Author: Serkadis

Short Version: As the owner of an iPod touch (2G), I was happy to give this case/stand a spin on my recent trip over to Ireland. Generally speaking, the case provided adequate protection of the touch (albeit leaving the top and bottom slightly exposed), was very handy for watching videos on the plane, and worked great for transforming the touch into a bedside alarm clock. With a MSRP of $34.95, I’d love to see the price come down a touch (zing!), but overall, the idox Traveler Series is a respectable case/stand combo choice.

Longer Version: As anyone who regularly flies the not-so-friendly-skies knows, airplanes seem to be caught in some sort of infinite “shrinking” vortex. I swear. Every time I get to my assigned seat, it’s smaller than the last flight…

Anyways, we’re here to talk about something more important than the failing flailing airline industry – a new iPod case from idox. Known as the Traveler Series, the case/stand is available for the iPhone (3G / 3GS – $34.95), iPod nano (4G – $24.95), and the iPod touch (2G / 3G – $34.95).

Construction: Think of the case as a hard plastic portfolio, of sorts, for your iThing. The construction of the case/stand is very solid, providing more than adequate protection for the screen and device in general when traveling inside a pocket/briefcase/backpack/etc. The touch sorta snaps into place and stays there thanks to the embedded rubber design. When transformed into a stand, there are some nice rubber stoppers on the bottom to prevent the whole thing from sliding off your tray table (or other flat surface).

Cons: The idox Traveler Series is definitely not perfect. For starters, the snug-fitting case is rather difficult to pry open. Yes, PRY. The lid snaps into place very securely, but is challenging to open without torquing the bottom (or top) corner. (In the grand scheme, this isn’t a deal breaker since it errs on the side of over protection.)

Another downside is the exposed top and bottom of the iPod touch. The way the case is designed (above) allows for easy access to the iPod dock connector, headphone jack, and the top power switch. However, because of the nature of the design, the exposed areas could potentially be damaged.

It is also important to note that the physical volume controls on the side of the Pod are rendered useless while in the case. Although, this is not that big a deal since there are onscreen touch volume controls, but still can be annoying in certain situations.

Finally, it would be really nice if future generations could include multiple angle options for better and more adaptable stand use. While on the plane, when the guy in front of me put his seat back, I would have loved to be able to change the angle on the stand to compensate for my new viewing situation.

Pros: With all that said, the idox Traveler Series does have some nice things going for it. For one thing, it is actually made pretty well. The case’s solid construction provides adequate protection for the screen, sides, and back of touch. Also, the touch stays securely in place once you “snap” it in.

Although I complained about “the snug-fitting” case above, there is a definite plus side to this attribute as well – the touch inside the case fits in my jeans pocket with no trouble. And finally, the fact that it is an all-in-one case/stand, which offers both protection AND more comfortable video viewing, is clearly the biggest selling point here.

Conclusion: After all is said and done, the Traveler Series case/stand definitely has its utility and some redeeming qualities. At $34.95 it’s definitely not priced very attractively, but I have to say, having any kind of stand for the iPod touch on a long flight really makes all the difference in the world. If it happens to protect the screen and still fit in my pocket as this idox case does, then that’s not such a bad thing either.

PS3 users have had access to Facebook and other social networking sites like Twitter for a while now thanks to the console’s web browser. It looks lik…

You know your proprietary mobile OS isn’t all that great when we go ahead and say: thank heavens for Windows Mobile. Garmin/ASUS have announced that their M20 “GPS that can make phone calls” will now ship with Windows Mobile 6.5, and “all” current M20 owners are eligible for the free upgrade. Sweet. The two companies claim 6.5 will be available in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech, Turkey and elsewhere on the M20 by the close of 2009. No love for Western Europe and the US? Oh well. WinMo 6.5 for the M20 is nice and all, but what about all those fellas who purchased a G60?

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When the Japanese gaming mag, Famitsu broke the news on a Final Fantasy XIV (PS3, PC) code coming with the purchase of Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360, P…

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Two universities running Kindle DX pilot programs have rejected the device as a potential textbook replacement, citing a poor feature set and the controversial accessibility issues. Primary among these is the text-to-speech capability.

This capability came under fire shortly after the Kindle 2 debuted, as the Author’s Guild wanted writers to be compensated for the spoken “performance” of books, or otherwise have the text-to-speech function disabled.

Meanwhile, equal rights groups like the American Council for the Blind, the International Dyslexia Association, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities wanted the feature to be kept free and available as an aid to the visually or cognitively impaired.

The Author’s Guild ultimately won and the text to speech feature became optional, an issue for the authors to decide individually.

Since the large screen Kindle DX debuted in the spring, a number of schools — secondary and beyond — ran pilot programs which tested the device’s viability as a textbook replacement.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University were two establishments running these pilot programs which recently decided not to adopt the device until its features are improved, including access to visually impaired students.

“The big disappointment was learning that the Kindle DX is not accessible to the blind. Advancements in text-to-speech technology have created a market opportunity for an e-book reading device that is fully accessible for everyone,”
Ken Frazier, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s director of libraries said. “This version of the Kindle e-book reader missed the mark. It is relatively easy to envision an improved e-book reading device that meets the needs of the entire university community. Such a device would include universal design for accessibility, higher-quality graphics, and improved navigation and note-taking. I think that there will be a huge payoff for the company that creates a truly universal e-book reader.”

The National Federation of the Blind considers this a victory.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said in a statement that the Federation “commends the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University for rejecting broad deployment of the Kindle DX in its current form because it cannot be used by blind students and therefore denies the blind equal access to electronic textbooks. We do not oppose electronic textbooks; in fact, they hold great promise for blind students if they are accessible. But as long as the interface of the Kindle DX is inaccessible to the blind — denying blind students access to electronic textbooks or the advanced features available to read and annotate them — it is our position that no university should consider this device to be a viable e-book solution for its students.”

This announcement comes just a day after Intel announced an e-reader designed especially for the visually impaired.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009

Just a friendly remind to all my fellow World of Warcraft players. You need to migrate your account to a Battle.net account by the end of the day today, lest you’re unable to login.

Why is Blizzard doing this? Probably to make things easier on its end, but you’ll also see some benefits. One day, Battle.net will be, and I hate to use the phrase, a type of “social network” for Blizzard gamers. You’ll be able to message your friends across different games while in the game and all that jazz.

For your troubles, Blizzard will send you an in-game pet, Mr. Chilly.

I converted my account about a month ago and have had zero problems.

Roll Call reports on the changing House calendar. “‘As action on health insurance reform legislation moves to the Senate, the House is updating its schedule for November and December to reflect that, and to ensure there is time to complete our work on other important issues,’ [House Majority Leader Steny] Hoyer said in a statement.” Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has kept open “the possibility of working on Saturday, Nov. 21, the weekend before the Thanksgiving recess. Both chambers are scheduled to be in recess the following week for the Thanksgiving holiday, observed Nov. 26” (Brady, 11/11).

Politico: “The House will be in session for 21 more days in 2009, putting in a couple of five-day workweeks as Democrats rush to finish their heavy legislative agenda before the Christmas holiday.” And the Senate? Majority Leader Reid “has said he wants to get the bill to the president by the end of the year, but that would require working on Saturdays, something the body is hardly anxious to do” (Sherman, 11/11).

Hoyer today said “he is prepared to extend the House healthcare schedule into late December in order to pass healthcare reform,” The Hill reports. “Hoyer’s move follows Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) decision late Tuesday night to file a motion that could allow the Senate to begin debate on healthcare next week.” The actions by both leaders are likely part of the effort to meet the White House’s year-end deadline for a health care bill.

Reid is currently waiting for the Congressional Budget Office’s cost estimates of the bill, which are expected by the end of the week. But he has also signaled a willingness to begin the process before he has this analysis in hand. In terms of the procedural vote on the motion to bring the bill to the floor, success will require 60 votes, which will be an early test to Democratic unity. And “Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) have both warned Democrats that they will target any senators who support procedural votes on the bill, and McConnell has indicated he’ll do everything possible to slow the healthcare bill’s movement” (Fabian and Swanson, 11/11).

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

More and more people are using the M word — that is “monopoly” — to describe Google. Certainly there is an argument that, globally, Google has a monopoly on search. According to combined analyst reports, Google’s worldwide search share is about 60 percent, even 70 or 80 percent in some geographies — and that’s just from the desktop or portable PC. Google also is rapidly gaining search share on mobile phones as well; 60 percent, or even more, in many countries.

Google’s influence is a hot topic this week because of media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s threat to put most, if not all, his content behind a paywall and remove that content from crawling by Google search bots. Is Google doing evil to traditional media publishers like Murdoch, by making their content easily available for free? In August, over at my Oddly Together Website I tackled this topic in post: “Can You Charge for News? Ask Google.”

As Google’s might increases, it’s reasonable to ask how the company’s business practices are changing and whether or not it can stick to corporate philosophy “Ten things we know to be true.” Perhaps the best known is No. 6: “You can make money without doing evil.” But can Google does this? That’s the question I pose to Betanews readers.

I’ll go further and ask: How would you rewrite Google’s “10 Things” to more appropriately fit how the company conducts its business? I offer my list below but ask for your adaptations in comments. By the way, my revision is a bit hard-ass with a purpose: To generate discussion. The revised 10 Things don’t necessarily reflect how I personally feel about Google, which otherwise gets knocked around in my revised 10 Things.

I got the idea to rewrite the 10 Things from a Twitter exchange, late yesterday. I tweeted: “Q: Does YouTube diminish if Bing Videos easily collects videos from many sources? If Microsoft taps in social sharing/networking?” Windows developer Mugunth Kumar responded: “I wish it would. Google videos is like too much inclined toward YouTube 🙁 “don’t be evil, no non-google videos for you”!” I shot back a revised No. 6, which you can read below. With that introdcution…

Google’s 10 Things — As revised by Joe Wilcox

1. “Focus on the user and all else will follow” should be: Focus on the algorithm and all else will follow.

Google’s core business is really about ranking the relevance of Websites. If keywords are any indication, the focus is not on the user. Keyword search is hugely inexact, and it’s unnatural to how people look for things (e.g., they ask questions). But keywords are important to how Google makes money from search.

2. “It’s best to do one thing really, really well” should be: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

While cliché, the saying is appropriate to Google. In the early 2000s, Google did search “really, really well” — better than any competitor. But end users and even keyword customers could still easily switch to another search engine (just type a different URL into the browser’s address bar). Google extended its search technology and brand success by releasing many products with cross-integration benefits. Today, Google search is sticky, because of supporting products or services. Few of them are another thing done “really, really well,” however.

3. “Fast is better than slow” should be: Slow is better than fast.

With the exception of perhaps Chrome, most Google products or services stay in perpetual states of beta before release. The development process is anything but fast. Gmail spent five years in beta. Exactly what is fast about that? The slow process allows Google to get something to market, while it’s refined to reach a “good enough” threshold (see #10).

4. “Democracy on the web works” should be: Monopoly on the Web works.

Microsoft showed the power of monopoly when Internet Explorer tied to Windows ruled the Web. Contrary to democratic concepts about the Web, a minority of Websites account for the majority of traffic. Increasingly, the means for getting to these majors, and most of the minors, is search: Google search. And there’s nothing really democratic about one company, or its algorithm, controlling access to most information.

5. “You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer” should be: You don’t need another search engine to find the answer. Google is king of the search hill. Early on, this was because of its technology and keyword business practices. Google has extended its reach through its own services and by way of partnerships, such as being default search engine in every major Web browser but one — Internet Explorer.

6. “You can make money without doing evil” should be: You can do evil without making money.

Other than search, most Google services don’t directly make money. But they do take money from someone else — what other businesses might call “evil.” Google gives away for free something someone else charges for. For example, last month, shares of turn-by-turn mapping manufacturers plummeted after it was revealed that Google would include turn-by-turn mapping features with Android 2 for free.

7. “There’s always more information out there” should be: There’s always more information that Google can cannibalize for free.

The core dispute Robert Murdoch has with Google: He pays talented people to produce valuable content, which Google profits from through keyword search. Google doesn’t produce content, but like a human parasite leeches nourishment (e.g. revenue) from the host.

8. “The need for information crosses all borders” should be: The need to index information crosses all boundaries.

Google wants to catalog everything. The practice has generated some corporate — and even government — backlash about privacy and security. Google produces none of this information, owns none of it, but looks to profit from it.

9. “You can be serious without a suit” should be: You can’t be taken seriously without a suit.

Sure, regular Googlers dress however they want. But how does Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt dress? In a suit!

10. “Great just isn’t good enough” should be: Good enough is good enough.

Few Google products or services are great, nor does the company strive to make them so. The majority, especially those competing with something already available, strive to cross the “good enough” threshold. When something is good enough for less or free, people will adopt it and even give up some more valuable that costs more. Microsoft has repeatedly demonstrated the “good enough” principle with its products, such as Internet Explorer in the late 1990s.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009

Today, as is often the case, one tech company’s loss became another’s gain.  Utkarsh Srivastava has left Yahoo after spending more than three years as a senior research scientist there, and Srivastava confirmed (in well under 140 characters) that he’ll land at Twitter.

Srivastava’s background is quite impressive.  On the educational front, he earned degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and Stanford, and happened to receive the Stanford Graduate Fellowship, too.

Around the same time, he acted as a research intern at Microsoft and then IBM, and was awarded the Microsoft Graduate Fellowship.  Not bad.

Next, Srivastava headed to Yahoo, where according to his LinkedIn profile, he became "one of the original designers and developers of Pig, a high-level language for data processing over Hadoop.  Pig is open-sourced as a subproject of Hadoop, and is routinely used in production for large data processing both within, and outside of Yahoo!."

Which more or less brings us back to the present day.  Louis Gray noticed that Srivastava had been added to a list of Twitter employees, and Srivastava confirmed it on Twitter a little later.

Yahoo hasn’t named any sort of replacement or, as far as we can tell, chained its remaining employees to their desks.

Related Articles:

> More Microsoft Layoffs On The Way

> YouTube’s Director Of Content Partnerships To Leave

> Twitter Picks Up Former Facebook Platform Manager

When President Obama took office, one of the very first things he did was declare that all government agencies should default towards openness in dealing with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. It looks like some are trying to sneak around that a bit. Wired has the story of an FOIA request where the government is demanding $522,886 in order to fulfill the request. This certainly gives off the appearances of pretending to be open while figuring out a nice way to toss up a huge roadblock. Oh, by the way, that single bill would just about equal the entire cost that the US gov’t charged for all FOIA responses in 2008. Why so expensive? That’s not particularly clear. Apparently, the guy filing the request even knows which file cabinets the information he needs is in, so it’s not like the gov’t has to go searching for it…

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Tokyo-based gadget maker OTAS is selling sunglasses [JP] that feature, for some reason, a built-in video camera and MP3 player. The so-called aigo glasses come with a 1.3 megapixel camera, a music player that supports MP3 and WMA files, 4 GB of internal memory, and a USB 2.0 port.

OTAS says the internal memory is enough to store up to 10,000 songs. You can shoot pictures (in JPEG format) in 1,280×1,024 and videos (in AVI format) in 640×480 resolution and at 12fps. The sunglasses weigh 52 grams and support Windows XP/Vista/7.

You can get them over at import specialist Geek Stuff 4 U for $220.78 plus shipping.

The drive on Capitol Hill to create a bipartisan entitlement and tax reform commission to help “bend the cost curve” of health spending and address mounting deficits picked up momentum Tuesday, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a handful of moderate Democrats and Republicans voiced support for the effort.

The commission would draft proposals to control the long-term costs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which together account for 40 percent of all federal spending other than interest on the debt. The recommendations would require a swift up or down vote by a supermajority of members of Congress, to assure bipartisan support for unpopular measures to cut sensitive spending programs or to raise taxes if necessary.

The chief authors of the measure, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, say they will attempt to attach their plan to must-pass legislation raising the government’s debt ceiling in the coming weeks. Others, including independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Sen. George V. Voinovich of Ohio, are circulating similar plans.

Conrad held hearings Tuesday to drum up support for the approach. He was joined by a small group of lawmakers from both chambers warning that runaway government spending and a $1.4 trillion annual deficit were threatening to undermine the nation’s economy and the U.S. credit rating abroad. “It doesn’t take an economist to realize our course is unsustainable,” Voinovich said. “The federal government is the worst credit card abuser in the world and we’re putting everything on the tab of our children and grandchildren.”

McConnell, R-Ky., said he would have to see the composition and mandate of a commission before signing on, to make sure Republicans were adequately represented. But his comments echoed those of Conrad and others who believe a commission may be the only way to force Congress to come to grips with unsustainable spending on entitlement programs, the major cost drivers in the federal budget.

“I actually discussed that matter with the President back before he was sworn in and I indicated a willingness to discuss the appropriateness of having some kind of commission, and I’m willing to talk about that – particularly if the commission targets the real problem we have in the future which is the unfunded liabilities we have in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security,” McConnell told reporters at a news conference.

The government is on track to accumulate deficits totaling $9 trillion between now and 2019, according to the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget. While the administration’s spending in response to the recession and financial meltdown helped drive up the fiscal 2009 deficit to a record $1.4 trillion, most of the future problem will be due to rapid rises in entitlement spending on Medicare and Social Security for seniors and Medicaid for the poor and disabled. Experts say that these problems are not being addressed as part of the health care overhaul bill passed by the House last weekend or the plans being considered in the Senate.

The idea of threatening to hold up a measure allowing the government to raise the nation’s nearly $12 trillion debt limit to enable the Treasury Department to continue borrowing has attracted strong backing from Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., 13 other Democrats and Lieberman. Bayh, who met late last week with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to press his case for a commission, described the move as an “insurrection” by lawmakers fearful that the government was on an unsustainable spending path.

Lieberman said that it is essential to link action on a new debt ceiling with a commission to address the nation’s long-term fiscal problems “to ensure that we do not put ourselves or the nation into a position where we continually have to increase the nation’s debt ceiling limit to accommodate perpetual deficits and ever-growing national debt.”

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, said the majority leader has been “actively talking with many of his colleagues and administration officials about this type of proposal,” but that no decision has been made. Manley emphasized, however, that “the process and policy needs to be a joint administration-House-Senate decision.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opposes the approach, according to an aide, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., supports the concept.

The White House has signaled interest in the Conrad-Gregg commission approach, according to Conrad, but remains non-committal. During Tuesday’s Senate Budget Committee hearing, William Galston, a Brookings Institution senior fellow, said he has heard the administration may include a proposal for a bipartisan commission in the fiscal 2011 budget proposal that will be submitted to Congress early next year. The Office of Management and Budget declined to confirm or deny the speculation.

David Walker, the former Comptroller General of the United States, urged Congress to move swiftly next year to create a bipartisan commission to address the nation’s growing fiscal challenges.

“Importantly, everything must be on the table for any commission to be credible and to have a real chance of success,” said Walker, who is now president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “This includes acknowledging the need to modernize the current social insurance programs, constrain federal spending, including defense spending, and raise additional revenues.”

Adfonic, a UK-based operator of a self-service mobile advertising marketplace, has raised $600,000 in seed funding from cleantech entrepreneur Gordon Shields.

PRESS RELEASE

Adfonic (http://adfonic.com), the web-based self-service global mobile advertising marketplace, today announced that it has secured $600k in its first round of funding. The money raised will fund the recruitment of key personnel and the next phase of development for its advertising platform, as well as allow it to expand internationally.

The funding comes from Gordon Shields, a clean tech entrepreneur, who is best known for founding Shields Environmental, the world leader in re-use, re-marketing and recycling of surplus network assets for mobile network operators. Working with Adfonic, Gordon’s role will be one of leadership and mentoring, not simply as an investor.

Launched in July, Adfonic offers the industry’s most advanced targeting capabilities and campaign management tools, enabling advertisers to deliver relevant messages to specific audiences on mobile devices through both the mobile web and application platforms such as iPhone and Android.

Victor Malachard, CEO of Adfonic comments: “We are thrilled that Gordon has joined the team here at Adfonic and already his insight is proving invaluable. As we grow the team and increase the capabilities of the platform, there is no doubt we will continue to attract the most relevant advertising agencies and brands and grow our base of key publishers.”

Gordon Shields, the investor of Adfonic, adds: “The Adfonic team fills me with confidence as they offer a clear yet creative analytical platform. I have watched this innovative and ambitious team enter a competitive market and now look forward to sharing with them my experience and connections in the mobile sector”.

-Ends-

For further information, please contact:

Media contact:

Emma Parlons on behalf of Adfonic on +447958 951118 or at [email protected]

Other business:

Paul Childs CMO at Adfonic on +44 7711 417 430 or at [email protected]

About Adfonic

Launched in July 09, Adfonic is Europe’s first self-service mobile advertising marketplace. Adfonic is headquartered in London, with operations in France, Spain and USA. Adfonic offers comprehensive and intuitive capabilities that make it easy for advertisers to connect with their target audience and for publishers to maximise the earning potential of their mobile sites and applications. The company was founded by three mobile and marketing industry veterans, Victor Malachard (CEO) Wesley Biggs (CTO) and Paul Childs (CMO) who collectively bring 40 years of mobile marketing, mobile technology and start-up experience to their role.

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In a cold but light drizzle today, after breakfast with veterans in the East Room of the White House, the President and the First Lady along with the Vice President and Dr. Biden went to Arlington National Cemetery. The President took part in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, then spoke at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery.

The President began his remarks extending his thanks to VA Secretary Shinseki, and to the Bidens and their son Beau, who just returned from Iraq. He expressed humility to be speaking to the veterans in the audience, and spoke in awe of the “determination” he saw in the eyes of those grieving yesterday at Fort Hood. Noting that there have been times in the past when America did not stand by our veterans, the President pledged that this would never happen again:

That is my message to all veterans today.  That is my message to all who serve in harm’s way.  To the husbands and wives back home doing the parenting of two.  To the parents who watch their sons and daughters go off to war, and the children who wonder when mom and dad is coming home.  To all our wounded warriors, and to the families who laid a loved one to rest.  America will not let you down.  We will take care of our own.

And to those who are serving in far-flung places today, when your tour ends, when you see our flag, when you touch our soil, you will be home in an America that is forever here for you just as you’ve been there for us.  That is my promise — our nation’s promise — to you.

Ninety-one years ago today, the battlefields of Europe fell quiet as World War I came to a close.  But we don’t mark this day each year as a celebration of victory, as proud of that victory as we are.  We mark this day as a celebration of those who made victory possible.  It’s a day we keep in our minds the brave men and women of this young nation — generations of them — who above all else believed in and fought for a set of ideals.  Because they did, our country still stands; our founding principles still shine; nations around the world that once knew nothing but fear now know the blessings of freedom.

That is why we fight — in hopes of a day when we no longer need to.  And that is why we gather at these solemn remembrances and reminders of war — to recommit ourselves to the hard work of peace.

There will be a day before long when this generation of servicemen and women step out of uniform.  They will build families and lives of their own.  God willing, they will grow old.  And someday, their children, and their children’s children, will gather here to honor them.

Thank you.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

—————————————————

Mensaje del Presidente sobre el Día de los Veteranos

Ayer, en un día frío y lluvioso, luego de desayunar con veteranos en el ala este de la Casa Blanca, el Presidente y la Primera Dama en compañía del Vicepresidente y la Dra. Biden se dirigieron al Cementerio Nacional de Arlington. El Presidente participó en la ceremonia de colocación de la corona en la tumba de los soldados desconocidos, luego dio su discurso en el Anfiteatro Conmemorativo del Cementerio Nacional de Arlington.

El Presidente comenzó sus declaraciones dándole gracias alSecretario de Asuntos para Veteranos Shinseki y a los Biden y a su hijo Beau, quien recientemente regresó de Irak. Expresó humildad al hablarle a los veteranos en la audiencia y habló en admiración a la “determinación” que vio ayer en los ojos de aquellos afligidos en Fort Hood. Haciendo notar que ha habido veces en el pasado cuando los Estados Unidos no ha apoyado a nuestros veteranos, el Presidente prometió que esto no volverá a pasar.:

Ése es mi mensaje a los veteranos hoy. Ése es mi mensaje a todos los que prestan servicios bajo condiciones peligrosas. A los esposos y esposas en casa que hacen la labor de dos padres. A los padres que ven a sus hijos e hijas irse a la guerra, y a los hijos que se preguntan si mamá y papá regresarán. A todos los combatientes heridos y a las familias que han enterrado a un ser querido. Estados Unidos no los defraudará. Velaremos por los nuestros.

Y a los militares en lugares lejanos hoy, cuando su campaña concluya, cuando vean nuestra bandera, cuando toquen nuestra tierra, estarán en casa, en un Estados Unidos que estará a su disposición para siempre, así como ustedes lo estuvieron para nosotros. Ésa es la promesa que yo y la promesa que nuestra nación les hacemos.

Hace exactamente noventa y un años, los campos de batalla de Europa quedaron silenciosos al finalizar la Primera Guerra Mundial. Pero no conmemoramos este día, año tras año, como una celebración de la victoria, por más orgullo que sintamos por esa victoria. Conmemoramos este día como un homenaje a quienes hicieron posible la victoria. Es un día para recordar a los valientes hombres y mujeres de esta joven nación –muchas generaciones de ellos– quienes por encima de todo creyeron y lucharon por un conjunto de ideales. Debido a lo que hicieron, nuestro país aún existe; los principios de nuestra fundación aún brillan; países por todo el mundo que alguna vez conocían solamente el temor ahora conocen los frutos de la libertad.

Es por eso que luchamos, con la esperanza de que algún día ya no tengamos que hacerlo. Y es por eso que nos congregamos en estas conmemoraciones y recordatorios de guerra: para volver a comprometernos con el arduo trabajo de la paz.

Pronto llegará el día en que esta generación de hombres y mujeres de las Fuerzas Armadas dejen el uniforme. Se dedicarán a sus familias y a su propia vida. Dios mediante, llegarán a la vejez. Y algún día, sus hijos y los hijos de sus hijos se congregarán aquí para rendirles homenaje.

Gracias. Que Dios los bendiga. Y que Dios bendiga a Estados Unidos de Norteamérica. (Aplausos.)

After the good news comes the bad. Just yesterday, news about trophies being blocked on the PS3 version of Modern Warfare 2 came out. That’s been fixe…

I probably don’t have to tell you that many businesses are still struggling with the concept of using social media. Many simply can’t find a good reason to use it at all, and many more find themselves using it but struggling to validate that use. They can’t find the ROI. They feel that too much time is being wasted. Basically, they’re just using social networks because they feel like they’re supposed to. They just want to keep up.

Many businesses are even banning social media from the workplace entirely. In fact, a great deal of our readers have expressed that they feel that social media doesn’t belong in the workplace because employees are there to "work," not "goof off."

Well, that may be the case, and perhaps social media doesn’t fit into your business at all, but considering your general business goals can help you decide whether or not there is a place for social media, and whether or not your employees can fit into that puzzle.

As social media enthusiast Chris Brogan told WebProNews in a recent interview, it’s time to get over the touristy part of social media and start getting down to business.

He says it’s not "Gee whiz, it’s cool" anymore. It’s "What are we gonna do with it?"

"Great you can type. Now what?" he says.

Here are some sample goals a business owner or manager might set for social media use. Once the goal is considered, then you can look at the tools that are out there and evaluate which ones will give you the best shot of achieving those goals.

20 Possible Goals

1. I’m a content provider, and I want to expand my reach.

2. I want my customers to be able to stay updated with news about my company.

3. I want to get to know my customers.

4. I want to promote my product.

5. I want to stay abreast of current news and trends.

6. I want to share my ideas with likeminded individuals.

7. I want to increase brand awareness.

8. I want to provide customer service and support easily.

9. I want to find a job.

10. I want to recruit.

11. I want people to like my brand.

12. I want to collaborate on business projects.

13. I want to directly sell a product.

14. I want to earn respect within my industry.

15. I am getting information overload, and I want to get organized.

16. I want to drive traffic to my site.

17. I want to attract advertisers and make money.

18. I want to get more involved with local prospects.

19. I want to get more involved with people on an international and global level.

20. I want to keep up with my competitors.

There are certainly more possible goals for business social media use out there. I’ve probably not even scratched the surface. What goals do you set for your social media efforts? Discuss here.

Related Articles:

> How Big Brands Use Social Media

> Some Brands Have Good Ideas For Social Media. Do You?

> Using Facebook Traffic to Drive Brand Loyalty

 

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