News and Information Blog 12 2007

New Year Coupons.

Baghaus.com - New Weekly Coupon Update December 31 - January 6

This Week's deal as follows:

Baghaus Weekly Deal:

Offer: 10% Additional Off All Baghaus Andi Totes inspired by the Iconic Birkin Bag
Coupon Code: ANDITENOFF
Active: December 31st, 2007
Expires: January 6th, 2008
Link: http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=8310&m=11744&u=[YOURID] Note: In the above link please replace "[YOURID]" with your unique Shareasale tracking ID which can be found in any of your existing Shareasale links. This deal is active in the Shareasale Deals and Coupons database. Stay up to day on all Baghaus Affiliate Program News through our new Baghaus Affiliate Blog powered by Pownce. Check out more information about the Baghaus affiliate program right here. Sign up for the program here.

Pop Over Form

Use this script to create a form that will open on top of the existing page, using a hidden DIV. A default link is included to allow for JavaScript being turned off or unavailable.

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Adobe Bemused By Spying Claims

The discovery that some Adobe products phone home to analytics firm Omniture brought out the tinfoil hat crowd, and a raised eyebrow from Adobe's John Nack.
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Fishermen must adapt to survive

The business of operating a commercial fishing boat has never been more challenging. Operators who must constantly adapt to economic and regulatory changes are increasingly asking themselves the big question: Is fishing worth it anymore?

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Google's Blogger Plagued By Storm Worm

Hundreds of blogs on the Bloggers service have been found to contain links to servers that will infect visitors with the notorious Storm worm.
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U.S. mortgage applications fall to lowest level of 2007

WASHINGTON – Mortgage applications nationwide fell last week to the lowest level this year, as both purchase and refinance applications declined, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

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Change Image 2

Use this script to change an image, using the setAttribute function. You can use different events to change the image, e.g., onClick, or onMouseOver. The script can also be adapted to other uses.

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Radiohead To Rock The Web Again

As a followup to their much-discussed pay what you like download plan for 'In Rainbows', Radiohead will play an hour-long concert on New Year's Eve featuring the album and some other tunes.read more

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Home prices fall 6.1% in October

NEW YORK – The price of single-family homes sold nationwide fell more quickly than expected this October compared with a year ago, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s / Case-Shiller survey.

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Online TV Ads Engage Consumers

Consumers are 44 percent more engaged in advertisements featured in television programs they watch online than they are with the ads they see on a TV set according to Simmons, an Experian company.The study identifies engagement according to six factors that respondents associates with media. They are "inspirational," "trustworthy," "life enhancing," "social interaction," "personal timeout," and ad receptivity.read more

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New Year Coupon for Affiliate Partners.

GreatSkin.com New Year Week Coupon

30% Off in addition to other consumer rewards - storewide! Minimum purchase of 250 dollars. One Week Only.

Coupon Code: NY30
Value:Extra 30% off All GreatSkin.com products (with min purchase of 250 dollars)
Starts: December 31st, 2007
Expires: January 7th, 2008
Plus Free shipping! And remember, your customers still get an additional 5% discount when purchasing 3 items or more, and you can save up to 15% in addition to the coupon, with our customer rewards program. So this coupon (combined with customer rewards) is worth a huge 30% to 50% off! Login and get Text Links Not Yet an Affiliate? Sign-up for our affiliate program here For more information about GreatSkin.com LinkShare affiliate program, please click here GreatSkin.com - Great Products, Great Price, GreatSkin!

Twas The Night Before Google

‘Twas the night before Google, when all through the web,
Not a spider was crawling, not even MSN;
The websites were hosted on servers with care,
In hopes that one Googlebot soon would be there; My pages were organized all usable and light,
While visions of traffic danced in my sights;
Reading client requests, and wearing my cap,
It’s time to settle down to build that image map,read more

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AAA: R.I. gas prices down 1 cent

HASH(0x8833a80)

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Memories of 20 Years of Perl

The Perl community just celebrated the 20th anniversary of Perl. Here are some stories from Perl hackers around the world about problems they've solved and memories they've made with the venerable, powerful, and still vital language.

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The Mac Leopard Roars

The new Apple operating system known as Leopard may well have PC aficionados lining up to switch to the Mac.

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A 'Building Year' For Mobile Banking

Research firm Celent looks ahead to the coming year in banking technology.

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November Search Share: Google Still Tops

Fewer queries entering search engines in a soft November didn't hurt Google's market share, but Yahoo and Ask gave up a little bit.
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Hard work and luck help minority startups survive

Leslie Garcia could see a big problem developing shortly after she took ownership of East Bay Pizzeria in East Providence in August. When the former owner left, most of his customers went with him. So did the profits. Garcia, 29, of Providence, had no prior business experience, and neither did any of her relatives. So she relied on enthusiasm, walking the surrounding neighborhoods and visiting local businesses, meeting potential customers face to face.

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Weekend Sales Help E-tailers Bounce Back

After a midweek slump, e-commerce sales picked up again over the weekend. But with only one week to go, the jury's still out for the overall season.

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DLT: R.I. payrolls shrink in November

CRANSTON – Employment at Rhode Island establishments last month fell by 300 jobs compared with October, in the first decline since January, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training said in its monthly report. The state’s jobless rate rose for the first time in 10 months, edging up 0.3 percentage points to 5.3 percent, while the national rate was steady for a third month at 4.7 percent.

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Presidential Election: Follow The Money

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) opened its campaign contribution maps to Internet users who want to see who raised how much, and where they did it.
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Online Services Reduce Payroll Pain

If you’re having trouble understanding the various payroll forms, regulations and procedures, online services such as ADP, Intuit, Paychex and PayCycle will gladly perform the task -- for a price. And for many small businesses, the price is right.

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Microsoft, Viacom in $500 Million Ad Deal

Move promises to help the software giant expand its online advertising presence.

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Study: R.I. sportsmen spend more than $165M per year

WASHINGTON – Recreational hunters and fishermen have a significant impact on the Rhode Island economy, last year spending more than $165 million, according to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. Sportsmen in Massachusetts spent $843 million in 2006, the CSF said, while spending by hunters and anglers nationwide was more than $76 billion.

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Google Teaches Privacy Through Videos

Tips on using privacy features in Google's products are the focus of new videos appearing on the company's YouTube Privacy Channel.
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Review: Fujitsu LifeBook U810

Not too big, not too small. Is Fujitsu's ultra-portable LifeBook U810 just right for you?

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Add a Hotkey

This script will fire an event when the key specified in the variable "key1" is pressed. In this example, pressing the spacebar will trigger the display of an alert box.

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Newsweek, Media Bloggers Association Cause Ruckus

Bloggers from the left, center, and right sides of the political spectrum opened a group blog on Newsweek.com called The Ruckus.read more

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Lifespan-Care New England merger gains FTC approval

PROVIDENCE – The proposed merger of Lifespan and Care New England moved one step closer to reality as the Federal Trade Commission concluded its review, the leaders of the two nonprofit health care networks said. Shown this summer are Care N.E.’s John J. Hynes, far left, and Lifespan’s George Vecchione.

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New home bar gear just in time for Christmas Promotion

KegWorks.com : New Products

Some great new products have been added to KegWorks.com this month:

51010 Large Brass Beer Drip Tray
C173 Polished Stainless Steel Single Beer Tap Tower 3-inche Diameter (CLON)
TC1033101GNS0 Guinness Shamrock Hat
09021 Family Guy Quagmire Pick Up Lines Pint Glass
ENT-XXXX2 Ultimate Entertainer Can Refrigerator

Not Yet an Affiliate? Sign-up for our affiliate program here For more information about KegWorks.com LinkShare affiliate program, please click here KegWorks.com - No one knows home bar supplies and equipment like we do!

Database-Enabled Ajax with PHP

Ajax has taken the Web to a new level by offering an intuitive interactive model that rivals the desktop. To compete with desktop applications, this tutorial shows you how to create database-enabled Ajax requests using PHP and MySQL.

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Could Microsoft Be The Big Digger?

$300 million could be the magic number that sends Digg to new ownership, as bloggers speculate on who might end up the new top Digger.
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Charlestown police union reports possible embezzling

CHARLESTOWN – The R.I. State Police are investigating allegations that several thousand dollars have been embezzled from the police officers’ union in Charlestown. The complaint was filed by the union last week, according to state and local police.

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E-Commerce Sales, Outlook Less Than Fantastic

So far, it's been a good—if not great— holiday shopping season for most e-retailers. But 2008 could be another story.

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New Coupons for the last holiday shopping week.

Baghaus.com - New Weekly Coupon Update December 17 - 23

This Week's deal as follows:

Baghaus Weekly Deal:

Offer: 10% off of these Baghaus Limited Edition Primo Bags
Coupon Code: PRIMO10
Active: December 17th, 2007
Expires: December 23rd, 2007
Link: http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=8241&m=11744&u=[YOURID] Note: In the above link please replace "[YOURID]" with your unique Shareasale tracking ID which can be found in any of your existing Shareasale links. This deal is active in the Shareasale Deals and Coupons database. Stay up to day on all Baghaus Affiliate Program News through our new Baghaus Affiliate Blog powered by Pownce. Check out more information about the Baghaus affiliate program right here. Sign up for the program here.

Best Selling Fiction Books for Promotion

Top 10 Fiction books from eCampus.com

Here is a sampling of the top 10 Fiction books available from eCampus:

Exile; A Novel by Richard North Patterson

A successful attorney about to be married and preparing for a run for Congress, David Wolfe's life is thrown into turmoil when he is reunited with Hana Arif, a Palestinian woman with whom he had a secret love affair in law school, a reunion marked by the assassination of the Israeli prime minister and by his efforts to defend Hana when she is accused of being the mastermind behind the crime. 500,000 first printing. $1.82

The Whistling Season by Doig, Ivan

Available now at eCampus.com. $9.83

The Blueberry Pie Elf by Thayer, Jane; Accardo, Anthony

Available now at eCampus.com. $18.56

Duty and Desire; A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan

A second installment of the series that began with An Assembly Such as This retells Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's perspective and follows his private struggles to shake off his feelings for Elizabeth after dissuading Bingley from wooing Jane, a period during which he visits an old classmate from Oxford and is pursued by husband-hunting society ladies. Reprint. 60,000 first printing. $4.42 Tip: to sign up for regular RSS on this and other eCampus news, simply visit eCampus RSS access page Not Yet an eCampus Affiliate? Sign-up for eCampus affiliate program here on SAS or Sign-up for eCampus affiliate program here on CJ eCampus.com is an educational resource provider of new and used textbooks, trade books, college emblematic and Greek apparel for men and women, electronics, computers, gifts and other services traditionally associated with the college experience. For more information on the eCampus.com affiliate program, please click here

Link Annotations

Many sites contain a page with links to other related resources. Generally, a description of each site is not provided, unless the visitor hovers over the TITLE attribute of the ANCHOR tag. The descriptions could be shown on the page, along with the links, but that would make it too cumbersome. This script will show and hide the link's title information right on the page. It could be used in a site map or dynamic menu as well.

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R.I. power plan is in flux

Democratic leaders in the state Senate plan to sponsor a new version of a bill early next year that would create a quasi-independent power authority to oversee renewable-energy projects in Rhode Island such as the wave-energy project proposed by Oceanlinx Ltd., whose test installation off the coast of Australia is shown here.

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No DoubleClick Recusals At FTC

FTC chair Deborah Platt Majoras isn't the only commissioner with a matrimonial connection at the Jones Day law firm, but neither she nor William Kovacic will recuse themselves from the Google/DoubleClick antitrust review.

We have covered the bizarre saga of Jones Day and the request for recusal from two privacy advocacy organizations this week. Today's episode finds that two commissioners, not one, have ties to Jones Day by virtue of their wedding vows.

John Majoras, husband of Deborah, and Kathryn Fenton, wife of Kovacic, both hold non-equity partnership status at Jones Day. In today's joint FTC commissioner statement, both Deborah Majoras and Kovacic cited that status of their spouses as why they will not recuse themselves.

The Center for Digital Democracy and the Electronic Privacy Information Center responded to the FTC announcement with a joint statement. In that statement, the two groups noted Majoras' attestation that since January 1, 2006, procedures have been in place to note whether Jones Day is involved with a party or a third party with business before the FTC.

By Majoras' reckoning, she only became aware of Jones Day and DoubleClick being involved together on December 11, 2007. However, CDD and EPIC noted, based on Jones Day's website documents, the relationship with DoubleClick began on or before November 9th, 2007.

We can go this example one better. Jones Day was certainly aware of DoubleClick in May 2000, when the firm's Robert Hamilton and Jennifer Gehrlein wrote a Technology Commentary on DoubleClick and privacy.

The document does not state whether or not Jones Day had a formal relationship with DoubleClick at that time. We mention this only to note that Jones Day has purged this well-written document from their website, as well as mentions of DoubleClick as a client in their representation lists, and in the biographies of five attorneys who had been listed as DoubleClick counsel.

But the oddest part of the DoubleClick, Jones Day, and FTC story comes from DoubleClick itself. A DoubleClick spokesperson contacted WebProNews by email, and subsequently other media outlets, to tell us "Jones Day has been engaged primarily with respect to European and other non-U.S. jurisdictions."

The statement further averred that Jones Day has never appeared before the FTC on DoubleClick's behalf. That's a specific statement, and does not address what Jones Day itself said it has done for the company: "Antitrust counsel in the $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick by Google Inc."

Two DC attorneys, two in Brussels, one in Sydney, all with the same statement, one that Jones Day has fully removed from its website.

The contradictory statements coming from the FTC's spokespersons, two of whom told two separate media outlets they knew Jones Day represented DoubleClick before the European Commission, and the statements by Deborah Majoras and Kovacic about refusing to recuse themselves from a case where the firm in question would have the casual web searcher believe does not have DoubleClick among their clientele, make little sense.

It's like catching little kids who look guilty about something, but no one's sure exactly what they have done, and they all have different stories. Yet we would be the ones to get in trouble if we paddled the truth out of the little darlings.

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Great home bar gifts for promotion

KegWorks.com : great gift ideas for the holidays

You can point your customers to KegWorks for some great gift ideas this holiday season. And these gifts will fit any budget your customer might have. Here is a sampling of some of the great gifts available : Home Brew Kit, Liquor Dispenser, Beer Tap Handle, Cocktail Lamps, Martini Travel Bar Set with Case, Guinness Time Wall Clock, and much more. This holiday season you can promote the great gift giving options for home entertaining through KegWorks. To link your customers to these products you can Login and get Text Links Not Yet a Linkshare Affiliate? Sign-up for our affiliate program here For more information about KegWorks.com LinkShare affiliate program, please click here KegWorks.com - No one knows home bar supplies and equipment like we do!

More Scrutiny For Google-DoubleClick Merger

Privacy advocates ratchet up the rhetoric over the FTC's review of the Google-DoubleClick merger.

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FM Global decides to re-build in Johnston

After a year of exploring its options, FM Global, Rhode Island’s largest private company, says it will build a $60 million headquarters and campus on a 93-acre parcel in Johnston.

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Green Monday Dreamed Up By eBay

Now that we are stuck with Cyber Monday as a designation for the first Monday after Thanksgiving, eBay has promoted the second Monday of December as Green Monday.

It's not another Yahoo story about the environment or Google putting up solar panels. The 'Green Monday' name dreamed up by eBay, PayPal, and Shopping.com reflects economic thoughts, not environmental ones.

The logic goes like this: all the big spending for the holidays happens the second week of December. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, they're nice and everything, but the credit cards really hit the retail world after those days.

According to analysis firm comScore, there may be truth to that theory. Online US retail spending for December 10th, also known as "this past Monday," reached $881 million, 33 percent up from the same Monday last year.

US non-travel retail spending has topped $20 billion from November 1st through December 11th, comScore said in a statement.

"Consumers are clearly responding positively to the enticing promotions and discounts being offered by retailers this year, and spending is currently on track to meet our forecast of $29.5 billion for the season," said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni.

Ina Steiner at AuctionBytes said PayPal data shows the second Monday in December has been the busiest online shopping day of the year since 2001. Shopping.com, an eBay property, saw record activity on December 10th this year.

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Simple Image Gallery

Use this script to display images, one at a time, on your Web page. Very easy to set-up, and includes captions.

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Facebook Opens Up Even More

Facebook opens its developer platform to other social networks, but still spurns OpenSocial. Bebo likes them both.

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Four executives leave BCBSRI

PROVIDENCE – The departures of four Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island senior executives was confirmed today by Kim Keough, the insurer’s assistant vice president of public relations.

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Google Gets A GOP Griefer

House Republican Joe Barton from Texas has a burr in his saddle about Google - 24 burrs, to be precise, some in multiple parts.

It is a testament to Google's usefulness that despite the lengthy list of complaints he has sent to Eric Schmidt, Barton has a link to Google in the sidebar of his website.

Barton has a position on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, putting him in a place where he can make political hay of Internet causes. Declan McCullagh obtained Barton's blistering little screed to Schmidt; for some reason the Congressman's otherwise up to date website does not have it posted.

The letter requests a reply to its lengthy contents by December 18th. Barton wants the Committee to "better understand the privacy and consumer protection implications" of Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick.

If such a response were to contain detailed answers to its questions, the reply would become the hottest read in the technology industry. Several questions deal with how Google delivers advertisements to users of its services, along with Barton's questions on privacy and data retention.

We think Google would sooner switch its famed cafeterias to using school lunch menus before feeding this kind of information to Congress.

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Affilate Skincare Coupon extended to Jan 31st

20% OFF - Skincare Coupon Code - Extended!

GreatSkin.com is offering our biggest discount ever, 20% OFF in addition to other consumer rewards - storewide! This is the highest value coupon we've ever offered, and it's just been extended until the end of January!

Value: Extra 20% off All GreatSkin.com Inventory! Enter coupon Holiday20
Starts: Immediately
Expires: Extended to January 31st, 2008
Login and get Text Links Not Yet an Affiliate? Sign-up for our affiliate program here For more information about GreatSkin.com LinkShare affiliate program, please click here GreatSkin.com - Great Products, Great Price, GreatSkin!

Google Asks Feds For Better Document Access

The numerous agencies of the federal government possess thousands of documents and pieces of information that can't be found by Google's crawlers.

As the leading search engine, those who use Google in an attempt to find what they need probably won't find it if it's stuffed behind an online search form at an agency's site.

Today, the Google Public Policy blog noted the company's testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about this problem. Google's J.L. Needham called out forms as an obstacle to indexing content effectively:

The most common barrier is the search form for a database that asks users to input several fields of information to find what they’re looking for. Our crawlers cannot effectively follow the links to reach behind the search form.

Google tipped the Sitemaps protocol, accepted at all of the major search engines, as a way for government sites to help guide the spiders to the content that citizens want to discover in search. It's also in use at the government's main information portal, USA.gov.

The search ad company also cited the release of a Center for Democracy & Technology report on how the government has published information and made it available to searchers. Their report lambasted availability of responses to some important queries:

A search for "New York radiation" does not find basic FEMA and DHS information about current conditions and monitoring.

A search to help grandparents with a question about visitation of their grandchildren in any search engine does not turn up an article of the same title located on the Web site of the Administration for Children & Families.

A search for "small farm loans" turns up the commercial offers for loans, and statistics about government loans, but not most of the major federal government programs designed to help fund small farms.

Like Google, CDT exhorted the Feds to pass the E-Government reauthorization act, and to take steps to enable search crawlers to find content more efficiently.

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R.I. Hospital researcher receives $19.6M grant

A kidney specialist at Rhode Island Hospital has been awarded a $19.6 million federal grant to fund another five years of his research on ways to reduce heart attack and stroke in kidney transplant patients.

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Pullquotes

This script will create a pullquote on a page, derived from a set of span's. Easy to use, and can be utilized more than once on a page, if desired. Styling is done by CSS.

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No Zep Tickets? The Song Remained The Same

If not for the Internet, you would be waiting for either 90 seconds of coverage on the 11 o'clock news, or the morning paper to find out about Led Zeppelin's tribute to Atlantic Records late founder Ahmet Ertegun.

Led Zeppelin broke up when I was 13, at a time when music news was even more rigidly controlled than any DRM purveyor today could imagine in his most vivid dreams. Instantly knowing the set list from their London show? Only if someone took notes and called at international rates after the show.

In 2007, plenty of interest among music fans manifested itself in numerous blogs. Billboard Magazine, once one of those outlets that owned music news, blogged about problems getting in the show.

However, music publication NME came through with the set list from the two hour concert. In a way this showed how far media coverage has come with the Internet, and how far it has to go.

Though NME followed up with a solid review, there was no stream to follow of the show. No audio, no video, no chance for some horrid, clever person to (horrors!) record this performance.

A once in a lifetime reunion should have had a greater reach than its audience. If the much-expected DVD of the concert does emerge, that would make up for this for a lot of fans. We shouldn't have to wait for a DVD, not when modern multimedia streaming and content distribution networks could have made the show a lot more immediate to what would have been a grateful online audience.

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CompUSA: 1984-2008

What's left of the once-dominant PC retailer will be sold off and liquidated while the market moves on without it.

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AAA: R.I. gas prices fall 1¢ over past week

PROVIDENCE – After three weeks at the same average price, gasoline prices in Rhode Island fell a penny over the past week, according to AAA Southern New England.

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New weekly fashion coupons

Baghaus.com - New Weekly Coupon Update December 10 - 16

This Week's deal as follows:

Baghaus Weekly Deal:

Offer: 10% off of these Baghaus Urban Expressions Hudson Tote Bags
Coupon Code: HUDSON10
Active: December 10th, 2007
Expires: December 16th, 2007
Link: http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=8144&m=11744&u=[YOURID] Note: In the above link please replace "[YOURID]" with your unique Shareasale tracking ID which can be found in any of your existing Shareasale links. This deal is active in the Shareasale Deals and Coupons database. Stay up to day on all Baghaus Affiliate Program News through our new Baghaus Affiliate Blog powered by Pownce. Check out more information about the Baghaus affiliate program right here. Sign up for the program here.

SourceForge Opens up to Commerce

The longtime de facto standard in open source repositories is trying out a new model: allowing developers to sell services directly.

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Numbers Only

Use this script to restrict the user from entering anything but numbers in a form field.

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Firm looks to use trash for energy

A company that hopes to build a controversial power plant that would convert garbage at the state-owned landfill in Johnston into enough energy to power nearly 64,000 homes is pushing to ink a deal before market forces make the project unaffordable.

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AOL Brightens Up Its Desktop

A new version of AOL Desktop bundles tabbed browsing, multiple email account management, and an "App Map" of all open application windows within the environment.

The all in one software package called AOL Desktop claimed it organizes one's online life. Several useful features aimed toward that goal help the individual on Windows XP or Vista do that.

For those who remember the days when Microsoft feared the Netscape browser would render the desktop a utility of minimal importance, desktop applications like AOL's hint at what that future would have looked like. Except, of course, that AOL Desktop runs on Windows, so Microsoft's place on the hardware remains safe.

The App Map reminds us of the Speed Dial feature in the Opera browser. Instead of little pictures of websites, App Map shows thumbnails of the open browser, IM, and email windows currently running.

AIM has been integrated into the desktop, opening with a click of a button in the toolbar. Email and web browsing open the same way.

But the version of AIM in the AOL Desktop isn't the goodie-filled one I have running as a separate applications. Where's the status message feature?

In email, AOL's MapQuest service provides a quick way to place a map or directions into a message. MapQuest has been a high quality service for some time, making its inclusion a welcome one.

AOL Desktop users can access other POP3 email accounts by adding their information to the Mail Settings. Services like Gmail, Verizon, and Comcast offer POP3 access, as do many ISPs.

Installation of AOL Desktop makes Internet Explorer the default browser, and sets AOL Search as the default search engine. As our readers know, search drives advertising, and ads drive revenue.

For web browsing with AOL Desktop, a caching feature called TopSpeed can be enabled to use with AOL Explorer. This web acceleration technology requires the user to login to AOL with a valid screen name.

AOL Desktop's toolbar has quick links to the multitude of content areas the web services provider freed up after switching from its subscription walled garden to the more open Internet audience-supported model.

Running AOL Desktop, in a way, felt like a return to that model circa 1994, albeit with much prettier graphics and improved features. The software offers an easy all-in-one way to manage one's experience online, placing the essentials of web, email, and IM in one place.

It's going to take some work to break people of their ingrained habits of firing up separate applications to do these tasks. That would be AOL's real accomplishment with Desktop.

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Affiliate Bonus, win a James Bond Necklace

James Bond Necklace Giveaway

Through-out the month of December Emitations.com is running a private contest for select affiliates. Every Friday we're giving away a James Bond inspired Petite Bond Love Knot Necklace worth $80. To qualify your site visitors simply need to sign-up to receive the Emitations newsletter here > http://www.emitations.com/affiliategiveaway.html As a ubscriber to AMWSO's RSS feed, I'm pleased to personally invite you to participate in this promotion. I have two graphics available upon request in sizes 120x240 and 468x60. To participate simply reply to this email with your ShareaSale (numerical) ID, and I'll assign the banners to you via the SAS interface. Please email Patrick@emitations.com now to participate. Not yet an affiliate: Learn more here. Sign up today and start earning commissions!

Programming is Hard, Let's Go Scripting...

Larry Wall's annual State of the Onion describes the state of Perl, the language and the community. In his 11th address, he discussed the past, present, and future of scripting languages, including the several dimensions of design decisions important to the development of Perl 6.

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Preservation Society picks Veh as interim director

PROVIDENCE – Victoria Veh will serve as interim director of the Providence Preservation Society effective Jan. 2, taking over from departing Executive Director Jack Gold.

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Yahoo Local Worries About Your Psyche

Writing online reviews is good for the psyche, and a majority of adults like to help others by sharing their opinions this way.

Yahoo had Harris Interactive survey people on their online review habits. Reviews can help tilt someone's interest in an item or service in favor of it, making good reviews valuable to businesspeople of all kinds.

The Yahoo Local blog said a desire to help others, followed by a desire to promote the business and help the merchant succeed, motivated reviewers to write.

"Based on these motivators, it’s no surprise that three in four online adults (77 percent) agree that sites with online reviews of local businesses are valuable community tools, and one in three adults (33 percent) feel more connected to their community by contributing to online review Web sites," Frazier Miller, Yahoo Local's GM, said in the post.

80 percent of online adults in the survey were likely to be influenced by the presence of reviews for an item. Positive reviews held more influence than negative ones, at a rate that Miller said reflected a similar study from last year.

While this study applied to Yahoo Local, entrepreneurs everywhere should heed the importance of reviews as a feature. If it isn't available for one's site, this would be a good time to implement them and build up a body of reviews for 2008's holiday shopping season.

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High Conversion Three Dollar Books!

$3 Clearance books from eCampus.com

Here are a few of the latest books on clearance at eCampus.com, all going for three dollars! The Entrepreneur Diet : The On-the-Go Plan for Fitness, Weight Loss and Healthy Living by Weede, Tom
Available now at eCampus.com. $3.30Green Eggs & Ham by DR SEUSS RUIZ, ARISTIDES Fans of the fabulous Dr. Seuss classic will love this version with flaps and stickers. Flip the flaps to see where those green eggs and ham will pop up next. $3.61 Tip: to sign up for regular RSS on this and other eCampus news, simply visit eCampus RSS access page Not Yet an eCampus Affiliate? Sign-up for eCampus affiliate program here on SAS or Sign-up for eCampus affiliate program here on CJ eCampus.com is an educational resource provider of new and used textbooks, trade books, college emblematic and Greek apparel for men and women, electronics, computers, gifts and other services traditionally associated with the college experience. For more information on the eCampus.com affiliate program, please click here

A Practical Guide to Numbers in JavaScript

Dealing with numbers, strings and JavaScript can be frustrating for a beginner. This is a down-and-dirty explanation of converting strings to numbers, detecting if a string is a number, and handy functions for manipulating numbers.

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Facebook Apologizes For Beacon Blunders

Bowing to critics, Facebook's CEO apologizes for its "stealthy" ad platform. But is it enough?

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Holiday Retail Spending Rings Up $14 Billion

Analysis firm comScore said the first 32 days of the US holiday non-travel retail shopping season topped $14 billion for a 17 percent gain over the same period last year.

Give the Monday after Thanksgiving, aka Cyber Monday, credit for bringing in the cash with $733 million in non-travel retail racked up for the day.

Despite high gas prices and difficulties in the subprime housing market, people still found the means to spend, spend, spend. ComScore said the period of November 1 through December 2 saw video games, consoles, and accessories continuing to skyrocket in demand.

Gian Fulgoni, comScore chairman, said the three days after Cyber Monday saw over $700 million spent each day.

"However, strong sales subsided towards the end of the week, eventually resulting in a 17-percent gain versus the corresponding time period last year - in line with the growth rates we’ve experienced for the season-to-date," he said.

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Brown medical school dean to step down

Dr. Eli Y. Adashi, who has led Brown University’s medical school through a period of extensive growth, plans to step down at the end of the academic year, Brown said today.

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Best Selling Skincare Products from affiliate sites.

Skincare Bestsellers

GreatSkin.com has had another terrific month and here are the items which moved for our affiliates the fastest... The best selling items in November are as follows:

OB-103 - Obagi Clear 2 oz.: $78.30

OB-114 - Obagi Toner 6.7 oz.: $32.40

RA-118 - Rhonda Allison Pumpkin Cleanser 4 oz.: $28.00

OB-106 - Obagi Foaming Gel Cleanser 6.7 oz.: $32.40

OB-130 - Obagi Travel Kit Normal/Oily Kit: $182.70

Login and get Text Links Not Yet an Affiliate? Sign-up for our affiliate program here For more information about GreatSkin.com LinkShare affiliate program, please click here If there is anything I can assist you with or any ideas you might like to share, please feel free to drop me an email: william@greatskin.com GreatSkin.com - Great Products, Great Price, GreatSkin!

Museum Loan Network finds new home at Brown

PROVIDENCE – The nationwide Museum Loan Network, established 12 years ago at MIT, is moving to Brown University’s John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization, the university said this afternoon. “The MLN is a network not just of artifacts, but also of ideas and individuals,” said Steven Lubar, left, the center’s director, who joined Brown in 2004 from the Smithsonian.

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PubCon: The Keyword And The Tiger

Choose correctly, and keywords will make one's career. Choose poorly, and becoming SEO tartare for the competition may be the least of one's career worries.

WebProNews is at PubCon 2007 in Las Vegas, bringing you the latest in web marketing.
The search professional knows there is no lady signaling which door, or in our case keyword, to choose. Not that it would matter, because every door has a tiger behind it, so to speak.
Wil Reynolds of SEER Interactive said at the PubCon session, "Keyword Research, Selection, and Optimization," that the SEO needs to get into the mind of the searcher.
He suggested the tools at MSN Adlab can help the pro who "stays broad" with keywords, looks at their performance both incoming and outgoing, and keeps track of updates over time.
Stoney deGeyter of Pole Position Marketing said the high performance SEO campaign starts with a gathering phase. Find a short, unique two or three word phrase for a page's focus.
As more and more of those phrases become identified, they will have to be sorted. DeGeyter suggested a few ways to consider for the sorting:
• Target Audience - What keywords will your audience most likely use?

• Search Volume - What targeted keywords get the most search volume?

• Profit Margin - Wich products or services provide you the highest profits?

• Meet Demand - Can you meet the demand of the products and services?
In phase two, deGeyter said sorting and selecting keywords that will convert need to draw the target audience and apply directly to the site's content. In the last phase, segment keywords by determining searchers' intent, and identify which pages are most suitable for which group of keywords.
"Don't rush. Keyword research takes time and really is the foundation for your keyword campaigns," said deGeyter.
WebProNews managing editor Mike McDonald contributed to this story.

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New fashion coupons for December

Baghaus.com - New Weekly Coupon Update December 3 - 9

This Week's deal as follows:

Baghaus Weekly Deal:

Offer: 10% off of the Top 20 Best Selling Baghaus Handbags
Coupon Code: bestsell10
Active: December 3rd, 2007
Expires: December 9th, 2007
Link: http://www.shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=8048&m=11744&u=[YOURID] Note: In the above link please replace "[YOURID]" with your unique Shareasale tracking ID which can be found in any of your existing Shareasale links. This deal is active in the Shareasale Deals and Coupons database. Stay up to day on all Baghaus Affiliate Program News through our new Baghaus Affiliate Blog powered by Pownce. Check out more information about the Baghaus affiliate program right here. Sign up for the program here.

Local Search Box

This script can be used to create a dropdown search box for your Web site, just like we use on our forums. You can also create dropdown search forms, hint boxes, and menus.

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AAA: R.I. gas prices again unchanged at $3.079

PROVIDENCE – Gasoline prices in Rhode Island remain unchanged for the second week in a row, according to AAA Southern New England.

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SES Chicago: Soaring Through Universal Search

Searchers represent a valuable commodity to search engines, and the keen-minded technologists behind the algorithms want to make search sites as useful as possible, no matter what the query.

SES Chicago returns, and WebProNews is on hand to bring you reports and videos from the Windy City. Enjoy our coverage this week.

Universal search. Blended search. Vertical search. They all aim at one target: fulfilling visitors' needs so that they keep coming back.

The speakers at the SES Chicago Orion Panel: Universal, Blended and Vertical Search, noted the need to fulfill the value proposition of search for visitors. Individual search intensity drives that need, with the average American performing 74 searches a month.

As the search engines become more creative with how they present results in the various approaches of universal, blended, and vertical search, opportunities arise for search engine marketers. SEMs have to be more creative to thrive with the options being presented to searchers.

The proof will be in the pudding, or at least the success rates. SEMs who use this 'paid real estate' well should enjoy better results than the competition.

Search engines will drive that success too. The essential search experience presents someone with a list of blue links. It's a far cry from the typical social networking experience, which has indirectly nudged the search industry with its universal results.

Google has found its users like universal search, and the way results pull from multiple sources of relevant results. Microsoft's work on improving relevance and blending results from other content has people spending more time on their pages.

Ask.com presents as much information as it can with its revamped, Ask 3D approach. Coupled with major spending by IAC on advertising, Ask has been able to hold its ground, even as Yahoo and Microsoft cede search market share to Google.

"In the next 5 to 10 years, search and browsing will be the same thing," Brad Goldberg from Microsoft told attendees. Jim Müller from Google said the universal search experience will become richer.

"Over time, those other search engines are going to be merged into Google and other search engines. Users want to go to a single search engine and have a query and then that stuff (like Google Maps) come up," he said.

The search experience isn't tipping in a particular direction it seems; instead, it's standing up vertically more and more, nice and straight.

WebProNews Internet reporter/anchor Kara Ratliff contributed to this report.

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Google's JotSpot Will Turn Pages

A flood of information about Google's plans for its JotSpot acquisition and Google Apps met attendees at an Ann Arbor presentation.

Scott Johnston, former VP of JotSpot product development and a Google staffer since October 2006, told the Michigan audience that JotSpot would re-emerge in 2008.

Your Search Advisor blogger Andrew Miller cited some of the questions and answers Johnston addressed during the event. Among them, JotSpot will feature significantly in Google's software as a service strategy:

Google Sites: Scheduled to be launched sometime next year (2008), Google Sites will expand upon the Google Page Creator already offered within Apps. Based on JotSpot collaboration tools, Sites will allow business to set up intranets, project management tracking, customer extranets, and any number of custom sites based on multi-user collaboration.

Johnston also noted the integration of GrandCentral, a Google acquisition that centralizes multiple phones into one number, into the forthcoming Google Sites. He declined to cite a timetable, but said it was a "huge priority" for Google.

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Best selling home bar gear

Top 5 Best Sellers by Quantity Sold in November. The following are the 5 Best Sellers by Quantity Sold for KegWorks.com in November:

LIME-001 Corona Lime Slicer
EDCK-33 Deluxe Beer Line Cleaning Kit
76912-2 Combination Foot Rail Bracket - Polished Brass
00-A120 Brass Round 2 OD Tubing
52010 Authentic British Imperial Pint Glass with Government Seal

Birthing takes on personal touch

When a new mother leaves the hospital, she might not be confident of her maternal instincts. She might not know how often to breast-feed or why her newborn is being so fussy. After only 48 hours of postpartum care, few first-time mothers would consider themselves experts.

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Gaming Blogs Abuzz Over Reviewer's Firing

Jeff Gerstmann's negative review of massively promoted Eidos title Kane & Lynch: Dead Men may have contributed to his dismissal as gaming editorial director from CNet's Gamespot.

Bloggers have been asking the same question: was Gerstmann fired for giving Kane & Lynch a less than positive video review. Though neither Gerstmann nor CNet will discuss his change in employment status, the Internet has plenty of people who will do it for them.

A Kotaku tipster said Gerstmann offended Eidos with the "tone" of a video review he did of the game. CNet allegedly fired him on the spot.

However, a Joystiq post said a CNet spokesperson provided a general comment that the company does not terminate people "based on external pressure from advertisers." The company would not comment on Gerstmann's specific circumstances.

Considering the opening minute of Gerstmann's video, where he derides the characters and gameplay of Kane & Lynch, one would expect the game publisher to be less than thrilled with their huge ad campaign being undercut by the 21st Century version of the boy who points out the emperor is really in a state of undress.

But as the Rock, Paper, Shotgun blog noted, "there must be more to it" than what the flying rumors suggest. Unfortunately, Gerstmann isn't talking yet.

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