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Current Articles
Chaldeans are known for their congeniality and good-nature. What would seem on the surface to be a wonderful trait, can become a huge risk in a corporate setting. Chaldean professionals making their way through the corporate maze are forewarned that it's easy to let imprudent information slip out.
There are at least nine things Chaldeans or any professional minded go-getter should always keep to themselves at work. While some of these points are obvious, anyone who's spent any time at all in an office can vouch for the fact that this advice bears repeating, and that heeding it could avoid a whole lot of unproductive drama.
1. You're looking for a new job.
While it can be tempting to tell your friends at work about how well your latest job interview went or how you can't wait to resign, resist these urges.
2. You're romantically involved with a co-worker.
If you do choose to tempt fate and begin court one of your co-workers, it's probably wise not to tell anyone else at work about your interest. Not only is revealing too many details about your personal life unprofessional, but if the romance goes south, an already stressful breakup will be intensified by the unwelcome extra attention from your co-workers and negatively impact productivity.
3. You had a wild weekend.
While it's common for co-workers to talk about what they did over the weekend around the water cooler on Monday morning, it's wise to avoid sharing details that could paint you in an unflattering light.
4. You were really at the beach when you called in sick.
5. You frequently "borrow" office supplies.
6. You despise your boss or another colleague.
If you've found yourself embroiled in a contentious relationship with your manager or a co-worker, do your best not to broadcast your dislike to the entire company. For one thing, talking about a co-worker behind his or her back can make other employees think that you're unprofessional and disrespectful. Also, open hostility can create an uncomfortable work environment for everyone and decrease other colleagues' morale and happiness.
7. You have a colorful past.
Anecdotes about co-workers have a tendency to morph as they move from employee to employee, so by the time the story gets back to you, your night in jail for being in a bar fight or arguing with a cop over a traffic ticket may well have turned into to a 10-year sentence as a prohibition style mobster still on the run from the law.
8. You're planning a coup in your department.
Thinking about presenting the CEO with a groundbreaking business idea that will skyrocket you to the top of the department and oust your superiors along the way? Then mum's the word.
9. You plan starting your own business.
Owning your own businesses is the American dream and a noble goal. However, letting co-workers know that you plan on siphoning all you can before you start your own firm is just begging for the boot. Best to learn as much as you can and quietly help improve society by creating a more competitive offering for the public to choose from.
Google rocks with Les Paul doodle
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:55:13 -0500
Google created the world's largest jam session by giving everyone on the Web a playable and recordable guitar.
Citigroup hit by hackers
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:43:47 -0500
Citigroup said hackers had breached the bank's network and may have gained access to the personal data of hundreds of thousands of bank card customers
Transforming your business in an era of changing health care - Part II
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:18:50 -0500
New healthcare reform legislation provides financial incentives for payers and others to invest in activities and tools that improve care.
Cyber security revisited: Security agents explained
Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:27:24 -0500
While many security companies have devised myriad ways to address the malicious host problem, none have tried to attack this problem at the root level.
How service providers can have their cloud and keep it, too
Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:26:00 -0500
To keep up with Amazon's cloud, telcos need alternative methods to navigate a sea change in the storage market at large.
Chrome browser makes steady gains
Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:25:25 -0500
Chrome is now used by one out of every eight people on the internet, while Microsoft's latest browser is also showing signs of steady growth.
Opera beefs up password security
Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:39:56 -0500
Secure password synchronization, Speed Dial extensions, and an easier way to get Opera's developer's builds graduated from alpha to beta.
Transforming your business in an era of changing health care
Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:07:31 -0500
Many reforms have already been implemented, and payers that delay actions today put their futures at risk.
Smartphones? Thereâs malware for that, too.
Wed, 25 May 2011 15:26:13 -0500
Cyber crooks are infecting popular mobile platforms through malicious applications and, unfortunately, no mobile platform is immune from the destruction it can cause.
Apple making headway with music publishers
Tue, 24 May 2011 12:41:44 -0500
Apple has wrapped up licensing agreements with three of the four top record companies but still needs publishing rights to make its cloud service a go.
Microsoft appeals EU antitrust fine
Tue, 24 May 2011 10:17:49 -0500
Calling it "excessive," Microsoft criticized in an appeals hearing today the $1.3 billion fine imposed three years ago by EU antitrust regulators.
Firefox for Android adds 'do-not-track' feature
Mon, 23 May 2011 06:45:57 -0500
Mozilla released the new mobile browser beta with a Do Not Track feature that will turn your device free from trackers.
The five keys to building a successful cloud services business
Thu, 19 May 2011 13:11:13 -0500
To make the most of the cloud opportunity, service providers need to combine the winning mix of smart business decisions, partnerships, and technology.
Wed, 18 May 2011 11:05:30 -0500
One size fits none: How to secure cloud computing in the enterprise
Tue, 17 May 2011 13:38:25 -0500
Far-sighted organizations are using cloud computing to propel innovation, get an edge over competitors and improve productivity. You can't afford to let security worries scare you away.
Network security blunders - how to recover
Mon, 16 May 2011 11:48:19 -0500
On the network security front, firewall management is one area where a simple mistake regarding a rule or configuration change can come back to haunt you.
Amazon threatens states that collect sales taxes
Thu, 12 May 2011 12:07:26 -0500
Amazon.com is threatening to cut ties with affiliates in any states that decide to collect sales tax.
Healthcare IT roadmap: Starting small, scaling for growth
Wed, 11 May 2011 13:01:48 -0500
Complex new regulations for Accountable Care Organizations mean IT has to work overtime to keep up.
Anonymous denies role in Sony attacks
Wed, 11 May 2011 06:47:15 -0500
Anonymous has denied orchestrating the hack on the Sony PlayStation Network in a recorded message directed at users outraged by the attack.
Hackers plan third Sony attack
Tue, 10 May 2011 06:55:29 -0500
A group of hackers says it is planning another wave of cyberattacks against Sony in retaliation for its handling of the PlayStation Network breach.
OrgScheduler 6.8 (Windows)
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:47:04 -0500
OrgScheduler is a universal scheduling system for your individual, offices, business events with unrivaled features and flexibility. Building upon the interface options introduced in Microsoft Outlook, OrgScheduler includes importing from Outlook, exporting to Outlook, Text, HTML, XML, Excel formats. Different time display options in the day view (including those events that span multiple days), 149 event coloring types to indicate an event's kind/importance, automatic hints that display an event's start and end time together with its caption, multiple look and feel styles, event recurrence control, customizable Date Navigator, comprehensive reminders. With OrgScheduler, you can use e-mail or SMS to send appointments, reminders and invitations to colleagues, friends and family members. The format of calendar according to your regional settings. The OrgScheduler control provides many types of views: Day, Week, Month, Quarter, Year, all days or work days only and vertical, horizontal time line views. Access to all data is provided through a well encrypted password. Also Print Designer system enables to easily design and print elegant reports.
Symantec Norton AntiVirus Virus Definition 06/09/2011 (Windows)
Norton AntiVirus Definition - as new threats emerge, Symantec immediately builds new protection updates and makes them available for download on a subscription basis.
MakeUp Pilot 4.4 (Windows)
MakeUp Pilot is digital retouch software that allows doing makeup directly on your photos. It helps you to quickly and easily remove small defects on your skin. With this program you'll be able to make your pictures look even better than they do.
Norton AntiVirus Definitions Update (i32 Package) 06/09/2011 (Windows)
Download this file for the latest in virus detection and repair. The i32 Intelligent Updater package cannot be used to update Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition servers but can be used to update Corporate Edition clients. This definitions update is a complete replacement for any previous virus definitions set.
Beauty Pilot 2.4 (Windows)
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:47:03 -0500
Beauty Pilot is a software for digital photo retouching. The program has been designed with a very simple approach in mind. In order to get optimal results, you need only one tool. Erase skin imperfections instantly to bring out the beauty in women's portraits.
Windows Live Mail 15.4.3508.1109 (Windows)
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:47:01 -0500
Windows Live Mail brings together multiple e-mail accounts, calendars, and more into one easy-to-use program. Access and edit your e-mail and calendar events, even when you are offline, and sync your changes later. Use Windows Live Mail to help maximize your e-mail security across multiple e-mail accounts. Mail combines the ease of use of Outlook Express, with the speed of Windows Live. Get multiple e-mail accounts in one program - Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo. It also has a a calendar. Mail combines the ease of use of Outlook Express, with the speed of Windows Live.
XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0 (Windows)
The XNA Framework Redistributable provides the necessary runtime components to execute a game on Windows that was developed using Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0. This release contains improved functionality as well as new features. Installation of this runtime is unnecessary on systems with Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 already installed. The Microsoft Software License Terms for Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 covers the terms under which developers may use the Redistributable. For full details, review the Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 license terms.
Startup Delayer 3.0 build 305 (Windows)
Startup Delayer gives you the power to optimize your Startup Process by delaying applications from starting up as soon as you log into your computer. By delaying the applications during start up, your computer becomes usable a lot faster. Startup Delayer will then start launching your delayed applications when your computer is more idle.
moneyGuru 2.3.8 (Windows)
moneyGuru is a personal finance management application. With it, you can evaluate your financial situation so you can make informed decisions. Most finance applications have the same goal, but it differs in the way it achieves it. Rather than having reports which you have to configure (or find out which pre-configured report is the right one), your important financial data (net worth, profit) is constantly up-to-date and in your face. This allows you to constantly make informed decision rather than doing so periodically.
Image for DOS 2.63 (Windows)
Image for DOS is a reliable and easy to use drive imaging software package. Completely backup your operating systems, including Windows or Linux. It supports any partition type, including FAT, FAT32, NTFS, EXT2/3/4, Reiser, and XFS. It also supports USB2, eSATA, IEEE1394, ATAPI CD and DVD drives without the need for drivers. You can even easily create a self-booting floppy, CD/DVD, or flash disk to use for back ups or recovery.
Illumination Software Creator 3.2 (Windows)
Illumination Software Creator allows you to use visual building blocks to create your own software. No programming experience necessary, extremely easy to use. The resulting software can be run on Windows, Linux , MacOS X, iPhone, iPad, Android, Flash/Flex websites and Nokia Internet Tablets (Maemo).
Freemake Video Converter 18.104.22.168 (Windows)
Freemake Video Converter is an absolutely free video tool that converts virtually any video file : AVI, MP4, MKV, WMV, MPG, 3GP, SWF, FLV, TOD, AVCHD, MOV, QT, TS, MTS. Freemake Video Converter allows to download and convert YouTube, Facebook, TubePlus, or Vimeo videos by a quick copy/paste of video URL. Freemake Video Converter rips and re-encodes DVD's to any number of formats, including MPEG2, MP4, WMV, MKV, AVI, SWF. It has a number of presets that allow you to encode a movie for any number of devices, from an iPhone to PS3 and Android devices. Freemake Video Converter allows to quickly create photo slideshows and upload them or MP3 to Youtube. Due to the advanced preset editor, you can customize conversion parameters and create your own presets. The program takes advantage of NVIDIA's Cuda technology to route the encoding work to a Cuda supported graphics card thus delivering more efficient conversion.
CodeTwo Attach Unblocker 1.2.4 (Windows)
CodeTwo Attach Unblocker allows fast and convenient configuration of Microsoft Outlook to unblock attachments blocked by Outlook by default (.exe, .url, .reg files). The settings are available in the property sheet in the Outlook options, which ensures quick and con- venient editing. CodeTwo Attach Unblocker will enable you to read all of the blocked attachments.
Live Mesh 2011 15.4.3508.1109 (Windows)
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:47:00 -0500
Your work computer, home laptop, Mac, or mobile phone- devices live in multiple places. But the files you need--and the programs that open them--often don't. Live Mesh changes all that. With Live Mesh, you can synchronize files with all of your devices, so you always have the latest versions handy. Access your files from any device or from the web, easily share them with others, and get notified whenever someone changes a file. Use Live Mesh to connect to your other computer and access its desktop as if you were sitting right in front of it.
Windows Live Writer 15.4.3508.1109 (Windows)
Windows Live Writer is a desktop application that makes it easier to compose compelling blog posts using Windows Live Spaces or your current blog service. It includes a WSYIWYG blog editor as well as tools for publishing photos, maps. An included SDK allows developers to extend the capabilities of Writer to publish additional content types. Windows Live Writer is a great client for Windows Live Spaces but also works with other weblogs including Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, or WordPress.
Hypnosis/local Anaesthesia Combination During Surgery Helps Patients And Reduces Hospital Stays
Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0500
Using a combination of hypnosis and local anaesthesia (LA) for certain types of surgery can aid the healing process and reduce drug use and time spent in hospital, anaesthesiologists have found. The combination could also help avoid cancer recurrence and metastases, according to new research to be presented today (Sunday) at the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Amsterdam. Professor Fabienne Roelants and Dr. Christine Watremez, from the Department of Anaesthesiology at the Cliniques Universitaires St...
Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Ducklings Or Chicks, Ohio Investigates
Eight cases of salmonellosis have triggered an investigation by Ohio state officials who have linked them to ducklings and/or chicks sourced from an Ohio hatchery and bought at various agricultural outlets across the state. Health authorities are advising Ohioans to handle chicks and ducklings with care. The eight infected people live in Licking, Ashtabula, Jefferson, Columbiana, Hamilton, Franklin, Medina and Wood counties. They range from 3 months to 76 years of age. Salmonella Altona was detected in one of the chicks that belonged to one of the infected people...
Ovarian Cancer Screenings Raise Risk Of Health Problems And Do Not Reduce Mortality
Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:00:00 -0500
Transvaginal ultrasound and the CA-125 blood test do not prevent females from dying of ovarian cancer - in fact the invasive medical procedures may be linked to health problems, researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The CA-123 blood test measures levels of a tumor marker which is more elevated in women with ovarian cancer, and some other cancers. Edward Partridge, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and president of the American Cancer Society Inc...
Phase I Pro-Vas® Effectiveness Study Presented At AUA Meeting
Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:00:00 -0500
A new clinical study presented at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting shows the less-invasive Pro-Vas® occlusion as a highly promising method of permanent male sterilization. The clinical study results were presented by Douglas A. Swartz, M.D., to a physician audience at the AUA Annual Meeting. The AUA meeting is the world's largest gathering of urologists each year. Dr. Swartz is a private-practice urologist in Jacksonville, Fla. He served as lead investigator for the 15-month clinical study that involved 29 patients. Dr...
Woman Receives Full Face Transplant After Being Mauled By A Chimpanzee
Charla Nash, 57, whose face was mauled by a furious 200-pound pet chimpanzee in February 2009, has undergone a full face transplant at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, medical team leader announced. The animal attack left her blind. Nash says she yearns to be able to eat pizza and hamburgers again; quite a change from the pureed foods she has had to live on over the last few months. The chimpanzee's owner had asked Nash help her coax the animal back into the house. Her hands were ripped off, as were her nose, lips and eyelids...
Discovery Of How Nicotine Suppresses Appetite May Stop Weight Gain In Quitters
A discovery of precisely how nicotine suppresses appetite, suggests it may be possible to develop drugs that help people stop gaining weight when they give up smoking, something that puts many smokers off quitting, according to a new study published online this week in the journal Science. The scientists discovered a brain pathway in mice that could be the target of new drugs for smoking cessation and weight control without triggering a craving for tobacco. Previous studies have shown that although on average people gain no more than 10 lbs (4...
Economist Warns Of Age Discrimination, Quality Loss In "Healthcare Reform"
The incentives that are an essential part of recently passed healthcare reform have been tried many times before, always with the same result, warns economist Yuri Maltsev, Ph.D., in the summer 2011 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Before defecting to the West, Maltsev was a member of a senior Soviet economics team that worked on President Gorbachev's reform package under perestroika. The Soviet system looked good on paper, employing plan indicators to indicate hospital performance, Maltsev observes...
AANMA Helping Raise Awareness, Improve Lives Through Support For Congressional Allergy & Asthma Caucus
Continuing its work to end suffering and death from allergy and asthma in the United States, Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) proudly announces and is leading support for the Congressional Allergy & Asthma Caucus. The efforts of Representatives Joe Barton (R-TX), Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) made the Caucus possible...
Cardinal Health Supports Future Pharmacists With $1.1 Million Pharmacy Scholarship Program
As part of its continuing commitment to supporting future pharmacists, Cardinal Health today announced a new college scholarship program, making $1.1 million in scholarship funds available to thirteen pharmacy schools across the United States. Recipient schools will be endowed with scholarship funding ranging from $50,000 to $125,000. Five of the thirteen pharmacy schools that received funding were selected because of their commitment to advancing the independent pharmacy profession...
Siemens' Biograph MMR Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted Siemens Healthcare (NYSE: SI) 510(k) clearance for the Biograph mMR, the first system worldwide to enable simultaneous whole-body acquisition of data from magnetic resonance (MR) and positron emission tomography (PET). While MR provides exquisite morphological and functional details in soft tissue, PET goes further to investigate the human body at the level of cellular activity and metabolism. The Biograph mMR enables users to generate the location, function, and metabolic activity of organs in a single image at the same time...
Urgent Warning To Patients About Medicaid Cuts
Dental Systems, Inc., a leading western Pennsylvania dental network, is urging consumers to contact Governor Tom Corbett as well as their senators to protest proposed cuts to Medicaid dental benefits. According to Louis Rossellini, president of Dental Systems, Inc., Medicaid patients need to act now and voice their opinions by calling or emailing their Senator today. "For anyone 21 and older covered by Medicaid, the proposed budget cuts will drastically limit their optional benefits," said Rossellini...
Following The Traces Of Lung Cancer
Dr Naia Uribe-Etxebarria has shown that it is viable to detect the ganglion through which a tumour attempts to spread, using a radiotracer, in a PhD defended at the University of the Basque Country. Surgeon Naia Uribe-Etxebarria has used a radioactive substance which, injected into a lung tumour, enables the detection of the path that the carcinoma intends to take in order to propagate itself. Concretely she applied technetium 99 in resectable non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) at an early stage (I or II), and in an intraoperative manner...
Infrared Systems International's Subsidiary, AquaLiv, Inc., Strives To Be A Game Changer In Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Infrared Systems International (OTCBB: IFRS) is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, AquaLiv, Inc., has concluded a pilot study of its NatuRx™ HIV/AIDS treatment and will push forward with clinical trials in Kenya later this year. AquaLiv concluded a pilot study with two HIV/AIDS patients this week which also happens to mark the 30th anniversary of the first reported AIDS victims on June 5th, 1981. "The results of our pilot study indicate significant advances in the fight against HIV and AIDS," stated AquaLiv CEO Craig Hoffman...
BD And Heart To Heart International Launch Volunteer Service Trip To Help "Build Back Better" In Haiti
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, and Heart to Heart International, a humanitarian medical aid nonprofit organization, announced a joint volunteer initiative to strengthen healthcare in Haiti. A team of 13 BD associates from around the world have volunteered to travel to Haiti for three weeks and work with Heart to Heart partners at medical clinics to improve the country's ability to provide healthcare services for its people...
Edison Pharmaceuticals Announces Results Of EPI-A0001 Phase 2A Double Blind Placebo Controlled 28-Day Clinical Trial In The Mitochondrial Disease
Edison Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced preliminary results obtained on a 28-day phase 2A clinical trial in Friedreich's ataxia. While the primary endpoint of glucose disposition index (a measure of glucose handling by the body) did not show statistically significant improvement, EPI-A0001 did significantly improve neurological function as assessed by the Friedreich's Ataxia Rating Scale (FARS). This double-blind placebo-controlled trial consisted of three arms: placebo, low dose, and high dose EPI-A0001...
Summer Flooding Causes Concern For Contact Lens Wearers
As the rising flood waters of rivers across the country force people to seek higher ground, the American Optometric Association (AOA) reminds consumers to be vigilant with eye protection and eye care, particularly for contact lens wearers. Flooding causes an increase in the incidence of water-borne pathogens. These pathogens, including amoeba, parasites, bacteria and viruses, can be dangerous to the eye and may lead to infections and other complications even loss of sight...
Insmed's ARIKACE® Demonstrates Sustained Benefit Through Six Cycles Of Treatment For Cystic Fibrosis Patients With Pseudomonas Lung Infections
Insmed Incorporated (Nasdaq CM: INSM), a biopharmaceutical company, announced positive data through six treatment cycles (72 weeks total duration) of its Phase 2 clinical trial program for ARIKACE® (liposomal amikacin for inhalation) in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with Pseudomonas lung infections. The data were presented at the 34th European Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Hamburg, Germany, by Predrag Minic, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Head of Pediatrics Pulmonology Department, Mother and Child Health Institute, Belgrade, Serbia, and co-lead investigator of the study...
Summer Is A Good Time For Moms To Learn About Certain Diseases That Can Affect Their Preteen And Teen
Preteens and teens are at risk for certain diseases, including human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal disease (meningitis), pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus. With kids soon out of school, summer is a good time for moms to talk with their child's healthcare provider about ways to help prevent these diseases. A recent survey, conducted online on behalf of Merck by Harris Interactive from March 29-31, 2011 and April 4-6, 2011 among 346 moms of children aged 11-18, found that 86 percent of moms are aware that preteens and teens are at risk for contracting certain diseases...
Gender Differences In Risk Pathways For Adolescent Substance Abuse And Early Adult Alcoholism
According to a recent Finnish study, boys and girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may differ from each other in their vulnerability to substance use problems. Inattentiveness and hyperactivity may be more predictive of alcohol use disorders and maladaptive patterns of alcohol and illicit drug use among girls than boys...
Curb Violence Against Women, Girls While Preventing AIDS, Says UNFPA
Stronger action must be taken to change harmful gender norms and practices and to integrate the prevention of gender-based violence into anti-HIV efforts, said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Addressing world leaders on behalf of the United Nations during the AIDS Summit today, Dr. Osotimehin underlined the need to sustain the current momentum on women, girls and HIV by increasing political support and funding, both at the global and the national levels...
Vertex Plans To Provide Access To Potential CF Therapy VX-770 For Patients With Critical Medical Need
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced a plan to provide VX-770, a CF medicine in development, to people with the G551D mutation who are in critical medical need and may benefit from treatment prior to potential approval of the drug from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pending FDA review and approval, Vertex expects to open the program at clinical sites in the United States as early as July. "We are delighted that Vertex is making VX-770 available to patients through an expanded access program," said Robert J. Beall, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation...
3-D Movie Shows, For The First Time, What Happens In The Brain As It Loses Consciousness
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 23:00:00 -0500
For the first time researchers have been able to watch what happens to the brain as it loses consciousness. Using sophisticated imaging equipment they have constructed a 3-D movie of the brain as it changes while an anaesthetic drug takes effect...
Blinatumomab Achieved 75% Complete Remission In Acute Relapsing Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patients
75% of acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who had relapsed after standard therapy achieved complete remission with blinatumomab, a medication designed to harness T cells that destroy cancer cells. Blinatumomab makers, Micromet says the drug is "the most advanced of a new class of agents called BiTE® antibodies." According to interim results of a Phase II single-arm trial, 9 out of 12 (75%) patients on blinatumomab went into complete remission, or complete remission with partial recovery of blood counts...
Smoking Quitlines Work Regardless Of How Smokers Are Recruited
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:00:00 -0500
Proactive telephone counseling helps smokers quit regardless of how they are recruited to a telephone quitline, according to a study published online June 10th in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Smokers who use telephone counseling quitlines may do so in response to active recruitment methods, such as physician referral or direct mail or phone calls, or passive methods, such as posters or television ads. Whether quitlines are equally effective for actively recruited smokers and passively recruited smokers has been a key question. In this study, Flora Tzelepis, Ph.D...
Arthritis Epidemic Looming In UK, High Heels Partly To Blame
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:00:00 -0500
Inadquate footwear such as high heels is partly to blame for the arthritis problem that is in danger of reaching epidemic proportions in the UK where already one in four adults has a muskuloskeletal condition, with 60% of arthritis cases being in the feet. Moreover, one in three people in the UK says they don't know what causes arthritis, what symptoms arise, and where to go for help if they think they may have them...
Heat Hits Elderly Harder; Extra Precautions Are Needed
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:00:00 -0500
The hot weather prompts many people to flock indoors and crank up the air conditioner. It is especially necessary during these times to not overlook one population - the elderly. Richard Allman, M.D., director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Aging, says there are age-related changes in body temperature control that put the elderly at risk when the temperatures rise. "Other things putting older adults at risk is their fitness and function level, the number of chronic conditions they have and the number of medications they are taking," he says...
NAO Report Highlights The Central Role Ambulances Have To Play In NHS, UK
By working together across the NHS system, ambulance services can reach the potential set out in a National Audit Office report on ambulance services says Ambulance Service Network director Jo Webber Ambulance Service Network director Jo Webber said: "The ambulance service has a pivotal role to play in the performance of the entire urgent and emergency care system. It is currently offering better care, more quickly, to more people than ever before...
HHS Delivers Guidance To State Medicaid Agencies On States' Freedom And Flexibility To Offer Financial Protections To Same-Sex Couples
Today, HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided guidance to state Medicaid agencies clarifying that they are able to offer same-sex couples many of the same financial and asset protections available to opposite-sex couples when a partner is entering a nursing home or care facility. In a letter sent today, CMS advised state agencies of their ability to ensure that same-sex partners can remain in shared homes without Medicaid liens being applied...
NICE Consults On Programme Manual For Its Diagnostics Assessment Programme
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) today opens its consultation on the programme manual outlining the proposed process and methods for its Diagnostics Assessment Programme. This new area of work was established by NICE in 2009, to focus specifically on the evaluation of innovative medical diagnostic technologies...
Phase 3 STRIVE Study Of VX-770 Showed Durable Improvements In Lung Function And Other Measures Of Disease Among People With A Specific Type Of CF
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced the final results from its pivotal Phase 3 STRIVE study that evaluated VX-770, a medicine in development that targets the defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis (CF). STRIVE was designed to evaluate VX-770 among 161 people 12 years or older with a mutation known as G551D in the CF gene. Approximately 4 percent of people with CF have at least one copy of the G551D mutation...
Hospital For Special Surgery To Host International Osteoarthritis Summit
Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most pressing health care challenges of our time, affecting 27 million Americans. In an effort to elucidate the latest information in diagnosis, treatment, research and prevention, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) will host an international Osteoarthritis Summit on June 17 and June 18. The Hospital, internationally recognized for its leadership in the fields of orthopedics and rheumatology, will bring together a multidisciplinary group of thought leaders from the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia...
U-M Researchers Find Potential New Way To Fight Sepsis
By digging a little deeper, researchers may have found a potential target for reversing the deadly blood infection sepsis. Scientists at the University of Michigan Health System looked at microRNA, a type of RNA that does not code for a protein itself but that can regulate the expression of other genes and proteins. They found that by attacking the right microRNA they could influence a key trigger of inflammatory diseases such as sepsis...
Congress: Alex German To Take The Frustration Out Of Canine IBD, UK
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:00:00 -0500
When a dog turns up in their consulting room with chronic diarrhoea, vomiting and weight loss, then it is quite likely that the vet will call it a case of inflammatory bowel disease. But that is probably the only thing that they can say with any confidence after identifying one of the most enigmatic and frustrating conditions seen in small animal practice...
Inspire Medical Systems Reaches Milestones With Its Sleep Apnea Therapy
Inspire Medical Systems, the leading developer of neurostimulation therapies for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), announced today The STAR trial (Stimulation Therapy for Apnea Reduction), evaluating both the safety and effectiveness of Inspire™ Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy, is currently underway at 9 leading medical centers across the United States and at 4 sites in Europe. In addition, several OSA patients have already been implanted with Inspire therapy in The STAR trial. Sleep Medicine Associates of Texas, under the leadership of Dr...
AUA Statement Regarding Infections Secondary To Transrectal Prostate Needle Biopsies
Research reports suggest that the rate of infectious complications, including sepsis, after transrectal prostate needle biopsy may be increasing. Recently published news articles highlighted these findings, and it is important for urologists to be aware of this issue. According to the AUA Best Practice Statement on Urologic Surgery Antimicrobial Prophylaxis, the antimicrobial of choice prior to prostate needle biopsy is a fluoroquinolone or a second- or third-generation cephalosporin. Alternative agents include an aminoglycoside plus metronidazole or clindamycin...
Study Demonstrates Micromet's Blinatumomab Produces High Single-Agent Activity In Patients With Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Data to be presented tomorrow at the 16th Annual Meeting of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in London, UK, show that Micromet's blinatumomab produced a high complete remission rate in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who had relapsed following treatment with standard therapy.1 Blinatumomab is the most advanced of a new class of agents called BiTE® antibodies, designed to harness the body's T cells to kill cancer cells...
E. Coli Outbreak, Vegetable Sprouts Most Likely The Cause, Say German Authorities
The current E. coli outbreak probably originated in vegetable sprouts from an organic farm in northern Germany, spokespeople from the Robert Koch Institute, the Institute of Risk Management and the Ministry of Consumer Protection in Germany announced today. The outbreak has so far caused the death of 30 people and made over 3,000 ill. Rash comments and rumors by German officials have been blamed for farmers' billions of Euros in lost income and produce. This E. coli outbreak has spread to 13 different countries...
Moberg Derma AB: Moberg Derma Obtains Approval For Treatment For Atopic Eczema And Dry Skin
Moberg Derma AB (publ.) (STO:MOB) today announced that CE mark has been granted for Kaprolac Skin Repair & Hydration, a product designed to treat atopic eczema and dry skin. This CE mark provides authorization to market and sell the product in the EU/EEA. Kaprolac Skin Repair & Hydration is a new, steroid-free treatment option for eczema and dry skin, such as atopic eczema...
Forest Laboratories, Inc. Announces Availability Of Daliresp™ In Pharmacies
Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) announced today that Daliresp™ (roflumilast) will be available in pharmacies throughout the United States by mid-June. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Daliresp as a treatment to reduce the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations in patients with severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis and a history of exacerbations. Daliresp is the first and only selective phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor approved and is an oral tablet taken once daily...
FDA Accepts Filing Of New Drug Application For Nycomed's Ciclesonide HFA Nasal Aerosol
Nycomed's licensing partner Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Sunovion) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the filing of the New Drug Application (NDA) submitted for ciclesonide nasal aerosol in a hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) formulation. The proposed dosing for ciclesonide HFA nasal aerosol is 74 mcg once-daily (37 mcg per spray; one-spray per nostril) and the proposed indication is for the treatment of symptoms of Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (SAR) and Perennial Allergic Rhinitis (PAR), in adults and adolescents age 12 and older...
Congress: Interpreting Chest X-Rays With Mantis, UK
Every picture tells a story - but if it's a thoracic radiograph that you are looking at, you may find that the narrative is muddled and difficult to follow. So that is why Panagiotis 'Pete' Mantis, senior lecturer in diagnostic imaging at the Royal Veterinary College near Potters Bar, is giving a presentation on interpreting chest X-rays of small animal patients for colleagues in first opinion practice at this year's BVA Congress as part of the BSAVA sessions...
Congress: Penny Watson Explores Liver Disease And Canine Pancreatitis, UK
Built-in obsolescence is a problem usually associated with consumer products - but it is also a feature of a veterinary qualification. It is why practitioners need to keep on doing their postgraduate training (or Continuing Professional Development) - so that they can find out which facts they learned as gospel truth at vet school turns out to be completely wrong. Liver disease is one area where knowledge has advanced at a particularly rapid rate and has overturned many of the old certainties about the diagnosis and management of the condition...
SUVs Still Not Teen-Safe, Despite Institute Report Controllable Speeding, Not Rollover, Is Major Death Threat
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:00:00 -0500
A report recommending that parents consider purchasing an SUV for their teen drivers, based on findings that electronic control systems now minimize rollovers, is incomplete and potentially misleading because the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety completely overlooked another important existing vehicle safety system which is far more important because it would slash deaths and injuries in high-speed crashes - which are much more common than rollovers for teen drivers...
GPs Say They Don't Have The Skills To Run NHS Budgets - New Survey From Biggest GP Conference This Year, UK
A new survey has delivered a damning indictment of the Prime Minister's revised NHS plans. GPs and primary healthcare professionals attending the Health Commissioning conference at Olympia on Wednesday, 15th and Thursday, 16th June have raised serious and urgent concerns with the government's approach to healthcare reforms, and with the Prime Minister's personal commitments...
Stem Cell Time Bombs Cause Leukaemia Relapse, UK
Leukaemia "stem cells" can lie dormant in the body for a decade or more after a child achieves remission before being reactivated and causing a relapse, a new study shows. Senior author Professor Mel Greaves from The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) cautioned that the findings should not unduly concern parents whose children have previously suffered acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) as the leukaemia returning after very many years of remission is rare...
Developing Countries Make Record Demand For Life-Saving Vaccines
A record 50 GAVI eligible countries have applied for vaccine funding from the GAVI Alliance during the organisation's latest application round, reported GAVI officials today. The number of countries is nearly double the previous record in 2007 when 27 countries requested support to introduce new or underused vaccines. The increased demand highlights how developing countries are increasingly prepared to expand routine immunisation programmes and introduce new vaccines to save the lives of children and protect against illness and disability...
New Therapeutic Agent In Development Shows Statistically Significant Positive Outcomes In Patients With Debilitating, Life-threatening Blood Cancer
The largest clinical program to date in patients with a potentially life-threatening blood cancer known as myelofibrosis (MF) has shown that a new therapeutic candidate, ruxolitinib, provided clinical benefits to patients compared to placebo and best available therapy. These benefits included reduction in spleen size and relief of debilitating symptoms. MF is the most serious of the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). This result will be presented by Dr Srdan Verstovsek at the 16th Congress of EHA in London...
Molecular Biologists Discover The Cause Of A Rare Type Of Leukemia
During the annual meeting of the European Hematology Association (EHA) professor E. Tiacci from the Institute of Hematology in Perugia, Italy will present groundbreaking news on the cause of a specific, rare subtype of leukemia, so-called hairy cell leukemia. "With modern genetic technology we have discovered that in 46 out of 46 patients with hairy cell leukemia one specific gene in the DNA in the cell nucleus (BRAF gene) has undergone an irreversible change (called a "mutation")...
Stem Cell Transplantation: A New Strategy For Treating Multiple Myeloma
A new study has indicated the possible advantages of stem cell transplantation for patients with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells. Dr Antonio Palumbo: "This study shows a longer progression-free survival time with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in comparison to conventional chemotherapy." The outcome of this study is presented at the 16th Congress of the European Hematology Association in London. Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematologic malignancy, with a higher incidence in patients over 65 years...
Finasteride And Dutasteride Raise Risk Of High-Grade Prostate Cancer, FDA Informs
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:00:00 -0500
Although finasteride and dutasteride lower overall risk of developing prostate cancer, they raise the chances of developing high-grade prostate cancer, a more serious form of the disease, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has announced. The Agency adds that the risk is low; but doctors need to be aware of this. The FDA announced that all 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) medications will now have new safety information about the risk of developing high-grade prostate in their labeling, in the Warnings and Precautions section...
How Killer Immune Cells Avoid Killing Themselves
After eight years of work, researchers have unearthed what has been a well-kept secret of our immune system's success. The findings published online on June 9th in Immunity, a Cell Press publication, offer an explanation for how specialized immune cells are able to kill infected or cancerous cells without killing themselves in the process. The focus of the study is a molecule known as perforin, whose job it is to open up a pore in cells targeted for destruction. With that pore in place, proteases known as granzymes can enter target cells and destroy them...
Diabetes Drugs Actos And Competact Suspended In France And Germany, Potential Bladder Cancer Risk
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:00:00 -0500
After a study showed a slight increased risk of developing bladder cancer among patients taking Actos (pioglitazone) and Competact (metformin with pioglitazone), French regulators announced that they have suspended the use of Actos and Competact, both diabetes medications. German regulators followed suit, and have informed Takeda, the maker of the two drugs, that they are doing the same...
Systems Made Simple Selected To Support Major National Initiative By The Department Of Veterans Affairs
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0500
Systems Made Simple, Inc. (SMS), a leading provider of IT systems and services to support critical architecture, data and application challenges in the healthcare industry, announced it is part of a team that was awarded a contract under the Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). SMS, under a Contractor Teaming Arrangement with Technatomy Corporation, will be assisting the VA in completing task orders under the VA's Enhance the Veteran Experience and Access to Healthcare (EVEAH) initiative...
Respira Therapeutics Introduces Breakthrough Solutions For Respiratory Diseases
Respira Therapeutics, a product development company focused on inhaled therapeutics to improve patients' lives, introduces the company's Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) as a breakthrough solution for the pharmaceutical industry. Based on proprietary drug engine technology (DET), Respira Therapeutics' DPI significantly improves therapeutic performance and enables addressing the unmet medical needs of patients with severe respiratory diseases...
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation And Selecta Biosciences Enter Research Collaboration For Vaccines For Type 1 Diabetes
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Selecta Biosciences, Inc. announced today that they have established a research collaboration to support Selecta's development of a vaccine technology, which may subsequently help to better treat and potentially prevent type 1 diabetes. Through the research partnership, JDRF will provide milestone-based financial support and expertise, with the goal of applying Selecta's vaccine technology toward the development of vaccines for type 1 diabetes...
Cardiac Biomarker ST2 Predicts Outcomes In Ambulatory Heart Failure Patients
The novel cardiac biomarker ST2 was highlighted in a presentation at last month's 2011 Heart Failure Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Gothenburg, Sweden. As this study and others have demonstrated, a patient's ST2 level can help a physician better predict prognosis in ambulatory, chronic heart failure patients, which can allow physicians to more appropriately tailor care. "We concluded that measurement of ST2 may help us determine which patients are at highest risk," reports Dr...
MDxHealth And Merck KGaA Extend Agreement For Use Of MGMT Assay In Brain Cancer Clinical Trials
MDxHealth SA (NYSE Euronext: MDXH), a leading molecular diagnostics company in the field of personalized medicine, announced today that it will extend its agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for use of MDxHealth's MGMT assay in Merck KGaA's brain cancer clinical trials. Financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed. Merck KGaA's is currently investigating its integrin inhibitor cilengitide in a Phase III trial (CENTRIC) in newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma with a methylated promoter of the methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene in the tumor tissue...
SANUWAVE Extracorporeal Shock Wave Technology Shown To Prevent And Repair Osteoarthritis Damage In Preclinical Model
SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTC/BB: SNWV), an emerging medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of non-invasive, biological response activating devices in regenerative medicine, today reported the results of published preclinical osteoarthritis research conducted in Taiwan utilizing extracorporeal shock wave technology (ESWT) to prevent and repair osteoarthritis damage. The study, entitled "Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy Shows Chondroprotective Effects in Osteoarthritic Rat Knee," by Wang, C.J. et al...
Phase 3 Lymphoseek (Tilmanocept) Study Results Featured At Society Of Nuclear Medicine Annual Meeting
Neoprobe Corporation (NYSE Amex: NEOP), a diversified developer of innovative oncology surgical and diagnostic products, today announced that full results from the NEO3-05 study, demonstrating Lymphoseek® (99mTc-tilmanocept) met all primary and secondary endpoints in intraoperative lymphatic mapping (ILM) procedures. These results were featured yesterday at the Society for Nuclear Medicine (SNM) Annual Meeting in San Antonio. Recognition of these results by SNM follows closely the presentation and discussion at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago on June 6...
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd. Expands Phase II Trial Of ICT-107
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. ("ImmunoCellular" or the "Company") (OTCBB: IMUC), a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, today announced the expansion of sites for its Phase II clinical trial of ICT-107. ICT-107 is the Company's dendritic cell based cancer vaccine candidate targeting multiple tumor antigens for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The Company had initially planned to conduct the study, which is now underway, at up to 15 clinical centers, but has increased the number of anticipated sites to 20 or more...
'Salt mapper' goes into orbit
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:52:32 -0500
A joint US-Argentina satellite to map the saltiness of seawater is launched from California.
Parts of England hit by drought
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:34:16 -0500
Parts of the East of England are now in a state of drought, with areas elsewhere also at imminent risk, the government says.
VIDEO: Birds 'use tools to reach food'
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:14:24 -0500
Researchers at the universities of Oxford and Vienna film birds complete problem-solving tasks.
Tests 'reject new particle claim'
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:04:21 -0500
Cross-checks on data that hinted at the discovery of a new sub-atomic particle fail to support the observation, say researchers.
Warming since 1995 'significant'
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:59:54 -0500
Phil Jones, the climate scientist at the centre of "ClimateGate", says previous comments on global temperatures have been superseded by new data.
Turtle spotted off Scottish isles
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:37:18 -0500
A leatherback turtle is the cause for excitement at a wildlife trust after being spotted in the sea off Scotland.
Simple slime seeks downer kicks
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:16:25 -0500
Scientists find that a primitive organism used in "unconventional computing" research prefers sleeping tablets to its normal food sources.
VIDEO: Lava overflow fears at Hawaii volcano
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 09:46:02 -0500
Spectacular pictures of a volcano in Hawaii have been released by the US Geological Survey.
Rare lizard saved from extinction
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:36:44 -0500
Scientists rescue a tiny, endangered skink from its last refuge in Mauritius.
To boldly go
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:12:59 -0500
Behind the scenes of the pioneering Voyager missions
Voyagers ride 'magnetic bubbles'
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:11:24 -0500
Humankind's most distant emissaries are flying through a turbulent sea of magnetism as they seek to break free of our Solar System.
VIDEO: Parts of UK may be 'drought zones'
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:09:13 -0500
The Environment Agency is expected to declare parts of East Anglia and the Midlands official drought zones.
VIDEO: Probes bid to leave Solar System
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:11:03 -0500
The two Voyager spacecraft launched in the 1970s are now approaching the edge of the Solar System.
Air quality row may hit Olympics
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:23:40 -0500
The UK is set to miss EU targets on air quality, government documents say, which may mean a legal row just before the London Olympic Games.
VIDEO: Unique footage of docked Shuttle
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:27:33 -0500
Nasa has released unique footage of the Endeavour space shuttle docked to the International Space Station as they orbit the earth.
'Wildlife to work' survey begins
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:15:39 -0500
A nationwide survey is asking people to make a note of the wildlife they encounter during their daily commutes.
Comet chaser goes into deep sleep
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:11:47 -0500
Europe's Rosetta spacecraft, which is heading for a rendezvous with a comet in 2014, is put into hibernation by its controllers.
Big summit, what hope?
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:09:58 -0500
Rio 2012 is less than a year away - but what's it going to talk about?
Air bags used for pyramid's repair
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:38:03 -0500
A Newport engineering firm completes its first stage of repairs to Egypt's oldest step-built pyramid, which has been inaccessible after earthquake damage 19 years ago.
Spiders use bubbles 'like gills'
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:41:36 -0500
Diving bell spiders use air bubble webs like a gill to live underwater, scientists discover.
Volcano visitors
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 02:16:42 -0500
The hazardous life of volcanology researchers
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:50:35 -0500
Chimps "replay" Aesop's ancient crow fable to secure nut reward
EU increases E. coli payout offer
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:41:31 -0500
The EU increases to 210m euros its offer of compensation for farmers who have suffered losses due to an outbreak of E. coli.
Hedge funds 'grab' Africa's land
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:57:00 -0500
Foreign hedge funds are behind "land grabs" in Africa to boost their profits in the food and biofuel sectors, according to a US think-tank.
Hearts made to repair themselves
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:00:46 -0500
A drug has been used to make hearts repair themselves in research on mice, raising hopes for people suffering a heart attack.
'Ten years' for Fukushima lessons
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:46:05 -0500
Learning all the lessons from Japan's worst nuclear accident may take a decade, say regulators.
New elements for periodic table
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:51:13 -0500
Two new elements have been added to the periodic table after a three-year review by the governing bodies of chemistry and physics.
Most Wanted
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:50:05 -0500
Experts ask public to look out for six key British bugs
VIDEO: Otter cull call to protect fish
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:14:44 -0500
There are calls to allow owners of commercial fisheries to cull otters because they're eating too many fish.
Cow methane proof 'is in the pat'
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:55:35 -0500
Researchers reveal a correlation between the methane production of cows and the quantity of a molecule called archaeol in their faeces.
Longline fishing killing seabirds
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:56:36 -0500
Up to 300,000 seabirds are killed every year by longline fishing boats.
UK public 'opposes badger cull'
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:01:36 -0500
A majority of Britons in both town and country oppose killing badgers to curb cattle tuberculosis, an opinion poll for the BBC finds.
Space embrace
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:21:20 -0500
Historic first picture of shuttle docking at the ISS
VIDEO: Soyuz rocket heads to space station
Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:17:35 -0500
A Soyuz spacecraft has lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, bound for the International Space Station.
Pitch-sized tree is a UK record
Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:50:30 -0500
An Oriental plane the size of a football pitch in Wiltshire is identified as the "most spreading" tree in the UK.
China row over Einstein display
Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:40:18 -0500
A Swiss museum's exhibition in Shanghai about the scientist Albert Einstein is cancelled after Shanghai officials try to merge it with a Confucius display.
Frog-skin drug could treat cancer
Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:52:11 -0500
Scientists at Queen's University receive an award for their work on frog and toad skins which could lead to treatments for over 70 major diseases.
VIDEO: Twitchers gather for rare robin
Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:12:08 -0500
Dozens of bird watchers from all over the UK flocked to a bowling green in Hartlepool to witness the arrival of a rare bird
VIDEO: Assessing Chile's volatile volcanoes
Mon, 06 Jun 2011 06:15:50 -0500
A chain of volcanoes has erupted in southern Chile, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents.


text:
Donkey anti-Sheep IgG (H&L), ALP conjugated, min. cross-reactivity to human, rabbit IgG
AS10 1195 | clonality: polyclonal | host:donkey | reactivity:sheep IgG (H&L)
|Product suggestions
|Add review
|application information
|Recommended dilution
|1:500-1:2000 for ELISA/western blot, 1:20-1: 2000 for immunohistochemistry (IHC), 1:50-1: 5000 for immunocytochemistry (ICC).
|Selected references
||| For other applications or usage on species other than stated above Agrisera offers a payment-after-testing option. To learn more about this or for any questions please use the LiveChat option or contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Early in the morning, Nov. 4 , the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Lily of the Valley Camp were cooking breakfast and preparing to cook lunch for the pheasant hunters and anyone else that wanted a great breakfast or lunch. This was held at the DUP building in Elmo.
The doors were open, the tables set, staff was on hand, the stove was hot, the cook was prepared and people were coming to have pancakes, ham, bacon and eggs for breakfast at this annual fund raiser, called "The Pheasant Hunters Breakfast" in Elmo. Because the weather was warm, tables and chairs were also set up on the lawn.
The ham, pancakes, bacon and eggs were prepared and cooked by Christy Lofley a certified chef that works at Holiday Inn, and Carbon Country Club. Those pancakes and sunnyside up eggs were cooked to perfection by Christy.
These Daughters also offered pies of many varieties, such as apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue, and banana cream for sale. In addition they were displaying quilts for sale. One of these large quilts was designed with an embroidered pheasant rooster of giant proportions.
LaRue Lofley was in charge of display and selling the quilts, Beryl was in charge of collecting money from the customers for the breakfast, Christy Lofley was the cook and Charla Every was in charge of selling the pies.
On hand to enjoy the first served breakfast of the day were Alfred and Yvonne Oliver of Elmo and one woman, from Elmo, was seen leaving the DUP building carrying two pies for her family.


text:
Individual players interested in making their names and contact information available to team managers can put your information on the Free Agent List. Please note there is no guarantee you will be picked up by a team.
Available team sports:
- Coed Adult Soccer 18+
- Coed Adult Soccer Over35
- Adult Coed Softball
- Men's Softball
- Men's Basketball


text:
Simon of Trent
- Simedl of Trent
- Simeon of Trent
- Simoncino of Trent
- Simonino di Trento
- formerly 24 March
- removed from the calender and veneration forbidden in 1965 by the Sacred Congregation of Rites
A child of a gardener in Trent, Italy, the boy was apparently murdered around Easter time. His death was attributed to local Jews who were accused of killing a Christian child out of hatred for Christ. Libel of the day claimed they needed his blood to make matzoh bread for Passover. Seventeen local Jews were tortured into confessions. Miracles were reported through Simon's intercession, but the incident is a matter of anti-Semitism rather than sanctity.
- 1588 (cultus confirmed)
- cultus suppressed 1965
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Jewish Encyclopedia
- Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
- Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints
- Santi e Beati
- Wikipedia
- "Simon of Trent". CatholicSaints.Info. 24 October 2010. Web. 1 March 2017. <>


text:
Giuseppe Zanotti Reptile Leather Peep Toe Sandal
Sorry, this item is sold out!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Item # 281044
With an exemplary display of high quality, Giuseppe Zanotti footwear embodies creativity and style. This reptile-embossed leather sandal sandal is the perfect way to dress up your look.
- Reptile-embossed leather upper
- Quarter strap with an adjustable buckle
- Round peep toe
- Fully lined in satin
- 4½" suede heel
- Leather sole
- Made in Italy
- View more Women's Giuseppe Zanotti Shoes
- Online Exclusive!
Tell us what you think!
Everyone has an opinion. Here's your chance to share yours! Be the first to write a review of this product and help your fellow shoppers pick the best of the best.


text:
A fraternity or sorority is a group of men or women formed by a brotherhood or sisterhood and common goals and aspirations who make a commitment to each other for life. The members that form a fraternity or sorority share their efforts, friendship and knowledge. Together these members learn, grow and make the fraternity or sorority, commonly called a Greek organization, stronger. Their common experience builds ties that last a lifetime.
Fraternities and sororities have been a part college campuses since the late 18th-century. These organizations are referred to as "Greek" because their names consist of Greek letters that serve as a reminder of the group's values. Learn the Greek Alphabet.
Though there are many different fraternities and sororities, they all share common founding principles that may be of interest to any Ball State University student. Greek organizations enhance your educational experience by emphasizing intellectual, interpersonal and social development. The ideals of lifelong friendship, sound education, campus and community service and social interaction are what Greek members strive to live by every day.
Copyright © 2017 Ball State University 2000 W. University Ave. Muncie, IN 47306
800-382-8540 and 765-289-1241


text:
Climate Change and Colorado's Future
Climate change is real and it is occurring faster than originally predicted. In this video series, scientists explain how climate change is affecting the state of Colorado, while citizens share stories and solutions. One of the more recent videos features an interview with University of Colorado Boulder Professor Emeritus Al Bartlett on the "arithmetic of growth". A set of problem-based model lessons were developed by teams of middle and high school teachers with CU-Boulder scientists and science educators. Also available are the Colorado Science Standards for Climate and Energy.
Posted Jul 30, 2012
Suggest an interesting Earth system site.
View or subscribe to all resources of interest


text:
How I fed (and still do feed) Soffie. So she could lose weight.
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Against The Grain Pet Food Voluntarily Recalls One Lot of Pulled Beef Due to Potential Adulteration with Pentobarbital
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Evanger's Voluntarily Recalls Hunk of Beef Because Of Pentobarbital Exposure in one Batch of Food
Food Recall Warning – Allergen (milk) - Butterkist brand cookies
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Originally posted by binary_0011
lot of of players skip the fp in swtor and grind HM again and again just to reach max level...what is the point if you ask me.....
This is the core of the problem. And it's due to the game design.
Once upon a time....
Adding to lowering the level speed, difficulty should also be upped.
Because... the outcome is only worth what you invested. If you invested alot in time, skill, practise, and more, the feeling ofcomplishment is just much higher. I played alot of WoW but I never really cared about anything, because I was rarely really challanged and anything I earned seemed like it was handed to me and anyone doing the same.
I assume many have tried the scenario where a friend invites you to play a game, and gives you items to get you started.. that is the worst way of starting a new game, emmediatly it will mean nothing to you because you never earned anything.
This doesn't mean the difficulty should be so harsh it will scare away normal (saner) players, there should just be many difficulties integrated in the game so everyone on their level of commitment/skill/gear will have challanges that they can beat or fail ... yes FAIL I know it is a foreign word on the mmorpg scene... developers come on, failing is what makes you try harder, and eventually gives you more "pride" when you do actually succeed a previously failed attempt.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
I'm an old school leveler. I love pvp, but I hate rush leveling. Never been a big raid guy. I love long, drawn out content.
Me, I'm playing casually right now. Sometimes group, sometimes solo. After a week (of an hour or two a night) I'm level 17. While the storylines are interesting, the leveling is too easy. There really isn't much tactics being required on these quests. Only time I died is when I wasn't paying attention, and accidently engaged a champion mob solo when it was the same level I was. Even then, the fight was close.
The game isn't very intuitive. The "heroic" feel you get is just you smushing mobs, and provided you aren't a total dunce, you will only fight 2 or 3 enemies at a time. Now I can't speak about later levels, but this isn't fun for someone who wants an engaging time leveling.
In SWG, it took me 2 months to get a full template. In POTBS, it took me 3 months to hit level 50. I do it the old fashioned slow way. I hate power leveling.
Another thing is, providing a fast track leveling system doesn't make better players. The PVP system in this game is sorta fail, but if it was in-depth and smart, you'd have a bunch of people who don't know what they are doing, because there was all the incentive in the world to enjoy your character. Right now, there is no "enjoying" of your character.
These things might change once I hit later levels, but that's what I've found so far. If this were a single player game (with limited multiplayer) it would be an awesome game. As an MMO, its got some great ideas and concepts, but it really falls flat in many areas.
This is a perfect read and exactly how I feel about MMOs right now.
The solution, a slower leveling trinket. An item you can equip, or a debuff you can get to make you level slower. That way people that want to rush can, and those of us that want to experience all of the content at the appropriate level can. It doesn't take a genius to figure out a solution, but I guess geniuses don't make games.
World of Warcraft is on a bit of the right track with their increased experience items and their frozen experience option you can pay for, but where are the less experience items? I still want to advance, but just much slower. It's a simple solution that should not be overlooked. Unfortunately, I'm just one voice.
It's about the journey not the goal, It sounds like SWTOR gives out ten times too much experence for thier storyline quests.
I really hope that Guild Wars 2 is not like that. I want to spend six months doing every quest I can find to get to the level cap. I don't want to be too high a level for the next thread of quests, that just makes no sense.
Originally posted by Ozmodan
I think many of you are missing the point. A game does not have to be a grind, yet can be a entertaining sandbox. When you get away from the dumb class/level system and go to a more realistic skill system you can extend play for much longer periods of time. Take for example Eve, there are more skills than anyone could ever learn, you have to specialize which can easily be done in a month or two, yet if you want to diversify it can take quite some time to collect all the skills you need.
In Eve everything is made in game, only the most basic commodities are available from NPCs. So resources are important. The economy is based on the players, not who got which drop. Crafting is a huge business in Eve.
Eve has many avenues to get those resources. Eve's biggest disappointment for me is the extremely boring mining design. Someday CCP will realize that needs to change because most people just give up and bot. Eve would be better off incorporating SWTOR's design of underlings who mine for you. Resource collection should never be tedious.
This could easily be translated into a fantasy setting. Asheron's Call, while it had levels was really a skill based system. You had to choose what to specialize in. There was no resource collection in that game per se, yet the real crafting was based around enhancing drops which were in essence it's form of resource collection.
One of these days these theme park designers are going to realize the great benefit of a skill driven system. With enough skills you can keep people hooked for years, not months. The trick with a skill based system is to allow the low skiil point players to be competitive in pvp in a short period of time. I think CCP has done a very good job in this area.
Housing is another area, that if done right, can keep players in a game. Two games that really excelled with housing was UO and SWG because housing was not instanced based, but in the actual player worlds. Player built cities in SWG was an amazing accomplishment.
A successful game that keeps players playing in any genre could be done using the following: A deep skill system that keeps players interested in the game that has set skill training times that increases the higher you go and are not limited to playtime. The economy must be player based and be very varied. Resource collection must be fun and not tedious. Pvp balance is important, nothing must be allowed to be overpowering. Factions are important in a pvp respect and must be more than 2. Housing based in the actual player world is important, instanced based housing is just not near as interesting.
I think a game designed around the principles above can retain players for a long period of time and keep them entertained. There is no rush to end game in a game like this, you cannot speed up skills by playing more. This attracts the casual player as well as the hardcore ones.
I agree on the EvE thing totally.
The one thing that really got me about that game is that you know if you play long enough you can learn absolutely everything. But that is around 6 years of subbing and that is why that model works well.
When I got bored with EVE I decided to try exploration. 6 months later I was back into the game with exploration skills etc etc.
I have no idea why the bigger companies don't look at CCP for insipiration. People are dedicated to that game for years not months.
The levelling speed has merely been adjusted so that casual players have the chance to reach max level, too.
I don't know how many people reach max level in a few days. But I can't even imagine how that is possible. I'm a rather casual player. I've been playing SWTOR for nearly a month now and my highest character (of 2) is level 12. I've played MMOs since 2000 and not in a single one of them have I ever reached max level.
Not even in Neocron where you could level fairly fast, apparently, and which I have played about 2 years. I got pretty close, though. Same with CoH.
Anyway, it would be interesting to know for how large a percentage of the player base the allegedly too fast levelling is actually a problem. You sure do hear a lot of complaining, but that doesn't have to mean anything. If levelling was any slower in SWTOR I would doubt me reaching max level at all. But if the gameplay in between is fun it doesn't matter. Of course SWOTOR's gameplay is not fun. It's the same old tread-of-the-mill 1-2-3-tab;1-2-3-tab combat. But at least the stories are entertaining enough. It being a single player game with an online co-op would make more sense, though, since hardly anyone wants to group up (for anything else than heroics/flashpoints) anyway.
Not only is SWTOR too fast leveling (I casually reached level 50 cap in less then 3 weeks, and many reached it in less time even), but there's not even anything to do at 50. Except daily quests to get some better gear.
What else?
- legacy leveling? I suspect it will only get me cosmetic gear, as it's cross character.
- datacron hunting? I got all I wanted, anyway it's a joke, something for solo games, not mmo.
- pvp or raids? I'm not at all into it. Anyway, it's again to get gear, which I already have.
I can remember my fist MMO, Endless Ages. Skill cap was only 18, but reaching it was an ... endless goal. But motivating to reach it.
I haven't had the pleasure of playing SWTOR yet, but it doesn't surprise me that this is turning out to be just another "rush to engdame" mmo. Sadly, that's what almost all of them are nowadays. My first true mmo was EQ2 (played it from launch - 2010. I remember that it took me almost 6 months for me to max lvl my 1st toon, but yet, I didn't really notice because the journey to get there was so much damn fun. Unfortunately, in EQ2 and most all the other big mmo's on the market today, everything from beginning to endgame has been so trivialized that it's nothing to max a toon in a month or less time. The entire journey to endgame is a joke.
I truly miss the days when it took months to max a toon and finishing any instance, even the lowly level 20 ones was a major accomplishment. Unfortunately, we are all at fault for allowing this to happen...those that wanted the instant gratification and cried out for it, and those of us that were quite content to savor the journey but didn't speak up enough when the "i want it nows" were yammering in the forums to the devs. The only way this will ever change nowadays is for us to be very vocal with the game devolpers and then deny them our money when they refuse to listen.
Originally posted by tordurbar
Why do the new games make leveling so fast - for raiders and pvpers. Casuals (like me and maybe you) like the journey. We like enjoying the scenery and the story. We like crafting things that are useful during the journey. We like strolling through a world not rushing through a story. Who wants to get to max level as soon as possible - raiders and pvpers. The best gear (both pve and pvp) are at end game - why would anyone not want to go there right away?
All new non-Asian MMOs are going the fast track to max level. Cataclysm started it. The Big Lie is that WOW was changed for the casuals. I went back and leveled from 1-20 after Cata and decided that, if WOW was like this from vanilla I would never have stayed 6 years like I did. Rush, rush, rush. Gone were dozens of quests. The complete emphasis was level up quickly. Who enjoyed Cata (for a while) - my son - the pvp champion.
Swtor can be a fast level. My son got to 50 in 5 days. But my highest toon is 43 with only 2 other level 20 alts. I am trying to enjoy my way up the levels but like you I feel something is missing. I feel I am reading a story with tiny branches, not living in a Star Wars world. Maybe I am a true sandbox player but I did like Rift (still sub). Like you I will probably stay another 3 months. But after that i don't know...
I totally agree with this post, and the one thing that TOR has that most other ones including RIFT do not (still subbed- will probably lapse once 6 month sub is up) is replayability. TOR is quite easy to level in, but by paralleling my toons, I've sort of extended the life as each one has totally different story. I do think that the focus needs not to be totally level based, to satisfy those that want to level as fast as possible, and those that want to take the time to experience the content, but also to get rewarded for it. The things you gain at level are the intangibles (stats and %s), the enablements (in terms of able to use gear/access content), and the tangibles (abilities). If one of these could be untied from level and tied to other achievements related to content (sort of like AAs in EQ2), then those that take the time to experience and conquer the content could be rewarded for it, without slowing down those that only want to get access to the endgame. Still not a perfect system, but something does need to be done to address the fact that there is a disparity, and that hard-core levelers are not the only people that exist in the game.
I agree! Gone are the days that made MMO's even simi difficult. I believe the great MMO's (EQ,DAOC,VG) died because people got lazy, and the grind got too much. The killer of all games is of course the player base. Why play something that can be a slight pain, or dare to puch a challenge, when you can follow the masses to the prize at the end of the maze.. Where did working for something and then feeling that ultimate joy of getting it done go? I like leveling fast, but then you run into the redundancy and end up doing the same mission/quest over again not matter what race/class you choose it really doesn't change much. The guesswork in my opinion is really being taken out of games for people. In the end i understand why there are games out there where you can get alot done in a short amount of time. People do have lives out side of the MMO world,but in the same instance i do wish they would make things harder and people would stop looking for the easy way out so that they would feel like people would stay if they did so. Easy Games get boring fast and if having a roster full of over powered max level derps is how you win the peeing contest then you need to pull your pants back up and realize if that's the case then it wasn't that hard in the first place.
Very interesting article and discussion.
As a noob (both in MMORPG and this forum terms) I have only played two games seriously, which I imagine would be at different ends of the spectrum - Runescape and Vindictus. To reach the ultimate level caps in RS would take, I imagine many years (I mean maxing every skill etc.), certainly I came nowhere near maxing any skill in 9 months (course this was partly cos I didn't play in a very structured way, although I did spend a lot of hours!). In Vindictus it is pretty easy to reach the level cap (as someone has observed) and there are quite a few content locusts around who reach a new level cap in a few days (of very intensive play I guess) and then disappear or moan about lack of content. But in fact there is a ton of content beyond the level cap - now admittedly this is of the farm/grind type so I suppose it depends on what you feel about the latter (and opinion seems sharply divided here). The rewards for this can also be of a type which might only appeal to a small number of players (titles in particular - for those who don't know Vindicitus you can earn titles which give no game advantages whatever, but - great redeeming feature for me - can be very funny; I love being able to call myself Pot Head, but then I have a weird sense of humour!) - this content is for completists. Is a completist locust the same thing as a content locust?
Anyway having played both types of game I would say that I am just happy that both options exist. I like being able to level quickly sometimes but I also like grinding sometimes.
Great site and great forum btw.
At the moment, I wish SWTOR's leveling was faster, because it's so fast (and meaningless).
Level 41 Guardian is my highest level and I've been playing since Day 2 of the "Extra Early Access".
The leveling experience leaves you feeling more like your just standing on the assembly line putting tires on the car for 8hrs straight; aka BOOOOOOOOOOOOORING.
I personally think MMOs are a dying breed. Everyone jumped on the MMO Bandwagon and pushed out so many MMOs that most players will get the "been there; done that" feeling in any MMO that comes out.
In every single MMO I've played past WoW: TBC (you can literally break WoW into 2 MMOs; Hard(er)core and Casualcore) I find myself getting bored with them in about a month.
...been 'here'; done 'this'
I laugh everytime they say "innovation". There are no "innovations". It's all just a rehash with some extra features (ie Voice Overs).
Then I laugh at the players who scream that a game's "to different".
//Final Thoughts
I hope more MMOs come out as Free2Play, I'm tired of spending $15/mo for the same crap.
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising everytime we fall." - Confucius
I wonder if leveling based on number of days played may bring back the desire to play more content for people. Image if either every day represented a level or every 3 days or even some sort of max number of levels that can be achieved in a day or 3 days etc.
Then casual players could keep up leveling, "Locust" could level then logout and content players could emmerse themsselves in the content of the game. quests, raid etc.
All playing style could be accomodated, and then make the content enjoyable enough that players will want to plat. mini games, pvp challanges, etc,
I know there will be people who "Want to level now" but i believe in time they would emmerse themselves in the content.
I wholeheartedly agree with your article.
I sadly quit star wars recently, because everyone levelled so damn fast and it was boring. It was very reminiscant of Vanguard, although for different reasons.
In vanguard i was sad because the journey was so small in such a big world (level 1-30 had so many zones that nobody went into and so many hidden quests/places to visit) but everyone only focused on a core quest line that got you to max level quickly.
In star wars, no matter how slow im trying to enjoy the game i level so damn fast. To put this into perspective: My trooper hit 28. Im on taris, im nearly 10 levels above the planet now. This isn't fun, its just dull!
How did i get that high? Seriously, i was only doing the quests the game gave me to do, yet i outlevelled taris before i got there. Im now 8 levels above Nar Shadda and i havent even started it...this just made me sigh and put the game away like the rest of my friends.
It was a fantastic experiance, but when your higher level then the content the challenge is gone and its no fun anymore.
The so called content locusts..i remember those! I love the term. I think im going to keep using it from now on, thank you. The people that rush to endgame then scream about how theres no content in the game, they upset me. Its people like that who ruin mmos...
Im looking forwards to guild wars 2, because i absolutely adored their system of 'no levels, just content' Yes theyve upped the cap from level 20 this time around, but theres no level cap on quests etc the game just levels you down.
Endgame on guildwars looks to be nothing more than going back to the start and doing it all again with more people. Sounds brilliant to me.
Bioware made mention that the leveling speed of SWTOR is geared towards more casual players. People who have jobs, kids, lives, hobbies, etc. The hardcore MMO players will blow through the content fairly fast, but they claim that is not really the target audience. And in the case of SWTOR, considering each of the eight classes as its own story, even if you hit max level, there is still plenty more content to experience. Although I do still think they could have slowed things down just a wee bit.
And so it comes to ultimate truth. Original SWG was a KING of all MMO-s EVER.
Could hardly have said it better myself (than the OP).
WoW devs just don't get it. WoW was a great game in many ways, but there have always been things I didn't like about it, and now those things are so bad I'm having a hard time being interested any more. What will keep me playing is things that I want to do despite the changes, but more and more I think I have to leave the game to just to get my message across.
To tell the truth, I feel guilty now for having played WoW so long, and in doing so given tacit approval to those things I didn't like. I really believe that the WoW devs think that if the players coninue to play, they must like the changes despite the fact that they complain about them.
I'll tell the truth - I'm really angered by the lack of MMORPG standards that have moved out of WoW into other MMO"RPG"s. It makes me want to puke to see names like "roflcopter" in them, and one of my reasons for playing Everquest II, to get away from that kind of thing, is simply gone. EQII is gone to me, and it's a sad time; it would have been the game I went to if I quit WoW. It is the main game I played when I took breaks from WoW over the years. Now, EQII mixes F2P players with subscription players, and that was the last straw. I don't even want to try Vanguard because I'm so mad at SOE.
"Roflcopter" is a good name for FPS co-op, where there is no "RPG" involved. I found that kind of name barely acceptable in WoW, because I always thought of it as an "RPG lite" game, it wasn't really at all about RPG. The basic problem with MMORPGs today is the fact that WoW pulled in so many players that have no clue what "MMORPG" really means, and that the developers and publishers would rather have these players and increase their cash flow than make good MMORPGs.
I've come to the point where I've mostly stopped using "MMORPG" except when I want to make a point. I use "MMOG" now, mostly, there is absolutely no RP to them any more. There used to be some minimum standards; there used to be a community of players that understood what it was and why it was there. You didn't have to do full RP, not by a long shot, and I never have, but you did have to maintain a certain level of respect for that part of the game, even if you weren't into it. It's gone now. It was hardly there in WoW from the start, but now the standard has totally disappeared. It's gone from EQ II, it's gone in Age of Conan (It was diluted from the start in AoC, which is one major reason I stopped playing after the first couple of months. I was playing on what was supposed to be the RP server, and they allowed names that were in clear violation of RP standards, and did nothing about it. Thanks, Funcom, thanks for crapping all over players like me), it's gone even in Asheron's Call. The last is what makes me most feel like throwing up.
I strongly suspect if I went back and checked out Darkfall again, I'd find the RP element gone from that game, too. (I didn't continue to play it because I'm not a PvP type player, and it's definitely a PvP game. That's not a bad thing, at all, but it's just not my thing.) MMORPGs aren't for people that want to play a character in a fantasy world anymore, they are for people that want to run an avatar that represents them in the same way it does in an arcade game, or a(n) FPS. Worse, they have no clue why you complain about their name.
That's the standard we have for players, and the devs don't even care. Hey, maybe I wouldn't either, if caring meant I couldn't afford a Ferrari. (Any dev that sold his soul for less than Ferrarri-owning money is - a cheap whore.)
If I were to win millions in a lottery (l love how gambling is okay for governments and churches in the U.S. but we have to "save" everyone else from themselves because they'll all turn into gambling addicts and starve to death if we allow them to gamble legally. I'll never win a lottery becuase I don't buy tickets to support that kind of hypocracy.) I'd get some other investors together to develop the kind of MMORPG I want. Maybe it would never have WoW's popularity, but at least it would be an actual MMORPG, one that solo players and group players both could enjoy. One in which the whole point of leveling up wasn't lost, that solo quests weren't insipid busy-work. One in which if you didn't get it, you couldn't play no matter how much you were willing to pay.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
Go with a sandbox style game where there isn't a clear beginning and clear end where the game turns into a shallow grind and you won't have this problem. Themeparks are always doomed to suffer from this. Honestly no Themepark MMO has held me strongly for more than a couple months because in my eyes I beat the game and what I am doing at end game is a shallow and lame shell of what the journey was in the first place.
SWTOR is not about leveling. Some people got used to grind MMOs so much that they can't see anything else. SWTOR is a cinematic experience. Levels, raids, loot are for people who still think in WoW terms. SWTOR has EVERYTHING to get off that loot train and just enjoy yourself like you did in KOTOR. If you can't - thats not SWTOR fault.
Its people's fault who can't relax and enjoy the ride. SWTOR has different type of content, none of that content FORCES you to do either. SWTOR is RPG and MMO, raiding and grouping, soloing and story. If you like fedex quests - do them, if you like PvP - suit yourself, if you like grouping - grind flashpoints.
SWTOR is based on story, everything else in the game may be similar to other MMOs, but thats not Bioware's fault. They just implement familiar MMO mechanics so that players didnt' get scared. If you are bored because things are EASY? WHO in the world asks you to outlevel yourself? Do quests while they are white/yellow then move to a different planet. Keep your challenge up if you are bored.
Problem is that so many people were playing dumb games and got used to dumb mechanics. They can't recognize any more whats important in a ROLE PLAYING GAME. Roles are long forgotten, all there is left in peoples brains - loot loot loot. If SWTOR has it, it doesn't mean that the game is dumb. Its you - player who can't see anything else in the game but loot, even though there is SO MUCH MORE to see.
Originally posted by ProfRed
Go with a sandbox style game where there isn't a clear beginning and clear end where the game turns into a shallow grind and you won't have this problem. Themeparks are always doomed to suffer from this. Honestly no Themepark MMO has held me strongly for more than a couple months because in my eyes I beat the game and what I am doing at end game is a shallow and lame shell of what the journey was in the first place.
Really, Themeparks make for a poor game. They take you on a ride instead of letting you drive yourself. Nothing's interesting because it's all layed out for you, in story and action. It's like watching a movie about some other character instead of making your own story for your character. And no, options to be taken some other way along a chaperoned tour is not making your own story.
Once upon a time....
Another excellent article, Isabella. Generated lots of discussion, too. Your approach to gaming is so similar to mine that I can sit back and let you write the articles to say the things I can't be bothered to say any more ^^
I'm currently playing WoW again after 2 yrs away (I've been in and out that game since vanilla), and one of the things which really gets me down is the speed at which pug's want to complete dungeons. It's always "go, go, go" and when I say I prefer to take it more slowly, enjoy the scenery, etc, and even that it might be my first time there, the replies are not printable here.
Don't really understand what that's all about. Never did. Way back in vanilla WoW I can remember my sig on forums being "game = fun, relax and enjoy", so even then I did notice a trend among some people to rush to the end, and that trend has definitely increased. Personally, I long for an immersive experience, multi-faceted, that I can journey through at my own leisurely pace and enjoy to the full.
I like SWTOR, but like the article above I am leveling way to fast for the quests and content I am on. I have to physicaly and mentaly try not to level up to much in a zone or world while I quest.
I liked UO, EQ1, DAoC and Eve Online because they are MMO's where it took time to get anything and especialy with the sandbox type most of the content is player driven which makes it all the more complelling to play even once you attained the max level in skills etc.
SWTOR for me is only a filler while TSW and WoD is being devoloped. Pitty as I love Star Wars I just wish they made it more sandboxy rather than listening to the WoW crowd.
This article makes no sense, whatsoever.
You say the problem is the leveling being too fast, which you stated is the result of Bioware trying to appeal to casual players.
And yet, somehow, you find a way to blame it all on "content locusts"? Sense, you're not making any my friend.
If anything you should blame casual players for wanting a dumbed down game, not content locusts. Content locusts are precisely the type of players that don't mind hardcore leveling, cause guess what they will rush through anything anyways, silly.
Sigh, fail logic is sadly fail.
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D


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