Only a small portion of the pill you swallowed earlier is actually an active ingredient, the rest is filler. That bit of information is what caused researchers to explore a way to start printing active ingredients onto blank filler tablets. More »
Health – Printing – Medicine – United States – Business
Just to ease your fears or maybe tease you even more, Motorola has just updated their official Android update page and timeframes are thankfully getting a little more specific. Leading the way, of course, is the Droid which has completed its Android 2.1 update and the Milestone which is currently rolling out its own update in different parts of the world. Compared to the previous update, the Backflip now has Android 2.1 planned for Q3 and the Cliq and Cliq XT has 2.1 planned for Q2. Unfortunately the Devour’s upgrade is still "under evaluation". It’s very nice of Motorola to keep us updated on their Android 2.1 plans but we wonder if they’ve heard that Android 2.2 Froyo is out and about now.. [Motorola]
This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store
China’s Africa development fund is set to triple in size to $3 billion, according to China Daily.
The China-Africa Development Fund (CAD) targets investment projects on the African continent, including both industrial and infrastructure enterprises.
Specifically, the fund has been involved in the creation of a glass factory in Ethiopia and a power plant in Ghana. The fund has also been involved in the creation of “trade zones” in Egypt and Nigeria.
Eventually, CAD is to top out at a total of $5 billion.
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Filed under: Sedan, Wagon, Europe, Hatchback, Buick, Opel, Rumormill, Luxury
A fresh batch of rumors kicking around the web are claiming that General Motors is seriously mulling bringing hatchback and wagon versions of the all-new Buick Regal to the States. In the brand’s ongoing quest to shed its status as a synonym for all things elderly, the Tri-Crest has raided the Opel parts bin, slipped a waterfall grille on the nose of the Insignia and called it a day. We were simply glad to hear that the car would be available with a turbo mill and a third pedal, but according to Car and Driver, things are about to get even more interesting.
It turns out the Insignia is available as a hatchback and a wagon in more civilized portions of the world. Jim Federico, the man who led the Regal to the fountain of youth, told C/D that the U.S. will be getting at least one of the other body styles within a few short years, and that there’s a good chance that both of them will show up on dealer lots at some point in the near future. Chances are that’s not exactly ground-breaking news by anyone’s standards, but it gets better. Federico has said that since American wagon buyers are suddenly smitten with the likes of the Jetta TDI Sportwagen, the Regal long-roof will boast an oil-burning powerplant.
Needless to say, our eyes are dish-plate sized at the news. Could Buick possibly offer an all-wheel drive diesel wagon with a six-speed manual transmission? We want to believe, but our skeptical side is in full go-mode on this one.
Gallery: 2011 Buick Regal
[Source: Car and Driver]
Rumormill: Buick wagons, hatchbacks and diesels, oh my! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 May 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Three years after the protests began, it seems Subway has finally listened to its customers and will start tessellating cheese on its sandwiches, according to what appears to be an internal weekly newsletter.
Click to enlarge.
As the image shows, and anyone who has gotten a Subway sandwich knows, most Subways layer their isosceles-cut cheese in an overlapping fashion. This means one side of the sandwich gets more cheese than the other and leaves pockets of zero cheese, resulting in a uneven flavor and texture distribution. As the newsletter says, “This will improve the cheese coverage on the sandwiches.”
We don’t know if this picture is real, although that would be a pretty weirdly specific and not very damning thing to hoax, and have reached out to Subway for comment
Back in 2007, Left-Handed Toons made a cartoon about this policy and helped launch a miniature movement, complete with protest tshirt, which soon fizzled out in the face of Subway not really caring/knowing about it. Now, 2 years, 11 months, and 13 days later, Subway has changed its policy. At least for the Australia/New Zeland area.
Heralding the victory, Drew at Left-Handed Toons writes, “Now is the time for the New Procedure. You can almost picture taking every homogenous bite. It’s okay now. Everything will always forever be okay now.”
Is this a regional test or the first stage in a worldwide phase-in? We can only pray. Or wait for official comment. Either/or.
Effective July 1 – Subway worldwide to phase in tesselated cheese on all sandwiches [Reddit]
Cheesey Victory [Left-Handed Toons Blog]
(Thanks to David!)
PREVIOUSLY:
Subway Cheese Scam Protest Tshirt Designed
Subway’s Incorrect Use Of Isosceles Cheese Actually A Vast Conspiracy
Dear Subway, Please Use Your Isosceles Cheese Correctly
OK, so it’s probably not fair to Tim Lincecum(notes) that we won’t allow him to have a rough outing, ever. But he’s a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, and we tend to hold those guys to high standards.
Lincecum has tied his career high in walks (5) in each of his past three starts, and he hasn’t pitched beyond the fifth inning in his last two. He allowed six hits, six runs and four stolen bases in Wednesday’s loss to Washington. His average fastball this season is just 91.3 mph, three ticks below the velocity readings we’re accustomed to.
The locals are concerned enough to write headlines like this:
What the heck is wrong with Tim Lincecum?
If they’re asking the question, then perhaps the fantasy community should consider the issue, too. Before Lincecum’s start on Wednesday, a CSN Bay Area report suggested that he was dealing with a blister on his pitching hand. Lincecum and his manager both denied the report, but the hand itself was unavailable for comment…
Everyone wants answers on Lincecum. A blister would be an easy one, but he and Bochy both pooh-poohed a pregame television report that the pitcher was fighting a blister. But even as Lincecum was denying it was an issue, he kept his hands in his jacket pockets.
In fact, all recaps of the Giants’ loss seemed to mention the fact that his hands were hidden from view. Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News suspects that Lincecum may not have a blister, but a recurrence of another issue:
Back in spring training, Lincecum had a cracked nail on the middle finger of his pitching hand. He even let me snap a picture of it and send it as a joke to a college buddy of mine, who was thinking of drafting Lincecum on his fantasy team. (Note to geeks, and you know who you are: This is not a public service I provide at large.)
At the time, the nail problem wasn’t serious and didn’t look too ugly. But perhaps Lincecum is dealing with the cracked nail issue again. I can’t tell you for sure, because Lincecum had both hands very conspicuously buried in the pockets of his sweatshirt while he conducted his postgame interview.
But maybe he’s not really hiding anything. Maybe he was cold. Or maybe he has plush, inviting pockets. Or maybe he’s sick of having reporters photograph his hands. Dunno.
There’s no denying that Lincecum had control problems on Wednesday, whatever the reason. As Baggarly notes, Lincecum threw only two of 14 curveballs for strikes, and one of the stray curves hit a batter. He also struggled with command of his fastball. In the early innings the heater was 92-94 mph according to Gameday, but Lincecum dialed it down in the fourth and fifth (89-91), presumably in an effort to locate. Nothing really worked. He continued his season-long inability to prevent steals, too, as the Nats were 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts. Lincecum now leads all National League pitchers in steals-allowed (12-for-12) — no simple feat for someone who doesn’t generally allow many baserunners.
Manager Bruce Bochy had a closed-door meeting with his ace on Thursday morning, and his subsequent comments suggest that he’s more concerned about Lincecum’s focus than his health. Here are a few highlights:
"Basically, he’s fine [physically]. Like everybody in this game you’re going to have your hiccups. And Timmy, he’s a little hard on himself, I think, at times. A little frustrated. This guy has set the bar so high that he’s tough on himself when he doesn’t pitch like he’s accustomed to. … [Lincecum] has the ability to do a good job of holding onto runners, vary his
looks, sidestep and things like that. That got away from him. Got a little out of focus I think with runners on. That’s going to happen at times and as a pitcher, you learn from it. …"There were times when he was working on his command out there, so he was trying to get the ball where he wanted it instead of letting it go. … Timmy, he’s got plenty of fastball. He was at 92 there. That’s kind of been his comfort, 91-92, which is a good fastball. What you don’t want to do is get caught in velocity, where you’re trying to add, and you lose command. I certainly don’t want him doing that. … Some of us — myself — were average players. We’re used to dealing with, you know, tough outings or at-bats, things like that. But you set the bar so high, it’s a little tougher for him, I think."
Well, that ended up being a huge block of text. Sorry. You can’t be expected to read a thing like that. I’ll tighten it up for you:
• Lincecum is apparently not hurt, might have hiccups.
• He’s paying no attention to baserunners, a problem when you walk five batters and hit another.
• His fastball is an easy 91-92 mph and he leads the league in Ks, so back off.
• Bochy thinks of himself as an average player, which is kind of a slap in the face to players who were actually league-average.
There’s no reason for serious concern here. You’ll recall that Lincecum had a miserable spring (0-2, 6.94 ERA) — which panicked a few of you — then won his first four regular season games in his usual dominant fashion (1.00 ERA, 10.7 K/9). His next start is on Monday against Ubaldo Jimenez(notes), in the must-watch pitching matchup of the year. Be there.
As MLB.com’s Chris Haft reminds us, no active pitcher has been more dominant than Lincecum through his first 100 games. But if you’re worried about the velocity thing (which could be a non-thing), I’ll happily take the Freak off your hands. I’m prepared to spend the rest of my day in trade negotiations…
—
Photo via US Presswire
Here’s a bizarre one. Reader withersteen alerts us to a strange new law that has been passed in Louisiana, which will add from one to ten years to your prison sentence if you use an online map in the process of committing a crime:
A bill headed to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s desk would increase penalties for crimes committed with the use of an Internet-generated “virtual street-level map.”Senate Bill 151 by Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, provides for an additional year in prison for crimes committed using the maps, including acts of terrorism or other criminal offenses like burglary or stalking.
An act of terrorism using the maps could mean an additional 10 years behind bars.
Apparently the bill passed by a vote of 89-0. I’m trying to figure out what the rationale for this law is, and the best I can figure out is that this is a bizarre kneejerk reaction to services like Google’s Street View, and the claims from some that such services could be used to “scout out” crime locations. Of course, the same is true of driving by a location. Will Senator Adley add a new bill that increases your prison sentence if you first drive by the location before committing the crime?
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Hennessey Venom GT on the dyno
We’ve seen the Hennessey Venom GT driving around in Britain near Silverstone and today we get to see the base 725-hp go through some chassis dyno testing. According to Hennessey’s results, the base Venom GT will make 633-hp rear-wheel-horsepower and 641 lb-ft of rear-wheel-torque.
We can’t wait to see the 1,000-hp and the 1,200-hp twin-turbo V8 go under dyno testing.
Click here for more news on the Hennessey Venom GT.
Refresher: Weighing in less than 2,400 pounds, the Hennessey Venom GT is powered by GM’s supercharged 6.2L LS9 V8, which has been modified to produce 725-hp. Hennessey will also offer 1,000-hp and 1,200-hp twin-turbo V8 engine variants. Mated to a Ricardo 6-speed gearbox, the Venom GT is capable of hitting 0-60 mph in 2.2 seconds and will keep going until it hits 262 mph.
– By: Kap Shah
Want some breath-taking view and some far-away-from-work vacation? In Southampton, Coopers Beach is the one, grabbed the best beach billing in the rankings.
And these best beach resort follow in the rankings Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida, Coronado Beach Place in San Diego, California, Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii, Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Beachwalk Kiawah Iceland Park, South Carolina; Hamo Beach in Maui, Hawaii and the Cape Florida State Park Key Biscayne, Florida.
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Ford changes the original version of Ford Explorer SUV. The new Explorer will be perfect at home, easier on fuel and nicer to drive around town. Jay Ward, a Ford spokesman, said “When we were working on the program we asked our current Explorer owners, ‘Do you guys need the ability to go off road’ and 100% said ‘Absolutely, yes.’ When we asked them, ‘How often do you go off road’, 70% said ‘Never’.” Ford is now making the next Explorer a car-based crossover SUV as it will share engineering with the Ford Taurus sedan. The new explorer will be offered with at least two engines, a turbocharged 4-cylinder (275 HP) EcoBoost engine and a non-turbocharged V6.
Ford sales analyst George Pipas said that between 1995 and 2002, Ford sold an average of 412,000 a year. There was then a rapid slide on the traditional truck-based SUVs and the Explorer. Ford sold only 52,000 Explorers last year and 74,400 in 2008. Ford felt that there was no need to reveal the 2011 Explorer early since it may harm the sales of the said model thus they ought not to release the model at one of the major auto shows.
Ford Explorer 2011 will be released either at the end of this year or early next year.
Related posts:
With beautiful sight, pristine white sand and convenient parking facilities Southampton’s Coopers Beach has been chosen as one of the best beaches in America. This has been chosen as the best beach in an annual survey conducted. According to the director of Florida International University, Dr. Leatherman, New York has some of the best beaches in the world, but people are unaware of it.
Coopers Beach has made it to number one position among the other contenders and this is the first time when something like this has happened with New York. According to Leatherman, it is because of the quality of the water, cleanliness, facilities and safety. Maine beach is also one of the good beaches and it makes to the top place in the list.
Maine beach and Coopers beach both are being considered as one among 10 top beaches of the country. Coopers Beach is really beautiful, and especially the sand the color of water makes it look so beautiful. Everyone is hoping, now that the beach is in top most place it is our responsibility to keep the beach clean and maintain the facilities and make sure that it is always on top.
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When CVS discovered that prices listed for brand-name drugs on its SilverScript Medicare site were mistakenly displayed at about 4% less than the drugs were actually being sold for, the company quickly fixed the glitch, according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal. But what happened to customers who saw the “low” prices and ended up paying more at retail? According to The Journal, CVS cut a deal with the government, allowing the company to offer refunds only to customers who asked for them. CVS then sent letters to the customers that said they could call and discuss “your options,” and made no mention of the possibility of a refund.
According to the Journal, a computer error caused CVS to provide inaccurate prices to SilverScript’s site, as well as the government’s Medicare site and other sources for Medicare information. The incorrect information was online from October 8, 2009 through January 8, 2010. After fixing the info, CVS contacted the government:
CVS notified the federal regulator, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, about the problem in January. A Medicare spokesman said regulators worked with CVS to craft a response plan, under which CVS would offer a refund for the price difference, but only to consumers who specifically requested that. The Medicare spokesman said CVS also agreed to help unhappy customers switch to another plan.
“The plan’s lapses are … under close scrutiny,” the spokesman said, adding that Medicare has received very few complaints about the problem. …
CVS sent letters of apology to affected customers starting in late March. A letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal didn’t mention the possibility of a refund, but directed a recipient with questions to call a toll-free number to discuss “your options.”
“Did I pay too much for medication?” the letter said in question-and-answer format. The answer: “No.” The letter said the drugs were “priced correctly at the pharmacy, but may have been higher than what the price-comparison tools estimated.”
That doesn’t sit very well with consumer advocates, including Judith Stein of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, who told the Journal that customers “should all get their money back” or get the advertised prices for the full year. “The burden should not be on the beneficiary to prove that’s why they chose the plan.”
Meanwhile, at least one customer who called CVS to ask for a refund was told he had to file a “grievance” and provide a printout of the site showing the lower price. CVS says that’s not the company’s policy, and that anyone who paid more than the advertised price is entitled to a refund. If they ask for one, that is.
Dispatch from Forward Operating Base Payne in Southern Afghanistan:
Marines with the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (1st LAR) just assumed control of Helmand Province one week ago.
Now they’ve suffered their first casualty.
The 1000th U.S. Service member to die in Afghanistan (by AP’s count) was a Marine with the 1st LAR. He was on foot patrol in the southern Helmand River Valley Thursday afternoon when he was killed by an IED.
Fox News is not releasing the Marine’s name, but can confirm his family has been notified and he is on his way home.
Two other marines on patrol with him were wounded. The men were medivac’d from the scene and are being treated in a military hospital for schrapnel wounds. Sources tell me there was no loss of limbs and they’re expected to survive.
The other Marines on the foot patrol assisted with the medivac and continued on their mission.
The mood on the base is somber but otherwise normal. The Battalion Commander tells me the “battle rhythym has not been disrupted.” We see it firsthand. Marines are feeling the loss but remain focused. This is an unfortunate part of the job, they tell me. Everyone wants and hopes (and sometimes expects) wars to be fought without anyone dying but it’s just not possible.
This is the first casualty suffered by the 1st LAR since taking over this area of operations from the 4th LAR one week ago.
I spoke personally with the fallen Marine’s Company Commander, who I was embedded with during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He spoke very highly of his fallen brother, a man who’s bravery and valor is without question. The Company Commander was calm. His Marines understand the risk, he told me. They will mourn the loss and never forget and they will continue to serve.
2008 Proton Satria Neo
Proton, an automaker based out of Malaysia, is getting set to announce a possible tie-up with Volkswagen in the next two weeks, according to people familiar with the plan. A company official has been quoted as saying they didn’t want to jump the gun, and that the fruits of the talks with VW will be made public in two weeks.
When asked about the venture VW had this to say in an email: “With reference to Malaysia, there are no concrete developments or agreements. We cannot confirm any statements to the contrary.”
Proton’s chairman has said that the company did not need to form a tie-up. it is speculated that some sort of contract assembly or rebadging arrangement in the works. The two companies were in talks back in 2007 regarding VW taking an equity stake in Proton, but those had stalled. Partnerships with Peugeot and GM have since been considered but never actualized.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
By Jack M. Germain, E-Commerce Times
Voice-over-IP technology is getting a makeover, and service providers hope it will reinvent the industry. There’s a shift away from VoIP toward hosted unified communications — that is, integrated voice, instant messenger, e-mail, workflow applications, and procurement.
Eight companies formed the Cloud Communications Alliance at the Cloud Computing Expo held last month in New York City, banding together to help drive the development of cloud-based unified communications.
The alliance includes Alteva, Broadcore, Callis Communications, Consolidated Technologies, IPFone, SimpleSignal, Stage 2 Networks, and Telesphere. Together, the companies represent more than USD$100 million in combined annual revenue and collectively serve more than 110,000 business customers in the United States.
Businesses that have become comfortable with the cloud computing concept are beginning to recognize the advantages of converging cellphones, office phones and computers, as well as the redundancy and cost savings gained through allowing enterprise voice and data communications to reside in the cloud, noted Clark Peterson, chairman of the Cloud Communications Alliance and CEO of Telesphere.
To provide a true hosted unified communications solution for small businesses, Alteva has developed a way to interconnect its cloud-based voice and messaging services with Microsoft Communication Services’ product suite. Alteva’s new technology is also compatible with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS). Alteva is marketing the new UC solution to both its small business and enterprise customers.
Microsoft is actively pushing the capability of a fully integrated communications platform by partnering with Alteva, Comcast, and GoDaddy, among others. The goal is to provide users with more productive communications, improve employee productivity, and enhance office efficiency.
“The Cloud Communications Alliance is not just about Voice-over-IP, hosted PBX or unified communications. We’re introducing an entirely new way to build, deploy and scale enterprise communications systems that provide HD voice services along with a platform of advanced apps and features that allow businesses to work in ways they never imagined,” said Alteva CEO Bill Bumbernick.
It was very awkward sitting in a room full of telecom competitors when future alliance members first started meeting at quarterly trade shows two years ago, Louis Hayner, chief sales officer of Alteva, told E-Commerce Times.
The companies providing VoIP service were starting to recognize the growing need for end-users to be able to connect with other providers — a process called “IP Peering,” he explained.
One of the common problems those corporate representatives shared was how to come up with a standardized training approach. Not all VoIP service providers have the same level of features and functionality, noted Hayner.
“Cloud is all about collaboration,” he said. “Unified Communications is much like VoIP was in its early early days when the cost was too prohibitive. Collaboration among service providers will thrust the new technology forward.”
VoIP in the residential space continues to do well, according to Diane Myers, directing analyst for service provider VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research, and there are several different flavors of VoIP that will continue to grow with business on PBX.
“Last year was tough on the enterprise. Most were keeping a lock on new technology spending, but we saw at the end of last year things were starting to pick up,” Myers told E-Commerce Times. “We saw a really big spike for interest in hosted VoIP service.”
That interest, both from SMB users and larger enterprises, provides fresh opportunities for service providers, she said.
With over 100 vendors in this space, the choices for customers can be overwhelming. Hosted services can be scaled to fit the changing needs of users. Providers that can offer flexible solutions will take the lead in leveraging the emerging interest in hosted unified communications, suggested Myers.
Another opportunity driver is that more businesses are getting comfortable with outsourcing, she said.
A key challenge for smaller service providers is dealing with the hesitancy on the part of larger companies to work with them. Smaller companies come and go in the business world, so the business maturity of the service provider can be a deal breaker.
The eight founding companies of the Cloud Communications Alliance use a software platform provided by BroadSoft to deliver a range of cloud-based IP multimedia communications to enterprises and consumers, said Joe Gillette, CEO of Stage 2 Networks.
These unified communications components include hosted-IP private branch exchanges, video calling, unified communications, collaboration, and converged mobile and fixed-line services.
The organization of the Alliance marks an important milestone in the development of the cloud-based communications category. The group’s commitment to evangelizing cloud-based communications services will help drive customer adoption and broad-scale investment into this next generation of communications, said BroadSoft CEO Mike Tessler.
Besides the typical business benefits from banding together, each alliance participant must have attained certain levels of success. Each of the eight companies grew its business through last year, said Tessler.
“Flat sales is not a part of the membership criteria, but new positioning is important to separate us from a new round of competition to leverage the public Internet,” Stage 2’s Gillette told E-Commerce Times. “We need to focus on quality and service.”
All VoIP services are not the same, and unified communications is not the same thing as VoIP alone.
“Other companies claim to offer UC, but in actuality they are only referring to basic VoIP features such as voice mail messages as a .WAV file in your e-mail,” said Alteva’s Hayner. “True UC is much more than that.”
Alteva’s UC product — with the full suite of Microsoft Communication Services products integrated with Voice over IP phone service — allows for a truly cloud-based UC environment. The cloud environment combines basic business-based technology like voice with office communications such as instant messenger, video conferencing, desktop sharing and telepresence.
“This capability is changing the landscape of enterprise businesses, creating unprecedented productivity enhancements,” Hayner said.
Verizon, AT&T, NGT, Cbeyond, and 8×8 ranked among top business VoIP services leaders in the annual North America Business VoIP Services Leadership Matrix from Infonetics Research.
“VoIP services sold to the residential/SOHO market still make up the lion’s share (about three-quarters) of total VoIP service revenue,” said Infonetics’ Myers.
However, there was a pickup in business VoIP service revenue growth in late 2009, her research indicates.
Furthermore, service providers reported increasing interest in hosted VoIP services across all sizes of businesses, including large enterprises, Myers noted.
“We expect this trend to continue as more companies turn to hosted services for their voice needs, with business VoIP services making up almost a third of all VoIP service revenue by 2014,” she predicted.
The smaller VoIP service providers may face a fight for survival. Their challenge will be to pull customers away from the large established providers, according to Myers, and the way to do that is through meeting highly specific client needs.
Originally published on LinuxInsider.
© 2010 ECT News Network. All rights reserved.
© 2010 BetaNews.com. All rights reserved.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
United States – SimpleSignal – BroadSoft – Voice over Internet Protocol – Unified communications
Kraft is bolstering its flavored mayonnaise with a dash of star power, courtesy of HGTV Design Star‘s Candice Olson, Genevieve Gorder and Vern Yip. Wel, OK, "star power" is pushing it, but they’re nevertheless the new faces of Kraft’s Sandwich Shop brand, making over humdrum sandwiches in TV spots from mcgarrybowen patterned after reality shows. There’s also a range of print material, including one ad that goes so far as to "deconstruct" the sandwich. For those of you trying to pinpoint the exact spot at which post-modernism died, look no further. The campaign is geared toward bored middle-aged women who look to makeover shows for inspiration, hence Kraft’s repetition of phrases like "go bold by stepping outside the flavor norm," which I can just hear Vern Yip saying with complete sincerity. Not for nothing, but mayonnaise hasn’t inspired much except possibly heart disease, and there’s a real difference between dramatically altering your appearance or living space and eating a BLT that tastes slightly different than before. It may still work, especially considering the amount of money Kraft is putting behind it, but it’s definitely a stretch.
—Posted by David Kiefaber
This week, Jesse Rothstein, the chief economist at the Labor Department, spoke at the Economic Policy Institute, and the organization just posted the slides. Congress is losing its stomach for funding extended benefits. But, as the slides show, long-term unemployment remains a major problem.
The chart underscores this point: For the economy to really start improving, hiring needs to be much stronger and the unemployment rate needs to start dropping much more quickly.
It seems homicidal tendencies are the leading side effect of Bieber fever!
A new application will scrub teen heartthrob Justin Bieber from your computer, but the software has inspired a dangerous backlash for the program’s creator.
The Free Art and Technology (F.A.T.) Lab has teamed up with computer software designer Greg Leuch to create an application called Shaved Bieber, which allows users to block all traces of the 16-year-old Canadian from their computers and web searches. The app will blackout Bieber’s name and pictures of the mini mop top from your PC.
The ingenious Firefox software has put Leuch in the line of fire of Bieber fanatics; He’s now the target of death threats from hundreds of angry fans.
“He’s taking the threats in stride and has posted them online as they appear. Other fans have been reduced to tears by the new application. One Belieber used her Twitter account to tweet the horror of having the Internet without Justin Bieber after her parents downloaded the program….” The Toronto Sun writes.
This isn’t the first time Biebs Lovers have gone bonkers; just last month, socialite Kim Kardashian was flooded with homicidal hate mail after she posed for a photo with the heartthrob at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
He says he’s received requests for software to block out other celebrities including Lady Gaga, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears!
Chevrolet Spark – Reva Electric Car
GM has ended its partnership with Indian company Reva Electric Car Co., whereby the latter would help the former produce electric cars. GM has decided to make their electric car operation a Motown exclusive affair. The move comes after Mahindra & Mahindra has agreed to buy a 55 percent controlling stake in Reva.
GM India, which had originally planned an electric version of the Chevy Spark to be marketed in the country, will instead showcase the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid in Q4 2010. It is still unknown as to when there will be a full-fledged presence of electric vehicles in the Indian market.
According to GM insiders, a decision was reached about two months ago; GM had a parallel program by which they will develop electric cars on a global scale. The company had announced in January a plan to build a $246 million facility in which to build electric motors.
GM’s joint venture with Chinese company SAIC Motor Corp. will commence with the launching of small commercial vehicles late next year, with passenger vehicles to follow the year after.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
“Consumerist needs your help in order to alleviate our cat picture shortage!” we said.
“I’m broke,” a few readers replied. “But I have cat pictures!”
“Send ’em over,” we said. And thus the great Cat Picture Drive of 2010 was born. Donations poured in from all over the world. Readers submitted them to our Flickr pool, and e-mailed them to us. It was magical. So here it is: a very special Flickr Friday, featuring the greatest kitteh pics.
(asrusch)
(bvcphoto)
(Christine)
(Ari)
(aaron8301)
(dooley)
Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers go and upload photos of cats, and of other things, for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right, and start hitting “send to group” on your individual photos you want to add to the pool.
