Category: News

Ribbit Mobile, which offers a set of VoIP services that is very similar to Google Voice, just launched its first iPhone app (iTunes link). The app allows users to check their voicemail, read voicemail transcriptions, forward voicemails by email and create a “to-call” list based on these messages. The app uses the iPhone’s native phone app to make calls and the default SMS app to send text messages.

Ribbit also gave us 500 invites to hand out to our readers. If you would like to get one, just read on to find out how to claim yours.

Sponsor

In terms of features, Ribbit Mobile, which launched in November, compares very well to Google Voice. While the interface takes some getting used to, the ability to make and receive calls right from Ribbit’s website through the Flash-based interface is extremely useful while traveling, for example. For a more detailed look at Ribbit Mobile, have a look at our in-depth review from November.

Focus on Voicemail

Your voicemail inbox is the central focus of the app and the way the app handles these is exemplary. Once you click on a message in the inbox, the app switches to a new view that displays details about the call (name of caller, number, date and time). Here, you can also listen to the message and read the transcript (Ribbit offers both automatic and manual transcriptions). From here, a small bar at the bottom of the app also allows you to respond to the message by phone, SMS or recorded voicemail. In addition, you can add the caller to your to-call list and forward transcripts and audio by email.

Playing it Safe

Given that Apple didn’t allow the Google Voice app into the store, Ribbit clearly played it safe with this app. While it provides access to all the service’s voicemail features, the app doesn’t replicate any of the phone’s calling or SMS features. The app also doesn’t allow you to access your Ribbit Mobile address book. Sadly, this also means that you can’t use your Ribbit phone number to make calls and that the caller ID will always show your iPhone’s number. In the current version, it’s also not possible to see a list of missed calls that didn’t result in a voicemail. You can, however, choose to receive alerts for missed calls and new voicemails by SMS, email and instant message. You can set your alert preferences in the app and through the service’s web interface.

We understand that Ribbit probably had to remove quite a few features to stay on Apple’s good side, but the result of this is that the app misses quite a few essential features. Hopefully – now that Ribbit managed to get this castrated version of the app approved – the Ribbit team will soon be able add more of the missing features into the app.

Invites

Ribbit Mobile is still an invite-only service. If you would like to give it a try, just head over to Ribbit’s sign-up page and use the following invite code: RWW09
Discuss

Looking for a gold-plated games console to go with that gold-plated iPhone? Then you might be glad to hear that the folk at Goldstriker International have turned their gold dipping attentions to Nintendo’s Wii to produce the Nintendo Wii Supreme. The extravagant creation is once again the work of Stuart Hughes, the man responsible for the iPhone 3GS Supreme. ..

Tags: Console,
Diamonds,
Gold,
Nintendo,
Wii

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An article "GM corn health risks identified" appearing at Stock and Land 16 Dec 2009 features a new statistical study by French scientist de Vendomois and his colleagues. What wasn’t mentioned in Stock and Land is that de Vendomois uses a risky statistical approach called "data mining" to trawl through nearly 500 tests of GM corn safety in rats to find a small minority of test results that might have safety significance.

Data mining as used by this French group suffers a very real risk of giving false findings, as more fully documented in previous GMO statistics posts. [Note added — and by Australian food safety agency FSANZ see later Pundit post]

The Stock and Land article also quotes the opinion of anti-GM group Genethics’ that studies questioning GM safety are being ignored by the Australian food safety agency FSANZ . In fact, FSANZ and other food safety agencies frequently make detailed responses to such concerns, and contrary to Genethics assertions, the new French study illustrates that safety agencies have done substantial science while dealing with the very issues raised by the French investigators.

In a June 2007 report, the European food safety organisation EFSA made a detailed criticism of the same French group’s statistical methods, and convincingly demonstrate that de Vendomois had previously made false claims about GM safety using data dredging.

This 2007 EFSA report showed (in Appendix 5) that when there is correlation between results of different tests (which EFSA showed does occur in practice ), or when there are small real differences between groups being compared (as there are in feeding trials where animals are allowed to freely take as much food as they like, and random differences in rat appetite caused groups to differ in average weight) the numbers of positive results appearing by chance can be greater than expected from an ideal simplified model.

de Vendomois and others (2009) do not take these realistic complications into account, nor, rather oddly, do they even mention the telling 2007 EFSA critique of their approach, although it is obvious from the prominence of formal interviews of group member Gilles-Eric Seralini with the EFSA documented in it that they must know of its existence.

Genethics do not mention this crucial omission by de Vendomois.

As the latest French report does not properly correct the mistakes pointed out by EFSA, it is quite possible that it also has dredged out false results. We should all be careful about misusing or abusing statistics when it comes to understanding food safety. It’s not easy though :-).

See

GMO statistics Part 3. Trawling through lots of comparisons with tests designed for a singular decision is a recipe for trouble that starts with t.

Lies, damn lies and all that.

Il y a 3 mesonges…

Joel Spiroux de Vendomois and other (2009). A comparison of the effects of three GM corn varieties on mammalian health. Int. J Biological Sciences 2009 5(7):706-726.

Post script.

Statistics, of course, is not the be all and end all of the issue. A statistically meaningful difference is not necessarily a toxic effect, nor is it an abnormality if it falls within the range of common variation seen in rat populations in closely similar circumstances.

Update 2. A link to a later Pundit Post on the dredging event

FSANZ make a statement— very similar to the Pundit’s view, but with nice links.

From the comments to that later Pundit posting:

The new french commitee, the HCB (Haut Conseil des Biotechnologies)published a statement concluding the "new" Séralini analysis is as misleading and wrong at the previous one.
http://www.blogger.com/The

Update 3. Monsanto have put their response on their website. It’s comprehensive.

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Most people are aware that ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause damage to the skin, but it can also damage the eyes. The cumulative effect of not protecting eyes from the sun can cause unpleasant problems such as cataracts, skin cancers around the eye and pterygium – an abnormal growth which starts in the corner of the eye but can grow over the cornea. Researchers from Penn State are hoping that a new recipe for making glass will further improve the protection offered by UV blocking sunglasses. The team has discovered that adding cerium oxide to phosphate glass could result in sunglasses, windows and solar cells that block UV light more effectively and have increased radiation resistance. ..

Tags: Sunglasses,
Ultraviolet

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As we count down to end of 2009, the emerging star of this year’s holiday shopping season is shaping up to be the electronic book reader (or e-reader). From Amazon’s Kindle to Barnes and Noble’s forthcoming Nook, e-readers are starting to transform how we buy and read books in the same way mp3s changed how we buy and listen to music.

Unfortunately, e-reader technology also presents significant new threats to reader privacy. E-readers possess the ability to report back substantial information about their users’ reading habits and locations to the corporations that sell them. And yet none of the major e-reader manufacturers have explained to consumers in clear unequivocal language what data is being collected about them and why.

As a first step towards addressing these problems, EFF has created a first draft of our Buyer’s Guide to E-Book Privacy. We’ve examined the privacy policies for the major e-readers on the market to determine what information they reserve the right to collect and share.

(Updated Jan 6 2010: We’ve updated and corrected this guide. Please read the latest version instead.)

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Looking for some projector action? I thought, since AT&T released the LG eXpo a couple weeks ago, we’d be awash in vids demonstrating the phone’s unusual attachment by now. Alas, the accessory’s not available yet, and so the vids aren’t quite bursting at the seams. But don’t despair — it turns out our Northern neighbors have the goods. Canada’s MobileSyrup did a little demo showing off the projector playing a YouTube vid from the phone (which is called the LG IQ on the Telus network).

The video seems to play a little dark, but it’s hard to know if that’s the fault of the projector or if the camcorder’s just underexposed. Either way, it looks like the device plays well with scant few hiccups. Apparently, the biggest downside is the heat radiating from it. (So projecting feature-length films may not be the best idea — unless you want to pop some popcorn off the underside to go with your movie.)

Via: MobileCrunch

	NASA / ESA / Hubble
	Click for slideshow: Review the top space images from 2009, including this Hubble view of a nebula.

The highest highlight of 2009 was clearly the revival of the Hubble Space Telescope, a mission that blended moments of beauty and brute force 350 miles above the earth.

Or was it?

Maybe the top story was the reassessment of NASA’s plans for human spaceflight. After all, tens of billions of dollars could be at stake. Or maybe it was the series of victories in NASA-backed competitions that had gone unwon for years.

For scientific significance, it’s hard to beat this year’s confirmation that the moon holds significant reserves of water. And if you’re looking for Hollywood flash plus a touch of drama, you just might choose the unveiling of the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.

Every year since 1997, we’ve reviewed the top space stories of the previous 12 months and looked ahead to the trends to watch in the 12 months to come. It’s up to you to choose which story from 2009 and trend for 2010 should lead the list. Here’s this year’s lineup:

  + 

Foreclosure backlog estimated at 1.7 million – About 1.7 million homeowners were on the verge of foreclosure in the fall, a looming “shadow inventory” of homes that will be put up for sale in the coming years and weigh down prices, a report said Thursday.  The number, up from 1.1 million a year earlier, is likely to keep rising through the middle of next year or later, said Mark Fleming, chief economist of First American CoreLogic, the real estate research firm that released the study. – TheAdvertiser.com 

and
First American Sees 1.7m in Shadow Inventory – By JON PRIOR – … What matters is how this pending inventory will hit the market. Unless banks disberse the “shadow inventory” onto the market in a controlled and measured rate, housing prices could double-dip again in 2010. … – HousingWire

————

Not Walking Away – Is it conditioning, morality, or naïveté? – Tim Iacono – The question of what motivates underwater homeowners to either stay put and continue to make their mortgage payments (if they can) or “walk away” from their home (and their financial obligations) has been receiving an increasing amount of attention in recent weeks. In looking at this matter, a good place to begin is with the abstract below from the recent study Underwater and Not Walking Away(.pdf) by Brent White at the University of Arizona: – TheMessThatGreenspanMade   and   link to Brent White’s paper 

————

Is There A Modification For The Loan-Modification Program? – By: Tycoon Report –  good summary of modification programs and thier pitfalls. – iStockAnalyst 
————

Resale Volumes: Another Shoe to Drop? – Existing home sales volumes are off 30% from the peak and have returned to 1998 levels (see the chart below that removes some of the month-to-month gyrations). While this might seem like a plunge, a little more historical analysis is in order … – John Burns Real Estate Consulting

Every model of the WILD range (CRAZY by LEMAITRE collection) finds its inspiration from the latest fashions in urban sportswear yet is still constructed from the very best materials. Each model of this range is S2 (SRC) rated.

Innovations:
>> LINING: Breathable, soft and abrasion resistant.
>> FOOTBED: Comfortable and anatomic. Hygienic and breathable. Antistatic.
>> CRAZY SOLE IN SEMI COMPACT POLYURETHANE: Light, flexible, slip resistant (SRC) and resistant (abrasion and hydrolysis).
>> ALUMINIUM TOECAP: Light, large and non-magnetic.

LEMAITRE’s footwear exceeds all requirements of the European norm EN ISO 20345: 2007 and is fully compatible with norm EN ISO 20345: 2010

PACTUR MANUFACTURER OF SHRINK WRAPPING MACHINES. AUTOMATIC L SEALERS. AUTOMATIC PACKAGING MACHINES, PACKAGING MACHINES FOR BREAD. L SEALERS FOR BREAD. SHRINK TUNNEL.
OUR STORY
Pactur, a company in constant increase and development, which was founded ex-novo in 1986. A positive reality, as some others in our industrial field and in our geographic area, based on a strong spirit of innovation and on a good talent in fulfilling the market requirements. In few words, a flourishing company, of middle dimensions, which has managed to obtain a good reputation all over the world. The trade mark itself “Lady Pack” stays for “reliable and high quality machines”, the “Ladies” of the packaging machines.
Shortly, a solid, prosperous, medium size factory, which identifies its policy with the following principles:
Seriousness. Correctness. Reliability. High quality standards.

Food industry is a high demanding environment when you are talking about electrical or electronic components which have to withstand high pressure and high temperature wash down processes.

That is why REER is now proposing a special version of its watertight enclosures (WTF / WTFH), made of resistant materials suitable for such an industry.

Voortman, the Dutch machine builder for the structural steel fabrication and stockholder market has organized on the 4th and 5th of February 2010, the Voortman Product Introduction Days 2010 in their new showroom and demonstration facility in Rijssen. Voortman is specialized in production solutions for the complete process of structural steel fabrication and steel service centres. Voortman offers a wide range of standard machines for profile and plate drilling, sawing and cambering, angle, flat steel and plate punching and shearing, plate processing, shot blasting and painting systems.

At the event on the 4th and 5th of February, Voortman will present some innovative solutions for the production process, especially in the field of beam coping with robotic plasma, layout-marking, plate processing and fully automatic shot blasting and painting systems. Not only new machines, but also Voortman will demonstrate during the Product Introduction Days 2010, their complete machinery range in their new showroom and demonstration facility. Visitors will also be informed in seminars, about the latest developments and innovations in pre-fabrication, production planning and monitoring, flexibility in connection plate manufacturing and surface treatment systems.

Finally Voortman will surprise all visitors with a tour around our sister production facility of ‘Voortman Staalbouw’ (a Voortman Steel Group company). In this production facility, the complete process is automated to a very high level, which can be seen as one of the most sophisticated examples of production automation in structural steel fabrication.

Voortman invites companies and editors of journals in the field of structural steel fabrication to sign up for this event before the 30th December 2009.

Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Performance, Ferrari, Middle East, Luxury

The black and white menace you see above was created for Gemballa’s Middle East distributor, the Illyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, using Mustafa’s personal Enzo as the subject. The roof scoop, jet-thruster-surrounds for the exhaust, and black rims are Gemballa hallmarks, on top of which the nose has been slightly sculpted and the hood sports a central scoop.

The widebody treatment has given Gemballa room to add new elements, like the vents up front and behind the wheels, the gills on the fenders, and stolen-from-a-Subie rear wing. Other Enzo features, like the side vents, have merely been massaged. The paint scheme, a far cry from the Middle East’s de rigueur gold or chrome, is nothing short of arresting — make of that what you will. We don’t mind it.

The inside is rather subdued, comparatively speaking: black and quilted red leather, trimmed in red stitching and piping. We don’t know anything else about the car at the moment — seems the proud owners are holding back until it’s officially rolled out, debutante style, to a waiting Dubai public. If anyone makes it to the unveiling, please let us know if it comes with a set of Imperial armor and an E-11 blaster…

[Source: TeamSpeed]

Gemballa-tuned Enzo MIG-UI waiting for The Empire to strike back again originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hello to all! I hope you are all about ready for Christmas! I finished my shopping today and am looking forward to seeing the grandchildren. Time is flying by and Michael is also home from the Navy for a two week visit before moving over to Jacksonville for more training. He is doing well and we are so proud.

One of the things that I needed this year was a new lab coat. I tend to go through several of them because I can’t seem to keep the ink off of them. I recently bought a lab coat from Barry at mynursinguniforms.com and it arrived very quickly. I chose a Cherokee Professional Whites lab coat and I figured I would give his company a try. I was given a coupon in return for writing a review of the process. Barry is also interested in becoming a paid advertiser on my nurse practitioner blogs so make sure that you go over and visit his site from mine so he will agree to help support my site too.

The hubby asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year and I told him not anything too expensive. Since I received the National Student Loan Payback this year, I seem to be focused on getting the rest of that paid down so when I extend it for another year that I may be able to get it taken care of quickly. What a huge relief that there really is an end to the school debt tunnel. Of course, to all who have “supported my site” over the years as I’ve transitioned from a student NP to a practicing one, I thank you and hope that you will let me know to visit your site and return the favor.

Merry Christmas to all who stop by and I hope that your 2010 will be a great as you want it to be!!