Microsoft is planning to offer free anti-virus software. It’s about time they started offering value for money. But you’ve got to wonder if their motivation is altruistic. Maybe they want to put pressure on Norton or others. And maybe the free version will be as buggy as their operating system has been over the past …
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Author:astraea
Don’t believe you can trust these people …
Its a small thing. Not a big deal you might say. The Pentagon altered a photo of the newly appointed 4 star general for media release. General Dunwoody is the first female to reach that top rank. Not only was the photo’s background edited, but the general’s features were tidied up. It was a well …
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Morals and the Meltdown
A good perspective from Robert Skidelsky. He writes well. His language is a bit religious for me, but the analysis is all too accurate. Here’s the link to his website and the article is copied below. In our view, we are now confronting the limit to the growth of humanity he concludes with. Morals and …
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First banks, now automakers to be bailed out – America or socialism?
The US administration is negotiating over a $ 25 billion bail out of the US auto industry. This is an oligopoly that has refused to adapt to the market, failing to develop alternative fuel solutions, improve efficiencies or educate consumers. Chrysler, Ford and GM may be bailed out, to avert massive job losses, though it …
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The sad economics of growing vegetables
I came across an article on intensive commercial horticulture in Organic Matters. It reflects much of what we’ve learned over the past decade of organic production in Ireland (a developed economy, with subsidised industrial farming and a consumer market generally interested in cheapness and uninterested in quality or source). Two main ideas which are relevant …
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You know it’s bad when luxuries are discounted.
So a case of Chateau Lafite Rothschild has dropped by 25% in the past few months. It’s still too expensive. But that drop is a sign that even the rich are beginning to care about the cost of living. If we see art prices coming off then we’ll know for sure that the fluff is …
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Spam drops by 70%, but not for long
On 11 November servers were shut down on one of the world’s biggest spammers. Anti-spam firm Ironport has seen junk mail levels drop by 70% since McColo was taken offline. But this will only be temporary as they will move their operations to jurisdictions which are under less scrutiny. A recent study by computer scientists …
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End of Iraq War – New York Times published by Yes Men
The Yes Men do it again. Over a million copies of a fake NYT dated 4 July 2009 were handed to commuters in New York and Los Angeles with the headline Iraq War Ends. Brilliant. You can see the fake New York Times website, which has articles like Ex-Secretary Apologizes for W.M.D. Scare and USA …
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Swimming in dwindling waters – Ethical Corp
Water resources: Efficiency and conservation – Swimming in dwindling waters As the planet’s once plentiful blue resource gets used up, companies are acting to secure supply and be more efficient users of water by Oliver Balch, Ethical Corp Kazakhstan’s mapmakers have their work cut out. No sooner do they chart the boundaries of the Aral …
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Financial Crisis – Background, Outlook and Action
Our presentation reviewing the financial crisis has been updated. There is a little more data and a more extensive list of action items for consumers, investors and businesses. Self-help action is focussed on small and medium sized businesses. SME’s are going to bear the brunt of the downturn and be the most important factor in …
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