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New year, new faces as two of the most innovative technology companies on the planet are making some changes in their management team.

Norwegian developer of desktop and mobile browsers and related technologies Opera Software has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer, while Brightcove has managed to steal away a long-time Adobe and Macromedia exec to become its new President and Chief Operating Officer.

Opera Software has replaced Jon S. von Tetzchner, who co-founded the company in 1995 and has served as CEO since that time, with Lars Boilesen as head honcho. Boilesen previously worked for Opera from 2000 to 2005 as Executive Vice President, Sales. In 2005, Boilesen joined Alcatel-Lucent as CEO of the Nordics and the Baltics only to rejoin Opera a year ago as Chief Commercial Officer. Formerly Vice President of Opera’s Board of Directors, he will be leading the company from this point forward while von Tetzchner will continue to serve Opera full-time as a strategic consultant.

Online video platform provider Brightcove announced earlier this morning that it has appointed David Mendels as its new President and COO, assuming responsibility over driving Brightcove’s global expansion strategy and operations. Mendels comes to Brightcove most recently from Adobe where he was served as Executive Vice President and general manager of Adobe’s Enterprise Software and Business Productivity division, a billion dollar business that includes Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Connect, LiveCycle and Flex. Mendels will also continue to be a member of the Brightcove Board of Directors, which he joined in late 2008.

(Image credit: Flickr / ccarlstead)

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Following the news of the actress’ death at the age of 32 on Sunday, the Hollywood community offered an outpouring of love and condolences for Murphy — and one message, in particular, was very moving to Monjack.
“I loved what Ashton [Kutcher] wrote on Twitter. It was comforting to me,” Monjack told Access Hollywood, adding he did not know his wife’s former “Just Married” co-star personally. “I couldn’t have said it better.”

The message posted by Kutcher read, “2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany’s family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon. see you on the other side kid.”

As far as what happened inside the actress’ home early Sunday, when Murphy was found unresponsive in the shower, Monjack said up to that point, it had just been “a regular day.”

Video
Neighbor on attempt to resuscitate Murphy
Dec. 21: Brittany Murphy’s neighbor, Clair Staples, discusses watching emergency workers attempting to resuscitate the actress as they brought her out for transport to a hospital and how her husband seemed to be completely dazed.

Access Hollywood
“[Her mother] Sharon went into the bathroom because she had been in there a long time. Her mom screamed for me and I ran. Then called 911,” he revealed.
The Umbrella singer rang in the New Year (10) with a show at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi last week – and according to MediaTakeOut.com, she was accompanied across the world by her new beau, Los Angeles Dodgers player Kemp.

Rihanna has been romantically linked to a string of eligible men, including Justin Timberlake, rapper Drake and 90210 actor Tristan Wilds, in recent months but she previously denied she was even dating, insisting it was “too much” following her split from Chris Brown.

The young couple broke up in February (09) after a violent bust-up which led to Brown’s conviction for assault.

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Rihanna has been romantically linked to a string of eligible men, including Justin Timberlake, rapper Drake and 90210 actor Tristan Wilds, in recent months but she previously denied she was even dating, insisting it was “too much” following her split from Chris Brown.

The young couple broke up in February (09) after a violent bust-up which led to Brown’s conviction for assault.
So I wound up talking with my Mom and a family friend until 3 AM CST here in my hometown of Chicago. And during that time we watched a movie I stumbled upon and always wanted to see: The Ice Storm. Not to digress, but it’s an excellent movie that deals with family communication, or lack thereof .

At the end of it, FOX Entertainment CEO Tom Rothman, who hosts the show around which Fox movies were presented last night, obvered that The Ice Storm was about how we try to escape our family, only to have circumstances bring us back to our family.

That was wild.

I sat in total amazement. I’ve always believed in God, but never more so than last night because not only did that whole flight fiasco bring me to my small family, but talking about how things have changed was a great and necessary way to really take stock of how things have changed. Especially with so many people I’ve known who died in 2009.

Here I was worrying about meeting friends at the Balboa Cafe and whatever fun I would miss, and I was slammed into this very necessary event. In other words, having been with my family, I was seeking escape with the idea that I was headed toward something “more fun”, and all the way missed what family was about. Not any more.

Our families know who we are and accept us, period. They don’t have to be blood relations, just people who really truly love you without condition. And those people are there before you, but in the quest to be cool, all of us miss (and mistreat) those who really do care about us. In doing that, we lose the part of ourselves that sometimes we need to find just to successfully carry on.

So I’ve learned a lesson I’m passing on. Well, let’s say I got a refresher course. Family is important to me, but frankly I saw it as a burden at times. It’s not. It’s freedom and love.

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I’ll bet you didn’t know that some cities have their very own official condoms. Well, New York does and the city’s Health Department is holding a contest to let the public design its next special edition condom cover.

NYC’s Health Department gives out a whopping 41 million free condoms a year, so lots of people will get to see your design. They probably won’t be focusing on it, of course, as other things will be going on, if you catch my drift and I think you do.

Designs cannot be explicit and can’t use images with a copyright or trademark, like the Empire State Building. You’ll have to think fast, though – entries are due January 22nd.

You can get more info on the contest and submit your design on the NYC Health site.

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“Did you really need that fourth bourbon? And why did you go with the super burrito? Is the cheese and sour cream really necessary?” it seems to ask. “Maybe you should go for a run.”

Well, fuck you, Activa, I don’t need your judgment, and yes, I did need that fourth bourbon. If you must know, the Philips Activa is the next in what’s becoming a trend: The fitness-based PMP. It makes sense—smartphones are replacing PMPs at a rapid rate, and one of the only niches that they can’t (or shouldn’t) cover is workouts. You really shouldn’t bring your Droid or iPhone with you while working out; they’re big and bulky and valuable.

The Activa is a teeny little pocket player, includes a clip like the Sansa Clip+, and in what has to be a first, I have no idea what the capacity is. Either 4GB or 8GB is expected, but it’s not listed in the specs for some reason. It matches your music with your workout by tempo and measures the usual distance and calorie counts, as well as giving audio feedback to let you know what your status is (a nice feature, for sure). It should be available in April 2010 for $130. [Philips]

According to recent data released by Bosch, in the first six months of 2009 the share of newly registered passenger cars in the UK featuring the ESP active safety system increased to 59 percent compared with 2008. Furthermore, Bosch thinks this will improve in the next few months, since several manufacturers have made ESP standard equipment in new models for the first time in 2009.

Moreover, an EU regulation passed in 2009, which will take effect from November 2011, stipulates th… (read more)

Tiger Woods’ estranged wife has reportedly hired a private investigator to probe the golfer’s finances as she readies a plan for divorce.

A lawyer for Swedish model Elin Nordegren was said to have roped in a private eye to dig into every company account, tax return and phone bill of the world’s highest-paid sportsman since the couple’s marriage in 2004, The Mirror dished on Tuesday.

Tiger Woods is believed to be worth nearly $1 billion. He withdrew from professional golf after a sex scandal romantically-linked him to at least 13 mistresses.

“Elin knows hiring a PI is a smart move. Her lawyers want to make sure she gets every penny she’’s entitled to. Elin is devastated, but now she’’s decided to end their marriage she has the future of their children to think about.”

The food world is rife with culinary catch phrases and overused foodie buzzwords these days, isn’t it? Which one…or more!…terms do you think should get put to rest this year? Maybe it’s even the term “foodie” itself that gets your feathers ruffled!

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“The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency.”

Vladimir Lenin, leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution

Last week, while Congress and the nation were preoccupied with the holidays, the Treasury made a Christmas eve announcement that it would be providing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unlimited financial support for the next three years. The Treasury’s press release notes:

“At the time the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship in September 2008, Treasury established Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (PSPAs) to ensure that each firm maintained a positive net worth. Treasury is now amending the PSPAs to allow the cap on Treasury’s funding commitment under these agreements to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in net worth over the next three years.”

Put simply, in a single, coordinated stroke, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve have encroached on spending powers that are enumerated for the Congress alone. Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), the Treasury has no such open-ended authority. Indeed, the applicable portion of the Act explicitly limits the total amount of mortgage principal (not losses, but total principal) as follows:

“LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE INSURANCE AUTHORITY.—The aggregate original principal obligation of all mortgages insured under this section may not exceed $300,000,000,000.”

Read the whole post at Hussman Funds — >

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See Also:

• Hussman: Stocks Are "Decidedly" Speculative At These Levels
• Relax About The Fannie And Freddie Bailouts, They’re Just In The Same Business As The Fed
• Fannie Mae: Delinquencies Increase Sharply in October

German driver Timo Glock admitted that he had taken the decision to leave Toyota F1 Team prior to the Japanese carmaker’s announcement that it will leave the series by the end of 2009. In an interview with Formula One’s official site, Glock confirmed that he spoke to Virgin Racing way before the season ended, as he knew his days at Cologne were numbered.

During the Suzuka qualifying session, Glock crashed his Toyota and sustained a serious injury in the process, leaving him sideli… (read more)

Cummins Filtration Direct Air Flow technology has been announced as the Industry’s Choice ancillary product as part of the Construction Equipment’s Top 100 Products of 2009.

We are honored to receive the award as Cummins Filtration’s goal is to provide unique product solutions that benefit original equipment manufacturers and end customers alike. The Direct Flow air intake system offers our customers greater design flexibility in addition to higher air filtration performance, eas… (read more)

Chris Brown and Rihanna have found new bedfellows in 2010 after their turbulent split last February. The
“Umbrella” singer was spotted cuddling and kissing Major League Baseball outfielder Matt Kemp while on vacay in Mexico over the holiday. The L.A. Dodgers star accompanied the singer to Abu Dhabi for her New Year’s Eve concert and according to gossipmongers things are getting “serious” between the Barbados-born singer and the “super sexy gentleman.”

Meanwhile, it’ll take more than a little assault record to hamper Chris Breezy charm with the ladies. The stupid ones anyway. The “Run It” hitmaker is reportedly dating 26-year-old singer/model Jessica Marquez. The Daily Star has learned. The new couple was spotted “rubbing more than shoulders” at Miami’s Mansion nightclub on New Year’s Eve…As long as he doesn’t bite her.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope it’s a prosperous and peaceful year for both you and your company.

As promised, here’s a Flash animation showing the difference between traditional CFD, upfront CFD and concurrent CFD which needs some introduction.

In traditional CFD, the model geometry is first exported from the CAD system. That’s the easy part. The geometry then needs to be re-imported into the CFD tool, meshed, solved, the results post-processed and then reported back to the design team. Next time I’ll talk about what this entails in more detail, but for now suffice to say this process typically takes 4 weeks or more. The work is usually done by a specialist analysis group, or outsourced so it’s necessary for the design team to explain what needs to be done. By the time the results are in the analysis model has become ‘stale’, as the design has moved on, often making it difficult to act on the results. Consequently companies often find little benefit in using conventional CFD before the detailed design stage is all but complete, with little opportunity to influence the design.

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The Danish municipality of Assens actively works for the better protection and promotion of animal and plant habitats. As an example, in cooperration with a local landowner the City has carried out a management plan for a valuable and vulnerable calcareous grassland on the peninsular of Helnæs. A dense scrub covering a large area has successfully been removed in order to create better conditions for rare plant species – such as the local melanpyrum arvense which still found on Helnæs.

Just like we told you yesterday, Toyota was getting ready for the debut of its new Etios, a model that will initially become available in India and then in several emerging markets around the world. Although currently available in concept form, the production model is believed to be 90 percent the same with the prototype displayed at Auto Expo 2010.

The Japanese manufacturer revealed both the hatchback and the sedan flavors of the car but the launch date will be different for the … (read more)

The Arthurian saga we know from writers like Sir Thomas Malory, and films like “Excalibur” is certainly a myth.

Elements like the magic sword, the Round Table and the Grail quest can all be found in old Celtic tales that contributed to the Arthurian story. However, there may well have been a real-life source for it. If the figure of King Arthur has any foundation in fact, the likeliest time for him to have lived is the early 5th century, after the Romans left and before the Saxon invasion fully took hold.

There are persistent legends from around that time of a British (Celtic) chieftain, trained in the Roman arts of war, who united the warring British tribes to fight off the Saxons. In fact one 9th-century historian firmly states that there was such a man, and his name was Arthur.

However, the era in question is so confused and its records so incomplete that the historian, Nennius, can’t have been sure. There certainly was a chieftain called Ambrosius Aurelia-nus, who may be the source of the story. We shall probably never know for sure.

We are pretty sure the name Tazzari Zero doesn’t ring many bells with your automotive literate heads and, to be honest, we kind of disliked it back in March, when the official photos and specs of the thing first surfaced.

What’s changed in the meantime? Well, nothing much, really. Except for the fact that the price is now known and, as advertised last March, it is under 20,000 euros: 18,000, to be more precise. And, to be even more precise, that’s the base price, for the low end … (read more)

James Van Der Beek is scrubbing in for Mercy. The Dawson’s Creek vet has joined the cast of NBC’s freshman medical drama in a major recurring role that could become regular. Van Der Beek will play the hospital’s new womanizing ICU chief who harbors a dark secret, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Eco Factor: Renewable energy generating amphibious garden to clean waterways.

The UN estimates that rising at the current rate, population will soar to about 9.2 billion in 2050. However, even today more than one billion people don’t have access to potable water and more than 3,000 people die every day due to the lack of clean drinking water.

(more…)

Perhaps you thought that after years of excess, Americans were finally starting to save — a welcome, if not somewhat painful trend.

But nope.

Mike Mandel has put together this awesome chart (via Felix Salmon) showing that our net national savings rate, which includes private, business, and government savings is the lowest it’s ever been since WWII. You may be saving, but someone else (Uncle Sam) is spending for you).

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See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: What, You Think The Savings Rate Can’t Go Higher?
• You Can’t Imagine How High The Savings Rate Is About To Get
• WEAK: Consumer Sentiment Misses Again