Each of us is an individual with missions and goals we strive to achieve. Some definitely know what is the purpose of him/her existence, do the work that is valuable and pleasant to accomplish. There are several aspects worth mentioning. These are values that are one of the most important and that defines the further development of events in ones career and not only; there is no value without followed step- interest. Interest to everything: job, entertainment; These two stages are followed by personality where the main role is played by a person's individual traits, needs, motivation, attitudes; The last step is skills through which one accomplishes all the above mentioned in a variety of ways and these ways and capabilities of each of us might be as various as possible. Different fields identify and define priority skills according to the their own criteria. Those who already know the field to work in are busy with self assessment. There are several ways to self-assessment in different spheres.

According to the SourceWire the non-profit global leader in educating and certifying information security professionals throughout their careers, announced the launch of a new online self-assessment tool known as studISCope (pronounced “study scope”).

A revamped online file-sharing service that promised to offer unlimited, free music downloads from all the major record labels hit an apparent snag Sunday after one denied it had given the service permission. Qtrax touted in a press release Sunday morning that it was the first Internet file-swapping service to be "fully embraced by the music industry," and boasted it would carry up to 30 million tracks from "all the major labels."

New York-based Warner Music undermined that claim, declaring in a statement that it "has not authorized the use of our content on Qtrax's recently announced service."

Universal Music Group and EMI Group PLC later confirmed they did not have licensing deals in place with Qtrax, noting discussions were still ongoing. A call to Sony BMG Music Entertainment was not immediately returned. Music services such as Qtrax must secure licensing agreements from the record companies, which own the rights to master recordings, and music publishers, which control the rights to song compositions. Each of the major recording companies also operates music publishing units.

Allan Klepfisz, Qtrax's president and chief executive, acknowledged Sunday that the deal with Warner Music had not been signed, but said he expects to reach an agreement on terms "shortly."

Qtrax had been scheduled to make its online debut on Monday, a day after its splashy coming-out party at the annual Midem music business conference in Cannes, France.

Qtrax shut down after a few months following its 2002 launch to avoid potential legal trouble. The company said it latest version of the service still lets users tap into file-sharing networks to search for music. Downloads however come with copy-protection technology known as digital-rights management, or DRM, to prevent users from burning copies to a CD and calculate how to divvy up advertising sales with labels.

The company also promises that its music downloads will be playable on Apple Inc.'s iPods and Macintosh computers until April 15. That's unusual, as iPods only playback unrestricted MP3s files or tracks with Apple's proprietary version of DRM, dubbed FairPlay.

Apple has been resistant in the past to license FairPlay to other online music retailers. That stance has effectively limited iPod users to loading up their players with tracks purchased from Apple's iTunes Music Store, or MP3s ripped from CDs or bought from vendors.

Rob Enderle, technology analyst at the San Jose-based Enderle Group, said he expects Apple would take steps to block Qtrax files from working on iPods.

Last fall, the company issued a software update for its iPhones that created problems for units modified by owners so they would work with a cellular carrier other than AT&T Inc. As a result, some modified phones ceased to work after the software update.

The move prompted antitrust lawsuits on behalf of some consumers.

BackgammonMasters.com that is the World Backgammon Network having a revolutionary approach to online backgammon, that is always offering superior service providing maximum support to the users, that is committed to protecting user privacy, utilize data-encrypted security systems, ensuring data integrity and security, presents a revolutionized online game experience with a newly launched Game Lobby that features a sleek look and enhanced navigation platform, as it is admitted in BackgammonMasters.com. It will consist of over 200 popular online casino game variations such as Video Poker, Roulette, Slots, 21 BlackJack and more.

Suppose, the intensive reader of Blogvasion.com noticed that I covered the library issue several times, firstly in Libraries Upside Down, secondly in The Myth That Books Are Heavy Is Destroyed. The posts were about digitalization of libraries that are more convenient, time efficient, and comfortable. Though there were some disadvantages that I occurred in the process of reading itself. Technology development speed rises day by day. Reading news in PC or Laptop is quite OK. But as for the books, journals, large texts require different atmosphere, and conditions.

It was quite logical, and predictable to have the product that would resemble a book itself. Amazon.com made step forward in this direction. It presented a revolutionary portable reader. It downloads books, blogs, magazines and newspapers to a crisp, high-resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight, wirelessly. According to data 90,000 books are available in the Kindle Store, including 101 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases.

As Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO said: "We've been working on Kindle for more than three years. Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands -- to get out of the way -- so you can enjoy your reading.”

“We also wanted to go beyond the physical book. Kindle is wireless, so whether you're lying in bed or riding a train, you can think of a book, and have it in less than 60 seconds. No computer is needed -- you do your shopping directly from the device. We're excited to make Kindle available today,” he adds.

According to the Amazon.com the product is overviewed as follows:

Researchers at the Venter Institute in Rockville, Md., have completed phase two of a three-part plan to create synthetic life. Craig Venter, the scientist-entrepreneur who founded the institute and jump-started the race to map the human genome, announced the achievement Thursday.

The research team succeeded in creating a man-made copy of the genome for a bacterium, the first time that's been done. A genome is the complete set of DNA in the chromosomes of a living organism, the instruction set for how an organism works.

But while they were able to copy the genome of an existing organism, they weren't able to create a brand new one. Essentially, they managed to write the "software code" for a bacterium but they haven't yet figured out how to turn it on and make it live.

Once that's possible, it opens the door to building made-to-order organisms that could do things natural organisms don't: plants that take up large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere to slow global warming, microbes that turn grass clippings into fuel, bacteria that eat sugar and produce medicine. Some researchers believe that's a long way off.

"These guys have not synthesized a brand new life form," - says Jim Collins, a professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University. Science still has a long way to go to understanding the underlying biology of life necessary to do that, he says.

There are "multiple barriers to this," - Venter acknowledges. "But we're confident that they can be overcome."

Another worry: Once this technology becomes commonplace, it can be used to create both good organisms and dangerous ones, says David Magnus, director of Stanford University's Center for Biomedical Ethics.

Venter's team has already genetically modified the bacterium to make it non-infectious.

The British Broadcasting Corporation that operates several television networks and stations and Myspace – social networking website that offers an interactive, user-submitted network of blogs, friends, groups, photos, personal profiles, music and videos internationally are expected to announce partnership with each other. Myspace that is part of News Corporation admits that the benefits of the companies will be shared revenues taken by advertising.

For the broadcaster it is a very good opportunity to expand the quantity of users who will share the content. Quantity is the leading factor in the business agreement where the revenues are totally depended on advertising. Though only the quantity is not guarantee of success, quality of quantity plays great role, too. But there hardly one can find a person who will not be able to get interesting information on BBC. Even though development of technology brings new opportunities and availabilities.

According to BBC there are seven genres on the BBC's MySpaceTV channel: Comedy, Weird and Wonderful, Sci-fi, Drama, Famous Faces, Top Gear and nature channel Love Earth aiming to rise benefits mutually.

Apple’s holiday performance showed signs that the company’s not unstoppable in 2008. In particular, Apple’s cautious outlook, weakness in U.S. iPod growth and the unpredictability of iPhone sales left pessimists plenty of reason to doubt.

Apple turned in revenue of $9.6 billion and profit of $1.6 billion for the holiday quarter, blowing past the average analyst estimate. The company shipped a record 2.3 million Intel (INTC)-based Macs during the period, and actually sold as many iPhones as computers. In the process Apple generated $2.7 billion in cash, bringing its war chest to $18.4 billion.

On the conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer admitted that iPod sales merely met the company’s expectations, rather than exceeding them. Part of the reason, he said, was that U.S. iPod sales weakened in December - it took overseas sales to make up the difference. “In the U.S., in the gift-buying season, we saw a slightly different curve, that was made up for in our very, very good growth internationally.” - he said.

It was clear that Apple executives weren’t sure what to make of the iPod slowdown. Maybe it’s the U.S. economy. Maybe the presence of the higher-priced iPod touch convinced people to save up and buy one iPod instead of two, they suggested. And then there’s the possibility that the iPhone is starting to eat into iPod sales. “In the U.S., where iPod unit sales were flat year over year, it could have been one of the factors, but other factors played into that as well, so it is very difficult to say with any precision whether there was cannibalization or not,” - said Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook. Cannibalization would be a bad thing. It would mean that iPhone growth doesn’t purely add to Apple’s results — it also takes away from the iPod.

For this current quarter that will end in March, executives promised revenue of $6.8 billion and earnings of about $850 million. And while ordinarily analysts would take that number with a wink and expect Apple to easily beat it, this year they’re not so sure Apple can.

This post has also been featured on the iphone.blogvasion.com

Stellar Information System that is a leading provider of data recovery products and services that collaborates with professionals from across the United States bringing expertise in all areas of Information Technology, that offers maintenance contracts, installation services, design and build and consulting for companies of any size, has introduced the Stellar Phoenix iPod recovery software.
The software rescues the deleted, lost audio/video files from iPods device. The product is easy to use. The graphical user interface (GUI) is similar to original iPod. The main advantage over other products like iPod Classic, iPod Mini, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch devices, is that it brings deleted files back into shape together with recovering pod casts, video files, music, audio books.

The structure of the list does not change after recovery process. The product feature to scan corrupted files efficiently is very time consuming. Advanced control over the processes is one of the distinguishing features. The availability to use the product is possible on the World Wide Web.

Juniper Research that provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.
announces that music, games and mobile TV, the global mobile entertainment market contributors are expected to increase the level of rise from just over $20 billion in 2007 to more than $64 billion by 2012.

The leader sector on the market of the mobile entertainment industry is expected to rise from nearly $9 billion in 2007 to $17.5 billion in 2012. As for the mobile games they will retain its second-ranking. The growth of which was under $5 billion in 2007 and is expected nearly $16 billion in 2012. The third place goes to mobile TV, the rise will show the following: from $1.4 billion in 2007 to $11.9 billion in 2012.

“With revenues from voice services declining and messaging revenues flatlining, last year finally saw a number of more sophisticated entertainment services begin to fulfil their potential and redress the balance. With more widespread penetration of 3G handsets – or entertainment-focused 2.5G handsets like the iPhone – there is likely to be a much greater surge in both the adoption and overall usage in rich media services” says Dr Windsor Holden, the report author.

According to the SourceWire the findings of the Juniper report include:

• Regulations and prohibitions will limit opportunities in the adult and gambling sectors, although Juniper Research envisages that restrictions on gambling services in the key US market will ease in the medium term
• China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile entertainment throughout the period covered by the report, with revenues rising from $8.5bn in 2007 to nearly $21.3bn by 2012
• Entertainment service adoption remains constrained by difficulties with the user interface, network speed and coverage and the excessive cost of data services

Electronic Arts is to release a free online version of the popular Battlefield game to be supported by adverts and micro payments. The PC game, Battlefield Heroes, will be available only online later this year, and will not be sold in shops.

The move marks EA's first major attempt to tap into new sources of ad-driven revenue in Western markets. The firm has a free version of its Fifa game in South Korea, earning more than $1m a month through in-game sales. "Online gaming has a massive audience," - said EA's Gerhard Florin, in a statement.

"People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play."

The video games industry is taking its first steps away from a retail-focused sales environment and towards digital distribution. EA hopes the model of a free game as download that is supported by adverts and micro-payments could be applied to other franchises it owns.

The new version of Battlefield is designed to have more mass market appeal than current titles in the series, which have sold about 10 million copies worldwide.

The games has a "cartoon-feel" and has been made simpler to play, with more emphasis on participation and fun than skill and strategy. Ben Cousins, senior producer at Dice says that no adverts would be appear in the game itself: "They wouldn't work inside the fictional world. Instead, adverts will appear on the website and the 'front-end' of the game." Gamers will be able to buy items which customize their appearance in the world, but will not be able to seek an advantage through buying weapons.

Mr. Cousins said Battlefield Heroes was about exploring new revenue models as well as making a game more accessible: "I've always felt there was some really good fun core gameplay which was locked away by several barriers to entry: the game is complex, it is full of skilled people, you need quite a high-end PC on which to play and you need to go to store to purchase a copy. We're removing all barriers to entry and we hope there is broader audience for the title. You will be able to play this game on grandma's laptop."

Mr. Cousins said EA expected 95% of people who played the game never to spend any money.

"If you look at Korea and Asia this is a model that works. Given the enormous explosion in web-based gaming products, this is going to be a real source of growth in the industry and Battlefield Heroes is the first step towards doing that in West."

Political Base that features ranging from serious blogs and a variety of YouTube videos represents the political forum. The site gives visitors availability to contribute to the site with the possibility of modifying content.

Creation of the site was the idea of Mr. Bonnie. This is probably caused by his appreciation of politics. The site provides the information that might be useful for those who are not much educated in politics and for those who have great interest, too.

According to Political Base, the site and all the members of it express their gratitude to Mark Nickolas of Bluegrass Report fame to join them He has made a major impact on the tone and quality of our editorial and community contributions, he has built an editorial team that will help him carry out his campaign to fix an American political system that is broken. The future plans of the site is to continue to improve site and up their coverage.
On the top right edge of the site the users can match themselves to the candidates. The site might appear one of the very good source for the advertising.

Facebook a social networking website, launched on February 4, 2004, founded by Mark Zuckerberg counts more than 60 million active users worldwide, that is over 1% of the world's population. According to Alexa the site’s traffic ranking increased from 60th to 7th in a year. Facebook is one of the mostly covered issue in news world. It became the subject of discussions too many times. This time it is quizzed about data protection policies by the information Commissioner’s office.

According to findings the user cannot delete the profile even after their termination. The information remains on the server of Facebook and it admits that there is not full compliance with UK data protection.

Though a statement from the site announces, "We take the concerns of the ICO and our user's privacy very seriously and are committed to working with the ICO to maintain a trusted environment for all Facebook users and ensure compliance with UK law."

In order to fully delete the account it asks for more effort and “log in and delete all profile content".
But are the users eager to delete all the information about them on Facebook? Answer is as follows: "An individual who has deactivated their account might not find themselves motivated enough to delete information that's about them maybe on their wall or other people's site."

Federal regulators said they will try again to test prototypes on Jan. 24 for transmitting high-speed Internet service over unused television airwaves.

Late Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission said the devices — developed by Adaptrum Inc., Microsoft Corp., Motorola Inc. and Philips Electronics North America Corp. — will be tested in laboratory and real-world conditions.

The agency said testing will take three months and issue a report about six weeks after the testing ends.

Last year, a high-technology coalition — which includes Microsoft, Philips, a division of Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics NV, Google Inc., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp. and EarthLink Inc. — submitted prototypes they said could transmit broadband Internet service over unlicensed and unused TV spectrum, known as "white spaces."

The coalition — which does not include Motorola and Adaptrum, a Mountain View, Calif.-based startup — says using white spaces could make Internet service more accessible and affordable, especially in rural areas. However, television broadcasters and the wireless microphone industry say such devices could interfere with programming.

Initial prototype testing failed. In July, the FCC gave a failing grade to Microsoft's prototypes, saying the devices did not reliably detect and avoid TV programming signals and could have caused interference.

Two weeks later, though, the agency said one of the Microsoft-built devices was broken, accounting for the failed results. A duplicate Microsoft device sent to the FCC was never tested.

At the time, the coalition also said a second prototype Philips developed was able to detect TV and wireless microphone signals, but only in a laboratory setting.

If the tests are successful this time and the devices are approved, the coalition plans to introduce commercial devices for sale after the digital television transition in February 2009.

"It seems to me this timeline is reasonable and could lead to a final decision by the end of the June," - said Scott Blake Harris, who represents the coalition.

If we take into consideration the importance, influence and consequences of globalization, it is easy to understand why IBM unveiled new software and research innovations that aims improving collaboration between employees across an organization in a globally integrated enterprise.

Facebook has been asked to remove the Scrabulous game from its website by the makers of Scrabble. The Facebook add-on has proved hugely popular on the social network site and regularly racks up more than 500,000 daily users. Lawyers for toy makers Hasbro and Mattel say Scrabulous infringes their copyright on the board-based word game. The move has sparked protests by regular fans of Scrabulous keen to keep the add-on running.

Scrabulous is currently one of Facebook’s ten most popular applications - little programs that Facebook members can add to the profiles they maintain on the site.

The request to remove the add-on came from both Hasbro and Mattel because ownership of the Scrabble trademark is split between the two. Hasbro owns rights to the game in the US and Canada while Mattel has rights everywhere else in the world.

Facebook makes no comment to make at this stage.

The Scrabulous add-on was not created by Facebook but was built for the site by Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla - software developers based in Kolkata. According to the Scrabulous website it has 594,924 daily active users - about a quarter of the total that have signed up to play it. The game has spawned a host of "scrabble cheat" sites which work out every possible word that can be made from the available letters. The threat to the game has spawned a new Facebook group called "Save Scrabulous" that already has more 600 members.

Karl Savage, a member of the Save Scrabulous group, said: "A lot of people are saying shame on Hasbro, shame on Mattel, if you wouldn't be so short-sighted about this then you have an opportunity to actually make some money from this rather than alienate your existing customers.

"I'd say find some common ground. Look at licensing," added Mr Savage. "Perhaps sit down together and say look, these guys have created this fantastic piece of software that lots of people use why not employ them or have a similar product on there that is licensed but use that to advertise your other products?"

There has been speculation that the challenge to Scrabulous had been launched as Hasbro and Mattel prepare their own online version of Scrabble. Mr Savage said he doubted that would be a big success. He said: "The main feature with Scrabulous for me is that I can play it in Facebook. I don't have to go to an external site and then search for all my friends all over again because I don't think that would work and I don't think many people would sign up for it."

Links have also been posted to the customer service areas of the Hasbro and Mattel websites so fans can register their protests with the toy makers.

A latte war is brewing. The prize: venti-size profits in a U.S. specialty coffee market valued at $11 billion and growing. McDonald's is planning to capitalize on the public's willingness to pay $4 for a cup of coffee by hiring baristas and dropping espresso machines in 14,000 of their fast-food outlets. On the other side McDonald's Corp seems to appear burger behemoth that feeds more people every day than any other restaurant brand in the world. The company announced a national rollout of the type of made-to-order coffee drinks that Starbucks brought to the fore. Meanwhile, Starbucks, with business lagging, is fighting back with an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy, by offering heated breakfast sandwiches and adding drive-thru windows to some of their locations.

These two chains as polar opposites - one designed as a sophisticated faux living room where customers could get a decent coffee drink and read their newspapers; the other, a riot of plastic-and-vinyl booths and bright fluorescent lighting where meals are counted in billions served.

Starbucks has primed the American drinking public well. McDonald's mixed coffee drinks have profit margins that rival even its regular cup of drip, an appetizing prospect in a week when shares of McDonald's fell more than 7 percent on reports of slow December sales. The company is betting its new drinks, which will be priced lower than equivalent Starbucks offerings, will also drive between-meal traffic into McDonald's restaurants.

Is really possible for these two worlds to collide? If McDonald's built its own version of a grande nonfat latte, would Starbucks customers come? Here we’ve got some information that helps us to determine which one McDonald's or Starbucks? Visitors to Starbucks.com skew female: Starbucks' website has 8.3% more female visitors than does the McDonald's site. While McDonalds.com visitors cluster in the 18-to-34 age range, Starbucks owns the 35-to-44-year-old group. There's also a clear income gap between the two: McDonald's visitors tend to live in households earning less than $60,000 per year; Starbucks customers lean toward households earning over $60,000. The interesting point, though, is the difference in demographic trends between each restaurant's clientele over the last two years. The Big Mac customer base has remained relatively stable, while Starbucks' coffee-drinkers have diversified. It used to be that Starbucks attracted customers from a small, elite segment of the country; now, its visitors pervade many more segments across America. The strongest Starbucks and McDonald's types: For Starbucks, its segment B03, the Urban Commuter Family, described as "college-educated households containing dual income couples." These folks favor golfing as their exercise of choice. The segment that visits McDonald's is type J03, the Struggling City Centers, described as "lower-income households living in city neighborhoods in the South."

The theory says that customers' habits are changing, and their eating times are changing and that’s true. But there are limits. McDonald's is developing sugar-free flavorings, but don't look for them in restaurants anytime soon. And how about the increasingly popular soy latte or green tea chai? "Not yet," says McDonald's Frick. Starbucks, take note.

MacBook Air is ultrathin, ultraportable, and ultra unlike anything else. But you don’t lose inches and pounds overnight. It’s the result of rethinking conventions. Of multiple wireless innovations. And of breakthrough design. With MacBook Air, mobile computing suddenly has a new standard announces the http://www.appla.com/

As the world of computers and computer technology continues to evolve and change, many people, from science fiction writers and futurists to computer workers and ordinary users have wondered what the future holds for the computer and related technologies. Many things have been pictured, from robots in the form of household servants to computers so small they can fit in a pocket. Indeed, some of these predicted inventions have already come to pass, with the introduction of PDA’s and robotic vacuum cleaners.

Beyond these innovations, however, there are likely to be many, many more. One of the most important areas of research in the world of computers is that of artificial intelligence. When many people think of artificial intelligence, they may picture fully aware machines, complete with emotions, and the problems that can arise from them. Even though this remains the goal of many artificial intelligence researchers, in fact artificial intelligence technology is already in place and already serving the needs of humans everywhere.

One of the most powerful uses of artificial intelligence thus far is in the world of speech recognition. This powerful technology is already in place in call centers, banks, brokerage centers, insurance companies and other businesses throughout the world. While speech recognition is still imperfect, it has improved greatly in recent years, and in the future many routine, and even non-routine, phone calls and telephone inquiries may be handled completely without human intervention.

Robot technology has also come a long way, but it still has a long way to go. Robots in the future are unlikely to take human form, expect in a few specialized applications. Instead, robots are likely to do a great deal of work that is simply too dangerous for humans to accomplish. From spaceflight applications to search and rescue, robots are likely to continue down the learning curve they have already entered, further enhancing human lives and providing valuable services for a fraction of the cost of today’s robot helpers.

Quantum computers are also likely to transform the computing experience, for both business and home users. These powerful machines are already on the drawing board, and they are likely to be introduced in the near future. The quantum computer is expected to be a giant leap forward in computing technology, with exciting implications for everything from scientific research to stock market predictions.

Nanotechnology is another important part of the future of computers, expected to have a profound impact on people around the globe. Nanotechnology is the process whereby matter is manipulated at the atomic level, providing the ability to “build” objects from their most basic parts. Like robotics and artificial intelligence, nanotechnology is already in use in many places, providing everything from stain resistant clothing to better suntan lotion. These advances in nanotechnology are likely to continue in the future, making this one of the most powerful aspects of future computing.

And if history is to be any guide, some of the most powerful advances in the world of computers and computer technology are likely to be completely unforeseen. After all, some of the most powerful technologies of the past have taken us by surprise, so stay tuned for a truly fascinating future.

The Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the nation's premiere research universities, ranked seventh among U.S. News & World Report's top public universities, announced the report of Emerging Cyber Threats for 2008. The report outlines the top five areas of security concern and risk for consumer and enterprise Internet users for the coming year.

According to the GTISC forecasting the five key areas in which cyber security threats are expected to increase evolve:
• Web 2.0 and Client-Side Attacks – including social networking attacks and new attacks that
will exploit Web 2.0 vulnerabilities
• Targeted Messaging Attacks – including Instant Messaging attacks and malware propagation
via online video-sharing
• Botnets – specifically the spread of botnet attacks to wireless and peer-to-peer networks
• Threats Targeting Mobile Convergence – including voice spam, vishing and smishing
• Threats to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems – evolving and varied threats in
this emerging technology sector

Mustaque Ahamad, director of GTISC says: “As newer and more powerful applications enabled by technologies like Web 2.0 continue to grow, and converged communications applications increasingly rely on IP-based platforms, new challenges will arise in safeguarding these applications and the services they rely on. The GTISC Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2008 highlights those areas of greatest risk and concern, particularly as continued convergence of enterprise and consumer technologies is expected over the coming year. We wish to thank the esteemed members of the GTISC Security Summit panel who assisted us with the creation of this report.”

The GTISC Security Summit on Emerging Cyber Security Threats and Countermeasures Summit was attended by more than 200 corporate executives, industry leaders and technologists from across the country It was keynoted by Dr. Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google. The research and the discussion aimed to educate the audience on the proliferation of cyber threats, including those listed in the report, and highlighted possible countermeasures to safeguard the user and business communities.

Signs that winters in the Northeast are losing their bite have been abundant in recent years and now researchers have nailed down numbers to show just how big the changes have been. A study of weather station data from across the Northeast from 1965 through 2005 found December-March temperatures increased by 2.5 degrees. Snowfall totals dropped by an average of 8.8 inches across the region over the same period, and the number of days with at least 1 inch of snow on the ground decreased by nine days on average.

"Winter is warming greater than any other season," - said Elizabeth Burakowski, who analyzed data from dozens of stations for her master's thesis in collaboration with Cameron Wake, a professor at the University of New Hampshire's Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space. Burakowski, who graduated from UNH in December, found that the biggest snowfall decreases were in December and February. Stations in New England showed the strongest decreases in winter snowfall, about 3 inches a decade. There were wide disparities in snowfall over the eight-state region, with average totals ranging from 13.5 inches at Cape May, N.J., to 137.6 inches at Oswego, N.Y. Some stations on the Great Lakes, where lake-effect storms are common, showed an increase.

The reduction in days with at least an inch of snow on the ground was the most pronounced at stations between 42 and 44 degrees latitude - a band that includes most of Massachusetts, a thick slice of upstate New York and southern sections of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Burakowski cites two likely causes for the reduction in so-called snow-covered days: higher maximum temperatures and "snow-albedo feedback," in which less snow cover to begin with allows more sunshine warmth to be absorbed by the darker ground, making it less conducive to snow cover.

The research has yet to appear in a peer-reviewed journal, though meteorologists who have studied long-term climate trends said the observations appear to be in line with other research.

Richard Heim of the National Climatic Data Center looked at trends in snowfall totals nationwide from 1948 to 2006 and found that patterns varied regionally and seasonally. For the Northeast in winter, he found totals mostly decreasing along coastal areas, with an increasing trend along the Great Lakes. Art DeGaetano, of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, said regions around New York State have recorded negative trends in snowfall since 1970.

DeGaetano cautioned that snowfall totals can vary a lot from year to year. Last month, for example, snow totals were well above average for December across much of the Northeast.

Ski center operators also have noticed an incremental increase in temperatures over the decades, said Parker Riehle, president of the trade association Ski Vermont, but he echoed DeGaetano's point that snow totals have gone up and down.

"We've seen some erratic winters in recent years," - Riehle said. "The mood swings of Mother Nature, perhaps, are deeper than they used to be." But while ski slopes can fire up snow-making guns to compensate for lack of flurries, snowmobilers and cross-country skiers have complained about later starts and fewer trails covered with snow.

Cross-country skiers never even get in the right frame of mind during some winters, said Mark Booska of the Hudson Valley Ski Club. "They look out their window and they're not thinking skiing," - he said.

A company known as MPK claims that throwing some tritium inside a phosphor-coated microsphere will result in a substance that can glow continuously for over a dozen years without an iota of energy input. The technology is known as betavoltaics, using a radioactive gas tritium as its power source. The beta particles from the tritium radiation can be safely contained by phosphor-coated micro spheres. Tritium has a half-life of about 12 years.

The final material is called Litrosphere, which is not affected by heat or cold, can emit any color except white. The Litrosphere can be used in the form of paint injection-molded plastics. It costs you as little as 35 cents for getting it to cover a standard sheet of paper. MPK specializes in glow-in-the-dark paint and other glow products, although the new material does not need to be exposed to light in order to work. The company predicts that the technology could be used for light safety tape, lighted life rafts/flotation equipment, toys, sports/camping equipment, and bikes, making it the coolest in the dark lonely nights.

"This has potential to save billions in energy costs world-wide. Litroenergy surpasses all known available lighting options for cost/durability/reliability and safety," - said Steve Stark, MPK engineer.

Litroenergy has recently been added to the New Energy Congress' (NEC) list of Top 100 Technologies (rank pending). However, its use will likely be limited to applications that don’t require a great deal of light.

There are also rumors that MPK may use similar technology as a power source in the future.

"It’s not something the company is ready to talk publicly about yet, but they do have battery technology that would be of the same ilk: betavoltaic technology allowing continuous power for years in all battery applications, including automobiles. They think they will be able to win the DoD (Department of Defense) contest for the $1 million prize for backpack battery tech." - said NEC member Sterling D. Allan."

Will this replace traditional lighting anytime soon? Probably no, as an expert in the matter claims that the intensity is not strong enough to match the light output or replace electric light bulbs. Add that to the fact that there is absolutely no way to turn this thing off, and you've got yourself quite a conundrum.

As the New Year begins, many employees across the country are hoping 2008 will be the year they find their dream job, or at least one that pays a decent salary. But unfortunately many workers are getting a bit pessimistic. According to the recruiting firm Hudson’s employment index many workers are indeed glum when it comes to their outlook for the New Year:

• Twenty-one percent of the workers polled believe their job prospects will be worse in the coming year, up from 15 percent last year.
• Thirty percent say it is not at all likely they will be looking for a new job next year, compared to 26 percent one year ago.

Forty-six percent feel their organizations’ leaders are expecting the economy to get worse next year, and only 22 percent say executives think the economy is getting better.

Fifty-seven percent of the workers polled said they expected to earn significantly or a little bit more in 2007, down from 63 percent in 2006.

Hiring practically stalled in December, driving the nation’s unemployment rate up to a two-year high of 5 percent. The jobs outlook for 2008 looks anything but rosy. Unfortunately, economists, employment reports and staffing experts are pointing to a tough jobs outlook, at least for the first half of this year. “Most of us believe the first half of the year will be a slow growth period. Every forecast I’ve seen is for unemployment to creep above 5 percent by the middle of next year. It will be a less than hospitable job creation environment”- says Jared Bernstein, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute.

“The forward indicators of the labor market activity offer little hope that the labor market will be spared. It’s not good news when more people are signing up for unemployment checks, and the average length of unemployment is lengthening.”- says Ken Goldstein, labor economist for The Conference Board.

There will be some industries that will suffer more than others. Anything real estate and housing related is expected to take a hit as far as jobs, and that includes everything from mortgage companies to home appliance manufacturers. Technology is also sluggish, economist Bernstein points out, bringing in new jobs only in “dribs and drabs.” But there are also bright spots, he adds. “In health care, job growth has way outpaced the average, and so are jobs in education.” Bioscience and clean technology companies are also seeing some signs of life, says Chuck Pappalardo, managing director of recruiting firm Trilogy Search. Despite the positives, it’s going to be a bumpy road for most workers this year.

“The debate isn’t whether we’ll have a first half that’s strong but whether we’ll have a recession or just slow growth,” explains Bernstein.

Now more than ever, you have to be clear on what you can bring to a prospective employer because there are going to be more people applying for that job you want.To target your search, you have to do a lot of research up front into a company and the job you’re applying for. Sending out hundreds of resumes without knowing exactly what you want is going to get you no where, especially in a weak job market.

No matter what path you take, get ready to brace yourself for this year.