Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Apple Inc. today has introduced the much-anticipated iPhone at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco.

The iPhone is claimed to be “a revolutionary mobile phone” as stated on the Apple website. The device appears to be running a mobile version of the Apple operating system Mac OSX. It is approximately the same size as a 5th generation iPod, it has a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen display that is used to access all features of the phone including number dial, as well as making phone calls. The iPhone plays music, movies, displays pictures and is able to connect to a wireless network.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the device by walking onto the stage and taking the iPhone out of his jeans pocket. During his 2 hour speech he stated that “Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone, We are going to make history today”.

Today Apple also released their Media Center device – Apple TV. It will directly compete with Microsoft’s Media Center operating system. Apple has taken a different approach to the media center market; rather than storing content (such as movies, music and photos) on the device, Apple TV connects to a computer (Mac and Windows) over a wirless network connection and plays all content stored on that computer. This makes it substantially easier for users to organize their media content.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Oil giant Shell has sold all its retail and distribution operations in Ireland to a distribution and logistics firm called Topaz. The businesses, which are believed to have an annual turnover of over €1bn, include 35 local distribution depots, 6 oil importation facilities, 55 retail service stations and the supply of fuel to 105 independent service stations throughout Ireland.

Shell is retaining its interest in the Corrib Gas field in County Mayo which it is currently developing. Shell has been known for some time to be anxious to exit the increasingly competitive Irish market. Since the arrivial of Tesco to the petrol retail market last year, a price war has raged in parts of the country. Althought Tesco only operates a limited number of stations in the republic, it has expressed a desire to expand throughout the country.

Ion Equity are the consortium behind the takeover which according to the Irish Independent is valued at over €100m. The business will be headed by former Emo Oil managing director Danny Murray.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Wikinews interviewed author Marc Headley about his new book Blown for Good, and asked him about life inside the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base“, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California. Headley joined the organization at age seven when his mother became a member, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Silvio Berlusconi has layed foundations for a potential election in Italy early next year. The Prime Minister of Italy said he would consider holding an election if his government failed to have a significant parliamentary majority and is unable to pass reforms by the end of January.

Berlusconi only narrowly survived a vote of no confidence in the Italian parliament a week ago, and he is facing a backlash from students over plans to radically reform the university system.

Berlusconi said he had conferred with officials in Lega Nord, his government’s main ally, which has stressed elections are the most promising end to the political crisis in Italy, which began when when a split occurred in Berlusconi’s party, The People of Freedom.

“If, in contrast to what we expect, we do not have a sufficient majority to govern at the end of January, I think that the best thing would be to have the chance to get a fresh majority in both houses of parliament,” Berlusconi told journalists.

However, there is skepticism that even if Berlusconi wanted to hold an election, he would be unable to. President Giorgio Napolitano has insisted dissolving parliament is a last resort. Berlusconi won the vote of no confidence last week by only three votes. The Chamber of Deputies voted to keep Burlusconi in power by 314 votes to 311.

The Prime Minister said he intended to try and persuade those who voted against him to support his government. “There are lots of lawmakers belonging to various political forces who have reasons for dissatisfaction with the groups they belong to,” he said.

The news comes a day after thousands of Italian students mounted a violent protest against proposed, radical reforms of the country’s university system planned by Berlusconi’s administration. Riot police used tear gas on protesters in Palermo; campaigners occupied a rail line in Naples; hundreds of protesters staged a short sit-in in the Mole Antonelliana, a major landmark in Turin, in northern Italy. The students urged President Napolitano to refuse to sign the law.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

On Monday, Google added the “+1” button to its search results. It works similarly to the Facebook “Like” button. Today, Google began planning to add it to text ads, globally known as “AdSense”.

Google Product Manager Nick Radicevic commented at Google’s AdSense blog: “Today, +1’s will start appearing on Google search pages globally. …. We’ll be starting off with sites like google.co.uk, google.de, google.jp and google.fr, then expanding quickly to most other Google search sites soon after.”

Individual websites also can use this feature. People with a Google account can add a “+1” button to their personal websites. If a large number of readers click the button, the site will move closer to the top in Google search results.

Google also plans to eventually add the “+1” button to its text advertisements, globally known as “AdWords”. A user would be able to add rank to an ad and optionally make it available at their Google profile.

Google expects the experiment to be useful to improve search results and to combat poor websites and content farms.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable Gordon Brown PC MP, in a speech to the British House of Commons today presented his ninth Budget, what is very likely to be his last Budget before the next UK General Election. This opened the parliamentary debate on the 2005 Finance Bill, and was followed by responses from the opposition parties.

In a 48 minute long speech, the Chancellor presented a Budget of “tax cuts that are reasonable, spending that is affordable, and [economic] stability that is paramount”, that was “the prudent course for Britain”. There were few surprises that had not already been indicated in his 2004 pre-Budget report. The increase in the threshold on stamp duty was greater than that forecast by commentators, as was the amount of the Council Tax rebate to households with pensioners.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

The Dixie Chicks screened their new documentary, “Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing“, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Directed by Cecilia Peck and Barbara Kopple, the documentary follows the group from the London gig in 2003 in which lead singer Natalie Maines said she was “ashamed” George W. Bush came from Texas, up to the release of their latest album. Even though their latest album has gone platinum, the Country Music Association has not nominated them for the CMA Awards, and many radio stations still do not play their music. But despite the controversy, the Dixie Chicks are in the media, getting good reviews.

“When Natalie made her comments particularly from the country music box, there was no community, they were out there all on their own,” said Kopple. “Our hope with this film, is that people will see it and no longer will the Chicks stand alone.”

“They never asked me to apologize. We never debated that,” said Maines. “What I said can come off as silly or whatever and just everything that has happened since then, it’s more of a disgrace, just watching the footage from Hurricane Katrina, it’s unbelievable.” “At this stage, I don’t think that I am pissing off any new people,” she commented. “Yes, thank God for Canada,” said Maines, noting the band found political support from countries around the world. “It’s a little surprising that the U.S. hasn’t necessarily caught on yet.”

The band says the experience gave them the ability to stand up for what they believe in, and strengthened their bond.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable Gordon Brown PC MP, in a speech to the British House of Commons today presented his ninth Budget, what is very likely to be his last Budget before the next UK General Election. This opened the parliamentary debate on the 2005 Finance Bill, and was followed by responses from the opposition parties.

In a 48 minute long speech, the Chancellor presented a Budget of “tax cuts that are reasonable, spending that is affordable, and [economic] stability that is paramount”, that was “the prudent course for Britain”. There were few surprises that had not already been indicated in his 2004 pre-Budget report. The increase in the threshold on stamp duty was greater than that forecast by commentators, as was the amount of the Council Tax rebate to households with pensioners.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

A circus elephant managed to escape from her handler on Sunday night in the city of Zurich, Switzerland before being recaptured by local police and circus animal keepers. The 26-year-old female elephant, named Sabu, is from Switzerland’s Zirkus Knie. She was able to make her escape just before being put into a trailer, while the keeper was not paying attention.

Around 1930 local time (1730 UTC), Sabu was seen wading in Lake Zurich for a short time before walking back onto city streets. Zurich police said that Sabu wandered along the Bahnhofstrasse avenue of Zurich, which is known as the city’s most exclusive shopping street. She also passed by Zürich Hauptbahnhof (the city’s main rail station) and Paradeplatz, a square of Bahnhofstrasse, where both Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS AG have headquarters.

For nearly an hour, police chased the elephant around the city before she was finally peacefully recaptured in the Talstrasse section of Zurich. Circus officials and police followed Sabu, but a circus spokesperson said that she did not respond to their calls. Sabu was also said to have been moving so fast that police had difficulty keeping up with her. At about 2000 local time (1900 UTC), a keeper was able to control the animal and load her onto a truck to take her to Winterthur, where the other circus animals were. There were no reports of any damage or injuries during the incident, and although police held back onlookers, at least one bystander managed to capture video of the event.

The circus said that Sabu may have escaped after being frightened by storms near Zurich. After returning to the circus, she was said to be tired, but “pleased to be back.”