Jitway

The Rock is a big time movie star now. He doesn't have time for WWE. He gets paid more making movies and it is easier on his body. Hell I wouldn't come back.

if you want to just join them to make one avi file use Avi Joiner. If you want to burn them to a dvd I recommend vso ConvertXDvd. http://avi-joiner.digitbyte-studio.qarchive.org/

Biggest PPV in WWE history. It was a good one that's for sure. The best was Mayweather KO’s Big Show. WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather defeated the seven-foot, 441-pound Big Show at the Florida Citrus Bowl by virtue of a knockout at WrestleMania XXIV. At 5-8, 159 pounds, “Money” Mayweather overcame nearly a 300-pound disadvantage, courtesy of his right hand and some dubious tactics. After attempting to play cat-and-mouse with the Big Show for much of the match, Mayweather found himself in trouble when the “world’s largest athlete” wrapped his hands around the boxer’s neck. But Mayweather countered with a kick to the giant’s groin and - due to the stipulation that “anything goes” - repeatedly hit the Big Show in the head with a steel chair. The six-time champion then finished off his opponent by putting brass knuckles on his right hand and delivering one big punch to the jaw. After the Big Show went down, the referee ruled him out at the count of 10, setting off a celebration from Mayweather and drawing loud boos from the 74,635 in attendance. The match was one of the highlights at the event. The WWE is looking to break the wrestling pay-per view record of 1.2 million buys - set at last year’s WrestleMania. Mayweather owns the boxing pay-per view record with 2.4 million buys for his victory over Oscar De La Hoya last May. The Mayweather-Big Show rivalry began at “No Way Out” in February, when Big Show taunted the six-time boxing champion, and Mayweather responded by bloodying the giant and breaking his nose. Mayweather, a long-time WWE fan and friend of wrestler Rey Mysterio, was in attendance, but couldn’t stand by and watch Big Show destroy Mysterio. Big Show was returning to WWE after a 14-month absence that night, and his melee with Mayweather sparked headlines around the world. But it also left him embarrassed, so he challenged Mayweather to the fight, and the speedy boxer readily accepted. I know it is all staged but still one hell of a show.

Ticketmaster, concert promoter Live Nation Inc. is looking to enlist powerful allies. The latest to sign on: U2, which has reached a 12-year deal giving the promoter exclusive rights to produce the Irish rock band's concerts, manufacture and sell its merchandise, license its image and run its Web site and online fan club. The situation highlights the shifting landscape of the concert industry, as various players vie to expand their influence. Live Nation, the world's largest concert promoter by revenue, has said it is parting ways with Ticketmaster, the biggest ticket seller, when their partnership ends at the end of this year. Live Nation plans to launch its own competing ticket service to sell seats to its own concerts as well as events staged by others. [Live Nation hopes the likes of U2 can help it in its looming battle with IAC's Ticketmaster.] Live Nation hopes the likes of U2 can help it in its looming battle with IAC's Ticketmaster. Live Nation has also acquired several companies that run Web sites and sell merchandise for artists, and it is looking for artists to sign to record deals like the one it entered last year with Madonna -- a move pitting it against record labels. Promoters, labels and ticketing companies alike are looking for ways to expand their presence online, by acquiring companies that market and promote music on the Web. "It's clear that the lines, or the silos, that were in place historically are breaking down," Arthur Fogel, Live Nation's chairman of global music, said in an interview. Many previously disparate parts of the music business are being consolidated, he added: "Companies such as us are best positioned to execute on that basket of rights." The U2 arrangement, which follows an even broader 10-year deal with Madonna, would guarantee desirable inventory for the new ticketing service, set to launch at the beginning of 2009. Unlike Live Nation's $120 million deal with Madonna, the U2 agreement -- which is to be finalized soon -- doesn't cover distribution of recorded music or music publishing. For the same rights Live Nation is getting from U2, the promoter paid Madonna about $70 million. Terms of the U2 pact weren't disclosed. U2 extended its record contract with Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group late last year, according to people familiar with the matter, and also has a long-term publishing deal with Universal. For U2, the arrangement represents a windfall that results ultimately from Live Nation's newly embattled position and its resulting need for loyal allies. The promoter is effectively paying the band to lock in the status quo: Live Nation or its predecessors have produced and promoted every world-wide U2 tour since 1997, and a Live Nation subsidiary already manages the band's Web site and fan club. Live Nation Chairman Michael Cohl said he considers Ticketmaster "already our competition." He added that long-term artist relationships are one of two keys to the company's ability to compete effectively with its rival; the other key, he said, is building up infrastructure like venues and subsidiaries that can execute merchandise deals. In preparing for this kind of battle, Mr. Cohl said, "one of the things you do is start to position yourself in terms of the hardware, and you try to position yourself in terms of the content. We're trying to line up as much of both as we consider meaningful and beneficial." Live Nation's stock closed Friday at $11.83 in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, sliding 10 cents and coming in at nearly half its closing price of $23.36 on Oct. 10, the day before the Madonna deal became known. Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 remains one of the most potent live draws in the world. Its most recent tour was the second-highest-grossing concert tour in history, earning $389.4 million at the box office, according to data from Billboard magazine. The Rolling Stones' 2005-07 "Bigger Bang" tour took in $558.3 million. Live Nation promoted both. U2's record sales haven't held up quite as well; 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" wasn't among the 10 best-selling albums in the U.S. that year. The deal may also offer ways for U2 to address problems that arose on its last tour. The band offered members of its online fan club, who paid $40 apiece to join, early access to tickets. But during the so-called fan-club presales, many would-be buyers encountered frustrating waits and a limited, expensive inventory comprising some of the worst seats in the house. Ticketmaster had a hand in the presale fiascoes, inasmuch as its infrastructure couldn't handle the surge of ticket requests that flooded its computers. But people involved say the bigger problem was that there were simply too many members in the club to provide them all premium seats. "We feel we've got a great Web site," U2 lead singer Bono said in a statement. "But we want to make it a lot better." U2.com is already hosted by Signatures Network, one of several merchandising companies recently acquired by Live Nation; they are being merged into one unit. While Live Nation has been snapping up artists along with companies that provide them services, No. 2 concert promoter AEG Live has been seeking to make strategic moves of its own. Earlier this month talks stalled in a deal for Ticketmaster and Cablevision Corp. to take a 49% stake in the promoter, which is owned by Anschutz Corp. Well it is about time they got off their asses and started doing something. As a big concert attender, usually attending 30+ shows a year I am sick and tired of Ticketmaster. They increase their fees every year and have fees now that I have never heard of. A say 38 dollar ticket last year to see Rush was almost 70 after fees. It is ridiculous. Source HERE

Man Shooting Hole Through Wall Kills Wife Officials are trying to decide whether to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite TV system in the bedroom of their home. Patsy Long, 34, of Deepwater, died after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun on Saturday. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means. Henry County sheriff's deputies said the woman was hit by the second of two shots fired by her husband. Long was given CPR by neighbors and family until medics arrived, police said. She was transported by air ambulance, but was pronounced dead at the hospital just after 6 p.m. "He was under the impression that everybody was inside the residence, that he knew where everybody was at,” said sheriff's department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills. Hills said a person involved in such a case normally would be charged with manslaughter, but that would be up to the prosecutor. "Once we complete a diagram of the incident, we will be submitting everything to the prosecuting attorney and let him decide if he wants to press criminal charges," Hills said. Henry County Coroner Scott Largent declined to release details about Patsy Long's death until the sheriff's department completes its investigation. On Tuesday morning, Henry County Prosecuting Attorney Richard M. Shields said he has yet to receive the case from the sheriff's department. Neighbor Mark Lassince said he believed it was a tragic accident. "Bad things happen to good people,” Lassince said. Patsy and Ronald Long were raising their children in their rural home overlooking Truman Lake. "I was in the shower, and the son came in and told me his mom had been shot, so we went up there to see if we could help,” Lassince said. Patsy Long worked as a carhop at a Sonic restaurant in Warsaw, Mo. “She was a good person, you know, took care of her family,” Lassince said. This is very sad but a reason that stupid people kill people and not guns as everyone says. I feel for this man and his stupid ass and loss. Source HERE

Nice find there GC. I could do it but the steps alone would probably wear me out at my age. When I was in the military we use to do crap like that everyday. We would walk rails and ropes. We also walked a 2 mile seawall in Japan that was about 1 foot wide. If we had fell off well guess I would not be here now would I. I would love to take a small chute up on that trail though and jump into the canyon. Now that would be worth the climb.

Good but the best drummer is Neil Peart of Rush. No question. Seen him live 6 times and I have seen over 800 concerts in my lifespan and no one compares to Neil's godness.

His friend was in better Key then he was.

You guys got balls that's for sure. But next time how about singing in Key or change the Key of the song....lol.

Brooke Banx

Welcome Alternate275 have a great time here. You are new here and I am older here...lol

What Drakeypoo got older? I though glam queens never aged? Happy Birthday anyway.

The Smashing Pumpkins leader sounds off on his label lawsuit and the state of the record industry. This week, the Smashing Pumpkins filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against their former label, Virgin Records, alleging the band's name was used without permission for a Pepsi promotion. Band leader Billy Corgan called up Rolling Stone from a bathroom in Australia to explain his side of the story and wound up dishing dirt on his career, explaining how the Pumpkins will release music in the future and offering an opinionated take on Amy Winehouse, Radiohead and the state of the record industry: "I don't think the Beatles would be making an album right now." Tell us about your personal perspective on this lawsuit. We've been treated very poorly by [Virgin] as a label for years now. Even when we were going to put the band back together, we went to them for the umpteenth time and said, look, it's a natural thing to want to put out a best of, and they keep telling us nobody cares. And then to turn around and use us like this against our will obviously shows you how full of crap they are, because obviously you have value or they wouldn't be trying to make money on you on the side. And in our case we actually have the right to say no to these types of things. They had to ask our permission to put our music on iTunes. So this is just them getting really sneaky trying to push stuff through, because the only place they're going to get money now is from corporate sponsors. And look, it's no secret that the record labels are out of touch. They've lost money continuously for seven or eight years and they continue to hold on to the Titanic. This is just another indication of them thinking that they can get away with whatever because they're the big old record business. You know, Josh Homme from Queens [of the Stone Age] came out talking about Interscope, Trent Reznor ... It's a very difficult position because whether it's blogs or people posting on Web sites, fans can get very frustrated about what they perceive about how you do your business, not being aware of how we continually have a gun pointed at our head. Did you approach the label with your concerns before filing the suit? No, because it's like talking to a brick wall. These people, they treat your music like it's worthless and they treat you like you're even more worthless. And that goes for our current label, Warner Bros., too. There's no passion. There's no love. There's no respect. It's just, like you're just a number. You might as well be some cookies, or a rock. I really think it's total arrogance on their part. I think they just thought they could get away with [using our music for the Pepsi promotion] and we wouldn't do anything about it. And luckily enough we have the ability to do something about it. Do you have thoughts about how to go forward with your music and how to release it? The first thing we're talking about doing is in essence not doing an album that has any walls. So we'll release the album in different forms in different places. Not just one CD with twelve songs. Our next album might be forty songs. Now, to the mainstream person, that's too many songs. So maybe you only give them one or two songs at a time. And then I think what's cool is you can deal with different people. You can do a deal with a skater Web site or you can work with Pepsi if you choose. The music business has sown the seeds for it's own destruction here. So we're not in any hurry to go back and help save them. Warner Bros. treats us like we're from another planet. We've had a good record and we've sold records. And I haven't spoken to the label president since 2005. Now we're free, we're out of our contracts. So I think that makes us really dangerous, because we really are the kind of band that's willing to take chances. We really will work with anybody if we feel it's a cool, fun thing. And it doesn't have to always be about money. Way to go Billy. Tell them like it is. It is about time more and more artist are finally waking up to the evils of The Recording Industry and the power they hold over the artist. Read the full Q&A HERE

Alex St. John: I've known Tim Sweeney a long time, and he makes a very important point. To be clear, PCs are fantastic gaming platforms, in spite of Intel and Microsoft. And they should absolutely be pinioned for the stupid stuff they've done to make the PC not as good a gaming platform as it would inherently be without their help screwing it up. And so the shame of it is, the PC's a fantastic gaming platform, superior to anything anybody's every imagined, superior to every console, and Microsoft and Intel put crap in the PC that make it not so good. And so if you see a PC that is not denuded by things interfering with it by Microsoft and Intel, in many cases like an Intel crappy graphics chip, or a bloated Vista operating system, it's a fantastic gaming platform. And the shame is, if the low end of the PC market, the mass market PCs that everybody buys did not come with these crappy graphics chips on them and was not burdened with a fat OS, that the PC would be a larger contiguous gaming platform than all the next-generation consoles combined, probably would be clearly superior; the PC is the home of the most profitable game in history generating more revenue than the top 10 console games combined—that's World of Warcraft generating a 1.2 billion dollars a year in revenue, that's a pure PC game. So it is clear that PC gaming absolutely killed [the market] in terms of revenue, killed it in terms of consumer usage—the average console gamer, according to Powers Associates, spends more time playing PC games than console games. I found this story very interesting on both points. While I agree that to keep your pc up to par to play the latest and greatest games can get very expensive. They are just so much better graphic wise then console. Now don't get me wrong I am not going to throw away or sell my consoles and I will most likely still buy the next generation console when it comes out. Full interview HERE

Cheating doesn't pay, not even a little, according to Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT). Mischievous players might think twice about hacking into games after Microsoft started cracking down today on some of its most serious Xbox LIVE cheaters. Microsoft took punitive action on Xbox LIVE accounts owned by players who tampered with the save files to elevate their scores. Some of the biggest cheaters had their entire Gamerscore accounts reset to zero. The players' accounts were also labeled as "cheaters" that were posted clearly for the gaming community to view on the dashboard of the Xbox Web site, and were prohibited from retrieving any previously obtained achievements and Gamerscore, even if they were acquired legitimately. The recent crackdown might not come entirely as a surprise for cheats. The company said in a blog posted last year that it intended to impose severe penalties for those who attempted to cheat at its games. In its warning, Microsoft strongly advised its Xbox LIVE users not to alter the Gamerscore and Achievements functions. "If you decide to employ some nefarious techniques to artificially increase our Gamerscore, or obtain achievements by manipulating the Xbox software without playing the game, bad things will happen," warned Xbox LIVE community manager Larry Hryb, also known as Major Nelson, in a blog post. In addition to losing their Gamertag, Microsoft said that cheating players would also lose their entire Gamerscore if it appeared to be manipulated, all their saved games and any points that they have on their account, regardless of whether they were earned fairly or not. Once Gamerscore and Achievement points and privileges are removed, players will never be able to re-earn them on their account, and could have their entire account and/or console banned from Xbox LIVE, Microsoft said. "As you can imagine, we know how to find out if you do this and we do take action. And we'll continue to do so," said Hryb. Microsoft also warned its Xbox users not to share account information with other players who promise to "rank them up" or help them progress through the game levels. The account would have to be cancelled if the player decided not to return the account to its rightful owner, Microsoft said. "I urge you not to fall to temptation," said Hryb. "While it may be appealing, in addition to violating the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use, it can also result in you permanently losing your account." "Cancelled. As in you can never get it back," Hryb added. Now I would never do this. Still it shows cheating in games never pays off in the long run. Source HERE

After a lengthy and sometimes bitter confrontation, the two Internet giants BitTorrent and Comcast have agreed to work together on the issue of bandwidth management. As many BitTorrent users undoubtedly know, Comcast was accused last year of "delaying" BitTorrent uploads. This practice led to a frenzy of criticism, generated a political firestorm, and revived the debate on net neutrality. Today's announcement, made by Comcast and BitTorrent, Inc., mitigates many of the concerns of mainstream BitTorrent users. According to the agreement, the new network management policy of Comcast will be "protocol agnostic". In other words, BitTorrent won't be the only target of bandwidth management; rather all heavy users, regardless of what program or protocol, will see their connection throttled. The current practice of resetting uploads for the average user appears to be over. Additionally, Comcast received recognition from BitTorrent that bandwidth management is a necessary aspect of life for the ISP. "While we think there were other management techniques that could have been deployed, we understand why Comcast and other ISPs adopted the approach that they did initially," Eric Klinker, BitTorrent's Chief Technology Officer said in the press release. According to the announcement, Comcast will also upgrade its bandwidth capacity. "Additionally, we plan to more than double the upstream capacity of our residential Internet service in several key markets by year end 2008. We plan to take advantage of multi-carrier technology to further increase upstream capacity for all of our broadband customers in advance of the full DOCSIS 3.0 roll out," said John Schanz, Comcast Cable's Executive Vice President of National Engineering and Technical Operations. Interestingly, BitTorrent and Comcast announced a joint venture to work with other ISPs and technology firms to "explore and develop a new distribution architecture for the efficient delivery of rich media content." Isn't that what BitTorrent is supposed to do anyway? So to recap, Comcast will stop targeting BitTorrent directly. Uploads will no longer be reset; however, if you're a prolific sharer, expect to be managed. BitTorrent effectively admitted that Comcast's policy was understandable, and the two will cooperate in creating a new network architecture for content delivery. Comcast recognizes that the Internet is changing rapidly, and ISPs must redevelop themselves to accommodate the massive influx of bandwidth consumption. BitTorrent in turn will retool their clients to optimize bandwidth efficiency on the restructured ISP network. What this retooling winds up looking like is anyone's guess, however transparency and documentation has been promised by BitTorrent. Well let's see here is a bad point "all heavy users, regardless of what program or protocol, will see their connection throttled." Now that seems to be talking out of both sides of the mouth at once. Don't ya think? The plus though is "Additionally, we plan to more than double the upstream capacity of our residential Internet service in several key markets by year end 2008." This is good news. Hell their upload is still faster then mine on Roadrunner. Source HERE

Thirsting for a return to the guitar rock rhythms and slithering screams of Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, the US soft drink Dr Pepper has begged him to release his oft-delayed new album this year. If he does, the auburn-locked '80-'90s rock icon and everyone else in America -- except two of his estranged guitarists -- will receive a free can of the syrupy soda, the company said. "Tired of a world in which Americans idolize wannabe singers and musicals about high schoolers pass as rock 'n roll music, Dr Pepper is encouraging (ok, begging) Axl Rose to finally release his 17-year-in-the-making belabored masterpiece, Chinese Democracy, in 2008," it said in a release on Wednesday. "In an unprecedented show of solidarity with Axl, everyone in America, except estranged G N'R guitarists Slash and Buckethead, will receive a free can of Dr Pepper if the album ships some time -- anytime! -- in 2008." The sodamaker's marketing director Jaxie Alt said he understood Rose's "quest for perfection" because "it took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love." Rose responded to the appeal by posting a message on the band's official website, but did not make any promises as to when the album might come out. "We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album 'Chinese Democracy,' as for us, this came totally out of the blue," Rose wrote. "If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him." The New York Times in 2005 called the project "the most expensive album never made." Guns N' Roses reigned over the hard rock scene from 1987 to 1993, selling close to 100 million albums with its potent mix of metal and nihilistic punk showcased in epic anthems "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine." The band's last album of original material was released in 1994. Rose remains the only original member of the group which was formed in Los Angeles in 1985. Other former G N'R members -- including guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum -- have joined with ex-Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland to form the band Velvet Revolver. Rolling Stone has said that spinoff got "more done in one year as Velvet Revolver than Axl Rose has achieved with his version of G N' R in the past decade." None for Slash...how much you bet he could care less. Anyway seems someone is a big GNR fan over at the Dr Pepper headquarters. Source HERE

FF VII was the best after that is bites.

Good question. Maybe on crack...who knows but this baby needs a mother for sure.

Future Addict - Marty Friedman Release Date April 2008 in the USA Release Date March 12 2008 Japan 1. Barbie 2. Simple Mystery 3. Tornado of Souls 4. Burn the Ground 5. Where my fortune Lies 6. Breadline 7. The pit and the Pendulum 8. The killing Road 9. Static Rain 10. Secret of the Stars 11. Massive 12. Tears of an Angel Genre l Progressive Rock | Metal | Virtuoso Guitar For those who don't know Marty Friedman and if you don't what rock have you been under...lol. Here is his Wikipedia page Marty Ex-MEGADETH guitarist MARTY FRIEDMAN's new album "features reworked, reconstructed, completely remade versions of some of the coolest songs from entire career" This is his 7th solo album and I think one of his best. With the new singer on vocals this album rocks. Marty moved to Japan and a lot of his influence comes from that country. Ex-MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman's forthcoming album Future Addict, is due to be released in Japan on March 12th via Avex. This album features reworked, reconstructed, completely remade versions of some of the coolest songs from Marty's entire career. According to his website, "everything from his first band, DEUCE, to his current Japanese stuff, it is all in there and all of it is on steroids. There are also three new songs including the first single. Vocals on the entire album are handled by none other than Marty's longtime drummer, Jeremy Colson, making his worldwide vocal debut! This album is an amazing introduction to Marty`s illustrious career, as well as the beginning of an exciting new era of his music. US and Euro releases to follow, more info on that to come." More news from Friedman's website reads as follows: "Japan's top entertainment magazine, Nikkei Entertainment, is releasing a book in mid-April titled, Ii-Jyan J-Pop! (Awesome J-Pop!). This book offers An in-depth and very unique insider`s view of the Japanese music scene as only Marty can see it. The book is culled from over a year of interviews with Marty and plenty of out-takes from his outspoken and often controversial popular monthly column in Nikkei Entertainment. Marty produced, arranged and laid down all guitar and bass on the upcoming Sony single from Ruby Gloom, 'Siren' c/w 'My Treasure'. Ruby is a animation character broadcast in several countries around the world. Nana Kitade plays the part of Ruby on this brilliant high energy single. Release date is March 25. On the completely opposite side of the musical spectrum, down-tempo electronica pioneers THE SUPREME BEINGS OF LEISURE have a new album 11i on which Marty makes a guest appearance on the song 'Oneness'. Marty is a huge fan of SBL and was honoured to play the track for them. February 18 marks the industry premiere of the movie Gugudatte Neko Dearu in which Marty made his Japanese major motion picture debut. The movie is set for a fall release. Simple mystery is a great tune with great riff changes and the sounds of old school Marty. Tornado Of Souls has great solos only like Marty could do as well as killer lyrics. Where My Fortune Lies is a bit different but has a catch bass line as well as lyrics. Breadline is by far my favorite of them all. It has the crunchy riffs and drum lines to die for. The Pit and the Pendulum has it all. Crunchy riffs, bass lines and drums galore. Killing Road is a very catchy tune with a great melody and lyrics that stick in your head. Secret of the Stone has a little rap like lyrics in it and not half bad. Here is a video of Simple Mystery of said album So go and get a copy of this and give it a listen you will not be sorry.

Marty Friedman - Killing Road Off the new album soon to be reviewed Future Addict

After an accusatory finger was pointed at Bell Canada for shaping traffic before it even reached ISPs, the company has admitted to the act, saying it has the right to do so. Bell Canada says it implemented "load balancing to manage bandwidth demand," but did so without informing ISPs or customers. Canadian ISP Teksavvy, a service reportedly popular among P2P users because their traffic is not throttled, first noticed the "load balancing," and confronted Bell. In October, Bell Canada's ISP Sympatico admitted that it had been using Internet traffic management measures on BitTorrent, Gnutella, Limewire, Kazaa, eDonkey, eMule, and WinMX which representatives said "use a large portion of bandwidth during peak hours." It was mentioned a number of times in Sympatico's support forum that it had been done only during peak hours to provide fair bandwidth allotment for all. Bell Canada acknowledged that all BitTorrent and P2P traffic is now affected, not only for Sympatico customers, but to customers of other ISPs who have connections through Bell. Customers have speculated that it has been done to prevent other ISPs from offering faster connections -- an anti-competitive measure -- and have begun a letter writing campaign to the Canadian Competition Bureau. The group letter reads, "Bell Canada has overstepped its authority and are flexing their muscle (infrastructure control) to impose their will on independent competitors. I am a customer of an independent ISP who has purchased bandwidth and my provider is at the mercy of this underhanded tactic being employed by Bell Canada." The telecommunications company plans to have systems fully in place by April 7 to fully control bandwidth consumption. Bell claims to have the right under contract to do so, and leaves ISPs no choice but to accept it for the time being. Net neutrality is a topic of great debate in Canada, as traffic throttling has become commonplace there. Rogers Yahoo was one of the most publicized instances of P2P traffic shaping, but now that Bell Canada is automatically doing it, many ISPs throttle traffic simply because they must. No reply had been received from Bell Canada as of press time. Well at least they admit it. Still does not make it right. If this keeps happening and their is say only 1 or 2 internet service providers in you said area they will own us all. Mine does this practice as well but they won't admit it. I think it sucks monkey balls but alas I have not alternative in my area for cable. Source HERE

Jurors resumed deliberations Wednesday on punishment for a young father convicted of badly injuring his infant daughter by putting her in a microwave. Prosecutors are asking that Joshua Mauldin be sentenced to life in prison for stuffing his daughter Ana in a microwave and turning it on for 10 to 20 seconds. His defense attorney asked for probation so his client could continue receiving psychiatric treatment. Jurors worked for over two hours Tuesday without reaching a decision on a sentence. Earlier Tuesday, the jury convicted Mauldin, 20, of felony injury to a child, dismissing his claim he was having a psychotic episode when he put his then-2-month-old daughter in a Galveston hotel microwave in May 2007. Mauldin had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The conviction came after about four hours of deliberations, which began Monday afternoon. Galveston County prosecutor Xochitl Vandiver asked jurors to give Mauldin a life sentence because Mauldin had given his daughter a life sentence as well — one of physical and emotional scars. Mauldin at first told police his daughter had been severely sunburned, later changing his story and saying he had accidentally spilled hot water on her while making coffee. Ana suffered second- and third-degree burns to her left ear, cheek, hand and shoulder and required two skin grafts after being in the microwave. Part of her left ear had to be amputated. "She will always for the rest of her life be reminded just by looking in a mirror," Vandiver said. Prosecutors said Mauldin was angry that he was in a loveless marriage and took it out on his daughter. Just before putting her in the microwave, Mauldin had punched the baby and put her in the hotel-room safe and refrigerator. They also said Mauldin had a history of violence and of lying about being mentally ill to get out of trouble. But Mauldin's defense attorney, Sam Cammack III, said Mauldin has been wracked by mental illness since he was 10 years old. Cammack asked jurors to be merciful and give his client probation so he could continue receiving treatment. Michael Fuller, a psychiatrist who examined Mauldin, earlier testified he could not conclude Mauldin was insane at the time of the crime. However, Fuller on Tuesday said Mauldin was not violent and would benefit from receiving treatment outside of prison. "Let's give the kid the rest of his life in prison for hurting his child when we can't explain what happened? Don't do that," Cammack told jurors. During the trial's punishment phase, Mauldin's mother, Joanie, pleaded for mercy. "There is no way someone in their right mind would do something like that," Joanie Mauldin told jurors, crying. Heather Croxton, Ana's foster mother, testified the little girl's wounds still need to be cleaned every day, and that she screams during the painful process. The little girl, who lives with Croxton and her family in College Station, has physical therapy five days a week. Croxton said she hopes to adopt Ana, who turned 1 earlier this month. A trial to terminate the Mauldins' parental rights is scheduled for April. WTF is wrong with people. This dude needs to put in a giant microwave and see how it feels. Death by Radiation is what he deserves. I just don't get it. He has to be really flocked up to do this to his own child. Source HERE

Mar 25, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Yahoo!, MySpace, and Google today announced they have agreed to form the OpenSocial Foundation to ensure the neutrality and longevity of OpenSocial as an open, community-governed specification for building social applications across the web. Yahoo!'s support of OpenSocial and role as a founding member of the new foundation are landmarks for the rapidly growing specification which will now offer developers the potential to connect with more than 500 million people worldwide. The OpenSocial Foundation will be an independent non-profit entity with a formal intellectual property and governance framework; related assets will be assigned to the new organization by July 1, 2008. The foundation will provide transparency and operational guidelines around technology, documentation, intellectual property, and other issues related to the evolution of the OpenSocial platform, while also ensuring all stakeholders share influence over its future direction. "Yahoo! believes in supporting community-driven industry specifications and expects that OpenSocial will fuel innovation and make the web more relevant and more enjoyable to millions of users," said Wade Chambers, Vice President - Platforms, Yahoo!. "Our support builds on similar efforts with the OpenID community and will expand the opportunity for developers and publishers to benefit from an open and increasingly social web." "Together with the OpenSocial community we are setting new industry specifications for social web application development," said Steve Pearman, SVP of Product Strategy, MySpace. "Yahoo! is an important addition to the OpenSocial movement, and through this foundation we will work together to provide developers with the tools to make the Internet move faster and to foster more innovation and creativity." "OpenSocial has been a community-driven specification from the beginning," said Joe Kraus, Director of Product Management, Google. "The formation of this foundation will ensure that it remains so in perpetuity. Developers and websites should feel secure that OpenSocial will be forever free and open." The OpenSocial Foundation website at www.opensocial.org will serve as the portal for the community to find all information about OpenSocial and the foundation as they evolve. Developers and website owners can now visit www.opensocial.org for the latest specifications, links to other resources, and the opportunity to get involved. Engineers from Yahoo!, MySpace, and Google will continue to work together and with the OpenSocial community to further advance the specification through the new foundation, continuing several core elements of OpenSocial since its announcement by Google, MySpace, and many others in November 2007: -- all specifications are available under a Creative Commons copyright license -- public community involvement shapes the specification's direction -- an open source reference implementation called Shindig is being created and developed as a project in the Apache Software Foundation incubator, available at http://incubator.apache.org/shindig/ About OpenSocial OpenSocial addresses an emerging problem for developers who are eagerly building applications people can enjoy with their friends: before OpenSocial, if a developer built a "favorite photos" application to work on one social network, it would have to be built all over again to work on another site. OpenSocial tackles this problem at its technology roots, providing common "plumbing" that lets social applications run on many different websites without requiring duplicate work from either developers or the websites. The result is a vast distribution platform for social applications, whether they are for sharing photos or playing games or arranging real-world meetings or any number of other activities - everything is more fun, interesting, and useful when users can involve their friends and contacts. Steady Evolution, Important Milestones Millions of people around the world are beginning to see the benefits of the OpenSocial platform as new features appear on their favorite social networks. MySpace launched the MySpace Developer Platform, which uses the OpenSocial APIs, and began rolling out applications to its users. orkut has also started making OpenSocial applications available to its users, and hi5 will do so at the end of March. Thanks to the Shindig reference implementation, most websites can have a proof of concept of OpenSocial applications up and running in days. That means websites need only to make this small time investment in order to make thousands of new social features available to their users. Global members of the OpenSocial community include Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, XING, and others. In time, OpenSocial will unlock more powerful and pervasive social capabilities across the entire web, as developers' applications can easily reach users across any of the websites, web applications, or social networks they use. Seems as Yahoo is trying to get the help of MySpace and Google to keep Microsoft at bay. Source HERE

One way to make yourself accessible to others is by offering a valuable service that they can't easily turn down. Microsoft hopes it's doing that today by offering users of LinkedIn, Facebook, and three other platforms a way to consolidate their contacts...through Windows Live. Rarely does a week go by without Microsoft announcing another interoperability initiative; the company has put forth two new ones just this morning. One deals not so much with making some Microsoft product accessible to the outside world as it does with offering a kind of bridge between social media platforms, although it's hard to escape noticing that this bridge runs right through Windows Live Messenger. The concept is called the Windows Live Contacts API, version 1.0 of which entered a public beta process this morning. The new API is being described as a way for Facebook, Bebo, LinkedIn, Hi5, and Tagged social networks -- the first five partners in this operation -- to exchange user identity data through the Windows Live platform. This morning, Windows Live Platform Director John Richards described this beta as "a safe, secure two-way street for users to move their relationships between our respective services." The move comes as a benefit of Microsoft's investment in Facebook last October, which at the time was seen as a move that could help consolidate the presence of Microsoft's advertising platform on Facebook properties. The first test of this platform-bridging concept comes in the form of a user ID transfer page inviting consumers to invite members of these five social networks to join Windows Live Messenger. The purpose there is obvious: to build a collective contacts list based on the aggregate of some of the leading social platforms already out there, including Facebook, the world's #2 and Europe's #1. The API itself is not particularly complex. Developer documentation released this morning shows the SDK adds or amends a class, Contacts, with three methods whose purpose is nearly self-explanatory: Update, View, and Invite. The common thread between these is a delegated authentication provider that serves to exclusively identify each contact. That requires access to the pre-existing Windows Live ID Delegated Authentication SDK for Application Providers, which is Microsoft's system for letting developers embed Windows Live ID authentication in their own programs. "Delegated Authentication works by sending your users to the Windows Live ID consent page, where they can grant or deny permission for your site to access their data or content on Windows Live services (called resource providers in the Delegated Authentication context)," reads Microsoft's official description. "Resource providers register offers and actions with the Windows Live ID service, and it is these offers and actions to which users grant consent. After a Windows Live ID user has granted your site consent to a given set of offers and actions, your site can then interact with the resource provider on behalf of that user." Thus it appears likely that Microsoft and/or its partners in this effort may soon try a system enabling independent developers to build applications that contact social network contacts ostensibly through their own respective networks, but that authenticate and establish direct contact with them through Windows Live's authenticators. Everybody is trying to consolidate every thing anymore. Why this sounds good and will be easy for people that use these social networks to invite them to their MSN. I for one don't like consolidating my contacts. But I give Microsoft the balls for trying to act cool I guess. Source HERE