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German Left Courts the Working Class

A new political party in Germany has made saving the working class and the country's welfare system rallying points for attracting votes. Die Linke, or the Left Party, is drawing support from mainstream parties with a radical message.

23.04.2009 06:01:00 - NPR Topics: News

Bits: Extinguish the Rumors: No New Amazon Kindle This Year

Sorry, e-book readers. There will be no new Kindle for Christmas, the company says.

28.08.2008 22:13:20 - NYT > Technology

Bits: YouTube Praises Dismissal of Copyright Suit Against Veoh

A federal judge threw out a copyright infringement suit against video-sharing site Veoh. Google’s YouTube unit claimed the ruling bodes well for its legal fight with Viacom.

28.08.2008 21:18:27 - NYT > Technology

Bits: I'm in Your Google Docs, Reading Your Spreadsheets

Sharing documents with your co-workers via Google Docs sure is convenient. But one little typo can turn into a big security problem.

28.08.2008 21:08:22 - NYT > Technology

Blu Christmas coming, format fans forecast

But DVD is very far from defunct

IFA Christmas is going to be a truly festive season for Blu-ray Disc, the organisation behind the optical disc standard forecast today.…

28.08.2008 19:35:22 - The Register

Court dismisses video copyright case against Veoh (Reuters)

Reuters - A U.S. judge has thrown out a copyright infringement case against Veoh Networks Inc, an Internet video start-up with high-profile Hollywood backers, ruling that video-sharing companies are not solely responsible for policing piracy that may take place on their sites.

28.08.2008 19:15:38 - Yahoo! News: Technology News

The Asus works

I brought both my trusty but big 17-inch MacBook Pro and the tiny Asus Eee PC. I was hoping the Asus would be up to being my sole reporting notebook, that I wouldn't have to lug both computers with me from event to event.

I was concerned that the keyboard would prove too small for writing, and that the Windows-based tools would prove too unfamiliar, but I'm happy to report that the Asus performed like a champ. The MacBook stayed at home during the DNC, and my load was light, with just the tiny Asus, which got a lot of attention, people wanted to know about the tiny computer, and were amazed that it cost just $600.

The Sprint EVDO and Siera wireless modem also worked flawlessly everywhere in Denver, in the Pepsi Center, backstage, in Starbucks (where I'm writing this now).

Further, the keyboard works, even though I have huge hands and fat fingers. You can learn how to touch type on this keyboard, as I write this I'm loooking out the window at the traffic on 16th St, and only had to look at the key board to ffind the numeric keys. Otherwise, I l4eft the errors in so you could see how accurate you can be with this keyboard.

The machine does go to sleep for a few seconds while I'm typing from time to time, very annoying. I hope to get to the bottom of why it's doing this and stop it.

The only thing I wish it had was more space on disk. I got the model with a solid state disk, I guess it's Flash memory? It's split into two virtual drives, about 10GB total. Not enough storage. I supplemented it with a 16GB SD card, but that's a bit of a PITA because that's how I get pictures off my camera, so I'm always swapping the SDs out. Pretty sure I'm going to lose one eventually.

One thing I haven't figured out is what Paint program to use for cropping and resizing graphics. That's why you don't see pictures in the margins of my writing this week. I have very modest needs. I used to use Adobe ImageReady but I don't know how to install it on this computer becausee it doesn't have a CD drive. If anyone can recommend a lightweight and easy, but good picture editing program for Windows, it would be much appreciated.

But net-net I'm happy, my back is happy. It's been hot here in Denver this week and being able to move around without the MacBook has been a pleasure. Oddly, I don't mind using XP at all and I go back and forth between it and the Mac without problem, so far.

28.08.2008 18:56:29 - Scripting News

Bill Clinton got it back

First a disclaimer, I didn't like Bill Clinton as President. But over time my feelings toward him mellowed, and I gave him full credit for inspiring the Democrats to give Rove & Co hell in the 2006 election, winning back control of Congress. No doubt Bill Clinton knows how to get people to work for him, he was good enough to get elected President twice, and over the years his skill has matured. But I didn't expect the tour de force I saw last night. It was the best political speech I've ever seen, he hit all the points, his gestures, his timing, his facial expressions were artfully perfect. There was something for everyone, and despite what the Republicans are saying, he charmed everyone in the hall, and probably most of the people watching on TV. If you didn't see the speech, you owe it to yourself to seek it out on the Democrats website. In the realm of politics this was a Sistine Chapel, a Mona Lisa, a Statue of Liberty.

There were so many good lines, but the one that made me laugh the loudest was when the crowd quieted down afterr chanting Yes We Can, Yes We Can, Clinton paused and began his next paragraph as if it all had been scripted (maybe it was) Yes He Can, and then talked about Obama and what a great President he will be. Everyone was happy to hear him praise the younger Future President, such graciousness begets much love in return, the way he did it, it sort of chokes you up. (Makes you wonder what the convention would have been like if Hillary had won.)

So Bill Clinton now occupies a position that no one else has occupied in the age of television and the Internet, the powerfully charming super-statesman, two-term ex-president, still young, unlike Reagan, with many years to go before retiring. A far cry from the lout who campaigned so aggressively and unfairly, and reminded us that lurking inside that statesman's body is a child who, when he loses control, can be very dangerous to himself and the rest of us.

Update: The Clinton speech is on Youtube via CSPAN.

28.08.2008 18:46:49 - Scripting News

Freedom

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io Comment

28.08.2008 18:44:21 - CURRY.COM

EU mulls action against overcharging mobile operators (AFP)

AFP - The European Commission warned Thursday it had mobile telephone operators that overcharge users in its sights after finding some companies were rounding up call durations to bill customers more.

28.08.2008 18:39:17 - Yahoo! News: Technology News