Liska

6 March, 2009

Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

PAUL KEDROSKY’S INFECTIOUS GREED

ESPN.COM

Mohamed El-Erian on Innovation, Nationalization, and the Future of the U.S.

Hornets extend season-best winning streak to 6

MAR 06, 2009 07:03A.M.

Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.

Pimco’s Mohamed El-Erian speaking recently in Los Angeles on financial innovation (sic.), bank nationalization, and the future of the U.S. economy.

TECHCRUNCH

MAR 06, 2009 05:21A.M.

More Comment Consolidation: JS-Kit Acquires SezWho

ESPN.COM

Xavier cruises to third straight Atlantic 10 title

MAR 06, 2009 05:19A.M.

MAR 06, 2009 05:42A.M. Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.

NU.NL - ALGEMEEN

Volkswoede rond rampplek Keulen MAR 06, 2009 05:29A.M.

JS-Kit, a company that offers an array of Javascript-based commenting, polling, and ratings widgets, is acquiring the assets of SezWho, a competing enhanced comment system. JS-Kit will continue to keep SezWho’s service running for the next 30 days, during which users will be offered a choice of moving over to JS-Kit or choosing an alternative system.

KEULEN - De handelswijze van de hulpverleners bij de rampplek in Keulen stuit op onbegrip bij de belangstellenden aan de dranghekken.

SezWho offered a universal reputation system for comments, allowing visitors to log in using their Email address or OpenID, establishing a reputation system that carries across onto other SezWho-enabled sites. And unlike some other comment systems, blog owners didn’t have to worry about handing over their data to SezWho - for quite a while one of the primary criticisms of some competing services, like Disqus, was that they housed the blog’s comment data, effectively keeping their owners hostage (this is no longer an issue, as these services now offer synced comment archives).

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

JS-Kit’s acquisition of SezWho is not particularly surprising. There’s definitely a need for enhanced commenting systems, but this space is overdue for consolidation. The problem with having all of these discrete commenting systems is that for the most part, they aren’t compatible with each other. Users’ comment histories and reputations are segmented across a handful of competing services, which sort of defeats the point.

NU.NL - ALGEMEEN

Cassière krijgt 17.000 euro om ontslag over 60 cent MAR 06, 2009 05:13A.M. PARIJS - Wie het laatst lacht, lacht het best moet een Franse cassière donderdag gedacht hebben. Zij kreeg ruim 17.000 euro schadevergoeding omdat haar baas haar vorig jaar had ontslagen wegens

And aside from JS-Kit, most of these services are free, leaving them vulnerable to drops in advertising revenue and perhaps also deterring major companies from entrusting their data with them for fear that they might go belly up. In the current economy, most of the services are either forced to shut down or seek an acquisition.

een kasverschil van 60 cent.

Aside from its acquisition of SezWho, JS-Kit has also bolstered its presence with the acquisition of Haloscan last summer. The company has also established partnerships with a number of major companies, including Sun and World Now.

ENGADGET

ASUS debuts EzLink Series, VH192C / VH196 Green LCDs at CeBIT

Some of the smaller services may be dying out, but JS-Kit still has some strong competition. Last fall IntenseDebate, another commenting system, was acquired by Automattic, the company behind the incredibly popular WordPress blog platform. IntenseDebate continues to operate on other blog platforms, and is also slowly having its technology incorporated into WordPress itself.

MAR 06, 2009 05:12A.M.

Another increasingly important player in this space is Facebook, which just released a new commenting widget that allows sites to quickly integrate Facebook Connect with only a few lines of code. Users can have their comments relayed back to their Facebook News Feeds, where the conversation can continue. Some large sites have little interest in handing over their data to Facebook without getting much in return, but it’s a system your everyday blogger will love. And that’s a scary prospect for the rest of the widget makers. Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Just when you thought you’d heard the last from ASUS at CeBIT, in flies this. Here in Hannover, the outfit has broadened its reach by introducing a few new monitors, with the EzLink Series piquing our interest the most. The simply titled Wireless LCD Monitor can reportedly be connected via the Wireless Host Controller Interface (WHCI) or USB Host Wire Adapter (HWA), essentially turning it into a more recognizable USB monitor. There’s also the Green line, which — for now, at least — contains the VH192C and VH196. Both of ‘em reportedly save

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

around 20 percent in the power consumption department compared to who-knows-what, while the former model incorporates Color Shine to nix the glare, enrich color density and make your life approximately 8.23 times better. Curiously, there’s no word on specs, pricing or release dates, but we’ll do our best to dig all that up on the show floor.

adding one of these to your home / business network. Gallery: QNAP’s family of NAS drives arrives at CeBIT: eyes-on

Filed under: Displays ASUS debuts EzLink Series, VH192C / VH196 Green LCDs at CeBIT originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

ESPN.COM

Crosby returns to lead Pens to fifth straight win MAR 06, 2009 05:00A.M. Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.

ENGADGET

QNAP’s family of NAS drives arrives at CeBIT: eyes-on MAR 06, 2009 04:09A.M.

Filed under: Storage QNAP’s family of NAS drives arrives at CeBIT: eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

QNAP’s CeBIT showstopper was unquestionably the all new NMP1000, but given that we already took a few shots of Acer’s mass storage devices, we couldn’t pass up the chance to capture these as well. QNAP’s styling is decidedly “business-like,” though not in the bad way... if you get what we’re on about. Anywho, have a glance below if you’re teetering on

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

SILICON ALLEY INSIDER

PAUL KEDROSKY’S INFECTIOUS GREED

Palm Investor: Palm Pre Way Cooler Than The iPhone

Stephen Colbert Creates the Doom Bunker

MAR 06, 2009 04:00A.M.

MAR 06, 2009 03:57A.M. Stephen Colbert makes fun of the apocalypticism out there, plus Glenn Beck’s War Room, by launching his own “Doom Bunker”. I’m particularly fond of the scenario where in 2014 the Dow is at 250, Koala Pox is raging across the land, and soybeans are money.

Palm’s long-awaited Pre smartphone — the phone that could either turn Palm around or send it down the toilet — is scheduled to launch before the end of June. Conveniently, the first iPhone 1.0 contracts will also expire in June. So naturally, Palm investor (and our friend) Roger McNamee is making the rounds, stirring the muck. But is he going too far?

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Doom Bunker - Jack Jacobs and Stephen Moore

“You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two- year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone,” Roger told Bloomberg. “Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later.”

Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Rap Battle Joke of the Day

“Think about it — If you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market,” McNamee said. “Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they’re going to buy.” ENGADGET Well, okay. The Pre looked pretty neat from the videos we’ve seen, but beating the iPhone is a tall order. Heck, it’s possible the Pre will be better. But we’re going to reserve judgment until we’ve had time to spend with one.

The Daily Roundup: here’s what you might’ve missed MAR 06, 2009 03:42A.M.

And we’re going to save McNamee’s quote alongside Palm (PALM) CEO Ed Colligan’s, scoffing in 2006 over Apple’s (AAPL) chances in the mobile market. “We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone,” he said. “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” Via Daring Fireball The Beatles come to ‘Rock Band,’ instruments and all Photo: Kara Swisher Join the conversation about this story » See Also: • Palm: Business Terrible Until The Pre Goes On Sale (PALM)

Do you love the Beatles? Do you love Rock Band? Are you ready to totally lose it? RIM’s BlackBerry 9630 World Edition finally strikes a pose

• Palm Investor Shows Off Pre Smartphone On CNBC (PALM) • Frustrated Palm Investor Trolls BlackBerry’s Facebook Page (PALM)

Finally, an honest to goodness picture of what may well be the sweetest

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

BlackBerry RIM has pushed out to date. Switched On: Connecting mobile, mantle and metal objects (Part 1) Given that venture capitalists generally are not as excited about young companies that sell atoms as opposed to bits, companies innovating in hardware are a rare species at DEMO, the long-running technology startup parade. Other news of import

• LG BD370 Blu-ray player hands-on at CeBIT • Nokia confirms North American 5800 3G reception issues have been fixed • Nokia says it’ll have LTE devices by 2010, Verizon partnership in the works?

• Windows Vista and Server 2008 SP2 Release Candidates now available to download

• Alltel rolls out Palm Treo Pro The Daily Roundup: here’s what you might’ve missed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Microsoft’s Laura will rule your Outlook calendar, nightmares • ASUS: Our Eee PC 1000He is better than Acer’s Aspire One D150, fashion elegant too

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BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS - CNNMONEY.COM

Senate delays vote on spending bill MAR 06, 2009 03:20A.M. The Senate postponed a planned vote on a $410 billion spending plan Thursday, with Democratic leaders saying they would allow Republican changes to the bill to be considered after coming up just short of the support they needed.

ENGADGET

Ask Engadget: Best external hard drive under $100?

Panasonic’s ultrathin TC-P54Z1 VIERA plasma priced at $5,999.95

MAR 06, 2009 03:11A.M.

Yeah, we know — six large for a 54-inch HDTV seems a bit much in today’s society, but the same sort of thing was said last September when Mitsubishi threw a $6,999 sticker on its mesmerizing LaserVue set. Samsung Instinct Mini spotted by Mr. Blurrycam Samsung may be cranking out all manner of new TouchWiz phones and Sprint might be Pre-occupied*, but nothing can stop the Instinct... from getting smaller. (*We’re sorry. It won’t happen again.) • Analyst: Nearly half of broadband households are interested in Internet TV

Ask Engadget is back this week with yet another thoughtful readersubmitted question, and if you’d like your own inquiry to get some face

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

time, just send one in to ask at engadget dawt com. Without further adieu, we’ll let Zach take it from here: “So I need some extra storage because I’ve been going a little iTunes “crazy” lately and have been downloading gigabytes of albums, podcasts and movies. I’m looking for a reliable hard drive but at the same time, price is a key factor considering not a lot of money is available at the moment. I’m thinking 100GB or more should suffice. I don’t want to get roped into buying a crappy hard drive and have it die on me a week after using it. What’s the best one out there for around $100 or less? Thanks!” We’ll go out on a limb here and assume he’s looking for USB 2.0 (sorry, FireWire 400), so let loose those opinions!

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS - CNNMONEY.COM

It’s hard to say at this point whether we should point the blame at NVIDIA, Apple or right in between the two corporate campuses, but it seems that an uncomfortable amount of 17-inch MacBook Pro owners are having some serious issues with their GeForce 9600M graphics card. For those unaware, there is actually a 9400M in there too, but word on the street has it that the random green lines and nasty artifacts are only showing up when the more potent card is kicked into action. Most folks are saying that a reboot solves the problem momentarily, but eventually it returns to bother, annoy and sadden new owners. Anyone else out there pulling their hair out over this? Here’s hoping a firmware update is all that’ll be needed to bring closure to yet another NVIDIA-Apple related fiasco.

Candidate to aid Geithner out

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Storage Ask Engadget: Best external hard drive under $100? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MAR 06, 2009 02:49A.M. Filed under: Laptops A leading contender to serve as the top deputy to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is no longer under consideration for the post, as 17 top jobs at the department remain unfilled in the middle of the financial

NVIDIA’s GeForce 9600M causing issues in 17-inch MacBook Pro? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

crisis.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments ENGADGET

NVIDIA’s GeForce 9600M causing issues in 17-inch MacBook Pro?

TECHCRUNCH

Feeder’s Digest MAR 06, 2009 02:40A.M.

MAR 06, 2009 02:48A.M.

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

Conde Nast is “having the worst year of any publisher” the New York Post reported last month. So the fact that that CEO Chuck Townsend sent out an all-hands memo entitled “Managing Through Challenging Times” must have certainly sent a shiver through the magazine empire this afternoon. Now that Facebook has jumped into the activity stream, how long will it be before major platform vendors do the same? Google seems strangely quiet except fpr a few retracted comments from Eric Schmidt about Twitter being a poor man’s email. Speaking of poor man’s email (aren’t we all these days) Microsoft has taken a huge chunk out of Notes engagements with its on-demand Exchange Online product. But so far, no direct attacks on Twitter et al. The Facebook announcements seem most threatening to FriendFeed, at least from a feature perspective. In recent weeks, Facebook has sprouted a number of FriendFeed constructs - Likes and Comments the most obvious. In a few cases, the new tools go a step beyond FriendFeed by making it easier to post rich media types. But there’s a catch in this ease of use, namely the Roach Motel-ian question of whether the data ever comes out.

The good news: Nowhere in Townsend’s missive does he actually mention sackings, re-org or other personnel cuts. The bad news: Townsend warns employees that “all of us” will “have to make additional difficult decisions to manage costs and ensure our financial well-being”. But he doesn’t spell out what those are. Conde started hacking at expenses last fall, by shuttering some titles and making cuts of 5% or more at others. Meanwhile it has refused to cut ad rates, even as competitors pick up some market share with lower-priced pages. But while there’s constant chatter within Conde about other titles supposedly destined for the chopping block, the publisher has yet to go through layoffs on the scale that Time Warner’s Time Inc. (TWX) went through last fall. Just this week, a Conde executive told me because individual publishers were cutting back on costs without a companywide edict, it was unlikely that Conde publisher would need to make bigger cuts this spring. I’ll update if I get more info.

ALL THINGS DIGITAL

Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend To The Troops: Keep Your Heads Up, and Your Expenses Down [MediaMemo]

Here’s Townsend’s memo: (more…)

MAR 06, 2009 02:38A.M.

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

ENGADGET

SLATE MAGAZINE

Peek finds that Costco customers greatly prefer lifetime subscriptions

The bogus GOP claim that Obama is making war on the rich.

MAR 06, 2009 02:19A.M.

MAR 06, 2009 02:09A.M. To hear conservatives tell it, you’d think mobs of shiftless welfare moms were marauding through the streets of Greenwich and Palm Springs, lynching bankers and hedge-fund managers, stringing up shopkeepers, and herding lawyers into internment camps. President Obama and his budgeteers, they say, have declared war on the rich. [more ...]

SLATE MAGAZINE

The American obsession with wine being good for you.

We’re not about to say “we told you so,” but Peek‘s own David Madden has contacted us with a detail so telling that we simply had to pass it on. In an effort to understand whether the email-only handheld really would sell better if not hamstrung by monthly fees, it has been offering it up in two forms at Costco. A “$44 + monthly fees” package and an all-inclusive “Peek-for-life” bundle that sells for $399. So far, a whopping 70 percent of sales have been for the lifetime Peek, despite the fact that said bundle is a Benjamin more expensive than Peek’s own one-day lifetime sale earlier this year. He also goes on to say that this pricing strategy (the no monthly fees one) “may yet be vindicated,” hinting that the model could become a permanent option in the future. Oh, and we told you so.

MAR 06, 2009 02:01A.M. 60 Minutes recently ran a segment about the health benefits of red wine, specifically the apparently wondrous powers of resveratrol, a polyphenol that is found in the skin of grapes and is thought to prevent illness and promote longevity. This wasn’t the first time 60 Minutes has trumpeted the virtues of red wine; in 1991, it called attention to the so-called French Paradox, which posited that the low rate of heart disease in France, despite a national diet gloriously abundant in rich foods, was due to the country’s prodigious consumption of red wine. That report not only prompted an outbreak of oenophilia in the United States; it fanned an obsessive interest in the nutritional and therapeutic properties of wine. This seems to be a particularly American fixation, and it raises an intriguing question: Why are we—Americans—so anxious to find justifications for drinking wine beyond the fact that it tastes good and we like it?

Filed under: Handhelds Peek finds that Costco customers greatly prefer lifetime subscriptions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

[more ...]

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

6 March, 2009

ENGADGET

SLATE MAGAZINE

Samsung’s NC20 reviewed ahead of US release

Obama scores a 40 on the Change-o-Meter.

MAR 06, 2009 01:59A.M.

MAR 06, 2009 01:49A.M. The Change-o-Meter is also a widget. You can add it to your blog, Web site, or profile with just a few clicks. (Shortcut for Facebook here.) Each time we publish a new column, the widget will automatically update to reflect the latest score. [more ...]

SILICON ALLEY INSIDER

Crash Of 2008 Now Worse Than Crash Of 1929 MAR 06, 2009 01:49A.M. If all goes according to plan, Samsung’s more-than-a-netbook NC20 is just a day away from its official American release, and, on this momentous eve, Laptop has graced us all with a full review of the thing — or the Korean version, at least. We’ve been following the NC20’s buildup closely, as it looks to slot in between flimsy netbook and a proper ultraportables in terms of size but at a sub-$500 price that’s decidedly more Eee than X300. The review seems to echo that sentiment, with its VIA Nano processor found to be at least on par with Intel’s Atom, if not slightly faster, and the 12-inch, 1280 x 800 display quite pleasing to the eye — despite its glossy sheen. That (relatively) large size gives room for a comfortable keyboard, but overall this is a bit bulkier than its competition; heavier too, clocking in at 3.4 pounds with a 6-cell battery compared to about 3 pounds for a similarly powered Mini 12. Overall it sounds like a great device for those looking for a netbook with a little more to love.

We just hit another milestone. The market has now fallen farther faster than it did during the Great Crash of 1929-1932. Floyd Norris, NYT: It has been 513 calendar days since the stock market peaked on Oct. 9, 2007. Since then, the S.&P. 500 is down 56 percent and the Dow is off 53 percent. On Jan. 29, 1931 — the identical number of days after the 1929 market peak — the S.&P. 500 was down 49 percent and the Dow was down 56 percent. The 1929 crash got off to a much faster start, but we have now more or less caught up. And here’s a chart by Doug Short at dshort.com that illustrates the point. In case you’re obsessed, Doug updates the chart every day:

Filed under: Laptops Samsung’s NC20 reviewed ahead of US release originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Join the conversation about this story »

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

See Also: • DOW Has Been Flat For 43 Years • How Low Can The Market Go?* • The Best Stock In The World (NFLX)

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6 March, 2009

Crain’s Chicago Business. (Liska, by the way, has a magnificent Chicago accent.) Motorola didn’t offer any details to the WSJ, but said that it was in “full compliance” with its financial reporting requirements. Meanwhile, a Motorola rep tells us that: “All public information is in Motorola’s proxy statement. We cannot provide any additional detail.”

SILICON ALLEY INSIDER

What The Hell Happened With Motorola’s Fired CFO?

Know more? Paul, are you out there? Drop me a line via [email protected] or the contact info below.

MAR 06, 2009 01:35A.M. Very bizarre: Former Motorola (MOT) CFO Paul Liska is suing the company for wrongful termination, according to the Wall Street Journal. Liska told the paper Wednesday that he was “surprised to learn that he had been fired for cause.” We are too.

Join the conversation about this story » See Also: • Motorola, Like Nokia, Stops Trying To Beat RIM’s Email (MOT, RIMM)

During Motorola’s earnings call in early February, Motorola co-CEO Greg Brown made it sound like Liska was let go because Motorola’s cellphone spinoff was being delayed:

• Motorola Cellphone Spinoff Still Happening... Someday (MOT)

Via Seeking Alpha: “As it relates to Paul, I do want to say, he did a lot of good work here and helped us get a lot of the heavy lifting done around this separation and preparation for separation which as we talked about remains the commitment to our strategy going forward and he was also very helpful in getting after along with the businesses and the other leaders in the organization, cost reduction initiatives. That said, I think the business environment’s changed and given the environmental changes, we thought the change was appropriate at this time as well in that position.”

• Motorola: Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 Coming Next Year (MOT, MSFT)

THE DAILY DISH | BY ANDREW SULLIVAN

The Broad Middle

Yet in a SEC filing this week, Motorola said Liska was “involuntarily terminated for cause” on Feb. 19. And that he had to pay back his $400,000 signing bonus. In the SEC filing, Motorola explained what “cause” means, but didn’t specify which case applies here. Potentially:

MAR 06, 2009 01:32A.M. Yglesias draws lines between opponents and supporters of health reform:

• Willful and continued failure to substantially perform duties, other than failure due to physical or mental illness.

...we have the people in the middle. These are people, and you find them in both parties, who happily concede the need to reform the health care system. But they think the time isn’t right. Maybe we should wait until we solve the economic crisis, end the war in Iraq, stabilize Pakistan, and balance the budget and then sometimes in the dim mists of the future we can reform the health care system. Maybe we “can’t afford it” right now.

• Willful engagement in malfeasance, dishonesty, or fraud; or gross misconduct; or a felony. • Breach of “one or more restrictive covenants in any written agreement between Mr. Liska and Motorola.” Meanwhile, Liska provided the WSJ with a different story:

The problem with this view is that we can’t afford not to do it. The problems in the health care sector are not the cause of the current recession, but they are both a drag on the economy’s long-term ability to grow and the primary driver of long-term budgetary challenges. It gets much easier to get ourselves out of the current economic hole if there’s a reason to believe that the foundations for more robust growth and a sustainable fiscal path are being laid at the same time. And those things can’t really be done without health reform.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Liska said he was fired on Jan. 29, shortly after a board meeting. “For approximately the next three weeks, I and my attorney had been told I was terminated without cause,” according to the statement, in which he stressed “without.” “Neither I nor my attorney have been contacted about this 180-degree change in Motorola’s representation concerning my dismissal.” Liska told the WSJ he didn’t find out about the “for cause” part until he read about the SEC filing on chicagobusiness.com, the Web site for

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6 March, 2009

ENGADGET

Acer Aspire 8930 gaming laptop eyes-on MAR 06, 2009 01:28A.M.

Filed under: Laptops Acer Aspire 8930 gaming laptop eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Acer’s mammoth Aspire 8930 was on hand at CeBIT, and all 18.4-inches of it demanded an entire end of a pedestal. This one’s been rolling out to homes for a month or two now, but given just how ginormous this thing was, we couldn’t resist snapping a few shots and sharing ‘em with the masses. So, is this thing actually too big? Depends on the square footage of your domicile.

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SILICON ALLEY INSIDER

The Best Stock In The World

Gallery: Acer Aspire 8930 gaming laptop eyes-on

MAR 06, 2009 01:02A.M.

(Okay, we haven’t done a comprehensive study, but it certainly feels that way.) Over the past three months, the S&P 500 is down 20%. Netflix is up 50% (NFLX). It was even up today. We do have our concerns long-term: In a few years, the DVD business will likely be in full transition to downloading and streaming, and we’re not yet persuaded that Netflix will be able to maintain the same margin structure in that business. But, for now, in an economy and market headed to hell in a handbasket, the company’s a breath of fresh air.

Join the conversation about this story »

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See Also: • Netflix Having Great Q1, Hits 10 Million Subscribers (NFLX) • The 4 Secrets To Netflix Founder Reed Hastings’ Success (NFLX) • Disney Might Build Its Own Netflix, iTunes Rival (DIS)

ENGADGET

A-DATA 2.5-inch 512GB XPG SSD eyes-on MAR 06, 2009 12:59A.M. LIFEHACKER

Remains of the Day: The Kevin Purdy Edition [For What It’s Worth] MAR 06, 2009 01:00A.M. Another day, another collection of Lifehacker goodies for our end-of-day roundup. This time, we get to watch senior editor Kevin Purdy’s semiNSFW talk at a recent BarCampBuffalo. (No, he’s not naked, but he does drop an f-bomb). • BarcampBuffalo: Lifehacker.com’s Kevin Purdy on “How to write smarter & faster for the web” (Texter) • See video. [theory.isthereason]

Although it’s not the first 512GB 2.5-inch SSD we’ve heard of, A-DATA’s latest solid state drive is still in a rare class. We stopped by its booth today to see if the unit was on hand for CeBIT, and sure enough, there she was. We took a few shots and put ‘em down below — you know, just in case you don’t have the nerve to dissect your next SSD-equipped laptop.

• Google Chrome, Bundled with RealPlayer • This is only relevant if you hate yourself enough to install RealPlayer in the first place. [Google Operating System] • MARCH 2009: It’s the 4th Anniversary DonationCoder.com Fundraiser • We love the donation-encouraged apps from the folks at DonationCoder, and now they’re doing their yearly public television-style fundraiser. [DonationCoder]

Gallery: A-DATA 2.5-inch 512GB XPG SSD eyes-on

• Better Than A Snuggie? • Remember the Slanket? If you thought that was crazy, check out the Couch Dress. [Jezebel] • Be A Better Speaker: Go Commando • Upshot: Abandon the script whenever necessary. [Awake at the Wheel] • YouTube, Universal in Talk on Music Video Site: sources • Eh... more of a step sideways than forward, but at least the music folks are trying something. [Wired]

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6 March, 2009

ESPN.COM

Robert Allenby leads after one round at Honda Classic MAR 06, 2009 12:40A.M. Robert Allenby has contended at the Honda Classic each of the last two years, so it’s no surprise for him to be atop the leaderboard at PGA National.

ENGADGET

Corsair launches Voyager Port at CeBIT: eyes-on MAR 06, 2009 12:33A.M. Filed under: Storage A-DATA 2.5-inch 512GB XPG SSD eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SLATE MAGAZINE

Watchmen reviewed. MAR 06, 2009 12:45A.M. Watchmen (Warner Bros.), Zack Snyder’s long-awaited adaptation of the seminal 1986 graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons, shows an acolyte’s respect for the sacred text on which it’s based. The film is slavishly true to the letter of the book, with a few exceptions: Moore’s use of nested narratives—interpolated text from imaginary books and newspapers, comics being read within comics—has been streamlined into a single master story line. But the book’s spirit—its paranoia, its dark humor, and above all its bleak anti-triumphalism—has been squelched in the transition to a big-budget action epic. Watchmen fans wondering whether their graphic novel has been ruined will be thrilled to see its key scenes reproduced with storyboardlike fidelity, but those who’ve never read it will be unlikely to understand what the big deal was in the first place.

In an effort to better market its flash drives as more than just this generation’s floppy drive, Corsair has stepped up at CeBIT this year to introduce the Voyager Port. Put simply, this flash drive dock connects to one’s PC and provides one-touch backup straight to whatever USB stick is plugged in. By including the NovaBackup 10 software, the docking station transfers a copy of a user’s hard drive to any USB drive (provided that it’s large enough), and while you may argue that an external HDD could do just the same, this could be a cheaper option for someone who already threw down for a capacious USB stick. Pop down below for a look at the admittedly simple device. Gallery: Corsair launches Voyager Port at CeBIT: eyes-on

[more ...]

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SLATE MAGAZINE

A new book on the foundational case Marbury v. Madison. MAR 06, 2009 12:31A.M. Marbury: It wakes you up. [more ...]

LIFEHACKER

Best Video Editing Software? [Hive Five Call For Contenders] MAR 06, 2009 12:30A.M.

Filed under: Peripherals, Storage You’re not the kind of person that leaves video unedited. No ma’am, with the right software you become a master splicer, lord of the montage. But what software fuels your video mixing magic?

Corsair launches Voyager Port at CeBIT: eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Photo by FaceMePLS. Permalink | Email this | Comments The digitization of film has taken elaborate editing out of the care of those with access to expensive editing equipment and placed it within the realm of the average consumer. This week we want to hear about your favorite video editing software. What tools help you turn raw video into a polished product? Hive Five nominations take place in the comments, where you post your favorite tool for the job. We get hundreds of comments, so to make your nomination clear, please include it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Favorite Video Editing Software. Please don’t include your vote in a reply to another commenter. Instead, make your vote and reply

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separate comments. If you don’t follow this format, we may not count your vote. To prevent tampering with the results, votes from first-time commenters may not be counted. After you’ve made your nomination, let us know what makes it stand out from the competition.

Brawn GP will use Mercedes engines when the new F1 season starts in Australia on 29 March. Honda pulled out of F1 in December as a result of the global financial crisis, leaving the team to search desperately for a buyer.

About the Hive Five: The Hive Five feature series asks readers to answer the most frequently asked question we get: “Which tool is the best?” Once a week we’ll put out a call for contenders looking for the best solution to a certain problem, then YOU tell us your favorite tools to get the job done. Every weekend, we’ll report back with the top five recommendations and give you a chance to vote on which is best. For an example, check out last week’s Hive Five Best Home Server Software.

Brawn, a former Ferrari technical director, said: “The past few months have been extremely challenging for the team but today’s announcement is the very pleasing conclusion to the strenuous efforts that have been made to secure its future. “I would like to thank Honda for the fantastic co-operation and support we have received throughout this process, particularly those members of the senior management who were closely involved with concluding our agreement, and for the faith they have demonstrated in myself and our team.” Brawn, who joined Honda at the start of last season, added that he was delighted to retain the same driving line-up. “The vast experience and knowledge that both drivers bring to our team will prove invaluable as we aim to get up to speed in the shortest possible time to be ready for the first race of the season,” he said.

THE DAILY DISH | BY ANDREW SULLIVAN “In what will be their fourth season together, their experience with our team in Brackley, our systems and our engineers, will prove a real asset.”

Statistics, Statistics MAR 06, 2009 12:30A.M.

He added: “I would like to express particular appreciation for the support we have received from Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, the FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile), FOM (Formula One Management), Fota (Formula One Teams Association) ... and our many fans the world over.

“I think if there was a mistake in “Dow 36,000,” it was that we in that one sentence did hazard a guess. We sort of said two different things: It’s impossible to predict when this is going to happen, and then we said, well, we’ll predict it, anyway,” - Jim Glassman. (Hat tip: Balloon Juice)

“The journey ahead will be challenging but exciting and we know we can count on their continued enthusiasm for our team and its ambitions.” Hiroshi Oshima, managing officer of Honda Motor Company Limited, wished Brawn well in his new role as team owner.

BBC SPORT | SPORT HOMEPAGE | WORLD EDITION

“Since announcing our withdrawal from Formula One racing on 5 December of last year, we have conducted various studies and discussions so that the team can continue its activities as a new team,” said Oshima.

Honda team to return as Brawn GP MAR 06, 2009 12:20A.M. The former Honda Formula One team has been saved and will contest the 2009 season as Brawn GP.

“We are very pleased that we could sell the team to Ross Brawn, with whom we have been partaking in the challenges of F1 competition, and are grateful for his decision. We offer our sincerest wishes for the new team which will be led by Ross.”

The Honda Motor Company Limited and ex-Honda boss Ross Brawn have reached agreement to preserve the team.

Brawn GP will attend the remaining pre-season tests, in Barcelona starting on 9 March and Jerez starting on 15 March.

Britain’s Jenson Button and Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello, last year’s Honda line-up, will continue to drive for the British-based team.

Story from BBC SPORT: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7927488.stm

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Published: 2009/03/06 00:20:56 GMT

Aside from adding an enhanced social element to applications, the new feature could also help apps go viral much more quickly than they would using the standard Email invite system most Facebook apps employ. Developers can now present users with a list their friends who are online (even those that don’t necessarily have their apps installed), who they can then send invites via chat messages. Invites sent over chat have a greater sense of urgency and intimacy, so it’s likely that they’ll be more effective than invites sent through the site’s Email system.

© BBC MMIX

ESPN.COM

Alex Ovechkin misses Washington Capitals’ game with bruised heel

Of course, integration with Chat gives apps on Facebook yet another way to try to spam you. In the dark ages of Platform, when every app seemed to spam users with reckless abandon, I might have been more concerned about this, but I suspect Facebook already has some measures in place to prevent abuse. And even if they don’t, you can always just sign out of Chat if things get bad.

MAR 06, 2009 12:17A.M. NHL goal leader Alex Ovechkin missed the Washington Capitals’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night because of a bruised

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

heel.

TECHCRUNCH

Facebook Apps Can Now Use Chat To Go Viral

THE DAILY DISH | BY ANDREW SULLIVAN

MAR 06, 2009 12:16A.M.

Not Since Hewitt-Sullivan ... MAR 06, 2009 12:15A.M. The Mark Levin-David Frum dust-up - on air no less - is a riveting example of two varieties of American conservatism colliding. You can listen to it here. David finishes his post thus: As I hung up, I wondered what it would be like to be a new listener, a nonpolitical person, tuning in to Mark Levin’s show for the first time. The ferocious hatred and anger – the shouting at people not present to reply, the self-pitying complaints against a world that does not pay enough respect: it’s an ugly performance. Has Levin ever convinced any listener of anything that listener did not already believe? And of those who come to the show uncertain of what they believe - mustn’t the vast majority come away from these rage-filled narcissistic tirades thinking, “If that’s conservatism, I want no part of it”?

Facebook has just announced that applications on Facebook Platform can now be able to take advantage of the site’s built-in chat functionality, which launched last spring. Developers will now be able to present users with a list of their Facebook Chat buddies, tailoring the list to best suit their application (for example, they can choose to only present friends that already have the app installed).

Alas, it is conservatism in America today. And, yes, I want no part of it. Facebook users have been able to use Chat and their Facebook apps simultaneously since Chat launched (one of its biggest selling points is that it remains open at the bottom of the screen, no matter where on the site you go). But until now applications didn’t really have a way to tap into the power of Facebook Chat to help make their applications more social.

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THE DAILY DISH | BY ANDREW SULLIVAN

Pixelar e-Reader reviewed — not too shabby, also “not a Kindle” originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The War On Freeman MAR 06, 2009 12:09A.M.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments It’s escalating. I doubt he can survive. But Republican Kit Bond seems the key player. GIGAOM

Google Chrome Makes Friends With Real

ENGADGET

MAR 06, 2009 12:00A.M.

Pixelar e-Reader reviewed — not too shabby, also “not a Kindle”

Apparently people still download Real Player, because Google is choosing to bundle its Google Chrome browser with the multimedia player. And while I personally don’t download any “software bundles,” I can’t blame Google for friending Real Networks. Google has been desperately trying to promote its new browser, which still has just over 1 percent of the total browser market share and is available only on Windows platforms. It has competition from the new Safari 4.0, which is not only fast but is available on both Macs and PCs. (Related: Browser wars: Opera Says It’s Not Down or Out.)

MAR 06, 2009 12:04A.M.

LIFEHACKER

The Concealed Surge Protector [Stuff We Like]

Slash Gear starts its hands-on review of Pixelar’s e-book reader by stating the obvious: “this is no Amazon Kindle 2.” And while there may be no integrated WiFi, no hardware keyboard, no Tom, and no Oprah, this device is not without its charms. It supports a generous helping of file types (including PDF, DOC, MP3, HTML, TXT, CHM, and at least a dozen others), comes with 512MB internal memory, supports USB and SD cards, and the reviewer found build quality to be “reasonable.” The eink display shows some intermediate flicker, however, and the page turn speed “is just a little too long” for the reviewer’s tastes. Probably the most off-putting thing about the device is its cost: in the UK (where the Kindle isn’t available) it’s going for a base price of £229.99 ($324), while Sony’s Reader, for instance, is currently priced at £224 ($317). Intrigued? We bet you are — check out the video after the break for even more e-book excitement.

MAR 06, 2009 12:00A.M.

Continue reading Pixelar e-Reader reviewed — not too shabby, also “not a Kindle” Filed under: Handhelds

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BBC SPORT | SPORT HOMEPAGE | WORLD EDITION

Allenby takes Honda Classic lead MAR 05, 2009 11:58P.M. FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD: -4 R Allenby (Aus) -3 C Wi (Kor), J Overton (US), A Cabrera (Arg), S Cink (US), W MacKenzie (US), S Garcia (Spa) -2 K Jones (US), YE Yang (Kor), D Mathis (US), C Riley (US) Selected others: Level D Clarke (NIre), MA Jimenez (Spa), R McIlroy (NIre) +2 G Owen (Eng) +3 E Els (SA), J Rose (Eng), M Laird (Sco) Australian Robert Allenby edged into a one-shot lead after the first round of the Honda Classic in Florida. The 37-year-old fired a four-under 66 at the Champion Course to edge clear of six players including Sergio Garcia, Angel Cabrera and Stewart Cink. We consider unnecessary cord clutter a pretty serious enemy around these parts, which is why Belkin’s concealed surge protector caught our eye.

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke shot a level-par 70 alongside countryman Rory McIlroy, who triple-bogeyed the short 17th before salvaging a birdie on 18.

The simple but streamlined little surge protector sports a plastic-hinged cover that folds over the outlets and cords, hiding the many ugly plugs you’d normally be staring at if you were using an average surge protector. It boasts a total of 11 outlets and even handles those unwieldy AC adapters/wall warts with aplomb. The price is a little steep, at around $28 on Amazon, so you’d have to really care about your cords, but it’s undeniably worthy of some gear lust.

Tiger Woods is absent despite making his comeback from injury last week. The 19-year-old McIlory, playing his first strokeplay event in America after finishing as quarter-finalist in last week’s WGC Match Play event in Arizona, reached the turn in level par and was two under through 16, two off the lead. But he fell foul of Jack Nicklaus’s famous “Bear Trap” on the 17th hole of the Nicklaus-designed course in Palm Beach Gardens. McIlroy’s tee shot kicked off a bank and teetered on the edge of the lake, but after donning his waterproofs, his second shot failed to make it up and rolled back into the water.

On the flip side, an adventurous DIYer could probably rig together their own cord concealing surge protector. Either way you go, this idea seems like a perfect compliment to the cordless workspace.

He was able to play it, but his next attempt flew into a bunker on the other side and he ended with a six for one over before salvaging a birdie at the 604-yard last.

Conceal Surge Protector [Belkin via Cool Tools] The 29-year-old Garcia, a first round loser in Tucson, was out in front after an outward four-under 31, but he bogeyed the short 15th at the start of the “Bear Trap” closing stretch. Sweden’s Mathias Gronberg amassed an 89, three months after a round of 64 helped him regain his PGA Tour card. The 38-year-old slumped to a back-nine 50 which included three triple-bogey sevens, two double bogeys and two bogeys. Gronberg was last by seven strokes from struggling 2001 Open champion

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David Duval, who came home in 43 for an 82, going in the water on the final two holes and running up a triple-bogey six followed a doublebogey seven.

Firefox prototyping, this time in the form of a fresh idea for the new tab page. The page borrows some thoughts from Google Chrome and now Safari’s default new tab pages (i.e., displays thumbs of pages you like to visit and offers a search box), but puts a slightly different spin on it. Most notably, for sites like Lifehacker, the new page appears to tap the site’s RSS feed to display the most recent posts.

England’s Greg Owen was two over, while defending champion Ernie Els shot 73, as did another Englishman Justin Rose and Scotland’s Martin Laird.

We’ve been playing around with it a little bit this afternoon, and though we’re excited to see where it’ll go, so far it’s pretty rough around the edges—both in form and function. If you’d like to try it out or you want to know more about what the designers were thinking, hit the link. [New Tab Page: Proposed design principles and prototype]

Story from BBC SPORT: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/golf/7927470.stm Published: 2009/03/05 23:58:02 GMT © BBC MMIX

ESPN.COM

Galaxy’s Donovan to exit Bayern after loan deal MAR 05, 2009 11:51P.M. THE DAILY DISH | BY ANDREW SULLIVAN Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.

Obama’s Choices MAR 05, 2009 11:45P.M.

LIFEHACKER

Joe Klein on the situation in Afghanistan:

Firefox New Tab Prototype Has Cool Ideas, Still Rough Around the Edges [Firefox]

Taken together, the emerging Pakistan and Afghanistan policies sound ... impossible, but unavoidable. They will also be politically treacherous. Already, John McCain has made it clear that his position on Afghanistan will be the same as it was on Iraq — in favor of more troops. Obama could easily find himself in the same sort of hawk-vs.-dove debate that has boggled American Presidents from Vietnam to Iraq. Traditionally, Presidents favor more troops — and precipitously lose public support. In this case, Obama’s margin for error is minuscule, given the enormity of the economic crisis. He simply can’t get bogged down in Afghanistan. And he simply can’t allow al-Qaeda and the Taliban free rein. And every option in between seems either a gamble or a fantasy.

MAR 05, 2009 11:45P.M.

Firefox’s design hot-shot Aza Raskin is back with some more interesting

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ALL THINGS DIGITAL

SILICON ALLEY INSIDER

Yeah, and the iPod Wasn’t a Threat to the Walkman, Either… [Digital Daily]

Obama Loses Two More Appointees: Sanjay Gupta, Annette Nazareth

MAR 05, 2009 11:42P.M.

MAR 05, 2009 11:35P.M.

“I think the iPhone and iPod touch may emerge as really viable devices in the mobile games market.”

Obama’s bad luck with respect to political appointees continues. First, the big shocker. Sanjay Gupta is staying with CNN, and won’t take up the role of Surgeon General. We’re not yet sure what the deal was with him. Pray that it’s not a tax scandal. Whatever it is, the administration will have to find someone else to preach good nutrition and regular check ups.

– Apple CEO Steve Jobs, November 2008

The other one is Annette Nazareth, who was to be Tim Geithner’s deputy. Apparently it has something to do with her time at SEC. This one is the more serious blow, since already there’s been talk that Geithner is lonely, isolated and light on staff. Volcker even said as such. Seeing as Treasury is the key department right now, when you factor this in with Geithner’s own delay/scandalette, it’s clear that the new administration has totally blown it on this one. Join the conversation about this story »

Sony doesn’t consider Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone a serious rival to its PlayStation Portable. This according to Sony Computer Entertainment’s Ray Maguire, who says a converged device like the iPhone will always be inferior to a dedicated gaming platform like the PSP. “The iPhone has the advantage of being a single device and is growing a reasonable installed base, but it doesn’t have the production power that a PSP has,” he told MCV. “As a specific games machine, the PSP is always going to win out.”

ENGADGET

MSI debuts three new Classic Series laptops

Not that Sony (SNE) is ignoring the fast-developing market for timewaster, or snacking, games that has arisen around the iPhone. Said Maguire, “We’re in a great position to take on the interest in these snacking games and produce them at better quality, lower prices, with

MAR 05, 2009 11:31P.M.

lower cost of development–that’s a great business model.”

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS - CNNMONEY.COM

House OKs bill to modify mortgages MAR 05, 2009 11:42P.M. Read full story for latest details.

MSI has certainly already made a respectable enough showing for itself

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at CeBIT this year, but it looks like company isn’t done just yet, with it now getting official with three new “Classic Series” laptops. Those include CX700, CX600, and CR400, which each pack 16:9 screens of 17.3, 16, and 14-inches, respectively, along with ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 graphics on the CX700 and CX600, and an NVIDIA Geforce 8200MG GPU on the more energy-efficient CR400. Specs are otherwise still a bit light, but each will apparently come equipped with a combo optical drive that boasts a “high-speed CD burning” feature, along with a 4-in-1 memory card reader, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. No word on pricing just yet, but all three will apparently be on the more affordable side of things.

ALL THINGS DIGITAL

Clearwire To Spend At Least $1.5B In Cash in 2009 [Voices] MAR 05, 2009 11:25P.M. Clearwire (CLWR) isn’t the easiest company to analyze; still in a development stage, and now combined with the old Sprint Xohm business, trying to draw conclusions from the WiMax-based wireless carrier’s financial results is challenging, to say the least. But here’s what I can tell you about the company’s Q4 results, which were reported after the close:

Filed under: Laptops MSI debuts three new Classic Series laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Pro forma revenues were $59.7 million, a bit below the Street consensus at $60 million.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments • The company posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $157.3 million.

THE DAILY DISH | BY ANDREW SULLIVAN

• CLWR had 5,000 net subscriber adds in the quarter, and now has 475,000 total.

Face Of The Day

• ARPU rose to $39.70 a month, from $36.09.

MAR 05, 2009 11:28P.M. • Churn bumped up to 2.8 percent, from 2.4 percent a year ago. • But costs per gross add fell to $468, from $550. • Clearwire now covers territory with 18.2 million people, up from 16.3 million a year ago. • The company has $3.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents and shortterm investments. Read the rest of this post

This issue contains posts from between Mar 05, 2009 06:21a.m. and Mar 06, 2009 01:23a.m.. To change your settings, visit http://www.tabbloid.com/28993.ba65d735

Ameneh Bahrami poses on March 5, 2009 in Barcelona. Bahrami, of Iran, was blinded by a man who threw acid in her face. In 2008 an Iranian court ruled that the man — identified only as Majid — a spurned suitor who poured a bucket of sulfuric acid over her head, leaving her blind and disfigured, should also be blinded with acid, based on the Islamic law system of ‘qisas’, or eye for an eye retribution. Ms Bahrami has said that she is now waiting for a letter from the court to go back to Iran for the punishment to be carried out. By Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images.

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