Blog – Page 1079 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

USDA Moves 120,000 Users to Microsoft’s Cloud

*The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is moving its e-mail, document sharing, and other collaboration tools to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure to save money and improve efficiency.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 8, 2010 — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it is moving its on-premises e-mail and productivity applications to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, becoming the first cabinet-level federal agency to embrace the cloud.

In one of the largest cloud federal government deployments ever, the USDA is moving its 120,000 users to Microsoft Online Services, consolidating 21 different messaging and collaboration systems into one, said Chris Smith, the USDA’s chief information officer. The USDA plans to start the shift within the next four weeks. (more…)

U.S. Online Holiday Spending Surpasses $17.5 Billion for First 35 Days of the November-December Shopping Season, up 12 Percent vs. Last Year

Technology

*More than 50 Percent of All E-Commerce Transactions for the First Five Weeks of the Holiday Season Have Included Free Shipping*

RESTON, VA, December 8, 2010 – comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 35 days of the November – December 2010 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, more than $17.5 billion has been spent online, marking a 12-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week saw four individual days eclipse $800 million in spending, led by Cyber Monday, which became the heaviest online spending day on record at $1.028 billion. Tuesday, November 30 reached $911 million, making it the third heaviest online spending day on record, with Wednesday ($868 million) and Thursday ($850 million) also reaching high levels, although growth rates for the season subsided in the latter half of the week and through the weekend. (more…)

‘Social Relationships in Animals Have a Genetic Basis’

Science

The ability to tolerate aggression is partly genetic, UCLA life scientists report in the first study to demonstrate a genetic component to a social network trait in a non-human population.

“The ability to tolerate aggression is passed on across generations; there is genetic variation in the ability to tolerate aggression,” said the study co-author Daniel T. Blumstein, professor and chair of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA.

Blumstein, a leader in the field of applying social network statistics to animals, and his colleagues studied four groups of yellow-bellied marmots, which are related to squirrels, over six years in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Each group included 15 to 30 marmots. (more…)

An Aspirin a Day Keeps the Cancer Away

Health, Science

Aspirin - to fight cancer. Image credit: Volker Mintzlaff

Or does it? Fresh research from Oxford University seems to reveal that a low dose of aspirin taken over a substantial period of time produces promising results, indicating that the death rates of many types of cancer reduce greatly. In fact, the evidence presented is staggering and if true, would be a medical breakthrough of exponential proportions.

Let us be optimistic, for cancer is a disease which has cut across most families around the globe. Few of us have not lost a grandparent, parent, uncle or aunt to this disease, in some cases even brothers, or worse still, nephews or nieces…or worse still, sons or daughters, grandsons and daughters. Now it seems there is good news which does not involve chemo-therapy or radio-therapy, which create many success stories but also many victims. (more…)

Fireworks Produce High Levels of Toxic Particles

Environment

Fireworks. Downtown Miami on July 4, 2007. Image credit: Marc Averette. Source: Wikipedia

Fireworks can be spectacular. However, the gas and smoke produced by the colorful explosions carry extremely high levels of toxic particles, according to a study by Audrey Smargiassi, a professor at the Université de Montreal Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

Smargiassi conducted one of the first studies examining the composition of the emitted gases and the concentration of the particles. In addition, her study is unique as she collected her data below the fireworks display where spectators usually stand. Previous studies usually collected data from nearby rooftops.

The study was conducted in 2007 during nine separate shows presented at La Ronde amusement park where 5.7 million spectators attend an international fireworks competition every summer. (more…)

Every Website Can Now Be a Bookstore

Technology

*Kindle for the Web enables customers to read full text of Kindle books in their web browser – no download or installation required*

*Websites are invited to participate in decentralized e-book sales*

*Kindle for the Web is Chrome OS launch partner*

SEATTLE, Dec 07, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Two months ago, Amazon launched Kindle for the Web, making it possible to read free first chapters of Kindle books through web browsers. Today, Amazon announced that Kindle for the Web will expand to enable anyone with access to a web browser to buy and read full Kindle books – no download or installation required. For the first time ever, bookstores, other retailers, authors, bloggers and other website owners will be able to offer Kindle books from their own sites, let their readers start enjoying the full text of these books instantly, and earn referral fees through the Amazon Associates Program for sales made through their sites. Website owners can embed the Kindle for the Web widget in a matter of seconds and start offering Kindle books. The update to Kindle for the Web was demonstrated on-stage at a Google Chrome event today and will support Chrome OS devices, including the new Chrome OS Notebook, as well as the Chrome browser and other web browsers. (more…)

Amazon Web Services Achieves Level 1 Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance

Technology

*Merchants, enterprises, and service providers can now implement a cardholder environment on AWS that complies with PCI Data Security Standard*

SEATTLE, Dec 07, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon Web Services LLC (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc., today announced it has achieved Level 1 compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS). Merchants and other service providers can now run their applications on AWS PCI-compliant technology infrastructure to store, process and transmit credit card information in the cloud. Customers can use AWS cloud infrastructure, which has been validated at the highest level (Level 1) of PCI compliance, to build their cardholder environment and achieve PCI certification for their applications. To learn more about AWS security certifications and other AWS security practices, visit https://aws.amazon.com/security/. (more…)

Why Married Men Tend to Behave Better

Culture

S. Alexandra Burt, associate professor of psychology and behavioral geneticist. Image credit: Michigan State University

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Researchers have long argued that marriage generally reduces illegal and aggressive behaviors in men. It remained unclear, however, if that association was a function of matrimony itself or whether less “antisocial” men were simply more likely to get married.

The answer, according to a new study led by a Michigan State University behavior geneticist, appears to be both.

In the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, S. Alexandra Burt and colleagues found that less antisocial men were more likely to get married. Once they were wed, however, the marriage itself appeared to further inhibit antisocial behavior.

“Our results indicate that the reduced rate of antisocial behavior in married men is more complicated than we previously thought,” said Burt, associate professor of psychology. “Marriage is generally good for men, at least in terms of reducing antisocial behavior, but the data also indicate that it’s not random who enters into the state of marriage.” (more…)