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When Dan Robrish was interviewed for a reporting job at the Associated Press in 1998, he was asked about his professional ambitions. "I said my career goal was to own my own newspaper, at which point there was stunned silence," Robrish recalls. "Usually they get answers like, 'I want to be a foreign correspondent' or 'I want to cover the Supreme Court' or something like that."
Robrish got the post and, as the 38-year old reflected the other day, has now finally accomplished his goal, as well. Robrish is about to begin his third month as the founding editor, publisher, and only employee of The Elizabethtown Advocate, a weekly community newspaper he launched in Elizabethtown, a town of 12,000 people in Pennsylvania.
He may own his own newspaper but Robrish's is not quite the glamorous life of a media mogul. He had spent the morning hand-delivering copies to stores and the two functioning coin boxes where his newspaper is sold. Robrish writes nearly everything except high-school sports coverage in the assiduously local newspaper. He was speaking from a late-afternoon Amtrak train to Philadelphia, where he was heading for a dinner party, able to leave Elizabethtown only because he had the confidence that a new college intern would be able to cover that evening's Borough Council meeting.
Robrish had spent over a decade covering more momentous news as a reporter and editor in the AP's Philadelphia bureau but his pension matured when he decided to move on. Robrish carried on working the night shift and spent his days scouting for a newspaper he could afford to buy with his savings. He came close to acquiring a small paper in northern Minnesota but retreated when the owner was cagey about its finances. ("One problem is that the little papers I could afford to buy had loosey-goosey book-keeping," says Robrish.) But when he saw that the Journal Register chain had filed for bankruptcy and shuttered its weekly Elizabethtown Chronicle, Robrish set out to take a look at the place.
He first visited Elizabethtown in late August and saw all the prerequisites for community-newspaper success. There were three major employers he considered recession-proof: Elizabethtown College, a large nursing home and a sweet factory owned by Mars. The downtown was filled with independent retailers who represented a base of potential advertisers. And the city had, despite tough economic times, recently finished construction of a new library. "When I saw that, I thought: this is a town that values reading," Robrish says. "You see a town this big that has no paper and you think, here's an opportunity."
By December he had quit his job at the AP and by January was looking for a place to live in Elizabethtown. The next month, he was already putting out a paper from a store-front office. The Advocate goes for 50 cents a copy, or $20 for an annual subscription. He has been selling about 300 copies a week; he hopes one day to match the Chronicle's old circulation of about 2,000 and expand his roster of advertisers. The latest good news is that a local Boy Scout troop decided to sell subscriptions door-to-door, after its leader heard Robrish's pitch at a Chamber of Commerce meeting. "The best thing is if you have kids selling it, it's hard to say no," Robrish says.
An industry-wide crisis has sent American journalism into a violent sorting-out, reshaping not only the types of publications that survive but the character of its workforce. Newsrooms are emptying because of layoffs, buyouts, and attrition and many talented reporters who once filled their desks are now in graduate schools, government jobs or public-relations firms. Entrepreneurialism is becoming the unlikely trait uniting those who choose to stay in the field.
When Denver's Rocky Mountain News folded just over a year ago, some of its staffers left journalism. One group of refugees launched an online news magazine, The Rocky Mountain Independent; the paper's Washington correspondent, the intrepid ME Sprengelmeyer, bought the Guadalupe County Communicator, a small-town newspaper in New Mexico, and became its editor and publisher (The Independent has since folded, the Communicator goes strong.)
Perhaps the most impressive American journalism startup of the last few years, the Washington-based Politico, was created not by a corporate visionary but two frustrated Washington Post reporters.
The key lesson Robrish has learned is that, despite the challenges of starting a newspaper from scratch, he was better off doing that than buying one and trying to fix it up. "I would have probably been known as that jerk from the big city who cost so-and-so a job," Robrish reflects. "Instead, I'm that great guy who came in and started a newspaper where we didn't have one."


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I See More StarsJuly 28, 2009
Part of: Gossip , Hollywood , LA
[Breakfast: Trader Joe's frozen croissant] --Rihanna dining at Kate Mantilini for lunch with her security detail in tow. Where were they when she was on my British Airways flight? I always wonder howfamous people decide when not to use their...[More]

subset: commoncrawl


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Mirror Color Clear WoodExploding from the wall in shower of light, the burst is piece. Yet it calms right down its time to reflect the position of hat. Adds flare to any room. Features in. Product cover product woodshipping
Outdoor Sofa Set Teak Accent Armen: This teak accent sofa set is a stunning and sophisticated addition to any living room or outdoor space. This set showcases a perfect blend of modern design and natural materials, providing both comfort and elegance. The main highlight of this sofa set is its teak accents, which add warmth and a touch of nature to the overall aesthetic. The teak wood is known for its durability and resistance to weather conditions, making it ideal for outdoor furniture. It brings a sense of organic beauty to the set, enhancing its overall appeal. Both the sofas and coffee tables feature an aluminum frame, ensuring sturdiness and longevity. Aluminum is a lightweight material that is also rust-resistant, making it suitable for outdoor use. The frame's sleek and minimalistic design perfectly complements the elegance of the teak accents. The sofas in this set are designed for both comfort and style. They are generously padded with cushioning made from high-quality materials, providing a plush seating experience. The upholstery is available in various colors and fabrics, allowing you to customize the set according to your taste and home decor. The coffee tables in this set feature a combination of aluminum and teak wood surfaces. The aluminum frame provides a contemporary touch, while the teak wood tops bring a unique texture and warmth. These tables are not only aesthetically pleasing but also extremely practical with their inclusion of wood surfaces for snack trays and drinks. This feature adds convenience and functionality to the set, making it easy to enjoy beverages and snacks while relaxing. This is a beautifully crafted furniture collection, featuring an aluminum frame on the sofas and coffee tables. The teak wood accents and wood surfaces for snack trays and drinks add a natural and elegant touch, creating a perfect balance between modern design and organic elements. This sofa set promises comfort, durability, and functionality, making it an excellent choice for those looking to enhance their living space.


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How are humans going to become extinct?
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
An international team of scientists, mathematicians and philosophers at Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute is investigating the biggest dangers.
And they argue in a research paper, Existential Risk as a Global Priority, that international policymakers must pay serious attention to the reality of species-obliterating risks.
Last year there were more academic papers published on snowboarding than human extinction.
The Swedish-born director of the institute, Nick Bostrom, says the stakes couldn't be higher. If we get it wrong, this could be humanity's final century.
Been there, survived it
So what are the greatest dangers?
First the good news. Pandemics and natural disasters might cause colossal and catastrophic loss of life, but Dr Bostrom believes humanity would be likely to survive.
This is because as a species we've already outlasted many thousands of years of disease, famine, flood, predators, persecution, earthquakes and environmental change. So the odds remain in our favour.
And in the time frame of a century, he says the risk of extinction from asteroid impacts and super-volcanic eruptions remains extremely small.
Even the unprecedented self-inflicted losses in the 20th Century in two world wars, and the Spanish flu epidemic, failed to halt the upward rise in the global human population.
Nuclear war might cause appalling destruction, but enough individuals could survive to allow the species to continue.
If that's the feelgood reassurance out of the way, what should we really be worrying about?
Dr Bostrom believes we've entered a new kind of technological era with the capacity to threaten our future as never before. These are threats we have no track record of surviving.
Lack of control
Likening it to a dangerous weapon in the hands of a child, he says the advance of technology has overtaken our capacity to control the possible consequences.
Experiments in areas such as synthetic biology, nanotechnology and machine intelligence are hurtling forward into the territory of the unintended and unpredictable.
Synthetic biology, where biology meets engineering, promises great medical benefits. But Dr Bostrom is concerned about unforeseen consequences in manipulating the boundaries of human biology.
Nanotechnology, working at a molecular or atomic level, could also become highly destructive if used for warfare, he argues. He has written that future governments will have a major challenge to control and restrict misuses.
There are also fears about how artificial or machine intelligence interact with the external world.
Such computer-driven intelligence might be a powerful tool in industry, medicine, agriculture or managing the economy.
But it also can be completely indifferent to any incidental damage.
Unintended consequences
These are not abstract concepts.
Seán O'Heigeartaigh, a geneticist at the institute, draws an analogy with algorithms used in automated stock market trading.
"Start Quote
This is the first century in the world's history when the biggest threat is from humanity"
Lord Rees Astronomer Royal
These mathematical strings can have direct and destructive consequences for real economies and real people.
Such computer systems can manipulate the real world, says Dr O'Heigeartaigh, who studied molecular evolution at Trinity College Dublin.
In terms of risks from biology, he worries about misguided good intentions, as experiments carry out genetic modifications, dismantling and rebuilding genetic structures.
It's very unlikely they would want to make something harmful, he says.
But there is always the risk of an unintended sequence of events or something that becomes harmful when transferred into another environment.
We are developing things that could go wrong in a profound way, he says.
With any new powerful technology we should think very carefully about what we know – but it might be more important to know what we don't have certainty about.
And he says this isn't a career in scaremongering, he's motivated by the seriousness of his work. This is one of the most important ways of making a positive difference, he says.
Chain reaction
This eclectic group of researchers talk about computers able to create more and more powerful generations of computers.
It won't be that these machines suddenly develop a line in sarcasm and bad behaviour. But research fellow Daniel Dewey talks about an intelligence explosion where the accelerating power of computers becomes less predictable and controllable.
Artificial intelligence is one of the technologies that puts more and more power into smaller and smaller packages, says Mr Dewey, a US expert in machine super-intelligence who previously worked at Google.
Along with biotechnology and nanotechnology, he says: You can do things with these technologies, typically chain reaction-type effects, so that starting with very few resources you could undertake projects that could affect everyone in the world.
The Future of Humanity project at Oxford is part of a trend towards focusing research on such big questions. The institute was launched by the Oxford Martin School, which brings together academics from across different fields with the aim of tackling the most pressing global challenges.
There are also ambitions at Cambridge University to investigate such threats to humanity.
Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal and former president of the Royal Society, is backing plans for a Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.
This is the first century in the world's history when the biggest threat is from humanity, says Lord Rees.
He says that while we worry about more immediate individual risks, such as air travel or food safety, we seem to have much more difficulty recognising bigger dangers.
'Error or terror'
Lord Rees also highlights concerns about synthetic biology.
With every new technology there are upsides, but there are also risks, he says.
The creation of new organisms for agriculture and medicine could have unforeseen ecological side-effects, he suggests.
Lord Rees raises concerns about the social fragility and lack of resilience in our technology-dependent society.
It's a question of scale. We're in a more inter-connected world, more travel, news and rumours spread at the speed of light. Therefore the consequences of some error or terror are greater than in the past, he says.
Lord Rees, along with Cambridge philosopher Huw Price and economist Sir Partha Dasgupta and Skype founder Jaan Tallinn, wants the proposed Centre for the Study of Existential Risk to evaluate such threats.
So should we be worried about an impending doomsday?
This isn't a dystopian fiction. It's not about a cat-stroking villain below a volcano. In fact, the institute in Oxford is in university offices above a gym, where self-preservation is about a treadmill and Lycra.
Dr Bostrom says there is a real gap between the speed of technological advance and our understanding of its implications.
We're at the level of infants in moral responsibility, but with the technological capability of adults, he says.
As such, the significance of existential risk is not on people's radars.
But he argues that change is coming whether or not we're ready for it.
There is a bottleneck in human history. The human condition is going to change. It could be that we end in a catastrophe or that we are transformed by taking much greater control over our biology.
It's not science fiction, religious doctrine or a late-night conversation in the pub.
There is no plausible moral case not to take it seriously.


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6 Valentine's Day Dates Gone Horribly Wrong [PHOTOS]
While Valentine's Day is considered the most romantic day of the year, it doesn't always go according to plan for everyone. Here's a look at some people Valentine's Days that could've been better.
- $100 Gift Card at Bozeman's Erotique
- $100 Gift Card at Bozeman's Re-Couture
- $100 Gift Card to Smokin Smitty's in Bozeman
- $100 Gift Card to the Cateye Cafe in Bozeman
All photos are credited to Thinkstock and all added graphics were created by TheFW staff.


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The Middle East Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1981 whose mission is to contribute to American understanding of the political, economic and cultural issues that affect U.S. interests in the Middle East. This is accomplished through three programs: the quarterly journal Middle East Policy (the most influential policy publication on the region); the Capitol Hill Conference Series for policymakers and their staffs offering multiple points of view on complex issues; and our acclaimed national outreach for students, educators and other civic leaders.
Journal subscriptions are available through Wiley-Blackwell Publishing; the other two programs are free of charge. We believe that knowledge, insight and perspective are the paths to understanding, and strive to provide these through our nonpartisan programming and this website. A separate site, Teachmideast.org, serves the specific needs of educators.


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May 31, 2013
SUNY Empire State College's Niagara Frontier Center Celebrates Class of 2013
Student Paulette Harris and UB's Dr. Henry Taylor Highlight Graduation
(BUFFALO, N.Y. – May 31, 2013) More than 200 students will receive associate, bachelor's and master's degrees at the SUNY Empire State College Niagara Frontier Center 2013 commencement.
"Congratulations to the Empire State College Niagara Frontier Center class of 2013. Today all of your hard work and learning is reflected in your SUNY degree," said Acting President Meg Benke. "As adults, you brought rich life experiences, passion and determination to your education. By following the road less traveled you have enjoyed the freedom that comes from the education flexibility provided by Empire State College and have taken on the responsibility required to be successful. As you know, this was no easy task. Celebrate with your family, friends, loved ones, faculty mentors and everyone who has shared this remarkable journey with you. All of us are so very proud of all of you and again, congratulations."
"The degree you earn as an Empire State College student represents not only the completion of your studies, but also is a reflection of your past learning and your future aspirations," said Nan DiBello, dean of the Niagara Frontier Center. "Whatever your next steps as one of the 70,000 alumni of Empire State college, you've prepared for your future and for lifelong learning!"
"Graduation is a vital benchmark in your life," said Dr. Henry Taylor, director of the State University at Buffalo Center for Urban Studies and the commencement speaker. "It represents both an epilogue and a prologue; an event that reflects the ending of one period and the beginning of another. It constitutes one of those rare moments in the time and space continuum, where the past and the future are fused together and become as one. For this reason, graduation is a time of celebration, reflection and a renewed commitment to meeting successfully the challenges that you will face continuously in this journey across life."
"Graduating from Empire State College provides significant opportunities and options for us to improve our lives for the benefit of ourselves, our families, our employers and the communities in which we live, work and serve," said Harris. "Let us utilize this important moment to provide inspiration, direction and encouragement to potential students and use our work and life experiences as a means to contribute to the economic redevelopment of Western New York and its surrounding communities."
Graduation takes place Saturday, June 1, at 10 a.m. at Buffalo State College's Rockwell Hall, 1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo.
Taylor is an internationally known scholar, founding director of the UB Center for Urban Studies and a full professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the School of Architecture and Planning at UB.
Taylor is also the coordinator of the department's community development and urban management specialization. He teaches courses in race, class and gender in the city and in community development and urban management.
About Paulette D. Harris
Buffalo-born Paulette D. Harris has been affiliated with the African-American Cultural Center since 1988, and has served as artistic director of its Paul Robeson Theatre since 1996. She is currently employed full time at WGRZ-TV 2 On Your Side, where she has worked in production since 1997 and served as program director 2002–2008.
As WGRZ program coordinator, Harris was responsible for scheduling all NBC network, syndicated, paid and locally produced broadcasts, participated in contract negotiations and distributed program information to media and listing services. Currently, she is working in the production and news department where she contributes her skills in editing and studio production.
At the African-American Cultural Center, where she began as a volunteer, Harris has worked as lighting and sound designer, resident stage manager, costumier and set designer during her tenure. As a director she received the 1996 Artvoice Artie Award for Best Ensemble Production for the PRT production of "Jar the Floor." Other PRT directing credits include "Birth," "Holiday Heart," "Steal Away," "Souls of Black Folk" and "Black Nativity," among many others. Outside of PRT she directed "Women on My Journey" and "A Fool's Redemption" for Christian Art Productions.
Playwriting credits include "Two Weeks Until The Rest of My Life," (currently on stage at the Paul Robeson Theatre) "Santa's Blues," "Soul of a People: gone but not forgotten" and "What Good Ole' Days," co-written with a theater colleague. She currently instructs the African-American Cultural Center Children's Drama Workshop for students aged seven to 12 and coordinates a theatre arts program for students six to 18 years old. She also is technical director for a collaboration between the Paul Robeson Theatre and Alafia Theatre, a communications project that addresses health-care disparity, made possible by the Erie Niagara Area Health Education Center. Harris is an active board member of the Arts Services Initiative (ASI) of Western New York, Inc. and has served as a panelist for the IND Theatre Artist for the New York State Council on the Arts.
She serves as a coordinator for the Annual Pine Grill Jazz Reunion held in Martin Luther King Jr. Park the first two Sundays in August and throughout the year as a host for the African-American Cultural Center's Friday Night Jook Joint.
In her spare time, Harris cycles around western New York and enjoys jazz at several outdoor festivals throughout the region.
About SUNY Empire State College
SUNY Empire State College was established in 1971 to offer adult learners the opportunity to earn associate, bachelor's and master's degrees from the State University of New York.
In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career. Students engage in guided independent study and course work onsite, online or a combination of both, which provides the flexibility for students to learn at the time, place and pace they choose.
The college serves more than 20,000 students worldwide at more than 35 locations in the state of New York and online. Its 66,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more. More information about the college is available here.
Graduation contact: Jane Cudmore
716-868-7800, ext. 3836
Media contact: David Henahan, director of communications
518-587-2100, ext. 2918
518-321-7038 (after hours and on weekends)


text: The following reply was made to PR pkg/31095; it has been noted by GNATS. From: David Laight <dsl%netbsd.org@localhost> To: gnats-bugs%gnats.NetBSD.org@localhost Cc: Subject: PR/31095 CVS commit: src/usr.bin/sort Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:53:29 +0000 Module Name: src Committed By: dsl Date: Sat Aug 22 10:53:28 UTC 2009 Modified Files: src/usr.bin/sort: append.c fields.c files.c fsort.c init.c msort.c sort.c sort.h Log Message: Rework the way sort generates sort keys: - If we generate a key, it is always sortable using memcmp() - If we are sorting the whole record, then a weight-table must be used during compares. - Major surgery to encoding of numbers to ensure unique keys for equal numeric values. Reverse numerics are handled by inverting the sign. - Case folding (-f) is handled when the sort keys are generated. No other code has to care at all. - Key uniqueness (-u) is done during merge for large datasets. It only has to be done when writing the output file for small files. Since the file is in key order this is simple! Probably fixes all of: PR/27257 PR/25551 PR/22182 PR/31095 PR/30504 PR/36816 PR/37860 PR/39308 Also PR/18614 should no longer die, but a little more work needs to be done on the merging for very large files. To generate a diff of this commit: cvs rdiff -u -r1.19 -r1.20 src/usr.bin/sort/append.c src/usr.bin/sort/init.c cvs rdiff -u -r1.24 -r1.25 src/usr.bin/sort/fields.c src/usr.bin/sort/sort.h cvs rdiff -u -r1.34 -r1.35 src/usr.bin/sort/files.c cvs rdiff -u -r1.38 -r1.39 src/usr.bin/sort/fsort.c cvs rdiff -u -r1.22 -r1.23 src/usr.bin/sort/msort.c cvs rdiff -u -r1.51 -r1.52 src/usr.bin/sort/sort.c Please note that diffs are not public domain; they are subject to the copyright notices on the relevant files.


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Atmel AVR boards: evaluation; proto-typing; training; single board computers; AVR Ethernet and AVR web server, starter kits.
Starter & Evaluation kits are intented for beginners or small development projects of little complexity. They are much less powerful tools than emulators. However, they are completely sufficient for many purposes. Virtually all starter kits provide development software (IDE and assembler - some also BASIC or a limited C-compiler version) and support in-system programming of AVR micros. They also include test hardware in form of a board that holds an AVR microcontrolller; so they have everything included that you need to get started.
You will also find AVR based single board computers (SBC) and complete ready-to use applications in this category. The AVR Ethernet & Web Server Starter Kit, for example, is a complete embedded AVR web server with Ethernet connectivity that you can use as-is to add Ethernet and web connectivity to your own applications.
Some AVR kits work with a large number of optional Add-On Boards, making them a flexible choice for rapid AVR prototyping, AVR training and AVR educational use.


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Vintage The Warrior Necklace Gold
Product details:
- 925 Sterling Silver plated with 24k gold (1 micron thickness)
- Necklace length: 62 cm
- Coin measurements: 20mm diameter
- Made with recycled metals
- Handmade in Tel Aviv, production time takes 2-3 weeks. Item may be in stock, for accurate production time we recommend contacting us.
- Please note there is a two-year warranty on the plating


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12 Items
12 Items
Daylilies, or Hemerocallis, are perennials and they produce an amazing assortment of colors and sizes for anyone who plants them. The name Hemerocallis translates from the Greek language and means 'beauty for a day' and from there we get Daylily since each flower only lasts for 1 day.
Hemerocallis differ from Lilies as they do not grow from true bulbs. The genus is comprised of about 20 species and as well as the species there are literally hundreds of named varieties. There are now hundreds of varieties of Daylilies exhibiting colors of orange, yellow, pink, purple, near white and many other combinations. More Daylilies are being hybridized every year so the combinations of this plant will keep growing.
Daylilies are so versatile that they perform under almost all conditions except in heavy waterlogged soils. They are happiest in soil that is rich and moist. They will flower more profusely in a sunny area but they will tolerate quite a bit of shade.
All parts of the daylily plants are edible though the flowers are most often used. Flower buds may be cooked and are said to taste something like green beans. The flower petals can be used in salads and are quite tasty.
Daylilies bloom in the summertime. A typical scape or stem of flowers will bloom anywhere between 1 week and 1 ½ months.
Daylilies are useful in the perennial flower border, for massing, and groundcover on slopes because they will form a dense mat in just a few years. In early spring remove the dead foliage before the plant begins to green up.


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The New England Association of Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) consists of RC&D Councils in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Each RC&D Council is organized and directed by local people to meet local needs.
Resource Conservation and Development Councils play an important role in the conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources. RC&D Councils work to improve the general level of economic activity and to enhance the environment and standard of living in all communities. Councils provide a system of rural development to encourage the wise use of natural resources, and improve the quality of life in America. RC&D is a unique program that is led by local volunteer councils who work together to plan and carry out activities that will make their areas a better place to live.


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Building a family tree of a Disney character is not an easy job : first,
you have to include all the concerned characters, which is somehow difficult,
because you have to lead huge researches, then you have to face contradictions
which exist from a story to another, from an "universe" to another,...
But the most delicate issue is the big lack of normal
family relations in the Disney universe (we can find as many uncles, aunts,
nephews and nieces as possible, but direct parents or children are very
rare). About this relevant topic, Don Rosa told "I don't really know
the reason for there never being fathers and mothers, only aunts and uncles,
in Disney comics. Maybe it makes the kids possible but doesn't limit the
actions of the "parents"... Unca Donald can act slightly less responsible
than a real father, with no mother to watch him. With the uncle/aunt deal
you have all story possibilities still open with no limitations."
* My Duck Family Trees pages, with family trees made by Disney artists, researchers, my own Duck Family tree and more...
* Family Trees of other
Disney characters collected from various sources :
* Family trees I made long
ago for other Disney characters than the Ducks :
page created on April 30, 2001, last updated March 29th, 2006


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We've been watching as the amount of funds in the Cash For Clunkers kitty quickly dwindles, and now the National Automobile Dealers Association is asking for guidance because they believe there's no money left.
Given the current "burn rate" of dollars it's been estimated that there's less than 19 days left of the program. The latest figures from the Department of Transportation show 435,102 submitted with a dollar value of $1.814 billion used. This should, in theory, leave $1 billion left. But that it assumes there's real-time tracking of the submissions and, so far as we can tell, there isn't.
We've actually inquired to the NHTSA multiple times how, specifically, they were going to wind the program down. We've yet to get an answer but Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said today they were going to explain what, specifically, is happening. Until then dealers are worried there transactions will be on the other side of the program and not be reimbursed.
In fact, the NADA says "In view of the foregoing, dealers who accept additional "clunker" deals face a growing risk that they may not be reimbursed."
Photo Credit: GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images


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|Deepsky Atlas
|Solar System
Hawaiian Astronomical Society
Constellations: Cetus -- The Sea Monster of Ethiopia
Click the map for a 909x1199 version of the above. Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
This is the north-east section of the constellation. The map displays stars to magnitude 10, and deepsky objects to magnitude 12. Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
Click here for a map better suited for use in the field.
| 75k JPEG M77 (NGC1068, Bennett 9) is a very bright (mag. 8.8), fairly large (7'), barred spiral located 52' ESE of delta Ceti. The bright, strangely shaped galaxy toward the bottom of the picture, Dreyer reports this one as highly condensed. The highly elongated (8'x3') galaxy 31' to the NW is NGC1055. It shines at mag. 11.6. NGC1072 lies 23' to the NE, shines at mag. 14.2 and covers 90"x30". Countless other galaxies inhabit this picture from the Digital Sky Survey.
| 30k Labeled JPEG NGC936 (Best 24) anchors the western end of three galaxies that lie within 44' of each other. It lies midway just north of a line drawn between Delta Ceti and Mira (Omicron Ceti). Dreyer describes it as very bright, very large, round, with a much brighter nucleus. Although this is a barred spiral, amateur telescopes of any size will have trouble seeing the bar.
Dreyer describes NGC941 as very faint (mag. 13), quite large (2.6'x2.0'), and round. This one is difficult, but still possible in a 6".
NGC955 is described as fairly bright (mag. 13), small (2.8' x 0.7'), extended (in p.a. 19°), with a fairly abruptly brighter middle. A 6" will only show the middle. Larger aperture will reveal a stellar core, and the elongation. It lies only 24' west of the mag. 5.4 star 75 Ceti.
Image from the Digital Sky Survey.
| 34k GIF NGC450 is a very faint mag. 12.1 galaxy in the north-central portion of the constellation. Located 2° SSE of NGC428, you can find it on the south-west region map. UGC807 (mag. 15.8) is the companion.
| 33k JPEG IC1613 (Caldwell 51) is a faint (mag. 9.8), extremely large (11'x9') irregular galaxy located in a barren area in the far north-central portion of the constellation, near the Pisces border. Image from the Digital Sky Survey. High contrast optics help with this member of the Local Group.
| 38k JPEG NGC247 (Bennett 3, Caldwell 62) is a faint (mag. 9.7), extremely large (20'x7'), very much elongated (P.A. 172°) spiral galaxy located 2.8° SSE of Diphda (Beta Ceti). Image from the Digital Sky Survey.
| 49k JPEG NGC246 (Best 23, Caldwell 56) is a very faint (mag. 8), large (240"x210") planetary nebula located 6.3° north of Diphda (Beta Ceti). Dreyer reports 4 stars shining in the nebulosity. NGC255 is a mag. 12.4 spiral galaxy located 30' north-east of the planetary. The much fainter MCG-2-3-9 (mag. 14.5) lies the same distance to the north-west. Image from the Digital Sky Survey.
If you have any questions about the Hawaiian Astronomical Society


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In its privacy policy and public statements, the faded social network promised not to share users' personally identifiable information with third parties without first asking permission and promised not to use personally identifiable information to customize ads.
Myspace violated those promises, according to the FTC. The company provided third-party advertisers with users' Friend IDs, which are account numbers linked to basic personal information. In so doing, the company enabled advertisers to create profiles linked to individual identities.
The FTC is not claiming that any ad company has made such a profile and the agency declined to discuss whether it might investigate whether any advertising network has compiled personal profiles using data gathered from Myspace. The settlement addresses the gap between Myspace's words--its privacy policy--and its actions.
[ Read Google+ Hangouts On Air: Broadcasting For All. ]
Regardless, advertisers didn't need to create Myspace user profiles because Myspace provided assistance with the delivery of personally targeted ads.
From January 2009 through June 2010--a year before the social network was sold for $35 million to Specific Media and celebrity Justin Timberlake--most of the ads displayed on Myspace were delivered via the Fox Audience Network (FAN), an ad network affiliated with Myspace.
To enable FAN to target ads, Myspace included the Friend ID, age, and gender of Myspace users in ad requests from Myspace Web pages, the FTC complaint says. And it did so in unprotected plain text. When FAN's ad inventory had no ad to place, the ad request was handed off to a third-party ad network to be filled, and the same personal information was provided. None of this was permissible under the terms of the Myspace privacy policy.
The settlement requires that Myspace cease misrepresenting its privacy promises. It also requires that Myspace set up a privacy program to protect users' information and to submit to independent third-party privacy audits every two years for the next 20 years.
Myspace might want to work on scheduling a site visit immediately: With Facebook, Google, and Twitter, among others, already under FTC orders to submit to biennial privacy audits, finding an available privacy inspector could be something of a challenge.
The Enterprise 2.0 Conference brings together industry thought leaders to explore the latest innovations in enterprise social software, analytics, and big data tools and technologies. Learn how your business can harness these tools to improve internal business processes and create operational efficiencies. It happens in Boston, June 18-21. Register today!


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|Sebastiane (Emperor's Gathering) - 1 minute 48 seconds (540x407, 25 fps, 12.1 MB). Derek Jarman's first feature film in 1976 includes this one scene where Rocky Horror Picture Show alumni Peter Hinwood (in what turned out to be his final screen appearance), Patricia Quinn, and Little Nell all turn up in cameo roles as guests of the Emperor. Patricia Quinn is seen talking animatedly to another guest. Peter Hinwood looks remarkably identical in appearance to his role as Rocky Horror, lounging around and stroking the thigh of punk icon Jordan (playing prostitute Mammea Morgana). Little Nell is much more difficult to spot, as is the cameo by Andrew Logan. Sebastiane is well known for its relentless homoeroticism and male nudity, as well as the Latin language dialogue. Little Nell and Jordan would both go on to be featured in Derek Jarman's next feature film, Jubilee.
Copyright © 1997 - 2023 Shawn McHorse. Send comments to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Return to: College of Arts and Sciences
* This program requires a minimum 2.75 GPA overall, in English Composition, in the Specialty Area Requirements, and in the Professional Education / Professional Semester Requirements, as well as a grade of C or higher in all Professional Education courses.*
For a check list of all the courses required for this degree program and a suggested four-year sequence of study, please click on the link below.
Click here for the General Education Core requirements
Political Science Electives Credit Hours: 3
(cross-listed in Anthropology)
Department policy requires that a grade of C or above must be earned in all Specialty Area history courses and history electives.


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Central Plaza
Mr. Studer often went to Central Plaza. This renowned East Village venue held weekly jazz concerts, frequented by crowds of dancers and listeners. Willie "the Lion" Smith was always a star at these concerts. Many thanks to Richard Riccardi, Richard Basi and Fernando Ortiz de Urbina for helping to identify the musicians.Read More
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14 Apr 2000 Earth Day No Celebration for Black Americans; African-American Network Seeks Environmental Justice from Overregulation
While Leonardo DiCaprio and other big government environmentalists observe Earth Day on April 22, they are overlooking the suffering that some environmental regulations cause in the black community. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 support promoting a policy of true environmental justice that ensures government actions do not discriminate against the poor or minorities.
In promoting dubious environmental scare theories like global warming – which cannot be proven by satellite temperature data, the most accurate measure of the earth's temperature, or long-term temperature trends – the Clinton Administration is siding with radical environmentalists in promoting policies like higher fuel taxes and further restrictions on fuel use to "protect" the environment. While making fuel use more expensive and difficult will not affect people like billionaire computer magnate Bill Gates, the additional costs and inconveniences have a substantial impact on black families that have an average income of around $25,000 a year.
"Overregulation is the new millennium's preferred brand of institutional racism – and it is being perpetrated in the name of 'saving' the environment," said Project 21 member John Meredith in a recent New Visions Commentary released by Project 21. "We need to remind the government that real environmental justice would stop people from abusing our community."
Project 21 members support the government adopting a true policy of environmental justice – a policy that will assess how taxes and regulations will affect poor and minority communities. Current environmentalist-backed environmental justice proposals that rightly focus on stopping pollution in minority areas do not seek to also protect the financial and property-related civil rights of the American people.
"Although it is important to protect those of meager means from pollution, comprehensive environmental protection is the solution," mused Project 21 member Kenneth Flowe. "If the government wants to create protective environmental policy, it should also evaluate how the allocation of tax money and economic development affects the surroundings of the poor."
Project 21 has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 507-6398 x106 or [email protected], or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html.


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William Rehnquist
|William Rehnquist
|Former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
From: September 26, 1986 – September 3, 2005
|Ronald Reagan
|Warren E. Burger
|John Roberts
|Former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
From: January 7, 1972 – September 26, 1986
|Richard Nixon
|John Harlan II
|Antonin Scalia
|Nan Cornell
|Military Service
|United States
|United States Army
|Service Years
| 1943 – 1946
William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1972–1986) and its 16th Chief Justice (1986–2005). When he began he was the only conservative on the Court (really more of a contrarian than a conservative), and he led the Court increasingly to the conservative side until his death in office in 2005. Before he died he was likely responsible for the appointment to the Court of his protégé and former law clerk, John Roberts. Though a lifelong evangelical Lutheran,[1] Rehnquist received an extraordinary Catholic funeral after his death.[2] His trademark judicial philosophy was to restore and advance federalism, and was known as the "lone ranger" for his frequent solitary dissents which began nearly as soon as he was sworn in.
Rehnquist was born and raised in the Midwest (Milwaukee), but donated his papers to the Hoover Institution at liberal Stanford University,[3] where he graduated from college and law school.
Judicial Record
William Rehnquist, who had no prior experience as a judge, was a surprise appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. He was one of many government legal advisors to President Richard Nixon, who was so unimpressed that he would mistakenly refer to him as "Renchburg."
After confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Rehnquist joined the Supreme Court on January 7, 1972. As was his style, within a mere two months later he wrote his first lone dissent, brazenly disagreeing with all the other Justices.
Rehnquist then earned his reputation for dissenting alone, for which he was called "the Lone Ranger." He penned more than 410 dissenting opinions over his career.
One of his early dissents, in 1973, was to a majority decision invalidating state laws allowing maintenance grants for nonpublic and religious schools in Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist. Rehnquist found that the U.S. Supreme Court was nearly unanimously hostile to all things religious, and liberal in many other ways.
Nearly 30 years later, Rehnquist prevailed with his 5-4 decision in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) upholding school vouchers that parents could use to attend religious schools. Rehnquist did not change for the Court; the Court had come around to his view.
Rehnquist's closest ally in the early years was Chief Justice Warren Burger, who seemed to join some of Rehnquist's dissents simply out of sympathy. By 1981, Burger knew whom to assign the difficult task of writing the decision defending the federal law excluding women from the draft.
Rostker v. Goldberg challenged the draft registration that was reactivated by President Jimmy Carter in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Carter and the feminists demanded that women be drafted, too.
For ten years, the Supreme Court had invalidated virtually every law that differentiated between men and women, often with Rehnquist in dissent. The Court had even declared unconstitutional an Oklahoma law that set the alcohol drinking age for men at 21 but for women at 18, despite the 21st Amendment, which conferred on states the power to regulate liquor.
But Rehnquist commanded a 6-3 majority in favor of upholding a sensible distinction between men and women in the military draft. Rehnquist upheld the exemption for women, and quoted an earlier decision saying that judges "are not given the task of running the Army."
Rehnquist felt strongly that government's legislative, executive and judicial powers should be kept separate and distinct. It was again Rehnquist who wrote a 5-4 decision reversing the judge who ordered Missouri to increase teachers' salaries in the Missouri v. Jenkins desegregation case.
He told the lower federal judge "to restore state and local authorities to the control of a school system that is operating in compliance with the Constitution." That litigation had dragged on for 18 years until Rehnquist finally blew the whistle on its judicial activism.
That was not the first time Rehnquist put the brakes on a runaway judiciary. The most famous case in the important field of administrative law is Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power v. NRDC (1978), in which a liberal appellate judge had interfered with the process of a federal agency.
In a strongly worded reversal that shocked the legal community, Rehnquist wrote an opinion that attracted unanimous support on the Court. He declared that agency decisions should not be overturned "simply because the court is unhappy with the result reached."
As the years went on, Rehnquist showed his greatest skill in assembling a wobbly five-person majority, often relying on support by his classmate at Stanford Law School, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. In 2000, Rehnquist wrote two 5-4 decisions for the Court that will live on far beyond his departure.
In United States v. Morrison, the Court reviewed a federal law that offered big damages in federal courts for domestic disputes between men and women, an issue that had always been handled under state law. Briefs filed by 67 feminist and liberal groups urged opening federal courts to domestic relations, and offering attorney's fees to entice lawsuits against deep pockets.
Congress had passed the law by a wide margin, and media pressure was intense to uphold it. The facts of the case involved a college coed seeking recovery for an alleged rape by a football player, so no one would be applauded for ruling against her.
Yet Rehnquist led a five-person majority to keep the federal courts out of marital and domestic disputes. In so doing, he affirmed his brilliant 5-4 decision five years earlier in United States v. Lopez, which recognized limits on federal power under the Commerce Clause.
Rehnquist's other 5-4 decision in 2000, Boy Scouts v. Dale, maintained the right of the Boy Scouts to decide for themselves whether to allow gay scoutmasters. Against a claim by liberal justices of greater societal acceptance of homosexuality, Rehnquist retorted that "the fact that an idea may be embraced and advocated by increasing numbers of people is all the more reason to protect the First Amendment rights of those who wish to voice a different view."
While Chief Justice Rehnquist is often described as a conservative, he was not conservative on gender issues or free speech issues. He dissented from Wooley v. Maynard, and he preferred to defer to state and local regulations on speech issues. He wrote a spirited dissent in which he supported a local ban on door-to-door canvassing in Watchtower Bible and Tract Society v. Village of Stratton (2002).
Rehnquist's Lasting Contribution
Rehnquist made a lasting contribution in these areas:
- Preserving federalism by limiting the Commerce Clause, which had been used as a "hook" for national legislation of all kinds, unrelated to commerce (U.S. v. Lopez). This had the effect of checking what had formerly been a fairly comprehensive governmental power over the states.
- Establishing affirmative limits on the federal government's ability to regulate state affairs (National League of Cities). This interpretation of affirmative limits led to the defeat of elements of the Brady Bill.
- Emphasizing judicial restraint, as in, the idea that the Court should stay out of matters of political importance where the legislature has clearly spoken. See also: Living Constitution
- Adhering to strict construction, as in, a narrow reading of the Constitution, although not as strict as Antonin Scalia's new textualism approach.
- Limiting the scope of Section 1983 actions and preventing it from federalizing all tort claims against state officials. These decisions included:
- Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
- Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527 (1981)
- Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327 (1986)
Liberal objections to Rehnquist
Liberals attempted to derail President Ronald Reagan's elevation of Rehnquist to Chief Justice by insisting that early in his career, as a clerk on the Supreme Court for Justice Jackson, Rehnquist had written a memorandum expressing some discontent with Brown v. Board of Education. Rehnquist explained that his written statements were merely advisory opinions reflecting the views of Justice Jackson, and did not reflect Rehnquist's personal views. Rehnquist was then confirmed as Chief Justice by a substantial margin in the U.S. Senate.
Liberals have also criticized Rehnquist's narrow view of recusal, as Rehnquist rarely recused himself from a case and would criticize recusal or defend non-recusal. He dismissed calls by U.S. Senators for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia to recuse himself in a case involving Scalia's friend Vice President Dick Cheney in his official rather than personal capacity.[4] Rehnquist did not recuse himself in a case concerning his alma mater Stanford University.[5]
Objection to Falsifiability
Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote against the doctrine of falsifiability in his dissent from the landmark Daubert decision, which may have caused little use of that important doctrine in courts:
| The Court speaks of its confidence that federal judges can make a "preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid and of whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue." Ante, at 592-593. The Court then states that a "key question" to be answered in deciding whether something is "scientific knowledge" "will be whether it can be (and has been) tested." Ante, at 593. Following this sentence are three quotations from treatises, which not only speak of empirical testing, but one of which states that the "'criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability.'" Ibid.
I defer to no one in my confidence in federal judges; but I am at a loss to know what is meant when it is said that the scientific status of a theory depends on its "falsifiability," and I suspect some of them will be, too.
I do not doubt that Rule 702 confides to the judge some gatekeeping responsibility in deciding questions of the admissibility of proffered expert testimony. But I do not think it imposes on them either the obligation or the authority to become amateur scientists in order to perform that role. I think the Court would be far better advised in this case to decide only the questions presented, and to leave the further development of this important area of the law to future cases.
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 600-01 (1993) (Rehnquist, J., dissenting).
- ↑ http://www.adherents.com/people/pr/William_Rehnquist.html
- ↑ http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0505067.htm
- ↑ https://www.hoover.org/press-releases/papers-late-us-chief-justice-william-rehnquist-donated-hoover-institution
- ↑ https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/27/scotus.cheney.scalia/index.html
- ↑ Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior Univ.
|The U.S. Supreme Court
|Chief Justice William Rehnquist's Court (1986-2005)


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text: The WisdomTree Australia Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of high-dividend yielding companies in Australia. The index is comprised of dividend paying companies incorporated in Australia with a minimum market capitalization of $1.0 billion. The index is comprised of the ten largest qualifying companies from each sector ranked by market capitalization.


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According to a report that was published on Thursday in the German magazine Der Spiegel, German experts have confirmed the authenticity of photographs that show that PKK fighters in Turkey were killed by chemical weapons.
The photographs in question were given in March by activists to a German human rights delegation, comprised of experts, journalists and politicians from Turkey's Left Party. The photos feature burned, maimed and scorched body parts, so much so that he victims are scarcely even recognizable as human beings. Hans Baumann, a German expert on photo forgeries has confirmed the authenticity of the photos, which according to Turkish-Kurdish human rights activists show eight members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) underground movement, considered a terrorist movement by the UN, EU and NATO. They are believed to have been killed in September 2009.
A forensics report released by the Hamburg University Hospital has said that it is highly probable that the eight Kurds died "due to the use of chemical substances."
Turkey has long been suspected of using chemical weapons against Kurdish rebels, and the evidence puts increasing pressure on the Turkish government to come up with answers. German politicians and human rights experts are now demanding an investigation into the incident.
Claudia Roth, co-chair of Germany's Green Party, told Der Spiegel: "The latest findings are so spectacular that the Turkish side urgently needs to explain things. It is impossible to understand why an autopsy of the PKK fighters was ordered but the results kept under seal."
Roth also demanded that Turkey issue an official statement on the possible use of chemical weapons.
Die Tageszeitung, a daily newspaper in Berlin, reported on Thursday that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has rejected the accusations. The Ministry said that Turkey is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and as such its armed forces do not possess any biological or chemical weapons.
The newspaper also reported that it has obtained additional pictures from the autopsies of six other killed Kurds. These images have also been submitted to the experts for examination.
Human rights activists in Turkey have also demanded an investigation, but the Turkish army has refused to comment.
Recently, there has been an increase in acts of PKK rebels against Turkish military targets. A PKK rocket killed six Turkish soldiers in the Mediterranean port at the end of May. At the end of June, Turkish security forces shot dead two villagers gathering herbs in northern Kurdistan after mistaking them for Kurdish resistance fighters.
In response, the Kurds attacked foreign military positions in the portions of what they consider their homeland occupied by Turkey and on a bus carrying military personnel in Istanbul. The Kurds believe that their country should include the adjoining parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria that have large Kurdish populations and that once also had a Jewish community. The Kurdish Jews emigrated to Israel in the early days of the Jewish state.Since 1984, more than 45,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed in the conflict to achieve goals that were defined as self determination, independence and later as, cultural recognition. The United States recently announced that it sides with Turkey in the conflict and regards the PKK as a terrorist group. Ambassador James Jeffrey said in a statement at the end of June: "We stand ready to review urgently any new requests from the Turkish military or government regarding the PKK. The PKK is a common enemy of both Turkey and the U.S. and we actively support the efforts of our Turkish allies to defeat this terrorist threat."


text: There are many reasons why The Container Store, a Coppell, Texas-based retailer of storage systems and accessories, has made Fortune Magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" the past 15 years.\n\n\nAmong those reasons: The company says its full-time staffers receive 263 hours of training during their first year, compared to the 7-hour retail industry average, and its salespeople reportedly make 50 to 100 percent more than the industry average.\n\nThe Theatro Wearable Computer for Retail\n\nThe Container Store also looks for ways to empower, and inspire, its retail staff with technology, and it is currently testing some unique new wearable tech designed to improve communication within its stores.\n\n\nLike a lot of retail companies, The Container Store uses walkie-talkies, but about nine months ago, the company took its first steps away from those two-way radios and started piloting the Theatro Wearable Computer in its Austin, Texas, store. This small gadget enables hands-free voice communication over Wi-Fi networks, among other things.\n\n\nWhile The Container Store is only using the Theatro Wearable Computer in one store, the gadgets have already revolutionized the way its salespeople communicate. John Thrailkill, The Container Store VP of store systems and business development, says the company has been so pleased with the results that it plans to roll out Theatro Wearable Computers across its entire lineup of stores in the coming years. Thrailkill also thinks The Container Store is just starting to realize the true potential of the device.\n\n\n\nTheatro Wearable Computer Look and Feel\n\nThe Theatro Wearable Computer is roughly the size of a matchbox, but a bit thicker, and clips to a pocket, lapel or lanyard. It's made of durable plastic and weighs 1.25 ounces. It has a rechargeable (though not removable) battery that gets about nine hours of life, and it sits in an "egg-crate-like" charging tray when not in use.\n\n\nThe device uses a standard headphone jack to connect an earpiece or earbuds, for audio, so it's compatible with most headsets. The current Theatro Wearable does not support Bluetooth, however. The components would have added significant costs and complexity, because Bluetooth headsets need to be paired, connected and constantly charged, according to Chris Todd, Theatro CEO.\n\n\nThe Theatro Wearable Computer has a large rubber button on its face, which is used to initiate voice commands, along with three buttons on its side: Two for volume up and down, and another that Todd calls the "disturb everybody button" because it bypasses the voice commands and lets you speak to everyone in the store, not unlike a walkie talkie. That third button is customizable, but its default function is a broadcast feature. The device also has a LED that illuminates when the battery is low.\n\n\nHow the Theatro Wearable Works\n\nTheatro's wearable connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi, then sends data packets through Theatro's cloud and re-routes them to the appropriate parties, whether they're in the same location as the sender or in another store across the country.\n\n\n\nThe system uses asynchronous (half duplex) communication and leverages compression algorithms to support voice over Wi-Fi, according to Theatro's Todd. Theatro also buffers all broadcasts between users to ensure they do not miss any communication due to crosstalk or simultaneous broadcasts -- so a solid Wi-Fi network is a key component.\n\n\nA connection to the Internet is required at this point. If a store loses power or loses its Web connection, the system stops working. The Container Store's Thrailkill says an "offline mode," or mode that lets the wearables work on the Wi-Fi network even if the Internet connection is down, is a requirement before a large-scale rollout. Todd says the company is working on this offline mode, and it should be available in the second quarter of 2014.\n\n\nThe wearables can also be remotely updated, so Theatro can easily add new features and functionality.\n\n\nThe Container Store and the Theatro Wearable \n\nAfter working closely with Theatro for more than a year to develop the product, The Container Store deployed the Theatro Wearable Computer in its Austin store to about 35 employees.\n\n\nThe training process for new users was painless, according to Thrailkill. "It takes about 10 minutes for us to train them on this tool, and then within that first shift they're using it very well. It's pretty intuitive and we've been very, very pleased with how quickly people take to it."\n\n\nThrailkill and his team also distributed laminated cards, listing all required voice commands, to new users for future reference.\n\n\nThe first time The Container Store employees use the Theatro wearable, they create a profile and then walk through a few quick exercises to ensure the gadgets can recognize their voices.\n\n\nWhen an employee arrives at work, he picks up a wearable from the charging station, inserts the wired ear piece, presses the center button to initiate a voice command and logs on by saying, "log on John Thrailkill." As soon as a new user is connected, all other staffers on the network get a message to notify them that a person has joined. When they want to communicate with someone, they press the center button again and say another command with a worker's name. When the employees are ready to leave for the day, they drop the wearables off at the charging station. (The devices take about 45 minutes to fully charge.)\n\n\nUsers can receive a variety of audio messages. For example, if they report to work midday, a condensed, recorded version of the team's early-morning "huddle," or status meeting, is sent to their "earbox" audio inbox, and they can listen as they prepare for work. Or they may get an audio alert when the Theatro wearable's battery is low.\n\n\nThe Theatro wearable uses Wi-Fi triangulation to locate users in range of the network. One staffer could ask the device, "Where is Al?" and the system would find that user and respond, "Al is in kitchen."\n\n\nThe gadgets are shared; they're not exclusive to individuals. Right now, there's no security or authentication measures, either. "We don't think there's a loss prevention issue at this point, because you're not able to do anything else with the system with that information," Thrailkill says.\n\n\nWhy Wearables at The Container Store?\n\nThose ancient walkie-talkies may not be pretty, but they work. So why is The Container Store embracing the Theatro Wearable Computer?\n\n\nThrailkill says the wearable does everything a walkie-talkie can and more. It also makes communication between staffers much more efficient and reduces unnecessary noise and distractions.\n\n\nThe Container Store worked with Theatro to measure walkie-talkie use in the Austin store and compare it to how staffers used the wearable. They found that the total number of messages each wearable user hears in a given day is about 60 percent less than before launching the Theatro system. But the overall number of messages going across the store network is about 30 percent higher, according to Thrailkill.\n\n\n"We see more communication, but less of it going to everybody," Thrailkill says. "This means less fatigue, less taking the ear piece out because it's bothering you while talking to a customer."\n\n\nThe wearable devices are also much smaller and less obtrusive than two-way radios. Plus, they're voice controlled, so they require less physical interaction. (Voice commands are also customizable. Theatro programs custom commands today, but in the future users may be able to create and change their own commands.)\n\n\nAnother feature that sets the Theatro wearable apart from walkie-talkies is the ability to create customizable groups and communicate only with specific people. For example, Thrailkill says, on a given day you can create a group of register salespeople and subscribe people to that group instantly. "While that group is active, we can send messages just to that group."\n\n\nThe Container Store also envisions a time when they will be able to create company-wide groups of subject matter experts.\n\n\n"If I'm working with a customer in a store and I have a question about travel products, I could reach out to that expert group in real-time and get answers from somebody across the company," Thrailkill says. "To me, that's the real power of this being networked; it allows you to leverage the knowledge base across stores."\n\n\nThrailkill says he considered deploying smartphones for communication, but because of the desire to avoid a distracting display, prohibitive costs and other concerns, he ultimately decided the wearable is a better fit -- at least for now.\n\nThe Theatro Wearable Computer for Retail\n\n"We'd much rather have employees engaging with customers verbally than the two of them looking at a screen together, somebody touching the screen and punching information," Thrailkill says. "'Heads up' versus 'heads down' is how we put it."\n\n\nThe simplicity of the wearable is its main advantage, according to Thrailkill.\n\n\n"You're not having to grab a device, swipe it, put in a passcode and open up an application to then be able to enter a command," he says. "You're just touching the device and then saying a command, and you're able to do it right away. With how much communication we do through the stores, having a dedicated device, at least for now, is by far the best way for us to work."\n\nIT Challenges \n\nThe IT setup was relatively simple, according to Thrailkill, though it did require an external company for Wi-Fi testing and access point repositioning.\n\n\n"The biggest amount of work that had to be done, and it will have to be done in every store we do this, is frankly, the tuning of the connections with the Wi-Fi network in the store," Thrailkill says. "Once it's up and running, the IT team isn't involved at all. "\n\n\nDuring the past nine months, The Container Store hasn't had any significant hardware issues with the wearables, Thrailkill says. One or two have failed, but overall they have been "extremely stable for something that is a new product".\n\n\nTheatro's Todd says the subscription price of the Theatro solution covers the cost of the wearables, as well as damage and obsolescence. Customers don't actually pay specifically for the hardware, and the devices really shouldn't need any sort of IT maintenance.\n\n\n"If [customers] have a problem with a device, we'll just send them a new one," Todd says.\n\n\nTheatro also offers a live customer service connection, which Thrailkill says makes it very easy get support.\n\n\nThe user feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, Thrailkill says the staff has been very clear about never wanting to use the walkie-talkies again.\n\n\n"I expected there to be a much bigger learning curve," Thrailkill says. "Having come from using walkie-talkies for years -- where you can't do them wrong, all you do is push a button and talk -- I expected it to be a month or more for [employees] to get used to commands and then connecting to a person, talking back and forth, and then remembering to end that conversation by pushing a button. It really was only a week."\n\n\nThe Container Store plans to bring the Theatro wearable to a second store in the Dallas area within the next few weeks. In addition to bringing in the team to make Wi-Fi adjustments, it will send at least one IT representative to help with coaching for a day or so, Thrailkill says. He doesn't expect much IT intervention beyond that. The company intends to put the Theatro wearable into the hands of roughly 2,500 employees in all of its more than 64 (and growing) stores during the next few years, adjusting the rollout and support process as necessary.\n\n\nAs for pricing, Thrailkill wouldn't share specifics. He says the licensing fees, which increase as you add users, aren't cheap, but he feels like his company is getting good value. "It's very reasonable, I think, for the value it's providing, and that value equation is going to go up tremendously as Theatro continues to add features."\n\n\nThe Future of Wearable Tech at The Container Store\n\nToday, Thrailkill and his team is focusing on the Theatro wearable rollout at its Dallas-area store. He does not plan to deploy the wearables at any other stores this year, though the ultimate goal is to use them in all of the company's stores.\n\n\nThe company is also using an in-store, hosted server in its Austin location for the voice component of the system, instead of relying solely on Theatro's cloud. Theatro says this allows it to run two development tracks with separate development teams -- one focused on feature enhancements and another for creating the infrastructure to support large scalability. The Dallas-area store will operate in a similar environment.\n\n\n"In the coming months, these two tracks will merge and The Container Store will be utilizing the entire solution as a cloud service," according to Todd.\n\n\nAlong with the Dallas store rollout, The Container Store plans to distribute wearables to its "resource center," or online help desk, which employees use for information on everything from IT questions to HR inquires, Thrailkill says. Wearable users will eventually be able to query the resources center for help with a system issue or HR question.\n\n\nThe ultimate goal is for the Theatro system to be deeply integrated with The Container Store's IT infrastructure and systems. That way, the CEO could, for example, record a voice message with a smartphone or other devices and then distribute it to all retail staffers via their wearables.\n\n\nTheatro and The Container Store have also discussed how the devices and associated cloud system could replace the employee time-clock system and integrate with inventory data, customer information systems and much more.\n\n\nTheatro's discussions with The Container Store began with personal communication. But they have evolved, Todd says. "A higher value opportunity might be the human-to-machine interface, connecting those people to the IT infrastructure versus just connecting the people to each other.\n\n\n"People-to-people is important. But people-to-machine is going to be explosive."\n\n\nAS\n\n\nAl Sacco covers Mobile and Wireless for CIO.com. Follow Al on Twitter @ASacco. \nFollow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline, Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn.


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Research from an international team of microbiologists has revealed a new concern about deforestation in the Amazon rainforest – a troubling net loss in the diversity among the microbial organisms responsible for a functioning ecosystem.
The group, which includes professors from the University of Texas at Arlington, University of Oregon, University of Massachusetts, Michigan State University (MSU) and University of Sao Paulo, sampled a 100 square kilometer area, about 38 square miles, in the Fazenda Nova Vida site in Rondônia, Brazil, a location where rainforest has been converted to agricultural use. Their findings in part validated previous research showing that bacteria in the soil became more diverse over the years, as it was converted to pasture.
But their findings contradicted prior thinking by showing that the loss of restricted ranges for different kinds of bacteria communities resulted in a biotic homogenization and net loss of diversity overall. Scientists worry that the loss of genetic variation in bacteria across a converted forest could reduce ecosystem resilience.
"We have known for a long time that conversion of rainforest land in the Amazon for agriculture results in a loss of biodiversity in plants and animals. Now we know that microbial communities which are so important to the ecosystem also suffer significant losses," said Jorge Rodrigues, the University of Texas at Arlington assistant biology professor who was part of the research team and is first author on a recent publication of the findings.
The new research is described in a paper that appeared online the week of December 24-28, 2012, in advance of publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper is called "Conversion of the Amazon Rainforest to Agriculture Results in Biotic Homogenization of Soil Bacterial Communities".
Klaus Nüsslein, project director for the published research and associate professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, said the team found important differences between the pasture and forest soil. For example, the number of bacterial species in the pasture soil was higher, but those species were also less related to one another than species in the forest soil.
"The combination of loss of forest species and the homogenization of pasture communities together signal that this ecosystem is now a lot less capable to deal with additional outside stress," Nüsslein said.
In addition to Rodrigues and Nüsslein, co-authors of the paper include: Babur Mirza, UT Arlington; Vivian Pellizari, Siu Mui Tsai, Brigitte Feigl and Fabiana Paula, the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil); Rebecca Mueller and Brendan Bohannan, University of Oregon; Kyunghwa Baek and George Hamaoui, University of Massachusetts; Ederson da C. Jesus, Embrapa-Agrobiologia (Brazil) and James Tiedje, Michigan State University.
"Our findings are especially important because they support the idea that microbes are impacted by human-caused environmental change," said Bohannan, director of the University of Oregon's Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Understanding these processes are vital because microbes are responsible for critical environmental processes, such as the recycling of nutrients, the production of clean water, and the removal of pollutants, Bohannan said.
Tiedje said the unique study was conducted on a scale that had not been attempted before. "The systematic and large-scale sampling design of this study gave us the power to see the homogenization," he said.
Scientists on the research team hope their work will provide valuable data to those making decisions about the future of the Amazon rainforest.
"The Amazon represents half of the world's rainforest and is home to one-third of Earth's species, yet the Amazon has one of the highest rates of deforestation," co-authors Pellizari, Tsai and Feigl said in a joint statement. "Agriculture is one of the largest and most dynamic parts of Brazil's economy, so dealing with standing rainforests in the tropics will be tricky, but nevertheless, it is vital that the issue is tackled."
Rodrigues said the research team is currently compiling findings about the potential for recovery of the microbial diversity after pastureland is abandoned and returned to "secondary forest".
"Whether bacterial diversity will completely recover from ecosystem conversion will depend in part on whether the taxa lost due to conversion are truly locally extinct or whether they are present in the pasture sites but of such low abundance that they are undetectable in our study," the paper said.
The research team's work was supported by grants from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP).
Source: University of Texas at Arlington.


text: Hi folks. I have followed the ubuntu ISPConfig manual and on http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect_setup_ubuntu_5.10_p3]Page 3 it stands for a SSH session from a different computer. In the past I used PuTTY from a Window$ environment and much older I remember the "r-commands" (something like telnet). Anyhow, my question is: after I have installed the SSH server in my ubuntu box (as per the manual stands) I want to be able to continue it from my XandrOS box (debian based distro) from the command line (console) with SSH but the truth is that I visited the help pages (http://www.openssh.com/manual.html) and still can't figure how to connect from my xandros box to my ubuntu server. Is there a step-by-step manual or may anyone of you tell me how to do it?. The main porpouse is to finish the setup from my xandros box (laptop) because the ubuntu's box monitor is almost "unreadable". Tnx in advance for any comments. Luis C. Suárez PS. After my first installation (Ubuntu BOX), I made some mistakes in the IPs section, I mixed the numbers and also the passwords. Anyhow In this momment I'm starting from Zero. But I wanted to say that I installed PuTTY on this box and could never get into the Ubuntu session. I had previusly configured my router in DMZPlus for the Ubuntu box.


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Here are medals awarded in the fields of agriculture, science, and medicine.
1928 Thomas A. Edison
This Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to Edison for his work as an inventor. He invented or improved many machines like the typewriter, telegraph, telephone, phonograph, batteries, and moving pictures. In developing a light bulb that could be used in homes, he had to invent the whole electric industry to power it. These things changed modern life forever.
Congress recognized Edison's achievements "in illumining the path of progress through the development and application of inventions that have revolutionized civilization in the last century." The back of the medal proclaims: "He illuminated the path of progress by his inventions."
1929 Major Walter Reed
Walter Reed and his 21 associates were recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal for discovering the cause of yellow fever and the way it spread. Major Reed and his associates did their Yellow Fever experiments during the Spanish-American War of 1898.
The medal recognizes the "high public service rendered and disabilities contracted" by Major Reed and his men "in the interest of humanity and science as voluntary subjects for the experimentation during the yellow-fever investigations in Cuba."
1938 Mrs. Richard Aldrich
1955 Doctor Jonas E. Salk
Dr. Salk was given this medal for his work on a serum to prevent polio. Poliomyelitis is a disease that affects children, and it was all too common in this country in the early 20th century. Dr. Salk died in 1995.
Congress had this medal made "in recognition of the great achievement of Doctor Jonas E. Salk in the field of medicine by his discovery of a serum for the prevention of poliomyelitis."
On the back of the medal, a woman protects two healthy children from polio. She holds a shield decorated with a caduceus, a symbol of the medical profession. The group is surrounded by the words "In recognition and appreciation of his achievement in developing a vaccine for polio."
1961 Doctor Thomas Anthony Dooley III
This medal was awarded to Dr. Dooley for his unselfish medical care among the peoples of the world, particularly in southeast Asia. He died in January 1961 of cancer.
The medal recognizes "the gallant and unselfish public service rendered by Doctor Thomas Anthony Dooley III in serving the medical needs of the people of Laos living in the remote areas of the Laotian jungles, and the peoples in other newly developing countries."
The words on the back, surrounding Dr. Dooley and some of the children he helped, are: "In recognition of the public service to alleviate suffering among people of the world."
1987 Mary Lasker
Mary Lasker and her husband started the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, where scientists try to make better medicines and find ways to help people stay healthy. Mrs. Lasker was especially interested in finding cures for cancer. A pink tulip was named after her because of the way she worked to beautify New York City and Washington, D.C.
Mary Lasker's medal honors her for this work, for educating people, and for helping artists. On the back of the medal is written "Dedicated to the conquering of disease and disability."
2006 Dr. Norman E. Borlaug
This medal was awarded to recognize Dr. Borlaug's "enduring contribution to the United States and the World." Dr. Borlaug spent many years helping to ease world hunger by developing plants that resist disease and produce more food. Nobel Laureate Dr. Borlaug's "accomplishments in terms of bringing radical change to world agriculture and uplifting humanity are without parallel."
On the front of the medal, Dr. Borlaug is shown working in the wheat fields of Mexico. Dr. Borlaug's words appear on the back: "The first essential component for social justice is adequate food for all mankind."
And here are some commemorative coins that have honored scientists and inventors:
[return] to Medal Mania!


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Intense Large Rainbow Obsidian Marques Pendant
Intense Large Rainbow Obsidian Marques Pendant
This stunning pendant is wrapped in Titanium and Silver filled wire. The wire is tarnish and fade resistant, but can scratch if rubbed against a hard surface. The beautiful stone is a Large Rainbow Obsidian Marques. The dimensions of the pendant are 8.7cm x 3.3cm x 1.3cm and weighs 0.72oz. Please keep in mind that extended periods of direct sunlight and/or water/humidity exposure may weaken the coating and/or cause it to become faded/discolored. Be gentle and kind to your wire and it will stay beautiful for many years to come!
Return Policy
Returns and exchange details
I hope you are happy with your purchase but in the event that something goes wrong please contact me within 48 hours of delivery and I will do my best to resolve the problem.
Returns must be received within 30 days of receipt and the item should be returned in it's original packaging, please send with tracking as refunds will only be issued upon receipt of the item.
Buyers are responsible for return postage costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
If an item should arrive damaged or faulty, please notify me within 48 hours of receipt and I will of course replace or refund the item. Refunds will not be given unless the item is returned.
See Return Policy for further details.
Questions about your order?
Please contact me if you have any problems with your order.


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There's nothing you can do if hackers get into a database with your password in it, but you can still protect yourself for all the other worst-case scenarios involving hacking. In this video, we go over ways to make your passwords harder to crack.
First, don't make it easy on hackers by choosing a common password. Splashdata uses security breaches to gather 'most popular passwords' lists each year. The word 'password', number sequences, and other simplistic phrases or numbers fill the top spots. Also, don't use your name, a password related to another one you might have on a different site, or a login name.
Instead, experts recommend using 15 characters, upper-case letters, better yet nonsensical words with special characters and numbers inside them.
Need help? Check out some free websites, like Strong Password Generator. This Macworld article on security in the iCloud age also has some suggestions on strong password creation.


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Pat Robertson: 'Pray Boy Scouts Make the Right Decision'
Televangelist Pat Robertson recently spoke out against the possible plans to lift the gay ban in the Boy Scouts, saying on his show, "The 700 Club," that he believes the youth organization, as a private institution, should be allowed to decide who may join its rankings and who may not.
"This isn't a public organization that the state needs to get involved in … The Boy Scouts should be free to do what they want to do, and the board should feel free to do what it wants to do, and that's just the way it is," Robertson said on a Tuesday airing of "The 700 Club," the flagship program of the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"This organization has done so much for so many young men," Robertson continued, speaking of the century-old youth organization.
"The question is, are there predators as Boy Scouts? Pedophiles that would come in as Scout masters? If they are, then of course parents wouldn't want their sons being involved in the Boy Scouts or their daughters being involved in the Girl Scouts," Robertson added.
"Our prayers are with [the Boy Scouts national board] that they will do what they feel is right for them, not what the political (sic) correct crowd thinks is right for them," Robertson concluded.
Last week, the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would begin considering whether to change its original policy, which forbids openly gay members and leaders, to allow individual troops to decide whether to allow gay membership.
After a three-day meeting at the Boy Scouts national headquarters in Irving, Texas, the Boy Scouts of America's board of directors announced on Wednesday its plans to postpone the vote regarding the lift of the gay ban until May, so that both those opposing and supporting the ban may have time to discuss the issue.
"After careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization, the volunteer officers of the Boy Scouts of America's National Executive Board concluded that due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy," the youth organization said in a statement.
Groups from both sides of the aisle have publicly professed either their support or opposition for the ban, with some arguing that the youth organization is caving to national pressure by lifting the ban, and others arguing that the institution will be considered discriminatory against gay people should it keep the ban.
Pro-family organization the Family Research Council, joined 41 allied organizations on Monday to urge the Boy Scouts to keep the ban and "not surrender to financial or political pressures by corporate elites on the issue of homosexuality."
In contrast, several current and former Boy Scout leaders rallied near the organization's headquarters in Texas, claiming to hold a petition that carried 1.4 million signatures opposing the current gay ban, as CBS News reports.
Additionally, U.S. President Barack Obama also opposes the ban.
The ultimate vote regarding the Boy Scouts' gay ban will occur in May 2013 at the Boy Scouts National Annual meeting.


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Release Date: 2007 |
Album Rating: 4.5Yeah, this one kinda straddles my two writing extremes (BTBAM - Colors was nice and concise, MTB - Planet Of Ice was a f*cking monster), hehehe. This album rules though. Basically exactly what I expected it to be.
Album Rating: 4.5Amazing record as usual from AWS. The title track is one of their best songs ever I believe.
Album Rating: 4.5Review is kinda too long for it's own good. I had the same reaction Lewis did.
I definitely disagree about the step back in songwriting and variety though. Ruiner had a lot of variety in the sense that there were the faster songs, but quite a few slow and mid-burners too. The problem was most of the faster songs sounded too samey and drawn out for their own good. With this, everything is fast, but the songwriting and structure is wayyyy more varied and complex, which definitely makes it a much easier listen. That, and they actually expound on the technicality this go around, and incorporate a lot of more interesting aspects as opposed to just straight tapping almost everywhere.
Also, I think Jaws 3, People 0 is easily the worst song on the album. It's quite criminal that you didn't mention Cold Slither II for the vocal harmonies either. Easily one of the most inventive curveballs they've thrown in yet.
Oh, and this knocked Neurosis from record of the year for me.
Best Tracks: We Built This City, These Dead Streets, The Horse, Cold Slither II, Career Suicide
Album Rating: 3.5This album is pretty great.
Album Rating: 3.0Should i check these guys out and where should i start?
Album Rating: 3.5Great album and review. I can't say I found it too long mainly because you have an easy to read writing style.
Album Rating: 4.5I have Ruiner but haven't listened to it properly. Might have to get this if it's as good as you say.
Album Rating: 5.0Great album, not their best. Nice review
I totally disagree about Strung Out. Their new album is definetly one of the best albums of the year. This Message Edited On 10.09.07
Album Rating: 4.5good review and thanks for reminding me that this came out today. ill be sure to pick this up
Album Rating: 4.5I pretty much agree with Intransit's fave tracks and the songwriting.
Career is wayy better than Ruiner because of the variety and complexity packed in such a short duration. Awesome.
Album Rating: 4.5I'm all over this CD today. Driving to Amoeba right now...
Album Rating: 4.0I don't like this style of punk.
But dammit, i really like this cd.
Album Rating: 5.0Album is fucking sick.
Album Rating: 4.5Definitely one of the best releases this year.
Album Rating: 4.5This album just rips in every way possible, as would be expected. Should be in the top 5 of 2007 easily.
Album Rating: 4.5Yeah, I have been giving this a few more listens as of late and I really, really like the whole thing. I might change it to a 4.5 but I think a 4 is a perfect score for this, really.
Kudos intransit, I totally forgot about Cold Slither II, that one grew on me big time.
Album Rating: 4.5I know I'm in the vast minority, but this to me sounds like what Today's Empires, Tomorrows Ashes tried to do, except a lot better I think.
Album Rating: 4.5Yeah, it's far more melodic/catchy, I'll agree. Certainly is more fun to listen to at times, but the similarities between the two are very, very apparent, which would make Career Suicide a bit more of a derivative (although still awesome).
Album Rating: 5.0I deleted by mistake the version I downloaded... shitThis Message Edited On 10.10.07
Album Rating: 4.5Go buy it then. The band deserves what little cash they get from it.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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Register your phone number with the card and it is recognized automatically after dialing the Access Number. You don't need to enter a hard-to-remember PIN!
Register up to 5 different phone numbers in one account.
Use "My Account" - "My Permanent PINs" to register additional phone numbers.
Use "My Account" - "My Permanent PINs" to see the Mozart phone card's balance and other reports.
Please read the disclaimer about additional provisions. Rates and fees are subject to change without notice. Application of surcharges and fees has the effect of reducing total minutes on the Mozart phone card.
Mozart Phone Card can be used from Canada, Puerto Rico, USA - Continental, USA - Hawaii


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As of today, PC makers are no longer allowed to preload Windows XP on netbooks, the last type of machine to go. That means that no PCs of any type are rolling off the assembly line with Windows XP. On a separate but not unrelated note, today marks the 1 year anniversary of the launch of Windows 7. Times, they are a-changin'. [ZDNet]
Meet Microsoft's New Surface Laptops


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As you step through the various Windows 7 product editions, an interesting picture emerges. Windows 7 Home Premium is, quite clearly, the sweet spot from a functionality perspective and the reason I consider this version to be the starting point for any Windows 7 user, and the focal point of this article. When you move up from Home Premium to Professional, you get a smaller bump in functionality, and if you look over the past two parts of this series, you'll see some of the key Windows 7 features that are unique to Professional edition and the free or cheap tools I recommend to Home Premium users to replace them. But when you jump up from Professional to Ultimate, there's an even smaller leap. In fact, there are really only two key features that are unique to Windows 7 Ultimate. And they're both based around the notion of encryption-based data protection.
These features are so key, in fact, that I consider it almost criminal that Microsoft doesn't make them available to all Windows users. I'd like to see that change in the future. But for now, you'll need to seek out other ways to duplicate the functionality in the features Microsoft provides via its BitLocker and BitLocker To Go functionality.
BitLocker came first, in Windows Vista, and provides full-disk encryption for fixed hard drives. BitLocker To Go, meanwhile, debuts in Windows 7 and adds this same encryption functionality to removable storage media like USB memory keys. You can find out more about BitLocker To Go in my Windows 7 Feature Focus article.
I've found an excellent replacement for BitLocker, but have yet to find anything that is as seamless and well designed as BitLocker To Go. Fortunately, there's a nice (if temporary) workaround you can take advantage of if you'd like to use BitLocker To Go. Here's what I found.
Full disk encryption replacement:
Zone Alarm DataLock
Cost: $20 (Normally $30)
Download: http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-data-lock.htm
Description: Hard drive encryption makes everything on your computer's hard drive unreadable to unauthorized eyes. It jumbles the data in such a way that it cannot be deciphered unless a special password is entered. If your laptop PC is stolen or lost, hard drive encryption prevents your personal data from getting into the wrong hands, even if you never recover your hardware. All your data is fully protected - even temporary and deleted files. Your encrypted hard drive is inaccessible unless a special login and password are entered. No password, no access - thieves are locked out. This login cannot be bypassed by removing the hard drive or by booting off a CD.
Notes: ZoneAlarm DataLock is essentially a consumer version of a Check Point product that's been around for a while. I've been using it on my own Windows 7 Home Premium-based laptop (a ThinkPad SL410) and it appears to work quite well. As with any disk encryption solution, the actually encryption process is time consuming. But once it's done, you won't notice that it's there--it doesn't impact performance at all, from what I can tell--other than when you boot the computer, since there is a separate security logon at boot time.
There are a couple of interesting differences between DataLock and BitLocker (aside from the boot time logon). First, DataLock also works with Windows XP and Vista as well as Windows 7. Second, if you forget your boot-time logon, you can actually call ZoneAlarm to get it; Microsoft doesn't offer any kind of BitLocker recovery functionality.
There are a few questions here. ZoneAlarm notes that "not all systems will be compatible" but doesn't explain what that means. (I had no issues installing it, but I only did so on one system.) The product costs $20, and while ZoneAlarm says you don't need to pay a yearly license fee, once you go beyond the first year of usage, you will need to pay a small renewal fee after the first year for ongoing technical support, which presumably includes logon recovery. Also, I noticed that Windows Home Server-based PC backup stopped working after installing DataLock. I will test whether reinstalling the WHS Connector software fixes this after I return from the trip I'm currently on.
There's not a lot of UI to show here: It just sits in the background, protecting your data.
Other alternatives to BitLocker and BitLocker To Go
Here are some other reader recommendations for BitLocker and BitLocker To Go replacements that you may want to check out.
Cost: FREE
Download: http://www.truecrypt.org/
Description: TrueCrypt is free open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Main features:
- Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.
- Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive.
- Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication).
- Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent.
- Parallelization and pipelining allow data to be read and written as fast as if the drive was not encrypted.
- Provides plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password.
- Encryption algorithms: AES-256, Serpent, and Twofish. Mode of operation: XTS.
Notes: TrueCrypt is hard. But if you don't mind navigating through a technical interface, it can basically do everything that BitLocker and BitLocker To Go can do. So you may find it worth the effort.
Cost: FREE
Download: http://www.7-zip.org/
Description: 7-Zip is an open source file archiver with a high compression ratio. It supports strong AES-256 encryption in 7z and ZIP formats, so it's possible, in a very manual way, to protect important documents and other data files on a USB hard drive or memory stick.