Google vs. Microsoft: Santa-trackers out of sync

13 hrs.

Alan Boyle , NBC News

Not even Santa Claus can avoid getting drawn into the tech clash between Google and Microsoft: The two companies have set up separate online systems to track where the Jolly Old Elf has been on Christmas Eve?? but they show him simultaneously at widely separated locations, delivering presents at a dramatically different rate.

On the official "NORAD Tracks Santa" website, powered this year by Microsoft, Santa Claus was in Rome, well past the 3-billion-present mark in his holiday rounds. At the same time, Google's Santa Tracker showed him buzzing through Agadez in the African country of Niger, not quite up to the 1-billion-present mark.

They can't both be right. Can they? Here's the word from Search?Engine?Land's Danny Sullivan, who has been tracking the discrepancy in this year's?Santa-tracking software:

"NORAD explains that it uses everything from radar to jets to track Santa. Google doesn?t explain its technology, but I suspect it tries to triangulate Santa using his cell phone signal or use of wifi hotspots.

"As for why NORAD shows Father Christmas delivering three?times the number of gifts that Google is listing, perhaps NORAD?s radars can better pinpoint presents while Google might be doing estimating.?Meanwhile? both services sometimes show presents being delivered over oceans! And why is NORAD showing Santa arriving in some places at 9pm rather than midnight, as has been the case in the past?"

Maybe this is just the sort of thing that happens when you switch software: NORAD (also known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command) has been monitoring Santa's flight as a public service since 1955, and five years ago, it teamed up with Google to keep up with the crush of Web traffic. This year, however, the NORAD Santa operation parted ways with Google and partnered with Microsoft instead.

Google stayed in the Santa game by setting up its own tracking system for "Santa's Dashboard" and Google Maps?? a system that doesn't make use of NORAD's tracking data.

Today, Canadian Maj. Gen. Andre Viens, a spokesman for NORAD, declined to intervene in the Santa-tracking war.

"It's not affecting our tracking," Viens told MSNBC. "We're not in competition with anyone. Our role, and we've been doing that for more than?50 years, is to track Santa and make sure that he has a safe and secure journey throughout the world, and throughout North America in particular."

TODAY:?Follow Santa's Christmas Eve flight

PhotoBlog: Inside NORAD's command center

Maybe it shouldn't be surprising to find?that it's so difficult to get a firm fix on Santa's position, considering how many presents he has to deliver in so little time. Some experts have speculated that the only way Santa could ?deliver gifts (or lumps of coal) to billions of homes in the course of just a few hours would be if he somehow harnessed quantum teleportation. And once you accept that, it's not that big of a leap to detect Santa in two places at once.

Alan Boyle is the science editor for NBC News Digital, and has been tracking NORAD's Santa tracker since 1998.?Boyle's usual online?hangout is over at Cosmic Log.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/google-vs-microsoft-santa-tracking-systems-go-out-sync-1C7657754

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Take an IRA Distribution Before Fiscal Cliff ? Wise Money Israel

Many Americans, and investors around the world, are watching anxiously this week to see what the U.S. Congress will do (or not do) to save the U.S. economy and taxpayers from the ?fiscal cliff?. If new legislation is not enacted by December 31, 2012, taxes for all Americans will automatically increase. The Congressional Budget Office has already estimated that this will lead to another recession in 2013.

That would mean a 20 percent capital gains rate, and a dividend rate at income tax levels, which could revert to the Clinton-era 39.6 percent for the highest earners. The Affordable Care Act in 2013 adds 3.8 percent to those rates for the wealthiest Americans.

As you may know, your U.S. retirement account (IRA, 401k, etc.) can fund an Israeli investment account and keep the funds tax-deferred. But sometimes, it is wiser to take out your funds and pay the taxes now, while the tax rates are relatively low, instead of waiting until next year when the tax rates may be higher. Read PR Newswire?s short article on the surprise that awaits many IRA owners in 2013.

If you?ve considered opening an Israeli investment account in the past, you may be able to save tens of thousands of shekels by taking a lump distribution from your IRA in 2012 before tax rates go up. For example, if your IRA had $100,000 of dividends and $100,000 of capital gains, the tax you could pay in 2013 would be up to $33,400 more than if you paid the tax in 2012. That is 125,000 more shekels with which to invest in Israel if you act quickly. The Israeli investment account itself can be funded in 2013.

What can be done to prevent automatic tax increases on your retirement account (IRA, 401k, etc.) from going into effect for you? Consider calling your retirement fund administrator or downloading their simple form for withdrawing your funds in 2012 before the Bush tax cuts expire on December 31, 2012.

You may also like these articles:

Source: http://www.wisemoneyisrael.com/2012/12/25/take-an-ira-distribution-before-fiscal-cliff/

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Anyone can celebrate Christmas.

Great discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!

Discussion of the Day

Great Discussions Any Time

To join or start great discussions on any topic, be sure to visit the Openthread forum.

If you've got a cool project, inspiration, or just something fun to share, be sure to let us know in our Tips forum. And today being Friday, don't forget to check out this week's Open Thread.

Happy Lifehacking, everybody!

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/1qxVICz5JMw/anyone-can-celebrate-christmas

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Social Media for the Local Business Owner - Social ... - WriterAccess

You may have noticed the World Wide Web over the last few years has caused a shift in the way business is conducted today.

The Web?s Effect on Business

The Web has redefined the boundaries for traditional brick and mortar businesses and their online counterparts, and that hasn?t gone unnoticed by many of today?s best online web content providers.

And while we?ve stayed on top of these changes that have happened over the last few years, many traditional businesses were left by the wayside because they continued to do business with blinders on.

They didn?t realize that what worked in the traditional business world would not carry over as well to the Web, because the rules of real world commerce don?t apply to their web based counterparts.

Adjusting to a New Life on the Web

With their pockets overflowing with more than enough cash to spare, many larger retailers hired companies that specialized in internet marketing, while all the small business owner could do was compete with them on a lesser scale.

But local small business owners aren?t conducting business in the same waters alongside their larger counterparts. They?re swimming in smaller ponds, but they still have limitations?and their biggest limitations are their advertising budgets.

Many small local business owners tend to shy away from anything other than traditional advertising because they?re already familiar with it, even though they realize that it?s also very expensive.

But for a fraction of the cost of a traditional advertising campaign, a savvy small business owner can work with a local online content provider and use social media?s power to build their brand effectively.

The Power of Social Media Branding

A small local business can gain more exposure from a marketing campaign, specifically targeted to their local market, instead of through a single traditional advertising method.

Most small business owners have the wrong idea about Facebook and Twitter. Their first impression of both of these social media platforms is that they?re both a waste of time, a viewpoint reinforced by their kids? fixation with them.

Frankly, they don?t understand the powerful effect Facebook and Twitter can have combined as part of an online marketing campaign.

A small business owner can take advantage of Facebook by creating a fan page for their business. A Facebook fan page can be used to announce special events, sales promotions, and offer coupons.

Twitter can be used in tandem with a Facebook fan page, tweeting anything that?s been announced on the fan page. Twitter can also be used during a live event, tweeting things that your followers would be interested in, all in real time as they?re happening.

Other Social Media Channels to Consider

Other social media channels that drive targeted traffic to small business sites are:

• StumbleUpon
• Reddit
• Pinterest
• Tumblr

These sites are tools that should be used to drive traffic ideally to a landing page on a small business website, one that?s been optimized for specific keywords relevant to a related product, service or sales event.

The YouTube Age of Video

And then there is video. YouTube is a viable social media channel that lends credibility and strengthens your brand and your message.

Video may not be the first thing a small business owner would immediately turn to, but its power to connect globally is undeniable. One YouTube video has the potential to be viewed by thousands of local customers.

But a YouTube video isn?t limited to just a single geographic location, instead it is broadcasted for all eyes to see.

Place that video on the business owner?s site and you?ve created a marketing juggernaut, and again the out of pocket cost to the small business owner?s marketing budget is zero.

The Great Equalizer

Social Media automatically levels the playing field for the small business owner, giving them the power to not only brand their business on both a local and national level, but without breaking their bank.

Lew N is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.

Source: http://www.writeraccess.com/blog/social-media-for-the-local-business-owner/

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Official: Navy SEAL died of apparent suicide

WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. military officials are investigating the apparent suicide of a Navy SEAL commander in Afghanistan.

Navy SEAL Cdr. Job W. Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pa., died Saturday of a non-combat-related injury while supporting stability operations in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

A U.S. military official said the death "appears to be the result of suicide." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the death is still being investigated.

"The Naval Special Warfare family is deeply saddened by the loss of our teammate," said Capt. Robert Smith, Commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Two, which manages all Virginia-based Navy SEAL teams. "We extend our condolences, thoughts and prayers to the family, friends, and NSW community during this time of grieving."

"As we mourn the loss and honor the memory of our fallen teammate, those he served with will continue to carry out the mission," Smith added Sunday.

A U.S. military official confirmed Price was from Virginia Beach, Va.-based SEAL Team 4, which is part of the mission to train Afghan local police to stave off the Taliban in remote parts of Afghanistan. Price is survived by a wife and a daughter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-23-US-Afghanistan-SEAL%20Death/id-fcded1557817428db47427df1a236071

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bethpontiff - Product Launch Assassin :: Catapult Your Online Profits ...

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Click Image To Visit Siteow many times have you seen a HUGE product launch, heard how much money the marketer has made and wished that was you?

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Source: http://bethpontiff.livejournal.com/203567.html

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Do You Hate-Follow People on Social Media?

Social media is ostensibly all rainbows and butterflies. It's for "making connections" and "friending" people, blah blah blah. But do you ever follow people you really don't like? Do you ever follow people because you don't like them, and instead you like reading their updates while sighing loudly to yourself and those around you asking how anyone could really be that stupid? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8R5-2-yFS74/do-you-hate+follow-people-on-social-media

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