Microsoft Corp announced plans Thursday to open its own chain of branded stores as it looks to catch up with rival Apple Inc's successful move into retailing.
The world's largest software company, which also makes the Xbox video game console and the Zune digital music player, did not say how many stores it was looking to open, or when, or which of its products would be on sale.
That is to be decided by David Porter, a former DreamWorks Animation executive, which Microsoft named as its new vice president of retail stores.
Turner, a former Wal-Mart Stores Inc manager, will report to Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner.
The long-rumored move to open stores comes as consumer spending is under severe pressure due to the recession, which has already pushed electronics chain Circuit City into bankruptcy. A similar attempt by computer maker Gateway to open its own stores some years ago was not successful.
Microsoft, bruised by the poor reception of its latest Vista operating system, is facing increased competition from Apple, which is eating into the personal computer market and dominates the personal digital music player market with its iPod line.
Apple's stylish stores, now numbering more than 200 worldwide, have been crucial in attracting customers in recent years.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Kisses ease stress levels
Just in time for Valentine's Day, a panel of scientists examined the mystery of what happens when hearts throb and lips lock. Kissing, it turns out, unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes and encourage bonding in men, though not so much in women.
Chemicals in the saliva may be a way to assess a mate, Wendy Hill, dean of the faculty and a professor of neuroscience at Lafayette College, told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Friday.
In an experiment, Hill explained, pairs of heterosexual college students who kissed for 15 minutes while listening to music experienced significant changes in their levels of the chemicals oxytocin, which affects pair bonding, and cortisol, which is associated with stress. Their blood and saliva levels of the chemicals were compared before and after the kiss.
Both men and women had a decline in cortisol after smooching, an indication their stress levels declined.
For men, oxytocin levels increased, indicating more interest in bonding, while oxytocin levels went down in women. "This was a surprise," Hill said.
In a test group that merely held hands, chemical changes were similar, but much less pronounced, she said.
The experiment was conducted in a student health center, Hill noted. She plans a repeat "in a more romantic setting."
Hill spoke at the session on the Science of Kissing, along with Helen Fisher of Rutgers University and Donald Lateiner of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Fisher noted that more than 90 percent of human societies practice kissing, which she believes has three components — the sex drive, romantic love and attachment.
The sex drive pushes individuals to assess a variety of partners, then romantic love causes them to focus on an individual, she said. Attachment then allows them to tolerate this person long enough to raise a child.
Men tend to think of kissing as a prelude to copulation, Fisher said. She noted that men prefer "sloppy" kisses, in which chemicals including testosterone can be passed on to the women in saliva. Testosterone increases the sex drive in both males and females.
"When you kiss an enormous part of your brain becomes active," she added. Romantic love can last a long time, "if you kiss the right person."
Lateiner, a classical scholar, observed that kissing appears infrequently in Greek and Roman art, but was widely practiced, despite the spread of skin disease at that time by facial kissing. And there was a potential for social faux pas by kissing the wrong person at the wrong time.
Overall, the science of kissing — philematology — is under-researcherd, Hill concluded.
Chemicals in the saliva may be a way to assess a mate, Wendy Hill, dean of the faculty and a professor of neuroscience at Lafayette College, told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Friday.
In an experiment, Hill explained, pairs of heterosexual college students who kissed for 15 minutes while listening to music experienced significant changes in their levels of the chemicals oxytocin, which affects pair bonding, and cortisol, which is associated with stress. Their blood and saliva levels of the chemicals were compared before and after the kiss.
Both men and women had a decline in cortisol after smooching, an indication their stress levels declined.
For men, oxytocin levels increased, indicating more interest in bonding, while oxytocin levels went down in women. "This was a surprise," Hill said.
In a test group that merely held hands, chemical changes were similar, but much less pronounced, she said.
The experiment was conducted in a student health center, Hill noted. She plans a repeat "in a more romantic setting."
Hill spoke at the session on the Science of Kissing, along with Helen Fisher of Rutgers University and Donald Lateiner of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Fisher noted that more than 90 percent of human societies practice kissing, which she believes has three components — the sex drive, romantic love and attachment.
The sex drive pushes individuals to assess a variety of partners, then romantic love causes them to focus on an individual, she said. Attachment then allows them to tolerate this person long enough to raise a child.
Men tend to think of kissing as a prelude to copulation, Fisher said. She noted that men prefer "sloppy" kisses, in which chemicals including testosterone can be passed on to the women in saliva. Testosterone increases the sex drive in both males and females.
"When you kiss an enormous part of your brain becomes active," she added. Romantic love can last a long time, "if you kiss the right person."
Lateiner, a classical scholar, observed that kissing appears infrequently in Greek and Roman art, but was widely practiced, despite the spread of skin disease at that time by facial kissing. And there was a potential for social faux pas by kissing the wrong person at the wrong time.
Overall, the science of kissing — philematology — is under-researcherd, Hill concluded.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
FAA says Hackers broke into agency computers
WASHINGTON – Hackers broke into the Federal Aviation Administration's computer system last week, accessing the names and Social Security numbers of 45,000 employees and retirees.
The agency said in a statement Monday that two of the 48 files on the breached computer server contained personal information about employees and retires who were on the FAA's rolls as of the first week of February 2006.
The server that was accessed was not connected to the operation of the air traffic control system and there is no indication those systems have been compromised, the statement said.
"The FAA is moving quickly to prevent any similar incidents and has identified immediate steps as well as longer-term measures to further protect personal information," the statement said. The agency said it is providing a toll-free number for employees "who believe they may be affected by the breach."
Tom Waters, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3290, said FAA officials told unions representing agency employees at a briefing Monday that the second breached file with personal information contained encrypted medical information.
"These government systems should be the best in the world and apparently they are able to be compromised," said Waters, an FAA contracts attorney. "Our information technology systems people need to take a long hard look at themselves and their capabilities. This is malpractice in their world."
The FAA statement said the data theft has been reported to "law enforcement authorities," who are investigating.
All affected employees will receive letters notifying them of the breach, the statement said.
Waters said FAA officials told union leaders the incident was the first of its kind at the agency. But he said his union complained about three or four years ago about an incident in which employees received anti-union mail that used names and addresses that appeared to be generated from FAA computer files.
He said the union complained to the FAA and the Transportation Department's inspector general but no action was taken.
The agency said in a statement Monday that two of the 48 files on the breached computer server contained personal information about employees and retires who were on the FAA's rolls as of the first week of February 2006.
The server that was accessed was not connected to the operation of the air traffic control system and there is no indication those systems have been compromised, the statement said.
"The FAA is moving quickly to prevent any similar incidents and has identified immediate steps as well as longer-term measures to further protect personal information," the statement said. The agency said it is providing a toll-free number for employees "who believe they may be affected by the breach."
Tom Waters, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3290, said FAA officials told unions representing agency employees at a briefing Monday that the second breached file with personal information contained encrypted medical information.
"These government systems should be the best in the world and apparently they are able to be compromised," said Waters, an FAA contracts attorney. "Our information technology systems people need to take a long hard look at themselves and their capabilities. This is malpractice in their world."
The FAA statement said the data theft has been reported to "law enforcement authorities," who are investigating.
All affected employees will receive letters notifying them of the breach, the statement said.
Waters said FAA officials told union leaders the incident was the first of its kind at the agency. But he said his union complained about three or four years ago about an incident in which employees received anti-union mail that used names and addresses that appeared to be generated from FAA computer files.
He said the union complained to the FAA and the Transportation Department's inspector general but no action was taken.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Dozens missing as Australian bushfires kill 135
Weary firefighters and rescuers pulled the remains of dozens of people from charred buildings on Monday as the toll from Australia's deadliest bushfires rose to 135.
"Everybody's gone. Everybody's gone. Everybody. Their houses are gone. They're all dead in the houses there. Everybody's dead," cried survivor Christopher Harvey as he walked through the town of Kinglake, where most people were killed.
Police believe some of the fires, which razed rural towns near the country's second biggest city, Melbourne, were deliberately lit and declared one devastated town a crime scene.
The bushfires are the country's worst natural disaster in more than a century, and will put pressure on Rudd to deliver a broad new climate policy.
One massive bushfire tore through several towns in the southern state of Victoria on Saturday night, destroying everything in its path. Many people died in cars trying to flee and others were killed huddled in their homes, yet some escaped by jumping into swimming pools or farm reservoirs.
The inferno was as tall as a four-storey building at one stage and was sparking spot fires 40 km ahead of itself as the strong winds blew hot embers in its path.
Wildfires are a natural annual event in Australia, but this year a combination of scorching weather, drought and tinder-dry bush has created prime conditions.
The fires, and major floods in Queensland state in the north, will put pressure on Rudd, who is due to deliver a new climate policy in May. Green politicians are citing the extreme weather to back a tougher climate policy.
Adding to the nation's grief, authorities in northern Queensland searched unsuccessfully for a five-year-old boy who they believe was killed by a crocodile when he chased his pet dog into the flooded Daintree River.
Scientists say Australia, with its harsh environment, is set to be one of the nations most affected by climate change.
The Victorian bushfire tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. In 1899, Cyclone Mahina struck Australia's northern Cape York, killing more than 400.
Thousands of firefighters continued to battle the main fires and scores of other blazes across Victoria on Monday, as well as fires in neighbouring New South Wales state.
While cooler, calmer conditions helped firefighters, 10 major fires remained out of control in Victoria. But the week-long heatwave that triggered the inferno was over.
The fires burnt out more than 330,000 ha of mostly bushland in Victoria, but a number of vineyards in the Yarra Valley were also destroyed. The Insurance Council of Australia said it was too early to estimate the bill.
The small town of Marysville was sealed off by police as forensic scientists searched through the rubble for evidence.
As dawn broke in the town of Whittlesea, near Kinglake, shocked residents wandered the streets, some crying, searching for loved ones still missing.
The previous worst bushfire tragedy in Australia was in 1983, when 75 people were killed.
"Everybody's gone. Everybody's gone. Everybody. Their houses are gone. They're all dead in the houses there. Everybody's dead," cried survivor Christopher Harvey as he walked through the town of Kinglake, where most people were killed.
Police believe some of the fires, which razed rural towns near the country's second biggest city, Melbourne, were deliberately lit and declared one devastated town a crime scene.
The bushfires are the country's worst natural disaster in more than a century, and will put pressure on Rudd to deliver a broad new climate policy.
One massive bushfire tore through several towns in the southern state of Victoria on Saturday night, destroying everything in its path. Many people died in cars trying to flee and others were killed huddled in their homes, yet some escaped by jumping into swimming pools or farm reservoirs.
The inferno was as tall as a four-storey building at one stage and was sparking spot fires 40 km ahead of itself as the strong winds blew hot embers in its path.
Wildfires are a natural annual event in Australia, but this year a combination of scorching weather, drought and tinder-dry bush has created prime conditions.
The fires, and major floods in Queensland state in the north, will put pressure on Rudd, who is due to deliver a new climate policy in May. Green politicians are citing the extreme weather to back a tougher climate policy.
Adding to the nation's grief, authorities in northern Queensland searched unsuccessfully for a five-year-old boy who they believe was killed by a crocodile when he chased his pet dog into the flooded Daintree River.
Scientists say Australia, with its harsh environment, is set to be one of the nations most affected by climate change.
The Victorian bushfire tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. In 1899, Cyclone Mahina struck Australia's northern Cape York, killing more than 400.
Thousands of firefighters continued to battle the main fires and scores of other blazes across Victoria on Monday, as well as fires in neighbouring New South Wales state.
While cooler, calmer conditions helped firefighters, 10 major fires remained out of control in Victoria. But the week-long heatwave that triggered the inferno was over.
The fires burnt out more than 330,000 ha of mostly bushland in Victoria, but a number of vineyards in the Yarra Valley were also destroyed. The Insurance Council of Australia said it was too early to estimate the bill.
The small town of Marysville was sealed off by police as forensic scientists searched through the rubble for evidence.
As dawn broke in the town of Whittlesea, near Kinglake, shocked residents wandered the streets, some crying, searching for loved ones still missing.
The previous worst bushfire tragedy in Australia was in 1983, when 75 people were killed.
216 cops failed nationwide random drug testing in 2008 - PNP
MANILA, Philippines - Even the police ranks are apparently not safe from illegal drug syndicates.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday admitted that 216 policemen tested positive in a nationwide random drug testing conducted last year, only 80 of whom were dismissed from service. 25 percent of the police force will be subjected to random drug testing this year as part of the ant-illegal drugs campaign within the ranks. The Philippine National Police will not accept any usual excuses from their cops that they are positive because they belongs to an undercover operations.
PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said 79 policemen are currently undergoing summary dismissal proceedings while 26 others have been pre-charged administratively and are facing dismissal.
Aside from them, 24 policemen were suspended, two were dropped from the rolls while five others voluntarily resigned as a result of last year's drug testing, Bartolome said.
Bartolome noted that most of those who tested positive either for shabu or marijuana are newly recruited non-commissioned officers with a rank of either Police Officer 1 or Police Officer 2.
Bartolome noted that 25,134 police personnel were subjected to surprise drug testing from January to December last year. This number comprises 25 percent of the 125,000-strong National Police force.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday admitted that 216 policemen tested positive in a nationwide random drug testing conducted last year, only 80 of whom were dismissed from service. 25 percent of the police force will be subjected to random drug testing this year as part of the ant-illegal drugs campaign within the ranks. The Philippine National Police will not accept any usual excuses from their cops that they are positive because they belongs to an undercover operations.
PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said 79 policemen are currently undergoing summary dismissal proceedings while 26 others have been pre-charged administratively and are facing dismissal.
Aside from them, 24 policemen were suspended, two were dropped from the rolls while five others voluntarily resigned as a result of last year's drug testing, Bartolome said.
Bartolome noted that most of those who tested positive either for shabu or marijuana are newly recruited non-commissioned officers with a rank of either Police Officer 1 or Police Officer 2.
Bartolome noted that 25,134 police personnel were subjected to surprise drug testing from January to December last year. This number comprises 25 percent of the 125,000-strong National Police force.
Getting a Chinese driver's licence
If someone's intestines are protruding from an open abdominal wound, should you: A. Put them back in place; B. Do nothing; or, C. Cover them with some kind of container and fasten it around the body?
The above is not from a first-year medical school exam, but is one of the 100 questions that locals and foreigners alike could find on China's written driver's licence exam. (The answer, by the way, is C.)
Test candidates are given a booklet of 800 test questions, 100 of which appear on the actual exam. While the questions dealing with traffic signs are universally understood, others have singularly Chinese characteristics.
Sometimes two of the three answers could be equally right, or the answer that is considered right is obviously false.
Take the following example.
"What should a driver do when he needs to spit while driving? A. Spit through the window. B. Spit into a piece of waste paper, then put it into a garbage can. C. Spit on the floor of the vehicle."
Answer? B.
On one recent morning, a group of Americans, Russians, South Koreans and French nationals waited for the test at the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, in a room reserved for foreigners behind the toilets.
A series of gory images flashed across a flat-screen television: a badly injured person lying in a car's back seat, covered in blood; a dazed driver sitting on the ground after an accident; mourning relatives in tears.
Nikita, a Russian who works for an aviation company in the Chinese capital, was the most confident person in the group, after spending four days revising the multiple-choice questionnaire. Nothing could go wrong -- so he thought.
The 20 or so examinees took their seats, each facing a computer screen. The test began.
They had to write their ID numbers, pick a language, and click their way through the computerised test: A, B, or C. True or False. Yes or No.
All 100 questions had be completed in 45 minutes, with a candidate needing 90 or more correct to pass. Results were given immediately.
A group of US embassy staffers left the room, mostly in a jubilant mood -- all had passed except for one man, who only got 82 percent correct.
"We spent the entire weekend cramming," one of them said.
A woman tried to console the candidate who had failed. "It would've been an even bigger pity if you had scored 89," she said.
Nikita, for his part, was utterly devastated. Despite all of his hard work, he only answered 45 questions correctly.
"I couldn't understand a word of the Russian used on the test," he said.
Once the written test is over, foreigners who have a driver's license in their home country are not required to take a practical test, unlike the Chinese.
But they do have to have their eyesight checked, and this seemingly simple exercise also holds its fair share of surprises.
At a nearby hospital, a nurse asked the latest candidates to read letters from a lighted panel, covering the left and the right eye in turn.
But they have to read the panel in a mirror. And the letters listed do not exist in any known alphabet.
A backwards E? One that is upside down? How do you pronounce that?
Somehow, the candidates passed the sight test, and most left the traffic management office a short time later with licences in hand.
But reality will soon set in.
At the entrance to the parking lot were two cars crumpled like accordions, and on the streets of Beijing, no one seems to pay attention to the rules of the road.
Drivers routinely overtake on the right, taxis breeze through red lights, cyclists ride against the traffic and pedestrians jaywalk.
Last year alone, 73,500 people were killed and 304,000 injured in traffic accidents in China.
Welcome to China's roads, among the most dangerous in the world.
The above is not from a first-year medical school exam, but is one of the 100 questions that locals and foreigners alike could find on China's written driver's licence exam. (The answer, by the way, is C.)
Test candidates are given a booklet of 800 test questions, 100 of which appear on the actual exam. While the questions dealing with traffic signs are universally understood, others have singularly Chinese characteristics.
Sometimes two of the three answers could be equally right, or the answer that is considered right is obviously false.
Take the following example.
"What should a driver do when he needs to spit while driving? A. Spit through the window. B. Spit into a piece of waste paper, then put it into a garbage can. C. Spit on the floor of the vehicle."
Answer? B.
On one recent morning, a group of Americans, Russians, South Koreans and French nationals waited for the test at the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, in a room reserved for foreigners behind the toilets.
A series of gory images flashed across a flat-screen television: a badly injured person lying in a car's back seat, covered in blood; a dazed driver sitting on the ground after an accident; mourning relatives in tears.
Nikita, a Russian who works for an aviation company in the Chinese capital, was the most confident person in the group, after spending four days revising the multiple-choice questionnaire. Nothing could go wrong -- so he thought.
The 20 or so examinees took their seats, each facing a computer screen. The test began.
They had to write their ID numbers, pick a language, and click their way through the computerised test: A, B, or C. True or False. Yes or No.
All 100 questions had be completed in 45 minutes, with a candidate needing 90 or more correct to pass. Results were given immediately.
A group of US embassy staffers left the room, mostly in a jubilant mood -- all had passed except for one man, who only got 82 percent correct.
"We spent the entire weekend cramming," one of them said.
A woman tried to console the candidate who had failed. "It would've been an even bigger pity if you had scored 89," she said.
Nikita, for his part, was utterly devastated. Despite all of his hard work, he only answered 45 questions correctly.
"I couldn't understand a word of the Russian used on the test," he said.
Once the written test is over, foreigners who have a driver's license in their home country are not required to take a practical test, unlike the Chinese.
But they do have to have their eyesight checked, and this seemingly simple exercise also holds its fair share of surprises.
At a nearby hospital, a nurse asked the latest candidates to read letters from a lighted panel, covering the left and the right eye in turn.
But they have to read the panel in a mirror. And the letters listed do not exist in any known alphabet.
A backwards E? One that is upside down? How do you pronounce that?
Somehow, the candidates passed the sight test, and most left the traffic management office a short time later with licences in hand.
But reality will soon set in.
At the entrance to the parking lot were two cars crumpled like accordions, and on the streets of Beijing, no one seems to pay attention to the rules of the road.
Drivers routinely overtake on the right, taxis breeze through red lights, cyclists ride against the traffic and pedestrians jaywalk.
Last year alone, 73,500 people were killed and 304,000 injured in traffic accidents in China.
Welcome to China's roads, among the most dangerous in the world.
SKoria Nkoria talk but remains hard line
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that he is ready for dialogue with North Korea, though he vowed not to veer from the hard-line principles that have angered the communist state and strained ties over the past year.
Tension between the divided Koreas has intensified in recent weeks, with Pyongyang announcing it would scrap peace agreements with Seoul, warning of a war on the peninsula and reportedly preparing to test a missile capable of reaching the western United States. North Korea accused the United States of plotting an attack, citing a recent air drill north of Seoul.
Fears of political instability in the North deepened last year when its reclusive leader Kim reportedly suffered a stroke and had brain surgery. The North, however, has called such speculation a smear campaign on its leader, churning out media reports and photos depicting him as healthy and active.
"I am well aware of the fact there are some people who are uneasy about North Korea's recent series of threats," Lee said in a regular radio speech. "However, my fellow citizens, we don't have to worry about that too much."
Lee reiterated that his government is ready to sit down "anytime" with North Korea for talks to reduce tension, though added he will stick to his basic policy and not be too hasty to achieve results.
"I believe what is particularly important in South-North ties is unwavering, unequivocal principles," said Lee, who has periodically called for dialogue, including in his inauguration speech last year when he said he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong II.
However, Lee has said Seoul should not offer unconditional aid to its impoverished, nuclear-armed neighbor as his liberal predecessors did. In response, Pyongyang cut off all ties last year, halted cooperation on key joint projects and verified Lee as "human scum."
Last week, South Korean and Japanese media reports said the North was moving a suspected long-range missile to its launch site, saying a test would follow in one to two months. Analysts said the North was trying to attract President Barack Obama's attention as he formulates his North Korea policy.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to visit South Korea next week as part of her Asian trip. North Korea's nuclear threat is expected to be a key topic during her visits to the South, Japan, and China _ the three nations that, along with the U.S. and Russia, are pressing the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
The nuclear talks have been stalled for months over how to verify the country's past nuclear activities.
The U.S., which stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, has consistently said it has no intention of attacking the North. Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman at the U.S. command in Seoul, said Monday that the training North Korea referred to was a routine exercise.
The North's state media reported that Kim, who turns 67 on Feb. 16, met a visiting senior Chinese envoy last month in what appeared to be his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign dignitary since his reported stroke in August.
Tension between the divided Koreas has intensified in recent weeks, with Pyongyang announcing it would scrap peace agreements with Seoul, warning of a war on the peninsula and reportedly preparing to test a missile capable of reaching the western United States. North Korea accused the United States of plotting an attack, citing a recent air drill north of Seoul.
Fears of political instability in the North deepened last year when its reclusive leader Kim reportedly suffered a stroke and had brain surgery. The North, however, has called such speculation a smear campaign on its leader, churning out media reports and photos depicting him as healthy and active.
"I am well aware of the fact there are some people who are uneasy about North Korea's recent series of threats," Lee said in a regular radio speech. "However, my fellow citizens, we don't have to worry about that too much."
Lee reiterated that his government is ready to sit down "anytime" with North Korea for talks to reduce tension, though added he will stick to his basic policy and not be too hasty to achieve results.
"I believe what is particularly important in South-North ties is unwavering, unequivocal principles," said Lee, who has periodically called for dialogue, including in his inauguration speech last year when he said he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong II.
However, Lee has said Seoul should not offer unconditional aid to its impoverished, nuclear-armed neighbor as his liberal predecessors did. In response, Pyongyang cut off all ties last year, halted cooperation on key joint projects and verified Lee as "human scum."
Last week, South Korean and Japanese media reports said the North was moving a suspected long-range missile to its launch site, saying a test would follow in one to two months. Analysts said the North was trying to attract President Barack Obama's attention as he formulates his North Korea policy.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to visit South Korea next week as part of her Asian trip. North Korea's nuclear threat is expected to be a key topic during her visits to the South, Japan, and China _ the three nations that, along with the U.S. and Russia, are pressing the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
The nuclear talks have been stalled for months over how to verify the country's past nuclear activities.
The U.S., which stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, has consistently said it has no intention of attacking the North. Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman at the U.S. command in Seoul, said Monday that the training North Korea referred to was a routine exercise.
The North's state media reported that Kim, who turns 67 on Feb. 16, met a visiting senior Chinese envoy last month in what appeared to be his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign dignitary since his reported stroke in August.
Fairytale royal wedding
It's a fairytale wedding in a country in need of a boost: two strands of a dynasty that once ruled Georgia are joining together to end centuries of division in one of Europe's oldest royal houses.
The wedding of Prince David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli and Princess Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinsky on Sunday is expected to bring an end to feuding over who is the rightful heir and to boost a campaign to transform this republic buffeted by wars and unrest in recent years into a constitutional monarchy. Despite having spent his entire life in Spain and not speaking Georgian, David settled in Tbilisi in 2003 and obtained dual citizenship. His bride-to-be, Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinsky, is the daughter of Nugzar Bagrationi-Gruzinsky, a Tbilisi theatre director. Spanish-born David, 32, and Anna, 31, have kept a low-profile ahead of the ceremony, refusing to grant interviews.
Still, even Georgia's most ardent monarchists admit it's unlikely the country will have a king or queen soon after Sunday's ceremony.
"This marriage will eliminate any eventual doubts concerning the existence of a legitimate heir to the Georgian throne," said Marika Lortkipanidze, a historian with Georgia's National Academy of Sciences.
Critics say too much power is concentrated in the hands of the presidency and that the system needs more checks and balances.
More than 3,000 guests, including President Mikheil Saakashvili and representatives of Europe's aristocratic families, are expected at the ceremony in Tbilisi's Trinity Cathedral.
But many Georgians are nonetheless captivated. The Georgians must look forward to the future instead of the past. This is a historic event of Georgia to redefine its troubled history in the modern world. This is just a legend talk about a monarchy in the past to 21st century Georgia.
Georgians are largely disappointed with the presidential republic. This is why the idea of a constitutional monarchy emerged and has gained significant support within society.
Claiming descent from the biblical King David, the Bagrationi dynasty ruled a large chunk of present-day Georgia from at least the 9th century until the country was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the early 19th century.
A noble family in Tsarist Russia, many of the Bagrationis were scattered across Europe after the Bolshevik Revolution and the Soviet takeover of Georgia in 1921 following a brief period of independence. Many of those who stayed were killed or thrown into Soviet concentration camps.
Various branches of the family have laid claim to the ancient Georgian throne, with the Mukhraneli and Gruzinsky branches considered the most likely contenders.
David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli is the son of Jorge de Bagration y de Mukhrani, a prominent racing driver whose branch of the family settled in Spain after World War II. A cousin of Spain's King Juan Carlos, the father died in 2008 after settling in Tbilisi.
The two houses have long feuded over their claims to the throne and historians say any children from the marriage would resolve the dispute.
The influential patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, has promoted the restoration of the monarchy and a recent phone-in survey on Georgian Public Television showed more than 40 percent of callers supporting the idea.
Georgian political analyst Tornike Sharashenidze said that many Georgians are frustrated with the presidential system adopted after the country gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Akaki Asatiani, the leader of Georgia's small Monarchist Party, said many Georgians are resistant to the idea of a constitutional monarchy and do not understand how it would work.
"The 200-year gap in the royal tradition is an issue and most Georgians lack understanding of the constitutional monarchy system," he said. "But sooner or later people will realise that this constitutional model is a guarantee for democracy and stability."
The wedding of Prince David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli and Princess Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinsky on Sunday is expected to bring an end to feuding over who is the rightful heir and to boost a campaign to transform this republic buffeted by wars and unrest in recent years into a constitutional monarchy. Despite having spent his entire life in Spain and not speaking Georgian, David settled in Tbilisi in 2003 and obtained dual citizenship. His bride-to-be, Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinsky, is the daughter of Nugzar Bagrationi-Gruzinsky, a Tbilisi theatre director. Spanish-born David, 32, and Anna, 31, have kept a low-profile ahead of the ceremony, refusing to grant interviews.
Still, even Georgia's most ardent monarchists admit it's unlikely the country will have a king or queen soon after Sunday's ceremony.
"This marriage will eliminate any eventual doubts concerning the existence of a legitimate heir to the Georgian throne," said Marika Lortkipanidze, a historian with Georgia's National Academy of Sciences.
Critics say too much power is concentrated in the hands of the presidency and that the system needs more checks and balances.
More than 3,000 guests, including President Mikheil Saakashvili and representatives of Europe's aristocratic families, are expected at the ceremony in Tbilisi's Trinity Cathedral.
But many Georgians are nonetheless captivated. The Georgians must look forward to the future instead of the past. This is a historic event of Georgia to redefine its troubled history in the modern world. This is just a legend talk about a monarchy in the past to 21st century Georgia.
Georgians are largely disappointed with the presidential republic. This is why the idea of a constitutional monarchy emerged and has gained significant support within society.
Claiming descent from the biblical King David, the Bagrationi dynasty ruled a large chunk of present-day Georgia from at least the 9th century until the country was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the early 19th century.
A noble family in Tsarist Russia, many of the Bagrationis were scattered across Europe after the Bolshevik Revolution and the Soviet takeover of Georgia in 1921 following a brief period of independence. Many of those who stayed were killed or thrown into Soviet concentration camps.
Various branches of the family have laid claim to the ancient Georgian throne, with the Mukhraneli and Gruzinsky branches considered the most likely contenders.
David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli is the son of Jorge de Bagration y de Mukhrani, a prominent racing driver whose branch of the family settled in Spain after World War II. A cousin of Spain's King Juan Carlos, the father died in 2008 after settling in Tbilisi.
The two houses have long feuded over their claims to the throne and historians say any children from the marriage would resolve the dispute.
The influential patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, has promoted the restoration of the monarchy and a recent phone-in survey on Georgian Public Television showed more than 40 percent of callers supporting the idea.
Georgian political analyst Tornike Sharashenidze said that many Georgians are frustrated with the presidential system adopted after the country gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Akaki Asatiani, the leader of Georgia's small Monarchist Party, said many Georgians are resistant to the idea of a constitutional monarchy and do not understand how it would work.
"The 200-year gap in the royal tradition is an issue and most Georgians lack understanding of the constitutional monarchy system," he said. "But sooner or later people will realise that this constitutional model is a guarantee for democracy and stability."
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Deadliest-ever Australian wildfires
Towering flames razed entire towns in southeastern Australia and burned fleeing residents in their cars as the death toll rose to 84 on Sunday, making it the country's deadliest fire disaster.
At least 700 homes were destroyed in Saturday's wild fire when searing temperatures and wind blasts produced a firestorm that swept across a swath of the country's Victoria state, where all the deaths occurred.
Thousands of exhausted volunteer firefighters were still battling about 30 uncontrolled fires Sunday night in Victoria, though conditions had eased considerably. It would be days before they were brought under control, even if temperatures stayed down, they said.
Government officials said the army would be deployed to help out, and Rudd announced immediate emergency aid of 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million).
The tragedy echoed across Australia. Leaders in other states — most of which have been struck by their own fire disasters in the past — pledged to send money and volunteer firefighters. Funds for public donations opened Sunday quickly started swelling.
The scene was utter devastation Sunday in at least two regions — the town of Marysville and several hamlets in the Kinglake district, both about 50 miles (100 kilometers) north of the state capital Melbourne.
In Kinglake, just five houses out of about 40 remained standing, an Associated Press news crew who overflew the region observed. Street after street was lined by smoldering wrecks of homes; roofs collapsed inward, iron roof sheets twisted from the heat. The burned-out hulks of cars dotted roads. Here and there, fire crews filled their trucks from ponds and sprayed down spot fires. There were no other signs of life.
Australia's previous worst fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people and razed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia state. Seventy-one died and 650 buildings were destroyed in 1939.
Police said charred bodies had been found in cars in at least two places — suggesting people were engulfed in flames as they tried to flee.
At least 80 people were hospitalized with burns. Dr. John Coleridge of Alfred Hospital, one of the largest in the fire zone, said injuries ranged from scorches on the feet of people who fled across burning ground to life-threatening burns. At least three would probably die, he said.
Temperatures in the area dropped to about 77 F (25 C) on Sunday, but along with cooler conditions came wind changes that officials said could push fires in unpredictable directions.
Dozens of fires were also burning in New South Wales state, where temperatures remained high for the third consecutive day. Properties were not under immediate threat.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes.
At least 700 homes were destroyed in Saturday's wild fire when searing temperatures and wind blasts produced a firestorm that swept across a swath of the country's Victoria state, where all the deaths occurred.
Thousands of exhausted volunteer firefighters were still battling about 30 uncontrolled fires Sunday night in Victoria, though conditions had eased considerably. It would be days before they were brought under control, even if temperatures stayed down, they said.
Government officials said the army would be deployed to help out, and Rudd announced immediate emergency aid of 10 million Australian dollars ($7 million).
The tragedy echoed across Australia. Leaders in other states — most of which have been struck by their own fire disasters in the past — pledged to send money and volunteer firefighters. Funds for public donations opened Sunday quickly started swelling.
The scene was utter devastation Sunday in at least two regions — the town of Marysville and several hamlets in the Kinglake district, both about 50 miles (100 kilometers) north of the state capital Melbourne.
In Kinglake, just five houses out of about 40 remained standing, an Associated Press news crew who overflew the region observed. Street after street was lined by smoldering wrecks of homes; roofs collapsed inward, iron roof sheets twisted from the heat. The burned-out hulks of cars dotted roads. Here and there, fire crews filled their trucks from ponds and sprayed down spot fires. There were no other signs of life.
Australia's previous worst fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people and razed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia state. Seventy-one died and 650 buildings were destroyed in 1939.
Police said charred bodies had been found in cars in at least two places — suggesting people were engulfed in flames as they tried to flee.
At least 80 people were hospitalized with burns. Dr. John Coleridge of Alfred Hospital, one of the largest in the fire zone, said injuries ranged from scorches on the feet of people who fled across burning ground to life-threatening burns. At least three would probably die, he said.
Temperatures in the area dropped to about 77 F (25 C) on Sunday, but along with cooler conditions came wind changes that officials said could push fires in unpredictable directions.
Dozens of fires were also burning in New South Wales state, where temperatures remained high for the third consecutive day. Properties were not under immediate threat.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a general term for a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks. Other terms frequently encountered and synonymous with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet telephony, voice over broadband (VoBB), broadband telephony, and broadband phone.
VoIP systems usually interface with the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) to allow for transparent phone communications worldwide.
VoIP systems employ session control protocols to control the set-up and tear-down of calls as well as audio codecs which encode speech allowing transmission over an IP network as digital audio via an audio stream. Codec use is varied between different implementations of VoIP (and often a range of codecs are used); some implementations rely on narrowband and compressed speech, while others support high fidelity stereo codecs.
VoIP systems usually interface with the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) to allow for transparent phone communications worldwide.
VoIP systems employ session control protocols to control the set-up and tear-down of calls as well as audio codecs which encode speech allowing transmission over an IP network as digital audio via an audio stream. Codec use is varied between different implementations of VoIP (and often a range of codecs are used); some implementations rely on narrowband and compressed speech, while others support high fidelity stereo codecs.
Computer Software
Computer software are often regarded as anything but hardware, meaning that the "hard" are the parts that are tangible (able to touch, visible) while the "soft" part is the intangible (unseen, non material, not able to be touched) objects inside the computer. Software encompasses an extremely wide array of products and technologies developed using different techniques like programming languages, scripting languages etc. The types of software include web pages developed by technologies like HTML, PHP, Perl, JSP, ASP.NET, XML, and desktop applications like Microsoft Word, OpenOffice developed by technologies like C, C++, Java, C#, etc. Software usually runs on an underlying Operating System (which is a software also) like Microsoft Windows, a Linux distribution (which may run GNOME or KDE), Sun Solaris etc. Software also includes video games like the Super Mario Bros., Grand Theft Auto for personal computers or video game consoles.
Also a software usually runs on a software platform which can either be provided by the Operating System or by operating system independent platforms like Java and .NET. Software written for one platform is usually unable to run on other platforms so that for instance, Microsoft Windows software will not be able to run on Mac OS because of the differences relating to the platforms and their own standards. These applications can work using software porting, interpreters or re-writing the source code for the specific platform.
Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions which change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.
The term "software" was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1958. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer programs. The theory that is the basis for most modern software was first proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem.
Also a software usually runs on a software platform which can either be provided by the Operating System or by operating system independent platforms like Java and .NET. Software written for one platform is usually unable to run on other platforms so that for instance, Microsoft Windows software will not be able to run on Mac OS because of the differences relating to the platforms and their own standards. These applications can work using software porting, interpreters or re-writing the source code for the specific platform.
Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions which change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.
The term "software" was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1958. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer programs. The theory that is the basis for most modern software was first proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem.
Air Conditioner
Air conditioner, is an appliance, or mechanism designed to extract heat from an area via a refrigeration cycle and rejected to another area. In construction, a complete system of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is referred to as "HVAC." Its purpose, is to provide comfort during either hot or cold weather.
In the refrigeration cycle, a heat pump transfers heat from a lower-temperature (evaporator) heat source into a higher-temperature heat sink (condenser). Heat would naturally flow in the opposite direction. This is the most common type of air conditioning. A refrigerator works in much the same way, as it pumps the heat out from the interior and into outside of the room.
The most common refrigeration cycle uses an electric motor to drive a compressor. In an automobile, the compressor is driven by a belt over a pulley, the belt being driven by the engine's crankshaft (similar to the driving of the pulleys for the alternator, power steering, etc.). Whether in a car or building, both use electric fan motors for air circulation. Since evaporation occurs when heat is absorbed, and condensation occurs when heat is released, air conditioners use a compressor to cause pressure changes between two compartments, and actively condense and pump a refrigerant around. A refrigerant is pumped from the cooled compartment (the evaporator coil), where the low pressure causes the refrigerant to evaporate into a vapor. In the other compartment (the condenser), the refrigerant vapor is compressed and forced through another heat exchange coil, condensing into a liquid, rejecting the heat previously absorbed from the cooled space.
Refregerant, "Freon" is a trade name for a family of haloalkane refrigerants manufactured by DuPont and other companies. These refrigerants were commonly used due to their superior stability and safety properties. Unfortunately, evidence has accumulated that these chlorine-bearing refrigerants reach the upper atmosphere when they escape. Once the refrigerant reaches the stratosphere, UV radiation from the Sun cleaves the chlorine-carbon bond, yielding a chlorine radical. These chlorine atoms catalyze the breakdown of ozone into diatomic oxygen, depleting the ozone layer that shields the Earth's surface from strong UV radiation. Each chlorine radical remains active as a catalyst unless it binds with another chlorine radical, forming a stable molecule and breaking the chain reaction. CFC refrigerants in common but decreasing usage include R-11 and R-12. Newer and more environmentally-safe refrigerants such as HCFCs (R-22, used in most homes today) and HFCs (R-134a, used in most cars) have replaced most CFC use. HCFCs in turn are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol and replaced by hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) such as R-410A, which lack chlorine.
In the refrigeration cycle, a heat pump transfers heat from a lower-temperature (evaporator) heat source into a higher-temperature heat sink (condenser). Heat would naturally flow in the opposite direction. This is the most common type of air conditioning. A refrigerator works in much the same way, as it pumps the heat out from the interior and into outside of the room.
The most common refrigeration cycle uses an electric motor to drive a compressor. In an automobile, the compressor is driven by a belt over a pulley, the belt being driven by the engine's crankshaft (similar to the driving of the pulleys for the alternator, power steering, etc.). Whether in a car or building, both use electric fan motors for air circulation. Since evaporation occurs when heat is absorbed, and condensation occurs when heat is released, air conditioners use a compressor to cause pressure changes between two compartments, and actively condense and pump a refrigerant around. A refrigerant is pumped from the cooled compartment (the evaporator coil), where the low pressure causes the refrigerant to evaporate into a vapor. In the other compartment (the condenser), the refrigerant vapor is compressed and forced through another heat exchange coil, condensing into a liquid, rejecting the heat previously absorbed from the cooled space.
Refregerant, "Freon" is a trade name for a family of haloalkane refrigerants manufactured by DuPont and other companies. These refrigerants were commonly used due to their superior stability and safety properties. Unfortunately, evidence has accumulated that these chlorine-bearing refrigerants reach the upper atmosphere when they escape. Once the refrigerant reaches the stratosphere, UV radiation from the Sun cleaves the chlorine-carbon bond, yielding a chlorine radical. These chlorine atoms catalyze the breakdown of ozone into diatomic oxygen, depleting the ozone layer that shields the Earth's surface from strong UV radiation. Each chlorine radical remains active as a catalyst unless it binds with another chlorine radical, forming a stable molecule and breaking the chain reaction. CFC refrigerants in common but decreasing usage include R-11 and R-12. Newer and more environmentally-safe refrigerants such as HCFCs (R-22, used in most homes today) and HFCs (R-134a, used in most cars) have replaced most CFC use. HCFCs in turn are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol and replaced by hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) such as R-410A, which lack chlorine.
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