Internet Explorer 8: What is new and improved with Microsoft's browser

Can it ward off its increasing competition?

This is Microsoft’s first update to their infamous browser since August 2006. Back then, Internet Explorer was the king of the web browsers. But with Mozilla Firefox nipping at its heels, not to mention Google’s introduction of its own browser, Chrome, and IE 8 has a lot more competition to ward off. Microsoft needed to make IE 8 faster, safer and easier to use than ever.

IE 8 aims to reduce the need to copy something from one web page and paste it onto another. Called Accelerators, these little actions can be called up by highlighting the text on a page and clicking on a small blue icon that appears. Users can add Accelerators to reflect their own search, email and other habits. IE 8 also adds much needed functionality to the built-in toolbar search box. Users can type a word into the box and a preview of suggested searches or results appears in a drop-down list, and they can easily switch between different search providers by clicking small icons in that window. By clicking on the icons, the list refreshes. Microsoft has also added a toolbar button that opens a menu of the most recent news headlines. Users can add several “Web slices” to keep track of information that is frequently updated. Microsoft is also adding a tab function, whereby each web page has its own tab, and if one web site crashes, only that tab will be affected, not the entire browser.

IE 8 also has some new privacy features. One is a mode for web browsing that does not remember what sites were visited and does not store cookies. IE 8 also lets users block ads from companies that track their web surfing habits across a number of sites. It has improved protection against malware and known phishing scam sites. It also has built-in technology to protect against “cross-site scripting,” a scheme where hackers insert code into legitimate web pages that compromise a person’s computer without their knowing it. IE 8 disables the bad scripts but in most cases allows others needed for a web page to run as usual.

IE 8 also helps people who create web sites prevent an attack called “click-jacking,” where someone thinks that they are clicking on a legitimate button when they are really activating an invisible, malicious action. Microsoft has promised to adhere to web standards or agreed-upon ways of reading web designers’ code and displaying the page as described with IE 8. For any sites that don’t display properly with IE 8, Microsoft has added a button that reverts to the old, nonstandard way of operating.

With so many new features added to IE 8, Microsoft hopes to remain the number one web browser. If you want to download Internet Explorer 8 and try out these new features for yourself, go here.

What the f**k news update

The Iraqi who threw his shoe at former President George Bush in December of 2008 was sentenced to 3 years in prison today. Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, was a correspondent for a small Iraqi-owned television station based in Cairo, Egypt. It was the minimum sentence he could receive. He could have gotten up to 15 years. There has been mild protest in Iraq over his sentencing. I think what he did was hilarious. Bush deserved it. There are many, many worse things that could have and probably should have been thrown at Bush.

This financial crisis continues to bring out the best in people. Three executives from a car dealership in Nebraska were arrested. Recently, 81 cars worth $2.5 million and the 3 executives had gone missing. Legacy Auto Sales owner Allen Patch, controller Rachel Fait and general manager Rick Covello were all arrested separately on Thursday.

Alabama man who committed the worst massacre in state history owned DVDs on how to commit acts of violence. Michael McLendon, 28, killed five family members and five other people before fatally shotting himself Tuesday. He started at his house by setting his mom on fire and then proceeded to reign bullets over the town of Samson until he took his own life after a shootout with police in nearby Geneva at Reliable Products, the metals plant where he worked until 2003.

As if I needed more reasons to loathe the Republican party. They are getting their undies in a twist over the Chairman of the GOP, Michael Steele, telling GQ in a Feb. 24 interview that abortion was an "individual choice" and opposed a constitutional ban on abortion. All of the GOP "pillars" are lining up to say that abortion is not a choice (for women at least). They are also upset that in the same interview he said that homosexuals can't just stop being gay. That it is genetic. This kind of crap gets my undies in a bunch. How dare these people have the audacity to think that they can mandate what is right for everyone. A minority of people get to choose what is right for the majority. And don't even get me started on their push for a Constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage. Once again, a minority of people think that they can choose what is right for everyone. Homosexuals pay taxes, abide by the law, and live and breathe just like everyone else, yet they are constantly derided, bullied, discriminated against, and they can't get married, adopt children or have any of the benefits those things entitle them to. The Republican party is the party of hypocrites and traitors to the ideals of the US where everyone is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Five things every college student should do while in school

I wrote this for a web site called College News, but I did not like the edits, so I am just going to post it here with all of its integrity intact.

1)Major with your heart, but minor with your head

Major in something you love, say 18th Century English Literature, but minor in something practical like Web Design or International Business. If you decide after you graduate that you don’t want to be a teacher or poet, you can always fall back on your Accounting major to pay your bills. Employers will appreciate your grammar skills but will appreciate them even more when combined with you’re A/P and A/R skills.

2)Learn how to manage your money

Learn how to manage your money. You do not want to graduate from school with $10,000 in credit card debt and $20,000 in student loans. You can always get the loans deferred until you get a job, but the credit card debt will be a burden. Credit cards should only be used if absolutely necessary. You do not need 1,000 songs from iTunes or to buy two rounds of drinks for the entire bar every time you go out. Haven’t you learned by now that people should like you for who you are not what you have?

3)Study abroad

You must study abroad. It is the perfect time of life for seeing the world. You are young and free and curious. It is a time to take Art History in Rome, to take Literature in London, to be able to experience your classes. It is also a great time to learn about you. You may find out that you love photography or cooking or have a knack for languages. And you will make wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

4)Get an internship/job/volunteer or any combination of the three

Get an internship/job/volunteer or any combination of the three. It is not enough to do well in classes. Sure, grades are important when you first graduate. However, think how much more impressive your resume will be if you are a Journalism major with good grades, you wrote for the school newspaper and you had an internship with a Advertising Agency, writing press releases and copy. Or you volunteered at the local animal shelter, and you helped them put out their monthly newsletter. It shows you have time management skills, motivation, initiative and a desire to apply the skills you are learning in school.

5)Eat better and exercise more

Put that pizza down and go get a salad. It is not okay to abuse your body just because you are young. You need to be able to get the most out of your very expensive education, and the only way to do that is to be healthy. Your brain needs nutrition and sleep because it cannot function properly on beer and caffeine pills. Also, at what other time in your life are you going to have free access to exercise rooms, basketball courts and indoor swimming pools? There is never more time and opportunity to exercise than when you have hours of free time between classes. You will run circles around your peers, and as an added bonus, you will not have to buy new clothes with your credit card after you gain 20 pounds.

More writing

Here are some more of my articles from www.emqus.com.

Google Latitude: Tracking your whereabouts with your mobile device

Joost: Get your entertainment on the go

New report shows that organizations want to green their data centers

Redemtech has a zero tolerance policy for e-waste

The past month has been an exciting one for Amazon's Kindle

Internet Explorer 8: What is new and improved with Microsoft's browser

Joost: Get your entertainment on the go

Why wait to get home before you watch your favorite TV show?

As more and more people invest in smart phones, Mp3 players, laptops and netbooks, mobile electronic devices that provide viewing capabilities with a Wi-Fi connection, companies are finding ways to entertain people on the go. Web sites like You Tube, Hulu and Joost are providing a platform for that entertainment. Internet users in the US viewed a record 14.3 billion videos in December. A recent survey by Integrated Media Measurements Inc. found that of the 3,000 prime-time TV watchers they tracked, they found 20 percent had watched some TV online. People watched over 24 million videos on Hulu in December, a record for the company. And Joost users viewed 818,000 hours of video in January, up 25 percent from the previous month.

In late January, Joost announced that more than one million iPhone and iPod Touch users had downloaded their free application from Apple’s App Store. It enables users to enjoy thousands of hours of anime, comedy, drama, movies, music, documentaries, sci-fi and sports over their Wi-Fi connections. Joost has more than 400 television series, 1,200 movie and short film titles and 18,000 music videos. Mike Volpi, CEO of Joost, explained why he thinks their app has become so popular. “The Joost iPhone app has taken off because people want to be entertained, and there are many situations – like standing in line, waiting at the airport or doctor’s office or commuting on a train – when TVs and computers can’t be found.”

People will be able to take their entertainment with them everywhere. There will be no cables tying you down to your favorite television shows, movies or music videos. Though the industry is still in the early stages, people are confident that this technology will be embraced. “The Internet as a TV provider is in its infancy. We believe that [in the future] the majority of TV will be viewed over the Internet. It’s mostly cost, but it’s also convenience. People want to be able to travel and move about while watching TV,” said CEO of Joost, Mike Volpi.

Even as TVs are getting bigger and bigger, people are finding that mobility and convenience are as important to their entertainment experience. Why wait to watch your favorite show at home, when you can watch it on your commute home from work? Why pay for cable and a DVR, when you can watch online content for free? These and other questions will be answered in the next few years as Internet Protocol Television players continue to fight for the eyeballs of an increasingly tech savvy and mobile audience.

These companies have never laid off an employee

This story really gave me some hope for corporate America. I have been wondering if any corporations cared about their employees anymore. All I hear about these days is about corporations laying people off -- good people, loyal people, people who have given these organizations their time and expertise. Well, some companies put people over profit, but ironically, these companies seem better able to weather economic downturns. It seems that being loyal to your employees gives your organization good business karma.

No Layoffs -- Ever!
by Christopher Tkaczyk
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
provided by CNN Money.com

The global financial crisis has led many companies to slice payrolls, but these employers are staying loyal. Meet 9 of this year's Best Companies that, as of mid-January, have never had a layoff.

Nugget Markets
Best Companies rank: 10

81-year old grocery chain has been able to avoid layoffs through careful job placement and shrewd labor management.

For example, in troubled times when the company anticipates it will need fewer workers, it stops replacing employees who leave voluntarily.

To make it easier to fill gaps, store locations within 15 miles of each other share staff.

Also, employees are cross-trained: A deli clerk may also work as a bagger, allowing for more work hours, and still get the (higher) deli pay rate.

Meanwhile, the company relies on past employees (such as college students home on break) for temporary work, rather than staff up during busy times like the holidays.

Devon Energy
Best Companies rank: 13

This fiscally conservative energy company has a strong portfolio of oil and natural gas deposits that bring in $11.3 billion annually. Still, Devon adheres to the philosophy that its holdings would be worthless without a talented workforce.

The company has been able to avoid layoffs by making sure it keeps costs low during economic downturns and booms alike. Before the current crisis, Devon chopped its operating budget to match its cash flow from oil and gas production.

Devon also takes a prudent approach to hiring, maintaining an efficient workforce of highly trained employees. Voluntary turnover is a steady 4% a year. And instead of the traditional annual salary review, the company's compensation process is flexible: In slow years, employees sometimes forego raises, and in good times, they may be rewarded with midyear pay increases.

Aflac
Best Companies rank: 26

Aflac, which sells supplemental insurance, has never had a layoff, living up to the mandate of founders John, Paul, and Bill Amos: "If we take care of our employees, the employees take care of the business."

Well-known for its quacking-duck ads, the company says remaining fiscally responsible, keeping a watchful eye on its budget, and listening to employee suggestions -- called "Bright Ideas" -- have helped keep it in good financial shape.

Indeed, the company has experienced double-digit sales growth each year since Dan Amos became CEO in 1990.

Options like telecommuting and flex schedules -- programs which resulted from employee suggestions -- have helped streamline the organization and save millions of dollars. Four recently approved "Bright Ideas" projects are expected to save $3 million annually.

QuikTrip
Best Companies rank: 27

This 24-hour convenience store chain is privately held, allowing it to pour profits back into stores instead of divvying them up among shareholders. Meanwhile, its strong balance sheet has helped it to weather economic downturns without having to cut staff.

Before he retired in 2002, former CEO Chester Cadieux expanded the empire by opening new stores and remodeling older locations, creating new jobs and providing promotion opportunities for existing employees. (Son Chester "Chet" Cadieux III is CEO now.) To keep costs low, the company rejects proposed expenditures that don't benefit customers or employee growth.

The Container Store
Best Companies rank: 32

While most of the retail sector was hit hard during last year's fourth quarter, Container Store actually saw its November and December earnings increase over 2007 -- although that was the company's hardest in its 30 years.

It stuck to expansion plans despite the downturn -- opening four new stores last year, and adding 70 employees to its 4,000-strong workforce.

Those staffers get lots of training, too (average is 241 hours per employee per year).

The retailer has avoided layoffs in this economy by freezing salaries and keeping a watchful eye on the balance sheet. Famous for its "open door" communication-driven culture, Container Store asked employees to do all they could to ensure the company's strength during a tough retail climate.

A memo to staff from president Melissa Reiff read: "We have to be more responsive, more adaptable and much more efficient with our resources." A contest with cash incentives was held to boost sales.

NuStar Energy
Best Companies rank: 44

The philosophy at this pipeline operator (a spinoff of Valero): If you do a good job, you'll always have a job. Chairman Bill Greehey and CEO Curt Anastasio have maintained a no-layoff policy and consider employees their most valuable asset. They cite layoffs as "counterproductive," since they "erode morale, create fear and reduce productivity."

NuStar has avoided cuts even as other oil and gas companies are experiencing layoffs, by managing costs and constantly looking for ways to improve profits.

The dedication to keeping staff has paid off in a loyal workforce. After Hurricane Ike hit in September, the company's Texas City terminal sustained major damage. Many workers lost their homes in the storm but still reported to work the following day to help get the facility back up and running.

Says one employee: "It's an honor and pleasure to work for a company that considers you a valuable individual."

Stew Leonard's
Best Companies rank: 53

The privately held grocery chain doesn't have to focus on quarterly earnings, allowing it to weather economic downturns and rising food prices without resorting to layoffs.

The company intends to maintain sales growth without raising prices, even in the current economy, by focusing on customer service and pushing top-selling items with lively store displays.

"We'd rather grow and develop our people and not lay them off just to increase short-term earnings," says CEO Stew Leonard, Jr., adding: "We are fortunate that we are in a business that does not have dramatic swings in sales due to the economy.

When the economy is great we don't see a big increase in sales and conversely, when the economy is bad, we don't see a big drop. One of the benefits of being in the food business is that people have to eat."

Scottrade
Best Companies rank: 60

No surprise that the online discount stock brokerage has faced challenges during the economic downturn. And while CEO Rodger Riney acknowledges that layoffs might be a conventional step to take, he was committed to retaining a talented workforce.

Because Scottrade is a privately held company with a conservative growth strategy, there's room for flexibility and a strong focus on the happiness -- and longevity -- of employees, he says. Lower profits have sometimes meant smaller bonuses some years, but associates have always received them despite the tough economy. According to one thankful employee: "Job security is priceless, not just for your pocketbook, but for your peace of mind."

Publix Super Markets
Best Companies rank: 88

The company has seen sales increase during the downturn while competitors have endured layoffs and store closures.
Publix, which enjoys a strong balance sheet with no long-term debt, has focused on operational efficiency, managing costs, employee development, and store growth and expansion.

Last year, Publix acquired 49 stores closed by Albertson's and hired more than 1,250 people in those locations.

This grocery chain has never had a layoff in its 79 years in business. Since Publix is 100% employee-owned, it prides itself that "owners never want to lay off other owners."

Nearly 6,000 of the company's "associates" have made a career at Publix, having served 20 years or more.

Fired executive says that Starbucks "saved his life"

This is a great story about overcoming obstacles and making the most out of what life throws at you.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Michael Gates Gill was a high-flying, six-figure-earning advertising executive years ago before he was abruptly fired. He had created huge campaigns for companies like Christian Dior and Ford and lived an even bigger life, with luxury automobiles, lavish vacations and fabulous clothes.

Michael Gates Gill's book about how working at Starbucks changed his life became a bestseller.

These days, however, he's traded his $3,000 Brooks Brothers suits for khakis and a green apron; the big bucks for a $10 an hour job as a barista at Starbucks. But Gill says he couldn't be happier.

"Losing my job turned out to be a gift in disguise."

After 26 years at J. Walter Thompson, a leading advertising agency, the then 63-year-old Gill was invited to an early breakfast and was told that he was getting the boot. He made too much money. Someone younger would work for less, he was told.

"Never go out to breakfast," he warns before bursting into laughter. "It's like the Mafia. You will never return." Watch the happy barista »

He can joke about it now, but Gill says he was devastated by his firing.

"I remember walking outside and bursting into tears," he says over a steaming cup of coffee at his current place of employment, a Starbucks in Bronxville, New York. "I was stunned. I knew that that part of my life was over."

That was just the start of a terrible reversal of fortune. In a few short years, Gill, the Yale-educated son of the famed New Yorker writer Brendan Gill, closed the consulting business he started after he was laid off, got divorced and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had hit both the rock and the bottom and was continuing to fall.

A trip to Starbucks would irrevocably change his life, he says. Unbeknownst to him, the coffee shop was holding a hiring fair the morning he walked in for his daily dose of caffeine. A manager approached him and asked if he would like to apply for a job. Without thinking, he said yes.

That was five years ago. These days, when the divorced father of five is not whipping up a caramel macchiato or perfecting his latte foam, he's sweeping floors and scrubbing toilets.

"I still have trouble with some of the drinks," he admits, "but I'm a good cleaner.... I can make a toilet shine like a Ferrari."

If life continues on an upswing for Gill, he may one day be able to purchase a Ferrari. His memoir, "How Starbucks Saved My Life," became a New York Times bestseller. The actor Tom Hanks has plans to produce and star in the film version. Gus Van Sant has agreed to direct.

"When I lost my job I thought my life was over," he says. "I didn't realize it was just the beginning." He smiles contentedly and declares, "I may have a part-time job, but I have a full-time life."

He is also sharing everything he has learned, hitting the lecture tour with his "uplifting tale of personal transformation."

Home for Gill is now a modest apartment in the attic of an old house about five minutes away from the 25-room mansion where he was raised.