French lawmakers have decided that Jean-Paul Sartre, Coco Chanel, and other long-dead icons can have their cigarettes back. Smoldering cigarettes and pipes had been airbrushed out of old photos and vintage movie posters out of fear of breaking a 1991 law that banned the “direct or indirect” promotion of smoking….
Continue reading …When it comes to forecasting Apple’s earnings, amateurs are better than the pros
January 20, 2011 No Comment
The Challenge: predict seven key metrics of Apple’s fiscal success over the past quarter — such as sales numbers, profit margins, and gross revenue — with the highest accuracy. The Competitors: In the blue corner, a bunch of amateur finance bloggers, and in the red corner, a cabal of professional analysts making mad dough at banks and trading houses. The Conclusion: whatever you’re paying for your ” expert ” advice on the future financial wellbeing of Apple, or any other tech stock for that matter, stop . Just… stop. When it comes to forecasting Apple’s earnings, amateurs are better than the pros originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …A sickly infant snatched from her Harlem hospital crib has been located—23 years after she was kidnapped. Nejdra Nance of Atlanta contacted the distraught mom who always thought her daughter was alive. Nance spotted photos of missing Carlina online and thought they looked amazingly like her own baby photos….
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Photo: B. Alter Clean out the corners of your room, under the sofa and behind your bed and send the dust in to ” Laid to Rest “. If you do it quickly enough you can have your own personal brick made with your name on it. Sounds bizarre? It is a social history and artistic project examining dust and our changing perceptions of dirt. It’s everywhere now that half of the world’s population lives in cities…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …The first known domesticated dog in the Americas lived some 9,400 years ago and likely provided its owner with company, security, and, eventually, dinner, an ancient bone fragment suggests. A University of Maine researcher found the bone fragment in a prehistoric sample of human waste in Texas. DNA testing…
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That’s right, the 787 Dreamliner, which has airlines all aflutter over promises of increased fuel efficiency, has been delayed yet again. Boeing announced yesterday that customers can expect to see the plane in the third quarter of 2011: one in a long line of setbacks that have put it three years behind schedule. However, despite delays, it seems customer confidence hasn’t waned. In fact, the New York Times reported that 787 buyers still find a summer release perfectly practical, leading to a three percent rise in Boeing stock. Trouble for the 787 started back in 2008, with the FAA warning of hacker vulnerability, followed by a 2009 discovery of structural weakness, and an on-board fire last November. Even with delays, and cancellation of at least 60 orders, the 787 still has about 850 pre-orders: more than any other mid-size commercial liner in history. So what’s keeping the 787 Dreamliner afloat? Well, mostly promises of a 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency, thanks to a design that’s 50 percent composite materials. Clearly, testing the 787 hasn’t been a dream, but it seems nothing can keep this plane grounded for good. Boeing 787 Dreamliner delayed again, expectations still sky high originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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3D technology has been the wave of the future for more than fifty years now. Yet despite decades of work, today’s 3-D technology offers, at best, an incomplete illusion, and at worst, makes people uncomfortable or even sick. (Jan. 20)
Continue reading …John Travolta’s wife gave birth to their new son, Benjamin, without a peep because that’s what Scientology demands. Why? Science-fiction-crazed founder L. Ron Hubbard believed the “reactive mind” causes “different words and commands” to “come back to affect you later in life” and can become the “single source of aberration,…
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Oh look, even more evidence that the next generation iPad will be equipped with cameras. The image above showing the three new iPad apps was discovered in the iOS 4.3 beta 2 by MacRumors . To be effective, the iPad’s Camera and FaceTime apps would require both back- and front-facing cameras just like the iPhone 4. The Photo Booth app is new to iOS but already ships on Macs running OS X — it could, presumably, use either camera to record snapshots (with filters) and video. And really, at this point, with such overwhelming evidence the only surprise would be for Apple to announce a new iPad without a camera. iPad camera apps discovered in iOS 4.3 beta, nobody surprised originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …As creators bust boundaries with a raunchy view of teen sex and substance abuse in MTV’s new program Skins , network executives are now worried they they may be close to breaking federal child porn laws. MTV executives have already ordered that some scenes involving underage teens be toned down, reports…
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