For more info, visit:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/29/dead.satellite.ap/index.html
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Technology Fails.. Satellite to hit North America
Technology doesn't always work as was the case with the spy satellite, US 193, launched in December 2006. It immediately lost power and now cannot be controlled. It carried a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor but the satellite's central computer failed shortly after launch. The U.S. military is developing plans to deal with the possibility that the satellite, expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March, could hit North America. The satellite includes some small engines that contain a toxic chemical - hydrazine (rocket fuel). However, an official said they are not large booster engines with substantial amounts of fuel. "Where the satellite lands will be difficult to predict until it falls to about 59 miles above Earth and enters the atmosphere. It will then begin to burn up and be visible from the ground," said Ted Molczan, a Canadian satellite tracker. "From then on," he said, "it will take about 30 minutes to fall."
Free Rice.com
My roommate is obsessed with this website, so I thought I'd find out a little about it.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2008-01-23-freerice_N.htm
It's pretty new, but it's had some success already. It's also from the people who developed thehungersite.com
Some more information about how the rice is distributed:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23050536-5003418,00.html
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2008-01-23-freerice_N.htm
The game presents a word and four choices of definition. Pick right, and the cash equivalent of 20 grains of rice is donated by site advertisers to the U.N.'s World Food Program.
It's pretty new, but it's had some success already. It's also from the people who developed thehungersite.com
By mid-January, players had donated more than 15 billion grains of rice — enough to feed more than 700,000 people for one day, says Jennifer Parmelee of the World Food Program. The agency gets the donations in cash — $258,000 thus far — and buys the rice locally.
Some more information about how the rice is distributed:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23050536-5003418,00.html
The world of tomorrow
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/nyregion/thecity/30year.html?scp=4&sq=+technology+communication&st=nyt
Consumers Not Splurging on HDTVs for the Super Bowl
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/displays/news/2008/01/hdtv_superbowl
This articles talks about technology having to do with the Super Bowl, a major cultural event in the US.
German BWM abuses Google Technology
BMW given Google 'death penalty'
Some of the suspect pages already appear to have been removedSearch giant Google has "blacklisted" German car manufacturer BMW for breaching its guidelines.
Investigations by Google found that BMW's German website influenced search results to ensure top ranking when users searched for "used car."
Google has now reduced BMW's page rank to zero, ensuring the company no longer appears at the top.
BMW admitted using so-called "doorway pages" to boost search rankings, but denied any attempt to mislead users.
BMW's activities were revealed in a blog by Google software engineer Matt Cutts.
If Google says all doorway pages are illegal we have to take this into consideration
BMW spokesmanBMW's German website, which is heavily reliant on javascript code unsearchable by Google, used text-heavy pages liberally sprinkled with key words to attract the attention of Google's indexing system.
However, once a user clicked on the link displayed in Google's results window, they were redirected to a regular BMW Germany page, which contained far fewer of the key words.
'Do not deceive'
A BMW spokesman admitted the company used the doorway pages, which are created to do well in searches for particular phrases and direct users to a final website.
But the spokesman insisted the company's intentions were honourable.
Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users
Google website guidelines"We did not provide different content in the search results to the final website," Markus Sagemann told the BBC News website.
"However, if Google says all doorway pages are illegal we have to take this into consideration."
On Google's own website the company lists a series of quality guidelines.
First among those is a requirement to design websites for users, not for search engines.
"Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as 'cloaking'," Google says.
Google confirmed that BMW.de had been removed from search results, adding that it would not tolerate any attempts to manipulate searches.
"The quality of our index and search results is of the utmost importance to Google," the company said in a statement.
Google would continue to strive to protect the accuracy and quality of its results, it added.
Testing times
The action against BMW comes as Google faces criticism over its expanding activities.
Last month Google unveiled a new Chinese site, agreeing to Chinese government restrictions on search results.
The company's shares fell sharply on Wall Street after the California-based firm announced a $9m drop in profits, falling short of expectations for the first time.
It also bought a 5% stake in AOL, worth $1bn, fuelling fears of preferential treatment for AOL within Google searches.
Google has also remained quiet over accusations that business rivals have manipulated its click-based advertising system.
Some of the suspect pages already appear to have been removedSearch giant Google has "blacklisted" German car manufacturer BMW for breaching its guidelines.
Investigations by Google found that BMW's German website influenced search results to ensure top ranking when users searched for "used car."
Google has now reduced BMW's page rank to zero, ensuring the company no longer appears at the top.
BMW admitted using so-called "doorway pages" to boost search rankings, but denied any attempt to mislead users.
BMW's activities were revealed in a blog by Google software engineer Matt Cutts.
If Google says all doorway pages are illegal we have to take this into consideration
BMW spokesmanBMW's German website, which is heavily reliant on javascript code unsearchable by Google, used text-heavy pages liberally sprinkled with key words to attract the attention of Google's indexing system.
However, once a user clicked on the link displayed in Google's results window, they were redirected to a regular BMW Germany page, which contained far fewer of the key words.
'Do not deceive'
A BMW spokesman admitted the company used the doorway pages, which are created to do well in searches for particular phrases and direct users to a final website.
But the spokesman insisted the company's intentions were honourable.
Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users
Google website guidelines"We did not provide different content in the search results to the final website," Markus Sagemann told the BBC News website.
"However, if Google says all doorway pages are illegal we have to take this into consideration."
On Google's own website the company lists a series of quality guidelines.
First among those is a requirement to design websites for users, not for search engines.
"Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as 'cloaking'," Google says.
Google confirmed that BMW.de had been removed from search results, adding that it would not tolerate any attempts to manipulate searches.
"The quality of our index and search results is of the utmost importance to Google," the company said in a statement.
Google would continue to strive to protect the accuracy and quality of its results, it added.
Testing times
The action against BMW comes as Google faces criticism over its expanding activities.
Last month Google unveiled a new Chinese site, agreeing to Chinese government restrictions on search results.
The company's shares fell sharply on Wall Street after the California-based firm announced a $9m drop in profits, falling short of expectations for the first time.
It also bought a 5% stake in AOL, worth $1bn, fuelling fears of preferential treatment for AOL within Google searches.
Google has also remained quiet over accusations that business rivals have manipulated its click-based advertising system.
CES 2008 in Las Vegas
The consumer electronics show just past. It was held in Las Vegas. Did anybody go?
Heres an article on some of the things that were there. There is also a video showing some new electronics and a link to the sight...
"In any case, the trends are similar to last year: smarter, wireless, more efficient gadgets. Thin is REALLY in with TVs, including flat-panels from Sony that measure only a few millimeters thick with an eye-popping OLED display. Big is back, too, as the largest plasma weighs in at 150" from Panasonic. There's plenty of touchscreen around like LG's Voyager (likely thanks to the success of the iPhone -- no sign of Apple here with MacWorld happening post-CES). Most analysts here see a slow shift in the high-def DVD format as Blu-Ray surges and major companies like Warner Bros. pull out of HD-DVD. What a difference a year makes. And GPS is absolutely everywhere in watches like one from Garmin to nearly every cell phone. Plus, a major presence from companies who produce in-dash technology for vehicles, which is a rapidly growing market. There's also an SUV from GM that drives itself...but I'll have more on that later. "
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zsLVCIueNHM
i like the dancing music player... haha.
Find out more at:
www.cesweb.org/
Heres an article on some of the things that were there. There is also a video showing some new electronics and a link to the sight...
"In any case, the trends are similar to last year: smarter, wireless, more efficient gadgets. Thin is REALLY in with TVs, including flat-panels from Sony that measure only a few millimeters thick with an eye-popping OLED display. Big is back, too, as the largest plasma weighs in at 150" from Panasonic. There's plenty of touchscreen around like LG's Voyager (likely thanks to the success of the iPhone -- no sign of Apple here with MacWorld happening post-CES). Most analysts here see a slow shift in the high-def DVD format as Blu-Ray surges and major companies like Warner Bros. pull out of HD-DVD. What a difference a year makes. And GPS is absolutely everywhere in watches like one from Garmin to nearly every cell phone. Plus, a major presence from companies who produce in-dash technology for vehicles, which is a rapidly growing market. There's also an SUV from GM that drives itself...but I'll have more on that later. "
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zsLVCIueNHM
i like the dancing music player... haha.
Find out more at:
www.cesweb.org/
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