FBI 'cracks $50m healthcare scam'

The FBI says it has uncovered a $50m (£30m) scam involving the US healthcare system, making arrests in Florida , Michigan and Colorado .

Fifty-three people have been charged with defrauding Medicare, the government insurance scheme providing care to the elderly and disabled.

Doctors allegedly gave cash to patients to sign paperwork claiming to have had treatments which they were never given.

Medical staff, patients and company executives are among those charged.

A day earlier, police arrested eight people in Miami involved in a separate scheme using fake clinics to generate fraudulent bills of around $100m.

Federal agents say they are investigating almost 2,500 other cases and that fraud is costing American taxpayers billions of dollars every year.

Those in the administration and Congress now working on wider healthcare reforms say building better safeguards will be central to any new system.

President Barack Obama is currently seeking to overhaul the US healthcare system.

Source : bbc.news.com

China accused over unfair trade

have collect you some information regarding “The US and European Union (EU) have filed complaints that China is unfairly limiting its raw material exports.” From the source bbc.news.com

In the trade cases filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) the US and EU said China was giving its domestic industry access to cheap materials. China said it was meeting its WTO obligations and would contest the case. The case may be the first of many between the world's largest nations as countries have sought to protect their industries amid the global recession. The cases concern the export of materials such as coke used to make steel, for which it is one of the largest producers, as well as bauxite and magnesium.

Consultation period

"The United States believes that China is unfairly restricting exports of raw materials," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said. "These actions are hurting American steel, aluminum and chemical manufacturers, among other industries, that desperately need these materials to make their products." Mr Kirk said the US had decided to pursue a WTO case after two years of talks between the Chinese and the previous administration of former President George W Bush had failed to reach a resolution.

China responded that its goal was to "protect the environment and natural resources, and the Chinese side considers the relevant policy to be compliant with WTO regulations". China has also responded by launching a complaint over a US ban on the imports of Chinese poultry, which has been in place since the bird flu scare in 2004. The US and EU complaints now trigger a 60-day consultation period. If the dispute is still not resolved, they can formally request a hearing panel, which could hear the case for up to a year. If they win, the US and EU would then be given the go-ahead by the WTO to impose economic sanctions on China .

Source : bbc.news.com

China and US hold military talks

Defence officials from the United States and China are meeting in Beijing for two days of high-level talks.

They are expected to discuss several recent naval confrontations between the two countries in the South China Sea .North Korea 's recent nuclear and missile tests - and how to react to them - will also be on the agenda. Military relations between China and the US have been strained since last year because of the US sale of arms to Taiwan .

Sovereignty claim

Michele Flournoy, the US under secretary of defence for policy, is leading the US delegation for the talks, set up in 1997. She will meet Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian from the People's Liberation Army, China 's armed forces. One of the top concerns for the US team is the confrontations between ships from the two countries in the South China Sea. Already this year, there have been a handful of incidents off China 's southern coast. Just a few weeks ago, a Chinese submarine collided with sonar equipment being towed by the USS John S. McCain off Subic Bay in the Philippines. China says that was an accident, but the US says it is worried about the increasing number of such incidents. There is already a mechanism to deal with this kind of conflict.

"We would hope to reinvigorate those discussions so that we can make sure that we're both operating in a safe and prudent manner," said a US defence department spokesman before the US delegation arrived in Beijing. China says the South China Sea , and its island chains, are part of its sovereign territory and it has previously complained about US naval activity in the region. The Defence Consultative Talks between China and the US are usually held every year, although not last year. Beijing suspended military ties between the two nations last October in protest at the US decision to sell $6.5bn-worth of arms to Taiwan , an island China considers its own.

source : bbc.news.com

Ethiopia rejects Somali request

Ethiopia has refused a request by Somalia for military support to fight insurgents, saying such an intervention would need an international mandate.

The Somali authorities have been battling Islamist insurgents who control much of the country. The speaker of Somalia 's parliament had earlier urged neighboring countries to send troops within 24 hours. Ethiopian troops helped topple an Islamist movement in Somalia in 2006, but were withdrawn earlier this year.

On Saturday Somali parliamentary Speaker Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur urged neighboring Kenya , Djibouti , Ethiopia and Yemen to intervene as fierce fighting continued for a second day in the capital Mogadishu . But Ethiopian government spokesman Bereket Simon said that an international mandate was needed for such an intervention. He added that the international community, not just Somalia 's neighbors, should assist its transitional government.

Assassinations

Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991. Its UN-backed transitional government controls only parts of Mogadishu , but little of the rest of the country. There are some 4,300 African Union troops deployed in Mogadishu , but they lack any mandate to pursue the insurgents. Pro-government forces have been fighting radical Islamist guerrillas in the capital since 7 May. On Friday, gunmen killed Mohamed Hussein Addow, an MP who represented the Karan district where fighting has been particularly intense in recent days.

It was the third killing of a high-profile public figure in as many days. Somalia 's security minister - an outspoken critic of the militant Islamist group al-Shabab - was killed in a suicide attack in the northern town of Beledweyne , and Mogadishu 's police commander was also killed this week. Militant groups including al-Shabab, which is accused of links to al-Qaeda, have been trying to topple Somalia 's government for three years. Some four million people in Somalia - or about one-third of the population - need food aid, according to aid agencies.

Source : news.bbc.co.uk

New images show evidence of Ancient lake found on Mars

US researchers have uncovered traces of an ancient lake on Mars boosting hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.

The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.

"This is the 1st unambiguous evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars," said Boulder's research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.



"The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago."

Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing sediment which formed a delta.

"Finding shorelines is a holy grail of sorts to us," said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.

"Not only does this research prove there was a long-lived lake system on Mars, but we can see that the lake formed after the warm, wet period is thought to have dissipated."

Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago, that featured a bombardment of large meteors and extensive flooding.

The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.

Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5572609/Ancient-lake-found-on-Mars.html

NASA Cancels Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch

NASA cancels again the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour because of the Hydrogen gas leak.

Opera Launches 'Unite' an alternative version of Opera 10

Today the company launched 'Opera Unite', an alternative version of Opera 10 which allows users to effectively create a web server through their web browser. How it works is simple: you download the new version, select which folder(s) you want to share, choose a name for the PC you are using and that shared content and Opera generates a custom URL.

From here three access levels are available: public, limited and private. One note of caution, any folders selected automatically include content from their subfolders while obviously the PC sharing the content will need to remain both on and connected to the Internet.

Services initially available through Opera Unite are:

* File Sharing
* Web Server (host websites)
* Media Player (MP3 access)
* Photo Sharing
* 'The Lounge' (self contained chat rooms)
* 'Fridge' (an environment to securely exchange notes)

Further services will be rolled out as the platform matures.

"Today, we are opening the full potential of the Web for everyone," said Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. "Technology moves in distinct cycles. PCs decentralized computing away from large mainframes. Opera Unite now decentralizes and democratizes the cloud. With server capability in the browser, Web developers can create Web applications with profound ease. Consumers have the flexibility to choose private and efficient ways of sharing information. We believe Opera Unite is one of our most significant innovations yet, because it changes forever the fundamental fabric of the Web."

Opera Unite is available now. A brave new world, or a niche service? Only time - and perhaps user imagination - will tell...

source: http://www.trustedreviews.com/software/news/2009/06/16/Opera-Launches--Unite---a-Web-Server-via-a-Web-Browser/p1

Swine flu rise in Indian country

More people have tested positive for swine flu in India, bringing the total number of those infected in the country to 23, according to reports.

Fresh cases have been detected in the northern city of Jalandhar, as well as Hyderabad and Bangalore in the south.

These include a student who tested positive on returning from a trip to US. Eight of his classmates are suffering from flu symptoms.

Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global flu pandemic.

The swine flu (H1N1) virus first emerged in Mexico in April and has since spread to 74 countries.

Official reports say there have been nearly 30,000 cases globally and 141 deaths, with figures rising daily.

In India, a 29-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter who had flown in from US were quarantined in Bangalore after testing positive for the virus.

In Jalandhar, 8 students were quarantined when one of their classmates tested positive for swine flu in a hospital in the capital, Delhi.

They were part of a group of students who had returned from the US at the weekend.

In Hyderabad, reports say three people tested positive, including two girls and their grandmother. They also had returned from the US.

Earlier this month, India issued an alert against the flu. Airport screening has been tightened and more testing facilities would come.

The government has said that India was fully equipped to deal with the outbreak.

HIV Found in 22 Porn Actors in Sex Films Since 2004

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Delta Air Lines Inc and American Airlines to cut capacity

ATLANTA/NEW YORK - TWO major US airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc, will slash capacity this year as the recession erodes travel demand, the carriers said on Thursday.

The cuts, which were broadly expected, are likely to be matched by rivals. US Airways Group and Continental Airlines also signaled plans to cut the number of seats available for sale.

The airline industry has barely digested last year's deep capacity cuts. But experts say more are needed to bolster fares and help compensate for rising oil prices and weak demand.

Delta said it plans to trim system capacity by 10% this year, with reductions beginning in September. Delta also said it plans to cut international capacity an additional 5% on top previously announced cuts, for a total reduction of 15%.

AMR Corp, parent of American Airlines, said it would cut available seat miles by 7.5% this year, compared with a previous forecast of a 6.5% decline.

US Airways said it expects further capacity cuts in its TransAtlantic flying but could announce "marginal reductions" in domestic routes, too.

Continental Airlines Inc said on Thursday it would outline further capacity moves in July, when it has a clearer picture of the status of business traffic.

Carriers have been hit hard as the weak economy has caused consumers and businesses to curtail spending on travel. Demand has also been hurt by this year's outbreak of the H1N1 virus, and rising fuel prices are now also pressuring costs.

Delta told investors that second-quarter revenue could drop by $150 million to $200 million because of reduced travel due to the virus.

Also on Thursday, plane maker Boeing Co cut its global outlook for aircraft demand, saying it now expects 29,000 new planes to be ordered worldwide in the next 20 years. - REUTERS

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Money/Story/STIStory_389380.html

Apple to reduces MacBook Pro Prices

At the on going Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held at San Francisco, Apple has reduced the prices of its existing MacBook Pro lineup. Apart from that, Apple has introduced 13-inch MacBook to the MacBook Pro family with specs update. Also, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro & 15-inch MacBook Pro will carry the same 'non-removable' batteries found in 17-inch MacBook Pro. While the slim MacBook Air notebook gets jaw dropping $700 price cut.

Apple's old White polycarbonate 13-inch MacBook still stands strong with the hardware refresh by the company back in January. Now, the MacBook Pro lineup includes 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch Aluminum unibody models.

The Lithium-polymer non-removable battery technology found in 17-inch MacBook Pro has been included in the new 13-inch and 15-inch models. And thanks to these lithium-polymer batteries, the battery life has been increased to 7 hours now from 5 earlier.

All MacBook Pro models would support

• 8GB RAM & 500GB HDD or 256GB HDD,
• FireWire 800 port, SD card slots (except the 17-inch MacBook Pro) and
• backlight keyboard.

The13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations:

First configuration for $1199 (Rs. 57,600 approx.) equips 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared cache and 1066MHz FSB, 2GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM, 160GB SATA 5400RPM, Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics with 256MB video memory and SD Card Slot.

Second configuration for $1,499 (Rs. 72,000 approx.) includes 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared cache and 1066MHz FSB, 4GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM, 250GB SATA 5400RPM, Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics with 256MB video memory and SD Card Slot.

The price of the 15-inch MacBook Pro starts from $1699 (Rs. 81,600 approx.), with a $300 (Rs. 14,400 approx.) price cut from earlier price of $1999 (Rs. 96,000 approx.), and ranges up to $2299 (Rs. 1,10,400 approx.). Including both integrated and discrete Nvidia graphics, option for 256GB SSD is now available for 15-inch models.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro gets 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache and 1066MHz FSB, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB SATA 5400RPM (still no 7200RPM in base models), integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics with 256MB DDR3 RAM, discrete Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT with 512MB GDDR3 RAM and still caries the ExpressCard slot.

Last but not the least, MacBook Air gets price cut of a whooping $700 (Rs. 33,600 approx.) and now the base 1.86GHz MacBook Air model starts at $1499 (Rs. 72,000) a lot less than the previous $2199 (Rs. 1,05,600 approx.). While the 2.13GHz MacBook Air model offers 128GB SSD option. Also, MacBook Air box will now bundle the USB-to-Ethernet adapter which was to be purchased separately earlier.

source: http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Apple_Slashes_MacBook_Pro_Prices/551-102965-893.html

Post-E3, Sony lay and Nintendo claim to each other's audience

It's post-E3 and for the most part, gaming companies are feeling pretty confident about their work and their future. None seem more confident than Nintendo's president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime and PlayStation Europe's president Andrew House.

Fils-Aime and House spoke to CNET News and Edge Online, respectively about future and standing within the gaming industry.

"Nintendo's in a very fortunate place." Said Fils-Aime, "The industry through April is down about 4 percent, but we're up about 19 percent. So consumers are voting for us with their wallets, which is a great place to be, especially when so much of our best content will be coming in the second half of the year."

When asked about E3, House responded,

"I think we struck the right balance between being very future-facing - new motion controller technology, certainly a lot of good information about the network and how that is going to evolve. We balanced that with very solid tangible game lineup information. If the audience there was anything to go by, it caused a tremendously positive reaction and I think it positions us extremely well."

In an interesting kind of reversal, each seemed to be making up for their setbacks, as Nintendo seems to be interested in trying to grab the attention of more hardcore games, while PlayStation is trying to broaden it's appeal to more casual gamers.

"We think we can win over the Halo audience" said Fils-Aime, "with something like The Conduit, a multi-player, online, shooting experience, or Dead Space Extraction. And you know what? Once those people buy into Wii, they'll go buy Mario Kart or Wii Fit Plus. We're not going to be satisfied just picking up that existing gamer. We have to reach beyond and get that consumer who doesn't game. That's the only way we'll be able to continue growing as a company and as an industry."

While Fils-Aime seems confident that hardcore gamers will eventually find an entry point into the Wii, House noted that the Wii may be just the first step for casual gamers that will eventually lead to their system.

"If you look back at previous lifecycles, like PS2 versus N64 [sic], we have lots of data that suggests that lots of people bought into N64 as their entry level gaming device, and were happy to upgrade to a more powerful machine later in the life cycle when the price point was right for them. I think we're going to see this later on PS3, and the fact that it's a Blu-ray player as well and that there's a [greater] wealth of network based experiences than are perhaps available on the device they already have will add to the proposition.

Also, when asked about Sony and Microsoft's upcoming motion control projects, Fils-Aime didn't seem too worried.

"The only thing I'll say is a rhetorical question. Is it fun? If it's fun, then I tip my hat and say, "Well done." But what's happening sounds to me a lot like, "Who's got the prettiest picture. Who's got high-definition. Who has the best processing power?" It sounds like technology, when the consumer wants to be entertained. Our focus is how do we take active play and make it entertainment. And that's what we're going to continue to focus on."

In the end, whether one is holding the market for casual or hardcore gamers, both companies are pushing the envelope in terms of gameplay and technological achievements, and this may be the year in which both companies begin to blur the lines between casual and hardcore. Whether or not gamers will find a home on the Wii, PS3, or Xbox 360, it's clear from this year's E3 that the industry has changed, and it has changed in a big way, for better or for worse.

source: http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/210762/post-e3-nintendo-and-sony-lay-claim-to-each-others-audience/

Movie studios launching new TV network - Epix

Three major movie studios are about to try an interesting experiment. They are launching a new TV network called Epix that will show their own recent films in HD, but they're going a step beyond by bundling it with an online, on-demand service that offers HD streaming of the same films over the Internet. Think of it like Hulu for movies that aren't yet out on DVD. Oh—and did we mention that the service will have no advertising and won't appear on your cable bill?
A new business model

The music industry was never much good at being a digital retailer—anyone remember MusicNet and Pressplay?—but TV networks and movie studios now seem to think they have learned the lessons of the past.

Like Hulu, the Epix movie service is a joint venture formed by the content owners; in this case, the service is powered by the movie studios Lionsgate, Paramount, and MGM. The Epix TV network will air movies that are in the "pay-TV" window, those weeks before a film appears on DVD in which it is available on pay-per-view or HBO, among others.

That doesn't sound so new, but Epix will be bundled directly into cable packages; under the current business model, it will never appear as a separate charge on the bill and will never have to be added to a package. If Epix can convince enough cable operators to sign on (it isn't yet announcing partners), the service will have an immediate competitive advantage over pay-TV channels with an additional monthly fee.

But the best part is that Epix viewers can access the same material online, on demand, at Epixhd.com. Ars spoke with Emil Rensing, chief digital office at Epix, who says that watching films online will be a two-click experience with full support for 720p streaming.

The video is offered through Flash and is multi-bitrate enabled; the player checks the available bandwidth every ten seconds to see if a larger or smaller stream is required. Epix currently creates six different encodings of each film which range from full HD support all the way down to 500Kbps (cell phone quality). In our own test preview of Iron Man, video was the best we have ever seen in a mainstream streaming service.

Pushing out that sort of data is bandwidth-intensive, and Epix would love to avoid streaming HD content across the public Internet wherever possible. One way to make that happen, which the company is currently pursuing, is to install caching servers directly in the data centers of ISPs with whom Epix has a relationship. (Rensing says that Epix does not require any sort of quality of service guarantees or bandwidth prioritization from ISPs.)

These "relationships" are one of the unique points about Epix. The company currently has no plans to offer content directly to consumers; it only wants to sign deals with TV distributors. These distributors certainly include the cable companies, but now also include Verizon's FiOS, AT&T's U-verse, and satellite services.

Epixhd.com will only be available to people who subscribe to one provider's TV offering and also subscribe to that same provider's Internet offering. That is, if Comcast were to offer Epix, users would need to pay for both Comcast cable and Comcast Internet in order to access the streaming, on-demand service. That's good for Comcast, and it helps them cover the cost of the service.
Do you Hulu?

Given that services like Hulu and Netflix On Demand work well and are increasingly popular, the real question is why the studios would launch their own distribution network instead of just offloading the films to partners already equipped to handle them?

Rensing insists that the services are just too different. While Hulu does offer some films, it's focused almost exclusively on TV at the moment and is ad-supported. Netflix On Demand doesn't have access to the same super-recent hit titles.

Left unsaid is the fact that controlling distribution is also a chance to make more money, if it's done right. Epix is pursuing a strategy that has similarities with ESPN's streaming service, ESPN 360, which is also sold directly to ISPs and not available to end users directly. Again, the charge for the service never shows up on a customer's bill but instead looks like a nice added bonus that ISPs can use to differentiate their service from rivals.

The downside is that those who like the Epixhd.com site (which looks fairly slick at the moment, even though development continues) and would gladly pay some monthly fee for access—well, they're out of luck.

An invite-only beta of Epixhd.com begins today, with a sign-up form for rolling admission over the next few months.

source: http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/06/movie-studios-launch-epix.ars

Computex wraps up

COMPUTEX SHOW organisers are pretty pleased to report that the event continues to grow, despite the constricting realities of the economic downturn and the more psychological threat of swine flu fever.

Having attracted some 32,178 buyers from around the world to its 4,498 booths scattered across halls around Old Taipei, the event can claim to be the biggest yet.

An indication of the shifting focus of the region is the fact that many firms from the Chinese mainland exhibited officially here for the first time, reflecting the changing nature of the relationship between China and Taiwan. For the first time, direct flights bewteen the two territories allowed a significant Chinese presence at the show and that presence seems certain to grow in the coming years.

Walter Yeh, vice president of TAITRA, the Taiwanese trade outfit that runs the show, said the numbers were up, the weather was fine and the Taipei traffic manageable. The show was therefore a definite success. Business was brisk if somewhat less frantic than previous years we've witnessed. Even the Brit presence was up by four per cent, Yeh said.

While OEM business remains pre-eminent, the growth of Taiwanese brands is most pleasing to a local industry obsessed with prestige. Both brands and OEMS are very important to our ecomony, said Yeh, allowing Taiwan to compete in International markets.

Next year is the show's 30th birthday and Yeh expects it to be the biggest and best yet. It will ensure "Computex is the most important showcase for the ICT industry," he said, but dismissed our suggestion that the organisers are desperate for Computex to outstrip Cebit in terms of size and numbers. Cebit is more B to C and focused on Europe said Yeh, Computex being much more about B to B and relationships between local suppliers and customers throughout the world. "We don't compete with others, we just cooperate with our partners," Yeh said.

Yeah paid tribute to local firms reckoning the preponderance of small and medium-size businesses on island means they are more flexible and able to adapt to changing market conditions.

source: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1184599/computex-wraps

United Plans massive Plane Order

The news on June 4 that United Airlines (UAUA) plans to place a massive order for as many as 150 new jets was seen by some observers as the latest example of how some companies are shrewdly exploiting the economic downturn in hopes of landing a bargain. Indeed, by soliciting bids at a time when aircraft makers are already reeling from widespread cancellations, United may be able to extract major concessions from Boeing (BA) and Airbus, a possibility that isn't lost on United CEO Glenn Tilton.

"Our timing is opportune, as this is a competitive environment for manufacturers," Tilton said in a June 4 memo to employees disclosing the potential order, which some analysts estimate could be worth as much as $10 billion over the next couple of decades.
CEO Tilton: On His Own

But the plan, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is perhaps more an indication that Tilton has given up hope, at least for now, that he can make good on his hopes to package the Chicago-based carrier for sale to another airline. Industry insiders say United's plans for a large aircraft order is a tacit admission by Tilton that a merger isn't likely, and that he has no choice but to operate United as an independent company.

"I think he had to accept that there just aren't any buyers for United out there right now," says Scott Hamilton, managing director of Leeham Co., an Issaquah (Wash.)-based industry consulting firm.

While Tilton has publicly argued for the need for further industry consolidation, he has also rejected any suggestions that he was managing the airline for a quick sale. Still, from the time the former oil company executive joined United in 2002 as CEO, Tilton has seemed to be on a mission to oversee a sale of the airline. Tilton's best qualification for the job seemed to be that as CEO of Texaco he had engineered the sale of that company to Chevron (CVX), negotiating a sale price in 2000 that was 25% higher than Texaco's market value at the time. And ever since the board of United's parent, UAL, recruited Tilton to take the troubled airline through its bankruptcy, it seems he has been looking for a merger partner.

United hadn't placed a single order for new aircraft in the seven years since Tilton came aboard, a move that some observers took as an indication of a possible sale, since acquirers would prefer not to inherit any orders for aircraft that are incompatible with their own fleets.
Rebuffed by Potential Partners

According to industry sources, Tilton, 61, tried to negotiate a sale to both Continental Airlines (CAL) and to Delta Air Lines (DAL) in recent years. And his public lobbying for the government to lower barriers that prevent foreign airlines from taking more than a passive, 24.9% stake in U.S. carriers was widely viewed within the industry as an effort to open United for sale to one of its European partners, such as Lufthansa (DLAKY).

But Congress has shown no desire to give foreign acquirers the 100% ownership they desire, at least not for now. And Delta and Continental eventually turned down United's overtures, mainly due to their concerns about the carrier's poisoned relationship with its unions and its operational inefficiencies.

Indeed, when United executives were shopping the carrier in 2007 they held out those operational inefficiencies, which analysts figure result in $1 billion in excess costs per year, as a potential source of profits for any acquirer that could bring a new rigor to United's operations. (In the end, Continental did agree to a marketing joint venture with United in which the two airlines would fly certain connecting legs for each other.)

Tilton's plan for a big order doesn't appear to be so much for expansion, but to fill the looming holes in United's fleet as it begins to retire its aging aircraft. In the June 4 memo, Tilton said the carrier would be looking for "a potentially significant number of aircraft that could ultimately replace our widebody fleet" and would "also be assessing appropriate replacement of our Boeing 757 fleet."
Where Will United Get the Money?

But it isn't clear how United will pay for such a massive order. The airline has reported losses for six straight quarters, and despite raising nearly $500 million in cash through various financings and asset sales, United is sitting on an unrestricted cash balance of just $2.5 billion, as compared with the $4.4 billion cash hoard held by Delta and the $3.3 billion at American Airlines (AMR).

That's still well above the $1 billion or so that analysts say an airline the size of United needs to function on a week-to-week basis. But analysts expect United to lose another $335 million over the rest of the year, and losses could rise even more if the economy remains in its current funk for longer than that. "I don't quite see how they can afford this," notes Robert Mann, an airline industry consultant in Port Washington, N.Y. "Their balance sheet is still strained."

If the economy remains soft, Mann believes United's best hope to raise cash for the initial plane purchases would come from selling the rights to future income from its frequent-flier miles to hotels, rental-car companies, and the myriad other companies that offer them to their own customers as incentives.
A Bidding War Is Unlikely

Despite the common perception that aircraft makers like Boeing and Airbus are suffering from order cutbacks, Hamilton notes that as a result of the long lead times in manufacturing, both companies are still scheduled to deliver about 480 aircraft this year, or roughly the same number as in 2008. Which means that while both Boeing and Airbus would salivate at the prospect of landing a $10 billion order, Hamilton thinks it's unlikely that either will be willing to offer the kind of fire-sale prices that Tilton may be anticipating. "The perception that the workers at Boeing and Airbus are just sitting on their hands is incorrect," he says.

And as much as United might want to reap the biggest discounts by staging a "winner-take-all" competition, Hamilton believes it will be hard for either of the two manufacturers to create a portfolio of aircraft that fits United's myriad needs. While the carrier has come to rely on Airbus for the narrow-body jets that it flies on its domestic routes, Hamilton notes that United is still likely to turn to Boeing for the long-haul aircraft it uses on its international routes.

"I just don't see that any one manufacturer, at this point in time, has the lineup that fits all of their specific needs," Hamilton says.

source: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db2009064_857013.htm

Opera Web browser offers more new tab options

NEW YORK (AP) - Norway's Opera Software has a new Web browser that lets you work more easily with multiple tabs in a single window.

Opera 10 is now out, in a "beta" test mode.

A resizable tab bar lets you stretch the row of tabs at the top so that mini, "thumbnail" versions of open pages appear inside. That way, you can choose the tab based on the appearance of the Web page, not just its name.

Of course, thumbnails are not new to browsers. Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer offers them, as does previous versions of Opera.

But Opera 10 lets you see those thumbnails up top while you continue to browse normally in the larger space below.

It is not clear, though, whether that will do much to increase Opera's tiny market share.

source: http://www.komonews.com/news/tech/46846527.html

Scientists Use Poop to Track Penguins in Antarctica

Researchers are now using a rather lighthearted method to keep track of penguins in Antarctica. They're following the animals poop from space

London's famous Big Ben Rings in Its 150th Anniversary

Defiantly low-tech yet accurate to the second, London's famous Big Ben clock is turning 150 years old.

LAUNCH OF RENAULT NISSAN IN INDIA

With an investment of Rs 4,500 crore, Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) inaugurated a new passenger vehicle plant at Oragadam situated about 45 km from Chennai. After formal introduction a plaque to mark the inauguration, Tamil Nadu State secretary for Industries Farooqui said "this project will not only provide for trade and investments but also for creation of job opportunities".

Last year the state recorded nine per cent growth in this sector and this year it is expected to be another four percent. About 800 acres of land where the plant is currently situated had been handed over to the Automobile majors rpt majors.

Nissan Motor Company Ltd Corporate Vice-President Shohei Kimura said that the facility will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 and will manufacture vehicles for export and the local market for both Renault and Nissan. This project is a real result of the strength and success of the Renault-Nissan alliance, and a clear indicator of Renault-Nissan's long-term strategy for this important market.

Renault India Managing Director Sylvain Bilaine said that there will be two assembly lines for Renault where one line will assemble Renault variants, while the other will assemble Logan variants. Capacity of the plant for Renault products is alone two lakh and a family of products on the Logan platform will be created.

A VIEW ON OFFSET PRINTING METHOD

Printing is a method of reproducing the text, images and graphics with the help of ink. Printing services available to the customers in different types, as per the customer wish, rate of cost and accuracy. The major printing methods are Digital printing, Offset printing and Letterpress printing.

One of the popular printing is the Offset printing this is less cost compared to digital printing with good quality of image with sharp and clearness.

This is a special type of printing where the inked image will be transferred from printing plate to rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. With the combination of lithographic process on the repulsion of oil and water, this technique employs a flat image carrier from which the printed image will obtain ink from the roller and the roller applies the ink into paper for further implementation.

Manned space flight: Govt adds Rs95cr to kitty

Apart from the Planning Commission approval to ISRO's Rs 12,400-crore manned space flight programme scheduled for liftoff in 2015 from Sriharikota, the Centre has hiked the pre-project funding for the mission by about Rs 40 crore this year, indicating its keenness to back the project.

ISRO chief spokesperson S Satish told TOI on Monday that the government has earmarked Rs 95 crore this year towards pre-project funding activity, which essentially involves initiating more studies relating to a human space flight.

Last year, the figure was Rs 50 crore. "We are awaiting formal Cabinet approval. It is possible that Cabinet will seek more clarifications before we get the final go-ahead," Satish said.

In Delhi, MoS in PMO Prithviraj Chavan said several aspects of the mission would have to be examined to ensure that the project was viable. "Planning Commission has approved it but the Cabinet is still to clear it," he said. The cost of the mission, at Rs 12,400 crore -- roughly the initial spending on NREGA -- has to be factored in before the government gives a green signal even though, as the pre-project funding indicates, it is interested.

The programme is perhaps the most ambitious one during the 11th five year plan after Chandrayaan-1. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) director K Radhakrishnan told TOI that the mission will lift off with the three-stage Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mk2 version). "This rocket will be slightly reconfigured and human rated. Preliminary work has already been initiated," he said.

The GSLV-Mk2 will have an indigenous cryogenic engine and this rocket's maiden flight is slated to take place sometime this year. The current GSLVs are powered with the Russian-made cryogenic engine.

The flight plan envisages the manned vehicle with a two-man crew orbiting in the low earth orbit (LEO) for seven days. The LEO extends up to 2,000 km. There has been change in the flight plan as Satish said that originally it was to operate at an altitude of 400 km. "This has been lowered to 275 km because it will permit a heavier mass to fly and the crew compartment itself will be made more comfortable," he said. Some 16 minutes after lift off, the manned compartment will be injected into orbit.

Satish said that after the seven-day mission is completed, there will be a sea landing of the manned compartment. As precursor to this, ISRO launched the Space Capsule Recovery experiment on January 10, 2007 and successfully recovered it in the Bay of Bengal on January 22, 2007.

source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Manned-space-flight-Govt-adds-Rs95cr-to-kitty/articleshow/4178933.cms

Windows Mobile 6.5 Debuts But Is It Too Late?

Microsoft puts on a good face at the world's largest wireless conference but not everyone believes Microsoft's efforts will succeed.

Microsoft trotted out a cornucopia of nifty new products and services at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, not least of which is a long-awaited Windows Mobile 6.5 update.

The announcements also included a competitor to Apple's MobileMe service – dubbed My Phone – and an online application store that bears more than a passing resemblance to the iTunes App Store, named Microsoft Marketplace for Mobile.

A major question remains, however: Will it help improve Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) also-ran image in the smartphone space?

"We need to take our Windows Mobile business to yet another level. The time has come for us to start bringing the full Windows experience to mobile phones," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a press conference at the conference.

To that end, Microsoft also announced deals with Orange, LG, and HTC, which will ship new phones that will use Windows Mobile 6.5 when it's available in the second half of this year.

Several analysts say the announcements are significant, but they disagree as to Microsoft's long-term chances in the mobile devices arena.

"While the user interface is much improved, it is not best in class, but it keeps them in the game," Philippe Winthrop, research director for business mobility solutions at Strategy Analytics, told InternetNews.com

That doesn't mean that he's writing Microsoft off, though. "The investments [in mobile] say they are committed to this space. They need to build momentum and this is the first step in the ramp up phase," Winthrop added.

Meanwhile, Craig Mathias, principal analyst at Farpoint Group, has a somewhat different perspective. "Windows Mobile 6.5 isn't going to change the earth but it will keep Windows Mobile a viable product," Mathias told InternetNews.com.

"It's an important, incremental step … they're on the right path regarding the services," Matt Rosoff, analyst at Directions on Microsoft said.

However, Rosoff told InternetNews.com that he has his doubts that Microsoft's plans are fully cooked. "It looks like their 'full on' taking on Apple strategy isn't ready yet," Rosoff said.

Microsoft has been trying to keep Windows Mobile 6.5 under wraps for months although many of the details of the system had already leaked out before this week's conference.

On the list of additions coming in 6.5 will be a dashboard-like user interface access e-mails, texts, missed calls, and calendar appointments. It also features what Microsoft says is an improved touch-screen interface. The new browser is based on Internet Explorer 6.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's free My Phone service takes a cue from Apple's MobileMe. It will provide users with storage for information on their mobile devices, along with capabilities to manage and back up their personal data.

"Apple charges $99 per year while Microsoft does it for free," Rosoff said.

Microsoft Marketplace for Mobile might be a tougher sell, he added. After all, the Apple iTunes App Store has thousands of applications for sale for the iPhone, including one from Microsoft.

Microsoft officials also mentioned in passing the long rumored Windows Mobile 7 but didn't give any information out regarding what Microsoft hopes will finally give it parity with the iPhone – including no dates whatsoever. Oft-repeated rumors, though, place Windows Mobile 7's debut sometime in 2010.
Will Microsoft succeed?

The question remains, however – not whether Microsoft will play a role in the evolving smartphone markets – but rather, how much of a role and for how long?

"I think that the Windows Mobile operating system will fade and they'll [Microsoft] build a shell on top of Linux," Mathias predicted. Why? Because of costs.

Profit margins on mobile phones are tight and anywhere a device maker can save a dime, it will. Windows Mobile is expensive in comparison to Linux, so he predicts that Linux will win out longer-term.

"Windows Mobile is the high-priced spread," Mathias said. "The first thing [device makers] do is look for ways to cut costs. The trend [to Linux] is well underway, and will become dominant in three years."

That prognosis may take a while before it becomes conventional wisdom, however.

A Canalys worldwide market report found that, in the third quarter of 2008, of the nearly 40 million smartphone operating systems shipped, Symbian held the lead with almost 19 million. Apple came in at almost 7 million, while RIM's Blackberry pulled in fourth place at just over 6 million. Microsoft was in a whopping fifth place with 5.4 million.

In sixth place, Linux came in at just over 2 million units.

source:http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3803671/Windows+Mobile+65+Debuts+But+Is+It+Too+Late.htm

Renault may not launch its cars in India by 2010

Major world car player Renault has said that it may not launch its cars in India by 2010. The company was very eager to launch its cars in India that has an expanding and very attractive car market.

Its Logan is a sure winner in India. Mahindra Renault have already launched’LOGAN’ -a true world car which has already sold more than 6 lacs units in more than 26 countries across the globe.

The car Logan has earned its reputation in the Indian market for its robustness, reliability, space, comfort & most importantly the famous Renault world series engine which has already broken many mileage records in the country. It comes with three engine variants – 1.4 and 1.6 litre petrol and a 1.5 litre diesel. Besides, Logan is one of the safest cars in the country with Euro NCAP 3 star rating for safety. Renault’s engineering and Mahindra’s dealer-network ensure fantastic product quality & after-sales-services for Logan

The car is rated as India’s first wide body car and with a larger wheel base it provides ample legroom both in the front and rear. It incorporates Renault’s space optimization design to come up with the latest in car ergonomics – the wide body. Its unique advantages include maximum headroom, the biggest boot and the widest backseat with three individual headrests. With rich beige interiors, the car has extra luxury featuring a superb blend of space and comfort. The driver-side air bags, electronic anti-theft device, music system with CD are the other attractive features.

But the company has shelved its plan to enter Indian market directly. The company, which had last year announced a Rs 4,500- crore investment over a period of seven years to produce 400,000 cars annually in an alliance with its Japanese group company Nissan, has now stopped hiring for production activities and is awaiting for market conditions to improve.

for more information log onto:http://www.khabrein.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20148&Itemid=62

SugarCRM, Tata Communications Bring On-Demand CRM to India

Open source CRM software provider SugarCRM , has partnered with communication provider, Tata Communications, in a bid to bring on-demand CRM solutions to businesses in India.

The partnership between the two companies allows Tata Communications to offer SugarCRM's (News - Alert) On-Demand CRM services to small, medium and large enterprises in the country.

Tata Communications (News - Alert) will manage the service out of its certified datacenters.

Because the CRM solutions are open source and available on-demand, businesses can leverage them at an affordable cost while also reducing the risk associated with proprietary solutions.

“Our broad market reach and managed services expertise makes Tata Communications the perfect match for the Indian market when combined with the best in class CRM capabilities of SugarCRM,” said Mr. Sunil Joshi, president, enterprise business, Tata Communications. “Our partnership will enable us to offer a high-quality CRM solution to Indian businesses at an affordable price.”

SugarCRM offers solutions to gain better control over CRM deployments and are offered over the Web via the cloud or software-as-a-service (SaaS (News - Alert)) model. The company's software solutions have been proven to improve salesforce automation, marketing automation, customer support and reporting processes for over 4,000 customers in 195 countries.

“The market for on-demand CRM in India is over Rs.150 crore ($32 million) in 2009 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 50-60 percent for the next few years,” said, Mr. Alok Bardiya, vice president, partner and alliance strategy, Tata Communications. “With our world-class infrastructure and leadership in emerging markets, Tata Communications is uniquely positioned to serve this market need.”

sources:http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/open-source-crm/articles/49980-sugarcrm-tata-communications-bring-on-demand-crm-india.htm

Google unveils tools that can show if your ISP is giving you what you paid for

January 29, 2009 (Computerworld) Want to know if you're actually getting what you're paying your Internet service provider for?

If you are, join the club. The problem is that it it has been far from easy to get a handle on how your service provider deals with various kinds of traffic. That may become an easier job now that Google Inc. is launching what it calls Measurement Lab (M-Lab), an open system that researchers and consumers can use to access its new Internet performance measurement tools.

"Researchers are already developing tools that allow users to, among other things, measure the speed of their connections, run diagnostics, and attempt to discern if their ISP is blocking or throttling particular applications," said Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist, and Stephen Stuart, Google's principal engineer, in a blog post. "These tools generate and send some data back and forth between the user's computer and a server elsewhere on the Internet. Unfortunately, researchers lack widely-distributed servers with ample connectivity. This poses a barrier to the accuracy and scalability of these tools."

To tackle the problem, Google announced late on Wednesday that it will host the tools on 37 servers in the U.S. and Europe. The tools are designed to help users try to figure out what might be impairing their broadband speed, as well as find out if BitTorrent is being blocked or throttled by their Internet service providers.

"Seems like the intention behind this is to give consumers a way to keep tabs on their provider and make sure that they're getting what they're paying for in terms of speed," said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group Inc. "Also, with these tools, consumers will supposedly be able to tell if particular high-bandwidth applications, like BitTorrent, are being constrained by their ISP. So if an ISP is limiting video downloads, for example, consumers can use the Google tool, figure it out and start a huge outcry, putting pressure on the ISP to stop."

Just last month, an analyst with ties to the telecommunications industry released a report calling Google a bandwidth hog. Scott Cleland, president of Precursor LLC, a research firm bankrolled by telecommunications heavyweights such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., reported that Google uses 21 times more bandwidth than it pays for.

Google was quick to fire back. Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecommunications and media counsel, noted in a blog post that Cleland is "not exactly a neutral party." Whitt also claimed that the analyst had made methodological and factual errors.

Olds noted that the new measurement platform is another salvo in the war between content providers such as Google and network providers.

sources:http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic &articleId=9126997&intsrc=hm_list

UK Foreign policy

Better World, Better Britain

The pace and scope of globalisation means that, across an ever-increasing range of activity, what happens elsewhere in the world directly affects the well-being ofpeople in the UK.

More and more policy objectives have their source in global issues. They are increasingly administered across international boundaries, and support both national and broader interests.

From climate change and financial instability to health pandemics and weapons proliferation, national security and prosperity depends on our work with other nations.

The core priorities shaping our work around the world are:

* the global network of staff and offices at our diplomatic posts
* the essential services we provide for UK nationals and business overseas
* our 4 goals.

We work with partners inside and outside government, at home and abroad, to advance UK foreign policy.

Sanyo Cuts Annual Profit Forecast on Weak Demand, Yen (Update1)

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Sanyo Electric Co., which is being acquired by Panasonic Corp., cut its annual profit forecasts, citing falling demand for semiconductors, electronic components and the stronger yen.

The company now expects to break even in the year ending March 31 compared with net income of 35 billion yen ($393 million) forecast on Nov. 5, the Osaka-based company said today.

Sanyo also cut its forecast of operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, by 40 percent to 30 billion yen, and compared with 76.1 billion yen a year earlier.

Sanyo shares fell 3.9 percent to close at 148 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company announced the changes to its forecasts after share markets in Japan closed.

sources:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aT0I6HBncbV0&refer=japan

Israelis strike 60 Gaza targets

Israel says it attacked more than 60 targets overnight in Gaza as its offensive against Hamas entered its 18th day.

The air assault came as Israeli troops advanced in the southern and eastern suburbs of Gaza City.

The Israeli military also announced another three-hour ceasefire, starting at 0900 local time (0700 GMT), to allow aid lorries into Gaza.

The truce coincides with visits by UN and Red Cross officials to Gaza.

On Tuesday, the western areas of Gaza City also came under shellfire from Israeli gunboats.

The Israeli military has denied a Hamas claim that it had destroyed two Israeli tanks.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, on the Israeli-Gaza border, said Israeli shelling had continued despite the three-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has implored Israel and Palestinian militants to halt the fighting in Gaza immediately.

Ahead of a trip to the region to push for a truce, Ban Ki-moon said too many people had died and there had been too much civilian suffering.

"My message is simple, direct and to the point: the fighting must stop," Mr Ban told a news conference in New York ahead of his departure on Tuesday for the Middle East.

"In Gaza, the very foundation of society is being destroyed: people's homes, civic infrastructure, public health facilities and schools."

His diplomatic tour will see talks with the leaders of Egypt, Israel and Syria as well as the Palestinian president in Ramallah.

However, UN officials say he will not be meeting representatives of Hamas, and it is not clear whether he will go to Gaza itself during his week-long trip.

Also on Tuesday, an Israeli army patrol in the West Bank came under fire from inside Jordan, the army said. No-one was hurt in the incident and the patrol returned fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Palestinian militants will keep on feeling Israel's "iron fist" as long as Hamas fires rockets at Israel.

But a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniya, said the group was "approaching victory".

"After 17 days of this foolish war, Gaza has not been broken and Gaza will not collapse," he said in a televised address from a secret location in Gaza.

Death toll

Both Hamas and Israel rejected last week's UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Palestinian medical sources say 910 people have been killed in Gaza so far, of whom 292 were children and 75 were women. Israeli officials say 13 Israelis, including three civilians, have been killed.

On Monday, casualty reports from Palestinian medics ranged from nine to 26 dead, while Israel said five of its soldiers had been injured, one of them seriously.

Israel is preventing international journalists from entering Gaza, making it impossible to independently confirm casualty figures.

Meanwhile, reports suggest diplomatic efforts between Egypt and Hamas in Cairo are progressing.

After meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair said the elements were in place for a ceasefire agreement.

"I am hopeful we can put an agreement together but it's going to have to be worked on very hard and it's got to be credible," he told journalists.

Israel hopes the scale of its operation will greatly reduce the number of missiles fired from Gaza into southern Israel, while eroding support for Hamas.

sources:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7825684.stm

'Bride Wars' stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are funny allies

So who takes longer to get dressed? ¶ That's a no-brainer when the choice lies between Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, the young actresses who play best friends turned battling bridezillas in "Bride Wars," which arrives in theaters today. ¶ When the question is posed during an interview with the leading ladies, Hudson instantly turns to Hathaway, who looks guilty as charged. ¶ "Yes, it's true," says Hathaway, best known as the star of "The Devil Wears Prada" and now "Rachel Getting Married," with self-recognition flashing through her large brown eyes. "I find the outfit, then I'm literally one step from the door and I'll look down and something will catch my eye and I will have to go back and start from scratch. It's not even for me that the results are so great. I just have to find the thing that I'm comfortable with or I'm going to be a basket case all day. I need to know that I've covered all my bases to go out, and Kate is . . ." ¶ "I'll walk out half-naked,' interjects Hudson, who first caught the public imagination nearly a decade ago as a trippy groupie in "Almost Famous." "I have this thing: If it takes me longer than 10 minutes to get dressed, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not in the mood," says Hudson. "I'm going to stay in bed and I'm going to watch television and I'm going to walk around the house half-naked because I just don't want clothes on."

Perched side by side on a fancy hotel room couch, the duo are giddy and chatty, so much so that they talk over each other, and to each other, as they discuss their new movie and related tangents -- boys, clothes, what makes a movie star and weddings. Periodically, Hudson bursts into song -- her whole life appears to have some internal soundtrack, and she could definitely give any jukebox a run for its money. Their outfits more than illustrate their perspectives on dressing, and perhaps on life. The 26-year-old Hathaway is crisp in a black structured sheath, her hair pulled back tight in a soignée ponytail to reveal the luminous white skin and the famed doe eyes. Hudson, 29, is loose and sun-kissed and Californian, wearing what appears to be a blue silk shorts jumpsuit, and unconsciously flipping her long, blond tresses. Both wear stilettos but no stockings.

source:http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bride9-2009jan09,0,6420258.story

Jobs left -- so did DRM

With only one new product revelation, a rather unattractive $2,799 MacBook, this year's Macworld keynote was nothing like we have been used to. It could only have been described as a disappointment until Philip Schiller, who replaced Steve Jobs, revealed DRM-free iTunes. According to Schiller iTunes will be entirely DRM-free with over 10 million songs

at the end of the first quarter of 2009.

The iTunes Plus section should already feature 8 million songs DRM-free. The pricing of the songs has also gone through some changes. iTunes has now three price points for songs - 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29. 69 cents is for older releases and $1.29 for new hit songs.

Most of the albums will still be priced at $9.99.

iTunes Plus allows users to upgrade their songs to new higher quality DRM-free versions for 30 cents per song or 30 percent of the album price for the whole album. iTunes Plus uses 256kbps AAC audio format.

source: http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/16530.cfm