Homeboy Media News

Homeboy Network > Our latest NEW blogs Network

2008-05-17T03:51:00.002+03:00

So, after a loooooong time in updating this current blog, we have an announcement to make.

We have registered our own domain name and as such we have created our brand NEW network of blogs. These are >

http://homeboy.gr

http://magazine.homeboy.gr

http://travel.homeboy.gr

You are cordially invited to read us there.

HAPPY NEW 2007

2006-12-31T13:37:00.000+02:00

To all our readers our best wishes for a

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!

The Spirit of Christmas

2006-10-15T22:10:00.000+03:00

Is already here!

Believe it or not, it does look upon us. And, nope! it does not look like a “Big Brother” does.

The Spirit of Christmas has a gentle look. A warm look. And it is a shining one!

The Spirit of Christmas is here! It’s showing us the way to follow it! Let’s go!

More > http://christmasspirit.wordpress.com/

Team Greece winning uphill battle for survival

2006-09-28T23:24:00.000+03:00

In that regard, the members of Greece's national hockey team and the rest of its small, close-knit hockey community were just like players the world over. Once upon a time, they never thought their toughest battle would be to simply have a place to play. But circumstances beyond their control left them without a single viable rink in their country and no funding for the national hockey program.

That's when a determined group of Greek hockey players, driven only by their love of the game and desire to play for their country and for one another, banded together. They fought both for the survival of their team and of hockey in their homeland.

Since 2003, Greece has been just one of one three European countries without a rink in the country, along with Albania and Malta. But the players of Team Greece have gone to extraordinary lengths to stay together on and off the ice. All the while, they've lobbied anyone who'll listen for a place to practice and play in their country.

The story of the Greek ice hockey team starts in the mid-1980s. In 1984, a group of Greek nationals returned home from hockey countries abroad to form the first national league in Greece. Soon the league consisted of five teams of amateur players; two in Athens, one in Pireus, one in Salonica and one in Chalkida. The first official game was played the following year in Athens.

Over the next four years, the rag-tag league gained better organization and stronger infrastructure for training. In 1989, the first Greek ice hockey championships took place on an Olympic-sized ice surface at Peace and Friendship Stadium, marking the first time organized hockey games were played on an International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) regulation-sized rink.

With growing youth participation in the sport, the Hellenic Ice Sports Federation formed the first Greek national junior hockey team in 1990. The team participated in the IIHF Pool C World Junior Championships in Yugoslavia. The next year, Team Greece took part in the IIHF Under-20 tournament held in Italy.

In 1992, the first adult-level version of Team Greece took shape shortly before the upcoming IIHF Pool C World Championships in South Africa. Despite having only two weeks of serious training, the squad won the bronze medal in the tournament.

Read the rest of this article > Team Greece winning uphill battle for survival

Church Treasures of Cyprus

2006-09-17T01:02:00.000+03:00

After the occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish forces in 1974, looters stripped the region's churches, removing several dozen major frescoes and mosaics dating from the sixth to the fifteenth century, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 icons, and thousands of chalices, wood carvings, crucifixes, and bibles. Recovery efforts by the Church of Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus have resulted in the return of some pieces through acquisition, trial, and seizure.

A major break came this past October when Munich police arrested 60-year-old Aydin Dikman, a central figure in the looting and selling of the church treasures. The cooperation of Dikman's former associate, Dutch art dealer Michel van Rijn, with Cypriot and German authorities made the arrest possible. By his own account, van Rijn, who claims descent from both Rembrandt and Rubens and has been convicted in France of forging Chagall's signature, had realized the error of his ways and wished to make amends by helping recover the artworks.

In apartments owned and rented by Dikman, police found Cypriot frescoes, mosaics, and icons, ancient coins, Precolumbian pottery, stolen paintings, and an unauthenticated Picasso. Police estimate the artworks and artifacts to be worth more than $60 million. If convicted of possessing and trafficking in stolen goods, Dikman faces up to 15 years in jail in Germany. Cyprus has requested his extradition.

Dikman's participation in the depredation of Cypriot heritage in the occupied part of the island was suspected as early as 1982, when reporter Mehmet Yasin, in the Turkish Cypriot weekly magazine Olay, identified him as an antiquities smuggler. It was not until 1989 that the extent of his role became somewhat clearer through testimony in the Goldberg case, a legal battle in federal court in Indianapolis over Byzantine mosaics from Cyprus. That nearly nine years passed before his arrest can be explained partly by Dikman's efforts to keep a low profile, working through dealers and seldom meeting directly with those who purchased items from him. Furthermore, those who knew that he was selling looted Cypriot artworks did not reveal his identity to authorities out of fear of personal retribution, concern that antiquities would be destroyed to do away with evidence, or unwillingness to jeopardize potential future acquisitions.
There have been three major recoveries of church treasures, and in each case the artworks, particularly the frescoes and mosaics, have been damaged and are in urgent need of conservation.

The first recovery came in the mid-1980s when the Menil Foundation of Houston, with Cypriot government and church authority approval, purchased from Dikman the thirteenth-century frescoes of Christ Pantokrator ("All Sovereign") and the Virgin with the archangels Michael and Gabriel from the Church of St. Themonianos near the village of Lysi. In June 1983 Dominique de Menil, Walter Hopps (then director of the Menil Collection), and Yanni Petsopoulos, a London dealer acting as an intermediary, met Dikman in Munich and examined two fresco fragments in one of his apartments. Dikman claimed the frescoes were from a ruined church in southern Turkey that was bulldozed during construction of a resort. They suspected that Dikman was lying, and in late June, the foundation engaged Herbert Brownell, a former United States attorney general, to investigate the legality of the acquisition. Brownell sent an inquiry letter and photographs of the frescoes to eight countries in lands once part of the Byzantine Empire. On September 6, 1983, Cyprus replied, identifying them as coming from the Church of St. Themonianos. De Menil contacted Vassos Karageorghis, then director of Cyprus' department of antiquities. By November 11, an understanding was reached whereby the Menil Foundation would acquire and restore the frescoes on behalf of the Church of Cyprus, which would then lend them to the foundation for an extended period.

The fragments were sent from Munich to London, where conservator Laurence J. Morrocco worked on them. The fresco of Christ Pantokrator had been cut from the church dome in 26 pieces, the Virgin from the apse in 12. Restoring them was nearly impossible because there were no measurements of the original structure (the church, in a military zone in the occupied area, was considered inaccessible), and the fresco fragments had lost their original curvature. To reconstruct the dome and apse, it was first necessary to determine their exact size and shape, then the appropriate curvature could be restored to the fragments so they would fit together on the curved surfaces. The process took three and one-half years.

In November 1987, as the restoration was nearing completion, Morrocco traveled to occupied Cyprus and surreptitiously visited the church to measure the dome and apse. He described what he found in a 1991 account of his work:

It was very strange for me to see the place where the frescoes had come from. It was as if it had just happened: the saw cuts were still visible in the plaster left behind when the fragments were ripped off. I could see how the thieves had cut crudely around the circumference of the base of the dome, leaving the angels' ankles and feet on the wall. Small pieces of the fresco lay scattered around the floor amidst dirt, straw, and sheep droppings.

Once the frescoes were reassembled, decisions had to be made about treating the damaged areas. The saw cuts were restored as invisibly as possible, but the larger missing areas, such as those around the base of the dome and in the lower part of the apse, were filled in with a dark color.

In April 1988, the reconstructed dome and apse frescoes were packed into large crates for the flight to Houston. In November 1997, nearly 14 years after they were bought from Dikman, the restored frescoes, housed in a specially constructed chapel consecrated by Archbishop Chrysostomos I, were put on display. According to a deposition taken for the Goldberg trial, Petsopoulos had offered the frescoes to the foundation for $850,000; the final price has not been disclosed. The conservation costs, according to Cypriot sources, were about $1 million.

Read more at > Special Report: Church Treasures of Cyprus

Why I Wrote Two Plays About Phaidra

2006-09-13T21:55:00.001+03:00

Your faces, I don't understand them. At night I stand at the back of the theater. I watch you suck in sex, death, devastation, hour after hour in a weird kind of unresisting infant heat, then for no reason you cool, flicker out. I guess for no reason is an arrogant thing to say. For no reason I can name is what I mean. It was a few years ago now I gave you a woman, a real mouthful of salt and you like salt. Her story, Phaidra's story, that old story, came in as a free wave and crashed on your beach. I don't understand, I could never have pre- dicted, your hatred of this woman. It's true she fell in love with someone wrong for her but half the heroines of your literature do that, Helen, Echo, Io, Agave, all of them.

So, Phaidra – a work in motion, surpassing her, surpassing itself - disappears again and again into Phaidra after Phaidra, but in this so-called second version. I wrote it to show how that feels. Phaidraless world. Her great soul withdrawn, the story goes through its tricks in a weak voltage of vicious reactions and bad piety, which I hope will amuse you but this fact remains, there is no shock in it anywhere except Aphrodite. Aphrodite is pure shock. When she comes onstage in the prologue and tells you about a few simple stitches she is going to take in the lives of Phaidra, Hippolytos and Theseus, you feel the salt of absolute cruelty sting your face. That needle flashes in and out of living skulls. I guess by the time I came to write the prologue (I usually write the prologue last) I had pretty much given up on saving Phaidra, the real one. But there is a residue of her gone down into Aphrodite's anger. It is sexual anger. Or is all anger sexual? Remember (if you saw the first play) the advice Phaidra gives to her pale groaning husband when he confronts her about the boy:

Phaidra: Instead of fire – another fire, not just a drop of cunt sweat! is what we women are – you cannot fight it.

Read the rest of this article > Why I Wrote Two Plays About Phaidra

Balls to Picasso's masculinity

2006-09-08T22:48:00.001+03:00

For years, Picasso identifies with the image of the minotaur and once went so far as to describe the bull-man archetype as analogous to himself. This mythical creature is conveniently revived from ancient Greece as a grandiose pretext for showing off; for it allows Picasso to hang upon the human frame the formidable head and testicles of a bull.

What kind of courage did it really take Picasso to advertise his randy instincts? How can his manifest indulgence - supported by an establishment of collectors and museums - be construed as an act of resistance?

Never was ancient myth so prostituted in the service of an artist's delusion, and never were such fantasies turned so successfully to the marketing of conceit and the pomposity of genius. How can we celebrate all that big-headedness, especially when transacted in an age of mass extermination?

Read the rest of the article > Balls to Picasso's masculinity

Amazon wins race to offer online movies

2006-09-08T20:03:00.001+03:00

Amazon.com beat Apple to the punch Thursday with a new service that lets customers download movies to their computers and take them for on-the-go viewing on portable media players -- but not on Apple iPods.

The Amazon Unbox service is expected to compete head-to-head with Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes store, which already offers music videos and TV shows and is expected to include full-length movie downloads soon.

The companies' race to launch their movie services reflects the changing ways consumers are getting their entertainment.

But industry analysts questioned the prospects of Amazon's new service because it won't work on iPods and it could be cumbersome to transfer the technology to the family room TV.

Amazon officials, however, were giddy about partnering with more than 30 studios and networks to offer its customers thousands of titles, including some TV series episodes available the day after they first run. Those will go for $1.99 per episode, while most movies will cost $7.99 to $14.99, Amazon said. Movies also can be rented for $3.99, about what consumers pay at video stores.

With the Unbox, consumers can download a video with a DVD-quality picture, Amazon said. It would enable consumers to buy a show using one personal computer, such as at the office, and download it to another, likely at home. The shows would work on any Microsoft Windows Media video-compatible portable device, including Creative Zen Vision:M.

Read the story at > Amazon wins race to offer online movies

Spain thump Greece to claim crown

2006-09-03T21:55:00.001+03:00

Spain shrugged off the loss of injured star Pau Gasol to thrash Greece 70-47 and claim the World Basketball Championship title for the first time.

It was Spain's first medal in global competition since the 1984 Olympics, and they went through the tournament undefeated, winning all nine matches.

Greece could not reproduce the form which shocked the USA in the semis.

Read more at > Spain thump Greece to claim crown

In odyssey, Greek wasn't their hero

2006-09-02T22:15:00.001+03:00

Phantasmagorical. In a word, that's what it was.

Homer, the old Greek scribbler, would have relished this 3-hour-48-minute rewrite of his "Odyssey". Though only a tennis match, the wandering of two combatants called Andre and Marcos through a variety of perils along the treacherous way to the third round of the US Open was high melodrama in five acts that seduced countless viewers. They watched across the globe via the electronic Cyclops, TV, or were eyewitnesses in the amphitheater honoring an earlier battler, Arthur Ashe.

Those in the immediate Flushing Meadows audience formed a Greek chorus of 23,736 voices -- but they were not there to praise the young Greek Cypriot , Marcos Baghdatis. Far from it. Their hero was the ancient one, a wielder of a gut-strung scepter, the Armenian-blooded Andre Agassi. They let Baghdatis know it every sneakered step of the way from Thursday night into yesterday morning.

Such a loud and raucous clamor of feverish adulation and hero worship hadn't been raised here since 1991, when another beloved ancient, James Scott Connors, 39, was bashing his way improbably to the semifinals. Jimmy, like 36-year-old Andre, was a midnight man, forcing his foes to toil -- fruitlessly -- from one day into the next, winding up the faithful like cuckoo clocks.

But at the juncture of midnight, the chorus was wary and worried because the Greek had just struck one of his 23 aces and another of his 12 service winners to pull even, 3-3, in the climactic fifth act. Baghdatis, the bearded belter, seemed the killjoy who would take down Agassi like the whirlpool, Charybdis, that threatened Homer's main man, Odysseus.

The beguiling nail-biter, twisting and turning like Charybdis, and changing directions often, suspensefully lurched toward Baghdatis three games before the curtain. He was one point from virtual victory four times. But the Greek gods -- Zeus & Co. -- must, curiously, have turned their eyes away from Baghdatis and gleamingly onto Agassi, the triumphant: 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5.

Read more at > In odyssey, Greek wasn't their hero

Greece sizzles while U.S. shooters struggle

2006-09-01T19:03:00.001+03:00

Our Greek National Basketball Team has made us proud again!

Greece 101 - USA 95

The Greeks (8-0) can add a world title to the European championship they won in 2005 with a victory over either Spain or Argentina in Sunday's gold medal game. Those teams, also undefeated, met in Friday's second game.

"They played like a champion plays," United States forward Shane Battier said of Greece.

"Basketball is not just about dribbling and shooting," said Greece coach Panagiotis Yannakis, who took a congratulatory call from Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis after the game. "You can come off the bench with a clear mind and give the best of your talent and that's what our players did today."

The Greeks - with no current NBA players on their roster - danced in a circle at halfcourt after their victory over an American team put together after a series of recent failures.

"Big players play big games," said guard Theodoros Papaloukas, the MVP of the European final who had 12 assists Friday. "And today I think we played very good."

Read the Fox Sports article > Greece sizzles while U.S. shooters struggle

Monkey Bites

2006-08-16T18:16:00.001+03:00

Wired's Monkey Bites blog is full of goodies!

Check it out!

Who Let the Blogs Out? Legal Experts Offer Tips on Avoiding Trouble

2006-08-16T03:31:00.001+03:00

The race into the blogosphere has reached a feverish pace. Statistics house Technorati estimates that some 75,000 blogs are created every day, nearly one per second, joining the more than 40 million blogs already populating cyberspace. That's twice as many blogs as there were just six months ago. And newspapers of all sizes clearly have no intention of being left behind, as E&P has documented over the past two years. At McClatchy Co.'s News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., for example, Public Editor Ted Vaden says his newspaper has expanded its stake from a half-dozen blogs a year ago to 18 today.

But with all the excitement and potential for new readers and financial invigoration, something else is rippling: growing unease about the dangers of blogs -- especially legal liabilities in the land of the free and perhaps overly brave.

"There is a lag between newspaper publishers' rush to monetize blogs and at the same time making sure their ethics policies and internal editorial controls keep up with the rollout of new forms of technology and content," warns Seattle-based attorney Robert A. Blackstone, partner at the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

At http://www.washingtonpost.com/, which sometimes posts blog entries without editing them, blog humor columnist Joel Achenbach said, "I keep thinking today is the day I will write something that destroys The Washington Post as a newspaper." But he quickly adds that he sees no clear and present danger, neither from his own writing nor from the voluminous number of comments his blog generates: "I think the vast majority of people who want to participate in our blogs are intelligent and civil."

Read this at > Who Let the Blogs Out? Legal Experts Offer Tips on Avoiding Trouble

Cyprus: Aspects of the Problem

2006-08-13T18:14:00.000+03:00

The Cypriot and foreign press, as well as the testimonies given to the authorities of the Republic by various sources, prove that more than 500 Greek Orthodox churches and chapels and 17 monasteries that are located in towns and villages of the occupied part of our island have been pillaged, deliberately vandalised and/or torn down. The current location of their ecclesiastical furnishings and items (which include more than 15.000 portable icons) remains unknown to this day. The most significant and priceless of these icons have already been auctioned off and sold by art dealers abroad. Since the summer of 1974, all the legitimate archaeological excavations in the occupied part of the island in the Districts of Ammochostos (Famagusta), Kerynia and Morfou were interrupted and transferred to the free areas of Cyprus.

Unique archaeological remains dating to all the historical periods of Cypriot civilization, including countless sculptures, ceramics, figurines, statuettes, basins, tools, weapons, manuscripts, historical accounts and other works of art have been stolen and illegally exported to be sold at high prices in the international market. This is a clear indication that illegal excavation of archaeological areas is commoplace.

The Department of Antiquities has both evidence and testimonies of destruction that has occurred not only due to abandonment but also to illegal excavations, looting and/or building activities. This information has reached the Department of Antiquities either via articles in the Turkish-Cypriot press sometimes accompanied with photographs, or via various government sources. Most sites and monuments have been given Turkish names in an attempt to disassociate them from their origin and context, thus alienating them from their true identity.

In addition to the looting of museums in the occupied areas, illegal exportation of antiquities and smuggling of items permanently exhibited or displayed in the museums or forming part of unpublished material from the storerooms of foreign archaeological missions, was reported. The Department of Antiquities has similar testimonies concerning missing Byzantine icons, ecclesiastical vessels, embroideries and woodcarvings from the Bishopric of Kerynia, as well as all the icons and manuscripts kept, until 1974, in the Centre for the Conservation of Icons and Manuscripts of the Monastery of Agios Spyridon in Tremetousia. These activities are tangible proof for the total lack of respect towards the Greek Orthodox places of worship, and by the Turks in the occupied areas.
Read this at > Press and Information Office - Aspects of the Problem

Official warning on Windows bugs

2006-08-11T18:18:00.001+03:00

The US Department of Homeland Security has urged Windows users to install the latest patches from Microsoft as quickly as possible. In particular it warned about one bug fixed in the latest batch of security updates that, if exploited, could put a PC under the control of an attacker.

Microsoft's recent update fixed 23 flaws found in Windows software.

Many of these bugs are known to malicious hackers and some are already actively exploited on the net.

Get the updates now, go to > Official warning on Windows bugs

Sophocles' Oedipus gets a cheeky, interesting makeover

2006-08-07T23:55:00.001+03:00

Sophocles’ tragedies get a cheeky and interesting makeover by Nova Arts Project.

Not content with tackling all three of Sophocles’ Oedipus tragedies in a single “freely adapted” treatment, they’ve also given one (Oedipus at Colonus) an irreverent new title: The Gods Are Big Poop Heads. It’s the theatrical equivalent of standing in an electrical storm and daring lightning to strike.

Yet the fact that Oedipus Rex and Antigone retain their original titles evinces a certain inconsistency in Nova Arts’ Oedipus. Especially at the start, an antic air suggests the company intends to kid the material. Teasingly slangy, the dialogue abounds in anachronisms. The oracles and messengers are played in broadly comic style, like figures in a Monty Python skit. One bewilders Oedipus with a set of increasingly ridiculous demands culminating in “Now do the hokey-pokey and shake yourself about.”

Read the review > Sophocles' Oedipus gets a cheeky, interesting makeover

How the web went world wide

2006-08-07T13:42:00.001+03:00

In a few short years the web has become so familiar that it is hard to think of life without it.

Along with that familiarity with browsers and bookmarks goes a little knowledge about the web's history.

Many users know that Sir Tim Berners-Lee developed the web at the Cern physics laboratory near Geneva.

But few will know the details of the world wide web's growth - not least because the definitive history of how that happened has yet to be written. So here's your chance to learn everything. Just read this > How the web went world wide

Revealing secrets of Archimedes

2006-08-04T19:53:00.001+03:00

In this excellent coverage Revealing secrets of Archimedes by Lisa M. Krieger of San Jose Mercury News the reader can read in a non-scientific written article, that is in simple and understandable Enlish, all about the discovery which I think must be considered as one of the most important of this century. Not because it makes me proud being a Greek, but because mankind will be able to understand and appreciate Archimides’ work.

It is known that Archimides exclaimed the famous ”Eureka!” upon discovering how to measure volume while sitting in his bathtub.

The article includes some excellent pictures and graphics as well as a short history about medieval scripts.

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED

Curator’s Web site: www.archimedespalimpsest.org

• Today, 7 p.m., Cantor Museum, Stanford University: Stanford physicist Uwe Bergmann will explain how the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is used in reading the Archimedes text.

• Friday, 4 p.m.: Exploratorium Webcast: www.exploratorium.edu/archimedes/index.html

I highly recommend you to read the article. I’m sure you will agree with me. Here is the link > Revealing secrets of Archimedes

The Splendid Corpse of Byzantium

2006-08-02T16:27:00.001+03:00

Today, the very name of Byzantium is known to many readers only thanks to W.B. Yeats, who used it as a blank canvas on which to project his poetic fantasies.

The title of "Sailing From Byzantium" (Delacorte, 336 pages, $22), Colin Wells's smart and accessible new history, pays homage to Yeats's famous poem, "Sailing to Byzantium," which makes "the holy city" a metaphor for the eternal realm of art:

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.

Read more > The Splendid Corpse of Byzantium

Odyssey/Greece/Homepage

2006-08-01T20:37:00.001+03:00

Welcome to Greece! When you look at the night sky you see constellations named for heroes and heroines of ancient Greek mythology - Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Orion, and Perseus.

You may live near a city that takes its name from ancient Greece, like Athens in Texas, Georgia, or New York. Nashville, Tennessee calls itself the "Athens of the South" and is home to an exact replica of the Parthenon, the 5th-century BC Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Their NFL team is even called the Tennessee Titans, named for the first of the ancient Greek gods.

One of our most significant human accomplishments - manned flight to the moon - was named for the Greek god Apollo. The center of American government and well-known American national monuments look back to the buildings of ancient Greece. Why are we fascinated with ancient Greece?

Greek culture - its myths, theater, architecture, and sports - has influenced and inspired people for centuries, even millennia! We see the evidence of ancient Greece around us every day - in the constellations we identify in the heavens or the Olympic games held every four years; in the stories we tell and in the movies we see; in the architecture of our houses, churches, and public buildings and in our democratic system of government.

In this section of Odyssey Online, we'll look at ancient Greek objects to learn more about the people who made and used them, the rich culture of these people, and their legacy in our lives today. First, where is Greece? Take a look at a map. Odyssey/Greece/Homepage

The ghost city of Cyprus

2006-07-28T21:25:00.000+03:00

Once a tourist destination rivalling Spain's Marbella and Majorca, this southern part of the ancient port city of Famagusta has been a virtual ghost town since 1974.

About 15,000 largely Greek Cypriot inhabitants fled after Turkish troops invaded the island - an attack launched in response to a coup attempt by Greek nationalists aiming to adjoin the island to Greece.

Turkish forces occupied Varosha, but then withdrew, putting up a ring of barbed wire and barricades around it. For 32 years, it has stood empty, save for the odd Turkish guard post, group of sunbathing officers and stray cat.

Read the article > The ghost city of Cyprus

Turkey's Anti-Americanism

2006-07-28T21:20:00.001+03:00

The American reaction to these outrageous pogroms reflect the misguided support for Turkey over the period of many decades. In additon, Turkey invaded Cyprus during the summer of 1974 under the guise of upholding the accords which established the independence of Cyprus in 1959 and occupied thirty seven percent of Cyprus.

Over 200,000 Greek Cypriots were ethnically cleansed as many young girls were raped by Turkish soldiers. To date, over 1,600 Greek Cypriots remain missing. The Turkish invasions of Cyprus have been presiding over the Islamicization of the island. Greek Orthodox Monasteries dating to the Byzantine era are either being converted into Mosques or destroyed. In April 2004, there was a referendum held in the free and occupied parts of Cyprus. The citizens of the free parts of Cyprus voted against the United Nations plan that would have in effect sealed the Turkish occupation and denies native Cypriots such basic rights as freedom of movement.

The American news media failed to distinguish between the Republic of Cyprus which is the legal authority over the whole of Cyprus but which controls only sixty three percent of the island Republic, and the occupied parts of Cyprus which remain under the control of the Turkish military. Greek Cypriots voting in free Cyprus were blamed while "Turkish Cypriots" were praised for allegedly accepting the U.N. Plan.

The reality is that the referendum in the Republic of Cyprus was conducted in a free atmosphere while the referendum in the occupied territories took place under the auspices of 30,000 Turkish soldiers and with the participation of 100,000 Turkish settlers from Anatolia who have no Cypriot origins. The Plan of U.N. Secretary General Annan for Cyprus was intended to legitimize the Turkish occupation, but the Greek majority of Cyprus apparently irritated Annan and his supporters by practicing democracy.

Read the article > Turkey's Anti-Americanism

Books > A personal view of Beirut

2006-07-23T20:27:00.000+03:00

In Abraham Firestone March's book, "To Beirut and Back: An American In The Middle East," published in May, the former Dover resident writes of his time as a naive but aggressive businessman in a place, time and culture that intrigued, irritated and sometimes terrified him: Lebanon and the Middle East during the 1970s.The book includes his family's travels through Canada, Greece, Germany and finally to Lebanon. While there, he was robbed and kidnapped during a civil war. He left the country in 1974 because of financial trouble but returned a year later.

March's story starts with his excitement, determination and admiration for the beauty of his surroundings. But fear of the unknown was also an underlying emotion. With Lebanon now in the crossfire of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah fighters, March, now living in Germany, agreed to a question-and-answer session via e-mail.

Read the interview at > A personal view of Beirut

Sea coral designs branch into home furnishings

2006-07-23T20:21:00.001+03:00

In some cultures, coral has been revered since early civilization. For the ancient Greeks, it was a symbol of rebirth based on the myth of the beheading of Medusa, when her gushing blood is said to have changed into coral on contact with the sea. The Chinese consider it a symbol of social status and wealth, and look to it for protection, happiness and even eternity. Coral is considered an amulet for a blissful marriage and for preventing fever, smallpox and failed pregnancy.

Myths, symbols and superstitions aside, there are other reasons to love coral's linear patterns and characteristic hues as well as its shapes. At its most vivid end of the orange-red spectrum, the color is electric, especially in neutral spaces. But it also may co-exist in startling combinations with other brights, such as cobalt blue or lime green.

Coral's organic roots, of course, are savored as design elements based in nature. The intrinsic twisting, branching form is intriguing, whether it is expressed in an all-over pattern or small sprays. Veining on white is almost startling, while some coral networks are more like tendrils on a vine.

Read the rest of this article > Sea coral designs branch into home furnishings

Greeks at home on Aquidneck Island

2006-07-23T19:59:00.001+03:00

This is the second of an eight-part series looking at various ethnic groups that helped build Aquidneck Island's past and will help shape its future. June's installment focused on the Hispanic community. Today: the Greek community.

Peter and Harry Kyriakides remember the day they first laid eyes on Johnny's Atlantic Beach Club. As they drove into the parking lot of the restaurant on Purgatory Road in Middletown, they knew this was it - the place that would change it all. But they also knew that would not happen without hard work, something for which the brothers and their Greek ancestors are known. Today, nearly 30 years later, the beach club has shortened its name, but not its reputation. It's known as a place to get a high-quality meal or socialize with friends over a Red Sox game in the bar. The brothers also run several successful hotels in the area and are planning a major renovation to one of them.

But that's not the thing of which they are most proud. Rather, the Kyriakides say they're happy they've been accepted into the community and feel like they've made a positive change as a part of Aquidneck Island.

Read more at > TRACING OUR ROOTS: Greeks at home on Aquidneck Island

Mexican vacation turns into horror among 'The Ruins'

2006-07-23T19:54:00.001+03:00

Scott Smith's latest novel, "The Ruins," really grows on you.

When two couples head to Cancun, Mexico, to celebrate graduating from college with a three-week vacation, they're looking forward to nothing but lazy days on the beach. On a snorkeling outing to Cozumel one day, they meet Mathias, a friendly German tourist who winds up hanging out with the Americans on the beach at the end of each day. A few days later they are joined by a trio of young Greek men also on vacation. The Greeks don't speak or understand English - but that's not a necessary skill for drinking buddies to bond.

Mathias confides in his new American friends - Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacy - that his younger brother, Heinrich, is missing. Heinrich had met a girl on the beach and told Mathias he wanted to join her at the archeological dig where she was working a few small towns away. He told Mathias if things went well, he might not be back in time for their return flight.

But yes, please go on and read the rest of this book review at > Mexican vacation turns into horror among 'The Ruins'

Collector's Corner: Collectible Perfume Bottles

2006-07-23T19:48:00.001+03:00

Scented oils and resins, and the vessels which held them, have existed since the dawn of history. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians, like the Greeks and Romans who followed, burned incense during religious and civic ceremonies, and anointed their bodies with perfumed oils, ointments, and cosmetics. And of course, it was necessary to create special containers for those products.

Egyptian tombs have yielded containers made of pottery and alabaster, while archaeological excavations throughout the Mediterranean region have unearthed ceramic and glass containers made by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. Venetian and Murano glass makers made what are considered some of the most exquisite perfume bottles in the 16th and 17th centuries A.D., while the British mastered enamel and porcelain in the 18th.

Read the rest of this most interesting article at > Collector's Corner: Collectible Perfume Bottles

CinemaNow to Sell Movie Downloads

2006-07-19T22:49:00.001+03:00

CinemaNow Inc. will begin selling mainstream movies for download that can be transferred to DVD and watched on standalone players, marking a first for Hollywood films bought and distributed over the Internet.

The online movie provider's "Burn to DVD" service was to debut Wednesday with more than 100 movies available, including "Scent of a Woman," "About a Boy," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Barbershop."

Read the article here > CinemaNow to Sell Movie Downloads

Echoes of past in Lebanon's present

2006-07-19T11:40:00.001+03:00

Please read this article from BBC > Echoes of past in Lebanon's present

Mercedes-Benz Builds Online Brand World

2006-07-14T16:54:00.001+03:00

It's a whole new "brand world" for Mercedes-Benz site: Mercedes-Benz Builds Online Brand World

Mercedes-Benz has launched a multimedia "brand world" on its Web site that features related content, including a virtual tour of the automaker's new museum in Stuttgart and a presentation on automotive technology innovations, in addition to sections marketing its models.

Spim, splog on the rise

2006-07-14T16:52:00.001+03:00

Spammers target new modes of communication. It always was and always will.

In Spim, splog on the rise "Spim" (instant-message spam) and "splog" (blog spam) are on the rise as spammers aim to "bypass e-mail-based antispam measures and more effectively target recipients based on their age, location and other characteristics," according to mail services company MessageLabs.

Spammers have also been able to take advantage of their ability to profile people on social-networking sites, said MessageLabs CTO Mark Sunner.

How to end the "Skip this Ad" option

2006-07-14T16:48:00.001+03:00

If online ads become more entertaining, offer greater interactivity and give users options for length and format, the "Skip this Ad" option may become a thing of the past, according to MediaPost's Dave Morgan.

"I think that there is a good chance that 'Skip the Ad' buttons will disappear some day; and, most significantly, consumers won't even care," he writes.

So, read this article Bringing 'Skip This Ad' To An End and learn how to end the "Skip this Ad" option for good maybe!

Peet’s Brews Expansion

2006-07-14T16:43:00.001+03:00

Peet’s considers its fresh roasted beans the “gold standard” in coffee.

Again, without naming giant Starbucks, O’Dea says Peet’s prices in stores are typically five to 10 cents more a cup than its competition and about 10% higher for a bag of whole beans. “Even at $11 per lb., it’s only about 23 cents a cup,” he notes.

In this article Peet’s Brews Expansion it is also said that Peet’s retail units, which also sell pastries, account for 68% of the company’s business, with the remainder fairly evenly split among the other three channels, with grocery stores holding a slight majority share. The average mature Peet’s store has annual revenues of $1.3 million.

Cheesecake Factory opens new spot

2006-07-14T16:38:00.001+03:00

The Cheesecake Factory opens new spot in Boise.

California-based restaurant The Cheesecake Factory is opening its first Idaho location in the Boise Towne Square mall, which is completing a 35,000-square-foot addition. The restaurant is known for being selective about new locations and has never closed a restaurant, said Howard Gordon, senior vice president of business development and marketing for the restaurant.

Read this article here > Cheesecake Factory will open at Boise Towne Square

In the Language of Gastronomy, Those Michelin Stars

2006-07-14T16:31:00.001+03:00

Gastronomy society talks the economics of Michelin stars.

At its inaugural meeting, the Society for Quantitative Gastronomy analyzed the rising price of dining at Parisian restaurants, relative to their Michelin star rating.

In the U.S., however, despite the arrival of the Michelin guide in New York City, it is easier to find good food at a decent price, thanks in part to an increase in ethnic dining, one economics professor says.

Read this article here > In the Language of Gastronomy, Those Michelin Stars Translate as Dollar Signs

Anheuser-Busch tests organic beer

2006-07-14T16:25:00.001+03:00

Anheuser-Busch Cos.' limited one-state test of its Wild Hop Lager organic beer may not change the face of the beer industry, but it may help smaller organic beer brewers if more farmers jump on the supply bandwagon, one writer says.

Read this article here > Going organic: Will consumers hop on Busch's bandwagon?

Sur La Table is ready to resume expansion

2006-07-14T16:22:00.001+03:00

"We are going to continue our expansion over the next several years and see where it takes us," said Behnke, whose family once ran a large Pepsi distributorship.

"At some point, we could get an offer to sell or we could go public or keep it the way it is, and when we get to a certain size let the cash flow take care of itself."

Read more here > Sur La Table is ready to resume expansion

Villa mosaic's secrets revealed

2006-07-14T00:26:00.001+03:00

Archaeologists excavating part of a Roman villa in Somerset have unearthed a mosaic of Daphne and Apollo. The mosaic, which dates back to the 4th Century, is part of the Dinnington Roman Villa site near Ilminster.

It is thought to be the only one of its kind in the country to feature the figures from Greek mythology. The treasure was uncovered by a team of experts from Somerset County Council and students from Winchester University and Taunton's Richard Huish College. Dinnington Roman Villa was first discovered when a plough turned up pieces of mosaic tile.

Read more at > Villa mosaic's secrets revealed

According to Greek myth, the Sun God Apollo was struck by one of Cupid's arrows, causing him to fall in love with Daphne, the daughter of River God Peneus. Fleeing from Apollo, Daphne prayed to her father for help, and was turned into a laurel tree.

Beauty for its own sake

2006-07-09T18:41:00.001+03:00

As the V&A opens a new gallery of Islamic art, the author travels to Cairo to discover the origins of the museum's exquisite artefacts > Beauty for its own sake

A few years ago, I happened to look at Matisse's Snail in Tate Modern just after returning from Granada. The revolving slabs of colour in Matisse's papier coupé looked a lot like the tiles of the Alhambra. And that is not accidental. Matisse was an enthusiastic admirer of Islamic art. That is puzzling only if you search for a focus that is not there. Essentially, the purpose of Islamic art and architecture is its beauty. And that is not hard to understand at all.

The Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art at the V&A, London SW7 (020 7942 2000), opens on July 20; 'Word Into Art', British Museum, London WC1 (020 7323 8299), until September 3.

How to brand an animal for life

2006-07-09T18:23:00.001+03:00

Theiss demonstrated the procedure. As with fire branding, at least in the best of worlds, the cattle to be branded should be restrained. Although the cattle and other animals do not react nearly as strongly to freeze branding as they do to fire branding, the irons must be held in place a little longer with freeze branding. > FROSTY WAY TO BRAND AN ANIMAL FOR LIFE

Historically, the origin of branding livestock dates from 2700 B.C., the year archeologists date paintings in Egyptian tombs that document branding oxen with hieroglyphics. Ancient Greeks and Romans marked livestock and slaves with a hot iron and, over on this side of the world, Hernando Cortez introduced branding from Spain to the New World in 1541.

People today use microchipping in their horses, but the chips travel around the horse’s body and offer no way for an owner looking for a lost animal to find that animal from afar, Theiss noted.

Winemakers get help from the EU to stay competitive

2006-07-09T18:19:00.001+03:00

It was the first harvest of the new millennium, yet little seemed to have changed since the Greeks and Romans tended vines here in the flatlands of Puglia, the heel of boot-shaped Italy.

Local women converged on the vineyards to handpick the grapes as had generations before them. Laborers carried wooden buckets laden with fruit across the reddish sands of the vineyards to waiting tractors, one of the few signs of modern times. > Winemakers get help from the EU to stay competitive

But change was very much on Sergio Botrugno's mind for that 2000 vintage, and he knew his octogenarian father, Romolo, wouldn't like it.

"I knew he would get angry, so I asked him to stay at home," the son recalls. "He showed up in the fields anyway and started swearing at me. He thought I had gone mad."

Towering over the vines and the stooping women, the former pro-basketball player gave a near-sacrilegious order: Ignore most of the crop and harvest only the best for his family's first bottled vintage.

The reaction was sheer horror. "No, no, this one is good, we can use it," a woman shrieked.

Aviation history is made by 'flapper'

2006-07-09T18:16:00.001+03:00

For an aeronautical engineer it was the perfect day and a perfect end to a quest that has consumed his life for more than 30 years. > Aviation history is made by 'flapper'

Yesterday Dr. James DeLaurier, an aeronautical engineer and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies, fulfilled a lifelong dream, seeing his manned mechanical flapping-wing airplane, or ornithopter, fly — a dream first imagined by Leonardo da Vinci.

And with the successful flight DeLaurier has been lucky enough to touch what many describe as the Holy Grail of aeronautical design, achieving a place for himself, his team of volunteers and students in aviation history.

The flapper, as it's affectionately known, sustained flight over about a third of a kilometre for 14 seconds at about 10:20 a.m. before being hit by a crosswind and almost flipping over, damaging the nose and front wheel on the runway at Downsview Park.

Free New Nickvoice and Sound Effect Collection from Audio4fun

2006-07-09T16:31:00.001+03:00

Audio4fun has enriched their sound effect and nickvoice collection for their Voice Changer Software users to free download http://www.audio4fun.com/nickvoices-effects.htm.

Long well-known as one of the first and top brands of media morphing applications, Audio4fun has incessantly improved their products and services. You can easily download free unique Audio4fun ringtones to make your cell phones fashionable. You are also updated with a lot of useful news about the information technology industry from Audio4fun Press Center. Last but not least, the collection of nickvoices and sound effects is really a cool freebie which specializes only for Voice Changer Software users.

The collection comprises two packages of Sound Effects and Nickvoices. If you are an owner of Voice Changer Software, you have a wide range of choices to enhance your current effect library. With the Xmas effect, you will be amused by the sound of Christmas bells and reindeers. The Halloween effect can threaten those who are weak-hearted by the voice of the witch or the howling in the midnight. The collection also introduces many effects that can alter your input audio file to serve your various needs such as reducing noise, filtering high bass, creating vibrato, etc.

Eight smaller packages of preset nickvoices allow you to speak, talk, sing, and even laugh in many voices of your choice. Besides, you can color up your audio clips by modifying the original voice into the voice of animals, or characters in tales. With every downloaded nickvoice or effect, you are absolutely excited and eager to get more.

“We would always like to give our customers more than what they have paid for,” said Helen Le, Sale & Marketing Manager. “70% of our customers are young, thus very creative and keen on discovering the high-tech world. With this collection, hopefully we can provide a free valuable tool to encourage their creative competence.”

Download to see how cool the collection is at: http://www.audio4fun.com/nickvoices-effects.htm
The wide range of products of Audio4Fun is detailed on http://www.audio4fun.com.

Voice Changer Software for Female Online Game Players

2006-07-09T16:28:00.001+03:00

Audio4Fun (Avnex Ltd based in Nicosia, Cyprus) has announced to bring a surprising gift to female online game players by releasing its new AV Voice Changer Software at http://mp3-player.audio4fun.com/dj-music.htm.

After conducting a marketing research on the combination between Voice Changer Software and Online Role Playing Games, Avnex found that the number of female online game players is not small. Many of them have reached the highest level of some very difficult games such as World of Warcraft (60th level), which is considered the game for men only. However, most women have a common concern about the long-lasting existence of “male chauvinism” in the world of online games. In considering this point, Voice Changer Software proves very helpful to solve the problem.

The new AV Voice Changer Software has preset nickvoices for female, which help female users easily change their voice into very manly voice. We all know that voice communication is highly important in online role playing games as it is the only feature that enables players to affirm their identities and play their roles smoothly in a game community. Many women find changing voice really necessary because most of them have failed to play together with a group of all men (of course, male partners can easily recognize female voices through voice chat application).

AV Voice Changer Software also allows users to create their own nickvoices by changing Pitch and Timbre to a suitable level and saving the setting as a preset for later use. Other features, such as Advanced Tune, Noise Reduction, etc. play a very important role in making the altered voice natural and authentic.

It is certain that AV Voice Changer Software is useful not only for women or for online games but also for other working and entertaining purposes (such as making voice-over, voice dubbing or simply changing voice for fun in chat rooms). However, AV Voice Changer Software is somehow a unique product for female online game players who want to prove that playing online games is not a pastime for men only, and that their talent can make male partners goggle.
Currently, AV Voice Changer Software features three editions: Voice Changer Software, Voice Changer Software Gold and Voice Changer Software Diamond. Please visit http://www.audio4fun.com/ for more information.

Contact: Website: http://www.audio4fun.com

AVnex Ltd > Company Description

Throughout many years of development, Audio4fun has been engaged with audio and video software technologies, specializing in three core areas:
Audio and Video Morphing Algorithms: These algorithms enable users to change voices, sounds, and images generated from digital devices on PCs and PC plug-ins in real time. These morphing algorithms include the Pitch-Timbre morpher, Frequency morpher, advanced tune, equalizer, and others.

Audio and Video Stream Interception: This technology provides the capability to hook together audio and video streams generated from different sources: record streams, playing streams, and capture streams. In other words, no matter what the source of the sound is — a microphone, media player, internet radio/video, voice chat, PC2Phone, or web cam — the sound will be hooked and processed.

Audio and Video Real Time Effecting:One of our greatest successes is making it possible to apply sound and picture effects in real time. This creates ways to change voices and images broadcast in chat rooms and internet conversations.

Download Audio4fun products at http://mp3-player.audio4fun.com/free-audio-software.htm.

Free New Nickvoice and Sound Effect Collection from Audio4fun

2006-07-09T16:23:00.001+03:00

Nicosia, Cyprus based Audio4fun has enriched their sound effect and nickvoice collection for their Voice Changer Software users to free download http://www.audio4fun.com/nickvoices-effects.htm.

Long well-known as one of the first and top brands of media morphing applications, Audio4fun has incessantly improved their products and services. You can easily download free unique Audio4fun ringtones to make your cell phones fashionable. You are also updated with a lot of useful news about the information technology industry from Audio4fun Press Center. Last but not least, the collection of nickvoices and sound effects is really a cool freebie which specializes only for Voice Changer Software users.

The collection comprises two packages of Sound Effects and Nickvoices. If you are an owner of Voice Changer Software, you have a wide range of choices to enhance your current effect library. With the Xmas effect, you will be amused by the sound of Christmas bells and reindeers.
The Halloween effect can threaten those who are weak-hearted by the voice of the witch or the howling in the midnight. The collection also introduces many effects that can alter your input audio file to serve your various needs such as reducing noise, filtering high bass, creating vibrato, etc.

Eight smaller packages of preset nickvoices allow you to speak, talk, sing, and even laugh in many voices of your choice. Besides, you can color up your audio clips by modifying the original voice into the voice of animals, or characters in tales. With every downloaded nickvoice or effect, you are absolutely excited and eager to get more.

“We would always like to give our customers more than what they have paid for,” said Helen Le, Sale & Marketing Manager. “70% of our customers are young, thus very creative and keen on discovering the high-tech world. With this collection, hopefully we can provide a free valuable tool to encourage their creative competence.”

Download to see how cool the collection is at: http://www.audio4fun.com/nickvoices-effects.htm
About Avnex Ltd.:
Throughout many years of development, Audio4fun has been promoting audio and video software technologies and specializing in three core areas: Audio and Video Morphing Algorithms, Audio and Video Stream Interception, Audio and Video Real Time Effecting.
The wide range of products of Audio4Fun is detailed on http://www.audio4fun.com

Contact Avnex Ltd:
PO Box 27057, Nicosia, Cyprus
Website: http://www.audio4fun.com

Two new World Cup worms appear

2006-07-09T16:21:00.001+03:00

Two new email worms are exploiting interest in the World Cup to attack computers and turn them into part of a botnet, SC Magazine UK reports.

The Sixem.A worm spreads using a variety of disguises, including subject lines such as "Naked World Cup game set," "Soccer fans killed five teens" and "Crazy soccer fans," to try and dupe unsuspecting users into clicking on a malicious attachment.

If the attached file is run, it attempts to disable security software on the infected computer and then spread itself to other email addresses.

Another worm, W32.Worm.Zade.A, is a new mass emailing worm that sends itself out as a World Cup themed message. Once a machine is infected with it, it attempts to download and execute a file from a remote server and terminate anti-virus and personal firewall software.

"In this time of football frenzy, we urge all computer users not to open any suspect emails and attachments and get caught off side," said one security expert.

Worm disguised as Windows Genuine Advantage

2006-07-09T16:20:00.001+03:00

No matter what, Microsoft seems to be out of luck as far as the WGA tool is concerned, according to PortalIT. The latest addition to the “WGA is malware” scandal is a genuine piece of malware: a worm posing as Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage.

According to IT security experts, the Cuebot-K worm only affects AOL Instant Messenger users. The malware has the “Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Notification” display name. It registers itself as a new system driver service dubbed “wgavn” and runs automatically during system startup.

"People may think they have been sent the file from one of their AOL IM buddies, but in fact the program has no friendly intentions. Technical Windows users wouldn't be surprised to see WGA in their list of services, and so may not realise that the worm is using that name as a cloak to hide the fact that it has infected the PC," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

Once installed, the worm disables the Windows firewall, and opens a backdoor to infected computers, thus allowing hackers to gain remote access, launch distributed denial-of-service attacks.

As expected, users are told that removing or stopping the fake “wgavn” service would lead to “system instability”.

Bagle worms, trojans and spyware

2006-07-09T16:17:00.001+03:00

Panda's weekly report on viruses and intruders

The Bagle.JP, Bagle.JQ and Sixem.A worms, the Downloader.JFN Trojan, the backdoor Trojan Breplibot.R, the spyware Browsezilla, and the vulnerability discovered in HLINK.DLL, are the subject of this week's report from PandaLabs.

Bagle.JP and Bagle.JQ are worms from the Bagle family, whose first variants appeared in the year 2004. A prime characteristic of this family of worms has been the ability to spread massively by email and the large number of variants launched by the creators. The new Bagle.JP and Bagle.JQ variants spread in a password-protected .zip file attached to an email, which also includes a .gif image with the password needed to open the file. The infection occurs if the user opens the .zip file with the password provided and then runs the file. Both worms collect email addresses from the infected computer in order to spread to other users and have rootkit options to hide their files, processes and registry entries. In addition, they disable a series of processes related with security tools such as antiviruses and firewalls.

Sixem.A is an email worm that uses the subject of the FIFA World Cup as bait. When run, it downloads the Downloader.JGP Trojan onto computers. Among other tactics, it tries to encourage users to open an image supposedly relating to a 'nudist world cup', although this is really an executable file with a double extension. To avoid detection, Sixem.A disables a series of processes related to system security, including antivirus programs and firewalls.

Downloader.JFN is a Trojan that exploits a currently unpatched vulnerability detected in Microsoft Excel that could allow arbitrary code to be run on the computer. The Trojan infects systems through an Excel file created especially to exploit this vulnerability. On opening the malicious Excel file, Downloader.JFN is injected in the Internet Explorer process and then downloads and runs another Trojan. The Trojan cannot spread itself, and requires user interaction in order to infect a computer (e.g. opening an email attachment or file downloaded from a website).

Breplibot.R is a backdoor Trojan that opens a communication port on computers and connects to an IRC server to receive commands that allow remote control over the infected computer. It makes a call to the netsh command to prevent being blocked by the firewall. Breplibot.R also requires user intervention in order to spread, (e.g. opening an email attachment or file downloaded from a website or P2P networks). This worm has been detected attached to messages that refer to an alleged oil fraud involving George W. Bush and Tony Blair.

Browsezilla is an Internet browser that can be downloaded from numerous web pages. When installed, it installs the adware PicsPlace on computers, which in turn connects users, without their knowledge, to certain adult content web pages. This generates an artificial number of hits on these websites, with the consequent financial benefits to the owners of the websites and the creators of Browsezilla. The consequences for users that install this browser are primarily unnecessary bandwidth usage caused by the hidden connection to these web pages. In addition, users could find themselves unjustly accused of visiting these pornographic websites.

PandaLabs has also warned this week of a vulnerability discovered in HLINK.DL, a library used by several Microsoft Office programs, such as Microsoft Excel. Exploits of this vulnerability have been detected that can infect computers using a specially-crafted Excel file. This document could be distributed by email or downloaded from a website. There is currently no patch available for this vulnerability, and users are therefore advised to treat all Excel files received with caution, regardless of their origin.

For more information and evaluation versions of all Panda Software solutions, visit http://www.pandasoftware.com/

Microsoft faces second spyware lawsuit

2006-07-09T16:15:00.001+03:00

A second class-action lawsuit filed in less than a week against Microsoft alleges that a central pillar of the company's anti-piracy effort — installed automatically on millions of computers — amounts to spyware, according to a Seattle Times report.

But the attorney behind the first suit, filed on behalf of a Los Angeles man, said the company addressed many of his concerns in a software update it issued last Tuesday.

The second suit, filed Friday on behalf of a group of Washington businesses and individuals, appears to refer to a test version of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), a Microsoft program that is designed to check whether a user is running a legitimate copy of the company's operating system software.

Before it was updated, WGA "phoned home" to Microsoft servers once a day, delivering information about a user's computer and operating system. This daily communication was not disclosed when WGA was installed and fits the definition of spyware offered by at least two computer security groups, the Washington suit alleges.

It also states that users who elected to receive automatic updates from Microsoft "received WGA without user action, as though it was a critical security update — which it is not."
Microsoft disputes the allegations.

"We're confident that the allegations made in these suits are without merit," said Microsoft spokesman Jim Dessler. "They really do distort the objectives of our anti-piracy program and obscure the real issue here, which is the harm caused by piracy and counterfeiting not only to Microsoft, but to our customers."

The plaintiffs in the Washington suit — two businesses and three individuals who are "owners and users of computers running genuine licensed Microsoft Windows XP software" — are seeking class-action status against the company. The class would include all U.S. computer owners and users who have WGA software installed on their computers, according to the complaint.

Attorneys in the case could not be reached Monday.

Scott Kamber, an attorney representing the Los Angeles plaintiff, said the changes in the latest version of WGA, which include elimination of the daily "phone home" and a clearer licensing agreement, were a vindication.

"Microsoft knew it was wrong and that is why they changed it within 24 hours of us filing our complaint," Kamber said.

Dessler said the updates to WGA had nothing to do with the lawsuits.

"The program really has evolved to take into account customer feedback," Dessler said. It was "carefully developed to address privacy in a manner that is respectful to our customers and is entirely lawful."

PayPal fixes phishing hole

2006-07-09T16:13:00.001+03:00

PayPal has fixed a flaw in its Web site to block a sophisticated scam designed to obtain sensitive data from members, CNET reports.

By exploiting the flaw, attackers were able to redirect people from a PayPal Web page to an online trap located in South Korea. The page actually has a real PayPal URL, but hosts malicious code that presents a message warning members that their account had been compromised. It then redirects them to a phishing Web site.

At the malicious, information-thieving Web site, people are asked for their PayPal login information. Subsequently, they are urged to enter their Social Security number and credit card details.

"As soon as we became aware of this scheme, we changed some of the code on the PayPal Web site. So this scheme, or any scheme like it, can no longer be effective," a PayPal spokesperson said.

PayPal is working with the Internet service provider that hosts the malicious site to get it shut down. The company has no information on how many people may have fallen victim to the scam.

Phishing on the rise in U.S.

2006-07-09T16:12:00.001+03:00

The number of phishing emails sent to American online banking customers in order to steal passwords and account details increased significantly last month, Computing reports.

A new survey reveals that 62% of all phishing scams were aimed at US banks and credit unions, while the number of identity fraud attacks against European and other financial institutions dropped.

Some 40% of non-US focused attacks were aimed at non-English speaking countries, with Spain, Germany and The Netherlands the biggest targets.

According to the survey, the majority of scams were still launched by criminals using internet service providers in the United States. Germany beat China to become the second worst country in terms of hosting phishing attacks.

International Cyprus Trust

2006-07-09T14:19:00.001+03:00

The Law does not provide a comprehensive definition of ‘trusts’. Trusts law was largely developed by the courts on a case-by-case basis. It is the development of this case law which provides us with a better understanding of what a trust arrangement entails: Read this article here > International Cyprus Trust

The legal title to the trust property is vested in the trustee by its previous owner (the "settlor"). The trust property is managed by the trustee in accordance with the instructions of the settlor. These instructions are usually written and expressed in a trust deed of will (the "trust instrument"). They may also be oral.

The most important thing to note is that, even though the trustee has legal ownership of the trust property, it does not belong to him. Beneficial ownership of it belongs to the beneficiaries. So, the trust property, is an independent fund held by the trustee but available only to the beneficiaries.

New home for ancient artefacts

2006-07-09T03:01:00.001+03:00

Florence's Archaeological Museum showcases new pieces > New home for ancient artefacts

A rare collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan finds went on public display this week, following renovation work at Florence's National Archaeological Museum.

Over 500 precious artefacts, previously kept in storage, are now housed on the second floor of the museum, located through 17 rooms .

"The second floor was actually restructured around ten years ago but until now has only been used to house temporary exhibits," said Carlotta Cianferoni of the museum director's office.

Free French, Greek language packs made for iPod

2006-07-09T02:58:00.001+03:00

Coolgorilla has announced the release of their two most recent iPod language packs, French and Greek. Developed in coordination with Lastminute.com, the new language packs join an already released pack in German, and are free downloads.

Read the article here > Free French, Greek language packs made for iPod

Microsoft warns of seven new patches on the way

2006-07-09T02:49:00.001+03:00

More on Micosoft > Microsoft warns of seven new patches on the way

It's almost that time of the month again. On July's Patch Tuesday, on the 11th, Microsoft is to provide fixes for seven security concerns that cover a range of vulnerabilities affecting Windows and Office, some of which have been deemed to be 'critical'.

Four of the seven patches will address problems uncovered in the Windows operating system, while three will deal with flaws in Microsoft Office.

Paris Men's Fashion Week

2006-07-09T02:33:00.001+03:00

In pictures: Paris Men's Fashion Week > In pictures: Paris Men's Fashion Week

A five-day fashion show is under way in Paris, displaying the latest in menswear.

Graphics cards open new Windows

2006-07-09T02:30:00.001+03:00

BBC Click looks at the role of graphics cards in the new world of Microsoft's Vista operating system. > Graphics cards open new Windows

Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, which is due to go on widespread release in January 2007 will make big demands of your computer's graphics capabilities. For PC users that has all changed, the world is full colour and funky is now the watch word.

Welcome to the world of the computer gamer where you get a new graphics card and concept every six months or so.

But the not so good news is that not everyone will have a PC that will be compatible. But of course if you buy a card yourselves you will be fine.

Balkan festival bangs on Brussels' door

2006-07-09T02:24:00.001+03:00

Balkan music festival campaign calls for free movement to Europe > Balkan festival bangs on Brussels' door

Dusk descends over the River Danube and the volume of music pumping out of two dozen sound-systems soars steadily.

Among the revellers attending the annual Exit festival in Serbia this year are an unprecedented number of visitors from western Europe - English, French and German voices ring out above the clamour.

Freedom of movement campaigner Rajko Bozic welcomes the new influx - because, he says, it demonstrates just how unfair western European visa restrictions against his fellow Serbs are.

Guggenheim expands into Emirates

2006-07-09T02:21:00.001+03:00

Architect Frank Gehry is to design the Guggenheim Foundation's largest museum in the United Arab Emirates. The museum, which will cover 30,000 square metres, will be built in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. > Guggenheim expands into Emirates

Guggenheim's flagship museum for modern and contemporary art is in New York but there are branches in Bilbao, Berlin, Venice and Las Vegas.

US architect Gehry also designed the Bilbao Guggenheim in Spain. The Abu Dhabi museum should be built by 2011.

The fortress versus the festival

2006-07-09T02:17:00.001+03:00

Can an old fortress withstand thousands of revellers in Serbia?

Two Serb jet fighters swivel in mid-flight over the ancient fortress, playfully pursuing each other along a bend in the Danube river. >The fortress versus the festival

"Our history has, at times, prevented us from seeing clearly into the future," says Vladimir "Vlidi" Jeric, perched on the ramparts of Novi Sad's Petrovaradin fortress.

The softly-spoken guitarist and sampler from legendary Belgrade band Darkwood Dub is in town to play at the annual Exit music festival. Formed in 1988 - "more than a lifetime ago", according to Vlidi - the band's career has spanned the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.

Blue is the colour as fans flood to Berlin

2006-07-09T02:13:00.001+03:00

Berlin set for biggest party as World Cup nears climax. One thing is certain as the World Cup nears its climax - whoever wins, Berlin will be painted blue. > Blue is the colour as fans flood to Berlin

Whether it is the Azzuri or Les Bleus celebrating victory, a sea of blue will flow through the city's streets, while tricolors are flourished aloft.

For the German capital is being invaded from the south and west, as more and more Italian and French fans arrive every hour, either to be at the match, or just with the hope of experiencing victory in Berlin.

Photo of Mozart's widow found

2006-07-09T02:10:00.001+03:00

A print of the only photograph of Mozart's widow, Constanze Weber, has been found in Germany. The photograph was taken in 1840 in the Bavarian town of Altoetting when she was 78. She died two years later. > Photo of Mozart's widow found

The local authorities say detailed examination has proved the authenticity of the image, which is a copy of the original daguerreotype.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at the age of 36 in 1791, when Constanze was 29. She later married a Danish diplomat.

Behind THE EYEPATCH

2006-07-07T20:17:00.001+03:00

That ship had sailed. Piracy was so 18th-century. But three years ago, the witty and wily Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) staggered across his sinking ship, on his way to an Academy Award nomination, in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” the first movie based on the popular Walt Disney World ride. Another legend was born. The sequel, “Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” opens Friday.

“He’s just great fun. He takes the ultimate fantasy-adventure romp of it and makes a really fun show. … It’s great tongue in cheek,” says Gail Selinger, co-author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pirates.”

Read the story > Behind THE EYEPATCH The ancient Greeks and Romans had words for pirates; Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates. William the Conqueror was a descendant of several generations of pirates. And the Vikings made some of the best.

'Lysistra' brings its sexy spice

2006-07-07T19:59:00.001+03:00

Audiences attending the University of Florida's production of "Lysistrata" are greeted by an interesting set that suggests the stonework and pillars of the Acropolis. In case anyone is still in the dark as to the location, the words "The Acropolis" appear across the front of the portico that is center stage and from which emerges the title character, delightfully portrayed by the multi-talented Meg Loftus. 'Lysistra' brings its sexy spice

Her first line, "Where the (expletive) are the women," makes it clear that this adaptation of Aristophanes' nearly 2,500-year-old comedy is not going to be an exercise in subtlety.

In fact, this version is more "Deadwood" than Demosthenes. Perhaps it should be. When the play was first staged, the male characters reportedly wore phalluses and the humor was anything but polite. That spirit has been preserved and delightfully flaunted in this current (and encore) production, directed by UF professor Judith Williams.

God, She's Hot

2006-07-07T19:50:00.001+03:00

If there was no Goddess Temple of Orange County, someone would have to invent one > God, She's Hot

Conservators at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta are in the process of reuniting a Roman marble statue of “Goddess of Love” Venus (or Aphrodite, to you Greeks) with—for possibly the first time in 170 years—her head.

The High Court in the East Indian city of Calcutta has quashed a case against leading Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay for allegedly defiling a Hindu goddess, Saraswati. Gangopadhyay testified that he was joking when he said he kissed an idol of the “Goddess of Learning” to satisfy his desire.

An Ipswich, Massachusetts, toymaker has released The Goddess Dolls, which “symbolize the positive and empowering aspects of the Goddess tradition, such as love, wisdom and compassion.”

The death of e-mail?

2006-07-07T16:46:00.001+03:00

"Instant" may replace the "e" in e-mail > The death of e-mail?

E-mail may be on the way out, at least for teenagers. Trends show that many young people now prefer instant communication, such as text messaging and commenting on MySpace.com personal pages, because it allows for faster conversations and shorter wait-time.

Maxell's "Guy" to be face of X Games campaign

2006-07-07T16:44:00.001+03:00

Maxell's "Guy" to be face of X Games campaign > Maxell Targets Youth Market With X Games Campaign

Maxell's iconic "Blow Away Guy" will be the star attraction of a major print, online and TV sponsorship with ESPN for the Aug. 3 through 6 "X Games 12" action sports competition in Los Angeles.

The campaign includes ads in the print editions of Rolling Stone, Stuff and Wired!, as well as Yahoo! Music, and a specially created online game aimed at younger consumers.

Expanded toy, baby offerings on Amazon

2006-07-07T16:41:00.001+03:00

Amazon debuts expanded toy, baby store > Expanded toy, baby offerings on Amazon The online retailer for the first time will extend its shipping promotions to shoppers who buy toys and baby products on its site, including its long-standing free shipping promotion on orders of $25 or more.

Amazon spokesman Patty Smith said the company would continue to add selection in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. "We've got a ways to go," she said.

'Google,' 'Unibrow' Added to Dictionary

2006-07-07T16:38:00.001+03:00

Google added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary as a verb > 'Google,' 'Unibrow' Added to Dictionary Need tips on how to groom a unibrow or soul patch? Just google it. Or get a mouse potato to do it for you.

If you're still lost, grab the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary for a definition of those and about 100 other words that have made their way into its pages.

But be warned: you might come across a drama queen (a person given to often excessively emotional performances or reactions), an empty suit (an ineffectual executive), or a himbo (an attractive but vacuous man _ think "male bimbo".)

AOL could offer free Web to high-speed users

2006-07-07T16:35:00.001+03:00

Report: AOL could offer free Web to high-speed users.

Read this report > AOL may offer free high-speed connection to Web Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit is considering whether to forgo up to $2 billion in subscription revenue to switch to an ad-driven model of Web and e-mail services for users with high-speed connections, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The proposal calls for AOL to charge monthly fees only to users with traditional dial-up service.

Commercials getting shorter

2006-07-07T16:32:00.001+03:00

Are commercials getting shorter to grab viewers' attention?

Read this story to find out > Five-second ads try to counter TiVo Companies are using shorter ads to battle the ad-skipping feature of the DVR. For example, Honda's commercial for its new hatchback model, Fit, is a mere five seconds.

Microsoft to challenge iPod with wireless device

2006-07-07T16:29:00.001+03:00

Microsoft to challenge iPod with wireless device > Microsoft seen having iPod rival out by Christmas

Microsoft Corp. is talking up a planned wireless digital music and video player to record companies, and will be sending them prototypes in the near future, with a strategy to roll out the iPod rival by the winter holiday season, according to Reuters.

Microsoft did not comment on the report.

Hearst plans online "Fashion" push for September

2006-07-07T16:27:00.001+03:00

Hearst plans online "Fashion" push for September > Print Is Just Part of a Big Hearst Push

Hearst is unveiling "30 Days of Fashion," an online campaign featuring podcasts, blogs, contests and giveaways timed to September's Fashion Week.

The promotional event, which includes Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Cosmopolitan and six other Hearst titles, has yielded almost $10 million in ad revenue from marketers, including L'Oreal Paris and Citibank.

Polluting The Blogosphere

2006-07-07T16:23:00.001+03:00

Bloggers who plug products should say so

BusinessWeek's Jon Fine says bloggers who plug products for a fee without disclosing the arrangement damage the credibility of the whole blogosphere by further blurring the line between advertising and editorial content.

"...[M]edia today is so cynical that you have to come out and say that shilling without disclosure is a bad idea," Fine writes. Read the article at Polluting The Blogosphere

Chinese youth are brand and price savvy

2006-07-07T16:21:00.001+03:00

Affluent Chinese teenagers are fashion-conscious and largely loyal to domestic brands, but they'll switch brands if they can save money, according to new research from McKinsey.

The report, based on interviews conducted in 6,000 Chinese households and in-depth talks with 800 teens, reveals a $50 billion urban teen market in China. Chinese teens more conservative than their elders Report: Chinese youth are brand and price savvy.

Read this brand new report!

Taverna Koutouki

2006-07-07T15:09:00.001+03:00

It is said that the ancient Greeks invented democracy. They are also responsible for Ouzo and, subsequently, the hangover. I’m familiar with all three.

When it comes to Greek cuisine, however, I’m pretty much a novice. I’ve eaten pita bread and I buy Greek salad dressing now and then, but otherwise I’ve been underexposed to Greek food.

UNDEREXPOSED CULINARIAN DISCOVERS THAT 'GREECE IS THE WORD!' With about 24 tables perched closely together under low ceilings, Koutouki has recreated the cosy atmosphere of a Greek taverna. It was quiet over the midweek lunch hour, but we noticed several people come in to pick up overflowing boxes of food, presumably for their offices. Well, read more!

Greece - the musical

2006-07-07T14:39:00.001+03:00

It has been a couple of millennia in the making, but Robert Thicknesse has finally reconstructed an ancient Greek chorus line.

"Greek tragedy is an odd form of drama because the plot keeps getting interrupted by this chorus, who keep insisting on singing and dancing," Taplin continues. It sounds more like a musical than an opera, "except the choruses weren't part of the plot; more a kind of meditation on it, like the chorales in a Bach Passion".

Greece - the musical In a sense, Greek chant is not unlike Gregorian chant. The chorus (of 12 or 15 men) sang in unison, accompanied by a double-reed instrument called an aulete - and by all accounts, danced at the same time, albeit a stately, tai-chi-style dancing of the sort you might see in a Robert Wilson production. "It's hard to say whether different composers had different styles," says Taplin. "The rhythm of the music follows the rhythm of the words, so in a sense there's less freedom."

Panufnik agrees: "The words drive you forward. The biggest difficulty for me was that I couldn't modulate to another key, which we are sort of conditioned to do and which gives music a shape and direction. Here that is all provided by the words, the drama."

The Venetian Renaissance by way of ancient Greece

2006-07-07T01:49:00.001+03:00

The Venetian Renaissance by way of ancient Greece: Grace, Depravity, and Grandeur Veronese's Allegories A powerful contradiction verging on psychic whiplash is built into the grandiose visual machines that are Paolo Veronese's five Allegories, currently on glorious view in the Oval Room at the Frick Collection.

Not only does this contradictory whiplash fuel Veronese's paintings, allowing them to have one foot firmly planted in the art-historical firmament and the other in the shifting sands of the ephemeral, it produces one of the most jolting splits between subject matter and content in all of art.

Google Trends offers look at search patterns

2006-07-06T15:51:00.001+03:00

Google Trends offers look at search patterns: The Internet Knows What You'll Do Next

Google Trends, a new feature that allows any Web user to track the popularity of search terms, could change the business of marketing by giving companies immediate feedback on the popularity of products and services, according this analysis.

Google, consumers benefit from new Checkout

2006-07-06T15:49:00.001+03:00

Google, consumers benefit from new Checkout: Google service that could click with users

Google's latest venture, Google Checkout, helps expedite user-transactions and allows Google to see exactly what happens when users click ads on its site.

Are TV viewers "Ready" for DVR ads?

2006-07-06T15:46:00.001+03:00

Are TV viewers "Ready" for DVR ads?

Please touch that dial KFC, Coca-Cola and GE are among the marketers experimenting with "DVR ready" ads that contain hidden messages or scrambled entertainment to keep viewers from surfing past them.

But it remains to be seen whether the gimmick will catch on with viewers, and therefore convince skeptical advertisers of TV's marketing viability in the digital age.

California caviar becomes toast of the town

2006-07-06T15:37:00.001+03:00

California caviar becomes toast of the town: Ban on Wild Caviar Is a Boon to California Sturgeon Farms

Caviar businesses in California are booming as a result of the U.N. ban on exports of fish eggs. Pressure from environmentalists led to the ban after it was discovered that 90% of the Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon population had been depleted.

Diners delight in counter culture

2006-07-06T15:30:00.001+03:00

Counter dining provides a front-row seat: Diners delight in counter culture

From San Francisco to New York to Paris, more diners are cozying up to the counter, but they are being served more than milkshakes as restaurants offer gourmet selections from the bar stool.

Counter dining gives diners a view into the kitchen and negates the need to make a reservation.

Hard Rock Cafe may go up for sale

2006-07-06T15:28:00.001+03:00

Hard Rock Cafe may go up for sale: Conglomerate May Sell Hard Rock Cafe

Rank Group is considering selling its 70 Hard Rock Cafe units to focus on its gambling operations in the U.K. The other 50 Hard Rock Cafe units in existence are franchised.

MTVN adds more shows to Apple's iTunes

2006-07-04T16:11:00.001+03:00

MTVN adds more shows to Apple's iTunes: Apple iTunes expands core offerings with more TV

The range of video offerings on Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store has expanded with the addition of various shows from MTV Networks' Spike TV, Logo, Nick at Night and The N.

The new downloads include the two-hour premiere episode of Spike's new "Blade: The Series," which will be available for free until July 11.

Managing creativity

2006-07-04T16:07:00.001+03:00

Managing creativity On Advertising: Can artists count beans?

"The problem with management is that it doesn't like to take a risk with creativity," said Michael Conrad, formerly worldwide chief creative officer with Leo Burnett and currently affiliated with the Berlin School of Creative Leadership.

Conrad's goal is to create an advanced curriculum that will enable managers to better understand the role creative risk plays in advertising and marketing.

Google builds from the ground up

2006-07-04T16:05:00.001+03:00

Google builds from the ground up: A Search Engine That's Becoming an Inventor

When people think of Google, they think of search, killer apps and a soaring market valuation, but as Garner Group analyst Martin Reynolds told The New York Times: "Google is as much about infrastructure as it is about the search engine. They are building an enormous computing resource on a scale that is almost unimaginable."

The diary as resume

2006-07-04T16:01:00.001+03:00

The diary as resume >

The Diary of a somebody for recruiters, blogs offer a unique window into job candidates: Successful, enterprising bloggers who have already monetized their sites can be an attractive catch for employers, but bloggers who wade in the seamier side of the blogosphere can damage their prospects.

Mobile Web may be far from reality in U.S.

2006-07-04T15:58:00.001+03:00

Mobile Web may be far from reality in U.S. in Real Time

For all of the Internet's benefits, the medium's major crutch in the U.S. is that it's not mobile, says Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Fry. The problem, Fry says, is that wireless carriers wield too much control over what software customers can download.

Does spam work?

2006-07-04T15:56:00.001+03:00

Does spam work?

It Seems Somebody Is Clicking on That Spam The click-through rates for e-mail spam vary wildly from sector to sector, with approximately 5.6% of adult entertainment solicitations receiving clicks, as compared to .02% of pharmaceutical spam e-mails.

Beer makers find gluten-free niche

2006-07-04T15:53:00.001+03:00

Beer makers find gluten-free niche: Brewing up a niche

Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery is targeting consumers who suffer from celiac disease with New Grist, its gluten-free beer.

Lakefront's product is already being sold at Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Markets and joins a growing number of brewers who are tailoring products for niche markets.

McDonald's new look

2006-07-04T15:38:00.001+03:00

So the new, Starbucks-like look that McDonald's has rolled out in this classic Middle American test-market tickles the design palette in a way that no knock-your-eyes-out architectural whammy by Frank Gehry or Santiago Calatrava ever will.

We visit museums by those architectural stars, but we practically live in McDonald's. The company estimates that more than 25 million people a day eat at its U.S. outlets. McDonald's new look now McDonald's is playing a controversial, high-stakes game of architectural catch-up, transforming its harsh, plastic-heavy interiors into soft, earth-toned places where you might linger with your laptop in an upholstered chair beneath a stylish pendant light.

On the outside, McDonald's wants to ditch those screeching ketchup-red and mustard-yellow mansard roofs for a more muted look.

Google scares rivals, but why?

2006-07-03T16:35:00.001+03:00

Google scares rivals, but why? Is it because So Much Fanfare, So Few Hits?

Despite its unquestioned dominance in the field of online search and search engine advertising, Google's forays into other Web sectors have not produced a long list of market leaders.

Though its maps and online e-mail offerings are widely used, they are still outmatched by rivals in terms of usage. Other niche offerings like its finance site and blog search are less popular.

E-mail versus RSS

2006-07-03T16:29:00.001+03:00

E-mail versus RSS > A World Without Spam? Can't believe it though.

While Real Simple Syndication feeds offer some advantages that e-mail lacks, including the ability for marketers to push updated information without worrying about spam filters or other delivery issues, it is not without its downsides.

RSS is relatively easy and inexpensive, but is less useful than e-mail in terms of targeting likely prospects and offering personalization, writes OMMA Magazine's Lynn Russo.

Pending broadband legislation

2006-07-03T16:26:00.001+03:00

Pending broadband legislation Congress' broadband battles

Congress is in the midst of its first overhaul of telecommunications legislation since 1996. CNET provides a quick and easy guide to what the pending changes could mean, focusing on the big issues of Net neutrality, broadcast flags, municipal broadband and more.

Companies seize podcast opportunity for marketing

2006-07-03T16:24:00.001+03:00

Companies seize podcast opportunity for marketing > Companies Tap Podcast Buzz To Sell Contact Lenses, Appliances

Such companies as Johnson & Johnson, General Motors Corp. and Whirlpool Corp. have been tapping into the podcast buzz to target specific consumers.

Corporate programs on podcasts, or free audio programs for downloading onto portable music players or computers, are said to be responsible for boosting brand awareness of products such as Johnson & Johnson's Acuvue brand contact lenses, according to Naomi Kelman, president of the J&J unit responsible for Acuvue.

Model citizen

2006-07-03T03:26:00.001+03:00

A legendary marching band director has been inspired by a passion for model soldiers: He is a Model citizen fanatic.

Toy soldiers have an ancient history. Toy soldiers seem to have been around for as long as there have been toys. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian rulers had collections that have been unearthed by archaeologists, the Greeks and Romans had tiny bronze soldiers, Kings of medieval Europe had tiny armies of wood and pottery, and monarchs of the 19th century had glittering collections sculpted of gold and silver.

Mobile phone driving as bad as being drunk

2006-07-01T01:59:00.001+03:00

The researchers used a driving simulation device for their study, published in the summer 2006 issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Is a Mobile phone driving as bad as being drunk? Just like many people who have been drinking, the mobile phone users did not believe themselves to be affected, the researchers found.

Superb update humanizes comic-book mythology

2006-07-01T01:57:00.001+03:00

This facet to Superman’s personality may not have been purposefully glossed over in Richard Donner’s 1978 and 1980 versions, but those movies merely supplied the requisite details to decipher the mythical origins of earth’s mightiest superhero.

In Superb update humanizes comic-book mythology shows a confident, convincing and charismatic as Superman and endearingly geeky as Clark, the chiseled Routh is perfectly cast as the god-like superhero, whose lonely quest for identity and elusive love eventually leads him to a stark realization that turns impatience into prudence and wisdom.

New French law attacks all technology innovators

2006-07-01T01:54:00.001+03:00

A US technology association has labeled a new French law requiring "interoperability" of devices like Apple's iPod music player as "attack on intellectual property rights" of all companies.

But a New French law attacks all technology innovators: US group Americans for Technology Leadership, a group that includes major US firms like Microsoft, said the new law approved by France's Parliament remains troublesome despite the last-minute modifications.