Sunday, January 18, 2009

Indonesia Blog Academy

Indonesia Blog Academy dilaksanakan di STMIK Amikom Yogjakarta mulai tanggal 4 januari 2009.
Pelatihan ini dibuat untuk pelatihan intensif pembuatan blog. oleh panitia diberikan waktu 3 kali pertemuan untuk belajar menciptakan blog yang benar-benar hidup & ke depan bisa menghidupi anda.

di Indonesia Blog Academy akan di ajarkan bagaimana mencari ide-ide kreatif konten blog, instalasi dan optomalisasi engine blog merupakan materi yang akan diberikan dan tak ketinggalan teknik-teknik SEO terbaru & blog monetizing semua diberikan oleh mereka yang ahli dibidangnya.

untuk membuat blog yang baik tidak begitu susah, yang penting kita sering membuat tulisan dalam blog kita secara kontinyu.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

EU regulating Microsoft like it's 1999

The European Union's new complaint against Microsoft really takes one back. Like, a decade or so.

Its objection--that bundling a browser into the operating system violates antitrust law--is the same one that U.S. regulators raised in 1996.

The newest allegations stem from a 2007 complaint by Norway's Opera that Microsoft was hurting competition by including Internet Explorer in Windows and by not better adhering to Web standards.

What is most odd about the EU taking up the issue is its timing. The EU spent years going after Microsoft on antitrust matters related specifically to its bundling of products with Windows and didn't focus on the browser. Plus, the move comes as Microsoft's browser share is at its lowest point since the Netscape days.

Firefox is particularly strong in Europe, the area over which the EU has oversight. According to XitiMonitor, IE had a 59.5 percent share in Europe as of November, compared with 31.1 percent for Firefox. Opera had about 5 percent, and Safari half of that. Microsoft lost a full 5 percentage points of market share since April alone.

That doesn't mean that Microsoft will have an easy time in Brussels. As it has shown in the past, the EU is willing to take a tough line with Microsoft, and it is not averse to fining the company and issuing harsh decrees.

David Anderson, an antitrust attorney and partner with Berwin Leighton Paisner in Brussels, said that Microsoft may well face a challenge ahead in persuading the Commission to set aside its preliminary assessment, saying the commission tends to review matters thoroughly before issuing such "statements of objections."

Further he noted that the commission staff may feel emboldened after having won its previous case against Microsoft. It also has the same set of attorneys that worked on that case pursuing the IE issue, Anderson said.

Microsoft is choosing its words carefully at this point, electing not to go beyond a statement that is more procedural than confrontational. But I can only imagine the words being used behind closed doors in Redmond.

In defending itself, Microsoft will find itself against one particularly familiar foe. Opera's chairman, William Raduchel, is a longtime Microsoft critic, dating back to his time at Sun Microsystems, which brought antitrust actions of its own against Microsoft before eventually settling.

For those who need a refresher course in the browser wars, Netscape had the dominant program in the Web's early days, controlling more than half the market as late as 1997. By 1999, though, Microsoft's IE had more than three-fourths of the market.

It has held the dominant position ever since, accounting for greater than 90 percent of the market through 2004, when Firefox began to make serious inroads. Its share has been on the decline since, according to Net Applications.

Microsoft's browser had an 87 percent share in 2005, but by 2007, its share had dropped to 79 percent. Last year alone, IE's market share dropped from 75 percent in January to 68 percent by December.

source: Cnet.com

USB 3.0 will crush eSATA, FireWire

USB 3

The USB 3.0 cable is substantially thicker than the USB 2.0 cable as it contains six wires rather than two.

(Credit: Reuben Lee/CNET Asia)

Intel demonstrated a working version of USB 3.0 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. Here's why it will make eSATA and FireWire obsolete.

When USB 3.0 is expected to hit the market in early 2010, it will have been 10 years since the now ubiquitous USB 2.0 was introduced (April 2000). The current USB 2.0 specification runs at a theoretical maximum speed of 480Mbps, and can supply power (for those looking for the hard details, you can find the USB 2.0 specification here (zip file).

According to the USB Implementers Forum, there were 2 billion USB 2.0 devices shipped in 2006 (one for every three people in the world), and the install base was 6 billion (almost one for every person in the world). In November 2007, the USB Implementers forum announced the USB 3.0 specifications, and Intel officially demonstrated the technology at CES 2009.

Now, the juice: USB 3.0 promises a theoretical maximum rate of 5Gbps, meaning it's 10 times faster than USB 2.0. USB 3.0 is also full duplex, meaning it can upload and download simultaneously (it's bi-directional); USB 2.0 is only half duplex.

Put side by side with eSATA and FireWire 800, USB 3.0 is far superior. eSATA, an external connection that runs at the same speed as the internal SATA 1.0 bus, has a maximum theoretical of 3Gbps. This makes USB 3.0 faster than eSATA and about six times faster than FireWire 800 (full duplex at 800Mbps).

USB 3.0 also provides another advantage; while eSATA is faster than FireWire 800, unlike FireWire it cannot supply power. USB 3.0 has the advantage of being faster than both, even while supplying power.

Finally, USB 3.0 has improved power management, meaning that devices can move into idle, suspend, and sleep states. This potentially means more battery life out of laptops and other battery-based USB-supporting devices like cameras and mobile phones.

Of course, there are other factors to consider; the FireWire 3200 standard is also in the works and promises to allow 3.2GHz speeds on existing FireWire 800 hardware. USB 2.0 generally doesn't meet its theoretical maximum throughput, due to its dependence on hardware and software configuration, where FireWire gets much closer.

It's hard to say whether USB 3.0's updated architecture will still use more CPU time than FireWire does.

But in the age of powerful hardware (can anyone say "3.2GHz, quad-core CPUs"?), all of this means that FireWire is still not going to match USB 3.0's theoretical maximum of 5Gbps.

The ultimate signal that this war has already been won is Apple's recent decision to ditch FireWire from its consumer line in favor of USB. Previously, Cupertino had been one of FireWire's greatest advocates. And surely the company will be one of the first to adopt USB 3.0.

All in all, we can't wait for motherboard manufacturers like Gigabyte and Asus to start supporting the technology and mainstream PC builders like Dell to start integrating it into their products. Bring on the speed.

source: cnet.com

Securing the Windows 7 beta

Despite the fact that security programs are often some of the toughest code to make work with a new operating system, Windows 7 already has several companies ready with products aimed at keeping it safe from attackers.

By comparison, only one antivirus firm--McAfee--had its security software commercially ready by the time Microsoft launched Vista for businesses in November 2006.

That said, it stands to reason, given that Microsoft was making far more dramatic changes to the operating system's underlying architecture in Vista than it is in Windows 7.

This time around, it is AVG, Kaspersky, and Symantec that have products that are being touted from Microsoft's site. McAfee said it will have support by the time Windows 7 launches, while Trend Micro is working to have a compatible product in the next month or so.

"It is great to see that these partners were able to have their solutions working so early in our development process," Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc said in a blog posting.

Dave Cole, a senior director of product management at Symantec, said his company decided to offer up a test version of its Norton 360 product for use with Windows 7, even though the company knows there are still a few things left to work out.

"We determined that we could run reasonably well under Windows 7," Cole said. "There are bugs that we know about, but we're comfortable enough with the effectiveness of the product that when they called us to participate we took them up on the offer."

Having the support lined up is important to Microsoft, which built an "action center" into the operating system that warns users if it detects there is no antivirus software installed. The action center then points to a page on Microsoft's Web site with links to Windows 7-compatible security software.

The page lists Kaspersky, AVG, and Norton, but adds that "Microsoft is actively working with additional security software independent software vendors (ISVs) so that security software solutions will be available for Windows 7 Beta and (the final release of) Windows 7."

As far as Windows 7's approach to security, it appears to draw heavily from the investments the company made with Windows Vista.

The most notable change is probably the fact that users now have the option to choose how often they are required to authorize changes to their system. One of the most frequent criticisms of Vista was the annoyance of the User Account Control dialog boxes that forced users to authenticate many types of changes to their systems.

Microsoft spent a fortune securing Vista, both in engineering new features as well as in testing. The software maker corralled a significant chunk of the world's penetration testers to help poke at Vista ahead of its release.

The software maker plans some penetration testing for Windows 7, but declined to say how much or whether it would be comparable to its Vista effort.

CNET News' Elinor Mills contributed to this report.

Source : http://tech.yahoo.com/news/cnet/20090116/tc_cnet/83011386031014346656

U.S., Israel agree on plan to halt Gaza weapons smuggling

WASHINGTON — The United States has agreed to Israel's request to lead an international effort to halt weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip , raising the prospects for a cease-fire in a conflict that's claimed more than 1,000 lives, U.S. officials and diplomats said Friday.

Under the agreement, the outgoing Bush administration pledged to help track and interdict weapons shipments before they reach Gaza , which the militant Palestinian group Hamas has used as launching pad for rocket attacks on Israel .

The deal was being signed Friday in Washington by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , in one of her last official acts in office, and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni .

Rice said Friday that the U.S.-Israeli memorandum of understanding "should be thought of as one of the elements of trying to bring into being a durable cease-fire, a cease-fire that can actually hold."

Israel , which began attacks on Gaza three weeks ago in response to the rocket fire, has said it won't reopen the territory's border crossings until steps are taken to stop arms smuggling.

The deal seems likely to provide a boost for cease-fire talks in Cairo, Egypt , that the Egyptian government is mediating. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Thursday that while the talks were making progress, it could take several more days to reach a deal.

The United States and Israel also have discussed having the Army Corps of Engineers build some kind of barrier — such as trenches or a submerged wall — to prevent the digging of underground tunnels for smuggling weapons from Egypt into Gaza , officials and diplomats said.

The diplomats and officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.

source : http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090116/wl_mcclatchy/3146444

Obama: 'Dramatic action' needed now to fix economy

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio – President-elect Barack Obama made a pitch for his massive economic stimulus plan at a Midwestern factory that manufactures wind turbine parts, saying Friday his proposal would make smart investments in the country's future and create solid jobs in up-and-coming industries.

"Renewable energy isn't something pie in the sky. It's not part of a far-off future. It's happening all across America right now," Obama told workers at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. in this Cleveland suburb. "It can create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries if we act right now."

Just days before taking the oath of office as the 44th president, Obama used the factory as a backdrop as he sought to generate support from the public — constituents of skeptical Republicans and Democrats in Congress — for his pricey plan to pull the country out of recession.

Seeking to counter critics' claims of excessive spending and too few tax cuts, Obama cast the package as necessary to create long-lasting, well-paying jobs in industries such as alternative energy, and help hard-hit industrial states such as Ohio now and in the future.

"It's not too late to change course — but only if we take dramatic action as soon as possible," Obama said. He pledged: "The first job of my administration is to put people back to work and get our economy moving again."

"We're not looking to create just any kind of jobs here," Obama added. "We're looking to create good jobs that pay well and won't be shipped overseas. Jobs that don't just put people to work in the short term, but position our economy to be on the cutting edge in the long term."

His audience — factory workers, invited guests and state officials, including Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland — gave him warm greetings and polite applause at the relatively low-key appearance.

Obama held the campaign-style event — likely the first in a series — one day after the Senate agreed to give him access to the second half of last fall's $700 billion financial industry bailout and House Democrats unveiled an $825 billion stimulus package that could reach $1 trillion by the time Congress sends it to him.

One of the largest bills ever to make its way through Congress, it calls for federal spending of roughly $550 billion and tax cuts of $275 billion over the next two years to revive the sickly economy. It also focuses heavily on energy, education, health care and jobs-producing highway construction.

Energy-related proposals include $32 billion to upgrade the nation's electrical distribution system, more than $20 billion in tax cuts to promote the development of alternatives to oil fuels, and billions more to make public housing, federal buildings and modest-income homes more energy efficient.

Over the past three months, Obama has moved from campaigning for president to campaigning for a stimulus plan. He has been in Washington for two weeks, and he and his advisers have spent much of the time consulting with Congress on the plan's components. He is seeking to secure lawmakers' backing even as both Republicans and Democrats raise concerns about its price tag and tax provisions.

Despite the resistance, House and Senate leaders have pledged to give Obama legislation to sign by mid-February.

The stakes are enormous for Obama.

Passage of the plan — and bipartisan passage in particular — would mark a significant achievement at the outset of his administration. Obama is inheriting a deep recession from President George W. Bush. Defeat would be a blow, coming not just in his first weeks in office but also as joblessness increases, bank failures continue, investment portfolios shrink and home prices plummet.

Either way, the success or failure of the plan could well set the tone for Obama's first 100 days in office, if not his first year or longer.

Ohio was a fitting selection for Obama's first trip outside Washington to promote the plan; it's a state steeped in both political and economic symbolism. Obama won Ohio in last fall's election by 4 percentage points over Republican Sen. John McCain in a campaign that focused heavily on worsening economic conditions.

The state also is part of the industrial Midwest that's been hit especially hard by the recession; it has posted huge losses in manufacturing, has a high foreclosure rate and a 7.3 percent unemployment rate in November.

Unlike many other businesses in the state, the company that Obama visited can boast of growth.

Founded in 1983, the company has 65 employees and is seeking to hire more. It recently announced the creation of a wind power division to respond to what the company says is a surge of demand for parts in the wind turbine industry.

Wearing clear protective glasses with his dark business suit, Obama took a tour of the chilly factory. He stopped at several stations to greet workers and watch them demonstrate the steps to manufacture large screws and bolts used to hold wind turbines together.

"The need for us to act is now. It's never been more urgent," Obama said. But given the economic crisis, he also repeated a warning: "Recovery won't happen overnight, and it's likely that, even with these measures, things will get worse before they get better."

source : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090117/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy;_ylt=ArGSx7XFR1UHxUR6azshDluyBhIF

Microsoft Sued Over Unified Communications Deal

Microsoft has been sued by a small Wisconsin business for allegedly misrepresenting the capabilities of its Live Communications Server product, selling the company more licenses than it needed and not providing a refund or other products to solve its original problem.

Imagineering International filed its lawsuit in December in the Fond de Lac County circuit court in Wisconsin, accusing Microsoft of breach of contract and breach of warranties, among other offenses.

Imagineering claims Microsoft failed to resolve problems the company had with deploying an enterprise version of Live Communications Server, then did not replace the product with a revamped version, Office Communications Server (OCS), as Microsoft had promised.

Microsoft also never provided Imagineering with a refund for the products and licenses it purchased, after requiring Imagineering to destroy its licenses and the software as a condition of receiving a credit toward OCS, said Jeff MacMillan, president and CEO of Imagineering.

Imagineering, a 23-person IT consulting firm and reseller, had been a Microsoft partner for about 10 years at the time it purchased the products and licenses, he said. The company has since terminated its partnership with Microsoft.

Rather than responding in the same court, Microsoft filed papers Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee to move the case from the county court to the federal court, citing Imagineering's request for damages that exceed US$50,000 as one reason.

Cases heard in federal courts also tend to take longer to be resolved, and plaintiffs can lose some of their claims in summary judgment, said Michael Kuborn, an attorney representing Imagineering from the Curtis Law Office in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

A lawyer representing Microsoft did not respond to a phone call requesting comment. A Microsoft spokesperson said via e-mail Friday that Microsoft is reviewing the allegations and will make its response in court.

Imagineering alleges in its complaint that on Oct. 7, 2005, it purchased Microsoft's LCS software, 1,500 Client Access Licenses and 1,500 External Connector Licenses for a total of $70,776. At the time LCS was Microsoft's software for providing a unified communications system, which links a company's voicemail, telephone system, e-mail and other employee communications services on the same software infrastructure.

MacMillan said Friday that Microsoft representatives had informed him that LCS had the capabilities his company needed to create a unified communications platform out of its disparate systems for telephony, voicemail, fax and e-mail. Microsoft also said it would provide remote desktop capability, which was key to Imagineering's deployment, he said.

Imagineering purchased the product and licenses mainly for an in-house deployment, but if that proved successful, the company planned to sell a similar offering to customers, MacMillan said.

The number of licenses his company needed to purchase seemed high for a company with only 23 employees. However, Microsoft employees brokering the deal said Imagineering would need licenses not only for its own employees using the new system but also for any customers who wanted to access it.

After Imagineering secured the product from Microsoft, it had trouble deploying the product, and so in October of 2005 it contacted Microsoft technical support, MacMillan said. "They determined we were given bad presale information and that the product would not work the way we had been told it would," he said.

Microsoft also informed Imagineering that it did not need licenses for its customers and had indeed purchased too many, he said.

The companies worked together to come up with a solution, which MacMillan said was to give Imagineering a credit equal to what it paid Microsoft to purchase the follow-up version of LCS, OCS, from Microsoft distributor TechData once that product was available. TechData also would provide Imagineering with the licenses it would need for its deployment, he said.

Microsoft released OCS in late 2007. Around that time, MacMillan said he contacted TechData about acquiring the product and the licenses, per the company's agreement with Microsoft. TechData informed him that it had no record of such a deal, he said.

MacMillan said he contacted Microsoft and again worked with it to try to resolve the situation. In February 2008 Microsoft informed Imagineering that it would give it "no more than $27,000" in credit to purchase additional hardware it would need to deploy OCS -- a more complex product than LCS -- as well as the license to deploy it, according to court documents and MacMillan. Imagineering was given seven days to accept or reject the offer, according to court documents.

At that point, MacMillan said, he was frustrated and disappointed at how Microsoft handled the situation.

"They've welched on every deal they put into place ... and then said, 'You paid $70,000, we'll give you $20,000, that will have to be good enough, you can accept it or you can reject it,'" he said. "We had to reject that."

Imagineering still has not successfully implemented a unified communications platform, MacMillan said, and does not have the money to do so. "The $70,000 we spent on this was basically what we had for the project," he said. "It's actually an extraordinary amount of money to us."

Imagineering is seeking a refund from Microsoft for the original amount it paid the company, punitive damages and attorney fees.

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090116/tc_pcworld/microsoftsuedoverunifiedcommunicationsdeal

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Microsoft Patches One Critical Windows Bug

Three vulnerabilities in SMB networking were patched in a single update today my Microsoft: MS09-001: Vulnerabilities in SMB Could Allow Remote Code Execution.

Two of the three vulnerabilities are rated critical for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003; the third is rated Moderate for those platforms. Two are rated Moderate for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and the third does not affect those platforms at all.

The first vulnerability, SMB Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2008-4834), is a frightening one: an unauthenticated networking bug. This is the one that doesn't affect Windows Vista or Server 2008, but on 2000, XP or Server 2003 an unauthenticated user could invoke a remote code execution over the network. Microsoft says that most attempts to invoke this bug will result in a denial of service, but that remote code execution is theoretically possible. This being SMB, a firewall could very well block it, depending on the configuration. So it's not likely that users would get attacked directly over the Internet, but if one system inside a network is compromised through some other exploit, it could then attack other vulnerable systems from inside the network.

The second vulnerability, SMB Validation Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2008-4835), is very similar to the last one: an unauthenticated network vulnerability that can theoretically allow remote code execution, but more likely denial of service. This vulnerability also affects Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, although not in the default configuration, thus they are rated "Moderate."

The third vulnerability, SMB Validation Denial of Service Vulnerability (CVE-2008-4114), is rated Moderate for all platforms. A specially-crafted network request could cause the system to stop responding and then restart. Once again, this does not affect Vista or Server 2008 in their default configurations, and a firewall may provide protection.

source:http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/2009/01/microsoft_patches_one_critical.php

Obama's energy pick endorses nukes, clean coal

WASHINGTON--Energy Secretary nominee Steven Chu was greeted with warm approval from a congressional committee during his confirmation hearing Tuesday, at which he acknowledged the need to pursue nuclear and clean-coal energy but promoted energy efficiency as the best means of addressing the nation's energy challenges in the face of a dour economy.

"I feel very strongly what the American family does not want is to pay an increasing fraction of their budget on energy costs," Chu said before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "That we do the best we can on energy efficiency--that, in my mind, remains the lowest hanging fruit."

Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu, Obama's pick to be the next energy secretary, appeared before a congressional committee Tuesday.

(Credit: Stanford University)

Working toward producing more efficient cars and tightly sealed homes will bring down energy consumption and costs, he said.

Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said Chu would be heading up the Energy Department at a "pivotal time in the department's history," noting that tens of billions of dollars in the upcoming stimulus package are likely to be devoted to energy programs.

He said that he would like the committee to vote on Chu's nomination later this week so the Nobel Prize-winning physicist could be confirmed as Energy Secretary by the entire senate on January 20, when President-elect Barack Obama takes office.

Chu would take responsibility of an increasingly important energy program at a time when funding will be sparse. Bingaman noted the lack of funding for a loan guarantee program set up by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Chu said that he would be able to manage the department efficiently. Since becoming director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2004, he has been primarily known as a scientist, he said, but "I spent three quarters of my time paying attention to the operation side of the house."

Part of the Energy Department's $25 billion budget should go toward accelerating the development of consumer-friendly batteries for electric hybrid cars, Chu said.

"These first electric hybrid cars don't have the energy capacity and the battery lifetime we need," he said. "Let's push hard towards more fuel-efficient personal vehicles."

While the senators present endorsed Chu's enthusiasm for developing new energy technologies, many emphasized the need to put funds toward readily available energy sources like nuclear power.

"Isn't it important we accelerate this proven source of clean energy?" Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Al.) asked with respect to nuclear power.

"I'm supportive of the fact that the nuclear industry should be part of the mix," Chu said.

He said federal loan guarantee programs should be used to jump-start the nuclear industry while the nation develops a long-term plan for safe disposal of waste and researches ways to recycle waste in an economically viable and safe manner.

"The recycling issue is something we don't need a solution for today, or even 10 years from today," Chu said. "It's like coal--one doesn't have a hard moratorium on that while we search for ways to capture carbon safely."

Chu said the United States, India, China, and Russia will not turn their backs to coal, so it is critical to find ways to use it as cleanly as possible, a sentiment many senators agreed with.

"All of us understand we need to use coal differently in the future," said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). "But I don't think anybody believes we're not going to use our most abundant resource."

Chu said the United States has an opportunity to develop clean-coal technologies for the rest of the world to use, and "if confirmed, I will work very hard to extensively develop these."


http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10141790-38.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

5 simple TV sound systems

Soundbars may not sound quite as good as more complicated systems, but they make things a lot simpler.

(Money Magazine) -- So you're one of the 49 million Americans who own a flat-panel TV. Great! But unless the sound measures up to the visuals, you're only halfway there.

If you want a home theater that truly rivals the local megaplex - minus the braying laughter and sticky floors - the next step is getting serious about audio. And that means surround sound.

Problem is, the current standard - so-called 5.1 surround sound - requires a receiver, at least six components and usually a tangle of wires. (What 5.1 refers to is the separation of audio into five channels: two speakers in the front, two in the back and one in the center. The 0.1 is the subwoofer, which produces the lowest bass.) You get wrapped in sound from every direction. But you also get a room stuffed with unsightly electronics.

Enter the soundbar. Measuring about five inches high and 36 inches across, it usually packs multiple speakers, along with a receiver and at least one internal woofer, into a single piece of equipment. The bar can go either inside a media cabinet or on a wall.

Because you have to plug in only one device (two if you add an external subwoofer), setup takes just minutes. You can also play CDs through these babies and plug in MP3 players, as you can with 5.1 surround systems. A soundbar costs about the same as a low-end 5.1 system: roughly $500 to $900.

So how exactly does a soundbar work? According to manufacturers, it pumps out audio in specific directions, altering the sound waves and bouncing them off the walls to trick your brain and ears into thinking that what you're hearing is coming from the front, sides and back of the room. It's not really surround sound, in other words - it just seems that way.

To find out how well soundbars deliver, Money Magazine asked New York City audio engineer Jessica Thompson to help us try out five models. In our tests, we heard good sound in front of and beside us, but it was tough to sense much coming from behind.

A soundbar's quality is highly dependent on the space it's in - the makers say they work best in rooms that are completely walled off, with no open windows or doors - so we even tried each in different locations. No great improvement.

Our results didn't surprise Rob Enderle, analyst at tech research firm Enderle Group. "Soundbars aren't as good at moving sound around as separate speakers are," he says - not yet, at least. "But they're a heck of a lot more convenient."

Bottom line: If you're looking for a bit more oomph than your TV's built-in audio provides, you refuse to cramp your aesthetic, and your TV is in a room you can close off - not, say, a family room/kitchen combo - a soundbar may be for you. Specifically, consider the Sony RHT-S10, which gave the closest approximation to surround sound in our tests.

But if you really want to hear Iron Man crush his enemies, shop for a traditional 5.1 system - you'll get more surround for your money. Be sure to get an amplifier, and buy speakers from the same brand and line for a more even sound.

Those less tech-savvy might consider "home theater in a box" systems (packaged sets of matched components, usually reasonably priced), suggests Enderle. He recommends the Onkyo HT-S7100 ($800).

How we tested: Audio engineer Jessica Thompson - whose job involves mastering and archiving sound tracks with depth, clarity and frequency spectrum in mind - to listen as we played action flicks and TV shows, as well as rock CDs.

Field test
  • Sony RHT-S10 $620 - Field test winner
  • Size: 44.5"x6.8"x5.5"
  • What's inside: Three speakers featuring mids and tweeters (for mid- and high-frequency sound), plus an internal woofer
  • Sound quality: The RHT-S10 delivered "more dimension" than the rest, Thompson says. A powerful internal woofer hit bone-rattling lows. And Thompson heard some noise from behind - not a lot, but more than from the other models. This one doesn't allow you much customization - say, sending more sound to one speaker - but nontechies may prefer the automatic setup. Overall, it was the most similar to 5.1 sound.
  • Grade: B+
  • Samsung HT-X810 $699
  • Size: 39.3"x7.5"x6.4"
  • What's inside: Two tweeters (left and right), four woofers (two left, two right) and an external wireless subwoofer
  • Sound quality This bar took advantage of left and right speakers to deliver audio that swooped in from the sides - but the "surround" effect was minimal. The external subwoofer proved a bit overwhelming (though it's adjustable via remote). The audio is far better than your TV can provide, but don't expect to be enveloped by it. It's more like having regular stereo sound.
  • Grade: B-
  • Yamaha YSP-900 $699
  • Size: 31.5"x6"x4.5"
  • What's inside: 21 (two-watt) speakers, which handle highs, and two built-in woofers for lows
  • Sound quality: That's right, the YSP-900 has 21 speakers(!) - all very low wattage - meant to beam sound at slightly different angles. Even so, Thompson felt it was "a bit too center-focused" and lacked the dimension and bass of the Sony. (That after we used the feature promising to calibrate it to our room.) We tried adjusting the speakers manually, but it didn't help. Another strike: The woofers didn't deliver much bass.
  • Grade: C+
  • Soundmatters SLIMstage40 $899
  • Size: 39"x3.5"x3.7"
  • What's inside: Four speakers that handle both mids and highs (two left, two right), three woofers and two bass radiators that boost lows
  • Sound quality: The slimmest of the bunch, this one comes in different lengths to match your TV. Nice looking. But while it did better than the TV alone, Thompson noted its "small sound" and overall lack of dimension. You can adjust how much audio goes through the speakers and how heavy the bass is, but the improvements weren't huge.
  • Grade: C
  • Philips HTS8100 $599
  • Size: 36.8"x5.4"x5.7"
  • What's inside: Two tweeters, six mids and an external subwoofer
  • Sound quality: The sleek styling might almost make you forget that you can't quite hear the surround sound you paid for. You tell the soundbar its placement in the room, its height and its distance from the viewer, which is supposed to help calibrate the system. Yet the audio isn't drastically better than that from a TV's built-in speakers. In "virtual surround sound" mode, audio seemed synthetic. This one delivers more style than function.
  • Grade: C-

Note: Prices as of Aug. 19 from BestBuy.com.

source: http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/02/technology/tvsound_bars.moneymag/
index.htm?postversion=2008100309

5 simple TV sound systems

Soundbars may not sound quite as good as more complicated systems, but they make things a lot simpler.

(Money Magazine) -- So you're one of the 49 million Americans who own a flat-panel TV. Great! But unless the sound measures up to the visuals, you're only halfway there.

If you want a home theater that truly rivals the local megaplex - minus the braying laughter and sticky floors - the next step is getting serious about audio. And that means surround sound.

Problem is, the current standard - so-called 5.1 surround sound - requires a receiver, at least six components and usually a tangle of wires. (What 5.1 refers to is the separation of audio into five channels: two speakers in the front, two in the back and one in the center. The 0.1 is the subwoofer, which produces the lowest bass.) You get wrapped in sound from every direction. But you also get a room stuffed with unsightly electronics.

Enter the soundbar. Measuring about five inches high and 36 inches across, it usually packs multiple speakers, along with a receiver and at least one internal woofer, into a single piece of equipment. The bar can go either inside a media cabinet or on a wall.

Because you have to plug in only one device (two if you add an external subwoofer), setup takes just minutes. You can also play CDs through these babies and plug in MP3 players, as you can with 5.1 surround systems. A soundbar costs about the same as a low-end 5.1 system: roughly $500 to $900.

So how exactly does a soundbar work? According to manufacturers, it pumps out audio in specific directions, altering the sound waves and bouncing them off the walls to trick your brain and ears into thinking that what you're hearing is coming from the front, sides and back of the room. It's not really surround sound, in other words - it just seems that way.

To find out how well soundbars deliver, Money Magazine asked New York City audio engineer Jessica Thompson to help us try out five models. In our tests, we heard good sound in front of and beside us, but it was tough to sense much coming from behind.

A soundbar's quality is highly dependent on the space it's in - the makers say they work best in rooms that are completely walled off, with no open windows or doors - so we even tried each in different locations. No great improvement.

Our results didn't surprise Rob Enderle, analyst at tech research firm Enderle Group. "Soundbars aren't as good at moving sound around as separate speakers are," he says - not yet, at least. "But they're a heck of a lot more convenient."

Bottom line: If you're looking for a bit more oomph than your TV's built-in audio provides, you refuse to cramp your aesthetic, and your TV is in a room you can close off - not, say, a family room/kitchen combo - a soundbar may be for you. Specifically, consider the Sony RHT-S10, which gave the closest approximation to surround sound in our tests.

But if you really want to hear Iron Man crush his enemies, shop for a traditional 5.1 system - you'll get more surround for your money. Be sure to get an amplifier, and buy speakers from the same brand and line for a more even sound.

Those less tech-savvy might consider "home theater in a box" systems (packaged sets of matched components, usually reasonably priced), suggests Enderle. He recommends the Onkyo HT-S7100 ($800).

How we tested: Audio engineer Jessica Thompson - whose job involves mastering and archiving sound tracks with depth, clarity and frequency spectrum in mind - to listen as we played action flicks and TV shows, as well as rock CDs.

Field test
  • Sony RHT-S10 $620 - Field test winner
  • Size: 44.5"x6.8"x5.5"
  • What's inside: Three speakers featuring mids and tweeters (for mid- and high-frequency sound), plus an internal woofer
  • Sound quality: The RHT-S10 delivered "more dimension" than the rest, Thompson says. A powerful internal woofer hit bone-rattling lows. And Thompson heard some noise from behind - not a lot, but more than from the other models. This one doesn't allow you much customization - say, sending more sound to one speaker - but nontechies may prefer the automatic setup. Overall, it was the most similar to 5.1 sound.
  • Grade: B+
  • Samsung HT-X810 $699
  • Size: 39.3"x7.5"x6.4"
  • What's inside: Two tweeters (left and right), four woofers (two left, two right) and an external wireless subwoofer
  • Sound quality This bar took advantage of left and right speakers to deliver audio that swooped in from the sides - but the "surround" effect was minimal. The external subwoofer proved a bit overwhelming (though it's adjustable via remote). The audio is far better than your TV can provide, but don't expect to be enveloped by it. It's more like having regular stereo sound.
  • Grade: B-
  • Yamaha YSP-900 $699
  • Size: 31.5"x6"x4.5"
  • What's inside: 21 (two-watt) speakers, which handle highs, and two built-in woofers for lows
  • Sound quality: That's right, the YSP-900 has 21 speakers(!) - all very low wattage - meant to beam sound at slightly different angles. Even so, Thompson felt it was "a bit too center-focused" and lacked the dimension and bass of the Sony. (That after we used the feature promising to calibrate it to our room.) We tried adjusting the speakers manually, but it didn't help. Another strike: The woofers didn't deliver much bass.
  • Grade: C+
  • Soundmatters SLIMstage40 $899
  • Size: 39"x3.5"x3.7"
  • What's inside: Four speakers that handle both mids and highs (two left, two right), three woofers and two bass radiators that boost lows
  • Sound quality: The slimmest of the bunch, this one comes in different lengths to match your TV. Nice looking. But while it did better than the TV alone, Thompson noted its "small sound" and overall lack of dimension. You can adjust how much audio goes through the speakers and how heavy the bass is, but the improvements weren't huge.
  • Grade: C
  • Philips HTS8100 $599
  • Size: 36.8"x5.4"x5.7"
  • What's inside: Two tweeters, six mids and an external subwoofer
  • Sound quality: The sleek styling might almost make you forget that you can't quite hear the surround sound you paid for. You tell the soundbar its placement in the room, its height and its distance from the viewer, which is supposed to help calibrate the system. Yet the audio isn't drastically better than that from a TV's built-in speakers. In "virtual surround sound" mode, audio seemed synthetic. This one delivers more style than function.
  • Grade: C-

Note: Prices as of Aug. 19 from BestBuy.com.

source: http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/02/technology/tvsound_bars.moneymag/
index.htm?postversion=2008100309

U.S. deficit soars to $485.2 billion

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The federal budget deficit expanded by $83.6 billion in December, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday, bringing the total deficit for the first three months of the 2009 fiscal year to $485.2 billion.

By comparison, the budget deficit for all of fiscal year 2008 was $455 billion. In fiscal 2007, it was $161 billion.

The deficit has ballooned in the first quarter of the fiscal year as the Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC began spending record amounts of the $7.2 trillion committed so far to bailouts, financial stabilization efforts and capital investments. The numerous emergency actions began as a result of the credit crisis that started in mid-September.

A decline in tax receipts, stemming from the 1.5 million jobs lost in the first three months of the fiscal year, also contributed to the soaring deficit.

Treasury has collected $255.3 billion in individual income taxes so far this fiscal year, down 6.7% from $273.7 billion in the first quarter of last year.

Businesses contributed just $50.4 billion in taxes in the first three months of the year, 45.5% less than the $92.5 billion they paid Treasury at this point last year.

Budget experts have projected that the federal deficit for this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, will be nearly $1.2 trillion. But that total doesn't count the economic recovery package that President-elect Barack Obama has started to push forward.

Economists and Obama advisers expect the government to commit at least $775 billion to stimulate economic activity. The effect on the budget deficit will likely be substantial, but less than the upfront cost, as infrastructure programs take time to implement.

Still, even noted deficit hawks have said that, given the enormous depth of the recession, policies that increase the deficit now are less of problematic than letting the economy deteriorate further.

The Treasury reported it committed another $51.1 billion to the Troubled Asset Relief Program in December, bringing the total outlays committed to the financial rescue package to $242.5 billion in the first three months of the fiscal year.

Congress has allotted $700 billion to the program, but has only made the first $350 billion available so far. President Bush, on the request of President-elect Obama, asked Congress on Monday to release the remaining funds.

Treasury has also paid $13.8 billion so far this year on housing and economic recovery programs, unchanged from the previous month.

According to the report, Treasury also paid nearly $43.5 billion in interest on its outstanding debt in the first quarter of the fiscal year, down from nearly $58 billion paid during the same period a year ago, reflecting the dramatic drop in interest rates on Treasury bonds.

Treasury has been issuing bonds at a record pace in the past few months to pay for its massive bailout programs. Although the Treasury adds to the deficit whenever it issues bonds, that issuance has come cheap recently as interest rates have plummeted to record lows.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/13/news/economy/treasury_budget_deficit_Dec08/

index.htm?postversion=2009011314

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Asian markets up after Wall Street rally

(CNN) -- Markets in Australia, Japan, and South Korea bolted upward Wednesday, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up a quarter percent after a slight drop earlier.
Asian markets up after Wall Street rally

Tokyo's Nikkei index jumped 2 percent, as investors traded high on hopes for a U.S. economic stimulus package from the incoming Democratic administration. Australia's All Ordinaries index rose 1.1 percent, and Seoul's KOSPI index was up 2.1 percent.

Shanghai's composite index posted a slight drop of 0.1 percent.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama met with his economic advisors Tuesday after a Monday meeting with Democratic and Republican Congressional leadership on his plans to stimulate the United States' sagging economy.

Obama pledged transparency and no earmarks in his stimulus bill, warning of "tough choices" and breaking "old habits."

"We're going to be investing an extraordinary amount of money to jump-start our economy, save or create 3 million new jobs, mostly in the private sector, and lay a solid foundation for future growth," he said. "But we're not going to be able to expect the American people to support this critical effort unless we take extraordinary steps to ensure that the investments are made wisely and managed well."

Wall Street rallied on Tuesday, as investors looked beyond the Federal Reserve's dour outlook on the economy and instead scooped up shares hit in last year's big sell-off.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 62 points, 0.7 percent, to 9,015. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE-100 index closed up 1.3 percent, the Paris CAC 40 finished the day ahead by 1.1 percent, while the DAX in Frankfurt closed up 0.85 percent.

source : http://edition.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/01/06/global.markets/index.html

Egypt proposes talks, cease-fire for Gaza

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Egypt has put forward a plan for a truce in Gaza that would include an immediate cease-fire and meetings in Cairo between leaders of Israel and "Palestinian factions."

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, left, welcomes French President Nicholas Sarkozy in Egypt Tuesday.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, left, welcomes French President Nicholas Sarkozy in Egypt Tuesday.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, speaking alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday after the two leaders met in Egypt, invited the two sides to an "urgent meeting."

He said the discussions would focus on avoiding an escalation of the violence, securing borders between Israel and Gaza -- where Hamas militants have fired rockets into southern Israel -- and opening border crossings into and out of Gaza.

Elements of the plan, which was circulating through the United Nations late Tuesday, quickly gained support from representatives of many U.N. Security Council nations.

"Let me assure you that we understand the urgency of an end to the fighting and that we are working around the clock to bring it into being," said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "In this regard, we are pleased by and wish to commend the statement of the president of Egypt and to follow up on that initiative."

Senior State Department officials late Tuesday said Rice still does not support the call for a temporary cease-fire. The United States has dismissed the idea, saying that without significant change it would just lead back to the "status quo" in the region.

"We need urgently to conclude a cease-fire that can endure and that can bring real security," said Rice. "This would begin a period of true calm that includes an end to rocket, mortar and other attacks on Israelis and allows for the cessation of Israel's military offensive."

The Egyptian plan, according to diplomatic officials, calls for a temporary cease-fire to allow borders to be opened for humanitarian relief. The members of the Middle East Quartet -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- also would be asked to the talks under Mubarak's plan.

It was unclear what role, if any, Hamas would play in the talks. Formally inviting the group, which Israel, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization, could make Israel less likely to participate.

Late Tuesday, at the United Nations, diplomats including the ambassador from Libya said that Arab Nations still plan to offer a resolution condemning Israel's actions to the U.N. Security Council.

They said such a resolution would complement possible talks in Cairo, while a French diplomat said a vote on an overarching resolution is unlikely as action moves toward Egypt and the Middle East.

The meeting between Mubarak and Sarkozy came after Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said Hamas was ready to agree to peace if the Israeli army will stop military operations and withdraw from Gaza.

"They are ready [to make a deal]," Al-Assad told CNN's Cal Perry in an exclusive interview. "They were ready, they are ready. Today, the factors have changed so the requirement will change at the same time.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/06/israel.gaza.diplomacy/index.html

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Best time to buy a car: Now

Things are scary out there, but here's how to decide which Detroit's cars and trucks are worth buying.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There's never been a better time to buy a car. On the other hand, there's never been a scarier or more confusing time, either.

There are big incentives out there and dealers are discounting like crazy as they try to get aging inventory off their lots.

But consumers are understandably worried about the financial health of the automakers they may be buying from, especially domestic manufacturers. So, is it worth taking the deal? Here are some points to consider.

The product: If it weren't for all the financial trouble, this would be a great time buy a car from either General Motors or Ford.

GM has some really outstanding products, including the award-winning Chevrolet Malibu, new large three-row SUVs - the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and Chevrolet Traverse - and the Cadillac CTS, a world-class mid-size luxury sedan.

Ford (F, Fortune 500), meanwhile, has successfully attacked its past quality problems. Now when you buy a Ford car or crossover you can expect the same kind of dependability that was once the hallmark of Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda, according to Consumer Reports.

Beyond dependability, vehicles like the Fusion mid-sized sedan, a new, more powerful 2009 Escape crossover and the Flex large crossover are just good cars that offer practicality, style and excellent fuel economy.

Meanwhile, Chrysler has been lagging its competitors in dependability and overall product quality. The new Dodge Ram truck, with a sharper design, nicer interior and better handling than competitors' big rigs, is one product that's arguably superior, if you're looking for a truck that's better looking and more enjoyable to drive.

The prices: Auto sales are forecast to stay low until at least the end of 2009.

And while some think car prices will continue to drop, they probably won't. Manufacturers have been drastically cutting production. That means that inventories will get lower, manufacturers will have less need to pile on incentives and dealers won't be as worried about getting cars off their lots quickly.

So, from a price perspective, this really is the best time to buy. On many Ford, Chrysler and GM models, you could even get below-wholesale prices, according to pricing data at AOL Autos.

The incentives: Right after GM's financing partner, GMAC, got its own government aid package in late December, GM (GM, Fortune 500) announced it was offering 0% financing on selected products. Unfortunately for car shoppers, the deal is limited to just the Saab 9-3 and 9-5. For SUV shoppers, the 0% deal is limited to the Chevrolet Trailblazer and its variants, including the Saab 9-7X. These older truck-based designs are outclassed by competitors and even by GM's own crossover vehicles.

Still, GM is offering low-rate financing on other, better vehicles that can still save you hundreds of dollars even it's not 0%. Those rates could make it a good time to pick up one of those more attractive offerings like the CTS, Malibu or Traverse. GM is also offering big rebates on many models.

For its part, Ford is offering its "Employee Pricing Plus" program and, in many cases, they're adding big rebates on top of the price discounts.

The risks: Depreciation, the difference between what you pay for a car and what you can ultimately trade it in or sell it for, is the single biggest cost of car ownership.

And that could offset the savings if the resale value of your car takes a steep dive.

The financial troubles of America's automakers have led to more than-than-usual uncertainty about that. Looking at Kelley Blue Book value data, once a car brand ceases production, the resale value of vehicles bearing that brand drops fast.

That's true even if the manufacturer stays in business, as happened with GM's Oldsmobile brand and Chrysler's Plymouth. So if you're looking at purchasing a Saturn or Saab, for instance, keep in mind that GM is reconsidering the future of those brands.

Then there's the scary prospect that GM or Chrysler themselves might not survive the next couple of years. It's probably a safe bet that they will, with government help, but no-one can say for sure.

If the very worst were to happen and these automakers were to completely go out of business, some of their brands would likely carry on. Chrysler's Jeep brand, for instance, has already outlived several previous owners and no doubt would again. Some other company will pick up the business Even if GM were turn out all its lights, brands like Cadillac, with its unique luxury image, and Buick, which is a huge success in China, would probably carry on somehow.

Ford is the lone Detroit automaker not seeking immediate government assistance. So, from a business perspective, they seem like the safest bet for longevity. Certainly, the Ford brand itself has a secure future. Around the world, the Ford blue oval is a strong brand and Ford is putting even more emphasis on strengthening it.

For car buyers, buying the best cars from the strongest brands is always the best play, though. Ultimately, that's not good news for any of the domestic manufacturers.

Despite suffering its first operating loss since 1950, no-one is questioning the long term viability of Toyota. Or that of Honda, either. Both companies also make reliable cars that are, at worst, competitive with Detroit offerings and they have better resale value, too. Both are also offering incentives like 0% financing.

Despite Detroit's big improvements in all-around competitiveness and product quality, America's financial crisis will drive even more consumers to buy Japanese cars even as the federal government to save America's automakers.

source :http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/02/autos/trying_times/index.htm?postversion=2009010215

AMD inside Apple in 2009?

Here's a radical idea: a 2009 Apple computer with an AMD processor.

Improbable?

Improbable?

(Credit: Apple, AMD)

Maybe this isn't in the cards, but it should be. Especially in light of Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming ultraportable platforms.

I see an upscale Netbook-like Apple computer with, let's say, a slightly smaller form factor than the Apple MacBook Air. Maybe an 11-inch or 12-inch design packing low-power (and relatively inexpensive) AMD Yukon or Congo silicon. This would not be a Netbook clone--and would offer much better graphics silicon than a Netbook--allowing Apple to sufficiently differentiate itself.

Or what about an Apple laptop with an upcoming AMD 45-nanometer mobile processor plus ATI Radeon HD 3600-level graphics that slots below the MacBook Pro? I'm sure Apple could find a head-turning way to implement this that would set it apart from the Intel-based hordes.

Or: AMD's 45-nanometer Shanghai or Phenom II in a Mac Pro? Maybe this concept is beyond the pale for the marketing folks at Apple, but it shouldn't be.

And Apple has demonstrated it can buck conventional processor politics. Intel's newest ultra-low-voltage (ULV) Core 2 Duo processors were offered by all the top-tier laptop vendors as an Intel bundle--Intel processor and Intel integrated graphics--until Apple decided to "think different" and up the ante with an Nvidia GeForce 9400M-based chipset.

Needless to say, AMD needs to go where Intel hasn't gone before in 2009. Last year was not a good year for AMD. Aside from its financial difficulties and the spinoff of its manufacturing operations, it couldn't muster a respectable challenge to Intel in server, desktop, or mobile chips. AMD's newest Shanghai processor for servers and Phenom II for desktops should be competitive with Intel offerings, but don't expect any tectonic shift in market share.

So AMD should be targeting Intel vulnerabilities--some of them self-imposed because of Intel's rigid processor segmentation in some areas--as well as exploiting its self-proclaimed advantage: AMD is the only one of the Big Three PC processor suppliers (the other two being Intel and Nvidia) that makes both CPUs and GPUs.

AMD's Fusion strategy should be more than a marketing mantra. Some unsolicited advice: find a truly unique way to fuse together the strengths of the CPU and GPU before Intel or Nvidia beat you to it.

Source : http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10130235-64.html?tag=pop

Wikipedia meets $6 million fundraising goal (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO - The nonprofit foundation that runs Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia of user-contributed articles, said Friday it has met its $6 million fundraising goal for fiscal 2008.

With about six months left in this year's campaign, the Wikimedia Foundation said it has raised $6.2 million. A flood of donations came in after the site's founder, Jimmy Wales, posted an appeal for support in late December.

The foundation said about 50,000 contributors chipped in a total of $2 million in the space of eight days, bringing the total number of donors to more than 125,000.

The money will go toward improving the software Wikipedia runs on as well as upgrading the servers and Internet bandwidth that accommodate the site's traffic. Wikipedia consistently ranks among the 10 most visited Web sites in the world.

The foundation operates the site without advertising as a matter of principle, making donations critical.

Since its founding in 2001, Wikipedia's fundraising prowess has expanded quickly. The foundation hauled in $1.3 million two years ago and $2.2 million last year.

In March 2008, the site received a $3 million gift from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, to be dispensed in $1 million annual installments. Last month the Stanton Foundation gave $890,000 to make Wikipedia's editing process more user-friendly.

The Wikimedia Foundation hopes the growth in big-name donors will help improve the encyclopedia's uneven reputation for accuracy, both by showing that civic-minded institutions are willing to make an investment and by funding programs that increase outreach to new contributors.

Wikimedia spokesman Jay Walsh said expanding the foundation's Wikipedia Academies will be a major goal in the coming year. The program sends Wikimedia staff to institutions around the world for discussions with experts in different fields, partly in hopes of drawing more academics and professionals to the site.

"There's work to do in getting the word out about how Wikipedia works," Walsh said.

In a thank-you note posted on the site Friday, Wales told donors, "You have proven that Wikipedia matters to you, and that you support our mission: to bring free knowledge to the planet, free of charge and free of advertising."

Source : http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090102/ap_on_hi_te/wikipedia_fundraising

Obama: Country needs economic stimulus plan

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama urged congressional leaders Saturday to move quickly on an economic recovery plan, even as some Republicans are saying they want more time to review the details.

Obama said Congress should pass an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan designed to create 3 million jobs. The Democratic president-elect hasn't announced a final price tag on it, but aides said the cost could be as high as $775 billion.

"For too many families, this new year brings new unease and uncertainty as bills pile up, debts continue to mount and parents worry that their children won't have the same opportunities they had," Obama said in an address taped Friday and distributed on radio and posted on YouTube Saturday morning.

The nation's economy remains the top challenge facing Obama when he takes office on Jan. 20. The Federal Reserve estimated that lenders were on track to initiate 2.25 million foreclosures this year, more than doubling the annual pace before the crisis set in. One in 10 U.S. homeowners is delinquent on mortgage payments or in foreclosure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., are to receive details on Monday. Obama plans meetings next week with other congressional leaders — including Republican members whose support he will need — and made an effort not to blame his predecessor, the unpopular President George W. Bush.

"However we got here, the problems we face today are not Democratic problems or Republican problems," Obama said. "The dreams of putting a child through college, or staying in your home, or retiring with dignity and security know no boundaries of party or ideology. ... I am optimistic that if we come together to seek solutions that advance not the interests of any party, or the agenda of any one group, but the aspirations of all Americans, then we will meet the challenges of our time just as previous generations have met the challenges of theirs."

Obama aides had hoped to have an economic plan approved by the House and Senate before Obama takes office. That timeline, though, appears unlikely as time is running out and Republicans have urged a delay to review the plans. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republicans' top official, said the plan needs time so that "every dollar needs to be spent wisely and not wasted in the rush to get it spent."

Congressional aides briefed on the measure say it's likely to blend tax cuts of $500 to $1,000 for middle-class individuals and couples with about $200 billion to help revenue-starved states with their Medicaid programs and other operating costs.

A large portion of the measure will go toward infrastructure projects, blending old-fashioned brick and mortar programs such as road and bridge repairs and water projects with new programs such as research and development on energy efficiency and an expensive rebuilding of the information technology system for health care.

"Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if we don't act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double-digit unemployment and the American dream slipping further and further out of reach," Obama said.

Andrew Taylor reported from Washington.

On the Net:

Source :http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090103/ap_on_bi_ge/obama;_ylt=Ag1oUZ4ADH4dLQCECEp6P8SyBhIF

Obama Address: http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/american_recovery_and_reinvestment/




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