Magnetic 3D the global leader in glasses-free, auto-stereoscopic 3D displays and 3D digital signage solutions, announced the recent deployment of glasses-free auto-stereoscopic 3D LCD displays in the "Suites of the Future" campaign at Sun Life Stadium for the Super Bowl held on February 7, 2010. The "Suites of the Future" showcased entertainment innovations that redefine the stadium experience for fans while generating additional advertising revenue channels for the franchise owners.

"The 'Suites of the Future' campaign gave NFL team owners at the Super Bowl an exclusive first look at the next generation of out-of-home entertainment and innovative fan engagement techniques driven by our glasses-free 3D technology," said Tom Zerega, co-founder and CEO of Magnetic 3D. "Our goal is to deliver a unique, media-rich fan experience with glasses-free 3D entertainment and sponsored content that literally pops off the screen. As an entertainment experience fans can only enjoy at the stadium on game day, glasses-free 3D aligns perfectly with the franchise's goal of selling more tickets and merchandise while providing marketing departments with a new and exciting sponsorship opportunity in 3D."

The "Suites of the Future" enables sports and entertainment venues to target and deliver customized 2D and 3D video, promotional content as well as relevant game-day information to virtually any display within a venue. For the deployment within Sun Life Stadium at the Super Bowl, Magnetic 3D installed its state-of-the-art "Allura" 3D Digital Signage product line to provide a sports entertainment experience unlike any seen before.

"The 3D technology made a great impression on all who entered the suites," said Tery Howard, Sr. Vice President of Information Technology for the Miami Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium. "Our VIP Super Bowl guests were amazed at the glasses-free 3D technology and the high definition clarity of the displays. We are truly transforming the way our fans experience the game."

The "Suites of the Future" Super Bowl display solution featured a 42" Allura screen, which is capable of displaying high definition glasses-free 3D video and images while also offering backwards compatibility with traditional 2D using the versatile Magnetic 3D FuzionCast network player. Through the FuzionCast player, those in the suites were even able to watch 2D content on the same screens, providing a seamless experience for the audience. The upgrade to glasses-free 3D content and deployment of 3D content to the "Suites of the Future" screens was greatly simplified using Magnetic 3D's proprietary E3D auto-stereo file format, which uses the latest in image compression technology.

Glasses-free 3D content broadcast to the suites included the football league, divisional and team logos, as well as match-up sequences, Super Bowl history messages and a fly-through animation of Sun Life Stadium, in addition to triggered sequences for the kickoff and halftime. Thanks to Magnetic 3D's multi-stereo Enabl3D™ technology, no 3D glasses were required to view the 3D content, as Magnetic 3D's lens technology creates multiple distinct images and true Volumetric Perception™ which is the appearance of apparent "pop" and "depth" of content displayed during playback. Essentially, the display wears the 3D glasses instead of the viewer.

"The combination of our simultaneous 2D and 3D capable Allura displays and FuzionCAST player enabled the 'Suites of the Future' to truly demonstrate the next level in major stadium and event experiences at this year's Super Bowl," said Eric Angello, VP of Marketing & Creative for Magnetic 3D. "Not only was the content an exciting complement to the game's thrilling live action, but our content distribution channel also seamlessly deployed each stage right on cue. Throughout the event, this maintained a steadily engaging, and unforgettable, unique in-stadium experience for the fans, right up until we broadcast the winning logo to cement another place in football history at the end of the game."

The Nokia Cseries became official when the Finnish phone maker finally unveiled their first mobile phone offering under this new line, the Nokia C5. It was a pretty underwhelming device, but if this rendering of its upcoming sibling, the Nokia C6, proves to be true, it might be worth looking out for.

Form factor-wise, the Nokia C6 is like the lovechild of the Nokia E75 and the Nokia 5230. This handset follows in the footsteps of the Nokia N900 and N97/N97 Mini both of which are QWERTY touchscreen slider phones. The silver lining here though is that, apparently, it only comes come with 256MB internal memory, but that should be much of an issue just as long as it’s bundled with a 2GB/4GB microSD card. Apart from that, there’s still very little info about this particular Cseries phone’s specs.

For what it’s worth, this should serve as a heads up for you Nokia fan boys out there waiting on a more affordable touchscreen QWERTY phone to be released if this render is indeed spot on.

[tom's guide, mobile bulgaria via unwiredview]

GORDON BROWN is offering the carrot of another public holiday, but don’t bank on it yet.

Richard Waters at the Financial Times, reports that a source "familiar with the company’s thinking" has told him that Google is 99.9 percent certain it will close its Chinese search service.

...the company is likely to take some time to follow through with the plan as it seeks an orderly closure and takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by the authorities, the person familiar with its position said.

Google is also seeking ways to keep its other operations in China going, although some executives fear that a backlash from the Chinese authorities could make it almost impossible to keep a presence in the country.

Foremski's Take: The move was expected following yesterday's remarks by a senior Chinese government official that censoring the Internet was vital for public stability.

Looks Like Google Is Out Of China - Senior Official Says It Must Obey The Law

It also shows that there is a deep division within the ranks of Google's leadership. Eric Schmidt, the CEO, has repeatedly said that Google is committed to China. But he was unable to persuade Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders, from separating their concerns about censoring Internet search results in China, from Google's business in China.

It is unlikely that Google can maintain operations within China because any foreign business requires the approval of the Chinese government. Google has shown itself to be in opposition to the Chinese government -- this is an untenable position.

This also means that Google will unlikely be able to take part in joint ventures with others in China. In early February, Reuters reported that Google is a member of a consortium led by Disney, to buy a large stake in Bus Online, a large Chinese advertising company. It's difficult to see how this deal will go through with Google as a member, if it is an opponent to the government's censorship.

This means Google is barred from the world's largest and fastest growing Internet market.

The McKinsey Quarterly just published an article titled: "China’s Internet obsession" [free registration] looking at the market Google would leave behind.

Here are some extracts:

...by the end of 2009, the number of Internet users in China had touched 384 million, more than the entire population of the United States. That’s an increase of around 50 percent over 2008. Moreover, 233 million Chinese—twice as many as in the previous year—accessed the Net on handheld devices, partly because China’s cellular providers started offering 3G services widely last year.

...

People in the 60 largest cities in China spend around 70 percent of their leisure time on the Internet, according to a survey we conducted in 2009. In smaller towns, the corresponding number is 50 percent. The PC is fast replacing the TV set as an entertainment hub...
...
One in five consumers between the ages of 18 and 44 won’t purchase a product or service without first researching it on the Internet. They shop online at auction Web sites such as Taobao, paying for products and services with prepaid Taobao cards that the post offices sell for a small commission. The volume of e-commerce in China more than doubled last year.

...

Seismic changes are likely to take place in the Chinese consumer market because of the Internet—and we aren’t talking just about the fact that 50 million Chinese may soon have to stop using their favorite search engine, Google.

Too bad for Google it is absent from such a vital market. It's a huge blow to its business and future strategy.

But it is a bold move.

Google's founders see the issue of Internet censorship as being important enough to give up its China business. They've put a huge price on the importance of Internet freedoms -- and that's commendable.

But what future is there for Eric Schmidt? There's a big division between him and Messrs Page and Brin.

- - -

Please see:

Do GOOG Founders Still Need Adult Supervision?

"Fed up with government gridlock, but put off by the flavor of the Tea Party, people in cities across the country are offering an alternative: the Coffee Party. Growing through a Facebook page, the party pledges to "support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them." (from the New York Times article)
The Coffee Party, started by Anabel Park to "promote civility and inclusiveness in political discourse, engage the government not as an enemy but as the collective will of the people, push leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008."

Find a Coffee Party meeting near you. (previously)

Here lately, Navigon has been crushing it on the iPhone GPS front. Every couple of weeks, it seems that MobileNavigator is getting yet another fantastic update, all while TomTom's lackluster offering hangs back in the land of complacency. Thankfully for us all, the outfit has just pushed out the v1.3 update, which adds real-time traffic (an unfortunate $19.99 add-on), Google local search, updated roadways, automatic music fading between text-to-speech instructions and the ability to add locations from other apps and websites. We'd still recommend Navigon's software if you're looking to buy into iPhone GPS for the first time, but this is certainly a boon for those already locked into the TomTom alternative.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

TomTom iPhone app hits 1.3, gains real-time traffic and Google local search originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you looking for a TEETH CLEANING, WHITENING, polishing, or x-rays?

I am a dental hygiene student offering CHEAP (only $25) dental hygiene services at my school, located at YONGE & SHEPPARD. I am looking for clients who have not had a dental cleaning in a while (a few years), who do not visit a dental hygienist frequently, or who have poor oral health. Clients with disabilities and special needs are very welcome. Whatever I do is closely supervised and checked by registered dental hygienists and a dentist. Each appointment is 2.5 hours long, and the number of appointments is on average 3 to 6, depending on the condition of your teeth. You will receive a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss at one of your visits. The days are as follows:

Wednesdays 12-3 and 4-7,
Thurs 8-11, and
Fri 12-3.

Filed under: Truck, Etc., Technology, Chrysler, Dodge

Back in November, during Chrysler's seemingly endless business plan presentation, Ram trucks chief Fred Diaz told the captive media audience that the new 6.4-liter Hemi gasoline V8 would likely appear in Ram's heavy duty trucks. Fast forward to today, however, and it would appear that the big Hemi is now off the table. PickupTrucks.com reports that the 6.4 Hemi will instead be exclusive to Chrysler's potent SRT vehicles. Chrysler VP of product development, Joe Veltri, says that the 6.4 is designed for performance, not the grunt work truck buyers demand of their vehicles.

PickupTrucks.com notes also that Veltri sees a need for Ram to get gas engine that delivers more power and torque than the currently-available 5.7-liter Hemi, but that the likely course of action will involve building off that engine, rather than looking to adapt the SRT lump for truck duty. Why the drive to add more gas offerings in the diesel-dominated heavy-duty truck category? Emissions regulations, natch. Increasingly strict rules mean that diesels are becoming commensurately more costly to produce and sell, and Chrysler sees the ratio of diesel to gas engines offered becoming much closer in future years than it is today. Head over to PickupTrucks.com for the full skinny.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Chrysler's upcoming 6.4L V8 only for SRT, not for Ram? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's SXSW weekend so you may be pretty burnt out on conferences - or just sick and tired of hearing about them - but if you're in New York City this week, don't miss what's sure to be a profound and fascinating A Historic Conversation in NYC: Ai Weiwei, Jack Dorsey & Richard MacManus

On March 15, at the prestigious Paley Center in New York City, a conversation will take place between Chinese digital activist and artist Ai Weiwei, Twitter co-founder and chairman Jack Dorsey, and ReadWriteWeb's Richard MacManus, ReadWriteWeb founder and editor in chief. The moderator will be Orville Schell, the director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society in New York.
The topic of the event is the emergence of digital activism for fostering positive social change. The onsite event is invitation only, but it will be live streamed exclusively on ReadWriteWeb on Monday, March 15, at 6:30 PM EST (-5 GMT), from the Paley Center for Media, New York City.

15 – 16 March 2010: London, England

2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum — London

The 2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre in London. The two-day event features four dedicated conference streams:

• Social Networking World Forum
• Enterprise social media
• Social TV World Forum
• Mobile Social Networking Forum

The event features key speakers from global brands, organizations, social networking publishers and developers, pioneering social media leaders, top agencies, content producers, and more.

• Full workshop program within exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only

22 – 26 March 2010: New York City

Search Engine Strategies New York Conference & Expo

Go beyond search at Search Engine Strategies New York. Learn the newest trends, strategic action plans, and technology that industry leaders are employing today. Our experts will trace the natural evolution of search exploring topics such as: digital asset optimization, mobile application development, transition from search to discovery and more.Book your pass today. Enter RWW15 to save 15% off the registration. Sessions include:

• Digital Asset Optimization
• Deep Dive Into Analytics
• Augmented Reality: It's a Brave New World
• Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros and Cons
• Advanced B2B Search Marketing
• Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues

23 March 2010: San Francisco, California

S.F. Beta 4.0

After a long winter's hiatus, S.F. Beta is back, for its forth year straight! Join hundreds of founders, investors, developers, and technologists for a lively evening of demos, drinks, conversation, and new connections. Early bird tickets are available, and they're going fast. Register now for discounted admission. As always, we feature startup demos all night. This time around, the theme is Search & Discovery. If you're building the next Google (or the next Google acquisition), we want you here! Email cperry@sfbeta.com for more info.

26 March 2010: San Francisco, California

Freemium Summit

The first Freemium Summit is a one day event focused on exploring what it takes to succeed under the freemium business model. Across all segments of the media landscape, entrepreneurs and executives are pioneering models that combine a free offering with a premium, paid offering. This hybrid business model is one of the most exciting areas of business model innovation impacting the world of media and the Freemium Summit will explore the most important topics on the minds of leading practitioners.

Confirmed Speakers: Toni Schneider, Automattic (WordPress); Matt Brezina, Xobni; Aaron Levie, Box.net; Phil Libin, Evernote; Tom Conrad, Pandora; Drew Houston, Dropbox; Ranjith Kumaran, YouSendIt; Ben Chestnut, Mailchimp; Lance Walley, Chargify; Isaac Hall, Recurly; and Lincoln Murphy, Sixteen Ventures.

March 29, 2010: Portland, Oregon

Social Fresh Portland

The social media conference for marketers, Social Fresh is not about concept, but focused purely on case studies from the front lines. Learn what social media can really do for business bottom lines. Over the course of the day, you'll hear from 35 speakers from companies like Intel, Ford, Comcast, Nike and many more, as well as keynote Peter Shankman. Register now and use coupon code RWW15 for 15% off.

4 April 2010: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

ConnectNow

TEDx CMU is an independently organized TEDx event that will be held on April 4th, 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University and will feature a full day of talks by prominent speakers as well as recorded videos from past TEDTalks. Confirmed speakers include Jonathan Fields (author, blogger and entrepreneur), Stacey Monk (founder of Epic Change, a startup nonprofit), Chase Jarvis (photographer, director and social artist) and Nathan Martin (CEO of Deeplocal, an innovation studio in Pittsburgh).

The theme of the event is "Fearless", and we are inviting speakers from cross-disciplinary backgrounds to talk about their experiences, and tell us a little about what inspires them to be fearless in the pursuit of goals. We hope to spark discussions and foster connections between participants, encouraging aspiring individuals to follow their dreams and make a difference. The event is free to attend, and the application deadline is March 21, 2010.

For more information about the event, visit tedxcmu.com or email info@tedxcmu.com. You can also find TEDx CMU on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

7 – 9 April 2010: Sydney, Australia

ConnectNow

ConnectNow brings together international specialists and thought leaders in social media, emerging technologies and their intersection with business. Learn how the realtime web, location based services, augmented reality, ubiquitous computing and personalised services are changing marketing and communications. Understand the importance of trust in relationship marketing and what is "social currency". For more info email info@connectnow.net.au.

13 – 15 April 2010: Dallas, Texas

PubCon South

PubCon, the premier search and social media conference, features the industry's biggest names and key players shaping the future of the Web. PubCon South will include cutting-edge panel sessions exploring tracks dedicated to search, social media and affiliate marketing, an intensive professional search and social media training program, and some of the world's top keynote speakers. PubCon South at Dallas will also hold a one-day, two-track slate of intensive educational training programs led by some of the industry's most respected search professionals. The event takes place at the Richardson Conference and Civic Center. Register here.

16 April 2010: Mountain View, California

Under the Radar: Cloud

Under the Radar: Cloud is must-attend event for dealmakers and heads of IT from large enterprises, SMBs, service providers, carriers and media companies who are responsible for helping their companies leverage new technology and innovation in the fast-evolving IT ecosystem. Join us for the 15th Under the Radar conference, featuring a hand-picked selection of the world's most innovative cloud startups among 350 top tech, media, telcom and finance executives. For ticket and more information, visit http://undertheradarblog.com.

16 – 17 April 2010: Royal Oak, Michigan

FutureMidwest

FutureMidwest is the region's largest technology and knowledge conference. Founded by Adrian Pittman, Jordan Wolfe and Zach Lipson, FutureMidwest is the fusion of two successful conferences held in Michigan in 2009 - the Module Midwest Digital Conference and TechNow.

Both conferences highlighted how technology and digital tools have dramatically changed the way we do business and the effect this transition has had on companies. FutureMidwest kicks things up a notch with presentations, group breakout sessions, relationship-building opportunities and influencers who are taking action to redefine business in the digital age. Register here.

April 19, 2010: St. Louis Missouri

Social Fresh St. Louis

The social media conference for marketers, Social Fresh is not about concept, but focused purely on case studies from the front lines. Learn what social media can really do for business bottom lines. Over the course of the day you'll hear from 35 speakers from companies like Ford, Best Buy, Scottrade, Hardees, CMT and many more. Register now and use coupon code RWW15 for 15% off.

19 – 21 April 2010: San Francisco, California

DrupalCon

DrupalCon is the premier conference focused on Drupal, the award-winning open source content management framework that is galvanizing social publishing and web development today. For a registration fee of $195, attendees get three full days of sessions led by the best and brightest Drupal experts.

Drupal has been downloaded over 2 million times since its inception, and project growth has doubled annually for several years. Drupal is used to deliver a wide variety of application types including blogs, wikis, community networks, digital media portals, and web content publishing and management.

26 April 2010: San Francisco, California

Future of Money and Technology Summit

The Future of Money & Technology Summit will bring together the best and brightest thinkers around money, including visionaries, entrepreneurial business people, developers, press, investors, authors, solution/service providers, and organizations who work where cash and commerce collide. We meet to discuss the evolving ecosystem around money in a proactive, conducive to dealmaking environment. Featured speakers include Jolie O'Dell from ReadWriteWeb, as well as representatives from Wells Fargo Bank, Kiva, SharesPost, Jambool, Founders Fund, Outright.com, SoftTech VC, and many more.

Use discount code "rww" to get 10% off registration.

7 May 2010: Mountain View, California

ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit 2010

The ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit 2010 will be an exploration of the latest Mobile development trends - both the technology and the emerging business applications. Get ready to explore, think and create the future of Mobile with the brightest in the industry, your peers! As in our last Summit, The Real-Time Web, the ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit is an unconference.

An unconference is a participant driven conference where the agenda is created on the day, in real-time and discussions are lead by conference participants. Read about the history of unconferences.

We will have two main tracks at this Summit - Development and Business - so the Summit will be of interest to managers, marketers, developers, innovators, entrepreneurs and thought leaders alike. Here's a sample of some of the topics we'll explore in both of these tracks.

• 
  
• Geo-location services - what can you do using location as a platform?
• 
  
• Commerce & Marketing - as more and more consumers use smartphones, how can businesses utilize this channel?
• 
  
• Content, Publishing & Recommendations - the technologies and best practices.
• 
  
• Mobile Social Networking - how to tap into communities on mobile devices.
• 
  
• Internet of Things - the emerging opportunities from sensor and RFID data.
• 
  
• Augmented Reality - the technology and business applications of AR.
• 
  
• Native App vs. Browser Based - Including iPhone, Android, RIM, Palm, Windows Mobile and Symbian.
• 
  

Click here to register now, or to become a sponsor, or to help shape the conference.

11 May 2010: San Francisco, California

FinovateSpring

FinovateSpring 2010 will again showcase the most cutting-edge financial and banking technology innovations to Silicon Valley and the world. With Finovate's signature mix of short, fast-paced onstage demos (no slides are allowed) from handpicked companies and intimate networking time with their executives, this conference packs a ton of unique value into a single day.

Come see the cutting edge of banking and financial technology and network with hundreds of the leading financial executives, venture capitalists, press, industry analysts, bloggers and fintech entrepreneurs. Early bird registration rates are available.

May 17 2010: San Francisco, California

SF MusicTech Summit

The SF MusicTech Summit will bring together 700-plus visionaries in the music/technology space - the best and brightest entrepreneurs, developers, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. We meet to discuss the evolving music, business and technology ecosystem in a proactive, conducive-to-dealmaking environment. Enter the discount code "rww" to get 10% off.

25 – 27 May 2010: Denver, Colorado

Glue

Glue is the only conference devoted solely to exploring the problem-sets facing architects, developers and IT professionals in a "post-cloud" world. Glue focuses on the APIs and protocols (Twitter, Facebook, Websockets, PubSubHubBub, XMPP), formats and standards (RDF/Linked Data, JSON, Microformats, HTML5), platforms and providers (Amazon, Rackspace, Google App Engine, Salesforce.com, Eucalyptus), Identity Protocols (OAuth/WRAP, SAML, OpenID, SPML) emerging NoSQL data models (Cassandra, CouchDB, MongoDB, Riak, HBase), and other mechanisms that are building the post-cloud world.

ReadWriteCloud will be blogging live from Gluecon and CloudCamp, and ReadWriteWeb's Alex Williams will be moderating the "Managing Complexity in the Cloud" session. Please join us May 25-27 in Denver, Colorado. ReadWriteWeb readers can receive 10% off of registration by using the code "RWW12".

15 – 16 June 2010: New York City

Corporate Social Media Summit

The Corporate Social Media Summit is a two day conference focused exclusively on how big businesses can take advantage of social media to enhance their marketing/comms strategy. Featuring:

• Practical and relevant insights from peers who have already used social media successfully
• 20-plus corporate speakers (including PepsiCo, Whole Foods, Dell, McDonald's, General Motors, Citi, Johnson & Johnson),
• Best practice, benchmarks and practical next steps you can use to take advantage of social media in your business
• A tightly-focused agenda with 14 in-depth, practical workshops giving you knowledge on only the most critical business issues surrounding corporate use of social media

Save $400 if you quote RWW400 when booking. Book here.

29 – 30 June 2010: London

Cloud Computing World Forum

The 2nd annual Cloud Computing World Forum is the perfect event to learn and discuss the development, integration, adoption and(...)

If you’re wondering whether being a Palm Developer has any perks, it seems that there are. Palm is currently offering a 20% discount and free 2-day shipping on it devices to Palm Developers. The bad news is that while the phones are contract-free, they’re carrier-locked to Verizon and Sprint, which probably doesn’t seem too smart on Palm’s part, especially when you take into account that the Palm Pre costs $439 on Palm’s website. Would this deal actually make you buy one of these devices from Palm, or would you rather just accept a carrier’s contract and get the same phone for a cheaper price?

Permalink: Discounted Palm Phones For Palm Developers from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

With Google offering free turn-by-turn navigation for Android devices, and Nokia following suit with its Ovi Maps, it was only a matter of time before all these free navigation services claimed a victim, and it seems that the first victim to buckle under the pressure is Vodafone’s Wayfinder. This news comes just 16 months after Vodafone spent a hefty $30 million to purchase Wayfinder. While many might have thought that paid navigation services would be the next big thing, it seems that free navigation services have trumped that. With the announcement of Google’s free navigation service doing terrible things for TomTom and Garmin’s share prices, who do you think might be (or will be) the next victim to free navigation services?

Permalink: Vodafone Wayfinder Falls Victim To Free Smartphone Navigation from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

The creator of Chatroulette has revealed that he is working on a way to preserve user’s privacy, following the launch of Chat Roulette Map, a Google Maps mashups that pinpoints the location of users of the service.

Andrey Ternovskiy, speaking in an interview with the New York Times Bits blog, stated, “There is a certain level of anonymity on the Chatroulette that Chatroulette Map takes away, but I plan to add something to my site to allow them to still hide their whereabouts.”

Chatroulette Map highlights a Chatroulette user’s location by looking at his or her IP addresses, which is revealed via the peer-to-peer nature of the webcam connection. As well as placing a marker on a map, users are screengrabbed, offering anyone in the world a brief sneak peak through a stranger’s webcam.

This has drawn criticism from privacy advocates, although those behind Chatroulette Map say they will remove an image and marker on request if emailed a matching photo to ensure the authenticity of the request.

17-year-old Ternovskiy, a Russian student currently visiting the U.S., says of ChatRoulette Map, “I enjoy it”, but obviously realizes his users — some of which appear to have a penchant for public nudity and masturbation — might be less likely to use the service without the anonymity it previously offered.

However, this does not mean Ternoviskiy is green-lighting the use of the service for such NSFW activities. He has introduced a “report” button, which will see someone “reported” three times banned from the service.

Other points of interest from the interview are the fact that Ternovskiy has yet to collect his Google AdWords earnings as he’s is still under 18, that he’s been offered a $1 million buy-out, and that last month 30 million unique visitors hit Chatroulette, which is averaging one million new users a each day.

Tags: chatroulette, chatroulette map

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Bentley, Luxury

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports - Click above for high-res image gallery
It may not be the most interesting news you read all week, but we now have a date at which all Bentley Continentals will be able to gulp down whiskey with the best of 'em: June.( Well, not exactly whiskey, but ethanol's pretty close.) Bentley had made the announcement (sans date) at the Geneva Motor Show when it showed off the Continental Supersports Convertible.

This move as a big first step toward reaching Bentley's stated goal of offering an entirely biofuel-capable lineup by 2012. In its latest form, as seen in the Continental Supersports, Bentley's twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 offers up 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. That's sufficient to push the Conti to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and onto to a top speed of 202 mph.

As the Continental family is easily Bentley's most popular offering, this means that over half of all cars the brand sells this year will be flex-fuel-compatible. For those keeping track, the Brooklands coupe (which will soon be discontinued), Azure convertible and the soon-to-be-released Mulsanne sedan (the replacement for the long-running Arnage) are still not yet biofuel capable. According to Automotive News, however, the Mulsanne will be E85-capable shortly after its launch later this year.

Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

All Bentley Continental models going flex-fuel in June originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The HD DVD company's first BD box

Review Toshiba is late to the Blu-ray party, having waited a decent interval after the death of HD-DVD. The BDX2000 - oh, how futuristic products used to seem, just by adding the millennium to their name - is its first offering. It’s a sleek unit, with a pull-down front panel that hides the disk tray, display, controls and an SD card slot....

[In a GameSetWatch-exclusive set of blog posts for the week of GDC 2010, Magical Wasteland blogger and Game Developer magazine columnist Matthew Burns continues his journey through the show. Previously: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.]

My energy is starting to flag; my feet are complaining and my voice is growing hoarse. I have ingested so much about video games in the past few days that I feel overfull and ready to burst, wishing incoherently that I want to read a book or play the piano or just do something, anything, but think about video games.

It is not to be, though: today the expo floor opens, even more game developers fly in to San Francisco, and the giant inexorable train of video games barrels along towards its fabulous secret destiny.

I move towards the Unity booth and instantly collide with yet more former co-workers. We reference hellish older times before catching up– one is a gameplay programmer now– many steps up from the PS2 memory card save/load state issues with which he was saddled last I worked with him– and another is the principal in an iPhone game startup. He shows us an early build of his first game before excusing himself on account of his hangover.

At the edge of the north hall floor I speak to a man from TechExcel about his production management software products (DevSpec and DevPlan and DevTrack) with their technical requirements and task trackers and bug lists.

I mention that a lot of game developers take umbrage at this kind of software– not personally, but at the attitude this sort of product often comes with– and that bringing it in can be a political battle because the databases and workflows and boxy user interfaces smack of top-down institutional sclerosis. “I don’t think we’re doing our job right if we’re trying to make it sexy,” he says. “Part of the point is to not be sexy.”

Close by, the exposition floor’s career pavilion is mobbed by recent and soon to be graduates, who are queueing up to talk to representatives of well-known companies like Insomniac or Blizzard, while the booths of less well known studios, right next door, are awkwardly barren. It is again impressed upon me what a buyer’s market it is and I start to worry that video game degrees will be the next film school degrees, acquired in search of a dream, deferred somehow into a retail job at Starbucks or Barnes and Noble.

Konami has a desk there too, and in the interest of continuing the theme of what I’d written yesterday about the Japanese game industry I examine their open positions in Tokyo. A notice is included that fluent Japanese is required. I ask the person behind the desk, How many applicants do you get? “A lot. Many hundreds,” she says. And how many of those can actually speak Japanese fluently? She laughs. “Pretty much none of them.”

So is it worth it to fly out to GDC in search of the one person in all of the industry who can do the job, speak Japanese, and is willing to accept the pay and position that Konami is offering? Yes, she says– it’s important to get the ideas of foreigners in order to make games that appeal internationally, before confiding that many of the people most suitable for these roles are Japanese who have gone to college in the US and who are looking to return home.

In the early evening I meet up with Brenton Woodrow, Chris McCarthy and Kyle Murphy, the other developers of Planck, the game I’m working on, and we converse for almost four hours. We talk about our plans and the future, throwing ideas at each other, our enthusiasm infectious and self-affirming.

My tiredness fades, my voice recovers, and I am yelling over the music– yelling about how our game is going to be awesome, yelling about the nuances of FPS mission design, yelling stories about dodgy code. Much like game playing, there is something about game development that naturally begs for discussion; there is a tremendous hunger for knowledge, feedback, and argument.

The night continues in another stuffy hotel bar, where I meet some television producers and watch a girl smearing her lipstick on a hapless game school student’s face. The late, late evening takes place in a hotel suite and is difficult to remember. I collapse on a couch and wake up on the floor.

hotel of Dhaka City ( Bangladesh Hotel booking portal ) Best European hotel Chain- hotel reservation portal; easily booking hotel at Dhaka; hotel at Dhaka; guest house in Dhaka city; tourist home at Dhaka; travel home at Dhaka; business hotel in Dhaka; Reservation Manager: 00 88 01715093412; Hotel Northern Ltd. Category: 2 Star Accessible: Only 8 minutes drive from International Airport, Dhaka Price: Room Category--------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy-----25 USD$--------30 USD$ Double Occupancy----30 USD$--------30 USD$ Triple Occupancy-----30 USD$---------35 USD$ Extra Bed-------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: Hotel Norther Limited is housed on a Six storied newly built complex at Uttara, Dhaka. The specious well decorated rooms to give Maximum comfort to the Valued Guests. Regent Guest House Category: 2 Star Accessible: 15 mins drive from Dhaka int airport to Hotel Price: Room Category--------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy-----35 USD$--------40 USD$ Double Occupancy----40 USD$---------50 USD$ Extra Bed---------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: Situated in Banani- the diplomatic and VIP area of Dhaka city. It is a nice secured, comfortable, clean, calm and quite house for aristocrat dignitaries. The Guesthouse is 10 minutes drive way from Dhaka International Airport. We have a well-trained staff who continuously put to their utmost efforts to provide high quality of services to the guest. We do with honesty and serve with heartiest and dedication. Relaxing Guest Houes Category: 3 Star Accessible: 15 mins drive from Dhaka int airport to Hotel Price: Room Category---------Standard---------Deluxe Single Occupancy------40 USD$-------50 USD$ Double Occupancy-----50 USD$-------65 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$-------10 USD$ Hotel Pacific Category: 2 Star Accessible: 35 minutes drive from Dhaka international airport Price: Room Category------------Standard-------------Deluxe Single Occupancy---------30 USD$------------35 $ USD Double Occupancy--------40 USD$------------45 USD$ Extra Bed---------------10 USD$--------------10 USD$ Description: Located in central business hub Motijeel commercial area. by Rickshaw it is easy to enter downtown old Dhaka. Merriott Guest House Category: 2 Star Accessible: The hotel is in Gulshan north with its calm and quiet environment. It is 10 minutes drive to Zia Intl. airport and 20 minutes drive to all the business areas. Surrounded by number of diplomatic missions and international standard restaurant with in walking distance. Price: Room Category-----------Standard------------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------45 USD$-----------50 USD$ Double Occupancy-------50 USD$-----------60 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$------------10 USD$ Description: An expert group of hoteliers having working experience in a five star hotels in Dhaka now has taken over the "Marriott Guest House" on their own. Saloon Guest House Category: 2 Star Accessible: !5 mins drive from International air port Price: Room Category---------Standard---------Deluxe Single Occupancy------35 USD$--------40 USD$ Double Occupancy-----40 USD$--------50 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$--------10 USD$ Description: Banani is one of the diplomatic zones of the capital Dhaka. It is a secured serene and social haven meant for those who care about an exquisite stay. SALON" guest house is located at Banani, the city’s most exclusive, decent, aristocratic residential area, about 10 minutes drive from Zia International airport, 20 minutes from kamalapur central Railway and only 2 minutes from the business, entertainment and modern shopping centers of Gulshan Tourist cottage near Dhaka Since-1994 This Cottage is situated in the “ Bonaid Village of Narsingdi District which is 30 km. from Dhaka on the Dhaka –Sylhet high way. This cottage is three rooms with its Modern furniture to comfortable accommodate. Road Map: North side way ( Airport >Khilkhet>Kanchan Bridge> Bhulta> Village Cottage at Boanid ( 2 km. border of Rupgong in the west >Araihazar in the south border & Narsingdi in the Eastern part. Airport>Zero pint> Jatrabari> Bhulta> Village cottage. FACILITIES: 3 room for 6-9 people; comfortable chair; Table; Hot & cold water; Fridge; Nice baranda with Bird nest; Computer with Internet facilities; Fooding: Breakfast; B.lunch; B. Dinner; Snacks per Day => BDT. 550 or US$ 8.00 Lodging per night per room : BDT. 1,000 or US$ 14.00 A/c car per day: BDT. 2,000 or US$ 30.00 includes Fuel Tour Guide per day: BDT. 500 or US$ 8.00 Shitalakhya river cruise: BDT. 1000 or US$ 14.00 Uniconsult Guest House Category: 2 Star Accessible: 20 mins drive from air port Price: Room Category---------Standard--------Deluxe Single Occupancy------45 USD$-------55 USD$ Double Occupancy-----60 USD$-------70 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$-------10 USD$ Description: An exquisite guesthouse furnished with all the essential trappings required for pleasant stay. The guesthouse is a quiet enclave, away from the strains and sounds of modern living, and each and every face of service seeks to preserve this peace. The service at the guest house is exceptional yet unobtrusive Viator Guest House Category: 3 Star Accessible: Viator Bangladesh Limited is a new business in Bangladesh. Our guesthouse is located in Banani (Former Lutheran Centre), which is a convenient 15 minutes drive from Zia International Airport. We have easy access to all parts of the city Price: Room Category-------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy----35 USD$---------40 USD$ Double Occupancy---50 USD$---------60 USD$ Extra Bed--------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: Top class business Hotel Asia Pacific hotel Category: 3 Star Accessible: 10 minutes Drive from Intl airport Price: Room Category----------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------70 USD$---------80 USD$ Double Occupancy-----85 USD$---------90 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: Asia pacific hotel is situated in Dhaka's prestigious Baridhara diplomatic area, surrounded by embassies such as American UK, Chinese Korean embassy. It is 10 minutes drive from the zia intl. airport Grand Azad Category: 3 Star Accessible: 20 minutes drive from airport Price: Room Category---------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------35 USD$---------45 USD$ Double Occupancy-----55 USD$----------60 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: Grand Azad Hotel is one of the sister concern of Azad Group. Grand Azad Hotel is a newly build modern international superior class 15 storied luxurious Three Star hotel with a full range of facilities catering to Business travelers Orchard Plaza Category: 3 Star Accessible: 15 minutes Drive from airport Price: Room Category----------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------50 USD$----------60 USD$ Double Occupancy------65 USD$----------75 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: Located in the city centre, adjacent to the main commercial district of Dhaka, i.e. Motijeel Commercial Area. It is about 40 minutes drive south from Zia International Airport and 25 minutes from the Diplomatic Area, Baridhara. Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka Museum and Ramna Park are very nearby. Recreation facilities are available to satisfy the needs of visitors and business executives. Most of our hotel employees have 5 to 10 years experience in 4/5 star deluxe hotels abroad. We assure you of our best services all the times Pacific Inn Guest House Category: 2 Star Accessible: We are in the heart of Dhaka diplomatic zone. 15 minutes drive both ways from Dhaka international airport and central commercial area. Price: Room Category------------Standard------------Deluxe Single Occupancy---------40 USD$-----------50 USD$ Double Occupancy--------50 USD$-----------60 USD$ Extra Bed-------------------10 USD$-----------10 USD$ Description: We welcome you to the pacific inn during your stay in Dhaka. A guesthouse by a lakeside specially designed for your comfortable accommodation. Ambala Inn Category: 2 Star Accessible: The hotel is in Dhanmondi with its calm and quiet environment. It is 30 minutes drive to Zia Intl. airport Price: Room Category-------------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy----------40 USD$-----------55 USD$ Double Occupancy---------65 USD$-----------70 USD$ Extra Bed--------------------10 USD$-----------10 USD$ Description: Ambala Group’ has added their newly built bed and breakfast motel at Dhanmondi area.business travelers will find it very convenient during their stay in Dhaka. Aristocrat Inn Category: 2 Star Accessible: Aristocrat Inn is situated at Gulshan-2 . It is 10 minutes drive from Zia International Airport. Price: Room Category------------Standard------------Deluxe Single Occupancy---------50 USD$----------60 USD$ Double Occupancy--------60 USD$----------75 USD$ Extra Bed-------------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: Aristocrat Inn the premier guest house in town. The Inn is committed to live up to its name by providing Aristocratic Service to the guests who are the Aristocrats. Midway International Category: 3 Star Accessible: 30 mins drive from Dhaka int airport to Hotel Price: Room Category---------Standard---------Deluxe Single Occupancy.......35 USD$..........50 USD$ Double Occupancy......50 USD$..........60 USD$ Extra Bed.................10 USD$...........10 USD$ Description: We are pleased to introduce ourselves as one of the 3 star leading Hotelier and caterers in Bangladesh. We are operating an international hotel with various types of rooms and restaurants. Hotel located in the heart of the city. 18 km from zia intl. Airport Asia Pacific Blossom Category: 3 Star Accessible: 10 Km from Zia intl. Airport. Walking distance from all shopping all and restaurant of different cuisine. Price: Room Category----------Standard-------------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------65 USD$----------80 USD$ Double Occupancy-------80 USD$---------90 USD$ Extra Bed------------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: Conference hall is capacity of 150 people with conference facilities, swimming poll and sauna, poolside restaurant, fitness center, safety and security, business center. Accept all major credit cards, same day laundry service BRAC Center INN Category: 2 Star Accessible: Excellent location near the diplomatic enclave overlooking the Gulshan lake. Price: Room Category---------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------50 USD$---------65 USD$ Double Occupancy-----60 USD$---------70 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: BRAC Centre Inn - A symbol of refreshing elegance. An authentic example of personalised hospitality. Excellent location near the diplomatic enclave overlooking the Gulshan lake. Unique blend of service and comfort with the warm touch of home. Multiple cuisine, local and international, to make your stay all the more enjoying. Bon Vivant Category: 2 Star Accessible: The hotel is located in a clam and solitary area of Baridhara. 7 Kilomater south from the ZIA International Airport and 8 Kilomaters north of Motijheel and Dilkusha Commercial Areas, Dhaka. Price: Room Category----------Standard-------------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------50 USD$-----------65 USD$ Double Occupancy------60 USD$-----------70 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$-----------10 USD$ Description: Hotel Bon Vivant is an outstanding international hotel with a unique combination of 38 fully furnished rooms with suites. Hotel Center Point Category: 2 Star Accessible: Hotel is located in Gulshan (Former Lutheran Centre), which is a convenient 15 minutes drive from Zia International Airport. We have easy access to all parts of the city. Price: Room Category-----------Standard-----------------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------50 USD$--------------65 USD$ Double Occupancy-------60 USD$--------------70 USD$ Extra Bed------------------10 USD$--------------10 USD$ Description: Center Point Hotel welcomes you in Dhaka to make you feel at home. A team of Hotel Management personal is working round the clock to serve you better. Citadel Hotel Category: 2 Star Access: Citadel Guesthouse is situated at Gulshan-2 . It is 10 minutes drive from Zia International Airport. Price: Room Category---------Standard--------Deluxe ( Double ) Single Occupancy------45 USD$------- 55 USD$ Double Occupancy-----60 USD$--------70 USD$ Extra Bed---------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: The Citadel Hotel is an unique hotel which is secured comfortable and unbeatable for the warm and personalized service. Civic Inn Category: 2 Star Accessible: Situated in one of the cities prime locations, the prestigious Gulshan diplomatic enclave. 15 minutes drive both ways from the International Airport & Central Commercial Area Price: Room Category----------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------45 USD$----------60 USD$ Double Occupancy-----60 USD$---------70 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$ Description: Civic Inn an impressive hotel with the experience of more than a decade of its professional management which provides every modern amenities & comfort. Offers good facilities for the business executives, international consultants as well as a host of local attractions to entertain the tourists. De Crystal Garden Category: 3 Star Accessible: Located in Dhaka's prestigious Gulshan Diplomatic area. It is 10 minutes drive from the Zia International Airport. Zia International Airport - 7 Kilometers Price: Room Category---------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------55 USD$----------65 USD$ Double Occupancy-----65 USD$----------75 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: An oasis of luxury and tranquility in the heart of bustling Dhaka city. The hotel provides extensive world class facilities and services to business travelers who expect comfort, efficiency and warm hospitality. Hotel De Castle Category: 3 Star Accessible: Set amidst the greenery of the diplomatic enclave of Banani, only 10 minutes derive from Zia International Airport. Price: Room Category----------Standard---------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------50 USD$--------60 USD$ Double Occupancy------45 USD$--------55 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$--------10 USD$ Description: Welcome to the emerald green Bangladesh, the land of opportunities. Stay amidst peaceful and comfortable surroundings at Hotel De Castle, your home away from home. Hotel De Crystal Crown Category: 3 Star Accessible: The Guest House is in Uttara Model Town with its calm and quiet environment. It is 5 to 10 minutes drive to Zia Intl. airport and 20 minutes drive to all the business areas. Price: Room Category----------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------45 USD$---------70 USD$ Double Occupancy-----35 USD$---------55 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Dhaka midtown hotel Category: 3 Star Accessible: Located 15 minutes from zia international airport and in the heart of diplomatic zone, the hotel stands in its own extensive grounds next to the Embassies and diplomatic warehouses. Price: Room Category----------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------35 USD$----------55 USD$ Double Occupancy------45 USD$----------65 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: Dhaka Mid Town Hotel is a nice hotel for international guests. It is professionally operated in a modern building with an eye-catching architectural design. Dutch Club Category: 3 Star Accessible: Located in Dhaka's prestigious Gulshan Diplomatic area, surrounded by Lake with Park, American Club, Australian Club, Dutch Club, British Club, International Club & Nordic Club, which is 10 minutes drive from the Zia International Airport. Zia International Airport - 7 Kilometers Price: Room Category---------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------50 USD$----------65 USD$ Double Occupancy-----60 USD$----------80 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: An oasis of luxury and tranquility in the heart of bustling Dhaka city. The hotel provides extensive world class facilities and services to business travelers who expect comfort, efficiency and warm hospitality. Eastern House Category: 3 Star Accessible: Located 15 minutes from zia international airport and in the heart of diplomatic zone, the hotel stands in its own extensive grounds next to the Embassies and diplomatic zones. Price: Room Category-----------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------50 USD$---------55 USD$ Double Occupancy--------70 USD$--------70 USD$ Extra Bed-------------------10 USD$--------10 USD$ Description: Eastern house is an exclusive Guest House for international guests. It is professionally operated in a modern building with an eye-catching architectural design Eastern Residence Category: 3 Star Accessible: The hotel is located in a clam and solitary area of Banani. 7 Kilometer south from the ZIA International Airport and 8 Kilometers north of Motijeel and Dilkusha Commercial Areas, Dhaka. The hotel is surrounded by shopping malls, clubs restaurants and diplomatic mission. Price: Room Category----------Standard------------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------65 USD$-----------75 USD$ Double Occupancy------80 USD$-----------90 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$-----------10 USD$ Description: Hotel Eastern Residence is an outstanding international hotel with a unique combination of 60 fully furnished rooms with suites and service apartments. In order to cater to the need of the customers of 21st century, we have equipped the hotel with the most modern technology to cope with the diversified interest of today's guest Elenga Resort Category: 3 Star Accessible: Easies way to JRE is from Ashulia and Savar intersection to east to Kaliakoir Intersection. Then to north from Kaliakoir Intersection to Mirzappur. Best to take Mirzapur by pass then avail korotia by pass to reach to Tangail bypass .At he end of Tangail bypass go east again and in less then 5 minutes you will reach to Elenga Bazar in Kalihati Thana. JRL Elenga Resort is adjacent to the east of the Bazar. Large billboard will show the way to the Resort.. Price: Room Category-----------Standard---------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------45 USD$--------60 USD$ Double Occupancy--------55 USD$--------75 USD$ Extra Bed-------------------10 USD$--------10 USD$ Description: Close to the tantalizing view of river Jamuna, and Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge, JRL Elenga Resort is alluring you to invigorate from languorous life and rejuvenate yourself. Visit Elenga Resort and give in yourself to the nature. Far pavilion Category: 3 Star Accessible:It is close to EC Delegation Office, American Club, Australian Recreation Center, BAGHA Club, Dutch Club, International Club, Shops and Restaurants & also 15 minutes drive the Zia International Airport. Price: Room Category---------Standard-------------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------45 USD$----------60 USD$ Double Occupancy------55 USD$----------75 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: Far Pavilion Ltd. guest house, only 10 minutes drive from the Zia International Airport. We have 32 rooms of various categories suitable for various budgets. We aim to make your stay comfortable & memorable. Hospitality is our specialty. Golden Deer Category: 3 Star Accessible:We are located in Gulsha-2, a diplomatic zone in the northern part of Dhaka. 15 minutes drive both ways from Dhaka international airport and central commercial area. Our professional experience will and ensures that your stay is enjoyable. Price: Room Category------------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------50 USD$---------65 USD$ Double Occupancy-------65 USD$---------75 USD$ Extra Bed------------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: Opened in mid-2002, this new international business hotel in equipped to the highest standards to meet the needs of the discerning traveler. Under a highly qualified management team trained in international hospitality, our Golden Deer staff is eager to do their best to ensure your stay to be happy, comfortable and safe. Golden Goose Category: 3 Star Accessible: It is close to EC Delegation Office, American Club, Australian Recreation Center, BAGHA Club, Dutch Club, International Club, Shops and Restaurants & also 15 minutes drive the Zia International Airport Price: Room Category-----------Standard--------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------50 USD$------65 USD$ Double Occupancy-------65 USD$------75 USD$ Extra Bed------------------10 USD$------10 USD$ Description: Hotel Asrafee Category: 3 Star Accessible: Located at Rajarbagh Dhaka just overlooking Rajarbagh police Lines and being at a stone’s throw from Kamlapur Railway station, BRTC-an international road network, Bangladesh Secretariat and Motijheel Commercial Area, the country’s biggest Commercial hub; Hotel Ashrafee is linked with one of the best road and railway communication networks. Inter-city Luxury coach networks like Green Line, Shohagh, Silk Line, etc. are within our vicinity. It’s just a 40-minute drive from the Zia International Airport. Price: Room Category----------Standard---------Deluxe Single Occupancy------35 USD$--------50 USD$ Double Occupancy-----50 USD$--------60 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$--------10 USD$ Description: HOTEL ASHRAFEE and exclusive addition to Dhaka’s prides on having another new hotel at it’s heart. Only 30 minutes drive from Zia International Airport, HOTEL ASHRAFEE has a convenient location overlooking all the important centers of the city. Marino Guest House Category: 3 Star Accessible: House no.46, Road No.18, Block - J , Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh Price: Room Category----------Standard------------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------55 USD$----------65 USD$ Double Occupancy------70 USD$----------80 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: We are located in Banani, a diplomatic zone in the northern part of Dhaka. 15 minutes drive both ways from Dhaka international airport and central commercial area. Our professional experience will and ensures that your stay is enjoyable Rigs Inn Category: 3 Star Accessible: Very near to the diplomatic zone of Gulshan Baridhara and surrounded by a variety of authentic restaurants and shopping malls, the hotel is conveniently located in close proximity of the business areas and within easy reach of the Zia International Airport, the country's gateway by air. Price: Room Category---------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------55 USD$-------65 USD$ Double Occupancy------70 USD$-------75 USD $ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$-------10 USD$ Description: A scenic view of the lake will add a new dimension to your pleasant stay, while on official visit, business or tourism, enjoy our personalized, discreet and efficient service in a homely environment, where every request will be honored by the skilled personnel who have five-star hotel experience inside the country and abroad Rose Wood Residence Category: Three Star Accessible: Rose Wood Residence is strategically located within the Capital City Dhaka surrounded by Baridhara and Banani in the close vicinity to the exclusive Shopping Mall, Bank, Hospital, and Entertainment Zone and very close to the Motijheel Commercial Area, Prime Minister Office & Parliament House. Zia International Airport, Dhaka -12 Kilometers and 15 minutes Drive from the Airport. Price: Room Category-----------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy--------45 USD$---------55 USD$ Double Occupancy-------55 USD$---------65 USD$ Extra Bed------------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: Hotel Rose Wood & tourism, the name blends in a unique combination of experience -comfort, multi - cultural value and achievement since your step taken at our premises. Satisfaction of our valued guests has made a substantial market that leads us to be the pioneer in the field of hospitality industry of the country. Royal Resort Category: 3 Star Accessible: Very near to the diplomatic zone of Gulshan Baridhara and surrounded by a variety of authentic restaurants and shopping malls, the hotel is conveniently located in close proximity of the business areas and within easy reach of the Zia International Airport, the country's gateway by air. Price: Room Category--------Standard------------Deluxe Single Occupancy-----45 USD$----------65 USD$ Double Occupancy----60 USD$----------75 USD$ Extra Bed---------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: A scenic view of the lake will add a new dimension to your pleasant stay, while on official visit, business or tourism, enjoy our personalized, discreet and efficient service in a homely environment, where every request will be honored by the skilled personnel who have five-star hotel experience inside the country and abroad Purbani International Category: 3 Star Accessible: Located in the city center, adjacent to the main commercial district of Dhaka. It is about 90 minutes drive south from Zia International Airport Price: Room Category---------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------90 USD$---------110 USD$ Double Occupancy------100 USD$-------120 USD$ Extra Bed-----------------10 USD$----------10 USD$ Description: The hotel provides extensive world-class facilities and services to business travelers who expect comfort, efficiency and warm hospitality Rajmoni Ishakha Category: 3 Star Accessible: Price: Room Category---------Standard--------Deluxe Single Occupancy------45 USD$-------55 USD$ Double Occupancy------55 USD$------65 USD$ Extra Bed----------------10 USD$-------10 USD$ Description: Hotel Sarina Category: 5 Star Accessible: Just 15 minutes drive from Zia International Airport and minutes away from the Diplomatic Enclave of Gulshan and Baridhara Price: Room Category--------------Standard-----------Deluxe Single Occupancy---------95 USD$---------110 USD$ Double Occupancy-------120 USD$---------130 USD$ Extra Bed-------------------15 USD$-----------15 USD$ Description: Govt. approved International standard 5 star hotel at prime zone Hotel La vinchi Category: 3 Star Accessible: 25 minutes drive from ariport Price: Room Category--------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy-----65 USD$---------80 USD$ Twin Occupancy------80 USD$---------90 USD$ Extra bed---------------10 USD$---------10 USD$ Description: Best western Hotel, enjoy your stay! Lake Castle Category: 3 Star Accessible: The magnificent lavish hotel is situated by the side of a lake with greeneries. Its elegant scenic beauty will take you to the dream world. All the 60 beautifully decorated rooms are fitted with all modern amenities. The hotel is in Gulshan north with its calm and quiet environment. It is 10 minutes drive to Zia Intl. airport and 20 minutes drive to all the business areas. The hotel surrounds by the American Club, diplomats and elite of the city.Located near diplomatic zone with all the modern comfort and luxury Price: Room Category------------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy---------55 USD$-------65 USD$ Double Occupancy--------70 USD$-------80 USD$ Extra bed--------------------10 USD$------10 USD$ Description: The 60 rooms hotel is beautifully and tastefully built with modern structural design. It is a twin building and the front elevation is decorated with reflecting glass fittings with Thai aluminium. The professionals have tastefully decorated the lobby and the guest room.We are waiting for you to come and enjoy the comfort and hospitality from a group of highly experienced professionals. Hotel provides five star standard services at an affordable price. Lake shore Category: 3 Star Accessible: Centrally Located, near diplomatic area, 15 min drive from air ports Price: Room Category---------Standard----------Deluxe Single Occupancy------110 USD$------120 USD$ Double Occupancy-----120 USD$------140 USD$ Extra bed------------------15 USD$--------15 USD$ Description: Luxurious well furnished Business hotel. Royal Park Category: 3 Star Accessible: Royal Park Residence - Conveniently located in the heart of the Diplomatic enclave of Banani, is just a 12 minute drive from the Dhaka International Airport, away from the congested down town areas of Dhaka Price: Room Category----------Standard---------Deluxe Single Occupancy-------80 USD$-------100 USD$ Double Occupancy------90 USD$-------115 USD$ Extra bed------------------15 USD$--------15 USD$ Description: The newest and the only luxurious ISO 9001 & HACCP certified "Boutique style Business Hotel in the skyline of Dhaka, offering World-class hospitality whilst recognizing every guest individually and treated with personalized care.' Undoubtedly the most exclusive hotel in Dhaka Tropical Inn Category : 3 Star Access : The hotel is in Gulshan north with its calm and quiet environment. It is 10 minutes drive to Zia Intl. airport and 20 minutes drive to all the business areas. The hotel surrounds by the American Club, diplomats and elite of the city Price: Room Category----------Standard-------------Deluxe Single Occupancy------45 USD$------------60 USD$ Double Occupancy-----60 USD$------------75 USD$ Extra bed---------------10 USD$-------------10 USD$ Description: Tropical Inn, very near to the diplomatic zone of Gulshan Baridhara and surrounded by a variety of authentic restaurants and shopping malls, the hotel is conveniently located in close proximity of the business areas and within easy reach of the Zia International Airport, the country's gateway by air Radisson Water Garden Category: 5 Star Accessible: 5 minutes drive from airport Price: Room Category---------Deluxe ---------------luxury Single Occupancy----USD$ 160--------USD$ 200 Double Occupancy---USD$ 180--------USD$ 240 Extra bed---------------USD$ 25 Description: 5 star top diplomatic areas hotel in Dhaka. maximum(...)

Having spent almost three straight days in Hall H last July sorting through the wheat and the chaff of the geek world, I admit that I was one of the first in line to champion the preview footage from Kick-Ass as a highlight of the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con because, well, it kicked ass. It seemed tailor-made for comic book fans, exploiting their fantasies about becoming caped avengers, while at the same time offering enough foul-mouthed, visceral action to stop even the most jaded moviegoers in their tracks. And of course it featured Chloe Moretz' Hit Girl, a potty-mouthed preteen destined to become a pop culture lightning rod thanks to her equal dexterity with four-letter insults and flying jump kicks.

Unfortunately, as a full-length film, Kick-Ass is a great comic book come to life, but not much else. A faithful recreation of the rhythms of episodic funny-paper storytelling, Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita's 2008 series gives greater scope to the set pieces shown in clips and trailers, but never quite finds enough cohesion or dramatic clarity to become a fully satisfying film.

Filed under: SXSW, Lionsgate Films, Theatrical Reviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek

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Plenty of attention has been lavished on one nontraditional Japanese RPG this week -- but Sega sneaked out another one alongside Final Fantasy XIII. Luckily, enough reviewers remembered that Yakuza 3 exists to provide a decent swath of reviews.

While it's certain to be the best game this week about playing fictional arcade shooters, singing karaoke with dates from hostess clubs and hitting gangsters with street signs, how did Kazuma Kiryu's latest saga fare under more common rubrics?

• IGN (8.5/10): "You're getting this intense story about Japan's seedy underbelly that's set in an open world where you can take all sorts of side quests, but as you do so, random battles are popping up, you're earning experience points so you can level up your moves, and you can take stuff from your extensive inventory list and craft new weapons and armor. There are no cars or chocobos, but you see where I'm going with this -- one minute you're slamming a crowbar into a guy's face or tearing off a fingernail with pliers, and the next minute, you're taking photos to blog about or on a fetch quest to find a certain fish."
• GameSpot (8/10): "While the pace and events of the story are enough to propel you towards its conclusion, the non-story peripheral content gives Yakuza 3 a welcome sense of diversity. There are more than a hundred side and hitman quests that allow you to do everything from carrying ice cream for a father who has overpurchased, to playing UFO Catcher claw machines in the arcade, to chasing down a bag snatcher, to offering financial advice to a man deep in debt and precariously perched on the edge of a bridge."
• Eurogamer (8/10): "From the publisher that brought us Streets of Rage, Virtua Fighter and Shenmue, Yakuza is essentially a mashup of all three, which is hardly surprising but does mean it's the stuff of Segaphile fantasies. Liberally sprinkled with their genius, it's the grateful beneficiary of some of their most satisfying elements, in a context which delivers a uniquely Japanese -- and uniquely Sega -- flavour."

Gallery: Yakuza 3 (PS3)

Metareview: Yakuza 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plenty of attention has been lavished on one nontraditional Japanese RPG this week -- but Sega sneaked out another one alongside Final Fantasy XIII. Luckily, enough reviewers remembered that Yakuza 3 exists to provide a decent swath of reviews.

While it's certain to be the best game this week about playing fictional arcade shooters, singing karaoke with dates from hostess clubs and hitting gangsters with street signs, how did Kazuma Kiryu's latest saga fare under more common rubrics?

• IGN (8.5/10): "You're getting this intense story about Japan's seedy underbelly that's set in an open world where you can take all sorts of side quests, but as you do so, random battles are popping up, you're earning experience points so you can level up your moves, and you can take stuff from your extensive inventory list and craft new weapons and armor. There are no cars or chocobos, but you see where I'm going with this -- one minute you're slamming a crowbar into a guy's face or tearing off a fingernail with pliers, and the next minute, you're taking photos to blog about or on a fetch quest to find a certain fish."
• GameSpot (8/10): "While the pace and events of the story are enough to propel you towards its conclusion, the non-story peripheral content gives Yakuza 3 a welcome sense of diversity. There are more than a hundred side and hitman quests that allow you to do everything from carrying ice cream for a father who has overpurchased, to playing UFO Catcher claw machines in the arcade, to chasing down a bag snatcher, to offering financial advice to a man deep in debt and precariously perched on the edge of a bridge."
• Eurogamer (8/10): "From the publisher that brought us Streets of Rage, Virtua Fighter and Shenmue, Yakuza is essentially a mashup of all three, which is hardly surprising but does mean it's the stuff of Segaphile fantasies. Liberally sprinkled with their genius, it's the grateful beneficiary of some of their most satisfying elements, in a context which delivers a uniquely Japanese -- and uniquely Sega -- flavour."

Gallery: Yakuza 3 (PS3)

Metareview: Yakuza 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Usually when we hear the phrase "contract-free developer phone" the words "unlocked" and "GSM" follow shortly thereafter, but apparently Palm didn't get the memo -- it just announced discounted hardware prices for its devices, but they're carrier-locked to Verizon and Sprint. Yeah, that's a big sad face out of us -- it's not like Verizon's going to give you a cheaper plan if you show up with a contract-free device. In fact, you might be better off picking up a $79 Pre on a Sprint contract from Amazon and just canceling after a year or so -- the ETF will have been prorated to $120 by then, putting you way ahead of Palm's $439 price tag. So much for that dream -- at least we still have our fantasy of driving to Mexico for an illicit Telcel Pre smuggling run.

Palm offering discounted contract-free phones to developers -- too bad they're carrier locked originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may have seen some of the rather popular videos by Common Craft, which has built a rather large following based on these videos about technology and social media using paper diagrams on whiteboards. What the videos are really good at is simplifying things in a way that's easy for people to understand. For example, the video, Twitter in Plain English has received nearly 1.7 million views and is often sent around to people who are trying to understand Twitter.

Like most viral video efforts, the videos are hosted on YouTube, which makes them easy to embed and share. Except, apparently, that's not working within Common Craft's business model. An anonymous reader sent over a story about how the company has set up a new licensing scheme for embedding its videos on websites, and the fees get pretty high pretty quickly. Digital Inspiration notes that embedding one of those videos on a popular website or blog could cost thousands, since the prices are based on views. Lee LeFever, of Common Craft, responded in the comments that this was targeted at companies, rather than "bloggers." However, it's not clear if this means the videos will remain on YouTube -- in which case, companies can just embed them automatically -- or if they'll keep them off of YouTube.

Either way, it's difficult to see this working out. I'm sure some companies will pay, but on the whole, it seems to break the value chain here. Common Craft could, instead, offer up the ability to make custom videos for companies, but on its website, it says that they'd rather just focus on their own videos -- and points anyone who wants custom videos to a series of other video producers. The thing is, if you want your video to be viral, you can't also charge for it. There are three options that I can see, and none of them seem that good:

• They leave the videos on YouTube as embeddable, and just hope that companies will pay them anyway.
  
  In this case, many companies would likely embed the videos anyway, not even realizing that CC wanted them to pay up. That leads to confusion and no legal basis for CC's request. After all, it put the video on a video sharing site and allowed embedding. That seems like a pretty clear authorization to embed the video.
  
  
• They leave the videos on YouTube, but not as embeddable, and make companies pay to embed
  
  As we saw with the band Ok Go, when EMI disabled embedding for the band's videos, traffic plummeted 90%. You don't go viral if you don't allow embeds.
  
  
• They stop using YouTube altogether, and don't release the videos publicly themselves
  
  It's hard to be viral when the videos aren't anywhere online.
• So with all of that, I'm still confused as to how this offering works. It seems like an attempt at the honor system to pretend that an abundant resource isn't abundant. Instead of doing that, why not focus on the scarcities -- such as creating custom videos (as mentioned), consulting (scarce knowledge) or advertising/sponsorship (selling the scarcity of attention). It just seems like other models would make a lot more business sense.
  
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Nokia‘s a veteran when it comes to mobile phones, but they were a bit late in joining the touchscreen parade, and even more so, launching a capacitive touchscreen of their own. Fortunately, however, they have their first capacitive touchscreen phone, the Nokia X6, out already and have begun rolling it out to different markets across the globe including the Philippines.

The Nokia X6 sports a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, 5-megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash, WiFi, Bluetooth, TV-out functionality, and 16GB of internal memory. To further sweeten the deal, it’s bundled with a Universal Music voucher which allow buyers to download free copies of Rihanna’s (the celebrity endorser of the X6) songs from her latest album or any other artist for that matter.

It’s a bit pricey though retailing with a SRP of Php22,000.00, but if you’re resourceful enough, I’m sure you can find a reputable seller online offering the Nokia X6 for less than Php20K. Its now available at all Nokia stores and authorized retail outlets nationwide with the option to get it either in black or white/pink combo. Full press release after the break.

Digital Duets: Nokia and Rihanna

They both have sold millions globally and have made a mark in music. Now, these stellar stalwarts have come together for a groundbreaking project, which bridges the gap between the music and digital world.

For the release of her much-anticipated Rated R album, which contains the hits “Russian Roulette” and “Hard”, the Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) and Universal Music Group International (UMGI) partnered with Nokia to bring her music via its latest music device, the Nokia X6. “Nokia is extremely excited to collaborate with a talented and renowned artist like Rihanna to truly redefine the connection between artists and fans and to deliver unique experience and content across the globe,” said Benoit Nalin, General Manager, Nokia Philippines. The move is seen as the latest in the many innovations designed for record labels to adapt to the modern digital lifestyle.

Come get everything Rihanna on the new Nokia X6 touch screen music phone. Get the Pop Diva’s latest hits “Russian Roulette”, “Wait Your Turn” and “Hole in My Head” FREE with the inbox Universal Music voucher. For more Rihanna news, tracks, videos, themes and photos, download the Come Get Rihanna application FREE on Ovi Store.

X marks the spot

The Nokia X6 is spot-on when it comes to providing applications for the fervent multi-tasker who leads an on-the-go lifestyle. What they get is a full blown entertainment experience and complete social entertainment centre. Manage your entertainment & social life directly from the homescreen using your Contacts bar and Media bar. The Contacts bar puts 20 of your friends and your favorite social networking sites directly on your home screen. Keep in touch with your Ovi Contacts — you can chat, share your status, location, and even what song you’re currently listening to through the Nokia X6. You can even tweet about your daily musings, follow your favorite blogs, and create your own social RSS feeds! And since it’s a music phone, you can release your inner DJ and create playlists on the phone—based on moods or even pre-selected songs.

Spend hours challenging yourself and your friends on three pre-installed games – Spore from EA, DJ Mix Tour and Asphalt 4 from Gameloft – and be able to enjoy it in crisp resolution on the Nokia X6’s 3.2” widescreen or plug it on your TV via TV-out cable. With the Ovi Store available in over 180 countries worldwide, you can easily download more games and apps on the Nokia X6.

A 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash tops the list of X-ceptional features of the Nokia X6. Shoot stunning images and wild videos, instantly making you a budding papp or MTV video director.

Get your Nokia X6 at all Nokia Stores and authorized retail shops nationwide at a suggested retail price of PhP22,000. Take your pick from black or white/pink combination.

Our favourite foods are making us fat, yet we can't resist, because eating them is changing our minds as well as bodies

For years I wondered why I was fat. I lost weight, gained it back, and lost it again – over and over and over. I owned suits in every size. As a former commissioner of the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration), surely I should have the answer to my problems. Yet food held remarkable sway over my behaviour.

The latest science seemed to suggest being overweight was my destiny. I was fat because my body's "thermostat" was set high. If I lost weight, my body would try to get it back, slowing down my metabolism till I returned to my predetermined set point.

But this theory didn't explain why so many people, in the US and UK in particular, were getting significantly fatter. For thousands of years, human body weight had stayed remarkably stable. Millions of calories passed through our bodies, yet with rare exceptions our weight neither rose nor fell. A perfect biological system seemed to be at work. Then, in the 80s, something changed.

Three decades ago, fewer than one Briton in 10 was obese. One in four is today. It is projected that by 2050, Britain could be a "mainly obese society". Similar, and even more pronounced, changes were taking place in the US, where researchers found that not only were Americans entering their adult years at a significantly higher weight but, while on average everyone was getting heavier, the heaviest people were gaining disproportionately more weight than others. The spread between those at the upper end of the weight curve and those at the lower end was widening. Overweight people were becoming more overweight.

What had happened to add so many millions of pounds to so many millions of people? Certainly food had become more readily available, with larger portion sizes, more chain restaurants and a culture that promotes out-of-home eating. But having food available doesn't mean we have to eat it. What has been driving us to overeat?

It is certainly not a want born of fear of food shortages. Nor is it a want rooted in hunger or the love of exceptional food. We know, too, that overeating is not the sole province of those who are overweight. Even people who remain slim often feel embattled by their drive for food. It takes serious restraint to resist an almost overpowering urge to eat. Yet many, including doctors and healthcare professionals, still think that weight gainers merely lack willpower, or perhaps self-esteem. Few have recognised the distinctive pattern of overeating that has become widespread in the population. No one has seen loss of control as its most defining characteristic.

"Higher sugar, fat and salt make you want to eat more." I had read this in scientific literature, and heard it in conversations with neuroscientists and psychologists. But here was a leading food designer, a Henry Ford of mass-produced food, revealing how his industry operates. To protect his business, he did not want to be identified, but he was remarkably candid, explaining how the food industry creates dishes to hit what he called the "three points of the compass".

Sugar, fat and salt make a food compelling. They stimulate neurons, cells that trigger the brain's reward system and release dopamine, a chemical that motivates our behaviour and makes us want to eat more. Many of us have what's called a "bliss point", at which we get the greatest pleasure from sugar, fat or salt. Combined in the right way, they make a product indulgent, high in "hedonic value".

During the past two decades, there has been an explosion in our ability to access and afford what scientists call highly "palatable" foods. By palatability, they don't just mean it tastes good: they are referring primarily to its capacity to stimulate the appetite. Restaurants sit at the epicentre of this explosion, along with an ever-expanding range of dishes that hit these three compass points. Sugar, fat and salt are either loaded into a core ingredient (such as meat, vegetables, potato or bread), layered on top of it, or both. Deep-fried tortilla chips are an example of loading – the fat is contained in the chip itself. When it is smothered in cheese, sour cream and sauce, that's layering.

It is not just that fast food chains serve food with more fat, sugar and salt, or that intensive processing virtually eliminates our need to chew before swallowing, or that snacks are now available at any time. It is the combination of all that, and more.

Take Kentucky Fried Chicken. My source called it "a premier example" of putting more fat on our plate. KFC's approach to battering its food results in "an optimised fat pick-up system". With its flour, salt, MSG, maltodextrin, sugar, corn syrup and spice, the fried coating imparts flavour that touches on all three points of the compass while giving the consumer the perception of a bargain – a big plate of food at a good price.

Initially, KFC meals were built around a whole chicken, with a pick-up surface that contained "an enormous amount of breading, crispiness and brownness on the surface. That makes the chicken look like more and gives it this wonderful oily flavour." Over time, the company began to realise there was less meat in a chicken nugget compared with a whole chicken, and a greater percentage of fried batter. But the real breakthrough was popcorn chicken. "The smaller the piece of meat, the greater the percentage of fat pick-up," said the food designer. "Now, we have lots of pieces of a cheaper part of the chicken." The product has been "optimised on every dimension", with the fat, sugar and salt combining with the perception of good value virtually to guarantee consumer appeal.

He walked me through some offerings at other popular food chains. Burger King's Whopper touched on the three points of the compass – then was altered for further effect. In its first, stripped-down form, the burger was explosively rich in fat, sugar and salt. Then the chain began adding more beef, extra cheese or a layer of bacon. McDonald's broke new ground in another way – by making food available on a whim. "The great growth has been the snacking occasion. You get hungry, you want something, your mind pushes off the reality of what you ought to eat, and you end up picking up a hamburger and a giant soda or french fries."

Next they introduced a high-fat, high-salt morning meal. "They took what they learned from the core lunch and dinner menu, and applied it to breakfast. The sausage McMuffin and the egg McMuffin are stand-ins for the hamburger. In effect, you are eating a morning hamburger."

This kind of food disappears down our throats so quickly after the first bite that it readily overrides the body's signals that should tell us, "I'm full." The food designer offered coleslaw as an example. When its ingredients are chopped roughly, it requires time and energy to chew. But when cabbage and carrots are softened in a high-fat dressing, coleslaw ceases to be "something with a lot of innate ability to satisfy".

This isn't to say that the food industry wants us to stop chewing altogether. It knows we want to eat a doughnut, not drink it. "The key is to create foods with just enough chew – but not too much. When you're eating these things, you've had 500, 600, 800, 900 calories before you know it." Foods that slip down don't leave us with a sense of being well fed. In making food disappear so swiftly, fat and sugar only leave us wanting more.

According to food consultant Gail Vance Civille, of management consultants Sensory Spectrum, fat is crucial to this process of lubrication, ensuring that a product melts in the mouth. In the past, she says, Americans typically chewed food up to 25 times before it was swallowed; now the average American chews 10 times. "If I have fat in there, I just chew it up and whoosh! Away it goes," she says. "You have a 'quick getaway', a quick melt."

The Snickers bar, Civille says, is "extraordinarily well engineered". Unlike many products whose nuts become annoyingly lodged between your teeth, the genius of Snickers is that as we chew, the sugar dissolves, the fat melts and the caramel picks up the peanut pieces, so the entire candy is carried out of the mouth at the same time. "You're not getting a build-up of stuff in your mouth."

Kettle chips are another success story. Made of sugar-rich russet potatoes, they have a slightly bitter background note and brown irregularly, which gives them a complex flavour. High levels of fat generate easy mouth-melt, and surface variations add a level of interest beyond that found in mass-produced chips. Heightened complexity is the key to modern food design.

Not so many decades ago, a single flavour of ice-cream was a special treat. Our options ran to vanilla, chocolate and strawberry – and when we could buy all three in a single carton, we saw that as a great innovation. Now ice-cream has countless flavours and varieties; it comes mixed with M&M's or topped with caramel sauce.

When layers of complexity are built into food, the effect becomes more powerful. Sweetness alone does not account for the full impact of a fizzy drink – its temperature and tingle, resulting from the stimulation of the trigeminal nerve by carbonation and acid, are essential contributors as well.

"The complexity of the stimulus increases its association to a reward," says Gaetano Di Chiara, an expert in neuroscience and pharmacology at the University of Cagliari in Italy. Elements of that complexity include tastes that are familiar and well liked, especially if not always readily available, and the learning associated with having had a pleasurable experience with the same food in the past.

Take a bowl of M&M's. If I've eaten them in the past, I'm stimulated by the sight of them, because I know they'll be rewarding. I eat one, and experience that reward. The visual cue gains power and stimulates the urge we call "wanting". The more potent and complex foods become, the greater the rewards they may offer. The excitement in the brain increases our desire for further stimulation.

In theory there's a limit to how much stimulation rewarding foods can generate. We are supposed to habituate – to neuroadapt. When Di Chiara gave animals a cheesy snack called Fonzies, the levels of dopamine in their brains increased. Over time, habituation set in, dopamine levels fell and the food lost its capacity to activate their behaviour.

But if the stimulus is powerful enough, novel enough or administered intermittently enough, the brain may not curb its dopamine response. Desire remains high. We see this with cocaine use, which does not result in habituation. Hyperpalatable foods alter the landscape of the brain in much the same way.

I asked Di Chiara to study what happens after an animal is repeatedly exposed to a high-sugar, high-fat chocolate drink. When he'd completed his experiment, he sent me an email with "Important results!!!!" in the subject line. He had shown that dopamine response did not diminish over time with the chocolate drink. There was no habituation.

Novelty also impedes habituation, and intermittency is another driver. Give an animal enough sugar-laden food, withdraw it for the right amount of time, then provide it again in sufficient quantities, and dopamine levels may not diminish.

There's still a lot we don't know about the relationship between the dopamine-driven motivational system and our behaviour in the presence of rewarding foods. But we do know that foods high in sugar, fat and salt are altering the biological circuitry of our brains. We have scientific techniques that demonstrate how these foods – and the cues associated with them – change the connections between the neural circuits and their response patterns.

Rewarding foods are rewiring our brains. As they do, we become more sensitive to the cues that lead us to anticipate the reward. In that circularity lies a trap: we can no longer control our responses to highly palatable foods because our brains have been changed by the foods we eat.

I wanted to know how much the industry understood about how the food we eat affects us; about what I have termed "conditioned hypereating" – "conditioned" because it becomes an automatic response to widely available food, "hyper" because the eating is excessive and hard to control. I turned to Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics.

"Does the industry know that what it feeds us gets us to eat more?" I asked.

"The industry has jacked up what works for it," Stiglitz said. "The learning is evolutionary." Practical experience has been its guide – it does not need lab rats when it can try out its ideas on humans. Its decision-makers do not have to analyse human brain circuitry to discover what sells.

A venture capitalist who knows the business intimately cited Starbucks as a company that has recognised and responded brilliantly to a cultural need. The caffeine and sugar in the coffee, with their energising effects, are certainly part of the equation, but the chain also offers something much more primal. "It's about warm milk and a bottle," he says. "One of my colleagues said, 'If I could put a nipple on it, I'd be a multimillionaire'."

But it was thinking creatively about how to attract more consumers that led Starbucks to the Frappuccino, the venture capitalist told me. Although its stores were crowded early in the day, by afternoon "they were so empty you could roll a bowling ball through them". The creation of a rich, sweet and comforting milkshake-like concoction utterly transformed the business. A Starbucks Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino comes with whipped cream and 18 teaspoons of sugar: all in all, this "drink" contains more calories than a personal-size pepperoni pizza, and more sweetness than six scoops of ice-cream. By encouraging us to consider any occasion for food an opportunity for pleasure and reward, the industry invites us to indulge a lot more often.

Starbucks learned a basic lesson: make enticing food easily and constantly available, keep it novel, and people will keep coming back for more. With food available in almost any setting, "the number of cues, the number of opportunities" to eat have increased, while the barriers to consumption have fallen, says David Mela, senior scientist of weight management at the Unilever Health Institute. "The environmental stimulus has changed."

Of course, when food is offered to us, we're not obliged to eat it. When it's on the menu, we don't have to order it. But this takes more than willpower. As an individual, you can practise eating the food you want in a controlled way. As a society, we can identify the forces that drive overeating and find ways to diminish their power. That's what happened with the tobacco industry: attitudes to smoking shifted. Similar changes could be brought about in our attitudes to food – by making it mandatory for restaurants to list calorie counts on their menus; by clear labelling on food products; by monitoring food marketing. But until then few of us are immune to the ubiquitous presence of food, the incessant marketing and the cultural assumption that it's acceptable to eat anywhere, at any time.

Call it the "taco chip challenge" – the challenge of controlled eating in the face of constant food availability. "Forty years ago, you might face the social equivalent of that taco chip challenge once a month. Now you face it every single day," Mela said. "Every single day and every single place you go, those foods are there, those foods are cheap, those foods are readily available for you to engage in. There is constant, constant opportunity."

How to take back control

Plan when and what you will eat There should be no room for deviation; the idea is to inhibit mindless eating and eliminate your mental tug-of-war. Once you've set new patterns, you can become more flexible.

Practise portion control Eat half your usual meal; see how you feel one and two hours later. A just-right meal will keep away hunger for four hours.

List the foods and situations you can't control Cut out those foods; limit exposure to those situations. If offered something you overeat, push it away.

Talk down your urges Learn responses to involuntary thoughts: eating that will only satisfy me temporarily; eating this will make me feel trapped; I'll be happier and weigh less if I don't eat this.

Rehearse making the right choices Before entering a restaurant, imagine chosing a dinner that's part of your eating plan. Think of this as a game against a powerful opponent. You won't win every encounter, but with practice you can get a lot better.

· This is an edited extract from The End Of Overeating: Taking Control Of Our Insatiable Appetite, by David A Kessler, published by Penguin on 1 April at £9.99. To order a copy with free UK p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop.

• Obesity
• Health & wellbeing
• Food & drink
• Neuroscience

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Picture: the Alcatel-Lucent Dashboard launched at MWC, picture with new features coming soon

[SXSW] Alcatel-Lucent today announced the packaged API (Application Programming Interfaces) bundles, and an associated revenue sharing model that eliminates upfront costs for developers and offers new revenue streams for service providers. Additionally, a new business and application modeling tool has been released; it allows developers to get the most out of their applications, according to the company. I am not a developer and I have not seen the bundles or the tool, if you are a developer attending SXSW, go to the “Eleven API Lounge” of the Hilton Hotel, (directly across from the Austin Convention Center): Alcatel-Lucent will demo its new offering, which is part of its developer platform and program. More info about the new product after the jump.

Permalink: Alcatel-Lucent New API Bundles for Developers from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Power Cam is one of many apps trying to make your picture-taking a bit easier, and while the $1 offering does add some interesting features, it doesn't measure up to similar photography apps.

Harbor East is hosting an art opening called "Tools, Trash and Technology - A 25-year retrospective of the Art and Design of Marque Cornblatt." Marque's whimsical, clever creations have been featured on BB and MAKE. The event runs March 10-April 4, 2010 and is open Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Opening reception for the artist Friday March 12, 5-8 PM Cornblatt will personally be in the gallery each afternoon, offering hands-on demos and opportunities to operate the robots. San Francisco-based and Baltimore native artist Marque Cornblatt will be presenting a 25-year retrospective of his work in Harbor East in Retail Suite 102 of The Legg Mason Tower. The exhibition will include self portraits, interactive sculptures, web-based robots, and video, as well as examples of Cornblatt furniture and interior design. This 25-year retrospective represents Cornblatt's return to exhibiting on the East Coast and his first major exhibition in Baltimore. From the very first Sony Watchman to portable DVD players, no technology is off-limits to Cornblatt's creative eye. Using found objects, broken toys and re-purposed electronics, Cornblatt creates sculptures that challenge ideas about technology and the self. His recent use of videogames and virtual reality to create self-portraits offers a glimpse into the future of digital identity. Cornblatt's will also be presenting the Sparky project, his pioneering interactive videochat robot. First shown in 1996, Sparky has evolved from an assemblage of mixed parts into a worldwide network of telepresence robots capable of connecting people face-to-face in real time over the internet. The gallery will be furnished with examples of Cornblatt's handmade design and housewares, including cardboard furniture, metal and glass tables, candleholders, chess sets and object d'art made from scrap metal and other recycled materials. Tools, Trash and Technology - A 25-year retrospective of the Art and Design of Marque Cornblatt Previously:Sparky the Robot visits a museum, on PRI's Studio360 cool 1993-96 sculptures by marque cornblatt...

Everyone has been talking about how this year's SXSW will be the "year of location" as Foursquare and Austin-based Gowalla go head-to-head in a location-based battle royale. Location, however, is not the only emerging technology that will be on display in Austin; American auto maker Chevrolet announced it will be debuting new augmented reality promotions at SXSW this year.

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Festival attendees can download the Chevy iReveal application on the iPhone which will allow them to participate in a scavenger hunt-like game that blends augmented reality with location-based functions. A map in the application shows the location of Chevy vehicle promotions around Austin where users can "unlock" the ability to view 360-degree 3D models of the cars in an AR view using the phone's camera.

Using AR to promote vehicles with 3D models is nothing new, but this is one of the first versions to reach consumers on their phones. The automotive industry has been one of the leading areas pushing desktop webcam-based AR experiences that have allowed users to interact with 3D models of cars from their homes. This new promotion from Chevy is unique in that it allows customers to have the same experience on their iPhones.

According to the App Store, AR iPhone application developer acrossair has produced the application for Chevrolet. The interesting thing about this experience is the way it blends the dichotomous features of mobile and webcam-based AR. The 3D model manipulation we are used to seeing on the desktop is wisely mixed with the location-based map info seen in most mobile AR applications. By taking the best of both worlds, acrossair and Chevrolet have opened the door to a new breed of mobile AR advertisements.

Augmented reality isn't the only emerging technology Chevrolet is experimenting with at SXSW; quick response (QR) codes, which are like a technological cousin of AR, are a large part of the company's promotions as well. When investigating Chevrolet's latest cars, users can photograph QR codes placed strategically on the cars to learn more about specific parts of the car. A QR code placed on the hood, for example, will launch information about the car's engine. Christopher Barger, Director of Global Communications and Technology for General Motors, is excited about the future of QR codes and AR for the automotive industry.

"Imagine using Quick Response Codes to download the price and options for a vehicle on a dealer lot right to your cell phone. Or, imagine using augmented reality to virtually preview different colors of the Camaro in your own driveway," Barger says. "We are just scratching the surface of what's possible with mobile technologies and social media applications."

Chevrolet is also teaming up with Gowalla to provide location-based advertisements to people checking in at SXSW. One promotion they are offering is a shuttle ride from the airport in one of their new cars to select users that check in at the airport, so don't forget to fire up Gowalla when you land in Austin. For more information about mobile and desktop AR advertising, be sure to check out our report on the subject coming soon!

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Which leading social networking companies have chosen Clickatell as a mobile messaging partner? Read our success stories here.

Influxis is an official Adobe hosting partner and resource for the Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server. Influxis provides Flash hosting plans for all levels of use – beginner to enterprise. With a reputation for exceptional customer service, Influxis provides an extremely reliable international network of FMS servers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany.

BizSpark is a program which offers new software businesses and entrepreneurs access to Microsoft design, development, and production tools with no upfront costs for up to three years. Members can also connect with a nationwide community of Network Partners – investors, incubators, service providers, and entrepreneurial organizations – who are keen to help.

For more information, or to connect with a Microsoft BizSpark advisor, please visit MicrosoftStartupZone.com/BizSpark.

MailChimp is a powerful, easy-to-use email marketing service. You design, me deliver.

If you’re working for a startup, Sun can help you get it off the ground fast. We created the fee-free Sun Startup Essentials program offering deep discounts on industry leading, power efficient systems and storage products, optimized open-source software, massively scalable Web hosting services, plus free visibility via Sun’s co-marketing engine. It’s time to build your business on the kind of infrastructure that can scale right along with the skyrocketing demands of success. Find out about Sun Startup Essentials today!

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Eventbrite is an online events marketplace where tens of thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes manage, promote and sell tickets to their events. Make your event a success on Eventbrite.

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Thanks to ConVerdge for implementing our My Mashable social network and W3 EDGE for the development and maintenance of Mashable.com

Mashable would also like to thank AttentionPR for their PR support. AttentionPR proves that PR today is measurable, transparent, and yes, social. Learn more about AttentionPR.

Rackspace is the better way to do hosting. No more worrying about web hosting uptime. No more spending your time, energy and resources trying to stay on top of things like patching, updating, monitoring, backing up data and the like. Learn why.

iStockphoto offers easy, affordable inspiration with millions of safe, royalty-free photos, illustrations, video, audio and FlashÂ@ files. Using the most accurate search in the business, customers download a file at least every second from a collection of more than five million files for business, marketing and personal projects. iStockphoto started in 2000, pioneering the micropayment photography business model, and has become one of the most successful and profitable user-generated content sites in the world. iStockphoto pays out approximately $1.2 million weekly in artist royalties. iStockphoto is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getty Images. Mashable readers save 10%.

Founded in 1998 as a free service, Dynamic Network Services Incorporated (Dyn Inc.) now operates two extremely reliable, “rock solid”, global DNS platforms; DynDNS.com for home/SMB users and the Dynect Platform for corporations and enterprises. As a leading provider of managed DNS services, Dyn Inc. plays a key role in keeping the Internet’s DNS infrastructure running smoothly, handling trillions of queries per day and servicing nearly four million active users. With a range of innovative solutions, from domain name and e-mail services on DynDNS.com, to failover, load balancing, traffic management and CDN balancing services with the Dynect Platform, Dyn Inc. remains committed to world class customer service and engineering excellence. Uptime is the Bottom Line. For more information about Dyn Inc., visit www.dyn.com, e-mail hello@dyn.com or call +1-603-668-4998.

ConcentricSky offers web development and strategic consulting services with a focus on emerging technologies such as Social Media and iPhone Apps. From simple websites to integrated web applications, we deliver innovative solutions that exceed your expectations – not your budget.

We can get your name out there.

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All Things D power blogger Peter Kafka just posted an interview with John Borthwick, the top dog at not-an-incubator-but-kind-of-an-incubator-ugh-please-just-call-us-a-holding-company Betaworks.

Betaworks is an investor in Twitter app TweetDeck and URL shortner Bit.ly. It sold Twitter search engine Summize to Twitter. Notice a pattern? Good. John says Betaworks wants to invest exclusively in the "real-time" Web.

He says, "we're either building a mountain or digging a hole." Watch, won't you?

Read the rest of this story »

See Also:

• Bit.ly Launches Bitly.tv To Track Popular Video Clips
• Bit.ly Offering Even Shorter 'J.mp' URLs
• Charting The Real-Time Web

Netflix has canceled its $1 million contest aimed at finding a better recommendation engine in the wake of a privacy lawsuit settlement. The company informed its users today via the company blog, noting that it had "reached an understanding" with the Federal Trade Commission, leading it to ditch the Netflix Prize contest.

Netflix first announced the contest—actually the sequel to its original contest—in August of 2009. The goal was to crowdsource its active user base to write a more intelligent recommendation engine based on users' past rentals. This is something Netflix already does, of course, but there's always room for improvement; the company wanted to find the Next Big Thingâ„¢ by offering $1 million to the person with the best algorithm.

Part of the contest involved Netflix disclosing what it considered to be anonymized user data to those trying to come up with solutions. This, however, led to a lawsuit by a closeted lesbian mother who argued that Netflix had not sufficiently anonymized the information and that she (among others) could be easily outed due to her own rental history. Indeed, within weeks of the data being released, researchers had found a way to use an external data source to decode an individual's viewing history with surprising accuracy, but Netflix did not immediately withdraw the contest.

The FTC eventually got involved and spent the following months discussing the issue with Netflix. That brings us to today: Netflix has officially settled the lawsuit and, as part of the settlement, is giving up the contest. "The resolution to both matters involves certain parameters for how we use Netflix data in any future research programs," wrote Netflix's Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt.

This doesn't mean Netflix is giving up on improving its recommendation engine—Hunt ended the blog post by saying the company would continue to explore better options—but the company will have to come up with new ways to "collaborate with the research community."

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