pimg class="float_right" src="/~~/f?id=485037e314b9b9ed00e70a5amaxX=392maxY=306" border="0" alt="caseofcash.jpg" title="caseofcash.jpg" width="392" height="306" /Today, a href="http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/viacom-to-lay-off-850-via"850 at Viacom/a, a href="http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/nbc-cuts-500-starting-with-news"500 at NBC Universal/a and another a href="http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/att-firing-12000"12,000 ATT/a found out they will lose their jobs in layoffs.We hope not, but if you're in a media company that hasn't had layoffs yet, you could be next./p pHere's the good news, a href="http://careerprotection.com/index.html"CareerProtection.com's Kirk Nemer/a told us: It's really, really important to your employer that you go quietly. So much so, that often, companies are willing to bribe laid-off employees with a fatter severance package to make sure of it./p pHere are ten rules for making sure you're the squeaky wheel that takes your employer for a ride:/p ul listrongDo not sign anything right away./strong After breaking the bad news, the HR rep will try make you sign a release within two hours. Don't. If you're being cut as a part of a general layoff, you have at least three weeks to sign your severance package agreement, which is really an agreement to not sue the company. If you did sign it -- and if you're older than 40 --you can revoke your signature within a week./li listrongNo severance package is take it or leave it. Negotiate./strong Your employer expects you to. The most important thing to them is that you do not sue and go away without controversy. They can't take away a severance package once they've already offered it.br //li listrongDo not, however, negotiate while you're still in shock./strong Go home. Eat dinner. Weep. Then come back and make them pay you more to go quietly.br //li listrongFind out how many others are being cut from your particular office/strong. If its 50 or more, the WARN act requires your employer give you 60 days notice (or at least 60 days pay)./li listrongMake sure they offer continued health benefits/strong. Federal lay requires 18 months of continued coverage via COBRA. Sometimes you can make them pay for some of it.br //li listrongMake sure you're getting the bonus you earned last year./strong /li listrongIn fact, make sure you're getting paid for all your accrued benefits/strong, such as sick days or vacation time./li listrongAsk for outplacement services/strong -- or money to pay for them.br //li listrongMake sure your severance package is commensurate with your tenure/strong. You should get more than the people who worked for you and peers who have been at the company for less time./li listrongGet advice from a professional/strong, not just a blog post./li /ul pstrongSee Also:/stronga href="http://businesssheet.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/13-tips-for-dealing-with-your-laid-off-friends"strongbr //strong13 Tips For Dealing With Your Laid Off Friends/a/p pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/iipXIqom72n0UWMfafEWYsHolxs/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/iipXIqom72n0UWMfafEWYsHolxs/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=jArtffrL"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?i=jArtffrL" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=xafdxIfj"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=52" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=d3Vcg00S"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=80" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=EVk3DKNx"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?i=EVk3DKNx" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=QW846B0R"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=131" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=ezCxBSMC"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=336" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=szcG9cRs"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=zpxnjUuc"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=50" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~4/sp2sYd0n3sc" height="1" width="1"/

pResolutions, like Best Of lists, are traditional slices of tedium wedged into the hind quarters of our shared circuitous solar orbit, and yet here I am virtually cutting in line in front of every other blogger to hasten forth a litany of resolutions which, let’s face it, I will have entirely abandoned before any Founding Fathers’ birthdays have hussled in fabulous savings at discount furniture stores. I suppose this self-flagellation is a disturbing penance for transgressions I know I’ve perpetrated on an unsuspecting audience, and like hitting yourself with a whip for having the naughty thoughts, I’m not sure the punishment is any better than the crime itself./p pI concede, these kinds of lists are fundamental navel gazing, best served with hypercritical self deprecation and an artifice of humility, a necessary counter for the fact that I harbor an ulterior motive to manipulate other games-writers in sharing my goals. For me, I execute that kind of literary tap dance by ejaculating thesaurus rich words that conjure disturbing imagery. Hopefully my peers will be so busy scrubbing their minds’ eye with steel wool that they won’t notice being nudged off a cliff. /p pNormally there would be a paragraph here that indulges in one of my primary sins, but instead of falling into comfortable hack habits, I cede this paragraph to resolution one./ppa href=http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/42524read more/a/p

pFiled under: a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/carbuying/" rel="tag"Car Buying/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/coupes/" rel="tag"Coupes/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sports/" rel="tag"Sports/GTs/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag"Ford/a/pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-ab-la2008/1163835/"img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/03_mustang2010_opt.jpg" //abr / div align="center"span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"smallClick above for high-res gallery of the 2010 Ford Mustang/small/spanbr //div br /The more things change, the more they stay the same. That old saying once again proves true as some early pricing information for the new a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/2010+mustang"2010 Ford Mustang/a has leaked out, with the latest 'Stang continuing its tradition of offering an excellent value proposition when compared to its new peers. Base price for a standard V6-powered 2010 Mustang is reportedly $21,845, including delivery charge. For comparison, its biggest competitor will surely be the Camaro, which starts at $22,995. The other revived pony car is the Dodge Challenger, which in a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/12/in-the-autoblog-garage-2009-dodge-challenger-se/"base SE form/a begins with a $22,545 sticker price. Each of these entry-level models comes equipped with a standard V6 engine, though the Challenger comes only with a four-speed automatic while its competitors offer a stick. Anyone wanting an open-air experience has no choice but to opt for the Ford, as the Blue Oval's offering is the only modern musclecar with an optional drop-top.br /br /Stepping up to a V8-powered Mustang will reportedly run you $27,995 - quite a bit cheaper than the V8-powered Camaro's $30,995 sticker. Dodge's entry runs $30,545 for the base a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/02/in-the-autoblog-garage-2009-dodge-challenger-r-t/"R/T model/a and its HEMI V8. It's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, of course, as the Mustang GT is down a bit on horsepower compared to its rivals, but we think the GT's cut-rate pricing should be more than enough to keep Ford's pony at the top of the sales charts. For more options information (bereft of pricing), a href="http://www.fordvehicles.com/asp/modules/the2010mustang/pdf/OrderGuide.pdf"download Ford's .pdf here/a.br / strongbr //strongdiv class="postgallery"pstrongGallery: a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-ab-la2008/"2010 Ford Mustang/a/strong/pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-ab-la2008/1163835/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/00_mustang2010_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-ab-la2008/1163850/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/01_mustang2010_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-ab-la2008/1163875/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/02_mustang2010_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-ab-la2008/1163873/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/03_mustang2010_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-ab-la2008/1163859/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/04_mustang2010_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //a/divbr /div class="postgallery"pstrongGallery: a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-live-ab-la2008/"2010 Ford Mustang - LIVE/a/strong/pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-live-ab-la2008/1163895/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/00_xx2010mustanglive_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-live-ab-la2008/1163914/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/01_xx2010mustanglive_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-live-ab-la2008/1163920/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/02_xx2010mustanglive_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-live-ab-la2008/1163894/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/03_xx2010mustanglive_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-live-ab-la2008/1163889/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/04_xx2010mustanglive_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //a/divbr /[Source: Ford, a href="http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=137028"Inside Line/a]p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/03/ford-prices-2010-mustang-cheaper-than-challenger-camaro/"2010 Ford Mustang priced cheaper than Challenger, Camaro/a originally appeared on a href="http://www.autoblog.com"Autoblog/a on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:29:00 EST. Please see our a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/"terms for use of feeds/a./ph6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"/h6a href=http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=137028Read/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/03/ford-prices-2010-mustang-cheaper-than-challenger-camaro/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry"Permalink/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/1390155/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email"Email this/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/03/ford-prices-2010-mustang-cheaper-than-challenger-camaro/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry"Comments/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/VTSOpLu4tjxd7weFWAE9lPxTwew/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/VTSOpLu4tjxd7weFWAE9lPxTwew/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?a=1BNs8yHZ"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=1BNs8yHZ" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?a=aau7ma0L"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=aau7ma0L" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/weblogsinc/autoblog/~4/_iEqBuSieqg" height="1" width="1"/

pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/12/skydrive_splash.jpg" width="514" height="253" align="center"/br / a href="http://live.com"Windows Live/a, intended to be a landing page for social activity and Microsoft's cloud-connected apps, is rolling out a host of redesigns and upgrades today, but none so exciting (to our eyes, anyways) as the a href="http://lifehacker.com/5094242/skydrive-will-upgrade-to-25gb-of-online-storage"anticipated/a jump of the a href="http://skydrive.live.com"SkyDrive/a online storage service to 25GB capacity. As the Digital Inspiration blog a href="http://www.labnol.org/internet/best-online-storage-live-skydrive/5771/"points out/a, SkyDrive seems to be a central part of the Redmond giant's web ambitions, so it's not likely to go away or shrink. Aside from the raw upload/download capabilities, having a SkyDrive account gives you a few other cool abilities, which we'll detail below./p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/12/skydrive_nosignup.jpg" width="362" height="120" class="right" align="right"/strongNo-sign-up-needed sharing:/strong If you've used most any Microsoft service, you know their features are often linked to a drive to get more people signed into their apps and networks. Not so with SkyDrive, which offers a nice little checkbox for sending sharing links to any email address without requiring a Live sign-in.br clear="all" //p pstrongLots of tools for photos:/strong Tag yourself or friends Facebook-style in your photos, launch elegant pic-on-black-background slideshows from folders of pictures (your own or shared) that works on any browser (but supposedly better with Silverlight installed), order prints, and SkyDrive's thumbnails are nicely big and clear. Here's how photos are handled in SkyDrive's file browser:/p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/12/skydrive_photos.jpg" width="607" height="599" class="center" align="center"/br clear="all" //p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/12/skydrive_zipped.jpg" width="194" height="191" class="left" align="left"/strongGrab entire folders as single .zip files:/strong This simple, helpful compression feature isn't entirely common amongst file-sharing/storage services. You can also drop photos right into your Live Photo Gallery, if that's how your roll.br clear="all" //p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/12/windowslive_contacts.jpg" width="440" height="233" class="left" align="left"/strongEasy sharing and updates on contacts' files:/strong Windows Live allows you to keep updated with what your friends on Live, Facebook, and LinkedIn are up to, and SkyDrive is no different. Your main SkyDrive page will let you know if any of your contacts have opened up a file for public sharing, and you can organize contacts into categories for easy group sharingmdash;so everyone, for example, in "Project Team" can be sent your latest report at once, with one click.br clear="all" //p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/12/skydrive_gladinet.jpg" width="220" height="135" class="left" align="left"/strongMount SkyDrive on your desktop with Gladinet:/strong As we a href="http://lifehacker.com/5100226/gladinet-mounts-web-storage-apps-as-virtual-drives"detailed earlier this week/a, Gladinet's free a href="http://www.gladinet.com/p/download.htm"Cloud Desktop beta/a allows you mount and access SkyDrive (and Picasa, Google Docs, and Amazon's S3) as if it were a plain network folder. Drag-and-drop access to 25GB of go-anywhere cloud space is surely a nifty thing.br clear="all" //p pstrongStill lackingmdash;50MB file size limit:/strong Amongst SkyDrive's a href="http://lifehacker.com/5064688/online-storage-feature+by+feature-comparison-chart"online storage peers/a, 50MB isn't quite eye-opening, especially for a service that wants to be the hub of a burgeoning online network. Still, for photos, documents, and even most zipped-up MP3 albums, it's decent enough./p pSkyDrive requires a sign-up with a href="http://live.com"Windows Live/a for storing and sharing files. What do you think of the newly-expanded SkyDrive? Share your review in the comments./p div class="related"a href="http://skydriveteam.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!977F793E846B3C96!12722.entry"SkyDrive: 25 GB of free online storage/a [Windows Live SkyDrive team blog]/div br style="clear: both;"/ a href="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/ht.php?t=camp;i=996111cbc555c8f327a881a0462743caamp;p=1"img style="border:0;" src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/ht.php?t=vamp;i=996111cbc555c8f327a881a0462743caamp;p=1" border="0" //adiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=ZUzdz0KB"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/lifehacker/full?d=120" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=PVnfpccF"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/lifehacker/full?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=yjgQBXyu"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/lifehacker/full?i=yjgQBXyu" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=9xhOU1nC"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/lifehacker/full?i=9xhOU1nC" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~4/oMmPit_zHxE" height="1" width="1"/