How eight pixels cost Microsoft millions
Why keyword search management is important
Popular comic book heroes faith by faith
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Google launches Picasa Web Albums – Flickr Killer?
Just in. Google has launched Picasa Web Albums. From the site:Picasa Web Albums is Picasa’s newest feature, designed to help users post and share their photos quickly and easily on the web.
It’s available by invitation, along with the latest downloadable version of Picasa, and offers:
* One-click web upload using Picasa’s new “Web Album” button
* Free storage space to post and share approximately 1000 photos, with the option to upgrade to more space
* High-quality photos, automatically resized and optimized to fill available screen space
* Pre-loaded images enable quick scrolling using arrow keys, and mimic a desktop experience of “flipping” through photos, even on the web
* End-to-end photo management that makes it easy to download uploaded photos back to your computer
Quick facts
* Cost: The latest version of Picasa with the Web Albums feature is free. It’s also free to use Picasa Web Albums for posting, sharing and viewing photos.
* Access: You need an invitation to post and share photos on Picasa Web Albums. You can sign up for an invitation using your Gmail username. No invitation or sign-in is required to view a friend’s photos online.
* Storage: Each Picasa Web Albums account comes with 250MB of free storage space, or room to post and share approximately 1,000 wallpaper-sized photos (at 1600 pixels each). For $25.00 per year, users can get a subscription to an additional 6GB of storage – room to post and share approximately 25,000 photos.
* There are no ads in Picasa or on Picasa Web Albums
* Language: Picasa Web Albums and the latest version of Picasa with web uploading are supported in English only
* System requirements:
o Picasa: Windows 2000/XP, Internet Explorer 6.0+
o Picasa Web Albums Internet Explorer 6.0 (also works with IE 7 Beta 2), Firefox 1.0+ or Safari 2.0 -
Wrigley bullpen gets WiFi
There isn’t much good news coming out of the Chicago Cubs bullpen in recent weeks, but there may be some hope if Wade Miller or Greg Maddux want to do a blog post during the 7th inning stretch:CHICAGO — Wrigley Field, the last big league stadium to install lights, will be the first to go wireless.
Starting Tuesday, when Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker needs to communicate with his bullpen during games he’ll call on a wireless handset designed by Motorola Inc. rather than reach for the corded phone on the dugout’s back wall.
Juan Lopez, the Cubs’ bullpen coach, will be sure not to miss the call — he’ll have one of the i580 phones strapped to his belt and it will vibrate and produce a loud ring.
The Cubs and Motorola, who announced the arrangement Monday for both the home and visiting dugouts and bullpens, said it will be the first wireless bullpen phone system used by a major league team.
The Cubbies need all the help they can get. At press time, they are losing 3-0 to Houston.
UPDATE: Cubs lose to Houston 9-2. Might want to check those IP settings.
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Jack Thompson launches new attack on video games
In a letter to James Dobson, Jack Thompson has renewed his attack on video games.Here’s the letter in it’s entirety.
In his letter, Thompson attacks the publisher of the Christian video game Left Behind: Eternal Forces .
He denounces and cut ties with Tyndale House, publisher of the Left Behind books that inspired the game.
The publisher has previously published both Dobson’s and Thompson’s books.
Thompson is now threatening a lawsuit over its licensing of the game.
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Weird Al makes more money from CDs than he does iTunes
I wonder if this is true of all artists. Here is a question posted on his Website:
Tim Sloane of Ijamsville, MD asks: Al, which of these purchasing methods should I use in order to make sure the most profit gets to you: Buying one of your albums on CD, or buying one of your albums on iTunes?
I am extremely grateful for your support, no matter which format you choose to legally obtain my music in, so you should do whatever makes the most sense for you personally. But since you ASKED… I actually do get significantly more money from CD sales, as opposed to downloads. This is the one thing about my renegotiated record contract that never made much sense to me. It costs the label NOTHING for somebody to download an album (no manufacturing costs, shipping, or really any overhead of any kind) and yet the artist (me) winds up making less from it. Go figure.
Don’t ask why I was on Weird Al’s Web site.
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Shhhh! Google is listening to you
Like many Google products, this one is from the very strange, potentially brilliant, and a little creepy department.Here’s an interesting look into something Google may be plotting for the future:
Google is developing a system that uses a microphone on your PC to listen to what you are watching on a TV, so long as it’s in the same room. Based upon what it hears, this system will figure out what you’re watching in order to deliver more highly targeted advertising content.
The system could keep up with users while they channel surf, presenting them with a real-time forum about a live political debate one minute and an ad-hoc chat room for a sporting event in the next. And, all of this would be done without users ever having to type or to even know the name of the program or channel being viewed.
Frankly, why do we trust ANYTHING put out by any manufacturer? If the green light on your iSight isn’t on how do you know it still isn’t recording? Do some of these free web toolbars record keystrokes and audio and transmit it back to somewhere? I have a TCP/IP sniffer that alerts me to any traffic that flows over my network to make sure my programs stay honest. However, how long will the public be complacent and companies such as Google could sneak technology onto your PC’s?
All I know is there there is some electric tape going over my iSight in my MacBook. This of course is very controversial based upon what other people are saying, so what do you think?
A little paranoid perhaps. I think this is interesting, but utterly useless technology. But then again, it’s Google, so it will probably be a huge hit. Now I am off to disable my PC mic drivers.
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Today’s links
The founder of Wikipedia says don’t cite the encyclopedia in your academic work.Interesting French magazine covers.
The Associated Press’ hurricane simulator.
The Reality TV Convention covered and American Idol stars interviewed by JD Matthews here, here, here, and here.
How to overcome Social Phobia.
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Where does your senator stand on Net Neutrality?
To supplement the list of members congress and how they voted on Net Neutrality, here’s a list of senators and where they currently stand on the issue:Support
Senate
(Membership Total: 12)Sen. Barbra Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Sen. Joesph Lieberman (D-CT)
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)Oppose
Senate
(Membership Total: 3)Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)“FINGER IN THE WIND”
No position
Senate
(Membership Total: 31)Sen. George Allen (R-VA)
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI)
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH)
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen.Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)
Sen. John Warner (R-VA)No Information
Senate
(Membership Total: 54)Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO)
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO)
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Sen. William Frist (R-TN)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)
Sen. Johnny Iaakson (R-GA)
Sen. James Jefford (I-VT)
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS)
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Sen.John McCain (R-AZ)
Sen.Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen.Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen.Benjamin Nelson (D-NE)
Sen.Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Sen.Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Sen.John D. Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sen.Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR)
Sen. John Sununu (R-NH)
Sen. James Talent (R-MO)
Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Michael Castellon 
