Business briefs

Spots still open for Innovative Forum.

Registrations are still being taken for an inventors and entrepreneurs Innovative Forum at the OSU South Centers in Piketon.

The forum, scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dec. 10, will offer attendees a chance to interact with local inventors and entrepreneurs and take part in several breakout sessions.

To register, call Joy Bauman at (740) 289-2071, ext. 111, or e-mail jbauman@ag.osu.edu.

New e-mail threat to BSE, Delhi airport

The Deccan Mujahideen which had claimed responsibility for the Mumbai terror attacks is at it again. A second e-mail threatening to blow up the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Delhi airport has been intercepted by the Gujarat police.

Intelligence Bureau officials who are studying the mail say that there is a specific mention of the BSE and Delhi airport in the mail. IB sources say that the BSE has always been on the target of terrorists, who want to attack India’s economic might.

At least five terrorists arrested in connection with either the Delhi serial blasts or the attack on the CRPF camp at Rampur have confessed that extensive planning had taken place in Pakistan occupied Kashmir to strike at the BSE. The IB says that the initial plan was to strike both at the Taj and the BSE but there was a change in plan.

The terrorists realised that they needed to enter Mumbai by night as security was lax at that time and an operation in the BSE would not have been successful if they had struck it in the night as it would have been closed. If at all an attack has to take place on the BSE it would be during working hours, the IB says. Security agencies been put on high alert, the IB sources say.

The IB also says that it is studying the role played by Abdul Subhan aka Tauqueer, the brain behind the Indian Mujahideen [Images] who currently is hiding in Pakistan. Subhan had given security agencies the slip following the Delhi blasts. He was the man who was sending out mails to s…

Best Buy Cyber Monday Sale launched

GameStop launched their Cyber Monday video game deals including some hot deals like Buy Spore PC for $19.99 and get Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack free.

Other video game deals include $10 Off Shaun White Snowboarding for Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3, $10 Off Red Alert 3 (PC), and $10-$20 Off WALL•E depending on platform.

On the video game hardware Cyber Monday deals GameStop offers $5 Off Wii Perfect Shot, $15 Off Xbox 360 Charge Base, and 50% Off Coffin Case Hard Flight Case for your game Guitar.

Joshua Stein visits boutique hotel The Jane in New York

It’s been a sailors’ hostel, YMCA, flophouse and even housed survivors of the Titanic. Now set to open as a boutique hotel, The Jane retains its character and low prices, says Joshua Stein.

One hundred and one years ago, New York was in its heyday as a maritime city, and the Far West Village was alive with seamen. Sailors in need of shelter during their shore leave could count on many charitable homes, such as the American Seaman’s Friend Society Sailors’ Home and Institute, to house them cheaply. Overlooking the Hudson River, this five-storey building, complete with beacon, was meant to be a wholesome alternative to spending the night passed out in an alley.

With a steady stream of transients, the hotel flourished. Sailors, lured not only by the 25-cent rooms but also by the library, the swimming pool in the basement and, somewhat doubtfully, the chapel, filled the 208 tiny rooms. According to the New York Times, in 1909, only a year after it had opened, the hotel had 16,000 sailors stop by in February alone. And its biggest claim to fame is that in 1912 the vast brick building put up the few surviving sailors from the Titanic.

A century later, its rooms are going for more than 25 cents a night, although not much more in relative terms. In February the former sailors’ home will officially reopen as perhaps the world’s first boutique budget flophouse, The Jane. Already a few intrepid guests can stay in 50 or so of the Lilliputian rooms, which have already been madeov…

Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Portable digital video players

A couple days ago I posted my Holiday Guide for MP3/audio players and a couple of commenters asked where ARCHOS and Cowon were on the list. I tried to stay focused on audio focused devices in that guide, although many digital media players today can play both audio and video. This guide focuses on devices that have the primary function of video playback, that similarly can also play audio.

While the iPod touch and even the Microsoft Zune are very good digital video players that many find better than a dedicated personal video player, I am not including them in this guide because the focus of those devices is music first so you can check them out in the MP3 player guide if you are interested in them.

The digital video players covered in this guide have good multi-format support, compelling hardware, and some other unique features. These video playing devices are good devices to have for commuters, business travelers, and those that want to enjoy video content away from a large TV at home. Keep in mind though that you can also use your iPod, Zune, iPhone or even PSP for enjoying video on the go too.

Archos 7

There seem to be two main companies focused on leading the digital video player market and the one company who has devices that I have personally seen and used for a bit is ARCHOS. Their newest devices is just now hitting the streets and is actually marketed as an Internet Media Tablet. The ARCHOS 7 is the premier product in the ARCHOS lineup. The device has a l…

1st worldly Cloud Computing Conference & Expo: Cultural Observations

I was at SYS-CON’s 1st International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo last week preparing for my talk and observing my fellow attendees. Interesting stuff. The gentlemen seated on either side of me at the last talk were Japanese. As I fumbled around with my Blackberry and iPhone while trying to get Wifi to work on the laptop and reading email, I noticed the rapt attention paid by these gents to the speaker. Both listened attentively and took photos of every slide with their ever-present digital cameras. One took copious notes while the other not only took notes but also recorded the audio.

This has me wondering - are the Japanese simply better listeners that we are? Are they less afflicted with crackberry syndrome? Or does the fact that they had to fly half way around the world to attend a conference naturally orient them to paying more attention? Or, are they taking copious notes to share with their colleagues back home in order to justify their presumably expensive trip?

Culturally aware readers of this blog, I’d like to know: are the Japanese always this polite and attentive? Surely they’re not lacking in the number of attention grabbing gadgest available to them, so how do they manage to keep focus?

Cloud Computing Technology Contributors of 2009

10Gen, 3Leaf Systems, 6fusion International, Absolute Performance, Ajaxo, Alentus, Appirio, Appistry, Aptaria, Arena Maxtronic, Arista Networks, Asankya Networks, BitRock, BlueLock, Boomi , Box.net, Canaan Pa…

ARCHOS 7 Is Now Available

ARCHOS has released the ARCHOS 7 Internet Media Tablet (IMT), featuring a sleek new design, high resolution touch-screen, and the ultra-fast speeds of a PC. We are working on a review of the Archos 7. In the mean time here is more info:

With two different capacity options - 160GB and 320GB - the ARCHOS 7 offers the largest hard drives of any handheld player and enough space to hold up to 300 full-length movies, thousands of songs, or millions of photos. The ARCHOS 7 is the only 7-inch handheld tablet equipped with PC-like performance and the world’s first implementation of the ARM Cortex superscalar microprocessor. Additional new features include a new email application, redesigned user interface, high-definition (HD) video playback, and an integrated multimedia platform that uses a WiFi for extremely fast Web access anytime, anywhere. The ARCHOS 7 will boost up to 39 hours of battery life.

Uncompromised Web Browsing

· Fastest Web Experience: New processing power, free Web browser, and full-page viewing without scrolling left to right make the ARCHOS 7 the best Web viewing portable.

· Integrated Flash® 9 video support: Provides access to favorite TV shows, online video sites, popular Web TV and radio stations, and thousands of widgets like weather, sports scores or a calculator.

· Email Application: Consumers can manage multiple accounts, easily view, send and receive their email, synchronize contacts, and store attachments, all using a wide touch-screen …

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