The Best of the November Issue

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

-----Original Message-----
From: Harvard Business Review
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:35:16 To:
Subject: The Best of the November Issue

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser.

The Best of the November Issue

  What's causing a stir in this month's HBR

SUBSCRIBE TO HBR    |   VISIT HBR.ORG    |   READ THE NOVEMBER 2011 ISSUE

What Business Can Learn from Organized Crime

by Marc Goodman

Colombian drug cartels have been technologically advanced since the days of Miami Vice, of course. But today's organized criminals-from the Russian Business Network to South America's Superzonda-are also using cutting-edge supply chain management techniques, incentives, and adaptive strategies that business could put to more honest ends.

Read the full article »

SPOTLIGHT

What Every CEO Needs to Know About the Cloud

by Andrew McAfee

Talk about a piece you can't afford to miss: What's in the cloud? What can it do for my company? What's not really ready yet? What happens if my competitors read this before I do? Here, in one comprehensive, jargon-free package are the facts you need to know to make strategic sense of this IT evolution.

How Great Companies Think Differently

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

IBM sends future leaders through its own Peace Corp-like Social Services Corp. Employees of P&G West Africa track the performance metric, "How many people's lives have I touched this year?" Focusing on social needs has led Cemex to such lucrative innovations as salt-water resistant and antibacterial concrete. In example after inspiring example, Kanter makes tangible the connection between social purpose and long-term financial strength.

ADVERTISEMENT

MULTIMEDIA

VIDEO: Fire, Snowball, Mask, Movie: How Leaders Spark and Sustain Change

A three-minute, animated, highly quotable discussion of the uses and abuses of change metaphors. Where did that burning-platform metaphor come from, again?

SLIDESHOW: The Good Company: Then and Now

"Good" is a moving target, as you can see from this chronicle of what it has meant, down the decades, to be a good company.

SLIDESHOW: Frank Gehry Talks About His Work

America's most celebrated architect on the building some thought couldn't be built, staying on budget, and the work he regrets.

SLIDESHOW: Strategic Humor

Take a break and check out these submissions for this month's caption contest. Who'd have thought this subject would be so inspirational?

HBR BLOG NETWORK

The Three Questions that Lead to Profitable Growth
by Chris Zook

How to Use Facebook To Drive Higher Sales
by Misiek Piskorski

To Reform Capitalism, CEOs Should Champion Structural Reforms
by Heerad Sabeti

FOLLOW HBR

Introducing
Mobile ManageMentor iPhone App

Powered by the proven content of Harvard ManageMentorTDownload now »

UNSUBSCRIBE    |   UPDATE YOUR PROFILE    |   MORE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS    |   PRIVACY POLICY

Was this email forwarded to you? If so, sign up to start receiving your own copy.

ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST
You have received this message because you subscribed to the "HBR Monthly Update" email newsletter from Harvard
Business Review. If at any point you wish to remove yourself from this list, change your email address, or sign up for
other email newsletters and alerts, please visit the Harvard Business Review Email Newsletter Preference Center .

OPT OUT
If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here .

ADVERTISE WITH HBR
This enewsletter is read by thousands of decision makers every month. Learn more about connecting your brand with this audience.

Copyright © 2011 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved.
Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163
Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

-----Original Message-----
From: Subscriptions from Posterous Spaces
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:51:14 To:
Subject: Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update November 10th, 2011

Wedding at Sirkeci Terminal

Posted about 20 hours ago by clementine to ReflectionOf.Me
1

See the full gallery on Posterous

Blood Pack of Santa Claus

Posted about 20 hours ago by clementine to ReflectionOf.Me
3

Designer Kiseung Lee  of Helsinki wants people to fill stockings with more vital gifts this Christmas: donations to the blood bank. 

1
2
See the full gallery on Posterous

Tree Tunnel, Ukraine

Posted about 20 hours ago by clementine to ReflectionOf.Me
9

1
This beautiful train tree tunnel is located in Kleven, Ukraine. It's called the Tunnel of Love. 

Shredder Guitar Cheese Grater

Posted about 18 hours ago by clementine to ReflectionOf.Me
7

2
See the full gallery on Posterous

Automakers Getting Rid Of Spares To Cut Costs, Reduce Weight

Posted about 15 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Automakers Getting Rid Of Spares To Cut Costs, Reduce Weight
via The Consumerist by Ben Popken on 11/9/11

Hey buddy, can you spare, a spare? That's what some stranded motorists find themselves asking AAA when they pull over and discover that the spare tire, once standard, has become optional.
Pushed largely at GM but also seen in some overseas car makers, some manufacturers are trying to cut costs, reduce car weight, and meet efficiency standards by not packing a spare in the back of the car, Reuters reports .
A spare, its jack, and the other assorted gear add about 25 pounds on to a car's weight. Removing it adds about 1 MPG to the car's fuel efficiency. It's not much, but GM is hoping that it and other incremental changes will help it meet higher Federal car efficiency standards.
But some motorists don't realize there's been a change, until they go to make one. With their car sitting on the side of the road, it's too late. Dealerships don't exactly slap a big sticker on the car window that says, "100% spare free!" Car makers have been putting inflator kits into the cars instead, which are only able to deal with minor punctures and flats. However, consumer awareness about both the absence of the spare and the presence of the inflator kit is low, Reuters reports .
Come to think of it, headlights and brake lights are kind of heavy. And do you really need two?
Spare tires ditched as automakers seek efficiency [Reuters]
RELATED
The Disappearing Spare Tire [Edmunds]

Want your own? Change your email settings

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

-----Original Message-----
From: Harvard Business Review
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 19:04:56 To:
Subject: HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to see it in a web browser.

A Proven Recipe for Leadership

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership

Are you a great leader or merely a good one? Becoming a great leader doesn't happen overnight. If you want to be a more effective leader, you need to work at it. This collection of ten classic Harvard Business Review articles will help you do just that.

This special collection brings you keen insight from world-class experts on what makes great leaders. Even better, you'll learn the techniques that can turn high performance leadership from a career objective into an invaluable addition to your management toolkit.

You'll learn how to:

Inspire your team to follow you by capturing
their hearts and minds.

Find meaning in-and refine your skills from-challenging situations.

Ask the tough questions and leverage the intelligence of your team.

Transform yourself from a good manager into
an extraordinary leader.

Master the five essential skills that will maximize your own and your team's performance.

Save more than 60% off the price of the individual articles when you buy this collection. All 10 articles on leadership are yours for only $24.95!*

ORDER NOW

Only $24.95*

Product #12546

PDF or Paperback

This specially priced collection includes:

What Makes a Leader?

by Daniel Goleman

When asked to define the ideal leader, many would emphasize traits such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision-the qualities traditionally associated with leadership. Often left off the list are softer, more personal qualities-but they are also essential. Although a certain degree of analytical and technical skill is a minimum requirement for success, studies indicate that emotional intelligence may be the key attribute that distinguishes outstanding performers from those who are merely adequate.

What Leaders Really Do

by John P. Kotter

Most U.S. corporations today are overmanaged and underled. They need to develop their capacity to exercise leadership. Successful corporations don't wait for leaders to come along. They actively seek out people with leadership potential and expose them to career experiences designed to develop that potential.

The Work of Leadership

by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald K. Laurie

More and more companies today are facing adaptive challenges: Changes in societies, markets, and technologies around the globe constantly force businesses to clarify their values, develop new strategies, and learn new ways to operate. The most important task for leaders in the face of such challenges is mobilizing people throughout their organizations to do adaptive work. This HBR article offers six principles for leading adaptive work.

Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?

by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones

We all know that leaders need vision and energy, but after an exhaustive review of the most influential theories on leadership-as well as workshops with leaders and aspiring leaders-the authors learned that great leaders also share four unexpected qualities.

Crucibles of Leadership

by Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas

What makes a great leader? Why do some people appear to know instinctively how to inspire employees-bringing out their confidence, loyalty, and dedication-whereas others flounder again and again? No simple formula can explain how great leaders come to be, but Bennis and Thomas believe it has something to do with the ways people handle adversity. The authors' research suggests that one of the most reliable indicators and predictors of true leadership is the ability to learn from even the most negative experiences.

What Makes an Effective Executive

by Peter F. Drucker

An effective executive does not need to be a leader in the typical sense of the word. Peter Drucker, the author of more than two dozen HBR articles, says some of the best CEOs he has worked with over his 65-year consulting career were not stereotypical leaders.

Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve

by Jim Collins

The essential ingredient for taking a company to greatness is having a "Level 5" leader, an executive whose extreme personal humility blends paradoxically with intense professional will. In this article, Collins paints a compelling and counterintuitive portrait of the skills and personality traits necessary for effective leadership.

Seven Transformations of Leadership

by David Rooke and William R. Torbert

Relatively few leaders try to understand their "action logic"-how a leader interprets his surroundings and reacts when his power or safety is challenged-and fewer still have explored the possibility of changing it. They should, because leaders who undertake this voyage of personal understanding and development can transform not only their own capabilities but also those of their companies.

Discovering Your Authentic Leadership

by William W. George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean, David Mayer, and Diana Mayer

The authors interviewed 125 business leaders from different racial, religious, national, and socioeconomic backgrounds to understand how leaders become, and remain, authentic. Their interviews showed that you do not have to be born with any particular characteristics or traits to lead. You also do not have to be at the top of your organization. Anyone can learn to be an authentic leader. The journey begins with understanding your life story.

In Praise of the Incomplete Leader

by Deborah Ancona, Thomas W. Malone, Wanda J. Orlikowski, and Peter M. Senge

Those at the top must come to understand their weaknesses. Only by embracing the ways in which they are incomplete can leaders fill in the gaps in their knowledge with others' skills. The incomplete leader has the confidence and humility to recognize unique talents and perspectives throughout the organization-and to let those qualities shine.

To order by phone, call us toll-free at 800-668-6780 and mention referral code 01039.

Outside the U.S. and Canada, call +1-617-783-7450.

* Purchasers are responsible for all shipping charges, duties, taxes, brokerage fees, and/or
import fees imposed by the country of import. Please check with your customs office for details.

If you do not wish to receive special offer email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here .

If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here .

Copyright © 2011 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved.
Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163
Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)

National Portal of India - e-Newsletter , November 2011

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

-----Original Message-----
From: National Portal of India
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 16:56:30 To:
Subject: National Portal of India - e-Newsletter , November 2011

Having trouble reading this html formatted Newsletter? Click Here for a web version!

india.gov.in Newsletter November 2011

It is time for travel and celebrations! With pleasant weather conditions and festivals like Eid, Guru Purab and the Kartika, the most auspicious month according to the Hindu calendar, November is full of positivity and marks the dawn of winter season. Also, it is time to remember India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, fondly called Chacha Nehru by children for his love and passion for them.

As you prepare for a great travel time, we at the NPI http://india.gov.in look forward to your continued support and urge you to write to us , sharing your experience and suggestions!

 

Spotlight

  Spotlight

Even as India celebrates the Children's Day on November 14, marking the birth anniversary of Pandit Nehru, we bring to you a slew of measures by the Government for protection and well-being of the children. Get to know of the National Plan of Action for Children and the President's message to them besides celebrations throughout the country.

 

 

What's New
   

  What's new

This section highlights the latest updates and additions to the portal.

SIG : Entrepreneurs play a vital role in shaping up the country's economy. We bring to you all that may help you in beating the economic slowdown looming over the world economy. Get to know of the relation between the economy and entrepreneurship, Government's support, skills development, training, education and supporting organizations, how to set up a micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME), problems relating to the MSMEs and their solutions.

How Do I? : This section speaks of both online as well as offline services offered by the central and the state governments. We have added/modified a number of such Services for your convenience.

Acts/Rules/Forms/Schemes/Documents : Get to know of a number of new Schemes, application forms, Documents, Acts and Rules through our Government section updated recently.

Themes : To make your visit more enjoyable, we have added multiple themes, based on various occasions, to the look and feel of the website. Hence, stay longer and explore the themes now!

 

 

Guidelines
   

  Guidelines

Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) is used to separate the layout and presentation of a HTML document. The current version of CSS 2.1 had some limitations with respect to complex visual effects. With the development of CSS3 loads of new and exciting functions and features like text shadow, box sizing, opacity, multiple backgrounds, border radius, border image and animation are now easily achievable. It is expected that CSS3, once it is fully developed and supported, will lead to greater flexibility and make it simpler to create complex and dynamic visual effects. Click here to follow the development of CSS3.

 

 

Greetings
   

  Greetings

Id-ul-Zuha : Id-ul-Zuha (Bakr-Id) is a festival of great rejoice and special prayers as exchange of greetings and gifts mark this festival of Muslims. Id-ul-zuha, the festival of sacrifice, is celebrated with traditional fervor and gaiety in India and the world. Celebrate Id-ul-Zuha with our creative e-Cards.

Guru Purab : Guru Purab marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith and the first of the 10 Sikh Gurus. The festival includes a three-day Akhand Path of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, apart from it being ornamented with flowers and carried on a float in a procession throughout a village or city.

 

 

Latest Government Press Releases
Latest Government Press Releases
Get information about the latest government press releases in Hindi as well as English on our press releases page.

The Photo Gallery section enables you to view photographs of the latest events and functions held by the government.

You may also fill in this e-form to subscribe to the Press Informatics Bureau (PIB) Press Releases Press Informatics Bureau (PIB) Press Releases of selected Government departments.  

Did You Know?
Did You Know?

Checking your EPF account balance is easy now. Click here to select your EPFO office and provide your EPF account number, name and mobile phone number. Soon you will get an SMS with the information you are asking for.

Browse through our How Do I? Section for details about this and other online services designed to bring the Indian Government closer to its citizens.  

 

Newly launched/revamped Government websites

The following are some of the Government websites that have been launched/ revamped recently.

* Mid Day Meal Scheme, Ministry of Human Resource Development
* National Clean Development Mechanism Authority (NCDMA)
* e-District, Orissa
* Report Sex Selection
For more on recently launched websites, kindly visit the GOI Web Directory .

 

Forward this newsletter to your contacts to notify them about the latest activities of the Government. Register yourself with http://india.gov.in to be the first person to learn about new happenings.
     
You can also view the Visitor Summary for the National Portal of India.

Do write to us about other features that you would like to see introduced on this the portal. We always welcome views and suggestions of our surfers.

Hope your visit to the National Portal of India is an engaging and useful experience.    

This is a monthly newsletter sent to you by the National Portal of India .

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

-----Original Message-----
From: Subscriptions from Posterous Spaces
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 13:37:07 To:
Subject: Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update November 9th, 2011

Find A Vulnerability In Apple Software; Lose Your License As An Apple Developer

Posted about 21 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Find A Vulnerability In Apple Software; Lose Your License As An Apple Developer
via Techdirt by Mike Masnick on 11/8/11
It appears that Apple is the latest company to take a "kill the messenger" approach to security vulnerabilities. Hours after security researcher Charlie Miller found a huge vulnerability in iOS , which would allow malicious software to be installed on iOS devices, Apple responded by taking away his developer's license .
The obvious implication: don't search for security vulnerabilities in Apple products, and if you do find them, keep them to yourself.
First off, here's Miller explaining the security hole: Embedded media -- click here to see it. To be fair, Miller did get Apple to approve an app that he was using to demo the security flaw. However, kicking him out of its developer program is exactly the wrong response. Miller, clearly, was not looking to use the code maliciously -- just demoing a problem with their system. In other words, he was helping Apple become more secure, and they punished him for it. The message seems to be that Apple doesn't want you to help make their system more secure. Instead, they'd rather let the malicious hackers run wild. As Miller noted to Andy Greenberg at Forbes (the link above): "I'm mad," he says. "I report bugs to them all the time. Being part of the developer program helps me do that. They're hurting themselves, and making my life harder." And, no, this is not a case where he went public first either. He told Apple about this particular bug back on October 14th. Either way, this seems like a really brain-dead move by Apple. It's only going to make Apple's systems less secure when it punishes the folks who tell it about security vulnerabilities.
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Want your own? Change your email settings

FIGHT FOR RIGHTS

JOHN KEELLS
Show this mail to entire office.

Feel like spitting on your respective faces. Only time will tell who is what. Bloody Hell. How come they dare call my Dad and then my wife. And you are also guilty, whatever has happened to you is well deserved. Expect more of it with a vengence. Can't even pronounce Illinois, Connecticut and call yourself trainer. Huh!

You guys are not capable of fighting fair. Take my salary as alms but why call my Old Dad Bastards. And that bitch who spoke to my wife even started lying and cooking stories. Won't let it go. Collateral damage is bound to happen.
Call cops, try filing a case, at the same time keep in your respective fucking minds I am an IPS and no police can do nothing to me.
Hard to believe? Yeah. Wait till AT n T winds up as your co. has already been listed as fraud in NASSCOMM. Website will not work. No sales will happen and the rest you can see in my blog:
http://ipsinaction.blogspot.com

And yes I am lethal, brutal and a JOKER too Batman.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

FIGHT FOR RIGHTS

JOHN KEELLS
Show this mail to entire office.

Feel like spitting on your respective faces. Only time will tell who is what. Bloody Hell. How come they dare call my Dad and then my wife. And you are also guilty, whatever has happened to you is well deserved. Expect more of it with a vengence. Can't even pronounce Illinois, Connecticut and call yourself trainer. Huh!

You guys are not capable of fighting fair. Take my salary as alms but why call my Old Dad Bastards. And that bitch who spoke to my wife even started lying and cooking stories. Won't let it go. Collateral damage is bound to happen.
Call cops, try filing a case, at the same time keep in your respective fucking minds I am an IPS and no police can do nothing to me.
Hard to believe? Yeah. Wait till AT n T winds up as your co. has already been listed as fraud in NASSCOMM. Website will not work. No sales will happen and the rest you can see in my blog:
http://ipsinaction.blogspot.com

And yes I am lethal, brutal and a JOKER too Batman.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

-----Original Message-----
From: Subscriptions from Posterous Spaces
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2011 13:51:41 To:
Subject: Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update November 8th, 2011

Viacom, 'Decimated By Piracy,' But Its CEO Got The Biggest Raise Of Any Exec...

Posted about 21 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Viacom, 'Decimated By Piracy,' But Its CEO Got The Biggest Raise Of Any Exec Anywhere
via Techdirt by Mike Masnick on 11/7/11
We keep hearing about how "piracy" and the internet are somehow "destroying" the old legacy content players, but the evidence for that seems lacking.... especially in Hollywood. We already saw how Warner Bros. was cheering on its record-setting quarter, while complaining about how it just can't compete with piracy. And now we've got reader Don, passing along the news that Viacom chief Philippe P. Dauman topped the charts for the exec with the biggest pay raise in 2010 . His total pay was $84.5 million last year -- a 148.6% raise on his previous year's take home. Yes, that's a $50 million raise. Admittedly, much of that comes from stock options, but still. Not bad for a company being "decimated" by kids in their basements on the internet, huh? Maybe Viacom was just so sure that it was going to win its $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube that it decided to pre-reward Dauman.
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Google+ Launches Pages, Opens Floodgates For Brands (And Everything Else)

Posted about 20 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Google+ Launches Pages, Opens Floodgates For Brands (And Everything Else)
via TechCrunch by Jason Kincaid on 11/7/11
Presentation2-2
Google+ is taking another major step needed to become a full-fledged Facebook rival: it's launching Google+ Pages, which allow brands, products, companies, businesses, places, groups, and everyone else to establish a presence on the service. The product is a lot like Facebook Pages, but there's one major difference: Google is baking some elements of Google+ pages deep into its bread-and-butter search product.
It's been a rocky road getting here. As you may recall, when Google+ first launched, Google asked brands and publishers not to create pages for their own sites, promising that there would be an official solution coming shortly. Not everyone heeded Google's request (and, in hindsight, TechCrunch shouldn't have either), but rather than apply its own rules, Google started making exceptions. A lot of people got upset, a new TechCrunch employee was spawned (and unceremoniously banned), and Google SVP Vic Gundotra later went on to say that the ordeal "was probably a mistake ".
Anyway. Now Google+ Pages are officially launching, and it's good news all around.
I haven't gotten to use the new Pages feature yet, but Bradley Horowitz, VP of Product and one of heads of the Google+ project, walked me through a set of slides outlining how they're created, and how users will engage with them.
The first thing Horowitz did was to rattle off some stats: the site launched a little over 100 days ago, now has 40 million users and 3.4 billion photos uploaded, and has launched over one hundred new features. Not a bad start.
If you've established a personal Google+ profile before, then the features afforded through a Page will be familiar. You can place people into Circles, which lets you share content with specific sets of users. You can launch video hangouts, which lets you have face-to-face conversations with your followers. And the Pages work through the site's mobile app.
But Google has made some key tweaks. The first is that a Page cannot add someone to a circle until that user has already added the page to one of their circles. In other words, a Page can't start sending you messages until you've elected to add them to one of your circles. Another key change: the content on a page defaults to public (as opposed to 'My Circles' for personal profiles) and Pages can't share with extended circles.
And then there's the feature that leads to my biggest gripe: Pages have both a +1 button and an 'Add to Circles' button. The latter is what lets the page send you updates. And the +1 button? It does essentially nothing, at least as far as users are concerned.
Yes, your +1 recommendation might show up in a friend's search query at some point, but this not exactly a strong incentive. So what's the point? Horowitz acknowledges that the +1 button is still a bit opaque at this point, but says "we're not done with the full realization with what happens" when users click on it, and that we can expect some big things coming soon. I still think it's going to confuse the heck out of users, though.
And, finally, there's the integration with search, which was foreshadowed several weeks ago.
For many years, Google Search allowed users to create advanced queries using the '+' operator, which allows you to find results that include an exact term. Then, much to the chagrin to many advanced users, Google announced that it was depricating the feature.
Today, we find out why: when a user goes to Google and types in '+TechCrunch', they're asked if they'd like to add TechCrunch to one of their Google+ circles. If they say yes, then this behavior becomes automatic: I could type in +Harry Potter + Android and immediately start following the Pages for both of those pages, assuming they existed. Google is describing this feature as Direct Connect to the brands it's working with.
Of course, this behavior isn't exactly natural. But Horowitz points out that brands could start advertising it - it's not hard to imagine a trailed with +MovieTitle on it.

Huawei butters up Microsoft to avoid Android patent war

Posted about 1 hour ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Huawei butters up Microsoft to avoid Android patent war
via The Register on 11/8/11

Shock new approach for UK mobe launch

Chinese infrastructure giant Huawei is bucking the trend by talking to Microsoft about patent licensing before launching potentially infringing Android devices..

Want your own? Change your email settings

Bon Jovi

Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

-----Original Message-----
From: Subscriptions from Posterous Spaces
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 12:21:58 To:
Subject: Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update November 2nd, 2011

Germany To Put Special Monitoring Software On School Computers To Search For...

Posted about 22 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Germany To Put Special Monitoring Software On School Computers To Search For Infringement
via Techdirt by glyn moody on 11/1/11

Just under a month ago, the "Chaos Computer Club" (CCC), which styles itself as "the largest European hacker club", had some disturbing news for Germans : The largest European hacker club, "Chaos Computer Club" (CCC), has reverse engineered and analyzed a "lawful interception" malware program used by German police forces. It has been found in the wild and submitted to the CCC anonymously. The malware can not only siphon away intimate data but also offers a remote control or backdoor functionality for uploading and executing arbitrary other programs. Significant design and implementation flaws make all of the functionality available to anyone on the internet. Since then, a debate has raged about the extent to which these technologies are permitted by German law when tackling crime. But now it seems that such electronic spying is being institutionalized further thanks to a deal between the Culture Ministers of the German States and publishers of educational materials that allows school computers to be searched annually for unauthorised copies (post in German on Netzpolitik.org): There it has been contractually agreed that 1% of school computers [in Germany] shall be investigated with the help of a "school trojan" for "plagiarism", by which is meant copyright infringement. Nor is this some mere statistical exercise: there will be real consequences for school authorities and teachers accused of having unauthorized copies: "Upon notice of infractions against this contract's conditions for the reproduction of copyright-protected works, the German States undertake to institute disciplinary measures against the school management and teaching staff involved." Civil and criminal claims of rights-holders naturally remain intact. This then represents a further sanction if, with the help of this sniffer software, teachers are caught copying. Although the spyware has not yet been introduced, the contract was signed last December and came into force in January this year. It is yet another example of politicians and their advisers agreeing to what look like easy technical fixes to issues, but not thinking through the consequences.
As the Netzpolitik.org article asks: who will be responsible for ensuring that the spy software does its job without breaking the German data protection laws? Has anyone thought about the security issues of introducing this software into schools? Will the software work on all platforms - and if it doesn't, what happens to schools using Macs or GNU/Linux?
Even leaving aside such issues, you have to wonder what on earth the German States' Culture Ministers were thinking when they agreed to allow this gross invasion of privacy of teachers and students. Perhaps they hoped that the fuss would all blow over after a while; in the wake of the other revelations about the German government spying on its citizens through software on their computers, that seems unlikely now.
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca , and on Google+
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

MPAA Helped Police Seize 'Pirated' DVDs That Were Actually Fully Authorized

Posted about 21 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

MPAA Helped Police Seize 'Pirated' DVDs That Were Actually Fully Authorized
via Techdirt by Mike Masnick on 11/1/11
Here's a story that touches on a few different issues of importance around these parts. We'll get to the details of the legal ruling in a bit, but the background is really the key part. At the beginning of 2009, a company in Valencia, California, called L&M Optical Disc West, received an order from an authorized partner of the producers of the film Milk to manufacture the DVDs of the film. They began doing exactly that. On February 2nd, as part of a supposedly unrelated police raid, police saw those DVDs and found them "suspicious." They rang up the MPAA who sent over an "investigator," who falsely declared that the DVDs were unauthorized, leading the police to seize them (though, oddly, allowing the private investigation firm to hold them) and to declare to the press that they had found "pirated" DVDs of Milk. This happened despite multiple attempts by L&M staff to explain that they had a legitimate order, even offering to show the "investigator" the details of the order.
The following day, L&M provided the police with all of the evidence that they were authorized to make those DVDs, and the police sergeant told L&M's owner that the DVDs could not be released because they were "pirated." From there, a bunch of press stories followed, with the police repeatedly telling the press that L&M was being investigated for such "piracy," even after the MPAA and the police realized that the DVDs were, in fact, authorized. Months later, however, the press was still quoting the police as saying that L&M was "under investigation" for "piracy."
Because of all of this, L&M claims that customers canceled jobs with L&M and past customers chose to find new partners. It also meant that other vendors who used to send "overflow" work to L&M no longer did so. It effectively dried up much of L&M's business.
If this all seems pretty horrifying, think of how much worse this kind of situation may be about to get. First off, just a few weeks ago, we noted that Governor Jerry Brown in California passed a law that would let law enforcement do more of these kinds of raids but they no longer need a warrant to do so. Yes, despite this massive failure on such a raid, the government now has even more authority to do these kinds of raids, and the MPAA can continue to get away with providing bogus information and effectively killing businesses.
Take it one step further: this is the reason why so many of us are so worried about the new E-PARASITE bill. The MPAA and other copyright holders have a dreadful history and reputation for being inaccurate when it comes to accusing others of infringement. Yet, under E-PARASITE, they get to kill sites dead, without any recourse, before anyone even looks to see if the copyright holder's claim is legit. Doesn't that seem the least bit problematic?
Now, as for the actual case at hand, for which you can read the full decision (pdf and embedded below), it involved the court tossing out a lawsuit by L&M against the MPAA over all of this, using California's anti-SLAPP laws. We're big fans of California's anti-SLAPP laws, and while we find the MPAA's conduct in this situation reprehensible, the ruling actually makes sense. The comments that were the most problematic to L&M in the newspaper reports were not, in fact, made by the MPAA but by the police. If anyone is responsible, it should be the police who made them.
L&M tries to place liability on the MPAA by claiming that the police and the MPAA had a "joint venture" going in these raids, but that isn't supported by the facts. This raid wasn't done at the request of the MPAA, and originally had nothing to do with copyright at all. So, we agree that blaming the MPAA for the comments in the press is improper, as it's misapplied third party liability. Of course, there does seem to be a bit of irony in the fact that the MPAA appears to be working overtime to increase third party liability by undermining the kinds of safe harbors that protect a party from being blamed for the speech of others. However, it's no surprise at all that the MPAA is -- yet again -- too clueless to recognize how its actions undermine its own legal protections elsewhere.
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Overcome Your "Brand Loyalty" and Buy Better, Cheaper Stuff [Mind Hacks]

Posted about 16 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Overcome Your "Brand Loyalty" and Buy Better, Cheaper Stuff [Mind Hacks]
via Lifehacker by Adam Dachis on 11/1/11

When we like a company that puts out a good product we become loyal to the brand, don't we? What we see as brand loyalty is actually more the effects of comfort and laziness than anything else. Furthermore, we'll defend that comfort to the death. This results in some bad buying decisions, which is especially bad come holiday shopping season. Here's how to overcome those problems, get better products, and save yourself some money in the process. More »

White House Petition Against E-PARASITE/SOPA

Posted about 16 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

White House Petition Against E-PARASITE/SOPA
via Techdirt by Mike Masnick on 11/1/11
Last week, as part of our trip of startup entrepreneurs, innovators, artists and venture captialists, we were able to meet with senior White House staff about our concerns over the E-PARASITE/SOPA bill that would fundamentally change the regulatory and policy framework of the internet, seriously hindering the ability to create new startups, new jobs and new platforms to help everyone. The White House has not officially taken a position on the bill, but one thing was made clear from the very start of the meeting: the legacy players in Hollywood and at the US Chamber of Commerce were putting a ton of pressure on the White House to support E-PARASITE, despite the fact that the State Department itself is quite worried about the bill, as it would almost entirely undermine all of its efforts to promote internet freedom around the globe.
I'm usually not one to believe in the power of various "online petitions," but since the White House has set up its own petition system, in which 25,000 signatures will guarantee a response, this actually seems like a case where just such a petition would work well. So it's great to see that someone has created just such a petition against E-PARASITE . Of course, technically it should be against SOPA, since the framers of the bill recognized just how silly E-PARASITE sounds, and removed that from the bill after everyone started making fun of them. Still, it's important to push this point home and let the White House know, in no uncertain terms, that the public is against this bill.
And it should be clear, by the way, that it's not just the public. Many people within the federal government are equally worried about this bill, which appears to serve no other purpose than to keep a few legacy players in Hollywood fat and happy, and keep them from having to actually innovate for a short while longer.
The real question, however, is whether or not the Obama White House wants to directly contradict Hillary Clinton and the State Department. Remember, Clinton has become a staunch defender of internet freedom against attempts to censor the internet worldwide. In her speech earlier this year, she noted: So this is a critical moment. The choices we make today will determine what the Internet looks like in the future.... For the United States, the choice is clear. On the spectrum of Internet freedom, we place ourselves on the side of openness. We recognize that an open Internet comes with challenges. It calls for ground-rules to protect against wrongdoing and harm. And Internet freedom raises tensions, like all freedoms do. But its benefits are worth it. And that's exactly the opposite of the approach being taken by Congress, which aims to put forth a top-down policy of censorship. A top down policy that nearly perfectly mimics the functional nature of the Great Firewall of China. Should the Obama administration go against its own State Department, it will serve to undermine Clinton's long term efforts in pushing internet freedom around the globe. That would be quite a legacy to leave: to contradict one's own Secretary of State who is pushing for greater internet freedom, and impose a system of censorship on the US. Please tell the White House not to take such a drastic measure.
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Army of 'socialbots' steal gigabytes of Facebook user data

Posted about 12 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Army of 'socialbots' steal gigabytes of Facebook user data
via The Register on 11/1/11

Social networks prone to large-scale infiltration

A small array of scripts programmed to pass themselves off as real people stole 250 gigabytes worth of personal information from Facebook users in just eight weeks, researchers said in an academic report to be presented next month..

Well, If Firefighters Support E-PARASITE Law... Then You Know It Must Make S...

Posted about 12 hours ago by joelpomales to joelpomales's posterous

Well, If Firefighters Support E-PARASITE Law... Then You Know It Must Make Sense
via Techdirt by Mike Masnick on 11/1/11
Want to know just how desperate the folks at the MPAA are getting in their attempt to turn back the clock and outlaw all sorts of innovation? They're reaching the absolute bottom of the barrel, touting the fact that firefighers have come out in favor of PROTECT IP/E-PARASITE . What the hell do firefighters have to do with understanding detailed concepts like free speech, censorship, prior restraint, third party internet liability, and related topics? If you said absolutely, positively, nothing at all, you'd be correct. So, why are firefighters suddenly in favor of the censorship of the internet in America? It's not hard to guess, given how DC lobbying works these days: "You go down the Latino people, the deaf people, the farmers, and choose them.... You say, 'I can't use this one--I already used them last time...' We had their letterhead. We'd just write the letter. We'd fax it to them and tell them, 'You're in favor of this.'" Yup. What are the chances that the International Association of Fire Fighters has received large checks from those associated with the movie business? But, more seriously, who does the MPAA actually think it's fooling? Is Congress so stupid that it can't figure out for itself that firefighters have no clue what this debate is about? Otherwise, why would they be supporting censorship in America? Read the letter below, and wager a guess how much was actually written by a firefighter, rather than a lobbyist for Hollywood?
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Want your own? Change your email settings

Presenting Spirit Voyage

Check out this YouTube video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3VmECyWl5c
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

Rockstar Jo Bhi Main Full Song A R Rahman Ranbir Kapoor

Check out this YouTube video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYd9Pt8NKtU
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

Rock Revolution

Facebook newsfeed link by: UNICEF USA

UNICEF USA shared the following link and had this to say about it:

The United Nations, in collaboration with the "One Day On Earth" online community, is preparing for what will be the first ever global screening of a film that includes footage that was shot in every country on the planet on a single day.

http://www.onedayonearth.org/profiles/blogs/global-screening-announced

2 November 2011 Press Release PI/2014 United Nations and 'One Day on Earth' Prepare to Launch The First Truly Global Film Premiere Venues to Be Secured i.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

Facebook newsfeed post by: Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand wrote:

If concern with poverty and human suffering were the collectivists' motive, they would have become champions of capitalism long ago; they would have discovered that it is the only political system capable of producing abundance. But they evaded the evidence as long as they could. When the issue became overwhelmingly clear to the whole world, the collectivists were faced with a choice: either turn to the right, in the name of humanity-or to the left, in the name of dictatorial power. They turned to the left-the New Left.

Instead of their old promises that collectivism would create universal abundance and their denunciations of capitalism for creating poverty, they are now denouncing capitalism for creating abundance. Instead of promising comfort and security for everyone, they are now denouncing people for being comfortable and secure.

- "The Anti-Industrial Revolution," Return of the Primitive, 281
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone