The Playboy bunnies have a message for college students returning to campus this fall: We want you.
Riding a wave of renewed popularity among consumers around the globe, Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire is set to launch a sexy social networking site dedicated solely to college students, its latest online venture as it tries to reinvigorate its stagnant finances.
The launch of Playboy U, which has similar features to those found on Facebook, comes as Playboy’s 54-year-old magazine continues to lose money and readers.
To compensate, Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises Inc. is embarking on a one of its biggest expansion efforts in years.
“This is one brand that is relevant to 18 through 81-year-olds,” said Scott Stephen, executive vice president of operations for Playboy’s entertainment division. “We’re looking at this as a way to introduce and escort someone through their adult life.”
Playboy has cozied up to collegians before, featuring parties, promotional events and pictorials of student bodies from across the country. Now, executives hope Playboy U will help build brand loyalty among young consumers.
Backed by a hit cable TV show featuring Hefner’s three girlfriends, a Sirius radio channel and the adoration of young Hollywood stars again flocking to parties at the Playboy mansion, the company is trying to grow its licensing business and online presence and build an international fan base that includes a surprising legion of female fans.
Thanks in part to those initiatives, Playboy is gradually returning to profitability after years of operating in the red.
Last year the company eked out a $2.3 million profit, its second-best since posting a $47.6 million loss in 2000. So far this year, Playboy has earned $5.7 million.
But growth has been slow as Playboy wrestles with other struggling units, like its domestic television business that’s facing increasing competition and losing favor to other video-on-demand offerings. (Playboy executives said they’re working to stabilize the TV unit by offering their own on-demand lineup.)
“They definitely haven’t had the blowout kind of success that you would expect a big brand like Playboy to have,” said Rick Munarriz, a senior analyst with the investment advisory service The Motley Fool. “The brand seems to be having some kind of renaissance around the world yet, financially speaking, it’s not really contributing to the top and bottom line.”
The latest statistics compiled by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show the magazine’s average paid circulation has fallen to just under 2.9 million readers, less than half of the 6.25 million readers who bought the magazine during its heyday in 1974. During the first six months of the fiscal year, the magazine unit lost $4.7 million, 15 percent more than it lost during the same period last year.
Playboy executives said there are no plans to eliminate the publication, even as the company turns its attention to other parts of the bunny empire that include Playboy-themed casinos, clubs and apparel. Next month, Playboy will open its ninth retail store, stocking jeans, jewelry, T-shirts and cosmetics.
Playboy To College Kids: We Want You
Legal worries delay release of iPhone unlocking software (InfoWorld)
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’YYofVELEYrI-’]=’&U=13b7ssp3h%2fN%3dYYofVELEYrI-%2fC%3d610197.11312590.11854739.1414694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4843046′;
John McLaughlin, founder of Uniquephones, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said Saturday that he received a phone call about 3 a.m. Saturday local time from a man claiming to be from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, an international law firm, calling on behalf of AT&T. The firm has worked with Apple in the past.
The man informed McLaughlin that if he posted the unlock code, he could be sued for copyright infringement and for dissemination of Apple's intellectual property (IP).
McLaughlin was not completely awake when he took the call and did not get the full name of the person on the other end, he said. The man presented "friendly advice," but because of the timing of the call and the fact that it came on a personal mobile phone that McLaughlin never uses for business, it felt more threatening than friendly.
"If he wants to give me advice, he could have sent me an e-mail," McLaughlin said.
Spokespeople with O'Melveny & Myers, AT&T Wireless and Apple could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.
McLaughlin and his team had planned to release software by 2 p.m. EDT that he claims would unlock the iPhone so it could work with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards from carriers other than AT&T Wireless.
right after the iPhone's release on June 29 and had been working on the software since then.
McLaughlin is concerned that fighting a lawsuit with AT&T or Apple would sink his small company, which does a modestly successful business unlocking wireless handsets in the U.K. and Europe. At the same time, he and engineers in several countries have invested time and money to come up with the unlock software.
"It really annoys me," he said. "We have the solution sitting there and we have the customers there, but if you connect the two you could lose everything."
About 550,000 people have signed up on Uniquephones' iPhone unlocking site as of Saturday afternoon in the U.K.
McLaughlin said he still plans to release the software eventually, but is not sure when. "We'd be happy to let another company take the heat and be the second or third company to post [the software]," he said.
In addition to Uniquephones' software, there have been two other reports of ways the iPhone can be unlocked. On Friday, blogger George Hotz posted a step-by-step tutorial for unlocking the iPhone that involves both hardware and software modifications. At another site, , a company claims it can unlock iPhones through software only.
has been a hot target for unlocking since its launch, both because of its advanced design and features and because AT&T has an unusual long-term exclusive relationship with Apple. It's common for U.S. mobile operators to lock the phones they sell, but in some cases they will later unlock the phones free or for a small fee.
Limited curfew in Baghdad ahead of pilgrimage
Limited curfew in Baghdad ahead of pilgrimage
By Peter Graff Reuters - 1 hour 44 minutes ago
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq ordered a limited curfew in Baghdad on Saturday ahead of a Shi'ite pilgrimage, but the measure fell short of a ban on cars and trucks imposed at other religious ceremonies to reduce the risk of bombs.
(Advertisement)
Iraqi television initially announced a ban on all vehicles, but Brigadier-General Qassim al-Moussawi, the military's security spokesman for Baghdad, later said the ban covered only bicycles, handcarts, animal carts and motorcycles.
"There is no curfew on cars and pedestrians. The curfew is only on handcarts, animal carts, motorcycles and bicycles," he said on Iraqiya state television.
During previous pilgrimages authorities had banned all vehicles to prevent attacks. They did not make clear why they did not think that was necessary for the forthcoming ceremony.
Tens of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims are expected to converge on the southern holy city of Kerbala next week to mark the birth of Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, a 9th-century figure Shi'ites believe will return to save mankind.
Hours before the limited curfew was imposed, a car bomb killed seven people and wounded 30 in the mainly Shi'ite northern Baghdad neighbourhood of Kadhimiya.
U.S. President George W. Bush, faced with growing calls to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, pleaded with Americans for patience and said progress was being made on the ground.
"The success of the past couple of months have shown that conditions on the ground can change — and they are changing," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "We cannot expect the new strategy we are carrying out to bring success overnight."
Washington has sent thousands of additional troops to Iraq this year and moved its forces into neighbourhood outposts.
TARGETS
U.S. officials say the tactic has improved security somewhat, but complain that Iraqi politicians have failed to take steps toward sectarian reconciliation in that time.
Bush has faced growing calls from Democrats and some leading Republicans to begin withdrawing troops. A report due on September 15 by the U.S. ambassador and top military commander in Iraq is expected to prove pivotal in determining U.S. policy.
Shi'ite pilgrimages are major targets for al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab militant groups. Pilgrims walking from Baghdad and other cities to Kerbala are often vulnerable to attack.
The last major Shi'ite religious ceremony was held in Kadhimiya earlier this month when hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites converged on a mosque. A show of force by Iraqi troops and three days of a total vehicle ban prevented major attacks.
U.S. forces said they had found an execution site apparently used by Sunni Arab al Qaeda militants in the Arab Jabour area on the capital's southern outskirts.
"The ground forces found human skulls, decomposing bodies and bones wrapped in bloody clothes. Wild dogs were rampant around the area," the U.S. military said in a statement. "Inside a nearby building, the ground forces found blood spatter and other signs indicating executions had taken place there."
(Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim, Wathiq Ibrahim and Ross Colvin in Baghdad and Jeremy Pelofsky in Crawford, Texas)
Mobile phone throwing turns artistic in Finland (Reuters)
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’.ZHlUkLEYrk-’]=’&U=13bibrlgc%2fN%3d.ZHlUkLEYrk-%2fC%3d602976.10950394.11600052.1414694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4699185′;
Taco Cohen of the Netherlands, who was celebrating his 19th birthday, used acrobatics and juggling in his performance which was judged on aesthetics and artistic impression.
He told Reuters his performance reflected his training in a youth circus. "Juggling I have done for many years with balls. (But) these are irregular shapes and weights, it is difficult."
It was the first freestyle event at the championships although Finnish domination in the distance event continued when Tommi Huotari took gold with a throw of 89.62 meters, a few meters short of the world record.
"I have never thrown a phone before but have been participating in potato-throwing … surprisingly, a potato flies further," said the 38-year-old engineer.
"I am sure everyone would like to throw their phone away every once in a while."
Event organizer Christine Lund said the contest reflected people's love-hate relationship with the mobile phone.
"This contest speaks to people the world over as mobile phones are a blessing and a curse … phones have become a part of the modern man, and sometimes many of us would like to remove that part."
Originally a local event in this small town close to the Russian border, the contest drew contestants from Canada, Austria and the United States.
Microsoft Revises Anti-Linux Campaign (PC World)
ADVERTISEMENT
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’auj6UULEYro-’]=’&U=13b76j9c9%2fN%3dauj6UULEYro-%2fC%3d610197.11312590.11854739.1414694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4842931′;
The new WindowsServer/Compare Web site provides information about how Windows Server stacks up in total cost of ownership, reliability, security, manageability and interoperability with Linux, Unix and IBM Corp.'s mainframe architecture.
Microsoft has posted customer information, feedback from industry experts, white papers and resources about the capabilities of Windows Server on the site. It also offers information for developers building applications on Windows Server.
Microsoft said the new site is an evolution of its Get the Facts campaign, launched in mid-2003 and seen by many as a direct slam against Linux and open source.
The campaign compared Windows Server favorably against Linux and other technologies in terms of some of the same factors handled on the Compare site. Get the Facts was panned by Linux proponents. Their ire in part may have been due to the outspoken swagger of then Microsoft rising star Martin Taylor who led the campaign. After 13 years at Microsoft, Taylor abruptly left the company in June 2006 and no explanation was given for his departure.
Since Taylor's departure, Microsoft has appeared on one hand to be more friendly toward Linux and open source while on the other continuing to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about those technologies, according to the open-source camp. Linux proponents gained fuel for their side when Microsoft executives earlier this year made bold claims that Linux and other open-source software violate more than 230 of Microsoft's patents.
At the same time, Microsoft has put former IBM Linux executive Bill Hilf front and center stage as its open-source advocate. The vendor also recently launched a new open-source Web page that explains how the company views its relationship with the open-source community.
EU Hopes Satellites Will Push Mobile TV (PC World)
ADVERTISEMENT
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’9OpCUULEYpQ-’]=’&U=13bgu0el1%2fN%3d9OpCUULEYpQ-%2fC%3d610197.11312590.11854739.1414694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4842931′;
With a general agreement on the DVB-H (digital video broadcasting- handheld) standard now in place, mobile operators across Europe are looking for economic ways of launching broadcast mobile TV services that send signals directly to handsets. While some companies plan to invest in building terrestrial systems to carry the signals, others are more interested in establishing mobile satellite services to provide coverage in not one but several markets, according to the Commission.
With its one-stop-shop proposal, the Commission hopes to overcome a current hurdle in Europe for providing satellite service: operators need to apply for a license in each individual country, which often have different regulations and requirements. A new body, organized by the Commission in cooperation with regulators in the member states, would be responsible for assessing applications based on common technical and commercial criteria and for selecting operators, which would then be authorized by national regulators.
The Commission hopes to win support for the new mobile satellite communications authority later this year when the region's telecommunications policy comes up for review.
Several European mobile phone companies, including Vodafone Group PLC, have expressed interest in mobile satellite technology for TV service as well as broadband data.
In addition to reaching consumers in rural areas and in more than one national market, satellite-to-mobile phone communications could also overcome Europe's tight spectrum availability.
Alcatel-Lucent SA, for instance, proposes using the widely available S-Band frequency reserved for satellites to transmit broadcast signals via satellite to mobile phones based on the DVB-H standard, instead of the UHF band. The UHF band is typically used for TV transmissions in Europe but has little or no capacity to spare.
The Alcatel-Lucent proposal calls for equipping base stations with S-Band repeaters and, in addition, using satellites capable of transmitting in the S-Band to deliver content to 3G (third-generation) phones enabled with DVB-H technology in three different ways: base-station streaming, base-station broadcasting and satellite broadcasting.
Teen ‘unlocks’ iPhone from AT&T network (AP)
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’hBz9UELEYrU-’]=’&U=13blb9ms1%2fN%3dhBz9UELEYrU-%2fC%3d610576.11231250.11839752.1442997%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4835116′;
George Hotz of Glen Rock, N.J., spent his last summer before college figuring out how to “unlock” the iPhone, freeing it from being restricted to a single carrier, AT&T Inc.
The procedure, which the 17-year-old posted on his blog Thursday, raises the possibility of a cottage industry springing up to buy iPhones, unlocking them and then selling them to people who don’t want AT&T service or can’t get it, particularly overseas.
The phone, which combines an innovative touch-screen interface with the media-playing abilities of the iPod, is currently sold only in the U.S.
An AP reporter was able to verify that an iPhone Hotz brought to the AP’s headquarters on Friday was unlocked. Hotz placed the reporter’s T-Mobile SIM card, a small chip that identifies a phone to the network, in the iPhone. It then connected to T-Mobile’s network and placed calls using the reporter’s account.
T-Mobile is the only major U.S. carrier apart from AT&T that is compatible with the iPhone’s cellular technology, but smaller carriers also use the technology, known as GSM. In Europe and Asia, GSM is the dominant network technology.
The hack is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software, and missteps may result in the iPhone becoming useless, so few people will be able to follow the instructions.
“But that’s the simplest I could make them,” Hotz said.
Technology blog Engadget on Friday reported successfully unlocking an iPhone using a different method that required no tinkering with the hardware. The software was supplied by an anonymous group of hackers that apparently plans to charge for it.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel and Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said their companies had no comment on Hotz’ exploit. Hotz said the companies had not been in touch with him.
Apple shares rose $4.23, or 3.2 percent, to close at $135.30 on Friday. AT&T shares gained 26 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at $40.36.
The iPhone has already been made to work on overseas networks using another method, which involves copying information from the SIM chip, or Subscriber Identity Module.
The SIM-chip method does not involve any soldering, but does require special equipment, and it doesn’t unlock the phone — each new SIM chip has to be reprogrammed for use on a particular iPhone.
Both hacks leave intact the iPhone’s many functions, including a built-in camera and the ability to access Wi-Fi networks. The only thing that won’t work is the “visual voicemail” feature, which lists voice messages as if they were incoming e-mail.
Since the details of both hacks are public, Apple may be able to modify the iPhone production line to make new phones invulnerable.
Analysts said it’s unlikely Apple would overhaul the iPhone’s wiring to thwart the new hack because the difficulty of the procedure is likely to keep it confined to hardcore hobbyists.
“I’m having a hard time figuring out where the real pain is going to come from in this,” said David Chamberlain, principal analyst with market researcher In-Stat who follows mobile devices and services. “Just selling the piece of hardware, they’ve made a nice profit off that.”
Apple has said it plans to introduce the phone in Europe this year, but it hasn’t set a date or identified carriers.
There is apparently no U.S. law against unlocking cell phones. Last year, the Library of Congress specifically excluded cell-phone unlocking from coverage under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Among other things, the law has been used to prosecute people who modify game consoles to play a wider variety of games.
Hotz collaborated online with a large number of people to develop the unlocking process. Of smaller core group, two were in Russia.
“Then there are two guys who I think are somewhere U.S.-side,” Hotz said. He knows them only by their online handles.
Hotz himself spent about 500 hours on the project since the iPhone went on sale. On Thursday, he put the unlocked iPhone up for sale on eBay, where the high bid was at $12,600 late Friday. The model, with 4 gigabytes of memory, sells for $499 new.
“Some of my friends think I wasted my summer but I think it was worth it,” he told The Record of Bergen County, which reported Hotz’s hack Friday.
Hotz heads for college on Saturday. He plans to major in neuroscience — or “hacking the brain” as he puts it — at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
___
Associated Press Writer Jordan Robertson in San Francisco contributed to this story.
___
On the Net:
Hotz’ blog:
Apple iPhone:
Firms sign blogging 'self-discipline' pact in China (AFP)
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’_Vy8RULEYpU-’]=’&U=13ag4u5ti%2fN%3d_Vy8RULEYpU-%2fC%3d565015.9662885.10720269.1414694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4311067′;
The firms and other blog providers in China this week signed the "self-discipline" pact, under which they pledged to "safeguard state and public interests," according to a statement from the China Internet Society.
The pact "encourages" Internet firms to register the real names, addresses and other personal details of the bloggers, and then keep this information.
The firms also committed to delete any "illegal or bad messages," according to a copy of the pact posted on the society's website.
Along with sex and violence, China's communist rulers have also deemed that opinions critical of it or the spreading of democratic ideology are not allowed.
Yahoo China and MSN China told AFP they had signed the pact, but did not give any further comment.
"I can confirm that we signed the pact this week," said spokesman Dou Xiaohan of Yahoo China.
MSN China spokesman Feng Jinhu said: "We've signed the pact but there is no press release on that."
Some Internet companies have caused uproar abroad for bowing to the Chinese government's demands by agreeing to censor websites and content banned by the nation's propaganda chiefs.
They have repeatedly insisted that they have no choice but to follow local rules and regulations in China.
Yahoo has been criticised for passing on information to Chinese authorities about one its users, who got a 10-year jail sentence for divulging state secrets.
The user had posted a Chinese government order, forbidding media organisations from marking the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising, on the Internet.
International press freedom group Reporters Without Borders condemned the new blogging pact.
"The Chinese government has yet again forced Internet sector companies to cooperate on sensitive issues. In this case blogger registration and blog content," it said in a statement.
Xbox 360 Owners Report Many Problems With Wireless Gaming Receiver (TechWeb)
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’PGC2UELEYrU-’]=’&U=13b3rvp9q%2fN%3dPGC2UELEYrU-%2fC%3d610197.11312590.11854739.1414694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4842911′;
The is the second Xbox 360 accessory reported this week to be giving Microsoft customers problems. The maker on Tuesday saying it had been informed about a "very small number" of incidents when components in the accessory overheated and emitted smoke when the unit was plugged into an outlet.
In the latest set of problems, users reported connection problems with the gaming receiver on review sites of online retailers and and on and discussion forums. Some buyers said they couldn't get the receiver to work, and others reported conflicts with other computer peripherals built by third-parties that also sell control devices, such as Logitech and Wacom.
Microsoft was not immediately available for comment.
Problems with the Xbox 360 system have been a major headache for Microsoft. The company took a fourth quarter charge of $1.06 billion against earnings to cover the cost of extending the warranty on the Xbox 360. The reason was to placate customers complaining that the consoles had a tendency to breakdown after just several months of use. The company also has been hit with claiming a design flaw in the console causes the system to scratch game discs. Microsoft has denied the claim.
In the case of the steering wheel accessory, Microsoft released a free retrofit designed to fix the problem. Until receiving the part, the company advised customers to used the wheel on battery power only.
The problems appeared to have had an impact on sales. Microsoft in July reported that sales of the Xbox 360 in the fiscal fourth quarter.
Electric car, cheap PC win INDEX prize (AP)
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[’sz9nUELEYuQ-’]=’&U=13bctjr1o%2fN%3dsz9nUELEYuQ-%2fC%3d610197.11312590.11854739.1414694%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4842889′;
The INDEX prize, which is given out in five $136,000 categories, also awarded an inexpensive laptop designed for children in the developing world and a water purification bottle.
The award, which is funded by private and public companies in Denmark, was first given out in 2005 “to celebrate design that not only looks good but also improves lives of people all over the world,” said Kigge Hviid, manager of the award foundation.
The winning designers had been informed before the award ceremony Friday.
“Great design is a way to tell people that you value them,” said Yves Behar, a Swiss designer who was part of the team behind the “XO” portable computer.
He said the prize money would be donated to the Massachusetts-based One Laptop Per Child program, which has been trying to line up governments in several countries to buy the machines, which for now cost $175.
Philip Greer, one of the British designers behind the “Tongue Sucker,” said the first-aid device could be used to open the airways of an unconscious person by sucking the tongue from the back of the mouth.
Canadian Sebastien Dubois said his prosthetic foot was designed for land mine victims, and could be produced for as little as $8 in developing countries using local materials.
The other winners were the “Solar Bottle,” which disinfects water with the help of sunlight and the Tesla Roadster electric sports car made by California-based Tesla Motors.
___
On the Net:
Social Network
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep » | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
Recent Entries
- New Events HIV Could Quadruple Over 10 Years If Discordant Pair(vapour)s Stop Use the Condom, Analysis Communicates
- Sexual Taboos Hampering HIV/AIDS Efforts In Pakistan, Study Says
- Swiss HIV/AIDS Statement Could Have Serious Ramifications
- Sex During Adolescence does not Predict Infection Future HPV
- Reduce Dysfunctions Erectile In Man, who Intercourse More Often
- Annual Award For Perfection On Polovom And Formation Relations is Achieved by Public Project of Health Birmingham Young
- Recovering the Hymen, Example ‘Ball of the Purity of’ Measures to Keep Sexuality FROM Governing the Women, Part of Opinion Communicates
- Atleticheskoe Advantage Over Doping of the Hormone of the Growing: In Wit of the Athlete SO MUCH FOR?
- Cardiovascular, Breast Safe Study Libigel In Woman With Sexual Disorder of the Desire Hypoactive
- The Improvement Sexual Formation For Deaf Pupil
