Biblio Tekaub

Iran Considers Suing Google Over Omission of Persian Gulf from Maps

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:52:59 +0000

Iran has a long history of demonstrating its sensitivity to how the Persian Gulf is addressed in public discourse. When the U.S. Navy and other organizations began referring to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf several years ago, Iran was irate. That controversy resulted in a fair amount of anger among the Iranian people, and continues to this day. Recently, however, the Iranian government suggested that it may take legal action against Google because it simply leaves the Persian Gulf unlabeled in Google Maps.

Actually, Google does identify the body of water as the Persian Gulf if the area is clicked on by a user, it just doesn’t offer a static labeling of that particular body of water. A Google spokesperson anonymously explained that there are other bodies of water and areas of the world that are unlabeled and that the Persian Gulf is not an exception in that regard. If a search is performed for the term “Persian Gulf”, the correct body of water is returned as the search result.

Given the political and cultural sensitivities that follow the Persian Gulf – both the body of water and the name itself – Google is probably wise to simply avoid the issue altogether. Of course, Iran is not happy with the idea that Google would leave the body of water unlabeled and the issue is apparently worthy of rhetoric at the highest levels of the Iranian government.

In the grand scheme of things – and with all the political turmoil in Iran surrounding its nuclear program and various economic sanctions – it would seem that this Google issue is simply too trite to be worthy of concern. But, just as in the United States, politicians in Iran can’t resist the opportunity to stir up controversy at every opportunity, no matter how insignificant.

Buzzle: National & World News

Drinks for Gods

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:36:35 +0000

Nopalea is something that you probably haven’t heard of yet. Well, today’s the day that I change that notion for you and introduce you to a drink that’s absolutely going to change your life. I know you hear this a lot when you’re talking about supplements, drinks, vitamins, and other types of nutritional aids. However, this is a unique situation because it is completely new and completely open for experimentation and health improvement.

Inflammation is a symptom of many diseases, in fact it is actually the cause of many diseases. This is why it must be taken care of quickly and effectively if you want to stay happy and healthy for the rest of your life. Sadly, too many people do not take advantage of this and in fact let information run rampant throughout their bodies, causing all sorts of health disorders and diseases. Simply drinking this will help prevent inflammation in a major way, and actually stimulate you to improve your health and fitness as consume more and more of the product. It is simply that delicious and that effective – so give it a free trial today and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

You Need Extreme Value

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:12:58 +0000

If you’re looking for extreme value with your next car purchase, you really need to take a serious look at the Tampa Infiniti Dealers. If you don’t look at them you’re leaving a lot of value on the table when it comes to your budget for a quality car. Tampa Infiniti in Florida is one of the most reputable dealers in the Florida area, and this has been proved time and time again with their commitment to a fair price and quality service. Too may times people go into dealerships and are pressured by extremely pushy salesman that have almost no regard for the actual skill of sales. It’s a real shame.

Tampa Car Blog is a place you can check out if you want to go ahead and get a little inside info before you make the commitment to purchase from them. I personally guarantee that you wont regret your purchase, but you might regret not taking time to do your own research before you go out and make a big buy. It’s called buyer’s remorse, and you want to avoid it at all costs. There’s nothing like getting the facts down before you go out, is there?

Retro Gaming Review: Drawbacks to the Coleco ADAM Home Computer

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:53:44 +0000

Many teens in the 80′s grew up with computers like the Atari 400, Atari 800, Commodore Vic-20, Commodore 64, Texas Instruments TI-99/4A or Apple II, they were the mainstream personal computers of the era. However, my family chose a different route. We bought the Coleco ADAM as our first home computer. There were many good reasons why we bought an ADAM. However, we discovered a few drawbacks to the machine and traveled the lonely road of owning an orphaned product.

The built in daisy wheel printer was one of the ADAM’s most compelling features. was both a blessing and a curse. While it produced brilliant looking papers compared with the poor quality perforated mess produced by the its dot matrix competitors, the ADAM’s printer may have the singular distinction of being the loudest computer printer ever produced by humanity. If you were printing out a school paper everyone in your home would know. The ADAM printer was also very slow. It printed 10 or 11 characters per second. By my recollection, dot matrix printers of the era were printing 60 to 80 characters per second. Since the ADAM printer was faster than we could type, our family thought it was an improvement.

My Coleco ADAM’s first papers were well received at the high school level, but relying on the clackety daisy wheel was disastrous when I was away at college. On one of my very first papers, the letter “e” broke off on the daisy wheel. I searched all over Gainesville, Florida, looking for a replacement before giving up and hand lettering every instance of the required vowel into my paper. By 1987, the Coleco ADAM was already an orphan. I had no idea which daisy wheel would be an adequate replacement for the original equipment wheel.

After losing another paper due to a power failure, I switched to doing all my papers on campus in a computer lab. Floppies were safer than ADAM SmartDRIVE tapes and the dozens of computers in a college lab gave me plenty of backup systems in the event of a problem. Unfortunately, I couldn’t trust “mission critical” papers to an orphan computer. The ADAM was supported under warranty for some period of time by Honeywell. When we had a problem, we took the machine in to a service center and it was repaired. However, we were fortunate to live in a major city near one of the service centers. Packing an ADAM up in its original packaging and sending it off via UPS would probably not have been a trivial exercise back in the late 80s.

The late 80s and early 90s were exciting times for computer users. By the time I graduated college, I had left the Coleco ADAM behind and moved on to IBM PCs. However, the ADAM still has fans. Even now, Coleco ADAM user groups have extended the capabilities of their machines and can make this vintage computer do amazing things.

Sources:
Personal Experience

Other articles by this contributor:
Retro Game System Review: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Four Useful Retro Tools for Writers
Vintage Camera Review: Canon AF35M II SureShot Autoboy 2 35mm Film Camera

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Park Auto for the Win

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 05:03:13 +0000

For Tampa used cars, there is no better website than http://www.parkautomall.com. Yes the name is a little cheesy, but it’s accurate. You really do feel like you’re at a mall when you come into Park. The selection is simply incredible and there are more than enough people out there to give you the help you need, exactly when you need it. If you’re having a hard time deciding between their different models, they’ll get right to you and answer any and all questions that you have.

Take a look at the cars they have for sale here http://www.parkautomall.com/cars-for-sale.html soi you can go into the place knowing a little bit of what it is you want to get out of your experience. Whether it’s to test drive the latest flashiest model, or just come home with a slightly used but reliable machine, the park people have your back. They even operate a video blog to document everything they’re doing in a classic fashion. You can find that here http://www.tampacarblog.com. I love watching the ones about specific cars, like the Ford f-150 or other ford vehicles. I think I’m just a Ford nut, and the tampa car blog definitely helps me quench my thirst!

First Person: How I Helped a Client Who Bought Property at a Tax Sale and Make $580,000

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:53:56 +0000

As a South Carolina lawyer practicing in real estate and real estate litigation, I have had separate clients around South Carolina buy properties at delinquent tax sales. Once they buy the property, they come to me to file a suit to quiet title and confirm the tax sale was proper. There is a chance for incredible bargains; but there can be pitfalls. This is why people who buy properties at tax sales should consult a lawyer after they are the winning bidder. I can give you one example of a client I have helped.

One client bought a six acre tract near downtown Summerville, South Carolina at a tax sale; the property is located on the second main road in town. The client bought the property for $ 20,000. After he bought the property, he realized that he did not have marketable title. He could not sell the property for more than $ 20,000 even though the property was worth a lot more than that, title issues aside.

Right after the client retained me, I first did a title search. I was amazed to find out that there was not a single deed for this property since Dorchester County was founded in 1897. I went to Colleton County to complete the title search since Dorchester came out of Colleton. There were still no deeds in Colleton. The only lead I had on the previous owner was a man named Jacob who started paying the taxes on the property in the 1980′s. He had lived in Summerville, but moved to New York City and stopped paying the taxes. We made a reasonable attempt to find him, but could not. We began the suit naming Jacob as a Defendant along with other unknown Defendants, legally competent and incompetent. We sent the papers to the last known address for Jacob in New York, but he was not there. So we then served Jacob and the unknown Defendants by publication at the local newspaper. I had the Court appoint a Guardian ad Litem to protect the interests of the incompetent, unknown Defendants.

We had to wait 30 days for Jacob or anyone else to come out of the woodwork to say that they were heirs of the property. No one appeared for any Defendant. I filed Affidavits of Default against all Defendants and had the case moved to the Master-in-Equity, the property judge. We held a default hearing. My client testified and said he neither knew Jacob nor anyone else representing him. Also, he testified he never heard from Jacob or his family. I then called my title searcher to the stand. He explained to the Judge his search and where the property lines were. After the hearing, the Judge signed the Order for a declaratory judgment which said that the property now belonged to my client.

Once my client had the Order saying that he owned the property, he listed it with a realtor. After a couple of years and a couple of deals that fell through, he found a buyer, a company that wanted to build a senior center. The sales price was $ 600,000, making my client a tidy $ 580,000 profit. This type of story is the pride that I take in my work to help a client like that turn a bunch of dirt into a whole lot of cash.

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Rihanna To Play Villain In Fast & Furious 6

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:53:54 +0000

Rihanna To Play Villain In Fast & Furious 6

Rihanna will have a role in the upcoming movie Fast & Furious 6. Writers were impressed with her acting debut in Battleship and felt the villain role would suit her perfect.

Rihanna will be racing cars alongside Dwayne Johnson & Vin Diesel out in England where the movie will be filmed. The filming will start early next month.

HipHopGalaxy.com: hip hop and rap music, news, lyrics, mp3, videos, photos, mixtapes, downloads

Ads Featuring Ashton Kutcher Deemed Offensive, Pulled

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:53:59 +0000

Ashton Kutcher is in the news a lot these days, both for his work on television and for his very public split with Demi Moore. The latest news featuring the 34-year-old actor is a flap over an advertisement he appears in for Popchips. The ad features Kutcher dressed in various garb and playing an array of characters, but one of those characters, in which he portrays the 39-year-old “Raj,” a Bollywood movie producers, has been deemed offensive by many.

In the ad, Kutcher appears in traditional Indian garb, and has brown makeup on and a mustache. The ad itself has been removed from the Popchips website and other online channels after it almost immediately drawing the ire of those who had viewed it. Anil Dash, the tech entrepreneur, was probably the most outspoken in his criticism, noting, “I can’t imagine I have to explain this to anyone in 2012, but if you find yourself putting brown makeup on a white person in 2012 so they can do a bad ‘funny’ accent in order to sell potato chips, you are on the wrong course.”

At this point, Kutcher himself has not responded to the controversy, but Keith Belling, founder and CEO of Popchips, posted on the company’s website to apologize. In the noted, he stated, “We received a lot feedback about the dating campaign parody we launched today and appreciate everyone who took the time to share their point of view. Our team worked hard to create a light-hearted parody featuring a variety of characters that was meant to provide a few laughs. We did not intend to offend anyone. I take full responsibility and apologize to anyone we offended.”

Buzzle: Entertainment & Media

At-home Activities for Sick Kids

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:55:20 +0000

Children tend to get mighty cranky and clingy, and for most part of the time, get highly irritable when they are smitten by the flu or by any sort of sickness. What they crave for, at such times is, undivided attention from their parents and family members. As a parent, you have to be ready to take on all the duties of caring and fending for the child as well as provide means to keep your child’s mind engaged, so that it takes their mind off the sickness. In situations, when the child is affected with chickenpox or scarlet fever and is forced to stay off the school limits for days on end, it is only but natural for the child to get bored and lethargic. With the help of some activities, you can ensure your child is kept busy in something productive than have him/her get cranky all the time. Besides, it will prevent depressing moods from brewing at home level as well.

SICK-DAY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS Your child is on the road to recovery and in the meantime, you are fed up looking at him/her sleeping in front of the television the whole day like a zombie. Agreed, that your child needs some much-needed rest, but that doesn’t mean making him/her highly inactive during the tenure of sickness. Enlisted here are a few activities that you can engage your child with; it will help keep his/her mind diverted as well as give you some free time. GET A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
Kids love to play outdoors and having to sit at home all day will add up to their crankiness and irritability. Allow them some time daily to soak up some essential vitamin D and breathe in some fresh air; this will help make them feel better as well as speed up their recuperating process. CREATE A TREASURE COVE
Throw around a few pillows and create a treasure cove for you and your child to rest during the daytime. To make it more interesting for your child, stack the fortress with books, puzzles and movie DVDs. Dress up your child (only if he/she is feeling up to the mark) and treat him/her like a true prince/princess; just playing this game will definitely make your child feel better and will surely take away the sickness blues. BRING CHEER
Do not allow your child to get the sickness blues; instead keep boredom away with some games they will enjoy. Just to see your baby smile, try ‘horsing’ around. I can guarantee you that your child won’t show a hint of boredom with this activity. The mere presence of a smiling face can cheer up your sick child and keep the spirits soaring, by simply being there. COLLECT AND OBSERVE
A good move will be to get your child involved in your hobbies (the one’s you enjoyed as a kid!). Take out that old treasure box you have hidden in the attic and get your child to spot the different types of coins/stamps/pens that you have collected over the years. You never know your child may carry forward that legend one fine day. Probably, you could team up this activity with a gist of how you acquired the particular stamp or coin. BECOME A DUMMY
Children love toys for the mere reason that the toys allow them to try out stuff with them without complaining. For a change, play a dummy with your kid, and boost your child’s creative streak. So what if you end up looking like a clown who has run away from the local circus? At least you’d have brought cheer to your child’s face. PAPER SCISSOR ALERT
Snip, snip, snip. There you go; give your child some colorful papers and a scissor and let him/her unleash their apparently active minds. Help out with making paper men and lanterns and use it to decorate the house. Ask your child to help out with decorating the living room or any other room with these paper cutouts. It will keep your child engaged in the activity as well as keep their crankiness at bay. PREPARE GREETINGS
If your child’s not too comfortable with scissors and cutting, then simply hand some crayons and color pencils/pens and ask him/her to prepare greetings. After all, playing with colors makes the mood vibrant, and there is absolutely no harm if the child is sitting quietly and coloring his/her way to glory. PLAY WITH TOYS
Leave your child alone for a brief period of time and let him/her play with soft toys. One of the observations made by many parents is that, allowing the child to play with toys puts them on a faster road to recovery. Besides, there’s an unspoken comfort when it comes to cuddling up with soft toys even when you’ve surpassed the age limit to play with one. COOKIE IN THE KITCHEN
How nice to have your sweet little cookie help you out in the kitchen! With your child’s help, prepare something he/she likes to eat. This way, the food you prepare won’t go for a waste and the two of you will have a nice time together. Allow them to have the upper hand here, as that will ensure they do not get cranky. WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
Revisit some of your fondest memories with your child by taking out old albums and scanning pictures. You can even create a mosaic of the best pictures with his/her help and use it to decorate the house. Another activity that you can do with them around is, create a music CD or DVD with your child’s selection of songs. This will surely keep his/her spirit soaring for a long time. ENTERTAIN WITH MUPPETS
Bored, eh? We will see that you won’t be anymore. One fun activity you and your child can try is make dolls out of paper foil, wool and socks. Once you’re done, ask your child to narrate a story with these dolls. You will have a nice time making them and then listening to interesting stories of your child. PLAY WITH YOUR KID
Daddy dear, make some time for your precious little one and race a toy car please. Play with your child; it could be video games or simple car races, but your child will enjoy this activity the most. You can even build a rail at home; this way, you can deliver goods to your child and he/she can return some back to you. Indulge in some board games if your child is not feeling up to the mark to move around the house. LOTS OF PAMPERING
How very nice if someone sings, ‘You are my sunshine, my very sunshine …‘ Take a guess at what will happen; your child will begin feeling better almost instantly. Now for that little smile, you can indulge in excess pampering, can’t you? It worked for me though! TUCK ME TIGHT
Remember that your child needs rest; make it compulsory to keep time aside for rest time. During this time, you could tuck your child to bed with a nice little story or song. Cuddle up close with your child and give him/her your undivided love and attention; that’s one of the best activities your child will love doing.

A little “pick-me-up” and “tuck-me-tight” time won’t take away anything from you or your pocket; and the best part is that it comes free of cost. Before signing off, I’d like to wish your child a speedy recovery; take care!

Buzzle: Children & Family

FTC hires ex-DOJ prosecutor for Google antitrust probe – CNET

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:55:27 +0000

Beth Wilkinson, a former Justice Department prosecutor, will reportedly play a key role in deciding whether to launch an antitrust suit against Google.

by Don Reisinger April 27, 2012 6:17 AM PDT

The Federal Trade Commission has hired a former Justice Department prosecutor to play a crucial role in determining whether it should charge Google with antitrust violations.

The FTC confirmed to the Wall Street Journal last night that it had hired Beth Wilkinson, an attorney at law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. In her new role, Wilkinson, who is also a former Department of Justice prosecutor, will help lead the team that could both decide if Google violated antitrust regulations, as well as prosecute the company.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, FTC commissioner J. Thomas Rosch said Wilkinson would “carry out the duties of a trial lawyer,” adding that she wouldn’t have been brought on “if she were going to be completely idle.”

Google has come under intense regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. over the last several months. Several organizations, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy, have called on the FTC to launch a complaint against the search company. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the FTC’s ongoing investigation brought it to Apple’s doors, where it’s reportedly asking the iPhone maker about its iOS search deal with Google.

In Europe, Google is facing similar trouble at the hands of the European Union’s Competition office, which is expected to make a decision on an antitrust complaint in the coming weeks.

For its part, Google has said all along that it will cooperate with any regulatory body’s investigation.

CNET has contacted Google for comment on the Wall Street Journal report. We will update this story when we get more information.

Sci/Tech – Google News