Happy Birthday iTunes...

Apple's digital music store just celebrated its fifth anniversary and had a Cinderella-like run so far. More than four billion music tracks and more than 125 million TV episodes have been sold since launch. The market share is estimated at or above 70% worldwide. Earlier this year, iTunes was believed to briefly have been the nation’s largest music retailer.

Apple launched the iTS in the U.S. on 28 April, 2003. Paying for music downloaded online was not a very popular idea among Internet users at the time. Why should you pay when everyone else is getting it for free via P2P file sharing? The initially Mac-only service started with just 200,000 songs available on day one. Today, the service offers more than ten million tracks in the U.S. store alone. iTunes sold 275,000 tracks in the first 18 hours, passing the one million mark after five days. In the following October, Apple introduced iTS for Windows, effectively covering the whole computer market, not just the 3% market share Macs held back then – and the service was quickly accepted by Windows users: iTS for Windows sold million songs within three days. By December 15, barely 8 months after launch, iTS passed 25 million songs. A day later, Apple introduced iTS in France, Germany and the UK. As of March of this year, iTS has sold more than four billion songs worldwide. Since its inception, iTS has been the market leader in its segment and is estimated to commands 85% market share in U.S. paid music downloads. 

So happy birthday iTS!!! Live long and prosper....

http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/

Red Light runners watch out!

Of all the places I have lived in throughout the U.S. , Lufkin is the worst at red light running. O.k.,  maybe I can concede the yellow light runner trickling into the red but not a full blown 2-3 seconds after the red!  

Cameras have been installed at several of the worst intersections in the hopes that drivers would be more aware of running red lights. City officials researched the progress of red light cameras in other cities and states before installing them in Lufkin. My intersection where it intersects at loop is the one of the worst sighted for red light fatalities. 

Lufkin city officials want drivers to know that the goal of the red light cameras is to increase safety and not revenue. The simple result is that they work. Each ticket costs $75. The money from tickets is split three ways: between the city of Lufkin, the state of Texas, and Traffipax. That leaves the city of Lufkin about $22.50 per ticket. Lufkin city officials say that money is put back is put right back into funding traffic enforcement.

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU

I didn’t need a Passport. I didn’t have to hike up all those steps. I didn’t even need to get up to date on all my shots and yet I still got to he see the Great Wall of China up close and personal. Digg is a virtual wonderland for all things of all interest. From the latest technology, to lifestyle, to the offbeat. Digg is a great place to upload, download or just see what the next guy on the other side of the world is up to. 

This is one of the coolest panorama shots I have ever seen. Just click on the link to see “The Great Wall of China”.

Beautiful Great Wall 360 degree panorama

                            

 Not The Great Wall but an another equally impressive gem found on digg.

Bible Stick

Partners in ministry work to distribute Scriptures to military personnel. Audio Bibles are being deployed around the world, from "boot camp" and base chapels to veteran's hospitals and war zones.

"The Military Bible Stick is a portable audio player. It's about the size of a pack of chewing gum. It's pre-loaded with a dramatized New Testament. It is especially designed for the military for low-light situations," so that it can be taken along on missions, or used in close-quarters, or in day-to-day activities on a base.

The Bible digital player is one way of reaching today's generation more effectively. Young soldiers tend to listen to portable audio devices around two hours a day--that's more than enough time to listen to the Bible. On the FCBH 40-Day Plan, participants can hear the New Testament by listening just 28 minutes a day.

The Bible Sticks will be distributed to the military through the military's "churches," which in this case are the chaplains. The primary focus is on letting God do His work through His Word in today's military. Faith Comes By Hearing has recently partnered with Campus Crusade for Christ. That's a chaplain network of about 350 active duty and reserve chaplains. They serve the 1.4 million people in active duty." 

The ministry has already been testing the sticks on the field. They've sent out about 1,500 and have had great responses. Because they're so well-received, FCBH has already placed an order for 4,000 more that will be ready for distribution in June. 

Pray, too, for the military families touched by this project and for those who are deployed, that they will receive comfort from the Word of God and respond to the hope of Jesus Christ.

If you're interested in helping fund this project, click here. 

Right to privacy?

Blogging, commenting or opinion giving are much easier shared under pseudonyms, maybe to easy. Steven king wrote under the pseudonym "Richard Bachman" to get around obstacles and increase creativity. That was in the world of print. Today the internet has all new obstacles which range from pesky cyberbullying to serious privacy/security issues.   Kentucky Representative Tim Couch has recently introduced legislation that would make anonymous comments online illegal. If it passes, the legislation would require that users register on a website prior to making comments.This registration would require a user to use their real name, physical address and their email address; real names would also be used on the website in conjunction with the comment. If a website fails to comply with these requirements, they will face stiff penalties in the form of fines ranging from $500 - $1000.

Tim Couch (R)  House District 90  Clay Harlan (part) Leslie

Mailing Address  PO Box 710 Hyden KY 41749 Frankfort Address(es)  702 Capitol Ave Annex Room 432B Frankfort KY 40601 Phone Number(s)  Home: (606) 672-8998 Home: (606) 672-8998 (fax) Annex: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 632 Email Address(es)  Annex: click here Service  House 2003 - Present

Talk to the dead?

Ok, so lets say that some guy named “Austin Powers” was frozen back in the sixties and unfrozen in 2003. Now the only techo devices that he knew of before was reel to reel tape, CB Radio and exploding toothpaste. What if he wanted to catch up on all the latest and greatest in new media but found himself too afraid and technically challenged. This is when you have to look to the dead. By dead I mean, print...Like in books that you find in the library or on the shelf.  Well, he is in luck because “The New Media Reader” is in book form and has everything to get him up to speed.  This reader collects the texts, videos, and computer programs--many of them now almost impossible to find--that chronicle the history and form the foundation of the still-emerging field of new media. General introductions along with short introductions to each of the texts, place the works in their historical context and explain their significance. The texts were originally published between World War II--when digital computing, cybernetic feedback, and early notions of hypertext and the Internet first appeared--and the emergence of the World Wide Web--when they entered the mainstream of public life. The texts are by computer scientists, artists, architects, literary writers, interface designers, cultural critics, and individuals working across disciplines. So after reading this short 823 page novel he would have learned that all anyone needs is either to Google it or Wiki it.

http://books.google.com/books?id=DQYXoRx9CcEC&printsec=frontcover#PPP1,M1

Star Trek Series and more online!

Just one day after NBC announced its decision to stream classic shows on its Web sites, CBS announced that it will do the same, making a number of titles from its library available on CBS.com and across the CBS Audience Network. Meshing this content with the interactivity of the Web allows for more comprehensive experiences around each show -- no longer simply an old broadcast model. The future of TV just might be the New Media model. The initial lineup will include ad-supported full episodes of Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Macgyver, Hawaii Five-O and Melrose Place. The quality and picture is surprisingly good although there is no full screen mode. All the episodes are displayed in order and ready for viewing. Soon additional seasons and shows will be added depending on the success of the model. Please... Please... let it work!

In addition to streaming on CBS.com, the shows will be available to the CBS Audience Network -- a network of Web sites and partners that include AOL, Microsoft, Comcast, CNET Networks and Sling Media -- as well as CBS station Web sites.

www.cbs.com/classics/star_trek/video/video.php

Scottish schools and new media

Scottish business leaders and education experts are entertaining proposals that will incorporate new media into children's learning experience. The roles of text messaging, social networking websites and blogs will be explored, as well as the appropriate contexts in which to use a particular medium. School children will also learn to discern information on websites, television and radio. In short, be aware of the message and the messenger. Trends shows the majority of kids know communicate with each other primarily by text and e-mail. The younger generation has always gravitated to the latest and greatest with a shorter learning cure than adults. Todays fast growing technology seems to keep kids wanting more and learning faster than ever. I believe getting and teaching information in real time can have enormous benefits in the class room. I also feel that a certain amount of decorum should be respected as well.

In Class 5- You Tube

Commercials are meant for skipping and fast forwarding so naturally, I go to You Tube to watch them. This particular ad shows a child and his dad at the grocery store. This cute little child pulls some Cheezy Puffs from the shelf and puts them in the cart. Much to his dismay of he dad so he puts them back on the shelf. This is when the cute little boy turns into a little demon and lets everyone have it. After some time the product displays across the screen. I think this is a cute and clever ad. This has a four star rating and 685,312 views.

Social networking sites used to recruit gang members

Ok, I know this is not all fun and bubbly but when I saw this was happening I thought, man you just can't catch a break. Not only do young people need to be aware of pedophiles while socializing on the web they now need to be aware of being targeted by street gangs. Local gang leaders are aware that kids like to socialize on sites such as MySpace and YouTube. Gang members are returning from prison with a whole new way to market to middle schoolers and the younger kids. These young at risk kids are freely giving information to the gang members who in turn do their best to recruit as many as possible. The new 21st century way these gangs go about getting to children is scary and parents need to be aware. Children have always been targeted to as being the next generation for this or for that. This is not new, but what is new is the ease of how it is being done. Parents should keep computers in common rooms and closely monitor websites.  

Acquisitions and mind control or just business as usual

Google is up in arms over Microsoft's proposed takeover of Yahoo. Is this just good business sense for two merging companies or is it the death of the internet as Google knows it?  Is the openness and innovation of the internet in jeopardy? Does this mean that if Microsoft buys Yahoo that all "PC's" will be loaded with the Yahoo toolbar? Is Google, who enjoys over sixty percent of the internet search market truly worried that Microsoft will abandon privacy protection and let the government in our secrets, or are they just worried about market share? Either way, the always evolving landscape of the internet is changing and it appears that the new boss is the same as the old boss.

Scientists develop computer that can 'translate' a dog's bark

Ok, now some scientists developed a special program that analyzed more than 6,000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs in six different situations. The barks were tape recorded and then digitized on a computer, which used software to study their differences. The computer correctly identified the different situations a whoping 43 per cent of the time. Hey, I can do at least that good whith my dog. I guess it is a start. This is brilliant! Just think about it, if we knew exactly what brands of petfood our dogs liked best, then maybe companies like Purina would be interested in funding research. They could market directly to their consumer and cut out the middle man.