Thermostats

Mercury thermostats use mercury tilt switches to sense and control room temperature through communication with heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. A mercury thermostat may contain one or more switches, depending on how many heating and cooling systems it activates.

The Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA), provides a fact sheet with information on the use of mercury in thermostats, including the amount of mercury used in thermostats in the US, non-mercury alternatives, and collection and recycling programs.

Mercury thermostats are unlikely to break or leak mercury while is use, but they need to be properly disposed of when being replaced. If a mercury thermostat is being replaced by a household occupant rather than by a heating and air conditioning professional, the old thermostat should be disposed of by taking it to a state or local household hazardous waste collection center for recycling. For information about these programs, contact your local collection program to find out whether you can drop your old thermostats off any time or whether you should wait for the next collection effort in your area. You can also use earth911.com to find collection programs in your area -- just type in "thermostat" or "mercury" and your zip code to get a list of programs that accept mercury-containing thermostats.

Invasive Species

Invasive species means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Invasive species are one of the largest threats to our terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems, as well as being a major global concern. Invasive species can affect aquatic ecosystems directly or by affecting the land in ways that harm aquatic ecosystems. Invasive species represent the second leading cause of species extinction and loss of biodiversity in aquatic environments worldwide. They also result in considerable economic effects through direct economic losses and management/control costs, while dramatically altering ecosystems supporting commercial and recreational activities. Effects on aquatic ecosystems result in decreased native populations, modified water tables, changes in run-off dynamics and fire frequency, among other alterations. These ecological changes in turn impact many recreational and commercial activities dependent on aquatic ecosystems. Common sources of aquatic invasive species introduction include ballast water, aquaculture escapes, and accidental and/or intentional introductions, among others.

Genetically Engineered Mice shows Clues to blow away Cancer

Deleting two genes in mice responsible for repairing DNA strands damaged by oxidation leads to several types of tumors, providing additional evidence that such stress contributes to the development of cancer. That’s the conclusion of a recent study in DNA Repair by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the New York University School of Medicine (NYUSM).

Although all cells need oxygen to survive, the element also can be stressful to cells and their components—particularly DNA—as part of “reactive species” in the environment, such as free radicals and peroxides. The damage levied on DNA by these compounds can include lesions, breaks, cross-links and deletions—errors in our normal genetic codes that, if left unchecked, may accelerate the aging process and increase susceptibility to several disease states. In humans, DNA repair genes produce enzymes called DNA glycosylases that excise sections of DNA strands already modified by oxidative stress, and thus protect the genetic material.

One of these repair genes, neil1, was identified and characterized in 2002 by Sankar Mitra and his team at the University of Texas Medical Branch in collaboration with NIST researchers Miral Dizdaroglu and Pawel Jaruga. The gene produces a DNA repair protein, NEIL1 that is nearly identical in humans and mice. Therefore, a mouse serves a perfect model for studying the biological function of the neil1 gene in both species. The researchers state that their results emphasize the role of DNA repair in preventing carcinogenesis. The work may lead to the development of new measurement methods and reference materials for accurate and reproducible assessments of DNA damage and repair and contribute to understanding the role of oxidatively induced DNA damage and its repair in carcinogenesis. Future studies will focus on the role of NEIL1 in disease processes.

Eco tourism

Eco tourism is more than a catch phrase for nature loving travel and recreation. Eco tourism is consecrated for preserving and sustaining the diversity of the world's natural and cultural environments. It accommodates and entertains visitors in a way that is minimally intrusive or destructive to the environment and sustains & supports the native cultures in the locations it is operating in. Responsibility of both travelers and service providers is the genuine meaning for Eco tourism.

Eco tourism also endeavors to encourage and support the diversity of local economies for which the tourism-related income is important. With support from tourists, local services and producers can compete with larger, foreign companies and local families can support themselves. Besides all these, the revenue produced from tourism helps and encourages governments to fund conservation projects and training programs.

Saving the environment around you and preserving the natural luxuries and forest life, that's what Eco tourism is all about. Whether it's about a nature camp or organizing trekking trips towards the unspoiled and inaccessible regions, one should always keep in mind not to create any mishap or disturbance in the life cycle of nature.

The story of ice cream

Ice cream has a long history as a well-liked dairy food item. It has developed from a manually manufactured household product to a much automated industrial product.

The birth of ice cream can be marked back to at least the 4th century B.C. In the past the Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) ordered ice to be brought from the mountains and mixed with fruit toppings, and King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China who had a method of creating ice and milk drink. Ice cream was likely brought from China back to Europe.

After the dessert was brought to the United States, it was favorite several famous Americans. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson served it to their guests. In 1700, Governor Bladen of Maryland was recorded as having served it to his guests. In 1774, a London caterer named Philip Lenzi announced in a New York newspaper that he would be offering for sale various confections, including ice cream. Dolly Madison served it in 1812.

THE STORY OF EVOLUTION OF CAR'S

Quite a lot of Italians documented designs for wind driven vehicles. The first was Guido da Vigevano in 1335. It was a windmill sort drive to gears and has wheels. Vaturio designed a related vehicle which was also never built. Later Leonardo da Vinci designed clockwork driven tricycle with wheel steering and a gap mechanism between the rear wheels.

A Catholic priest, Father Ferdinand Verbiest has been said to have designed a steam powered vehicle for the Chinese Emperor Chien Lung in about 1678. There is no information about the vehicle, only the event. Thomas Newcomen builds his first steam engine in 1712 this was possibly a model vehicle powered by a mechanism like Hero's steam engine, a spinning wheel with jets on the edge. Newcomen's engine had a cylinder and a piston and was the first of this kind, and it used steam as a condensing agent to form a vacuum and with an overhead walking beam, pull on a rod to lift water. The steam was not under pressure, just an open boiler piped to the cylinder. It used the same vacuum principle that Thomas Savery had patented to lift water directly with the vacuum, which would have limited his pump to less than 32 feet of lift. In 1765 James Watt developed the first pressurized steam engine which proved to be much well-organized than the Newcomen engine.

The first vehicle to move under its own power was designed by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot and constructed by M. Brezin in 1769. A second unit was built in 1770 which weighed 8000 pounds and had a speed on 2 miles per hour and on the cobble stone streets of Paris this was probably as fast as anyone wanted to go it.

Mercedes-Benz launches its M-Class Model in Hyderabad

Mercedes-Benz India on Monday launched its popular SUV the M-Class Model in the city. The new M-Class is available in two engine choices: the ML 320 CDI (featuring a high-torque diesel engine) and the ML 350 (powered by a high output gaso line engine).

Talking to media persons here Mr Suhas Kadlaskar, Director, Corporate Affairs of Mercedes-Benz India, said that "The new M-Class offers best of both the worlds the highest levels of luxury, comfort and on-road refinement combined with excellent off-road capabilities and best-in-class safety standards''.

We have maintained the same price for this product despite significant enhancements of equipment, features and performance, thus making the best value for money offering in this segment,'' he added. The new car ML 350 is priced at Rs 53.77 lakhs, ex-show room Mumbai and ML 320 CDI is priced at Rs 54 lakhs, ex-showroom Mumbai.

The New M-Class offers a high-level of on road refinement. It presents a state-of-the art 7-speed automatic transmission (7G-TRONIC), a height adjustable air suspension (AIRMATIC), an Exterior Sports Package featuring 19 inch alloy wheels, and available luxurious leather interior with burr walnut accents.

The M-Class offers excellent off-road capabilities. It features the famous 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive system with a start-off assist & a Downhill Speed Regulation (DSR), Mr Kadlaskar said.

source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02161960.htm

Indian schools deploy virtual desktops to cut costs

Schools in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have deployed NComputing virtual desktops technology, which distributes the power of a PC across a number of users.

The project, commissioned in November, aimed to bring computer training and e-learning to 5,000 government schools with 1.8 million students. Four months later, the schools have each been equipped with a computer lab with the hardware and software, trained instructors and a reliable power supply, NComputing said on Monday.

PCs currently in the market are so powerful that the vast majority of students only use a small fraction of the computer's capacity, according to the company. Its strategy is to utilize the excess capacity in a PC by sharing it among a number of users. As the client device is not the PC, but a monitor with keyboard and mouse, the economics of delivering computing to users changes dramatically, according to the company.

NComputing said in October that it would be using a version of its technology that would be priced at US$70 per seat, and in addition provide savings in electricity costs. A full deployment including shared cost of the computer, monitor, keyboard and peripherals cost would be closer to $200.

The systems run on the Microsoft Windows Server operating system and use Microsoft's Office Suite.

A number of technology companies including Intel and the One Laptop Per Child association are targeting specialized products at price-sensitive emerging markets.

The Indian government has said it has a prototype of a low-cost access and computing device for education purposes that can run the office suite from OpenOffice.org, besides offering users the ability to do browsing. The device, whose full specifications are still not available, is likely to be priced initially at $20 to $30, with plans to bring the price down to $10 at high volumes, an official in India's Department of Higher Education said earlier this month.

NComputing said it is working with nearly 15 states in India to pilot or implement its virtual desktop computing technologies.

source:http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/022309-indian-schools-deploy-virtual-desktops.html

paidContent.org - Why Digital Music Companies And The Labels Have So Much Trouble Getting Along

YouTube and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music Entertainment reached an agreement last week on a music-sharing deal, providing a welcome break from the nasty back and forth between Warner Music and the video behemoth over their collapsed deal. The Sony/YouTube agreement will provide music videos for all to see and presumably will make money for both parties. So why aren't the labels and digital startups (not just YouTube, but others as well) inking more deals? The answer lies in how the deals are usually structured and the way that the two sides approach the negotiating table. (I know a little bit about this subject, having founded a music company and been involved in negotiating sessions over the same types of rights.)

First, the details of the deals, which for the past few years have consisted of the following terms:

The digital company makes large upfront payments to the label (aka advances)?millions of dollars in the case of a company the size of YouTube?that are recouped as revenue from ads sold on the streams.

?The record label receives a penny for every stream whether or not advertising is sold on the content. Recently I've heard that this has fallen to an eighth of a cent because of the economy.

?If advertising is sold on the content, the two parties split the revenue 50/50 after the original penny a stream is paid to the label.

More after the jump...

To understand the implications of these terms for closing deals, consider the penny-per-stream component. It amounts to $10 per 1,000 streams, or a $10 CPM. This means that before the digital company makes any money on advertising it would have to pay the first $10 of the ultimate CPM to the labels, then split what's left 50/50. So, if YouTube were to sell a $20 CPM pre-roll on a music video, it would give the first $10 to the label then keep $5 of the remaining money. That's $15 to the label and $5 to YouTube, or an effective CPM of $5 on a pre-roll ad. That's not going to leave YouTube rolling in revenue, never mind profits. Throw in the fact that it has to pay millions of dollars upfront, and you can see why these talks are so strained.

Then, there is the mindset of each side in the negotiations.

Record labels point to their past negotiations with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) as a mistake they don't want to make again. When Steve Jobs created iTunes he forced the labels to sell their music one song at a time, compensating the labels with 70 percent of the revenue. Seems reasonable, but, as many people know, Apple stock soared to new heights, while label stocks tanked amid the tidal wave of digital music and piracy. This time the labels are making sure they get paid more handsomely. Also driving the labels' negotiating position is that they put a lot of resources into their artists?and take sizable risks on them?but just one in 10 succeed. So they expect guaranteed payments, and healthy returns, from the digital deals on the artists who do succeed. Otherwise, digital companies could simply sit back and cherry pick the best artists at great prices, monetizing their business while labels take all the development risk. Digital companies, meanwhile, believe the labels kill dynamic businesses through greed and a lack of sophistication. On his company's earnings call last week, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser blamed them for "stifling innovation." Jason Herskowitz of the recently shuttered Total Music, a mobile music site funded by the labels, had this to say on his blog last week: "All of the famished participants have to sit at the table?and be content to let all the others have a little bit to eat, even though they are still hungry themselves."

YouTube will probably reach deals with at least two other labels (Warner remains a question mark). But more broadly, the labels and digital startups don't seem to know how to get along. Meanwhile, each side is considering alternative business models that don't depend on the other for success. Digital businesses like YouTube are focusing more on original programming and webisodes rather than music videos, even though music videos remain the most-watched content on the site. Record labels have been discussing creating their own "Hulu-Style" online video site, but have themselves been involved in difficult negotiations about how to divvy up that pie.

Explaining why these talks are so tortured is one thing?finding a solution that satisfies both parties is another. But there are things that each side could do to break this logjam. In a follow-up piece next week, I'll explore some of them.

source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/17/AR2009021701753.html

UNITED STATES: Obama's strategy shapes stimulus debate

The House of Representatives last week passed an 819 billion dollar economic stimulus bill, which was notable for the unusually partisan character of the vote: the entire Republican caucus opposed it, while all but eleven Democrats voted in favor. The Senate is now debating its own version of the bill, which has swelled to over 900 billion dollars. In theory, the Republicans have the votes to filibuster the package. In practice, the administration is in a strong position to secure its objectives.

Weak Senate opposition. Republican opposition in the Senate is potentially a more serious danger to President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan than in the House, where the minority has little leverage. Senate rules allow a disciplined opposition to effectively block ('filibuster') legislation if it can deny the majority the 60 votes (out of 100) necessary to secure 'cloture' and end debate. However, Senate Republican leaders have not threatened to engage in such tactics -- nor are they likely to do so in the coming weeks, for several reasons:

Obama's intimidating popularity. Most Republican senators do no favor outright obstruction, due to the president's unusually strong approval ratings (65%, according to the latest Gallup reading). The public image of the Republican party also remains very negative.

Lack of unity. Republican leaders doubt whether they can achieve the unity necessary to block the bill in the Senate. The party holds just 41 seats in the chamber, and would need both iron discipline and defections from the Democratic side to have a plausible chance of success. Given that at least ten Republicans favor some sort of stimulus measure, an attempt to block the bill might turn into an embarrassing debacle.

Republican stimulus sympathy. Indeed, many more Senate Republicans would back the bill, provided that more of it were devoted to immediate economic relief (especially in the form of tax cuts and aid to the housing sector) and some extraneous spending items were stripped out.

Bargaining with Obama. Therefore, Senate Republicans are simply testing the concessions that the White House would be willing to make, in order for Obama to secure his stimulus package quickly and plausibly claim it enjoyed 'bipartisan' support. If he achieves these objectives, the president would be able to begin work on the rest of his domestic agenda while he is still in his political 'honeymoon' period. Republican leaders calculate that Obama is more open to their attempts to shape the stimulus package, for these reasons, than many of their Democratic counterparts in the Senate.

This assumption is almost certainly correct, as the White House is likely to accept amendments that:

provide additional tax concessions to the business community;

boost the housing sector (in the form of a 15,000 tax credit for all new home purchases);

water-down 'buy-American' provisions that would restrict government purchases in many areas to 'US products' -- possibly leading to tensions with US trading partners; and

eliminate some provisions in the House version of the bill that smack of 'pork barrel' spending (eg political patronage spending in the districts of influential House members).

If such minor concessions are forthcoming, the likely result would be a Senate bill larger that the president's highly flexible 'limit' of 850 billion dollars (probably approximately 900 billion to 1.0 trillion dollars) which would largely dictate the final shape of the package approved by the House-Senate conference committee. The majority of Senate Republicans would still vote against a bill in this form, but enough would support it to allow for its relatively swift passage this month.

sources:http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/05/news/05oxan-stim.php

Rumor: App Store Plus to offer premium content

Rumors are swirling about Apple partnering with game manufacturers to provide premium content via the App Store, but as usual, everyone's staying mum on the details.

With the App Store filling up so fast and furiously, there have long been rumors floating around regarding a more exclusive sales venue for high-end software sales. The latest rumor comes courtesy of Pocket Gamer, suggesting that Apple might invite developers like EA Mobile and Gameloft into an exclusive arena where they could sell games for $19.99 each. Of course, as is the norm with such rumors, Apple, EA Mobile, and Gameloft all refused to comment on the speculation.

A premium App Store, an "App Store Plus" if you will, does make sense on a certain level, and yet the iTunes Store has done just fine with a single storefront augmented by targeted sales campaigns. A simple visit to the App Store shows how effectively the current system already works at catching the shopper's eye and funneling buyers to the proper areas. Banner ads already promote software and a "new and noteworthy" section brings discovery into the equation. At best, an App Store Plus might work as a boutique sub-page, showcasing a select collection of the best iPhone applications available.

The suggested $19.99 price point is not out of line when compared to other handheld gaming systems, but seems a little high when contrasted against the $7.99 SEGA Super Monkey Ball gold standard. Super Monkey Ball, which debuted at $9.99, reached its current price point in December. Electronic Arts' Spore Origins currently retails for $5.99 and SimCity goes for $7.99.

Price labels, or at least the lack thereof, represent the biggest difference between the iTunes Store front page and the App Store front page. Unlike the iTunes Store front page, which brandishes its yellow-colored price points and sales, the App Store remains distinctly empty of any cost information. You can see that in the two screen shots in the image on this post. There doesn't seem to be a sales point to advertise because the market is still searching for the application "standard". Without that standard, it's hard to put your application on sale. Can a $4.99 app be "on sale" when most units are retailing for $0.99 or $1.99?

The App Store is just six months old. Developers are still exploring pricing structures and trying to balance sales against application sustainability. The idea of a premium App Store distribution channel makes sense in terms of promoting high-quality products, but there's simply no data out there beyond unfounded rumor as to when Apple might introduce it, how it might do so, and how much Apple would charge consumers to buy in.

source:http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/01/rumor-app-store-plus-to-offer-premium-content.ars

Tourism will erase North Surigao from list of 10 poorest provinces---PGMA

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the development of the tourism assets of Surigao del Norte is the key factor to the province’s economic progress and eventual graduation from the list of the 10 poorest provinces in the country.

The Arroyo administration’s Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (2004-2010) stated that the tourism sector‘s “primary importance in poverty alleviation lies in its potential to generate millions of jobs for various groups of people.”

“Tourism is the best source of employment…from the most skilled to the least skilled, there is an employment opportunity…” the President said when she was in Siargao Island last Wednesday (April 16).

Thus, the President pledged to help rural areas such as Siargao Island, which is part of Surigao del Norte, to develop their natural resource endowments through support infrastructure, such as airports and roads to make the tourist destinations more accessible.

Tourism is a very complex industry encompassing a wide range of economic activities in every tourist destination in the country, and involves a substantial amount of investments—a reason why it is recognized as a major contributor to the generation of foreign exchange earnings, investments, and revenues, and to the total growth of the country’s output. It also creates human resource-intensive jobs.

Over the years, the Philippine tourism industry has been playing a key role in promoting mutual understanding among nations, and as an instrument of national and economic development through poverty alleviation and conservation of fragile natural and cultural resources.

Tourism can directly and indirectly contribute to employment creation in the country: direct employment in hotels, restaurants (food and beverage sector), retail trade (souvenir sales), nightclubs, transport, sports, and entertainment establishments, travel agencies, tour operators;

Indirect employment, on the other hand, occurs through the supply of goods and services needed by tourism-related businesses like the suppliers and makers of souvenirs, and from professions such as consultancies, lawyering and tax accountancy.

Here in the Philippines, its share in total employment is likewise increasing said Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.

These jobs include enterprises within the industry, mostly in micro, small and medium enterprises that the Arroyo administration projected to reach one million in net additional employment from the tourism sector.

Thus, the President is banking on the full development of the tourism assets of Surigao del Norte for the province to finally achieve economic progress.

For a start, she has invited Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to fly directly from Manila to Siargao, the province’s tropical paradise endowed with white powdery sand, underground caves, game fishing spots and surfing havens.

She has also released some P10 million for the water system in the island as well as the concreting of roads leading to the province’s tourist attractions.

Trichet May Overcome Reluctance to Cut Rates as Slump Deepens

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank will cut interest rates today to counter the deepening recession, even after President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled a reluctance to move this month, a survey of economists shows.

ECB policy makers meeting in Frankfurt will lower the benchmark lending rate by half a percentage point to 2 percent, according to the median of 60 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. That would match the lowest rate since the ECB took charge of monetary policy in 1999. The bank will reduce the rate to a record low of 1.5 percent in March, another survey shows.

Trichet said last month there’s a limit to how far the ECB can cut rates and has refused to give any signal for January, suggesting he favors a pause. At the same time, data show the economy of the 16 nations sharing the euro is slipping deeper into recession as the global financial crisis hurts exports, damps spending and swells budget deficits across the region.

“There’s no other option but to lower rates further,” said Jacques Cailloux, chief euro-area economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London. While it’s “highly unusual” for Trichet to refrain from signaling a cut, “I’ve reluctantly moved away from paying attention to ECB rhetoric and started to focus more on the economy,” Cailloux said.

The ECB announces its decision at 1:45 p.m. and Trichet holds a press conference 45 minutes later. The ECB is lagging counterparts such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Swiss central bank, which have reduced borrowing costs aggressively as the world’s largest economies slide simultaneously into recession for the first time since World War II.

Close to Zero

The Bank of England on Jan. 8 cut its main lending rate to 1.5 percent, the lowest since the bank was founded in 1694. The Fed last month lowered its key rate to a target range of zero to 0.25 percent. Japanese and Swiss rates are also close to zero.

The ECB has reduced its benchmark by 175 basis points since early October. Trichet told journalists on Dec. 15 the bank was focused on making sure those reductions flow through to the economy. It wants to avoid being “trapped” with rates that are “too low,” he said. Executive Board member Juergen Stark said on Dec. 10 the scope for further moves was “very limited.”

The faltering economy is pushing up bond yields in Italy, Spain and Greece, making ECB rate cuts less effective.

Standard & Poor’s yesterday lowered Greece’s sovereign credit rating one notch to A-, saying the financial crisis has “exacerbated an underlying loss of competitiveness in the Greek economy.” The ratings of Ireland, Portugal and Spain are also under threat.

‘Original Thinking’

European confidence has plunged to the lowest on record and the unemployment rate rose to 7.8 percent in November, a two-year high. The German economy, Europe’s largest, may have contracted as much as 2 percent in the fourth quarter, the country’s statistics office said yesterday. That would be the biggest slump in more than two decades.

“It was clearly the original thinking to keep rates on hold, but the Governing Council will find it very hard to resist a cut in the face of such extreme economic weakness,” said Julian Callow, chief European economist at Barclays Capital in London. “This meeting is one of the hardest to predict -- they could go 25 basis points, 50 basis points, or keep rates unchanged.”

Some council members have signaled they see leeway to lower borrowing costs further. ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos and council member Vitor Constancio both said this month that lower rates may be warranted if inflation falls too far below 2 percent, the bank’s definition of price stability.

The rate declined to 1.6 percent in December.

‘Too Optimistic’

The ECB last month forecast inflation would average 1.4 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year. It predicted the economy would contract 0.5 percent in 2009 before rebounding to expand 1 percent in 2010.

Those projections are “far too optimistic,” said Cailloux. “The economy could be three to four times weaker than suggested by the ECB last month.”

The shadow ECB council, a group of economists that monitors the central bank, on Jan. 13 called for a full percentage point cut. A worsening recession increases the risk of “excessive disinflation” and this should be as much a concern to the ECB as inflation above its target, the economists said.

Investors expect the ECB to lower the benchmark rate by at least 50 basis points today and to take it to as low as 1.25 percent by June, Eonia forward contracts show.

“Economic activity is falling off a cliff, inflation has crashed through the 2 percent floor of price stability, while unemployment is rising significantly,” the European Trade Union Confederation said in a statement yesterday. Another interest-rate cut is “the only sensible thing” for the ECB to do.

sources:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aFGbmXAXYmOE&refer=europe

IRAQ

Biden Assures Leaders Of Ongoing U.S. Amity

Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. arrived in Baghdad on Monday for the last leg of a trip that included stops in Pakistan and Afghanistan, battlegrounds the Obama administration will inherit in a week.

Biden met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a staunch U.S. ally, whose office said in a statement that Biden had assured the Iraqis that "Obama and the new administration are Iraq's friends."

The Democratic senator from Delaware, accompanied by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), didn't speak to reporters during his first day in Baghdad, and a spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy said there was no plan to organize a news conference Tuesday.
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The visit occurred on a day when a series of attacks in Baghdad killed at least eight people and wounded more than two dozen, according to Iraqi officials.

In the New Baghdad neighborhood, in southeastern Baghdad, a suspected magnetic bomb detonated under a crane about 7 a.m., residents said. When police officers and others rushed toward the site of the blast, a man in a white sedan drove toward the crowd, jumped out of the vehicle and detonated explosives inside it. Three people were killed, including an Iraqi policeman who tried to prevent the driver of the vehicle from approaching.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced Monday that it turned over control of one of its largest bases in Anbar province, in western Iraq, to the Iraqi government. Camp Fallujah is the latest of several large bases the U.S. military has shut down.

more information:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203352.html

24: Season 7, First 4 Episodes Review

24 season 7 premieres in a couple of days. It's been long coming. The writers' strike impeded its release into the wild by one full year. Now, finally, FOX is ready to unsheathe Jack Bauer. I have watched the first four hours of 24's seventh season, and I'm here to report that true 24 fans will get the 24 they're used to. The first four hours, interestingly enough, are not as good as the first four hours of season 6 (say what you will about the disappointment of that season, but the first four episodes were great), but one gets the feeling that it's building to bigger and better things. Of course, this could be wishful thinking from a staunch 24 fan. Let's all hope not. I fear that parts of the 24 audience will be underwhelmed by what they see on Sunday and Monday, but I think the episodes are solid enough to warrant continued viewership. FOX certainly hopes so.


Season 7 picks up a couple years after the events of season 6, and a couple of months following the events of 24: Redemption. Jack is brought in front of a senate hearing. He has to answer to accusations of torture. Jack will be indicted, it is clear, but before the proceedings can finish, Jack is summoned by a comely FBI agent to assist in a national crises. I didn't know FBI agents could walk in and interrupt senate hearings with such ease, but I guess we can let it slide.

A rogue, domestic terrorist organization has gained access into the government's infrastructure – roads, traffic lights, air traffic control, the water supply, etc. Early in the episode, we find out that Tony Almeida is the leader of this terrorist organization. Jack is informed of this, and from there, the season gets off and running.


I don't want to give away much else away. Just know that these four episodes feel like a precursor for the events to come, more so than the beginning of previous seasons. There's nothing wrong with this, but viewers looking for crazy action right out of the gate might be disappointed.

One worry, that may permeate throughout the season, is that the plot points unearthed during 24: Redemption threaten to undermine a great deal of the suspense of season 7, especially in these first four episodes. I think 24: Redemption, in this respect, was a mistake, especially how they introduced Jon Voight's character. But, the jury is still out on this.

24 is back. It's not a slam dunk so far, but anyone who enters the season with an open mind will find enough to their liking to stick with it.

source:http://www.buddytv.com/articles/24/24-season-7-first-4-episodes-r-25575.aspx

Expo: Microsoft to enhance Entourage Exchange, SharePoint on the Mac:

A quarter-century after it began making products for the Mac, Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit announced future updates to Microsoft Office that will enhance collaboration and sharing.

Entourage will get a makeover, at least under the hood. Microsoft will stop using the WebDAV protocol in favor of the Exchange Web Services—a change the company said would bring better compatibility, performance, and reliability. When using WebDAV, Entourage sends out up to six instructions when communicating with a server, but with Exchange it uses one.

The MacBU plans to release the Entourage update in late January as a public beta. The final release will come later this year and will be free for all Office 2008 users.

The second update to Office for Mac will give Mac users the ability to work with SharePoint Products and Technologies and Office Live Workspaces. With the help of a new application called the Document Collaboration Companion, Mac users will be able to download and upload documents, use document check-out/in, offline document caching, and SharePoint Workspace, Document Library, and Office Live Workspace.

Document Collaboration Companion—Microsoft’s first full Cocoa application—will debut as a private beta in February, with a final release slated for later this year.

By switching to the Exchange technology and giving users a collaboration application, Mac users would be able to work with shared documents and servers just as easily as their Windows counterparts, according to Eric Wilfrid, general manager of the MacBU.

“Compatibility has always been one of the biggest concerns for us,” Wilfrid told Macworld. “The question is always can Mac and Windows users work on the same team and share information?”

The moves by Microsoft fit into a strategy at the company to deliver software plus services on all platforms. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked about the company’s vision last October when he introduced the concept of the “Windows Cloud” as an operating system that would help developers write Internet-based applications. Last year, Microsoft announced plans for Office Web, a lightweight version of its Office suite that will run online; Office Web apps are expected to work with the Safari and Firefox Web browsers.

“These releases are the first step for the MacBU in harnessing the power of software plus services on the Mac,” said Wilfrid.

source:http://www.macworld.com/article/137950/2009/01/officeupdates.html