Faces of Windows Server 2008

Microsoft has unveiled a key IT professional and developer momentum tool behind the release and deployment of Windows Server 2008, namely Faces of Windows Server 2008.

Faces of Windows Server 2008 allows a global community of Windows Server 2008 Beta testers, comprising of IT professionals, to share their experiences, swap ideas and feel genuine ownership of the product. The objective of Faces of Windows Server 2008 is to encourage IT professionals to start conversing with other IT professionals about Windows Server 2008.

The FACE of Windows Server 2008 community is built on the following objectives:

• Engage the IT Professional thru Downloads, Education and Community involvement.

• Get IT Professionals to exchange ideas to one another them talking to other IT Pros about Windows Server 2008 and share their ideas.

• Bring more IT Pros within the reach of Microsoft development team for product communication.

Read on for more info.

IT Professionals will be able to sign up and be part of the FACE community by signing up at www.microsoft.com/malaysia/servers/faces/ . IT Professionals can upload a photograph of themselves and add it to the composite human “face” of IT Professionals from around the world. Watch the face of Windows Server 2008 evolve as more people add their image to the composite.

The key attributes of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is:

• Increased control and manageability by allowing more control over server and network infrastructure. Its in-built Server Manager, Windows PowerShell and Server Core creates a versatile, and reliable Windows platform for all work and application requirements

• Flexibility for changing business needs to create an agile and dynamic datacenter to meet changing business needs to reduce cots, increase hardware utilization, optimize infrastructure and improve serve availability with its in-built Windows Server Virtualization, Terminal Services Remote Programs and Terminal Services Gateway.

• A solid foundation on which to build your business by hardening the operating system and protecting your environment and providing protection against failure and intrusion for servers, network, data and user accounts with Network Access Protection, Read-Only Domain Controller and Federated Right Management Services

In Malaysia over 2000 copies of Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 have been handed out to IT Professionals & developers joining over 100,000 downloads across the world. Windows Server 2008 development reflects Microsoft’s most extensive customer- and partner-centric feedback program for server development to date.

“We anticipate that the release will be very well accepted here in Malaysia too, and expect that many IT professionals, administrators and developers will greatly benefit from spending less time on day-to-day tasks and more time adding value to their businesses, with a number of features that work together to provide advanced access, control and protection at the network, application and data layers,” Ramesh Rajandran, Product Solutions Marketing Manager, Infrastructure Services, Microsoft Malaysia.

As part of its commitment to the overall Windows platform, Microsoft is working with chip-makers, original equipment manufacturers, independent software vendors and developers to help ensure that the ecosystem necessary to support the general availability of Windows Server 2008 is in place.

Domo arigato, Mr. Microsofto

Admittedly, most software developers don't incorporate robots into their commercial applications. (For the record, that's a shame. The world needs more robots.) But it's a rare developer who isn't at least intrigued by the theoretical possibilities of robotics. Microsoft released version 1.0 of its MICROSOFT ROBOTICS STUDIO late last year, and it launched an even more promising 1.5 rev just this summer. Whether you're interested in commercial, academic, or just plain fun applications, this platform is worth checking out. Version 1.5 added support for the .NET Compact Framework, making Windows CE and Windows Mobile deployments possible--which should make even ambitious robot-related projects cheaper and easier. (To see one entertaining application of this new platform, check out the Microsoft-sponsored ROBOCUP 2007, a simulated robo-soccer tournament.)

Look, a TV with no buttons

Apple TV helps brings movies, photos, music and other digital content into the living room.

Apple TV represents the company’s first foray into the living room. THINGGAMAJIGGY.BLOGSPOT.COM thinks it is not a horrible first attempt but it is not perfect either.

WHAT: Apple TV digital media adapter

IT’S LIKE: An oversized, not-so-portable iPod. It takes the movies, music, podcasts and photos that you have on your computer and brings them into your living room.

Q: I heard Apple recently changed its name from Apple Computer to Apple, Inc.

A: Yes, they are serious about becoming a consumer electronics manufacturer and today we have a product that illustrates that seriousness. The Apple TV represents its first attempt at bringing movies, photos, music and other digital content into the living room.

Q: So how did it fare?

A: Not bad for a first attempt. To begin with, there’s the trademark Apple minimalist design; in fact, the Apple TV doesn’t come with any button whatsoever. This clean look allows the Apple TV to exist in the living room without looking out of place. This IS a computer but it doesn’t look like one. Not many people would want a big, unwieldy PC in their living room, with buttons everywhere and — gasps! — keyboard and mouse, as in the case with many previous attempts at digital media adapters.

Q: It has no buttons? How do you switch it on? How do you interact with it?

A: It’s on as soon as you plug it into a power outlet and you control it from your couch with the included remote, which like the Apple TV is also minimalist in design.

Q: I see.

A: Apple’s brochure says that you need a wide-screen TV to use the Apple TV but that’s not really the case. If you have a normal, bulky CRT TV like most people still do, you can use that too. But check that your TV has component ports behind it (the red, green and blue ports).But the whole setup does look better with a wide screen TV because you use only one cable, the HDMI cable, for both the video and the audio.

Q: Is it simple to use?

A: If you already own an iPod and are familiar with the interface, you will feel right at home. The Apple remote works more or less the same as your iPod, with only a few buttons to play with.The initial setup is also simple enough for the layman. Mostly it involves on-screen instructions and syncing the Apple TV with the home network (wired or wireless) which may take a few hours but the good news here is that you really have to do this initial step only once.

Q: So what can I do with the Apple TV?

A: You probably have many photos, music and movie clips on your PC — not to mention all those pirated TV shows that you’ve been downloading from the Net.Well, those things stay on your PC in the den and this little thingamajiggy here will transport them from the PC to the living room — over the air, if you have a wireless network.The only problem is that with movies and TV shows, those that can play on Apple TV are only available from Apple’s online iTunes store and here in Malaysia, we don’t get iTunes store.

Q: Well, can I watch the DVDs that I already have on the Apple TV then?

A: You can, but it takes a bit of technical wizardry and its probably illegal. You need to download this free software called HandBrake, which you will use to convert your DVD movies into files that the Apple TV will understand. And from there, you bring the files into your iTunes library and sync with the Apple TV. The process may take a few hours if it’s a feature-length movie.

Q: So what can you watch on the Apple TV that will not require technical wizardry?

A: Right now, movie trailers. Whenever your Apple TV is connected to your home network, you can watch all the movie trailers on the iTunes store right from where you’re sitting on your couch.

Q: I don’t see the point. Why would people pay so much for this thing when it’s so hard to watch movies on it?A: Exactly but I would give them a few more years to perfect the technology. Steve Jobs, the Apple boss, did warn many years ago that it won’t be easy to combine TV and computer because you go to the computer to turn your brain on and you go to the TV to turn your brain off. These are mutually exclusive goal

Are Plastic Bottles Bad for You?, You May Be Swilling More than Water

Your baby looks blissful sucking down the formula from his bottle. But maybe you should feel anxiety for two. Plastic baby bottles, sippy cups and pacifiers all contain a chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA, that some animal studies suggest could harm the brain development of infants and children…
All of us carry at least some bisphenol A in our bodies, a consequence of being exposed to a variety of plastics. The question is whether such amounts constitute a health risk. Better known as BPA, this component of polycarbonate – a tough kind of plastic – can leach from plastic containers like sports drink bottles, baby bottles, pacifiers, and microwave dishes into our food. That’s not exactly the marinade most cooks – or moms – are after.
Now, a panel of 12 scientific advisors appointed by an arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has concluded that such leaching could pose some risk to the brains of fetuses, babies and children. The findings fall somewhere between those of the chemical industry – which claims that BPA poses no threat – and environmentalists who say that BPA harms health.

Controversial Findings
The panel, established two years ago by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), reviewed about 500 animal studies and concluded that in fetuses, pregnant women, infants, and children, BPA may cause neural and behavioral problems. In studies of newborn animals exposed to similar levels of BPA as humans, BPA appears to cause structural changes in the brain that could affect learning and lead to hyperactivity. But the panel also found it unlikely that BPA causes premature puberty or birth defects in fetuses and children, or reproductive problems in adults. The next step is for the NTP to decide whether to restrict the use of the chemical compound.
The findings are controversial for many reasons. For starters, no one on the panel is an expert on BPA. It consists of two scientists who work for private pharmaceutical companies, six from universities and two from federal agencies. Researchers outside the panel who are committed to banning BPA say that the panel gave more weight to studies funded by the plastics industry than to independent studies, but this claim is disputed.
So where does that leave us: the moms who already worry about their babies, the athletes who gulp sports drinks, the cooks who zap plastic containers of food in the microwave? It’s hard to say. A number of animal studies have suggested possible harm, and yet others have not. There are no human studies that establish a link between BPA and human or fetal defects or injury. And, thus far, governing bodies haven’t found the evidence compelling enough to ban or restrict BPA.
Plus the economic issues of banishment are huge. BPA is found in a wide variety of products, including baby bottles, pacifiers, sports bottles, large water cooler containers, microwave oven dishes, canned food liners, some dental sealants, and as a plasticizer or binder in cosmetics.
Global production of BPA is more than 6 billion pounds per year, and since 1980, U.S. production of BPA has increased nearly five times.

The Ongoing Debate
That the path is unclear isn’t surprising; scientists have been debating about BPA for a decade. BPA was first identified in the 1930s, and by the 1950s chemists had linked the molecules of the compound together to create polycarbonate plastic.
Researchers didn’t begin publicly worrying about health risks until 1997, when scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia called for a ban on all products containing BPA. In a study on mice, they’d found low exposures to BPA caused a precancerous condition of the prostate gland.
Since then, a number of animal studies, both at Missouri and elsewhere, have had similar results. They’ve found that low-level exposure lowered sperm production, accelerated growth, and caused early onset of puberty, chromosome damage, and behavioral changes. It has also been linked to sex reversals in frogs. Other studies have suggested that the estrogen-like chemicals of BPA may alter brain development, cause precancerous changes in the mammary glands and damage the uterus.
Fueled by such findings, a group of 38 university and government scientists unaffiliated with the government panel has issued its own, more dire, conclusions about BPA. According to them, BPA has a range of health effects on humans, including serious reproductive disorders such as fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries, and cancers.
They also point out that the compound mimics the hormone estrogen and speculate that the estrogen-like effects in female fetuses and young children may lead to reproductive system abnormalities in later life. The scientists also note that BPA levels detected in lab animals are consistent with levels detected in human fetal blood. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control found traces of BPA in 95% of urine samples tested. In Japan, researchers have also detected BPA in fetal amniotic fluid and the umbilical cords of newborns.
The group’s statement accompanies study results from the NIH that, for the first time, link BPA to uterine damage in newborn animals. Other studies have found links to prostate and breast cancer in animals exposed to low doses. And a recent study at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, indicates that exposure of mice fetuses to BPA may lead to chromosomal abnormalities in offspring.
And yet, other studies have found no convincing evidence that BPA causes cancer.
The plastics industry, based on its own safety assessment of BPA, has concluded that people’s minimal exposure to BPA poses no known risk. The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) concurs, as do the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency and the Japanese Ministry for Health, Labor, and Welfare. The European Union risk assessment found effects on reproduction only at extremely high levels of BPA exposure.
In fact, no governmental agency in Europe or the U.S. has yet placed any restrictions on the use of products made from BPA, although the European Union has banned a chemically related substance called phthalates from children’s products. Noting the metabolic differences between mice and humans, government expert panels in Europe and Japan have recently concluded there is not sufficient evidence about the health effects of BPA to restrict it.

The Safest Route
Until scientists are clearer about the dangers, the wisest course of action is to limit your exposure. Unfortunately BPA is found in many common household products. But here are five steps you can take to reduce your contact:
1. Avoid using plastic containers in microwave ovens. Use glass or ceramic bowls instead.
2. Replace cling-type wraps with waxed paper or paper towels, especially for warmed or heated foods.
3. Do not warm or heat liquids or foods in polycarbonate bottles or other BPA-containing products.
4. Buy safe alternatives. Those include non-polycarbonate plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene. Most major plastic bottle and consumer goods manufacturers such as Gerber, Medela, Playtex, and Tupperware now offer non-polycarbonate alternatives for drinking bottles, sippy cups, microwavable bowls, and plastic liners.
5. Check for BPA in plastics you buy. You can do this by looking for the distinctive identifier “7” stamped on the product’s surface, which may indicate the presence of BPA.
For those seeking additional information on product alternatives, go to BisphenolaFree.org. You can also find a “Smart Plastics Guide” at HealthObservatory.org.
This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition. Information and statements provided by the site about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Intel Sheds Light on "Penryn" Enhancements

There's more to Intel's next-generation processor family than the 45nm process node. Intel plans to unleash its Penryn family processors next quarter, shortly after AMD releases Barcelona. Penryn is the umbrella for all 45nm Core 2 micro architecture products, including quad-core Xeon Harpertown, quad-core Core 2 Yorkfield and dual-core Xeon, Core 2 Wolfdale processors.

On the surface, Penryn looks like die shrink of last year’s Conroe micro architecture, but Intel sought additional tweaks to the micro architecture to achieve greater performance at the same clock speeds as Conroe processors. Intel improves existing Wide Dynamic Execution, Advanced Smart Cache, Advanced Digital Media Boost and Intelligent Power Capability, technologies that previously made its debut with Conroe and Merom.Penryn enhances Wide Dynamic Execution technology with a fast radix-16 divider and improved Virtualization technology. With a fast radix-16 divider, the processor can process 4-bits per cycle instead of the 2-bits per cycle of Conroe – doubling the divide instruction capabilities. Intel VT technology receives enhancements that reduce virtual machine transition latencies by 25-to-75%. [ Full story at Daily Tech ]

Is The Sponge Worthy? = The Facts About a Popular Contraceptive

In the 1980s and early ‘90s, the contraceptive sponge was an icon of feminine sexual independence. Easy to use, inexpensive and with few side effects, the sponge was a favorite of both single and married women. That is, until they were swiftly removed from drugstore shelves because of manufacturing problems. Now, a new manufacturer is attempting a comeback for the contraceptive. But is the sponge your wisest choice?
More than six million women bought a whopping 250 million contraceptive sponges between 1983 and 1995. But the manufacturer pulled them from the American market in 1995. That’s when the sponges became truly iconic: After the recall, Seinfeld ran an episode called “The Sponge” in which character Elaine Benes starts rationing her remaining stock of sponges, deciding whether or not her partners are “sponge worthy.” Now the Today Sponge, which was re-approved by the FDA in September 2005, is making a comeback in the U.S. Synova Healthcare, who in January 2007 acquired the rights to the sponge, is rolling out a $5-$6 million advertising campaign (TodaySponge.com) aimed at women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, many of whom have never heard of the sponge. But should modern Elaines resume their sponge love affair?

How the Sponge Works
The doughnut-shaped, one-size-fits-all sponge – about 1.75 inches in diameter and a half-inch thick – works by combining 1,000 milligrams of a sperm-killing chemical named nonoxynol-9 (N9) with a physical barrier, in this case a small, pliable, polyurethane foam sponge. Between the two, sperm have a hard time making it past a woman’s cervix.
To use the sponge:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Thoroughly wet the sponge by placing it under water (about two tablespoons should do it).
3. Gently squeeze the sponge once.
4. Insert the wet sponge into your vagina, sliding it against the vaginal back wall until the side with a concave depression fits against your cervix, the only spot where it will be effective.

The sponge’s shape helps prevent it from shifting out of place during sex. Once the sponge is in place, you and your partner should not be able to feel it. If it does feel uncomfortable, the chances are that you’ve inserted it incorrectly. If you do feel discomfort, gently reposition the sponge over your cervix, being careful not to puncture it with your fingernail.A soft loop on the other side allows you to retrieve the sponge.

To remove the sponge:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Use one finger to find and take hold of the loop.
3. After you’ve pulled it out, check to make sure that the sponge is still in one piece. If it isn’t, try to find and remove the missing piece, which is still inside you. If you can’t, see your doctor immediately to avoid an infection or toxic shock syndrome.

While you can have intercourse immediately after inserting the sponge, to be protected you must leave the sponge in place for at least six hours after the last act of intercourse… but no longer than 24 hours after insertion.

Pros
Inexpensive.
A pack of three sponges costs $7.99-$9.99; a package of 6, $16.99; a dozen, $29.99.

Easy to buy.
Sponges are sold over the counter at large retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, and Walgreens. It’s also available on Web sites like Amazon.com and Drugstore.

Free of hormones.
This differs from oral birth control pills, which contain either progestin, or a combination of estrogen and progestin.

Few side effects.
Unlike hormones in oral contraceptives that may up the risk of heart disease, sponges have few side effects. (See “Cons” below)

A cinch to use.
Soak the sponge with water and insert.

Cons
Sponges must be used with condoms to avoid pregnancy.
In clinical trials, the sponge was only 89%-91% effective in preventing pregnancy. Since these were company-sponsored trials, it is likely that the users followed directions more carefully than people who use the sponge under ordinary conditions. When packaging instructions aren’t followed, the company reports an 11%-16% failure rate. Princeton University researchers also found a high failure rate: For women who never had children and may not have followed directions, 16% became pregnant within a year. For mothers who may not have followed directions, 32% became pregnant within one year. This compares to a 15% pregnancy rate for improper use of condoms and 8% for birth control pills.

No protection from sexually transmitted diseases.
In this age of HIV, HPV (human papillomavirus), herpes, and easy sex, that’s a problem. And even though women have become accustomed to the protection that condoms provide, they may opt for the convenience of the sponge without considering the risks. Sponges are simply less effective in preventing STDs than condoms.

Side effects.
Aside from unwanted pregnancy, side effects for sponges can include superficial vaginal lacerations, yeast infections and allergic reactions to the sponge or the spermicide. While users in company-sponsored trials had no serious side effects, there is also a very low-risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a severe and potentially fatal bacterial infection that could result from leaving the sponge in too long. Although tampons are the most common triggers of TSS, the syndrome starts from the presence of any absorbent, vaginal foreign body that can propagate the growth of bacteria called staphylococcus.

Selective use.
The sponge can’t be used during menstruation, immediately after childbirth or after a miscarriage.

The Competition
There is none – at least not in the U.S. However, two other brands are available outside of the country:
Protectaid
Introduced in 1983, Protectaid is made of polyurethane foam infused with a gel containing three active ingredients: nonoxynol-9 (N9); benzalkonium chloride (BKC), an organic compound used as an antiseptic and spermicide; and sodium cholate (NACOL), also a spermicide. Available in Canada and Europe, Protectaid provides protection for 12 hours (compared to 24 hours for the Today Sponge), and a new sponge is not required if you have intercourse multiple times during that time. As with the Today Sponge, it should be left in place for 6 hours after intercourse. It’s effective 77%- 91% of the time.

Pharmatex
Introduced to the European market in 1984, this sponge consists of a foam cylinder containing 60 milligrams of benzalkonium chloride (BZK). It, too, should be left in place for no longer than 24 hours, and it must not be removed for a minimum of two hours after vaginal intercourse. This sponge appears to be effective 81%-99% of the time.

The Final Word
The sponge can be a good option, in terms of spontaneity and economics, as well as for women who don’t want to take hormones. But if you follow Elaine in your sponge devotion, don’t use it without asking your partner to wear a condom, too. Without that additional protection, you’re at significant risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. And when you do use the sponge, follow the directions for insertion and timing.
This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition. Information and statements provided by the site about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Running aids

Nike+iPod Sport Kit

It’s like: An addiction. Once you start buying Nike+, it’ll just add up — hurh, hurh, hurh.
Rating: A six-minute mile.

Hey, haven’t seen you in a bit. What you got there, chum?

Oh, hi, yeah, just started jogging again recently. It’s the Nike+iPod Sport Kit which puts all your running needs into one neat package.

So it’s got Gatorade running out of those wires or what?

No, silly, that’s my headphones. See, it gives me music which helps put me in the mood to run and also shows me how fast, far and long I’ve been running.

Wow, how does it know?

Well, I’ve got this thing in my left shoe which is an accelerometer. Basically, it measures my movements and shows me the data in my Nano.

Cool. Can I have a go?

Well, you can but I’d rather not. See, it records each run and compiles it in my iTunes. Then it uploads all my data to nikeplus.com where I can analyse all my runs and stuff.

Oh, but why?

Haven’t you always wanted to know how fast you run?

No, not really.

Well, I do, you know, cause it helps keep me motivated. Look, like when I record a new personal best for a mile, Paula Radcliffe comes on to tell me so.

You mean the American Idol judge?

What? No, not... never mind. But see, once I hook up online, I become a part of a community of thousands from around the globe and I can even challenge them to see who can run the most or fastest in a given period of time. The competition really motivates you.

Whoa, so are you laying the smack down?

Umm, no, not really, but I’m not last! That’s my target for now. Although, if I did win, I’d get a virtual trophy. Also you can set personal goals and win medals, too.

Isn’t that a bit childish?

What? No! Like I said, it gets you motivated. Oh yeah, and while it plays your favourite music as you run, it also has a Powersong function.

Ok, now that’s really like a kid’s video game.

Well, yeah, but, no, but, yeah. Well, see, when you’re on your last legs or you’re entering the final lap, you can just hit the centre button and it’ll play your Powersong which is whatever song that gets you that one last turbo boost of energy.

Gee, I just eat a Power Bar.

Pshh, what a waste of cash.

Telly Mac

What’s that white stick that’s plugged into the back of your Mac?

It’s Miglia TVMicro, a TV tuner.

A TV tuner? It looks more like an oversized thumb drive ...or maybe even an iPod shuffle.

Now that you mentioned it, yeah ... like one of those early clones of the iPod shuffle from China.

Many of the TV tuners I had seen before were the PCI card types. You had to open up your computer in order to instal them. But TVMicro is so small and it simply plugs into a USB port!

Well, there is a trade-off, in that TVMicro relies on your Mac for processing power to transform the TV signal into a digital file, so you will need a sufficiently powered Mac to record programmes in full DVD quality. Larger TV tuners may have their own strength. They may offer video encoding chips that take care of the video encoding, thereby reducing the load on your Mac’s processor.

If I have a fairly new Mac?

Well, then, it shouldn’t be a problem. TVMicro should work fine with all new Macs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

So how do you use a TV tuner like TVMicro?

First, you instal the included EyeTV software, then just plug it into a USB port on your computer, connect your antenna or analog cable feed, and you’re watching TV. If you use a laptop like MacBook or MacBoob Pro, it’s even better. You can try getting a portable antenna from an electronics shop, connect it to the TVMicro and your Mac portable and watch TV from anywhere you like — in the office, the balcony...

That’s so cool!

Yeah and you can have the TV playing in a resizeable floating window on your desktop while you’re doing work on your laptop. This is most ideal for programmes like Formula 1 where you don’t need to have your eyes glued to the TV all the time.

How much does a portable antenna cost?

Should be around RM40 to RM50.

Can I also use this thing to record Astro programmes?

Yes, you can. However, you need a certain type of cable which doesn’t come with TVMicro in order to connect your Astro decoder to TVMicro. Again, get advise from an electronics shop on this. But once you have the setup working, it can be very useful. Primarily for recording TV programmes. TVMicro allows you to record straight to your Mac in VCD (MPEG-1), S-VCD (MPEG-2) or DVD (MPEG-2) quality. You can also record TV programmes and convert the recording to a format that your iPod or Sony PSP will understand, a function that comes with the EyeTV software. This means you can watch recorded programmes on the devices while on the go. Here at Life & Times, we sometimes need to perform screen capture on TV programmes for our What I Saw On Telly column. This is another instance where TVMicro comes in handy. As we watch the recorded programme, we can freeze and capture a frame that we like.

WHAT: Miglia TVMicro TV tuner
IT’S LIKE: A thumb drive, except that this one allows you to watch TV on your Mac.

New iLife and iWork

As an add on to the NEW ALLUMINIUM iMACS that were recently revealed, Apple has also introduced the new iLife '08 and iWork '08 suites.

Apple’s iLife suite of digital lifestyle applications, features a new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie. iPhoto ’08 automatically organizes photo libraries into Events that let users more easily manage their growing photo collections, and iMovie ’08 introduces an entirely new way for users to quickly make movies and share them online. Both iPhoto and iMovie integrate seamlessly with the new .Mac Web Gallery, Apple’s new service for .Mac members to instantly create and host online websites for their photos and videos. iLife ’08 also features iWeb ’08 and GarageBand ’08.
iWork ’08, a significant upgrade to Apple’s productivity software suite featuring new versions of Pages and Keynote word processing and presentation applications, and introducing an innovative new spreadsheet application called “Numbers.” Numbers introduces the concept of intelligent tables on a flexible canvas, a new approach that makes it easy to organize information, create calculations, analyze results and make spreadsheets look as great as they work.
iLife '08 is available for the suggested price of RM339 but will be included in all new Macs beginning today. Mac is available as a subscription-based service for RM429 per year for individuals and RM739 for a Family Pack which includes one master account and four sub accounts. Anyone can sign up for a free, 60-day .Mac trial from http://www.mac.com/.

iLife '08
iPhoto'08 automatically groups all photos into Events, each containing a day's worth of photos represented by a single picture. Users can simply move their mouse over an Event to instantly “skim” through all its photos. Users can split a single day’s event into multiple events, such as a birthday party in the morning and a wedding in the evening, or merge events on multiple days into a single event, such as a weekend ski vacation. Users can hide photos they don't want to see every day but don't want to throw away, and a unified search allows users to instantly find all their photos across all Events by rating, date and keywords. Users can produce frame-worthy prints on a home printer with new Apple-designed photo themes, and order keepsake books with customizable dust jackets and professional quality hardcovers with elegant foil printing, new spiral-bound softcover books that can be laid flat for easy viewing, or new larger wall calendars.

With iMovie '08, Apple's movie-making software has been completely reinvented to let users rediscover and enjoy their video library, make movies in minutes instead of hours, and share their movies with family, friends or the entire world in a snap. iMovie '08 can import video from the latest AVCHD, HDV and DV camcorders, as well as from digital cameras, and displays a user’s entire video library whether it's stored on internal or external drives. Users can preview any of their video clips by simply moving their mouse over the clip to “skim” through it forward or backward at any speed, including faster than real time. Users can select video as easily as selecting text, make a movie by simply dragging the selected video into a project, then easily add a soundtrack from iTunes, voiceovers, and elegant effects and cinematic titles. iMovie ’08 makes it as easy as a few clicks to enjoy your movies on an iPod, iPhone or Apple TV, or share with the entire world on YouTube.

For .Mac members, Apple is also introducing the stunning .Mac Web Gallery. .Mac Web Gallery is fully integrated with iPhoto'08 and iMovie'08, letting users share their photos and movies on the web with just a few clicks. .Mac Web Gallery automatically builds a website containing photo galleries and movies that can be viewed on any modern computer or iPhone. Photos can be downloaded to print at sizes up to 16x20, and movies can be viewed at higher-than-DVD resolution.

iWeb ’08 offers new features to make websites more interactive by adding live web widgets such as Google Maps, targeted ads using Google AdSense and photos or movies from .Mac Web Galleries. Users can also add Internet video, news headlines, weather and more from any site that supports HTML snippets. A new “My Album” page template lets users easily organize photo albums and videos into one simple index web page. The new iWeb includes a range of beautiful new Apple-designed themes that users can change at any time to experiment with different web page designs, even after their site has been published. With a .Mac membership, users can also now host iWeb websites using their own personal domains.

GarageBand '08 introduces Magic GarageBand, an easy and fun way for musicians and non-musicians alike to create a song. Users can pick from nine musical genres and interact with a band of “players” on a virtual stage by selecting an instrument and musical part for each player to create thousands of possible song combinations. Users can play along with a built-in software instrument or record their voice to sing along to their own music. The new GarageBand also offers powerful new features for more advanced musicians, including multi-take recording to capture the best performance, arrangements to cut, copy and paste intros, verses and choruses, and support for 24-bit audio interfaces.

iWorks '08
Pages ’08 now features distinct modes for streamlined word processing and flexible page layout, a new contextual format bar and change tracking, and Keynote ’08 now includes text effects, transitions and themes that help users easily compose spectacular presentations, and Smart Builds with easy-to-set-up A-to-B animations that make impressive animations easy for anyone to create.

Numbers '08 is a new approach to spreadsheets that allows people to organize their information, interact with their data and calculations and make their spreadsheets easy to understand and print. With multiple intelligent tables on a flexible graphics canvas, users can rearrange information, resize and add columns—all without breaking their spreadsheet. Each table is a full-blown spreadsheet with automatic header and footer rows, easy sorting and filtering, and automatic cell naming so creating, reading and maintaining formulas is easy. Common functions can be dragged to any cell, and a total of 150 functions are available spanning a wide range of calculations, including numeric, date and time, financial and statistical. Interactive checkboxes and sliders let users change cell values easily to explore different scenarios and see their results instantly. Users can create stunning 2D and 3D charts that are automatically updated as data changes, then complement them with rich graphics, photos and text labels. Interactive printing makes it easy to fit a document on a single page or rearrange and resize tables and objects across multiple pages.

10 Reasons Why You Should Get A Mac

Why shouldn’t you want a Mac?

1. It Just Works

There is no guesswork, no wondering which cable goes where, no device drivers to worry about or jibberish settings – hardware acceleration, virtual memory, TCPIP, BIOS settings! You just want the computer to work, it is 2007 isn’t it? Thankfully, Macs are amazingly simple yet reliable to operate. Your toaster doesn’t crash. Your kitchen sink doesn’t crash. Why should your computer? Think of the countless hours you would save if your PC worked on your time. Mac offers absolutely flawless integration of hardware and software. Only with a Mac do you get a system built by the same people who make the OS, the applications, and the computer itself, so it’s been perfectly tried and tested long before it’s on your desk.

2. It Plays Hard

If you’ve ever wanted to make a movie, publish your own podcast, create gorgeous coffee-table books, produce a Hollywood-style DVD, state your views in a daily blog, make beautiful music, or any combination of the above, you’ve definitely come to the right place. While the standard PC comes with calculator, control panel and a game of Solitaire (yawn), the Mac and its free iLife software suite is ready to convert all your CDs into iPod-ready high quality music library with album art, edit your home movies, create home-made DVDs and manage the growing photo library you’ve been adding from your new digital camera, right out of the box! These softwares are made by Apple, and feature the trademark simplicity and gorgeous eye candy. The end results will wow friends, foes and family.

3. It Works Hard

Do you know how to get ahead at work? Stand out. Yes, not only by presenting yourself with good hygiene and a career-driven personality, your work has to show an edge that races you ahead in the next round of promotion. Powerpoint templates are the best examples of what not to use if you don’t want a meeting to turn into a snooze-fest. With Mac iWork to complement your Microsoft Office for Mac OS suite, you can choose to create awesome presentations and slideshows that your board of directors have never seen before! The “isn’t Mac more suitable for designers than executives?” dinosaur mentality should be buried like fossil bones. Reality check, a Mac can do anything a PC can.

4. …Including Running Windows

Haven’t you heard? You can run Windows XP and even Vista on an Apple computer. You can easily install both operating systems in one computer and choose whether you want your computer to be a Mac or a PC on startup with a little add-on called BootCamp (it’s free from Apple). The process just involves burning a CD, selecting the installation drive and the usual Windows installation process. No pain, no sweat. Do you know the difference between the mundane task of walking your best friend home versus walking Angelina Jolie home? Yeah well, the everyday task of having to beat the orcs in Warcraft, browse the Net, scan for viruses, work on Microsoft Office, perform regular Windows Critical Updates or play Solitaire, like with your old PC – just got way much sexier.

5. Computer Virus? How Do You Spell That Again?

By the end of 2005, there were 114,000 known viruses for PCs. In March 2006 alone, 850 new threats were detected against Windows. Zero for Mac. While no computer connected to the Internet will ever be 100% immune from attack, Mac OS X has helped the Mac keep its clean bill of health with a superior UNIX foundation and security features that go above and beyond the norm for PCs. For instance, even if you happen to unknowingly open a Windows virus file from your webmail, it does nothing to your Mac. That would be like trying to infect your sofa with the flu.

6. Designs That Turn Heads

Apple designers and engineers agonize over every millimeter of every new Macintosh model and every pixel of the user interface. The result: ergonomic products that are the toast of the design world. You can see obsession with detail wherever you look: the space-saving elegance of the all-in-one design of the iMac, the pint-sized perfection of the Mac mini, the anodized aluminum alloy enclosure of the MacBook Pro and the little giant of supercomputing the Mac Pro. Apple’s definitive industrial design ingenuity and incredible attention to form and function, makes even a 5-year-old iMac exciting to look and use. Let’s see, what do I remember of my 5-year-old PC… hmph.

7. Intel Processors

Paul Otellini, President & CEO of Intel has announced at the 2005 Worldwide Developer Conference, the company is developing a grand partnership to create more exciting and powerful devices with Apple. Unlike PC manufacturers who buy the parts and assemble PCs, every Apple computer’s power is the result of massive R&D effort involving thousands of engineers from the world’s leading suppliers to orchestrate a leap in hardware architecture. With the help of Intel Core Duo, Intel Core 2 Duo, or Intel Xeon processor, plus other engineering leaps, the new Macs are up to seven times faster than previous generations. Do you know what this means to users like you? In real world tests, a Macbook notebook computer can power up and be used in 20 seconds flat. Now, try this at home…

8. Everything is Simpler

Want to eject a device from your computer? Just press two buttons. Want to send something through Bluetooth? Click the Bluetooth logo on top of the screen. Want to know how much battery is left on your notebook? The percentage/time indicator is always clearly shown. System Settings? Simple and doesn’t contain anything you don’t want to know or understand. Want to look for a story your sister wrote about you? Just type “beautiful” and Mac OS X Spotlight searches every single document in the computer with the word in it, scouring every paragraph. Who on earth remembers file names?

9. It’s Not Really Upgradeable, But Why Would You?

Vista requires a PC with 1GB of memory, 15GB of free hard disk space, and a powerful graphics card. So upgrading to the new OS from Windows XP can require a significant investment of time and money before you even get around to the Vista part (which can also be expensive). This whole scenario is an alien one for Mac users. While most PCs more than 18 months old will have “issues” upgrading to Vista, the latest Mac OS X runs on Macs built as long as seven years ago.

10. It Will Improve Your Life

Skeptics commonly cry “it’s too expensive”, “it can’t be upgraded” and the oldest one, “it’s not fully compatible with my Windows files”. Those anachronistic comments are passé and simplistic. For a bigger picture, just ask any Mac user you know for their opinion, as they would have most likely used both and can paint an accurate description of life with Macs. It also weeds out software piracy, simply because you won’t need it. What you’re buying is a licensed state-of-the-art operating system, productivity suite (movie editing, music, DVD authoring, photo library+edit, blogging, widgets), an impeccably made computer and one of the most reliable combination of hardware that is meticulously engineered together to result in years of computing bliss. By designing a computer from the inside out, Apple could put the iMac on a diet to consist of only a screen, taking away the wire mess and ugly tower housing. Aesthetics is important, but reliability and user-friendliness never goes out of style.

Super-Models of Computing

How would you like your computer?

Gorgeous, very gorgeous or drop-dead gorgeous?

“You can spec it up to 8-core (works like 8 processors in one) supercomputer if you have pockets deep enough. If it’s good enough for Pixar, it’s good enough for you.”

Apple Mac Pro Desktop PC

Two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processors, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

“Just add your own keyboard, monitor and mouse – the most affordable way to start experiencing Macs (but no less sexy).”

Apple Mac mini

(1.66 GHz/1.83GHz Intel Core Duo, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive)

“Where’s the big black box that holds the CPU and entangled wire mess that I miss so much? Not.”

Apple iMac Desktop with 17"/20”/24” Display

(1.83/2.0/2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB/250GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

“Beauty is to be shared, take your notebook out and stand out.”

Apple MacBook 13.3" Notebook PC

(2.0 /2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB /120 GB / 160GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive or SuperDrive)

“No plastics here, its sculpted aluminum casing. Class-leading notebook specs. The ultimate statement in power mobile computing.”

Apple MacBook Pro 15"/17” Notebook PC

(2.2 GHz/ 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB / 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 128MB or 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM)

More than meets the eye

More than meets the eye
Sure, maybe it's not Michael Bay's idea of an exciting Transformer. And Shia LaBeouf would never befriend it. But that shouldn't stop you from checking out Softsilver--or, more precisely, Softsilver Transformer. Neither Decepticon nor Autobot, Softsilver occupies that underappreciated and seldom recognized subset of transformers, the hard-working ones dedicated to helping software developers transform data into XML. True to its heritage, Softsilver Transformer is well-nigh kid-friendly when it comes to ease of use, as you barely need knowledge of XML or even programming to put it to work. With its step-by-step tabbed interface, you can take almost any sort of data--from Excel workbooks to ODBC data sources to text--and quickly transform it into XML. (About the only thing missing is the cool transform sound.)
No need for XML? You can find plenty of nontransforming functionality in this week's software picks: ProjectDiff can help you stay on top of changing file and project revs, as well as complicated source hierarchies; CSS Toolbox is a handful of time-saving freeware CSS tools; and Emco MSI Package Builder is powerful enough to handle large-scale, complicated installs, without scripting or special languages.

Tap Into Tantra for an Intimacy Infusion - An Ancient Practice Can Make Sex Perfect

Looking for a way to improve your relationship? Try Tantra. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t just about better, longer-lasting sex. It’s also the key to more emotional connection, stronger friendships and a happier relationship. Dr. Elsbeth Meuth and Freddy Zental Weaver, founders of a Tantra offshoot called TantraNova and the TantraNova Institute in Chicago, share their Tantric tips to bring you and your partner closer… without taking off a shred of clothing……!

The Yin-Yang of Love
Tantra has its roots in the religions of India and has long been practiced in other Eastern countries, including China, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Here, we tend to associate Tantra with the sexual staying power of men (thank you, Sting!), but the practice isn’t simply about being better in bed.The Tantra discipline uses ritual, energy and breathing in order to achieve harmony with the universe (the divine), yourself and your partner. It can help you learn about yourself and open the door to longer, more satisfying sex. And yes, men who practice Tantra are able to last longer through a combination of breathing, relaxation and muscle contraction.
Tantric tradition holds that men and women approach sex and intimate relationships in fundamentally different ways. For men, sexual energy originates in the genitals, while for women it originates in the heart.The result is a big disconnect: He’s feeling it here, you’re feeling it there, and eventually no one’s feeling it anywhere. Tantra comes to the rescue by helping you get on the same wavelength.“Tantra helps connect men and women to themselves and to each other,” Meuth says. “They discover the magical connection that allows them to open up and fully be themselves.”Sound tempting? Here’s how to get started:

Breathe
According to Tantric beliefs, we are all full of sexual energy. It’s our most profound life source – part of what created us, and the key to helping us achieve our dreams, including a better relationship.Unfortunately, most of us have no idea what to do with that energy.
The first step in mastering your sexual energy is becoming conscious of your breath. To begin breathing in the Tantric style, Meuth and Weaver suggest a simple meditation:

Sit comfortably, close your eyes and become aware of your breath.
After a couple inhalations and exhalations, picture a pool of energy in your eyes.
As you breathe out, visualize the energy traveling from your face down the front of your body to your genitals.
As you inhale, envision the energy traveling up your back and into your head.Keep the “loop” going.
Breathe out, and feel the energy pour down the front of your body. Breathe in, and feel it travel up the back of your body. Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth to complete the circuit.
Repeat.

Breathing makes you more aware of being inside your body. It’s also a great exercise for centering your mind and preparing yourself for a busy day, a restful sleep or great sex. Do it for five minutes every day.

Create a Heart-to-Heart Connection
For couples who have grown apart and want to reconnect, Meuth and Weaver suggest the Heart-to-Heart Connection exercise. According to Meuth, it’s a perfect way to rediscover joy and passion in your relationship. “When a couple is not getting along, they’re often very much in their heads, each one thinking of what the other has done wrong,” she says. “This exercise can be the beginning of rekindling intimacy.”

Here’s the Heart-to-Heart how-to:

Sit on the floor, facing each other.
Place your right hand on each other’s heart.
Gaze gently into each other’s left eye (it’s a direct link to the emotional center of the brain).
Synchronize your breathing, inhaling and exhaling together (through the nose) as you continue to hold each other’s gaze, with your hands on each other’s heart.

Admittedly, many couples will feel awkward. “Most people simply aren’t used to staring at each other and many get giggly or embarrassed,” Meuth acknowledges. But push yourself to stay with the emotions. Embrace the intimacy.After a few minutes, slowly remove your hands and share with each other – one at a time – how you are feeling.

Meuth and Weaver suggest trying the practice several times a week. If you start laughing, just acknowledge it and continue the exercise. Embarrassment should soon subside, and a strong feeling of connection should emerge in its place. This technique is especially healing to couples for whom words tend to lead to more conflict.

Do the Yab-Yum
The Yab-Yum exercise taps into the energy current you stoked with the basic breathing exercise and heightens it by revving the libido and deepening a couple’s bond, Meuth says.
To do the Yab-Yum, ask your partner to sit (on the floor or bed) cross-legged or with his legs open if it’s more comfortable for him.
Sit on his lap facing him, with your legs wrapped around his back (if he’s not sitting cross-legged, you’ll need a cushion underneath your bottom).
Place your right hand on his lower back and your left hand over his shoulder, resting between his shoulder blades. Have him position his hands the same way on your shoulder and back.
Once again, synchronize your breathing. Visualize your hearts sharing their energy.

For a twist, try alternating your breathing: As you breathe in and fill your belly with air, your partner exhales and his belly collapses. Then his belly goes out and yours goes in. Develop a rhythm, moving and working together, just as you would during sex.According to Weaver, most people find that this exercise arouses more than just the heart. “It makes you feel like one body, and most people are startled by the intensity and the connection it creates,” he says.

Add some rhythmic squeezing and releasing of your Kegel muscles (have him do the same), and you should be on your way to the most spiritual sex this side of Sting’s house.Doing this exercise with your clothes on helps you and your partner connect at the heart level. Meuth and Weaver teach couples to envision sending their love into each other’s hearts as they breathe out and to receive each other’s love as they breathe in.“You also can extend this exercise into intercourse,” Meuth suggests. “A couple simply lies on top of each other and breathes into each other’s bellies, synchronizing and becoming one.”

The Rock-Her-World Kiss

Finally, Meuth and Weaver recommend a special Tantric exercise designed to please women.Kissing in general awakens endorphins and heightens pleasure, Meuth says. But did you know there is a spot in the mouth that is a sexual energy channel to the clitoris? It’s on the inside of the upper lip, at the top where the lip meets the gum. You can feel it with your tongue. Ask your partner to extend his tongue up into this sacred spot and see what happens.

Once you’ve mastered these exercises, add the kisses to complete the picture. All that gazing and breathing should arouse his heart, while the kisses should stimulate your sexual center. The result? A rebirth of physical and emotional intimacy for both of you.

5 Things You Didn't Know: Wal-Mart

The first Wal-Mart opened in Arkansas in 1962, and the company flourished, thanks to the retail imagination and cutthroat practices of founder Sam Walton. Over four decades later, Wal-Mart is a global behemoth, regularly seeing annual sales in excess of $300 billion, and employing more people -- 1.9 million, according to business research company Hoover’s Inc. -- than any other private employer in the world. If Wal-Mart were its own country, its population would exceed 75 other countries as the 146th most populated nation on Earth. The company has not announced any plans to nationalize, but few concepts -- whether revolutionary or appalling -- seem beyond their consideration.Wal-Mart exports its borderline free market practices to over a dozen countries led by the Rollback Man -- a mascot who “rolls back prices” and who, in every which way, demonstrates a spectacular lack of imagination. If you don’t know what he looks like, simply imagine a 1970s smiley face on the period at the end of this sentence, then remove any residual indication of personality. Leave it to Wal-Mart not only to employ this two-pencil-strokes-shy-of-a-speck mascot, but also to try to trademark it in 2006, claiming they had a lot invested in the smiley face.
Nonetheless, Forbes’ annual rundown of the world’s wealthiest people must feel like a Walton family reunion: The most recent list alone features five Waltons among the top 30 billionaires.
Despite all of its financial success, the company can’t open a store without enduring -- and overcoming -- a flood of protest groups. These groups might defend the environment or local store owners, or they might defend the store’s future employees, since Wal-Mart’s reputation for unfair labor practices involves sexual discrimination, denying unionization and offering wages so terrible that some employees have to rely on social services to get by. Love it or hate it, here are five things you didn’t know about Wal-Mart; your friendly neighborhood retail monstrosity.

1- Every week, over one-third of the U.S. population visits a Wal-MartIn a country of over 300 million, that comes to an astonishing 100 million Wal-Mart customers per week (127 million if you believe the figure given on the corporate website). Of course, this does not mean 100 million unique customers; that number is unknown, and for this purpose, immaterial. Either way, that’s about as many Americans who voted in the tight U.S. Presidential elections of 2004 (122 million), and it’s substantially more than the number who could have voted but didn’t (78 million).
2- Hillary Clinton was a member of the Board of Directors for six years. In 1986, Wal-Mart welcomed Mrs. Clinton to their board, despite the absence of a vacant seat. At the time, her husband was the governor of Arkansas and she was the state’s First Lady. Mrs. Clinton served on two other corporate boards during the late 1980s and early 1990s: Little Rock-based TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt), and she briefly held a position on the board for Lafarge, a huge French industrial company (makers of cement and concrete). She quit all three in 1992, during her husband’s successful presidential run. Curiously, Wal-Mart did not fill her seat on their board when she left.
3- They pioneered a number of discount retail concepts By “they,” I really mean Sam Walton, since his innovations go back to the early days. Walton improved customer service by extending store hours, staying open on Sundays or on holidays, and by making certain to keep his shelves well-stocked with a variety of cheap -- low-cost, I mean -- products. Wal-Mart has brought these concepts into the computer age. Today, when an item is scanned for purchase at a cash register, it informs an inventory control system, which works with the items manufacturer to keep the shelves stocked. Wal-Mart was among the first major retailers to install such a system. Yet Walton’s most profound innovation was discount merchandising itself. Buying from the cheapest wholesale supplier allowed him to lower his prices and sell more; the higher sales volume gave him future negotiating power with the supplier, further lowering his prices. Sam Walton’s early creativity as an entrepreneur has been eclipsed by an uninspired corporate bully with the muscle to do virtually whatever it wants, wherever it is. But don’t be fooled; it’s not as though Sam would be turning over in his grave at the news. Walton died in 1992, and is as much credited as he is criticized for making Wal-Mart what it is today.
4- Only one organization in the world employs more people than Wal-Mart Wal-Mart’s 1.9 million employees amounts to the biggest private employer worldwide, but when it comes down to sheer employment -- public, private, governmental or otherwise -- Wal-Mart comes in at No. 2. They have stiff competition for the number-two spot, as both Indian Railways (IR) and England’s National Health Services (NHS) are very close. However, they’ll need to go on a highly unlikely hiring spree in order to reach this list’s No. 1: the Chinese Army. No, this is not a joke. The number of active troops in the Chinese Army is around 2.25 million -- a mere 325,000 more than Wal-Mart.
5- They prefer part-time employees About one-third of Wal-Mart’s employees work part-time or no more than 28 hours per week. As such, they will naturally have less invested in the company. For example, part-time employees would not see or experience the benefits of a union, favoring Wal-Mart’s well-earned reputation as a union ball-breaker. Their statement on unions is a classic syllogistic fallacy:“At Wal-Mart, we respect the individual rights of our associates and encourage them to express their ideas, comments and concerns. Because we believe in maintaining an environment of open communications, we do not believe there is a need for third-party representation.”In other words: Open communication is the function of a union; Wal-Mart’s ideology encourages open communication; therefore, Wal-Mart’s ideology already serves the function of a union.Wal-Mart’s nebulous definition of unions is not only built on a false premise, but it is also at odds with the one offered by the AFL-CIO, in which unions “solve problems, build stronger workplaces… give workers a voice on the job about safety, security, pay, benefits [and] a voice in government.”Furthermore, after one year, part-time workers become eligible for a health plan stacked with a massive deductible and whopping premiums, but in light of a 70% per annum turnover rate, most won’t be around that long anyway. That might be for the best since, in their own words, the Wal-Mart medical plan is “designed to protect associates from catastrophic loss and financial ruin.” Those are big words for poor people; if you’re making so little money that you require social services to supplement your basic needs, how far away are you from financial ruin, anyway?

Why is it searched? For all the people searching for the lowest price on an electric toothbrush, there are plenty of others looking into the deluge of complaints and criticisms leveled at Wal-Mart, including the economic impact of store openings, the notoriously low wages, the enormous wealth of the Walton family, the questionable working conditions at overseas stores, the many ongoing lawsuits against them, and their heavy-handed opposition to labor unions.

Length of public interest? The public’s interest is best measured by the length of its attention span. Wal-Mart sells merchandise as cheap or cheaper than their competition by using methods that look a lot like the methods of a monopoly, such as predatory pricing. They skirt violations of U.S. anti-trust laws while exploiting people through pathetic wages and flimsy benefits. It’s all terrible, just terrible. But have you heard about how far back they just rolled the price on a tube of foot cream? Wow!

Resources:
www.walmart.com
http://en.wikipedia.org
www.hoovers.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk
www.forbes.com
www.cbsnews.com
www.washingtonpost.com
www.villagevoice.com
http://projects.washingtonpost.com
www.vpirg.orgwww.pbs.org
http://findarticles.com
http://aflcio.org