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Mizuho Nakamura hot Japanese girl

2010-01-29T01:50:00.000-08:00

Activity:
1996 debut
Genre KYANGYARU
mizuho nakamura is a magazine fashion model
Other activities actress
Miduho Nakamura (MIDZUHO unevenness in the Nov. 11, 1977 -), the Japanese model and actress. Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, Spain. Blood type is A-. Tokyo College of Music included high school graduate.
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Kurokawa Mei – singer

2010-01-29T01:44:00.000-08:00

Name: Kurokawa Mei
Japanese name: Meitii, Mei Mei
Birthdate: 5-13, 1987
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Raised in: Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
Blood type: O
Height: 161cm
Bust: 84cm
Waist: 58cm
Hips: 90cm
Hobbies: Photography, cooking
Abilities: Piano, basketball
Favorite foods: Kinako mochi, crab, fruit, yogurt, soba
Favorite artists: BUMP OF CHICKEN, dorlis, Shiina Ringo
Favorite flower: Gerbera
Favorite anime: Anything Studio Ghibli
Pets: Aqua (dog), Ashley (cat)
Hobbies: Photography and cooking
Abilities: Piano and basketball.

Kurokawa began her singing career by singing the theme song “Namida no Umi” for the second “Keitai Keiji” series and continues to release music on a somewhat steady basis, juggling both her acting and singing careers. In celebration of her 19th birthday on May 13th, 2006, Kurokawa held her first birthday live event. In April 2006 Kurokawa began hosting her own radio program, “Kurokawa Mei no Rajitomo”, with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. (more…)

Sakurako Akino whit white towel

2010-01-28T01:43:00.001-08:00

Sakurako Akino is a japanese av idol. The Last Sexy Girl of the 20th Century – Great Legend of Beauty] Sexy idol. This is a regular posing shot made in her bedroom. We can see her breasts and she is alone. This depiction contains full nudity. Her pose is sitting front and displays none sex act. She static and her head is bare.
As a top she wears shirtless nude top, and at bottom skirtless nude hips, with her legs showing bareskin and her (more…)

Shoko Hamada – sexy and hot Japanese young beauty

2010-01-28T01:35:00.000-08:00

Hamada Shouko got her start as a race queen while still in high school in 2003. As with most race queens, her pictures were readily available on her amateur photographer’s website. The same year, she got the role of a regular character on the TV drama Tenpai. In 2005 Hamada was chosen as Japan’s Telegenic of the Year (with Ogura Yuko preceding her).

She has been compared more than once to fellow gravure idol Nakagawa Shouko. Their first names are the same, they are said to look alike, and even had the same nickname (although Nakagawa is now called “Shoukotan”). (more…)

yuko ogura Japanese traditional dress

2010-01-28T01:32:00.000-08:00

Is a Japanese gravure idol and model who typically aims for the cute, innocent schoolgirl look. In Japan, she is mostly called by her nickname .

Ogura regularly, if not entirely seriously, claims to be one “Princess Apple-Momoka” of the apple-shaped planet Korin . This is apparently an in-joke dating back to her middle school days. Having an alternate name was trendy at one point, and one of her friends told her that she looked like a Momoka. She liked the name and still uses it today.
She is known outside of Japan for her song which is the ending theme of the anime ”School Rumble”. (more…)

Nemoto Harumi is a Gravure (bikini) idol

2010-01-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

Name: Nemoto Harumi
Birthdate: July 28, 1980
Current age: 30
Birthplace: Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Measurements: B103-W60-H88 cm
Height: 166cm
Weight: 58kg
Eye colour: Brown
Hair colour Black
Blood type: A
Occupation: Gravure (bikini) idol

2010-01-27T23:40:00.000-08:00

Sasaki Nozomi – Voice actress

Name: Sasaki Nozomi or Nozomi Sasaki
Birthdate: February 19, 1983
Current age: 27
Occupation: Female Japanese voice actress
Birthplace: Kanagawa, Japan
Active years: 2006 – now

2010-01-27T23:38:00.000-08:00

Takahashi Jyuri – Japanese idol

Name: Takahashi Jyuri
Birthdate: 5-23, 1986
Blood Type: O
Place of Birth: Saitama Prefecture
Height: 160cm
Bust: 81cm
Waist: 58cm
Hips: 88cm
Shoe Size: 24cm
Hobbies : Taking sticker pictures, Shopping

2010-01-27T23:30:00.000-08:00

Rahma Azhari Prohibited No Deal Facebook

Rahma Azhari sexy actress says do not agree when Facebook is forbidden, even he admitted that he could not help wondering about the article which can make changing the status of FB into unlawful.“Facebook, myspace, and the like is actually very useful, especially for me to build the network. So FB for me as a means of work,” he explained, when at Planet Hollywood recently. (more…)

Sarah Azhari Used Bikini Find Girlfriend Through Internet

2010-01-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

For nan sexy celebrity fame classmate Sarah Azhari looking for a partner is not necessarily difficult. But whether the new bloggers who claim to learn to write is interested in looking for soul mate via the Internet?“It’s funny, and I have a friend like that, started from an acquaintance in cyberspace,” he said when asked if he was interested in looking for soul mate while channeling his new hobby to write blogs.

Jenny Cortez nude photos Circulating on the Internet

2010-01-27T22:58:00.000-08:00

Incessantly homeland entertainment world was shocked by the circulation of hot pictures of celebrities. This time, hot pictures of model / actress Jenny Cortez, one circulating in Indonesia hot site. Unmitigated, ten images of hot and open-openings of Jenny appearing in it.

Jenny started their work in the field of the model. His name was lifted as the third person rumored to be a relationship breakdown between the couple and Kalina Corbuzier Deddy.He also played in several soap operas. Finally, gait can also be enjoyed acting in the film PENGANTIN Waterfall where Jenny played with Mirasih Tyas Endah and Tamara Bleszynski.

Artist breast Plump Yeyen Lidya

2010-01-27T22:38:00.000-08:00

Once the section a role, many stage so that finally a role similar to the more brave or more. How about the Yeyen Lidya? Presenter this section have a role in new film ANDA PUAS SAYA LOYO. Can be ascertained for the next bid will be a lot of flow on the section Yeyen to perform a more brave or more.

Despite not make claim to the role of sections in this new film, have principles Yeyen averse if requested open-opener. Rather than quasi-pious, Yeyen more confident in not (believe self-red) should show if the body beautiful. Section of a defect in the body which makes it feel cheap. “Nggak want (beradegan bed). Since I’m ashamed,” he said
In the film ANDA PUAS SAYA LOYO, Yeyen enact a section called helpmate Inem. Here he akting compete with several other stars such as, KOMENG, Bedu, Andi Soraya and Reuben Onsu

Sandra Dewi Nude Photo

2010-01-27T22:34:00.000-08:00

Sandra dewi nude photo quite excited Reviewed several media some time ago. Sandra and create their own prop and fog was shock. But some who will believe what the photo beneran Sandra?

If further observed, clearly the image of engineering. Roy Suryo, telecommunications experts concur, if any photographs of the false and fraudulent deeds of pure only. With all the defense and verification Sandra Dewi was finally able to breathe free. Despite his still feel sad about the scandal itself inconsequent

Olga lidya used hot bikini

2010-01-27T22:31:00.000-08:00

Kolese Kanisius is a school in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was established in 1927 by a group of Jesuit pastors, and is listed as one of Jesuit Schools. Since its birth in 1927, the Catholic school has only accepted male students. The school is located in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Putri Raemawasti : Miss Universe Indonesia 2008

2010-01-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

Putri Raemawasti, born December 5, 1986 in Blitar, East Java. She was the winner of Puteri Indonesia (Miss Indonesia Universe) 2007 from East Java. She’s famous in the Puteri Indonesia 2007 contest because she has an aura that Artika Sari Devi has. She goes to Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember majoring in industrial engineering , Surabaya.

She represented Indonesia at the Miss Universe 2008 being the first Miss Indonesia to wear a two piece bathing suit rather than the usual maillot one piece during the final presentation show but was unplaced.

Mano erina in lovely sports costume

2010-01-27T22:24:00.000-08:00

Name: Mano Erina
Nickname: Manoeri
Occupation: Actress and singer, J-POP
Birthdate: Apr-11, 1991
Birthplace: Kanagawa, Japan
Height: 157cm
Star sign: Aries
Blood type: B
Talent agency: Hello! Project
Active years: 2006 -

Yayoi Shikatani – top gravure idol and actress

2010-01-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

Name: Yayoi Shikatani
Birthdate: Sep-26, 1988
Current age: 22 years old
Birthplace: Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Japan
Blood type: B
Height: 167cm
Weight: 50kg
Measurements: B83 – W57 – H83 cm
A bra size
Occupation: female talent, gravure idol and actress
Yayoi Shikatani belongs to Vizumikkusuta member.

Miu Nakamura – japanese actress, gravure idol

2010-01-04T23:48:00.000-08:00

Name: Miu Nakamura
Date of birth: March 14, 1991
The present age: 17 years old
Birthplace: Iwate Prefecture, Japan (in Aomori Prefecture)
Blood type: B
Nominal size (2008)
Height / weight: 157 cm / 48 kg
BMI: 19.5 (normal weight)
Three sizes: 83 – 54 – 83 cm
Shoe size: 24.5 cm
Unit conversion system: [display]
Height / weight: 5 ‘3 “/ 106 lb
Three sizes: 33 – 21 – 33 in

Music: gravure
Model: Made swimsuit Bulmer
Other activities: Business Tax House Manor course lecturer at the University
Other records
Miss Magazine 2006 Award MISUYANGUMAGAJIN

Miu Nakamura information
??(MIU KAMURA of the March 14, 1991 -), a Japanese actress, gravure idol. Iwate Prefecture (born in Aomori Prefecture). ? ETOPPU style agency affiliation. After graduating from middle school, in order to concentrate on gravure industry, the high school entrance exam.
In 2005, office-style entertainment agency’s regional mobile Idol audition excavation site can be applied in show business. Iwate Prefecture is originally from Tokyo that it is difficult to Uno Tooru, start a blog. Later, he moved to Tokyo and summer vacation photo session with assistant shooting model and experience. Iwate Prefecture, which is a week from Tokyo to continue to work through.(Official Blog is also the subject of home and family often come)

Electronics Store

2009-05-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

Compaq Presario CQ60Z series

2009-05-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

From $399.99*
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As low as $15/mo†
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Available with 15.6" (diagonal) display

Starting at specs:
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
AMD Sempron Processor SI-42
1GB memory
160GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 8200M G
Optional integrated webcam, discrete graphics, HDMI port, and Blu-ray

Wireless-G card
Integrated microphone
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW
92% full size keyboard
ENERGY STAR® qualified

HP HDX 18t Premium series

2009-05-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

From $1,299.99*
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Available with 18.4" 1080p edge-to-edge (diagonal) display

HP HDX brand featuring premium titanium finish with Fluid Imprint, priority service & support number, HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

Starting at specs:
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
Blu-ray ROM drive
Optional Blu-ray +/-R/RW, 1GB discrete graphics, Integrated HDTV Tuner, Verizon mobile broadband ExpressCard V740

Wireless-N card
Integrated webcam, fingerprint reader, & microphone
full-size numeric keypad
ENERGY STAR® qualified
Wireless-G card

HP HDX 16t Premium series

2009-05-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

From $999.99*
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As low as $30/mo†
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90 days no payments.

Available with 16" edge-to-edge (diagonal) display

HP HDX brand featuring premium titanium finish with Fluid Imprint, priority service & support number, HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

Starting at specs:
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6400
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW
Optional Blu-ray, Integrated HDTV Tuner

Wireless-N card
Integrated webcam, fingerprint reader, & microphone
full-size numeric keypad
ENERGY STAR® qualified
Wireless-G card
Integrated webcam & microphone
full-size numeric keypad
ENERGY STAR® qualified

Linux leader on Microsoft woes

2009-05-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

Foreword -- Microsoft today laid off 1,400 workers, with another 3,600 on the block within 18 months. We asked Linux Foundation Director Jim Zemlin what if any role Linux played in Microsoft's misfortunes, how Microsoft will react, and what it could mean for Linux and the open source community. Enjoy . . . !

Q1 -- Jim, thank you for your support in talking with LinuxDevices today. Do you think it was really Linux that hurt Microsoft? Or was it the emergence of netbooks? XP seems to ship on most, but Microsoft isn't making much money selling XP for low-cost PCs [story], are they?

A1 -- When an OEM negotiates a price agreement with Microsoft, they now have a viable alternative. It changes the negotiating relationship. It's a combination of Linux, missteps by Microsoft, and not enabling Vista for a low-power, long battery-life device.

Q1b -- Vista, codenamed Longhorn, was five years late. Do you think it was written for processors more powerful than Intel and AMD were ultimately able to deliver? Did Microsoft fail to anticipate the end of Moore's Law?

A1b -- Microsoft's playbook has always been based on the assumption that hardware costs are decreasing, and PCs are becoming more powerful, with more memory and more CPU. And that's not what's happening.

There's a concept in product development called the "demand-side learning curve." By having a seven-year product development model, where you set out a roadmap... as you approach your ship date, features slip. That doesn't happen in Linux, which has a transparent development model with constant incremental releases.

Microsoft had no insight into these netbooks, and they were unable to capitalize on them when they came out. Linux was [able to], because it has a very fast demand-side learning curve.

Q1c -- ...meaning that the supplier (in this case Linux) is able to learn what's in demand and deliver it very quickly?

A1c -- Yes. The market has learned from this, and Microsoft is in fact behind. The market is moving toward Linux-based low-powered devices of all kinds, not just in netbooks, but in [lists numerous embedded and device market sectors].

Q2 -- Investors view Microsoft as a bellwether of the technology sector. Yet, if Microsoft's woes are an indication that Linux has gained viability in new markets, isn't that actually a good thing for tech? Its affect on Microsoft aside, is Linux's maturation helping tech companies, and if so, do investors grasp that?

A2 -- People will realize quickly that Linux is something they can use. It's a $12 billion investment [story] they can leverage to compete better in the market. That realization is happening.

[Companies] have learned that they can participate in the higher-value, higher-margin choice Linux offers, both in embedded and on the enterprise side. They can offer their own branded software platform based on Linux, gaining a more direct relationship to the consumer, instead of Microsoft branding [taking precedence]. If Microsoft is getting 75 percent margins, you would like some of that high-margin business. That is really the lesson.

Q2b -- Exactly. But does Wall Street "get it"? Does it see Linux as a threat to a great American bluechip, without considering its potential to positively affect the broader tech market?

A2b -- Microsoft was down, but HP was up, Google was up, and IBM came out with better-than-expected earnings. These are companies that have faced the innovator's dilemma and have overcome it. HP and IBM have been willing to innovate, and to base a lot of their solutions on Linux. I'd like to point out that both have lucrative Unix-based businesses as well. However, they're perfectly willing to offer a competing low-cost, high-value platform, knowing that they can make money on services.

Both HP and IBM started restructuring years ago. Both faced reality. Microsoft has only done so recently, for example trying to buy Yahoo! Now, they understand that they'd better web-enable, better get into cloud computing. But you see them reacting, not leading, while companies like HP and IBM enjoy the high-growth, high-margin opportunities.

In a tough economy, you see an acceleration, a sharpening of business trends that have probably been happening for a while. If there are chinks in the armor, those weaknesses are magnified 100 times when times are bad. Everyone's hurting, but especially companies clinging to old business models.

Q3 -- Do you think Google Apps is also a force effecting change for Microsoft?

A3 -- Yes, and it's not only Apps. At CES, there were several Android-based netbooks. There were also netbooks running Nokia's Maemo platform, and of course there's the Moblin initiative [story]. Without a doubt, there's a new generation of platforms that are going to effect Microsoft's strategy. What does Microsoft do next? How do they react?

Q3b -- Well, they've had a scrape or two previously...

A3b -- Yes they have. The layoffs announced today were a strong reaction from a smart company, albeit unfortunate because a lot of good people will be losing their jobs.

Microsoft will redouble efforts to get into online services, double down on being part of the digital home (with gaming consoles and media products), and they'll hit hard in the enterprise by returning to the tactic of decrying Linux TCO [total cost-of-ownership]. They'll try to debunk Linux's low-cost, cost-effective value proposition. And, they'll leverage the position they have with MS Office, where they have less competition. Why do you think they fought so hard over ODF? Office is extremely profitable, making more for Microsoft than their operating systems do.

Q4 -- Yeah, they really figured out how to hold users' data hostage, with closed document formats that change from time to time, forcing upgrades. Any closing thoughts? It sounds like you've had a busy day.

Q4 -- It sucks to see 5,000 people lose their job. It's a real shame. It's a sign of the economic times. So, let's hope that Microsoft is able to shift their business practices, be more open, and participate more in the open community.

copy from www.linuxdevices.com

Finally, a US Linux smartphone

2009-05-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

US mobile phone customers will at last gain the option of a Linux-based handset later this year, when operators begin offering a high-end Motorola Linux/Java smartphone aimed at business professionals. The A780 will roll out globally in early Q4, reaching select US regions before 2005, according to Motorola.

(Click for larger image)

"It sort of depends which operators get through the first testing cycle for launch," said Motorola's Jonathan Nattrass. "But we're expecting it'll reach market in the US in Q4." Nattrass is director of product management for Motorola's high-performance GSM products group.

Motorola has so far introduced three Linux phones outside the US, including the A760, A768, and E680, and the phones have been well received, says Nattrass. "We're very pleased with market reaction and takeup, and the operators are very pleased with performance."

The A780 will be the first Motorola Linux phone -- and almost certainly the first Linux phone of any kind -- to reach the US market, confirming statements in a March, 2004 interview with Motorola Linux phone GM Michael Sudol that the company would time the debut of Linux phones in the US with the holiday season, and "ramp up" its Linux strategy globally toward the end of 2004.

Meanwhile, interviews (see stories here and here) with mobile phone browser giant OpenWave suggest that Linux will hit its stride in the global phone market in 2006, possibly becoming a standard platform for smartphones that, much as DOS did for PCs, will spawn a rich third party software market.

For its part, Motorola will continue its strategic investments in Linux as a cell-phone platform, but will continue to offer phones with other OSes as well. "We're holding fast with [our multi-OS] strategy. Java is at the core of our mobile OS strategy, and Linux is the OS we've primarily paired with Java. But, we'll continue to work with MS, Symbian, and BREW, based on operator needs," said Sharen Santoski, senior manager of global partner and tech communications for Motorola's personal communications sector.

Concurrent with this week's announcement of the A780, Motorola also announced the Windows Mobile based MPx220, which boasts a 1.23 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and quad-band wireless, as well as the CN620, which runs Windows CE 4.2 and offers seamless roaming between GSM/GPRS cellular and 802.11a Wi-Fi networks. Motorola offers Symbian and BREW based phones as well, but sold a 19 percent stake in Symbian in Sep., 2003.

Clearly, though, Motorola has high hopes for its Linux mobile phones. Says Nattrass, "You can see how we've gone from the traditional smartphone, the A760, and branched out into more focused areas, such as providing better consumer entertainment experiences [with the E680] and offering more for business professionals [with the A768 and A780], because we found that a lot of people are using camera phones for business purposes. Realtors and insurance agents, and so forth. I think we're only going to continue to build on that strength, and the key focus for us will be offering both the higher-tier functionality, and driving our Java/Linux technology down into mid-tier and mass market phones."

About the A780

The A780 is a quad-band phone phone supporting the 800/850MHz and 1900MHz bands used in the Americas as well as the 900/1800MHz bands commonly used around the world. In addition to voice service, the phone will provide Internet access via normal GPRS or via "EDGE," or Enhanced Data Rate for Global Evolution technology.

GPRS, or General Packet Radio Service, provides theoretical data rates up to 171.2Kbps, and is widely available from "2.5G" carriers around the world. EDGE is theoretically capable of 240Kbps data rates, which puts it close to the broadband-like speeds (384Kbps and higher) offered by 3G networks. East European carriers with new equipment, and European carriers that do not have a 3G license are likely candidates to roll out EDGE services, according to Nattrass, who adds, "The A780 can fall back on GPRS if the EDGE service is not available."

According to 3G Americas, an industry association of operators and manufacturers in the GSM technology market, EDGE service is currently available from 44 operators in 26 countries in the Americas, and 49 operators in 37 countries outside the Americas. Nattrass cites Cingular and AWS among US-based carriers offering or planning to offer EDGE services and phones.

Hardware features

The A780 is among the first devices to use the PXA270, a member of Intel's XScale family of ARM-based system-on-chips. Intel launched the PXA27x chip family, formerly codenamed "Bulverde," in April of this year, touting the processor's ability to capture higher quality pictures, extend battery life, and deliver fast multimedia performance. The chips are part of Intel's Personal Internet Client Architecture for wireless devices that combine voice communications and Internet access capabilities. Initial PXA270s are expected to run at 312 MHz, with future chips reaching double that speed, but Motorola did not disclose what speed processor runs the A780.

The A780 includes about 48MB of built-in user storage space, and supports an additional 48MB of removable storage on a TransFlash card. It includes a USB device port that uses a standard USB cable to attach to a PC, where it appears as a USB mass storage device. Rather than IrDA, the device implements Bluetooth wireless, enabling users to transfer large files reasonably quickly (and over greater distances), a feature useful for printing photos directly to Bluetooth printers, according to Nattrass.

The phone utilizes the classic Motorola flip-phone form-factor, but the phone buttons are actually positioned on the outside of the flip-lid. Opening the phone reveals the full expanse of the PDA-like 240 x 320 color touchscreen.

Another enticing feature is the 1.3 megapixel digital camera.

Software features

Like Motorola's previous Linux-based phones, the A780 is based on MontaVista Linux. MontaVista first pledged to support Intel's new PXA27x chips in November of 2003.

The A780 also includes a Java J2ME MIDP 2.0 runtime engine with support for several advanced Java APIs, including 3D Java, also supported in Motorola's E680 phone. Motorola revealed some of its Java plans in October of last year, and Nattrass says the company will continue to improve and extend Java support in its Linux phones. "Our roadmap is to roll out as many APIs as possible for Java. We're really focusing on Java support to enable and broaden application support from Java development community."

At least one native application will also be available for the A780 -- Motorola announced last week a deal with Certicom to offer its Movian VPN client for the device.

The A780's messaging client, like those in the A760 and A768, will continue to support POP3 and IMAP4 email protocols. However, the A780 will be Motorola's first phone to support "Motosync." Motosync is a Bluetooth-based synchronization feature that works initially with Microsoft's Mobile Enterprise Exchange 2003 servers, with agreements in place to add support for other commercial email servers in the future. Nattrass describes Motosync as follows: "There's a very simple, one-time setup and registration on the network with your corporate email system. Then you've got three possibilities for synchronizing your email: either manually, or a timed event such as every 10 minutes, or at a 'push' notification from the server. You can synchronize your inbox, calendar, and contacts."

Like the A768, the A780 will also include Picsel Technology's ePage document browser, which translates Microsoft Office, Flash, PDF, and HTML files, as well as common graphics file formats, to an internal "eFIF" format, enabling a single display application to display and edit many kinds of files without requiring native application support for the original file format.

Unlike the A768, which uses Picsel as its Web browser, Motorola opted for Opera 7, a full HTML browser, for the A780. Opera 7 supports small and medium size screens, as well as xHTML, DHTML, WAP, and, in its newest version, IRC (Internet Relay Chat).

The phone is also supplied with a fullscreen viewfinder for the camera, hands-free speaker phone, speaker-independent voice dialing, mp3 player, video recorder/player, 3D games, PIM, and a message client supporting MMS, SMS, IM (WV), and SMTP, in addition to POP3 and IMAP4.

copy from www.linuxdevices.com

Survivors of Italian quake mark somber Easter

2009-04-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

Mass in a tent village. Handouts of donated chocolate Easter eggs, and a holiday lunch consisting of aid food.

Archbishop Giuseppe Molinari celebrates Easter Mass in a tent in the quake-hit city of L'Aquila.

It's not the way people in L'Aquila expected to celebrate their Easter holiday. But in the wake of a deadly earthquake that killed nearly 300 people and left some 45,000 homeless, it's a poignant reality they must live with.

"It is hard for us to believe right now," the Archbishop of L'Aquila told those assembled for an emotional Easter Mass. "But we must pray, we must pray that God gives us hope."

For many victims, who have lost their homes and loved ones, hope is hard to come by.

"I'm a believer. I go to church, I feel these religious holidays, but this year I don't really feel it," Chiara di Crosta told CNN. "Some of my friends died under the rubble. This isn't really a meaningful Easter for me."

For many quake victims, life changed irrevocably on Monday, when a 6.3 magnitude quake struck L'Aquila, northeast of Rome. The temblor reduced homes to rubble and cost nearly 300 people their lives.

Some 25,000 people remained in tents Easter Sunday. Others were housed in hotels away from the hardest-hit region.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was to attend one of the Easter Masses in L'Aquila, at the police academy, where Friday's funeral Mass was held. Afterward, he was to hand out candy to children.

But no matter how hard officials or aid workers try to inject some Easter spirit into the day, it remains bitter for many.

Di Crosta said she believes it was Shuala, her German shepherd, who saved her family's life. In the moments preceding the quake, Shuala barked and yelped, striking her paw repeatedly against a glass door on a balcony.

"She was very agitated," di Crosta said. "She had been for a long time ... Dogs can alert you at times like this ... So I had time to prepare."

The family dressed and prepared a bag for their baby, Laura, before the quake struck.

When it did, "The door wouldn't open. I couldn't make it open," said Laura's father, Vincenzo Breglia. "And the more I pushed the more tightly I held the baby so I was almost suffocating her and everything was falling around us."

But they had no time to get Shuala, who was on the balcony. While they escaped with their lives, they couldn't find the dog for three days.

"I cried all night because I couldn't get back to save her," di Crosta said. "The tremors continued and I couldn't do anything."

But when the family went back to the ruins of their home, they found Shuala at last -- alive and well, and waiting for them by the rubble. Now, the family is trying to celebrate an Easter they hope baby Laura won't remember.

The quake's death toll is now 294, according to Luca Cari, a spokesman for L'Aquila Fire Brigade. The 294th death was that of a man who was rescued earlier in the week, but died Sunday at a hospital.

The search-and-rescue operation is over, officials said, because all those on a list of missing persons have been accounted for.taken from cnn.com

Two killed in Michigan college shooting

2009-04-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Two people were shot and killed Friday at a community college in Dearborn, Michigan, in what police believe was a murder-suicide, an official said.

The Henry Ford Community College campus in Dearborn, Michigan, was locked down after the shooting.

A man and woman were found dead in a classroom building on the campus of Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn Deputy Chief Gregg Brighton said.

Investigators believe the man shot the woman but would not provide further information, Brighton said.

A shotgun was involved in the incident, which occurred in a classroom that was not being used, he said.

"We're in the very preliminary stages," Brighton said. "We've just made the scene safe. The crime lab is on the scene with detectives." Watch Brighton describe the scene »

Police responding to a report of gunfire at the school had entered the south hallway of the Fine Arts Building when they heard another gunshot, Brighton said.

"We were in the building when we heard the shotgun blast, and when we finally got to that room, we had two deceased parties," he said at a news conference. "We believe this is a murder-suicide."

The campus was briefly in lockdown and will remain closed for the rest of the Friday, a school official said.

The school's emergency system immediately notified students, faculty and staff about the shooting via e-mail and cell phone, said Marjorie Swan, vice president and controller of the college.

"Our hearts go out to the family and the friends of the young woman who lost her life today," Swan said.

copy by CNN

Woman watches home invasion on webcam

2009-04-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- Jeanne Thomas was sitting at her desk at work when she decided to check the security camera that she installed in her home. The Thomas home had been burglarized before, so she installed a monitoring device where she can watch a live video feed of the camera in her home.

Steven Morales, 19, was arrested in the invasion of a Boynton Beach, Florida, home.

When Thomas decided to pull up the feed of her house Wednesday morning, she couldn't believe what she saw. There was someone inside her home, someone she didn't know. Thomas picked up the phone and called 911.

"I'm watching my home on live monitor, and there is a black man in my house, and he is robbing it," she told the dispatcher. The woman on the other end of the call asked Thomas where she was, and Thomas replied, "I'm in Fort Lauderdale, at my work."

Thomas' home is in Boynton Beach, Florida, more than 20 miles away, yet she was watching over the Internet as two men walked through her home, picking up items. Watch the video from Thomas' home »

Police later arrested Curtis Williams, 20, and Steven Morales, 19.

According to the Boynton Beach Police, Williams and Morales entered the house through a pet door. As the 911 dispatcher was calling police to the scene, Thomas stayed on the line, giving a play-by-play of what she was seeing.

"He's in my house. I am seeing him walk around my house. He's in my bedroom right now," she said. The bedroom cannot be seen in the video, but the door from the living room into the bedroom is visible.

Thomas watched as the men wandered through her home, taking valuables such as her TV and Wii gaming console.

"This is unbelievable," she told the 911 dispatcher. "The cat is freaking out. The dogs are hiding."

One of the burglars took a bag of shredded cheese from the refrigerator and could be seen on the video stuffing it in his mouth. None of them noticed the small camera that resembles an air freshener.

"They walked right up to it and didn't know what it was," Thomas said later.

A few minutes after Thomas called 911, the video shows police officers entering the home.

According to the police report, "Williams and Morales had placed the victim's 37 inch flat screen TV, a safe, gaming machine with several misc. games (total value approx. $3000) on the victim's bed."

Williams and Morales told police that two other people, not seen on video, were also involved in the incident.

All four suspects were arrested and charged with burglary of a dwelling and attempted grand theft.

Thomas' husband thought she was nuts for spending $250 on the webcam system, telling her she would never catch anyone. But to her, it now seems like a smart investment.

Thomas hopes it will be a lesson for burglars.

"You never know who is watching you," she said.

by Kim segal CNN

First family reflects on eight years in office

2009-04-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

As President George W. Bush prepares for his last week in office, he and First Lady Laura Bush spent time Tuesday talking with CNN's Larry King.

President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush discuss their legacy in the White House.

In a wide-ranging interview, the First Family reflects on the past eight years of the presidency, including 9/11 and the war on terror.

They also discussed what awaits President-elect Barack Obama and his family when he takes office on January 20. The following is an edited version of the interview.

Larry King: Are you going to miss it, Laura?

Laura Bush: I am going to miss it. I'm going to miss this beautiful house and all the people that work here. We're going to miss the people especially.

King: Are you anxious to go, Mr. President?

George Bush: I don't know if it's the right word. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to feel like on January 21. I've been, you know, I've had security briefings -- intelligence briefings nearly every morning for the last eight years. I'll wake up and not have a briefing and realize the responsibility is not on my shoulders anymore.

King: Are there ambivalent feelings?

George Bush: No. I don't think you can be ambivalent. I've been looking forward to the inauguration of Barack Obama. I'll have a front row seat in what is an historic moment for the country.

King: Do you like him?

George Bush: Yes, I do like him, and you'd like him, too.

King: But he was so critical of you. Do you take that personally or you don't?

Laura Bush: I did.

King: Were you angry at it?

Don't Miss

Laura Bush: Yes, sort of. George didn't even really know about it because he didn't watch it that much, I don't think.

George Bush: When you make big decisions and tough calls, you're going to get criticized. During the course of this presidency, of course, I've been disappointed at times by the silly name-calling that goes on in Washington.

It's really not necessary that it happened. But I've done my best, though, to make sure I didn't bring the presidency down to that level.

King: How do you feel personally when you see the ratings and the polls that have you at 25, 30 percent?

George Bush: I don't give a darn. I feel the same way as when they had me at 90-plus.

King: Do you ever get the feeling -- and everyone has some doubts about some things -- that, you know, if I was wrong, if Iraq was wrong, then (the troops) died in vain and I sent them?

George Bush: I don't think Iraq was wrong.

King: No, but do you ever have a moment of feeling where it was wrong?

George Bush: I was worried Iraq was going to fail, not Iraq was wrong. That's why I put 30,000 troops in when a lot of people were saying, "Get out." The surges worked. A young democracy in the heart of the Middle East has taken hold, and, obviously, there's more work to be done.

King: Reagan once asked this, so we'll ask it, are we better off today than we were eight years ago?

George Bush: One thing is for certain today, we understand the real dangers that we face. Eight years ago, it looked like the world was peaceful and everything was just fine in the economy. Then, we had a recession, then we had an attack and now we've had this financial meltdown.

Everything looked like, on the international front that, you know, radicalism might be, you know, a problem over there, but not here. So one thing is for certain, there's a lot of clarity now on the threats we face.

King: Do you worry?

Laura Bush: Sure, I worry. I worried most right after September 11th. I mean for a long time, I worried a lot. I worried about another attack. I worried about the safety and the security of Americans. I mean everyone did. I think there isn't anybody that lives in the United States that didn't worry for a long time.

I think we've forgotten what it was like when we all worried and when a lot of people had anxiety, most people, probably that had watched television that day or had seen what happened.

I mean I think that's because we are more secure today, people are not as worried and they've sort of forgotten what it was like when -- when everyone woke up worried.

King: 9/11, what did it do to you?

George Bush: It made me realize my most important responsibility is to protect the country from attack.

King: It changed you?

George Bush: Yes, it changed me. It changed the country, too. I still have images of those days vivid in my mind. I told the American people I wouldn't tire and I wouldn't falter and I haven't.

King: Are we ever, ever going to find (Osama) bin Laden?

George Bush: Yes, of course. Absolutely. We have a lot of people looking for him, a lot of assets out there. He can't run forever. Just like the people who allegedly were involved in the East African bombings, a couple of them were brought to justice recently.

King: Did we ever come close?

George Bush: I don't know. I can't answer that.

King: You don't know.

George Bush: I really don't know. I'm not trying to hide anything.

King: You had two girls in the White House. What advice would you give Mrs. Obama on having two girls in the White House?

Laura Bush: Well, I would tell her this is a wonderful and grand home. It is a very nice home for a family, and we know that both from having been the children of a president ourselves, and then of course from having Barbara and Jenna here.

Barbara and Jenna took Sasha and Malia on a tour of the White House, showed them all the fun, you know, great things to do. This is a terrific house for hide-and-seek. They showed them how to slide down the ramp from the Solarium. I think those little girls will have a wonderful time living here.

King: Upon reflection, two more things: was Katrina the lowest point beyond foreign entanglements and 9/11.

George Bush: I think being called a racist because of Katrina was a low point. I can remember people saying George Bush is a racist because of the response, when, in fact, the truth of the matter is the response was pretty darn quick, if you think about the fact that the Coast Guard and a lot of brave kids were pulling 30,000 people off of roofs as soon as the storm passed, as soon as they found people on those roofs.

King: But a lot of mistakes happened too.

George Bush: Well, yes, at all levels of government, absolutely.

King: Do you think those mistakes, that we learned from them?

George Bush: No question. That's a good thing about government. By the way, we have had eight hurricanes, major hurricanes, and seven and a half were dealt with the way everybody expected them to be dealt with. The Mississippi part of Katrina was dealt with well, even though it was a really horrible hurricane.

King: I know you will be talking Thursday. Anything you want to say?

Laura Bush: Well, I wanted to say I am very grateful for the opportunities I have had because George is president. I have met wonderful people all over our country. I appreciate all of their prayers and all of their support and all of the millions of people who have thanked me. I appreciate that a lot.

George Bush: I want to say it has been a huge honor to be president. I have enjoyed it. I've been amazed at the character of the American people.

more about bushThe War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008

Robo-scientist's first findings

2009-04-03T01:18:00.000-07:00

Scientists have created an ideal colleague - a robot that performs hundreds of repetitive experiments.

The robot, called Adam, is the first machine to have independently "discovered new scientific knowledge".

It has already identified the role of several genes in yeast cells, and is able to plan further experiments to test its own hypotheses.

The UK-based team that built Adam at Aberystwyth University describes the breakthrough in the journal Science.

Ross King from the department of computer science at Aberystwyth University, and who led the team, told BBC News that he envisaged a future when human scientists' time would be "freed up to do more advanced experiments".

Robotic colleagues, he said, could carry out the more mundane and time-consuming tasks.

"Adam is a prototype but, in 10-20 years, I think machines like this could be commonly used in laboratories," said Professor King.

Robotic planning

Adam can carry out up to 1,000 experiments each day, and was designed to investigate the function of genes in yeast cells - it has worked out the role of 12 of these genes.

Biologists use the yeast cells to investigate biological systems because they are simple and easy to study.

"When you sequence the yeast genome - the 6,000 different genes contained in yeast - you know what all the component parts are, but you don't know what they do," explained Professor King.

Robots express scientific findings in a much clearer form than humans
Professor Ross King
Aberystwyth University

The robot was able to work out the role of the genes by observing yeast cells as they grew.

It used existing information about the function of known genes to make predictions about the role an unknown gene might play in the cell's growth.

It then tested this by looking at a strain of yeast from which that gene had been removed.

"It's like a car," Professor King said. "If you remove one component from the engine, then drive the car to see how it performs, you can find out what that particular component does."

Expensive assistant

Duc Pham from the Manufacturing Engineering Centre at Cardiff University described the robot scientist as "a clever application of robotics and computer software".

But, he added, "it's more like a junior lab assistant" than a scientist. "It will be a long time before computers can replace human scientists."

Professor King agreed that the robot was in its early stages of development.

Professor Ross King explains how robots Adam and Eve work

"If you spent all of the money we've spent on Adam on employing human biologists, Adam probably wouldn't turn out to be the cost-effective option," he said.

"But that was the case with the first car. Initially, the investment in the technology wasn't as cost-effective as sticking with horses."

He also pointed out that his robotic associate is able to express scientific findings in a clearer way than humans.

"It expresses its conclusions in logic," he said. "Human language, with all its nuances, may not be the best way to communicate scientific findings."

The same team is developing another, more advanced robot scientist called Eve, which is designed to screen new drugs.

Stem cell 'deafness cure' closer

2009-04-03T01:15:00.001-07:00

Stem cells that could be used to restore hearing have been successfully created, scientists have said.

A Sheffield University team took stem cells from embryos and converted them into cells that behave like sensory hair cells in the human inner ear.

Their discovery could ultimately help those who have lost hair cells through noise damage and some people born with inherited hearing problems.

But any cure is still some years away, experts told the journal Stem Cell.

The Sheffield team is now working on the next stage of the research to check if the cells can restore hearing.

This research is incredibly promising and opens up exciting possibilities
Dr Ralph Holme, RNID

Currently, hair cell damage is irreversible and causes hearing problems in some 10% of people worldwide.

Embryonic stem cells could change this because they have the unique ability to become any kind of human cell.

Not only could they be used to replace the lost hair cells, but also any damaged nerve cells along which the signals generated by the hair cells are transmitted to the brain.

But the use of stem cells is controversial - opponents object on the grounds that it is unethical to destroy embryos in the name of science.

Lead researcher Dr Marcelo Rivolta, said: "The potential of stem cells is very exciting. We have now an experimental system to study genes and drugs in a human context.

"Moreover, these cells would help us to develop the technologies needed to deliver them into damaged tissues, such as the cochlea, in order to restore the different cell types.

Is this the ultimate upgrade for the iPod generation?
Professor David McAlpine
Ear Institute

"This should facilitate the development of a stem cell treatment for deafness."

Dr Ralph Holme, director of biomedical research at RNID, said: "Stem cell therapy for hearing loss is still some years away but this research is incredibly promising and opens up exciting possibilities by bringing us closer to restoring hearing in the future."

Vivienne Michael of Deafness Research UK said: "This study highlights the importance of stem cell research.

"In addition to the future potential for restoring hearing with stem cell therapy, the recent research success means that we may now have better ways to test the efficacy and toxicity of new drugs on auditory cells."

Professor David McAlpine, director of the Ear Institute, University College London, said: "Is this the ultimate upgrade for the iPod generation?

"The possibility of regenerating the sensory cells of the inner ear, so easily damaged by exposure to loud sound, has just moved a step closer.

"If scientists can find out ways to deliver new cells to the inner ear, and wire them up correctly, then "plug and play" hearing could be the future."

Grapefruit diet 'blood clot risk'

2009-04-03T01:02:00.001-07:00

A woman who went on an intense grapefruit-based diet developed a blood clot in her leg and risked losing the limb, US doctors have reported.

The unusual case, written up in the Lancet medical journal, occurred in Washington state in November last year.

Medics concluded grapefruit had affected the way the 42-year-old's body processed her contraceptive pill.

A UK expert stressed this was an unusual case, but said extreme diets may have "unpredictable consequences".

Three days of grapefruit for breakfast may well have tipped the balance
Dr Lucinda Grande, Providence St Peter Hospital

In November 2008, the woman came to the casualty department of the Providence St Peter Hospital in Olympia, Washington state.

The day before, she had gone on a long car journey, after which she felt pain radiating from her lower back down to her left ankle.

When she arrived at the hospital she was experiencing difficulty walking, shortness of breath, and light-headedness.

By the next day her left leg had turned purple.

The woman was generally in good health but was slightly overweight and had decided to diet.

Three days before falling ill, she had begun a crash diet which included eating 225g of grapefruit each morning, after rarely eating the fruit in the past.

When doctors examined her, an ultrasound scan confirmed the woman had a large blood clot within the veins of her left leg, which stretched from her hip down to her calf and she was deemed to be at risk of losing her leg because of gangrene.

The woman was given clot-busting treatment and had a stent, a kind of tube, fitted in order to widen her vein.

Fruit block

The doctors treating her said a number of risk factors had contributed to the woman developing the clot.

She had an inherited disorder which increased her risk, as did being on the combined Pill. Being immobile in a car probably also contributed to the clot forming.

Writing in the Lancet, the authors led by Dr Lucinda Grande, called it a "constellation of potential risk factors".

But they added: "The increased [oestrogen] serum concentration due to her three days of grapefruit for breakfast may well have tipped the balance."

They suggest the fruit blocked the action of a key enzyme that normally breaks down the form of oestrogen in her contraceptive.

Dr Trevor Baglin, a consultant haematologist at Addenbrooke's NHS Trust in Cambridge, said: "From this case study it appears as if the grapefruit enhanced the thrombotic effect of the contraceptive pill in the presence of a genetic predisposition.

"However, it is worth pointing out that this is a single case study and a very unusual case at that.

"I would suggest that any extreme diets should be avoided because they can have unpredictable consequences."

Dollar rises above 100-yen mark

2009-04-03T00:40:00.000-07:00

The US dollar rose briefly above 100 yen in Asian trading on Friday, the first time it had done so since early November 2008.

The news boosted shares in Japanese exporters, with the likes of Sony and Toyota Motor closing higher.

The dollar later fell to 99.50 yen amid nervousness ahead of the US jobless figures due later on Friday.

In the first three months of 2009, the dollar had its best quarterly performance against the yen since 2001.

"The yen selling was not sustainable before the US jobs data release," said a dealer at a Japanese brokerage.

"Opinion may be tilted towards the yen weakening in the longer term, but the market would first like to see this major event through."

The yen has been falling in value as a result of weak Japanese economic data and speculation that Japanese investors are planning to move funds overseas in the new financial year.

Can China be green by 2020?

2009-04-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

China's unprecedented economic growth over the past 30 years has come at a huge cost to the environment.

The damage has not only been to the air the Chinese breath or the water in their rivers, but also to its reputation across the world.

But there are signs that China may now be serious about tackling pollution to prove to the world that it can develop while causing less damage to the environment.

BBC Brasil travelled to China, which recently overtook the United States as the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, as part of its series looking at where the BRIC economies - Brazil, Russia, India and China - will be in 2020.

China is today the world's biggest consumer of coal, the cheapest yet most polluting source of energy.

The country uses a quarter of the world's coal reserves and depends on it to provide more than two thirds of its energy needs.

The rapid growth has also altered old Chinese habits that used to be environmentally friendly.

As soon as you walk out from your hotel onto the street of Beijing you realise that the typical image of Chinese city streets being packed with bicycle-riding commuters is becoming a thing of the past.
Bumper to bumper, the people of Beijing crawl to work in their cars. Each car belching out fumes into the atmosphere.

In Beijing alone, the number of cars has tripled over the past decade, with more than 1,000 new vehicles arriving on the streets of the capital every day.

In discussions for the post-Kyoto global climate treaty, China now accepts the need for mandatory targets to reduce greenhouse gasses, but with the condition that stricter rules should be applied to developed countries.

"China is no longer a closed country," says Tom Wang, spokesman for Greenpeace in Beijing.

"To keep its economic growth and its place as an important player on the international scene, it needs to acknowledge what other countries are saying about it."

According to Mr Want, environmental damage costs the country up to 5% of its economic output each year.

Chinese victims

The biggest victims of the pollution are the Chinese themselves.

Beijing worker
I have a constant inexplicable cough
Beijing resident

One woman in Beijing complained about the low cloud that floats above the city centre.

A man complained about a "constant inexplicable cough".

According to the World Bank, of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, 20 are in China.

Each year more than 400,000 people die of pollution-related illnesses.

But when BBC Brasil visited Wang Xiaoming of Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau, the mood was upbeat.

To get to the main office you walk over a glass floor under which is a model of the city showing where its monitoring points are.

Mr Wang's office is full of computer screens being studied by technicians.

He points proudly at one of the screens, which shows that pollution in the city is better than the level considered to be safe by the World Health Organisation.

And that's not all. Mr Wang says the trend for pollution has been down in the city for some time.
Miniature Beijing
You walk over a model of Beijing at the Environmental Protection Bureau

According to Mr Wang, last year Beijing had 274 of what are called "blue sky days", which is when the pollution level is under the maximum level considered acceptable by the WHO. In 2007, they had 246 days of blue sky days while in 1998 they only had 100.

Acid rain

But it is not only air quality that is a matter of concern.

Many of the country's rivers are polluted with heavy metals, spoiling the water used for irrigation and contaminating the food chain.

Around a third of the Chinese territory is affected by the acid rain caused by pollution. The rain has a direct impact on the country's food production.

The Chinese government has started to act on these issues, mainly because environmental damage poses a threat to the economic growth of the country.

Last year the Beijing Olympics served as a platform for the Chinese government to show the world that it cares about the environment.

All of the buildings designed for the Games had 'green' features such as solar power and systems for collecting rain water.

In addition, restrictions were set to limit emissions from polluting industries, and a rota-based system was put in place to reduce by half the amount of cars on the streets of Beijing.

These measures achieved what had seemed impossible: blue skies during the two weeks of the Games.

The measures adopted during the Olympics, although limited in their reach, proved the country is capable of fighting against its environmental problems if there is political will.

China is one of a few countries in the world that have been rapidly increasing their forest cover
David Dollar

For David Dollar, director of the World Bank in China, the country has achieved some progress in this area, although it still faces serious problems.

"If we had had this conversation a year ago, I would have said that environmental issues were the greatest challenge faced by China and the biggest threat to the country's growth in the long term," says Dollar.

"However, what is little known is that there has been a great deal of progress on the environmental front in the last ten years. China is one of a few countries in the world that have been rapidly increasing their forest cover. It is managing to reduce air and water pollution," says Dollar.

If China can develop alternative energy sources and reduce emissions, the country might in 2020 be an example of how economic development and environmental protection can work together.

more about chinaThe Pyongyang Concert - New York Philharmonic & Lorin Maazel [Blu-ray]

Obama hails 'historic' G20 summit

2009-04-03T00:14:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama has hailed the G20 summit as a historic turning point in the pursuit of world economic recovery.

Leaders pledged new spending and tougher financial regulations, in what the US leader called an unprecedented set of actions to ease the crisis.

He now heads to Strasbourg for talks with the French and German leaders, before a Nato summit begins.

Security is extremely tight in the city, with tens of thousands of troops and police deployed.

On Thursday police clashed with protesters, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to stop a crowd getting to the city centre.

Masked protesters smashed bus shelters and set fire to rubbish bins. French news agency AFP reported around 100 arrests.

Nato talks

Speaking at a news conference in London late on Thursday, Mr Obama said that the G20 leaders had agreed "unprecedented steps to restore growth and prevent a crisis like this from happening again".
They pledged a total of $1.1 trillion (£681bn) in funding to tackle the crisis, including $750bn to the International Monetary Fund, $250bn to boost global trade and $100bn for international development banks to lend to the poorest countries.

Leaders also agreed to introduce tougher financial regulations and sanctions against secretive tax havens.

Representatives from the developing world welcomed the outcome.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told the BBC's Newsnight programme that rich countries had engaged with emerging nations on "equal terms" to achieve a good result.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy - who had threatened to walk out of the meeting if it did not yield concrete gains - said that the conclusions were "more than we could have hoped for".

He will meet Mr Obama for one-to-one talks on Friday, after which the US leader will cross into Germany for a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Then the focus will turn to Nato and the 60th anniversary summit that is being hosted jointly by France and Germany.

Leaders will gather for a working dinner in the German city of Baden Baden on Friday night before the main talks on Saturday.

The US president is expected to use the opportunity to build support for his new strategy for Afghanistan.

More troops are needed certainly, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus, but above all the Americans want to see their allies stumping up a good deal more money and more training teams to build Afghanistan's own security forces.

know more about obama Barack Obama 6" Action Figure

Video hot julia perez ci belah duren digossipkan dengan pemain bola

2009-03-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Julia Perez, atau sering disingkat Jupe (lahir 15 Juni 1980; umur 28 tahun; terlahir dengan nama Yuli Rachmawati) adalah penyanyi dangdut, model, pemain sinetron dan presenter Indonesia. Ia seringkali berpenampilan dan berfoto seksi dan dijuluki "bom seks".Ia memulai karirnya di Perancis. Perkenalannya dengan model pria Damien Perez (Yusuf Perez) yang kemudian menjadi suaminya membuka kesempatan awal dirinya tampil sebagai model majalah FHM dan Maxim di Perancis. Dengan penampilannya dalam FHM dan Maxim, Jupe mendapat nominasi 100 wanita terseksi versi majalah FHM dan Maxim.

Namanya mulai dikenal setelah ia memerankan beberapa sinetron dan film layar lebar. Pada bulan April 2008, Julia Perez menyatakan terjun ke dunia dangdut. Ia lalu merilis album perdananya yang berjudul Kamasutra. Dalam album tersebut Jupe juga menyertakan kondom yang diselipkan dalam sampul albumnya. Meski Jupe menyatakan Keluarga Berencana (KB), namun banyak pihak yang menilai tindakannya tersebut adalah bentuk dukungan terhadap seks bebas. Bahkan Menteri Pemberdayaan Perempuan, Meutia Hatta menyatakan bahwa tindakan tersebut bisa diinterpretasikan sebagai dukungan terhadap seks bebas. Akibat dari penampilannya yang seksi serta album Kamasutra yang berbonus kondom, ia banyak dicekal di Indonesia, seperti di Nusa Tenggara Barat, Riau, Palembang, Balikpapan dan Bengkulu

Jakarta Keretakan rumah tangga Jupe dengan Damian Perez dicurigai karena faktor adanya PIL atau Pria Idaman Lain. Pesepakbola asal Argentina, Gaston Castano disebut-sebut sebagai pemicunya. Bahkan Jupe dan Gaston memiliki foto mesra di pantai. Ditanyai soal ini Jupe memilih no comment.

"Aku belum tahu, aku belum bisa jawab karena aku belum lihat fotonya. Tapi memang aku jalan-jalan ke pantai sama teman-teman," ujar Jupe saat ditemui di Plaza FX, Jl Jenderal Sudirman, Jakarta Selatan, Rabu (11/3/2009).

Selebihnya Jupe tak ingin lagi berkomentar soal hubungannya dengan Gaston. Ia kini memang tengah pusing akibat pernikahannya dengan Damian Perez makin tak jelas mau dibawa ke mana.

Jupe memang pernah memuji sosok Gaston saat menyaksikan pertandingan Persib Bandung melawan Persiba Balikpapan beberapa waktu lalu di Stadion Jalak Harupat, Bandung. Pemain film 'Hantu Jeruk Purut' itu menyukai permainan Gaston dan rela menemani kemanapun penyerang Persiba itu bermain sepakbola.

Job cuts ground Flight Simulator

2009-02-09T05:39:00.000-08:00

The future of Microsoft's long running Flight Simulator series has been cast into doubt, after the software maker US laid-off the entire development team.

Microsoft says it is "committed" to the series, despite shutting the Aces studio when it cut 5000 jobs.

But third party developers say Microsoft needs to outline its plans for the game in more detail.

MS Flight Simulator is arguably the longest running computer game series ever, first launched back in 1982.

Nels Anderson, founder of enthusiast website FlightSim.com said the studio closure was a "dark day" for the flight sim market.

Speaking to the BBC he said he was baffled by the decision.

"Microsoft have apparently cancelled a 27 year franchise. Flight sims were one of the few things about Microsoft people actually liked. It made them money and had an enormous following.

"To cancel something like that is an amazing thing to do," he said.

Just Flight's director, Dermot Stapleton, which publishes third party add-ons for MS Flight Simulator, told the BBC that as Microsoft had only announced the studio closure, people would have to draw their own conclusions as to what future plans the firm had in store for the game.

"It's the end of the line for their in-house development studio, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the line for the game.

"All Microsoft did was name a group of developers working on the game Aces Studio and now, as they've laid them and a load of other developers off, they have been somewhat hoisted on their own petard.
Flight Simulator 1.0
The Flight Simulator series made its debut back in 1982

"My guess is that Microsoft will now licence the code to a third party developer and then cross that "cash bridge" when they come to it."

Deja vu

But Nels Anderson was more pessimistic, saying Microsoft had done something similar with its Train Simulator series.

"Microsoft announced a sequel to MS Train Simulator back in 2003. A year later, they shelved the project. Three years later, they announced a new version, that too was cancelled.

"I think this gives us an indication as to what is in store for Flight Simulator," he said.

Most people agree that the latest incarnation, MS Flight Simulator X, has at least three to four years use before it starts to show its age. Even today, many still use the five year old Flight Simulator 2004, rather than FSX.

Speaking to the BBC, Derek Davis, editor of PC Pilot magazine, said there was a silver lining to the bad news.

"I don't know what the eventual fate of Microsoft's Flight Simulator series will be, but I think we're going to see a rise in sales and an increase in third-party development.

"There is now some stability to be had - we're all going to be using FSX for some time - and that is going to make it far easier for developers to produce new aircraft."

Stare into the curve of Herschel's mirror too long and you get a slightly giddy feeling that comes from not being able to judge where its surface real

2009-02-09T05:31:00.000-08:00

It is enchanting, spectacular and - at 3.5m in diameter - it will soon become the biggest telescope mirror in space, surpassing that of Hubble.

The great 18th Century astronomer William Herschel would have been astonished by the silver sensation that now bears his name.

The design keeps Herschel's critical detectors in an ultra-cold state

More details

The European Space Agency (Esa) is certainly very proud of its new observatory. It has been working on the venture for more than 20 years.

"The mirror is an enormous piece of hardware," enthused Thomas Passvogel, Esa's programme manager on the Herschel space observatory.

"It's a ceramic mirror; it's the biggest piece ever made from silicon carbide. It's very hard but much, much lighter than glass and the performance is excellent."

This week, the finished observatory will be flown to Europe's Kourou spaceport in South America. There, it will be bolted to an Ariane rocket and hurled into orbit.

It will take up a vantage point a million-and-a-half kilometres from Earth, to open up what scientists expect to be an utterly fascinating new vista on the Universe.

"Very simply, the science pillars of Herschel are to understand better how stars and galaxies form and how they evolve," Göran Pilbratt, Esa's project scientist on Herschel, told BBC News.
Herschel (BBC)
Hubble has viewed some near-infrared wavelengths. Its "successor", James Webb (2013), will seek infrared light also but with an even bigger mirror

Unlike Hubble, which is tuned to see the cosmos in the same light that is visible to our eyes, Herschel will go after much longer wavelength radiation - in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre range.

It will permit Herschel to see past the dust that scatters Hubble's visible wavelengths, and to gaze at really cold places and objects in the Universe - from the birthing clouds of new stars to the icy comets that live far out in the Solar System.

Some of these targets, though, are frigid in the extreme (between five and 50K; or -268 to -223C); and for Herschel to register them requires an even colder state be achieved on the observatory itself.

This involves the use of a cryostat. It is akin to a giant "thermos" bottle. Filled with more than 2,000 litres of liquid helium, its systems will plunge Herschel's science instruments into the deepest of chills.

Critical detectors will be taken to just fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0K; -273C), from where they can make the most of their remarkable design performance.

"Imagine one million, million, millionth of the brightness of a 60W lightbulb - that's what we can detect with one of our detectors," explained Professor Matt Griffin, who leads the international consortium behind SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver), one of Herschel's three instruments.

"Turning that around - imagine observing one of our very faint sources; let's say a very distant galaxy. If we were to observe it with SPIRE for a billion years, we would collect enough energy to light that 60W lightbulb for just one-twentieth of a second," the Cardiff University, UK, researcher said.

Herschel's other instruments are HIFI (the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared) and PACS (Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer).

With the entire package, the observatory can investigate a broad range of wavelengths (55-672 microns), including a swathe that has hitherto been missed by orbiting telescopes.

Eagle Nebula at different wavelengths (Nasa/Esa)
The classic "Pillars of Creation", great columns of gas and dust. Viewing the star-forming region at progressively longer wavelengths opens up new features
(A) Visible light: Reflected light from the nebula is seen (0.5µm)
(B) Near-infrared: Nebula suddenly becomes transparent (1-2µm)
(C) Even longer: Possible to see emission from the nebula itself (7µm)
(D) Longer still: Different structures start to become apparent (50µm)

Herschel's interest will be piqued near and far.

Close to home, it will study the mountainous balls of ice, dust and rock (some of them comets) that orbit our Sun beyond Neptune. The nature of these "primitive" objects has an important bearing on the story of how our Solar System came into being.

And beyond our little corner of space, Herschel's vision will allow it to see inside the clouds of gas and dust that give rise to stars in the Milky Way galaxy today, to see the conditions "in the womb". Studying these embryonic events will give astronomers further insights into the Solar System's beginnings 4.5 billion years ago.
Herschel instruments (Esa)
Once the liquid helium boils off, Herschel's instruments will go blind

Another key target for Herschel's investigations will be those galaxies that thrived when the Universe was roughly a half to a fifth of its present age. It is a period in cosmic history when it is thought star formation was at its most prolific.

Herschel will need to look deep into space to make these observations. The data will be used by scientists to test their models of how and when the galaxies formed their stars and how successive generations of those stars produced the abundance of heavy elements (everything heavier than hydrogen and helium) that now exist in the Universe.

Professor Griffin summed up the Esa mission in this way: "Herschel is not about studying mature stars or galaxies; it is really about studying the processes by which they are created.

"We know very little about that and we need to understand it in order to put together a picture of how the Universe we live in today grew from the earliest stages after the Big Bang."

A double deal

Herschel's launch will be doubly significant because it sees Esa loft two major science missions on a single rocket. The other passenger on the Ariane will be the Planck telescope, which will look at even longer wavelength (microwave) radiation.

Planck (Esa)
Herschel will share its ride with the Planck telescope

Read about Esa's Planck mission

One reason for the dual launch, says Esa's head of science projects, Jacques Louet, is logistics. Both telescopes have been designed to operate at the so-called Lagrange Point 2, a gravitational "sweet spot" in space where the observatories can stay fixed in the same location relative to the Earth and the Sun.

"The other reason is that we have coupled them industrially," he told BBC News.

"Both spacecraft share the same service module, so there is an economy in building them together. And because you build them together, you have basically the same timing on each mission. So, overall, I think it is a good strategy, but a risky strategy."

At a combined value for Hershel and Planck of approximately 1.7 billion euros, you get an idea of just how risky this strategy is. If the rocket fails, both missions are lost.

One is tempted to say "good luck"; but as Göran Pilbratt points out, when you have put as much effort into these missions as Esa has over the past 20 years, "luck doesn't come into it".

Economy similar to Great Depression

2009-02-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Fed, said that the economy needs 'urgent' action to avoid even deeper recession.

KOHALA COAST, Hawaii (Reuters) -- The United States is not facing a downturn as deep as the Great Depression, but many of the current dynamics are similar, driving the need for "urgent, aggressive action" to stop a deepening recession, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said Friday.

The dynamics of the financial markets as well as the global nature of the current downturn both have similarities to the depression of the 1930s, Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, told reporters after a speech to the 128th Assembly for Bank Directors meeting on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii.

"The economy is in the midst of a downward spiral, and that calls for strong policy responses," Yellen said. "Government policies to restore confidence, create jobs by boosting the demand for goods and services, and improve the functioning of our financial system represent our main hope of avoiding a very severe economic contraction."

Yellen is a voting member of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee in 2009.

Yellen, speaking on the same day the government announced the biggest job losses in 34 years, said now is not the time to dither or debate endlessly on the shape of fiscal stimulus.

"It is critical that decisions on these matters be made on a timely basis," she said.

The U.S. jobless rate hit 7.6 percent in January, the Labor Department said on Friday. Yellen said most economists see the rate peaking in the 8 percent or 9 percent range, still short of the peak of the 1981-82 recession and far below the 20 percent plus rate of the Great Depression.

The U.S. Senate on Friday evening reached a deal on a $780 million stimulus package to stem the recession. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure soon, and if it passes then lawmakers would have to resolve differences between the Senate bill and an $819 billion version passed by the House of Representatives last week.
'No end in sight'

Yellen said consumer spending had been stopped in its tracks as American households have hunkered down and acted to boost their savings in response to spiraling unemployment and a "staggering" $10 trillion loss of household wealth.

Yellen said that "unfortunately, there is no end in sight" to the housing woes that triggered the current recession, with inventories of unsold homes remaining high and private mortgage credit still scarce.

Meanwhile, a yawning output gap in the U.S. economy suggests "inflation will remain, for some time, below levels that are consistent with price stability."

Still, Yellen said outright deflation, while possible, was less of a worry to her than rising "real" interest rates now that nominal rates are already as low as they can go, inflation is falling, and the economy is still contracting.

The U.S. inflation rate, both headline and the core rate excluding volatile food and energy costs, is likely to fall below 1 percent in 2009, she said.

"The committee does not regard it as desirable to allow inflation to fall to very low levels," she said, referring to the policy-setting FOMC.

Yellen said the FOMC's recent comments that it intends to keep short-term interest rates low for a considerable period are one way it can bolster the economy now that it has reached the "zero bound" on the fed funds rate.
Banks have to unclog their balance sheets.

Yellen said past banking crises have shown the importance of removing bad assets from banks' balance sheets, and looked for a proposal on that score from the Obama administration soon, as a prerequisite to restoring stability to the financial system and, ultimately, the economy.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is due on Monday to outline a "comprehensive plan" to stabilize the financial system in a speech set for noon Eastern time.

"As long as hard-to-value, troubled assets clog their balance sheets, banks find it difficult to attract private capital and to focus on new lending," Yellen said.

She urged bank directors to act in ways that would help restore economic growth.

"My hope is that, while avoiding imprudent practices that would put your institution at risk, you will also resist extreme risk averse, since it would undermine efforts to get the economy going," she said.

As the Fed continues to cross "traditional boundaries" in providing liquidity to various corners of the credit markets, Yellen said she was "absolutely open" to the idea of the central bank buying long-term Treasuries if it would help the overall functioning of the credit market.

Meanwhile, Yellen told reporters the Fed needed to fight back against the notion that its liquidity efforts would inevitably lead to higher inflation and higher interest rates, terming the notion "ludicrous."

Obama Plan Includes $300 Billion in Tax Cuts

2009-01-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama plans to include about $300 billion in tax cuts for workers and businesses in his economic recovery program as he seeks to win over Congressional skeptics worried that he was too focused on government spending, advisers said Sunday.

The legislation Mr. Obama’s team is developing with Congressional Democrats will devote about 40 percent of the cost to tax cuts, including his centerpiece campaign promise to provide credits up to $500 for most workers, costing roughly $150 billion. The package will also include more than $100 billion in tax incentives for businesses to create jobs and invest in equipment or factories.

The overall package, of $675 billion to $775 billion, is taking shape as Mr. Obama arrived in Washington and planned to begin trying to build support in Congress and among the broader public for his approach to stimulating the economy. Mr. Obama, who flew to the capital Sunday to join his family in a hotel suite while awaiting his inauguration, planned to meet with Congressional leaders on Monday and deliver a speech on Thursday laying the ground for his emerging economic program.

Although some tax cuts were always expected to be included in Mr. Obama’s economic package, his team disclosed the scope and some details of the plans Sunday at a time when Republicans have begun voicing criticism of what they describe as an open-checkbook approach to spending. By focusing more attention on the tax cuts in the plan, Obama aides hope to frame it as a balanced, pragmatic approach.

Mr. Obama will use his public events this week to promise what one adviser called “radical reforms” to impose more control over the regular federal budget down the road. Among other areas, the president-elect will focus on changing Pentagon contracting and aid to corporate America, advisers said. He will also designate a chief performance officer and a chief technology officer Wednesday to help make government more efficient, they said.

Still, Democratic leaders in Congress acknowledged that the economic package would not be ready for Mr. Obama’s signature immediately after his inauguration Jan. 20 as they once hoped.

“It’s going to be very difficult to get the package put together that early so that it can have sufficient time to be reviewed, and then sufficient time to be debated and passed,” Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the House majority leader, said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Mr. Hoyer said a more likely goal would be mid-February before Congress leaves on a President’s Day recess. “We certainly want to see this package passed through the House of Representatives no later than the end of this month, get it over to the Senate, and have it to the president before we break for the presidential break,” Mr. Hoyer said.

Congressional Republicans continued to press for more public hearings and study, and some of their leaders threw out their own ideas for what should be in the plan. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, proposed Sunday that any money distributed to the states be provided as loans rather than outright grants.

“Nobody thinks we ought to be spending this money on things like mob museums and waterslides,” Mr. McConnell said on “This Week” on ABC. “And if the money were lent rather than just granted, states would I think spend it wisely, and the states that didn’t need it at all wouldn’t take any.”

Mr. McConnell said Republicans were more likely to favor tax relief and tax credits as part of the economic measure and said Congress should consider reducing the 25 percent income tax rate to 15 percent.

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House speaker, said Congress would also take on the issue of waste in federal agencies, though she was not ready to disclose details of her approach. “We will have reforms related to waste, fraud and abuse,” she said in an interview.

Other Congressional officials said House Democrats will consider a plan this week requiring a new audit of all federal agencies and mandating Congressional hearings whenever inspectors general identify potential waste or fraud.

Mr. Obama’s team argued Sunday that the short-term cost of its economic plan was not a priority in the face of the dire problems in the economy. “There is no short run, other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking. That’s the only short run,” Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said on “This Week.” He added: “We’ve got to begin to stem this bleeding here, and begin to stop the loss of jobs and the creation of jobs.”

The economic package under consideration by the president-elect and his Congressional allies would commit $675 billion to $775 billion over two years. If the tax cuts represent 40 percent of that, as Mr. Obama’s advisers said Sunday, that would mean about $270 billion to $310 billion.

About half of that would go to workers under what Mr. Obama during his campaign called the Making Work Pay credit, worth up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families. The Obama campaign estimated that about 150 million Americans making less than $200,000 would qualify, including those who make too little to pay federal income taxes but would receive a check that would offset Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.

Starting Business Law

2008-11-15T02:45:00.000-08:00

When I return home, on the day of Idul Fitri my friend for me, that he will aspire to become entrepreneurs (Entrepreneurs). A year later I met my friend again, and then I asked "What is so businessmen." He said "not yet, I have my capital (capital)."Nevertheless, he still aspire to be entrepreneurs. On the day of Eid ul-Fitr next I met my friend again, and he also not become entrepreneurs. I remember the story hehe. He said in front of the King Aaron Ar-Rashid that he will be flying. Hehe hear the word of the King Aaron Ar-Rasid said in his heart "So this is my opportunity to defeat hehe." Then Aaron King Ar-Rashid said, "O hehe. What was you said? ". "Sorry, the King, when the stage gave me a high, the servants will be flying from the stage" said hehe. "Let hehe, I will make a higher stage, but after the Friday prayer front of you should have been preparing to fly" said the King should be Ar-Rashid. "The servant ready to" answer hehe. A week later, after the Friday prayer, people have gathered in the plaza to witness hehe will be flying. Hehe wait to be king of the Ar-Rashid under the stage around the tower 12 meters high. Shortly Aaron King and the Ar-Rashid arrived in the plaza that dielu welcome by the people, then approached hehe. "You are ready Abu?" Ask Aaron King. "It is the" responsibility hehe. Hehe then climb the stage to the high above. Then he was greeted with a standing-please please panic, "How hehe flying from the stage without bringing any equipment. If the fall hehe surely die "gumam in their hearts. Hehe lift one foot and swing-ayunkan both hands like a bird will fly. Then replace the one who appointed one foot and tilt-sliding his hands again. The act was hehe repeated so that people feel bored hehe see the whimsy, and they cry "He said you will be flying. Kok only once. " Hehe replied "I only said I will be flying. During this I see. I will be flying now. " Aaron see him smiling behavior and answers hehe, and the feel lost. Hehe be given prizes. That is, if you will only become a businessman, then forever will be the only businessman and never become a businessman. This is because there are legal start a business.

Start a legal business such as law styles of a String object. It is my style, since my high school class one. My teacher said that the objects that have a quiet style String relatively higher compared with a moving object. Style It occurred when the objects will move. Similarly start in the business (business). When will start a business, big obstacle. After running the business, the obstacle is relatively small. Bottlenecks occurred during the first day of opening a business. My neighbor says to me "Pak Yanto when I open the shop on the first day, a horror house gusty once. But after running my shop, I don't no more noise on the first day I open the shop. " That is the law to start a business.

copy by M.suyanto

Strategy Learning from Failure

2008-11-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

Conceit company executives one of the fall of the company. In 2002, Fall has been known oil company Enron, as the Executive ghoulish behavior tehadap employees with the sack employees in a large-scale, but behind the company reported still able to find funds to fund the $ 200,000 luxury box at what was called Enron Field. Polaroid Company, reported to cancel retiree health benefits, the company retired before the petition, vice manajemdilaporkan to submit petitions to the bankruptcy court to be allowed to give $ 19 million as a bonus to the executive order did not leave the company. Similarly the company Webvan CEO pay his resignation mendurkan $ 375,000 per lifetime, before the company stop operating the mem-lay employees. Owing to incidents which are published in a scene about executive greed and hubris, America is no longer believe in the big companies to a new level. United States promises the New Economy and a new era of prosperity is not limited. However, everything was groundless, Mark Ingebretsen write in the book Why Companies Fail. "Many top executives tend to build distance with the front lines. The big companies, the more likely top executives lost contact with the front lines. This can be the single most important factor that impedes the growth of the company "said Jack Trout. The experience of the failure of the world's top executive can use this as a very valuable and we do not reset again. But otherwise, the founder Sam Walton as Wal-Mart, with earthy and humble visiting front lines (clerk) from each Wal-Mart stores throughout his life. He even mengabiskan middle of night didok unloading and berbicaran with the crew. Sam Walton style of leadership that is close to the employees of the company culture slant Wal-Mart up to now. In 2003, Wal-Mart was selected as one company ranked the world's most spectacular, version of Fortune magazine.

Similarly, when Umar ibn Khatab go to Syam onta up with pembantunya. Umar pembantunya turns with the preachers onta. When Umar rise onta, the pembantunya holding the strap, and vice versa when the pembantunya up onta Umar holding the strap, so in place until it's correct. When Syam came up in turn attract the ropes Umar, the coverage is holding the rope onta Umar and sandalnya clamp down on the left armpit. Governor Syam, Abu Ubadah know, and said "O Amirul Mukminin, the official Syam has to pick you out, it is not opportune when they see you like this." Umar said, "Even with Islam because we have to be noble, it is not concerned with the spiel ". Leaders of the lead with a humble leader who is both noble in the sight of God and the human side.

copy by M.suyanto

U.S. Shifts Focus in Credit Bailout to the Consumer

2008-11-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department on Wednesday officially abandoned the original strategy behind its $700 billion effort to rescue the financial system, as administration officials acknowledged that banks and financial institutions were as unwilling as ever to lend to consumers.

But with a little more than two months left before President Bush leaves office, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. is hoping to put in place a major new lending program that would be run by the Federal Reserve and aimed at unlocking the frozen consumer credit market.

The program, still in the planning stages, would for the first time use bailout funds specifically to help consumers instead of banks, savings and loans and Wall Street firms.

Treasury officials said they hoped to invest about $50 billion from the bailout fund into the new loan facility, with the aim of helping companies that issue credit cards, make student loans and finance car purchases.

As envisioned, the Treasury would put up about 5 percent of the money that a company would use for lending and private investors would put up perhaps 20 times that much by buying bonds issued by the new program.

Despite the mind-boggling amount of money that Congress has authorized the Treasury to spend — $350 billion immediately, and another $350 billion that Congress would approve under a fast-track procedure — Mr. Paulson is running short of money and time.

The news that the government will not buy soured mortgage assets, along with a string of poor corporate earnings, disheartened investors on Wednesday, sending the markets down for a third straight day this week. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 411.30 points, or 4.7 percent, to close at 8,282.66.

The Treasury has already committed about $290 billion. It has allocated $125 billion to the nation’s nine biggest banks and investment banks; another $125 billion for publicly traded regional banks; and $40 billion to expand the existing bailout of American International Group, the insurance conglomerate that collapsed in September.

Mr. Paulson alluded to the consumer credit plan vaguely in a news conference on Wednesday, and some Fed officials cautioned that they had seen few details. But Treasury officials said such a plan would give them the biggest bang for the buck and might be enacted within several weeks.

Mr. Paulson conceded that he had scrapped the plan he originally sold to Congress in September, which was to have the Treasury Department buy hundreds of billions of dollars worth of illiquid mortgage-backed securities in order to free up banks to resume normal lending.

The program is still called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, but it will not buy troubled assets. “Our assessment at this time is that this is not the most effective way to use TARP funds,” Mr. Paulson said.

Instead, Treasury will step up its program of injecting capital directly into banks and, for the first time, expand it to include financial companies that are not federally regulated banks or thrifts.

Mr. Paulson made it clear he would not use Treasury money to help bail out the automobile industry, rebuffing pleas from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler as well as from top House and Senate Democrats.

But Mr. Paulson left open the prospect of providing backdoor support to the car companies by offering to recapitalize nonbank financial companies like GE Capital and CIT Financial, and the financing subsidiaries of Ford, Chrysler and G.M.

House Democrats are already drafting legislation that would provide Detroit’s Big Three with an additional $25 billion, on top of $25 billion in low-interest loans that are supposed to be used for retooling factories for energy-efficient cars.

“The consequences of a collapse of the American automobile industry would be particularly troublesome,” said Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Mr. Frank said the assistance would come with strict conditions aimed at protecting taxpayers.

Some Republican lawmakers have already objected, saying the effort would amount to throwing good money after bad. But the White House on Wednesday left the door open to a legislative compromise with Congress.

“I know the automakers are important to the United States,” Mr. Paulson said. “We care about the automobile industry.” But he cautioned that “my focus is on the financial sector — getting credit going, getting lending going.”

White House and Treasury officials have been devising policy on the fly for months now, as what began as a panic over losses on subprime mortgages broadened into a crisis that wreaked havoc on Wall Street, at major commercial banks and in the broader economy itself.

In September, Mr. Paulson went to Congress and urgently pressed for authority to spend as much as $700 billion to unclog the nation’s financial pipelines by buying up unsellable securities from banks and other financial institutions.

But by the time Congress approved the bailout law in early October, Mr. Paulson and the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, were already shifting to a strategy he had actually opposed: buying equity stakes directly in American banks, a move that was reminiscent of European-style nationalization.

As recently as a few days ago, Treasury officials insisted that they still intended to buy up the troubled assets. But by late October, it had become clear that Plan A had become little more than a sideshow.

“Illiquid assets looked like the way to go,” Mr. Paulson told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday. But as economic and financial conditions declined so rapidly, he said, that he had to change gears. “I will never apologize for changing the approach and the strategy when the facts change,” he said.

The change in strategy has had only limited impact on the frozen credit markets. The biggest improvement has been in the willingness of banks to lend to each other, a change that largely caused by the willingness of both the United States and European governments to guarantee bank deposits and interbank loans.

But the market for commercial debt backed by consumer and business loans has remained at a near standstill since Lehman Brothers, one of Wall Street’s leading investment banks, collapsed in September.

Borrowing costs for credit card issuers are at least five percentage points higher than they were before the credit crisis began. Financing costs for automobile lenders are even higher. Even student loans that are guaranteed by the federal government have been difficult to finance.

“You have a market that is frozen,” said Alex Roever, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase.

To stretch his resources, Mr. Paulson told reporters he was examining ideas to have private investors contribute capital alongside Treasury.

Mr. Paulson also made it clear he did not want to use bailout money to refinance the mortgages of homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Democratic lawmakers and the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila C. Bair, have been calling for the Treasury to spend $40 billion in a broad mortgage refinancing program.

As envisioned by Treasury officials, the Federal Reserve would set up a new special-purpose lending entity, which would lend cash to investors or companies that put up collateral in the form of consumer loans. The Fed might lend up to 80 percent of the value of those loans, providing a cushion for taxpayers against losses.

The Treasury would contribute 5 percent to 10 percent of the money to finance the lending. But the Fed would raise most of the money by selling what is known as nonrecourse commercial paper to investors.

Treasury officials said the plan would allow them to leverage the government’s money by as much as 20 to 1, meaning that the Treasury would provide 5 percent of the money and investors would provide 95 percent. Using $50 billion in money from the government rescue program, they said, could thus underwrite $1 trillion worth of lending for consumer loans.

Such an arrangement would bear a similarity to exactly the highly leveraged, and eventually disastrous, special-investment vehicles that banks like Citigroup created in countless numbers to hold, among other things, securities backed by subprime mortgages.

Although the Treasury would contribute only a small share of the money for such a program, analysts said the plan would only overcome investor fears if the Treasury or the Federal Reserve provided some kind of backstop against losses. If that were to be the case, taxpayers would be indirectly liable for the entire volume of lending.

Fed officials appeared to be taken aback by Mr. Paulson’s public reference to the idea, and cautioned that it was still in early development.

“Both the structure and the parameters are under discussion and development,” said Michele A. Smith, a spokeswoman for the Fed.

German economy now in recession

2008-11-13T02:20:00.000-08:00

Germany has entered a recession after government figures showed that the country's economy contracted by 0.5% in the third quarter.

This is the second consecutive quarter that the economy has shrunk after a 0.4% contraction in the second quarter.

The fall in economic output was greater than the 0.2% fall that many analysts had expected.

Last week, official figures showed that German industrial output fell 3.6% in September compared with August.

"A negative effect on gross domestic product came from foreign trade, with a strong increase in imports and weakening exports," the Federal Statistics Office said.

The last time that the German economy was in recession was the first half of 2003.

"This confirms the German economy is in a marked slump," said Klaus Schruefer at SEB. "We will definitely get a further contraction in the fourth quarter, probably of a similar order," he added.

Worse to come

That pessimistic outlook was echoed by Sebastian Wanke at Dekabank: "There won't be an improvement in the fourth quarter. The situation will only get worse."

Such gloomy predictions are based on the glut of recent indicators showing a slowdown in the German economy.

Orders for goods produced by the world's largest exporter fell 8% between August and September, according to the economy ministry in Berlin. Orders from outside Europe fell 11.4%, while domestic orders dropped 4.3%.

"Anecdotal evidence and leading indicators are scary," said Carsten Brzeski at ING Financial Markets.

The European Central Bank also released its quarterly survey of forecasters on Thursday. It showed a cut in the average 2009 growth outlook to just 0.3%, from the 1.3% forecast in the last survey released in August.

"In the view of the governing council, a number of the downside risks to economic activity identified earlier have materialised," said the report.

Market reaction

The Dax index of leading German shares fell 43 points to 4,578 in the opening minutes, but recovered to 4,669 in early morning trading, up 48 points on the day.

The Cac 40 index in Paris rose 25 points to 3,259 in early trading.

The reaction of European markets was encouraging, given the heavy falls in Asian markets overnight. The Nikkei index in Japan closed down 5.3%, while markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia all fell between 3% and 6%.

The falls were triggered by a sharp drop in the Dow Jones index of 4.7%, following the US Treasury's announcement on Wednesday that it would be focusing on taking stakes in banks rather than buying up their toxic debt.

History of mobile technology

2008-11-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

In Indonesia, the liberalization of cellular business starts since 1995, when the government began opportunities to the private sector to do business with mobile phone competition full. Can be taken, how the technology GSM (global system for mobile) come and replace the first generation of cellular technology that already entered into previous Indonesia such as NMT (Nordic mobile telephone) and AMPS (advanced mobile phone system).

When in the 1980s, technology, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) to come to Indonesia, the user of the service technology AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) disappeared. Then, Satelindo appear as the winner, followed by the Telkomsel.

And finally the GSM technology is superior and perkembang vessel in the mushroom musin rain, this is due to network capacity, higher efficiency because of the frequency spectrum
from the NMT and AMPS technology. Now,in the period of almost a decade, was to GSM technology market with the number of customers more than the number of fixed telephone customers.

Now, in the period of almost a decade, was to GSM technology market with the number of customers more than the number of fixed telephone customers. amun, until now cellular phone was still a luxury, not all people can enjoy it. The price is still very high compared with fixed telephone PSTN(public switched telephone network), good communication for both local and SLJJ(directconnection distance), who reached Rp 4,500 per minute flat rate for communications SLJJ. While the introduction of CDMA technology, CDMA has since started three years ago when Komselindo introduce CDMA-One. Only with the development of various reasonsless successful. Currently, PT Telkom re-introduce the CDMA, but not via the "mobile business" directly, but uses a CDMA phone to fix the product trade Telkomflexinamed.

Currently with TelkomFlexi, PT. Telkom offers technology that is better than technology GSM previously and with cheaper prices. Why actual tariffs offered by this technology more affordable because Telkomflexi based on the technology Wirelless Local-Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA-WLL) not only because of the flexibility of a fix phone,but that is the main structure that is much cheaper because they are not charged airtime cost.

Application technology

There are several technology without cable provider for this technology, including CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) , using the technology spreads to-spectrum send out signals that information through a wide bandwidth (1.25MHz). This technology originally created for military purposes, using a unique digital code, better of the channe lor frequency RFAMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) is an analog technology that uses FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) to split the bandwidth available to the radio on Discrete number of channels that remain. With the AMPS,1.25MHz bandwidth provided for the use of the mobile channel is divided into the width 30KHz, each can only Subscribe rserve one at a time. Subscriber access to a single channel then None of the other Subscriber can access the channel until the call growth, a it stops or handed off to another base station. TDMA (Time Division Multiple Data),is a digital technology, as the with a share for spectrum available to a number of channels that remain Discrete, although each channel represents a fixed times lot than the band frequency that remain.Forexample, which is a TDMA technology to GSM, Carriers who length 2300 KHz into the eight time division channels. GSM (global system for mobile) technology is based on TDMA.

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecomunication Access) is a third generation system developed in Europe. designed so that it can provide a bandwidth of 2 Mbits /s. Services that can be given UMTS should be able to meet user demand wherever located, meaning that UMTS is expected to serve that area as possible, if there are no UMTS cell in a region can be in-route through a satellite.

HSBC takes $4.3bn hit on US loans

2008-11-11T04:36:00.000-08:00

Losses at Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, relating to the US housing market crisis reached $4.3bn (£2.7bn) in the third quarter.

The unprecedented turbulence in financial markets continued to present "enormous challenges", the bank added.

HSBC said it was still unclear whether there were "further risks to be uncovered" in the financial sector.

Elsewhere, its battered investment banking business took a $600m hit due to credit crunch losses.

The bank recently announced it was cutting 1,100 jobs worldwide because of the current financial turmoil.

HSBC said its US losses reflected the continuing weak housing market and rising level of unemployment.

'Further deterioration'

The new US losses come on top of a $3.6bn write-down in the second quarter.

In a trading statment, HSBC said its profit for the third quarter was higher than during the equivalent period in 2007, without giving precise figures.

For the nine months ended 30 September 2008, pre-tax profit was lower than in the equivalent period in 2007, it added.

Group chief executive, Michael Geoghegan, said: "These are extraordinary times in our industry."

He said HSBC's US results were largely in-line with its expectations, but "current trends point to further deterioration in the near to medium term".

The bank said that its asset sales and growth in Asia helped offset the worsening US economy.

"These numbers are something of a mixed bag, bringing another set of US home loan write-downs," said Richard Hunter, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers.

"On the other hand, the contribution from its Asian operations has very much cushioned the blow."

Shares in HSBC fell by 1% to 738.5p in early trading.

Computer Architecture

2008-11-11T01:41:00.000-08:00

No provisions of a special structure should be about how a computer system. Every expert and computer architecture designers have their respective views. However, to make us understand the components and functions of each component of computer hardware, we need to have a general knowledge about the structure of the computer system.

Picture of General Computer Architecture

Modern Architecture of PC

Details :
GPU = Graphics Processing Unit;
AGP = Accelerated Graphics Port;
HDD = Hard Disk Drive;
FDD = Floppy Disk Drive;
FSB = Front Side Bus;
USB = Universal Serial Bus;
PCI = Peripheral Component Interconnect;
RTC = Real Time Clock;
PATA = Pararel Advanced Technology Attachment;
SATA = Serial Advanced Technology Attachment;
ISA = Industry Standard Architecture;
IDE = Intelligent Drive Electronics/Integrated Drive Electronics;
MCA = Micro Channel Architecture;
PS/2 = IBM built a port for connecting a mouse and keyboard to the PC