So this one took me a month to do… mostly because I couldn’t work very often due to the new baby! But I really like this one, its fun. Basically it a huge ordered list of temperatures. Sometimes it just helps to see everything all in one go, to add some perspective. Also there are [...]
Now this one was really fun to do for Rasmussen College. Density is a concept that can be hard to conceptualize. You can have to bricks of something the same size, yet one is 10 lbs and the other 1,000 lbs. So I created a standard format to help visualize the density of all kinds [...]
Mother Jones is one of the few mags i read on a regular basis and I came across some data that I though would be great visualized. Having gone through the post gift exchange crash, and having to twist and pry and stab at all manner of toy packaging, I felt a connection with this [...]
So being the holiday season, Mint.com and I decided to do some relevant infographics. This one details the charity situation in the US, who gives, hoe much, where it goes. Some interesting facts: There are some charities that only give 4 cents of every dollar donated to actual recipients. 4 cents! Those should be shut [...]
I wouldn’t be a responsible online retailer if I didn’t offer some sweet deals for the holidays. So here is the run down.
The first 5 people to retweet the following will get a free Death and Taxes:2010 poster or a free 389 Years Ago offset. Free poster, free shipping, 100% easy as pie.
WallStats.com [...]
Ok, that’s not the title of the infographic, but it’s appropriate. Reverse Mortgages are a financial product available to seniors and they are set to explode as the baby boomers head off into retirement and are finding out that they don’t have enough cash to pay for their expenses.
Reverse Mortgages used to have a bad [...]
Here is one I did for NursingSchool.org. I am hesitant to call it an infographic, even though it does have a few… pill charts. Let’s just call it a “graphic post”, which I like better. It also has feces on it, making it extra graphic.
This one was fun to do. If you want to support [...]
So i was doing some research for another infographic and I was deep in to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ spreadsheets and I had to do something with all the fun data. The BLS keeps track of salaries for thousands of occupations in thousands of locations, everything from astronauts to watch makers. While I find [...]
Here is one in a series I am doing for Mint.com. It is a comparison of the United States and Russia over 100 factors. I have used the same format in comparing China, Canada and Mexico, and India. Pretty popular stuff, with over 4500 Diggs between them.
The first thing most people notice is that are [...]
I am trying to get away from the term infographic, so here is a “graphic post” I did for Mint.com
I shop at a few different stores that have these points programs where the more you spend the more points you get which you can redeem for discounts or some crap you really don’t need, like [...]
The rapid growth in health care spending in the U.S. in recent years has placed an increasingly heavy financial burden on individuals and families, with a steadily growing share of workers' total compensation going to health care costs. Because firms choose to compensate their workers with either wages or with benefits such as employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI), increasing health care costs tend to “crowd out” increases in wages. Therefore, recent rapid increases in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have resulted in much lower wage growth for workers.
Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation" (ECEC) survey can shed light on this issue. According to the ECEC data, workers' inflation-adjusted average total compensation per hour increased by 1.3 percent per year from 2000 to 2009 (from $26.23 per hour to $29.39 per hour in 2009 dollars)1 However, the annual growth rate of average wages and salaries during this period was much lower. More specifically, if one subtracts out the employee share of health insurance premiums2, workers' average hourly wage and salary compensation increased by just 0.7 percent per year from 2000 to 2009. As shown in the following figure, the corresponding growth rate in ESI premiums (including both the employer and employee share) was much higher at 5.1 percent per year.
As a result of these very different growth rates, the fraction of workers' total compensation going to employer-sponsored health insurance premiums increased from 7.4 percent in 2000 to 10.3 percent in 2009. If the growth rates in both workers' average total compensation and in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums remain at their recent rates, this share will increase to 15.0 percent by 2019 and will continue to increase thereafter. Thus in the absence of reform that slows the growth rate of costs, a steadily increasing share of workers' total compensation will be eaten up by health insurance premiums.
The increase from 2000 to 2009 in the average share of workers' total compensation going to ESI premiums is even more striking when one considers that a steadily declining share of workers and their dependents are covered by ESI. More specifically, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the share of non-elderly adults and children covered by ESI fell from 68 percent in 2000 to 62 percent by 2008. This decline was to a large extent driven by a decline in the fraction of firms offering ESI to their workers, which fell from 69 percent in 2000 to 60 percent in 2009.3 Thus if one focused only on those firms that offered ESI during this period, the trends outlined above would be even more striking.
These trends, along with recent empirical research4 on this issue, make clear that increasing health care costs are reducing the wage growth of American workers below what it otherwise would be. The President's Proposal for health insurance reform would genuinely slow this growth in costs, allowing workers to enjoy more of the benefits of their productivity increases in the form of higher take-home wages.
Christina Romer is Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
Mark Duggan is a Senior Economist focusing on Health Care for the Council of Economic Advisers
41 -- that’s the number of leading economists -- including three Nobel Prize winners -- who sent a letter to President Obama and Congress yesterday urging the swift passage of comprehensive health insurance reform to curb skyrocketing health care costs. [Source]
41 -- is also the percentage of adults under the age of 65 who accumulated medical debt, had difficulty paying medical bills, or struggled with both during a recent one year period. [Source]
Laura Klitzka of Wisconsin is no stranger to the burden of crippling health care costs. In September, we had a chance to visit with her at her home in Green Bay. Here’s her story:
With comprehensive health insurance reform, we can finally control rising health care costs and bring relief to Laura and her family and the many other American families struggling to keep up with their bills. According to these leading economists, “the health care reforms passed by the House and Senate – with recent modifications proposed by President Obama – include serious measures that will slow the growth of health care spending.” If reform fails, they add, “the chances of reducing growth of health care spending in the future will be greatly reduced.”
Today’s number, 41, is the latest in ‘Health Reform by the Numbers,’ our online campaign to raise awareness about why the time is now for health insurance reform. You can follow the campaign on Whitehouse.gov and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn.
If you’d like to help spread the word, share this blog post with your family, friends and online networks using the ‘Share/Bookmark’ feature below.
Yesterday USDA and First Lady Michelle Obama announced the Apps for Healthy Kids competition – part of Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign to raise a healthier generation of kids. The contest challenges developers to create innovative, fun and engaging tools and games that encourage children to make more nutritious food choices and be more physically active.
To get the ball rolling, The White House and GOOD asked “What kind of healthy kid app would you like to see developed?” on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Here are some of our favorite responses:
From our Facebook fans:
John Allan: A pedometer app for the iPhone that yells at you to get off the couch if you don't get enough steps in per day?
Lindsay Hattaway: An app that let's kids track the type of activity they participated in and the time spent on it each day. Make it a race to be on top against other friends who have the app.
Robbin Burnett Webb: An app such as the "video game" where you are able to cook your own food, using your own ingredients. Kids need to learn how to cook with healthy, fresh ingredients. A lot of parents can't teach them how, because they don't know themselves. Get the kids interested in the kitchen! (from good)
From our fellow Twitterers:
ieatreal: GPS kid-mapping of "wild zones" in their "playborhood" @GOOD Q: What Healthy Kid App wld u like developed? cc @WhiteHouse @ChildrenNature
freshnewengland: @whitehouse re: food app - a visual that shows healthy vs. unhealthy portion sizes, links to farms & farmers markets by zipcode; bike maps
And from our LinkedIn group:
Jim Taylor: As a parent of 3 young children, I would love to see an APP that would calculate various nutritional values simply by scanning the bar codes of the product. Smart phones read bar codes, and by attaching the FDA Nutritional information, a family could scan in all the items they consumed in 1 Hour, or 1 Day, or 1 Week. Suggestions could be given to the family for things like alternative or healthier substitutions, how much exercise they need to do to be fit on the registered diet, links to more information relating to the topic, etc. You could also have things like allergies be quickly ascertained.
Learn more about the challenge at HealthyKidApps.com and check out a recent blog post by Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama spoke about doubling America’s exports over the next few years. Today, he discussed the first steps to meet that goal at the Export-Import Bank’s Annual Conference.
While addressing the importance of America being able to compete in the global marketplace, the President explained that every $1 billion increase in exports would support more than 6,000 jobs. To promote American exports, he announced that the administration is launching the National Export Initiative, an effort to utilize the resources of the government in support for businesses that sell goods and services abroad.
The National Export Initiative will increase access to trade financing for businesses that want to export goods while also increasing the amount of trade-financing export-import offers to support small and medium-sized businesses. The President explained that the government hasn’t done enough to promote businesses abroad in the past, and under the National Export Initiative, the U.S. will advocate for American companies around the world.
This is an effort I will personally lead as President. Next week, I’ll take my second trip to the Asia Pacific – a region that will be fundamental to America’s ability to create jobs and to thrive in the 21st century. We can’t be on the sidelines -– we have to lead, and our engagement has to extend to governments and businesses and peoples across the Pacific. So while I’m there, I’ll visit Indonesia and Australia, two vibrant economies and democracies that will be critical partners for the United States. And in both countries, I’ll highlight the role that American businesses play there, and underscore how strong economic partnerships can create jobs on both sides of the Pacific while advancing both regional and global prosperity. Going forward, I will be a strong and steady advocate for our workers and our companies abroad.
The initiative will begin coordinated efforts to promote new markets and opportunities for American exporters, and ensure that the companies have free and fair access to those markets.
The President also announced that the administration is working on a proposal to reform the Export Control System for high-tech industries in order to strengthen national security. The steps to reform the system include creating a more efficient process for companies to get their products to the market, and removing unnecessary obstacles to export to companies with dual-national and third-country-national employees.
He explained that these efforts will help to double exports, open new markets, and level the playing field for American businesses and American workers.
In times like these, questions have always arisen about whether or not America’s best days are behind us. That’s standard fare. It happens every so often. There have always been naysayers and skeptics. There were always those who’ve waxed fatalistic, fearing that we lacked the capacity to adapt, to succeed – at times even to survive – in a changing world.
But what makes America great, what continues to make America the envy of our competitors, what makes this a place where people come not just to invest but to start lives and businesses and families, is something that has been inexorable and enduring, especially in times of great challenge and great change. It’s that spirit of adventurousness and entrepreneurship that has for generations turned wild-eyed tinkerers into world-changing entrepreneurs; that led us westward and skyward; that led to roads and railways cutting through wilderness, and ships and planes and fiber optic lines carrying American goods and services around the world. It’s the spirit that has advanced America’s leadership in the world and held aloft the American Dream for generations.
President Barack Obama addresses the Export-Import Bank’s annual conference at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.,
Sometimes it's good to look up close at how a single Recovery Act project is changing a community for the better and putting people to work. Other times it's instructuve to take a few steps back and look at the big picture. As an example of the latter, the web team at the Federal Highway Administration created an online map of the U.S. that shows over 12,000 Recovery Act road projects. Each of the dots represented on the map represents a project. The full, interactive version on the map allows you to click the dots in order to learn more about these projects.
More important than the number of dots is that every dot in every state represents jobs. And whether we're keeping someone from unemployment or hiring someone back, these Recovery Act projects are creating jobs. Tens of thousands of jobs.
Those dots also add up to a lot of safer, smoother miles for you, your loved ones, and the commercial truck drivers who transport the goods we use from place to place.
In October 2009, President Obama spoke about the benefits that the construction industry was seeing as a result of the Recovery Act, including thousands of highway projects which also helped to create private sector jobs.
What makes these kinds of projects so important isn't just that we're creating so many jobs. It's that we're putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done. We're rebuilding our crumbling roads, our bridges, our waterways. We've already approved nearly a thousand transportation projects to upgrade airports, railroads, mass transit systems, and shipyards. We're strengthening our nation's infrastructure in ways that will leave lasting benefits to our communities, making them stronger, making them safer, and making them better places to live.
In August 2009, I performed at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, DC in celebration of Afghan Independence Day. At that event, I met Mr. Tim Nusraty, an Afghan-American who now works at the National Security Council at the White House. Many months later, Mr. Nusraty recommended me to perform at the White House on March 8, 2010 for International Women’s Day. When I learned that I was selected to perform, it was the second happiest day of my life. The first was the day I met President Barack Obama and his beautiful wife First Lady Michelle Obama. I have to say that meeting the President, the First Lady, and performing at the White House was surreal. I never thought in a million years that this dream would come true.
As an Afghan girl born in Kabul, Afghanistan and raised in Vancouver, Canada, I have made it my duty to fight for women’s rights and to promote education in Afghanistan. I decided that more than anything else, music would be the best way to do this. It was a long-term goal, and it involved a lot of time, dedication, and hard work, not to mention the many obstacles I would have to face to get there. I had never sung professionally in my life, and decided to start from scratch at the BC Conservatory of Music. Today, my lyrics are heard by millions of people throughout Afghanistan and the region.
The song that I sang at the White House on March 8th was composed by my father and me to remember the young Afghan girls who were doused with acid in Kandahar City last year for going to school. The lyrics to the song are very powerful. Below is the translation to the lyrics of the Afghan song:
Afghan Girl
I'm a girl, I am an Afghan girl
I'm the daughter of the land of braves
Don't break my wings, let me fly
Don't break my crown, let me think
I want to be as free as a gazelle
I love my homeland just as Malali did
Sing my songs just like a nightingale in the gardens
Express myself the same as Zainab, Nazo, and Mehri in poetry
Don't break my wings, let me fly
Don't break my crown, let me think
I've a smile on my face like a flower
And live in open green fields
My heart is filled with love for my homeland
I'll sing songs and poems for my land
Words can’t describe what I felt when I was standing in the East Room performing at the White House. I was so grateful. I now believe that dreams can come true and goals can be reached. My mother was with me during the performance and was more than lucky to sit next to the First Lady. Halfway through my performance I noticed Mrs. Obama holding my mother’s hand and I was so happy I almost forgot my lyrics. The First Lady is such an inspiration to women around the world, and I am thankful we have such an amazing role model.
Later that day after my performance, I was approached by Afghan media, and they all told me in great excitement that I had made history in Afghanistan and that never in the history of Afghanistan had there been a performance at the White House by an Afghan artist. Even the Afghan journalists who interviewed me became very emotional. I didn’t realize the impact my performance at the White House would have on my Afghan people. Recently I was offered to host my own show on 1TV in Kabul, Afghanistan. This show focuses on family matters, women’s issues, and the treatment of children. I jumped at the opportunity and moved back to Kabul. 1TV is the platform for me to spread awareness for the women of Afghanistan.
Thank you President Obama and Madame First Lady for this amazing opportunity. I would also like to thank Afghan Ambassador Jawad, Ms. Columbia Barrosse, and Mr. Nusraty.
Mozhdah Jamalzadah is an Afghan singer, entertainer and model from Kabul, Afghanistan
This first-of-its-kind White House advisory group made up of diverse religious and community non-profit leaders was appointed by the President last spring to develop recommendations on how the government can better partner with faith and neighborhood based organizations. The Council represented leaders from across religious, political and ideological lines, who came together in a spirit of civility and respect to address some of the most pressing issues facing government and nonprofits. They deliberated over months of proceedings and dozens of conference calls and developed more than 60 consensus recommendations.
The Council’s recommendations included:
Providing greater clarity on guidelines for how religious charities receive and utilize government funds to provide social services;
Encouraging government to work with faith and community-based groups to streamline access to benefits for the unemployed and the most vulnerable;
Promoting strategic partnerships between Fortune 500 companies, community organizations, domestic violence groups, veterans and those in the Fatherhood field to promote responsible father engagement in the lives of children; and
Bringing the power of 370,000 houses of worship across the country to the fight of climate change by greening buildings and promoting environmental stewardship in their congregations.
The Council presented these recommendations to a powerhouse line up of Administration officials, including Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Kathleen Sebelius, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Denis McDonough, Chief of Staff of the National Security Staff and Dr. Raj Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Council members then had a warm greeting with President Obama to receive his thanks and gratitude for their work.
We note with pride the respect and civility Council and Taskforce members have shown one another throughout this process. The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will be working with Administration officials to assess the recommendations, and we encourage you to review the entire Council report (pdf).
Mara Vanderslice is the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the Coordinator of the President’s Advisory Council
In recent weeks, you’ve probably heard a lot about WellPoint, the big insurance company that reported earning $2.7 billion in one quarter, and then promptly raised rates on some customers in California by up to 39 percent. Those aren’t the only big increases WellPoint has attempted to implement. In 2009, the company sought a 24 percent increase for its customers in Connecticut, and it’s asked to raise rates by 23 percent in Maine this year.
This pattern appears to be working for WellPoint. Recently, a major Wall Street analysis found that WellPoint would be a “primary beneficiary” if reform fails.
So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that WellPoint officials are doing everything they can to stop reform. WellPoint is a part of the coalition that has financed millions of dollars television ads against reform. And they are continuing to spread misinformation about what will happen when we make comprehensive reform a reality.
The latest attack came from WellPoint’s CFO, who addressed a group of investors and wrongly claimed that reform would increase costs and drive up premiums. Nothing could be further from the truth.
What WellPoint may not want you to know is that reform will shift power from insurance companies and into the hands of consumers. It will lower your premiums, not increase them, according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office. The CBO has examined reform and determined that customers who buy their health insurance on the individual market would pay 14 to 20 percent less for the same levels of coverage that they received before. If you get insurance through your job, CBO found that your premiums would likely decrease. In fact, the Business Roundtable recently issued a study that found that reform could reduce costs by as much as $3,000 per employee.
Reform will also create a new marketplace where Americans can purchase affordable, quality health benefits. And Americans buying in the new marketplaces will be eligible for tax credits that can reduce their premiums by up to 60 percent.
The criticism from WellPoint also ignores the many provisions in reform that will bring down the cost of health care. The health policy experts and economists who have looked at this bill have said we are doing everything possible to reduce health care costs. Some of the steps we’re taking include:
Pilot programs for bundling payments and paying for episodes of care rather than each individual service.
Creating accountable care organizations where providers co-ordinate your care;
Streamlining administrative costs by reducing paperwork burden and standardizing forms.
Bringing more people into the insurance pool and reducing the “hidden tax” that insured individuals pay to cover the cost of caring for the uninsured.
These are just a few of the provisions in reform that will bring premiums down for consumers. And we know what will happen if these provisions and health reform are not enacted. Premiums will rise, companies like WellPoint will thrive and families will suffer. Health insurance reform will lower your costs and give you more control over your health care: that is why the insurance companies are spending millions of dollars trying to stop it.
Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director
625 – That’s the number of people who lost their health insurance EVERY HOUR in 2009 [Source: WonkRoom.ThinkProgress.org]
Losing insurance – it can happen to anyone. We’ve all heard stories – maybe you know someone who’s recently lost their insurance, maybe that someone is you. President Obama has heard those stories too:
There's the father I met in Colorado whose child was diagnosed with severe hemophilia the day after he was born. Now, they had insurance, but there was a cap on their coverage. So once the child's medical bills began to pile up, the father was left to frantically search for another option, or face tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.... Small business people -- I got a letter just this week from a small businessman. He said, "I don't know what to do. I've always provided health insurance for my families, but here, the attached bill, shows that the premiums have gone up 48 percent in the last year, and I think that I'm probably going to have to stop providing health insurance for my employees. I don't want to, but I don't have a choice."
These stories are wrong. They are heartbreaking. Nobody should be treated that way in the United States of America…
You can learn more about the family from Colorado in this video:
It’s time to reform our broken health care system so that American families and businesses can get the stability and security they deserve.
Today’s number – 625 – is the third in our ‘Health Reform by the Numbers’ series, an online campaign to raise awareness about how we just can’t wait any longer for health insurance reform. You can follow the campaign on Whitehouse.gov and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn.
To help spread the word, share this blog post with your family, friends and online networks using the ‘Share/Bookmark’ feature below.
I just returned from a productive trip to the West Coast, where I met with technology innovators from the private sector and state and local governments to hear their ideas about how the Federal Government can leverage the power of technology to deliver better results for the American people. As I’ve said before, the Federal Government does not have a monopoly on the best ideas, and in order to truly change business as usual here in Washington -- we’ve got to look beyond the Beltway.
The Obama Administration is committed to making the Federal Government work better for the American people. Closing the technology gap between the private and public sectors is essential to delivering the best results possible. That is why I returned to the West Coast to continue to meet with leaders who have taken innovative steps and implemented bold strategies to drive progress and productivity.
The power of raw data to provide consumers with relevant information and inform their decisions is already being realized. For example, as I was heading to the airport, I used “FlyOnTime.us” to check if my flight was on time and to see what the wait in line would be. This innovative website was created by a group of independent developers using Data.gov.
My first stop was San Francisco, where I joined Mayor Gavin Newsom and city CIO Chris Vein for the launch of the nationwide Open311 API (Application Programming Interface) initiative, which will open up access to local government services across the country. Open311 will enable people to track the status of repairs or improvements, while also allowing them to make new requests for services. For example, I can use the same application when I am home in Washington, DC to report a broken parking meter as I would in San Francisco. I also spoke to CIOs from Boston, Chicago, DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco about accelerating the development of applications that the American people can use in their everyday lives.
From downtown San Francisco, it was out to Silicon Valley to meet with venture capitalists and technology innovators, including Mint.com, Mozilla, and Facebook, at IDEO Labs to discuss how government can improve how it is delivering services to the American people. We used a visual storyboard concept to capture our conversation, which you can see here.
Later that afternoon, I met with companies like Apple and Google to learn how innovation is happening in the consumer space, through new platforms such as Apple’s online App Store.
On Thursday, I travelled to the “other” Washington, where I started the day with CIOs from organizations such as Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft to hear about how they successfully manage large-scale IT projects. I also had the opportunity to look at some of the impressive investments in next generation technologies being made by companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
I then delivered a speech at the University of Washington titled “Making Government Work: Closing the Technology Gap to Deliver for the American People.” I was very encouraged by the response and was pleasantly surprised when following my speech, dozens of professors and students lined up to ask questions and continue the dialogue.
At the end of the day, I attended an industry awards celebration for local technology entrepreneurs, hosted by the Washington Technology Industry Association. It was great to see entrepreneurs from the “other” Washington talk to me about their ideas for helping us change the way Washington, DC works.
Democrats pare differences on health bill
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:03:21 GMT
President Obama put off the start of a scheduled Asian trip on Friday as the White House and senior Democrats reached for agreement ...
Senators question $1 million pay for charity's CEO
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:42:08 GMT
A group of Republican senators is questioning high salaries and expensive travel bills for executives at the Boys & Girls Clubs ...
Congress debates new satellite plan
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:41:05 GMT
The Obama administration plans to reorganize and more than double the annual budget for a troubled weather satellite program ...
Water shortages may hit northern Rockies
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:37:55 GMT
Much of the nation may be snow-weary, but farmers and ranchers who rely on winter snowpack in the northern Rockies for irrigation ...
Potholes put dent in city coffers
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:36:02 GMT
Drivers are battling an epidemic of teeth-rattling potholes, jarring not only wheels and tires but also transportation departments ...
Find legitimate work-from-home opportunities online
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:50:20 GMT
Many people are ready to take control of their careers and work independently, and no matter your education or experience, the ...
Geo-location apps to star at South by Southwest
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:51:14 GMT
What's likely to be the hottest tech trend at this weekend's trendy South by Southwest Interactive in Austin? Location, location, ...
Fuji FinePix Real 3D W1 camera is too complex
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:45:49 GMT
Fuji has been conservative in pushing its FinePix Real 3D W1 camera. Having used it, columnist Ed Baig understands Fuji's reluctance.
Palm teeters in crowded smart phone market
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:45:41 GMT
Last year, Palm thought it had all the pieces for a turnaround in the market it pioneered: A new CEO known for making the iPod ...
The UK's libel laws, which place the burden of proof onto those who have published inflammatory statements, have had a chilling effect on journalism in that nation, and have led to a closet industry in "libel tourism." As such, there have been repeated efforts to reform the laws, often led by professional organizations of writers and journalists. A 2008 case, however, brought a new community into the fight: science communicators, drawn in when the British Chiropractic Association sued a journalist for calling some of its medical claims "bogus." Although the legal fight has continued, the journalist in question, Simon Singh, has now been forced to quit his job at The Guardian in order to defend himself.
Many of our readers who follow science news carefully are probably already aware of Singh's plight, but we've not covered it at Ars previously, so a recap seems in order. Singh, who was working on a book on alternative medicine, took a look at some of the claims promoted by BCA members, which suggest that chiropractic treatments are effective for diseases for which there is no apparent spinal involvement, like asthma. In an article The Guardian has since removed from its website, Singh wrote:
The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.
When Apple first introduced the iPad in late January, we noted with much disappointment that the device had no way to lock the screen orientation. This is apparently no longer the case, however—according to an updated iPad specs page, there is now a screen-rotation-lock switch on the right-hand side of the device, seemingly replacing the mute switch that was there when the media first played with it.
In January, Ars confirmed the lack of a screen-lock option with an Apple representative at the iPad event. At that time, the Apple rep reminded us that individual apps give users the option to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode (which is already the case on a number of third-party iPhone apps), but that the iPad itself had no universal control like on the Kindle or Nook.
As a serial in-bed Kindle and iPhone user, this was disappointing to me and a number of other readers. There are few things on earth more annoying than trying to type on your iPhone at a strange angle and have the screen rotate four times before you're finished.
Apple apparently heard our cries. 9 to 5 Mac first pointed out the difference in specs this morning, which is now reflected on the official iPad spec page. Yep, that sure does say "screen rotation lock," and that option was definitely not there when Ars played with the iPad on January 27.
For those of you who forgot, today is iPad preorder day as well. You can now reserve one to be picked up in-store on April 3 (WiFi only) or you can preorder either the WiFi or 3G versions to be delivered to you. As usual, you can count on Ars to have a review up not long after the iPad launch!
Firefox 3.6—the latest version of the popular open source Web browser—was officially released in January, but there are still many users who have not yet updated. In an effort to increase awareness about the availability of version 3.6, Mozilla announced today that it will start rolling out upgrade notifications to its users through the browser's built-in update system.
According to Mozilla's statistics, the new version has already been downloaded over 100 million times since its release in January. That doesn't include the significant number of existing users who have already migrated to 3.6 by using the browser's built-in upgrade system without being prompted to do so.
Firefox is arguably one of the most successful open source software projects. Mozilla celebrated last year when Firefox surpassed 1 billion total downloads. The current number of active daily users is said to be over 350 million.
Getting such a large user base to migrate to the latest version is not an easy task, but Mozilla always manages to get the job done. Studies show that Firefox ranks high in update effectiveness, getting over 85 percent of its users to switch to a new version within 21 days after release. The only browser that has a better upgrade penetration rate is Chrome, due to its highly aggressive background updater.
Firefox 3.6 is a somewhat modest incremental update. It brought several noteworthy new features for users, such as the Personas lightweight theming system. It also offers some compelling new capabilities for Web development, including CSS gradients, client-side filesystem APIs, and the @font-face feature.
For more details about the automated upgrade process, you can refer to the announcement in the Mozilla Developer Center.
We do a decent amount of social media coverage here at Ars, but not everything that happens with Facebook, Twitter, and the like is worth its own story. Sometimes, though, we happen across things that make us say "huh, that's interesting." It turns out there are a lot of things we thought we knew about social media users, but not all of them are true. Here are a few tidbits we gathered that may surprise some of you.
About 18 months ago, we discussed a mysterious "dark
flow" that was seen in early releases of the data from the
Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe data. At that time, we remarked that it was
little more than a cosmic curiosity and possibly a statistical blip.
New research from the same group, using the more complete five-year data
set from the WMAP cosmic microwave background imager and X-ray luminosity data, reveals that the
dark flow is still there, and that it runs deeper than previously
thought.
In a paper published in the March 20th issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters,
the authors report that they have followed the dark flow—which appears to involve matter streaming either into or out of the constellation
Centaurus/Hydra—to a distance of 2.5 billion light years. So far,
even with the full five-year data set available, the authors can detect
motion, but not whether the matter it coming towards us or moving away
from us. But they can tell that it is moving, and in a definite direction.
Relative motion of matter in the Universe is to be expected,
but motion in a preferential direction is not. According to our
best understanding of how the matter in the Universe was distributed, there's no way of
accounting for this flow. The obvious alternate explanation is a little unnerving: something
outside of our visible universe is pulling on the matter that we can see.
The researchers are currently adding more galaxies to
their catalog in order to track the dark flow to twice its current
distance. They hope that improved modeling of the motion of hot gas
within galaxy clusters will lead to further refinement of the measured speed and
direction of motion. Fortunately, we'll soon have even newer
data from the WMAP project, as well as upcoming data from the ESA's
Planck mission.
"Good morning, this hearing will come to order, and we welcome all. I notice that there are a few people in the room," declared Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). "We're here to discuss consumers—they're the good guys, right? The people we try to protect."
The Senator's comment about a "few people in the room" was sarcastic, of course. The hall was filled because the subject was, once again, the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal—this one held on Thursday under the auspices of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
The bit.trip series of games combines simple graphics with catchy songs, and then blends both together into an addictive soup. The past games in the series for the Nintendo WiiWare service have all been gold, and at GDC we were able to put our hands on the fourth title: Bit.Trip Runner.
The concept is simple: you are a man who has to run from left to right. You can't stop or slow down, but you can jump over and slide under obstacles while collecting the gold bars. Everything you do makes a note, and the notes mix with the music to give you timing cues. Does it seem like a series of jumps is complicated? Simply time your jumps to the music.
The difficulty is not low, but once we stopped trying to force the gameplay and instead listened to the music and moved to the beat, it became easy. The game was on the show floor, in the corner of Nintendo's booth, but it seemed to captivate everyone who played.
Final Fantasy games often seem like a mixed bag. One one hand, they tend to take too long to get into; the first ten hours or so always feel like something you have to slog through before things really become exciting. After a while, the battles can start to feel repetitive. They eat up more of our time than we really should allow. But they're also beautiful. And epic. Once the stories get going, they're fascinating. More importantly, they become addictive. Such games are definitely an acquired taste, but they're a delicacy for those of us who have come to enjoy JRPGs.
Final Fantasy XIII is particularly noteworthy in an already extraordinary series, though, because it brings about a number of design changes. While the game retains the amazing production values that the franchise is famous for, its gameplay has been modified to deliver something that feels faster paced than its predecessors and often seems more like an action title than a proper RPG. This might sound worrying to dedicated fans, but rest assured: based on our first twenty hours with the game, the outcome is excellent.
Late last year, we described a genome sequencing technique that brought the price of consumables down to under $5,000. That technique, offered by Complete Genomics, has now been put to use: all the genomes have been obtained from a family of four in which both children suffer from two genetic disorders. In addition to identifying likely causative mutations, the full family pedigree has produced new measures of human mutation and recombination.
So far, as each genome has been completed, it's typically been compared to a reference genome that's meant to represent a "typical" human. But the human population is large and diverse, and the differences between a typical person and the reference may have been present in our population for thousands of years. In contrast, by knowing the sequence of a child and both its parents, the changes in DNA that occur as a result of recombinations and mutations in each parent's germ cells can be tracked in exquisite detail.
We played with the PlayStation Move at the party last night, but at Sony's more intimate gathering at the W Hotel today it was easier to get a better picture of the peripheral. The main games on the floor were interesting, but the game we wanted to play with the PlayStation Move was SOCOM 4.
This is a game that is aimed at hardcore gamers, and the guys from Zipper told us that they were able to get this build up in a matter of weeks; the tools Sony was providing its developers for Move support were intuitive. This was also the first time we were able to use the secondary, nunchuk-like controller to add analog movement to the Move. We were able to play the game for about 20 minutes.
Aiming the crosshairs with the Move worked well, and I didn't feel any lag. While I was new to the game, the firefights and encounters were a blast; there is something much more satisfying about aiming at the screen with a controller instead of moving an analog stick. The controller is certainly ready for more mainstream use in shooters, and the fact that Sony already has a high-profile release that uses the technology so well is heartening.
The d-pad allows you to give commands to your squad, and you can send two groups of soldiers to different objectives. It almost felt like a real-time strategy game; you can set up some serious cover fire if you're able to think that far ahead in the combat. "We're looking at gestures," we were told when we asked about things like throwing grenades and the like. "[The Move] leads a lot of accessibility to a hardcore game like this."
The team at Zipper spent three months with the controller, and the work has paid off. Will we use the Move when we're playing online and care about our score? Maybe not. But it adds an extra layer of fun to the gameplay of a title that already looks mature. It took a little bit of talking to get behind the velvet rope to play this demo, but it was worth it. We're starting to see the promise.
When Apple first introduced the iPad in late January, we noted with much disappointment that the device had no way to lock the screen orientation. This is apparently no longer the case, however—according to an updated iPad specs page, there is now a screen-rotation-lock switch on the right-hand side of the device, seemingly replacing the mute switch that was there when the media first played with it.
In January, Ars confirmed the lack of a screen-lock option with an Apple representative at the iPad event. At that time, the Apple rep reminded us that individual apps give users the option to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode (which is already the case on a number of third-party iPhone apps), but that the iPad itself had no universal control like on the Kindle or Nook.
As a serial in-bed Kindle and iPhone user, this was disappointing to me and a number of other readers. There are few things on earth more annoying than trying to type on your iPhone at a strange angle and have the screen rotate four times before you're finished.
Apple apparently heard our cries. 9 to 5 Mac first pointed out the difference in specs this morning, which is now reflected on the official iPad spec page. Yep, that sure does say "screen rotation lock," and that option was definitely not there when Ars played with the iPad on January 27.
For those of you who forgot, today is iPad preorder day as well. You can now reserve one to be picked up in-store on April 3 (WiFi only) or you can preorder either the WiFi or 3G versions to be delivered to you. As usual, you can count on Ars to have a review up not long after the iPad launch!
The latest data from market research firm comScore shows Apple holding on to a quarter of the US smartphone market, which grew roughly 18 percent over the last six months. That makes the iPhone the number two smartphone in the US, though it still lags well behind number one RIM. Android-based devices are still growing rapidly in popularity.
Over the last few months, comScore data shows RIM and Apple holding pretty much steady, with RIM at 43 percent and Apple at 25.1 percent. Unsurprisingly, Palm (which includes webOS and PalmOS) devices and Microsoft-powered devices continued to decline. Android-based devices, however, continued to rise sharply, enough to eclipse Palm to take fourth place in the US market.
Apple updated Safari to 4.0.5 with performance, stability, and security improvements, which affect Top Sites, third-party plugins, web forms, SVG, and using Safari to configure some Linksys routers.
One complaint commonly leveled against the iPhone is that it can't run multiple apps at the same time. However, sources for AppleInsider say that Apple is finally planning to incorporate a task manager that will integrate with the established iPhone user interface in the next major revision of iPhone OS, expected to be available this summer.
Like Mac OS X on which it is based, iPhone OS is fully capable of running multiple processes at once. In fact, it does run multiple processes—iPod, Mail, voicemail and phone processes continually run in the background. What it doesn't do is run multiple third-party apps at the same time. Want to listen to Pandora while answering e-mails? Run a GPS tracking app while checking your tweets? Sorry, no can do.
Apple has given a number of reasons for enforcing this limitation. The company claims that multiple apps running simultaneously will run down the battery faster, or could lead to more out-of-memory errors as apps contend for the constrained resources of the iPhone. Also, since non-Apple apps can't run in the background, there's virtually zero chance that malware could run without a user noticing. Finally, limiting the iPhone to one app at a time keeps things simple enough for even the most tech-averse users to understand how it works.
However, the latest rumor says that Apple has a "full-on solution" to the problem coming in iPhone OS 4.0. No specifics were revealed, so there are no details about how Apple has implemented managing multiple running apps. Remember, it took three major versions of iPhone OS before there was system-wide cut-copy-paste functionality, and the interface ended up working extremely well. We expect Apple has likewise put extensive work into making running multiple apps as straightforward as possible while still offering reasonable levels of stability, battery life, security, and ease of use.
Not too long ago, David Findlay built a device capable of communicating with just about any model of iPod via the dock connector using an Arduino Nano, PodGizmo breakout board, an old USB iPod connector, and a momentary switch. While it may not sound like a big deal, there is more to it than one might think: namely programming a device (in this case the Arduino Nano) to be able to receive, interpret, and respond to messages sent from an iPod.
This means teaching it to speak Apple Accessory Protocol and, although proprietary in nature, it has been fairly well documented around the Internet. Finland slung some code so that his iPod touch was hooked up to one of the famous Staples Easy buttons in his car. Now he could easily play and pause his iPod touch without having to fiddle with the on-screen controls.
Fast-forward several months and Findlay had all but forgotten about the project when he was asked by the folks that run Make magazine to talk about it. In particular, they wanted him to talk about the library he created for communicating with Apple’s portable audio players. He said yes, and decided to dive back into the project and attempt to add additional functionality to the project.
Finland's first go around only involved tackling the the Simple Remote portion of the Apple Remote Protocol, which handles things like mute, next playlist, skip, and turning the device on and off. With newfound interest, however, he has now tackled the Advanced Remote portion, which opens up a bevy of new functionality, including getting names of songs, albums, artists, and track time; toggling shuffle and repeat mode; and all the other neat functionality that iPods have.
This newly released library of code will surely appeal to the do-it-yourself hackers who love tinkering, soldering, and programming. Someone could theoretically even build his or her own iPod speaker solution with a plethora of different options and feedback. The more daring could hard-wire a solution to a car’s in-wheel audio controls. Personally, I envision some sort of bicycle solution that docks the iPod on the handlebars but allows riders to control the device without taking their hands off the handlebars. An even more enterprising individual could rig something like this up to a sudden motion sensor so that when someone enters a room, the iPod begins to play.
The fourth beta of iPhone OS 3.2 SDK adds references to triple-tap and "long press" gestures, but removes references to video chatting found in previous betas.
Though the 3G-equipped version of the iPad will only be able to get data services from AT&T, Verizon apparently sees the introduction of Apple's tablet device as "an opportunity" for the company to sell data services. A supposed internal sales memo published by Engadget reveals Verizon's plan to push its MiFi mobile hotspot for the WiFi-only version of the iPad, which will be available April 3.
The memo points out that the WiFi + 3G iPad won't go on sale for at least a few weeks after the WiFi model, costs $130 more, and can only get service through AT&T, which the memo describes as "an overloaded network with limited coverage." Ouch.
To be fair, the extra $130 includes GPS hardware in addition to the 3G radios, and AT&T continues to make improvements to its network. But, if you don't want to wait, don't want to pay extra, or just don't want to use AT&T service, Verizon has a point—a mobile hotspot like the MiFi (which can connect up to 5 devices at once) can make a good alternative.
A MiFi 2200 from Verizon will run you $50 with current promotions and a two-year contract; without a contract expect to pay about $250. However, Verizon's plans aren't as generous or affordable as the data options AT&T offers for the iPad. Through AT&T, you'll pay $15 per month for up to 250MB of data or $30 per month for unlimited via AT&T, and those plans don't require a contract. With Verizon, you'll pay $40 per month for up to 250MB, or $60 per month with a 5GB cap. Prepaid, non-contract options start at $15 per day with a 75MB limit. Like AT&T, however, your plan also includes free access to Verizon WiFi hotspots.
Sprint offers a branded MiFi 2200 as well, though you can get it free after a $50 mail-in rebate. The company only offers one data plan, though: $60 per month with a 5GB cap (and a 300MB cap on roaming). Sprint also offers the Sierra Wireless Overdrive 4G/3G hotspot for those in an area with WiMAX coverage. Though it costs $100 after rebate, for the same $60 a month you'd get unlimited 4G data and 5GB of 3G data.
For a 4G-only option, you can go directly through Clear to get a 4G USB modem and a Clear Spot WiFi adapter that works with up to eight devices for under $200 total. Data plans start at $40 per month for 4G-only access, though bundles with home service or 3G fall-back are also available.
Other combinations of mobile data modems and/or mobile hotspots are also possible, and it's probably worth it to check with the provider in your area to see what options are available. Despite the extra cost of the WiFi + 3G iPad and the associated data plans, you're not likely to find a cheaper alternative. But going this route means you'll have data access for other devices, such as a laptop, iPod touch, or Nintendo DSi, and can serve data to multiple devices at the same time. The extra flexibility may fit your particular needs and justify the extra cost.
Street Fighter IV is now available on Apple's App Store; you can pick it up right now for $10 if you'd like to see what Capcom can do with Apple's hardware. Capcom also threw quite the party at GDC, allowing the press and community some hands-on time with the game. After playing for about 15 minutes, the verdict is in: this is about as good as you can expect from a fighting game on the iPhone.
It looks great, but you'll still be fighting the controls
As a tech demo it's amazing. The characters are large and detailed, and they move fluidly with grace. Many people enjoyed simply watching others play the game; this is one of the prettiest portable fighting games out there. The problem is simple: the iPhone doesn't have any actual buttons. Many gamers are snobs about the input for their Street Fighter experience, playing with only arcade-quality parts. Going from my home set-up to virtual buttons on the iPhone screen took a while to get used to.
I was able to pull off the dragon punches and fireballs after a while, but the game never felt good to me. It never felt like a game I could sit down and play for hours. The iPhone just isn't set up for this kind of game, and Street Fighter IV felt like someone trying to prove that it could be done. The question they should have asked was should it be done. A good iPhone game takes advantage of what the hardware can do well and works around what it does poorly. Street Fighter IV is simply a graphical curiosity.
Obama to Delay Pacific Trip by Three Days
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:02:18 GMT
President Obama is delaying his trip to Indonesia, Australia and Guam next week, so the White House can focus on passing health care legislation.
Ground Zero Workers Reach Deal Over Health Claims
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:30:20 GMT
A settlement of up to $657.5
million has been reached in the cases of thousands of rescue and cleanup workers who sued the city, according to city officials.
Cuomo to Recuse Himself From Paterson Investigations
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:40:40 GMT
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo appointed an independent counsel, Judith S. Kaye, to take over his office’s investigations of Gov. David A. Paterson.
Talks to Address Trade in Tuna and Ivory
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:04:01 GMT
Negotiations on protecting endangered species will open in Qatar with tensions over efforts to ban trade in bluefin tuna and to reopen exports of elephant ivory.
Lehman Brothers Hid Borrowing, Examiner Says
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:07:27 GMT
The bank used accounting gimmicks to hide its weakness in the months before its bankruptcy, a report says.
Vonn Wins 3rd Straight World Cup
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:56:23 GMT
Putting an exclamation point on a season of unprecedented achievements, Lindsey Vonn now has 33 World Cup wins, the most for an American skier.
Tricks to Keep Your Device’s Battery Going and Going
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:46:05 GMT
Smartphone and laptop batteries may seem like cruel masters when they threaten to lose power, but you have more control than you may think.
Op-Ed Columnist: Health Reform Myths
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:10:06 GMT
Well-informed people are buying into three big myths about Obamacare. The plan may not be perfect, but it is reasonable and responsible.
Building a Better Teacher
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:59:27 GMT
There are more than three million teachers in the United States, and Doug Lemov is trying to prove that he can teach them to be better.
Disease Cause Is Pinpointed With Genome
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:30:17 GMT
It now appears possible to sequence a patient’s genome at reasonable cost and with sufficient accuracy to be useful.
Op-Ed Columnist: Florentine Choices
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:41:58 GMT
Italy idles in the belief that life is circular and objectives an illusory distraction from pleasure.
Guide to Earning Money Online From Home
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:59:59 PST
There are plenty of work at home jobs to be had but be careful of scams and predators who lurk online, preying on those trying to make some extra cash.
Somers Town Review
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:52:09 PST
Shane Meadows goes back to basics again with Somers Town starring Thomas Turgoose. It's feel good comedy from the master of low budget film.
Leon Powe Signs with Cleveland Cavaliers
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:50:26 PST
The Cleveland Cavaliers have added additional big man depth to their bench by reaching an agreement with free agent Leon Powe.
Natural Ways to Prevent Flu
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:50:13 PST
With swine flu creating a sense of panic, it is important not to ignore the ordinary flu and prevent it by boosting the immune system and following some simple, natural s
Interview with Alyson Noël
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:48:42 PST
Teen author talks about the sequel to Evermore, what character she relates to the best, and a lot about the heart throb, Damen Auguste.
How to Color Fondant
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:47:05 PST
Coloring can be added to homemade fondant in two stages: it can be mixed into the liquid ingredients , or it can be added to the finished product.
Feline Cancer Treatments Are Advancing
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:42:46 PST
Treatments for feline cancer have advanced considerably in recent years. Surgery, feline radiation, and chemotherapy for cats may be used to treat cancer in cats.
Camp Out With the Family in Reno and Lake Tahoe
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:30:04 PST
There are plenty of area campgrounds near Reno and Lake Tahoe, so take the kids on a camping vacation, save money, and still enjoy yourself this summer.
The Leo Female Personality
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:09:26 PST
The Leo woman is born between July 23 and August 22. Their symbol is the Lion and their ruling planet the Sun.
How to Remove Vinyl Tile Adhesive from Cement
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:07:00 PST
This process does not use adhesive remover chemicals or citrus based adhesive removers. Floor adhesive can be removed naturally from cement floors using boiling water.
The Obama Administration is committed to making the Federal Government work better for the American people. Closing the technology gap between the private and public sectors is essential to delivering the best results possible. That is why I returned to the West Coast to continue to meet with leaders who have taken innovative steps and implemented bold strategies to drive progress and productivity.
