"A MAN WITH A CONVICTION is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point." So wrote the celebrated Stanford University psychologist Leon Festinger (PDF), in a passage that might have been referring to climate change denial—the persistent rejection, on the part of so many Americans today, of what we know about global warming and its human causes. But it was too early for that—this was the 1950s—and Festinger was actually describing a famous case study in psychology...
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Friday, April 22, 2011
Kindle readers can now borrow ebooks from libraries
Kindle users in the US, like these Massachusetts book club members, can now borrow ebooks from public libraries. Photograph: Mary Knox Merrill/Getty
Scribbling in the margins of library books will soon be permitted, after Amazon.com announced yesterday that it would allow Kindle users to borrow ebooks from more than 11,000 American libraries.
The deal follows similar agreements from the Kindle's rivals, the Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble's Nook, and will enable Kindle users to check out and read ebooks from their local libraries. "We're doing a little something extra here," said Jay Marine, director of Amazon Kindle. "Normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we're extending our Whispersync technology so that you can highlight and add margin notes to Kindle books you check out from your local library. Your notes will not show up when the next patron checks out the book. But if you check out the book again, or subsequently buy it, your notes will be there just as you left them."
The move was welcomed by American librarians. "Anyone who works with the public has encountered the discouragement people feel when you have to tell them that Amazon does not allow library ebooks on the Kindle," blogged librarian Bobbi L Newman, a manager at the Richland County Public Library in Columbia SC. "It's SO exciting to see that Kindle users will now have access to library ebooks (especially when we know that library books usage actually drives sales up). Plus that note-taking ability they mentioned is a big reason I bought my Kindle! Very excited to see it on library books."
Roberta A Stevens, the president of the American Library Association, told the New York Times that Amazon's move into library lending was "all but inevitable". "I can't say that I'm surprised," she said. "They were just shutting off a whole part of the marketplace. It's just logical that this would happen."
A recent report from the American Library Association revealed research showing that 72% of public libraries offer ebooks and 5% of American adults own an ebook reader. The ALA said that ebooks account for only a small percentage of borrowed items from most libraries, but they are the fastest-growing segment: the Chicago Public Library, it said, doubled its circulation of ebooks from 17,000 in 2009 to more than 36,000 in 2010.
Librarians are currently grappling with an announcement last month from HarperCollins stating that the publisher will not allow any single copy of one of its ebooks to be checked out from a library more than 26 times. The ALA said that librarians fear other publishers could adopt a similar model. "When we purchase a print copy, we get to keep it for as long as we want," said Audra Caplan, president of the Public Library Association. "It may eventually wear out or not circulate, but that's our choice."
The Kindle Library Lending programme launches later this year, but Amazon.com did not give a precise date.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
$6 Gas? Could Happen if Dollar Keeps Getting Weaker
A dollar plumbing three-year lows is hitting Americans squarely in the gas tank, and one economist thinks it could drive prices as high as $6 a gallon or more by summertime under the right conditions.
With the greenback coming under increased pressure from Federal Reserve policies and investor appetite for more risk, there seems little direction but up for commodity prices, in particular energy and metals.
Weakness in the US currency feeds upward pressure on commodities, which are priced in dollars and thus come at a discount on the foreign markets.
One result has been a surge higher in gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon before the summer driving season even starts, a trend that economists say will be aggravated as demand increases and the summer storm season threatens to disrupt oil supplies.
"All we have to have is a couple badly placed hurricanes which could constrain some of the refinery output capacity in some key locations," says Richard Hastings, strategist at Global Hunter Securities in Charlotte, N.C. "If you get weakness in the dollar concurrent with the strong driving season concurrent with the impact of one or two hurricanes in the wrong place, prices could go up in a quasi-exponential manner."
Using a model that combines "subtle rates of change" with movements in the dollar index and commodity prices, Hastings figures the low dollar is responsible for about one-third, or $1.31, of the total gas-at-the-pump cost. Regular unleaded Wednesday was $3.84 a gallon nationwide, according to AAA.
While there's far from unanimity about the dollar's future course, the proportionate contribution that currency weakness makes to oil prices is clear.
The dollar as measured against a basket of foreign currencies has dropped 6 percent this year, while regular unleaded gasoline is up about 28 percent.
Gas prices also have been boosted from turmoil in the Middle East which in turn has triggered a wave of speculation that traders estimate has added about $15 or so to the cost of a barrel of crude, which is now teetering above the $110 mark.
Hastings sees gasoline having "no problem" getting to $6.50 a gallon over the summer after increased demand and storm disruptions come into play.
Others, though, say gasoline prices haven't needed any help so far from other events—the moves by the Fed to keep interest rates in negative real terms are enough to boost energy by themselves.
Michael Pento, senior economist at Euro Pacific Capital in New York, says there is an almost perfect negative correlation between the falling dollar and oil prices—minus-0.9 to be exact.
"When you have negative correlations that strong, it's not hard to understand that the reason why we're having this price spike in commodities is primarily because of the weaker currency and not because of shortages of oil or international tensions or global growth," Pento says.
Should events follow their current course, sharply higher gas prices will burden consumers further as they also cope with the rise in food costs this year.
Hastings projects the dollar index to test 72 at some point—another 3 percent drop—while Peter Cardillo, chief economist at Avalon Partners in New York, sees the dollar dropping to the 73.50 level.
"The global economy is quite strong, and the weak dollar is basically fueling even higher energy prices. That's not transitory," Cardillo says. "Gas prices in the Northeast are over $4 a gallon. How could anyone say that's not a burden?"
With the greenback coming under increased pressure from Federal Reserve policies and investor appetite for more risk, there seems little direction but up for commodity prices, in particular energy and metals.
Weakness in the US currency feeds upward pressure on commodities, which are priced in dollars and thus come at a discount on the foreign markets.
One result has been a surge higher in gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon before the summer driving season even starts, a trend that economists say will be aggravated as demand increases and the summer storm season threatens to disrupt oil supplies.
"All we have to have is a couple badly placed hurricanes which could constrain some of the refinery output capacity in some key locations," says Richard Hastings, strategist at Global Hunter Securities in Charlotte, N.C. "If you get weakness in the dollar concurrent with the strong driving season concurrent with the impact of one or two hurricanes in the wrong place, prices could go up in a quasi-exponential manner."
Using a model that combines "subtle rates of change" with movements in the dollar index and commodity prices, Hastings figures the low dollar is responsible for about one-third, or $1.31, of the total gas-at-the-pump cost. Regular unleaded Wednesday was $3.84 a gallon nationwide, according to AAA.
While there's far from unanimity about the dollar's future course, the proportionate contribution that currency weakness makes to oil prices is clear.
The dollar as measured against a basket of foreign currencies has dropped 6 percent this year, while regular unleaded gasoline is up about 28 percent.
Gas prices also have been boosted from turmoil in the Middle East which in turn has triggered a wave of speculation that traders estimate has added about $15 or so to the cost of a barrel of crude, which is now teetering above the $110 mark.
Hastings sees gasoline having "no problem" getting to $6.50 a gallon over the summer after increased demand and storm disruptions come into play.
Others, though, say gasoline prices haven't needed any help so far from other events—the moves by the Fed to keep interest rates in negative real terms are enough to boost energy by themselves.
Michael Pento, senior economist at Euro Pacific Capital in New York, says there is an almost perfect negative correlation between the falling dollar and oil prices—minus-0.9 to be exact.
"When you have negative correlations that strong, it's not hard to understand that the reason why we're having this price spike in commodities is primarily because of the weaker currency and not because of shortages of oil or international tensions or global growth," Pento says.
Should events follow their current course, sharply higher gas prices will burden consumers further as they also cope with the rise in food costs this year.
Hastings projects the dollar index to test 72 at some point—another 3 percent drop—while Peter Cardillo, chief economist at Avalon Partners in New York, sees the dollar dropping to the 73.50 level.
"The global economy is quite strong, and the weak dollar is basically fueling even higher energy prices. That's not transitory," Cardillo says. "Gas prices in the Northeast are over $4 a gallon. How could anyone say that's not a burden?"
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Android mania catches up with 10 million
With the increase in the Android mania world wide, Android is now the top smartphone platform. Google reported that Android device users have downloaded and installed three billion applications from the Android Market at the rate of 500 million per month. Carriers are activating more than 300,000 Android devices every day, a Google executive confirmed. Google Inc. purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005.
The Android Army invasion continues marching this week as Google announced 350,000 device activations take place each day. Google was activating 200,000 Android devices per day. At the rate of 350,000 per day, Google is selling more than 10 million Android phones per month. Android just chalked up its fourth consecutive month as the top platform when it comes to advertising, Android created a revolution with its special applications in the technology world.
Android handset users are downloading applications at the rate of 500 million per month. In the U.S., two separate studies found that Android captured 44 percent of the smartphone market in the third quarter ahead of Apple and Research in Motion. As a Google product, Android comes with the Google search engine built-in by default.
Android won 48 percent of mobile ad impressions. Apple's iOS followed with 31percent, and RIM came in third with 18percent.Android users are downloading 16.66 million apps per day, 695,000 apps per hour, 11,500 apps per minute, or 193 apps per second. Advertising on Android-based phones is a revenue stream for the search giant and, in fact, makes the Android enterprise within Google profitable all by itself.
Google also noted that Android device users have downloaded and installed three billion applications from the Android Market. The growth of app downloads is outright staggering. Android handset users are downloading applications at the rate of 500 million per month.
In January, Apple announced that more than 10 billion apps have been downloaded. Its store carries about 350,000 apps, which is twice the number of the Android Market, which is somewhere near 180,000. iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users downloaded five billion apps. Apple has seen another two or three billion downloads since January, and the rate is probably one billion downloads per month (or 33.33 million apps per day, 1.3 million apps per hour, 23,000 apps per minute or 386 apps per second).
Although Google has a larger hand in mobile ad impressions it is in competition with other IT firms concerning the handsets and softwares.
The Android Army invasion continues marching this week as Google announced 350,000 device activations take place each day. Google was activating 200,000 Android devices per day. At the rate of 350,000 per day, Google is selling more than 10 million Android phones per month. Android just chalked up its fourth consecutive month as the top platform when it comes to advertising, Android created a revolution with its special applications in the technology world.
Android handset users are downloading applications at the rate of 500 million per month. In the U.S., two separate studies found that Android captured 44 percent of the smartphone market in the third quarter ahead of Apple and Research in Motion. As a Google product, Android comes with the Google search engine built-in by default.
Android won 48 percent of mobile ad impressions. Apple's iOS followed with 31percent, and RIM came in third with 18percent.Android users are downloading 16.66 million apps per day, 695,000 apps per hour, 11,500 apps per minute, or 193 apps per second. Advertising on Android-based phones is a revenue stream for the search giant and, in fact, makes the Android enterprise within Google profitable all by itself.
Google also noted that Android device users have downloaded and installed three billion applications from the Android Market. The growth of app downloads is outright staggering. Android handset users are downloading applications at the rate of 500 million per month.
In January, Apple announced that more than 10 billion apps have been downloaded. Its store carries about 350,000 apps, which is twice the number of the Android Market, which is somewhere near 180,000. iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users downloaded five billion apps. Apple has seen another two or three billion downloads since January, and the rate is probably one billion downloads per month (or 33.33 million apps per day, 1.3 million apps per hour, 23,000 apps per minute or 386 apps per second).
Although Google has a larger hand in mobile ad impressions it is in competition with other IT firms concerning the handsets and softwares.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The World Must Learn To Brow Beat Terrorists From China.
It may seem harrowing to praise a country like China that has such dubious and unenviable records on human rights count. Still, one can learn from it the right earnest way to brow beat the terrorists. Indeed it is a country where no foreigners, not even the lay Chinese people can buy a powerful computer system. An interesting blog post recently related a story on a westerner's experience in China who was trying to buy a powerful Lenovo/Dell or other computers to produce TV videos. He had cash in his pockets but no shop owner in China considered his demand for a second. The whole story can be perused here
However, this story tells one of the very simple reason, why terrorists get terrorised themselves on the simple thought of trespassing that country. While the rest of the world takes pride in opening up its society, the closed doors of China have at least ensured security fot its own people and its merit can never be overstated. Countries like India, the US, UK and others must take a leaf out of this. We must see that this very openness has led to eroding values in many countries like the US and off course India. When we are able to put up a unified resistance to terrorist elements without even a single diisending voice from among ourselves, only then we would have any chance of countering the threat posed by terrorists.
However, this story tells one of the very simple reason, why terrorists get terrorised themselves on the simple thought of trespassing that country. While the rest of the world takes pride in opening up its society, the closed doors of China have at least ensured security fot its own people and its merit can never be overstated. Countries like India, the US, UK and others must take a leaf out of this. We must see that this very openness has led to eroding values in many countries like the US and off course India. When we are able to put up a unified resistance to terrorist elements without even a single diisending voice from among ourselves, only then we would have any chance of countering the threat posed by terrorists.
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