Author: Serkadis

The Fire Emblem series re-ignites as one more title is remade for the Nintendo DS. If you’re familiar with Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, then this might spell good news for you.

A few years ago, the story broke about how TJX, the corporate parent of a series of retail stores, including TJ Maxx and Marshalls, had suffered a huge data breach, after some hackers had accessed its computer network via an insecure wireless connection at one of the stores. A year and a half later, we wrote about the arrests of some of those involved. The following year, we wrote about another hack, at Heartland Payment Systems, that had the potential to surpass the TJX hack as “the largest ever” in terms of the number of records accessed. It later came to light that both hacks were actually done by the same guys, supposedly led by Albert Gonzalez, a hacker who was actually on the government payroll at the time (after turning informant upon being caught a few years earlier standing in front of an ATM with a handful of fake ATM cards).

Back in March, Gonzalez received a twenty year sentence for the crime — the longest sentence for “hacking”-related crime in the US. Others involved in the deal have been sentenced to shorter terms recently as well. Now, Danielle Alvarez, from the Miami New Times, points us to an article written by the paper that details the story behind the hacking, and the folks involved — including the news (which I hadn’t seen elsewhere in following this story) that one suspect end up killing himself after hearing of Gonzalez’s arrest. It’s a long story, but reads like something that will get turned into a movie at some point. Of course, the study plays down the security flaws at the companies, like TJX, which sent unencrypted credit card data over its network (a point Gonzalez’s legal team tried to make in properly calculating how much “damage” he did). Still, it’s a fascinating story about a group of young hackers, who wanted to “get rich or die trying,” and how at least one of them succeeded at the latter.

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Dell announced on Tuesday its launch plans for its Dell Streak, a 5-inch Google Android-based Tablet.

Early this June the Dell Streak will be available across the UK and in the US later this summer. The company did not provide specific launch dates for either country’s launch.

The Android-based Dell Streak Tablet is designed to provide people “on-the-go” entertainment, social connection, and navigation experience. It will be running Android 1.6 but Dell also confirms that the device will get an upgrade to the Flash-capable Android 2.2 later this year.

The features of the Dell Streak are: 5-inch WVGA touchscreen, Qualcomm’s 1-GHz Snapdragon Processor, 2 GB internal storage, maximum 32GB of external SD storage, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, and a front-facing camera for video chat. The Streak will also have 3G, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity.

The price of the Dell Streak or the U.S. carrier details were not yet announced.

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3. Verizon, Google developing a new tablet PC

The “Sex and the City 2″ Premiere was held tonight at the New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. The four main actresses were all stunning during the night.

Dressed in their designer gowns, Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristen Davis, and Sarah Jessica Parker walked the light blue carpet with hundreds of adoring fans taking photos. They all wowed the fans by with their jaw-dropping gowns and elegant look.

Kim Cattrall very gorgeous in her gold embellished Naeem Khan floor-length gown. The dress hugged her curves and showed off her fabulous figure perfectly, even at 50 years old.

Cynthia Nixon wore a form-fitting Carolina Herrera black gown with some gorgeous gold beading along the top of the bodice. She paired it with a jeweled clutch and stunning earrings.

Kristin Davis was very pretty in pink in her Jean Desses for Decades chiffon gown. The strapless and straight to the floor style of the dress is perfect for her personality

Sarah Jessica Parker caught everyone’s attention in a one-shouldered neon yellow Valentino gown, which she borrowed from the Valentino Collection. Her long, blonde, wavy hair and muted makeup perfectly complimented the bright gown.

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2. Annette Edwards: Clone of Jessica Rabbit?
3. First Arab-American To Claim Miss USA Title – Rima Fakih Miss USA 2010

Australia has long been criticized for proposed plans to implement wide Internet censorship, as well as other moves that don’t really have their place in a supposedly democratic country. Stephen Conroy, the country’s communications minister and the man largely responsible for the Internet-filtering proposals, is fighting back agains… (read more)

Siliconera went digging again down at the USPTO, and they found a new trademark filed by Activision for what sounds like a new Guitar Hero game.

Catching up with the ‘Lost Finale’ and its ending, users were really sad to see how it all ended. 6 years has been a long time, a show which has been able to maintain or I may refer to growing user database day by day. After the show ended, everyone was either heard on phone calls to discussing it at the very next day at the office. People were sharing views while most of them being sad while some being angry of the ending. Some even shared a few hot words over the Director as viewers awaited the last episode as they would be glued to their television sets as some final match.

Sunday night’s ‘Lost’ episode audience count was jumpy. 13 Million viewers, who watched the last episode which is not the same size of audience which was earlier recorded at 23 million when the first two episodes were aired at the second season, were found to be disappointed.

Some 10 million opted out and instead watched the reality show, ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ and later were happy to hear from others that they didn’t watch the drama end. The reality show also witnessed the biggest crowd or viewer count since March 2008. Maybe one reason what I might think of the reality show gaining viewers as the drama hosted some 45 minutes of commercials. More than 70% People trend to switch between channels when ads are aired.

For our regular readers, we even bring you the Lost Ending: Lost Finale Explained by one of our co-writers.

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Filed under: Etc., Technology

Skobbler has introduced a completely free, turn-by-turn navigation app for the iPhone, with one new and unusual detail: you help play the role of cartographer. Sort of like Linux for thoroughfares, you download the Skobbler app and then use CloudMade, a community-sourced mapping to add “hyperlocal” detail to the map, which Skrobbler then updates on its servers. The more information gets added by community mappers, the more detailed and up-to-date the instructions are available to the nav-app’s users, with updates pushed to the program in real-time. We’re unsure of how granular the details are in the current CloudMade maps, but the app is free and this could be your chance to be a pioneer.

[Source: Mac Daily News]

Skobbler first totally free turn-by-turn navigation app for iPhone originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 May 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BP announced on Tuesday that they will try to cover up the oil spill caused by the explosion and subsequent sinking of one of its platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, adding that the company is preparing an alternative solution if the first try fails.

British oil giant, which is trying over a month to stop by all means the oil spill caused by the loss of the platform Deepwater Horizon, said in a statement that the attempt to seal by injecting cement and other fluids in the well, should begin “within days”, AFP reported.

The group said on Monday it hoped to launch the operation on Wednesday, 24 hours later than it initially announced, BP pointed out however that the operation’s success was not guaranteed.

In case of failure, BP said it is preparing an alternative solution that would put extension tubes at the source of the spill, which would “recover the most oil and gas that flow from the well.”

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Researchers found out that sugary drinks can lead to Obesity and Diabetes. Experts say that if you lessen your intake of these sugary beverages, the more likely your blood pressure to go down at a normal level, which is enough to prevent the occurrence of heart attack and even stroke.

“Our findings suggest that reducing sugar-sweetened beverages and sugar consumption may be an important dietary strategy to lower blood pressure and further reduce other blood pressure-related diseases.” This was stated by the lead researcher Dr Liwei Chen, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Public Health in New Orleans. The research led by Dr. Chen will be relevant to all patients especially those who have diabetes, heart problems and other diseases related to blood pressure. Since sugar is tempting to our sense of taste, many beverages contain it.

Do you know that if you reduce your sugary drink a day, it can lead to a drop of 1.8 mm of mercury in systolic pressure and a 1.1 mm reduction in diastolic pressure over 18 months? Yes, this was the result of the research that was conducted for 18 months. This will be of great help to your heart and your entire body.

The researchers also clarified if caffeine can cause the decrease in blood pressure. It was found out that caffeine intake has no association with blood pressure. As Dr. Chen said, “We found no association for diet beverage consumption or caffeine intake and blood pressure, suggesting that sugar may actually be the nutrient that is associated with blood pressure and not caffeine which many people would suspect.”

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Lexus has stopped selling some LS luxury sedans in the wake of a recall for a steering problem. The recall was announced on Monday.

Lexus, Toyota’s luxury division, is recalling 3,800 units of the 2009 and 2010 LS 460 and LS 600h.

The problem is that the steering wheel does not return to the proper position during turning.

Sales are expected to restart in mid-June.

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Source: Car news, reviews and auto show stories

A few time back we reported that Apple, one of the strongest and here-to-stay brand, would be unleashing the latest smartphone for mobile users worldwide as some internal reports suggested that major retailers are planning to cut-down the stock of iPhone 3GS. While some were of the view that Apple would be bringing a new edition others suggested that the price cut was just because of the credit crunch or to outsell other brand smartphones. But today we got the chiller, as Wal-Mart announced the reduction in the price of iPhone 3GS 16GB Edition.

The reduction in the price has confirmed that a brand new edition is on the way. iPhone would now be available at an attractive price of $97, which records a reduction of almost $100 compared from the previous price. Same contract is being offered by AT&T but with a better and a smarter price.

While sources confirmed of the brand new edition, Wal-Mart was of the view:

“We are going to reduce the price on this most popular smartphone so our customers can realize these new saving as soon as possible.”

Apple has always brought in a new product at the Worldwide Developers Conference, more known as WWDC. The annual developers conference might be witnessing a new product launch with most of them eying a new edition of the iPhone.

Neither has Apple denied or confirmed anything about the product and its rumors.

Related posts:

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3. Apple iPad pre-orders started to ship – 8Million more to come

Nas intenções de aumentar suas vendas em 30% nos próximos cinco anos, a Mercedes se prepara pra expandir sua linha de veículos, mas focando seus esforços em carros pequenos e mais baratos (ok, não tão baratos assim, mas proporcional à marca).

Após 2012, mais três novos veículos estarão disponíveis, sendo eles um cupê, um crossover e um sedan, que serão baseados no modelo Classe B que atualmente é vendido na Europa. Após o Classe C ser lançado em 2013, a montadora também pretende lançar um conversível e alguns outros modelos a serem decididos. O CEO Ernst Lieb diz o seguinte:

“Todos querem ter um Mercedes-Benz. Eles (os clientes) estão procurando os modelos classe S e E. Com o classe C, nós estamos preparando um sedan de quatro portas e não faremos mais nada. Agora nós vamos nos concentrar em segmentos onde os concorrentes são fortes”.

Via | Top Speed

Microsoft will announce this week several changes in the management of its Entertainment and Devices Division in an attempt to position the department responsible for telephone and consoles in a better place compared to its current rivals, Apple and Google.

James Allard, one of the great responsible for the launch of the first Xbox was leaving the company by its differences with Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, because of the cancellation of his personal project, Courier based on a double touch screen tablet PC, which was attended to compete against Apple’s iPad.

Today the Wall Street Journal has provided a report which suggests a complete restructuring of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft, responsible for brand of Xbox, PC games, Zune device and mobile operating systems. A division has reported to the Microsoft company $ 165 million in the first quarter of fiscal year.

The Entertainment and Devices Division is the fourth largest operating units of Microsoft, behind Windows, Office and Server, and revenue forecasts for this fiscal year, which ends on June 30, is 8,000 million dollars.

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low vitamins

Vitamin D: Heart Health Helper

New research shows that chronic vitamin D deficiency may be a factor in heart disease, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.

Known as the “sunshine vitamin” because exposure to sunlight triggers the body to synthesize it, vitamin D has long been recognized as crucial to the development and maintenance of strong bones. But new studies and reviews are indicating vitamin D deficiencies are an important indicator of heart disease risk as well.

Low vitamin D levels related to incidence of heart attacks and heart disease

A 2008 Loyola University review cited a number of studies that link low levels of vitamin D to heart-related problems, noting that the rates of severe disease and mortality may be as much as 30 to 50 percent higher among heart disease patients who are sun-deprived.

In addition, a recent Harvard study concluded that low levels of vitamin D appear to be associated with higher risk of heart attack in men. The study used research statistics that show the rates of cardiovascular disease-related deaths are increased when exposure to vitamin D producing sunlight is reduced (at higher latitudes and during the winter months), but those same rates go down in conditions when exposure to sunlight is increased.

The study also compared medical records and blood tests from a group of several hundred men who had suffered a heart attack to those of men who had not suffered heart problems. The comparison indicated that men with a vitamin D deficiency (quantified as 15 nanograms per milliliter of blood or less) had an increased risk for heart attack compared with those with a sufficient amount (having 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood or more) of vitamin D.

Even a slight deficiency of vitamin D appears to raise the risk of cardiac problems. According to the study, men with intermediate levels of vitamin D had a higher risk of heart attack than those with sufficient vitamin D levels.

Screening and treatment for vitamin D deficiency recommended

A 2008 research paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology called vitamin D deficiency “an unrecognized, emerging cardiovascular risk factor, which should be screened for and treated.” The paper endorsed practical recommendations to screen for and treat low vitamin D levels, especially in patients with risk factors for heart disease or diabetes.

“Vitamin D deficiency is an unrecognized, emerging cardiovascular risk factor, which should be screened for and treated,” said James H. O’Keefe, M.D., cardiologist and director of Preventive Cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO. “Vitamin D is easy to assess, and supplementation is simple, safe and inexpensive.”

It is estimated that up to half of U.S. adults and 30 percent of children and teenagers have vitamin D deficiency, which predisposes them to hypertension and a stiffening and thickening of the heart and blood vessels. Vitamin D deficiency also alters hormone levels and immune function, which can increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

About the Author

Medical research is discovering more and more ways in which vitamin D is crucial to health, vitality, and preventing disease. Find out more about vitamin D benefits at Vitamin D Answers.

good vitamins brands for low sperm count?

You can try something like Vimax, it has all of the ingredients in one pill instead of having to take dozens of different pills at one time.

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Low vitamin D danger!

Low Vitamins is a post from the Vegetarian Vitamins Guide blog where you can find suggestions and advice from vegetarians and vegans on vegetarian diets, supplements, vitamins and overall nutrition.

On Tuesday, British Oil Company BP said that its own investigation team has been discussing the results of investigations regarding the cause, or causes, of the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico.  According to their preliminary analysis, the fire and subsequent oil spill on the horizon were caused by the failure of several different processes, systems, and equipment.

Although there were a number of control mechanisms, which included both procedures and equipment, that should have stopped the accident from occurring, (to put it bluntly) they did not.  Among these control mechanisms which are under investigation by BP include: cement intended to seal the reservoir from the well, pressure tests to insure that the well is sealed, an Emergency Disconnect System (EDS) which is activated by pushing one of many buttons located on the rig, and the execution of procedures meant to detect, and also control, hydrocarbons in the well.

BP’s self-investigation has been underway since April 21st, and is being carried out by the company’s Head of Group Safety and Operations.  The oil company’s current financial situation stands as such: on Monday, shares closed at 493 pence, which values the company at GBP92.63 billion.

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South Korea’s President Lee Myoung-Bak has given support to officially reassuming the title of “main enemy” for their northern neighbors, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) according to reports. This comes after evidence has pointed towards North Korea as the culprit behind the sinking of the Cheosan, a South Korean naval ship.

President Lee, during a meeting with his senior staff, stated that South Korea has focused on exterior forces as opposed to threats closer to home: “Our military failed to clarify the notion of the main enemy for the past decade. We’ve been only focused on potential threats outside the Korean peninsula,” he stated.

This comes amidst other efforts to recognize the potential threats that may be posed by the North, including anti-submarine exercises with the US, a ban on DPRK access to South Korean waters, as well as stopping all bilateral trade between the two nations. The latter will prove to be the most decisive, considering the lack of trade partners for the North.

President Lee has attacked Pyongyang for their violations of UN sanctions as well as disregarding Korean War Armistice Agreement, and has warned that the South will not tolerate further violence.

President Lee also intends to increase the South’s self defence capabilities in case of further attacks by the DPRK and has threatened retaliations. In a nationally televised speech, the President expressed his strength as well as a stern warning to Pyongyang: “North Korea (DPRK) will pay a price corresponding to its provocative acts. I will continue to take stern measures to hold the North accountable.”

The term “main enemy” had been used officially since 1995, but was discarded in 2004 by Lee’s predecessor Roh Moo-Hyn. It was replaced with “direct military threat” amidst reconciliation efforts on both sides.

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Blogger Monkeyfister has been watching the BP Live Cam all week and commenting on strange disruptions and gas explosions.

His account suggests the situation is worse than BP is letting on, and it’s deteriorating: 

I’ve been watching the live Spillcam, and discussing it with folks, here all day long. About 5pm last night, we all started taking note of gas bubbling out of the seabed floor. It started earlier than that, actually– see pic a few posts down. About 1am this morning, the eruptions began to increase in spew volume.

At about 8am, CDT, as I watched, things started changing rapidly. Where the water around the two major gush points used to be very clear, it is now super turbid, and detritus is flying everywhere in a chaotic manner. seabed venting is obvious to see when ROV cameras pan around.

Not good news, as it will make the Top-Kill/Junk Shot nearly ineffectual… At the least, it means that more pressure and mud/cement is going to be required.

See Monkeyfister’s dramatic account  here –>

Can you really tell what’s going on in the grainy live cam image? Since the disruptions noted by Monkeyfister, BP has delayed Operation Top Kill and reduced estimates of the siphon collection rate.

Don’t Miss: Pictures Of A Louisiana Town Covered In Oil

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Economists fear that, due to market pressures, some heavily indebted European nations may adopt excessive austerity measures on the back of aid packages intended to help the countries recover from the global recession.  Olivier Blanchard, the chief economist for the International Monetary Fund, said “there is indeed a risk that, under market pressure, some countries overdo austerity,” and furthermore that, “That would be a mistake.”

The austerity measures adopted by Greece on the back of the joint Euro-IMF bailout, due to the severity of Greece’s debt problems, have been purported to be quite severe; however, Blanchard believes that other indebted European nations, such as Italy and Spain, should not need to impose such severe measures.

“Markets tend to lump a series of countries in the same basket. In fact, other European countries don’t need to take the same draconian measures as Greece to reduce their budget deficits,” said Blanchard.  “They are more credible to start with, with less debt, and they can afford a more gradual adjustment to limit the negative impact of consolidation on short-term growth.”  One interesting question could be asked on the back of this: was it not the IMF that imposed such severe austerity measures on Greece in the first place?

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Google went with an unprecedented move on Friday by celebrating the Pac-Man’s 30th birthday with a fully functional game on the Google homepage. The move proved a huge success, prompting the company to continue to offer the Pac-Man custom homepage at a permanent location. It was such a huge success, apparently, that people forgot about their work a… (read more)