Category: News

Techie people who’ve been right about Apple rumors in the past have been busy this past week. While there’s nothing concrete in either of these posts, their track records speak for themselves, and Apple conjecture is always fun, for some.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball takes the prize for most dedicated. While I was out saying things I could never take back during an uproarious Boston waterfront New Year’s Eve party, he was pounding out a thousand or so words about the Tablet, Apple, and why this thing won’t be something you just take into the shitter to pass the time with a few graphic novels and TIME Magazine with movies.

Again, conjecture abound, but at the end of it Gruber opines grandly, “I say they’re swinging big – redefining the experience of personal computing.” I’m forced to agree, not because of some deep, primal urge to support anything and everything Apple does, but because I’m still having a hard time envisioning what a tablet will do that demands people’s attention like the iPhone did. Gruber seems to think it’s the apps, stupid, and on that point I agree wholeheartedly: Software will define this thing, just as it did the iPhone.

It’s on the software front that a far more grounded wave of tablet predictions arrive from ars technica and John Siracusa. Calling his column “cold water” he bats down haptic touchscreens, folding dual screens, and 3D goggles, preferring the software route. And why not? There are already 100 million iTunes customers in place that prove the model works, and they in turn are fed by more than 125,000 App Store developers who currently sell more than 100,000 apps. It’s a proven model, and one Siracusa says Apple will rely heavily upon when this thing arrives. For his part, Gruber says “don’t bet against” anything Siracusa says. We have an accord!

Siracusa also calls his column an “antacid tablet.” As I am unable to traverse the Internet these days without stepping on, consuming, or producing a steaming pile of Apple Tablet news, I am inclined to agree with him. [Daring Fireball, ars technica]

We have an awesome giveaway to kick off 2010! Neko Habitat is offering a beautiful acrylic Cradle cat bed for one lucky winner! This sleek modern bed is raised slightly off the floor with stainless steel legs and the shape of the bed is sure to attract kitty for a comfy afternoon nap.

To enter the monthly giveaway, make sure you’re signed-up to receive Moderncat updates via email. The drawing will take place on January 31. International winners are eligible to win if they would like to pay the extra shipping. Complete details on the monthly giveaway here.

EXTRA CHANCE TO WIN!

Neko Habitat wants to hear from you! For an extra chance to win the monthly giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and tell us what products you’d like to see next from Neko Habitat. One extra entry per person.

Ricky is quickly becoming one of my favorite comedians…

In other news, Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church, had a $1M gap to close in their funding and put out a request for help to the flock. What happens? He collects $2.4M over the course of a weekend from the congregation. Why was the gap there in the first place? Poor economy causing donations to drop from the same congregation. So, he decides he’ll put some godly pressure on the faithful, and lo and behold, a miracle happens. I say the flock got fleeced.

I-mate was one of the pioneers of the smartphone world, and for much of the last few years also one of the most troubled.  The company always credited itself as the creator of the first Windows Mobile phone, something that was disputed by most that saw the company as simply a trumped up middle man trying to take credit for the work of others, principally HTC.

When HTC decided to strike out on its own and sever ties to I-mate the company floundered, promising many great handsets and delivering only very few.  Most recently the company, after disputes with its ODM’s and claimed internal fraud, shut doors completely, ad we thought we heard the last of them.

However a bit like the villain in a summer movie the company simply refuses to die, with Phonenews.com claiming the troubled company has been bought by a pretty vigorous HTC.

This role reversal apparently came about due to I-mate owning some useful patents and rugged designs which could give HTC a step-up in an area where they have never really done well.

The rumour is far from confirmed, but it is of note that HTC will now be honouring I-mate warranties.

Do you think this is a good deal? Do any of our readers have more information about this?  Let us know in the comments below.

Medical statistics are often misunderstood (perhaps up to 72.381672 percent of the time).

Sometimes they’re consciously spun. More often they’re just phrased in an opaque way.

Given all the stories in recent weeks on cancer screening (mammograms, psa tests, pap tests), the effectiveness of medicines, drugs and supplements (statins, tamoxifen, vitamin D), not to mention the focus on the health care bill, it is a good time to briefly discuss a few better ways to present medical results.
Relative Risk vs. Absolute Risk

To make my points general, I’ll refer to an abstract cancer X rather than any particular real cancer, which is anything but abstract.

That being said, imagine that a headline announces that screening for cancer X reduces deaths from it by 25 percent. Imagine as well that another headline announces that screening cuts deaths from cancer X by about 1 in 1,000, reducing the rate from 4 in 1,000 to 3 in 1,000. Read more…

This week’s contribution to The Science of Kissing Gallery comes from a particularly gorgeous woman I adore in the science blogosphere. Thanks to her for contributing what can only be described as the steamiest image so far. Submit your original photo or artwork here.

Se acaba de filtrar un vídeo que da a conocer las líneas del nuevo modelo de Toyota, una berlina de bajo coste para el mercado indio cuyo nombre será Toyota Etios. Será mostrada de manera oficial en el Salón de Nueva Delhi que se celebrará entre el 5 y el 11 de este mes.

Tal y como podemos deducir tras ver el vídeo, el modelo contará con un tamaño compacto pero con un diseño muy moderno y estilizado. También se puede apreciar un morro con un cierto toque agresivo y una parrilla alargada y fina.

El Toyota Etios comenzará su comercialización en tres variantes de volúmenes. Su precio rondará los 10.000$ . A continuación os dejo con el vídeo publicado:

Related posts:

1. Toyota 4Runner
2. Toyota Auris 2010, nuevo restyling
3. Toyota mostrará un nuevo híbrido en el Salón de Detroit

from some anarchists, 1 January 2010: “Its been over two months now that two anarchists – Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos had been arrested in Greece following bank robbery. Needless to say those anarchist comrades need our solidarity and support now. Especially 72 years old Bonnano is in grave danger due to his health problems and extremely bad conditions he is kept in Amfissa prison…” more

As nice as Windows 7 is to use let’s face it — we always want total control over the computing environment. What we really want is to have total control in an easy-to-use form that puts everything at our fingertips. Enter the super secret Windows 7 God Mode.

God Mode is a simple folder that brings all aspects of Windows 7 control in a single place. It collects all of the Control Panel functions, interface customization, accessibility options, just about every aspect of controlling Windows 7 into a single place.

God Mode is easy to set up too, just do this:

• Create a new folder anywhere.
• Rename the folder by pasting this name exactly as it appears (copy it first):
• GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

That’s it, you now have a folder with the Control Panel icon (pictured above) that has all the controls in one place:

(Windows 7 Themes via Dwight Silverman on Twitter)

El actual campeón del mundo de la fórmula 1, Jenson Button, ha aprovechado para publicar una foto a través de su Twitter en la que posa con su nueva equipación de McLaren-Mercedes. Por otra parte, también ha querido felicitar estas fiestas a todos sus seguidores.

Finalmente, Jenson Button podrá acabar la temporada 2010 vestido de gris/plateado y con la estrella de Mercedes. Después del culebron de finales de 2009, y a pesar de su fichaje por McLaren, resulta irónico que el color vaya a ser, cuanto menos, parecido, o que compita con el logo de la marca de Stuttgart en su monoplaza.

En lo que respecta a la escudería McLaren, la temporada 2010 la afrontará con el monoplaza MP/25.

Related posts:

1. Jenson Button fichará por McLaren
2. Norbert Haug desmiente los rumores sobre el posible fichaje de Jenson Button
3. Jenson Button se proclama Campeón del Mundo de la Fórmula 1 2009 en el GP de Brasil

Know The Upsides –And Downsides Of Your Adoption Behavior
Individuals and companies should be deliberate in their adoption strategy, there are benefits and risks to each category. It’s been interesting watching different group adopt social technologies over the past few years, I can see who benefits from being first –and the pains to be a thought leader of both individuals and companies.  

Above, this is the standard Rogers Adoption Curve, it’s important to point out that my matrix below only is in context of social technologies, it will vary from technology to technology.  I found this take on the adoption stages of social technologies helpful in framing how I thought about the following matrix. I built this following matrix in the context of social technologies and adoption by both individuals and mixed in with organizations and industries.

Matrix: Be Deliberate In Your Adoption Strategy
Each category has specific benefits and risks, but rather than just behaving in a way that comes natural, I encourage you in your personal and work adoption to be deliberate in your actions.

1. Examine your organizations adoption patterns. First, define how quickly your organization responds and adopts to technologies, and factor into your considerations.
2. Be a Category Ahead Of Your Company. If you’re responsible for new technologies at your company, your personal adoption should be a level or two ahead of the organizations adoption, as you cannot effectively deploy for your company if you don’t personally understand the impacts of the new technologies.
3. Track The Category Ahead Of You. Find an individual that’s above your adoption category (the early adopter watches the innovator) and be sure to watch their behaviors and learn from them. Adopters are often blazing their own trail, and may not ever follow anyone.

My Strategy: Early Adopter –But Not Innovator
One thing is clear, being first doesn’t mean you’re right, in fact, the Innovators have a difficult time dealing with early and late majority, paving roads of opportunity for analysis, agencies, and consultants. As a result, I make a distinct effort to be an early adopter of new social technologies, but not the innovator, as I find I’d rather be more often right, and expend less energy trying to be first.

Leave a Comment. Share Your Adoption Strategy
Let’s learn from each other, I’d like to know about your adoption behavior and that of your company. Were you deliberate in choosing your adoption strategy? How does it hurt or help your company?

from friends, 1 January 2010: “Police tactics are currently in flux post-London G20 – this change is very important, so please feedback any new things they are doing on the ground, anything you’ve tried, whether they’ve worked or not.  Feedback contact details are at the end of this guide.   The aim of this guide is not to show you how to conduct a riot. Neither is it intended as a critique on the pros and cons of fighting with the police…” more

Archaeology Magazine

With photos.

The desire for personal adornment, especially in the form of beads, has been with us for a very long time– as far back as the Neanderthal era, some 75,000 years ago or perhaps even more (see “More than an Ornament”. Like many before them, the Predynastic (ca. 3600 B.C.) inhabitants of Hierakonpolis gave into this primeval urge, but seemingly not as freely as those living at other sites of this time. Beads are not especially prevalent, except in the graves of the elite where the selection is choice, but limited in quantity. Then as now, beads were valuable and this lack probably has more to do with theft and plunder over the millennia than with any disaffection for such finery. In fact, bead making appears to have been a significant industry at Hierakonpolis–far more plentiful than the beads themselves are the tools used to make them…or at least this is what we think they are.

Distinctive little flint borers, called microdrills, averaging only 2 cm in length, have been recovered in great numbers at Hierakonpolis in conjunction with evidence to deduce their use. In 1899, the British archaeologist, F.W. Green, discovered two caches which he described as containing “an enormous number of exceedingly small pointed flint implements” (i.e., microdrills) along with many broken carnelian pebbles, some chipped into the form of rough beads, some showing the signs of the beginning of the boring operation, as well as chips of amethyst, steatite, rock crystal, obsidian and ostrich egg shell. These objects had been stowed in cavities, rather like little lockers, hollowed out at the base of the outer wall surrounding the temple precinct in which the famous Narmer palette had been found just the year before.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Tendencias21 (Francisco J. Martín Valentín and Teresa Bedman)

Las autoridades egipcias conceden permiso a España para trabajar en la mayor tumba inédita de la dinastía XVIII en Tebas. Un nuevo proyecto arqueológico español en Luxor (Egipto), a cargo del Instituto de Estudios del Antiguo Egipto de Madrid

El Instituto de Estudios del Antiguo Egipto de Madrid, en cooperación con el Supreme Council of Antiquities de Egipto, bajo el Patrocinio del Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural Español de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes del Ministerio de Cultura, y la Fundación Gaselec de Melilla, iniciará el próximo mes de noviembre de 2009 sus trabajos en un nuevo proyecto a desarrollar en la Tumba nº 28 de Asasif, en la orilla occidental, en Luxor.

Tumba nº 28 de Asasif (Luxor Occidental). Nuevo yacimiento del I.E.A.E. Archivo I.E.A.E. ‘Proyecto TA 28’.

El monumento en el que trabajará el equipo del I.E.A.E. bajo la Dirección del Dr. Francisco J. Martín Valentín, y la co-dirección de Dª Teresa Bedman, posee una altísima importancia arqueológica, artística e histórica, por ser del mismo periodo al que pertenece la Tumba Tebana nº 192 de Jeruef, Senaa, perteneciendo como ésta, al reinado de Amen-Hotep III (Imperio Nuevo, hacia 1360-1353 a C.), y más específicamente, al lapso de tiempo transcurrido entre los años 28 al 36 de dicho soberano, el cual constituye uno de los momentos más agitados e interesantes del Imperio Nuevo egipcio.

Hoy existe un gran vacío en el conocimiento y documentación de los acontecimientos históricos de aquel periodo, porque fue especialmente turbulento. Lo que no fue destruido, o quedó inacabado por la actuación de los partidarios de la nueva religión atoniana, sería posteriormente objeto de una nueva destrucción selectiva en época de los reyes de la dinastía XIX.

Tendencias21
El Instituto de Estudios del Antiguo Egipto ha obtenido permisos para excavar una nueva tumba inédita, la Tumba nº 28 de Asasif (Luxor occidental), su dueño parece ser, según todos los indicios un personaje del que no se conoce demasiado actualmente. Su nombre fue Amen-Hotep, familiarmente llamado Huy.

El Visir Amen-Hotep, llamado Huy. ‘Proyecto Visir Amen-Hotep ATT nº 28’. (www.visiramenhotep.com)
El Visir Amen-Hotep, llamado Huy, fue un personaje muy importante del periodo de Amen-Hotep III (hacia 1387-1348 a C.).

Sin embargo, los documentos y monumentos relacionados con él son escasos en comparación con los referidos a otros personajes del mismo tiempo. El motivo principal de esta oscuridad es, sin duda, el hecho de haber sido perseguida su memoria, y destruidos sus monumentos.

La exploración de su tumba, la Tumba Asasif nº 28, identificada por primera vez por Andrew Gordon como la del Visir Amen-Hotep, Huy, no se ha llevado a cabo hasta el presente de un modo exhaustivo.

Esta tumba se encuentra en la zona de Asasif sur, prácticamente inédita y sin excavar y, según todas las evidencias que hasta ahora conocemos, inacabada.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

from riseup, 26 December 2009: “Two riseup birds recently did a presentation at the People’s Summit celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the Seattle WTO protests. We discussed the dangers of using corporate tools to do organizing work, in particular, the fact that you don’t know what they do with your data. Thanks to some anonymous comments in a blogger’s post about his research regarding a U.S. mobile phone company’s release to law enforcement of its customers’ geographic location information, we now have some answers…” more