University of Arizona Sets Up Civility Institute

The honorary chairmen of the foundation, to be called the National Institute for Civil Discourse, will be President Bill Clinton and President George H. W. Bush, said the director, Brint Milward, who also leads the university?s School of Government and Public Policy.

Dr. Milward said the institute would focus on political disagreements ?from the grass roots all the way to the top.?

?In a great democracy, it?s important for people to hold fast to principles, but at the same time to understand where they might be able to compromise,? he said.

The idea for the institute, he said, grew out of the national conversation that began in January after the shootings in Tucson that killed six people and injured 13 others, including Ms. Giffords, a Democrat who represented the Tucson area in Congress. Politicians and pundits raised questions and criticisms about the nation?s political discourse, with many calling for calmer rhetoric while pointing out commentary they considered incendiary.

President Obama weighed in with a speech the week after the attack, urging Americans to ?remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.?

?At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do,? Mr. Obama said, ?it?s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.?

One portion of the speech was particularly inspiring for Fred DuVal, vice chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents, who came up with the idea for the institute while listening to the president?s address.

Mr. Obama, speaking of Christina-Taylor Green, 9, the youngest victim of the shooting, said he wanted an American democracy as ?good as Christina imagined it.?

Mr. DuVal, who was a friend of Ms. Giffords?s and was a co-chairman of her finance committee, said he hoped the institute would be one way the nation could work toward such a goal. One of the first steps, he said, would be to attempt defining ?best practices and corrosive practices.?

?How do we nurture robustness on one hand and not in any way chill speech, and keep it in bounds that are not destructive to democracy?? he said. ?Will it change the nature of dialogue? That will be a tall order.?

Tom Daschle, the former Democratic majority leader and senator from South Dakota, and former Justice Sandra Day O?Connor will be honorary co-chairmen of the institute, Mr. Milward said.

Members of the board will include former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright; former Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona; Kenneth M. Duberstein, an adviser to President Ronald Reagan; Greta Van Susteren, the Fox News anchor; and Trey Grayson, the director of Harvard University?s Institute of Politics.

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Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c695df9f06730637eed3e6a79613566b

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Boom or Bust: Broadband and Social Media will save Dotcom 2.0

Boom or Bust: Broadband and Social Media will save Dotcom 2.0

Sometimes, it seems, humans are destined to repeat the same mistakes again and again. DotcomBoom

The Wall Street crashes of 1929 and 1987, the savings and loans crisis of the 1980s/1990s and the recent financial calamity certainly seem to suggest that when it comes to money, lessons aren?t being learnt.

Likewise, the nineties Dotcom boom may have been exciting for some, but the fallout from it wasn?t quite so exciting for those caught in the middle of the storm. The 10th of March, 2000: the day the bubble burst and the digital dream died; for some, anyway.

In many ways, they were very innocent times. People were still getting to grips with ?the Web?, dawdling dial-up was widespread and Mark Zuckerberg was still at school, laying the foundations for his future world domination. Ultimately, many of the ideas during the original Dotcom were either poorly planned or simply too advanced for the technologies people had at the time.

So here we are, in the midst of another major Dotcom boom and things are looking rather rosy, aren?t they? The startup scene is flourishing, both in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, and crazy figures are once again being bandied about.

Facebook is valued at $52bn, Groupon knocked back a $6bn offer from Google and investors everywhere are clambering to get their piece of the pie. Doesn?t all this sound familiar?

Indeed, this influx of investment for web-based startups is at least partly responsible for some of the crazy figures going around. With so many keen investors, this has a tendency to push valuations through the roof.

Quora was launched by a handful of ex-Facebook employees. After the first-round of funding, which reportedly brought in $11m, the company was valued at $86m. That?s incredibly impressive for a company with just a few employees.

To use a similar example, Foursquare was valued at $95m with under thirty employees. Twitter has been valued at $10bn, despite it producing not too much in the way of hard profit yet. Though Biz Stone has personally rubbished this valuation, even if it is just to stop his friends from thinking he?s a billionaire.

Some might say these grossly over-valued businesses are destined to drive the current boom the same way it went over a decade ago. It might do, but not anytime soon. There?s no doubt there will be plenty of failures this time ?round, because too many companies are trying to do exactly the same thing, as we?re seeing with the army of Groupon clones fighting for business.

But with any business venture, it?s all about the foundation. During the first Dotcom, there was a real sense of urgency to make big bucks, but not enough urgency to put the plans in place. With weak foundations, they crumbled.

Dotcom 2.0 is much stronger than its predecessor. People are more technologically savvy and, crucially, broadband and smartphones are approaching ubiquity. The world is switched-on, tuned-in and can?t get enough Internet.

Technological advances aside, the one thing that will ensure we don?t see another Dotcom disaster is social media marketing. The key to success this time lies in finding ways to monetise the many ventures ? it?s understood that driving traffic isn?t enough, which is why Twitter is actively seeking ways to drive its revenue. In fact, Twitter may make as much as $150m this year, according to some reports.

There?s no question there are a lot of over-valued companies out there at the moment; some will undoubtedly crumble and some will flourish. But Dotcom 2.0 isn?t a bubble, and it won?t burst.

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Source: http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/02/21/boom-or-bust-broadband-and-social-media-will-save-dotcom-2-0/

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Paying with your phone gets closer as operators commit to NFC

Paying with your phone gets closer as operators commit to NFC

A number of the world?s leading mobile operators have stated their commitment to implementing and supporting Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the near future, signalling their intention to launch services in a number of markets by the end of the year.

Operators including America Movil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor and Vodafone have voiced their support for the wireless standards, facilitating services including mobile ticketing, mobile couponing, data exchange, wireless entry and wireless payments.

With NFC expected to account for ?110 billion of payments by 2015, operators are ensuring their customers can take advantage of the technology, helping the GSMA to develop a standardised certification which will mean transactions are properly authenticated and interoperable.

The GSMA is the body that will oversee the certification and testing standards, ensuring NFC payments are supported worldwide, regardless of the operator network or device used.

?As we have seen, the adoption of different approaches to NFC will only serve to fragment the market,? says Franco Bernabe, Chairman, GSMA and CEO, Telecom Italia. ?By uniting around a single standardised approach to mobile NFC and by collaborating across the entire ecosystem, our industry will continue to develop the compelling services that customers demand.?

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Source: http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2011/02/21/paying-with-your-phone-gets-closer-as-operators-commit-to-nfc/

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Hardware 19 - The Cockney Cast

Hardware 19 - The Cockney Cast

Posted on 18th Feb 2011 at 10:18 by Podcast with 6 comments

This week's bit-tech and Custom PC podcast is brought to you by Clive, Antony and Paul.

First on the agenda is the continuing Intel Sandy Bridge saga, and what motherboard manufacturers are doing to sort it out. We also comment on MSI's returns strategy, which the company announced on Wednesday.

Next we make some time to talk about the gorgeous Silverstone FT03. It's a pretty peculiar case due to its inverted design, but it's always refreshing to see manufactures taking a different approach.

Finally, Antony gives us a sneaky look at the CPU cooler group test from the latest issue of Custom PC, which went on sale at newsagents yesterday. Make sure you pick up a copy if you want to see which new CPU coolers offer the best combination of cooling and value.


As always, we've also set up our weekly competition, although there's a slightly different twist on it this week. The lucky winner will be able to get their hands on a Mionix Propus 380 mousepad, which will provide the perfect tracking surface for whichever mouse you choose to use.

As ever, the bit-tech hardware podcast features music by Brad Sucks, and was recorded on Shure microphones. You can download the podcast direct, listen in-browser or subscribe through iTunes using the links below. Also, be sure to let us know your thoughts about the discussion in the forums.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bit-tech/blog/~3/9YDeYBokO2k/

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Blog - Pics 'n' Images

GeoHot asks for donations to fight Sonys PS3 hacking lawsuit

PlayStation 3 jailbreaker George Hotz, also known as GeoHot, is asking for donations to help pay for legal defense fees in his fight against Sony. He specifically calls the electronic giant a bully and then outlines why he needs financial help:
Media, I need your help. This is the first time I have ever asked. Please, if you support this cause, help me out and spread the word.
I want, by the time this goes to trial, to have Sony facing some of the hardest hitting lawyers in the business.
Together, we can help fix the system
Donations here are for legal defense ONLY
I checked with my lawyers before setting this up
If you have another substantial way to donate aside from money, let me know

GeoHot says he would hate to lose this case due to resource starvation and so he needs the support of the masses to set a precedent for consoles and all closed systems to come. He insists that Sony sued the wrong guy since he is an advocate against mass piracy and does not distribute anyone's copyrighted work but his own. His goal for the PS3 is to provide users a legitimate path to homebrew, which should be legal according to previous non-console court cases. He also notes that his rap video in which he attacks Sony was just an attempt at humor and he really does take the whole legal matter very seriously.

Although GeoHot doesn't specify how much you should donate, he does indicate that Sony has five lawyers while he has two, and that he already has racked up over $10,000 in legal bills. He also notes that the Electronic Frontier Foundation has provided some legal help and so leftover donations will go to them. If Sony were to settle, "I want the settlement terms to include OtherOS on all PS3s and an apology on the PlayStation blog for ever removing it," he notes. "It'd be good PR for Sony too, lord knows they could use it. I'm also willing to accept a trade, a legit path to homebrew for knowledge of how to stop new firmwares from being decrypted."

Sony's legal attacks against the hackers that released the PS3 root key and custom firmware began last month. The group known as fail0verflow is accused of posting a rudimentary hack in December 2010 after finding security codes for the PS3. It was refined by GeoHot weeks later when he independently found and published the PS3 root key. The resulting hacks allow homebrew apps and pirated software to run on unmodified consoles. Sony is still threatening to sue anybody posting or distributing PS3 jailbreak code, despite the fact that the company accidentally tweeted the PlayStation 3 security key. Sony's official stance is if you crack your PS3, you'll get banned.

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/42495-geohot-asks-for-donations-to-fight-sonys-ps3-hacking-lawsuit.html

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Weekend tech reading: Libya cuts Internet amid protests

Libya turns off the Internet and the Massacres begin First, Libya blocked news sites and Facebook. Then, beginning Friday night, according to Arbor Networks, a network security and Internet monitoring company, announced that Libya had cut itself off from the Internet. Hours later the Libyan dictators solders started slaughtering protesters. As of Sunday afternoon, U.S. Eastern time the death toll was above 200 in the city of Benghazi alone. ZDNet

Microsoft downplays threat of new Windows zero-day Microsoft yesterday downplayed the threat posed to Windows users by a recently-revealed vulnerability, saying that it was unlikely the bug could be exploited to compromise a computer. The flaw in the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) network and file-sharing protocol was disclosed Monday... Computerworld

U.S. House votes to allow cable providers to throttle Internet House Republicans have managed to pull off a high profile rejection of a key tech-related component of the Obama administration's initiatives. In control of the House for the first time in four years, Republicans have voted to overturn so-called "net neutrality" rules proposed earlier this year by the Obama administration. DailyTech

Intel to invest more than $5 billion to build new factory in Arizona Intel today announced plans to invest more than $5 billion to build a new chip manufacturing facility at its site in Chandler, Ariz. The announcement was made by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini during a visit by President Barack Obama at an Intel facility in Hillsboro, Ore. Intel

Goodbye, HD component video: Hollywood hastens the 'analog sunset' Listendo you hear that creaking sound? Don't be too alarmed. It's only the coffin lid slowly closing on your ability to get high-definition video via the analog component-video connections on your Blu-ray player. Consumer Reports

Researchers aim to 'print' human skin Researchers are developing a specialized skin "printing" system that could be used in the future to treat soldiers wounded on the battlefield. Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine were inspired by standard inkjet printers found in many home offices. CNN

Feature cut from Windows Home Server to return via add-in One of the crowning features of Windows Home Server, which Microsoft announced it was cutting as part of the next major version of the OS, is set to return with the help of some third-party software makers. CNET

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/42496-weekend-tech-reading-libya-cuts-internet-amid-protests.html

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Deficits Reshape the Debate as Republicans Jockey for 2012

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey argued that the country was headed toward financial ruin if leaders did not summon the courage to tackle the most politically charged aspects of the problem, saying: ?You?re going to have to raise the retirement age for Social Security. Oh, I just said it, and I still am standing here. I did not vaporize into the carpet!?

Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska said Republicans would be on the hook, along with Democrats, if runaway spending was not controlled in Washington, declaring, ?Tone-deaf politicians are going to be fired, and they?re going to be replaced in the next election cycle.?

Budget deficits and the nation?s growing debt load have emerged in the last few weeks as the consuming issues in Washington and in state capitals, and they are now shaping the early stages of the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Not a single candidate has formally opened a campaign yet ? and some of those delivering the toughest talk on the budget may never do so ? but the subject is giving focus and energy to a contest that has so far been largely unformed.

The growing profile of the issue has given Republicans an opportunity to cast President Obama as a weak leader, unwilling or unable to confront the tough issues, and has added fuel to the conservative drive for smaller government.

But it has also highlighted divisions among Republicans about how aggressively to cut domestic spending; the wisdom of supporting specific steps to address long-term problems in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; and the proper balance between emphasizing fiscal issues and social ones like same-sex marriage.

And with the Republican-controlled House voting to cut deeply into this year?s federal budget and state capitals producing their own volatile showdowns, it has underscored the opportunity for potential candidates to seize on a fiscal-themed message to break out of the pack.

As a result, a presidential race that once seemed poised to be a straight referendum on Mr. Obama?s record ? with a particular focus on the health care law, the unemployment rate and criticism over the expansion of government regulation ? now seems likely to focus more at the outset on how aggressively the country should be reassessing the size and role of government and the future of the social welfare system.

The first debate of the Republican presidential season is scheduled for a little more than two months from now, and some candidates are expected to make formal announcements in March. But it is still not clear who, from a potential field of more than a dozen candidates, will decide to run.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts has reassembled many of the advisers who led his unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota has logged more trips to early voting states than nearly any of his potential rivals. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, has secured early endorsements in important states.

The intentions of others are less certain.

Mr. Daniels has expressed concerns about whether his family is willing to put up with the rigors of a campaign. Mr. Christie joked last week that only suicide would convince political reporters that he is not running. Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi has lined up major fund-raisers and is taking his first trip of the year to Iowa next month. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who holds a lead in several early polls, is scheduled to release a book this week but has taken few obvious steps to build a campaign operation. Ms. Palin said last week that she, and all potential candidates, should decide soon.

Senator John Thune of South Dakota, who once seemed close to jumping into the race, has now expressed reservations about being the only candidate who would have to vote on many of these issues while running a presidential campaign.

The challenge for the Republican candidates, said David Winston, a Republican strategist, will be finding effective ways to distinguish themselves and connecting fiscal policy to the broader economic concerns of voters.

?The outcome is reducing spending,? Mr. Winston said. ?But the payoff is growing the economy and creating jobs. What people are focused on is the payoff.?

Those themes were at the heart of appearances over the last week by a number of leading Republicans, all of whom pushed the idea, to varying degrees, that the nation needed to have a serious fiscal debate. And with fiscal issues playing out in high-profile ways in Congress and in statehouses, they will be called on to take more specific positions.

One of the earliest tests will come during the debate over whether the federal debt ceiling should be raised, a looming legislative fight in Congress that will be a proxy for the battle in the Republican Party between pragmatism and principle. In his recent speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr. Daniels did not mention the topic. Mr. Romney has not dwelled on it, but others like Mr. Pawlenty and Ms. Palin have argued forcefully against raising the debt ceiling.

The realities of these budget burdens will play out in states at the very time Republican primary voters are weighing their party?s prospective presidential candidates, which will drive the fiscal debate even more. In early voting states, where Republican contenders have been making frequent appearances, the issue is among the chief concerns.

?People were already concerned about the deficit, and then it just exploded,? Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa, a Republican, said in a recent interview. ?The huge structural deficit has to be addressed, but that?s going to require a lot of courage.?

Candidates in both parties have learned the hard way over the years about the risks of advocating changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and it is not clear whether voter sentiment has changed enough to reward blunt talk this time around ? or whether positions taken in a primary driven by conservative voters might be problematic for the eventual nominee in the general election.

But with the anger and energy that animated the Tea Party movement last year still coursing through politics, how Republicans navigate fiscal issues could be just as critical to their primary campaign as the Iraq war was to the Democratic nominating contest four years ago.

Would Mr. Gingrich be rewarded or punished for presiding over the 1995 government shutdown? Would Mr. Barbour, a former White House political director, Republican national chairman and lobbyist, be seen as too much of an establishment figure to end business as usual in Washington? Will the Massachusetts health care bill signed into law by Mr. Romney define him forever in the eyes of conservatives as sympathetic to big government?

?People want someone who is going to be a threat to the system,? said Steve Deace, who until last week hosted a prominent conservative talk show in Iowa. ?The thing that?s really tricky is whether you can do that without coming across as the least likeable person on planet Earth. That?s not easy to do.? Mr. Deace left WHO-AM, the station where a young Ronald Reagan established his career, and plans to play a more active role in Republican politics.

Should Mr. Daniels get into the race, a decision that he said he intended to make in April, he would most likely face questions about his own role in presiding over the deficit during his time as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush.

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting.

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Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5043d35ed7abf38506da90b12faa603d

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Weekend tech reading: Libya cuts Internet amid protests

Libya turns off the Internet and the Massacres begin First, Libya blocked news sites and Facebook. Then, beginning Friday night, according to Arbor Networks, a network security and Internet monitoring company, announced that Libya had cut itself off from the Internet. Hours later the Libyan dictators solders started slaughtering protesters. As of Sunday afternoon, U.S. Eastern time the death toll was above 200 in the city of Benghazi alone. ZDNet

Microsoft downplays threat of new Windows zero-day Microsoft yesterday downplayed the threat posed to Windows users by a recently-revealed vulnerability, saying that it was unlikely the bug could be exploited to compromise a computer. The flaw in the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) network and file-sharing protocol was disclosed Monday... Computerworld

U.S. House votes to allow cable providers to throttle Internet House Republicans have managed to pull off a high profile rejection of a key tech-related component of the Obama administration's initiatives. In control of the House for the first time in four years, Republicans have voted to overturn so-called "net neutrality" rules proposed earlier this year by the Obama administration. DailyTech

Intel to invest more than $5 billion to build new factory in Arizona Intel today announced plans to invest more than $5 billion to build a new chip manufacturing facility at its site in Chandler, Ariz. The announcement was made by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini during a visit by President Barack Obama at an Intel facility in Hillsboro, Ore. Intel

Goodbye, HD component video: Hollywood hastens the 'analog sunset' Listendo you hear that creaking sound? Don't be too alarmed. It's only the coffin lid slowly closing on your ability to get high-definition video via the analog component-video connections on your Blu-ray player. Consumer Reports

Researchers aim to 'print' human skin Researchers are developing a specialized skin "printing" system that could be used in the future to treat soldiers wounded on the battlefield. Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine were inspired by standard inkjet printers found in many home offices. CNN

Feature cut from Windows Home Server to return via add-in One of the crowning features of Windows Home Server, which Microsoft announced it was cutting as part of the next major version of the OS, is set to return with the help of some third-party software makers. CNET

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/42496-weekend-tech-reading-libya-cuts-internet-amid-protests.html

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