[Dan Ros] sent in his hack of a twitter talking Big Mouth Billy Bass. Originally he simply had an mbed micrcontroller and an SD card with some wav files allowing Billy to say classic quotes. Wanting to go further however, they used the mbed’s HTTPClient library to grab Twitter updates, and then have Billy say them out loud! Check out some other cool projects the mbed team has in the cookbook.
But wait, whats an mbed? We didn’t have a clue either!
Some researched reveals it is a powerful new microcontroller and prototyping board. With some features such as…
Hack
Twitter, talking fish, and more
Facebook
Is Facebook Taking Over Southeast Asia? No Wonder Friendster Is Trying To Sell
Friendster has been slowly losing grip of their social network dominance to Facebook who, like a game of risk, has been steadily increasing its reach in countries around the globe. Bernard Leong recently posted about the growth of Facebook in Southeast Asia and while the most recent world map of social networks shows Facebook running into some trouble in Asia, some numbers are beginning to suggest that they are at least gaining some ground.
So what numbers are these based on? The latest numbers, as presented by Bernard Leong, are based on Alexa ratings which appear to be somewhat wrong…
Tech Support
Enjoy Continuous IT Infrastructure Asset Support with RIM Services
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With IT infrastructure being a highly critical management activity, it is essential for every organization to setup a separate functional group to take care of its operations. There are many service providers of remote infrastructure management who can efficiently handle all activities related to IT infrastructure assets. There are four main services…
Facebook
Macy’s Promoting Facebook Page In New Online Marketing Campaign
If you’re a large brand that’s running an online ad campaign are you just going to direct consumers to a pretty landing page? That’s what most companies have been doing consistently although a few brands have begun choosing to promote their Facebook and Twitter accounts over landing pages for the opportunity to “remarket” to their fans. Macy’s is the latest brand to promote their Facebook Page through display advertising campaigns around the web.
The strategy appears to be working. Over the past month, the Macy’s Facebook page has grown from 28,000 to 67,000 fans. While the fan base is growing…
Business
APN approves Mapsa project to build specialized mineral terminal in Ica – Peru
A project presented by mining firm Minera de los Andes y el Pacífico (Mapsa) to build a specialized mineral terminal in San Juan de Marcona port in Peru’s Ica region has been approved by the national port authority (APN), government news agency Andina reported. The total US$2.2bn budget also includes the construction of a rail line from Andahuaylas in Apurímac region to the port where the mining firm can export minerals. Mapsa has around 330,000ha of iron ore properties in Apurímac. The company will spend US$450mn to improve the port area, APN president Frank Boyle said. While investments will start…
Business
Google Plans New Mirror For Cheaper Solar Power
Google Inc is disappointed with the lack of breakthrough investment ideas in the green technology sector but the company is working to develop its own new mirror technology that could reduce the cost of building solar thermal plants by a quarter or more.”We’ve been looking at very unusual materials for the mirrors both for the reflective surface as well as the substrate that the mirror is mounted on,” the company’s green energy czar Bill Weihl told Reuters GlobalClimate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday.Google, known for its Internet search engine, in late 2007 said it would invest…
Business
Booming bond markets could benefit Kraft, other M&A
LONDON (Reuters) – Healthy investor appetite for corporate bonds should help Kraft Foods Inc and other companies fund mergers and acquisitions, given bank loans are still scarce after the credit crisis. U.S. food group Kraft is seen as a likely candidate to take the “bridge loan to bond” route to provide money should its proposed takeover of British confectioner Cadbury go through. “Banks will be very happy to offer bridge financing on a 12-month basis but, ultimately, for a deal of this size it would have to be brought into the public bond markets,” said Patrick McCullagh, head of…
Business
Magna sees Opel paying back state loans by 2015
FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Magna will cut about 10,500 Opel jobs in Europe, the bulk in Germany, as it acts to return the carmaker to profit and pay back 4.5 billion euros ($6.55 billion) in state aid, its co-chief executive said. The Canadian auto parts supplier aims to sign a deal with former Opel parent General Motors within two weeks to buy a 55 percent stake together with Russian partner Sberbank, Siegfried Wolf said on Monday. “By 2015 we want to pay back the government-guaranteed loans. Opel will be profitable before that, however,” Wolf told a news conference. Around 4,000…
Business
Insurance companies gained Rs 41k crore on bourses in a yr
The global financial crisis might have created an upheaval in the local stock markets, but domestic insurance companies gained a whopping Rs 40,942 crore in the bourses during the one-year period between August 21, 2008 and August 21 this year. During the period, the market capitalisation of bank stocks held by insurance companies increased 103.2% to Rs 43,097 crore on August 21, 2009, from Rs 21,212 crore recorded in the year-ago period. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) had the highest holding of 81.2% among the 17 insurance companies. It was followed by ICICI (ICICIBANK.NS : 824.6 0) Prudential Life Insurance Co…
Business
China’s Hony Targets Consolidating Sectors
DALIAN, China — Chinese private-equity firm Hony Capital is seeking investment opportunities in domestic industries that are fragmented and likely to be consolidated, Chief Executive John Zhao said in an interview. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting that ended Saturday, Mr. Zhao said Hony is looking at new investments in the pharmaceutical, media, and retail sectors in China. He considers all three to be highly fragmented industries where Hony hopes to benefit from consolidation.
Business
AMR Seeks JAL Deal in Bid to Win Asian Business
ATLANTA — American Airlines parent AMR Corp. is taking a redoubled run at Japan Airlines Corp., as the company fights for a place in Asia by keeping the hobbled but strategically important JAL far away from rival Delta Air Lines Inc. American is in “intensive negotiations” with JAL to forge a far more expansive joint venture with the carrier, according to people familiar with the matter. American, based in Forth Worth, Texas, also would consider acquiring a minority stake in the giant Japanese carrier to seal the pact, although any such investment would likely be capped at hundreds of…
Business
China Discusses Taking Stake in AES
The Chinese government’s investment arm is in talks on taking a minority stake in Virginia-based power-plant developer AES Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. The possible purchase is part of a wide-ranging discussion aimed at building an alliance between AES and China Investment Corp., the country’s sovereign wealth fund, with some $300 billion in assets. The discussions could result in CIC taking a significant stake in AES, which has a market capitalization of about $9.5 billion. A joint venture between the two parties also is under discussion, in which CIC would contribute capital to AES’s plans to develop…
