Via: Android Phone Fans

Via: This Just In

South African businessman Iqbal Sharma and Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan got into an altercation at a restaurant in the Taj hotel in Mumbai Tuesday night. When Mr. Sharma asked Mr. Saif and his friends to keep the volume down, Mr. Saif reportedly told him “go to a library for peace.” “Saif then came over to my table, pushed me and then punched me,” Mr. Iqbal said, according to Thursday’s Mail Today.
Wow, what a night!
It started quietly enough. The soon-to-be-missus and I were out with eight friends and a megaphone playing a few rounds of our favorite word game, “Whassssssup!”
We hadn’t been at it for more than two hours when this old lady — she couldn’t have been under 45 — leaned forward from the row behind us.
“I’m sorry if I’m being a nuisance,” she said provocatively, practically declaring her appetite for a brawl. “But I’ve been trying to watch the film and am finding it a tad difficult to hear.”
Now, I am the first to admit that movie celebrities need to hold themselves to a higher standard in public. We are bound to attract unwanted aggression when we are just trying to mind our own business. The premieres are the worst, especially in Toronto. I take it all with good grace. I know it goes with the territory.
But, well, we’re all human, aren’t we? And sometimes, just sometimes, we get pushed over the edge.
“Get thee to a nunnery!” I yelled as I smashed my fist into the old bird’s jaw. Then I heaved her over my head and launched her into the seats six rows in front. Any gentleman would have done the same.
My fiancée emitted one of her adoring little half-gasp-half-sighs that are a major reason we’re about to cement our life’s union with a prenup-signing ceremony and reception for 2,300 at the Oberoi in Bali.
“I love it when you recite Hamlet,” she said, dreamily.
“That was no Hamlet, you idiot, that was Shakespeare!” I corrected her.
(Between us, she really needs to wise up if she wants to be two sevenths of the First Couple of Follywood. If you’re wondering, my Swiss accountant made that calculation based on our respective projected earning power over the next decade. Now my lawyer insists I refer to her that way in all public utterances or writings.)
The movie ended soon after. On the way out, a couple of my friends — and, admittedly, this might have been a tad gratuitous — shoved popcorn up the old lady’s nose as she was being carted out on a stretcher.
Anyway, boys will be boys even when they’re very wealthy men. Just look at Shah Rukh at Sanjay Dutt’s place or Salman at Katrina’s birthday party.
So we moved on to our favorite new haunt, Taunt, over by the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. As soon as they saw us coming, they threw a 24-member Chinese trade delegation out of the restaurant so we could have our favorite table.
Unfortunately, one of them fancied himself a bit of a Bruce Lee. At least, he looked a bit like Bruce Lee and had an attitude to match. “Sorry to have troubled you,” he said in a very in-your-face Chinese way. Our eyes weren’t five feet apart.
I hit him with a joke.
“Hey Bruce. Do you know why they call me a leading man?”
He stared back blankly.
“Cause I lead with my right and follow-up with my left,” I said, as I landed a blow for democracy above his right eye then cuffed him hard over his left ear.
“Yeah, and get a load of this” yelled my fiancée, as she rose from the table. She unzipped her white leather jacket to reveal, across her Size Zero chest, an Extra Small T-shirt saying “Free Tibet” that I’d bought for her when we were filming in San Francisco.
“Put those away,” I told her sternly. “What the hell’s that got to do with China?”
(I was really starting to wonder whether I should call my lawyer — and my accountant. Was she more of a one seventh? Could you have a half of one seventh?)
Anyway, the Chinese guy picked himself up, apologized profusely in a hostile sort of way, and scurried out the door.
But it wasn’t long before the attack dogs were biting at our ankles once again. From across the room, a man approached in a most menacing way. He was dressed head to toe in mafioso black. He looked right around the table, sizing up the numerical and physical strength of his target. He didn’t need to come any closer. I know when it is time for a pre-emptive strike in self-defense.
So I leaped up and socked him with the most complicated move that I’ve been rehearsing in “Kill Billi,” my adaptation of Tarantino’s “Kill Bill.”
In the climax of Kill Bill, Uma Thurman uses the “Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique” to defeat her nemesis, David Carradine. It’s an incredible martial arts move — a fatal combination of power, accuracy and agility.
I’m pioneering the “Five Finger Palm Slap Sinking Cheek Technique” that is going to make Kill Billi a megahit in India (check it out in July, when it will be released by my production company, Koppi Films.)
Anyway, last night I nailed it. My wrists and hands worked in perfect, mechanical, brutal harmony as they flayed each side of his face. The tiny judges of my imagination held up one placard after another: 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0.
But around the table there was a curious pause, with only the clink of a champagne glass to break the silence.
“Em, dearest,” my better two sevenths said eventually. “You just killed the waiter.”
Paul Beckett is the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. He occasionally dabbles in satire. Follow him on Twitter @paulwsj.

Via: India Real Time

For Immediate Release

Internet Advertising Networks Announces Commitment to “Do-Not-Track” Technology to Allow Consumers to Control Online Tracking

WASHINGTON, DC – The Obama Administration today unveiled a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” as part of a comprehensive blueprint to improve consumers’ privacy protections and ensure that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth. The blueprint will guide efforts to give users more control over how their personal information is used on the Internet and to help businesses maintain consumer trust and grow in the rapidly changing digital environment. At the request of the White House, the Commerce Department will begin convening companies, privacy advocates and other stakeholders to develop and implement enforceable privacy policies based on the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

In addition, advertising networks announced that leading Internet companies and online advertising networks are committing to act on Do Not Track technology in most major web browsers to make it easier for users to control online tracking. Companies that represent the delivery of nearly 90 percent of online behavioral advertisements, including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL have agreed to comply when consumers choose to control online tracking. Companies that make this commitment will be subject to FTC enforcement.

“American consumers can’t wait any longer for clear rules of the road that ensure their personal information is safe online,” said President Obama. “As the Internet evolves, consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy. That’s why an online privacy Bill of Rights is so important. For businesses to succeed online, consumers must feel secure. By following this blueprint, companies, consumer advocates and policymakers can help protect consumers and ensure the Internet remains a platform for innovation and economic growth.”

The advertising industry also committed not to release consumers’ browsing data to companies who might use it for purposes other than advertising, such as employers making hiring decisions or insurers determining coverage.

“It’s great to see that companies are stepping up to our challenge to protect privacy so consumers have greater choice and control over how they are tracked online. More needs to be done, but the work they have done so far is very encouraging,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

A Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is outlined in a report released today by the White House Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy.

“Every day, millions of Americans shop, sell, bank, learn, talk and work online. At the turn of the century, online retail sales were around $20 billion in the United States, now they’re nearing $200 billion,” said Secretary Bryson. “The Internet has become an engine of innovation, business growth, and job creation, so we need a strong foundation of clear protections for consumers, and a set of basic principles to help businesses guide their privacy and policy decisions. This privacy blueprint will do just that.”

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights provides a baseline of clear protections for consumers and greater certainty for businesses. The rights are:
Individual Control: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data organizations collect from them and how they use it.

Transparency: Consumers have a right to easily understandable information about privacy and security practices.

Respect for Context: Consumers have a right to expect that organizations will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.

Security: Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.

Access and Accuracy: Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data are inaccurate.

Focused Collection: Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.

Accountability: Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is one of four key elements of the report, which also includes a stakeholder-driven process to specify how these rights apply in particular business contexts; strong enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); and greater interoperability between the United States’ privacy framework and those of our international partners.

In the coming weeks, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will convene stakeholders – including companies, privacy and consumer advocates, technical experts, international partners, and academics – to establish specific practices or codes of conduct that implement the general principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

The Administration also will work with Congress to develop legislation based on these rights to promote trust in the digital economy and extend baseline privacy protections to commercial sectors that existing federal privacy laws do not cover.

Today’s report results from a comprehensive review of the intersection of privacy policy and innovation in the Internet economy. The Commerce Department’s Internet Policy Task Force launched the review in 2010, seeking public comment on an initial set of issues and later on a set of policy recommendations.

Via: White House.gov Press Office Feed

For Immediate Release

The Obama Administration unveiled a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” as part of a comprehensive blueprint to protect individual privacy rights and give users more control over how their information is handled. This initiative seeks to protect all Americans from having their information misused by giving users new legal and technical tools to safeguard their privacy. The blueprint will guide efforts to protect privacy and assure continued innovation in the Internet economy by providing flexible implementation mechanisms to ensure privacy rules keep up with ever-changing technologies. As a world leader in the Internet marketplace, the Administration believes the United States has a special responsibility to develop privacy practices that meet global standards and establish effective online consumer protection.

Putting in place a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will soon convene Internet companies and consumer advocates to develop enforceable codes of conduct that comply with the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, building on strong enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission. The Administration will also work with Congress to enact comprehensive privacy legislation based on the rights outlined here.

Achieving privacy policies for a Global, Open Internet: U.S. companies doing business on the global Internet depend on the free flow of information across borders. The Administration’s plan lays the groundwork for increasing interoperability between the U.S. data privacy framework and those of our trading partners.

Industry Action – Down payment on Individual Control principle: In response to calls from the Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), leading Internet companies and online advertising networks are committing to use Do Not Track technology from the World Wide Web Consortium in most major web browsers to make it easier for users to control online tracking. Companies that represent the delivery of nearly 90 percent of online behavioral advertisements, including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL have made this FTC-enforceable commitment.

President’s Commitment to Protecting Privacy on the Internet

The President will assure strong individual privacy protection in the Internet age with the following actions:

Putting in place a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: American Internet users should have the right to control personal information about themselves. Based on globally accepted privacy principles originally developed in the United States, the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is a comprehensive statement of the rights consumers should expect and the obligations to which companies handling personal data should commit. These rights include the right to control how personal data is used, the right to avoid having information collected in one context and then used for an unrelated purpose, the right to have information held securely, and the right to know who is accountable for the use or misuse of an individual’s personal data.

The Administration’s report, issued today, explains the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights and the related privacy policy framework have been developed over the last two years through extensive consultation with industry, advocates, academics and enforcement agencies.

Convening commercial and public interest stakeholders to assure dynamic rules: The Commerce Department’s NTIA will convene stakeholders including industry and privacy advocates to develop enforceable codes of conduct that implement the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights for specific industry sectors. The President’s privacy framework assures that as new Internet services develop privacy rules will keep up with, and not hamper, the pace of innovation. This framework takes advantage of the flexibility of self-regulatory processes but assures that new codes of conduct are guided by a comprehensive, forward-looking set of privacy principles and that all interested parties such as consumer advocates have a voice in the process.

Strong Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission: FTC enforcement is critical to ensuring that companies are accountable for adhering to their privacy commitments and that bad actors do not disadvantage responsible companies. The Administration expects that a company’s public commitment to adhere to a code of conduct will be enforceable under existing FTC authority, just as a company is bound today to follow its privacy commitments. In addition, the Administration will work with Congress to develop legislation that provides the FTC and State Attorneys General with specific authority to enforce the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

Flexible privacy principles to assure continued innovation: Relying on flexible implementation through enforceable codes of conduct, the Administration’s privacy blueprint will help assure continued growth in the Internet economy, both by building consumer trust and avoiding burden. Online retail sales in the United States total $145 billion annually. [1] The Internet contributed 3.8 percent of U.S. GDP in 2009, and 15 percent of U.S. GDP growth between 2004 and 2009. [2] The Internet contributes $175 billion in direct economic value to the rest of the U.S. economy, including $20 billion in advertising services, $85 billion in online retail transactions, and $70 billion in direct payments to Internet service providers. [3]

Enacting comprehensive privacy legislation: The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights outlines the basic principles the Administration believes should be reflected in a privacy law and will work with Congress to enact these rights. In addition to proposing these clear and actionable rights, the Administration’s privacy report outlines an a way for companies to be confident that they are respecting these rights through an FTC-approved enforcement safe harbor. This approach will protect consumers while providing the certainty and flexibility necessary for continuing innovation.

Achieving Global Open Internet privacy policies: U.S. companies doing business on the global Internet depend on the free flow of information across borders. The Administration’s plan lays the groundwork for increasing interoperability between the U.S. data privacy framework and those of our trading partners. The plan emphasizes mutual recognition of privacy frameworks, an international role for codes of conduct, and enforcement cooperation. These approaches will provide consistent protections for consumers, reduce compliance costs for companies, guide U.S. efforts to clarify data protections globally, and ensure the flexibility that is critical to innovation in the commercial world.

Building on Progress

The President’s initiatives for Internet privacy build on successful, transparent engagement with privacy stakeholders in the commercial and advocacy communities, coordinated by a privacy subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council with cross-Administration participation.

Demonstrating global leadership: In May 2011, the President released his International Strategy for Cyberspace, which has influenced new international agreements, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Internet Policymaking Principles.

Nominating a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: The President has nominated a full slate of members of the independent privacy body that will provide guidance and oversight of government use of personal information in the counter-terrorism and law enforcement context.

CONSUMER PRIVACY BILL OF RIGHTS

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights applies to personal data, which means any data, including aggregations of data, that is linkable to a specific individual. Personal data may include data that is linked to a specific computer or other device. The Administration supports Federal legislation that adopts the principles of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. Even without legislation, the Administration will convene multistakeholder processes that use these rights as a template for codes of conduct that are enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission. These elements—the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, codes of conduct, and strong enforcement—will increase interoperability between the U.S. consumer data privacy framework and those of our international partners.

INDIVIDUAL CONTROL: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data companies collect from them and how they use it. Companies should provide consumers appropriate control over the personal data that consumers share with others and over how companies collect, use, or disclose personal data. Companies should enable these choices by providing consumers with easily used and accessible mechanisms that reflect the scale, scope, and sensitivity of the personal data that they collect, use, or disclose, as well as the sensitivity of the uses they make of personal data. Companies should offer consumers clear and simple choices, presented at times and in ways that enable consumers to make meaningful decisions about personal data collection, use, and disclosure. Companies should offer consumers means to withdraw or limit consent that are as accessible and easily used as the methods for granting consent in the first place.

TRANSPARENCY: Consumers have a right to easily understandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices. At times and in places that are most useful to enabling consumers to gain a meaningful understanding of privacy risks and the ability to exercise Individual Control, companies should provide clear descriptions of what personal data they collect, why they need the data, how they will use it, when they will delete the data or de-identify it from consumers, and whether and for what purposes they may share personal data with third parties.

RESPECT FOR CONTEXT: Consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data. Companies should limit their use and disclosure of personal data to those purposes that are consistent with both the relationship that they have with consumers and the context in which consumers originally disclosed the data, unless required by law to do otherwise. If companies will use or disclose personal data for other purposes, they should provide heightened Transparency and Individual Control by disclosing these other purposes in a manner that is prominent and easily actionable by consumers at the time of data collection. If, subsequent to collection, companies decide to use or disclose personal data for purposes that are inconsistent with the context in which the data was disclosed, they must provide heightened measures of Transparency and Individual Choice. Finally, the age and familiarity with technology of consumers who engage with a company are important elements of context. Companies should fulfill the obligations under this principle in ways that are appropriate for the age and sophistication of consumers. In particular, the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights may require greater protections for personal data obtained from children and teenagers than for adults.

SECURITY: Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data. Companies should assess the privacy and security risks associated with their personal data practices and maintain reasonable safeguards to control risks such as loss; unauthorized access, use, destruction, or modification; and improper disclosure.

ACCESS AND ACCURACY: Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data is inaccurate. Companies should use reasonable measures to ensure they maintain accurate personal data. Companies also should provide consumers with reasonable access to personal data that they collect or maintain about them, as well as the appropriate means and opportunity to correct inaccurate data or request its deletion or use limitation. Companies that handle personal data should construe this principle in a manner consistent with freedom of expression and freedom of the press. In determining what measures they may use to maintain accuracy and to provide access, correction, deletion, or suppression capabilities to consumers, companies may also consider the scale, scope, and sensitivity of the personal data that they collect or maintain and the likelihood that its use may expose consumers to financial, physical, or other material harm.

FOCUSED COLLECTION: Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain. Companies should collect only as much personal data as they need to accomplish purposes specified under the Respect for Context principle. Companies should securely dispose of or de-identify personal data once they no longer need it, unless they are under a legal obligation to do otherwise.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. Companies should be accountable to enforcement authorities and consumers for adhering to these principles. Companies also should hold employees responsible for adhering to these principles. To achieve this end, companies should train their employees as appropriate to handle personal data consistently with these principles and regularly evaluate their performance in this regard. Where appropriate, companies should conduct full audits. Companies that disclose personal data to third parties should at a minimum ensure that the recipients are under enforceable contractual obligations to adhere to these principles, unless they are required by law to do otherwise.

1 U.S. Census Bureau, E-Stats, May 26, 2011, http://www.census.gov/econ/estats/2009/2009reportfinal.pdf
2 McKinsey Global Institute, Internet Matters: The Net’s Sweeping Impact on Growth, Jobs, and Prosperity, May 2011, http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Technology_and_Innovation/Internet_matters
3 Hamilton Consultants (commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau), Economic Value of the Advertising-Supported Ecosystem, June 10, 2009, http://www.iab.net/media/file/Economic-Value-Report.pdf

Via: White House.gov Press Office Feed

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
1.5 GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor
4.7 inch 720p True HD IPS display
8 megapixel rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front camera
1 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage
2150 mAh battery
Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, WiFi 802.11b/g/n
MHL, DLNA, etc.
8.9 mm thick
SHSPA+ 21 Mbps support

One version of the press release claims the Optimus 4X HD would ship with Android 4.0, so this would be LG’s first device with Ice Cream Sandwich. As more details continue to roll in, we will update this post.
Gallery

Via: Android and Me

Via: Android Phone Fans

Via: India Real Time

Scott Olson/Getty Images
The Google Search team recently rolled out a new Page Layout update to search algorithms that is likely to affect the search rankings of sites that have a low content-to-ad ratio above the fold.

The Google AdSense program, first introduced in 2003, has played quite an important role in the growth of independent, one-man publishing houses around the world.
As a small web publisher, you are good at creating content but handling sales is not your niche, nor do you have the resources to manage a separate sales team. So you outsource your ad sales to Google and it ensures that your ad inventory never goes to waste, irrespective of the geographic region of the visitor. All Google takes is a 32% share from your ad revenue.

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For a publisher to be successful with Google AdSense, the thing they need most is organic traffic from search engines, and lots of it.
You can have a large base of loyal readers who visit your website daily, but the organic search traffic is likely to form the bulk of your advertising revenue. That’s because visitors coming through search engines are in the mode to “seek information” and the contextual Google Ads displayed on your site are very likely to interest them. Regular readers help spread the “influence” and are most likely to share your content on social networking sites, but it’s the search traffic that will help pay the big bills.
The AdSense team offers an official heatmap to help publishers decide where ads should be placed on a page. The orange regions above the fold get the maximum attention of visitors, while the beige and white regions in the graphic are mostly ignored. Another video from Google – Bigger is better – recommends that publishers use larger ad units for better performance.
In other words, bigger ads placed above the fold have been the “winning combination” for AdSense publishers all these years.
But not any more.
The Google Search team recently rolled out a new Page Layout update to search algorithms that is likely to affect the search rankings of sites that have a low content-to-ad ratio above the fold.
According to Google engineer Matt Cutts, “[if a website] doesn’t have a lot of visible content above-the-fold or dedicates a large fraction of the site’s initial screen real estate to ads, that’s not a very good user experience. Such sites may not rank as highly going forward.”
With the recent algorithm update, ad placements that were originally recommended in the heatmap can suddenly bring your site into Google’s own crosshairs and you run the strong risk of a demotion in search results if your ratio of content to ads is not improved.
The change may affect the bottom-line of small publishers in the short-term, but it’s likely to improve the overall online experience of the average user. How often do we land on pages that are cluttered with ads while the actual content is tucked somewhere down below. Now that ad placement in the above-the-fold region is a factor in search rankings, such cluttered sites may find it hard to make it to the first page of Google.
Ads are often seen as a necessary evil. They are the sole reason why most small websites survive and are able to deliver a never-ending stream of content for free.
You can’t do without advertising but there can be more creative ways to deal with the problem while keeping Google happy and not affecting your site’s performance. For instance, publishers can consider switching to a wider layout that fits more content above the fold.
Also, there’s no standard criteria to measure the area that constitutes “above the fold” as it will vary with every device. Web content that’s displayed above the fold on a large-screen desktop screen may only be visible after a couple of scrolls on a small netbook screen. That’s where modern web techniques like Responsive Design can help. Take into consideration the pixels available on the user’s screen and adjust the ad layout accordingly to deliver a better user experience.

Amit Agarwal writes a tech blog. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook or send him an email at amit@labnol.org
You can follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.

Via: India Real Time

Let us know what you think about the new 4-PLUS-1 branding in the comments below.

Via: Android and Me