Yahoo tests new mail upgrade...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Yahoo tests major Mail upgrade



 Yahoo will unwrap on Wednesday a test version of a major upgrade of its Mail service, whose user engagement has been eroding to the detriment of the company's overall usage.



Called simply Yahoo Mail Beta, the new version of the webmail service will feature a revamped interface and navigation scheme, improved functionality for viewing photos and videos, tighter Twitter and Facebook integration and sharper spam detection and filtering.



A lot is riding on this Yahoo Mail upgrade. In May, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz blamed Mail for a drop in user engagement on Yahoo services.



Speaking at an event for Yahoo investors, Bartz said Yahoo Mail's user engagement had been "a bit flat" and that a revamping of the webmail service was in the works. "The big dog of engagement is mail," Bartz said then.



In terms of average minutes per visitor, Yahoo's user engagement fell between January 2009, when users spent an average of 336.4 minutes on Yahoo properties, and April 2010, when that had shrunk to 247.9 minutes, according to comScore.



Now, the 273 million Yahoo Mail users will get a chance to try out the beta upgrade by going to http://features.mail.yahoo.com and clicking on the "Try It Now" link.



The new version has been designed to be faster, especially for people logging in from mobile devices and with slow Internet connections.



Integration with Twitter and Facebook will allow users to view status updates from those social networking services within the Yahoo Mail interface, as well as publish posts.



Yahoo Mail Beta also makes it possible to view photos and video from sites like Yahoo's Flickr and Google's Picasa and YouTube within the webmail service's inbox pane.



The spam detection and the e-mail search functionality have also been improved.



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Google faces fines in Britain, and possibly in other countries too...

Image via Wikipedial




Google faces fines in Britain and possibly in other countries too.

..

Personal information 'accidently' collected by Google's fleet of Street View cars has landed the company in very hot water



Google could face heavy fines under Britain's privacy laws after it has admitted copying computer passwords and entire emails from households.



The US firm says the personal data was picked up from wireless networks when its fleet of cars drove down residential roads taking photographs for its highly controversial Street View project.



Millions of homes could be affected and anti-surveillance campaigners have described the error as 'outrageous'.



Such actions are already being investigated in other countries including New Zealand. They have been under investigation here in recent times.



Google admitted for the first time last week that its Street View cars around the world accidently collected more personal data than previously disclosed.





Acknowledgements: © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

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A man is threatening to blow up a boat in the middle of Brisbane...

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Breaking news:


Monday, Monday - A  man is threatening to blow up boat in Brisbane,...


A man is threatening to blow up a boat in the centre of Brisbane's  CBD in Queensland, Australia.

Police are negotiating with a man who has apparently threatened to blow up a boat in the centre of Brisbane.



An exclusion zone has been set up around a ferry terminal.



A 54-year-old man dressed in black has tied a yacht to the terminal, and is making threats.



Police say they are talking to the man, and hope to have a peaceful resolution soon..


Acknowledgements:  AAP



This and many more stories here:  http://huttriver.blog.co.uk/

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Not paved with gold - tons of salmon spilled on Tasmanian street...

Image via WikipediaStreets not paved with gold - but dumped salmon...




Not paved with gold - tons of salmon spilled on Tasmanian street...



HOBART, Tasmania – A truck carrying 250,000 Australian dollars ($246,000) worth of salmon has crashed in Tasmania, spilling 15 tons (14 metric tons) of fish into the street. Not paved with gold but tons of salmaon.



The crash in the capital of Hobart on Friday sparked a major cleanup operation and brought down power lines, cutting electricity to nearby suburbs.



Tasmania police told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the driver crashed into a power pole and the truck tipped over. The driver and a passenger suffered minor injuries.


http://anzacbloggersunite.blog.co.uk/

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This is a post about an email scam supposedly from PayPal...

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A post about about an email scam purporting to come from PayPal

As I was unable to copy this email from my yahoo account, I will give a rough outline of what was sent.

"PayPal" supposedly stated that I had paid $28.99 to Debbies RC World and that it would appear on my credit card as "Paypal Dicks Sporting.

The shipping info: William Rusaw,  11 Raritan Avenue, Highland park, NJ 08904

Address: unconfirmed.

I know absolutely nothing about this transaction, and have checked my PayPal Account which shows nothing about it.

This is a scam!!  If you receive such an email do not click the link at the bottom!!

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Senior citizens and the subject of...aging.

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Senior citizens and the subject of...aging.

A distraught senior citizen phoned her doctor's office.

'Is it true,' she wanted to know, 'that the medication you prescribed

has to be taken for the rest of my life?'

'Yes, I'm afraid so,' the doctor told her.

There was a moment of silence before the senior lady replied,

'I'm wondering, then, just how serious is my condition

because this prescription is marked 'NO REFILLS'.'

-----------------------------------------

An older gentleman was on the operating table

awaiting surgery and he insisted that his son,

a renowned surgeon, perform the operation.

As he was about to get the anesthesia

he asked to speak to his son.

'Yes, Dad, what is it?' 'Don't be nervous, son;

do your best and just remember, if it doesn't go well,

if something happens to me .

your mother is going to come

and live with you and your wife....'

-----------------------------------------

Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you

stop lying about your age and start bragging about it

------------------------------------------

The older we get, the fewer things seem

worth waiting in line for

------------------------------------------

Some people try to turn back their odometers.

Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way.

I've traveled a long way and some of the

roads weren't paved.

--------------------------------------------

When you are dissatisfied and would

like to go back to your youth, think of Algebra.

---------------------------------------------

You know you are getting old when everything

either dries up or leaks.

----------------------------------------------

I don't know how I got over the hill

without getting to the top.

----------------------------------------------

One of the many things no one tells you about aging

is that it is such a nice change from being young.

----------------------------------------------

Ah, being young is beautiful,

but being old is comfortable.

-----------------------------------------------

Old age is when former classmates are so gray

and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you.

----------------------------------------------

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble,

you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

--------------------------------------

First you forget names, then you forget faces.

Then you forget to pull up your zipper.

It's worse when you forget to pull it down.

-------------------------------------------

Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground

with sticks, it was called witchcraft..

Today, it's called golf







And----

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A WELL PLANNED LIFE????

Two women met for the first time since graduating from high school.

One asked the other, 'You were always so organized in school,

Did you manage to live a well planned life? '

' Yes,' said her friend.

'My first marriage was to a millionaire;

my second marriage was to an actor;

my third marriage was to a preacher;

and now I'm married to an undertaker.'

Her friend asked,

'What do those marriages have to do with a well planned life?'

'One for the money,

two for the show,

three to get ready,

and four to go.


Acknowledgements: Barbara of Lower hutt

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Condoms block drains at Delhi Commonwealth Games village...

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Condoms block drains at Delhi  Commonwealth Games village - no shortages at these games...

+









Delhi - Thousands of used condoms blocked the drains at the Commonwealth Games village in Delhi after they were flushed down toilets.

Condoms were being supplied free, and a vending machine containing around 4000 packs - with two condoms in each pack - had been installed at the village. The Daily Mail reported that half of them had already been taken. Officials said they would refill the machine if necessary.

"We are not dealing with the garbage inside the Games Village towers. We haven't analysed the exact proportion of degradable and non-degradable garbage. It will be done after the Games," The Daily Mail quoted Municipal Corporation of Delhi Public Relations officer Deep Mathur as saying.

Games chief Mike Fennell said he was happy to see that so many of the athletes were being responsible and are promoting safe sex.

The National AIDS Control Organisation, the Delhi State AIDS Control Society and the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust have installed about 130 condom machines at Games venues, hotels and markets.

The paper reported that there was a shortage of condoms at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Beijing Olympic Village and the Sydney Olympics.


Acknowledgements: Daily Mail








Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/298652#ixzz11epBifzU

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Magic mushrooms fueled Kiwi crime spree...

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Magic mushrooms fuel crime spree Magic mushrooms fuel crime spree



Jail time for a 21-year-old man who went on a violent crime spree high on magic mushrooms, kidnapping a man at knifepoint in Tokoroa



A drug-fuelled violent crime spree in Tokoroa, New Zealand,  has landed a young man in jail.





Jeddediah Sorenson has been convicted of kidnapping, supplying methamphetamine and one count of aggravated robbery.





The 21-year-old had used magic mushrooms before he kidnapped another man in June this year for not giving him money to secure a drug deal.





Holding a knife to the victim's throat, he threatened to cut off his fingers and kill his family.





The victim escaped when Sorenson stopped to get petrol.





Judge Joanna Maze sentenced him to three years and four months for the aggravated robbery and kidnapping and 12 months for the drugs charge, to be served concurrently.

Acknowledgements: NewstalkZB

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Islam the new enemy for the German far right...

Image via WikipediaIslam now appears to be the enemy of the German far right; with Dutch  far right populist Geert Wilders  urging Germans to to form a party to fight Islam. He received a rousing reception during an indoor closed door meeting recently   where he directly challenged  the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

It was back in the late 1920's and early 1930's that another non-German challenged authority and the German government - he went by the name of Adolph Hitler and become a populist in the image of Gert Wilders and helped form the German Nationalist Socialists (Nazi Party) ad brought down the German Government from within and without. He became the dictator of Germany and Europe and plunged Germany into war with  most of the world.

Gert Wilders is following a similar path to Hitler with his  Freedom Party propping up the new centre-right Dutch Government, and is now facing  charges in Amsterdam of inciting racial hatred  by comparing it to Mein Kampf. Hitler was also imprisoned for a short period before he led the Nazi Party to power in Germany

He blamed  the Jews as the cause of all Germany's economic and social problems and now we have a scenario of another populist trying to use Muslims as the demigod causing all of western Europe's economic and social problems. However he has toned down his rhetoric in his home country, Holland, during the last fortnight.

But he has been venting his spleen in next door Germany, drawing thunderous applause from 500 conservative sympathisers crammed in to a hotel conference room.

He has been telling Germany to free itself from the guilt of its Nazi past." The crimes of the Nazi era are not an excuse to refuse to fight for your identity. Your responsibility is to avoid the mistakes of the past." he told the audience.

He told them that the cardinal error of the interwar years was to fail to identify the dangers to democracy. Islam had become a political ideology pitted against western civilization.

Geert Wilders has been charged with inciting  hatred, and discrimination against Muslims, and insulting Moroccans and other non-western foreigners. He is responsible for an anti-Islam film FITNA  and has made numerous provocative statements about Muslims.

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Len Brown first mayor of Auckland supercity?

Image via WikipediaLen landslide?


The latest poll shows Len Brown way out in front in the race to become the first mayor of the Auckland supercity

A new survey points to Len Brown winning the Auckland Super City mayoral race by a landslide.



The Herald on Sunday-Phoenix poll shows he's won the support of 56% of people who've already cast their vote.



John Banks has 33%...there's only a trickle of votes for Andrew Williams...around one percent.



Phoenix Research Director, David Fougere, says the numbers suggests Banks still has a chance to close in on Brown...if more people return their voting papers.



Mr Brown has strong support on his home turf in South Auckland, with returns there higher than from Auckland City or the North Shore.


Go Len go! Auckland is going Brown!








Acknowledgements: © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB / Herald on Sunday

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Thieves steal entire vineyard crop in France...

Thieves in France have stolen an entire crop of sauvignon cabernet from a vineyard, police said.

They struck in Villeneuve-les-Beziers last Sunday, taking advantage of a full moon and using a harvesting machine to sieze 30 tonnes of the grape crop.

Read more:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe=11442960

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