Internet

February 4, 2009 -- AUGUSTA - Maine Governor John E. Baldacci today unveiled a new State Web page dedicated to the developing federal economic stimulus package, now called The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The Web page provides information and resources so that Maine people can track the legislation’s progress in Congress and actions taken by State government related to the stimulus. Following passage and the President’s signature of the final bill, the Web page will also serve as a clearinghouse so that the public can access up-to-date information about where and how federal stimulus funds are dispersed.    » read more »

February 2, 2009 -- The power of social media is being tapped by the Department of Health and Human Services, its Food and Drug Administration, and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to spread important information about the recall of certain peanut butter and peanut-containing products that are associated with the recent Salmonella Typhimurium outbreaks.

The heart of the outreach effort is an FDA-maintained database listing all recalled peanut products. The database (www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm) can be searched by brand name or browsed by product category, i.e., cracker-product recalls. A widget has been created so news, parenting, health care and other concerned parties can access the database information directly from their Web sites.    » read more »

Feb. 02, 2009 -- MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA and Google announced Monday the release of a new Mars mode in Google Earth that brings to everyone's desktop a high-resolution, three-dimensional view of the Red Planet.

Besides providing a rich, immersive 3D view of Mars that will aid public understanding of Mars science, the new mode, Google Mars 3D, also gives researchers a platform for sharing data similar to what Google Earth provides for Earth scientists.

The mode enables users to fly virtually through enormous canyons and scale huge mountains on Mars that are much larger than any found on Earth. Users also can explore the Red Planet through the eyes of the Mars rovers and other Mars missions, providing a unique perspective of the entire planet.    » read more »

August 4, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that a number of the largest American internet companies, human rights organizations and other stakeholders have reached agreement on a voluntary code of conduct that would govern internet companies operating in countries where internet freedom is restricted, like China. The participants are now reviewing the agreement for final approval.    » read more »

Innovative Computer Scientist at Carnegie Mellon, Launched Education Initiatives, Gained Worldwide Acclaim for Last Lecture

PITTSBURGH, July 25, 2008 — Randy Pausch, renowned computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, died July 25 of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

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Platforms & Services Division to Split Into Two Groups and Report to CEO Steve Ballmer.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 23, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Platforms & Services Division (PSD) will be split into two groups: Windows/Windows Live and Online Services, with both groups reporting directly to CEO Steve Ballmer. Microsoft also announced that PSD President Kevin Johnson will be leaving the company. Johnson will work to ensure a smooth transition.    » read more »

Study of 50,000 Also Reveals Online Viewing Drives More Audiences to Network Television

NEW YORK, 07.21.2008 - CBS Interactive today announced the results of an ongoing study of nearly 50,000 individuals who have watched full episodes streamed online across the CBS Audience Network. The study, conducted by Magid Media Labs, underscores three main findings: CBS's video streaming of full-episodes attracts a younger audience; online viewers are incremental to broadcast viewers, and online video streaming is a net positive for CBS because it drives Web viewers to television.

Key findings of the CBS Audience Network study by Magid Media Labs include:

* The median age of those streaming full episodes of CBS programming online is 38 years.    » read more »

July 21, 2008 -- AOL Health announced content partnerships with Caring.com, Health.com and HealthCare.com that will position AOL Health as a resource for comprehensive health information for the entire family. AOL Health is supported by AOL's digital advertising business, Platform-A, Platform-A, which will continue to offer relevant advertising opportunities in both display advertising as well as content-targeted links on the Web site. AOL Health is part of AOL Living, one of the top-two women's sites with more than 16 million unique visitors, according to the June 2008 comScore Media Metrix.    » read more »

July 22, 2008 -- GameTap, the first-of-its-kind broadband entertainment network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., announced today a long-term partnership with THQ Inc. that includes worldwide subscription play and digital download rights for a wide selection of the publisher's games for Windows PC. Additionally under the new agreement, some THQ games will also be made available for free play on GameTap's ad-supported website GameTap.com.

"We are excited to be adding THQ's roster of top content to GameTap," said Ricardo Sanchez, vice president of content and creative director for GameTap. " With this new deal, subscribers and website visitors will enjoy great games from THQ, including Company of Heroes and Red Faction."    » read more »

Dedicated Coverage of All NFL Divisions and BCS Conferences with 20 Journalists Hired to Launch Network

July 22, 2008 -- ESPN.com has launched the ESPN Football Blog Network, a new content initiative consisting of 15 blogs that offer more in-depth daily coverage of pro and college football. The network includes individual blogs dedicated to all eight National Football League divisions and all six BCS Conferences, as well as a blog focused on independent and non-BCS college programs. Collectively, the best content from each divisional and conference blog will be aggregated daily into national blogs for both pro and college football.    » read more »

New Section to Cover Both PRCA and PBR Tours

July 17, 2008 -- ESPN.com has launched a new section providing complete coverage of rodeo and professional bull riding. The new section provides news, video, stats, standings, schedules, rider profiles, blogs, and more across all major rodeo and bull-riding events – an industry first.

“Rodeo and Bull Riding have one of the most passionate fan bases of any sport in the country,” said Alexandra Roman, director of ESPN Outdoors & Digital Partnerships, ESPN Digital Media. “It takes a special kind of athlete to willingly climb on top of a two-ton bull or a bucking bronco. This section will capture the excitement and provide a 24/7 one-stop window into two of the country’s fastest growing extreme sports.”    » read more »

Washington, DC, 7/17/2008 – Americans’ online privacy was discussed today at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. The hearing, titled “What Your Broadband Provider Knows About Your Web Use: Deep Packet Inspection and Communications Laws and Policies,” was meant to shed light on the practice of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) by Internet service providers (ISPs). DPI allows ISPs to track users’ Internet browsing activities and can be data mined for targeted marketing purposes. The ACLU urges members of the committee to be wary of the privacy landmines inherent in DPI.

The following can be attributed to Timothy Sparapani, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel:    » read more »

Sun, Media Grid and Leading Education Institutions Hold First Virtual Demonstration of Project Wonderland for Immersive Education

SANTA CLARA, CA June 25, 2008 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) today announced the first demonstration of Project Wonderland, its open source virtual world platform for the education community. At the virtual event last week, members of the academic and IT communities explored secure and flexible virtual learning environments created by Boston College, the University of Essex, the University of Oregon and Saint Paul College, pioneer users of the platform for educational purposes.    » read more »

Online and On-the-Go

PARIS & SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jun 25, 2008 -- Publicis Groupe's VivaKi Nerve Center and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) unveiled innovative technology initiatives designed to help Publicis Groupe's clients seize the important global opportunities in mobile advertising. The initiatives also aim to drive greater efficiency in the way advertising is bought and sold online.

As more leading brands go mobile, Yahoo! and Publicis Groupe's VivaKi plan to leverage Yahoo!'s mobile platform to help brands broaden their reach and more deeply engage mobile consumers with breakthrough advertising solutions. The two companies will also work to integrate Publicis' current media buying systems with Yahoo!'s Right Media Exchange, and with AMP! from Yahoo! when it is introduced.    » read more »

The New Price/Performance Top Gun on TPC-C Benchmark

Round Rock, Texas, June 25, 2008 -- Dell’s PowerEdgeTM 2900 III server now with a new number one ranking for price/performance on the TPC-C benchmark. As well as:

* The leading price-per-transaction (price/tpmC) TPC-C result achieved 97,083 transactions per minute with a price/performance of $.68/tpmC1.
* The PowerEdge 2900 III achieved the new TPC-C price/performance world record benchmark result with Oracle® Database 11g Standard Edition One running on Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003, and utilizing one Intel® Quad-Core Xeon® 2.83 GHz processor.    » read more »