Conferences and Events for February and March, 2011...

Link ~ Upcoming Conferences, Events, and Financial Meetings for February, March, 2011 with links ... Will Update ...

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Freelance job, PR writer for Concrete for Dummies, payment: $50 for PR (250-500 words)

Reply to: andrew.amco@gmail.com

I'm looking for someone to do a press release for my website it is all about concrete and helping people out. I have a brand new site about concrete for dummies. I will need a press release writing that will be announcing this new website to the internet. I want the press release to focus on letting people know that if they have a question about concrete that the help is out there.
The press release should be 250-500 words. This gig will pay $50.00.

If you have any questions you can contact me through e-mail or you can see what you are witting about at http://concretefordummies.blogspot.com

Compensation: This gig will pay $50.00. The press release should be 250-500 words

More information here.

Freelance writing, Occupational Highway.com, pays $10 per article

Description

Occupationalhwy.com is looking for a few select bloggers. The perfect candidates will have an excellent writing style.

This is a new section I'm adding to my blog. Blogging 101 should include tips on ways to earn money blogging and the like.

Topics of interest may include:

• Ways to make money blogging.
• How to earn an income online.
• How to build a better blog.
• How to bring more traffic to your site.
• How to rank higher in Google.

These are just a few ideas of the type of articles I will be looking for. If you are not knowledgeable in these areas please do not reply. Must be able to proofread your own work and check for spelling and grammar errors. Each article must be at least 400 words and keyword rich.

Payment is via PayPal. At $10.00 per article weekly. You will be required to add the keyword tags with each article.

How To Apply: Send sample and experience.

Apply here.

Freelance job, business and accounting education writer, payment: $20 for 500 words (USA)

Reply to: gigs-zpt8e-2232223696@craigslist.org

I'm interested in retaining writers able to develop articles specific to getting an education in business, accounting and finance. These articles will be developed for a website designed to market degree programs from reputable private universities, so content will be held to very high quality standards. Please respond if you have some experience in the world of finance, or are confident in your ability to become familiar enough with these topics to present them well. The project pays $20 each for short 500 + word articles specific to accounting or other business related programs offered by our client schools in each state, so much of the focus will be on highlighting the unique business climate in different parts of the country. Work will be available for 6 months to a year to capable and reliable contributors. Please respond with a writing sample. This offer is only available to U.S. residents.

Compensation: $20 for 500 words

More information here.

Freelance writing, Backblaze.com, pays $10 per article (USA)

Blog Writer - (Anywhere)

Backblaze is an online backup company that backs up a person's laptop or desktop computer for $5/month for unlimited storage. It's secure, easy to use and simply awesome.

We are looking for a writer that has the gift for making sentences...using words and punctuation stuff. You can be a unrecognized poet. Or a college student who took one creative writing course. Or the next big author with an upcoming appearance on Oprah's book list.

You will be researching topics and trends in online backup and writing blog posts, top 10 lists, how-to-guides, etc.

Requirements:

� Work anywhere in the US remotely.
� Have a Paypal account so we can pay you.
� Legally be able to work in the U.S.
� Have excellent communication and writing skills

You will be compensated $10 per article written between 400 and 600 words. Send us your resume if you think you are a good fit. To be put at the top of the list for consideration, please take a look at our blog at: http://blog.backblaze.com/ and send us 5 ideas you think may be great blog posts promoting Backblaze.

More information here.

Google Launches Open Source YouTube Channel

Google has launched an open source channel on YouTube. The aim is to collect and organize all the videos related to Google and open source projects in one location.

This YouTube channel is managed by the "Open source programs office" of Google, who's duty is to maintain a healthy relationship with the open source software development community.

The Open Source Programs Office at Google handles both internal open source compliance and external outreach programs, including source release, open source infrastructure, the Google Summer of Code and much more.

The Google open source YouTube channel currently has 14 videos, with links to a variety of videos from other channels and users.

Do check out the googleOSPO's YouTube Channel.

Cover Thumbnailer - How to install in Ubuntu Linux

Cover Thumbnailer is a small Python script which displays music/video album covers in Nautilus in place of ordinary icons of folders, preview of pictures in a folder and more.

It is similar to what you see in Microsoft Windows 7 where the folder shows a preview of the pictures contained in it.

This is for Ubuntu users running v 9.10 Karmic, v 10.04 Lucid and v 10.10 Maverick .

Open your terminal and enter the following set of commands :

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:flozz/flozz$ sudo apt-get update$ sudo apt-get install cover-thumbnailer
Once Cover Thumbnailer has been installed, you will have to restart Nautilus by running the following command. $ nautilus -q
Now the specified folders containing music files will display the respective album cover / mosaic of covers.

If you are using another Linux distribution, you can download the source code from the Cover Thumbnailer website, compile it, and install it on your machine.

Cover Thumbnailer program will store a cache of cropped images of albums in a  hidden folder named .thumbnails/ in your home directory. The .thumbnails/ directory is a cache directory created by GNOME when you browse through your folders in Nautilus. It contains thumbnail pictures of images you have previously viewed.

And when you visit a particular music folder, the thumbnail of the respective album is shown on top of the folder.

You can access the Cover Thumbnailer preferences via GNOME Menu > System > Preferences > Cover Thumbnailer. Here you can specify more folders that can avail of Cover Thumbnailer's services and set many other options such as clearing the thumbnail cache and more.

Here is how the folders looks after you install cover thumbnailer program in Ubuntu. Cover Thumbnailer in action in Nautilus

Freelance writing, topics: social media/ web design/ mobile applications, payment: $10-$15 per post

Reply to: gigs-t6ygq-2233546698@craigslist.org

Creative writer needed to ghost write blog articles.

Topics: Social media marketing, user experience design, web design, mobile applications, etc.

The topic ideas can be provided or you can select your own. 300 to 500 words with a few relevant links. Be witty, creative, sophisticated and opinionated.

2 to 5 articles per month. Flexible.

Reply with a background info.

Location: Remote

Compensation: 10.00 to 15.00 per post

More information here.

Google Demonstrates The Advantages Of Using Google Notebook

Google is pulling in all stops to win over all skeptics to the Google Chrome OS way of computing.

The prominent feature being - "You just cannot lose your data on a Google Chrome notebook". Google has gone to great lengths to convince us about this - so much so that it destroys 25 computers to create this stupefying video.

Watch the following video to believe it!!

Get A Free Chrome Notebook From Google

Google is actively looking for volunteers to test drive its Chrome OS loaded notebooks and provide feedback.

You will receive - free of cost - a brand new notebook loaded with the Google Chrome OS. Courtesy of Google.Be one of the first to test drive the Chrome Operating System.Bragging rights.Unfortunately, not every body is eligible. You should be living in the United States and should be an adult (> 18 years old) to take part in this free giveaway from Google.

If you fit the bill and are interested in checking out what this Chrome OS hype is all about, then visit the following page and fill up the form. Who knows, you may be the lucky one and just might land yourselves a brand new notebook running Google Chrome OS.

Please note, the deadline for applying is December 21, 2010 11.59 PM PST. So hurry.

Google Unveils Chrome OS - A Browser Based Operating System

Google unwraps its much awaited Chrome OS - a browser based operating system, which the Google CEO Eric Schmidt has termed "a viable third choice" over the popular traditional OSes Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X.

Chrome OS which runs on a customized Linux kernel banks heavily on the concept of Cloud computing. All your data and the applications reside on a remote server and not on your machine.

Google says this makes data backups redundant. Even if your laptop running Chrome OS gets stolen, you don't lose your data. All you need to do is buy another Chrome OS laptop and you are up and running. More over, because the data store on your Chrome OS laptop is encrypted, no one will be able to break into it and access your data.

Notebooks running Chrome OS will be available from Samsung Electronics Co and Acer Inc in the first half of 2011.

Google has also hinted that Chrome OS is designed to work across a wide range of screen sizes and foam factors, enabling hardware manufacturers to deliver computing devices beyond notebooks. Which makes me wonder if Chrome OS is discretely being positioned as a future replacement to Google Android.

Google also unveiled the Chrome Web Store which is an online store that helps a Chrome OS user discover and download new applications. Chrome Web Store has been designed on similar lines to many online stores by mobile phone providers such as Nokia's Ovi store, Apple's App store, Samsung Apps, and so on.

[Source : Google Chrome blog]

GNUCash 2.4.0 has been released

GNUCash - for those in the dark - is a Free accounting package which you can use to keep track of your net worth, your income, and expenses. It operates under the double entry accounting principle.

If you are not aware of double entry accounting, let me direct you to a wonderful article called "A day in the life of Dave the Dollar" which explains this concept in simple layman terms. In fact, a few years back, it was this very article which persuaded me to start using GNUCash in the first place.

GNUCash team recently released the latest iteration of its flagship product aka version 2.4. GNUCash is a stable and mature product fit to be used not just by home users but also in small businesses. So you won't find that many new features.

However, in version 2.4.0, GNUCash has transitioned to the more advanced WebKit engine to render reports and graphs. In earlier versions, GtkHTML HTML engine was used. Another interesting feature you will find in ver 2.4.0 is the ability to optionally use a database such as Sqlite3, MySQL, or PostgreSQL to store your accounting data instead of the traditional XML based native file format.

The XML-based native file format is adequate for personal finance uses but it does not scale well to the numbers of transactions seen in a typical business setting, and it is not well suited to a multi-user, integrated workflow.

You can download the latest version of GNUCash 2.4.0 from its website. It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. If you are using a rolling release Linux distribution (such as PCLinuxOS), you can install it directly from its repository.

I am curious, do you use an accounting software to keep your accounts ? If yes, which do you prefer ?

Freelance job, PR writer for African American magazine for women, payment: $25 (anywhere)

Reply to: gigs-xdqjn-2231886151@craigslist.org

African American magazine for women are looking for a great PR person to write us a press release. We launched our nationwide issue and would like to start receiving exposure asap. Looking to develop a long term relationship for outsourced PR needs. Must accept Paypal.

Location: Atlanta/Anywhere

Compensation: $25

More information here.

HTML5 will henceforth be known as just HTML

HTML5 is the next major version of HTML and is widely considered future of the Web. In particular, HTML5 adds many new syntax features. These include

In a blog post, WHATWG has announced that HTML5 is going to lose its version number. HTML5 can now be considered as a "living standard", and will henceforth be known as HTML, with the URL http://whatwg.org/html.

On an unrelated note, W3C unveiled a new HTML5 logo to help the developers and website builders promote the HTML5 standard by letting the world know that they are using HTML5.

If you are wondering, the HTML5 logo (shown above) signifies "a coat of arms and badge of honor".

They are also selling T-shirts,and mugs and a part of the proceeds will support the HTML5 test suite effort.

Here is what the W3C blog had to say about the purpose of this logo (and I quote).

We intend for it to be an all-purpose banner for HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and other technologies that constitute an open web platform. The logo does not have a specific meaning; it is not meant to imply conformance or validity, for example. The logo represents "the Web platform" in a very general sense.

The logo is available under a permissive license (Creative Commons 3.0 By) so that you can make it fit into your own designs.

So considering both sides of the coin, would you prefer to call "HTML5" as just that, or would you rather call it plain "HTML" ?

KDE 4.5.4 for Windows Released

KDE Windows team has rolled out the latest iteration of KDE 4.5.4 for Windows.

With all the advances made, KDE developers say KDE for Windows is still not ready for stable use. However, the latest version KDE 4.5.4 compilation for Windows brings with it a number of features which would convince end users and developers to give it a try.

Patrick Spendrin the Release Manager of the KDE for Windows initiative explains why KDE could do well on the Windows platform in this lengthy interview he gave Pau Garcia i Quiles.

You can download the latest version of KDE 4.5.4 for Windows from here.

Home Computer - Green, Palm Sized Computer For Rs 5000

elLoka Techsolutions Pvt Ltd a Hyderabad based product design and manufacturing company that delivers Ultra Low Cost Computer Platforms(ULCCP), has come up with a palm-sized computer that is very cheap and consumes very little power.

The computer is on display at the Rambagh SMS Convention center in Jaipur, Rajasthan where a three-day Commonwealth and information technology meet is on.

Targeted at home users, and people in Indian villages who are plagued by intermittent power failures, this computer can effectively run on Solar power and is eco-friendly.

The company claims this computer known by its acronym GreCo which stands for "Green Computer" consumes only 5W power and it weighs a mere 135 gms. It is being marketed in India for a price of Rs 5000 (approx USD 100).

At this price point, it comes with a power adapter and AV cable which you can connect to an LCD screen or to your TV. Optionally, at additional cost, you also get a keyboard and mouse.

The technical specifications of GreCo are as follows -
It has 4 USB portsOne 10/100 Ethernet RJ45 connectorVGA & AV OutMicrophone and Headphone connectors2 LEDs indicating Power & StatusPower Supply - 12 V AC/DC AdapterAn on-board memory (RAM) of 256MB and 1 GB disk space.
It runs on a customized OS named HomeOS which the company claims is built on top of a Linux base. Some what similar to Google Android which also runs on a Linux kernel.

The OS comes pre-loaded with numerous open source software which caters to the typical home users need. OpenOffice.org is installed, so is GIMP, MPlayer for listening to music and watching movies, Firefox, Flash player - so you can watch YouTube videos, Email client, Pidgin Chat client, Image viewers and more.

Watch the following video that showcases the power of this palm sized computer.

[Source : Times of India]

Freelance writing, children's health blog, pays $15 per post (anywhere)

Reply to: job-hcrer-2232320403@craigslist.org

Are you a writer who's a mom or a mom who's a writer?

Are you passionate and knowledgeable about children's health issues?

We're looking for guest posters for a new mommy blog that focuses on the various remedies to children's health issues that are the result of defective products on the Web.

The site will help women become aware of the risks to their children and babies - risks that pertain to having used certain products such as antidepressants, sunscreen, led paint toys, etc. with a focus is on �what to do now� more than prevention.

We will be writing informative and entertaining posts about anti- depressants and their aftereffects, as well as other children's family health issues that result from certain products like children's medications and baby products. There will also be a focus on remedies - legal, financial and otherwise - for families that suffer with certain problems.

Our posts usually run 300 - 400 words. If you are interested in becoming one of our knowledgeable mommies, please send a resume or cover letter telling me about yourself along with your contact info: email and phone number. If you have any writing samples that you can send, that would be great too.

Location: anywhere

Compensation: $15 per post

Telecommuting is ok.

More information here.

Is Nokia Committing Harakiri By Aligning With Microsoft ?

The big news today - as far as cellular world should be concerned, is the strategic partnership between Nokia and Microsoft to produce smart phones running Windows 7. Nokia says it will adopt Windows Phone as its primary smart phone strategy. Meaning, Symbian OS is going to be relegated to history. And MeeGo project on Nokia smart phones would be in limbo.

Thinking back, my first cell phone was a Nokia. At that time, Nokia was a dominant player in the Indian cell phone market. However, in the years that followed, Samsung and many other players have succeeded in grabbing a share of the pie (obviously at Nokia's expense).

So much so that, in India at present, if you go to any mobile shop to buy a cell phone, chances are you will be deluged with Samsung devices and not Nokia's. Currently, even I use a Samsung cell phone (though not a smart one). Verily Samsung offers more variety to its customers than Nokia ever has.

In the future, it is a given that mobile devices are going to permeate our lives even more. And smart phones are going to replace their dumb counterparts. Be that as it may, one of the best ways for Nokia to reclaim its market share is through innovation - by rolling out smart phones powered by its own homegrown OS. MeeGo, which is being developed on a Linux kernel shows a lot of promise. For one, there won't be a dearth of applications on MeeGo as most applications that run on Linux will run on MeeGo as well.

Sleeping with Microsoft is not going to turn Nokia's fortunes for the better any more than if it were to embrace an open source OS to power its smart phones.

For instance,
Windows OS is closed source and proprietary.It entails paying a royalty to Microsoft. And that additional cost will be transferred to the customer. Nokia will be subjugated to play a lesser role in the smart phone arena - the terms being dictated by Microsoft.And Nokia risks alienating its customers who might move to embrace products from its competitors which are powered by an open source OS.
Not surprisingly, this official announcement by Nokia and Microsoft has invited widespread criticism as indicated by over 460 comments made there.

On a personal level, I was looking forward to buying a MeeGo powered Nokia cell phone when it was released. I guess my wait is going to be futile.

KDE Version 4.6.0 Released - Integrates Support For Mobile Devices

KDE team has released version 4.6.0 of its flagship product - The KDE Desktop. This is a major release that  brings lots of improvements, and  which promises a far better user experience.

The notable enhancements you will find in KDE 4.6.0 are as follows -

A new Activities system has been introduced in the KDE Plasma Workspaces. This helps you to demarcate your activities on computer into different categories like Work, Home, Recreation, Web browsing, etc.Dolphin file manager gets Faceted Browsing - This allows Dolphin to give you better search results by reading the meta data of files.KDE games have been spruced up. Gwenview (The image viewer) and KSnapshot (The screen capture tool) have received Social Networking capabilities. This means you will be able to share your snapshots and pictures to Flickr, Twitter, Facebook etc from within these tools.KDE in 4.6.0 gains "Mobile build target" which allows for easier deployment of applications on mobile platforms.
As of now experimental builds of KDE applications for various mobile platforms like MeeGo, MS Windows Mobile and Symbian can be found on the web but are currently unsupported.
With the mobile build target capabilities gained by KDE applications, this is bound to change for the better.

You can read the official announcement from KDE for the full details.

And if you are itching to try out KDE 4.6.0, I would strongly recommend a Linux distribution which has a rolling release because these Linux distributions bring changes far more quicker than traditional Linux distributions which follow a 6 month release schedule.Arch Linux, and PCLinuxOS support a rolling release.

Linux Ate My RAM - Help!

Help! Linux ate my Memory. Did it indeed?
I was curious where my memory had gone because, when I fired up a terminal and typed the command -

$ free -m

I got the following output.

total used free shared buffers cachedMem: 882 843 38 0 86 424-/+ buffers/cache: 332 549Swap: 0 0 0
From a total of 882 MB, 843 MB has been used leaving only a measly 38 MB free for my use. How is that possible ?

Well, I stumbled upon an interesting website which explains in detail just this conundrum.

The website is (and you might have guessed it right!) linuxatemyram.com. And after reading through the website, I figured out that the whole thing is just a play of words. What you consider free is indeed free, but Linux chooses to call it 'used' because this memory is both used for something and at same time available for applications. Since your and Linux's terminology differs, you think you are low on RAM when you're not.Get it ?

Qt Goes To School - Free Training Course Material For Teachers

Nokia's Qt team has unveiled a new initiative - namely to build awareness about Qt - the library that is the building block of KDE - among students and academia.

Choosing an appropriate library for your software is a significant first step to developing your product.

And Qt is a good choice for the simple reason that it is a cross-platform application and UI framework for developing once, and deploying across Windows, Mac, Linux/X11, embedded Linux, Windows CE, Symbian and Maemo without rewriting the source code.

Currently, Qt in Education Course Material page has around around 10 lectures that cover the basics of Qt in addition to some special topics. The idea is to provide the teachers the necessary tools - such as PowerPoint slides, notes, exercises etc which will make their job a lot easier in teaching Qt to their students.

The lectures lasting 90 minutes each consist of notes for the teacher and exercises for the students. And the lecture is provided in multiple formats such as Microsoft PPT files, OpenOffice.org Odp, and PDF.

You can download all the lectures together at once (45 MB download) or download individual lectures.

Richard Stallman Says Chrome OS is Bad for Users

Richard Stallman founder of the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has reiterated his stand against Chrome OS and Cloud computing in general.

Stallman says, when you store your documents in the cloud (on a remote server rather than on your machine) as Google Chrome OS does, your data is not in your full control any more. You are left at the mercy of the service provider to access your data.

Not having full control of your data also throws a few legal risks. For instance, Stallman points out, the authorities could legally gain access to your data anytime through the service provider without you being aware of it.

Stallman akin Cloud computing to Careless Computing. He cautions users not to be so careless over whom they trust with their data.

Guardian which runs the story further says:

The accountability of cloud computing providers has come under close focus in the past fortnight after Amazon removed Wikileaks content from its EC2 cloud computing service, saying that the leaks site had breached its terms and conditions, and without offering any mediation in the dispute.

Ubuntu Might Ship With Qt Libraries

In future iterations of Ubuntu (Natty and onwards), Ubuntu CD might ship with Qt libraries - Mark Shuttleworth noted in one of his blog post.

The basic premise behind this announcement is that it is the quality and usability of the application (to be included) that is important; the choice of toolkit should be irrelevant.

Ubuntu till date have shown a bias towards applications built on Gtk toolkit. Currently, almost all applications that are shipped with Ubuntu are GNOME centric. And if a user needs a Qt based application the recourse is to manually install it from the Ubuntu repository.

However, this is going to change in the future.

Mark Shuttleworth further suggests a procedure (see flowchart below) to decide what applications will go into a default Ubuntu install.

He further clarifies that Qt applications should not be confused with KDE apps. And if KDE applications are to be included in a default Ubuntu install, they should be able to interact with the dconf system configuration. Unfortunately, as of now, this is difficult as Gtk apps all use a centrally-manageable preferences store, and KDE apps do things differently.

[Source : Mark Shuttleworth]

XFCE 4.8 has been released

XFCE is a lightweight desktop environment that aims to be fast and low on system resources. Nearly after a 2 years hiatus, XFCE has released version 4.8. A number of new features have made their way into XFCE ver 4.8. Some of them being the ability to browse remote shares using a variety of protocols, a redesign of the XFCE panel thus improving positioning, transparency, item and launcher management, a new menu plugin to view directories, improved keyboard layout selection, and more.
The XFCE 4.8 development cycle also saw a serious release strategy formed after the "Xfce Release and Development Model" developed at the Ubuntu Desktop Summit in May 2009.

Take a full feature tour of XFCE 4.8 and view the changelog to know more.

Free contest, FOX-NYTCF Comedy Script Contest, prize: $25,000 and development deal with FOX (USA)

Deadline: 18 April 2011

The New York Television Festival and Fox Broadcasting Company have teamed up to offer aspiring TV writers the opportunity to win $25,000 and a development deal with FOX!

Additionally, the 25 finalists will receive NYTVF designation as 2011 Official Artists and be invited to the New York Television Festival, held in NYC in September, 2011.

Enter the 4th Annual FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script Contest and submit your script for an original half-hour comedy series. 25 Finalists will have their scripts evaluated by FOX for a possible development deal with the network and one winner will receive $25,000 and a development deal. Scripts must be entered by uploading them in a PDF format on the NYTVF upload page, which can be found here beginning April 4, 2011. The submission period will open at noon Eastern Time (ET) on April 4, 2011 and will close at noon ET on April 18, 2011. All submissions must be uploaded during this time period, without exception. The contest will stop accepting entries when this period elapses or when the Festival receives 1,500 script entries, whichever comes first.

Important Dates

* April 4, 2011��Script Submission Period Begins (at 12:00 noon ET)
* April 18, 2011��Script Submission Period Ends (at 12:00 noon ET)
* On or about September 17, 2011��2011 FOX-NYTVF Comedy Script contest Winner is announced at Festival Award Show

Required Length and Format

All scripts must be uploaded to the NYTVF Web site. The scripts must be a PDF document formatted recognizably as a television script, and they must be 25 to 35 pages in length.

Proper formatting of scripts is advised, including proper indenting of character names and dialogue. All elements may be single or double-spaced � there is no preference provided that the script falls within the length guidelines. There are many acceptable ways to format script entries, and many online resources offer templates and helpful tips on how to format a script correctly. For a rough sample script template, click here.

There is no fee to enter the script contest.

Eligibility

* Limit one entry per person. Each entry must include only one (1) script.
* Co-writers are permitted, but co-writers may only be associated with a maximum of one entry.
* Entrants must be aged 18 years or older.
* Entries must be written in English.
* Contest is open to legal residents of the fifty states and D.C.
* Scripts must be PDF documents received between 12:00 noon ET on April 4, 2011 and 12:00 noon ET on April 18, 2011.
* Scripts must be wholly original (e.g. NOT adapted from books, plays or any other source material and NOT a �spec� of existing television programs or treatments).
* Scripts must be copyrighted or registered.
* Scripts must be submitted under the entrant�s legal name as indicated on such copyright or WGA registration, and as evidenced by entrant�s valid government-issued identification.
* Scripts may not have been previously entered into any other contest or competition. A script that has been produced as a pilot and entered into the NYTVF Independent Pilot Competition is not eligible for the Comedy Script Contest.

Participate here when submissions period opens.

Paying market, Magic University anthology (Revenous Romance), pays $10 plus royalties per story

Deadline: 31 March 2011

I�m looking for er0tic short stories set at Veritas or in the magical world of the books, length from 2500 to 7500 words. You can use my characters or your own, and stories do not have to be �canon compliant.� (If you want to pair or ship characters who don�t get together in the actual canon, that�s fine.)

Tales from Magic University will be published in ebook form by Ravenous Romance just like one of their regular short story anthologies, which pay $10 up front as an advance against a share of the royalties, split among all the contributors. They pay quarterly.

The deadline for new contributions is March 31st. If you�re intrigued, please read on for more details!

All submissions should be sent to my fanfic address [ravenna_c_tan @ yahoo.com] either as attachments or in the body of the email. Please include your real name, pseudonym (if you have one), mailing address (so they can send you a contract and a check), and your phone number (in case I have a quick question while editing the story).

If you�re participating in the project, here are some guidelines you should know:

1. You get to keep the rights to any original character you create or use. If you want to write your own original fiction later with that character, you will be welcome to. However be aware that your character could show up in a Magic U book, too.

2. I�m supportive of fanfic in my universe. The publisher is aware that what this anthology will be is, essentially, sanctioned fanfic. Once the ebook is released, you will have the right to post your story (if you want) in your Livejournal and in fanfic archives. In fact, I will be encouraging folks to do so to help build more interest in Magic University!

3. If you want to give it a try but haven�t read the books yet, email me and I�ll send you a review copy PDF of book one and send you the notes I�ve compiled for other writers. There�s also a start at an online reference to the world here: http://blog.ceciliatan.com/?page_id=318 The world is Harry-Potter-esque, but with some very important differences.

4. As I mentioned before, you don�t have to stick with the canon pairings. I have suggestions for some �missing scenes� and fun set-ups to get characters together if you are interested�! For example, I probably won�t be putting Kyle and his best friend Alex together in the actual books, but you know, sometimes an enchanter really needs a lightning rod�

I would love to have some femslash in the book. I would love to see someone tackle a Dean Bell/Kyle scenario. But you�re also welcome to come up with new ways to play in the sandbox, too, just check with me about whether they�ll fit and how.

More information here.

Number of Facebook Friends Linked To Anxiety

"WebProNews reports that according to a new survey, the more Facebook friends you have, the more likely you are to feel stressed out by the site. 'The results threw up a number of paradoxes,' says Dr Kathy Charles, who led the study. 'For instance, although there is great pressure to be on Facebook there is also considerable ambivalence amongst users about its benefits.' Causes of stress included deleting unwanted contacts, the pressure to be entertaining, and having to use appropriate etiquette for different types of friends. 'Like gambling, Facebook keeps users in a neurotic limbo, not knowing whether they should hang on in there just in case they miss out on something good.'"

Google Announces One Pass Payment System

"Riding the tail of Apple's 30% announcement, Google's Eric Schmidt has announced One Pass, a new method for users to pay for content. The BBC is reporting that Google is taking a 10% cut. One Pass will work on Google sites and on phones and tablets as the announcement notes: 'Readers who purchase from a One Pass publisher can access their content on tablets, smartphones and websites using a single sign-on with an email and password. Importantly, the service helps publishers authenticate existing subscribers so that readers don't have to re-subscribe in order to access their content on new devices.' This is to be handled through Google Checkout."

Intel 310 Series Mini SSDs Now Shipping, Benchmark

"Intel's new 310 Series SSDs utilize the same 34nm NAND flash memory technology and controller found on the chip maker's 2.5-inch SSDs, but in a form factor just 1/8th the size; a scant 2 inches (51mm) long by 1.18 inches (30mm) wide and flatter than a pancake. The new tiny Intel SSDs are now shipping and despite their diminutive stature, performance is actually pretty similar to that of the company's popular X25-M 34nm SSD. Intel says the 310 Series is shipping to customers for $179 in 1,000-unit quantities for the 80GB version of the drive."

AMD Sale to Dell Rumored

"Advanced Micro Devices may be up for sale. AMD's shares were significantly up yesterday, apparently on rumors that Dell is interested in buying the American multinational semiconductor company. If AMD ends up being bought out, the purchase by Dell, or any other company for that matter, would be among the biggest the technology industry has seen. It would be of course bigger than when AMD bought ATI in 2006."

Nokia Shareholders Fight Back

A group of nine young Nokia shareholders are fighting back. They posted an open letter for Nokia shareholders and investors asking to be elected in order to bring sanity back. They are also planning to challenge the company's strategy and partnership with Microsoft."

Cyber War Mass Hysteria Is Hindering Security

"International cyber threat initiatives are in danger of becoming overblown, the US government's security chief told the RSA Conference in San Francisco. 'Cyber war is a terrible metaphor,' said the US government's cybersecurity czar Howard Schmidt. 'Don't make it something it's not.' Internet attacks from hackers, spies and terrorist groups deserves serious attention, he said, but this should not be 'to the extent of mass hysteria.'"

Encrypting Phone Storage and Transmission? (2011 Version)

"Soon I'll be moving to one of the hot, culturally restrictive countries which has recently been in the news ... and which monitors and filters web traffic. ISPs and cellular providers are both owned by the government. Needless to say, I'm concerned about privacy and am even posting to my fellow Slashdotters as an anonymous coward. Which smart phones are the best for a) encrypted storage, and b) encrypted transmission? I'm not worried about encrypting SMSs or traditional voice traffic, but I would like all IP traffic as secure as possible. Setting up a server in my less restrictive home country is an option. What storage encryption and transmission encryption would you recommend for that situation? I'm willing to buy yet another device, if necessary. (No, I won't get a SatPhone.) I currently have a Nokia N900 running Maemo5 and another device running Symbian S60v3. I was hoping to have a secure OS like BackTrack running on the N900, but it looks like the software was never totally ported for the device."

X Prize $30 Million Robot Race To the Moon Is On

"The master competition masters at X Prize Foundation are at it again. Today the group announced the 29 international teams that will compete for the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize, the competition to put a robot on the moon by 2015. To win the money, a privately-funded team must successfully place a robot on the Moon's surface that explores at least 500 meters and transmits high definition video and images back to Earth. The first team to do so will claim a $20 million Grand Prize, while the second team will earn $5 million."

New Android Malware Robs Bandwidth For Fake Searches

"We've been hearing about various Android malware spreading through the Chinese markets. Well, here's another one to look out for: meet ADRD (aka Trojan:Android/Adrd.A) which is expert in sucking your bandwidth. The malware downloads a list of search URLs and then performs those searches at random in the background, which as the screen shots [in the linked article] show leads to excessive data charges. Similar to other Android malware this too is distributed through wallpapers which are infected repackaged versions of legit wallpapers."

Adds reader Trailrunner7:

"Lookout, a mobile security vendor, said it has identified 14 instances of the malware repackaging itself in various wallpaper apps and specifically in the popular game RoboDefense, made available in alternative application markets. The trojan works by duping an infected app into sending encrypted data containing the device’s IMEI and IMSI to a remote host. HongTouTou then receives a set of search engine target URIs and search keywords to send as queries. It then uses these keywords to emulate search processes, creating searches in the search engine yielding the top results for those keywords and clicking on specific results. To the search engine, the searches appear to be coming from a mobile user using a mobile web browser with User-Agent corresponding to the UCWeb browser."

Driver Sued For Updating Facebook In Fatal Crash

"21-year-old Chicago motorist Araceli Beas has been accused of attempting to update her Facebook page on her cell phone when she allegedly struck and killed 70-year-old Raymond Veloz. The victim's daughter, Regina Cabrales, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court, asking for an unspecified amount of money. Cabrales alleges in her suit that Beas operated her vehicle without keeping a proper and sufficient focus, drove while using an electronic communication device, and failed to slow down to avoid an accident. As proof, she points to the fact that Beas' Facebook page showed an update posted at 7:54 AM on December 7, 2010, which is the same time that Veloz's cell phone records showed a call being made to 911."

Can Android Without Dalvik Avoid Oracle's Wrath?

"Despite the fact that Oracle is suing Google over claims that Android violates Java IP, Android is roaring ahead in the marketplace. Still, some groups are wondering if they can implement Android without incurring Oracle's current or future wrath by avoiding the Dalvik VM. A project called IcedRobot aims to create a GNU-compatible version of Android, and rumors abound that RIM is planning on putting an OpenJDK-version of Android on its upcoming PlayBook tablets."

Chrome May Drop the URL Bar

"There isn't much Google can still eliminate from the browser's interface. Yet Google appears to be considering a drastic step to free up space in the UI: It may simply kill the URL bar. Instead of showing the URL bar all the time, it may be hidden within tabs. There are some other features coming as well. For example, Google will allow users to be logged into different Google accounts at the same time, as long as you use those accounts in different windows."

Automatic Life Jacket Detection For Drones

Sentient, an Australian company that makes drone software, has given UAVs the ability to search for small, high visibility objects such as life jackets. From the article: 'Kestrel Maritime is a software solution that processes electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) full motion video (FMV) from manned and unmanned vehicles (UAVs). The Life Jacket Detection enhances Kestrel Maritime EO capability to automatically detect small, high visibility objects whilst searching wide maritime areas.'

Laptop Design For Disassembly

"Stanford and Finland are cooperating on a project to make a 'modular' laptop which can be more easily disassembled and upgraded, and eventually recycled. Video presentation by smarterplanet.com is a sober answer to the Jaime Guittierez 'Clean the Fan' video."

Apple To Unveil Light Peak, New MacBook Pros This Week?

"Apple will reportedly soon make an announcement regarding a new high-speed connection technology. And as luck would have it, this comes hot on the heels of a report that Apple will release a slew of new MacBook Pros later this week. For some time now, reports have abounded detailing Apple and Intel's cooperation on a new transfer technology dubbed Light Peak capable of transferring data at 10GB/s both up and down. Could this find its way into Apple's new lineup of MacBook Pros as has been previously rumored?"

Why You Shouldn't Reboot Unix Servers

"It's a persistent myth: reboot your Unix box when something goes wrong or to clean it out. Paul Venezia explains why you should almost never reboot a Unix server, unlike say Windows."

Motorola Xoom Won't Have Flash Support At Launch

Several readers have sent word that Motorola's Xoom tablet, marketed as the iPad's first significant competitor, won't ship with Flash support.

Quoting:
"Support for Adobe's Flash technology has been an argument for the Android operating system since Apple CEO Steve Jobs notoriously said that Flash is a dying technology and that it won't make it onto iOS devices for several reasons. Flash support appeared in Android with version 2.2 and Google even flaunted it as a killer feature for tablets running Honeycomb (3.0), like the Motorola Xoom. But it looks like Adobe and/or Google have yet to put the finishing touches on Flash's implementation in Android 3.0. An advertisement for the Xoom on Verizon's site says (in 6 point text at the bottom) that Adobe Flash support on the Xoom is expected in Spring 2011, meaning this functionality won't be available at the launch of the first Honeycomb tablet on February 24. Considering how slow carriers and manufacturers are when it comes to software updates, this Spring 2011 update could mean more like late Spring 2011 ETA."

KHALID ALI-M ALDAWSARI dangerous Epic Fail

More of our INTEL = Feedly fail.

KHALID ALI-M ALDAWSARI has been the most dangerous

lone wolf I've seen todate. 

But he is not the typical lone wolf, he had been planing

to attack USA since 2007.

Even the Egyptian demonstrations and there success had

no impact on him, like they didn't even happen.  He disapproved

of Muslim passivity and pacifism, even in the middle of a revolt,

he was so blinded by hate and false doctrine.

To consider the implication of the Egyptian revolt would

have put his life's plan into danger, his plan to attack CONUS

became him, his plans were extraordinary but his lack of knowledge

of American culture doomed him.

It was fairly easy for the FBI web to pick up on him,

and then their surveillance cocoon enveloped him, 

and his life's mission became an Epic Fail.

His brain washing was completed at a young age,

and nothing short of an arrest would have stopped him.

He planning was through and in depth and detailed.

He had good opsec, and was very careful but the American

culture tripped him up, even though he had been in the US

for over 3 yrs.

His speed in organizing his attack was remarkable less then

2 months. Which in the end was problematic.

A attempted lone wolf attack in CONUS now is a guaranteed 

Epic Fail, and long prison sentence.

It would take an extraordinary streak of luck to pull it off.

The web of trip wires is so extensive as to almost preclude

an successful attack in CONUS since 911.

But the threat of a radicalized Muslim, brain washed into

a bastardized Islamic version of Islam still exist.

The possibility of an attack remains however remote

the possibility of success.

The odds continue to bend in America's favor.

Gerald

Anthropologist

. 

Ask Slashdot: Is There a War Against Small Mail Servers?

"My company hosts our own mail server. We have high-speed business connections through Verizon and Comcast. Recently, Verizon and Comcast have been blocking port 25, causing our private mail server to stop functioning. Additionally, a lot of ISPs just started blocking any mail coming from any IP in the address block of cable modems. This caused us to start laundering our mail through a third-party service called DNSExit. Now, McAfee's MAPS anti-spam system tells us they are blocking DNSExit for spam. Essentially, we are finding ourselves increasingly cut off from sending any outgoing mail. What is a small company supposed to do if you want to host your own mail?"

MacBook Pro Specs Leaked, iPad Event March 2

"Snaps of Apple's imminent update to the MacBook Pro range have been leaked, confirming most of the rumors doing the rounds."

Light Peak looks like it will be called Thunderbolt. The 13" will feature 2.3ghz Dual Core i5s and 4 gigs of RAM. In addition to the MacBook Pro rumors, the iPad update rumors have been confirmed, with invitations going out to the formal announcement on March 2.

High Severity BIND Vulnerability Advisory Issued

"The Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) and US-CERT have issued a high severity vulnerability warning, discovered by Neustar, which affects BIND, the most widely used DNS software on the Internet. Successful exploitation could enable attacker to cause Bind servers to stop processing all requests. According to the disclosure, 'When an authoritative server processes a successful IXFR transfer or a dynamic update, there is a small window of time during which the IXFR/update coupled with a query may cause a deadlock to occur. This deadlock will cause the server to stop processing all requests. A high query rate and/or a high update rate will increase the probability of this condition."

Mobile Spyware Conferences Into Your Calls

"Reports of Multiple Variants of Android Virus 'Hong Tou Tou' are showing up, which has mainly been working its way onto smartphones via alternative app marketplaces. Today, we saw reports of a new variant of spyware "Spy.Felxispy" targeting Symbian devices, identified by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Centre of China. More than a dozen variants of the spyware have emerged since the first was spotted, and the latest has affected 150,000+ devices. Once installed, the spyware will turn on the Conference Call feature of the device without users' awareness. When users are making phone calls, the spyware automatically adds itself to the call to monitor the conversation."

LOFAR, the World's Biggest Telescope, Is Up and Running

"Back in September, Motherboard ventured into the English countryside to listen to the universe. There lives a brand new piece of Europe's already-massive Low Frequency Radio Array radio telescope: a clever EU-wide installation that uses low-tech antennas and supercomputer-power data processing to transform into a giant mega-telescope, absorbing cosmic radio waves from the full sky."
That was then; now, says the article, "In the past month, using signals from the new station, LOFAR has delivered its first EU-UK radio 'pictures."

Intel Unveils Next Gen Itanium Processor

"This week, at ISSCC Intel unveiled its next-generation Itanium processor, codenamed Poulson. This new design is easily the most significant update to Itanium Intel has ever built and could upset the current balance of power at the highest-end of the server / mainframe market. It may also be the Itanium that fully redeems the brand name and sheds the last vestiges of negativity that have dogged the chip since it launched ten years ago. Poulson incorporates a number of advances in its record-breaking 3.1 Billion transistors. It's socket-compatible with the older Tukwila processors and offers up to eight cores and 54MB of on-die memory."

Quad Core, Thunderbolt In New MacBook Pros

Although as I write this the store is still down, the Apple web site has officially published the specs for the revised MacBook Pros, which top out at 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 for the 17" as well as offering a 512GB solid state drive. Somehow I don't think my boss will let me expense the one I want.

Final Android 3.0 SDK Released

"Google has released the SDK for their tablet OS, Android 3.0 'Honeycomb.' Google states on its developers' blog that the APIs are final, and you can now develop apps targeting this new platform and publish them to Android Market. The new API level is 11."
Google has posted here an overview of the new user and developer features.

Microsoft and Nvidia Abandon PC Gaming Alliance

"Ever since Microsoft turned its back on Windows gaming in favor of the closed Xbox ecosystem, the platform has been crying out for a champion. The company occasionally gives nods toward a revived focus upon PC gaming, most recently with yet another relaunch on Games for Windows Live and a trio of upcoming PC games, but when it comes to throwing cash around the Xbox is the beneficiary. What can definitely be said is that the one group that should be championing the PC, the PC Gaming Alliance, is going backwards. In 2009 the group lost the biggest PC game developer/publisher, Activision-Blizzard, and now it seems that both Microsoft and Nvidia have bid the alliance farewell."

AMD's Fusion APU Pitted Against 21 Desktop CPUs

"When AMD unveiled the Bobcat CPU architecture behind its first Fusion APUs, the company claimed its Atom-killer would achieve 90% of the performance of mainstream desktop processors. But does it? This article compares the AMD E-350's performance to more than 20 desktop CPUs between $87 and $999 to find out, and the results aren't particularly encouraging. Although Fusion offers much better integrated graphics than Intel's latest Atom, neither stands much chance of keeping up with even low-end desktop CPUs. The E-350 does offer very low power consumption and impressive platform integration, making it a good choice for home-theater PCs and mobile systems. Desktop users are better off waiting for Llano, a Fusion iteration due out this spring."

Canonical To Divert Money From GNOME

"Canonical has reacted to backlash over its insane deal with Banshee by establishing a marginally better new deal. Banshee is a media/music player for Linux (and Windows and Mac) that supports music purchases via Amazon MP3. It will ship with Ubuntu 11.04. Amazon pays 10% to its affiliates — websites and software that send it business. Banshee had been donating its Amazon affiliate proceeds to GNOME. But Amazon's MP3 store competes with Canonical's MP3 store, Ubuntu One. So Canonical thought that it should help itself to 75% of the affiliate money from Banshee/Amazon sales and leave 25% for GNOME. The Banshee group said no thanks, we'll disable Amazon for Ubuntu users. Canonical is refusing to let Banshee disable Amazon. It has instead said it will contribute some money from Ubuntu One to GNOME but it still intends on keeping the lion's share for itself."

First Two-Legged Robot Marathon is Under Way In Osaka, Japan

"Five knee-high androids have crossed the starting line in the world's first marathon for two-legged robots.The contestants are expected to take four days to complete the course, which involves 423 laps of an indoor track."

The live robot marathon video feed will make you realize that not all robots are worthy of fear. Or even worth watching for more than a few minutes.

Firefox 4 Beta 12 Released; Fixes Over 650 Bugs

"At last! Firefox 4 Beta 12 is now available. There are over 650 bug fixes in this massive update including a fix for a memory leak that kept Firefox consuming RAM even without opening new tabs. The other big thing that many users have asked for is that FINALLY, when you hover over a link, the URL is displayed in the status bar, instead of the location bar."

Smart Phone Gets Driver Out of a Speeding Ticket

"Sahas Katta writes in Skattertech that a traffic cop pulled him over while driving home and gave him a speeding ticket but thanks to his Android, he ended up walking out of traffic court without having to pay a fine or adding a single point to his record. "I fortunately happened to have Google Tracks running when an officer cited me for speeding while heading back home from a friend's place," writes Katta. "The speed limit in the area was a mere 25 miles per hour and the cop's radar gun shockingly clocked me driving over 40 miles per hour." Once in court Katta asked the officer the last time he attended radar gun training, when the device was last calibrated, or the unit's model number — none of which the officer could answer. "I then presented my time stamped GPS data with details about my average moving speed and maximum speed during my short drive home. Both numbers were well within the posted speed limits," says Katta. "The judge took a moment and declared that I was not guilty, but he had an unusual statement that followed. To avoid any misinterpretations about his ruling, he chose to clarify his decision by citing the lack of evidence on the officer's part. He mentioned that he was not familiar enough with GPS technology to make a decision based on my evidence, but I can't help but imagine that it was an important factor."

Tiny Transistors Could Be Used To Track Cash

"Banks have long considered placing silicon transistors on currency for security purposes, but the technology was too chunky and intensive for paper bills. Now, tiny low-power organic transistors developed by German scientists could make it possible to really follow the money."

Discovery's Final Launch Successful

"Overcoming a down-to-the-last-second problem, space shuttle Discovery made history yesterday, launching on its final mission to orbit. The most-traveled orbiter is carrying a crew of six astronauts and one human-like Robonaut, along with a new permanent storeroom and supplies for the International Space Station."

The launch itself went as planned; a few pieces of foam insulation broke free of the external fuel tank on the way up, but it's not expected to be a safety concern, and they're planning an inspection to make sure. NASA has videos of yesterday's launch and a Discovery retrospective, and the Atlantic has a great collection of pictures involving the shuttle. Mike Coats, pilot of Discovery's first mission in 1984, spoke in an interview about his connection to the orbiter. Discovery comes back to Earth on March 7th.

March 4, 2011 ~ The Francophone Bank Summit 2011 Hosted by President Sarkozy and the Union of Arab Banks ...

Summit Bank 2011

Geogre V Four Seasons Hotel, Paris - France

March 4, 2011

Under the High Patronage of Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy President of the French Republic and the Union of Arab Banks Cooperation With The International Organization of la Francophonie, French Banking Federation and World Union of Arab Bankers organize: The Francophone Summit Bank 2011.

The Francophone Summit Bank will allow members of La Francophonie to discuss their banking systems and cultures, ideas and experiences and so bring out recommendations for a better development of the banking and financial sector. It is also an opportunity for cross-border trade and market integration.

The International Organization of la Francophonie is one of the largest language areas of the world. It organizes political relations and cooperation between states and governments of the OIF, have shared use of the French language and respect for universal values.

The International Organization of la Francophonie was founded in 1970, following a meeting between President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, Senegal Leopol Sedar Senghor and Niger Diouri Hamani, representing Arab, Muslim and Christian French.

It has four permanent representations: in Addis Ababa at the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa of the UN in Brussels with the European Union, in New York and Geneva, with UN; of 3 regional offices in Lome (Togo) for West Africa, in Libreville (Gabon) for Central Africa and Indian Ocean, Hanoi (Vietnam) for the Asia-Pacific , from 2 regional offices: Bucharest (Romania) for Central and Eastern Europe and in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) for the Caribbean.

With a population of over 890 million and 220 million French speakers worldwide, the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF) mission is to give substance to active solidarity among the 75 States and governments that make up (56 members and 19observers) - more than a third of UN Member States. The institutional Francophonie consists of the political decision which is the highest summit of Heads of State and Government which meets biennially, and the Secretary General of La Francophonie, the keystone of this system.

In its quest to promote active channels and banking and financial networks to help build cultural bridges between its members and the international community, the Union of Arab Banks has found it necessary to present the first summit of French banks.

This summit will allow members of La Francophonie to discuss their banking systems and cultures, ideas and experiences and so bring out recommendations for a better development of the banking and financial sector. It is also an opportunity for cross-border trade and market integration.

Discussions for this day summit will be geared towards the presentation of ideas and solutions for the emergence of Basel III, funding the development of small and medium enterprises, Islamic finance and safety nets against future economic crises (Brussels meeting), these topics added to the main theme of cooperation for the development of the banking, financial and economic cooperation among Francophone countries.

Topics: -Development of the banking and economic cooperation between Arab and French

- Basel III and new prudential rules - G20 Process
- Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies in Francophone countries (experiments)
- Islamic Banks: an alternative concept for growth

Target Participants - The presidents of international economic and financial

- Governors of Central Banks
- Ministers of Economy, Trade and Finance
- Representatives of international financial and banking institutions
- Financial and Investor
-Economists and experts in the fields of banking and financial

http://www.uabonline.org/event/event-details.php?eventid=210#

Freelance translation, English to Polish, payment: $0.10-$0.11 per wod (USA)

Job description:

Eng > Polish translator needed for upcoming project. May be more or less then 32,000 word, quick turn around may be needed.

Please e-mail with resume if available.

Apply here.

Freelance writing, Netbook Reviews.com, pays around $10 per article

NetbookReviews.com is hiring mobile technology writers with a specific emphasis on covering upcoming major news in the mobile technology space (netbooks, tablets etc).

As a NetbookReviews.com content writer, you should be able to write on a variety of technical topics with a focus on helping others find the right netbook to meet their needs. You will be required to input affiliate links where appropriate and taught the best way to do this. Articles should be news oriented with a larger focus on products available right now (as opposed to products that are concepts and may or may not be available for several months). Typical article length is 500 words or less in length and will generally include 1 applicable picture (Can easily find these from Amazon.com).

Qualifications:

We are looking for the following from our applicants:

� Demonstrated knowledge of mobile technology topics
� Experience writing on mobile technology related topics
� Ability to do 10 - 15 articles per month
� Independent and trustworthy
� College degree or seeking a degree a plus

Benefits:

� Work when you want to
� Receive editorial guidance and feedback
� Monthly payments for all published articles
� Typical assignments pay around $10 per article

How to apply

Email chris@netbookreviews.com with links to previous blogs and a couple of paragraphs that highlight relevant qualifications (e.g., education, blogging experience, mobile technology knowledge, etc.)

More information here.

Google Tweaks Search to Punish 'Low-Quality' sites ...

Google has tweaked the formulas steering its Internet search engine to take the rubbish out of its results. The activity of stealing content (typically in the form of (source code) from a Web site and copying it into another Web site in order to siphon some of the original site's traffic to the copied Web pages. Users that do this are labeled "Pagejackers" they abuse search engines and spider the contents of their illegitimate site and index the results so that the copied site will appear in the search result rankings along with the original site's rankings. Users can be tricked into thinking the illegitimate site is the one they are searching for, and once they visit the copied site they may be subjected to mousetrapping.

related articles ~ This is Good ~ Google Clamps Down on "Content Farms" ...

Friday, February 25, 2011

Google tweaks search to punish 'Low-Quality' sites

New York - Google has tweaked the formulas steering its Internet search engine to take the rubbish out of its results. The overhaul is designed to lower the rankings of what Google deems "low-quality" sites.

That could be a veiled reference to such sites as Demand Media's eHow.com, which critics call online "content farms" � that is, sites producing cheap, abundant, mostly useless content that ranks high in search results.

Sites that produce original content or information that Google considers valuable are supposed to rank higher under the new system.

The change announced late Thursday affects about 12 percent, or nearly one in every eight, search requests in the U.S. Google Inc. said the new ranking rules eventually will be introduced in other parts of the world, too. The company tweaks its search algorithms, or formulas, hundreds of times a year, but most of the changes are so subtle that few people notice them. This latest change will be more difficult to miss, according to Google engineers.

"Google depends on the high-quality content created by wonderful websites around the world, and we do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem," Google fellow Amit Singhal and principal engineer Matt Cutts wrote in a blog post. "Therefore, it is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that's exactly what this change does."

Google makes significant adjustments to its search formula on the same scale as the latest change four or five times a year, Singhal said in a statement Friday.

What makes the new revisions so notable is that Google spent about a year trying to come up with a way to judge the quality of the content posted on the site.

read full article @ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Google-tweaks-search-to-apf-2993129328.html?x=0

related articles ~ This is Good ~ Google Clamps Down on "Content Farms" ...

Govt plans new incentive package for electronics

BANGALORE: The government is considering a new special incentive package for the electronics industry that it hopes will make India less dependent on imports of electronic components, systems and products.

Ajay Kumar, joint secretary in the Union information technology department, said on Monday that a committee under HCL Infosystems CEO Ajai Chowdhry had submitted recommendations.

The new package is an attempt to improve on the incentive package the government introduced under its semiconductor policy of 2007, which is seen to have largely failed in its broader objectives. The 2007 package had offered 20-25% subsidies to large investments of Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore in semiconductor fab units and eco-system units.

But the only investments it attracted were from the solar photovoltaic segment. Some 11 such projects achieved financial closure in the three-year window that was provided under the scheme, and these are currently being appraised by the government for provision of the subsidy.

Kumar, who was speaking at the India Semiconductor Association (ISA)'s Vision Summit, admitted that the response to the scheme was "lukewarm". He said he could not disclose the recommendations of the Chowdhry committee, but said that the focus would no longer be on large projects, rather, it would be on all segments along the value chain of electronic systems. "Chips, chip components, accessories, assembly, testing would all be sought to be stimulated. The idea is to provide financial incentives to all units in the value chain," he said.

The ISA and the electronics industry has long been pointing out that the gap between India's demand for electronic products and its domestic production could become dangerously wide in the years to come, given the sharp rise in demand that is expected. According to the government's own estimate, India's demand for electronic hardware that was $45 billion in 2009 would rise to $400 billion by 2020. But at current growth rates, domestic production will be just about a quarter of the demand by 2020. China and Taiwan are some of the big manufacturers from whom India imports hardware.

Kumar said global companies were looking for alternatives to China and therefore this was a good time to build on India's knowledge strength in the space and move on to manufacturing. India has become very strong in areas like chip design services, and is now even doing complete chips. Bobby Mitra, chairman of ISA and MD of semiconductor major Texas Instruments, said the opportunity for electronic systems innovation in India was huge, especially in industrial applications, energy efficiency, healthcare and education.

India has a clear strength in human resources for this space compared to rivals like Vietnam and Thailand, both in terms of large-scale availability of engineers and the cost of those engineers. But it suffers from higher energy and transport costs, and from poorer infrastructure. The government subsidy is expected to compensate for these negatives.

U.S. hits Libya with Sanctions, Shuts Embassy ...

February 25, 2011

U.S. hits Libya with sanctions, shuts embassy

WASHINGTON, The United States imposed sanctions on the Libyan government on Friday and said the legitimacy of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been "reduced to zero."

In response to Gaddafi's bloody crackdown on an uprising against his 41-year rule, President Barack Obama signed an executive order freezing the assets of Gaddafi, his family and top officials, as well as the Libyan government, the country's central bank and sovereign wealth funds.

"These sanctions therefore target the Gaddafi government, while protecting the assets that belong to the people of Libya," Obama said in a statement.

"By any measure, Muammar Gaddafi's government has violated international norms and common decency and must be held accountable," he added.

The U.S. Treasury said the action would block substantial sums of Libyan money and prevent it being looted by the Gaddafi government, but declined to offer a dollar value.

With the Libyan crisis also being taken up at the United Nations, European Union governments agreed on the idea of imposing an arms embargo, asset freezes and a travel ban on the oil-producing North African nation, with diplomats saying a formal decision would be taken early next week.

Washington announced the sanctions move -- along with the closing of its embassy and withdrawal of U.S. diplomats -- after a chartered ferry and a plane carrying Americans and other evacuees left Libya earlier on Friday.

The Obama administration had been criticized for its relatively restrained response so far to the turmoil. But U.S. officials said fears for the safety of the Americans had tempered Washington's response.

"(Gaddafi) is overseeing the brutal treatment of his people ... and his legitimacy has been reduced to zero in the eyes of his people," White House spokesman Jay Carney said after Libyan security forces shot protesters in the streets of Tripoli on Friday.

Obama discussed Washington's sanctions plan with the leaders of Britain, France and Italy on Thursday and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday his government was preparing sanctions against Libya and that "Canada fully supports the United Nations Security Council on a resolution that could include a weapons embargo, individual sanctions against key Libyan officials and an asset freeze."

CLINTON TO DRUM UP SUPPORT

The Obama administration said earlier this week it was studying a wide range of options, including the freezing of assets, a travel ban on members of Gaddafi's government, a "no-fly" zone over Libya and military action.

In a first step, the U.S. Treasury has told American banks to closely monitor transactions that may be related to unrest in Libya for possible signs that state assets were being misappropriated.

Several U.S. energy companies in Libya -- including Marathon, Hess and Occidental -- have continued working through the crisis as other foreign firms have curtailed or suspended operations.

If sanctions gain traction internationally, Libya's oil output could be restricted.

"Although Libya is not a big supplier to the U.S., any sanctions imposed by the U.S. -- particularly on doing business with that country -- means the U.S. or other countries affected will still have to tap other suppliers," said Peter Beutel, president of trading consultants Cameron Hanover.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council was considering a French-British draft proposal for an arms embargo, financial sanctions and a request to the International Criminal Court to indict Libyan leaders for crimes against humanity.

The White House did not express direct support for the proposal but said it was discussing it with members of the Security Council, including the other four permanent members -- China, Russia, Britain and France.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will push for unity against Gaddafi on Monday at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The United States resumed diplomatic ties with Libya in 2004 after Gaddafi agreed to abandon his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

U.S. economic sanctions were progressively removed after Libya agreed to accept civil responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland in 1988.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?articleId=93367964&channelId=2951&buyerId=newsmeatcom&buid=3281

Obama imposes sanctions on Libya

Also ~ EU ~ Treasury 'to seize' Kadhafi's Billions

February 25, 2011

Obama imposes sanctions on Libya

US President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Moamer Kadhafi's family and government over a brutal crackdown on protesters, attempting to further weaken the long-time strongman's teetering rule.

Obama wielded presidential power in an executive order, seizing assets and blocking any property in the United States belonging to Kadhafi or his four sons.

In a statement, Obama said the measures were specifically targeted against the Kadhafi government and his family but not the material wealth of the Libyan people themselves.

"By any measure, Moamer Kadhafi's government has violated international norms and common decency and must be held accountable," Obama said in a statement.

"These sanctions therefore target the Kadhafi government, while protecting the assets that belong to the people of Libya."

"The Libyan government?s continued violation of human rights, brutalization of its people, and outrageous threats have rightly drawn the strong and broad condemnation of the international community," Obama said.

"We will stand steadfastly with the Libyan people in their demand for universal rights, and a government that is responsive to their aspirations. Their human dignity cannot be denied."

Obama slapped the sanctions on Libya after a flight carrying more American evacuees left the violence-torn North African country, soon after a ferry carrying nearly 300 Americans and other foreigners arrived in Malta from Tripoli.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions were framed specifically to encourage members of the Libyan government to defect from the inner core of what is left of Kadhafi's power base.

Obama said in the executive order that there was a "serious risk" that Libyan state assets would be misappropriated by Kadhafi, members of his government and his family.

He said that the "prolonged attacks" and increased numbers of Libyans seeking refuge abroad posed a "serious risk" to the country's stability.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?articleId=93369739&channelId=2951&buyerId=newsmeatcom&buid=3281

Iraqi bank revamps banking ~ Protection of Funds Abroad ~ Chapter 7, etc. ...

Bumped ~

Links - Iraq's Development Fund ...

Wednesday, February 23rd 2011

Iraqi bank revamps banking

Baghdad, The Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) said Wednesday that Iraq payed the debt of 3,500 commercial creditor at a value of $ 2.7 billion, as a means to protect its money from the manipulation of foreign trading companies.

Muzher Mouhammed Saleh, the adviser of the ICB told AKnews that the payment was done according to legal procedures that allow Iraq to pass easily the obstacles that may hinder the protection of its funds abroad.

Iraq is supposed to submit to the UN Security Council a detailed report next May that include the most important basis to protect its funds.

The ICB stated earlier that the recent tensions witnessed by a number of Arab countries will not increase the protection period of UN funds in Iraq.

The Iraqi Finance Ministry revealed on the seventh of last month that the work of the Iraqi funds protection committee will be secret to avoid fictitious companies which claim that they want the Iraqi funds.

"The Committee set up to protect the Iraqi funds under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Roze Nouri Shawish is developing now an integrated plan to prevent manipulation of the funds after getting out on June from internationalist protection article."

The Iraqi Finance ministry assured at the beginning of last month that a technical governmental committee took over developing mechanisms to protect the Iraqi funds in foreign banks after the resolution of the UN Security Council at mid-November which stated on lifting the protection from the Iraqi funds at the end of next June.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously at mid-January on three resolutions concerning the lifting of the embargo imposed on Iraq about the import of nuclear materials for peaceful purposes, and the elimination of oil-for-work program, and also extended the immunity by the compensation imposed under Chapter VII until the end of next June.

The former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and after that the international community imposed sanctions on Iraq and put it under Chapter VII, which makes it a country that threatens the world peace and security.

The international sanctions included preventing it from importing chemicals and nuclear technology that could be used in secret nuclear, chemical and biological programs.

The United Nations allowed Iraq in 1995 to sell oil for food, within the "oil-for-food" program.

http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/220459/

Iraq - WTO - U.S. ~ Iraqi trade requests from the United States to support Iraq to join the World Trade ...

All Articles with ~ Links to Iraq and WTO ...
February 25, 2011

Iraqi trade requests from the United States to support Iraq to join the World Trade

The Iraqi Ministry of Trade and the United States to support Iraq to join the World Trade Organization WTO.

The general director of economic relations Hashem, Hatem told the Kurdish news agency (Rn) on Friday that "the Iraqi Ministry of Trade has asked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad need to support the United States to Iraq on accession to the WTO during the next few days in order to develop the economic sector in the country."

The Ministry of Commerce announced in Iraq January 29 last, that the WTO is "convinced" package of legislation approved by the Iraqi Council of Representatives to support the trade policy in the country.

Hatem added that "Iraq's accession to the WTO means lifting the lid of the isolation system for Iraq's commercial world, which lived for many years."

He continued that "the U.S. embassy in Baghdad confirmed it would support Iraq significantly to join the World Trade Organization and support of the Iraqi economy to provide investment climates revive the economic reality in Iraq."

Iraq seeks to obtain permanent membership in the WTO rather than an observer member, as is the case at this time.

The WTO was founded in 1995 and comprises 147 countries world as permanent members.

The organization aims to create economic world, preserves the rights of consumer and producer through an international system of laws through the full employment of state resources and prevent the sale of goods with non-universal impulse.

http://www.aknews.com/

New power loose in the World. Egypt, Libya

More of our INTEL

I'm sleeping better.

The Arabic uprising in the ME is a shining beacon.

The demonstrations represent an end to Islams

sloth, Arabs and Persians taking responsibility

for themselves and above all in a peaceful 

powerful movement. And its secular.

As regimes are over thrown and the Ummah,

set up new secular Governments this spells

the Death of terrorist groups on the scale we 

have previously seen.

The people of the Middle East see a method

of successfully over turning a Government with

out resorting to violence.

Realizing the Arabs have found their "holy Grail"

so to speak feels like a great weight has been 

lifted from my back. A fear for the next generations

has been lifted.

Some of the craziness of the ME has bled off.

The Arabs and Persians are just saying NO, to

some of the brutal regimes. And changing their

Governments.

They may not be friendly to America, and thats OK.

But it feels like they realize terrorism doesn't work.

And they reject terrorism as a method of change.

And that feels hopeful, feels good.

The WWW has evolved a change mechanism 

fundamental to human rights. And a redistribution

of power is under way. 

The world is undergoing an evolutionary paradigm shift.

If the people don't like a Government, they have at hand

a method to change that Government.

All Governments of the World are subject to change now.

We will see a shift in focus of Governments world wide.

Those that don't change, brutalize their people, or abuse

them are now subject to removal.

There is a new player on the board, Governments no longer

completely run the show. The people now have the power

to have a say in their governance. And the changes can happen

in a mater of weeks.

So far its only been the ME countries which have made use

of this power, but Russia, China and even USA is subject

to its desires.

There is hope for the US confronting the Wall St Banks even

if they have bought off congress. Even a legal criminal combine

like Wall St Banks are not immune from this power.

We are going to see some changes fast and all over the world.

Infowars are about to take on whole new meanings.

Military power is counter productive against civilians.

The US war doctrine has proven this in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And is part of their defense policys.

Russia and China may both try killing their civilians, they have

a history. But the risks they run for brutalization of their populations

maybe too expensive, cut off from the world, pariahs now is economically

suicide.

The rest of the world is grappling with methods to help this

emerging power, and struggling with possible blow back,

when its their turn in the barrel.

An interesting point the worlds biggest intelligence combine USA 

missed it, it happened to fast for them to get a handle on it.

Or pre-plan and reaction has been slow.

This new paradigm is self motivated and spreads faster than

anything we have ever seen. I think the US can accept this into

its political paradigm.

and I expect mistakes to be made, Palin, Beck ticket, makes

my stomach queasy. 

Its up to the info warriors now.

New rule set, new players, big changes.

And the old news sources are loosing ground,

too slow, too spin oriented.

Fox news is working this new paradigm in the worst

possible way, propaganda and spin for political party

benefit.

The scary part is this new power is in the hands of,

what is the story 1.5 million people who believe in Ghosts.

While this public demographic isn't good at critical thinking

or checking sources, they do believe sound bytes,and thats

scary.

schools may want to start teaching critical thinking and sorce

checking to filter out the shaft from the wheat.

The worst end game for this paradigm brings to mind,

Idiocracy is a 2006 American satirical comedy film, 

directed by Mike Judge and starring Luke Wilson, 

Maya Rudolph and Dax Shepard.

The film tells the story of two ordinary people who are taken into a top-secret military hibernationexperiment that goes awry, and awaken 500 years in the future. They discover that the world has degenerated into a dystopia where advertising,commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualismrun rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of individual responsibility or consequences.

End of terrorism but start of Idiocracy, Ok its a worst case.

But worth consideration.

Gerald

Anthropologist

.