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Monday, July 17, 2006

Robert Brooks, chairman of Hooters of America, Inc. who was famous for opening a restaurant selling chicken wings by scantily clad waitresses, was found dead yesterday, police said. Brooks was 69 years old. An autopsy is waiting to be performed later on today.

Since opening its first store in Clearwater, Florida in 1983, the chain has expanded across the United States and into more than a dozen foreign countries. At last count, Hooters had 425 restaurants nationwide.

Brooks was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in 1996.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

By a narrow vote late in the evening on December 21st, 2005 the US Senate blocked opening the nation’s oil reserve in National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska . This vote delivers a victory to environmentalists and denies the Bush administration their top energy priority. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) attached the drilling plan to a measure to fund ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the Senate late last night agreed to pass the defense bill, without the drilling provision.

Two key Republicans, Lincoln D Chafee (R-R.I.) and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), joined Democrats in opposing the drilling. Senator Lieberman (D-Conn) said yesterday that Stevens was to blame for holding up money for the military. By including the drilling measure in the defense spending bill, it was hoped to twist the senators’ arms into voting for both provisions together in the scramble to finish the important business before the Senate’s Christmas break.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Google News submitted patent applications both in the United States and world-wide in September 2003 for a system of ranking search returns. The patent protection filings seek to control Google’s approach that filters headlines through a complicated algorithm, including the quality of the news organization. How much of this system is currently in use by the search engine giant is unknown.

Primitive search engines are expected to organically evaluate links based on how closely the keywords typed in the search field match an object link, and how many other links are attached to the object. Then a measure of relevance is calculated before returning a reply.

It seems some measure of the work being done at Google is a reaction to search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns which can, if done effectively, skew results to certain domains. A challenge for Google is to develop its technology to nullify efforts on the dark side of SEO and link-spamming.

What also seems to be coming out from this, according to research from the Internet Search Engine Database, is that Google does indeed have a ‘sandbox’ where domains are evaluated first by a human factor before being released into its algorithms.

In its first ever Securities and Exchange Commission filing since the company went public last year, Google indicated that it intends to spend US$500 million on technology development, more than double the $177 million it spent two years ago.

The language used in the lengthy patent application itself is difficult to understand. An excellent article titled “Google United – Google Patent Examined” found below, describes some of the nuts and bolts of Google’s techniques.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Yesterday, at this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), company CEO Steve Jobs unveiled iPhone 4, along with the new iOS 4 operating system for Apple mobile devices.

The announcement was long-awaited but not a very big surprise. In April, the technology blog Gizmodo obtained a prototype of the new phone and published details of it online. While introducing iPhone 4, at the annual conference, Jobs started by hinting at the incident, saying, “Stop me if you’ve already seen this.”

The new iPhone was praised by Jobs as “the biggest leap we’ve taken since the original iPhone.” It is only 9.3 millimetres (0.37 inches) thick, making it “the thinnest smartphone on the planet”, a 24 percent reduction from Apple’s previous model, the iPhone 3GS. Structure-wise, iPhone 4 has a new stainless steel frame, which acts as an antenna, supposedly boosting its signal reception abilities and possibly reducing the amount of dropped calls. It also has a new screen, dubbed a “retina display,” which displays images at 326 pixels per inch. During the keynote, Jobs demoed the device’s new internal gyroscope as well. Even though it now uses Apple’s faster A4 processor (first used in its iPad tablet), iPhone 4 has a claimed seven hours of 3G talk time, up two hours from the 3GS.

In addition to its design features, Jobs showed off iPhone 4’s new video calling abilities. This feature is called FaceTime, and connects with other iPhone 4s via Wi-Fi. The phone has two cameras: one on the front for video chats, and one on the back for taking pictures and other videos. The rear camera has a resolution of five megapixels, is capable of recording high-definition video, and has an LED flash.

The iPhone 4 will use Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 4. Formerly “iPhone OS,” iOS 4 was first introduced by Apple in April, and includes multitasking capabilities. Jobs called the new software “the most advanced mobile operating system in the world.” iOS will support Apple’s new mobile advertising service, iAd, which goes live on July 1.

iPhone 4 will be available on June 24 in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. It comes in two colors—black and white—and two storage capacities. The 16GB version is priced at US$199 and the 32GB version at US$299. The iPhone 3GS’s price will be reduced to US$99, and the iPhone 3G will be discontinued. iOS will be available as a free software update to users of compatible older Apple devices (including the 3GS) on June 21. In the U.S., iPhone 4 will only be available on AT&T‘s cellular network, despite calls for Apple to let the iPhone be used on other carriers, such as Verizon.

Competition-wise, the BlackBerry mobile device is still the most popular smartphone right now. Apple is also facing some serious competition from web giant Google’s Android operating system, as well as Palm‘s webOS. Earlier this year, Android phones managed to outsell iPhones. iPhone users, however, account for over half of those surfing the Internet on a mobile browser in the U.S. Jobs also noted that over five billion iOS applications, commonly called “apps,” have been purchased from Apple’s App Store. The App Store currently has around 225,000 different apps for sale.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Lydia Playfoot, a 16 year old schoolgirl from West Sussex, England, has been faced with expulsion by her school, Millais School of Horsham, for wearing a purity ring that symbolises her dedication to chastity.

Her case, that she should be allowed to wear the ring as it is an “expression of [her] faith and should be exempt from the school’s rules on wearing jewelery”, was taken to the High Court on Friday. Judgement in the case was reserved for a future date.

This case echoes a decision in a case last year. The Law Lords rejected Shabina Begum‘s, former pupil of Denbigh High School, in Luton, Bedfordshire, appeal to wear a Muslim Jilbab to school.

Miss Playfoot spoke to BBC Radio regarding the case. She said “Muslims are allowed to wear headscarves and other faiths can wear bangles and other types of jewellery. It feels like Christians are being discriminated against.” Her lawyers have argued that her right to wear the ring as a symbol of faith is upheld by the Human Rights Act 1998

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Two people were killed yesterday afternoon and another seriously injured in Västerås, Sweden. The injured man is considered a suspect in the knife attack and was arrested in hospital. Another man was arrested at the scene, which was an IKEA furniture retailer. According to police, the two fatalities do not have any obvious connection to the suspects, but did know each other. The motive is, thus far, unknown.

Police were called to the scene at 13:00 local time and found three stab victims. Initially, all three were considered victims, but the status of one has been changed to suspect. The other two, a man and a woman, subsequently died from their wounds. Police have said CCTV is helping in the investigation. Local newspaper Vestmanlands Läns Tidning (VLT) has reportedly posted footage of one of the suspects being tackled by police.

VLT has further claimed to have identified the two victims as a mother and son, aged 55 and 28 respectively. According to the paper, the victims were not local residents, but did have a connection with Västerås, where they were vacationing at the time of the attack, which a police spokesperson has called “an act of madness” ^{((sv)) Swedish language: En galen händelse} .

“This is the worst working day of my life” ^{((sv)) Swedish language: Det är den värsta arbetsdagen i mitt liv} , said Mattias Johansson, the store manager of IKEA in Västerås, to Sveriges Television. IKEA spokesperson Anna Pilkrona-Godden told BBC News, “Our thoughts are with those affected,” and said the store is closed for the time being.

Västerås is in central Sweden, approximately 115 km (70 miles) west from the capital Stockholm. The population is roughly 110 thousand.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

While nearly all cover of the 2008 Presidential election has focused on the Democratic and Republican candidates, the race for the White House also includes independents and third party candidates. These parties represent a variety of views that may not be acknowledged by the major party platforms.

As a non-partisan news source, Wikinews has impartially reached out to these candidates, throughout the campaign. The most recent of our interviews is North Carolina, Tom Millican, an independent corporate manager and Vietnam veteran.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Hamas declared a formal end to the six-month Israel-Hamas Egyptian-brokered truce at 4 a.m. GMT which was set to expire today. The pact had begun to fail weeks ago with tit-for-tat attacks across Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. The past six months have seen a dramatic drop in the number of rockets and mortars fired into Israel from Gaza. Yesterday saw an escalation of the violence, beginning with an Israeli air raid on Gaza and Hamas responded to Israel’s attack by firing eight rockets and five mortars at Israel’s southern towns. However the past three days have seen up to 50 rockets fired, and Israeli operations in Gaza. The European Union called for an “immediate cessation” of both Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli incursions.

“The calm is over”, said Hamas official Ayman Taha, after talks with other Palestinian factions. “The calm, which was reached with Egyptian sponsorship on June 19 and expires on December 19, is finished because the enemy did not abide by its obligations,” said Fawzi Barhum, a spokesman for the Hamas. “The truce will end tomorrow.” Hamas has also released a training video, and warned Israel that any attacks on Gaza would “open the doors of the battle wide”.

“We think the lull is in the best interest of both sides,” stated Israel Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. “We would like it to continue. If Hamas chooses violence over the cease-fire, rocket shooting over the possibility of improving the situation in Gaza, then one must ask oneself whether Hamas has the best interests of its people in mind or whether there are foreign interests that are involved.”

Hamas have said that Israel had failed to ease its blockade of Gaza but Israeli officials insist that there was no commitment to ease the siege. The UN’s relief agency described the situation as a “profound human dignity crisis”. A BBC correspondent said that “the best pragmatists on both sides can hope for is that the end of truce will not necessarily lead to a major outbreak of fighting.”

In the week leading up to the end of the truce, tens of thousands of Hamas supporters rallied in a Gaza City stadium to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the group’s founding during the First Intifada. Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, commented that “Hamas has gone from stone-throwing to guns and rockets, from a support base of a few thousand people to a backing of millions in Arab countries and around the world.” During the rally a Hamas activist dressed as Gilad Shalit and begged for his life, asking to come home. “I miss my mother and father,” he said in Hebrew. The Israeli UN envoy, Professor Gabriela Shalev, decried the Hamas play mocking Gilad Shalit and voiced Israel’s outrage.

On Tuesday, 16 December, an Israeli court sentenced Aziz Dweik, the democratically elected head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Palestinian parliament, to three years in prison for belonging to Hamas. He was arrested with other politicians after the capture of Gilad Shalit. On Sunday, 14 December, Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter met with Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas’ political wing. The five-hour meeting was to discuss negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit, a corporal in the Israeli Defense Forces. Khaled said Hamas would allow Shalit to send a message to his parents but would not release him. The Interim Arab Parliament (IAP) has called on the international community to work for the release of Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Speaker Aziz Dweik.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is to hold talks with President George W. Bush on Friday, will press Washington to ensure “there is no return to square one once there is a new government in Israel,” said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat. The AP reports that President Bush and Abbas are assessing the stalled U.S.-backed negotiations with Israel that will almost certainly fail to meet a year-end deadline for a peace deal. The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said she believes the Annapolis process is the best way to a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. U.N. Security Council endorsed the process as irreversible and urged the two parties to continue talking under its guidelines.