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08 March
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Rqjc Obama- worst of economic storm passed_86

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Obama: worst of economic storm passed
January 28, 2010

US President Barack Obama declared in his State of the Union address that the worst of the economic storm had passed, but that a trail of devastation was left behind.

“The House has already passed financial reform with many of these changes. And the lobbyists are already trying to kill it,” he told lawmakers in his State of the Union address.

Obama added he would veto any finance bill that does not contain “real reform.”

“And one year later, the worst of the storm has passed,Paul Smith Socks, but the devastation remains,Mens North Face Down Vests,” Obama said.



Obama said his administration’s early actions last year had staved off a repeat of the 1930s Great Depression.

“Well,ghd straightener, we cannot let them win this fight. And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back.”


08 March
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lxah North Korea declares ‘no sail’ zone_166

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The border known as the Northern Limit Line,uggs on sale, which the North refuses to recognise, has been a persistent flashpoint. There were deadly naval clashes in the area in 1999 and 2002.

Analysts have said the communist state could try to fuel tensions to strengthen its case that a peace deal is urgently needed. The United States and South Korea say the North must return to nuclear talks before any discussions on a peace pact.

The brief but intense battle left the North’s boat retreating in flames and one South Korean craft with bullet holes in its hull. There was no information on any North Korean casualties,Womens North Face Jackets, while the South’s crewmen were unhurt.

North Korea has announced a two-month ban on shipping near its disputed sea border with South Korea, Seoul’s defence ministry says, in a move set to heighten tensions after a naval clash in November.

Naval tensions have remained despite recent efforts by the sanctions-hit North to upgrade or restart joint business projects with the South.

Efforts to restart six-nation nuclear negotiations are currently stalled over the North’s demand for early talks with the United States on a pact to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea declares 'no sail' zone
January 26, 2010

AFP



In addition to its ballistic missile launches,ugg boots uk, Pyongyang has many times in recent years test-fired short-range missiles at sea.

The threat was sparked by comments last week from the South’s defence minister, who said Seoul would have to launch such a strike if an atomic attack from its neighbour was imminent.

Yonhap said the zone extended north of the island and along the disputed border, and also stretched east of the island where November’s firefight erupted.

Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday South Korea’s military was checking whether the announcement was part of preparations for more short-range missile launches.

A ministry spokeswoman said the no-sail zone had been imposed in waters near South Korea’s Baengnyeong Island off the west coast from January 25 to March 29. She said the exact location would be announced on Wednesday.

Last month the North warned South Korean ships to avoid the border area, saying its coastal artillery would target it in firing exercises.

Seoul said November’s clash broke out when a North Korean patrol boat crossed the line and refused to turn back despite warnings.

On Sunday the North’s military lashed out at South Korea’s vow to launch a pre-emptive strike to thwart any nuclear attack, calling it “an open declaration of war.”


Its naval command said at the time the move came in response to “reckless military provocations” from the South.

08 March
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llei Now the Swiss go after Google Street View_176

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Now the Swiss go after Google Street View

Google must be used to having its neutrality questioned by now. However, when the alleged home of neutrality comes after you,The North Face Coat, perhaps you wonder if all this questioning of your motives is ever going to stop.

Hanspeter Thuer, the federal data protection commissioner of Switzerland, accused Google of not doing enough to blur faces and license plates. And he demanded that “Google immediately take its Google Street View online service off the Internet.”

Noser’s reaction was charming in the extreme: “There is probably no problem for my wife, as you could also recognize my companion in the picture.” Somehow, the use of the word “probably” offers a hearteningly realistic view of humanity on the part of the Parliamentarian. I think he will go far with such a sanguine view of the world’s workings.

Whenever countries in Europe raise objections such as these, it appears that Google finds an appropriately European solution: discussions and talks, followed, no doubt,ugg shoes, by the parsing of a few nuances, until the issue seems to recede from the public eye.

Not so long ago, it was the Greeks who decided they weren’t too happy with Street View’s prying artificial eyes. Now, according to the Associated Press, it’s the Swiss who are getting nervous about their much vaunted (and much-profited from) privacy.

A Google statement to the Associated Press said that the company would discuss the matter further with the authorities in order to “demonstrate our industry-leading applications for protecting the private sphere.”

Ah, Switzerland. I have no reason to believe the man on the bike is a member of Parliament.

Then the Google eye can happily go back to work.



Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.


(Credit:CC Robert Thomson/Flickr)

Perhaps the most interesting snippet of this governmental request is that it appears to coincide with the Swiss newspaper NZZ espying a member of Parliament, Ruedi Noser, on Street View in the company of a lady who was not his wife, but was,ugg store usa, praise be, his assistant.

08 March
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4mxm NORAD’s alternate command center illustrated_

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Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games,timberland womens shoes, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel.


Either way, you can tell that the ACC is a place that has the ability to run serious exercises,ugg sales, and, in the case of a real emergency, is capable of being used as NORAD’s main nerve center. Let’s hope that’s never necessary.

During my recently completed Road Trip 2009 project, one of the biggest highlights was my visit inside the Cheyenne Mountain Complex at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. Recognizable from the movie, “War Games,” and the “Stargate” TV series, the complex was long popularly known as NORAD, or the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Now, the Air Force has provided me with this photo, of the ACC, which, since my very first step when planning Road Trip 2009 was to see about arranging a visit to Cheyenne Mountain, is a fitting way to formally close the book on the project.

When I visited, I was allowed the rare privilege of bringing a camera with me, and I took a lot of pictures. But the pictures were mainly of the infrastructure of Cheyenne Mountain,North Face Trouser Sale, and I wasn’t able to see the alternate command center (ACC).

The ACC, as seen in this photo, has certainly been “scrubbed,” meaning that personnel in the room were very careful to ensure that nothing sensitive was visible in the shot. Still, you can get a sense for what goes on in the room today. To be sure, it looks very little like the giant command center that was made so famous in “War Games.” Yet in today’s world, where everything is smaller, more compact, and more efficient than back in the early 1980s, it’s no wonder that a facility like this would have the feel of an office full of cubicles.

NORAD's alternate command center illustrated

NORAD’s alternate command center, at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, near Colorado Springs, Colo. While NORAD’s main operations recently moved to the nearby Peterson Air Force Base, it still maintains the ACC at Cheyenne Mountain.



View the full gallery

But in 2008, NORAD officially moved to the nearby Peterson Air Force Base. Still, even to this day, it maintains an alternate command center at Cheyenne Mountain that it shares with U.S. Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM.

(Credit:U.S. Air Force)

08 March
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Iupw Now the Swiss go after Google Street View_176

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Hanspeter Thuer, the federal data protection commissioner of Switzerland, accused Google of not doing enough to blur faces and license plates. And he demanded that “Google immediately take its Google Street View online service off the Internet.”

Not so long ago, it was the Greeks who decided they weren’t too happy with Street View’s prying artificial eyes. Now,timberland for sale, according to the Associated Press, it’s the Swiss who are getting nervous about their much vaunted (and much-profited from) privacy.

Now the Swiss go after Google Street View

Google must be used to having its neutrality questioned by now. However, when the alleged home of neutrality comes after you, perhaps you wonder if all this questioning of your motives is ever going to stop.

Ah, Switzerland. I have no reason to believe the man on the bike is a member of Parliament.

Then the Google eye can happily go back to work.

(Credit:CC Robert Thomson/Flickr)

Whenever countries in Europe raise objections such as these, it appears that Google finds an appropriately European solution: discussions and talks,ugg boots usa, followed, no doubt, by the parsing of a few nuances, until the issue seems to recede from the public eye.

Noser’s reaction was charming in the extreme: “There is probably no problem for my wife, as you could also recognize my companion in the picture.” Somehow, the use of the word “probably” offers a hearteningly realistic view of humanity on the part of the Parliamentarian. I think he will go far with such a sanguine view of the world’s workings.

Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.




A Google statement to the Associated Press said that the company would discuss the matter further with the authorities in order to “demonstrate our industry-leading applications for protecting the private sphere.”

Perhaps the most interesting snippet of this governmental request is that it appears to coincide with the Swiss newspaper NZZ espying a member of Parliament,ghd hair straightners, Ruedi Noser, on Street View in the company of a lady who was not his wife, but was, praise be, his assistant.

08 March
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Uejm Notebook shopping, with help from CNET’s frie

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CNET tracks what it calls “considered users,” defined as visitors who clicked on a product review, like this one of a new Sony Vaio, and/or on a pricing link on the review page or elsewhere on CNET. In industry parlance, the people reading product reviews, checking out specs, viewing a video,ugg boots sale, and so on, are described as being “up funnel” because they are thinking about buying something but are still in research mode. “Down funnel” users are those who have clicked on a pricing or merchant link, because they are that much closer to making a purchase. In either case, they are all “considered users” because they are considering a product.

For years, CNET has had you covered on all those points except the part about friends. Well, we’re aiming to change that.

This is where CNET can help, if you’re willing to stretch your definition of “friend.” Each day, hundreds of thousands of like-minded people click around our sites doing research and deciding what to buy. If you could see what these people are viewing most often, wouldn’t you find that to be valuable information? It would be like walking into a Best Buy or Wal-Mart and seeing a throng of people gathered around one or two laptops on display. Of course you would join the pack to see what the buzz is about: is it a low price, hot new hardware, or both?

CNET Editor in Chief Scott Ard has been a journalist for more than 20 years and an early tech adopter for even longer. Those two passions led him to editing one of the first tech sections for a daily newspaper in the mid 1990s, and to joining CNET part-time in 1996 and full-time a few years later.




As a potential buyer or follower of the tech industry, please leave a comment below on the type of data you would find useful and how you would like to see that information presented on the site: in monthly blog posts, trend lines on the categories doors, or as part of our product-sorting tools?

Apple tends to hover at about 10 percent, but its share can spike to 15 percent or 20 percent when new models are reviewed. Other manufacturers also see such spikes around new products, but they aren’t as pronounced. (See the above chart, which tracks the major manufacturers and calls out newly published product reviews that resulted in traffic spikes.)

Asus: According to IDC, Asus has risen from almost nothing a couple of years ago to 3.5 percent in the first quarter. CNET’s monthly numbers for the first three months show Asus running between 7 percent and 10 percent, and as of July it was up to 20 percent. (It’s my guess that CNET is a leading indicator when it comes to the popularity of Netbooks and that Asus will show a jump in IDC’s second-quarter numbers–perhaps not as dramatic as the 16 percent to 20 percent seen on CNET, but a nice gain nonetheless.)

Who benefited from Dell’s tumble? Hewlett-Packard began at 24 percent in July 2007, slipped to 20 percent by the spring of 2008, and now sits at 30 percent, giving it the largest share of considered users of any notebook maker on CNET.

The macro numbers are interesting, but the more intriguing stuff can be found in the micro picture. Within the notebook category, the two-year trend lines reveal how the major manufacturers have fared versus their competition. For example, in July 2007, Dell products or prices were viewed by 40 percent of all considered users on CNET, but that number dipped to 25 percent last summer and it has continued to sink in 2009 to less than 20 percent.

As a result, we think you will find the CNET numbers to be another piece of the puzzle when trying to determine which notebook to buy. Just like a single product review, or user opinion, or even a friend’s recommendation, they aren’t the whole or the final answer. But they are useful for seeing in a very timely way which notebook manufacturers are getting most of the attention on our site and how they are faring each month. (CNET also produces lists of specific products that users are interested in, but this new data focuses on manufacturers to provide another view into the current market.)

The online equivalent to seeing what people are checking out in a store is CNET’s Business Intelligence group, which crunches a “Matrix”-worthy amount of data about activity across CNET’s many sites. Their reports are typically used by the sales team to demonstrate the power of the CNET brand and its influence on buyers. Now, however, we are taking the first steps to making that information available to you as one of the tools we provide to meet our core mission: connecting buyers and sellers.

HP: IDC shows HP hovering at around 25 percent for the past couple of years, with a jump to about 30 percent in the first quarter of 2009. CNET also shows HP tracking at around 25 percent until October of last year, when it topped 30 percent (where it has remained since).

Imagine that you’re looking for a new laptop and you ask your friends what they own, what their experience has been with that manufacturer, and whether they would buy the same machine again. Chances are the responses will be useful, to a point. It’s likely your friends have not purchased a notebook in a while, so they have little insight into the current crop. And their experience with breakage and customer service–whether it’s good or bad–is valid but anecdotal.

For now, our foray into this new area is modest–just this blog post and the above charts. In the near future, we will be injecting this data into the site in various ways. For example, the product-filtering tool on the notebook category door and elsewhere will show how certain manufacturers are trending on CNET (the manufacturer choice is the most commonly used filter in this tool, so we know readers are concerned about who is making their hardware).

But we’re also realists. We know that a CNET review is just one part of the research that goes into picking out a new phone, laptop, or TV–especially in this economy. The other sources you’re likely to turn to include other review sites, manufacturer information such as specs, reviews from other users,timberland womens boots, and advice from friends.

What our data shows is that the number of considered users looking at notebooks climbed 31 percent from July 2007 to July 2008 and–despite Depression 2.0–the number of these users climbed another 25 percent in the past 12 months (sorry, the data guardians at CNET won’t let me publish the actual totals but I’m working on them). That’s healthy growth that could be the result of several factors. As the site editor, I’ll list the two I think are most plausible: our superb laptop editors, led by Dan Ackerman, are cranking out more reviews than ever before, and our SEO team has made sure their reviews rank extremely high on Google and other search engines. Even if people aren’t buying as much in this economy, they are certainly researching for when they are ready.

U.S. notebook shipments by manufacturer

The big winner has been Asus, which Ackerman calls “masters of the Netbook.” And right now, Netbooks are hot on CNET. After unveiling its first Eee PC in late 2007, Asus has climbed from 2 percent in July 2007 to 13 percent a year later to 20 percent in July 2009.

After notebooks, we’ll be collecting the data for the other key categories on CNET, particularly TVs and mobile phones, and coming up with novel ways to incorporate the information into the site. For example, we can see which phones are popular with people who live in your area.

As you can see, the trends observed by CNET and IDC are similar. The key difference is that CNET is tracking people while they research and shop, and IDC is following actual shipments. CNET is also compiling stats each month, versus quarterly for IDC. The two reports together are very complementary, but CNET is tracking the consideration phase, so we theoretically can spot trends before they manifest in actual sales, and sooner.

Dell: IDC shows Dell peaking at nearly 28 percent during the last three months of 2007 and then steadily drifting down to 23 percent in the first quarter of this year. CNET shows Dell at about 30 percent in the final quarter of 2007 before sliding to between 24 percent and 26 percent during the first three months of 2009. Since then Dell has slid further to its current 19 percent. 

Notebook shopping, with help from CNET's friends

At CNET,uggs boots, we take great pride in the quality and thoroughness of our reviews. We know they play an important role in helping millions of consumers to determine which tech products to buy and which to shun.

Apple: IDC has Apple ranging from 7 percent to 11 percent for the past couple of years. CNET also shows Apple in a similar band, with the notable exception of some sharp monthly spikes around the publication of new product reviews (which typically occur within a day or two of a new notebook being released on the market).

Of course, this data is only part of the picture, and one obvious question is how closely CNET’s numbers track actual sales figures. For those numbers I’ll turn to IDC, which issues quarterly shipments for the major notebook makers, and compare four notable names:

08 March
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Wjbp Nokia considers entering Netbook market_272

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Their low cost (around $299) has driven big sales of these devices. About 16 million Netbooks were sold in North America in 2008. And because these devices often use Windows XP,mbt sport, a familiar operating system, most PC users already feel comfortable using them.

Netbooks appeal to a wider audience than mobile Internet devices, which could help Nokia diversify its business. Netbooks,timberland mens boots, which once were seen as “companion devices” for accessing cloud-based services like Gmail or social-networking sites like Facebook, are now being used as full-blown computers.

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Nokia might push further into the computing space. The company has been marketing its new smartphone, the N97, as a “mobile computer.” And the company has also been selling its mobile Internet devices, or N-series Tablets.

These devices, which are geared toward early adopters and gadget lovers, typically start at around $300 to $400. They don’t incorporate a traditional cell phone, but they come with a full QWERTY keypad and access to the Internet via Wi-Fi or through a Bluetooth-connected phone.



According to the Economic Times, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told reporters at a press event Wednesday in India, that “the PC and the mobile will continue to come closer and merge.” He said Nokia sees a lot of opportunity in this convergence and he added that the company is “looking at the Netbook market to see what kind of opportunity is there.”

Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie.


It’s clear that consumers are looking to be more mobile and as carriers around the world build faster 4G wireless networks, demand for mobility will likely increase. What’s more, Nokia and other handset makers will soon be facing competition from computer makers in the mobile phone market. Laptop maker Acer has already announced it is developing a smartphone. And there are reports that PC maker Dell is also working on a mobile phone.

Nokia considers entering Netbook market

Nokia, the world’s largest maker of cell phones,sell mbt shoes, could be preparing to enter the crowded Netbook market.

(Credit:CNET )

Nokia is likely hoping to cash in on Netbooks’ popularity.

Nokia has been marketing its N97 smartphone as a mobile computer.

08 March
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ebyy Salesforce’s Chatter Joins a Growing Social M

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Future Sales Worry Analysts

But Salesforce also reported a decline from last quarter in deferred revenue, a gauge of future sales that measures revenue collected from customers but not yet booked on the income statement. On Nov. 18,timberland kids shoes, shares of Salesforce slipped 3%, to 63.61.



By trying to borrow some of those techniques, Salesforce aims to make its software more useful to customers and to expand its basket of products as businesses rein in tech spending and place fewer software orders. Salesforce, which is expected to reach $1.3 billion in revenues this year, is trying to expand beyond the customer-management software that’s been its bread-and-butter.

Salesforce’s plans came a day after the company released financial figures that left some analysts concerned about future sales. On Nov. 17, it reported fiscal third-quarter sales of $331 million, exceeding analysts’ consensus expectation of $324 million. Earnings of 16&cent,Paul Smith Ties; a share matched forecasts. The company also raised its sales and earnings projections for fiscal 2010, which ends in January, and now expects sales of about $1.29 billion, vs. previous guidance of $1.27 billion to $1.28 billion. It also raised its earnings forecast to 62¢ to 63¢ a share, from 60¢ to 61¢.

Market Getting Crowded

Salesforce's Chatter Joins a Growing Social Media Field

Salesforce.com (CRM) Chief Executive Marc Benioff has never been shy about trying to piggyback on other companies’ momentum. On Nov. 18, he did it again through the introduction of a business collaboration tool that takes a page from the playbooks of social networking Web sites Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook and Twitter have popularized tools that let users post regular status updates, sharing thoughts, whereabouts, and other information. "I know more about these strangers on Facebook than I do about my own employees and what they’re working on," Benioff said during a speech at Dreamforce. "I know when my friends went to the movies, but not when my VP of sales visited our top customer."

Patrick Walravens, an analyst at JMP Securities (JMP), who has a market outperform rating on the company’s stock, said in a Nov. 18 research note that the stock "should provide excellent returns to investors" if Salesforce can expand from 68,000 customers to 150,000 in the next several years while maintaining the average revenue it brings in from each one.

Benioff says Chatter can make Salesforce’s software more integral to companies’ operations. Chatter can show alerts from business applications made by vendors including Oracle (ORCL) and SAP (SAP), letting workers keep tabs on sales progress or customer service problems recorded in those systems.

Useful as collaboration tools may be, the market is getting crowded. Microsoft (MSFT) claims more than $1 billion in annual sales for its SharePoint Server, which lets work groups share files and work together online. IBM (IBM) has a product called Atlas that works with its Lotus e-mail software and lets workers identify experts on topics inside their companies in a social network. And Google’s (GOOG) recently introduced Wave offers business users the ability to share information and hold conversations on the Web.


By expanding its software capabilities and trying to entice companies to sign contracts for more workers, Salesforce’s release of Chatter is a small step in that direction.

Salesforce plans to begin selling the new software, called Chatter,brown timberland boots, in February. Chatter will work with Salesforce’s core customer relationship management software, used by sales teams to track leads and deals. The new product will be able to display "profiles" of employees and posts about projects they’re working on or the customers they’ve visited. "Collaboration is becoming a big part of how our customers will work," Benioff says in an interview at the company’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Salesforce plans to let current customers run the software at no extra cost and charge a monthly $50 apiece for new users.

08 March
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Wlxq Rogue pharmacies still a problem for search e

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A study by LegitScript and KnujOn takes Microsoft to task for sponsored search ads on its Bing site that lead to sketchy Internet pharmacies. (Click image to enlarge.)

The authors took a closer look at 10 of the 69 online drugstores. None of the 10 required a valid prescription. Orders were placed with two of them. Of the two drugs received, both were tested and one was found to be counterfeit.

“In the early years of the Internet, it was a case of entrepreneurs not understanding the legal requirements for the dispensing of drugs. Later, it was the push by senior citizens and public officials to obtain drugs that were cheaper than medications available in the U.S.,” said Carmen Catizone, executive director of the trade group National Association of Boards of Pharmacies.

Back to Bing

Overseas pharmacy sites are a stubborn problem when it comes to online drug ads, as is the involvement of criminal networks responsible for a significant portion of the world’s spam, fake drugs, and cybercrime. (The Ryan Haight act regulates only online drugstores in the U.S.)

But the problem isn’t confined to Bing. For all the buzz generated by Bing–which debuted in June, replacing Microsoft’s Live Search–it’s still only the third most-used search tool, dwarfed by first-place Google and also well behind Yahoo. And those search engines themselves are no strangers to ads for illicit pharmacies.

The NABP’s own analysis of search results from Google and Yahoo turned up many drug ads from sketchy purveyors.

“At the present time,” said Catizone, who vouched for the research by LegitScript, “the Internet has become a haven for drug seekers and abusers, particularly (regarding) controlled substances. It is a much more serious and dangerous phase of the Internet.”

A significant risk posed by sketchy online pharmacies, according to groups that monitor such sites, is that they don’t require a prescription for potentially dangerous medications.

(Credit:LegitScript)

The problem has also been around since consumers began flocking to the Internet more than a decade ago. In 2003, for instance, Yahoo’s Overture unit bowed to pressure from pharmacy groups and stopped selling search-related advertising to unlicensed online pharmacies. That also spelled an end to the troublesome ads on Microsoft’s MSN portal, at that time a significant partner of Overture.

The Ryan Haight act should be a significant step in the right direction of trying to control this open channel of distribution, according to Susan Foster, director of policy research and analysis for Columbia University’s National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA).

The authors said they also uncovered security holes in Microsoft’s online advertising program. A rogue Internet pharmacy called store.k2med.com was able to advertise under the name of a U.S.-licensed pharmacy but redirect traffic to the fake Web site. This same security flaw was found in other cases.

Rogue online pharmacies sell a wide range of medications, from the sleep aid Ambien to the muscle relaxant Soma and the erectile dysfunction treatments Viagra and Cialis. The NABP lists only 18 certified and recommended online drugstores at its Web site, while more than 3,800 are non-compliant and not recommended

“Our editorial system used PharmacyChecker’s list of approved advertisers as our guideline in this case,” Microsoft said in a statement to CNET News. “During a quality analysis of the sponsored results for the most frequently used Pharma terms (a more exhaustive set than was used in the study), we found that the actual rate of violation was closer to 15 (percent).”

“It is important to emphasize that the ten advertisers analyzed are not engaged in minor violations of pharmacy law,” the report says. “Rather, they are wholly fraudulent websites run, in most cases, by criminal networks. They sell unapproved or counterfeit drugs, including addictive medications, without any requirement of a prescription. The drugs come from places like Calcutta, India, which is a violation of US drug safety regulations. In several cases, the websites are operated by individuals in Russia or Eastern Europe, not US-based pharmacists. In short, these ‘Internet pharmacies’ are neither pharmacies at all, nor run by pharmacists: they are simply online street corners run by drug dealers.”



Lance Whitney wears a few different technology hats–journalist, Web developer, and software trainer. He’s a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. You can follow Lance on Twitter at @lancewhit. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET.


In response to the LegitScript/KnujOn study, an August 7 blog post written by Microsoft AdCenter Community blogger Carolyn Miller said the company believes “the advertisers noted in the report found a way to work around the PharmacyChecker.com verification process after being validated to advertise on Bing. These rogue advertisers manipulated the system by ‘hijacking’ and/or misusing landing pages. Our internal teams are continuing to investigate how these advertisers sidestepped the policy.”

In an April 2008 study of 558 Internet drug outlets, the NABP discovered that nearly half were selling prescription drugs illegally or unprofessionally. Out of 258 rogue pharmacies, 191 did not require a valid prescription, 118 offered foreign or non-FDA approved drugs, and 91 were located outside the U.S. but offered to ship to U.S. customers, all of which is illegal.

Sponsored ads are links, paid for by companies hawking products and services, that turn up at the top of search results pages alongside noncommercial links.

Horton said that LegitScript has tracked more than 41,000 Internet pharmacies, and at best only about 2 percent to 3 percent of those are legitimate.

CASA’s July 2008 report was its fifth annual study examining the online availability of prescription drugs, and it focused on substances including Valium, Xanax, and Ritalin. CASA found that the number of Web sites selling prescription drugs rose each year from 2004 to 2007, then dipped somewhat in 2008.

In 2008, the number of online drugstores CASA found that didn’t require a prescription was around 85 percent. Out of 365 sites discovered advertising or selling prescription drugs, only two were certified by the NABP as legitimate. The group found sponsored ads for rogue pharmacies prominently displayed on both Google and Yahoo, and also spotted similar ads on MSN/Live Search. CASA was unable to issue another study this year due to lack of funding.

Rogue pharmacies still a problem for search engines

With Bing, Microsoft is trying to reinvigorate its role in the search business. It has also inadvertently brought renewed attention to the problem of illicit pharmacies operating on the Internet.

Microsoft says that its guidelines clearly require online pharmacies that advertise on Bing to adhere to U.S. laws.

Washington jumps in

It’s not just the private sector that’s targeting rogue pharmacies. Congress last year passed the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act,Discount North Face Trousers, which went into effect this past April. Named for an 18-year-old who died from an accidental overdose of drugs he bought online, the legislation bans the sale of prescription drugs over the Internet without a valid prescription.

The response from Redmond

Microsoft disputes LegitScript’s claim that 90 percent of the sponsored Internet pharmacy ads on Bing are fake or illegal, adding that it is working to weed out the rogue advertisers that do slip through. The company uses an Internet pharmacy verification service called PharmacyChecker–a competitor of LegitScript–to ensure that its sponsored prescription drug advertisements are legitimate.

(Credit:LegitScript)

“It will clarify the law,” she said. “The problem was that the Controlled Substances Act (passed in 1970) was written prior to the Internet,mbt footwear, so there were questions about the online sale of drugs and what was a legitimate doctor/patient relationship.”

And in a statement this week to CNET News, Microsoft said: “At this point, we believe that PharmacyChecker’s system worked as designed. It is important to note, however, that PharmacyChecker’s list of validated pharmacies is only one part of a complex system of editorial processes that enforce policy. We do expect this experience will drive system-wide improvements.”

“These Bing.com ads aren’t real pharmacies,” said Garth Bruen, president of KnujOn, which tracks spam and other online and e-mail-based threats and conducted the Bing study along with LegitScript. “These types of sites are usually the product of organized crime and vast illicit drug networks, many of them based in Russia and Eastern Europe, that deceive, defraud, and poison Internet users.”

When asked by CNET News to discuss this issue, Google declined to comment. The company’s Pharmacy Qualification requirements are available online. Yahoo did not respond to a request for comment.

LegitScript says that nearly 90 percent of the sponsored ads on Bing for online pharmacies were from fake or illegal sites. Microsoft says the rate of violation is closer to 15 percent and that it’s taking steps to combat the abuses.

Foster is familiar with the LegitScript study and said that its results were consistent with her organization’s own findings.

The Bing study is supposed to be the first in a series of reports from LegitScript, but it’s unclear who’ll be next on the list, or when such a report might come out. Asked if LegitScript had tracked or plans to track ads on Google or Yahoo, Horton said he couldn’t comment. (Editors’ note, 5:47 a.m. PDT: On Tuesday,chi 2 inch turbo flat iron, LegitScript and KnujOn released their report on Yahoo (PDF), charging that more than 80 percent of the pharmacy ads that turn up in Yahoo searches violated state or federal laws.)

The attention on Bing came earlier this month with the results of a study that examined Internet pharmacy ads (PDF) on Microsoft’s revamped search engine. The study, conducted by LegitScript, an online pharmacy verification service, and KnujOn, an Internet compliance company, found that 90 percent of the reviewed Internet pharmacy advertisements were from fake or illegal Internet pharmacies. It also found that most of the Internet pharmacies reached through sponsored ads on Bing did not require a valid prescription.

Over the last decade, the situation has evolved to bring new challenges.

In the LegitScript study, researchers found a total of 69 pharmacies by running random searches on Bing for prescription drugs, using terms such as “online pharmacy” and “buy Viagra” to find sponsored ads. Of the 69 drug vendors uncovered, only seven were certified as legitimate by LegitScript. The rest were considered to be operating illegally in one way or another.

The NABP says that when informed of the study, Google responded that it would start using the association’s list of certified Internet pharmacies to filter out rogue sites, while Yahoo said it was relying on PharmacyChecker to help screen out illegal drug vendors.

(Credit:LegitScript)

As immediate fixes, the blog noted that Microsoft has reviewed all pharma-related keywords to filter out any advertisers in violation of company policy. Microsoft also said its editorial team is validating the claims in the LegitScript report to investigate the hijacking and misuse of landing pages. For the longer term, the company said it is reviewing its processes to document how these advertisers got onto the system.

“We were able to purchase potentially addictive drugs without a prescription or any age verification via Bing.com ads,” LegitScript President John Horton told CNET News. “We also received counterfeit medication. Microsoft profits from these illegal ads, which put Internet users at risk.”

08 March
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Qyvc Rosetta Stone- The Latest Case Against Google

Posted by admin in Topbap

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Arlington (Va.)-based Rosetta Stone takes issue with Google allowing other advertisers to use its name—and other trademarks it owns—as either keywords or in ad text. "Google and its advertisers benefit financially from and trade off the goodwill and reputation of Rosetta Stone without incurring the substantial expense that Rosetta Stone has incurred in building up its popularity, name recognition, and brand loyalty,&quot,timberland hiking boots; Michael Wu, the company’s general counsel, said in a statement. In its complaint, Rosetta Stone states: "This lawsuit involves…efforts by certain companies to free ride on Rosetta Stone’s brand with the active participation and assistance of Google."

At issue is Google’s AdWords, which shows text ads just to the right of Web search results on a Google page. To get their products and brands to appear, companies "bid" on keywords that trigger certain ads when they’re used in a search query. For instance, a mobile-phone manufacturer may pay for its ads to appear whenever someone searches for the term "cell phone&quot,mbt shoes sale; or uses "wireless" as part of a search.

Legal key: Are consumers confused?

With Internet search being relatively new, the law in this area remains unsettled. But as in any trademark infringement case, a complaining company can win only if it can prove that the alleged misuse of its trademark confuses consumers. That may be tough. "Nobody has really good empirical data explaining what consumers are thinking when they are looking at a search results page," says Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law and director of its High Tech Law Institute. "I’m a skeptic about the fact that consumers are confused about what they are seeing," though the question is heavily dependent on the facts in each case, he notes.

Rosetta Stone: The Latest Case Against Google

Some companies are up in arms over a controversial Google (GOOG) advertising program, but they may have a hard time winning their battle in court, legal experts say.

Over the past year, Google has steadily loosened its policies regarding when companies can bid on rival trademarks. Until recently, the trademark couldn’t appear in the displayed ad text. Toyota, for example, could bid so that a search for "Honda" would display an ad for Toyota cars, but couldn’t use the Honda name in its ad. Google changed that policy, effective June 15. That, says Rosetta Stone’s attorney Terence P. Ross, is what prompted the lawsuit. Ross is a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington.

In a ruling that drew attention in April, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reinstated a trademark suit by computer repair firm Rescuecom against Google. The court said the company should at least have a chance to present evidence that consumers who searched for "Rescuecom" would be misled if ads for rival computer repair firms appeared in addition or instead.

Google spokesman Andrew Pederson said the search firm could not comment specifically on the Rosetta Stone suit, since the company has not formally been notified of the action. But he defended Google’s policy. "Just as it’s reasonable to expect a range of brands on any shelf in a grocery store, providing users on Google with more than one option when they search for a brand name or other trademark helps them to find the best product at the lowest price," he wrote in an e-mail.



Rosetta Stone claims that Google’s policy forces it to spend "millions of dollars" to purchase the AdWords rights to its own name just to try to preclude competitors from doing so.

"free ride on Rosetta Stone’s brand"

Rosetta Stone (RST), purveyor of language education products, is the latest company to sue Google over its strategy of letting companies use competitors’ trademarks in their marketing campaigns.

Echoing the objections made in roughly eight other pending U.S. suits, Rosetta Stone says Google is impermissibly selling Rosetta Stone’s name to competitors. Detailing its allegations in a 37-page complaint filed in federal district court in Virginia on July 10, Rosetta Stone wants the court to bar Google from doing this.

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