Bloggers = Journalists?

Bloggers can definitely provide the most up to date information on breaking news events as they happen, however one must question the validity of the information they provide. Journalists are held to a certain standard by their media employers and there are repercussions when they cross the line. Bloggers do not have this kind of restriction. Bloggers are free to post any and all content regardless of the facts. While we can paint all bloggers with the same brush you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet.

No US court has yet weighed in with authority on the debate about whether bloggers count as journalists, but the recent federal decision from South Carolina does indicate that at least some bloggers are journalists. It’s not about the title, it’s about the content, said Judge Henry Hurlong, Jr.; a journalist turns out to be anyone who does journalism, and bloggers who do so have the same rights and privileges under federal law as the “real” journalists. (story)

Google going after social networking market

Google is gearing up to launch OpenSocial, a set of APIs to be used across social networks. No, Google is not ditching Orkut (its own social network that is popular in Brazil but has fizzled out in the US), although Orkut will be involved. Instead, OpenSocial will offer a set of common APIs that its partners—or “hosts”—can use on their networks. This will allow other social networks to get in on the app/widget phenomenon that has become so big at Facebook and give users the opportunity to have a more robust social networking experience.

The goal of OpenSocial is not to compete with the likes of Facebook—at least not directly, on the social networking level—but rather to take what Facebook has done with its API and make it more open, more universal, and apply it across any number of social networking partners that want to join up. Right now, Facebook’s API uses its own markup and query languages (FBML and FQL) in order for developers to create apps and widgets for the platform—not terribly inconvenient for some who have the time and patience to learn something new, but a pain for everyone else. Google’s API will allow developers to use markup that they’re most familiar with: HTML, JavaScript, and even Flash to offer similar apps and widgets to other networks. (story)

NEC develops wearable antenna (child not included)

NEC Corporation today announced the successful development of a wideband wearable antenna.
The wideband wearable antenna is an antenna that uses a conductive fabric which can be attached to clothing and other items, or folded up for easy carrying. It is a high-performance mobile antenna that can act as a supplementary antenna in areas with poor reception.
Antennas are generally designed to operate in an open space, and if used in close proximity to a human body or other object, the impedance deteriorates, causing a noticeable reduction in performance. This antenna is designed to demonstrate equally good impedance characteristics whether used in an open space or close to a human body, for example when attached to the user’s clothing. (link)

WD supports breast cancer, and new little big drives

Pink Western Digital Passport

High-performance portable storage for your Mac® and PC. Light and rugged, it’s easy to carry and no external power adapter is needed.* Comes with sync & encryption and Google™ software.

WD 320 GB Scorpio

WD Scorpio delivers best-in-class performance with low power consumption and cool operation. In addition, you’ll get one of the quietest 2.5-inch drives on the market with real-time data protection technology to help keep your data safe.

Top 10 sexiest Halloween costumes

Nice!

(um, ride my broom? please?)

Gizmodo

As Halloween rolls around it’s harder and harder to come up with great ideas for costumes. One quick method is to take a look at the past year’s most popular movies and take your pick. The problem with this is that you might show up at the party with 3 other people dressed up the same. Take a look at what you’re really interested in and pick a topic which sticks in your mind and run with it. It helps to bounce ideas of other people.

Google tops $700/share, still overvalued?

Google Inc.’s stock price barreled through US$700 for the first time Wednesday, propelled by a belief that the Internet search leader will become even more profitable as it pushes its products and services into new markets.The Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s shares traded as high as $701.47 in morning trading before falling back to $700.11, up $5.34 for the session. It took less than a month for the stock to leap from $600 to $700, building upon a fervor that has lifted Google’s market value by more than 30 per cent since mid-September.

(story)

IBM’s green solution to silicon waste

IBM says it’s found an earth-friendly way to recycle the silicon wafers used in its computer chip manufacturing operations – it’s helping to turn them into solar panels.To recycle the wafers, IBM is using a process that removes transistor patterns embedded in them. The patterns usually prevent silicon wafers from being reused along with other silicon products because they represent closely guarded intellectual property.

As a result, the tech industry discards about three million silicon wafers per year, IBM estimated.

With the patterns removed, IBM can safely sell its used silicon wafers from its Burlington, Vt., plant to manufacturers that can turn them into solar cells or panels. IBM said it’s also implementing the process at a plant in East Fishkill, N.Y.

The company said it plans to share details of the pattern removal process with other chip makers. The process was recently awarded the “Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award” for 2007 from the environmental group The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable.

(story)