Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:45:50 GMT

Richard Branson: Losing my virginity

So standing in Frankfurt's train station I finally discovered Richard Branson's autobiography "Losing my virginity".

It's an amazing book with rich detail about Branson's beginnings in the 70s and 80s and the scaling of 'the empire' after that. Branson has shown appetite for many business and business strategies most analysts would reject immediately. Virgin Atlantic had nothing to do with Virgin Music but still Branson was determined to run both businesses at teh same time, not listening to advisers (for good or bad).

As the publisher puts it:

Many of Richard Branson's companies-airlines, retailing, and cola are good examples-were started in the face of entrenched competition. The experts said, "Don't do it." But Branson found golden opportunities in markets in which customers have been ripped off or under-served, where confusion reigns, and the competition is complacent.

Richard Branson basically had one hit with Virgin Music (the record label) and used this cash flow to invest in other business plans. Most of the businesses under the Virgin label actually had a founder or founder team and Branson contributed cash, brand and sometimes publicity. That was worth 40% or more for many entrepreneurs and has paid off most of the time. The story of setting up Virgin Atlantic along all those setbacks is equally telling - Branson managed to brush aside all obstacles with luck, determination and sheer desperation sometimes.

The book is inspiring as it gives real life examples of pro/cons of going public, investing in new businesses (with no clue about markets inner workings) or when to hold on to failing businesses or when to better cut your losses.

As the title puts it - a must read for every entrepreneur.

P.S. The books is of course published by Virgin Books :) Posted by: tj      Read more     Source

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:02:22 GMT

New Optics Pro in works

DxO Labs has begun beating the drums about the new version of its award-winning photo enhancing software Optics Pro. Release 5 of the application is expected to be available at the end of the month. Here are some of the new features of the program.

• New RAW converter with a demosaicing engine that produces images with more detail and fewer artifacts.
• New noise reduction techniques that operate on RAW files before demosaicing and before noise in a photo can be amplified and fine details lost.
• New anti-dust tool to remove dust and blemishes from images.
• Revamped user interface, including a more logical organization of the program's main sections into Light, Color, Geometry and Details.
• Increased processing and display speed, in some cases as much as four times faster than the previous version of the software.
• Compatibility with new DSLRs, including the just announced Canon 40D, Canon 1Ds MKIII, Canon 1Ds MKIII and Nikon D3.

If you purchased DxO Optics Pro 4 on or after August 1, 2007 you can get a free upgrade to release 5 when it's available. Otherwise, owners of Optics Pro 4 standard edition can upgrade to the 5.0 standard edition for $95; owners of the elite version of the application can upgrade to 5.0 elite for $125. If you're just getting on the bandwagon, 5.0 standard will cost you $169 and the elite offering, $299.

Although the new PC releases are expected at the end of this month, the Mac versions won't be ready until the end of November. Posted by: John Mello      Read more     Source

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:11:55 GMT

Clap And Gesture Aware TV From JVC

Remote controls are so very last year, now that JVC has unveiled its latest technology, a TV that watches and listens for your gestures and claps to effect the action on screen.



Mark Wilson over at Gizmodo explains how this oddity works:"You clap your hands 3 times to bring up a round menu screen. A set top camera then tracks your hand, transforming it into a cursor. To click a button, the user just hooks their finger (ala signaling someone has a tiny wiener). Easy!

Users can also control functions like the volume just by clapping in set sequences. The convenience here is lost on us, save maybe for....we can't think of any handicap that favors clapping over a basic remote control, even with your gross imaginations."I'm sure the novelty will wear off, but with a world dominated by people gyrating around to the Wii console's every bidding, it was only a matter of time before TVs became more demanding. Posted by: Michael Pick      Read more     Source

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 03:39:12 GMT

Disturbia and Shia LeBouf Make a GREAT DVD!!

One of the hottest movies of 2007 that had a "flying under the radar buzz" was Disturbia with
Shia LeBeouf. While doing press junkets galore (why wasn't I invited? I would have loved to meet this guy. I have watched almost every movie he's been in), he was featured as the next young leading man based on his performance in this very disturbing, scary and even funny movie that will appeal to agest 12 to everyone over 12.



Kale (Shia LaBeouf) has a life most teenagers think they would envy. He spends his days endlessly playing video games, surfing the net, eating junk food and watching cable (till mom cuts the cord). What's wrong with this "picture"? Kale is under court-ordered house arrest for three months, and if he goes beyond the 100-foot perimeter of his home, his next residence will be in PRISON- and they don't have cable, microwaves or video games.

Read more of "Disturbia and Shia LeBouf Make a GREAT DVD!!" Posted by: Stevie Wilson      Read more     Source

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 02:18:33 GMT

Frontieres

"Yes, Xavier Gens is treading very familiar ground with Frontiere(s), his debut film, and yes, just about all of this has been done before, but by god there's just so much of it here and all of it executed (pun intended) so well that the film defies any horror fans to not have a good time with it," writes Todd Brown at Twitch.

"The characters are exhaustingly unlikable from minute one and the handheld camera work is enough to make any mumblecore filmmaker cringe," writes Michael Lerman at indieWIRE. "Frontier(s) is a violent jolt to the senses, not because of its unpolished grotesque imagery which saves the film in the campy final act that plays like the dying breath of a good premise, but because of its anti-human disconnect." Posted by: dwhudson      Read more     Source

September 17, 2007, 10:40 PM CT

ER episode impacts viewers' health knowledge and behavior

A new study by scientists at the University of Southern California suggests that some TV may be good for you.

Scientists observed that a storyline on the primetime NBC network drama ER that dealt with teen obesity, high blood pressure and healthy eating habits had a positive impact on the attitudes and behaviors of viewers, especially among men.

The study, reported in the Sept. 14 Journal of Health Communication and now available online, offered scientists a rare opportunity to evaluate the impact of health messages in entertainment, says Thomas W. Valente, Ph.D., associate professor of preventive medicine and member of the Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research (IPR) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

This study demonstrates the importance of interventions and programs targeted at a population level, says Valente. We have so a number of public heath issues to deal with, we cant restrict ourselves to any one strategy. We have to do everything and anything we can to help people improve their health.

The storyline depicted an African-American teen who is diagnosed with high blood pressure during a visit to the emergency room and is advised to eat more fruits and vegetables and to get more exercise. The story aired over three episodes from April 29 to May 13, 2004......... Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 03:54:03 GMT

Miyoshi Umeki Dies Aged 78

Oscar-winning actress Miyoshi Umeki has died of cancer. She was 78.

The Sayonara star passed away at a nursing home in Licking, Missouri last Tuesday (28Aug07), her son Michael Hood confirmed.

The Japanese actress made history in 1958 by becoming the first Asian actress to win an Academy Award when she won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Sayonara.

A year after her Oscar win the actress was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in Flower Drum Song on Broadway.

She only appeared in four more films including the big screen version of Flower Drum Song before turning to television.

After starting her career in Japan, Umeki moved to the U.S. in the 1950s and married Frederick Winfield Opie in 1958.

After divorcing Opie, Umeki married writer/director Randall Hood in 1968 and retired from acting shortly afterwards.

Umeki is survived by her son Michael and two grandchildren. Posted by: Melissa      Read more     Source

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 03:27:05 GMT

Venice. Disengagement.

"Amos Gitai's systematic chronicle of modern Israeli history reaches one of its more sensitive and inevitable points in this dramatised version of the recent crisis generated by the unilateral decision, taken by the Sharon government, to dismantle the entire Jewish settlement in the Gaza strip," writes Dan Fainaru, reviewing Disengagement for Screen Daily.



This is Gitai's "strongest entry since Kippur," claims Ronnie Scheib in Variety. "Featuring a virtuoso, disquietingly fey performance by Juliette Binoche and a compelling straight-arrow turn by Israeli heartthrob (and Gitai regular) Liron Levo, magisterial pic shifts foreground and background as it focuses on both mass displacement and its impact on a family. Displaying none of the rough edges or lumpen agitprop that often shake up Gitai's narratives, pic joyously disturbs on all levels." Posted by: dwhudson      Read more     Source

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:41:26 GMT

New Music Streaming Site

Thanks to Rave and Remix we are pointed to a new music streaming site: Deezer.com.



Deezer.com is a French site much like Pandora on steroids. Different to Pandora, Deezer is able to serve music to anywhere in the world. With 100,000 songs on board, you can just about create any play list you want. There maybe some items not available, but always an alternative that may have the same sound.



So if you are looking for an Internet site to stream music through your home, or even if you want it as background music in your home office, then consider Deezer.com. Posted by: Elwyn Jenkins      Read more     Source

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 05:58:15 GMT

Game Outsourcing to China

It looks like the rumors which are circling regarding Chinese outsourcing is nothing to Game development companies particularly the ones which are based in North America.

Based on the research study done by Niko Partners, 75% of the companies in North America are currently outsourcing most or some of their gaming tasks in China. Aside from that, the study also highlighted the following information:

There are currently around 300 game outsourcing companies of varying sizes in China. Of these, 20 had over 50 employees, 50 had secured overseas projects, and 33 had both secured at least one overseas project (mobile handset games not included) while having over 10 employees. These 33 companies had doubled their staff numbers in the past year.

I guess I could adapt a wait and see attitude if game outsourcing would really flourish in the manufacturing hub otherwise known as China. Posted by: Carol Kendrick      Read more     Source