Author: Serkadis

Let’s imagine you’re seeing a case of pneumonia, and you suspect (as is quite reasonable these days) that it is precipitated by H1N1 influenza.

What antibiotics do you choose for an outpatient?

(If someone is sick enough to be admitted — especially to the ICU — I’m assuming the all-guns blazing approach will be adopted.)

Even though some of these pneumonias have been only H1N1, bacterial superinfection can and does occur — most commonly with our old friend S. pneumoniae, somewhat less so with group A strep, S. aureus (including MRSA, of course), and H. influenza.

But since we hardly ever know exactly what species of bacteria we’re dealing with, how can you leave even one of these out?  That MRSA one in particular?

This past week I chose trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole + high-dose levofloxacin — in addition to the oseltamavir.

Overkill?  These guidelines from Canada would suggest so, but I’m not so sure.  After all, most people with H1N1 do not get pneumonia at all (and hence do not need antibiotics), and not surprisingly this was not a person with a normal immune system.

Should be an interesting winter …

Apple has launched iTunes Preview, which is a means of showing what music is available on iTunes right in the web browser. This seems like an incredibly obvious way to do it, and one that many have been waiting for way too long, but now if you want to look at the iTunes catalog, without having to install iTunes, you can do so.

You can’t listen to song previews without installing iTunes, but at least you can see what they have. You do still have to download iTunes to purchase music.

According to MacWorld, the feature only works for music, but could probably be applied to video at some point. The feature can be accessed at the iTunes Charts page or clicking on a link from the music store.

When you go to a preview page, you can see information for the album like the track listing, the length, and the price. There are also reviews that you can read through.

If you go to the Charts page, you can search for other artists and songs and get to preview pages for those results. However, if you click on the link on the search results page that says "view more results in iTunes," it will take you to the iTunes download page (assuming you don’t have it installed).

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Somebody should tell Doug “netbook” Aamoth that Windows 7 seems to be a battery hog. The fine folks at Laptop magazine have put three different netbooks to the test, determining their respective battery life under both Windows XP and Windows 7. Looks like Windows XP is the winner.

The netbooks test include the Toshiba mini NB205, ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, and HP Mini 311. They were all subjected to Laptop’s standardized test, which consist of Web browsing over Wi-Fi. You know, like you do in real life. Any and all “power-saving” features were turned off, so as not to give one netbook an unfair advantage over another.

The winner? It seems Windows XP is more energy efficient than Windows 7, with the older operating system lasting, on average, 47 minutes longer than the new kid on the block.

Of course, now you’d have to give up all the improvements that are present in Windows 7. Then again, you are using a netbook, so you’re already walking in with a loss.

There’s a certain type of man that wears cufflinks. Don Draper, for example, wears cufflinks. But he’s also a fictional character set in the 1960s. In the real world, these days, it’s usually the well-off that wear them. Basically, you need to have enough money to not care about spending hundreds of dollars on buttons.

But CuffLinks.com appears to be going for a new crowd with its latest design. The “Facebook Me” cufflinks are $50 and feature yes, the Facebook logo on them. They are approximately 3/4″ by 3/4″, are “Rhodium plated” and feature a “Bullet back closure.” One cufflink features the Facebook “f,” the other reads “me.” Classy.

Do you want God of War 3? Do you like Dream Theater? If the answer to both of those questions is a resounding “Yes!” then you’re in luck.Dream Theater…

We were a bit surprised, recently, to hear at a WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) meeting that they actually appeared to be taking more of an evidence-based approach to copyright, rather than just assuming that “more is better.” And now, the Director General of WIPO, Francis Gurry, gave an interview where he explained why he thought that high fines and jailtime weren’t the answer to piracy. He’s exactly right, which is a bit surprising. But as you read the details, it sounds like he might be right for the wrong reasons — which isn’t all that surprising.

It’s not that he thinks that the better approach is for companies and content creators to adjust their business models — but that he’s afraid the draconian punishment schemes are basically a PR nightmare for WIPO’s continuing fruitless effort to convince people that infringement is evil:

“I don’t believe we are going to win this, (to) find the solution by putting teenagers in jail,” Gurry said in an interview on a visit to India. “I think that is not going to win public sympathy.”

“Part of the battle here is to sensitise the public to the fact that there is a real issue involved. It is not simply a victimless crime….”

Amusingly, the whole reason the RIAA kicked off its lawsuit strategy was based on similar thinking: that it was an “education” campaign that would convince people that there was “harm” done from file sharing. Of course, it didn’t work. At all. And no education campaign is going to work, because it’s just the basic nature of economics. If the technology has made the product infinite, it’s not a moral issue or a legal issue: it’s a business model issue. The answer is to change business models, not hope and pray that you can somehow convince people that it’s “bad” to do something that obviously can be done quite easily.

So, yes, Gurry is correct that draconian punishment has created a massive PR backlash that has helped make things even worse, but an education campaign isn’t going to make a difference. Only a business model change can fix a business model situation — and we’re already seeing that happen just fine in many parts of the world. It’s not an education campaign that will help the content industry. It’s smarter business models.

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The folks over at uLocate, makers of the popular GPS-centric WHERE application, have come through with some stats in order to help us better track the DROID as it leaves store shelves…and there’s a map for that. Oh irony. When you download WHERE from the Android market, uLocate (like any good developer) can tell: what model of Android phone you are using and where, roughly, you are geographically located. The DROID after its opening weekend was estimated to have sold close to 110,000 handsets (Bloomberg), and according to uLocate, 10% of  those devices had downloaded WHERE (this number was based on 11,000 new WHERE DROID activations). Not bad. As of today, uLocate has tracked 21,000 new DROID activations, and is projecting that number to increase to 25,000 by tomorrow. What does this mean? WHERE typically has a 25% penetration rate on all Android handsets sold worldwide, and a 10% penetration rate on new Android devices during the first month of their release. If the 10% number holds true, which we are told historically it does, then there have been somewhere around 250,000 DROID units sold and in use since last Friday the 6th. That wouldn’t include any units that haven’t ended up in customers hands from telesales, or other sales channels. Again, this is just using past and present data from uLocate, but it should be realtively accurate if their download ratio stays the same. So where is the DROID dropping like it’s hot? New York currently has 12% of all DROIDs, LA has 6%, and DC has a respectable 5%. Check out the site for more info and other top cities.

Read

The Boston Globe has launched a digital version of its newspaper called GlobeReader, which can be read online or offline.

GlobeReader replaces the preview edition that launched over the summers and was available to subscribers for free. The GlobeReader is still available for free to Boston Globe’s seven-day newspaper subscribers.

For non-subscribers the GlobeReader is offered for $4.98 per week. A bundle including home delivery of the Sunday Globe along with 7-day access to the Globe Reader is offered at the same price.

The GlobeReader can be downloaded daily to a subscribers desktop, laptop or netbook in a style aimed at mirroring the look and feel of the print version of The Boston Globe.

Improvements to the new version of the GlobeReader include the addition of comics, sports scores, weather and the daily crossword puzzle.

Key features include:

•     Articles are set in the same type font as the paper, and the page design is understated and clean.
•     The navigation is easy and clear.
•     Scanning for stories or photos is fast.
•     Readability features include adjustable type size and screen size.

"Reader response to the preview edition of the GlobeReader has been very encouraging. Now we’re pleased to offer GlobeReader to the public at large," said Chris Mayer, senior vice president, circulation and operations, The Boston Globe.

"It is important for our business to offer Globe news and information on a variety of platforms that appeal to a variety of market segments."

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So I was browsing Pravda, as I do from time to time, when I stumbled upon this fascinating story. It seems that women are far more likely to read a gadget’s instruction manual than men. It’s the old, “men never ask for directions” bit, yes.

Research shows that men are usually more confident in their ability to fix things, so why bother reading an instruction manual? Women, more likely to look for help, have no problem consulting an instruction manual.

I think I’m somewhere in the middle: I don’t consult an instruction manual (or Google, as it were) unless I run into a serious situation. I don’t read a manual as soon as I open something, but I’m not going to pretend that I can fix something without reading up on the situation.

The ironic thing is that because men tend to think that they can fix anything, they’re more likely to call tech support because they’ve totally borked the situation.

Why am I reading Pravda? Because I’m bored, and am teaching myself to read Russian. Oh, if only I were joking.

КРУНЧГИР! (Eh, close enough.)

U.S. News & World Report/HealthDay News reports that seniors who participate in Medicare Part D’s will likely notice significant changes during this year’s open enrollment period, which begins Nov. 15. “Monthly premiums will rise 11 percent to $38.94, on average, according to an analysis published by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. That’s up 50 percent from 2006, the first year that Medicare Part D drug benefits were offered.” Seniors can enroll in a private prescription drug plans if they’re enrolled in traditional Medicare or if they have Medicare Advantage, they can get Part D benefits through that plan. “Seniors will get little relief, however, from cost-sharing requirements.” In addition, costs resulting from the Part D “donut hole” will increase, “starting after a beneficiary has incurred $2,830 in drug spending. Coverage resumes for drug costs above $6,440.” U.S. News also notes that “The House of Representatives on Nov. 7 passed a sweeping health reform bill that provides gap relief beginning in 2010 and eliminates the gap by 2019. However, the Senate must act before any health reform legislation is enacted” (Pallarito, 11/13). In a separate story, U.S. News & World Report reports on broader changes to the Medicare program (Moeller, 11/13).

On Sunday, I joined a group of young Arab women at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss the importance of educational opportunities and the value of public service for women in countries around the world.

I stressed the benefits to the security and development of every society that come from the advancement and equality of women around the globe. I told them that President Obama and the United States are committed to working with our international partners to help ensure that all women have opportunities in education, public service and the global economy — a big part of the reason why we formed the White House Council on Women and Girls.

The students at Zayed University responded with questions about everything from U.S. foreign policy to the challenges and excitement of running for office. They were especially interested in what it was like to become the first female U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. I told them it was an honor to serve alongside the numerous extraordinary women who serve the Obama administration in Cabinet-level positions.

I also had a chance to learn from the students. They told me about the progress the UAE has made in advancing educational opportunities for women, encouraging public service and expanding the roles of women in society and government.  My hosts told me that, in recent years, the UAE has undertaken extensive education reform efforts in order to enhance the nation’s growing economy and culture and provide young Emiratis with a competitive option to complete their studies at home rather than abroad.

After working to advance equal opportunities for women throughout my career, seeing the progress women have made in UAE firsthand was exciting. These young women are poised to become the world’s next generation of leaders, and their success — whether in economics, security, or public service — will benefit us all.

Janet Napolitano is Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

It’s a rare day when we post a web comic on MobileCrunch. To my knowledge, we’ve only done it once before. But you know what? This one’s just too good — and too topical — to pass up.

The Qualcomm FLO TV is a nifty little device. It plays TV content on a 3.5-inch screen, which could be great for some. But you have it’s $8.99 a month for the service and pay the $249.99 initial cost. And it results in yet another mobile device for you to carry even though your smartphone can playback videos.

Six months of the service is included with the purchase, and after that, you’re out $8.99 to continue watching TV on the go. But if you must have live TV and not pre-recorded content downloaded onto your smartphone, Amazon, Best Buy and Radio Shack will be pimping the FLO TV starting today.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Yesterday, Microsoft launched Windows Marketplace for Mobile’s Web component, a version of the store fully accessible through any browser.

I lamented that Apple had not yet created a similar face for the iTunes App store, even though it is the most popular download shop among the smartphone competitors. Users who want to browse the contents of the iTunes store, be it music, videos, or applications, must have the iTunes desktop software installed or otherwise browse it on their iPod Touch or iPhone (in which case they’re almost guaranteed to have iTunes installed on their PC anyway.)

So the problem was that there was really no way to browse the iTunes store if you didn’t use the iTunes software.

One reader was quick to point out that I didn’t cite iTunes Preview, a Web-based iTunes store which was rolled out less than 24 hours after Microsoft’s announcement.

So in the interest of fairness, let’s talk about what Apple has brought to the table with iTunes Preview.

As I said before, iTunes Preview is a Web-based iTunes storefront which finally begins to address the accessibility gap created when Apple’s downloads are only browsable within iTunes itself.

So now, users can browse the entire iTunes catalog by genre or artist name, and read album reviews as well as customer reviews and ratings.

But things run into a bottleneck very quickly when it comes to actually consuming music. There is no way to preview songs within iTunes Preview (ironic, I know), and no way to purchase and download music. These can only be completed if the user hits “View in iTunes,” which launches the desktop software.

So iTunes Preview creates a sort of “look, but don’t touch” window into Apple’s downloadable music library if you don’t have iTunes installed.

While it’s currently for the music portion of the iTunes Store and not the movie/tv or app sections, iTunes Preview is actually a step in the right direction that arguably should have been taken long ago.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009

We at CrunchGear love you. Yes you. Not anyone else reading this. Listen. We’re going to give you free stuff from November 15 until December 20. It’s going to be so amazingly great you won’t even believe it. Here’s what’s going to happen.

We’re going to post and Tweet comment contests from November 15 until just before the holidays. The prizes will include but won’t be limited to watches, cameras, strange things I find in my ear, and calculators. What do you have to do? Watch this space for more instructions on Monday and start following us on Twitter.

Good luck!