Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
#NASA: #ISS May Be Evacuated By Late November #fail
By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronauts may need to temporarily abandon the International Space Station this fall if last week's Russian launch accident prevents new crews from flying, a NASA official said Monday.
If Russia's essential Soyuz rockets remain grounded beyond mid-November, there will be no way to launch any more astronauts before the current residents are supposed to leave, said NASA's space station program manager, Mike Suffredini.
A space station supply ship was destroyed last week following liftoff from Kazakhstan. The failed upper stage of the Soyuz rocket is similar to what's used to launch astronauts.
The launch of the very next crew already has been delayed. It had been scheduled for Sept. 22.
To keep the orbiting outpost with a full staff of six for as long as possible, three of the current residents will remain in orbit for at least an extra week. They were supposed to return to Earth on Sept. 8.
Suffredini said flight controllers could keep a deserted space station operating indefinitely, as long as all major systems are working properly.
But that's always the last resort: The risk to the space station goes up if no one's on board to fix potential equipment breakdowns.
"We have plenty of options," Suffredini said. "We'll focus on crew safety as we always do."
Astronauts have been living continuously aboard the space station ever since the first crew was launched in 2000.
NASA considered vacating the space station following the space shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. Back then, shuttles were still being used to ferry some station residents back and forth. Instead, the station got by with two-man crews for a few years because of the significant cutback in supplies.
Even if the space shuttles still were flying – the program ended last month – space station crews still would need Soyuz-launched capsules to serve as lifeboats, Suffredini said. The capsules are certified for no more than 6 1/2 months in space, thus the need to regularly rotate crews.
As for supplies, the space station is well stocked and could go until next summer, Suffredini said. Space shuttle Atlantis dropped off a year's supply of goods just last month.
For now, operations are normal aboard the 240-mile-high complex, he noted, and the additional week on board for half the crew will mean additional science research.
The Russians have set up an investigation team and until it comes up with a cause for the accident and a repair plan, the launch and landing schedules remain in question. None of the spacecraft debris has been recovered yet; the wreckage fell into a remote, wooded section of Siberia.
Suffredini said he hasn't had time to consider the PR impact of abandoning the space station, especially coming so soon after the end of the 30-year shuttle program.
"Flying safely is much, much more important than anything else I can think about right this instant," he said. "I'm sure we'll have an opportunity to discuss any political implications if we spend a lot of time on the ground. But you know, we'll just have to deal with them because we're going to do what's safest for the crew and for the space station."
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Joel Kelsey: FCC to AT&T: Is That Your Final Answer?
Last Thursday five AT&T employees and twelve of its outside attorneys, from six different firms, got on a conference call with thirty-two officials from the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. All told there were close to 50 people participating in the meeting.
Ostensibly, the conference call was for AT&T to explain its third and latest economic model that attempts to justify its merger with T-Mobile. But AT&T's attempt seems to be more evidence that its bid to monopolize everything has been unraveling. The conference call represents yet another trip to the drawing board for AT&T, which has yet to convince the regulators that its numbers and projections justifying the merger actually add up. The all-hands-on-deck approach of the conference call looks like AT&T is sticking with the only tune it knows: quantity over quality.
Over the past two weeks the curtain has been drawn back, revealing troubling facts about the merger, and allowing decision-makers and analysts to focus on the serious problems with this deal. Yet AT&T is frantically trying to keep people focused on the all-powerful wizard rather than the lumpy man behind the curtain. The subterfuge is failing, and the air of inevitability that AT&T has tried so hard to cultivate is disappearing, exposing its vulnerability from many different quarters.
For starters, several members of Congress have looked at the facts and data underlying AT&T's proposal and have sent detailed letters to both the DOJ and the FCC, either flat-out opposing the merger or expressing significant misgivings with it. Rep. Jay Inslee asked a series of cutting and incisive questions about AT&T's claims, asking just how many jobs will be lost by "consolidating platforms, customer care centers and headquarter organization." Senators Herb Kohl and Al Franken warned of the harmful effects on competition and consumer choice. Representative Steve Chabot wrote about his concerns that the merger could harm rural and regional wireless providers. Representatives Ed Markey, Anna Eshoo and John Conyers wrote that the merger would be "a retrenchment from nearly two decades of promoting competition and open markets to acceptance of a duopoly in the wireless marketplace."
Then, the FCC stopped the clock on its informal review timetable. It appears that AT&T decided its original economic model justifying the merger was insufficient, and needed time to submit a revised version. That revise-and-resubmit process is still going on, as AT&T searches for the right alchemy to turn this leaden deal into gold.The FCC put another speedbump in AT&T's path, combining the review of the company's bid to buy even more wireless spectrum from Qualcomm, with the T-Mobile merger review. The agency is now looking at the total amount of spectrum AT&T is aggregating across the country, preventing AT&T from playing a shell-game by simultaneously putting in separate bids to acquire spectrum far in excess of the caps and screens that used to prevent one company from owning too much of our nation's airwaves.
State governments are also casting a jaundiced eye in AT&T's direction. So far, nine separate states have acted upon their skeptical view of this merger by issuing subpoenas to AT&T and competitor Sprint Nextel for more detailed information about the wireless industry in general and the T-Mobile deal in particular.
Complicating matters for AT&T on Wall St, the money people have been starting to get nervous since Bloomberg News reported that industry analysts are losing confidence that the merger will be approved. Snowing regulators is one thing, but separating investors from their money is a much heavier lift, particularly when billions of dollars are involved.
Last, AT&T has stepped on its own tail, unintentionally disclosing confidential documents that revealed the company could meet its commitments to deploy mobile broadband to 97 percent of the country for just $3.8 billion -- one-tenth of the $39 billion it is spending to acquire a competitor in T-Mobile that offers lower-priced services to wireless customers. This is irrefutable evidence that AT&T made a choice to eliminate competition in the market rather than invest in network upgrades. If the promise of rural broadband is the carrot AT&T is offering to win approval from Washington; denying rural Americans mobile broadband service is the stick -- supposedly. Remember, with all of AT&T's merger bluster, Verizon is already planning to offer 4G LTE service to 97% of the country. Surrendering such a large portion of the market to Verizon would be an expensive self-sacrifice, and unlikely given AT&T's dominant position in the marketplace.
The army of lawyers and lobbyists AT&T and T-Mobile have assembled to ram this merger through are going to need more than a conference call or two to make this deal happen. They're going to have to convince two federal agencies, leaders in Congress, at least nine state regulatory agencies, investors and consumers that killing off competitors is somehow good for competition, cutting jobs is somehow good for employment, and refusing to invest in infrastructure is somehow good for investment.
Their effort is faltering. If the facts get more traction than AT&T's fantasy, that effort will surely fail.
Pandora Now Represents 3.6% of All Radio Listening in U.S.
In its first earnings announcement as a publicly traded company, Pandora revealed that its Internet radio service now accounts for approximately 3.6% of all radio listening in the U.S.
That’s based on the roughly 1.8 billion hours its 100+ million users spent listening to the service during the second quarter, which was up 125% from the same period in the previous year. The 3.6% share was double what the company reported during Q2 2010, and up from 2.3% at the start of this year.
Pandora’s usage growth helped fuel strong financial results for the company, which reported second quarter revenue of $67 million, up 117% year-over-year. Of that revenue, $58.3 million came from advertising. Half of that advertising was generated via ads on mobile devices.
Speaking of the latter achievement, CEO Joe Kennedy offered in a statement, “Pandora’s mobile advertising revenue for the first time comprised approximately half of total advertising revenue as we lead the way in the nascent but fast growing mobile advertising market. Pandora continues to grow our market share of U.S. radio as we fundamentally transform one of the last forms of traditional media.”
Investors seem to be reacting favorably to Pandora’s announcement, which included a revenue forecast of $270 million to $275 million for all of 2011. Shares of the company were up nearly 7% in early trading on the NYSE on Friday morning.
More About: music, pandora, trending
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Friday, August 26, 2011
Tremendous PBS Video Explains Why Medical Cannabis Works — And How Big Pharm...
PBS is to be commended for producing this excellent video summarizing the science behind the use of cannabis as a medicine.
Want to know why cannabis is effective at treating multiple symptoms and conditions? Watch this video. Want to know how cannabinoids selectively target and kill cancer cells? Watch this video. Want to know how many patents Big Pharma has taken out on cannabis-derived synthetic drugs? Watch this video.
And then share it with your friends and family.
Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sprint, Cable Companies In Talks To Acquire Clearwire
Not long after Clearwire announced their intent to begin lighting up a 4G LTE network, Sprint and a cabal of cable companies have begun to discuss the idea of a possible Clearwire acquisition.
Last we heard, Clearwire was waiting on $600 million in additional funding before any work on their LTE rollout could begin. Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House are currently in talks with the nation’s third-largest wireless provider to get Clearwire the necessary funds to build out their LTE network.
Traction for Clearwire’s current WiMax offerings have slowed down considerably — no new WiMax markets have bee lit up this year — and Verizon’s 4G network is now said to cover half of the country’s citizenry. It would appear that the tacit agreement among Sprint and Co. is that LTE is crucial to competing in the mobile space.
What’s still up in the air are the exact mechanics of this investment. BusinessWire runs though a few possibilities: the companies in question could take the direct approach and buy out Clearwire completely, while another option has the cable companies investing through Sprint. Regardless of the process, if the deal goes through, it could be a win-win for all concerned parties.
Thanks to funding from the cable companies, Sprint gets access to a more competitve 4G network which should allow it to stand on firmer footing in comparison to rivals Verizon and AT&T. With Verizon moving at full steam with LTE and AT&T poised use T-Mobile to expand its reach, Sprint needs LTE just to stay relevant.
Sprint’s stance on wholesalers would benefit cable companies in the event Sprint ends up acquiring Clearwire: while Comcast and Time Warner already resell WiMax equipment from Clearwire under their own banners, Sprint’s wholesale agreements would allow cable companies to continue doing so albeit with the latest and greatest in network tech. The bottom line: more money in everyone’s coffers.
The deal isn’t yet official, but considering what it could mean for everyone involved, expect to hear about some serious negotiations in coming weeks.
QR Code Marketing: 5 Tips for a Successful Campaign
Laura Marriott is CEO and and acting board chairperson of NeoMedia. She was also named one of the industry’s Mobile Women to Watch 2010 by Mobile Marketer, Top 50 U.S. Executives by Mobile Entertainment and Top 10 Women in Wireless by FierceMarkets. Marriott is highly regarded for her global voice and expertise in mobile marketing.
Mobile barcodes are turning up everywhere – buses, magazines, television, bar coasters. According to recent research from comScore, 14 million U.S. mobile phone users scanned QR or barcodes in June alone, mostly via newspapers, magazines and product packaging, both at home and in-store. My company’s own data reveals that barcodes that offer access to a discount or coupon or that allow the consumer to learn more about a product or service are the most popular.
Given that mobile barcodes are finally cracking the mainstream, they have enormous potential to present brands with brilliant results. Here are five mobile barcode best practices to help ensure a successful campaign.
1. Be Everywhere
Mobile barcodes should be incorporated into all digital and traditional media so the consumer has 360-degree exposure to the mobile marketing campaign. This will also ensure that consumer experience, dialogue and interactivity are at the heart of the campaign and not simply an afterthought.
2. Drive Value and Make it Easy
Giveaways, discounts, free tickets and exclusive access will compel consumers to interact with and scan your code. If your code simply offers the customer a chance to view a TV advertisement or link to a website, it’s best to try again. Scanning a barcode should provide the consumer with a brand experience that is exclusive, dynamic and interactive.
Take into account where a mobile barcode is located on the ad. Consumers must be able to find it easily and scan it quickly. For outdoor ads, place the code at eye or arm-level. In a print ad, the barcode should not fall over a fold as this will hamper scanning. Be sure to leave some white space around the mobile barcode, and use a minimum of 1 x 1-inch print specification. For TV or cinema, the code should to remain onscreen long enough for the viewer to launch the scanning application and scan the code.
3. Keep it Simple
Branded or custom QR codes are certainly getting some buzz, but it’s also important to create a code everyone can recognize. Producing your code in simple black and white checkered format will increase the number of phones and code readers that can scan it. Also, ensure you use global, open standards (i.e. Datamatrix) to maximize universal customer reach and impact.
4. Build Customer Affinity
Matthias Galica, the CEO of ShareSquare, provides tips for marketers and brands using QR codes, and specifically emphasizes testing a barcode for functionality across a variety of devices and scanner applications before launching. It’s important, especially because the consumers that scan codes are likely tech-savvy and vocal — the kind of consumers you want on your side.
5. Account for Objectives and Analytics
Boost sales, increase customer engagement, build brand loyalty, educate your audience. Whatever the campaign objective, be sure to define its goals before integrating a mobile barcode. Consider monitoring the campaign via a barcode management platform. Your business will be able to leverage the provider’s expertise, better assess your campaign effectiveness and evaluate its real-time success through analytics.
Following these practices will help analyze mobile ad spending and increase the success and ROI of your future barcode campaigns.
Images courtesy of iStockphoto, franckreporter, TimArbaev
More About: business, MARKETING, Mobile 2.0, QR Codes
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17 Web Resources for Improving Your Design Skills
Mollie Vandor is the Associate Product Manager at Cooking.com. Prior to that, she helped launch Ranker.com, where she served as the Product Manager, amongst many other roles. You can reach her @mollierosev, on her blog, or on her latest addiction – Words With Friends, where she plays under the username “Mollierosev.”
While summer vacation winds to a close and students prepare to go back to school, the days of brand new backpacks and crisp notebooks are long gone for many adults. Although classrooms, teachers and tuition might be off the table, it doesn’t mean education needs to be.
In fact, the Internet itself provides a wealth of educational opportunities. Furthermore, long summer days and relatively relaxed offices might provide the perfect setting for web education. Just think, while other people are rounding out their summer tans, you could be ringing in autumn with a whole new skill set — in this case, web design expertise. Tans fade. Beefier resumes keep shining.
Here’s a look at some of the best web resources for web design education.
101
Design 101 is all about the basics: master the lingo, learn the software and familiarize yourself with the driving principles that govern good design. To that end, your first stop should be a survey course of sorts. Try the Psdtuts+ self-study curriculum, where you can soak up the basics of shape, spacing, rhythm, typography, color, texture and more. To reinforce those basic skills, check out the Albany Library Design Tutorial, a sort of interactive “design for dummies.” While the tutorial is a bit old school, technologically speaking, design-wise, it effectively covers the basics.
You may also want to learn a little bit about the grid system while you’re at it. The system is exactly what it sounds like: a grid or set of guides on which the elements of a web page are built. Working with the grid can help in mastering the art of clean, cohesive web design. And speaking of cohesiveness, you may also want to review Web Pages That Suck for examples of how not to utilize your newly minted design skills.
Once you’ve tackled design theory, get practical with Adobe Design Center. It has all the tools you need to turn that theory into design reality. If you’re more of a visual learner, investigate this collection of helpful YouTube Photoshop tutorials.
Upper Division
You’ve mastered the basics, which means you’re ready for some fresh challenges and inspiration. For example, participate in The Daily Design Challenge by pledging to take on one design-related task per day for a full year. Whether you design a new font, doodle a small graphic or create a new logo for a beloved brand, set aside a few minutes every day to keep your skills sharp and your creative juices flowing.
If you’re really looking for a challenge, Layer Tennis is the web’s most creative competition. Sponsored by Adobe Creative Suite, Layer Tennis pits two competitors against each other in a weekly match-up. Every fifteen minutes, participants swap a single design file “back and forth in real-time, adding to and embellishing the work.” A writer provides play-by-play commentary while an active community of design aficionados looks on, providing a great forum to witness inspirational creative design in action.
Next, use that creative inspiration to fuel some serious studying. MIT offers free online coursework in comparative media, in which you learn about the design principles of different mediums. Similarly, iTunes offers podcast lectures about aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Vimeo’s Smarthistory videos discuss everything from Representations of David and the Florentine Renaissance to Duchamp and the Ready-Made, because there’s nothing like a little art history to help you create design history of your own.
Ongoing Education
Once you’ve gained a comprehensive understanding of the basics, a background of art history and a fresh set of advanced skills, ongoing education can provide you with the tools necessary to showcase your talent, not to mention the additional innovation to advance your craft.
According to Smashing Magazine, “The résumé is the first portfolio piece that potential employers see, and if they’re not impressed, chances are they won’t look at the rest of your portfolio.” Smashing offers a great tutorial to ensure that your résumé showcases your design skills. While you’re at it, make sure your portfolio illustrates the best of your aesthetic abilities.
Nothing inspires your future work quite like taking in current innovative design. To that end, check out the creative collection at Designspiration. Tumblr is also a great resource for finding fantastic designers, and Quora’s active community of graphic designers engages in dynamic conversation about the industry. Finally, Twitter has a plethora of design people worth following.
Whether you’re looking to get a grip on design basics, or you want to sharpen your advanced skills, web resources can help you construct the perfect creative (and flexible) curriculum. And with the right smartphone or tablet, you can even study while soaking up the last of the summer sun. Now that’s what we’d call an advanced placement course!
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, enviromantic
More About: design, education, web
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