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DTV converter boxes aplenty, but good luck finding an antenna
NEW YORK--Louise Coleman of Brooklyn, N.Y., did everything she was supposed to do before full-power TV broadcasters in the U.S. turned off their analog TV signals and started broadcasting only in digital, but she still found herself in a Best Buy store on the DTV deadline day, Friday, buying the last amplified digital antenna on the store shelf. 
An indoor amplified HDTV antenna from RCA, which is owned by Audiovox
(Credit: Audiovox)Coleman said she had gotten her $40 coupon from the government and bought a digital converter box for her older analog TV before the first deadline for the switch to digital TV on February 17. And she even bought a new flat screen digital-ready TV for her living room to replace an old analog TV that was on its last legs. So she thought she was prepared.
But when Coleman hooked up her digital converter box to her TV using her existing antenna on the eve of the digital transition, she discovered that she could get every regular broadcast TV station except channel 2. Meanwhile, using a new TV antenna with a built-in signal amplifier attached to her digital ready flat-screen TV, she was able to get all the regular channels, plus two extra channels. So off she went to Best Buy, to pick up the very last digital TV antenna with a signal amplifier the store had in stock at a cost of $50.
"I was prepared back in February for the switch," she said. "But then when I hooked up the box last night, I realized that I wasn't getting all the channels and that I probably needed a different antenna, so here I am again."
Coleman was not alone. While much of the hoopla around the digital TV transition for the past several months has focused on whether people with older analog TVs had a digital converter box to receive digital signals, a big issue for New Yorkers on Friday when broadcasters flipped the switch to digital was finding an antenna to improve their reception.
TV antennas were in short supply in New York City Friday when full power broadcast TV stations switched to digital-only TV broadcasts.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon CNET )By 1 p.m. EDT the Radio Shack on 23rd Street near Park Avenue had plenty of converter boxes in the store, but it was all out of antennas. The Best Buy just down the block on 23rd Street and 6th Avenue only had a few antennas left by mid-afternoon. And by 5 p.m. a Best Buy customer service representative at the store on Broadway and 62nd Street said that antennas were sold out in Manhattan. The only stores that still had them in stock were in Queens. As for converter boxes, the representative said the store still had 242 left.
Justin Barber, a spokesman for Best Buy, said that as of Friday evening, Best Buy stores across the country were meeting demand for converter boxes. He couldn't say whether other areas around the country were experiencing antenna shortages. But he said that the company had anticipated a spike in demand.
"We have been working with our antenna vendors to get additional inventory," he said. "That was definitely something we were planning for in anticipation of the DTV switch."
It's difficult to say how widespread the potential antenna shortage has been. Mark Wigfield, a spokesman for the Federal Communications Commission, said he hadn't heard that antennas were in short supply. But he said he wasn't surprised that antennas are in high demand.
"You really do need an antenna to receive digital signals," he said.
Best Buy had plenty of digital TV converter boxes on hand for last minute shoppers.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon CNET )But Wigfield added that people may not need to rush out and buy a new antenna. They may be able to use the existing antenna they had used to get analog TV signals. But he said that whether the antenna is new or old, consumers should make sure it supports both UHF and VHF radio frequencies. VHF antennas have traditionally been the rabbit-ear antennas that receive channels 2-13. And UHF antennas have been in the shape of a circle or bow-tie. These antennas are used to tune channels 14-51. Now that broadcasters are only transmitting in digital, it's important to have an antenna that supports both VHF and UHF, since many digital signals are now being broadcast in UHF frequencies.
In addition to VHF/UHF antennas there are also amplified antennas that can be used to improve reception. In the case of Louise Coleman, the amplified antenna, helped her get all the standard TV channels offered in her area, as well as two more channels she couldn't get with analog TV.
But retailers caution consumers that no antenna is a one-size fits all solution, something Richard Savelli, of Manhattan learned the hard way. Savelli had bought a basic rabbit ear-style antenna from Radio Shack when he picked up his converter box earlier this year, but even with the new antenna he isn't able to tune in some digital TV channels. He was in Best Buy on Friday looking to buy a new antenna. But the pickings were rather slim.
"It is frustrating," he said. "Nobody told me I needed a special antenna. But cable is too expensive and I don't want to give them my money."
Figuring out exactly which antenna to use can be a big challenge. The FCC has some information on its Web site www.dtv.gov that provides some help. But most of the information on the Internet is about outside antennas. Still, Wigfield recommends that consumers check out the FCC Website and use a tool that allows people to put in their address and ZIP code to see where their local station transmitters are located and what kind of signal they can expect to get. There is also information available about the different types of antennas.
CNET Reviews associate editor Matthew Moskovciak says that the position of the antenna is often more important than the type of antenna used. He also says that newer converter boxes work much better than ones made just a few years. Moskovciak, who reviews antennas and digital converter boxes for CNET, has also been an over-the-air TV viewer for the past three years. And he says he has spent hours testing and figuring out which solution works best for getting digital TV signals in his Astoria, Queens, apartment.
What he has discovered is that an expensive amplified antenna did not perform as well in his apartment as a much cheaper HDTV UHF/VHF antenna. He uses an HDTV "silver sensor" antenna that costs around $35, versus $50 or more for an antenna with a signal amplifier. And he says that he not only gets more TV channels than he did with analog, but that the TV channels he is getting are much better quality in high definition and with surround sound.
A silver sensor HDTV antenna from Philips that is similar to the one CNET editor Matthew Moskovciak uses.
(Credit: CNET)But he adds that everyone's experience is different, and that some people living in a different part of the city or even someone in his own neighborhood or building whose apartment is facing a different direction could have an easier or a harder time getting a signal with the same equipment.
So what are consumers to do? Here are a few tips that can be used to help get you started setting up your antenna for digital reception.
• Make sure you are using an antenna that supports UHF and VHF.
• Move your antenna closer to a window. Often it's much easier to get reception from the window.
• Point the antenna in the direction where you know local TV stations are broadcasting. You may have to adjust the antenna for different channels.
• Rescan your digital converter box or tuner to find the channels in case the broadcaster has moved them.
• If you're still unable to get a signal, try a new antenna. Moskovciak recommends not buying the most expensive antenna first. Instead, he says to work your way up, trying different antennas to see which one works best. Often a less expensive antenna may work better than a more expensive one. Best Buy has a 30-day return policy, so try as many antennas as you want, and return the ones that you don't need.
"It's definitely not easy to set this up perfectly," Moskovciak said. "I've spent a lot of time getting mine set up. I have my antenna taped to the wall and pointing toward the transmitters. But I really don't watch TV all that much, so I can't justify spending another $50 a month on cable."
Who wins, loses with browser-less Windows 7
Microsoft's move to offer Windows 7 in Europe without a browser may help rivals, but it could make life more difficult for European consumers, particularly those who want to upgrade their existing machines.
As first reported earlier on Thursday by CNET News, Microsoft plans to ship Windows 7 to both PC makers and retail stores with Internet Explorer removed.
Now, most people will get Windows 7 on a new PC. Presumably, in that case, the computer maker will chose to add back Internet Explorer, include one or more rival browsers, or do both.
Indeed, that is what Microsoft itself is suggesting.
"Microsoft recommends that OEMs pre-install either
IE8 or at least one other browser of their choice before distribution," Microsoft said in a memo to PC makers that was seen by CNET News. "If you do this, your end users in the European territory should be able to access the Internet without any additional steps or inconvenience."
The real hassle comes for those who want to upgrade their existing PC to Windows 7.
Moving from
Windows Vista to Windows 7 can normally be done via an upgrade that preserves one's applications and data. However, because it removes the browser, moving to the "E" version of Windows 7 can only be done with a clean installation.
At that point, users have a system with no browser at all. So if they want
Firefox or Opera or any other browser, they have no easy way to get it. For its part, Microsoft plans to make it as easy as possible for them to get IE. It will offer it via CD-ROMs at retail stores and via FTP, an old file downloading technique that has been largely sidelined due to modern browsers.
Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder said that the result is something that is very unfriendly to the very consumers that the EU is allegedly trying to protect. The European Union said in January that it had reached a preliminary finding that the inclusion of a browser within Windows violated its antitrust laws.
"It's a disaster caused by poor regulatory oversight," he said."It's definitely regulation gone wild and it's not going to help the consumer."
Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, said the software maker probably made the move in an effort to avoid further regulatory action on the part of the European Union, which said in January that it believed the inclusion of a browser in Windows was a violation of European antitrust law.
"I guess Microsoft has taken the preemptive move to avoid a big fine," he said. "The EU didn't ask them to do this. They are still fighting the statement of objections."
So who benefits? Well, PC makers stand to gain, because they now have a more valuable piece of real estate to sell. In the past, they could offer deals to include rival browsers as the default on a new PC, but they were still shipping a PC with Internet Explorer. Presumably now, a browser maker could strike a deal to be the only browser on a machine.
"It certainly gives them a new placement to sell," Rosoff said. "Previously, with IE included, there wasn't as much incentive for browser makers to strike these kind of deals."
Of course, striking an exclusive deal would probably take a lot of cash. So it would seem Google, and not Opera (which brought the EU complaint), is in the best position to take advantage of the new landscape.
Gownder said he expects most new machines sold in Europe will still come with Internet Explorer, though some smaller PC makers might opt to exclude Microsoft's browser.
"It could be that there are some deals cut," Gownder said. "I would think the more typical case is that they ship with IE or IE plus one other."
As for Microsoft, Rosoff said that the company plans to offer an "Internet Pack" disc that includes not only IE, but also its Windows Live programs such as Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Messenger.
How Intuit managed to hold off Microsoft
The defeat of Microsoft Money at the hands of Intuit's Quicken marks a rare chapter in the annals of software history.
Intuit is one of the few companies to take Microsoft head-on on its home turf--packaged software--and come out on top. Even more notably, Intuit has managed to do it several times, with Quicken of course, but also with QuickBooks and TurboTax.
Of course, it was more than just Intuit's success that led to Money's demise, which CNET News first reported on Wednesday. The product was ultimately doomed by several factors, including a shift away from packaged software, the rise of Internet-based rivals like Mint.com, and a brutal economy that has forced Microsoft to scale back ambitions in several areas.
In its heyday, though, the battle between Intuit's Quicken and Microsoft's Money was a fierce one. While Quicken dominated in retail sales, Microsoft landed some key deals with banks and was able to get many computer makers to pre-load Money on new PCs.
Robbie Cape, who ran the Money business from 1999-2001 said that while the company could keep pace on the software end, it could never duplicate Intuit's marketing prowess or its dominance of the retail market.
Robbie Cape, who ran Microsoft's Money business in its heyday from 1999-2001, now runs Cozi, a Seattle-based startup.
(Credit: Cozi)
"It really has very little to do with technology," said Cape, who is now CEO of Cozi, a Seattle-based start-up. "What Intuit and Scott Cook were so formidable at was consumer marketing. He treated marketing Intuit very much the same way as one would treat marketing a bar of soap or bottle of shampoo. He made Quicken a household name. He spent outrageous dollars to get there."
Intuit spokesman Scott Gulbransen said his company simply had the better product. "Customers voted with their wallet," he said.
NPD analyst Stephen Baker said that Intuit won out because it was aggressive and built critical mass in the finance software arena, adding a number of adjacent products and dominating the retail channel.
Whatever the case, it was an epic battle that stretched on for years. Microsoft tried to buy Intuit in the mid-1990s but saw that effort halted by regulatory disapproval.
In the wake of the failed takeover bid, Microsoft doubled down in its efforts to take on Quicken. The company added a ton of partners, revamped the product's design, and tried to integrate a host of new financial planning tools.
Cape said the pinnacle of its effort came in 2000 when Wall Street Journal reviewer Walt Mossberg gave Microsoft Money the edge over Quicken in his review.
However, even with some positive reviews, Money never managed to overtake Quicken and Microsoft's product has been on the wane for some time. The clear sign that the end might be near came last year, when Microsoft announced it would stop annually updating the product and would shift to an online-only sales model as opposed to also offering the product at retail stores.
"The writing was kind of on the wall," Gulbransen said.
Baker says Microsoft's inability to make a viable business out of the online-only sales model shows that a Web-based sales approach isn't enough to keep all consumer software alive.
"While the retail packaged software market is tough it is not easier to be online only," Baker said. "Your audience is much more limited and (the) potential customer base is much smaller when you go to the cloud. That business model is not a panacea when you are in a struggling market."
Still up in the air is another Microsoft product that aimed to take on Intuit but fell short--Microsoft's small business accounting product. It was launched amid some fanfare in September 2005, but struggled to make inroads in a field dominated by Intuit's Quickbooks. Microsoft discontinued boxed sales of the product and last year made it available for free download as Office Accounting Express 2009 for free download.
A modest payoff from Money
As for Money, while it was never the dominant player, it did break some technical ground for Microsoft. It was one of the first programs at Microsoft to merge Internet content directly into a desktop application and it was also among the first PC-based programs to include advertising directly from a CD.
In many ways, Money was the precursor to Microsoft's "software plus services" strategy, in which the company posits that desktop software won't be replaced by online options, but will rather lead to hybrid products.
Scott Cook founded Intuit in 1983. He's now chairs the executive committee.
(Credit: Intuit)
Indeed, when Microsoft was plotting the future of its consumer software lines earlier this decade, it often pointed to Money as the archetype of how advertising and online content could merge with locally run code to form the hybrid application of the future. In a series of ThinkWeek papers seen by CNET News, Microsoft researchers argued that the company might need to even take things further and make many of its desktop products free, tapping advertising to support their development.
Of course, the question that lingers is what went wrong with Money. Was it that the strategy itself was wrong? Was Microsoft just too far behind, or did the company just not go far enough. Microsoft never opted to make Money entirely free, though it did offer a $20 Money Essentials product and included it in one of the Microsoft Works bundles often included on new PCs.
For his part, Cape moved on from Microsoft in 2001 and now runs Cozi, whose online tool aims to help families juggle a busy calendar. Cape said he learned a lot from working on Microsoft Money. Chief among those lessons was that user experience matters.
"Managing your family logistics and your family calendar is about as fun as managing your personal finances," Cape said. "It's not exciting. What we've done at Cozi, which is very much like what we tried very hard to do on Money, is to take that mundane, ho-hum experience and not only make it fun but also make it beautiful."
As for Microsoft and Intuit, the longtime rivals are now working together--building a tool that will allow Money users to move their information over to Quicken.
"We're working with Intuit to help develop a file conversion process that will help Money customers more easily convert their existing data files to Quicken," Microsoft director Adam Sohn said. "Both Intuit and Microsoft hope this will be ready to go for the new release of Quicken this fall."
Intuit says it is happy to have the business.
"We look it as an opportunity to show Microsoft Money customers what they have been missing...over the years," Gulbransen said.
Lakers slide by Magic in OT, snare 2-0 advantage in Finals
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lucky to have a second chance, the Los Angeles Lakers grabbed it.
Kobe Bryant and Co. held on and are in control of the NBA Finals — just barely.
Orlando rookie Courtney Lee missed a potential winning layup as regulation ended, giving Los Angeles another shot it didn't waste. Pau Gasol scored seven points in overtime as the Lakers, so dominant in the series opener, survived with a 101-96 win over the Magic in Game 2 on Sunday night.
GAME 2 REPORT: Lakers 101, Magic 96 (OT)
"There is a sense of relief because they played very well," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "There's no doubt they had every opportunity or chance to win."
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Los Angeles Lakers | Kobe Bryant | Orlando Magic | Phil Jackson | Dwight Howard | Stan Van Gundy | Pau Gasol | Lamar Odom | Rashard Lewis | Derek Fisher
If Orlando doesn't come back and win a game in the series, Lee's miss may go down as one of the biggest tough-luck stories in Finals history.
He had a chance to give the Magic its first Finals win, but misfired.
"We missed it. I don't know what else to say," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We executed well, Hedo (Turkoglu) made a great pass. I'm not trying to be a pain ... Hedo made a great pass and he just missed it."
Orlando may not get a better shot to beat the Lakers.
"We blew a lot of assignments tonight — a lot of assignments — and we still managed to get a win," Bryant said.
When it was finally over, Derek Fisher and the Lakers jogged to the locker room, smiling and high-fiving fans along the way.
Turkoglu trudged through the tunnel dejected, a towel hanging from his head.
Bryant scored 29 points, Gasol added 24 and 10 rebounds and Lamar Odom 19 points for the Lakers, who won Game 1 by 25 but needed 53 minutes to put away the Magic.
Rashard Lewis scored 34 — 18 in the second quarter alone — and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 16 rebounds for Orlando.
Game 3 is Tuesday night at Orlando's Amway Arena, which will be hosting a Finals game for the first time since June 9, 1995.
With the score tied at 88-88 in regulation, Lee missed the first of two late-game shots when he drove the lane and missed a contested layup with 10.5 seconds remaining.
The Lakers called time with 9.1 seconds to play, and after Odom caught the inbounds pass, he quickly gave it to Bryant, who drove into a crowd. Bryant attempted an off-balance 12-footer, but his shot was blocked from behind by Turkoglu with 1.8 seconds left.
The horn sounded, the clock expired to zeros and Jack Nicholson and the star-studded Staples Center crowd braced for overtime.
But the officials huddled at the scorer's table and decided to put 0.6 seconds back on the clock because Turkoglu grabbed the ball land called timeout.
Turkoglu couldn't find anyone open and was forced to call a timeout. On the Magic's second attempt, Lee got free on a perfectly executed play and caught Turkoglu's long lob pass as he neared the left side of the basket. But with 7-foot Gasol closing in on him, Lee's shot caromed off the backboard and front of the rim.
Howard dunked in the miss as Lee put his hands behind his head in disbelief and began a long walk back to the bench as his teammates tried to console him.
So close. So far.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
2 bodies, ticket and backpack found in Air France probe
PARIS (AP) — Searchers found two bodies and a briefcase containing a ticket for Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean close to where the jetliner is believed to have crashed, a Brazil military official said Saturday.
The two male bodies were recovered Saturday morning about 45 miles south of where Air France Flight 447 emitted its last signals — roughly 400 miles northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast.
Brazilian air force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said an Air France ticket was found inside a leather briefcase.
"It was confirmed with Air France that the ticket number corresponds to a passenger on the flight," he said.
Admiral Edison Lawrence said the bodies were being transported to the Fernando de Noronha islands for identification. A backpack with a vaccination card also was recovered.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Air France
The French agency investigating the disaster, meanwhile, said airspeed instruments on the plane were not replaced as the maker recommended before it disappeared in turbulent weather nearly a week ago.
The French accident investigation agency, BEA, found the plane received inconsistent airspeed readings from different instruments as it struggled in a massive thunderstorm on its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people aboard.
Airbus had recommended that all its airline customers replace speed-measuring instruments known as Pitot tubes on the A330, the model used for Flight 447, said Paul-Louis Arslanian, the head of the agency.
Air France issued details about the monitors Saturday, hours after the French agency investigating the disaster of Flight 447 said the instruments were not replaced before the plane crashed last week en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
The airline acknowledged that speed monitors on its Airbus planes have proven faulty, icing up at high altitude, and that recommendations to change them were first made in September 2007.
Air France said it began replacing the monitors on the Airbus A330 model on April 27.
Pitot monitors are used to measure aerodynamic speed.
An Air France statement said icing of the monitors at high altitude has led to loss of needed flying information.
Arslanian cautioned that it is too early to draw conclusions about the role of Pitot tubes in the crash, saying that "it does not mean that without replacing the Pitots that the A330 was dangerous."
He told a news conference at the agency's headquarters near Paris that the crash of Flight 447 does not mean similar planes are unsafe, adding that he told family members not to worry about flying.
Airbus had made the recommendation for "a number of reasons," he said.
The finds could potentially establish a more precise search area for the crucial black box flight recorders that could tell investigators why the jet crashed, although Brazilian authorities refused to comment on implications for the search.
Investigators have been searching a zone of several hundred square miles for debris. A blue plane seat with a serial number on it has been recovered — but officials were still trying to confirm with Air France that it was a seat belonging to Flight 477.
The investigation is increasingly focused on whether external instruments may have iced over, confusing speed sensors and leading computers to set the plane's speed too fast or slow — a potentially deadly mistake in severe turbulence.
Pitot tubes, protruding from the wing or fuselage of a plane, feed airspeed sensors and are heated to prevent icing. A blocked or malfunctioning Pitot tube could cause an airspeed sensor to malfunction and cause the computer controlling the plane to accelerate or decelerate in a potentially dangerous way.
Air France has already replaced the Pitots on another Airbus model, the 320, after its pilots reported similar problems with the instrument, according to an Air France air safety report filed by pilots in January and obtained by The Associated Press.
The report followed an incident in which an Air France flight from Tokyo to Paris reported problems with its airspeed indicators similar to those believed to have been encountered by Flight 447. In that case, the Pitot tubes were found to have been blocked by ice.
"Following similar problems frequently encountered on the A320 fleet, preventative actions have already been decided and applied," the safety report says. The Pitots on all Air France's A320s were retrofitted with new Pitots "less susceptible to these weather conditions."
The same report says Air France decided to increase the inspection frequency for its A330 and A340 jets' Pitot tubes, but that it had been waiting for a recommendation from Airbus before installing new Pitots.
As they try to locate the wreckage, investigators are relying on 24 messages the plane sent automatically during the last minutes of the flight.
The signals show the plane's autopilot was not on, officials said, but it was not clear if the autopilot had been switched off by the pilots or had stopped working because it received conflicting airspeed readings.
The flight disappeared nearly four hours after takeoff, killing all on board. It was Air France's deadliest plane crash and the world's worst commercial air accident since 2001.
The head of France's weather forecasting agency, Alain Ratier, said weather conditions at the time of the flight were not exceptional for the time of the year and region, which is known for violent stormy weather.
On Thursday, European plane maker Airbus sent an advisory to all operators of the A330 reminding them of how to handle the plane in conditions similar to those experienced by Flight 447.
Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that advisory and the Air France memo about replacing flight-speed instruments "certainly raises questions about whether the Pitot tubes, which are critical to the pilot's understanding of what's going on, were operating effectively."
Arslanian said it is vital to locate a small beacon called a "pinger" that should be attached to the cockpit voice and data recorders, now presumed to be deep in the Atlantic.
"We have no guarantee that the pinger is attached to the recorders," he said.
Holding up a pinger in the palm of his hand, he said: "This is what we are looking for in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."
Currents could have scattered debris far along the ocean floor, he said.
President Obama said at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday that the United States had authorized all of the U.S. government's resources to help investigate the crash.
BEA head Arslanian said U.S. forces have lent the agency acoustic systems that will be fitted to two naval vessels. France's Emeraude submarine and other high-tech equipment from French marine research institute Ifremer are also being sent to the region.
The submarine, to arrive next week, will try to detect signals from the black boxes, said military spokesman Christophe Prazuck.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The two male bodies were recovered Saturday morning about 45 miles south of where Air France Flight 447 emitted its last signals — roughly 400 miles northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast.
Brazilian air force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said an Air France ticket was found inside a leather briefcase.
"It was confirmed with Air France that the ticket number corresponds to a passenger on the flight," he said.
Admiral Edison Lawrence said the bodies were being transported to the Fernando de Noronha islands for identification. A backpack with a vaccination card also was recovered.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Air France
The French agency investigating the disaster, meanwhile, said airspeed instruments on the plane were not replaced as the maker recommended before it disappeared in turbulent weather nearly a week ago.
The French accident investigation agency, BEA, found the plane received inconsistent airspeed readings from different instruments as it struggled in a massive thunderstorm on its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people aboard.
Airbus had recommended that all its airline customers replace speed-measuring instruments known as Pitot tubes on the A330, the model used for Flight 447, said Paul-Louis Arslanian, the head of the agency.
Air France issued details about the monitors Saturday, hours after the French agency investigating the disaster of Flight 447 said the instruments were not replaced before the plane crashed last week en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
The airline acknowledged that speed monitors on its Airbus planes have proven faulty, icing up at high altitude, and that recommendations to change them were first made in September 2007.
Air France said it began replacing the monitors on the Airbus A330 model on April 27.
Pitot monitors are used to measure aerodynamic speed.
An Air France statement said icing of the monitors at high altitude has led to loss of needed flying information.
Arslanian cautioned that it is too early to draw conclusions about the role of Pitot tubes in the crash, saying that "it does not mean that without replacing the Pitots that the A330 was dangerous."
He told a news conference at the agency's headquarters near Paris that the crash of Flight 447 does not mean similar planes are unsafe, adding that he told family members not to worry about flying.
Airbus had made the recommendation for "a number of reasons," he said.
The finds could potentially establish a more precise search area for the crucial black box flight recorders that could tell investigators why the jet crashed, although Brazilian authorities refused to comment on implications for the search.
Investigators have been searching a zone of several hundred square miles for debris. A blue plane seat with a serial number on it has been recovered — but officials were still trying to confirm with Air France that it was a seat belonging to Flight 477.
The investigation is increasingly focused on whether external instruments may have iced over, confusing speed sensors and leading computers to set the plane's speed too fast or slow — a potentially deadly mistake in severe turbulence.
Pitot tubes, protruding from the wing or fuselage of a plane, feed airspeed sensors and are heated to prevent icing. A blocked or malfunctioning Pitot tube could cause an airspeed sensor to malfunction and cause the computer controlling the plane to accelerate or decelerate in a potentially dangerous way.
Air France has already replaced the Pitots on another Airbus model, the 320, after its pilots reported similar problems with the instrument, according to an Air France air safety report filed by pilots in January and obtained by The Associated Press.
The report followed an incident in which an Air France flight from Tokyo to Paris reported problems with its airspeed indicators similar to those believed to have been encountered by Flight 447. In that case, the Pitot tubes were found to have been blocked by ice.
"Following similar problems frequently encountered on the A320 fleet, preventative actions have already been decided and applied," the safety report says. The Pitots on all Air France's A320s were retrofitted with new Pitots "less susceptible to these weather conditions."
The same report says Air France decided to increase the inspection frequency for its A330 and A340 jets' Pitot tubes, but that it had been waiting for a recommendation from Airbus before installing new Pitots.
As they try to locate the wreckage, investigators are relying on 24 messages the plane sent automatically during the last minutes of the flight.
The signals show the plane's autopilot was not on, officials said, but it was not clear if the autopilot had been switched off by the pilots or had stopped working because it received conflicting airspeed readings.
The flight disappeared nearly four hours after takeoff, killing all on board. It was Air France's deadliest plane crash and the world's worst commercial air accident since 2001.
The head of France's weather forecasting agency, Alain Ratier, said weather conditions at the time of the flight were not exceptional for the time of the year and region, which is known for violent stormy weather.
On Thursday, European plane maker Airbus sent an advisory to all operators of the A330 reminding them of how to handle the plane in conditions similar to those experienced by Flight 447.
Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that advisory and the Air France memo about replacing flight-speed instruments "certainly raises questions about whether the Pitot tubes, which are critical to the pilot's understanding of what's going on, were operating effectively."
Arslanian said it is vital to locate a small beacon called a "pinger" that should be attached to the cockpit voice and data recorders, now presumed to be deep in the Atlantic.
"We have no guarantee that the pinger is attached to the recorders," he said.
Holding up a pinger in the palm of his hand, he said: "This is what we are looking for in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."
Currents could have scattered debris far along the ocean floor, he said.
President Obama said at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday that the United States had authorized all of the U.S. government's resources to help investigate the crash.
BEA head Arslanian said U.S. forces have lent the agency acoustic systems that will be fitted to two naval vessels. France's Emeraude submarine and other high-tech equipment from French marine research institute Ifremer are also being sent to the region.
The submarine, to arrive next week, will try to detect signals from the black boxes, said military spokesman Christophe Prazuck.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Obama calls for new start between U.S., Muslim world
CAIRO — In a speech he called a first step toward changing U.S.-Muslim relations, President Obama on Thursday called on Muslims, Jews and Christians around the world to cast aside fear and mistrust in the name of a safer, more prosperous future.
In a speech delivered at Cairo University, Obama sought to challenge stereotypes after a decade of violence and misunderstanding in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world — one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive," he told an audience of dignitaries, students and journalists.
THE OVAL: Obama speaks in Cairo
MORE ON SPEECH: President's team cast wide net
TEXT: Read Obama's speech
He offered no new policy prescription on the key areas of discord: Arab-Israeli peace, the war in Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear ambitions. And he acknowledged as much.
"No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point," he said. "But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another; and to seek common ground."
The only disruption during the speech came when someone from the audience shouted, "We love you." Obama did not respond as he often does at home with, "I love you back." He smiled and said, "Thank you."
U.S.-MUSLIM RELATIONS: Obama plans to reach out
Security was tight on campus and along the streets in and out of the usually chaotic city. Armed police stood on the sidewalks along miles and miles of road, spaced only about 20 feet apart.
On his way to the speech, Obama met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and visited the Sultan Hassan Mosque, one of the largest in the Islamic world, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Afterward, he conducted a roundtable interview with journalists from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Palestinian territories, Malaysia and Indonesia.
His speech was broadcast around the world and sent out via Twitter and several social-networking sites in what the White House described as its most ambitious effort to date to distribute its message.
At the university, Obama went over several key areas that, he said, have contributed to the misunderstanding and distrust that has marked U.S.-Muslim relations for years:
• On violent extremists, he offered a vigorous defense of his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan while promising that the U.S. does not intend to stay.
"America is not — and never will be — at war with Islam," Obama said. "We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security … it is my first duty as president to protect the American people."
With respect to the troop buildup, he said: "Make no mistake: We do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case."
• On the Arab-Israeli conflict, he urged both sides to follow through on their commitments and reiterated his support for a two-state solution.
He passionately reinforced the United States' bond with Israel and cautioned against the kind of heated rhetoric that has inflamed passions in the past.
"Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust," he said. "Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed — more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction — or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews — is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve."
He also highlighted the suffering of the Palestinians.
"It is also undeniable that the Palestinian people — Muslims and Christians — have suffered in pursuit of a homeland," he said. "For more than 60 years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations — large and small — that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own."
• On Iran's nuclear ambitions, Obama said the world has reached "a decisive point."
Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, he said, "is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path. "
• On the promotion of democracy, Obama acknowledged the controversy of the U.S. role in Iraq. "Let me be clear," he said. "No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other."
In a stark contrast in tone from Bush administration officials, Obama said: "America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.
" Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere."
New 16GB 'PSP Go' revealed early
Although Sony's E3 press conference isn't until 11 a.m. Tuesday, one of its centerpieces appears to have been prematurely exposed. A YouTube video of what appears to be the next issue of the PlayStation-focused video magazine Qore has revealed that Sony will use its event to unveil a new PSP model, the PSP Go.
Sony is expected to unveil the PSP Go at its press conference Tuesday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
As had been widely rumored, the PSP Go will have a sliding form factor like the Mylo, Sony's ill-fated Internet communicator device. The new handheld--which does not sport a second thumbstick--is shown several times in the video, which features Qore host Veronica Belmont and John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America.
According to Koller, the main differences between the PSP Go and the PSP 3000 are "on-board memory, the flash memory, and 16 gigs of space. There's Bluetooth on board as well, so you can use a Bluetooth headset, and you can actually tether it to your cell phone as well. But ultimately, it's the portability. Since you can bring all that content with you in a smaller form factor, you've got the most immersive games to play, and now you've got a smaller unit to do it with."
Though he does not say that the device will not have a UMD drive--as is rumored--he did say that the emphasis will be on downloadable games. "Little Big Planet, Jak & Daxter, Metal Gear Solid--all those will be available. So will all the movies you can rent or buy on the PlayStation Network. So you can bring so much content over with you and fill up that 16 gig of flash memory."
Koller also appears to reveal that the long-lost PSP Gran Turismo Mobile game--first shown off in 2004--will resurface at next week's expo. "There are games like Gran Turismo being announced at E3," said the executive.
Host Belmont then asks, "So since it's called the PSP Go, I would image it will work with Remote Play as well." Koller responds with the following blanket statement: "Integration with the PS3 is very important, and it works just like the PSP 3000. A lot of people like to be able to take their PS3 content with them on the go."
As for the PSP Go supplanting its predecessor, Koller said flatly: "It won't replace the PSP 3000. We're going to keep them both on the market." Koller did not mention a price, release date, or whether it would have a touch screen when closed. Sony Computer Entertainment America reps had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.
Copyright 2009 CNVnews. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Truckers say new regs won't jam borders
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Americans returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and parts of the Caribbean will need more than a driver's license to get back into the USA beginning Monday — and efforts are underway to prevent that from turning into a truck backlog at the borders.
Commercial truckers in this border state, home of one of the nation's busiest border crossings, are among those who will be affected by the more stringent documentation requirements, the latest in a series of anti-terrorism efforts put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Their imposition fulfills one of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, a blue-ribbon panel of experts convened after the attacks.
In implementing the new requirements, the Department of Homeland Security faces a tricky balancing act: trying to secure the nation's 5,000 miles of border with Canada and 1,900 miles of border with Mexico while not disrupting trade. On an average day last year, Customs officers processed more than 70,000 truck, rail and sea containers.
The goal is "to strengthen our borders while we facilitate legitimate travel," says Joanne Ferreira, a spokewoman for the homeland security department's Customs and Border Protection Agency.
Truckers here say they're prepared for the new regulations.
"All my trucks are bar-coded, and all drivers have two forms of ID," said George Barrett, president and owner of Barrett Trucking in Burlington. During the winter his fleet of trucks crosses the border upward of 20 times a day to haul road salt south from Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, to Vermont.
The border crossing at Derby Line, Vt., was the 10th busiest for truck traffic along the nation's northern border in 2008, according to figures compiled by Customs.
The trucking industry is "well prepared" for the change, said Clayton Boyce, vice president of public affairs for the American Trucking Associations.
The Arlington, Va.-based association has been preparing for a year and a half and Boyce said many truckers already have Free and Secure Trade Program cards, known as FAST, to ease their border crossings. But he noted that other travelers, who may not be familiar with the new rules, "could cause backlogs at the border that could affect our members."
"Whenever the government does something new, there is always a good chance something will go wrong," Boyce said. "That's not a slam on the government. They find out, by doing, what the problem is."
Another Vermont company has a different strategy for expediting cross-border traffic: Land Air Express of New England in Williston, Vt., doesn't send its own trucks over the border, said Tom Spencer, the trucking company's vice president. Instead, it hires Maisliner Transport in Montreal to handle the border crossings.
J.J Maislin of Maisliner said the new requirements will have an effect on trade for small-scale companies that don't move freight between the countries frequently. But he's predicting only limited impact on larger operations like his. He expressed confidence in the federal officers at the border.
"Will there be hiccups? Yes. Will Customs be able to deal with it? Yes," he said.
McLean reports for The Burlington Free Press
itube
Copyright 2009 CNVnews. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
iTube
Hello my name is Jordan the ceo/prez of CommonGl0be and we created all CNVsites and now comes iTube its like youtube but better if you have a video on youtube or anyother video site just go to itubenotyoutube.magnify.net and click the submit button either download from computer record from webcam or enter link or html code of any video on the web.
so thats it to check it out for your self CLICK-HERE oh yeah you can also download games
this has been a message from CG and iTube
so thats it to check it out for your self CLICK-HERE oh yeah you can also download games
this has been a message from CG and iTube
Palm shows Pre at D
Palm showed the Palm Pre's rival to the App Store during its demo at D: All Things Digital on Thursday.
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)
CARLSBAD, Calif.--In one of the more anticipated chats at D: All Things Digital, Palm Executive Chairman Jon Rubinstein showed off the
Palm Pre and talked about several features of the smartphone for the first time.
Rubinstein showed how the device can search Amazon's MP3 store and download songs directly to the device, a feature mentioned at the Pre's unveiling at CES in January. The Pre is scheduled to go on sale June 6 with a price tag of $199.99, after rebate.
He also showed a "media sync" feature that lets users grab nonprotected media files directly from iTunes without any special software. In addition, the universal search feature will not only search Google and Wikipedia, but also Twitter.
Palm also demoed an App Catalog that the company says will launch with the product in beta form. About a dozen programs will be there at launch, Palm said. Among the applications shown on the device were Fandango and the New York Times.
D impresario Walt Mossberg pressed Rubinstein on whether iTunes maker Apple will be unhappy with the feature. "They've gotten much more open," he said. "They've gotten rid of the DRM."
Venture capitalist Roger McNamee, whose firm is Palm's biggest shareholder, said he sees the media sync feature as an acknowledgment of iTunes' power.
"I find it hard to believe they are going to get bent out of shape," McNamee said.
Rubinstein did acknowledge that the Pre is going after the
Apple iPhone, along with the BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion.
"Clearly the primary competitors are Apple and RIM," Rubinstein said of the Pre.
Palm: "a new company today"
Before the Pre demo, Rubinstein talked about the steps that got the company where it is.
"We hired a lot of new people into the company," Rubinstein said. "It's a new company today."
Asked what he brought over from Apple, where he had been a hardware guru, Rubinstein said, "I hope I've learned a little bit of taste. I've also learned how important great marketing is."
But Palm is not Apple, he said. "The difference is we're tiny. We're the real little engine that could."
McNamee said that, despite all their success, Apple and RIM have just two points of market share in the global phone business. "We are at the very beginning of a massive transformation," he said. "There was a lot of white space that Palm could step into."
Mossberg asked why Rubinstein and McNamee didn't just start their own company.
"Palm had tremedous assets," Rubinstein said, noting its brand, its history of innovation, and its intellectual property. "The DNA is there," he said. "The way of thinking about great products is there."
The talk began with a video in which McNamee makes all sorts of exaggerated claims about the Pre and Rubinstein constantly interrupts and corrects him. It's a reference to an earlier incident in which McNamee made claims that Palm later had to publicly disavow in a regulatory filing.
McNamee didn't stop with his hyperbole.
"I wish I had the entire fund in Palm," he said. " This is the thing that will define us."
Long live the OS
Asked about what other devices Palm might create, Rubinstein left the door open, but didn't give details.
"We designed the WebOS to work across a variety of products," Rubinstein said. A lot of thought was put into the WebOS that powers the Pre, he said.
"The old Palm OS lasted 15 years but had run its course," Rubinstein said. "We set out to develop a platform that will last us another 10 or 15 years."
Rubinstein said that Palm initially worked with just a couple dozen developers, but is now working with hundreds and has thousands more waiting in the queue.
As for the devices themselves, Rubinstein was asked to comment on reports that Best Buy stores may each have only four devices for launch.
"We are in full production with the Pre," Rubinstein said, adding that he expected there would be shortages because of the demand.
He noted that later this year there will be a GSM version, but declined to confirm a report that Verizon will start selling the Pre in six months time.
"We do love Sprint and they are our exclusive launch partner," Rubinstein said. "It sounds like AT&T and Verizon both want it. I can't comment on unannounced relationships."
On the enterprise side, Rubinstein said, the Pre not only has ActiveSync to get Exchange mail as well as the ability to look up addresses from a corporate directory and remotely wipe a lost phone. He also acknowledged that the security and other business features of Windows Mobile aren't there, pitching those concerned with that toward Palm's Windows Mobile-based Palm Pro.
Among the Pre featues, Palm showed a media-synching feature that transfers unprotected music directly from iTunes.
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)Copyright 2009 CNVnews. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Twitter, Facebook attacks: low tech yet very effective
This week's uptick in low-tech social engineering and phishing scams on Facebook, Twitter and other popular sites proves a point: old methods of stealing sensitive personal information still work.
What makes the attacks so dangerous is they're easy to create and post on social media sites. And they're effective. Often, they exploit users who are juggling multiple social media sites they trust. When those users receive a direct message from a friend or follower, they assume it is legit.
"I was getting messages from people asking me why I had sent them this strange e-mail with a bizarre link," says Diana Iles-Parker, a San Francisco-based marketing consultant for documentaries. On Thursday, e-mail sent from her Facebook account to her friends appeared to be a phishing scam. Besides being unsettling, the faux messages could undermine relationships with new Facebook friends, Parker says.
"What a bummer. I'm trying to build these relationships on Facebook, and this happens," Parker says.
Simple phishing scams can be avoided. Symantec suggests taking these precautions.
By Jon SwartzPhoto: A Twitter staffer ponders a problem at the company's San Francisco headquarters. (Jessica B. Lifland for USA TODAY)
What makes the attacks so dangerous is they're easy to create and post on social media sites. And they're effective. Often, they exploit users who are juggling multiple social media sites they trust. When those users receive a direct message from a friend or follower, they assume it is legit.
"I was getting messages from people asking me why I had sent them this strange e-mail with a bizarre link," says Diana Iles-Parker, a San Francisco-based marketing consultant for documentaries. On Thursday, e-mail sent from her Facebook account to her friends appeared to be a phishing scam. Besides being unsettling, the faux messages could undermine relationships with new Facebook friends, Parker says.
"What a bummer. I'm trying to build these relationships on Facebook, and this happens," Parker says.
Simple phishing scams can be avoided. Symantec suggests taking these precautions.
By Jon SwartzPhoto: A Twitter staffer ponders a problem at the company's San Francisco headquarters. (Jessica B. Lifland for USA TODAY)
Space and Time
_cool_Copyright 2009 CNVnews. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
U.S. asks Cuba to resume talks on legal immigration
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a new overture to Cuba , the Obama administration asked the island's communist government on Friday to resume talks on legal immigration of Cubans to the United States suspended by former President Bush .
The
The move follows Obama's decision in April to rescind restrictions on travel to Cuba by Americans with family there and on the amount of money they can send to their relatives on the island.
It also comes ahead of a high-level meeting early next month of the
FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States | Barack Obama | Miami | Hillary Rodham Clinton | Cuba | Jordan | Fidel Castro | Havana | United States Department of State | James Cason | Organization of American States
Clinton, however, told lawmakers this week that the U.S. would not support Cuba's membership in the organization until and unless President Raul Castro's regime makes democratic reforms and releases political prisoners.
She and Obama have also said that broader engagement with Cuba, including the possible lifting of the U.S. embargo on the island, is dependent on such steps.
There was no immediate reaction from the Cuban government on Friday, but communist officials were angered when the Bush administration decided to scuttle the talks on grounds they were not crucial for monitoring agreements aimed at preventing a mass exodus from the island.
In
The twice-yearly meetings in alternating countries had been the highest level contacts between the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations.
The suspension of the talks occurred during an especially prickly period during which then-president
The talks were created so the countries could track adherence to 1994 and 1995 accords designed to promote legal, orderly migration between the two countries. The aim was to avoid a repeat of the summer of 1994, when tens of thousands of Cubans took to the sea in flimsy boats.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Feds to set aside $1B for swine flu vaccine development
by
Federal health officials said Friday that they will set aside $1 billion to jump-start commercial development of a vaccine against the new H1N1 flu virus now spreading worldwide.
Federal health officials said Friday that they will set aside $1 billion to jump-start commercial development of a vaccine against the new H1N1 flu virus now spreading worldwide.
The funding will be used to produce bulk supplies of two key components of a vaccine and to test them in humans. The most critical of the two is the vaccine's active ingredient, a protein from the new flu virus designed to trigger an immune response. The second is a booster, called an adjuvant, that might be added to the vaccine to ramp up its potency if it doesn't appear to work in early human trials.
"The actions we are taking today will help us be prepared if a vaccine is needed," Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.
Vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline confirmed Friday that the government has put in orders for both the active ingredient and a booster. Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they hope to have the seed viruses they'll need to create a new H1N1 vaccine by the end of May. The letters and numbers refer to proteins on the viruses' surface.
The first candidate virus arrived at the agency Friday, says Anne Schuchat, of CDC. "We're analyzing candidate (viruses) to see whether they can generate optimal immune responses, then we'll send them out to manufacturers," she says.
In another new development, a research team led by experts from The World Health Organization, Mexico, Cambridge University and the CDC on Friday unveiled the new virus' first detailed family tree. The analysis indicates that the new H1N1 virus originated in birds and then began circulating in pigs, where it picked up a unique mix of genetic segments. Six of its eight genetic pieces are from swine flu viruses, with snippets from viruses found in humans and birds. Two genetic segments come from Eurasian bird flu viruses.
This evolution occurs because flu viruses routinely swap their genes, often in pigs infected with multiple viruses. Pigs are the "classic mixing vessels" for flu strains circulating among humans and birds, says Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute at George Washington University.
"It's an important finding. It's a wake-up call that we have to have aggressive, ongoing monitoring of flu in pigs," Hotez says.
The study's senior author, Nancy Cox, director of CDC's influenza division, says the virus is a genetic cousin of the germ that caused the 1918 pandemic, but one that lacks the so-called virulence genes that enabled the 1918 virus to kill an estimated 20 million people.
Cox and her colleagues studied full or partial genomes from seven new H1N1 viruses from patients in Mexico and 44 from 13 states in the USA. Their report was released online by the journal Science.
"From our analysis we have confirmed that the virus likely originated from pigs," Cox says. The analysis suggests that the swine components of the new H1N1 virus remained relatively unchanged in pigs and humans until 1998, when the pig version began to diverge from the human strain, probably through exposure to avian flu.
The new virus that emerged in Mexico in April was dramatically different from any H1N1 virus ever seen before, apparently because it had picked up genes from Eurasian bird flu viruses. "This particular gene constellation has never been described before," Cox says. That means the current seasonal vaccine, though it carries an H1N1 component, won't protect against the new H1N1, she says.
Fortunately, she says, the virus is still susceptible to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, though researchers fear that it may eventually pick up drug-resistance genes as it circulates in humans or animals. Researchers also worry that the virus may mingle with the deadly H5N1 virus now ravaging global bird populations, which could make it more virulent.
Even if that doesn't occur, the epidemic still may become much worse. "It's virus that could come back in the worst way in the fall," Schuchat says.
By Friday, CDC had identified 6,552 probable and confirmed cases of the new H1N1 influenza in the USA. Nine patients have died, Schuchat says. Worldwide, WHO reported 11,168 flu cases and 86 deaths.
BloggingPro
Hello everyone i just got done with my new template blogging pro. You can view the LIVEDEMO or DOWNLOAD
please go to live demo first for instructions on howto set up and how to hack my template.
BloggingPro comes with a code that makes the navbar retractable (Doesn't work with IE) so you don't have to so people don't have to see the blogger navbar at the top only people who read this article can get it free. The price was $10.00 + tax but its free for anyone who reads this post like i said so thankyou
please go to live demo first for instructions on howto set up and how to hack my template.
BloggingPro comes with a code that makes the navbar retractable (Doesn't work with IE) so you don't have to so people don't have to see the blogger navbar at the top only people who read this article can get it free. The price was $10.00 + tax but its free for anyone who reads this post like i said so thankyou
Obama's personal finances are sound, report shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Obama's personal finances appear to be on sound footing even as the nation's economy struggles, a financial report he released Friday shows.
Obama and his wife Michelle have $1.4 million to $5.9 million in assets, not counting their Chicago home. Their holdings include up to $265,000 in checking accounts.
THE OVAL: White House makes available Obama, Biden finances
MORE: Reports detail Obama's new book deal
OBAMA: Read full financial disclosure report
BIDEN: Vice President's report on finances
The president's new financial disclosure report mirrors one he filed a few months ago.
Much of the Obamas' wealth comes from the president's best-sellers. The books, "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," brought in about $2.5 million in royalties last year, according to tax returns Obama released last month.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Barack Obama | White House | Chicago | Joe Biden
The overall value of Obama's book deals isn't known; like past reports, his new financial report says the value isn't readily ascertainable.
The White House also released Vice President Joe Biden's new personal financial report. It shows Biden and his wife Jill have at least $119,000 to $615,000 in assets and $185,000 to $430,000 in debt.
Under ethics rules, the values of assets and debts can be described in broad ranges rather than in exact amounts.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Upload distribution services
By "Upload distribution service" i mean a site on wich you upload a file, and it automatically uploads your file on multiple file hosting sites like rapidshare(by the way.. i really hate rapidshare :) ), zshare, badongo and others..
Here's the list:
ShareBee (my favorite)
MassMirror
ShareOnAll
Here's the list:
ShareBee (my favorite)
Sharebee.com is the world first file upload distributor. Sharebee.com will distribute uploaded files to others (external) fileserver websites on the internet and maintain those download links. We want to provide this unique additional free service to all the users out there. And we plan to stay online forever so don't be afraid we will be gone suddenly!
By using Sharebee.com you give yourself and others options to download from.
Our goals are:
Quality - We are trying to maintain a high quality service to every country on earth.
Simplicity - Our website will stay to look simple but very functional.
Functionality - We will continually add new advanced functions and options to make our service better.
Sharebee.com is a free service that relies on advertising to support this service. Profit from advertisements will be reinvested to improve the quality of our service.
www.rapidshare.com
www.badongo.com
www.zshare.net
www.megauplaod.com
MassMirror
MassMirror.com allows you to share any file (max 1gb or 1,000mb) for free on the world wide web. Your file will be distributed on some of the top free hosting services automatically. Simply upload your file and we will take care of the rest.
MassMirror is the easiest way to upload your files to the world wide web. This free service allows you to upload any file (image, music, documents, and more.) for free to the Internet. It is great for distributing files to your friends, family, or co-workers.
This technology enables you to upload your file to our servers with a real-time progress bar. Your file will then be saved and stored on the free hosts we support. Then simply share the url to anyone with access to the world wide web. You can even use this service to mirror file downloads from your own site.
This is one of the most advanced, most compatible, quickest, and easiest upload services on the world wide web and we are always improving.
www.4filehosting.com
www.badongo.com
www.fastuploading.com
www.fileinsanity.com
www.megaupload.com
www.picshome.com
www.rapidshare.com
www.zshare.net
ShareOnAll
ShareOnAll offers free services to share your files over the biggest share-servers in Internet. You should only once to upload onto our server and in 10-15 minutes it will reuploaded onto share-servers that you can choose yourself. There is nothing to worry about. Everything will go automatically.
How does work ShareOnAll and what steps should be done to upload to us:
1. Click the link "upload a file";
2. In the first field choose the file for uploading;
3. In second field you can write the description or comment to file;
4. Choose the servers where the files will be copied;
5. Click the button "Start upload";
6. When the file is uploaded you get the link to it;
To upload the file you shouldn't sign up on our site. But if you want to keep statistics of uploaded files or to know link (if you forgot it) - the registration is necessary.
www.rapidshare.com
www.megaupload.com
www.filefactory.com
www.depositfiles.com
www.uploaded.to
www.zshare.net
www.badongo.com
www.netload.in
How to make your navbar retractable (Doesn't work with IE)
This is a modified version of Avatar's hack. With his hack, the navbar leaves a blank space when it's hidden (because it's invisible, but it's there), with this hack, the navbar pushes the whole page down.. i think it's cooler :)
1. Go to your blog's dashboard -> Template tab -> Edit HTML
2. Add this code after the <head> tag:
3. Save the template
1. Go to your blog's dashboard -> Template tab -> Edit HTML
2. Add this code after the <head> tag:
#navbar-iframe{opacity:0.0;filter:alpha(Opacity=0); height:2px;}
#navbar-iframe:hover{opacity:1.0;filter:alpha(Opacity=100, FinishedOpacity=100); height:28px;
}
3. Save the template
Difference - HTML and XHTML
When inserting codes into the Blogger template, page element, or blog post, you may have seen error messages that the code could not be parsed, was not well-formed, was broken, or that the elements were not closed properly. These errors can be corrected if you understand the rules that must be adhered to in XHTML documents. Blogger templates use the XHTML 1.0 Strict Document Type. In this article, we shall explain some of the XHTML syntax or rules, so that you may troubleshoot and resolve the problems if these error messages should occur.
XML, HTML and XHTML
We shall keep this short. Just so as you understand what we said about document type, view the Page Source or Source of your Blogger blog. You should see this document type declaration at the very top:-
The terms – XML, HTML and XHTML - refer to the markup language used to write the web pages. Many of us would have heard of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), invented by Tim Berners-Lee, and used since the early days of internet. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a meta-language, used to create other markup languages. The traditional HTML was later recast to use the rules of XML and that resulted in a new XML application, called XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language). Because XHTML rules are strict and unforgiving, not conforming to them when attempting to modify the template would result in error messages. So, what are these rules that Bloggers like us should take note of?
Basic Rules of XHTML
1. Codes to be in lowercase
Since XML is case sensitive, all the element keywords and attribute names used in XHTML should be in the lowercase. For example, the template code is not this:-
but this:-
If you have noticed, the elements and attribute names between the lesser than (<) and greater than (>) signs have to be in the lowercase. However, the value, which in this case is “Tips for New Bloggers”, can be in the uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case.
2. Attribute values to be in quotation marks
All the attribute values have to be enclosed either in single or double quotation marks. The following examples are not accepted by XHTML:-
Instead, they should be written as such:-
3. Container elements must have closing tags
This is not correct:-
In XHTML, there must be a closing tag with a forward slash (/) at the end:-
Examples of the many non-empty elements that have opening and corresponding closing tags are:-
4. Standalone elements to be closed
Some of the elements are empty or standalone. They do not have associated closing tags. Common examples are:-
Nonetheless, in XHTML, these elements must be terminated or closed. There are two ways to do that. One way to terminate the element is to put a forward slash (/) at the end like this:-
The second way is to add a corresponding closing tag like this:-
5. Elements to be properly nested
This means that elements must be closed in the reverse order. For example, this code is not accepted in XHTML:-
It is improperly nested because the form was created first followed by the table. To close them in the proper order, the table must be closed before the form, like this:-
6. Document to have only one root element
In the XHTML document, you will see that except for the document type declaration, all the codes are nested between <html> and </html>. This is the root element and all other elements or sub elements are in between. The document structure will look like this:-
7. Attribute minimization is not allowed
In XHTML, all attributes should be in the form name="value". Even if the value is the same as the name, it cannot be minimized to one word. Hence, in our Add Text Box and Textarea article, the textarea code is not this:-
but this:-
XHTML Character Entities
Quite a number of readers had asked why they were unable to display HTML codes in their blog posts or why their codes were not well-parsed when inserted into the template. If you have noticed by now, the codes are wrapped in the lesser than (<) and greater than (>) signs. The moment these are posted, they will be interpreted as codes and will trigger an action by the browser. Should you want to display these as part of the text, use their character entities instead.
The next time you see an error message to the effect that the code is not well formed, not well parsed, not properly closed, etc., take a look at this guide, troubleshoot the problem and try out the possible solutions.
XML, HTML and XHTML
We shall keep this short. Just so as you understand what we said about document type, view the Page Source or Source of your Blogger blog. You should see this document type declaration at the very top:-
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> |
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The terms – XML, HTML and XHTML - refer to the markup language used to write the web pages. Many of us would have heard of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), invented by Tim Berners-Lee, and used since the early days of internet. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a meta-language, used to create other markup languages. The traditional HTML was later recast to use the rules of XML and that resulted in a new XML application, called XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language). Because XHTML rules are strict and unforgiving, not conforming to them when attempting to modify the template would result in error messages. So, what are these rules that Bloggers like us should take note of?
Basic Rules of XHTML
1. Codes to be in lowercase
Since XML is case sensitive, all the element keywords and attribute names used in XHTML should be in the lowercase. For example, the template code is not this:-
<TITLE>Tips for New Bloggers</TITLE> |
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but this:-
<title>Tips for New Bloggers</title> |
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If you have noticed, the elements and attribute names between the lesser than (<) and greater than (>) signs have to be in the lowercase. However, the value, which in this case is “Tips for New Bloggers”, can be in the uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case.
2. Attribute values to be in quotation marks
All the attribute values have to be enclosed either in single or double quotation marks. The following examples are not accepted by XHTML:-
<div id=header-wrapper> <a href=http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com>Text Link</a> <img src=photo.jpg/> <table width=200 border=0 cellpadding=2> |
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Instead, they should be written as such:-
<div id='header-wrapper'> <a href="http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com">Text Link</a> <img src="photo.jpg"/> <table width="200" border="0" cellpadding="2"> |
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3. Container elements must have closing tags
This is not correct:-
<p>A paragraph. |
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In XHTML, there must be a closing tag with a forward slash (/) at the end:-
<p>A paragraph.</p> |
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Examples of the many non-empty elements that have opening and corresponding closing tags are:-
<ul> ... </ul> <li> ... </li> <table> ... </table> <h2> ... </h2> <div> ... </div> <span> ... </span> <dt> ... </dt> <dd> ... </dd> <a href> ... </a> |
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4. Standalone elements to be closed
Some of the elements are empty or standalone. They do not have associated closing tags. Common examples are:-
<br> <img> <input> <frame> <hr> <meta> <link> |
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Nonetheless, in XHTML, these elements must be terminated or closed. There are two ways to do that. One way to terminate the element is to put a forward slash (/) at the end like this:-
<br/> <img/> <input/> <frame/> <hr/> <meta/> <link/> |
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The second way is to add a corresponding closing tag like this:-
<br> ... </br> <img> ... </img> <input> ... </input> <frame> ... </frame> <hr> ... </hr> <meta> ... </meta> <link> ... </link> |
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5. Elements to be properly nested
This means that elements must be closed in the reverse order. For example, this code is not accepted in XHTML:-
<form><table> ... </form></table> |
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It is improperly nested because the form was created first followed by the table. To close them in the proper order, the table must be closed before the form, like this:-
<form><table> ... </table></form> |
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6. Document to have only one root element
In the XHTML document, you will see that except for the document type declaration, all the codes are nested between <html> and </html>. This is the root element and all other elements or sub elements are in between. The document structure will look like this:-
<html> <head> ... </head> <body> ... </body> </html> |
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7. Attribute minimization is not allowed
In XHTML, all attributes should be in the form name="value". Even if the value is the same as the name, it cannot be minimized to one word. Hence, in our Add Text Box and Textarea article, the textarea code is not this:-
<textarea readonly>Hyperlink Code</textarea> |
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but this:-
<textarea readonly="readonly">Hyperlink Code</textarea> |
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XHTML Character Entities
Quite a number of readers had asked why they were unable to display HTML codes in their blog posts or why their codes were not well-parsed when inserted into the template. If you have noticed by now, the codes are wrapped in the lesser than (<) and greater than (>) signs. The moment these are posted, they will be interpreted as codes and will trigger an action by the browser. Should you want to display these as part of the text, use their character entities instead.
| " | " |
|---|---|
| & | & |
| < | < |
| > | > |
The next time you see an error message to the effect that the code is not well formed, not well parsed, not properly closed, etc., take a look at this guide, troubleshoot the problem and try out the possible solutions.
How to add a searchbox to Blogger
I found this on Tips for New Bloggers
Put this code in a HTML/JavaScript widget:
Replace your_blog_url with the url of your blog
(eg: "http://cnvproductions.blogspot.com/search")
Replace The_Searchbox_Title with something
Put this code in a HTML/JavaScript widget:
<p align="left">
<form id="searchthis" action="http://your_blog_url/search" style="display:inline;" method="get">
<strong>The_Searchbox_Title<br/></strong>
<input id="b-query" maxlength="255" name="q" size="20" type="text"/>
<input id="b-searchbtn" value="Search" type="submit"/>
</form></p>
Replace your_blog_url with the url of your blog
(eg: "http://cnvproductions.blogspot.com/search")
Replace The_Searchbox_Title with something
add digg button to blogger or blogspot
This is a step-by-step guide to automatically place a real-time Digg count and vote button to every single blog post. Digg is a social content website where your readers or you can submit content to. If you have a good story, members will 'digg' the post and write comments. As a blog owner, you may want to make it easy for and encourage your readers to submit and digg your articles.
Automatic Count and Vote Button
Before you do that though, you would want to take note of the following:-
1. Your blog should be set to save Post Pages. Post Pages are archived blog posts published to their own web page. Each post will have a unique URL, which is required by Digg for the individual posts to be submitted. To verify or enable it, login to your Blogger Dashboard. Under Settings-> Archiving, set the “Enable Post Pages?” to “Yes” and save the settings.
2. This template hack will put a Digg button to every post. You are therefore not able to choose which post you want to include or exclude a button. If you would prefer to have a Digg button added only to some posts, read the later part of this article on “Button for selective posts.”
3. The code reads the URL of the individual blog page and this shall be the URL used for submission of the story to Digg.
Under “Template”, click the “Edit HTML” tab. Block copy the entire HTML code for your site and save it in a text file. You can also click the "Download Template" link. This is one of the two necessary steps whenever you want to change the template. The second step is of course to “Preview” the new changes, and save the changes only when you are satisfied. The backup you have saved in a text file will come in handy when you accidentally click to save the changes without previewing them. With a backup, you can easily restore the template to the prior state if need be.
Click the box next to “Expand Widget Templates”. Scroll about two-thirds down the template to look for the code that reads:-
If you want the button to show at the top right corner of your post, replace the above code with this.
This is what you get:-
If you would like the button to appear at the end of your post, replace with this following code instead.
The result will be this:-
If you want to have the button at the top left corner of your post, change the alignment.
The outcome is this:-
Digg has another compact button. If you insert this code:-
You will see a compact Digg count button like this:-
You can also change the background color of the button to blend with your site. For example, a code like this:-
will give you this:-
You can insert the color code of your choice into the red portion. For a list of color values to insert, you may refer to the Hexadecimal HTML color code list.
Automatic Count Button in Blog Footer
[Update] This segment is added in response to user's request to have the Digg button in the Blog footer, i.e., after the labels. If you scroll through your template, you will see this chunk of code which gives the labels in your Blog footer.
If you want a Digg button to appear just after the labels, add the appropriate Digg button code right after the above code. For example, if you want the compact Digg button, add this code below the labels code:-
The resulting layout is this:-
Move the Digg button code above the labels if you'd like. Experiment a little. Just remember to preview the template and not to save it unless you are satisfied.
Digg Button in Blog Footer
If you do not want to see an Automatic Count button, you can also place a link button into the template. This button will appear at the bottom right corner of every post and readers can click it to submit that post to Digg.
Scroll to this part of the template and insert the lines (in red):-
With the code, this is what you will see at the end of every post.
You can change the position of this button. Go through what we discussed earlier in this article to understand where to place the code if you should want the button to be at the top of the article.
The button 91x17-digg-button.gif is simply an example. As the following section explains, there are many buttons you can use. To change the button to another design, replace the image URL with that of the new button.
Automatic Count and Vote Button
Before you do that though, you would want to take note of the following:-
1. Your blog should be set to save Post Pages. Post Pages are archived blog posts published to their own web page. Each post will have a unique URL, which is required by Digg for the individual posts to be submitted. To verify or enable it, login to your Blogger Dashboard. Under Settings-> Archiving, set the “Enable Post Pages?” to “Yes” and save the settings.
2. This template hack will put a Digg button to every post. You are therefore not able to choose which post you want to include or exclude a button. If you would prefer to have a Digg button added only to some posts, read the later part of this article on “Button for selective posts.”
3. The code reads the URL of the individual blog page and this shall be the URL used for submission of the story to Digg.
Under “Template”, click the “Edit HTML” tab. Block copy the entire HTML code for your site and save it in a text file. You can also click the "Download Template" link. This is one of the two necessary steps whenever you want to change the template. The second step is of course to “Preview” the new changes, and save the changes only when you are satisfied. The backup you have saved in a text file will come in handy when you accidentally click to save the changes without previewing them. With a backup, you can easily restore the template to the prior state if need be.
Click the box next to “Expand Widget Templates”. Scroll about two-thirds down the template to look for the code that reads:-
<p><data:post.body/></p> |
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If you want the button to show at the top right corner of your post, replace the above code with this.
<div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'> <script type='text/javascript'> digg_url="<data:post.url/>"; </script> <script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/> </div> <p><data:post.body/></p> |
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This is what you get:-
If you would like the button to appear at the end of your post, replace with this following code instead.
<p><data:post.body/></p> <div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'> <script type='text/javascript'> digg_url="<data:post.url/>"; </script> <script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/> </div> |
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The result will be this:-
If you want to have the button at the top left corner of your post, change the alignment.
<div style='float:left; margin-right:10px;'> <script type='text/javascript'> digg_url="<data:post.url/>"; </script> <script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/> </div> <p><data:post.body/></p> |
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The outcome is this:-
Digg has another compact button. If you insert this code:-
<div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'> <script type='text/javascript'> digg_url="<data:post.url/>"; digg_skin="compact"; </script> <script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/> </div> <p><data:post.body/></p> |
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You will see a compact Digg count button like this:-
You can also change the background color of the button to blend with your site. For example, a code like this:-
<div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'> <script type='text/javascript'> digg_url="<data:post.url/>"; digg_bgcolor="#BDEDFF"; digg_skin="compact"; </script> <script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/> </div> <p><data:post.body/></p> |
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will give you this:-
You can insert the color code of your choice into the red portion. For a list of color values to insert, you may refer to the Hexadecimal HTML color code list.
Automatic Count Button in Blog Footer
[Update] This segment is added in response to user's request to have the Digg button in the Blog footer, i.e., after the labels. If you scroll through your template, you will see this chunk of code which gives the labels in your Blog footer.
<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-2'> <span class='post-labels'> <b:if cond='data:post.labels'> <data:postLabelsLabel/> <b:loop values='data:post.labels' var='label'> <a expr:href='data:label.url' rel='tag'><data:label.name/></a><b:if cond='data:label.isLast != "true"'>,</b:if> </b:loop> </b:if> </span> </p> |
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If you want a Digg button to appear just after the labels, add the appropriate Digg button code right after the above code. For example, if you want the compact Digg button, add this code below the labels code:-
<div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'> <script type='text/javascript'> digg_url="<data:post.url/>"; digg_skin="compact"; </script> <script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/> </div> |
|---|
The resulting layout is this:-
Move the Digg button code above the labels if you'd like. Experiment a little. Just remember to preview the template and not to save it unless you are satisfied.
Digg Button in Blog Footer
If you do not want to see an Automatic Count button, you can also place a link button into the template. This button will appear at the bottom right corner of every post and readers can click it to submit that post to Digg.
Scroll to this part of the template and insert the lines (in red):-
<div class='post-body'> <p><data:post.body/></p> <div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats --> </div> <div style="float:right; margin-left:10px;"> <a expr:href='"http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=" + data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank'><img border="0" alt="Digg this" src="http://digg.com/img/badges/91x17-digg-button.gif"/></a></div> |
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With the code, this is what you will see at the end of every post.
You can change the position of this button. Go through what we discussed earlier in this article to understand where to place the code if you should want the button to be at the top of the article.
The button 91x17-digg-button.gif is simply an example. As the following section explains, there are many buttons you can use. To change the button to another design, replace the image URL with that of the new button.