Google Adsense & Adwords

Windows 7 Release to Manufacturing

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:43:00 +0000

It's almost here! We're very happy to tell you that we've hit the last big milestone on the way to Windows 7: Release to Manufacturing. We're packaging copies and manufacturers are putting it on new PCs. On October 22, you'll be able to get the final shipping product. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done; you helped make this an operating system we're all going to enjoy.

Don't miss the good stuff. With the final release rapidly approaching, make sure you learn about special offers and other news including details about launch events in your area. A great way to keep up with what's going on is to sign up for one of our free newsletters. Not only will you get the scoop on the Windows 7 launch, you'll get useful news throughout the year.

- If you're interested in general Windows topics, Exploring Windows is the best choice.
- Want technical guidance and resources? Sign up to be a Springboard Series Insider.
- Developer? Get MSDN Flash.

Meanwhile, RC's downloads are still available. You can get the release candidate download until August 20, 2009. After that, you won't be able to get the download, but if you have the software, you can still install the RC and get a key if you need one. (Keys will be available till March 2010. To get a key, just go to the Downloads page and follow the instructions.)

We're listening. Tell us what you think. If you're using Windows 7 Release Candidate, please go http://input.microsoft.com and tell us what you think. You'll be able to give feedback on various aspects of the operating system.

Got the RC and need help? Experts on the Windows 7 Forum can help answer your questions. The forum also gives you a way to share what you've learned with other people.

Essential resources

- The Installation Instructions give you the info you need to get started.
- To get more information about Windows 7, such as feature descriptions, visit the Windows 7 website.
- Looking for technical help or information? Here are a few sources:

- The Windows 7 online forums are a great place to start.
- You can keep up to date on news about Windows 7 on the team blog.
- Find essential "getting ready" info at Microsoft Answers.

Thanks again for your investment in Windows 7.

The Windows 7 Team

Windows 7 is on its way to manufacturers

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:36:00 +0000

Microsoft today announced that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have hit the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) milestone. The software giant still has a lot of work to do, but the bigger responsibility now falls to OEMs that must get PCs ready, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) that are testing their new apps, and Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) that are preparing their new hardware.

The RTM build is 7600, but it is not the same one that leaked less than two weeks ago (7600.16384). We speculated that Microsoft may end up recompiling build 7600 until it is satisfied, but it only took the company one more shot to get it right: 7600.16385 is the final build number. Microsoft refused to share the full build string, but if you trust leaks from a few days ago, it's "6.1.7600.16385.090713-1255," which indicates that the final build was compiled over a week ago: July 13, 2009, at 12:55pm. This would be in line with the rumored RTM date but it is also the day Microsoft stated that Windows 7 had not yet hit RTM. Although the final build had been compiled, Microsoft still had to put it through testing before christening it as RTM.

Google Ad Manager Blog and Twitter Page

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:24:00 +0000

I've got this email today from Google Ad Manager Team, here is the email,

Hello,

To keep you up-to-date with the latest news from the Google Ad Manager team, we're excited to announce the launch of the Google Ad Manager Blog and Twitter page!

The Ad Manager blog (googleadmanager.blogspot.com) is a place for you to turn to for the latest news, tips, and resources from an assortment of Googlers on the Ad Manager team. You can look forward to regular posts, so bookmark the link above and come back to visit often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed (top right corner of the blog) so you never miss a post.

In addition to the blog, you can now follow Ad Manager (@googleadmanager) on Twitter to get daily, bite-sized updates from the Ad Manager team. If you have any suggestions for what you want to see, feel free to send an @reply to us.

Please note that since we want to make the Ad Manager blog and Twitter page as useful as possible to everyone following us, we can't respond via the blog or Twitter to questions regarding individual Ad Manager accounts. Please continue to visit the Ad Manager Help Center and Help Forum to troubleshoot your specific issues.

Happy tweeting and blogging!
The Google Ad Manager Team

Windows 7 Release Candidate Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:51:00 +0000

The Release Candidate will be released,

- On April 30th, the RC became available to MSDN subscribers and TechNet Plus subscribers.
- On Tuesday, May 5 (PST), the RC will be available to everyone via Microsoft Customer Preview Program. As with the Beta, the Windows 7 RC Customer Preview Program is a broad public program that offers the RC free to anyone who wants to download it. It will be available at least through June 30, 2009, with no limits on the number of downloads or product keys available.

Free Dads and Grads Webinar

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:34:00 +0000

During the webinar, Yahoo! experts will provide you with valuable Father's Day and Graduation-related information that can help you prepare and improve your holiday campaigns. The one-hour webinar will cover the following:
• Trends in Father's Day and Graduation consumer spending habits
• How to write strong, targeted ads, including adding "father's day" and "graduation" keywords to your holiday campaigns
• Best practices for this season

Date/Time
The webinar will be presented one time only, on Wednesday, May 6 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time/2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Yahoo! Search Marketing staff will be available during the webinar to answer your questions via our online chat feature.

Space is limited, so please register for the webinar today.*

$19.50 on Every $39 Sale - Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:55:00 +0000

Bloggers, emerchants - a 50% commission on every sale of Comodo Internet Security Pro is yours as a Comodo affiliate

Put a Comodo banner on your website or blog - or even an email. When your visitors click through on the banner and buy Comodo Internet Security Pro, Comodo credits you $19.50.

If you like using Comodo security products, recommend Comodo Internet Security Pro to your friends and site visitors.

What they will get: Comodo Internet Security Pro includes Comodo's award-winning firewall, antivirus, and a virtual private network.

It also includes 24 hour-a-day, yearlong online chat help. If your friends and visitors need a lot of help, this is a tremendous value.

Comodo Internet Security Pro retails for $39.00. You advertise it on your site and put $19 per package sold in your pocket.

Learn more about becoming a Comodo affiliate - Email us today!

Thank you for using Comodo to help build trust online!

Company Information:
Comodo Security Solutions, Inc.
525 Washington Boulevard, Suite 1400.
Jersey City, NJ 07310
United States

Microsoft, CompTIA and Cisco Special Edition Software Download

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:20:00 +0000

CareerSaver.com is giving away their award-winning IT training software. This Special Edition download covers twelve popular exams and includes hundreds of exam-style questions, answers and detailed explanations and study guides. In addition to the SkillSaver Software titles, we are now including our Video Courseware and Audio lessons. Sample all the major vendors; Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco, PMI and more.

Click Here to Download Your Complimentary Software Package Today!

Get started with these titles today!

Microsoft Cisco CompTIA (ISC)2 PMI
70-270 642-812 220-601 A+ Essentials CISSP PMP
70-290 642-522 220-602 A+ Technician
20-236 640-802 SYO-201 Security+
70-305

What are you waitíng for? Download yours today!

Contact Support:
support@CareerSaver.com or call toll-free at 1-877-654-2265

Twitter Me This

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:08:00 +0000

You may find Twitter to be life-changing or simply annoying. Either way, now you can find out what Yahoo! Search Marketing is doing by following us on Twitter.

We tweet throughout the week on our latest activities: about new products, from conference panels, and of course, with posts from the Yahoo! Search Marketing blog. This week, for instance, we’re tweeting from the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York City. If you follow us, you’ll know who’s speaking when—and you can even send them questions.

We’re not the only ones at Yahoo! serving up Twittery goodness. Nicki Dugan, the corporate blogger at Yodel Anecdotal, tweets on everything that the rest of Yahoo! is doing. And believe us, that’s a lot.

You can go to our Twitter page at any time by clicking Twitter’s “t” icon on the right side of this page. However, if you still like your updates to contain more than 140 characters, keep coming right back here.

Agilent 34980A

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:00:00 +0000

If you need automated test equipment for design validation or manufacturing, there is now a cost-effective alternative to PXI and VXI test-system platforms. The 34980A multifunction switch/measure unit is a modular LXI system with an 8-slot mainframe, that can easily integrate with a PC or stand alone.

The 34980A handles system switching up to 20 GHz and provides basic measurements and system control. It includes DMM measurements, counter/ totaliser functionality, digital I/O with pattern capabilities, and analog outputs with basic waveforms. With its standard connectors, Web browser interface and software drivers, the 34980A easily integrates into automated tests systems

BenchLink Data Logger software is included to provide a convenient way to collect and analyse your data. This is a Windows based application that makes it easy to set up and initiate scans. Simply identify the measurements you want to acquire, initiate the process and see the data displayed in real-time.

OS diversity protects cell phones from virus outbreaks

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:04:00 +0000

Events like the spread of the Conficker worm illustrate the risks posed by the combination of a sophisticated operating system and an always-on Internet connection. With the expanding popularity of smartphones, which come with multitasking operating systems and convenient software development kits, the same risk may definitely apply. But, despite the fact that exploit code has been around for several years, nothing on the scale of Conficker has ever struck the cellphone world. A study that will be released online in Science Express looks into why this might be the case, and concludes that a major contributor is the lack of an operating system monoculture in the cellphone world.

The authors say that the customized combinations of hardware and software that characterized early cellphones left little for a virus writer to target, but the rise of smartphones is changing matters rapidly. Since 2004, there have apparently been over 400 phone-specific viruses, and the authors say that many of these show a level of sophistication that indicates their authors have been following developments in the PC world (or, potentially, the authors are one and the same). Some of these viruses were even able to spread by both Bluetooth and MMS services.

Hannah Montana The Movies Happy Easter

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:48:00 +0000

Los Angeles (News Bulletin Board) –
Trend-alert update: Tween girls—still powerful; Hannah Montana—still potent; Miley Cyrus—her world, welcome to it.

Cyrus' Hannah Montana: The Movie scored an estimated $34 million at the weekend box office, blowing past Fast & Furious and blowing away projections.

"What she pulled off here, based on tracking, is amazing," Disney distribution president Chuck Viane said today. "It's a tribute to her and her fan base."

Drilling down into the numbers:

• A regular, old 2D comedy, Hannah Montana: The Movie took in more in its Friday-Sunday debut than last year's Hannah Montana concert movie—or February's Jonas Brothers concert movie—did at 3D prices.

• Expected to hit the upper $20 millions—tops, Hannah Montana ended up as the second-biggest Easter weekend opener of all-time, behind 2006's Scary Movie 4 ($40.2 million).

• Disney's own modest expectations for Hannah Montana were not influenced by what its Jonas Brothers movie did—or didn't—do. "This is so different," Viane said. "This is a live-action movie versus a concert…It's a different world."

• If you were a girl, you were 8 and it was Friday, chances are you were in line at the multiplex. Hannah Montana's opening-day gross of $17.3 million was the biggest-ever for a G-rated film.

• Though the consensus pick to finish No. 1, second-place Fast & Furious didn't so much underperform as Hannah Montana overperformed. The car movie held okay, collecting another $28.8 million and bringing its two-weekend haul to a hefty $118 million.

• Monsters vs. Aliens ($22.6 million) held really well, with ticket sales down only 31 percent from last weekend. At $141 million overall, it's closing in on the esteemable Paul Blart: Mall Cop as the year's top-grossing movie.

• Seth Rogen's mojo led the black comedy Observe and Report to a decent $11.1 million debut. The take improved on the opening-weekend performance of Rogen's last out-of-mainstream comedy, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

• The manga-based Dragonball: Evolution ($4.7 million) did not feature Cyrus or Rogen. As its eighth-place debut attested.

• Race to Witch Mountain ($2 million) exited the Top 10 after four weekends and a $62.1 million run.

• Sunshine Cleaning ($1.8 million) moved into nearly 600 theaters, but slipped out of the Top 10. The indie comedy stands at $7.2 million overall.

• Vin Diesel, Miley Cyrus and Monsters vs. Aliens have Hollywood rolling again. Ticket revenue is now running 13.4 percent ahead of last year. Attendance is up nearly 12 percent.

Here's a complete look at the weekend's top-grossing films based on Friday-Sunday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

• Hannah Montana: The Movie, $34 million

• Fast & Furious, $28.8 million
• Monsters vs. Aliens, $22.6 million
• Observe and Report, $11.1 million
• Knowing, $6.7 million

• I Love You, Man, $6.4 million
• The Haunting in Connecticut, $5.7 million
• Dragonball: Evolution, $4.7 million
• Adventureland, $3.4 million
• Duplicity, $3 million

New flat flexible speakers might even help you catch planes & trains

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 06:37:00 +0000

A groundbreaking new loudspeaker, less than 0.25mm thick, has been developed by University of Warwick engineers, it's flat, flexible, could be hung on a wall like a picture, and its particular method of sound generation could make public announcements in places like passenger terminals clearer, crisper, and easier to hear.

Lightweight and inexpensive to manufacture, the speakers are slim and flexible: they could be concealed inside ceiling tiles or car interiors, or printed with a design and hung on the wall like a picture.

Pioneered by University of Warwick spin-out company, Warwick Audio Technologies' the 'Flat, Flexible Loudspeaker' (FFL) is ideal for public spaces where it delivers planar directional sound waves, which project further than sound from conventional speakers.

Steve Couchman, CEO of Warwick Audio Technologies, believes it could entirely replace the speakers currently used in homes and in cars, as well as in public address systems used in passenger terminals and shopping centres.

He says: "We believe this is a truly innovative technology. Its size and flexibility means it can be used in all sorts of areas where space is at a premium. Audio visual companies are investigating its use as point of sale posters for smart audio messaging and car manufacturers are particularly interested in it for its light weight and thinness, which means it can be incorporated into the headlining of cars, rather than lower down in the interior."

All speakers work by converting an electric signal into sound. Usually, the signal is used to generate a varying magnetic field, which in turn vibrates a mechanical cone, so producing the sound.
Warwick Audio Technology's FFL technology is a carefully designed assembly of thin, conducting and insulating, materials resulting in the development of a flexible laminate, which when excited by an electrical signal will vibrate and produce sound.

The speaker laminate operates as a perfect piston resonator. The entire diaphragm therefore radiates in phase, forming an area source. The wave front emitted by the vibrating surface is phase coherent, producing a plane wave with very high directivity and very accurate sound imaging.

"Another great application would be in PA systems for public spaces," says Steve. "The sound produced by FFLs can be directed straight at its intended audience. The sound volume and quality does not deteriorate as it does in conventional speakers, which means that public announcements in passenger terminals, for example, could be clearer, crisper, and easier to hear."

David Hoare (Engineering Manager) with Flat speakerThe FFL was first developed by Dr Duncan Billson and Professor David Hutchins, both from the University of Warwick, with Steve Couchman (CEO) with Flat speakerearly trials using just two sheets of tinfoil and an insulating layer of baking paper to produce sound. Since then its design has significantly evolved and the technology is now ready for commercial exploitation

The company is currently in negotiations with a number of commercial partners and continues to welcome fresh approaches. It expects to launch its first commercial product later this year.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Version: 1.0

Microsoft is investigating new reports of a vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file. At this time, we are aware only of limited and targeted attacks that attempt to use this vulnerability.

We are actively working with partners in our Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) and our Microsoft Security Response Alliance (MSRA) program to provide information that they can use to provide broader protections to customers.

Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.

Customers in the U.S. and Canada who believe they are affected can receive technical support from Security Support or 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates. For more information about available support options, see Microsoft Help and Support.

International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit the International Support Web site.

Mitigating Factors:
• An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.
• In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web site that contains an Office file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these Web sites. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's Web site, and then convincing them to open the specially crafted PowerPoint file.
• The vulnerability cannot be exploited automatically through e-mail. For an attack to be successful a user must open an attachment that is sent in an e-mail message.
• Users who have installed and are using the Office Document Open Confirmation Tool for Office 2000 will be prompted with Open, Save, or Cancel before opening a document. The features of the Office Document Open Confirmation Tool are incorporated in Office XP and later editions of Office.

Facebook announces finance chief's departure

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:19:00 +0000

It's been hard to keep up with all the Facebook drama lately. First there was that messy TOS hullaballoo, then the powers that be decided to change the site's layout, and more outrage ensued. The big announcement for this week is finance chief Gideon Yu's departure, but it's unclear whether he left of his own volition, or was let go. The Wall Street Journal speculates that Faceboook let him go, while the New York Times specifies that the site's announcement only mentioned that Yu left, not that he was fired. Yu has declined to comment thus far.
Yu raised the social networking site's last round of financing in 2007, including an investment from Microsoft valuing the company at $15 billion. But since that time, he has had a difficult time raising money to cover the escalating technology costs in such a tough economy.

WARNING: Domain Renewal mail scam from "Domain Renewal Group" in the US

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:12:00 +0000

Netregistry was recently made aware of the latest domain renewal scam which is coming to registrants postal addresses from a "Domain Renewal Group" company in the US.

The letter sent to registrants appears as a legitimate renewal reminder notification, which registrants often do not read and simply pay, which results in website and email downtime when the domain is not renewed as per the notice.

This is a fairly standard renewal scam, where the perpetrator had illegally searched and harvested the publically available Whois database of the .com Registry and used the information to contact the registrants in the hope that they will pay without reading the notice.

Please be aware the notice requests renewal and authorisation to transfer the domain registration away from your current Registrar (e.g. Netregistry) to Domain Renewal Group. However there is no information or fields for transferring the domain registration with this notice. Therefore this company is collecting registrant's funds without the ability to process the renewal.

For a copy of what the notice looks like, please download the attached image on this article.

Renegade University -- Lesson #1 of "7 Lessons to Attract Your Prospects to You"

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:05:00 +0000

Know Your 'Target Market' FIRST so You Can Give the Right 'Gift' that will Attract Them.

Yes, prospects will come to you.

But before they do, you have to get clear on who you want to attract, as well as what they need... and you must be willing to offer them solutions.

In business it's not all take-take-take.

Unfortunately, most people figure this out the hard way if they ever learn it at all.

Giving value doesn't equate to pitching your deal just because you think they'll benefit from what you're selling (or what you are 'sharing').

You have to dig a lot deeper than that...
Let’s assume you want to attract people to your opportunity, for example.

The #1 Question First is…

“What kind of people might be interested in joining your business?”

If you plan to succeed you better know WHO this person is—including the things they’re interested in and the problems you can help them solve.

Why?

Because a successful business comes from giving people what THEY need and want. In order to do that you have to intimately know them—their needs, hopes, desires and pain.

More than likely you’ve heard something like this before… “You get what you want by helping others get what they want.”

But how do you really use this to get people lining up to talk with you, buy from you, and joining your team?

That’s what we’ll teach you in these "7 Lessons" if I can only hold your attention long enough. I'll do my part. The rest is up to you.

The formula to attract the right people to you, pre-sold on YOU and what you offer is right here.

But are you willing to give before you expect to receive?

Do you know what it means to "give" in business?

We'll break it down in steps so you can apply this to your business. Then we'll show you how to put yourself out there on the Internet so the 'perfect prospects' literally come to you.
It all starts with asking and then answering the right questions…

“WHO is your target market?”
“What kinds of things are they looking for, thinking about, and talking about?”
“What are some of their problems that you can help solve?”
Knowing this is the first step in attracting a continuous stream of highly interested prospects to you… effectively, confidently, while having a lot more fun.
Building your business doesn’t have to be hard. Sponsoring people doesn’t have to be hard.

But there is a specific formula. You just have to be WILLING to follow it.

Click to Get Absolutely Clear on Lesson #1. Know Your Target Market First.

We'll help you get 100% clear on how to answer the 3 questions above to get clear on YOUR target market.

In the upcoming lessons, we’ll show you how to use this knowledge to get your own highly targeted prospects contacting you first.
Before you can do that you have to know a lot more about your target market FIRST--so you can give the appropriate gift that will attract them to you (for all the right reasons)!

Click to Finish Lesson #1 and to Know Your Target Market Clearly

Or, if you can't click that link go to this address:

http://www.marketingmerge.com/7_lessons_know_target_market_comprehensive.asp

The CIA Recruits Spies on the Radio

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Being a spy may involve assumed identities and coded messages, but becoming a spy isn't exactly top-secret business. These days, in fact, all you have to do if you're interested in this particular career path is turn up your radio. The CIA is running ads on stations across the country for jobs in its clandestine service.
"Are you a person of curiosity and integrity?" asks one spot. "Are you ready for a world of challenge ... a world of ambiguity and adventure?"
The agency won't say how much it's spending on the ad campaign, but CIA spokesman George Little told TIME via e-mail, "We continue to seek highly qualified candidates to support the mission of America's premier intelligence agency." (See the top 10 Secret Service code names.)
The campaign is the first by the agency under its new director, Leon Panetta, who has said he would like to recruit more people with foreign-language skills as well as more minorities.
The agency is not lacking for applicants; it gets more than 100,000 rÉsumÉs a year, and the number is growing fast. Little says if current trends hold, there may be a 40% to 50% increase in applications this year over 2008.
But the sheer volume of applications masks some of the agency's recruiting problems. In a roundtable discussion with journalists last month, Panetta noted that less than 13% of his staff have foreign-language skills, and 22% are from minority communities. "I'd like to get to a point where every analyst and operations officer is trained in a foreign language," he said. Panetta also said he'd like to increase the number of minorities at the agency to 30%, "so that we resemble America." And he acknowledged the need for "better outreach for Muslims, Arabs, African Americans and Latinos." (Read "Six Ways to Fix the CIA.")
The outreach program is already underway. Earlier this month, the CIA's third highest-ranking official, Scott White, held meetings with leaders of the Arab-American and Chaldean-American communities in Detroit. "In communities with large numbers of first- and second-generation Americans, we want the message conveyed loud and clear that we welcome their interest in employment with the agency, especially given their language skills and knowledge of other cultures," says Little.
The agency is also looking to reduce its dependence on outside contractors, which increased dramatically after 9/11. "I think we have to bring those capabilities in-house," Panetta said.
The CIA holds about 2,000 recruiting events a year, many of them at colleges and universities. It also advertises, selectively, on television, in print and even on airport billboards. The outreach extends to new media as well. For the past two years, the agency has used a Facebook page as a recruitment medium. Its TV ads can also be seen on YouTube.
CIA officials say all this effort is bearing fruit. "We are on track to meet the hiring goals set forth by former President Bush in 2004, which mandated that we increase by 50% the number of CIA officers in certain job occupations, such as intelligence analysts and clandestine officers," says Little.

Making Your Site Look Good In Chrome

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:56:00 +0000

The vast majority of online individuals use Internet Explorer to go about their business, and odds are good that your website (assuming you have one) looks great to them. Firefox is also a popular Web browser, and some techie or another probably thought to account for it. A browser called Google Chrome is new, though, and you may need to make some special accommodations.

One suggestion before we get into the technical stuff: check how many of your site's visitors actually use Chrome. If it's something like one percent (Chrome hasn't enjoyed widespread adoption), you'll have to consider whether making tweaks is worth your time.

An additional note that you should weigh: a post on the Webmaster Central Blog notes, "Most sites will render the same in both Safari and Google Chrome, because they're both WebKit-based browsers. If your site looks right in Safari, then it should look right in Google Chrome, too." So there's a two-birds-with-one-stone opportunity if you decide to go ahead.

If you do, the Webmaster Central post has a few tips and best-practice examples. Take a look at the code (or stick it in front of whatever sort of Web designer you've got) to see how everything compares to what's behind the scenes of your site.

If you don't decide to spend time on this right now, at least check back on those usage stats every so often in case more of your would-be customers start to use Chrome.

Combine SEO, Blogging and Social Media for Results

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:24:00 +0000

Ten years ago companies reached their consumers through trade shows, print advertising, and other traditional marketing methods. Today, consumers start their shopping experience by looking on the Internet, in search engines, the blogosphere, and social media. In order to remain competitive, businesses need to be found online.

Get Found Online
Combine SEO, Blogging and Social Media to get found online. This Internet Marketing Starter Kit includes 3 how-to videos and an instructional e-book to help you get started today!

SEO Video: Learn how to get found in the search engines

Blogging for Business Video: Learn how to get found in the blogosphere

Social Media Marketing Video: Learn how to get found by engaging in social media

Getting Found Online e-Book: Learn how to get found online in the search engines, blogosphere, and social media sites

Download Free Internet Marketing Kit !

Securing the Smart Power Grid from Hackers

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Energy-saving technology is coming, but a lot of spending and an open platform are needed to make the U.S. electrical infrastructure safe.

Imagine if the havoc caused by Internet viruses and wormS—downed web sites, snatched credit card data, and so forth—were unleashed on the power grid's critical infrastructure. The results could include targeted blackouts, tampering with power generation (including nuclear plants), or the use of energy consumption data for malicious intent. For while a smart power grid, which leverages information technology to add more intelligence to the electricity network, will give consumers and utilities more control over energy consumption, the transformation from analog to digital will bring to the grid a threat that plagues the Internet: hacking.

According to a report in the National Journal last year, hackers in China may have already used what little infotech intelligence there is on the current power grid to cause two major U.S. blackouts. So with a smart grid moving to become reality, utilities and federal regulators are trying to ready themselves for potential dangers. As representatives from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said at a smart grid policy meeting last week, maintaining security is the highest priority.

Why is a smarter power grid so vulnerable? Joe Fagan, an attorney for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman who has spent his career representing the energy industry, including extensive work with FERC, explained that transforming the power grid's largely one-way distribution network into a two-way system delivers many more points of contact with the network. And if the power grid is to be run by networks based on Internet Protocol, hackers have spent years developing the tools needed to take such networks down.

STIMULUS MONEY FOR GRID SECURITY
In addition, Ben Schuman, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, notes that the smart meters being installed in homes are basic, low-cost (around $100) consumer electronics that a hacker can easily purchase, take apart, and use to learn about the accompanying communications network.

The good news is that several steps can be taken to build security into the smart grid from the ground up, and the stimulus package is allocating some $11 billion for smart-grid-related technology. Fagan estimates utilities would each need to spend millions of dollars to implement security controls.

Crucial to maintaining security will be establishing industry standards. At the smart grid policy meeting held last week, FERC Acting Chairman Jon Wellinghoff issued a statement calling for the development of "standards to ensure the reliability and security, both physical and cyber, of the electric system." While FERC doesn't itself develop standards, the agency will be asking for input from standards bodies that work on security in the Internet, engineering, and electronics industries. Over the next month and a half, companies and consumers can offer their thoughts as to the direction the standards will take.

The second factor needed to secure the smart grid will be an open platform. This sounds counterintuitive, but as Pacific Crest's Schuman explains, the most robust security systems out there are largely based on already established open standards. In order for third-party developers to be able to contribute their best solutions to a smart power grid, it must be based on an open platform as well.

Ultimately the hurdles to securing the smart grid are not impossibly high. The benefits of offering consumers and utilities more control over energy consumption—reducing energy use and carbon reduction—far outweigh the security concerns.

At Least 14 Are Killed in Plane Crash in Montana

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:26:00 +0000

A private plane carrying children and adults from California to a skiing vacation in Montana diverted from its planned destination and crashed on Sunday as it attempted to land at an airport in Butte, and a Federal Aviation Administration official said all on board — 14 to 17 people — had been killed.
Multimedia

Witnesses at the scene of the crash said the aircraft was turning at a steep angle as it approached Bert Mooney Airport on the outskirts of Butte at midafternoon when it abruptly went into a nosedive, plunged into a wooded area in Holy Cross Cemetery and burst into flames upon impact.

“All of a sudden the pilot lost control and went into a nosedive,” Kenny Gulick, 14, a member of the Civil Air Patrol in Butte who lives near the airport, told The Montana Standard in Butte. “He couldn’t pull out in time and crashed into the trees of the cemetery.”

According to flightaware.com, an airplane tracking service, the flight originated on Sunday in Redlands, Calif., near San Bernardino in the Los Angeles area, and had flown to Vacaville, about 30 miles southwest of Sacramento. The Associated Press reported that the plane had flown to Redlands on Saturday evening from San Diego.

The plane stayed at Vacaville for 50 minutes before taking off on a short hop to the municipal airport at Oroville, 65 miles north of Sacramento. The plane was on the ground at Oroville for about 30 minutes.

It was unclear at what point the children boarded the flight. Tom Hagler, a mechanic at the Oroville airport, said he let about a dozen children from the plane use the airport bathroom. They were about 6 to 10 years old, Mr. Hagler said, “a lot of really cute kids.”

He said the plane did not refuel at Oroville. Mr. Hagler spoke briefly with the pilot, he said, but did not recognize him or any of the children and did not know if any members of the group were local. He also said he would be surprised if as many as 17 people could have been on the single-engine plane.

Mike Fergus, an F.A.A. spokesman, told The A.P. that the plane, a turboprop, had taken off about 11 a.m. Pacific time from Oroville on what was to be a 700-mile flight to Gallatin Field at Bozeman, Mont. The Bozeman airfield is 10 miles south of the Bridger Bowl Ski Area in the Gallatin Mountains, the apparent destination of the vacationers.

“We think it was probably a ski trip for the kids,” Mr. Fergus said.

But at some point, Mr. Fergus said, the pilot canceled the flight plan and headed for Butte, 75 miles west of Bozeman. Bert Mooney Airport, three miles southeast of Butte’s central business district, has crossed paved runways of 9,000 and 5,100 feet. The plane crashed about 500 feet west of the airport at 3:26 p.m. Mountain time, more than three hours after taking off from Oroville.

It was not clear what went wrong. The change of destination by the pilot during the flight — to a closer airport — suggested that the plane may have experienced some problem and needed to land promptly. The National Transportation Safety Board sent an investigator from Butte to the scene.

Five hours after the crash, Butte-Silver Bow County officials held a news briefing but offered few details. They said that the aircraft had no black box because it was not a commercial flight, and that no one on the ground was injured. The fire burned for 5 to 10 minutes, they said.

A tarpaulin was used to cover the wreckage and the cemetery was closed for the night. Investigators were to resume their inquiry on Monday.

The aircraft was described by F.A.A. officials as a Pilatus PC-12 that was registered to Eagle Cap Leasing of Enterprise, Ore., and was apparently rented from that business. A Web site for the Pilatus PC-12 describes it as an airplane manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland and introduced for civil aviation in the United States in 1994. Its specifications cite seating in some commercial configurations for 9 or 10 people, but the aircraft that crashed was said to have seating for 12.

But Les Dorr, an F.A.A. spokesman, said that 14 to 17 people were on board. It was unclear if that many people, including children, could be safely accommodated on the plane, which is powered by a Pratt & Whitney turboprop engine.

Butte-Silver Bow County sheriff’s deputies, Montana highway patrol officers and fire and safety personnel were at the scene with a tangle of emergency vehicles.

Photographs taken by Martha and Steve Guidoni, who were visiting the cemetery when the crash occurred, showed flames and heavy smoke rising from a tree line on a hill crest in the distance, with grave markers in the foreground.

The National Transportation Safety Board said there had been 15 Pilatus accidents since 2001, 6 of them involving fatalities. A safety board database indicated that the aircraft that crashed had not been involved in any previous accidents.

Federal officials called it the nation’s third major plane crash this year. In January, all 155 people on board a US Airways jetliner survived a crash landing in the Hudson River after a flock of geese struck both engines. In February, a commuter plane crashed into a house in a Buffalo suburb, killing all 49 on board and a man on the ground.

Manage Your Online Reputation in Real Time

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:46:00 +0000

The web is much more about conversation than it once was. It used to be that most web-based conversation took place mostly in email or on forums. Now the conversation is everywhere. It's on Twitter. It's on Facebook. It's on blogs. It's EVERYWHERE.

While certainly paying attention to your online reputation as a whole is advised (ie. Google searches/alerts, etc.) you'd be wise not to overlook what is being said right now as well.

For one, the quicker you catch negative attention about your business, the quicker you can act upon resolving it. If people are tweeting about you and saying your product is no good, you can jump into the conversation and defend it.

Real-time search has a long way to go before it's perfect. There are plenty of strides to still be made at making this method of search as good as it can be, but the same could be said about search in general.

Use Tools like Twitter Search, Facebook's search feature, MySpace's search feature, WhosTalkin.com, Technorati, Google Blog Search, Google News search, etc. Think beyond simply Googling your business. There is a helpful Firefox add-on that allows you to right-click no any search box on the web and add that search engine to your browser's search box menu. That can be a nice tool to have everything you need in one spot.

Critics blast AIG as flap escalates over bonuses

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:58:00 +0000

President Obama latched on to the latest round of populist anger over corporate greed Monday, ordering his Treasury secretary to "pursue every legal avenue" to stop insurance giant AIG from giving $165 million in bonuses to some of the executives who drove the company into financial ruin before it was rescued by a government bailout.

"How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?" Obama demanded of the company that last month posted the largest corporate quarterly loss in history, $61.7 billion.

WHERE DID THE MONEY GO? Billions of AIG aid went to foreign banks
Obama's scolding of American International Group came after his top economic advisers — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House chief economist Christina Romer and Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council — also blasted AIG over its doling out bonus checks ranging from $1,000 to $6.5 million to executives after accepting up to $180 billion in government bailout money.

The criticism reflected not just the rising anger over the bonuses, but also the question the flap poses for the president and Congress: how to continue with plans to rescue the economy — which could include billions more dollars in taxpayer money to shore up banks and other interests — in the face of growing public disgust with corporate America.

It will be difficult political terrain for a president already confronted with crippling job losses, a credit crunch, a home foreclosure crisis and a shaky stock market whose decline has been an assault on Americans' savings and investments.

On Monday, AIG was threatened with subpoena by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. He demanded details about which executives would get the bonus money as part of an investigation by his office into whether the payments violated state law. Most of the money is going to executives in the unit that sold risky credit default swaps, the contracts that caused huge losses for the insurance company.

AIG CEO Edward Liddy, who had no comment Monday, will be in Washington on Wednesday to appear before a House subcommittee on capital markets in what is likely to be a contentious hearing. In an explanation of the bonus plan delivered to Geithner on Saturday, AIG said the bonus contracts were struck for 400 workers a year ago when the division they worked for was "expected to have a significant, ongoing role at AIG."

In a recent conversation, "I told him his actions were going to threaten the possibility that we could get additional money that is necessary to save the economy," said Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., chairman of the subcommittee. "It's going to be very difficult. …The American people don't know what to believe about all of this, and neither do I."

Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich., introduced legislation to try to stop the payments. He called them "a raid on taxpayer dollars."

David Axelrod, Obama's senior adviser, said the president will "have to move thoughtfully down a couple of tracks" to reassure the public. "The American people need to know why it's important that we maintain a functioning system of credit. But the people in the financial sector need to finally get the message that reckless risk-taking and greed are not values that anyone's going to embrace."

In Washington, New York and beyond Monday, the criticism over the AIG bonuses was swift:

• In New York, where AIG is based, Cuomo sent Liddy a letter threatening to issue subpoenas by 4 p.m. Monday if AIG did not provide the names of the executives getting bonuses under what the company called its "retention plan."

Cuomo demanded each person's job description and performance report, contracts obligating AIG to pay the bonuses, and the names of those who developed the retention plan. The amounts of the bonuses and the number of people getting them have not been made public.

"Covering up the details of these payments breeds further cynicism and distrust in our already shaken financial system," Cuomo said in the letter.

At 5:01 p.m., AIG spokeswoman Christina Pretto released a statement that said, "We are in ongoing contact with the attorney general and will respond appropriately to the subpoena."

• In Congress, leaders from both parties accused AIG of using public money to fatten executives' bank accounts and encouraged the Obama administration to do everything in its power to kill the bonuses.

"It is my hope that the administration gets the message from the taxpayers on this issue," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said. "Going forward, the American people need to have complete certainty that taxpayer money is not wasted in this way again."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, called on Obama to issue an "exit plan" from the government's "sweeping involvement in private business."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said AIG's actions undermine efforts to recover the economy. "Our financial sector will never heal unless the financial companies who helped create this economic crisis begin to regain the public trust," he said.

And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said AIG executives "whose irresponsible risk-taking brought our financial system to the brink of collapse" should voluntarily forgo their "excessive retention payments."

• Outrage dominated the day on blogs, cable news and radio talk shows.

"AIG Hits The Tipping Point," read a huge headline on the left-leaning The Huffington Post.

"Rewarding Failure," the right-leaning Drudge Report said.

"Can capitalism survive the behavior of some capitalists?" conservative strategist Bill Kristol asked in a Washington Post blog.

AIG cites contract for bonuses

In a letter to Geithner sent with the explanation of the bonuses, AIG's Liddy said that he, too, had found the bonuses "distasteful." But he said contracts for them were negotiated long before he was asked by the government to take over the troubled insurer in September.

Since that time, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve have pledged up to $180 billion in aid to AIG, giving the government a nearly 80% stake in the company. That aid includes loans from the Fed and $40 billion in purchases of the company's stock out of the $700 billion financial rescue plan passed by Congress last year.

Company executives who receive money from the financial rescue plan are subject to compensation limits after legislation was signed into law in February.

Liddy told Geithner the bonuses were negotiated in early 2008 and "outside counsel has advised that these are legal, binding obligations of AIG, and there are serious legal, as well as business, consequences for not paying."

He said he is not taking a bonus for his work and the company is "committed to seeking other ways to repay the American taxpayers" for the bonus payments.

He added that there's more at stake than the prospect of having to spend more money to settle potential lawsuits by executives seeking unpaid bonuses. Liddy said that although he said he found it "difficult," AIG had to keep its contract to pay the bonuses because "honoring contractual commitments is at the heart of what we do in the insurance business."

AIG is scheduled to pay another $230 million in bonuses to employees in March 2010, according to a letter from Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley to Liddy on Friday.

AIG expects the amount to be smaller because of employee departures and the reduction of the financial products unit, Dudley said. "You have committed to aggressively pursue alternatives for reducing and restructuring" the 2010 bonus program, Dudley wrote to the company.

'I'm losing patience'

It was unclear Monday whether the White House would have any immediate recourse.

Bruce Ellig, author of The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation, said AIG probably is contractually obligated to pay the bonuses. "This is a very good reason why companies should be very careful in such contracts," he said. "They should include an escape clause for bona fide reasons, such as when the company loses money."

Tim Haidinger, president of the website WhatAreTheyPaid.com, said companies must have compensation packages that include bonuses, stock options, and retirement benefits to be competitive. "Sadly these packages often seem completely detached from company performance," he said.

Other companies, including Citibank, also have been taken to task for doling out executive bonuses after receiving federal bailout money.

AIG has faced criticism on other counts as well, including for having a sales meeting at a luxury resort in Phoenix after taking public funds. And lawmakers have argued for months that the company should be more open about what it was doing with the government money.

On Sunday, the insurance firm for the first time announced who it was paying to settle its debts with the funds, an array of major firms that include Merrill Lynch and Bank of America.

"I'm losing patience with the whole operation," said Kanjorski, the subcommittee chairman who will grill Liddy this week.

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., the senior Republican on the panel, said the bonuses raise questions about what the Fed knew when it decided to prop up AIG. He said lawmakers will have to raise those same questions when they are presented with future proposed bailouts.

That skepticism could spill over onto Obama's agenda. Next month, he is expected to propose a detailed budget that will propose spending that will lead to a $1.75 trillion deficit in the name of ending the recession. He also wants to overhaul the nation's health care system.

Those ambitious goals could be threatened if Congress rejects more heavy spending.

William Black, a senior bank regulator during the 1980s savings and loan crisis, said Obama needs to be honest about the depth of the financial crisis to restore trust in government. "The way you build public confidence is to find the truth, tell people about the truth," he said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said that's already Obama's strong suit. "He's not going to sugarcoat it," he said.

Tracking and Testing - the Solution to Attracting More Visitors

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:42:00 +0000

Every serious online business owner eats, sleeps and breaths targeted traffic to their website. They spend the most money and time trying to attract first-time visitors to their sites in hopes of generating new sales and subscribers. But, believe it or not, it’s easier to increase your income by simply selling more of the visitors you already get than trying to chase down more traffic.

The solution? Tracking & testing! Probably the most overlooked and underutilized, but certainly the most powerful strategy for increasing sales and opt-in subscriptions. If you spend any time or money on advertising, you must start testing and tracking. Simply put, “tracking” means you measure the effectiveness of each individual advertising source you use to promote your business.

For example, if you advertise in email newsletters, you should know how effective each newsletter ad rates compared to all the others in terms of sales and subscribers generated. This enables you to know whether an ad makes or loses money. Testing means you constantly look for ways to improve your ads in small, incremental amounts that add up over time.

The most common (and effective) tests you can run are A-B split tests, which pit two variables against each other to determine which converts more lookers into buyers. Split testing headlines, price points, and guarantee periods make, from my experience, the best places to start testing.

The reason testing and tracking can double your profits (or more) lies in the power of small, incremental improvements. Lets say, for example, you decide to do a series of split tests on a website that currently converts 1 in every 100 visitors (1% conversion). You test, headline, price, guarantee and a payment plan. If each of the 4 tests yields a .25% increase in conversion, you would not see an increase in sales to 2% (4x.25%), but actually an increase to almost 2.5% since each improvement builds on the last!

The most basic tool in testing and tracking revolves around the use of advertising link tracker software. These tools measure the number of clicks on individual advertisements (text links, banners, pay-per-click ads, etc) and then measure sales or subscriptions generated as a result.

You get two choices with link trackers: a hosted service or software you install on your own server. A hosted service offers the advantage of easy setup and use. Most of the time you just sign up for the service, enter the link you want to track, get your tracking code, and you’re off to the races.

The disadvantage of a hosted service is that, if it gets abused, using the URL of the service in your links can get your emails blocked or your pages banned by search engines. The advantage of hosting the software on your own server is that you maintain a higher degree of technical control and can avoid the banning issues. The main disadvantage of hosting it yourself involves the fact that you really don’t have anyone to call for help if something goes wrong.

One of the most popular hosted link trackers online is HyperTracker.com, though I’ve not used the service. My favorite link tracker is actually part of an integrated e-commerce system at http://www.MysiteSales.com. This service enables you to track your sales and subscriptions made through the shopping cart.

Two options for software you install on your own server are Dynatracker.com and ProAnalyzer.com. Both provide decent link tracking, though no system I’ve tested provides 100% accurate results. But, with that said, failure to test means you’re leaving money on the table by wasting visitors you could otherwise convert to buyers with basic effort at improving your sales messages.

Check out this One-Stop Ads, Visitors, Clicks, Actions & Sales Conversion Tracking / Split Testing Solution at:
http://GoTo-Pro.com/silver/7568

US protests 'harassment' by Chinese vessels

noreply@blogger.com (kvamc2rel) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Chinese ships surrounded and harassed a Navy mapping ship in international waters off China, at one point coming within 25 feet of the American boat and strewing debris in its path, the Defense Department said Monday. The Obama administration said it would continue naval operations in the South China Sea, most of which China considers its territory, and protested to China about what it called reckless behavior that endangered lives.

At one point during the incident Sunday the unarmed USNS Impeccable turned fire hoses on an approaching Chinese ship in self defense, the Pentagon said. At another point a Chinese ship played chicken with the Americans, stopping dead in front of the Impeccable as it tried to sail away, forcing the civilian mariners to slam on the brakes.

"We view these as unprofessional maneuvers" and a violation of international law, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The incident had overtones of spycraft, but the U.S. ship is not, strictly speaking, a spy ship. It maps the ocean floor with sonar, compiling information the Navy can use to steer its own submarines or track those of other nations.

The Impeccable was specifically designed to augment the Navy's anti-submarine capability, although military spokesmen would not be specific about the ship's duties when it was surrounded.

A Pentagon accounting of the confrontation documents the actions of the startled and cornered American crew as a Chinese vessel closed to within 25 feet. Pictures released by the Navy give a sense of the surreal scene: The Chinese mariners had stripped to their underwear following the blast by the Impeccable's fire hoses.

Whitman called that "immature," and said the confrontation was the most aggressive of a series of incidents recently in the same area.

Impeccable's crew radioed to tell the Chinese ships that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate, the Pentagon said.

But two of the Chinese ships stopped directly ahead of the Impeccable, forcing it to an emergency stop, the U.S. account said. The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood in the water in Impeccable's path.

The incident came just a week after China and the U.S. resumed military-to-military consultations following a five-month suspension over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. And it came as Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was due in Washington to meet with U.S. officials.

"We're going to continue to operate in those international waters, and we expect the Chinese to observe international law around that," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

A protest was lodged with the Chinese government by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing over the weekend and was repeated to a Chinese defense attache at a Pentagon meeting Monday.

In Beijing, Chinese officials did not immediately respond to voicemail messages and e-mail regarding the U.S. allegations.

Pentagon officials said the incident followed "increasingly aggressive" acts by Chinese ships against the Impeccable on Wednesday and Saturday and against the USNS Victorious surveillance ship on Thursday while it operated in the Yellow Sea.

The Chinese ships included a Chinese Navy intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries Patrol Vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, officials said.

China views almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory. China's claims to small islets in the region have put it at odds with five governments — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Pentagon officials said the close encounter followed these other incidents last week:

_On Wednesday, a Chinese Bureau of Fisheries Patrol vessel used a high-intensity spotlight to illuminate the Victorious, an ocean surveillance ship, as it operated in the Yellow Sea, about 125 nautical miles from China's coast, the Pentagon said. The next day, a Chinese Y-12 maritime surveillance aircraft conducted 12 fly-bys of Victorious at an altitude of about 400 feet and a range of 500 yards.

_On Thursday, a Chinese frigate approached USNS Impeccable without warning and crossed its bow at a range of approximately 100 yards, the Pentagon said. This was followed less than two hours later by a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducting 11 fly-bys of Impeccable at an altitude of 600 feet and a range from 100-300 feet.

_On Saturday, a Chinese intelligence collection ship challenged Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or "suffer the consequences."

Sunday's incident near Hainan Island is reminiscent of a much more dramatic foreign policy crisis with China that played out in the same area. The forced landing of a U.S. spy plane and China's seizure of the crew in April 2001 came just four months into President George W. Bush's tenure.