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Microsoft lies to XP users—and they start to love Vista
In about two weeks, Redmond has managed to turn a marketing idea into something that may just shock you. Microsoft blogger Ina Fried is reporting that Microsoft managed to trick XP users in San Francisco into loving Vista simply by telling them a small fib. The company told these users that they were using a new version of Windows, codenamed "Mojave." When asked about their experience with using Mojave, over 90 percent said they were impressed with what they saw. Then Microsoft told them they had been using Vista all along.
The company hasn't figured out how it will use this to market Vista (the company has video footage of users exclaiming "wow!" and so on), but the Mojave project will likely help in Microsoft's plan to tell the "real Vista story." This is some real ammo here: these are XP lovers saying they love Vista, not just more Microsoft employees giving statements to sell the software giant's latest operating system.
Bill Veghte, Microsoft's senior vice president of Online Services & Windows Business Group and the man who recently outlined the Windows roadmap, strongly believes that Vista's negative opinion by many users is due to poor perceptions created by the media, from Apple's anti-Vista ads to many journalists spewing Vista hate because it brings in the hits. Mojave is a perfect example of this—to an extent. Microsoft has time and again admitted that Vista has its problems, but has also emphasized that the majority of problems have been fixed. What's your take on the Mojave story? In about two weeks, Redmond has managed to turn a marketing idea into something that may just shock you. Microsoft blogger Ina Fried i... more -
Where do people still use cassette tapes?
The answer: in prisons. CDs are normally banned, since they could be used as weapons or tools to self-harm when shattered.
Californian Bob Paris set up a business in 2003 offering cassettes by mail to the 2.3 million people held in US prisons, and now has a thriving business. Best-sellers include Al Green's "Greatest Hits," Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory," Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" and a best-of collection by the Stylistics.
Freakonomics asks, "are there other examples of media that should have gone extinct but found a nice niche in which to survive?" The answer: in prisons. CDs are normally banned, since they could be used as weapons or tools to self-harm when shattered. ... more -
The U.S. Economy Is Socialism for the Rich
In the United States, far-Right Republicans and Democratic liberals alike have sold many people on the notion that the market should be the main force to drive the economy and define social relationships. They maintain that government should stay off people's backs and out of our wallets. They promote rugged individualism and consumerism couched in terms like "personal responsibility," "freedom" and "independence." "Greed is good!" was the mantra of Michael Douglas' character, Gordon Gecko, in the 1980s movie "Wall Street," and those became the words to live by in the '80s and '90s. The philosophy and value of greed was taken to heart by many a corporate CEO, and, over the past three decades, this twisted logic -- underlined by the values of individualism and the culture of consumerism -- has turned back the clock on human development with devastating consequences. In the United States, far-Right Republicans and Democratic liberals alike have sold many people on the notion that the market should b... more
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Business Ethics: An Important Factor in the Company's Success
Business ethics are politically charged in many different circumstances and that in turn serves to make them interesting.
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Inflation Deflation Red-flation Blue-flation
"A debate has been raging for some time among those in the finance industry about whether the United States is currently experiencing inflation, deflation, stagflation, reflation, hyperinflation, or maybe even some other sort of "-flation" that only Dr. Seuss could imagine.
Unfortunately, much of this debate is unproductive because the participants use varying definitions of these terms, and even when they use the same ones, deciding on one simple label might not be sufficient to describe the deeper economic forces at work and what their effects are likely to be. Given the confusion, this article will add some color to the debate by offering usable definitions of the terms inflation and deflation and then attempt to show what is occurring in today's economy."
(End of excerpt)
Full article at link by Matthew Beller// Ludwig von Mises Institute "A debate has been raging for some time among those in the finance industry about whether the United States is currently experiencing ... more -
Mother of all bailouts granted by Congress
House approves bill that:
- writes blank check to bailout mortgage industry
- increases Federal budget by $800B
- requires all mortgage brokers be finger printed
- all credit card transactions to be reported to IRS
The long-con is coming to fruition as the Fed sets it self up to own all the foreclosures, only to auction this foreclosed real estate off as a package to the biggest mortgage company, who will be the only ones who can afford the large bids. It's a replay of what happened in the 1980's when HUD did the same thing.
Unfortunately, this time the American public is going to get stuck with hundreds of billions of dollars in bills, an increased national debt, and a vastly depreciated US Dollar. What a racket if you can get-in on the upside. House approves bill that: - writes blank check to bailout mortgage industry - increases Federal budget by $800B ... more -
A New Cold War in the Caribbean?
Ever since the Monroe Doctrine, the United States has seen the Caribbean in the way that the Romans viewed the Mediterranean — Mare Nostrum, Our Sea. From the Spanish-American War through the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Central American dirty wars of the Reagan era, Washington was always quick to flex its muscle over the rum-soaked waters that stretch from Florida to Venezuela. The bad news: It ain't our sea anymore, gringos.
"The U.S. let its guard down in the Caribbean after the Berlin Wall fell," says Johanna Mendelson-Forman, a senior associate for the Americas at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "As a result we've gone from unipolarity in that region to multipolarity, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we're in a real learning phase as to how to deal with it."
Chavez's visit to Moscow this week, not only to buy more than $1 billion worth of anti-aircraft missiles and submarines, but also to commune with growing anti-American resentment in Russia, resurrected old ghosts for some conservative yanqui lawmakers. Florida Congressman Connie Mack declared the Caracas-Moscow partnership "a stark reminder of the Cold War partnership between the Soviet Union and Cuba." Ever since the Monroe Doctrine, the United States has seen the Caribbean in the way that the Romans viewed the Mediterranean — Mare No... more -
Patient care to end over insurance impasse
You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford....
This is a case where the hospital and the insurance company were unable to reach a payment agreement. The hospital and insurance companies have mutually agreed not to do business with each other.
The patients in the hospital who are receiving treatment will have to leave before the deadline set in the agreement, although a clause has been left saying that those with the insurance can still receive emergency room services such as trauma or child birth. I think it's outrageous that you could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford. This makes room for patient discrimination. Here's the article:
Temple University Health System's doctors are notifying patients that they've reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Keystone Mercy Health Plan.
The contract expires Aug. 31. "Based on the expiration of these contracts, [Temple University Physicians] can no longer provide primary care, specialty care or hospital outpatient testing at Temple University Health System facilities for patients covered by Keystone Mercy," the university said in a written release this week.
Keystone Mercy is a Medicaid-managed care plan operated by Mercy Health System and Keystone First, a subsidiary of Independence Blue Cross.
Keystone Mercy subscribers will still be able to receive emergency care and treatment for ongoing health conditions, such as pregnancy or chronic illness.
The contract dispute involves about 350 physicians and the health plan. The contract expired on Dec. 31, 2007 and it has been extended four times.
Temple estimates that nearly 12,000 patients are affected by the contract problems. It says the doctors receive $8 million a year from Keystone Mercy - $12 million less than it costs to provide care to the company's subscribers.
The health system itself has extended its contract with Keystone Mercy until Nov. 30, according to Rick Buck, a Keystone spokesman.
"It is Keystone Mercy's intention to maintain its business relationship with Temple University Physicians and Temple University Health System," Buck said.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Let others know and join the conversation by commenting below. You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford.... ... more -
Google launches Knol as rival to Wikipedia
Google has launched an online encyclopaedia to take on Wikipedia. Knol, which stands for unit of knowledge, allows internet users to write articles on their own areas of expertise. The world's largest search engine is hoping that "knols" will be written on every conceivable topic ranging from gardening and pottery to Byzantine art and neo-classical literature.
The free service will inevitably draw comparisons with Wikipedia but Google says it differs from it in many ways. Unlike Wikipedia, which allows visitors to edit its pages, people will not be able to make changes or contribute to a person's knol without their permission.
Knols written on the same subject will also remain separate and compete for the attention of visitors, who will be able to give online feedback. Pictures of authors will also be displayed on their knol web pages. Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, said: "We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content. Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors; but somehow the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted."
Contributors will be able to make money from the service by allowing adverts which relate to their articles to appear on their pages.
Juergen Galler, Google's director of product management said: "The internet is huge, but still a lot of expert knowledge remains untapped. Knol provides a way for people to share their expertise with others - and get credit for their contribution."
The service is part of a growing drive by Google to expand beyond simple search and into other areas such as desk top publishing and mobile phones.
But taking on Wikipedia is no mean feat. With 116 million global users a month - a third of the internet population - it consistently ranks among the most visited websites in the world.
Anyone wanting to write a knol should go to knol.google.com Google has launched an online encyclopaedia to take on Wikipedia. Knol, which stands for unit of knowledge, allows internet users to ... more -
US government uncovers oil price manipulation
The government charged an oil trading firm Thursday with manipulating oil prices, the first indictment to come down since the regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoings in the energy markets.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged Optiver Holding, two of its subsidiaries, and three employees, with manipulation and attempted manipulation of crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In May the CFTC announced a wide ranging probe into oil price manipulation. The agency says that there are currently dozens of investigations ongoing.
Further down in this article:
In a recent case, BP settled a suit that alleged the company tried to corner the propane market to inflate prices in 2003 and 2004. BP agreed to pay a $303 million settlement.
But overall, most experts say the incidents are so scattered, and the energy market so large, that it's unlikely a single trader or group of traders can have substantial sway over prices.
I say:
Bull Crap....put all of them together and they are all out for one thing: The Almighty Dollar, and if THAT doesn't put a tiger in your tank, you must be one of THEM! So, now we know why the price of fuel is going sky high....I hope this investigation gets REAL Deep...like Deep Throat deep! The government charged an oil trading firm Thursday with manipulating oil prices, the first indictment to come down since the regulato... more -
Woman Commits Suicide Before Home Foreclosure
A 53-year-old wife and mother fatally shot herself shortly after faxing a letter to her mortgage company saying that by the time they foreclosed on her house that day, she would be dead. A 53-year-old wife and mother fatally shot herself shortly after faxing a letter to her mortgage company saying that by the time they ... more
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Bent cucumbers and deformed carrots? EU scraps marketing standards due to rising f...
EU shop shelves may soon be filled with twisted carrots, warped leeks and bent cucumbers as Europe's farm chief decides to get rid of "unnecessary marketing standards", partly because of the rising price of food.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel wants to scrap 26 of 36 marketing standards that apply to a wide range of products such as artichokes, cauliflower, garlic, spinach and watermelon. "The proposal would ... allow member states to exempt fruit and vegetables from specific marketing standards if they are sold with a label 'products intended for processing' or equivalent wording," the Commission said in a statement.
"Such products could be either misshapen or under-sized and could for example be used by consumers for cooking or salads. In this era of high prices and growing demand, it makes no sense to throw these products away or destroy them," it said.
EU shop shelves may soon be filled with twisted carrots, warped leeks and bent cucumbers as Europe's farm chief decides to get rid of ... more -
10 ways to make your employees love you
Keeping your employees happy is the key to success. For any organisation to run successfully, you must understand that whether your employees are satisfied with the working conditions or not. Below are 10 best ways to make your employees love you.
Confining myself to 10 turned out to be hard—there are so many ways to manage badly and so many things that is important to do well. So here are 10 to start off with, and I hope people will add more:
1. Let’s open with the big one: Don’t be a jerk. Yelling, disparaging people, defensiveness, shooting the messenger, and publicly berating someone are all off limits. Good people have options, and few of them will want to work for a jerk.
2. Be reasonable. Yes, you want to hold people to high standards, but that doesn’t mean you should demand the truly impossible or insist that an employee work all weekend for something that easily could wait.
3. Keep your word. Do what you say you’re going to do, in whatever timeline you committed to—whether it’s giving feedback on a project, liaising with another department, or making a raise come through. (A subset of this: Be responsive. If people have to follow up with you to get a response, you’re not being responsive enough. It only takes 30 seconds to write, “I won’t have time to look at this until next week.” If nothing else, let people know where things stand.)
4. Make sure your staff feels respected and valued: Act in ways that show you care about their quality of life. And don’t underestimate the impact of regularly making sure great employees know you think they’re great.
5. Solicit feedback. Ask for input on everything from how the staffer thinks last week’s event went to what you could be doing to make her job easier. Good managers know their employees have a different perspective to share, and they value it, rather than ignoring it or feeling threatened by it.
6. Stay focused on results. Don’t have rules and policies for their own sake; make sure each is connected to an actual business need, and be willing to bend the rules if it makes sense overall.
7. Figure out what people need to do their job better, and help them get it. This can range from training and better equipment to the elimination of a counterproductive policy, your intervention with a problem coworker or another department, advice on handling a sticky situation, and more targeted feedback. Keeping your employees happy is the key to success. For any organisation to run successfully, you must understand that whether your em... more -
Recycled plastics for roads in Himalayan region
Recycled plastic wastes can be used in constructing roads. The Himalayan Development Society suggests the Government to encourage its use in building roads in the Himalayan region as plastic wastes abound the mountains and river banks.
Looking at the mess caused by plastic usage in the Himalayan region, we shall treat it as source of raw material. The Government should provide special provision and encourage use of recycled plastics in building roads in Himalayan towns and cities.
Government of Karnataka in association with KK Waste Management Ltd, has already been building plastic roads. Its time to promote it vigorously in the Himalayan region.
Utilisation of waste plastic for road construction
Disposal of waste materials, including waste plastic bags is a menace and has become a serious problem, specially in urban areas in terms of its misuse, its dumping in the dustbins, clogging of drains, reduced soil fertility and aesthetic problem etc. Waste plastics are also burnt for apparent disposal, causing environmental pollution.
The laboratory studies conducted by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) in utilisation of waste plastic bags in bituminous concrete mixes have proved that these enhance the properties of mix in addition to solving disposal problems. The results indicated that there was an improvement in strength properties when compared to a conventional mix. Therefore, the life of pavement surfacing, using the waste plastic is expected to increase substantially in comparison to the use of conventional bituminous mix.
There are two different processes, namely dry and wet process, to incorporate waste plastic bags into the bituminous mixes. The performance test proved that the fatigue life was doubled and increased resistance to rutting and water damages when plastic waste was used. Field trials have been carried out using dry process i.e. by mixing the appropriate quantity of dry shredded plastic bags with hot aggregate prior to production of bituminous mixes at hot mix plant. Recycled plastic wastes can be used in constructing roads. The Himalayan Development Society suggests the Government to encourage its ... more -
At £150m, Rowling is the richest celebrity
According to this year's Forbes' list, Harry Potter author JK Rowling earned more than any other celebrity. Apparently, she made $300m (£150m) last year. Other British celebrities included in the list were Keira Knightley (the world's second best paid female actor), Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe and David Beckham.
According to this year's Forbes' list, Harry Potter author JK Rowling earned more than any other celebrity. Apparently, she made $300m... more -
Rescue of mortgage giants could hit $25 billion
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers $25 billion, congressional budget experts said Tuesday, as lawmakers put finishing touches on legislation that would tap the troubled mortgage giants' profits to help save homeowners from foreclosure.
A costly rescue is just a worry, not a fact at this point. Peter R. Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office, predicted in a letter to lawmakers that there's a better than even chance the government will not have to step in to prop up the companies by lending them money or buying stock.
But Congress is expected to vote as early as Wednesday on a housing measure that would give the Treasury Department authority to throw Fannie and Freddie a temporary lifeline. WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers $25 billion, congressional budget experts said ... more -
When Blogs Go Bad
IT infrastructure security company Sophos, has identified that the number one host for viral nasties on the web is Blogger (Blogspot.com) accounting for 2% of the total malware code on web 2.0.
But Blogger is not the only service being compromised, and malicious code has been uncovered on Facebook and LinkedIn with viruses and trojans hidden behind fake profiles and innocent links.
To protect data theft some companies already curb their employee's access to these and similar sites, permanently blocking the blog. But who is there to oversee and protect the casual home user?
And, why is more not being done by the web host companies to protect the blogging community? IT infrastructure security company Sophos, has identified that the number one host for viral nasties on the web is Blogger (Blogspot.c... more -
Packers are shopping Brett Favre
The Green Bay Packers have spoken to several teams, including at least one NFC team, to see what they would be willing to offer for quarterback Brett Favre, NFL Network reports.
The report did not indicate how many teams were contacted in what were termed 'exploratory' phone calls.
Sporting News contributor Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com reports that the Ravens were one of the teams the Packers contacted to gauge interest in Favre. The Ravens told Green Bay they were not interested, Florio writes.
One source speculated for NFL Network that the Packers are simply gauging what Favre is worth on the open market before deciding whether to try to trade him. Favre has said that he does want to play in 2008, and he asked for his release from the Packers, indicating he would be willing to play for a different team if Green Bay doesn't want him.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that other teams potentially interested in Favre are the Bears, Bills, Buccaneers, Chiefs, Dolphins, Falcons, Jets, Lions, Panthers, Redskins and Vikings.
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How ironic would it be that the Packers trade Favre to Atlanta and wind up finishing his career where it started, remember he was drafted by the Falcons. The Green Bay Packers have spoken to several teams, including at least one NFC team, to see what they would be willing to offer for qu... more -
Wachovia loses $8.9B, cuts 6,350 workers
Wachovia Corp. reported a surprisingly large second-quarter loss Tuesday, deflating Wall Street's hopes that the nation's big banks are weathering the credit crisis well. The bank said it lost $8.86 billion, is slashing its dividend and eliminating 10,750 positions after losses tied to mortgages soared.
But by the afternoon its stock joined a modest Wall Street rally and rose as much as 13 percent — after its shares sank to mid-1991 levels in premarket trading, and after Wachovia's new CEO said he plans to cut $2 billion of expenses by the end of next year and sell parts of the fourth-biggest U.S. bank.
Its shares rose $1.19, or 9 percent, to $14.37 in afternoon trading.
Wachovia Corp. reported a surprisingly large second-quarter loss Tuesday, deflating Wall Street's hopes that the nation's big banks ar... more -
Piglets Liberate Girls
Olga Murray of Sausalito had been volunteering for five years in Nepal, helping abandoned and disabled children get an education, when she read something in the newspaper that she couldn't believe.
In the southern Dang district, rural Tharu farming families trapped in extreme poverty - earning less than a dollar a day - were making horrible sacrifices: selling their daughters as domestic slaves to wealthy Kathmandu families for $35 to $75.
That was in 1989. Her solution to break the practice has since made her a philanthropic legend in the area.
Her ingenious idea? Piglets.
Olga Murray of Sausalito had been volunteering for five years in Nepal, helping abandoned and disabled children get an education, when... more
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