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Lord Mandelson, the UK Business Secretary who has been the leading force behind putting in place the entertainment industry’s desired plan to require ISPs to kick accused file sharers off the internet under a “three strikes” plan, apparently is also saying that young people need better technology skills. Along with that, he’s supporting a plan to get universities to do more technical skills training. Now, I’m all for more tech skills training in universities, but wouldn’t it be nice if Mandelson started by getting some tech skills training himself — including a basic understanding of why an IP address is not an accurate indicator of who is doing something online? Or, perhaps, an understanding of how BitTorrent actually works and a brief primer on encryption technologies….

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01. So puppeteer
Role behind the scenes is like a casting director what the company needs to be done. Ideas and input from members of the community should be allowed to flow.
02. Know When to Act
How to do the monitoring? Actually the community has the ability Correcting good self. But the company must be sensitive when there are flamers or those who disrupt the continuity of community

03. Critical Mass
Communities must achieve a minimum number of members to be functioning optimally. Key positions in the critical mass is also important to ensure the community can live. These key positions include positions as a motivator, as Conector, and leader. When the community is large enough, it can say they can make good content, and improve the content of existing fault

04. Admit Mistakes
When a mistake is made in the community should never be covered. Admit it, apologize sincerely and do not repeat.

05. Say Thanks
Brand / company should give rewards to those who have been willing to offer an opinion or contribute to the community / brand

06. Long Term Relationship
Communities take time to develop. Along with the development community, the brand must continue to experiment with content and a way to generate discussion and ways to attract members to be active.

Sorce : Fernando Sitindaon

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 This week’s PlayStation Store Update is now live. The controversial Rock Band Nirvana track pack is here, so all you rockers out there are sure …

1. Knowledge
Knowledge factor (knowledge) to companies that are the most important type of resources that must be owned organization. Given that the knowledge inherent in the human brain, the factors of intelligence from human resources the company is determining whether the organization’s success in achieving objectives. Collective knowledge which is the value of the company in the process of creating products and services. Thus the concept of knowledge management will be key to the success of a company in this era.

2. Digitization
Digitazion is a process of transformation of various forms of information into formats digits “0” and “1” (based on number two). Although the concept seems simple glance, but its existence has produced a breakthrough and major changes in the world of business transactions.

3. Virtualization
Model that allows one to start a business with a simple device and can reach all potential customers in the world. In the virtual world, a customer simply dealing with an Internet site as an enterprise (business to consumer), as well as relations between the various companies that want to cooperate with each other (business to business). In this relationship, a process that occurs over the transaction is the exchange of data and information virtually, without the physical presence of the parties or individuals who conduct transactions. In other words, the business can be done anytime and anywhere as long as 24 hours per day and 7 days a week on-line and real time.

4. Molecularization
Organizations that will survive in the era of digital economy is successfully applied molecular shape. Molecular shape is a system where the organization can easily adapt to any dynamic changes that occur in the environment surrounding the company.

5. Internetworking
Efforts to develop the concept of cooperation with other companies. There is no company that can work alone without work jointly with other parties, so one of the prerequisites to succeed in cyberspace. Based on the chosen business model, associated companies must determine its core activities (core activity), and collaborates with other institutions to help implement the processes of supporting (supporting activities). Examples of parties who generally serve as a partner is technology vendors, content partners, merchants, suppliers (suppliers), etc..

Source : www.fernandositindaon.info

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Sorry, Twitter fans (and animal lovers), but you’d better brace yourselves for another round of (hopefully Photoshopped) pics featuring birds in cats’ mouths and squashed against glass doors.  New stats from Hitwise make it look like Twitter isn’t doing so well.

First of all, it seems that there’s almost no chance of Twitter catching up with Facebook.  Bill Tancer found that, on October 24th, Facebook’s market share of U.S. visits was about 6.10 percent.  Twitter’s, meanwhile, was 0.14 percent.  That puts Facebook ahead by a factor of about 43.5, and it’s increasing that lead every month.

Then, in a move that might silence anyone who’s hoping that Twitter’s just biding its time, building up speed, Tancer provided a zoomed-in view of the site’s performance.  And since early July, at least, the news hasn’t been good.

Tancer also wrote, "At iMedia Breakthrough, Jeff Rosenblum from Questus referenced a Harvard Business School Study finding that the median number of tweets per twitter user over the life of their twitter account is 1!"

Still, any pictures that just portray a bunch of half-eaten bird feathers must be considered overkill, at least according to Twitter’s CEO, Evan Williams.  He recently told Adam Lashinsky, "It’s grown a little bit slower lately, but we have some things in the works that we think will change that."

Related Articles:

> Twitter Has Big Plans For $100 Million In Funding

> Social Networks Blamed For $2.25B In Lost Productivity

> Online Retailers To Focus On Facebook And Twitter During Holidays

EFF points us to yet another massively expensive computer system that can’t do some rather basic things. Apparently the state of Texas has pulled its election systems from an $863 million computer system project it had with IBM, after failures and glitches in the system took down the voter system and lost data, which was unrecoverable. State officials realized that if this had happened during an actual election, the state wouldn’t have been able to verify new voters, in violation of federal law. So, it dumped IBM and set up its own system that (gasp) actually has multiple backups of the data. I guess things like redundant backups aren’t included in the $863 million package.

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Charge to 2010!!!The third quarter financial call for Activision just commenced this afternoon, and the big news that came out of it was that their 2…

A Joint Committee on Taxation report released today by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) found that regulating Internet gambling would generate roughly $42 billion over 10 years.

The report is based on the requirement of a federal license for operators that would allow them to offer online gambling throughout the United States, while keeping the federal prohibition on any form of sports betting.

"This analysis further reinforces the fact that a regulated environment will generate billions in new revenue to offset the costs of health care reform or other vital government programs," said Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

"With the completed analysis, and support for Internet gambling regulation growing daily, it’s only a matter of time before Congress acts and begins allocating the billions in new revenue sitting on the table to one program or another."

Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced legislation that would legalize Internet gambling and McDermott has a companion bill that would collect tax revenues on online gambling.

"We believe this tax revenue analysis will encourage immediate discussions and consideration of pending legislation to regulate Internet gambling," said Waxman.  

"With everyone acknowledging that attempts to prohibit the activity have failed, this provides even more incentive for Congress to act."

Currently the amount of revenue that remains uncollected while Americans gamble online is more than $100 billion annually.

Related Articles:

> Kentucky Supreme Court Hears Online Gambling Case

> Online Poker Players Expose Cheaters

> Americans Favor Legalizing Online Poker

A virtual pinball machine sounds like a really good idea. No less then 17 tables, on a LCD display (so the playfield doesn’t wear out). Best yet, the virtual pinball machine has some of the most famous Gottlieb games like 2001 and Gold Strike. Sure, it’s expensive, but compared to the cost of actually buying 17 pinball machines? It’s quite reasonable. And takes up a lot less space in the ol man cave.

The Multispin Digital Pinball machine uses a 32 inch LCD monitor for that play field, and a smaller monitor mounted on the back glass to replicate the scoring section of those classic games. There is just one thing that makes me nervous, and that’s the lack of flipper buttons on the pictures of the machine. Hammacher Schlemmers website says that it does have flipper buttons and a ball launcher just like the real thing, but I can’t seem to find it.

The Hammacher Schlemmer website lists the pinball machine as being currently available, however it will take 4-6 weeks for delivery, so order fast for Christmas. The Digital Pinball machine will set you back $6,000. I’ve got to say though, I think it’d be worth it.

[via Technabob]

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

During one of the more noteworthy weeks in Europe’s modern history, as the 27 member nations of the European Union prepare for a newer and more centralized executive authority, the EU will also be making way for a powerful regulatory authority for telecommunications: the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). This is the name for the new European Telecoms Authority; and whereas in the US, there remains considerable debate over whether the Federal Communications Commission can and should have regulatory authority over Internet transactions, in Europe, the debate has officially been settled: BEREC will have authority to propose regulations for telecommunications in all forms, including the Internet.

But the power for approving, exercising, and then administering those regulations has been delegated to the European Commission. So although the new telecoms authority will be comprised of the national telecom regulatory heads from each member nation, the EC will have the authority to overrule them. Negotiations over this single provision extended for hours and eventually days, according to the EC, with the central point of contention being this and only this provision.

But in the end, the agreement reached early Thursday morning essentially gave the EC everything it has asked for, without any hint of compromise.

“When the Commission, in close cooperation with BEREC, considers that a draft remedy notified by a national regulator would create a barrier to the single market,” reads this morning’s communiqué from the EC, referring to the continent-wide telecommunications market, “the Commission may issue a recommendation that requires the national regulator to amend or withdraw its planned remedy. The new rules also enable the Commission to adopt further harmonization measures in the form of recommendations or (binding) decisions, if divergences in the implementation of remedies persist across the EU in the longer term.”

“Harmonization” is the EC’s term for getting everyone’s ducks in a row, and has been a favorite watch-word of Comm. Viviane Reding, whose authority over Europe’s Internet industry has just increased.

Also within Comm. Reding’s power will be the ability to order a country’s telecom company, once it steps over the regulatory body, to divest itself of its services division if it wishes to maintain control of a majority of lines or transmitters in its given nation. This is the functional separation option introduced in the original proposal two years ago, based in principle on the spinoff of Openreach from UK-based parent BT in 2003, in one of the EC’s first telecom-related antitrust actions.

A final draft of what’s now called the Internet Freedom Provision will not, as some European journals had reported, guarantee broadband Internet access as a fundamental human right. What it will do, however, is guarantee that an individual’s right to choose any available application over the Internet is not suppressed by a service provider’s maintenance measures, privacy policies, or lack thereof. In its entirety, the new annex of the Provision reads as follows:

Measures taken by Member States regarding end-users’ access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks shall respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law.

Any of these measures regarding end-users’ access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks liable to restrict those fundamental rights or freedoms may only be imposed if they are appropriate, proportionate and necessary within a democratic society, and their implementation shall be subject to adequate procedural safeguards in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection and due process. Accordingly, these measures may only be taken with due respect for the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy. A prior fair and impartial procedure shall be guaranteed, including the right to be heard of the person or persons concerned, subject to the need for appropriate conditions and procedural arrangements in duly substantiated cases of urgency in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The right to an effective and timely judicial review shall be guaranteed.

Final votes in the European Parliament on the creation of BEREC will take place later this month, although at this point, they’re seen to be largely ceremonial. The new authority — and the authority over that authority — could come into existence in the first quarter of 2010.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009

 It’s numbers time again! The latest hardware sales figures from Japan’s Media Create has been release, and competition is getting tighter as the…

Halo and Blu-ray — together? Yes, you are not imagining that first sentence. Halo will indeed be on Blu-ray, through the Halo Legends anime project.T…

The industry is all a buzz with the latest entry in the “I’m the thinnest laptop” competition. The latest Dell Adamo is definitely a strong contender, at 9.99 mm at some points. Of course, that’s just the official figure. I would have tested it myself but I forgot my calipers.

The Adamo definately does the sleek, simplistic look well.  About two inches bigger in both directions than a sheet of paper and only 3.2 lbs, you could almost forget you were carrying this thing around. Although forgetting you have $1800 in your arms might not be the most desirable…

Dell replaced the usual manual cover latch with a heat-sensitive capacitor. Just swipe your finger across the front edge and the lock disengages. When you open the Adamo, the screen doesn’t so much fold up as the keyboard folds down. It rests in the crazy position you see below. And it’s not just for looks, kids. The open space under the unit allows for more effective airflow, meaning no more burning laps while you work. The keyboard has full sized, metal keys, and the angle didn’t interfere with my typing at all. The touchpad on the other hand, is a little on the small size. This thing has multitouch support, but even my small hands found trouble getting multiple fingers on there. Another thing I didn’t like was that when you adjust the angle of the screen, it moves the angle of the keyboard as well.

Now I’m sure the question you’re all wondering is how in the world does this thing sit on your lap? Its actually pretty comfortable, and you can type without fear of knocking it off your lap with each keystroke. However, it does only have two points of contact so its not as secure against people bumping into you as other laptops.

As for the device’s internals, nothing jumps out at the eye. The screen is 13.4″. Powered by a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with integrated graphics and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. You get 128 GB of SSD, no word on whether that is upgradable yet. Wireless comes in two flavors, 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1. The only ports on the laptop are 2 USB 2.0 jacks, audio, and a DisplayPort out. Ethernet, HDMI, and the like can connect through the use of an external dongle.

Another cool feature is the replaceable battery. But you’ll have to be replacing it every 2 and a half hours. Not very long for a laptop that is designed for maximum mobility, but at that size? Can’t beat it.

You can expect the Adamo sometime this holiday season. Windows 7 comes standard as well as the diamond-etched logo on the cover. If you’re into that sort of thing.

NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) – A Ropes & Gray lawyer’s arrest in an insider trading case has embarrassed the corporate law firm in the latest scandal to cast a harsh spotlight on legal partnerships that oversee billions of dollars in deals each year.

U.S. prosecutors alleged on Thursday that Arthur Cutillo, in Ropes & Gray’s litigation department, gave out inside information about deals by the law firm’s clients.

These deals include buyouts by private equity firms like TPG [TPG.UL], Bain Capital and Silver Lake, all of whom used Ropes & Gray as their counsel. Cutillo joined the firm in 2005 and his practice focused on intellectual property.

Cutillo is one of 14 people newly charged in the biggest hedge fund-related case in history. The charges come nearly three weeks after Raj Rajaratnam, billionaire founder of hedge fund firm Galleon Group, and five others were arrested.

“For a law firm to have this out there is very, very uncomfortable because there is this immediate sense that that’s a major black eye,” said an mergers and acquisition lawyer at a major law firm. “No law firm wants to see its name in the lights in this way.”

Ropes & Gray said it was deeply disappointed and that the allegations suggest “an extreme breach of this person’s duty of trust to our clients and to the firm.”

Ropes & Gray, which was has more than 1,000 lawyers and professionals, said it was moving quickly to protect clients and co-operating fully with authorities.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Cutillo is not the first lawyer to be allegedly involved in an insider trading scandal.

His arrest comes just days after a respected Toronto lawyer apparently committed suicide, while his alleged accomplice pleaded guilty to U.S. and Canadian criminal charges stemming from a 14-year insider trading scheme.

The lawyer, Gil Cornblum, worked in the Toronto office of Dorsey & Whitney LLP. He was a partner there when Dorsey fired him in May 2008, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC alleged some trades took place between 1994 and 1998, when Cornblum was “articling” in a Toronto law firm and later worked in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell.

One of the defendants in the case unveiled on Thursday, Michael Kimelman, is also a former Sullivan & Cromwell attorney, although he was at the elite New York-based firm for less than two years and left more than 10 years ago.

“Beyond policies and procedures, it’s fundamentally about the culture of the institution,” said John Reiss, global head of White & Case’s mergers and acquisitions group, without referring to any specific firm. “It’s the institution’s job to assure, quite simply, that people know not to communicate in any context private information.”

HUMAN NATURE

But mergers and acquisition lawyers at some rival law firms sympathized with Ropes & Gray’s predicament, saying the scandal could happen anywhere and clients are ultimately likely to see this as a one-off case due to a rogue employee.

“The policies are sufficient. It’s just human nature is what it is,” said Harold Gordon, a partner in Jones Day’s SEC practice. “It is virtually impossible to stop a rogue attorney from revealing client confidences if they are going to insist on doing that.”

These experts added that despite other recent insider trading cases involving corporate lawyers, law firms have enough policies and procedures in place and that such cases happen due to bad actors that no one can totally stop.

Indeed, one private equity firm said that a single rogue employee would not influence their decision to use the firm.

A spokesman for Ropes & Gray declined to comment further.

In a sign that it is business as usual for now, the firm advised TPG and Canada Pension Fund on a $4 billion buyout of IMS Health Inc (RX.N) — the biggest leveraged buyout deal of the year — announced on Thursday.

By Paritosh Bansal
(Additional reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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One of our connects already did one for us, but there’s nothing like having a handset (and a box) in your own possession. Also what our guy reported seems to be spot on: this thing is thinner, lighter, and a lot more pocketable than Sprint’s HTC Hero. The only other change, we’re told, is that the DROID Eris has a proximity sensor on the screen. We’ll put together something more formal in a little bit, but in the meantime check out a couple photos after the jump!

So you live in Kansas, and you want to learn how to snowboard before that big trip to the mountains. What do you do? Well, you can always wait to get up the hill to buy some lessons, or you can pick up a Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW controller, and you’ll be carving down a half-pipe in no time.

Made from real maple, the T-Freestyle is designed to work as either a snowboard or skateboard controller, the wooden deck replicates that flex and resistance that a real board posses, allowing for a better gaming experience. Thrustmaster also built in their new “rolling motion board” technology, which allows the controller to move like a real snowboard or skateboard, without dumping you on your tail.

The Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW should be available at your favorite retailer at the end of this month, for the quite reasonable price of $29.99.

While I guess there are still some people who think that sitting around on your computer isn’t “interacting” with other people, I would have thought that the myth that computer users are loners died off a long time ago. However, apparently we still need studies to debunk that. The latest, from Annenberg and Pew found that people who use social networks have a larger social circle than those who don’t. And, no, the study didn’t just count how many friends you have on Facebook, but found out from people the number of people with whom they felt comfortable talking over important issues. That number was noticeably higher for those who used modern technology more frequently. So again, even though I had thought the stereotype died off ages ago, here’s a bit more evidence that being an internet geek doesn’t mean you’re a loner.

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