Sun, 13 May 2007 18:45:57 GMT

News Corp to acquire Photobucket.com

That was quick - from 'under the radar' to a rumored acquisition by one of the most active buyer of media assets. Photobucket apparently is closing in on a $250 million exit

While hardly known outside the youthful world of social network sites, Photobucket has become wildly popular with users for providing free, online storage tools for multimedia self-expression, from photos to videos to digital slideshows. Site builders turn to it for images to decorate their sites.

The four-year-old startup, based in Palo Alto, Calif., has signed up 41 million registered users, up from 32 million at the end of last year and 2 million in 2004. It now hosts nearly 2.8 billion images on the site. Posted by: tj      Read more     Source

Sun, 13 May 2007 12:51:40 GMT

Gilia capitata

Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. I'm on vacation today. – Daniel

Thank you to Cliff aka The Marmot@Flickr (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool) for today's image.

Globe gilia or bluehead gilia is native to western North America. The epithet capitata refers to tightly-clustered flowers forming at the apex of a stem. Posted by: Daniel Mosquin      Read more     Source

Sun, 13 May 2007 06:09:38 GMT

Lost is Found until 2010

Here is something I would like to see more of: ABC's hit show Lost has a time limit to wrap up all its story lines. The show will stop at the end of the 2010 season. This means that there will be 48 more episodes (16 per season for 3 seasons) and that's it.

Why do I like this idea? When writers and viewers know there is an end, the plot can move along to make the show more satisfying. You may recall the X-files back in the 90's. It was good for many seasons, but after a while it just drifted, never answering any of the mysteries it opened up. Eventually everyone tuned out believing that the writers were never going to deliver.

In some ways, Fox's 24 has this automatically built into the shows premise. If you like watching it, you know the story line last exactly one season over 24 episodes. Posted by: martino      Read more     Source

Sun, 13 May 2007 02:27:05 GMT

Storm Trojan breaking records - don't open the .zip

First - I remind you here and now that you should never ever open attachments or click through on links in emails if you are not expecting such a mail. Even if it seems to be from a friend.

Now, if you have noticed an increase of traffic to your spam folder, know that Strom Trojan is responsible for it. Security experts report a fifty times bigger spam load than usual worldwide. Computerworld writes:
"The malicious spam, Swidler went on, tries to convince users that their computers are already infected with malware and now part of a botnet. "They're telling people that their e-mail access is about to be cut off, and that they have to install this patch to continue using [e-mail]."
Moreover, the computer security illiterate users are pushed to unzip the attached file, with the password cleverly provided in the mail, which not only installs a Storm Trojan, but also disables the security software, hides the Trojan with a rootkit, rips any sensitive data from the computer and starts using it as a zombie spam bot. Nice.

For last, let me tell you that I'm feeling a bit overprotected right now. I didn't receive even one instance of this Storm Trojan spam, so it looks like my anti-spam filters are working double time. But, they do tend to let through the innocent, laughable, buy v1@gr@ spams, which is kind of weird. Posted by: Ivy      Read more     Source

Thu, 10 May 2007 03:22:25 GMT

Jump Cut. 49.

As if the new issue of Jump Cut weren't offering enough reading on "China and China disapora film," Chuck Kleinhans introducing that special section, adds an annotated list of recently published books for further reading.

Anyone prepping for Cannes, whether or not you'll actually be going, will want to get in the mood for Wong Kar-wai (whose My Blueberry Nights opens the festival) with Allan Cameron's piece on the films "which deal most specifically with cultural translation and travel: Chungking Express (1994), Happy Together (1997), In the Mood for Love (2000) and 2046 (2004)."

Stephen Chow, whose latest, A Hope, has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, has been invited to consult on a Japanese sequel of sorts to Shaolin Soccer, Shaolin Girl. Here, Kin-Yan Szeto examines how Kung Fu Hustle "depicts an imaginary China in ways that commingle various historical and political meanings." Posted by: dwhudson      Read more     Source

Wed, 09 May 2007 20:05:41 GMT

Do You XUXU? Get Into the XUXU Spirit!

Do you XUXU? What? You have not heard about XUXU? Well now you have. It's a hot -- or rather cool- presentation of real strawberries (45%) pureed into vodka-- only about 10% -- but potent enough to give any little drink where you would normally want a fruity taste a serious kick of flavor!
This spirit is from Germany but they have a seriously tropical vibe. The XUXU actually means "Kiss You, Kiss You"-- a nice touch for weddings, Mother's Day, birthdays, and any time you want something special!

It's a versatile spirit because you can add it to margaritas, create your own drinks, blend it into a martini or rum based beverage. (ooohh.. imagine it in a Tequila Sunrise!). Even drink it on the rocks with a splash of soda for a fizzy lightly alcoholic drink. One of the most unique ways of using it is as a topping over ice cream, sorbets or even as a puddle for strawberry shortcake or your favorite cake or cheesecake.
Sounds heavenly huh! So XUXU over to your local spirit counter and ask them to XUXU you!
Currently available at www.xuxu.de, it's due to roll out nationally in the US in June! So hit your local spirit retailer and ask them NOW to order this beverage. Talk about a super fun summer drink!

Happy Sipping!

Stevie



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Posted by: Stevie Wilson      Read more     Source

Wed, 09 May 2007 12:21:54 GMT

Brocks Gold Plated Benz Smart Tuning-car

The picture you see is not a toy but a real roadster. Leading company Brock Alloy Wheels displayed its gold plated Benz Smart tuning-car during Tuning World Bodensee 2007.

You will find a lot more to see at this event. This dynamic event is already one of Europe’s leading trade fairs in the tuning and customizing sector. About 260 exhibitors and 110,000 international visitors are expected to participate in the Tuning World Bodensee, April 28 - May 1, 2007.

The show has grown dramatically since it’s inception and now attracts major buyers from southern Germany’s very strong economy, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and other regional markets. The reason behind this huge participation is that this event provides them with a platform to to showcase their products to specific audiences and the manufacturers can also sell directly to consumers.

Via: aving Posted by: Vishal      Read more     Source

Tue, 08 May 2007 02:12:16 GMT

Viper Car Security System: No False Technology

This is an interesting print advertisement launched by Viper Car Security Systems to promote its new car alarm. The advertisement attempts to establish that unlike usual car alarms that set off ringing every time unnecessarily, it gives no false alarms. The advertisement is showing two cats indulged in amusing activity involving the car to depict that usually car alarms are so paranoid that even this activity threatens them to ring the alarm.

The core idea of the ad to demonstrate that how different is the new product in comparison to other in this particular segment. The presentation of the advertisement is actually amusingly attention-grabbing. The copy of the ad reads, ‘no false technology by Viper’. The advertisement was created by Leo Burnett & Target, Bucharest.

Via Twenty Four Posted by: Balendu      Read more     Source

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:42:12 GMT

GOING TO A WEDDING?

Source:www.photos.com

It's springtime and shortly afterwards the "wedding season" will be upon us.

Although most people still use the services of a professional wedding photographer, more and more couples are relying on their friends and family to record the event.

Even if the next wedding you attend is being photographed by a pro, you know you're bringing your digital camera, to record your own memories.

So, before you get the next invitation why not do a bit of research, and be ready to capture some special images of the happy couple.

I haven't been to a wedding in years, in fact, the last one I attended was during my transition to my first digital camera, and I wasn't confident enough to depend on my skills with it, so I shot film only.

The bride was a special friend of my wife, and although she hired a pro, who used a then state of the art 6 mega pixel Canon DSLR, I wanted to take pictures to add to the ones my wife had taken to document all the events leading up to the wedding, such as the wedding showers.

I thought the pro had done a great job with the assignment when I got to see the results some weeks later. She covered all the important aspects of the wedding and the pictures were technically perfect. She also took some especially romantic shots of the bride and groom and also performed some Photoshop magic with a few images tthat resulted in unique pictures.

But the bride was disappointed because for some reason the pro hadn't captured a good shot of her "walking up the aisle."

Fortunately, I had positioned myself in an aisle seat during the ceremony, and I captured several of her walking up the aisle, one of which was very much to her liking.

So, I inadvertently saved the day, with a picture that was intended for the album my wife was filling up with her own pre-wedding shots.

It was extremely gratifying to me to know that one of my own pictures was to be included with the "official" pro shots.

The last time I had received such a compliment about one of my wedding pictures was eons ago when a friend of mine married a State politician's daughter.

A picture I took, of the father and the bride so impressed him that he had a pro photo lab crop his daughter out and had his image made into a campaign poster.

That was especially flattering since he had two pros cover the wedding, and he still liked one of my pictures the most.

He won the election too!

So get ready for the weddings you're invariably going to be invited to by checking out these tips and, keep in mind that, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", when looking at Bruce L. Snell's fantastic wedding photos for inspiration.

You and your digital camera could end up being the heroes or heroines at someone's nuptials. Posted by: jim      Read more     Source

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 15:23:41 GMT

Speaking Roses - Say It With Flowers

I am a hopeless romantic. I can't help myself when I find things like this: wonderful roses with a printed message.

Speaking Roses is where you can find these "unforgettable gifts".

"Now, Say it with flowers is not just a phrase, it's a reality. The rose that broke the paradigm of roses. Sure, a red rose means love and a yellow one means friendship, but now a rose can mean so much more. You can spell it out ON the rose."

In my opinion, it's an excellent idea; the results are beautiful and cute. Although the ones printed with photos, for weddings, are a little tacky to me. Let's stick with the words, people.

You can even customize your roses. Check it out here: Personalize Bouquet. Posted by: Eliane      Read more     Source