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Today, April 22, marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. In honor of this occasion, OMB Watch is conducting a special environmental right-to-know fundraising campaign to support our Creating a 21st Century Environmental Right-to-Know Agenda project. Please take a few moments to contribute to the campaign, learn more about the project, take our environmental right-to-know survey, read other OMB Watch materials about the environment and public health, and do your part for our planet.

Tossing and turning at night because your one-armed, lumpy-felt-breasted girlfriend left town? Or just feeling extra creepy? Never fear, sad lonely person: the Deluxe Comfort Girlfriend Body Pillow is here. And it is just awful. More »

Technology: CDMA
Rumored Carrier: Sprint
Rumored Release Date: June 6, 2010

The Samsung Seek offers a 2.6″ QVGA touchscreen plus full QWERTY keyboard that slides out.  Other features include 3.5mm headset jack, 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth, and GPS technology.  We will update specs and additional details when information becomes readily available.

Please join my colleague Alan Pelz-Sharpe next Tuesday, 27 April at 11am EDT for a free webinar, "Why ECM and WCM Projects Fail: Best Practices to Prevent Your Project From Failing"

The Dell Streak 5 (previously known as the Mini 5) has been on our radar for awhile, but we have yet to get an official announcement or launch date. Some new leaked slides posted on Engadget suggest the Android tablet/phone will appear around September this year.

The Streak is expected to ship with Android 1.6, but an OTA update to Android 2.1 should be available near launch. We expect to see the device on AT&T and possibly T-Mobile. The leaked slides also confirm an optional WiFi only version will be available.

Users will have many accessories to choose from.

A full suite of accessories will be available at launch. The Dell Streak 5 supports HDMI out, but it requires an optional dock for $69. It also appears the Streak lacks a micro USB port as it uses a special 30 pin to USB cable for syncing and charging.

Potential customers will have a wide selection of casing options to personalize their device. A full gallery of custom designs will also be available, similar to what is offered on the Dell laptops.

The Streak WiFi only version should match up nicely with Apple’s iPod Touch. The Streak will have a Kindle book reader application, Amazon MP3 and Video on demand store, and a possible Hulu service (which has been spotted on other new Dell Android devices).

The Dell Streak will come in numerous colors.

Related Posts

• Dell Streak 5 gets FCC approval in T-Mobile version
• Michael Dell shows off Android-powered Mini 5
• Dell Streak Android MID on video
• Dell Looking Glass tablet features Tegra 2
• Dell Flash, Smoke, and Thunder appear on Android’s radar

It has certainly been a huge leak day dealing with new Dell products!  The latest deals with their new tablet, called the Looking Glass which is pictured to the left. In a report on Engadget, the new Dell tablet is described as a bigger version of the Streak 5 that is due out in November.  The unit is geared to be pretty slick at launch, with Android 2.1 running  on a Tegra 2 processor.  There is reportedly also an optional TV tuner you can connect to the unit to watch ATSC programming, which is a nice touch.

An interesting tidbit that may go along with this option is the fact if you look closely at the screen shot to the left, you will see an AT&T U-Verse button on the top of the shot.  There is no additional info on this but it certainly is interesting.  It will be cool to see if and how this would be implemented and rolled out to users.

The memory on the unit is listed at 4gb, with another 4gb of flash memory for storage.  There is a SDHC slot which will allow up to another 32gb of expansion room.  The camera on the unit is only 1.3 MP, which seems a bit low for a unit like this. But overall, it could be an exciting unit, and another option in the tablet category.

Might We Suggest…

• Blue Ant Q1 BT headset review
  

  A few weeks ago, the editor-in-chief of AndroidGuys elected me to test and review a brand new Q1 headset.  First, because I am his favorite writer (yeah right) and secondly because I have the Moto…

There’s been a lot of attention paid to Pierre Omidyar’s attempt to build a new kind of local news organization in Hawaii. Omidyar, of course, was the founder of eBay, and many of the early comments about the project made it sound like a “new” type of news organization that really was very much about making the community a part of the process — something that we’ve pointed out makes a lot of sense. Omidyar also brought in John Temple, the former editor, president and publisher of the (failed) Rocky Mountain News — who had been quite introspective in recognizing why RMN failed. So it seemed like the new project, originally called Peer News, had a good basis.

But the details are coming out, and they seem… odd. Apparently, the newly named “Honolulu Civil Beat,” which is supposed to be more like the discussion found in a “civic square” thinks it can charge people $19.99 per month to take part. That’s quite a steep entrance fee to a “civic square.” I thought part of the value of the civic square was its openness.

Even worse, Temple (who clearly knows better) is trotting out the old school media’s most tired excuse for why paywalls will work: claiming that because the WSJ has done it, others can as well:

“People are paying on the Web for (publications such as) The Wall Street Journal; it has established value. … We believe people will pay for content and experience that they value.”

But that ignores why people pay for the Wall Street Journal, which is not just that “it has value,” but that it has scarce value that helps people make money now. I don’t recall similar information being covered in the normal civic square. In the meantime, I’m sure there are plenty of local community sites for Honolulu already. Why would people want to pay extra to join just one of them?

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The worst part about leaking handsets to the internet is the seemingly endless waiting period until actual launch.  Take for instance the Dell Smoke.  Not due until second quarter of 2011, we’re now forced to sit on our hands for a year.  A year!?  Thanks for nothing Engadget!

So take a look at that picture to the left. The stretched out BlackBerry/Palm Pixi looking phone is said to have a 2.8-inch QVGA screen, 5-megapixel camera, and a “non-conforming” style aimed at enterprise and business users. The Smoke is expected to have the Froyo flavor of Android powering an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor with HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and dual-mic noise canceling, and more! Between now and the expected launch next year there’s plenty of time for things to change. Be sure to head to Engadget for the original post and additional pictures!

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Hello! The mandatory PS3 3.30 update will apparently be available “shortly” and bring some minor updates while preparing your console for 3D stereoscopic gaming. [Playstation—Thanks, Jess!] More »

Netflix had what could be its best quarter ever, and by all accounts it appears to be a direct result of the company’s Watch Instantly streaming service. Based on the company’s actual results, as well as comments from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on the company’s first-quarter earnings call, it seems clear that the online video service is contributing positively on a number of fronts, including lower churn and lower subscriber acquisition costs.

Hastings said on the call that Netflix attributes this quarter’s record low churn to an increase in streaming. Moreover, the company’s investment in streaming titles, as well as the availability of the service across multiple devices and an improved user interface, is driving more subscriber additions through word of mouth, therefore lowering Netflix’s cost of adding new subscribers.

Over the last several months, Netflix has been striking deals with Hollywood studios like Warner Bros., Fox, Universal and now HBO, in which it agrees to a 28-day window before it can rent DVD releases by mail, and in return receives discounts on DVDs. The company then pours those savings into licensing more content for its streaming service. Some subscribers have complained about the lack of new releases, but on a whole the strategy appears to be working for the company, as it continues to add new subscribers at record levels.

More tidbits from the earnings call:

• The biggest competitor Netflix sees isn’t Redbox kiosks or on-demand services from Amazon, Vudu or other, but comes from improved service offerings from traditional pay TV distributors. “There are a lot of competitive threats… But cable, satellite, and telcos improving their products is probably the biggest threat,” Hastings said.
• Based on rumors that Hulu could enter the market with a subscription service offering, Hastings said it too could pose competition to Netflix’s streaming service. However, it’s too early to tell how much of a threat Hulu might be. “We’ll see what they do,” Hasting said.
• Netflix isn’t concerned about Redbox potentially entering the streaming market at a much lower price point than its own entry-level $9 a month subscription service: “Redbox does many things incredibly well, but we’re not worried about them as a streaming competitor,” Hastings said.
• The reduction in average revenue per user (ARPU) generally doesn’t come from existing subscriber trading down to lower-priced subscription plans, but rather from the increase of new subscribers that are signing up to Netflix’s $9 a month plan. In fact, Netflix had more existing subscribers trade up during the quarter than it saw trade down, according to Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy.
• For now, Netflix doesn’t see the Apple iPad as a significant contributor to subscriber additions. “In the long term the iPad is a great device that has a lot of potential,” Hastings said. “But in the short term, when you compare it to the 30 million users that have a Wii, it’s not a huge contributor.”
• Despite record additions and an increase in the number of users tuning in to its streaming service, Netflix is still seeing growth in its DVD-by-mail service. “Our DVD shipments continue to increase,” Hastings said. “DVD’s got a lot of legs.”

Related content on GigaOM Pro: Slow and Steady, Netflix Pulls Ahead in Streaming Video (subscription required)

Super Street Fighter IV is still a week away from its release but Capcom is also ready prepping for a DLC of the game. More after the jump.
 

Here are some books that can assist with the instruction of numbers and number sense.  All of them are easy to read and provide excellent images to help students obtain a better understanding of numbers and their relation to place value.

One Hundred Hungry Ants  written by Elinor J. Pinczes and illustrated by Bonnie Mackan is a story about one-hundred ants on their way to eat the food at a picnic.  While traveling to the picnic one ant decides they will get there much faster if they divide into two rows of fifty.  After walking for a short time the ant decides they should divide into four rows of twenty-five then five rows of twenty and finally ten rows of ten.  This book is a good resource for a lesson introducing base-10 blocks

Greater Estimations  by Bruce Goldstone is a picture book that asks students to estimate how many items are in each picture.  The beginning of the book shows rubber duck in groups of ten and all the ducks lined up in a row of one-hundred. This book also uses popcorn kernels and groups of sky divers to give students a better understanding of number sense.

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag is a story about a man who ventures out into the countryside to find a cat for his wife.  Once there he finds hundreds and thousands of cats and decides to bring them all home.  The cats get to his house and start to fight over which one of them is the prettiest and after all the fighting only one cat is left.  This book is perfect for showing students how big and small numbers can be and the language is very easy to read.

More M&M’s Math written by Barbara Barbieri McGrath and illustrated by Roger Glass asks students to drop the candies out of their bag and use a graph to count the number of each color they have.  This book is excellent for teaching ordinal numbers.

Sir Cumference and All The King’s Tens written by Cindy Neuschwander and illustrated by Wayne Geehan is a story about Sir Cumference and his wife Lady Di preparing to have a surprise birthday party for King Arthur.  But things get out of hand when so many guests show up that they have trouble counting them all.  They decide to make the guests stand in rows and columns to make the guests easier to count.  The guests are then placed in tents with each tent representing a place value.  This is a great book to read to students before a lesson on place value.

Websites for Kids

Hacker’s Numbers is a interactive online game that challenges students to make larger numbers than Hacker.  The student must place a number in the hundreds, tens and ones.  This game is allows students to practice place value.

The Cats in Line is an online activity that asks students to identify the ordinal number of the orange cat in a line of gray cats.  This site is good for helping students gain an understanding of ordinal numbers and their relation to a set of objects.

The “Less Than” Lake Maze is a game that challenges students to help a monster cross a lake by jumping from one numbered stone to another stone with a lower number on it.  If the students move to a larger number the monster falls in the lake.

Guess the Number is a game where the students can pick a number range (i.e. one to fifty) and then guess which number the computer has selected.  With each turn the computer tells the student higher or lower and then provides a smaller range.  The object of the game is to see how many turns it takes the student to guess the right number.

Enter Your Number is and interactive online math activity that allows students to enter any number then want that then have the computer tell them the place values of the numbers within the number.  This site also has the option of generating a number for the student to challenge them.

Additional Resources

Bring It is an awesome online resource to support instruction for teaching one-to-one correspondence and other early elementary math skills such as addition, subtraction and even skip counting.  This activity also offers a two player mode for students working in teams.

Estimation Exploration is an offline activity that asks student to estimate the amount of items in a jar or other container.  This activity assists students with gaining number sense and uses physical objects such as shells, jelly beans or foam balls.

Counting Votes is another offline activity where the teacher asks students to help him/her create a list of vegetables on a large piece of paper.  Then using small cups and counter chips the students get to vote for which vegetables are their favorites.  The teacher writes the number of votes next to each vegetable and the students get to count their total number of votes for each vegetable.

In October 1997 Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell Computer when asked about what would he do to fix Apple, he quipped: “What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.”

Well after posting record revenues and record profits yesterday, at the end of trading day today Apple had a market capitalization of $235 billion (roughly $259 a share) behind only Exxon and Microsoft. Dell, in sharp contrast ended the day with a market capitalization of $33 billion. Look who’s laughing now!

Nokia, another company whose executives mocked Apple now has a market cap of $55 billion. As for Google – it ended the day at $175 billion. Palm, another company that doubted Apple’s renaissance is up for sale and is worth about $820 million on the stock markets. Which makes me wonder if Microsoft, whose CEO once dismissed an iPhone as a toy will be lapped by Steve Jobs & Co?

Related: GigaOM Interview with Michael Dell.

Head’s up to all PS3 owners, Sony has announced that a new software update for the PlayStation 3 will be available shortly.
 
*UPDATE*
PS3 firmware 3.30 is now live.

It’s official: Google is adding store interiors to Street View. Next, presumably, is them photographing all humans individually for their database. Heck, I trust ’em! [Google LatLong] More »

[Windows Only] What is Pale Moon? It’s an open source project that takes the Firefox web browser code and recompiles it to run faster in Windows.

Here’s what the author says about it:

“Why settle for a basic build of your Firefox browser on Windows Operating Systems when you can have one that performs 25% faster? Mozilla does not provide optimized browser packages for Windows, while many Linux users get the advantage of a browser built specifically for their system. That needs to change! So, here is the Pale Moon project: Custom-built and optimized Firefox browsers for Windows Operating Systems.”

I have been using Pale Moon for a few days now, and I did notice a performance boost in comparison with my usual Firefox installs. I would have to say that Pale Moon is a winner.

There are no drastic differences other than the name. All of your old addons should continue to work. You’ll just get around the web a little faster. The author of Pale Moon claims that only real differences are that it doesn’t support the accessibility features or parental controls. Since I don’t use either one, I don’t know what I’m missing.

There’s even a Pale Moon persona (theme) available on the home page that makes it look very cool.

Download and try Pale Moon

Techie Buzz Verdict:

The only major drawback to using Pale Moon is that it may sometimes be a release or two behind Mozilla Firefox. Other than that, there’s not much difference from what I can tell. I can’t think of a good reason why I shouldn’t recommend it for every Firefox user running Windows.

Techie Buzz Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

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Ken Heebner’s CGM Focus Fund was the best US stock fund of the past decade. It rose 18% a year, beating its nearest rival by more than three percentage points. Yet according to research by Morningstar, the typical investor in the fund lost 11% annually! How can that happen?

It happened because investors tended to take money out after a bad stretch and put it back in after a strong run. They sold low and bought high. Stories like this blow me away. Incredibly, these investors owned the best fund you could own over the last 10 years – and still managed to lose money.

Psychologically, it’s hard to do the right thing in investing, which often requires you to buy what has not done well of late so that you will do well in the future. We’re hard-wired to do the opposite.

I recently read James Montier’s Value Investing: Tools and Techniques for Intelligent Investment. It’s a meaty book that compiles a lot of research. Much of it shows how we are our own worst enemy.

One of my favorite chapters is called “Confused Contrarians and Dark Days for Deep Value.” Put simply, the main idea is that you can’t expect to outperform as an investor all the time. In fact, the best investors often underperform over short periods of time. Montier cites research by the Brandes Institute that shows how, in any three-year period, the best investors find themselves among the worst performers about 40% of the time!

It seems strange. Great chefs don’t cook bad meals, but the best investors routinely make a hash of things. Shocking as it may seem at first, it makes sense in the context of markets. “If everyone else is dashing around trying to guess next quarter’s earnings numbers,” Montier writes, “and you are exploiting a long-term time frame, then you may well find yourself staring at the wrong end of a bout of underperformance.”

The point being you can’t worry too much about short-term performance. Investing is a game won by determined turtles, not hares. That means you have to stick with solid ideas, instead of trying to catch what the hottest thing is.

Another chapter I like is “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” It illustrates another key point about the nature of investing: It pays to focus on a handful of essential details and ignore the rest. Montier shows us experiments in which people made worse decisions when given more information. For example, in one instance, researchers asked people to choose the best of four cars given only four pieces of information on each car. (In the examples, one car is noticeably and objectively better than the others.) People picked the best car 75% of the time. When given 12 pieces of information, their accuracy dropped to only 25%. The added information was more than just extraneous; it made their choices worse.

In the context of investing in stocks, it’s better to focus in on key variables that clearly matter and ignore the rest. My investment process aims to do that by boiling down the many details of investing in a company into four major areas. Too many details spoil the broth, but most investors haven’t learned this. “Our industry is obsessed with the minutia of detail,” Montier writes.

I certainly would agree. I read quite a bit of investment research in any given year and I am always amused at the detailed modeling (and forecasting) that goes on. If an idea depends on such finely tuned analysis, then odds are it is not such a great deal.

Throughout the book, Montier reveals and validates many ideas essential to smart investing. He also quotes liberally from scores of investing luminaries from Benjamin Graham to Sir John Templeton. There is a lot of wisdom here. Though repetitive at times, digesting these ideas is like eating your vegetables. They keep your portfolio healthy.

Chris Mayer
for The Daily Reckoning Australia

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