Blog to Help Stop Hunger

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet

We like to think that we are doing our bit for BlogCatalog and Heifer International to help stop world hunger. How are we doing this? By telling you today that you can join other bloggers and write a post about the subject on April 29. We figure you can pay it forward to others by posting a blog and putting one of their badges on your site as well.

Read More | Bloggers Unite

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Charles Going Back to Space

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science, Transportation

Lucky Charles Simonyi is going back into space March 26, the first private citizen to make a return trip. He will conduct a series of experiments as well as communicate with students via HAM radio on the ISS (ARISS) during the 12 day trek. We first mentioned him back in 2007 and now, like then, he will continue to blog from his website and feature live video and audio content from NASA TV in his “Follow the Updates” section. Although the second flight is undoubtedly still costing him a fortune, we expect he will reuse his suit.

Read More | Charles in Space

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Logitech Sells Its Billionth Mouse

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Hot Deals, Peripherals

Yesterday, Logitech announced that it shipped its billionth mouse, although it hasn’t gone very far as yet. Around since the 80’s, the company claims that it sells 7.8 million per month in about 100 countries. To celebrate the event, Logitech is backing a contest that allows anyone to follow Billie the mouse’s journey and try to figure out where it will end up. You can follow the fun on their BLogitech site where, if you answer a question correctly, may land you a MX1100 Cordless Laser Mouse.

Read More | Logitech

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Wiki and Google Trade Tech

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet

After months of talking and testing, Wikia Search has announced that it will be open to the “general public” next week. Founder Jimmy Wales is sending it the way of Wikipedia, i.e. allowing volunteers to improve on its technology as it develops. The site will open with about 50 to 100 million Web pages indexed, as opposed to other search engines that run in the billions. Interestingly enough, Google is planning to launch its own version of Wikipedia, knol, where authors actually get credit and share in its advertising revenue.

Read More | ABC

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Check Your URL With Blog Readability Test

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Misc. Tech

Want to know how intelligent your readers have to be to get you? Critics Rant has devised a Blog Readability Test. Just paste in your URL to find out how much education is needed to understand it. It also works on MySpace, Livejournals, Facebook, and most other profiles and Websites. We plugged in Google, which came out rated “Genius,” MySpace and Facebook ranked “High School,” but you only need a “Jr. High” background to handle Yahoo. We’re not exactly sure of the method to determine the outcome, but we found it to be a pleasant enough diversion for about the length of time it takes to read the average blog.

Read More | Critics Rant

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Call of Duty 4 Beta Ends September 30th

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Activision, First Person Shooters, PC, PlayStation 3, Release Dates, Xbox 360

Robert “402” Bowling from Infinity Ward has posted about some upcoming changes to the Call of Duty 4 beta on his blog. The most significant announcement is the closing of the beta on September 30th, but he also revealed that two days prior the level cap, which has been at 16 for a couple of weeks after being lifted from the initial cap of 11, will go up to 25. That gives beta testers only two days to jump from 16 to 25 before the beta closes down in anticipation of the game’s release November 5th.

Part of the post hinted that CoD4 had gone gold, but Bowling refused to come right out and say it, saving the announcement for more official channels. He did say that Infinity Ward had received congratulations from the Sony of America and the Xbox 360 certification team, which leaves little room for doubt that the game is in the final stages before shipping.

The beta has been an excellent marketing tool for Infinity Ward since the strength of the game is quite evident from the limited, multiplayer-only test version. Even though the game is likely gold, the beta continues for developers to continue gathering data for the inevitable title upgrades and expansion packs. The raising of the level cap so close to the end of the beta is, speculatively, due to the launch of a certain multiplayer juggernaut a few days prior.

Read More | Fourzerotwo's Blog

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Google Bloggers Target of Storm Worms

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Google, Internet

Google Blogger, beware! Fake entries containing links to downloads can infect your Windows run PC. Computers that catch the virus are checked for saleable data or used as carriers. The links began in January by hackers dubbed “Storm Trojans” and may actually been have set up for allowing others to view e-mail entries on their Blogger Journals. Here are some of the storm worm subject lines:

• are you kidding me? lol
• Dude dont send that stuff to my home email…
• Dude your gonna get caught, lol
• HAHAHAHAHAHA, man your insane!
• I cant belive you did this
• LMAO, your crazy man
• LOL, dude what are you doing
• man, who filmed this thing?
• oh man your nutz
• OMG, what are you thinking

Some of the messages feature links to YouTube while others claim to be offering testing software or digital greeting cards. The group has reportedly infected over a million PCs in that time. We suggest it might be time to get a Mac, run Firefox, or find another outlet for your blogging.

Read More | BBC

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Fallout 3 Developers Ready to Answer Your Questions

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Internet, PC, PlayStation 3, Role Playing Games, Xbox 360

After an avalanche of press following its showing at E3, Bethesda is now soliciting questions from the community. In theory they’ll accept and answer questions about any of their properties but it seems pretty obvious from the comments so far that the main point of interest is Fallout 3.

With so much skepticism from the old school Fallout fans over the direction Bethesda is headed and the casual dismissal of those concerns that most of the mainstream gaming press has displayed, this could be a good chance for the developers to clarify some of the hows and whys diehards have been losing sleep over since the game was announced.

Read More | Bethesda Blog via Gay Gamer

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