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It was rumored earlier in the week that Sprint and Samsung had begun internally testing Android 2.1 on the Moment.  Here we are only a few days removed and the ROM has arrived online.  The update file (for rooted phones) can be found in an SDX-Developers.com forum post.  Among the early reported bug was trouble logging into the Android Market.  Apparently a quick reset of the phone was able to fix that.  Remember kids, taking things into your own hands can sometime be dangerous and result in a $300 paperweight.  Proceed with caution!

The Samsung Moment hasn’t officially joined the Nexus One and Motorola Droid as a 2.1 device but we expect it any day. If you haven’t rooted your Moment, sit back and relax.  It’s coming soon.

Might We Suggest…

• Sprint’s Android 2.1 Updates Due in “Coming Weeks”
  Samsung Moment and HTC Hero owners will be excited to learn that Sprint plans to roll Android 2.1 out to their customers in the “coming weeks”.  As the carrier gears up for the Nexus One and,  presuma…

The wife of a former producer on the long-running CBS series Survivor has been found dead in Mexico and local officials have detained the victim’s Emmy-nominated husband — Bruce Beresford-Redman — as the prime suspect.

Monica Beresford-Redman, 41, went missing Monday while on vacation in Cancun with her husband and the couple’s two children. Bruce didn’t tell police until Wednesday that his wife went shopping and never came back. It is a story that doesn’t ring true for investigators. Monica’s body was found early Thursday. She had been strangled and stuffed in a gutter at the swanky Moon Palace resort where they were on a family vacation.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Monica is the owner of Zabumba Bar & Restaurant in upscale Venice, California. In addition to Survivor, Bruce has also completed production work for Pimp My Ride and The Restaurant.

Thousands of Californians whose homes were foreclosed on or sold at a
loss will likely get tax relief under a measure approved Thursday by
the state Legislature.

The bill would waive state taxes on mortgage debt that has been
forgiven in a foreclosure or short sale. The law is expected to affect
about 34,000 taxpayers.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the measure, which
would also provide about $60 million in tax credits to green-energy
companies.

Californians can already claim the tax breaks on federal returns.
With the April 15 deadline for tax filings looming, the Senate and
Assembly approved the measure, SB 401, by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis.

The short-sale provision would mean about $34 million less in tax
revenue for the state over three years, according to the Franchise Tax
Board.

–Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

Photo: L.A. Times file

Individuals who develop an infection but would prefer to use a natural medication instead of a pharmaceutical drug may be interested to learn that essential oils have been shown to have anitbacterial properties.

Greek scientists have studied these natural ingredients and found that the essential oils obtained from thyme were the most effective in almost completely killing bacteria such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is responsible for extremely difficult to treat hospital infections.

Lead researcher professor Yiannis Samaras from the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands, said that these results are important not only because essential oils are cheaper than standard drugs, but also because "decreased use of antibiotics will help minimize the risk of new strains of antibiotic resistant micro-organisms emerging."

Essential oils have been recognized for hundreds of years for their therapeutic properties. For example, Australian aborigines used tea tree oil to treat colds, sore throats, skin infections and insect bites.

Today, these products can be obtained with other natural and dietary supplements in health stores across the country.

The website for the Rural Alliance for Service Learning contains resources, including case studies, to encourage, enhance, and study the role of service learning in building a healthier and more vibrant rural America.

In conjunction with community partners, service-learning practitioners will strive to build upon the positive attributes of the rural culture while mitigating the negative factors. Rural Service Learning can involve studies, service, co-operative programs and projects, and policy development. In the process, students will develop their potential as future engaged citizens.

(This guest post previously appeared at the author’s blog)

Sentiment continues to surge along with the rising market.  Today’s results from the AAII and the Investor’s Intelligence poll are both showing above average levels of bullishness.  The AAII is reporting a 1.6% increase over last week in overall bullishness to 42.9% (see here).  Bearish sentiment has fallen to 30.9%.   Bullish sentiment is above the historical average of 39% while bearish sentiment is also slightly above its historical average of 30%.  Although we are not quite at “extreme” levels investors are showing a greatly increased risk appetite.

The Investors Intelligence survey of financial advisers showed a similar trend in rising bullish sentiment.  Bullish advisers jumped to 48.9% from 48.3% while bearish sentiment fell to 18.9%.  Sentiment continues to march towards the January highs when bullishness reached 52% and bearishness was just 16%.

Source: InvestorsIntelligence.com

Read more market commentary at PragCap.com >

Join the conversation about this story »

Yesterday, General Motors announced that it would be shutting down its Hummer brand. Until late-February, it was thought the business unit might be purchased by Chinese firm Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. Unfortunately, Chinese regulators didn’t approve. Consequently, GM is thought to have no choice but to liquidate Hummer’s assets. But another report today indicates that there may still be an interested buyer — and from the U.S.

TheCarConnection (TCC) breaks the story that a Raser Technologies, a Utah-based engineering firm, has been interested in Hummer all along. TCC’s sources indicate that Raser bid to acquire the brand after the Tengzhong deal died. The article also says that Raser met all of the bidder requirements.

Raser specializes in electric-conversion and hoped to make plug-in hybrid Hummers, according to TCC. The firm had developed technology similar to what will be used in GM’s upcoming Chevy Volt, which would allow long distance travel, but on very little gasoline. That could have made Hummer a perfect fit: there’s definitely an underserved market segment for big plug-in hybrid SUVs.

So why no deal? That remains unclear. Perhaps GM was unhappy with Raser’s bid. But since Tengzhong’s bid of $150 million was initially accepted, it’s hard to imagine how much more insultingly low it could have been. GM may have determined that it would be financial better off just liquidating the brand’s assets rather than selling it for whatever Raser offered.

That move certainly won’t please Hummer employees or fans of the brand. Moreover, the prospect of a greener Hummer might have conjured up new demand for the re-engineered vehicles. Still, as Saab has shown, a GM division isn’t dead until it’s completely gone. After failed acquisition talks and a decision to wind down Saab, Spyker Cars ultimately swooped in to purchase that brand. So Hummer lovers can still hope for a similar result where GM takes Raser up on its offer.

A couple new hooks in the 4.0 APIs seem to indicate a device with a built-in flash. Yes, as in a camera flash:

AVCaptureFlashMode (auto/off/on modes)
AVCaptureDevice.hasFlash

Well, that could mean either a flash on the new iPhone (likely) or an external flash available as an accessory (less likely, but still possible). Or native pairing with certain cameras? That’d be insane. It’s all speculation at this point.

We’ve spent a good part of the afternoon covering the announcement of the iPhone 4.0 software with our pals at TiPB, and we’re feeling pretty good about the Android platform, still. No killer features were announced, just a handful of what we’re calling feature completions.

• Multitasking, though more like what’s coming in Windows Phone 7 with saved app states and what-not.
• Folders with "intelligent naming" — welcome to Windows Mobile 5, everybody.
• Enhanced mail with a unified inbox, multiple Exchange accounts and threaded messages. Well, two out of three ain’t bad. I can live without a unified inbox, though certainly we’d enjoy better Exchange support around these parts.
• iBooks. Eh, OK. we need a Kindle app on Android.
• Better enterprise support: Again, something we’d like to see improved in the next version of Android. But that’s something that every OS has to work on as time goes on.
• Game center social network: Hey, we have PS3 and Xbox 360 tie-ins. Not great, but still.
• iAd mobile advertising: OK, this is kinda the biggie and goes back to Google beating out Apple for AdMob. They’re making it uber-easy to develop in-app ads (they’re HTML5), and Google’s AdMob deal is still tied up in D.C. Look for Apple to trumpet this one for a while (i.e. take shots at Google).

So all in all, any Android killers in the mix? Not from the looks of it.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has backed the cable company Comcast in its dispute with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which accused the company of slowing some Internet traffic on its network. The ruling is seen as a blow to the government’s efforts to push through "net neutrality" regulations.

The proposed regulations would prevent companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from restricting access to Internet content, applications and services offered by competitors. Analysts say applications such as Google, Skype and Facebook would be among the biggest beneficiaries of such regulations.

In the court’s opinion, the FCC exceeded its authority when it sanctioned Comcast in 2008 for preventing some subscribers from using peer-to-peer file-sharing services to download large files, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The ruling was welcomed by the American Legislative Exchange Council, whose public sector co-chair Representative Bill Hamzy (R-Conn.), said that "the FCC’s order was an unprecedented attempt by government to patrol private broadband networks."

However, the FCC has vowed to continue to push for net neutrality, with its spokeswoman Jen Howard saying that the court did not "[disagree] with the importance of preserving a free and open Internet, nor did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end," quoted by the Journal.

If you’re an iPhone developer, the iPhone 4.0 SDK (beta version) is ready for download. [iPhone Dev Center] More »

Posted by John Byrne at 1:35 p.m.



City Hall today announced it will track workplace injury claims more closely in an effort to prevent city workers from fraudulently claiming workers compensation.

 

Under the policy, city departments will be required to report monthly on the status of injured employees to the City Council Finance Committee and the Budget Department. Each department will be required to designate a manager to oversee the process of returning employees to work, according to a Daley administration news release.
 


Employees will have to report their medical treatments regularly. Failure to do so could be cause for disability benefits to be terminated, the city says.

 

Budget Director Eugene Munin said the new policy is meant to get injured employees back on the job "in some capacity" as soon as possible, "either at full duty or performing other limited tasks."

"Our efforts to improve the duty disability system are not punitive to employees who have been legitimately injured on the job and cannot work," Munin said. "We are making these management improvements to ensure that able-bodied workers get back to work as soon as possible, and that taxpayers are better protected from fraud."

Federal authorities subpoenaed city records in late 2006 related to
workers’ claims of being hurt on the job. The subpoena followed an October 2006 Sun-Times series examining the city’s worker’s compensation system. Among its findings, the newspaper said workers with political clout claimed workplace injuries at a rate exceeding that of other professions tracked by the U.S. Labor Department.

Employees injured while on duty are eligible to receive two-thirds of their salary up to a state-established limit while they are unable to work, as well as get coverage of all approved medical costs. The new city policy mandates that workers deemed unable to return to work show evidence to the department manager that they undertake at least 10 job searches per week while collecting disability.

As the dispute continues between the United States and China over the latter’s alleged attempts to keep its currency undervalued, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will visit Beijing April 8 for talks with the Chinese vice premier for economic affairs.

Although details of the talks have not been released, media reports suggests the meeting with Wang Qishan will focus on settling the currency dispute, which has threatened to overshadow economic cooperation between the two countries.

The U.S. government has complained that the artificially low exchange rate is giving China’s exporters an unfair advantage and has led a huge trade surplus with the U.S. In fact, some lawmakers have called for the imposition of punitive tariffs on Chinese imports, if Beijing fails to make the yuan more flexible.

However, not everyone is happy with the administration’s approach. For example, the National Inflation Association (NIA) recently said that America should not "upset" China, since the domestic consumption has been made possible by China’s weak currency that has artificially boosted the dollar’s value. NIA experts have expressed their fear that the appreciation of the yuan would lead to a hyperinflation in the U.S.

"It’s absurd for Congress to say they are going to penalize China, when China has the power to make the U.S. dollar collapse overnight," NIA has said.

Scholars gathered recently to discuss new digital projects and consider the challenges those efforts, and their creators, face in academe.

[Chronicle of Higher Education]

Farming in many regions of the US is likely to be among the worst casualties of climate change over the next decades. So it is an obvious, ethical, sensible and responsible move that John Deere supports climate and energy legislation to reduce our use of climate-changing fossil fuels, by funding renewable alternatives through fees on polluters.

Predictably, however, Deere is being targeted by attack ads by Freedomworks that will be shown on CNN, Fox News, Headline News and the History Channel.

The lobbying group FreedomWorks is the group that created the Tea Party movement. Based in Washington, DC, it is run by Dick Armey, a former House Republican Majority Leader who is now a fossil industry lobbyist.

Their next target is climate legislation that threatens the fossil industry with caps on pollution. This has put John Deere squarely in their sites.
(more…)

Luke Timmerman wrote:

Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based drug developer, has raised an initial round of $1.5 million in financing. The investors included Golden Seeds, Life Science Angels, and Tech Coast Angels. The company, led by CEO Elaine Heron, is developing technology to improve existing drugs by controlling their concentration and time they hit their targets, according to a statement. The company noted that Golden Seeds is a national angel investment network that invests in women-led companies.

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

The most honest commentary on what is working in the stock market may be a note this week from Matthew Rothman, an analyst with Barclays Capital, who had the unenviable job of explaining to clients why his firm’s U.S. equity quant model underperformed this past month.

Rothman writes that while the Russell 1000 was up nearly 6% for March, all three of Barcap’s main quantitative strategies lagged behind the benchmark. Market Sentiment fell 4.37% percent short, Quality underperformed by 2.83% and Valuation came up 1.99% behind the index. “None of the traditional styles for stock picking worked,” he points out. “One needed to be absolutely counterintuitive, buying expensive stocks of low quality that had recently underperformed to be successful.”

This is not a strategy to try at home. But what’s behind what Paul Murphy of the Financial Times calls “the dash for trash”? Rothman says it’s about a growing appetite for risk: stocks that appeared risky and unattractive at the start of the month rose strongly, while less risky stocks dropped. This does not sound like a sustainable trend.
Freelance business journalist Ian McGugan blogs for the Financial Post.