360-Days Blog

Palm (PALM) has shipped 100,000 Pre smart phones so far, according to to an estimate by J.P. Morgan analyst Paul Coster.

Coster contends the company sold just over 50,000 units in the first two days. He estimates that the average Sprint (S) store received about 40 units, with 2-5 at the average Radio Shack (RSH) store and 2-4 at the typical Best Buy (BBY). Coster says that about 50,000 more units have shipped since the weekend, with Sprint stores getting about 10-15 units every 2 days. He says Radio Shack inventory has been replenished once, but that Best Buy so far appears not to have received additional phones, a conclusion he concedes is “based on very limited” sampling.

Coster says most of the Sprint stores he checked with are selling phones to customers on a waiting list, with only a few selling units to walk-in customers.

“Though we came away with a generally favorable impression of the sell-in momentum that Palm is currently experiencing, we also detected a lot of uncertainty,” Coster writes. “Sprint stores are being drip-fed devices without much certainty or uniformity regarding timing and quantity.”

Coster’s advice to people who want to buy the phone is to head for the local Radio Shack; he says the stores “seem to have been neglected by eager early adopters.”

Palm today is up 13 cents, or 1%, to $13.56.

Source
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/06/12/palm-100000-pre-units-shipped-so-far-analyst-says/

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will limit the number of messages that a mobile number can send per day to battle rampant spam messages clogging cell phones, state media said on Friday.

Spam messages, largely consisting of real estate offers, ads for English lessons, fake tax receipts and other frauds have grown very quickly in China in recent years. It is not unusual to receive dozens of messages a day, including the odd gun ad.

China's three main mobile network operators, China Telecom, China Mobile Ltd and China Unicom have signed onto an agreement to deal with inter-network spam messages, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing company officials.

One mobile number cannot send more than 200 messages per hour or 1,000 per day on weekdays, according to the agreement.

On holidays, 500 messages per hour and 2,000 per day may originate from one number.

(Reporting by Yu Le and Lucy Hornby; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Source
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE55B1RU20090612

"The goal of WolframAlpha is to bring high-level mathematics to the masses, by letting users type in problems in plain English and delivering instant results. As a result, some professors say the service poses tough questions for their classroom policies. 'I think this is going to reignite a math war,' said Maria H. Andersen, a mathematics instructor at Muskegon Community College, referring to past debates over the role of graphing calculators in math education. 'Given that there are still pockets of instructors and departments in the US where graphing calculators are still not allowed, some instructors will likely react with resistance (i.e. we still don't change anything) or possibly even with the charge that using WA is cheating.'"

Source
http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/06/12/2058215/Wolfram-Alpha-Rekindles-Campus-Math-Tool-Debate

After showing off Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" at last year's WWDC, Apple is finally ready to ship it out the door this coming September, for a quite reasonable upgrade fee of $29 for Leopard users (as opposed to the regular $129 for larger refreshes). Folks who buy a Leopard machine between now and December can get the upgrade for $10 in shipping. While the added feature list is relatively slim, and there are few surprises between what was confirmed last year and the various leaks from developer previews, Apple's still giving users and developers some fun new tech to play with -- particularly the GPU-exploiting OpenCL, and the Grand Central Dispatch tech for developers to ease application optimization for multi-core processors. Pretty nerdy stuff, but if it makes our Dashboard Sudoku Widgets run faster, we can hardly complain. Other updates to the OS Apple is trotting out at WWDC:

* Apple rewrote the Finder, while keeping it mostly the same on the surface, for a bunch of "little benefits." Tweaks include faster Quick Look previews and Spotlight searches.
* There's built-in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support in the OS, including Mail, Calendar and Address Book syncing.
* QuickTime X has a new "modern foundation," HTTP streaming and a whole new look. Users can record and trim video, and upload to sharing sites like MobileMe and YouTube.
* Snow Leopard has half the footprint of Leopard, amounting to 6GB in savings and 45% faster installs.
* New trackpads can handle handwriting recognition now, and there's new text selection "AI." There's also support for wireless Braille accessories (pictured).
* Safari 4 is available for Windows, Leopard and Tiger, but Snow Leopard adds "Crash Resistance," which keeps browser and tabs intact even if a plugin crashes -- user just refreshes the page. 64-bit version does JavaScript 50% faster.
* All core apps are 64-bit, and performance improvements abound. Mail boasts 85% faster message loads and 90% faster loads, while Time Machine has a 50% faster initial backup time.

Update: More Snow Leopard additions and refinements are detailed here. Highlights we've spotted so far include Text Expander-style capabilities in Text Edit and Mail, and three finger and four finger multitouch gesture support for older (pre unibody) MacBooks! [Thanks, Jakob]
Source
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/08/apple-shipping-snow-leopard-in-september-29-upgrade/

Koh Samui island in Surat Thani is situated in the ever beautiful and gorgeous country Thailand. Ko Samui also known as Koh Samui is gifted with white sandy beaches, beautiful never-ending waters, coconut trees, coral reefs and beautiful natural resources. All this has made Ko Samui a major tourist attraction and the visitors consider it a must visit spot if you plan a holiday with your family. The pleasure of watching the sunrise and sunset, blue waters disappearing in the long lost horizon, enjoying a sun bath on the sandy beaches, a pleasurable body massage on the sea side etc. is quite inexplicable and you can enjoy an unforgettable holiday with your family. Perhaps this is the reason why holiday lovers keep flocking the Ko Samui islands throughout the year.

The island and its people are quite hospitable and so Samui accommodations can be availed very easily. You don't have to wander with all your bags and luggage and your family in order to find a suitable accommodation. Koh Samui accommodation is available at different beaches as well. With the presence of hotels, villas, guest houses and resorts including the very luxurious ones to the low budget ones, Samui accommodation is never a problem. If you want to enjoy each and every moment of your holiday, you can hire a sea side hotel so that you can enjoy the picturesque view of the sea whenever you wish to. Online booking for the Koh Samui accommodation is the most convenient and recommended way so that you just don't waste even a single moment looking for hotels. holiday rental accommodation with attractive packages is also available in Koh Samui and it is affordable as well.

If you think of acquiring a property in Koh Samui, it is not at all a bad idea. To your great surprise, many Samui property holders are the visitors who like the place so much that they keep coming here every vacation. Isn't it so fascinating? People visit this place and some of them find it so beautiful and marvelous that they end up buying their own property in Koh Samui with the wish to keep visiting the island for the rest of their lives. You never know, you also like the place so much that you acquire a Samui property on one such trip.

Source
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1666942

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government has required that personal computer makers bundle a software that filters Internet content from July 1, according to a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology document seen by Reuters.

The free "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software, developed by Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co, can effectively filter "unhealthy words and images," the document said.

The requirement is "in order to consolidate the achievements of the online campaign against pornography, combine punishment and prevention, protect the healthy growth of young people, and promote the Internet's healthy and orderly development," it said.

China already has a system to block websites deemed objectionable. Internet police monitor sites, blogs and other online venues for pornographic or politically sensitive content.

"Summer vacation is coming up, and many Chinese parents worry about what their children will see on the Internet. That's the purpose of the software," Jinhui founder Bryan Zhang said.

"Even if you wanted to use it for, say, political content, you couldn't, because it's image distinction software that tracks pornographic images," Zhang told Reuters.

PC makers must report the number of computer units sold and software packages installed to the ministry on a monthly basis in 2009, and yearly starting in February 2010, the circular says.

"Using the software is not compulsory. You can shut it down or take it out if you want to. With a password, you can turn it off at any time," Zhang said.

"It's an optional tool to prevent access to pornography, just like anti-pornography software in the United States."

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news on Monday.

CONCERN

Homegrown brands like Lenovo and Founder dominate China's market, though global names such as HP, Dell and Acer have significant market share.

It is one of the world's fastest-growing PC markets, with research firm Gartner forecasting total PC shipments will climb by about 3 percent this year to more than 42 million units.

Acer said it was not aware of the new requirement, while rival Taiwanese maker Asustek said it was but had not yet been officially informed by the Chinese government.

"Along with the rest of the industry ... we are studying it and working with relevant government and other parties to seek clarifications," said Dell spokeswoman Faith Brewitt.

Source
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5570DF20090608?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party merely listens into the call and cannot speak. It is often referred to as an ATC (Audio Tele-Conference).

Conference calls can be designed so that the calling party calls the other participants and adds them to the call. In most cases, the participants are able call into the conference call themselves, by dialing into a special telephone number that connects to a "conference bridge" (a specialized type of equipment that links telephone lines).

Usually, most companies use a specialized service provider who maintains the conference bridge, or who provides the phone numbers and PIN codes that participants dial to access the meeting or conference call.

Three-way calling is available (usually at an extra charge) for most customers on their home or office phone line. To three way call, the first person one wishes to talk to is dialed. Then the Hook flash button is pressed and the other person's phone number is dialed. While it is ringing, flash is pressed again. This will put the three people together. This option allows callers to add a second outgoing call to an already connected call.

Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_calls

Microsoft plans to redefine mini-notebooks that Intel has categorized as netbooks with a new term – low cost small notebook PC, according to Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Division, Microsoft.

Guggenheimer pointed out on June 2 in Taipei during Computex 2009 that since some of the mini-notebooks already feature capabilities more than just purely Internet browsing – which is the main purpose of the netbook – therefore the term netbook should be abandoned.

Some market watchers speculated that the renaming strategy will help Microsoft separate the mini-notebooks with regular notebook capabilities from netbooks, so that it can reduce the number of its low-end Windows shipments.

The new definition will require mid-range to high-end mini-notebooks, which may fall into the netbook category because of their size, to adopt higher-end versions of Windows 7, added the market watchers.

Microsoft declined to comment on the speculation, saying Guggenheimer would provide more details of the strategy while delivering a keynote speech at the company's Computex forum on June 3.

Microsoft has recently decided to lift the restriction on Windows 7 Starter Edition being able to run only three concurrent applications on a PC at a time, and it has also decided to

Source
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090602PD221.html

Just as expected, Sony just announced the PSP Go at E3 just now -- Haz Kirai called it the "worst kept secret at E3." The slider handheld has a 3.8-inch LCD, built-in Bluetooth and 16GB of internal storage, all in a case 50 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the original PSP-1000 -- a weight savings we're guessing is directly attributable to the loss of the UMD drive. That's right, the Go doesn't have a UMD drive -- games will instead load in through the Memory Stick Micro slot or over PlayStation Network. That's not the end of the classic PSP, though -- Sony says it will "live on." New PSP titles will be distributed through both UMD at retail and online simultaneously -- Sony's beefing up the desktop client and renaming it Media Go for easier access and syncing with Playstation Network media, but you'll be able to get PSN content directly from the Go as well. The PSP's music features have also been beefed up with a new auto-playlist feature called Sense Me, which sounds a lot like Pandora or iTunes Genius playlists, and there's a new video delivery service being rolled out.

Don't expect the loss of UMD to lower the price, though: the Go will be $249 when it launches on October 1 in North America and Europe and November 1 in Japan. Sony's showing demo videos with both black and white versions, but that's not confirmed yet -- we'll let you know.

Update: Check the full PR here.

Update 2: Sony has just blasted out the detailed specifications. Here are the highlights:

* Approx. 128 x 16.5 x 69 mm (width x height x depth)
* Weight: 5.6 ounces (including batter)
* CPU: 333MHz
* 64MB memory
* 3.8-inch display (480 x 272 resolution)
* Built-in stereo speakers and microphone
* 802.11b WiFi
* Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
* USB 2.0
* Memory Stick Micro slot
* Analog video out
* 16GB storage


Source
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/02/sony-psp-go-announced-bye-bye-umd/

nnovative ClickPad™ Solution Delivers Improved User Experience, Incorporates Clever Three-Finger Press Gesture

Taipei, Taiwan – June 2, 2009 – Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA), a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications, and entertainment devices, is demonstrating new products and technology enhancements at COMPUTEX 2009. Synaptics will unveil its new ClickPad™ solution, an innovative touchpad for consumer and business users that want larger multi-finger gesture enabled TouchPads in smaller notebook designs, particularly netbooks, which have been the fastest growing product segment in the portable computing market over the past year. ClickPad complements the rich minimalist design trend in the notebook space by eliminating the need for traditional physical buttons and enabling the entire ClickPad to act as the button that can be “clicked” to initiate a user action.

All Synaptics ClickPads and Touchpads incorporate the latest gestures previously announced in the Synaptics Gesture Suite™ (SGS) 9.1: two-finger scrolling, two-finger PinchZoom, two-finger pivot rotate, three-finger flick, and three-finger press. For example, users can start-up their PCs using the three-finger press gesture by placing three fingers on a TouchPad and then releasing them to automatically launch from one to six user-selected applications. Synaptics ClickPads are optimized for all laptops and ideal for space constrained netbooks where real estate is at a premium in the palmrest. ClickPad is available with an innovative mechanical assembly that will provide optimized performance for notebook PC designs, ranging from sleek netbooks to large desktop replacement portables.

Synaptics is also announcing that its entire SGS 9.1-enabled TouchPad family is Microsoft Windows 7 ready. This signifies that Synaptics’ highly regarded software driver, which offers the best pointing performance and gesture functionality in the PC industry, has passed Microsoft’s rigorous Win 7 Logo testing and will be available on time for the release of Windows 7 on leading OEM designs later in the year.

In addition, Synaptics DualMode™ TouchPad is now available to support “under plastic” designs and provides OEMs with excellent consumer appeal and differentiation, enabling OEMs to add custom 0D buttons and 1D scrolling support directly on the TouchPad surface, thereby enhancing TouchPad functionality to enable new features like multimedia controls. Synaptics DualMode TouchPad transforms a traditional Synaptics TouchPad from a navigation device to a launch and control center with the touch of a button. When users tap on the mode switch button in the top right corner of the TouchPad, LEDs illuminate icons on the surface of the TouchPad. Now available under a plastic coating for the most vibrant image, DualMode allows OEMs to customize the feature functionality of the icons to highlight key notebook features.

“Since first introducing the revolutionary TouchPad in a notebook computer 14 years ago, Synaptics has continued to enhance its innovative technology to expand its solution portfolio and bring a more engaging, productive, and entertaining user experience to notebook PC designs,” said Mark Vena, vice president of Synaptics’ PC Business Unit. “With more than 350 million TouchPads shipped since 1995, Synaptics has demonstrated that it knows the notebook PC space like no other technology provider. ClickPad, DualMode and Synaptics’ growing gesture portfolio underscore our on-going commitment to providing easier and more meaningful ways for people to interact with their notebooks.”

These solutions will available to OEMs for integration into notebook PC platforms beginning in 3Q09. Synaptics will be showing these new products during COMPUTEX at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, Suite #1010, by appointment only. To arrange for a demonstration, contact Niamh Conlon at nconlon@synaptics.com.

About Synaptics
Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA) is a leading developer of human interface solutions for the mobile computing, communications, and entertainment industries. The company creates interface solutions for a variety of devices including notebook PCs, PC peripherals, digital music players, and mobile phones. The TouchPad™, Synaptics’ flagship product, is integrated into a majority of today's notebook computers. Consumer electronics and computing manufacturers use Synaptics' solutions to enrich the interaction between humans and intelligent devices through improved usability, functionality, and industrial design. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. www.synaptics.com

# # #

Synaptics, TouchPad, ClickPad, DualMode, Synaptics Gesture Suite (SGS), and the Synaptics logo are trademarks of Synaptics in the United States and/or other countries.

All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Tara Yingst
Edelman for Synaptics
650-762-2942
tara.yingst@edelman.com

Source
http://www.synaptics.com/about/press/press-releases/synaptics-demonstrates-new-touchpad%E2%84%A2-products-and-gesture-technology-comp

Facebook will soon be allowing all users to claim a vanity URL pointing to their regular profile page, we’ve heard from a reliable source. The announcement should come sometime later this week. Afterwards, at a certain date and time, the landrush will begin. Users will be able to grab a vanity URL of their choice.

The Landrush rules will prohibit trademark infringement and a lots of words will be blacklisted, such as generic terms. But for the most part, we hear, users will be able to grab a name that they like.

Facebook has been toying with vanity URLs for some time. URLs for user profiles are currently user id numbers - such as facebook.com/profile.php?id=500065899 (that’s me). In March some Facebook pages started rolling out with vanity URLs, although you must have a business relationship with Facebook (or know someone there) to get one. Facebook.com/techcrunch, for example, links to our TechCrunch page.

The reason they need them - vanity URLs have proven to be a powerful tool on MySpace, Twitter and other services. It’s not just that users like them and it makes telling people your profile name easier. People have also long used MySpace URLs as their online identity. Twitter, more recently, has started to become the online identity provider of choice. Even Google is getting in on the vanity URL game. Facebook doesn’t want to give that up.

Facebook has recently polled users to see if they’d pay for a vanity URL. We have no idea if they plan on charging for the landrush at this point.

Stay tuned, and in the meantime start thinking up that perfect Facebook name. I want facebook.com/mike myself. Oh wait, I guess Facebook employees get first pick. So you’re also out of luck if you’re name is Mark.

Source
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/31/prepare-for-the-facebook-vanity-url-landrush/

Online streaming and the changes in the way satellite radio works

The recent development of satellite radio received a lot of newspaper and web page space, as well as plenty of attention from traditional media channels. There are a few things that are changing rapidly in satellite radio, changes that may or may not affect the future of the XM and Sirius Satellite Radio companies, as well as the consumers. A few major steps towards the dynamic development of satellite radio have given consumers and financial analysts different perspectives from which to analyze this phenomenon. With the MLB moving away from terrestrial radio and heading for digital radio transmissions, with a Playboy Satellite Radio channel that has over a million subscribers and several other impressive developments, we can say that satellite radio is on an ascending path. An abrupt one, filled with shock news and unexpected developments, but ascending nevertheless. An interesting idea is the one that XM and Sirius are working on a single receiver unit that can receive broadcasts from both major satellite radio broadcasters. Another event that rocked the satellite radio world was Howard Stern’s online streaming on Sirius. His appearance on the Sirius Satellite Radio gave a new light on the Sirius company, as one that offers more than radios and broadcasting means – as one that offers genuine content.

Terrestrial versus satellite

One of the problems XM and Sirius have had is with making the satellite receiver something desirable, cheap and effective. In the beginning the satellite receivers were large and expensive, and performed poorly on moving vehicles. Of course, the modern satellite receivers are much better, very small and compact and offer excellent reception in any area. The digital quality of the satellite radio has some amazing benefits on its own since there are no noise disturbances that were traditional to FM and AM broadcasts. Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio can be picked up on all the US territory and they are also available in some parts of Canada and Mexico. Since the direct line of sight from the satellite to the receiver may often become obstructed by landscape or buildings, land based devices were installed in order to eliminate the lack of direct satellite transmission The broad range of broadcast and the superior sound quality have taken satellite radio high in the preferences of the consumers. On the other hand, terrestrial radio has some strong points of its own. To begin with, it’s free and readily accessible to anyone. Also, terrestrial radio is so common, widespread and easy to use that anyone can enjoy it and most people don’t find it hard to actually create their radio stations. Many people are reluctant to move on to satellite radio, which is more complex and complicated.

The end consumer – the real winner

In this battle of the radios, the end consumer is the one that gets the most benefits. And since the competition got even more fierce when satellite radio started taking away subscribers of regular radio, things have gone one step further. Also, the competition between XM Radio and Sirius is in the benefit of the subscribers. An interesting aspect of the competition between the two satellite industry giants was realized by Interoperable Technologies - a joint effort funded by both Sirius and XM Radio, with the intention of bringing dual-subscription satellite radios to the general market. Analysts expect to see even more development in this direction, with XM Radio and Sirius entangled in a strange relationship, where they are working together on one project and battling it out on the satellite radio broadcasters market. In order to understand the way online streaming develops and the changes in the way satellite radios work we have to keep an eye open to the industry giants but also to the companies looking to obtain a license from the FCC. One thing is certain, however – no matter if satellite radio or terrestrial radio come up with new ways of attracting customers, the end users are the ones who will always come on top.

Not-So-Daily Link of the Day: The Yahoo! Japan website has posted the first free four-minute video of the making of the 18-meter-tall (59-foot-tall), "life-size" statue of the title robot from the Mobile Suit Gundam space war anime series. (The video requires Microsoft's Silverlight browser plugin.) The website will eventually update with a new video every Thursday until July 23, although the next video will be added on May 7, and the schedule is subject to change.

The first video, "For the next step," discusses the genesis of the project to mark the 30th anniversary of the first Gundam series. Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino was involved in the initial process and visited the site during construction. The final section of the first video episode is a time-lapse video of the statue's onsite construction from March 31 to April 3. The next video will focus on the internal frame.

Starting this July, the statue will be available for free public viewing for two months at the Shiokaze Park on Tokyo's artificial Odaiba island. The theme of the three-phase Mobile Suit Gundam 30th Anniversary Project is "Always Beginning." The life-size Gundam represents the "Real G" phase of the project, while this August's Gundam Big Expo convention represents the "Feel G" phase. "Soul G" will be a collaborative music event planned for the Gundam franchise this year.

Source: Phile Web

Image © Sotsu, Sunrise via Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
Source
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-04-23/18-meter-lifesize-gundam-making-of-video-streamed

Giving a cat a pill can be a nightmare. No cat wants something shoved down his throat, and he will fight you tooth and nail to prevent it. Although most cats are small in size, you’d be quite amazed with how much power they actually have. There are ways that you can get your cat to take his pills, which we will cover below.

The easiest way to give a cat pill is to crush the power into a powdery form by putting it between two spoons. Once the pill is powder, mix it in with some wet cat food. Cats that are used to eating dry cat food will see the wet food and think of it as a treat. They will normally eat it up, unaware that they just took their medicine.

If the medicine happens to be in capsule form, all you have to do is pry the capsule apart then sprinkle the medicine on some wet food and serve it to your pet. If the food also contains the pill or if your pet is sick, chances are he won’t eat it. In this event, you should look into a pet piller. You can get these handy devices from your veterinarian. They are plastic rods that hold the pill until you press a plunger. When you get one, you should always get a long one with a softer tip.

When you get your gun, your vet should show you how to use it. The most difficult aspect of using the gun is getting your cat to open his mouth. The gun will more or less shoot the pill in the cat’s mouth, and down his throat. You’ll need to hold him tight, to make sure that he doesn’t wiggle his way loose. Once you have his mouth open, you’ll need to squeeze the trigger and pull the gun away quickly. After the pill has been inserted, make sure you give your cat a treat.

If you aren’t comfortable using the gun, you can always try giving your cat his pills by hand. To do it this way, you’ll need to hold your cat still, and open his mouth with your hand. Once you have his mouth open, you should aim for the back of his throat and throw the pill in. Once it is in his mouth, you should close his mouth with your hand and hold it shut for a few moments. This way, your cat will swallow the pill if he hasn’t already.

If you can’t get any of the above techniques to work, you can always go to a local pharmacy and get them to a make flavored gel or liquid using your cats medication. You should use this as a last resort though, as it can tend to get expensive.

The Techniques Of Muay Thai

A majority of the offensive techniques that are used in Muay Thai utilize a students hands, feet, elbows, and knees to strike an opponent. In order to bind the opponent for both defensive and offensive reasons, there is a small amount of grappling on the feet that is used - the clinch.

The clinch occurs when someone gets in your circle of radius, inside of your comfort zone. To execute knees and short kicks from the inside, the clinch can be very useful. The Thai fighter makes great use of the clinch, tying up on opponent on the feet then pounding his stomach, ribs, knees, and legs with brutal knees. Knees are very popular techniques with Muay Thai, as Thai fighters spend a lot of time training their strikes - especially knees and elbows.

Although high kicks to the opponents head looks amazing during the fights, experienced Thai fighters always say that knees and elbows have a lot more impact, and they do the most damage to the body. If a Thai fighter is very experienced and has enough power in his strikes, he can quickly and easily kill someone with his techniques.

In all Muay Thai techniques, two in particular have become very popular with other styles of martial arts.

The roundhouse kick
The roundhouse Thai kick is a very useful technique for both self defense and competitions, proving to be very efficient when it is executed properly. Thai stylists execute the roundhouse kick by a straight leg and the entire body rotating out from the hip. The hip is locked shortly before the thrown leg makes impact with the opponent. If executed properly, the roundhouse kick can easily render someone unconscious.

The low kick
The low kick is a common Muay Thai attack, that involves a circular movement from the stylist’s body to kick the opponent in his upper shin area. If the low kick isn’t blocked or defended, it can quickly lead to fight being ended. After a few well placed low kicks, the opponent will be unable to put pressure on his legs due to the bruising, and will eventually crumble.

With other martial arts styles, such as Tae Kwon Do, stylists use snapping kicks that are indeed faster to execute, although they have less power. Muay Thai on the other hand, teaches stylists to follow through with kicks, using the shin instead of the foot. Nearly all of the techniques involved with Muay Thai emphasis movement with the entire body, which means rotating the hip each time the stylist kicks, punches, or blocks. The techniques are slower, although they are far more powerful that techniques found in Tae Kwon Do and even Karate.

As a lot of people already know, the training and conditioning training found in Muay Thai is nothing short of legendary for the intensity and rigorous training. The training in Muay Thai aims to harden the weapons used in the martial art to a high degree. Students who have been training in Muay Thai for many years can absorb a beating, yet if they land a shin kick it will feel as if you have just been hit with a sledgehammer.

All in all, Muay Thai is a very dangerous martial art that teaches punishing blows with very little grappling. Thai stylists are physical strong, capable of taking an opponent out with just one well placed strike. Muay Thai is also one of the most well known and most popular styles in the world today - which is why you shouldn’t hesitate to study.

Palm Pre on June 6th for $200: It's official!

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 19th 2009 at 7:00AM
The day you've been waiting for is here. Sprint just announced that the Pre will cost $199.99 after $100 mail-rebate and 2-year contract and will launch on June 6th as rumored this morning. The phone will go on sale nationwide (US-only for the moment) at Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and select Wal-Mart stores. The Pre will be available under Sprint's Everything Data or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plans. Accessories include the optional $69.99 Touchstone charging dock kit that includes the $49.99 dock and $19.99 Pre back cover. June 6th, that's two days before the WWDC keynote. Poor Apple.

Note: Looking more info? Check out our giant Palm Pre hub!
Source
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/19/palm-launching-pre-on-june-6th-official/

A source closely connected to Apple’s hardware team claims to possess knowledge of the next-generation iPhone’s specifications and release date.

The source told iPhone fan blog Apple iPhone Apps that the new iPhone will launch July 17. Many of the provided specifications corroborate with past rumors that the device will introduce a digital compass and a video recorder, among other features. (The source did not provide a photo; the image to the right is from a past rumor report for the sake of comparison.) Here’s the list:

* 32GB and 16GB storage (up from the current 16GB and 8GB models)
* $199 and $299 price points to be maintained
* 3.2-megapixel camera (up from the current 2-megapixel camera)
* Video-recording and editing capabilities
* Ability to send a picture & video via MMS
* Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device
* OLED screen
* 1.5 times the battery life of the current models
* Double the RAM and processing power
* Built-in FM transmitter
* Apple logo on back will glow
* Rubber-tread backing
* Sleeker design
* Built-in compass
* The camera, GPS, compass and Google map combined will identify photo and inform about photo locations
* Turn-by-turn directions

Overall, if these claims are true, this is a relatively minor upgrade. The most notable new features would be the built-in compass (which appeared in earlier rumor reports), the video recorder and editor (the current iPhones don’t support video recording unless you Jailbreak them), the built-in FM transmitter and the OLED screen (which would improve battery life).

One of the features that sticks out to me is the built-in FM transmitter. I see no compelling reason for Apple to put this in the iPhone, as it is not a feature that users have been demanding, and it hasn’t appeared in other iPods.

Another specification I find strange is the OLED screen. That would be a welcome change because it would look nicer than the current LCD screen. But OLEDs are generally pricey, and if the current price points are maintained, I’m not sure if I believe this one.

Otherwise, the rest of the specifications appear not too far-fetched. If the source is simply taking shots in the dark, then most of these specifications are very conservative guesses derived from previous rumor reports.

What do you think, readers? I’m curious as to whether this list of purported specifications is enough to get you to upgrade from a current iPhone. Or if you don’t own one, will you buy one if these rumored features turn out to be true? Let us know in the comments below.

I, for one, will be standing in line for Apple’s next iPhone this summer whether or not these rumors are true. After all, my iPhone is resting in rice.

Updated 1 p.m. PDT to correct a typo: The current iPhone features an LCD screen, not an LED screen.

Updated 8:20 a.m. PDT to clarify earlier in the story that the source approached Apple iPhone Apps, not Wired.com.

Source Reveals Specs And Release Date of Next iPhone! [Apple iPhone Apps]
Source
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/next-gen-iphone-specs-launch-date-revealed/

We've just been sent a rather interesting picture from a Taiwanese motherboard maker.

After MSI announced its first motherboards with Power Over eSATA recently, we just had to get a look at one of the compatible cables to get a full grasp of the technology. And as it turns out, it seems like MSI isn't the only one to take on the new eSATA concept released by SATA-IO earlier this year.

The shot below is of a Power Over eSATA cable that bridges from a single eSATA port to a connector that includes the normal SATA power and data connectors. You'll end up seeing cables like this at the start and later "normal" single eSATA cables that transmit both data and power.

First Look - Power Over eSATA cable pictured

We suspect during Computex Taipei to be held early next month that we will see many motherboard makers showing off new boards with Power Over eSATA and we may even seen SATA products without power connectors, but they'll like stay on for backwards compatibility.

Source
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/12159/first_look_power_over_esata_cable_pictured/index.html

Google’s Android mobile OS is expected see a growth rate of 900 percent in 2009, Strategy Analytics is predicting in a new report. The Apple iPhone OS will follow behind it, as the second fastest-growing smartphone OS, and the RIM BlackBerry is also in good shape, as the second-largest overall smartphone OS in the U.S. in 2008.

Google’s Android operating system is expected to grow by 900 percent in 2009, encouraged by vendors, developers and operators, a May 11 report from research firm Strategy Analytics is predicting.

The report, “Global Smartphone Vendor Market Share by Region: 2008,” breaks down smartphone market growth by region and operating system.

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“The Android mobile operating system from Google gained early traction in the United States in the second half of 2008 and it is gradually spreading its presence into Europe and Asia during 2009,” wrote Tom Kang, the author of the report, in a statement.

Kang additionally expects the iPhone OS to grow 79 percent in 2009—outpaced only by Android, which is expanding from a lower user base.

Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics, also remarked in the statement that Android’s “relatively low-cost licensing model, its semi-open-source structure and Google’s support for cloud services have encouraged companies such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung, T-Mobile, Vodafone and others to support the Android operating system. Android is now in a good position to become a top-tier player in smartphones over the next two to three years.”

Despite the global economic climate, global smartphone shipments reached 152 million units in 2008, and Kang’s report states Asia Pacific is still the biggest market for smartphones, followed by North America and then Western Europe.

Core markets for Symbian have been sluggish Kang additionally writes, but the RIM BlackBerry has also seen success, pulling ahead of Microsoft Windows Mobile to become the second largest smartphone OS in 2008.

Source
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Google-Android-Will-Grow-900-Percent-in-2009-Analysts-Say-557897/

A once-cachet Washington tradition, the annual dinner may have completed its final transformation this year into a crushing gathering of several thousand, increasingly less a celebration of journalism than a parade of Hollywood and television celebrity. Photo positions for paparazzi dotted the Washington Hilton space where the dinner has been held for decades; midway through the evening, in the center of the room, a cluster of a half dozen tables became a traffic jam of Hollywood rubbernecking, as guests glommed around Sting, Kevin Bacon, Steven Spielberg, Kate Capshaw, Forest Whitaker, Natalie Portman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Donatella Versace, among others, who were attending as guests of various news outlets. When the dinner ended, many of those in attendance then fanned out over the city for additional celebrations, though at a time of unprecedented economic difficulty for most news organizations, it is hard to say of what, exactly. (Read the Twitter coverage of the White House Correspondents' dinner, a.k.a. #nerdprom)

The President, who by tradition attends and delivers comical remarks at the dinner each year, won the crowd over early. "Most of you covered me." After a beat, he added, "All of you voted for me." Noting that Sunday is Mother's Day, Obama reported that it was a tough holiday for his sometimes profane chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. "He's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother.'" (See an eight-year retrospective at the attempts at comedy at the White House Correspondents' dinner.)

Obama also made fun of RNC chairman Michael Steele for seeking a bailout for the GOP and noted that former vice president Dick Cheney was not in attendance, busying writing his memoirs which Obama said would be titled, "How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People." He mocked the reporters' recent obsession with his first 100 days by announcing that he was immediately building a presidential library in honor his first 100 days. "My next 100 days will be so successful, I will complete them in 72 days. And on the 73rd day, I will rest."

Obama said that in his next 100 days he will learn to give a speech without a teleprompter — something he has been criticized by some for relying too heavily on — while his vice president Joe Biden, who has made a string of ill-advised comments lately — will learn to use one.

The President said he was taking credit for "revitalizing the Democrats... bringing in fresh young faces like Arlen Specter." He suggested that his Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, had urged Specter to make his recent jump from the Republican to the Democratic party with the advice, "If you can't beat em, join em."

Obama's less successful riffs — a few of his jokes fell flat — were overlooked because the room is traditionally forgiving of its top guest and because the professional comic who typically follows the president — this year it was Wanda Sykes — can almost always be counted on to go much further overboard. Sykes came through in that department. While delivering a number of one liners that the crowd applauded, she included several — including one about Rush Limbaugh's drug problems and another about the fashion habits of previous first ladies — that would have been better to have scratched from her script.

Source
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1897164,00.html