unlike the IT industry, which has been ruled by Moore's Law.Battery technology, for example, can be improved, but energy storage and many other fields simply don't benefit from the exponential pace of change that the semiconductor industry has seen over the past 40 years. (Academic Vaclav Smil refers to this overly optimistic thinking as &quot;Moore's Curse.&quot;)Photos: Getting your green on for Earth Day Still, one can feel optimistic about green technologies, because so many people have been captured by this idea of making a cleaner economy. It's what's leading university students to start energy clubs and scientists and some businesses to take environmental sustainability seriously.The other reason we've seen more activity in green technology is government policies. U.S. clean energy industries got a boost from the stimulus, and countries with aggressive clean-energy policies, such as China, Germany, and South Korea, are galloping ahead. In the U.S., some people seem like they're automatically turned off by anything labeled &quot;green,&quot; &quot;clean,&quot; or &quot;sustainable,&quot; including many politicians. But even while there's a debate over clean-energy policies, you'd think that a commitment to innovating around energy and preserving natural resources would be something many could agree on. That matters on Earth Day, because clean air and water are not something anyone can take for granted.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Budget LEDs debut on Amazon]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=budget-leds-debut-on-amazon</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=budget-leds-debut-on-amazon</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>sjeromegrahamz</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=budget-leds-debut-on-amazon</guid>
<description><![CDATA[An A19 omnidirectional 8.5-watt LED on sale at Amazon for $21.28 from Lighting Science Group.(Credit:Lighting Science Group)Lighting manufacturer Lighting Science Group announced yesterday it will begin selling low-cost LED lightbulbs on Amazon.com beginning today.The company's A19 omnidirectional 8.5-watt bulb (40-watt equivalent) will sell for $21.98, and is only the first in a line of low-budget LED bulbs planned for sale at the online superstore, according to Lighting Science Group.The company says its bulbs will last up to 23 years, and are 76 percent more efficient than a standard incandescent bulb.&quot;Lighting accounts for more than 18 percent of the average U.S. household's energy bill--that's because incandescent bulbs are essentially space heaters that give off a little bit of light,&quot; Lighting Science Group CEO Rich Weinberg said in a statement.While it may sound steep, $21.28 for an 8.5-watt LED bulb is actually very reasonable. On Amazon, GE sells a 9-watt A19 omnidirectional bulb for $37.98, Feit Electric sells a 7-watt A19 LED for $29.99, and Philips sells its AmbientLED 7-watt bulb for $33.75. In addition to the 40-watt, the company also plans to offer a 60-watt, as well as the smaller BR, MR, and PAR LED bulbs used for things like track lighting, flood lights, and picture lights.And for today at least, some people may get a chance to try the bulbs for free. As part of its Earth Day launch on Amazon.com, Lighting Science Group is running a lightbulb giveaway contest on its Facebook page.Related links&amp;149' GE selling 'omnidirectional' LED bulb online&amp;149' LEDs keep coming: 60-watt stand-in priced at $30&amp;149' Photos: LED bulbs creep into the home<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Mix your music and experience an artistic adventure: iPhone apps of the week]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mix-your-music-and-experience-an-artistic-adventure-iphone-apps-of-the-week</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mix-your-music-and-experience-an-artistic-adventure-iphone-apps-of-the-week</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:23 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>zidfodq</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mix-your-music-and-experience-an-artistic-adventure-iphone-apps-of-the-week</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:CNET)The big news this week from the world of Apple was the discovery that iPhones have been tracking users' locations as they go about their daily lives. Apparently, whenever you use Google Maps, or take a picture, or do anything that consults the GPS, your location and a time stamp are recorded in a log file on youriPhone. Apple is not using this information for anything, but it's not surprising many people find this particular previously unknown feature pretty unsettling.Like probably anyone who heard this news, I had a lot of questions about what was being recorded, why it's being recorded, and what Apple has to say about it. Fortunately, our very own Josh Lowensohn and Elinor Mills put together an extensive FAQ to help you get all the info about the iPhone location-tracking function. Apple has not yet commented, but it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks and whether the company will strip this functionality from later versions of the iOS.This week's apps are a DJ app that lets you mix music on the go and an artistic adventure game that is both challenging and very engrossing.The easy-to-use controls make it a snap to find the right music for the mix.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Djay for iPhone and iPod Touch (99 cents for a limited time) brings two turntables to your touch screen so you can beatmatch, scratch, and record mixes of music from your library. A unique interface lets you hold your iPhone sideways to view the turntables side by side, or you can switch to vertical and view a single turntable to adjust the EQ and BPM and get more screen area in which to work with your mixes.  Djay boasts a &quot;hyper-realistic low-latency touch-screen interface,&quot; and I found that it definitely feels more precise than similar DJ apps in the category. As an added bonus, your cover art will show up on each record, making it easy to identify your music at a glance.Along with the basic controls for selecting songs, playing, and crossfading between tracks, Djay comes with a few more controls that will come in handy for mobile mixing. You can match songs on your own and adjust beats per minute for smooth transitions or you can have Djay autosync BPM for you. There is even an Automix function to let the app mix your music automatically. The app recognizes your playlists as well, so just queue up a big playlist of dance songs, for example, and then let the app do all the transitions for you.Among the many other features are the ability to create a cue point trigger to start the music on one track at a specific point' full visual waveforms, so you can pick out specific parts of a song quickly' and auto-cut scratching, which lets you use two fingers while scratching for beatmatched cutting.Overall, Djay for iPhone andiPod Touch is probably the best low-cost DJ app I've seen yet in the iTunes App Store. The unique screen orientation feature that lets you view one or both turntables makes mixing and fiddling with settings easier, and automated mixing and beat-syncing features mean just about anyone can create a good mix.As soon as you begin playing, you&amp;39'll notice this game's unique visual style.(Credit:Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP ($4.99) is a stylistically unusual and engrossing action and adventure game that focuses on artistic audio and visuals. Immediately upon starting the game, you'll notice it has a very distinctive style and you'll get onscreen cues that teach you how to control your character. As the story unfolds, you'll travel across a mythic realm and solve puzzles as you go.Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery offers a unique experience and an interesting control scheme that sets it apart from other side-scrolling games. As you travel the world, you'll run across impassable areas that require you to solve visual puzzles before you can move on. The game is sometimes frustrating early on because it's a learn-as-you-go type of experience, but even though you may die a few times, the solution becomes that much more rewarding when you figure it out.As a mythical knight, you have a sword and shield for when you need to do battle with occasional monsters. What's interesting here is that to wield your sword, you need to turn your iPhone vertically to get into battle mode. The buttons are a little bit awkward at first, but I really like the idea of turning the iPhone to switch control modes. As you get further into the game, you'll also unlock spells that will help you defeat your enemies and solve puzzles to continue.Overall, Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery is an exceptional game for its artistic and musical style and interesting ways of presenting puzzles you need to solve. If you're looking for hack-and-slash or shoot-'em-up action, this isn't your game, but if you want to take in an audio-visual experience while solving interesting puzzles, this app is a good option.What's your favorite iPhone app Do you have a better DJ app than Djay for iPhone and iPod Touch What do you think of using iPhone orientation as a way to switch control schemes in either app Do you like the somewhat mystical and slower pace of Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery Let me know in the comments!<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple's and Samsung's lawsuits in visual form]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apples-and-samsungs-lawsuits-in-visual-form</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apples-and-samsungs-lawsuits-in-visual-form</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>csandaussu</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apples-and-samsungs-lawsuits-in-visual-form</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It didn't take long for Samsung to strike back at Apple, with the company yesterday filing lawsuits of its own in three different countries.If you're scratching your head about what's at stake and where things are being filed, or if you're looking for a breakdown of the issues, intellectual-property watcher Florian Mueller has put together a handy chart (similar to the one he created for Microsoft and Motorola's legal spat), which does a good job of breaking down exactly what courts are involved and the specific claims from both parties. The chart (embedded below) tracks specific issues mentioned in Apple's suit, which was filed at the end of last week. The Samsung suits, filed in Germany, Japan, and South Korea, don't have specific information about the patents and other IP items, but Mueller expands on the assertions made in those suits, and on what products are affected, on the final page of the document:Apple vs Samsung 11.04.22(function() { var scribd = document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;)' scribd.type = &quot;text/javascript&quot;' scribd.async = true' scribd.src = &quot;http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js&quot;' var s = document.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0]' s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s)' })()'The outcome of this battle is of particular interest given the two companies' ties to each other. Apple uses components from Samsung in a number of its products, including its phones and computers. The two companies also compete fiercely in both those categories.During Apple's second fiscal quarter earnings call with analysts on Wednesday, Apple COO Tim Cook noted that the company was Samsung's largest customer and that Samsung was &quot;a very valued component supplier for us.&quot; Nonetheless, Cook said Apple has a different opinion of the company's mobile business.&quot;We felt the mobile communications business of Samsung had crossed the line, and after trying for some time to work through the issue, we decided we needed to rely on the courts,&quot; Cook said during the call.Shortly following Apple's suit last week, Samsung fired back, saying the company would &quot;respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property.&quot; This first set of suits could be just the start of that response.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[After Android, Squeezebox app comes to iOS]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=after-android-squeezebox-app-comes-to-ios</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=after-android-squeezebox-app-comes-to-ios</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>naticx</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=after-android-squeezebox-app-comes-to-ios</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Squeezebox Controller running on the iPhone.(Credit:Logitech)Logitech has finally launched its Squeezebox Controller app for iOS-based devices, it announced in a blog post yesterday.The Squeezebox Controller for theiPad,iPhone, andiPod Touch connects to users' Squeezebox player over their home wireless network. Users can choose music, customize tracks, and search for content from the app. According to Logitech, all the features available to users in their players are included in the app. The launch of the Squeezebox Controller app for iOS-based devices comes a month after the company launched the program in the Android Market. Like the iOS option, Logitech's Android app gives users total control over the company's line of Squeezebox devices. Logitech offers a range of Squeezebox players, including the Radio and Duet, which allow users to stream music content throughout the home. They also include access to Pandora, Slacker, and other music-streaming services. The Squeezebox Radio is a favorite of the CNET Reviews team. In 2009, the device earned four of five stars, receiving high marks for the amount of content available and user-friendliness. It retails for $179.99, though savvy shoppers can get it for less online. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[White iPhone 4 slips into wild in U.K.]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-iphone-4-slips-into-wild-in-u-k-</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-iphone-4-slips-into-wild-in-u-k-</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:10:14 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>qeqapqa</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=white-iphone-4-slips-into-wild-in-u-k-</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The mysterious white iPhone 4, in the wild.(Credit:Engadget)Adding extra legitimacy to credible reports that the white version of theiPhone 4 would arrive within the next few weeks, the unit has already popped up at a Vodafone UK retail store, and has even been sold to a customer before stock was pulled.Engadget has a photo from a reader who claims to have purchased the 16GB model of the yet-unreleased device from a Vodafone store in the U.K. Following the sale, the carrier is said to have sent a message to stores telling them to hold the stock until next week.The white version of the iPhone 4 was supposed to launch alongside the black one in 2010, but manufacturing difficulties have pushed its release back nearly a year. Following the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G and 3GS were both available in black and white, though with the iPhone 4, Apple radically changed the manufacturing process and added color to the front of the device as well as the back.According to Engadget, the model number on the white iPhone 4 the customer purchased (MC604B/A) is only slightly different than that on the currently available black version (MC603B/A). This suggests that any major differences between the two phones, other than color, are unlikely. Reports emerged last week that Apple planned to get the long-delayed white iPhone in stores by the end of the month. Apple later confirmed it was nearing its targeted launch timeline of &quot;spring.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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