News : World News : Breaking News

Breaking News : Leading Battery Producer Johnson Controls tells the Shanghai plant not responsible for severe lead poisoning cases in children...

2011-11-30T07:45:00.000-08:00

Leading Battery Producer Johnson Controls tells the Shanghai plant not responsible for severe lead poisoning cases in children:-

SHANGHAI - U.S. battery maker Johnson Controls is at odds with Shanghai's environmental regulator over the credibility of tests the company says show it was not responsible for severe lead poisoning cases in children discovered earlier this year.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company said Wednesday that an investigation by the China Electric Equipment Industry Association found its battery factory in Shanghai's eastern suburbs was not the cause of elevated blood-lead levels among children in a nearby community. Instead, it pinned blame on a recycling facility in the area.

But Shanghai Environment Bureau official Ju Chunfang, who participated in testing the Johnson Control plant, said the association's investigation is not independent because the company commissioned and paid for it.

He said the bureau began another investigation of its own last week and insisted that Johnson Controls has agreed it is the largest source of lead emissions in the area.

Local officials believe that the plant, which is much larger than other battery factories in the area, had to be the cause of the poisoning cases. In an interview, Ju cited several instances of periodically high emissions tests and prevailing wind patterns as the reason for that allegation.

Xia Qing, the scientist who led the probe cited by Johnson Controls, said it was commissioned by the Electric Equipment Industry Association, and was not paid for by the battery maker.

The tests showed abnormally high lead levels at a waste recycling facility near the community whose children were poisoned, with lead levels three times the current national standard and 10 times a pending stricter national standard. Zinc levels were 15 times national standards.

"I have three conclusions. First, trust the Chinese environmental protection laws. Second, the lead poisonings were not caused by Johnson Controls. And third, pay more attention to the recycling stations and companies," said Xia, an engineer with the China Research Academy of Environmental Science.

The Johnson Controls factory was shut down in September after it reached its annual quota for lead use. The plant has sought repeatedly to get permission to expand production, but local environmental officials say such requests will not be approved due to concerns over lead emissions.

Johnson Controls says it intends to resume production in January as usual.

"We believe this is a comprehensive investigation based on facts," said Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions. "The results corroborate our own data and prove that emissions from our battery plant could not be the cause of elevated blood-lead levels found in the community."

Johnson Controls had insisted all along that its plant's emission controls and equipment would have prevented any significant contamination.

Production at a second, but smaller battery plant in the area had also been stopped.

Soaring use of cars and electric scooters is driving strong demand for lead acid batteries, and their production and recycling are a key source of lead contamination.

The lead emissions problem drew attention after families living in Kanghua New Village, a small block of apartment buildings erected 15 years ago to house farm families moved to make way for the city's Kangqiao Industrial Zone, said checks showed many of their children had abnormally high blood lead levels.

The village, a small gated community of low-rise apartments, is located just north of the zone and close to chemical, battery and electronics equipment factories.

Johnson Controls earlier said its factory has lead emissions at about one-seventh the Chinese national standard and employees are regularly tested to ensure their blood lead levels remain low enough.

The company is a major supplier to the automotive industry, with 50 manufacturing, recycling and distribution centres supplying more than a third of the world's lead-acid vehicle batteries.

The company is expanding in China, planning a new $100 million plant to make start-stop batteries for vehicles. Such batteries cut fuel use and emissions by automatically shutting off a standard gas-powered engine when it idles and restarting it when the driver engages the clutch or releases the brake.

Researcher Fu Ting contributed to this report.

Follow Elaine Kurtenbach on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ekurtenbachsh

Source

Whether a Celebrity is not just a Movie Star Today?

2008-01-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

"A celebrity is not just a movie star today," notes Burry, a Greenberg Traurig shareholder, in the first chapter. "It's any individual of public notoriety whose personality, personal story and private facts have captured the public's imagination and then becomes public property," he reports.

In another chapter, Jonathan Coad, a partner at London-based The Simkins Partnership, and Greg Nylen, a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, explore the difficulty of simultaneously using laws to combat unfair defamation and at the same time respecting and working with the media in managing a celebrity brand.

"Although the United Kingdom is not as claimant-friendly as it once was, it remains a much more neutral playing field between the celebrity and the press than the United States," says Coad. "If you have an international reputation or privacy problem, the best strategy is to tackle it in the UK, then through astute public relations transmit the remedy out to the US and (continental) Europe once it has been achieved."

Newport News - Virginia

2008-01-14T03:42:00.000-08:00

Newport News is an independent city in Virginia. It is on the southwestern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News Point on the harbor of Hampton Roads.

The area now known as Newport News was long-located in Warwick County, one of the eight original shires of Virginia formed by the House of Burgesses in the British Colony of Virginia by order of King Charles I in 1634. The entire county was largely composed of farms and undeveloped land until almost 250 years later. In 1881, 15 years of explosive development began under the leadership of Collis P. Huntington, who built a new railroad, coal piers, and a large shipyard in southeastern portion closest to the harbor.

In 1896, the new unincorporated town of Newport News, which had briefly replaced Denbigh as the county seat of Warwick County, became a separate city from the county. In 1900, 19,635 people lived in Newport News, Virginia; in 1910, 20,205; in 1920, 35,596; and in 1940, 37,067. However, in 1958, by mutual consent, Newport News consolidated with the former Warwick County (itself a separate city from 1952 to 1958), rejoining the two localities to basically their pre-1896 geographic size, thus forming what was then Virginia's third largest independent city in population. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 180,150. A more recent 2006 estimate indicates the city's population has declined to 178,281, ranking it as Virginia's fifth largest city population-wise.

Among the city's major industries are Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, owned by Northrop Grumman, and the large coal piers supplied by railroad giant CSX Transportation, the modern Fortune 500 successor to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). Miles of the waterfront can be seen by automobiles crossing the James River Bridge and Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, which is a portion of the circumferential Hampton Roads Beltway, linking the city with each of the other Seven Cities of Hampton Roads via Interstate 664 and Interstate 64. Many U.S. defensive industry suppliers are based in Newport News, and these and nearby military bases employ many residents, in addition to those working at the shipyard and in other harbor-related vocations.

Established during World War I at historic Mulberry Island, the large base at Fort Eustis in modern times hosts the U.S. Army's Transportation Corps and other important activities. In adjacent localities, other U.S. military facilities include Fort Monroe, Langley Air Force Base, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, and Camp Peary. Across the harbor in South Hampton Roads, the world's largest naval base, the Naval Station Norfolk and other installations are also located.

Near the city's western end, a historic C&O railroad station, as well as American Civil War battle sites near historic Lee Hall along U.S. Route 60 and several 19th century plantations have all been protected. Many are located along the roads leading to Yorktown and Williamsburg, where many sites of the Historic Triangle are of both American Revolutionary War and Civil War significance. The first modern duel of ironclad warships, the Battle of Hampton Roads, took place not far off Newport News Point in 1862. Recovered artifacts from the USS Monitor are displayed at the Mariners' Museum, one of the more notable museums of its type in the world.
Source

Sky News - Colombia Hostage Reunited With Son

2008-01-14T03:33:00.000-08:00

A hostage freed by rebels in Colombia has been reunited with the son fathered by one of her captors.

Clara Rojas was released last week nearly six years after she was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Rojas gave birth to Emmanuel in 2004, but the guerrillas separated her from the child when he was eight months old.

A peasant delivered him to Colombian social services, which - unaware of his true identity - placed him in the foster home in the capital, Bogota, where he has been for the past two years.

Shortly before Rojas' release, authorities discovered Emmanuel and guessed his identity based on what little was known about him, including that he had a fractured arm.

DNA tests later confirmed their suspicions.

During the two-hour encounter at a foster home on Sunday, Emmanuel and his mother hugged as they began the slow process of getting to know each other.

Rojas has worn a photo of her son around her neck since she was freed, and child psychologists showed the boy pictures of her before their meeting to try to ease the transition away from foster care.

She has not revealed much about Emmanuel's father.

She said she does not know whether he is aware of Emmanuel and heard during her captivity that he may have been killed.

"I am extremely moved to be back in my land. ... I feel like I've been reborn, I am back to life," Rojas said when she arrived back in Bogota.

But she added: "This is not a total happiness because many (hostages) remain and we are waiting for them."

The FARC holds nearly four-dozen high-profile captives including three US defence contractors and French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who was abducted alongside Rojas and remains with the rebels. Source

Sky News - Brad Hogg complaint dropped

2008-01-14T03:28:00.000-08:00

India has withdrawn a complaint against Australian spinner Brad Hogg.

Hogg has thanked India for their 'lovely' gesture, which means he is free to play in the third Test at the WACA Ground, starting Wednesday.

Hogg, who allegedly referred to Indian players as 'bastards', faced a suspension of up to four Tests if he had been found guilty.

Rival captains Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble have also met with ICC mediator Ranjan Madugalle to iron out their differences in the aftermath of the bitter second test.

'From what happened with Ricky and I, we had a discussion with Ranjan and after that it was important that the game of cricket moved on', Kumble said.

'Cricket is larger than the individual and it was important that we forgot about what happened in Sydney as one of those bad moments and that it was time to move on'.

'So in view of that, we decided as a team that we withdraw the charge made against Brad Hogg'.

'It was just one of those incidents, probably made in the heat of the moment and it was important that we moved on'.

'So in view of that, we have withdrawn the charges'.

'It's a kind gesture, a lovely gesture by the Indian team and it's much appreciated by myself and the Australian cricket team', Hogg said.

'Cricket would like to move forward and hopefully any future games between India and Australia are going to be close contests, good viewing for the spectators and played with much enjoyment by the teams'. Source

DA gets complaint about Dallas transit official

2008-01-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

The Dallas County District Attorney's office has received a complaint that the chair of the DART board of directors created fake DA letterhead in a scheme to avoid repaying several thousand dollars she borrowed from a friend, Dallas County government sources said Friday.

The complaint alleges that the counterfeit letter was created by Lynn Flint Shaw after the friend repeatedly asked that the $7,500 loan be repaid, the sources said. The letter said the district attorney's office was investigating the theft of a check or money order intended to be used to repay the loan. It also bore the forged signature of District Attorney Craig Watkins.

Ms. Shaw, who is the public voice for the Dallas transit system, met with the district attorney's office Friday afternoon. But Jamille Bradfield, a spokeswoman for Mr. Watkins, would not say whether the office has launched an official investigation into the matter. It was unclear what occurred in the meeting, but sources say Ms. Shaw did not admit creating the letter.

Ms. Shaw's attorney, Bill Brewer, called the allegations "silly."

"The folks at the district attorney's office asked us to come in and help them understand the situation," Mr. Brewer said. "I think it will ultimately prove out to be a giant misunderstanding."

When reached Friday evening, Ms. Shaw had little to say about the letter or her visit to the district attorney's office .

"I don't have any comment about that," she said.

Moments later, her phone number showed up on Caller ID to a reporter, but the person hung up when the phone call was answered.

Courthouse sources say that before the fake letter was created, Ms. Shaw sent her friend an envelope in the mail. The envelope was open and empty when the friend received it. Ms. Shaw told the friend the money must have been stolen and they should report the theft.

The friend who loaned Ms. Shaw the money is the wife of a prominent Dallas radio DJ. She could not be reached Friday evening. It's unclear when Ms. Shaw borrowed the money.

DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said Friday evening that the agency was not aware of the allegations and had no comment. But under DART's bylaws, he said, Ms. Shaw could be subject to censure by the DART board and removal from her position as chairman. She can be removed from the board only by the Dallas City Council, however.

Dallas County Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield said Ms. Shaw should step down from her DART position if the allegations are proved true.

"Obviously, if it's true she should face the consequences," he said Friday.

Told of the situation Friday, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh, said "this is the first we've heard of it" and said the mayor would look into the matter.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway said Friday evening that he, too, knew "nothing at all" about the complaint involving Ms. Shaw. He said he planned to find out more about the situation.

The Dallas City Council appointed Ms. Shaw to the DART board in 2003, and she became chairwoman in October.

Dallas lawyer Michael Sorrell, who was Ms. Shaw's campaign manager during her aborted run last year for City Council District 5, said he was "saddened" to hear about the allegations.

"I have great regard for Lynn and her contributions to the community," said Mr. Sorrell, the new president of Paul Quinn College. "I would hope that this turns out to be a misunderstanding."

Ms. Shaw apparently has other financial troubles, as well. She is being sued in civil court by a Las Vegas company over credit card debt, according to court records. The suit, filed last year, says Ms. Shaw owes $13,191.50.

Two other civil cases involving possible finance problems were filed in 2003 and 1992. Those cases are closed. The outcomes were not immediately known because the files were not available Friday.

No record of a civil suit involving the $7,500 loan was found Friday.

Staff writers Kevin Krause, Dave Levinthal and Rudolph Bush contributed to this report.

Source

Oregon Town Meeting Likely to Discuss Mayor's Racy Lingerie Photo...

2008-01-09T19:16:00.001-08:00

Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist's name is sure to be mentioned when Arlington holds its annual town meeting Wednesday.

Some of the mayor's roughly 500 constituents will want to know her views on the issues affecting the Eastern Oregon community; others will want to talk about her underwear.

The mayor's lingerie is a hot topic here, with some residents upset that she posted pictures of herself wearing only a black bra and panties on her MySpace page. She was on one of the town's fire engines.

Kontur-Gronquist's MySpace page is blocked to all but her friends, but the pictures were at one time available to all users. In an interview with the (Pendleton) East Oregonian, the mayor said she did nothing wrong and those who are offended need to get over it.

"That's my personal life," she said. "It has nothing to do with my mayor's position."

Kontur-Gronquist, who is also the fire department's executive secretary, said the photos were taken before she was elected mayor three years ago, and she saw no reason to remove them from the Internet after taking office.

"I'm not going to change who I am," she said. "There's a lot of officials that have a personal life, and you have people in this community who have nothing better to do than scrape up stuff like this."

Lorena Woods is one of those residents who say the photos of a scantily clad mayor reflect badly on Arlington.

"It's a picture of her in bra and panties on a rural protection fire truck in a rural protection fire hall," Woods said. "This isn't the way we want our city to be portrayed."

Councilman Jeff Bufton said he's heard a lot of negative comments about the pictures, but declined to say whether the council plans to address the topic.

Source

SP trying to defame my govt: Mayawati

2008-01-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday said violence in the state was triggered by Samajwadi Party goons to defame her government.

The BSP supremo said, "Samajwadi Party sent goondas and criminals to protest in Lucknow."

She also said that Kanpur Commissioner will conduct an enquiry into the case. The UP Chief Minister further added that police used necessary force to control the mob.

Meanwhile, Samajawadi Party leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav have been detained by the state police.
Source

Scotland Yard to help investigate Benazir assassination:Musharraf

2008-01-03T04:56:00.000-08:00

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has announced that elite Scotland Yard has agreed to help investigate Benazir Bhutto’s assassination even as Parliamentary polls scheduled for 8th Jan were deferred until 18th Feb by Election Commission.

“In the light of the circumstances (following the assassination of Bhutto), the new date for general elections is 18 February 2008 instead of January 8,” Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Mohammad Farooq told a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

“I assure all political parties that the elections will be fair, free and transparent. I appeal to them to accept this decision in the supreme national interest and participate fully.”

The elections cannot be held now now because of the law and order situation in the wake of the assassination of Bhutto on 27th December and the ‘Moharram’ period starting later part of next week, he said.

Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was not in favour of delaying the polls.

PML-N of another former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also wanted the elections to go ahead as scheduled.

However, the PML-Q, which backs President Pervez Musharraf, had been demanding the postponement of the general elections.

The Election Commission announcement came hours before Musharraf’s address to the nation on radio and television during which he is expected to focus on the situation in the country following Bhutto’s killing.

Kumari Fulbright is accused

2008-01-03T04:48:00.000-08:00

Kumari Fulbright, 25, is accused, along with three other men, of tying up her 24-year-old ex-boyfriend with plastic cable and duct tape, and holding him captive for hours in Tucson. She's a former beauty queen and calendar girl model. In her day job, Kumari Fulbright is a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Raner Collins. We bet the Judge Collins is very excited about all of the extra press Kumari is getting!

Digital TV Converter (DTV 2009)

2008-01-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has launched the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program (Coupon Program), as authorized in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. Starting January 1, 2008, all U.S. households will be eligible to request up to two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the purchase of up to two, digital-to-analog converter boxes. For more details on the federal regulations, including the budget information, please the DTV Converter Box Coupon Program Rules.

Kanye Omari West's Debut Album

2007-11-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American record producer and rapper who rose to fame in the mid 2000s. Kanye Omari West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, and his third album Graduation in 2007. His first two albums received numerous awards (including six Grammys), critical acclaim and commercial success. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music. West's mascot and trademark is a teddy bear, which has appeared on the covers of his three albums as well as the single cover for his song "Stronger".

Life and career of Kanye Omari West

West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with both of his parents. When he was three years old (as mentioned in "Hey Mama") his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian counselor. Kanye's late mother, Dr. Donda West, worked as the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye's manager. He was raised in an upper middle class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois.
After attending The American Academy of Art, a Chicago art school, West attended Chicago State University but eventually dropped out due to poor grades and in order to continue working on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his once mentor Deric Angelettie according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa."
West's style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. The first major label song he produced featuring vocal samples was "This Can't Be Life," a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life."
West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites. Said by Kanye West: "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time… We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that."

Whether Cartier Love Bracelet is Famous?

2007-11-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

The Cartier Love Bracelet has been popular since the 1960's, when its designer modeled it after legendary chastity belts, said to have been bolted to wives' waists when their husbands went away--to keep the wives faithful. The Love Bracelet comes with a tiny screwdriver to bolt it onto the wrist, signifying a committed relationship. Cartier just introduced a new twist for the original bracelet, the Love Charity Bracelet, a knotted silk bracelet in several colors. Each silk bracelet holds a miniature, pink gold bracelet at its front. Silk colors represent the charity that a portion of proceeds will be donated to and each charity is sponsored by a celebrity. Sarah Jessica Parker, Salma Hayek, Scarlett Johansson, Ashley Judd, Spike Lee and several others are involved in the project.

Chelsy Davy

2007-11-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

Chelsy Yvonne Davy (born 13 October 1985) is Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend. The two were photographed together holidaying on Bazaruto Island, Mozambique, in December 2004. Reports at the time indicated that, when the photographs were released, the couple had already been together for eight months.
Born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to a wealthy family, Davy was educated at Girls College Bulawayo, Cheltenham College, Stowe School and the University of Cape Town, from which she graduated in November 2006 with a degree in Economics. Davy, who wanted to be a model growing up, is known for frequent reports of her driving around in her silver Mercedes-Benz, partying at clubs, and shopping. She graduated from the University of Cape Town but has decided not to take up a place she won at the University of Bristol. She is travelling the world with her friends and her brother Shaun. She spent much of February 2007 travelling the U.S. and was present at Super Bowl XLI in Miami. In September 2007, Davy flew to England to take up a law post-graduate course at the University of Leeds.
Prince Harry and Davy were first photographed together in November 2004 on an Argentinian polo ranch, although their relationship is said to have started in the first half of that year. In his 21st birthday interview, Prince Harry said "I would love to tell everyone how amazing she is but once I start talking about that, I have left myself open". Harry's elder brother, Prince William, was supposedly tricked into telling a downtown tabloid journalist that Harry and Davy are "very much in love" on a skiing holiday in 2005. Incidentally, this was the same holiday on which Harry was first accused of cheating.
When Davy visited Prince Harry in April 2006 to attend his passing out ball at Sandhurst Military Academy, she was met at London Heathrow Airport by four armed guards who escorted her through the airport.
As Harry lives in the UK and Davy in South Africa, the two have been able to see each other only occasionally. Chelsy will be moving to the UK to attend university.
Davy is most often mentioned in the British press as being angry at Harry for his various antics. In April 2006, she supposedly became upset at reports of him going to a strip club. In June 2006, Harry was spotted with Natalie Pinkham, an old flame. As Pinkham was leaving a friend's apartment building after a late night, she called out to Harry for him to give her a kiss. He told her he couldn't kiss her outside and she returned into the building, leading to speculation that the two kissed there. The pair were thought to be unaware of the hiding photographers outside.
Nevertheless, the couple attended the Concert for Diana together on 1 July 2007, and on 16 July Davy turned out to watch Harry play polo. In August, it was rumored that Harry had proposed to Chelsy, but no official engagement has been announced.
Davy's father, Charles Davy, a millionaire safari operator in Zimbabwe, has come under fire for supposed ties with President Robert Mugabe. He owns the company HHK Safaris, which controls five hunting concessions and fifteen camps. Hunting licences in Zimbabwe are given out at the discretion of Mugabe's regime, with no transparent process. In June 2005, Charles Davy spoke to The Daily Telegraph about his business partnership with Webster Shamu, an MP in Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. "I am in business with Mr Shamu and have been for five years", said Davy. "We have an excellent and honest business partnership. Why should this change? I am in business not politics." He also claimed that he had been hurt by Mugabe's land grabbing and had been forced to give up 140,000 acres to the government. Despite his interview with The Telegraph, articles about Chelsy Davy will still occasionally mention her father's ties with the government of Zimbabwe.

Dancing with the stars Tour Dates

2007-11-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

Dancing with the Stars is a reality show airing on American Broadcasting Company in the United States. The show is based on the United Kingdom BBC Television series Strictly Come Dancing and is part of BBC Worldwide's international Dancing with the Stars franchise.
The concept of the show is to pair a celebrity with a professional dancer. The professional dancer is responsible for teaching the celebrity how to perform specific dances, which they perform live on the show each week. They are scored by a panel of three professional ballroom judges, as well as by votes from viewers, who can call in, text or vote online. The celebrity/professional team who receives the lowest total score (a combination of the judges' scores and the number of votes) each week is eliminated from the competition.
The current edition of the series is hosted by Emmy Award-winning game show host and television personality, Tom Bergeron, and E! reporter Samantha Harris. In season 1, Bergeron's co-host was Lisa Canning. For the first three weeks of the fifth season, season two celebrity champion Drew Lachey co-hosted with Bergeron while Harris was on maternity leave. The panel of judges consists of Len Goodman (head judge), Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli. Harold Wheeler is the musical director. The announcements for the show's titles ("Live from Hollywood, This is "Dancing With the Stars") and introductions for the dances and judges' scores were recorded in the United Kingdom by Alan Dedicoat.
Dancing with the Stars is broadcast live from CBS Television City in Los Angeles in Studio 46. American Idol is housed next door in Studio 36.
Although the first three seasons were not aired in the UK, Season 4 was broadcast on BBC One on Sunday afternoons from Sunday 15th July 2007. Season 5 started airing on UKTV Gold in the UK starting September 28, 2007.

Error 691: Access was denied because the user name or password was invalid on the domain.

2007-11-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if any of the following conditions are true:

1. The settings for your dial-up connection to your ISP are configured incorrectly.
2. The dial-up connection's security option is incorrectly configured to use the Require secured password setting.
3. Your ISP's Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) server is not functioning properly.
4. You type an incorrect user name or password.

Verify Your User Name and Password

1. Make sure that the CAPS LOCK key has not been accidentally pressed and engaged.
2. Click Start, point to Connect To, and then click your dial-up connection.
3. In the Connect dialog box, verify that your user name and password are correctly typed in the User name and Password boxes as provided by your ISP, and then click Dial.NOTE: If you are not sure what your user name and password are, contact your ISP for assistance.

Allow Unsecured Password

Configure your dial-up connection to your ISP to allow an unsecured password. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.
2. Click your dial-up connection, and then click Change settings of this connection under Network Tasks.
3. Click the Security tab, and then verify that Typical (recommended settings) is selected.
4. In the Validate my identity as follows box, verify that Allow unsecured password is selected.
5. Click the Options tab.
6. Click to clear the Include Windows logon domain check box (if it is selected), and then click OK twice.

But Now a days this error can be of the following reason :

BSNL Dial Up Post Paid Connection Error : 691
username = stdcode with phonenumber
ie : 04985 266100
becomes : 4985266100 as username, ie "0" omited
and common password given by BSNL for all users is :
bsnl10
Do it Yourself Plz...

Will ferrell as Robert Goulet

2007-10-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

Robert Gerard Goulet (November 26, 1933 – October 30, 2007) was a Grammy and Tony Award-winning American entertainer.

Goulet rose to international stardom in 1960 as Lancelot in Lerner and Loewe's hit Broadway musical Camelot. Robert Goulet's long career as a singer and actor encompassed theatre, radio, television and film.

Robert Goulet's Early Years
Robert Goulet was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts as the only son of French Canadian parents, Joseph Georges Andre Goulet and Jeanette Gauthier. Robert Goulet's mother Jeanette was Jewish but non-practicing. The family returned to Canada when Goulet was three months old, and Robert spent his formative years there.

Goulet's rise to fame started at the age of five. At a family gathering, Goulet's aunts and uncles blackened Robert Goulet's face with burnt cork and prompted him to do Al Jolson impressions. Though Robert Goulet's performance was well-received by his relatives, the experience was deeply traumatic for the young Goulet, and left him with performance anxiety, which would plague him for many years.

In spite of Robert Goulet's stage fright, Goulet was encouraged by his parents to continue performing. When Robert Goulet was in his early teens, Robert Goulet's recently widowed mother moved herself and her son from Girouxville, Alberta, to the provincial capital of Edmonton so that Robert Goulet could take advantage of the performance opportunities offered in the city. There, Robert Goulet attended the famous voice schools founded by Herbert G. Turner and Jean Letourneau, and later became a radio announcer for radio station CKUA. Upon graduating from high school, Goulet received a scholarship to Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. There, Robert Goulet studied voice with famed oratorio baritones, George Lambert and Ernesto Vinci.

In 1952, Robert Goulet competed in CBC Television's "Pick The Stars," ultimately ascending to the semifinals. This led to other network appearances on shows like "Singing Stars of Tomorrow," "Opportunity Knocks," and the Canadian version of "Howdy Doody" (in which he starred opposite another future star, William Shatner).

Rise to stardom
In 1959, Goulet was introduced to librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe, who were having difficulty casting the role of Lancelot in their stage production Camelot. Lerner and Loewe, impressed by Goulet's talent, signed the virtual newcomer to play the part, opposite Richard Burton (King Arthur) and Julie Andrews (Queen Guenevere), with whom Robert Goulet was in love at the time.

In October 1960, Camelot opened in Toronto, ran for a four-week engagement in Boston, and finally opened on Broadway two months later. Goulet received favorable reviews, most notably for his show-stopping romantic ballad, "If Ever I Would Leave You". After Camelot's run, Goulet appeared on The Danny Thomas Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, which made him a household name among American audiences.

In 1966, Goulet starred as a double agent in the World War II television drama, Blue Light.

Entertainment career of Robert Goulet
In 1968, Goulet was on Broadway in the Kander and Ebb musical The Happy Time. Robert Goulet appeared in a 1982 production of Rose Marie with Inga Swenson, and in 2005 appeared in the Broadway revival of Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles. Goulet began a recording career with Columbia Records in 1962, which resulted in more than 15 albums.

Goulet began working in films in 1962, providing the voice of one of the characters in the animated feature Gay Purr-ee, opposite Judy Garland. Robert Goulet's first acting role was in His and Hers (1964), but it was not until a cameo appearance as a singer in Louis Malle's film, Atlantic City (1980) that Goulet was given critical acclaim. Robert Goulet recorded the song "Atlantic City (My Old Friend)" for Applause Records in 1981.

Robert Goulet was absent from the screen for seven years, until Robert Goulet was cast by Tim Burton as a houseguest blown through the roof by Beetlejuice and also played himself in Bill Murray's Scrooged (both 1988) In 1990 he sang the Canadian national anthem at the beginning of "WrestleMania VI", which was held at the Toronto Skydome.

In 1991, Goulet starred, along with John Putch and Hillary Bailey Smith, in the unsold television series pilot Acting Sheriff. That same year, Robert Goulet appeared as Quentin Hapsburg, opposite Leslie Nielsen, in the comedy The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear. (He also had a cameo in the 1982 TV series Police Squad, in the episode "The Butler Did It". The television series spawned "The Naked Gun" movie series).

In 1993, Robert Goulet played himself in the "Simpsons" episode "$pringfield". In that episode, Bart Simpson booked him into his own casino (actually Bart's treehouse), and Robert Goulet sang the well-known Jingle Bells (Batman Smells), although Robert Goulet never recorded the song commercially. In 1996, Robert Goulet appeared in Ellen DeGeneres' first starring vehicle, Mr. Wrong, as an insecure TV host. Goulet has also appeared in the Disney cartoon Recess, as the singing voice for Mikey Blumberg, in numerous episodes.

Personal life of Robert Goulet
Goulet and his first wife Louise Longmore had one daughter, Nicolette.

Robert Goulet had two sons, Christopher and Michael, with his second wife, actress and singer Carol Lawrence.

In 1982 Robert Goulet married Vera Novak in Las Vegas, Nevada. When not at their home in Las Vegas, Robert and Vera Goulet resided on their yacht in Los Angeles.

In March 2006, it was announced that Goulet would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Although Robert Goulet was not born in Canada, Robert Goulet was born of Canadian parents, and Robert Goulet moved back at three months old. Robert also spent his formative years in Canada. At the time of his death, Goulet was seeking Canadian citizenship, with the help of fellow Albertan bandleader and senator Tommy Banks.

Illness and death of Robert Goulet
On September 30, 2007, Robert Goulet was hospitalized in Las Vegas, where Robert Goulet was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, "a rare but rapidly progressive and potentially fatal condition." On October 13 Robert Goulet was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after it was determined he "would not survive without an emergency lung transplant."

Goulet died on October 30, 2007, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, while awaiting a lung transplant

Merry Miller is the Rising Star by Crain's magazine

2007-10-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Merry Miller is an American business woman and entertainment news booker/reporter. Merry Miller was the producer/booker of the late Joel Siegel's Meet the Directors and Stars series.

Merry Miller is the former Head of Programming at the Learning Annex. An integral part of the team, Merry Miller helped take took the company from two million to one hundred million dollars in annual revenue in under three years. Merry Miller was named as one of the 40 "rising stars" in 2007 by Crain's magazine.

In late July 2007, an unedited video of Merry Miller conducting an interview with actress Holly Hunter on ABC News Now's segment "What's the Buzz" was added to YouTube. Merry Miller appeared to be extremely nervous and unprepared over the course of the interview and Merry Miller's ear-piece connecting her to the director had failed. This was Merry Miller's first live interview and was doubling as an on-screen test for future work. Among other errors, Merry Miller concluded the interview by misidentifing Merry Miller's own network as NBC, not ABC and gave the incorrect date for Holly Hunter's upcoming television show.

Ophiuchus, Converting between bases, Capricorn, 2008 Horoscopes, Arias, Aol Horoscopes

2007-10-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ophiuchus formerly referred to as Serpentarius, the former originating in Greek and the latter in Latin, both meaning "serpent-holder," is one of the 88 constellations and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. It is a large constellation located around the celestial equator between Aquila, Serpens and Hercules, northwest of the center of the Milky Way. The southern part lies between Scorpius to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign.

It is best visible in the northern summer and located opposite Orion in the sky. Ophiuchus is depicted as a man grasping a serpent; the interposition of his body divides the snake into two parts, Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, which are nonetheless counted as one constellation.

The brightest stars in Ophiuchus include α Ophiuchi, called Rasalhague, and λ Ophiuchi, a triple star (at his elbow).

RS Ophiuchi is part of a class called recurrent novae, whose brightness increase at irregular intervals by hundreds of times in a period of just a few days. It is thought to be at the brink of becoming a type-1a supernova.

Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Solar System (the only stars closer are the Alpha Centauri binary system and Proxima Centauri), lies in Ophiuchus. (It is located to the left of β and just north of the V-shaped group of stars in an area that was once occupied by the now-obsolete constellation of Taurus Poniatovii, Poniatowski's Bull.)

In April 2007, astronomers announced that the Swedish-built Odin satellite had made the first detection of clouds of molecular oxygen in space, following observations in the constellation Ophiuchus.

Professional Baseball Player, Jimmy Piersall

2007-10-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

James Anthony Piersall (born November 14, 1929 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. Between 1950 and 1967, he played for the Boston Red Sox (1950, 1952-58), Cleveland Indians (1959-61), Washington Senators (1962-63), New York Mets (1963) and Los Angeles Angels & California Angels (1963-67).

While he had a fairly good professional career as a center fielder, Piersall is better known for his well-publicized battle with bipolar disorder that became the subject of the movie.

Piersall was an outstanding athlete. He led the Leavenworth High School (from Waterbury, Connecticut) basketball team to the 1947 New England championship, scoring 29 points in the final game, in an era when hardly any players scored 20 in a game. Piersall became a professional baseball player at age 18, signing a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1948. He would reach the majors in 1950, playing in six games as one of the youngest players in baseball.

In 1952, he earned a more substantial role with the Red Sox, frequently referring to himself as "The Waterbury Wizard", a nickname not well-received by teammates. It was at this time that Piersall's mental condition began to show signs of deterioration.

On May 24, 1952, just before the game against the New York Yankees, Piersall engaged in a fistfight with Yankee infielder Billy Martin. Following the brawl, Piersall briefly scuffled with teammate Mickey McDermott in the Red Sox clubhouse, and after repeated incidents of bizarre behavior, Piersall was sent to the minor league Birmingham Barons on June 28. The final straw came when Piersall spanked the 4-year-old son of teammate Vern Stephens in the Red Sox clubhouse during a game.

In less than three weeks with the Barons, Piersall was ejected on four occasions, the last coming after striking out in the second inning on July 16. Prior to his at-bat, he had acknowledged teammate Milt Bolling's home run by spraying a water pistol on home plate. Piersall then moved to the grandstand roof to heckle home plate umpire Neil Strocchia.

Receiving a three-day suspension for his antics, Piersall entered treatment three days later at the Westboro State Hospital in Massachusetts. Diagnosed with "nervous exhaustion," he would spend the next seven weeks in the facility and miss the remainder of the season. According to his autobiography, Piersall blamed much of his condition on his father, who placed excessive pressure on him to succeed as a baseball player as a small child.

Nevertheless, not only would Piersall return to baseball by the opening of the 1953 season, but he finished ninth in voting for the MVP Award. The next year he became the Red Sox's regular center fielder, taking over for Dom DiMaggio and playing well enough to remain a fixture in the starting lineup through 1958.

Piersall was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1954 and 1956, largely due to his consistently solid outfield play, which drew favorable comparisons to Joe DiMaggio. By the end of the 1956 season, in which he played all 156 games, he posted a league-leading 40 doubles, contributed 91 runs and 87 RBI, and had a .293 batting average. The following year, he collected 19 home runs and scored 103 runs. He won a Gold Glove Award in 1958.

On December 2, 1958, Piersall was traded to the Cleveland Indians for first baseman Vic Wertz and outfielder Gary Geiger. In a strange coincidence, Piersall was reunited with his former combatant Billy Martin, who also had been acquired by the team. The 1959 season would be a successful one for Cleveland, which battled the Chicago White Sox for much of the season before finishing a close second in the standings.

The following year, disturbing signs of a possible recurrence of Piersall's mental problems began to surface. In the Memorial Day doubleheader at Chicago, he was ejected in the first game for heckling umpire Larry Napp, then after catching the final out of the second game, whirled around and threw the ball at the White Sox' scoreboard. He later wore a little league helmet during an at-bat against the Detroit Tigers, and after a series of incidents against the Yankees, Indians team physician Donald Kelly ordered psychiatric treatment on June 26.

After a brief absence, Piersall returned only to earn his sixth ejection of the season on July 23, when he was banished after running back and forth in the outfield while the Red Sox' Ted Williams was at bat. His subsequent meeting with American League president Joe Cronin and the departure of manager Joe Gordon seemed to settle Piersall down for the remainder of the season.

Piersall came back during the 1961 season to have an excellent year, earning a second Gold Glove while also finishing third in the batting race in with a .322 average. However, he remained a volatile player, charging the mound after being hit by a Jim Bunning pitch on June 25, then violently hurling his helmet a month later, earning him a $100 fine in each case.

Piersall also was forced to deal with a painful personal blow on September 5 when his 74-year-old father collapsed and died of a heart attack. Two days after attending the funeral, he returned to play in New York only to be the target of continued fan abuse. During the September 10 doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, Piersall was accosted on the field by two fans, one of whom he punched before attempting to kick the other.

Despite the minor eruptions, Piersall earned a $2,500 bonus for improved behavior, but following three hectic years in Cleveland, Piersall was dealt to the Washington Senators on October 5. His time in the nation's capital would not be long after his production declined, with the veteran outfielder then being sent to the New York Mets on May 23, 1963, for cash and a player to be named later.

In a reserve role with the second-year team, Piersall played briefly under another colorful character in manager Casey Stengel. The most memorable moment of his Mets tenure came in the fifth inning of the June 23, game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Following up on a promise, Piersall ran the bases backward (though in the correct order) after hitting the 100th home run of his career off Phillies pitcher Dallas Green.

One month after reaching the milestone, Piersall was released by the Mets, but he found employment with the Los Angeles Angels on July 28. He would finish his playing career with them, playing nearly four more years before moving into a front office position on May 8, 1967. In a 17-season career, Piersall was a .272 hitter with 104 home runs and 591 RBI in 1,734 games.

His attitude toward his illness also once saw him play a game in a Beatles wig, led cheers for himself in the outfield during breaks in play, "talked" to Babe Ruth behind the center field monuments at Yankee Stadium. In his autobiography, Piersall commented -- "Probably the best thing that ever happened to me was going nuts. Whoever heard of Jimmy Piersall, until that happened?"
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Tyson Beckford

2007-10-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

Tyson Craig Beckford (born December 19, 1970 in Bronx, New York) is an American male supermodel and actor, known worldwide for his muscular physique, facial structure, and tattoos; and also as the lead model for Ralph Lauren. He is also reported to be one of the highest-paid and richest African American male supermodels in the world.

Beckford is the son of a half Jamaican half Chinese father (paternal grandmother is 100% Chinese, paternal grandfather is of Panamanian ancestry) and Jamaican mother. Growing up in Rochester, New York, he attended Bay Trail Middle School in the suburbs of Penfield, NY and then Pittsford Mendon High School in the affluent suburb of Pittsford as a participant in the Urban-Suburban Program, a busing program designed to give educational opportunities to urban youth in the city's surrounding suburban school districts. Tyson was a member of his high school football and track teams. In 1991, he was recruited to hip hop magazine The Source by a talent scout who had come across him by chance in a New York park. In 1993, Beckford was recruited by Ralph Lauren as the front model for the company's Polo line of male sportswear. Beckford's fame continued to rise, and he was named "Man of the Year" in 1995 by VH1, as well as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine.

In June 2005, Beckford was injured in a car accident near his home. His vehicle caught fire, and Beckford was able to pull himself out before it became fully engulfed in flames. The accident had a profound effect on his spirituality, which he later revealed on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Beckford is currently in the honeymoon period with new wife Berniece and in the past has been linked with female rapper Foxy Brown. Currently, he is the host of car show, Fine Tuned.

Beckford is currently a resident of West New York, New Jersey, located just across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

Ellen DeGeneres Show

2007-10-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and currently the Emmy Award-winning host of the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Ellen DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, Ellen DeGeneres starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in Edtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice for Dory in the Pixar hit animated film Finding Nemo. Ellen DeGeneres also starred in two television sitcoms, The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002 and Ellen from 1994 to 1998. In 1997 during the fourth season of Ellen, DeGeneres came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, Ellen DeGeneres's character Ellen Morgan also came out and subsequent episodes of the series continued to explore the coming out process as well as various LGBT issues.

Early Life of Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana to Elliot DeGeneres, a salesman, and Elizabeth (Betty) Jane Pfeffer. Ellen DeGeneres is of French, English, German and Irish descent. Along with Ellen DeGeneres's brother Vance DeGeneres, actor and guitarist for the rock band Cowboy Mouth, Ellen DeGeneres was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of 13. Ellen's mother, Betty and her father, Elliot, filed for separation on December 4, 1973. The divorce was finalized in January 1974. Shortly after the divorce, Betty Jane remarried to Roy Gruessendorf, who also worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and her children moved away with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas, where DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School on May 21, 1976, after completing Ellen DeGeneres's first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. DeGeneres moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where Ellen DeGeneres majored in communications. After one semester, Ellen DeGeneres left school to do clerical work in a law firm along with cousin Laura Gillen. Ellen DeGeneres also held a job selling clothes at the chain-store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center in New Orleans. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, a bartender, a part-time dancer and an oyster shucker. Finally, DeGeneres realized she didn't want to "answer to a boss" and started to figure out what she really wanted to do.

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards

2007 Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2007 Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2006 Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2006 Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2006 Outstanding Special Class Writing, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2005 Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2005 Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2005 Outstanding Special Class Writing, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2004 Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
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Pictures of Marion Jones

2007-10-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Marion Jones, also known as Marion Jones-Thompson (born October 12, 1975 in Los Angeles, California). Marion Jones is an American former athlete in track and field. Marion Jones was the winner of five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which Marion Jones later relinquished after admitting to steroid use.

In October 2007, Marion Jones admitted to having taken steroids before the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. As a result of these admissions, Marion Jones has accepted a two-year suspension. The United States Anti-Doping Agency stated that the sanction “also requires disqualification of all Marion Jones's competitive results obtained after September 1, 2000, and forfeiture of all medals, results, points and prizes.” On October 5, 2007, Marion Jones pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators in the BALCO steroid investigation in the U.S. District Court. Marion Jones announced her retirement from track and field the same day.

Personal life of Marion Jones
In 1998, Marion Jones married shot putter C. J. Hunter, a coach on the UNC track team. Hunter was required to resign his position at UNC because of school rules that prohibited coach-athlete dating. He was banned from the 2000 Olympics after having tested positive for nandrolone. They divorced in 2002.

On June 28, 2003, Marion Jones gave birth to a son, Tim Montgomery Jr., with then-boyfriend Tim Montgomery. Montgomery was a world class sprinter himself and had broken the 100 m World Record in 2002. Because of Marion Jones's pregnancy, Jones missed the 2003 World Championships, but spent a year preparing for the 2004 Olympics. Montgomery was banned from the sport (and his record rescinded) after admitting to the use of performance enhancing drugs.

On February 24, 2007, Marion Jones married Barbadian sprinter Obadele Thompson in a small, quiet ceremony in the rural North Carolina town of Wilson's Mills. Thompson won the 100m bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics.

Marion Jones holds dual citizenship from the USA and Belize (Marion Jones's mother's home country). Marion Jones is a 1997 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sports career of Marion Jones
In high school, Marion Jones won the California state championship in the 100 meters four years in a row, representing Rio Mesa and Thousand Oaks high schools. Marion Jones was successfully defended by lawyer-to-the-stars Johnnie Cochran on charges of doping during Marion Jones's high school track career.

Marion Jones was invited to participate in the 1992 Olympic trials, and, after Marion Jones's showing in the 200m finals, would have made the team as an alternate in the 4x100m relays, but Marion Jones refused the invitation. After winning further statewide sprint titles, Marion Jones accepted a full scholarship to the University of North Carolina in basketball, where Marion Jones helped the team win the NCAA championship in Marion Jones's freshman year. Marion Jones "red shirted" Marion Jones 1996 basketball season to concentrate on track. After Marion Jones lost her spot on the 1996 Olympic team because of an injury, Marion Jones decided to concentrate on track and field.

Marion Jones excelled at her first major international competition, winning the 100 meter at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, while finishing 10th in the long jump. At the 1999 World Championships, Marion Jones attempted to win four titles, but injured herself in the 200 m after a gold in the 100 m and a long jump bronze.

Then in Sydney, Marion Jones told the press that Marion Jones was aiming for five gold medals. As it was considered a possibility by fans and pundits alike, Marion Jones was a media darling during the Olympics. However, Marion Jones finished with three golds and two bronzes, still an astonishing feat which had never been achieved by a female athlete before.

In years to come, Marion Jones's victories were tainted by rumors that Marion Jones was using performance-enhancing drugs at the time. Marion Jones's ex-husband Hunter, an Olympic shot-putter and confessed steroid user, testified under oath that he had seen Marion Jones's inject drugs into Marion Jones's stomach in the Olympic Village in Sydney, and Marion Jones's coach Trevor Graham was involved in a major drug scandal that broke in 2005, which implicated baseball player Barry Bonds, sprinters Tim Montgomery, Chryste Gaines, Kelli White, and others, many of whom admitted to using illegal drugs while competing. Marion Jones denied using performance-enhancing drugs, until her confession in 2007.

A dominant force in women's sprinting, Marion Jones was upset in the 100 meter sprint at the 2001 World Championships, as Ukrainian Zhanna Pintusevich-Block beat her for Marion Jones's first loss in the event in six years; Pintusevich-Block was one of the names revealed by Victor Conte during the BALCO scandals. Marion Jones, however, did claim the gold in both the 200m and 4 x 100m.

On Marion Jones's 2004 Olympics experience, Marion Jones said "It's extremely disappointing, words can't put it into perspective. "Marion Jones came in fifth in the long jump and competed in the women's 4 x 100 m relay where they swept past the competition in the preliminaries only to miss a baton pass in the final race. Marion Jones promised that her latest defeat would not be the end of Marion Jones's Olympic efforts.

As of May 2005, Marion Jones claimed that winning the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics remained Marion Jones's "ultimate goal."

May 2006 saw Marion Jones run 11.06 at altitude but into a headwind in Marion Jones's season debut and beat Veronica Campbell and Lauryn Williams in subsequent 100m events.

On July 8, 2006, Marion Jones won the 100 meter dash at Gaz de France with a 10.93. It was Marion Jones's fastest time in almost four years.

On July 11, 2006, Marion Jones improved her time in the Rome Golden League with a 10.91, but was beaten to 2nd place by Jamaica's Sherone Simpson who clocked 10.87.

Sputnik Anniversary

2007-10-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Sputnik program was a series of unmanned space missions launched by the Soviet Union in late 1957 to demonstrate the viability of artificial satellites for exploring the upper atmosphere as part of the International Geophysical Year. It included Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to orbit earth.

The Russian name "Спутник" means literally "co-traveler","traveling companion" or "satellite", and its R-7 launch vehicle was designed initially to carry nuclear warheads.

Impact
The surprise launch of Sputnik 1, coupled with the spectacular failure of the United States' first two Project Vanguard launch attempts, shocked the United States, which responded with a number of early satellite launches, including Explorer I, Project SCORE, and Courier 1B. The Sputnik crisis also led to the creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA and NASA, and to major increases in U.S. government spending on scientific research and education.

This metal arming key is the last remaining piece of the first Sputnik satellite. It prevented contact between the batteries and the transmitter prior to launch. Currently on display at the National Air and Space Museum.The launch of Sputnik 1 inspired U.S. writer Herb Caen to coin the term "beatnik" in an article about the Beat Generation in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 2, 1958.

Early Flights
Sputnik 1 was launched on October 5, 1957. The satellite was 58 cm (about 23 in) in diameter and weighed approximately 83.6 kg (about 183 lb). Each of its elliptical orbits around the Earth took about 96 minutes. Monitoring of the satellite was done by Amateur radio operators. The first long range flight of the R-7 booster used to launch it had occurred on August 21 and was described in Aviation Week.

Sputnik 2 was launched on November 3, 1957 and carried the first living passenger into orbit, a dog named Laika. The mission planners did not provide for the safe return of the spacecraft or its passenger, making Laika the first orbital casualty. This mission was promptly dubbed "Muttnick" by US humorists.[2]

The first attempt to launch Sputnik 3, on February 3, 1958, failed, but the second on May 15 succeeded, and it carried a large array of instruments for geophysical research. Its tape recorder failed, however, making it unable to measure the Van Allen radiation belts.

Sputnik 4 was launched two years later, on May 15, 1960.

Sputnik 5 was launched on August 19, 1960 with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants on board. The spacecraft returned to earth the next day and all animals were recovered safely.

Sputnik 40 and Sputnik 41
Sputnik 40, also called Sputnik PS2, Radio Sputnik 17 (RS-17) and Mini-Sputnik, was a 1/3-scale model amateur radio satellite launched from the Mir space station on 3 November 1997 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Sputnik 1. The spacecraft body resembled Sputnik 1 and was built by students at the Polytechnic Laboratory of Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria. The transmitter was built by students from Jules Reydellet College in Réunion, with technical support from AMSAT-France. Its batteries expired on 29 December 1997 and the VHF transmitter fell silent. Its international designator is 1997-058C, United States Space Command object 24958.

Sputnik 41 (RS-18, designator 1998-62C, object 25533 was launched a year later, on 10 November 1998. It also carried a transmitter.
More About Sputnik Anniversary

Rumspringa

2007-10-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

According to widespread belief, rumspringa is a traditional rite of passage in the Amish religious denomination, and describes a period lasting months or years during which adolescents are released from the church and its rules. The custom is said to be part of the Amish belief that only informed adults can "accept Christ" and be baptized, along with the belief that the unbaptized cannot enter heaven.

This conception contains some measure of scholars' folklore. Among the Amish (and the term is not universal to Amish culture), rumspringa simply refers to adolescence, when a certain amount of misbehavior is unsurprising, and is not so severely condemned (for instance, by Meidung or shunning) as it would be in the case of an adult who had made a permanent and public commitment to the faith. In a narrow sense, the young are not bound by the Ordnung, because they have not taken adult membership in the church, but they remain under the strict authority of parents who are so bound, and there is no period at which it can be said that Amish adolescents are "released" from these rules (Hostetler 154, Igou 165-66, Nolt 105)

As among the non-Amish, there is variation among communities and individual families as to the best response to adolescent misbehaviour. In some cases, patience and forbearance prevail, and in others, vigorous discipline. Far from an open separation from parental ways, the misbehaviour of young people during the rumspringa is usually furtive, though often collective (this is especially true in smaller and more isolated populations; the larger communities are discussed below). Typically, groups of Amish adolescents will meet in town and change into "English" clothing, and share tobacco, alcohol and marijuana; girls may put on jewelry and cosmetics. They may or may not mingle with non-Amish in these excursions. The age is marked normatively in some Amish communities by allowing the young man to purchase a small "courting buggy," or - in some communities - by painting the yard-gate blue (traditionally meaning "daughter of marriageable age living here"; the custom is noted by A.M. Aurand in "The Amish" (1938) along with the reasonable caution that sometimes a blue gate is just a blue gate). There is some opinion that adolescent rebellion tends to be more radical, more institutionalized (and therefore in a sense more accepted) in the more restrictive communities.

As evidenced by the sources below, popular culture and the media have cultivated the idea that the Amish deliberately countenance adolescent rebellion. Perhaps the belief validates a cherished notion of Amish wisdom, but tolerance for deviation from norms is not counted a virtue among the Amish. In interviews, Amish have shown themselves to be aware of these misconceptions and are by turns bewildered and amused.

Some Amish youth do indeed separate themselves from the community, even going to live among the "English", or non-Amish North Americans, experiencing modern technology and perhaps even experimenting with sex, drugs, and alcohol. Their behavior during this time represents no necessary bar to returning for adult baptism into the Amish church. Most of them do not wander far from their family's homes during this time, and large numbers ultimately choose to join the church. However this proportion varies from community to community, and within a community between more acculturated and less acculturated Amish. For example, Swartzendruber Amish have a higher retention rate than the New Order Amish within the Holmes County, Ohio community[citation needed]. This figure was significantly lower as recently as the 1950s, Hostetler (102-05) provides evidence that desertion from the Amish community is not a long-term trend, and was not less of a problem in the early colonial years. It is very common for those individuals who choose not be baptized into the church to be shunned by their community and even by their own families.

The nature of the rumspringa period differs from individual to individual and from community to community. In large Amish communities like Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Holmes County, Ohio, and Elkhart and LaGrange Counties, Indiana, the Amish are numerous enough that there exists an Amish youth subculture. During the rumspringa period, the Amish youth in these large communities will join one of various groups ranging from the most rebellious to the least. These groups are not divided across traditional Amish church district boundaries. In many smaller communities, Amish youth may have a much more restricted rumspringa period due to the smaller size of the communities. Likewise, they may be less likely to partake in strong rebellious behaviour since the anonymity offered in the larger communities is absent.

According to Donald B. Kraybill and James P. Hurd, a mild form of rumspringa is practised among Wenger Old Order Mennonites when they turn 17.
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Bobby Love

2007-10-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Bobby Vinton Sings the Golden Decade of Love
Bobby Vinton Sings the Golden Decade of Love is a two-LP collection of previously recorded songs by Vinton, released in 1975 by Epic Records. It reached #154 on the Billboard Hot 200 list of popular albums. The material was rushed for release to take advantage of Vinton's new popularity from his million selling single "My Melody of Love" which was the #1 AC Hit in the winter of 1974, and his then-current television series, The Bobby Vinton Show.

This collection contains songs recorded by Vinton over his 10 year run with Epic that had originally been hits for other artists in the 1950s. "Over the Mountain (Across the Sea)"(which was a hit for Johnnie & Joe before Vinton) is the only single featured on this collection (it hit #23 in 1963).
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Brasília, the capital of brazil

2007-10-06T00:53:00.000-07:00

Brasília is the capital of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. It has a population of about 2,383,784 as of the 2006 census estimate, and is the seat of the main federal government: the president (residing in the Palácio do Planalto), the Brazilian supreme court, and the Brazilian parliament. Brasília is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Building of the city began in 1956 with Lúcio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect. In 1960, it formally became Brazil's capital. When seen from above, the city's shape resembles an airplane or a butterfly.

Brasília is located in the Federal District, which has the same borders as the city. The federal district is surrounded by the Brazilian state of Goiás,except for a short boundary with Minas Gerais. The city is not a traditional municipality by Brazilian law.
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Marion Jones admits doping before 2000 Olympics

2007-10-05T00:20:00.000-07:00

Marion Jones, in a recent letter to close family and friends, apologized to them and admitted using steroids before the 2000 Olympics, according to a report in The Washington Post.

In the letter, read to a reporter from The Post, Jones said that she took “the clear” for two years, beginning in 1999, and that she got it from former coach Trevor Graham, the newspaper reported. Graham told her it was flaxseed oil.

“I want to apologize for all of this,” the newspaper reported Jones as writing, quoting a person who received a copy of the letter. “I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways.”

“The clear” is a performance-enhancing drug linked to BALCO, the lab at the center of a federal steroids investigation. Until now, Jones has denied she ever took performance-enhancing drugs.

In the letter Jones also said she planned to plead guilty in New York to two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use and an unrelated financial matter.

Jones was one of several athletes to testify in 2003 to a San Francisco federal grand jury. She had been implicated by Victor Conte, head of the Bay Area lab, who had repeatedly accused Jones of doping. Last year one of her urine samples tested positive for EPO, but she later was cleared when a backup sample did not test positive.
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Woot

2007-10-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

Woot is an Internet retailer based in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, Texas. It was founded by electronics wholesaler Matt Rutledge and debuted on July 12, 2004[2]. Woot was one of the early pioneers of the "One deal a day" business model on the internet. Woot offers one discounted product each day on its web site, woot.com. The product is available for 24 hours; it "expires" at midnight (US Central time) and is replaced by a different product for the next day. For the first several months of operation, the site only offered a new item from Monday to Friday, with Friday's item carrying over until Monday at 12:00AM, or until all items were sold. In 2005, Woot began offering products 7 days a week.

Woot has a community of customers who share their opinions on the site’s forums. Products vary but tend to emphasize computer components and electronic gadgets.

Woot takes its name from the widely-used online interjection “w00t!”. Each product sold is referred to as the "woot."
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Oscar De La Hoya

2007-10-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Oscar De La Hoya is born February 4, 1973 — nicknamed the Golden Boy — is an American boxer who won a gold medal for the United States Boxing Team at the Barcelona Olympic Games. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family, his grandfather, father and brother were all boxers but it was Oscar who took his boxing to the superstar level. De La Hoya became Ring Magazine's "Fighter of the Year" in 1995 and Ring Magazine's best "Pound for Pound" fighter in the world in 1997. His fights throughout his entire career have generated a total of almost half a billion dollars in sales alone. De La Hoya defeated over a dozen world champions and has won 6 world titles. De La Hoya's amateur career included 223 wins, 163 by way of knockout and only 5 losses. De La Hoya won the United States only boxing gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, knocking out his opponent, a win which he dedicated to his deceased mother.

De La Hoya's Middleweight Challenge against Hopkins
De La Hoya attempted to unify that title with the three other world middleweight championships, held by Bernard Hopkins, on September 18. He lost to Hopkins by a ninth round knockout, in a fight he was arguably winning. A left hand to the body sent him to the canvas, knocking De La Hoya out for the first time in his career. Hopkins was ahead on two scorecards by the scores of 79-73 and 78-74, while a third judge had De La Hoya winning 77-75. De La Hoya made $30 million for the fight and Hopkins, who made only $300,000 in a fight just nine months before fighting De La Hoya, got a minimum of $10 million. It was the biggest payday of Hopkins's career. Hopkins would later join de la Hoya's own boxing promotion firm; he owns twelve percent of univision Golden Boy Promotions.

De La Hoya's Comeback Against Mayorga
De La Hoya faced WBC world junior middleweight Ricardo Mayorga on May 6, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. De La Hoya won by TKO at 1:25 in the 6th round due to referee stoppage.

Mayweather Fight - De La Hoya
De La Hoya did not fight again in 2006, but returned in May 5, 2007 bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is the welterweight champion. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Early Las Vegas odds had Oscar as a 2-to-1 underdog to the younger Mayweather. De La Hoya lost his WBC super welterweight title as Mayweather Jr was declared the winner split decision, improving his record to 38-0 and taking home the title. The final scores were 115-113 De La Hoya, 116-112 Mayweather and 115-113 for Mayweather. But the match was considered highly controversial as many fans were frustrated that Mayweather won many rounds he was highly inactive in. Many fans booed the decision as it was read and even Mayweather Sr. said he felt his son had lost. However, Compubox told another story, with Mayweather being more efficient and landed a much larger percentage of his punches and actually landing more total punches than de la Hoya. De La Hoya's corner even went as far as to protest the outcome, but the Nevada State Commission held firm.
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Alicia Silverstone

2007-10-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Alicia Silverstone is born October 4, 1976 and is an American actress and former fashion model. Alicia Silverstone first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith and later starred in Hollywood films such as Clueless and Batman & Robin.

Early life of Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone was born in San Francisco, California to Monty Silverstone, a real-estate investor, and Didi Radford, a former flight attendant. Silverstone's father is English-born and her mother is Scottish. Alicia Silverstone's father, a native of East London, is Jewish and her mother converted to Judaism upon marrying Silverstone's father.Alicia Silverstone attended San Mateo High School but did not complete her high school studies. Alicia Silverstone is the youngest of three children and also has a half-sister, London rock singer Kezi Silverstone, and a half-brother, David Silverstone, both from her father's previous marriage. Alicia Silverstone visited England during the summer during her childhood. When she was six, she began modeling and was subsequently cast in television commercials, the first being for Domino's Pizza. Alicia Silverstone acquired some early modeling and advertising work and was eventually cast as the 'dream girl' on American TV series The Wonder Years.
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Ashley Force

2007-10-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ashley Force is born November 29, 1982 and is a funny car drag racer. Ashley Force is the daughter of 14-time NHRA Funny Car division champion John Force and his wife Laurie Force.

Ashley Force attended Esperanza High School in Anaheim, CA, where she was a cheerleader. In 2003, Ashley Force graduated from California State University-Fullerton with a B.A. in communications with an emphasis in television and video. In 2007 she was voted as the Hottest Athlete by an America OnLine Sports Poll, beating out favorites Tom Brady and Danica Patrick.

Drag racing career of Ashley Force :
As a Top Alcohol division rookie, Ashley Force won three of the season’s final five races including the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, and the season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California at Pomona, where Ashley Force shared the winners’ circle with her father - the NHRA’s first ever father-daughter winners. Ashley Force finished 2004 fourth in national driver points.

Ashley Force moved up into the professional Funny Car division in 2007 driving a Castrol-sponsored Mustang for her father's team, John Force Racing.

In Ashley Force's first match, she faced brother-in-law and teammate Robert Hight. Hight won the match, defeating his sister-in-law, 5.367/190.24 MPH (.087 reaction time) to a losing 8.195/102.11 MPH (.108 RT). Hight finished second, losing to Gary Scelzi on a disqualification.

Ashley Force, and her father, John Force made NHRA history in Atlanta in April 2007, when they became the first father and daughter to race against each other. Ashley Force won the race with an elapsed time of 4.779 seconds, and a top speed of 317.05 miles per hour. Ashley Force advanced to the semifinals, which tied for the highest ever Funny Car event finish for a female.

Television :
Ashley Force is featured on A&E's reality show "Driving Force" with her family. Ashley Force has 2 sisters, Courtney, and Brittany, and an older half-sister, Adria.
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Software Backup For Everyone

2007-10-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

by: John Ugoshowa
Backing up your data with almost any electrical device is crucial to keep things intact. No computer or other electronic device is crash proof, problems can occur at any time. All computers can crash at any given time, which normally results in the loss of all data that was stored on the hard drive.

The potential for less is the ideal reason to create a backup of your software and data. How often or how much you need to backup things however, all depends on how you use your computer. If your data is very important or if you use your computer for work, you may need to create a backup of your software on a daily basis, possibly even hourly for some people.

You can use various devices and equipment to backup your data, such as DVD and CD burners, tapes, external hard drives, servers on the Internet, and so on and so forth. Although each one has pros and cons, you should always use more than one backup method if your data is extremely important to you, just to be on the safe side.

When it comes to backing up your data using software, there are five different methods you can use:

1. Full backup - A full backup will create a mirror of your hard drive, every file and folder that you currently have on your computer.

2. Differential backup - A differential backup creates the backup only for files that have been changed or upgraded.

3. Disk image - This will give you the choice of backing up your entire hard drive or just the files that you select.

4. Unattended backup - Using this method, you can set the software that will create the backup to do all of the work, even if you aren’t around.

5. Snapshot backup - A snapshot backup will mirror your hard drive, backing up the images of your files.

When you decide to get a software program to assist you with backing up your files, you should always get a program that best fits your needs. Price is also an important factor, although ease of use and overall reliability should always be the most important factors when it comes to your data.

Most programs are easy to use, so even if you have never backed up your data before, you’ll be able to do it without any problems. All you’ll need to do is load the software then follow the instructions that come up on the screen.

All in all, software backup is the best way to keep your data preserved and ready. Something can happen to your computer at any given time, which is why you should always be on the safe side and back up your data every chance you get.
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VPN Explained - The Basics Of VPN Simplified

2007-09-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

by: Van Theodorou
The question of exactly how to explain or define a VPN is one that is often up for discussion amongst today's network consumers and communications providers. If we look at the literal definition of the words virtual private network, it can help to understand what is, and what is not, a VPN .

Using Webster's dictionary definitions of the component words, a VPN should have the following attributes:

Virtual - defined as "being such practically or in effect, although not in actual fact or name." Therefore, the first part of the answer to our question "what is a VPN" is that it is something that acts like a hard-wired network, but is actually not.

Private - defined as "of, belonging to, or concerning a particular person or group; not common or general." So, a VPN should be one where the consumer has exclusive use of the network links. (Note, this is different from a Secure Network, which may be a private or public network.)

Network - defined as "a system of computers interconnected by telephone wires or other means in order to share information." This is the goal of a VPN or any other type of network.

VPN explained in this manner is a network technology which gives the owner the ability to share information with others on the network by means of a private, exclusive link that is created by a method other than hard-wires or leased lines; usually via the internet. Before the internet, computers in different offices, cities or even countries could only talk to each other like people could - through telephone wires. As the needs for this type of communication grew, telephone lines became replaced by higher volume wires, like T3 circuits, but the concept was the same. For computer A to talk to computer B, there had to be a physical wire connection. For security reasons, you would want to make sure that only your 2 computers used that line, so you would contract with a vendor to "lease" that circuit. However, this type of network was expensive and difficult to expand, not to mention difficult for the client to have control over.

With the advent of the internet, connections no longer needed to be physical. As long as each computer has access to the internet, information can be shared using local ISP circuits, across the internet, and to the recipient in much the same way that it was when the computers were physically connected. This is why the way VPN works is considered a "virtual" network; the entire connection is not hard-wired.

The aspects of VPN explained in this article so far have not yet discussed an ever present concern in today's world - security. In an old WAN arrangement, the security of data transmission could rely entirely on the provider's guarantees. Today, however, a VPN keeps information private by means of encryption on both the sending and receiving end. There are a variety of encryption protocols, depending on what a company's needs are, who they need to communicate with (and therefore be compatible with), etc. The data is not only encrypted, but it is encapsulated, meaning it is sent in its own private "tunnel" or connection across the internet. No one can see the data, and even if they could, they can't decipher or change it. In this way, information can be sent across the internet without being susceptible to interception or corruption by those who are outside of the VPN.

In order to create a virtual private network, you would need to decide who needs to share information, in what directions, and how often. Next you would need to prepare a listing of the hardware and software systems you are currently using at each location. You might very well need to make changes so that the computers can talk to each other easily. You'll also want to consider just how important it is that your data remains secure, as this will have an impact on what type of protocol you select. Preparing this information will have you educated for the discussions you will need to have with potential vendors.
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Clean The Computer Of Spyware Entries With Reliable Software

2007-09-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

by: Arvind Singh
Spyware is malicious software that downloads onto a computer clandestinely. It makes entries in the registry and must be removed with Anti Spyware utilities.

'Spyware' is a term that refers to a very wide category of malicious software that has been intentionally designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the consent of that computer's owner or lawful user. When the term 'Spyware' is taken in a literal sense, it suggests that the software clandestinely monitors the activities of the user operating the computer, however, it has over the years, come to be known as software that hampers the operating systems efficient functioning for the benefit of a third party, usually the person who created the Spyware. By downloading onto a system the Spyware will also make entries in the system registry. While it is imperative to remove the Spyware from the computer it is as imperative to remove all traces from the registry as well. This can be achieved with the help of Adware Spyware removal tool.

How Does It Affect The Computer?

'Spyware' is candid software that downloads itself onto a person's computer and constantly operates in the background and collects personal information of the user. For instance, it will record the entry from the keyboard every time the user enters a username and password or credit card details. The Spyware will monitor and record the information as well as which site the username and password was entered into. It will then mail this information to the host computer that the Spyware came from. In order to do this the Spyware must take over some processor time. It does this by delaying the operation of other programs or applications running on the system. This slows the system down drastically. The system can be revamped with free Adware Spyware removal utilities such as Quake removal Spyware tool.

Are Spyware Removal Utilities Not Enough?

Many Spyware removal utilities do remove the Spyware from the system but many of them cannot delve into the registry and remove all the entries therein. The registry will have to be scrubbed clean with special Spyware removal utility such as Quake removal Spyware utility software. Many of the Spyware entries will be associated with critical system files and so the anti-Spyware program will not delete them from the registry. Only a good Spyware removal utility such as Yahoo Spyware removal tool will scan the registry and detect the broken links and determine it they will hamper the efficient operating of the system if they are removed. If the Yahoo Spyware removal decides that they can be safely removed the entries will be deleted. If the entries are left in the registry they may link up to the site where they came from initially and download the Spyware again. This is why it is imperative to clean the registry with a reliable registry cleaner such as the free Microsoft Spyware Adware removal tool.
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New computer technology replaces mouse control with facial movements

2007-09-25T03:08:00.000-07:00

Reporter: Jayne-Maree Sedgman
HAMISH ROBERTSON: Staying with computers, that world was opened up to many people, especially those with disabilities, by the invention of voice recognition technology.But now a Canadian scientist has gone one step further, with a computer interface which doesn't even need to hear your voice but allows you to navigate your way around the screen simply by moving your face.Dr Dmitry Gorodnichy from the Institute of Information Technology in Ottawa has been telling our reporter, Jayne-Maree Sedgman, that he's invented a computer which is controlled through eye and nose movements.
DIMITRY GORODNICHY: Nose is a very unique feature all of us have. First, you can see it all the time, so regardless of your face, facial orientation or expression, you can always see where the nose is.But, even more than that, what is very good for all of us is that the nose has this unique complex shape feature, a complex shape, which no other part of our face has. And because of that it makes possible to track the nose very precisely and also smoothly. So regardless of how complex is the motion of your face, you can track the people's noses very precisely and very smoothly, which is needed if you need to control. Like, imagine, you need to write your name hands-free with the tip of your nose. Okay, so that's the precision we are looking for, and we can do it now.
JAYNE-MAREE SEDGMAN: So, realistically, how long might it take users to become accustomed to this level of precision?
DMITRY GORODNICHY: Oh, it doesn't take any time, because first it's natural. Imagine that your hands are busy with breakfast and you would like to point me where is a book which I'd like to borrow from you, so how would you do it? You'd just point probably with the orientation of your face, with your nose, right? So that's what computer can do first, it can just see, okay which way are you pointing at. But even more than that, you'd now imagine that you'd like actually to write something with the nose. Again, it's very natural, and that's one of the best things about the technology that there is no need to learn it. So you just do it as you would do if your hands are busy.
JAYNE-MAREE SEDGMAN: I understand this invention also utilises the blinking of the users' eyes.
DMITRY GORODNICHY: With the nose we can only move objects, but we cannot, let's say, select, or cannot perform a click. So as a replacement, as a hands-free alternative for a click, we've invented what we call a double-blink concept. So we ask a person to blink two times or maybe three times in a row. This is a motion which all of us can easily perform, and which can trigger a command on a computer. So that could serve as a hands-free alternative for clicking.
JAYNE-MAREE SEDGMAN: And who do you imagine will use your invention?
DMITRY GORODNICHY: I think it will be everybody, including yourself, myself, and of course there is a specific niche for handicapped industry. In particular, there are many people who cannot talk, and even more some of them cannot even move well their hands, or even face, and for many of them their main means of communication is by blinking.
HAMISH ROBERTSON: That was Dr Dmitry Gorodnichy speaking from Ottawa to our reporter, Jayne-Maree Sedgman.
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Eight Steps to Writing an Outstanding Podcast

2007-09-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

by: Courtland Bovee
Podcasts are on the cutting edge of business communication, allowing you to speak with your own voice directly to your audience. They add variety to your blog or website and prove that you know how to stay ahead of the pack. But hitting "record" without putting some thought into what you're going to say and how you're going to say it is a fatal mistake. Here are eight steps to follow for creating a podcast that makes your listener want to come back for more.
1. Choose a theme. Pick an issue about which you feel confident speaking. Try to narrow it down to a particular angle or perspective-think news clip, not university lecture. The best podcasts touch on a specific subject and cover it in depth, rather than attempting to discuss the history of Western Europe in three minutes or less.
2. Consider your audience. How much does your audience know about your subject? What style of reporting will connect with them? The more you put yourself in your listeners' shoes, the better you will be able to speak directly to them. Be sure to include a response to any previous questions or suggestions-your audience doesn't want to feel ignored.
3. Prepare an outline. Expand on your theme by coming up with four or five main elements or topics to discuss. Put the most important and engaging information first; this will hook your listener and entice them to hear out the rest of it. Even if you don't write your script word for word, an outline will help you organize your thoughts into a tidy framework.
4. Think ahead for interviews. If you want to include an interview in your podcast, it's a good idea to plan ahead. Make a list of questions you want to ask for sure, but remember that sometimes the best sound bites happen off-the-cuff. Feel comfortable enough with your interviewee to ask follow-up questions and allow the conversation to travel somewhere more interesting if the opportunity arises.
5. Use simple sentences and language. Keep the tone natural and conversational, as if you are speaking with a listener face-to-face-just as you would for any business writing. Toss any words that would send someone reaching for the dictionary; likewise, avoid long sub-clauses and complex syntax (these things only bury the point). Just because your sentences are short and clear does not mean your language has to be dry. Do not be afraid to use sensory descriptions to put your listener right in the heart of the action.
6. Keep it succinct. The length of your podcast depends on your subject and audience-but no matter how much information you feel is absolutely crucial to your point, listeners will lose interest if it drags. No footnotes or unnecessary diversions here; just the facts, ma'am.
7. Do a practice run. This is especially important if you're working from a basic outline. Read the script for a friend or family member for their (honest!) feedback, or record yourself once and listen to it. Be on the lookout for awkward pauses, confusing sections, and stumbling points. Make notes and do another few run-throughs with the changes incorporated.
8. Print it out. It's much easier to read from a piece of paper than from a computer screen, so print out your script before you record. Enlarging the font helps too. If you're worried about losing your place during recording, highlight a few key words or mark the beginning of different sections to keep you on track.
The more thoroughly you prepare your script, the more confident you will be when it comes down to recording it-and the more effective your podcast will be because of it.
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Search Engine Optimization And The Magic Fairy Dust

2007-09-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

by: Bill Platt
There is only one thing that all webmasters agree upon... They all want to be at the top of the search engine results for search terms that will drive traffic and consumers to their website.
The truth is that the search engines are like our childhood game of King Of The Hill. Only one person can be at the top of the hill and the top of the search results. Only ten websites can be on page one of the search results. When a new website moves into the top ten, another must be removed.
For any given search term at any given time, there are only ten web pages on page one of the search results, and there are millions of web pages that did not make page one, who may or may not catch a few stragglers from the search engines.
How Can A Website Break Into The Top Ten?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an industry that has sprung up around the concept of helping their clients improve their rankings in the search engine results.
When you talk to SEO professionals, they generally point to a two-pronged approach to search ranking optimization. A website owner needs to optimize their on-site real estate for the search engines, and they need to build inbound links to their website.
On-Site Search Optimization Challenges
The trick with on-site search optimization is that you must cater to multiple audiences on your website.
*You must provide simple navigation and an attractive interface to the human visitor;
* You must provide good sales copy to your human visitors, for the purpose of converting them from shoppers to buyers;
* You must provide text copy for the search engines to read; and
* You must optimize your content to help the search engines know what topics and keywords they should pay attention, so that they can give their users the right web page for the right search terms.
A web page that draws good search rankings is useless if the web page cannot convert the human visitor to a buyer. Many website owners get caught up in the process of optimizing a web page to get it to the top of the search results, and they forget that the human visitor knows where the Back Button is in his or her browser. Once your visitor has hit the Back Button, they will go to someone else's website and buy from them, instead of you.
Most website owners have the alternate problem. They consistently convert a significant number of visitors to buyers, but they have to rely on various forms of paid advertising to get visitors to their websites, since they do not rank in the search engines.
I recently spoke with an individual who spends ,000 per month on pay-per-click advertising to get targeted traffic to his website. He said he consistently earns back his money, but he was still looking for a better way to get ranked in the search engines, so he joined my client list.
On-Site Search Engine Optimization Basics
According to the search engine companies, there are more than one thousand calculations that determine how well a website will rank in their search engine result pages (SERPs). The Google engineers are fond of saying that if you build your website for human beings instead of search engines, then your website should rank well in their algorithms. To a certain degree, this is a good strategy.
Think about how magazines are constructed:
The Table Of Contents shows story titles, brief descriptions, and page numbers telling you where you can find a story.
On the story page, the title will be in big, bold font. Sometimes, the magazine will include a brief blurb about the story, in italics or font that is a bit bigger than the story font.
Pictures support the story with captions that further develop the story, by describing the picture.
Major subsections of the story have their own subheadings. And, the primary body of the story is in regular plain text, with only an occasional bolded or italicized word or phrase.
By analyzing the title and other large text on the page, a person who is flipping through the pages of a magazine can quickly assess the story content and make the decision as to whether they want to read the full story.
In the most simplistic way, this is how the search engines analyze a websites' content to decide which web page will best serve their users' needs.
Off-Site Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Basics
Since the inception of Google, and with Yahoo and MSN recently, the number and quality of links pointing to a website play a significant role in determining how well a web page will rank in the search results.
I have heard people suggest that as much as 75% of the value given to a web page in the search results is based solely on the number and quality of links pointing to a web page. I tend to believe a more conservative number (50.1%) will apply.
Inbound Links Are More Important Than Page Content
To prove this point, type "click here" without the quotes into Google, Yahoo and MSN and check the Adobe pages that come up in the search results: #1 in Google, #2 in Yahoo, and #1 in MSN. When you pull up those pages, search the page to find the individual words "click" or "here" in the text of those pages. They are not there. This has happened because millions of people have linked to these Adobe pages with the embedded anchor text, "click here".
Next, let's analyze those specific web pages from the perspective of each of the search engines:
* Google's #1 result - Google PageRank 8. (www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html) Links to this web page: according to Google (31); according to Yahoo (nearly 12 million); according to MSN (6,400).
* Yahoo's #2 result - Google PageRank 10. (www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer) Links to this web page: Google (15,200); Yahoo (700 thousand); MSN (32).
* MSN's #1 result - Google PageRank 8. (www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash) Links to this web page: Google (0); Yahoo (2.9 million); MSN (778).
On Google's top result, they show 31 inbound links total for that web page. But, Yahoo claims that there are more than 12 million links to this page. That is a huge difference.
On Yahoo's #2 result, MSN gives 32 links, Google gives 15,000 links, and Yahoo claims it has 700 thousand links! That is another huge difference between the link counts from the search engines.
On MSN's #1 result, MSN shows a strong link count, but still nowhere near Yahoo's 2.9 million links. But, how does a web page with zero links in Google get a PageRank 8?
What Do These Numbers Mean?
Google has always said that they will never show us all of the links that we have pointing to our websites, because anything we can see in the public search results, our competitors can see also. So, for me it really is no surprise that we cannot see all of the links that point to Adobe pages, or to the links we have created that point to our clients and ourselves, by querying the search engines.
Also, the sheer numbers of inbound links do not rule the roost. Google's #1 result (PR8) is actually shown in Google, before Yahoo's #2 (PR10) result.
The Proof For Link Building Is In The Search Engine Rankings
Recently, a fellow who works as a SEO "professional" told me that be believed my link building system was a sham.
I showed him that on the top 51 keyword phrases we use to market our original commercial website, we had 11 number one results, 31 top five results, 34 top ten results, 47 top thirty results, and 51 top 100 results within the Google search results. Additionally, it was shown that only three of those results competed with fewer than one million search results according to Google, with the remaining 48 pages competing with one million to 533 million pages.
Ole boy tore up Google trying to track how it was possible for me to have accomplished what I claimed. He finally concluded that since Google would not show HIM how I was able to rank so well in their search engine results, then I must have been lying. According to Yahoo, we have over 12,000 links from third-party websites.
According to our site statistics, we received traffic from more than 16,000 unique web pages during 2006. And Google still swears that we only have 42 inbound links to our website!
Magic Fairy Dust
My nemesis concluded that since HE could not prove through Google how I was successful in getting good search rankings, then I could not have accomplished such results by the methods I claimed.
Okay, I admit it.
I used the exact same method that Adobe used to get to the top of Google's search engine rankings. I have a pocket full of magic fairy dust. Whenever, I do not like how my websites rank in the search engines, I sprinkle my magic fairy dust on my modem.
If you don't like where you are ranked in the search engines, then I suggest you forego the search engine optimization companies altogether and instead run over to the corner store to get your own magic fairy dust. You might have to shop around a bit, but it is out there.
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What is the Best Method to Back up Data?

2007-09-20T04:18:00.000-07:00

By: James Walsh
This being the age of internet, chat rooms, blogging and innovative hackers, their expectation never gets fulfilled. The news always leaks out or is methodically publicised by a rival or a gleeful hacker. Thereafter, insult is added to their injury as irate customers and the eager press demand explanations about every unsavoury detail of the incident. But data loss is not a problem affecting only the big players only any more. All of us deal with some amount of data and almost all of it is important to us. Albums have been replaced by .jpeg files, our music is inside the hard drive of our pc or laptop, and our emails are stored in offline folders or software like Microsoft Outlook. Students keep their study material in their machines, and a doctoral thesis is usually a file on the hard disk instead of being a thick volume bound in leather covers. It is, therefore, strange that we keep losing data because we have not taken the precaution of backing it up elsewhere. Several start-up home businesses have not seen the light of the day anymore after an initial incident of data loss. All of this underlines the importance of backup, which really cannot be overstressed.
Some Methods of Obtaining Backups
The method, or rather, the medium chosen for backing up data will depend on the volume of data to be stored, as well as the nature of the data. Some common methods are being enlisted below:
CD and Floppy: The floppy has largely gone out of use by now, due to its many limitations, small capacity and security problems. The CD is a good choice for obtaining backups, and is one of the favourite choices in both domestic and corporate spheres. It is cheap, readily available, portable and compatible with several file formats. Storing a CD and sharing information from it are also quite simple.
DVD: The DVD is a good choice for storing audio visual information. It may not be as cheap as the CD, but offers better quality, often lasts longer, and has way more space. DVD RWs can be used in such a way that literally every bit is used to store information. A DVD also has the same facilities when it comes to sharing and easy transporting. However, the DVD RW, many market observers feel, may turn out to be an intermediate technology and be replaced by something superior but very similar in function, or may evolve in such a way that the problems would get solved. It must be noted here that the constant research in this regard, and inventions like the Blue Ray disk etc. point out that we can hope for a better technology soon.
USB Devices: These are the new favourites all over the world. The greatest proof of the popularity of this technology lies in two facts. Firstly, the storage space of pen drives / flash drives/ memory sticks is constantly increasing. Secondly, their prices are plummeting downwards rapidly. Almost all kinds of files can be stored on these; they are very easy to carry, do not require a separate software or booting up of the machine to start functioning, and it is very convenient to share the data stored on them. For storing smaller music libraries, an iPod may be an option too.
External Hard Drives: For larger data storage requirements, external hard drives are excellent solutions. Arrays or stacks of hard drives are available for corporate purposes and are provided by all good hard drive manufacturers. Seagate, Maxtor, ASB, LaCie all make external hard drives of varying capacities and prices.
Online and Offline Storage Spaces: These are ‘spaces’ provided by professional firms, and are extremely secure for sensitive data storage.
Tapes and Printouts: Traditional storage should not be left out of the list. There is some information that one simply needs to see on the good old piece of paper. Tape has been in use for a long time now, and will probably continue for some time.
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Ten Ways to Write Great Blog Posts That Get Attention

2007-09-20T04:05:00.000-07:00

By: Courtland Bovee
Millions of blogs fight for readership online (over 75 million by some counts), with thousands more being created every day. Making yours stand above the rest may seem like a daunting task, but here are ten suggestions for making your blog posts stand out from the crowd.
1. Write each post title so it grabs the reader's attention. It is the first thing someone reads, and it should get your reader's attention right away. Your title should both pique the reader's interest and be informative. Do not write "Business Writing Advice"; instead, say "The Best-Kept Secret to Reducing Your Business Writing Worries." Longer titles have the advantage of describing in detail what your post is about; 8-12 words are a good range.
2. Keep sentences short and clear. A little goes a long way. Readers are busy people and they will not spend hours detangling complex syntax or sifting through blocks of text. Also, use strong language. Start a new paragraph every few sentences, and limit each post to 250 words, if possible. If you cannot write it in under 250 words, split it into two entries.
3. Break up the text. Use numbered lists, bullet points, and subheadings to make your posts easy to scan. Lots of white space on the page is a good thing-it allows your reader to take mental breaks and let the knowledge soak in. In addition, with the inevitable clutter of banner ads and side text, this technique puts some distance between your writing and all those distractions.
4. Keep current. No one wants to read old news. Your job is to stay up-to-date so your readers do not have to themselves. Read newspapers. Scour the web for references. For example, if you write a blog about business communication, subscribe to Google News Alerts using keywords related to the field, such as blogs, podcasting, instant messaging, business letters, memos, and business reports, so you will always be well informed. Posting items from last month or last year will lose your reader's interest faster than you can say "Enron."
5. Be bold. Timidity is an easy path to anonymity. Do not be afraid to create and state your opinions. Of course, there are some situations in which objectivity rules-but you have to give people a reason to read this blog by you and not by the person next door.
6. Be accurate. If you make a statement, be prepared to back it up. Know what your sources are and quote them accurately. Misinformation spreads like wildfire online; do not be the spark that sets it off or the wind that fans it.
7. Contribute to the conversation. Links are great-but then what? Do not just post links to the same tired sites, offer your reader something new. Contribute to the conversation. Your goal is to be the site to which everyone else is linking-so you had better have something worth writing about.
8. Stay focused. Once you have defined the theme of your blog, stick to it. A blog about piggy banks has no business posting about the latest innovation in alternative energy. Such a deviance will only confuse your reader and chip away at your virtual authority.
9. Use key words liberally. Keywords are, well, key. Harness your blog's search engine potential by dousing your title and post with effective keywords that will help interested parties find your page in the vast, muddled blogosphere. This is one of the most important elements of getting your blog read-go at it with gusto.
10. Be consistent. Keep a schedule and stick to it. Post frequently-at least several times per week if you want to increase your potential of attracting new readers. Let your blog languish for weeks without updates and your audience will move on to fresher ground.
Maintaining an informative blog that people want to read takes hard work and good writing skills. Find what makes your writing unique-and flaunt it for all it is worth.
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Improved Page Engine Rank and SEO for Beginners and the More Experienced

2007-09-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Author : Peter Nisbet
Improved page engine rank is a term used by those with a confusion with SEO and page optimization and Google Page Rank – properly PageRank by the way. It is a trade marked term registered by Google, although the patent for the PageRank system of calculating and assigning it is assigned to Stanford University where Page developed the system, not Google. What most people do not know is that the term PageRank originates from the name of one of the developers, Larry Page. Hence Page Rank. He later teamed up with Sergey Brin to form Google in 1998. Enough of history: that is in the past! The present is that Google PageRank that I will henceforth refer to as Page Rank for fear of breaking copyright law, has been publicly stated by Google as being one of the predominant means of determining the listing of a website for a particular search term. This might not last for a lot longer, since there are whispers that Google are considering reducing the importance of Page Rank in view of the increasing relevance of social bookmarking and other social sites such as Del.icio.us and Digg. Now there is Twitter run by Google, and more and more Twitter results are turning up in Google search results. Twitter is what is called a micro-blogging service that uses SMS and instant messaging, or the blog posts on the Twitter website. Facebook is also being used by more and more people, but a lot are college students and others trying to spy on and stalk ex lovers for what can only be assumed to be pretty nefarious reasons. However, these uses of so called social networking sites are immaterial. It their existence that matters, and the association many of them have with major search engines that are producing so many search results somewhat less than useful when they should properly have been filtered out. The question is: Should Google and Yahoo be allowed to be associated with these sites and give them preference in search engine results by use of what can only be manipulation of the algorithms? Perhaps Page Rank and Link Density will become less important than your registration and participation in these sites. That is why I have joined most of them. They are fun to participate in, but much of the content is very juvenile and amateurish and not what I would to find in a serious search. Blog postings are generally not useful content. However, back to link density and Page Rank. It is highly unlikely that link density will ever be dropped by Google, but they might introduce some aspects of social bookmarking in to their algorithm. What this means is that if you want to improve your listing, you will have to be involved in Google related social sites, Twitter being the main one at the moment. If you understand Twitter you will know what I mean when I state that Google might include, in addition to page rank and traditional SEO, the number of friends and comments, number of Twitter followers, photo uploads and frequency of updates. Keep an eye on Google activity and their acquisitions, since the more acquisitions of social sites Google make, and the more of their own they produce, then you can be pretty sure that at some time they will introduce elements of that into their algorithms. So, get ahead of the race and get acquainted with Twitter. Google have made no changes yet, but the buzz is there, so don’t bet your boots that no changes will be made in that direction sometime in the future. My belief is that article submission will remain the one major means of attracting traffic and obtaining one-way links back to your selected web pages for the foreseeable future, but that elements of social bookmarking and other social networking sites will gradually creep into the algorithms. There is nothing to lose by being ahead in the game, and you have just been given a clue as to how to do that. It might be a year away, perhaps less and perhaps more, but when the day comes, if it does, I at least will be prepared for it.
source : http://www.articlecity.com/articles/web_design_and_development/article_1342.shtml

Build a Configurable Database Credential Selector

2007-09-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

This handy control gives you everything you need to control how users input usernames, passwords, select servers, and choose connection types.
Visual Studio provides convenient design-time wizards to define static database connection strings that you can store in your settings files. Storing connection strings in configuration files means you can update the connection string without having to recompile or redeploy the host program, although it does require restarting the application. This article presents a dynamically configurable user control that lets you provide users with the capability to change the connection parameters themselves. You have complete control—letting them change all or only some portions of the connection string.
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Social Book Marking Tips For Earning More Money

2007-09-17T05:12:00.000-07:00

Social book marking is one of the latest tactics for promoting your products and services. Social book marking is when users bookmark the links to their favorite web pages so that it can be easily accessible for anyone who has an interest in the topic of that page and uses that social book marking site. The links to the web sites and pages within the social book marking sites are arranged in such a way that they can be easily accessed by people searching for them. A good rule of thumb is to book mark your content pages in order to send visitors to your website. Listed below are a few tips that will help you make more money with social book marking.
The most important factor you must consider when using a social book marking site is to choose the right keywords. There are a number of social book marking sites that categorize the favorite book marked pages based on the keyword tags and keyword phrase tags used. So to take advantage of this feature, locate the most commonly searched keywords in your target market and place them as the book mark keyword tags within the social book marking sites every time you bookmark a page.
You should also make sure that the links from the social book marking websites are active and not broken. In other words, the websites and pages you bookmark must not be a broken link. This will make sure that a browser can easily get to your website from the social book marking site.
Also, if you continue to add new updates to your website, your website can be viewed as a relevant book mark. Therefore, get a blog and post new and current information to your blog whenever you can. It will also help if you syndicated news feed content on your website as well. The goal is to be an informative resource for anyone that is interested in the market or niche that you are promoting in. So make sure you provide incredible value and you’ll see your content get bookmarked consistently on many social book marking websites.
Melvin Perry is an internet entrepreneur that specializes in building large email lists within a matter of weeks. He currently teaches marketers via free step by step videos how to earn thousands monthly through the list building model.
source : http://www.flixya.com/post/k241115/19379/Social_Book_Marking_Tips_For_Earning_More_Money

Why Do People Write Computer Viruses?

2007-09-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Back in the dim mists of time, most virus writers were people who just wanted to test the system and push the envelope. They delighted in finding a way to insert their code into places where others might not find it and held contests of sorts to see who could do what the fastest during various conferences.
With the advent of virus writing kits more people entered into the picture. These were largely the bored who had too much time on their hands and decided to spend it making and distributing viruses just for the heck of it. Many of these people could not actually program one if they had to; they just used the kits and put in different parameters and then sent whatever came out on their way in the hope of getting their name ("handle" actually -- a person's true name on a virus caused them great problems) mentioned somewhere.
This sort of activity expanded as the virus and worm and Trojan world expanded and script worms became common. Indeed, the term "script kiddie" was more or less coined during this time to indicate someone who would just take an existing script worm, modify a small part of it, and then release that as a "new" worm.
As spyware and adware started to appear motives started to change. Money started to enter into the picture.
First came botnets; networks of worms/viruses or Trojans designed to sit on a system and wait for a central command to do something, maybe crash the system(s) they were installed on. Then, the botnets evoloved; or, at least, their purpose evolved. The botnet creators realized that they could use the botnets to make the infected computers send out spam. Since spammers would pay to send out spam money started to enter into the equation. The botnets were sending out messages based on the infected users computers' stored address lists so the spammers had an automatic source of valid E-mail addresses and a possible way to get through blacklists because they could put the infected user's return address on the E-mail and the receiver might very well have that user whitelisted. So, the spammer got what they wanted and the botnet creators started to get paid.
Once money came into the game, however, so did crime. Trojans were developed to quickly infect users and then sent out in the spam so the new users would not only get spam but if they responded they would be infected by the Trojan as well. Scripts and Windows/Internet Explorer holes made this form of malware even easier to send to and infect others who might not have updated their computer system recently. The use of social engineering to make these message appear "real" increased so the clickthroughs increased.
The malware sent evolved as well. Newer malware tended toward collecting information from systems instead of crashing them or destroying data. This stolen data became even more valuable to criminals than just the fact that spam was getting through. Identity theft based on the stolen information increased as the attacks became more targeted.
Some of this malware is designed to target specific banks in specific countries and is quite professional looking. And, it's not limited to crimes of identity theft for banking purposes; some malware targets the massively multiplayer on-line games. Why target games? Because once you steal someone's credentials in such a game you can pretend to be that person and sell virtual items to other players. The games have become so popular that virtual items are going for large prices (a virtual space station went for $100,000 if you can believe that). Of course, the person doing the buying is getting scammed and the person who's credentials have been stolen gets the blame. The criminal, meanwhile, walks with the money.
Rootkit installation to do the data collection is one of the newer threats and promises to increase the revenue of the criminal groups behind some of the latest attacks.
Expect peer-to-peer networking to be an upcoming traget as that allows massive data to be moved. Criminals need to do that efficiently and anonymously and that's exactly what P2P networks do.
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Does Your Computer Speak 'Context-Specific'?

2007-09-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

Researchers have incorporated approximately 300 concepts, such as "duration" and "sequence," into its software structure. Computers using software with this expanded, though still primitive, AI capacity can act on a word's "meaning," interpreting a command almost like a person.
For instance, a person who hears the commands "paint it before shipping it" and "turn on the coolant before milling" understands that the word "before" has slightly different meanings in these two different contexts.
In the first command, it is understood that painting and drying must be completed prior to the next action, shipping. In the second command, however, the first action, turning on the coolant, continues after the milling starts. ISO 18629 supports computer systems with this type of rudimentary understanding of context-specific language.
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Lisp (programming language)

2007-09-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Lisp is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive fully-parenthesized syntax. Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language in widespread use today; only Fortran is older. Like Fortran, Lisp has changed a great deal since its early days, and a number of dialects have existed over its history. Today, the most widely-known general-purpose Lisp dialects are Common Lisp and Scheme.
Lisp was originally created as a practical mathematical notation for computer programs, based on Alonzo Church's lambda calculus. It quickly became the favored programming language for artificial intelligence research. As one of the earliest programming languages, Lisp pioneered many ideas in computer science, including tree data structures, automatic storage management, dynamic typing, object-oriented programming, and the self-hosting compiler.
The name Lisp derives from "List Processor". Linked lists are one of Lisp languages' major data structures, and Lisp source code is itself made up of lists. As a result, Lisp programs can manipulate source code as a data structure, giving rise to the macro systems that allow programmers to create new syntax or even new "little languages" embedded in Lisp.
The interchangeability of code and data also gives Lisp its instantly recognizable syntax. All program code is written as s-expressions, or parenthesized lists. A function call or syntactic form is written as a list with the function or operator's name first, and the arguments following; for instance, a function f that takes three arguments might be called using (f x y z).
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Q - Equational Programming Language

2007-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Q is a functional programming language based on term rewriting. The Q programming system is free software distributed under the GPL. If you come here for the first time, then you might wish to take a look at the About section to learn more about it. If you're looking for the software, go right ahead to the Download section. Information about the user and developer mailing lists can be found in the Lists section. Also make sure you visit our Wiki. Enjoy your stay!
NOTE: This is the new Q website on SourceForge. The old website (Q versions up to 4.5) is still available here.

Q - Equational Programming Language

hello.q: the infamous "hello world" example
basics.q: some basic examples. Start out with these to quickly get an idea how Q programs look like.
searchtree.q: an example showing the use of algebraic data types with inheritance
huffman.q: Huffman codes in Q
queens2.q: the 8 queens problem, shows how to implement backtracking in Q
streams.q: some stream (lazy list) programming examples
symbolic.q: simple examples for symbolic rewriting rules
dnf.q: disjunctive normal form of logical expressions, another tiny symbolic rewriting example
dijkstra.q: Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm, implemented with Q-Graph
dgram.q: a simple client/server example showing how to transmit datagrams over a socket
midi_examp.q: some basic realtime MIDI functions, written using the Q-Midi module

Create better Internet applications quickly and easily using ColdFusion 8 from ADOBE

2007-09-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software solves the day-to-day challenges of Internet application development, allowing you to be extremely productive as you create and deliver engaging online applications. And because it fits into any IT environment, you can use ColdFusion 8 for everything from small departmental applications to highly scalable, reliable implementations of your most important business applications.

New in ColdFusion 8 From ADOBE

2007-09-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

Server Monitor
See exactly what's happening in your application to help identify bottlenecks and tune the server for better performance. ColdFusion 8 also features a Multiserver Monitor to gain insight on all servers in a cluster.
PDF features
ColdFusion 8 applications can dynamically generate and interact with PDF documents and forms for a printable, portable way to intelligently capture and share information.
Ajax features
ColdFusion 8 can easily provide data to existing Ajax applications and frameworks. You can use simple tags to access a large library of prebuilt Ajax user interface components such as rich text editors, data grids, tree controls, tab navigators, and more.
.NET integration
With ColdFusion 8, you can specify any .NET object — either local or remote — and use it in your ColdFusion application, just like any Java™ or other object resource.
Microsoft Exchange Server integration
Programmatically interact with a Microsoft Exchange server to perform common tasks such as reading, creating, and modifying calendar events, contacts, tasks, and e-mail.
Interactive debugger
ColdFusion 8 introduces an Eclipse™ plug-in debugger. Use it to set breakpoints, watch variables, and step through code, making it easier to debug all your application code.

D Programming Language

2007-09-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

D is a systems programming language. Its focus is on combining the power and high performance of C and C++ with the programmer productivity of modern languages like Ruby and Python. Special attention is given to the needs of quality assurance, documentation, management, portability and reliability.
The D language is statically typed and compiles directly to machine code. It's multiparadigm, supporting many programming styles: imperative, object oriented, and metaprogramming. It's a member of the C syntax family, and its appearance is very similar to that of C++. For a quick comparison of the features, see this comparison of D with C, C++, C# and Java.
It is not governed by a corporate agenda or any overarching theory of programming. The needs and contributions of the D programming community form the direction it goes.
There are currently two implementations, the Digital Mars DMD package for Win32 and x86 Linux, and the GCC D Compiler package for several platforms, including Windows and Mac OS X.
A large and growing collection of D source code and projects are at dsource. More links to innumerable D wikis, libraries, tools, media articles, etc. are at dlinks.
This document is available as a pdf, as well as in Japanese and Portugese translations. A Japanese book D Language Perfect Guide is available.

Example code :

#!/usr/bin/dmd -run
/* sh style script syntax is supported */
/* Hello World in D
To compile:
dmd hello.d
or to optimize:
dmd -O -inline -release hello.d
*/
import std.stdio;
void main(char[][] args)
{
writefln("Hello World, Reloaded");
// auto type inference and built-in foreach
foreach (argc, argv; args)
{
// Object Oriented Programming
CmdLin cl = new CmdLin(argc, argv);
// Improved typesafe printf
writefln(cl.argnum, cl.suffix, " arg: %s", cl.argv);
// Automatic or explicit memory management
delete cl;
}
// Nested structs and classes
struct specs
{
// all members automatically initialized
int count, allocated;
}
// Nested functions can refer to outer
// variables like args
specs argspecs()
{
specs* s = new specs;
// no need for '->'
s.count = args.length; // get length of array with .length
s.allocated = typeof(args).sizeof; // built-in native type properties
foreach (argv; args)
s.allocated += argv.length * typeof(argv[0]).sizeof;
return *s;
}
// built-in string and common string operations
writefln("argc = %d, " ~ "allocated = %d",
argspecs().count, argspecs().allocated);
}
class CmdLin
{
private int _argc;
private char[] _argv;
public:
this(int argc, char[] argv) // constructor
{
_argc = argc;
_argv = argv;
}
int argnum()
{
return _argc + 1;
}
char[] argv()
{
return _argv;
}
char[] suffix()
{
char[] suffix = "th";
switch (_argc)
{
case 0:
suffix = "st";
break;
case 1:
suffix = "nd";
break;
case 2:
suffix = "rd";
break;
default:
break;
}
return suffix;
}
}

source : http://www.digitalmars.com/d/

Microsoft's New Programming Language Offers Developers Productivity With Power

2007-09-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Company predicts C will offer C++ developers greater productivity and help them maximize the potential of the new .NET Platform.
REDMOND, Wash., June 26, 2000 — John Crim wrote his first computer program when he was in second grade. It wallpapered the computer screen with his name. Three years later, he was creating programs to maintain his father's business records. Now 29, with almost 10 years of professional programming experience, Crim rattles off the list of programming languages he has used like a builder discussing the tools in his belt. And he isn't shy about discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each.
It takes something special to convince Crim, chief technology officer and co-founder of Seattle-based WebGecko Software, to make room in his belt for a new tool. But he is clearing space for C#, the new language Microsoft created to offer C++ developers greater productivity and to take full advantage of the Web services offered by the company's recently announced .NET Platform.
"I've probably programmed in about 15 languages," said Crim, a C++ diehard who tested an early version of C# recently. "As far as power and productivity goes, this new language is the best."
Microsoft announced the development of C# today. The new language will be included in the next generation of Visual Studio, which will be available in beta release later this year.
Microsoft is developing C# -- pronounced "C sharp" for the musically disinclined -- to provide the computing power of the C++ language and the ease of use of its own Visual Basic language. The software company predicts this power and function will allow developers to fully utilize the potential of its new .NET Platform, created to help developers more easily build and maintain Web applications.
"This is a language specifically designed for C++ developers who want to be more productive and who need to take advantage of the growing possibilities for the exchange of information and services over the Internet," said Bill Dunlap, Microsoft's lead product manager for Visual Studio.

Making it easier to work over the Web, multiple systems and devices
C# and the .NET Platform make it easier for developers to build Web applications that integrate with any operating system running on any device, Dunlap said.
Developers can make programming functions, such as a search mechanism of a system's programs, accessible over the Internet by typing one command, "Web Method," into their code. This advance -- which uses Web standards such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), a method for programs to communicate over the Internet -- eliminates the numerous additional steps and lines of code that other languages require to allow distributed computing, Dunlap explained. This convenience allows developers to build on, rather than constantly duplicate, the skills of other programmers and organizations, reducing the time and cost to get new products and services to market, he added.
Mike Amundsen, senior consultant for Vertigo Software, Inc., in Point Richmond, Calif., envisions C# creating new e-commerce opportunities. Businesses will be able to easily provide access to a new world of computer services over the Internet, he said.
"You are going to be able to call my server and maybe pay a small fee to use my services," he said. "I can build all sorts of little services to solve other people's problems."
What's best, Amundsen said, is developers and computer users don't have to understand how C# creates these services to use them.
"I don't need to be a rocket scientist. I don't have to know all of the alphabet soup," he said. "I just write my regular function and put this" Web Method "code in front of it."
Other features of the language add additional speed and convenience for programming over the Internet. C# makes it easier to work with the emerging XML standard by eliminating much of the computer code developers had to write in other languages, Dunlap said. C# also supports ASP+ technology. This allows information to serve up faster over the Internet, thus providing Web services that can scale, or grow, to retrieve information faster and accommodate more users, he explained.
Crim estimates he saved days of programming when he used an early version of C# recently to create a new Web application.
Not only did he save time by using pre-existing services from other Web sites, the applications he created to access this content "were ridiculously easy to write," Crim said. "They would probably take two or three days to create in C++. With C#, it only took a couple of hours."

Winning formula: Ease of use + power
Before recently creating a sample application on C#, Amundsen had avoided the C and C++ languages, preferring f Visual Basic's ease of use.
"I was actually a little nervous to start coding in C#," he said. Not for long, though. He found the language was even more productive than Visual Basic with the powerful features of C languages.
"It turns out I'm writing less code than I would have written in other languages," he said. "It is actually fun to code in C#."
Many developers, Dunlap said, appreciate the power and flexibility of C++, as well as its object-oriented approach, which allows developers to adapt and reuse commonly used blocks of code. But this flexibility also presents numerous ways to write errors into the code that are hard to track down, increasing the time it takes to complete projects, he said. C# provides the power and flexibility of other languages, as well as the use of objects, Dunlap said, but it also eliminates many of the pitfalls that developers are often faced with when programming in C and C++.
"With C#, there are not numerous ways to do things. There is one way. The language is elegant, meaning it is clear and clean. Anybody can read code written in C# and understand what it means," Dunlap said. "This is especially important in a world where code lives on for decades. People will be able to step into this code and immediately know what the business processes are and how to change them."
C# makes it easier to avoid many programming errors, Dunlap said, involving computer memory by eliminating pointers. Pointers, Dunlap explained, allow developers quick access to computer memory but can crash programs if the wrong block of memory is used.
C# still allows developers to directly manipulate memory. But it does so in a safe manner, Dunlap said, by ensuring they use the appropriate block of memory. The new language's Inline C function also provides direct access to the underlying system, eliminating the need to switch from one language for some applications to another language to access system capabilities.
"It's all about choice. C# gives developers a choice about when they need to do certain tasks. Some C++ languages are about mandating what developers can do," said Tony Goodhew, Microsoft technical product manager. "We believe developers know the specifics of the application better than the guy who designed the language years earlier."

Standardization, industry support
Microsoft recently submitted C#'s language specifications to the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) for its review. The company expects the ECMA's support will lead to standardization by the International Standards Organization (ISO).
Standardization allows multiple technology vendors to create their own versions of C#, thus allowing developers to use the language on more operating platforms and to choose the version of the language that best meets their needs, Goodhew said. Standardization also provides users, academics, vendors a say -- through the regional and international boards -- in determining future changes in the language, he added.
Although still months away from its commercial release, C# has garnered strong support within the technology industry, with numerous companies already employing the new technology. The companies include Apex Software, Bunka Orient Co., Component Source, devSoft, FarPoint Technologies, LEAD Technologies, ProtoView, Seagate Software, Sheridan Software Systems, Software Artisans, Stingray, VideoSoft, Andersen Consulting, Proxicom, Pandesic, Razorfish, Sapient, Rare Medium, Scient, USWeb/CKS, Viant, ActiveState, Dyadic Systems, Fujitsu Software Corp, Interactive Software Engineering, QKS, Skippi-Net, TMT Development, NuMega (Compuware) and Rational.
Crim believes C# will continue to grow in popularity as developers get an opportunity to experience its power and productivity.
"C#," he said, "is the language we've been looking for."
source : http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2000/jun00/06-26csharp.mspx#top

The Soul of a New Programming Language

2007-09-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

2.Mar.05--Guy Steele leads a small team of researchers in Burlington, Massachusetts, who are taking on an enormous challenge -- create a programming language better than Java.
Think of it as Java for scientists, Java for the programmers of a peta-scale supercomputer.
Called Fortress, the new language is part of a larger Sun Labs effort to come up with a design for the supercomputer of the future, an effort funded in part by DARPA, the U.S. government's Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. Unlike past DARPA projects, however, the focus is not on high performance but rather high productivity.
The difference? High performance is all about giving a problem to a machine and getting the answer, fast. With high productivity, the clock starts when you give the problem to the programmers.
"So the question is what additional technologies can you use to support the programming process, the debugging process, the system administration process -- just everything involved with actually getting the answer from the time the problem is posed," Steele says.
source : http://research.sun.com/minds/2005-0302/

The Nice programming language

2007-09-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

Nice is a new programming language. It extends the ideas behind object-orientation in order to better support modular programming and static type safety. It also incorporates features from functional programming, and puts into practice state-of-the-art results from academic research. This results in more expressivity, modularity and safety.

Safety Nice of programming language
Nice detects more errors during compilation than existing object-oriented languages (null pointer accesses, casts exceptions). This means that programs written in Nice never throw the infamous NullPointerException nor ClassCastException. This aspect is developed in more details in this article.

Modularity of Nice programming language
In object-oriented languages, it is possible to add a new class to an existing class hierarchy. In Nice, it is also possible to add methods to existing classes without modifying their source file. This is a special case of multi-methods.

Expressivity of Nice programming language
Many repetitive programming tasks can be avoided by using Nice's advanced features. Ever got bored of writing tons of loops, casts, overloaded methods with default values, anonymous classes, ... ?

Advanced features Nice programming language

In addition to traditional object-oriented features, Nice offers :

Parametric types
This is especially useful for containers (lists, hash-tables) and allows for shorter and safer code. Values of primitive type (int, float, ...) can be used in polymorphic code, in which case the wrapping and unwrapping is done automatically by the compiler.
Anonymous functions
Functions can be created and manipulated as first-class expressions, just like in Lisp and ML. This is much lighter than Java's anonymous classes in many situations, for instance with listeners in a GUI.
Multi-methods
They allow methods to be defined outside classes. This means that new methods can be defined on classes that belong to a different package (even in java.*). This allows for a more modular style: you don't need to pack classes with all possibly useful methods, but you can split them into several packages dealing with different aspects. Development can then happen independently if each package.
Multi-methods also extend usual methods with the possibility to dispatch on every argument, instead of only the receiver class. This article shows why using multi-methods is preferable to applying the Visitor pattern.
Tuples
This allows in particular methods to return several values.
Optional parameters to methods
Optional parameters have a default value that is used when the parameter is not present in the call. This is much simpler than in Java, where one has to write several versions of the method for each combination of parameters. The names of the arguments can also be specified at the call site, improving readability and making argument order irrelevant.
Contracts and assertions
Contracts can be attached to methods, to better describe their specification and detect illegal uses automatically at runtime, in debug mode. Contracts and assertions can be disabled, in which case they cause no slow down of the running program. Furthermore, they can be used on any version of the JVM, even prior to 1.4.

Integration with Java

The current implementation is tightly integrated with the Java environment, which offers several advantages. The huge amount of Java libraries can be used directly in Nice programs. Libraries can also be written in Nice and called from a Java program. The Nice compiler produces java bytecode, which means Nice programs can be executed on virtually any platform, with any Java Virtual Machine. Or they can be compiled to native programs with a native Java compiler. The compiler is itself written in Java and in Nice. The compiler needs a JVM version 1.2 or higher to run.

Availability

Nice is freely available under the GPL. The runtime classes are licensed under the "GPL + linking exception" license, which means that libraries and programs written in Nice can be licensed under any terms.

source : http://nice.sourceforge.net/

New Computer Language Taps into AI Technology

2007-09-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

The developers said the ISO 18629 language is especially suited for the exchange of process planning, validation, production scheduling and control information for guiding manufacturing processes. Researchers have incorporated approximately 300 concepts, such as "duration" and "sequence," into its software structure.
A new software language promises to allow computers to consider the consequences of their commands
Analysts said this artificial intelligence technology looks promising for both manufacturers and business management processes. ISO 18629 becomes part of what Business Communication Company (BCC) predicts will be at least a US$21 billion market by 2007.
While computers today merely respond to user commands without ever "thinking" about the effects, National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers, along with colleagues in France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, have developed a process specification language that enables computers to reason much more precisely and therefore better reflect subtleties intended by commands of human operators.
Known as ISO 18629, the developers believe the language will make computers much more useful in manufacturing. ISO 18629 uses artificial intelligence (AI) and language analysis to represent computer commands in the context of a manufacturing plan.

Does Your Computer Speak 'Context-Specific'?
Researchers have incorporated approximately 300 concepts, such as "duration" and "sequence," into its software structure. Computers using software with this expanded, though still primitive, AI capacity can act on a word's "meaning," interpreting a command almost like a person.
For instance, a person who hears the commands "paint it before shipping it" and "turn on the coolant before milling" understands that the word "before" has slightly different meanings in these two different contexts.
In the first command, it is understood that painting and drying must be completed prior to the next action, shipping. In the second command, however, the first action, turning on the coolant, continues after the milling starts. ISO 18629 supports computer systems with this type of rudimentary understanding of context-specific language.

Awaiting Applications
The developers said ISO 18629 language is especially suited for the exchange of process planning, validation, production scheduling and control information for guiding manufacturing processes.
Richard Ptak, an analyst with IT research firm Ptak, Noel & Associates, told TechNewsWorld that ISO 18629 could be considered a significant advance in programming. But Ptak said he is still somewhat skeptical, seeing as there have been great promises but little follow-through in the realm of artificial intelligence.
"This sounds like an interesting step forward with a lot of potential -- depending on how it's implemented and how hard it is to apply," Ptak said. "If it is an add-on process that can be easily integrated into existing programs that control the manufacturing process, that will be sweet. If it's a whole new language that requires rewriting of the application programs, it's going to take much longer to get put into practical use."
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which already has approved six sections of the fledgling standard, is currently reviewing the last of its three sections. Once the expected ISO approval is given, software vendors will begin building a variety of manufacturing systems that conform to ISO 18629.
source : http://www.technewsworld.com/story/PJsD8gAGFAf62S/New-Computer-Language-Taps-into-AI-Technology.xhtml

How to include Graphics in C Language

2007-09-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

just find bgi*.* in your computer
then give the path as ("D:\TC\BGI")
there may be examples in your computer.
open a graphics used example and see what are the
changes to be made there.
then you will understand, how to to give the path as I said.

' for each ' statement in ASP

2007-09-09T23:35:00.000-07:00

Main Points only writing rest you can do yourself :
dim dup
dim rs
dim sql_string
dim arr
dim array(3)

array(0)="aaaa"
array(1)="bbbb"
array(2)="cccc"

' Do connection string and recordset as you know plz, here I assume 'rs' as recordset
sql_string="select * from tablname order by fld_name"

if not rs.eof and not rs.bof then
rs.movefirst
while not rs.eof
for each arr in array
if arr=rs(0) and dup<>rs(0) then
dup=rs(0)
rs.delete()
end if
next
rs.movenext
wend
end if

' Note : the same records may be there at table, so it deletes only one as I need,
rest of the same records will exist there.

How to Set File Permission in Linux

2007-09-08T01:16:00.000-07:00

see the command below :

chmod 777 filename

ie chmod is command used for change permission for a file
then 777 is full permission
ie read=4, write=2, execute=1. => total=4+2+1=7
first 7 means user permission
second 7 means group permission
third 7 means others permission

then if it is :

chmod 764 filename

which means user full access, group read and write access, others read access

Recursive Function in C Language

2007-09-07T04:10:00.000-07:00

example : Happy Number = 13 (ie sum of sqares of digits should be 1 )
ie 1*1 + 3*3 = 1 + 9 = 10
1*1 + 0*0 = 1+0= 1
Note: continue until get 1, otherwise called not Happy Number
here we got 1, so 13 called as Happy Number

It is explaining using Recursive Function in C Language below :
code(text)
include header files stdio.h, conio.h
int happy(int) ; // function prototype
void main()
{
int a, i ;
clrscr();
printf("Enter a Limit :") ;
scanf("%d",&a) ;
for( i = 1 ; i<= a ; i++)
if(happy( i ) == i) // function calling
printf("%d\n",i);
getch();
}
int happy(int m) // function definition
{
int rem,sum;
sum=0;
for(;m>0;m/=10)
{
rem=m%10;
sum+=rem*rem;
}
if(sum==1)
return 1;
else if(sum<10)
return 2;
else
happy(sum); // function calls itself called RECURSIVE function
}

Contructor and Destructor

2007-09-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

In C++ a constructor calls when an object is created, it can hold arguments but can't return a value.
A destructor is called when an object is destroyed and it holds neither arguments nor returns a value.

Delete a folder with contents Using ASP

2007-09-06T00:13:00.000-07:00

' It will work Remote Host, not the localhost

Dim myFSO

SET myFSO = Server.CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

If myFSO.FolderExists(Server.MapPath("images/" & session("user_name") & "")) Then

myFSO.DeleteFolder(Server.MapPath("images/" & session("user_name") & ""))

End If

SET myFSO = NOTHING

Mucis Sound Using C Language

2007-09-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

code(text)
header files include : sdtio.h, conio.h, stdlib.h, dos.h
void main()
{
int i ;
char ch ;
clrscr() ;
for( ; i ! = 0 ; )
{
sound ( random ( 3500 ) ) ;
ch = getch () ;
}
nosound() ;
}

Static Variable in C++

2007-09-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

code(text)
header file includes iostream.h,conio.h etc.
static int gTotal; // declaration out side class, as it is global variable
class ClassName
{
public:
char name[20];
int m1,m2,total;
ClassName(); { total=0; gTotal=0; } // constructor
void getData()
{
Input the variables name,m1 and ,m2 as you know
}

void getTotal()
{
total=m1+m2;
gTotal + = total;
}
};
main()
{
clrscr();
ClassName obj[3];
for ( int i = 0 ; i < 3 ; i++ ) { obj[i] . getData(); obj[i] . getTotal(); }
cout << gTotal;
getch();
}

Note: Each time when constructor calls, but gTotal value exists
so get Grant total while total becomes 0 when constructor calls

Forgot Password in Linux administrator?

2007-09-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

Just insert Linux bootable CD(first CD). Then wait until you get the screen of selection of operating system. Select Linux and Press 'a' key then you will get a prompt give a space and type 'single' then press enter key, again get a prompt then give the command 'passwd' then press enter key, give new password as '123456' (as you like) again press enter key and give the same password '123456' then press enter key. Finally you give the command 'reboot' press enter key for rebooting the system then you can given 'root' username and '123456' password. Now you will be rescued from Linux.

The role of semi colon(;) in "C" Program

2007-09-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

semi colon (;) is uded for to terminate a statement
ie printf("Hello World"); it terminates here, so we can write some thing more in the same line,
compiler separates each statements using semi colon.
if(a>b) { } it doesn't have semi colon because it has a block of codes ie { }.
But for(i=1;i<=10;printf("%d\n",i),i++); it terminates here as it prints inside the function definition.
It can also write for(i=1;i<=10;i++) { printf("%d\n",i); } as regular.

C example

2007-09-02T02:42:00.000-07:00

#include
#include
void main()
{
clrscr(); //clear the screen
printf("Hello World"); //print Hello World
getch(); //used as a wait command
}

Note: stdio.h(standared input output) and conio.h(console input output) must be included above.

OUTPUT: Hello World

C Programing Language

2007-09-02T01:38:00.000-07:00

A language is commonly used for communication. Computer language used for to communicate with computer. So 'C' is one of computer languages and it is tough to study comparing with other languages.
Three types of languages:
1. High level language
2. Assembly language
3. Machine language

Computer directly understand only machine language, but it is not possible for human. So we use High level languages like C, VB etc. It is called Source Code, then it will be translated to machine language and run.
Let us practical:
First we have to check whether C installed by searching tc.exe in our computer. if it is not there, it must be installed soon and double click on tc.exe. then we will get a window and open a new file.
Note:- If you get an error relating STDIO.H opening. Just see where it is located and go to window menu or other menu, there may be one Directories sub menu, there you give the path
as C:\INCLUDE or D:\INCLUDE. It always comes while copying from other computer.
If you copy TC folder from C:\, it must be pasted to C:\ only don't D:\ or E:\ etc.

System Software and Application Software

2007-09-02T01:30:00.000-07:00

System software means Operating System, COMPILER, INTERPRETER and other utilities. Application software means commonly using softwares like MSWord, Visual Basic, SQL Server etc. But unles we have system software, application software is frivolous.

Hardware and Software

2007-09-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

Hardware :- Physical components of a computer called hardware.
Software :- A set of programs called software
Programe :- A set of instructions given to the computer for a particular task called a programe
eg:- As you know DOS commands :
1. date
2. time
3. copy

It can be checked by making a text file with extension bat and contents date, time and copy source tartget
ie:
open a text file and write below three lines and save filename.bat
date
time
copy file1 file2
then you can run that filename.bat. you will get the result of three commands continuesly, it is what the programe that I meant earlier

What is Computer

2007-09-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

Computer is an electronic data processing machine. Which can access and retrieve data from user.
Data:- data is a collection facts, figures and statistics which can be processed to produce a meaningful information.