By Gavin Clarke
19th November 2008 21:42 GMT

Adobe MAX Sun Microsystems has promised to deliver on JavaFX despite uncertainty in the wake of massive layoffs and a corporate re-organization. Param Singh, senior director of Java marketing, told The Reg Sun's committed to delivering on the JavaFX roadmap announced for PCs, mobile devices and TVs.

Sun had promised at JavaOne to deliver JavaFX Desktop 1.0 by the end of this year, and JavaFX Mobile 1.0 next February or March along with JavaFX for TV 1.0. Singh added Sun would update the roadmap as each version ships, and JavaFX Desktop 1.0 is now in "deep testing." Singh was speaking at Adobe's MAX just a week after Sun announced layoffs affecting almost a fifth of the company's 33,400 workforce along with a re-organization.

Sun used MAX to demonstrate its latest JavaFX Desktop preview, featuring a set of visual-effects filters added to the Software Development Kit (SDK) in the last few days. The implications of both the layoffs and re-organization on Sun's JavaFX team are unclear but aren't promising. While Sun has announced it's intention to slash up to 6,000 employees, notices have not yet to gone out meaning it's unclear where the cuts will be made and how deep they will be.

Given the fact software is a feel-good activity for Sun that generates tiny revenue, and JavaFX is lagging rich internet application (RIA) strategies from Microsoft and Adobe, this is surely one area any manager looking to cut costs would chose to rationalize. Additionally, Sun's overall software unit is to be broken up with responsibility for different products and projects spread across three groups.

By Nancy Gohring
November 19, 2008

SEATTLE -- A change at the helm of Yahoo Inc. won't revive a Microsoft Corp. takeover offer, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said today during the company's annual shareholder meeting. "Acquisition discussions are finished," he said.

But he continues to leave the door open to another sort of deal with Yahoo. Microsoft is still interested in doing some sort of search collaboration deal, as it proposed before negotiations between the companies fell apart. On Monday, Yahoo announced that CEO Jerry Yang intends to step down from that role after the company finishes its search for a successor.

Yang has been heavily criticized for his resistance to Microsoft's takeover offer earlier this year. Yang will continue to remain on the board. Microsoft executives, including Bill Gates, who appeared at an annual shareholder meeting for the first time since his transition to working for Microsoft only part time, discussed a wide range of other subjects during the meeting.

Ballmer hinted that Windows 7, the next iteration of the operating system, could come next year. The company hasn't nailed down an exact time frame for its availability, but Ballmer referred to the release of Windows 7 "in the year ahead." Ballmer described the earnings growth the company experienced this year but warned that the economic downturn will pose challenges in the future.

By Emma Hughes
19 November 2008, 2:30 PM

GOOGLE IS EXCITED again, this time it’s for something quite high on the interesting scale – the availability of never before seen images from the LIFE photo archive.

This collection of newly digitised images shows photos and etchings which were produced and owned by LIFE Magazine dating back to the 1970s taking you back in time to moments previously kept in dusty archives. Google wants to share these images with the rest of the world through its own image search, as only a handful of LIFE’s images have ever been published.

Since yesterday Google has added 20 percent of the collection online, yet in the next few months it will be busy digitalising around 10 million photos. The images available are brought to you by LIFE photographers Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gjon Mili, and Nina Leen among other photography illuminaries.

To get at the pics you just need to add “source:life” to the search string – once you’re in the archive you can access a full-size version of the picture by clicking on it – furthermore if you like what you see you can order a framed print of it.

by Andrew Nusca
November 19th, 2008 @ 11:30 am

Walmart will begin selling Apple’s iPhone 3G on December 28th in select locations, eventually expanding to 2,500 stores, according to BoyGeniusReport. Sam’s Club gets in on the action too, with 69 locations offering the handset on the 28th. Some stores will reportedly get live demo units to display, similar to those at Best Buy Mobile.

No word on pricing for the iPhone, which will probably stay that way until holiday shopping is over. Will there be discounts? Internal Wal-Mart correspondence, via BGR: We are pleased to announce that Wal-Mart has reached agreement with Apple to offer iPhone 3G in Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart-managed Sam’s Club* Connection Centers nationwide beginning December 28, 2008. AT&T will support Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club with the activation process for iPhone 3G, and we need all National Retail employees engaged to ensure a successful launch.

*NOTE: This product launch DOES NOT apply to SC Kiosks within Sam’s Club managed by Radio Shack.

Wal-Mart has communicated the following launch plans and execution timeline to their employees:

* iPhone 3G will be available in-store only beginning 12/28/08
* New and existing customers in good standing can purchase iPhone 3G with a 2 year contract
* iPhone 3G transactions only will be processed through POS.com, not the kiosk

Execution Timeline:

* 12/2 – 12/5: AT&T / Wal-Mart MEM Classroom Training for Store Leads
* 12/3 – 12/19: AT&T In-Store Training
* 12/26 – 12/27: AT&T In-Store Refresher Training
* 12/28: Nationwide Launch
* 12/28 – 12/30: Wal-Mart and AT&T War Room Support

by Stephen Shankland
November 19, 2008 12:47 PM PST

Things just got a lot more complicated for Mitchell Baker, the Mozilla Foundation's chairman and "chief lizard wrangler." Gone are the days when Microsoft's Internet Explorer was the sole rival for Mozilla's Firefox.

A new open-source browser, Google Chrome, has come to town, and it's from the company that provided $66 million of the Mozilla Foundation's $75 million in 2007 revenue. There are other browser alternatives--Opera and Safari, for example--but Chrome is likely to catch on with the same techno-savvy, early-adopter, Google-proficient crowd that's been so passionate about Firefox. Baker, though, isn't worried.

For one thing, she argues, Mozilla gets its Google revenue from shared advertising revenue generated when people use Mozilla's built-in Google search abilities. In other words, Mozilla is just another advertising partner--a status Google was willing to extend to a far greater competitor, Yahoo, though, of course, Google backed away from that deal when threatened with a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit.

For another, she doesn't feel threatened by Chrome's market share. That's not to say she's complacent about it, though. I asked her opinion about Google, Chrome, the new HTML version 5, the future of the Web, and other matters on Tuesday. Here's an edited transcript of our chat.

Publisher's Description:

MONyog MySQL Monitor and Advisor allows you to Identify MySQL performance bottlenecks. You can compare unlimited MySQL servers side-by-side. It is Available on Windows and Linux. Inbuilt web-server. Has got a nice AJAX interface. Simple Descriptions for all performance metrics. Helps you learn MySQL Internals. Fully customizable using Javascript and MONyog Object Model.

Released: November 18, 2008
Publisher: Webyog Softworks Pvt. Ltd.
License: Shareware; $199.00 to buy
OS Support: Windows 2000/2003/Me/Vista/XP

Publisher's Description:

ESET Smart Security is a fully integrated security solution that includes antivirus, anti-spyware, a personal firewall and an antispam module. It features an improved graphical user interface with 2 operating modes for common and advanced users. The program uses a smart cleaning algorithm that automatizes the procedure of malware removal. Updates are delivered through very small incremental update files to ensure little traffic especially for dial-up users. The configuration can now be exported to xml files.

Released: November 18, 2008
Publisher: Eset, spol. s r. o.
License: Shareware
OS Support: Windows 2000/2003/Vista/XP
Uninstaller?: Yes
Skin Support?: No; Supports XP Themes

Simple Port Forwarding was designed to make forwarding ports on your router as easy as a few clicks.

The program works by automating the process for you. So whether you don't understand how to forward ports, or your simply looking for an easier way of doing things then this program is for you.

v2.1.1
Added donate button under the help menu.
Added new File menu.
Added minimize button to the main program window.
Made the IP address boxes a little bigger.
Changed the 'Visit Website' under the help menu to go to the program page instead of the sites main page.
Added hotkeys to the menu.
Fixed tab order in the program.
Fixed some spelling errors.
Changed the programs exe name from Simple_Port_Forwarding.exe to spf.exe
Added new program update system for the program. Now when there is a new update to the program you can have the program download the new update and apply it automatically. Thus the user no longer has to download the new setup, the program will download the new exe, saving time and bandwidth for both the user and my site. Also the new update check only checks once per day when you open it.
Added new code so the program will now check if an entry name is already on the router page. If so it will skip that entry. Example: if you add some entries and click update router the router gets updated. You then add a new entry along with the other ones that have already been applied and you click on update router again, the program will now skip the ones that where already done as it will see the entry names on the page and skip those, thus only adding the new entry.
Changed a lot of code around and clean some things up, also added even more commands to handle more routers.

Author: PcWinTech
Date: 2008-11-18
Size: 4.48 MB
License: Freeware
Requires: Win 2K/03/XP/Vista

How to resize images for the web - The VSO free image resize software organizes your photos by shrinking their resolution or moving them within your hard drive. VSO Image resizer is the perfect tool for those who store their digital pictures and images on their PC and who want to resize, compress, convert, create copies, import or organize photos.

With this free resize image software, you can create e-mail friendly versions of your images, load them faster, move them easily from folder to folder, change their format, edit large numbers of image files/batch image resize and thus save space on your hard drive.
VSO Image resizer is integrated into the Windows explorer shell, right click on your pictures and start working on your pictures !

Author: VSO SOftware
Date: 2008-11-18
Size: 5.71 MB
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All

Fresh Download is an easy-to-use and very fast download manager software that turbo charge downloading files from the Internet, such as your favorite software, mp3 files, video files, picture collections, etc. Unlike any other similar utilities, this software is 100% free, no charges, no banners in the software (which slowdown your download) , no spyware.

Key features of Fresh Download:

* Ability to turbo charge downloading files in both FTP and HTTP protocols.
* Pause and resume broken downloads, recover from a dropped Internet connection.
* Multiple connections download manager.
* Integration with Internet Explorer & Netscape Communicator. Simply grabs any URL from your browser and Fresh Download will take over.
* Schedule your downloads for low traffic periods.
* Clipboard monitoring and drag & drop features.
* Easily grabs any URL from any applications!
* Antivirus support. Scan downloaded files from any viruses using your current antivirus software!
* Proxy Server support in both HTTP and FTP protocols.

Author: FreshDevices Corp.
Date: 2008-11-18
Size: 2.02 MB
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All

by Dancho Danchev
November 17th, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

The popular British anti-fraud site Bobbear.co.uk is currently under a DDoS attack (distributed denial of service attack) , originally launched last Wednesday, and is continuing to hit the site with 3/4 million hits daily from hundreds of thousands of malware infected hosts mostly based in Asia and Eastern Europe, according to the site’s owner.

Targeted DDoS attacks against anti-fraud and volunteer cybercrime fighting communities clearly indicate the impact these communities have on the revenue stream of scammers, and with Bobbear attracting such a high profile underground attention, the site is indeed doing a very good job. Anyway, who’s behind this attack?

Let’s track down a well known DDoS for hire provider currently operating 10 Black Energy DDoS botnets, and take an exclusive peek at his switchboard indicating that 4 of his botnets are currently set to attack Bobbear.co.uk only, proving that the attack may have well been outsourced.

With cybercriminals so overconfident in their abilities to remain unnoticed so that they’re using a well known botnet command and control server historically used to manage Zeus banker malware campaigns, it’s fairly easy to connects the dots.....

By Ryan Paul
November 18, 2008 - 01:03AM CT

Adobe has announced plans to port Flash Player 10 and the AIR runtime to the ARM architecture so that the software can be used on phones and other devices. The announcement is significant because it demonstrates that Adobe intends to close the gap between desktop and mobile Flash capabilities and make Flash technology a more competitive choice for platform-neutral mobile development.

Platform fragmentation is one of the most significant challenges faced today by mobile application developers. Programmers who want to target a broad selection of popular handsets and mobile hardware products are forced to port their applications to many different platforms—a task that is arduous and costly. Flash and AIR offer one potential solution by providing cross-platform runtime environments that are available on a wide range of devices.

In theory, this allows developers to write their code once and allows users to run it on desktops, on smartphones, or in a web browser. Adobe's mobile strategy previously focused on Flash Lite, a slimmed down version of Flash that isn't compatible with the latest desktop version. Flash Lite 3, the most recent version of Flash Lite, is loosely compatible with Flash 8 and has some other limitations.

The dichotomy between Flash and Flash Lite has created some fragmentation within Adobe's own ecosystem and has degraded some of the portability advantages of using Flash as an application platform. Moving forward with a full port of Flash Player 10 that is optimized for ARM will begin to end that dichotomy and will eventually lead to a fully unified Flash Player across both the desktop and mobile spaces.

by Ryan Naraine
November 12th, 2008 @ 7:40 pm

Mozilla has released a new version of its flagship Firefox browser to fix a total of 11 vulnerabilities that expose users to code execution, information stealing or denial-of-service attacks. Four of the 11 flaws covered with the new Firefox 3.0.4 are rated “critical” because of the risk of code execution attacks via specially rigged Web pages.

The four critical vulnerabilities are:
* MFSA 2008-55 Crash and remote code execution in nsFrameManager. A vulnerability in part of Mozilla’s DOM constructing code can be exploited by modifying certain properties of a file input element before it has finished initializing. When the blur method of the modified input element is called, uninitialized memory is accessed by the browser, resulting in a crash. This crash may be used by an attacker to run arbitrary code on a victim’s computer.

* MFSA 2008-54 Buffer overflow in http-index-format parser. This is a flaw in the way Mozilla parses the http-index-format MIME type. By sending a specially crafted 200 header line in the HTTP index response, an attacker can cause the browser to crash and run arbitrary code on the victim’s computer.

* MFSA 2008-53 XSS and JavaScript privilege escalation via session restore. The browser’s session restore feature can be used to violate the same-origin policy and run JavaScript in the context of another site. Any otherwise unexploitable crash can be used to force the user into the session restore state. This vulnerability could also be used by an attacker to run arbitrary JavaScript with chrome privileges.......

By John Leyden
11th November 2008 12:36 GMT

Some users of AVG were left with unusable Windows systems after the popular AVG security scanner software slapped a Trojan warning on a core Windows component. AVG tagged user32.dll as a banking Trojan following a signature update issued on Sunday, advising users to delete the "harmful file".

Users following this advice would be left with systems that either failed to boot or went into a continuous reboot cycle, according to dispatches from those hit by the glitch. Users of both AVG 7.5 and 8 (free and full fat editions) were hit by the snafu. AVG has admitted the problem and responded by posting advice on how to recover affected systems (via its support forum item 1574 - here).

The company has also updated its virus definition files to purge the false alarm detection from its virus signature database. False alarms by anti-virus scanners have affected just about every security vendor at one time or another. The issue causes more inconvenience when Windows files are flagged as potentially malicious, as in this case with AVG, so its no surprise to find that AVG's support forums are filling up with complaints.

This is not the first such false positive AVG has had to fix. Its software wrongly identified CheckPoint’s Zone Alarm as a Trojan less than a month ago, raising questions about the quality control regime for virus definition updates released by the Czech-based firm, best known for the popularity of the cut-down version it offers to consumers at no cost.

by Jennifer Leggio
October 28th, 2008 @ 2:09 pm

Earlier today my ZDNet partner-in-crime Ryan Naraine posted about the latest Facebook worm, which tries to get users to download a malicious codec from a video appearing to be shared through Google Reader.

I have a couple of disclosures in relationship to this worm:
* It was researched and reported by network security appliance vendor Fortinet, which also happens to be my employer
* I had a bit of a hand in discovering it

I awoke this morning to a Facebook alert from an old coworker that said, “Sommebody uupload a viideo witth you on utubee. you shuold ese.” What’s interesting is that I didn’t initially notice the very poor spelling. I read right through it to the context, and with a bit of hesitation I went to my Facebook inbox (note: NOT from the email — I logged straight into Facebook through an open browser). I saw in the Facebook note that the site redirected to a Google shared site at what appeared to be a valid URL — I chanced it (NOT recommended).

I didn’t touch the video as I immediately knew there was an issue. But I should’ve realized it sooner. At that point, I engaged Guillaume Lovet, senior manager of our FortiGuard Global Security Research Team, who led our research efforts. Ryan has all of the details of the worm itself in his blog post, but the point is that no matter your associations, understanding or education when it comes to security or social media, one cannot be too careful.

By Ryan Paul
October 22, 2008 - 01:23PM CT

Ubuntu community manager Jono Bacon has released Denied by Reign, his much-anticipated (at least in open source circles—and my basement) metal album, under a creative commons license. The album is part of his solo project, called Severed Fifth, which he intends to use as a springboard for testing music economics and promoting awareness of open content distribution models.

The metal album, which consists of eight tracks, is available for free in OGG and MP3 formats from the Severed Fifth web site. The tracks can be downloaded individually or together in a compressed archive and are also being distributed via BitTorrent. For his project, Bacon selected the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (CCSA) license, which will enable users to share and modify the content as long as they properly attribute it and make derivatives available under the same license.

Open sesame - Music enthusiasts are growing impatient with problematic copy-protection schemes and DRM server shenanigans. As copyright law becomes increasingly draconian and the content industry pushes for even more ludicrous constraints on fair use to the extreme detriment of honest consumers, the calls for reform are becoming louder. Open licensing and unconventional business models could create new opportunities for the music industry and open the business up to some creativity.

The CCSA license empowers users by giving them the ability to repurpose content and build new things using the material. This transforms music into an inclusive and participatory medium—a shared community space instead of a walled garden. It also facilitates unencumbered experimentation by making it possible to adapt the music for use in a variety of other practical and artistic contexts.

By John Timmer
September 05, 2008 - 05:10AM CT

The RIAA's campaign against filesharers follows a standard procedure: find a computer offering files for download, get a court to force the ISP or organization that provided the computer's IP address to reveal the computer's owner, and then sue the owner.

The group has contracted with MediaSentry to do the work of identifying the infringing computers, but that company's methods have been called into question in a number of states that have licensing requirements for private investigators that include the computer-based snooping required to gather the data.

Michigan was one such state and, if there was any doubt about the licensing issue there, it's gone now: the state passed a law that specifically calls for computer forensics groups to be licensed. To an extent, the law is somewhat redundant. Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Growth is responsible for licensing private investigators and, in February, it determined that the company was acting as an unlicensed private investigator.

The Department recommended that the anonymous state resident that filed the complaint contact his local prosecutor if he/she wanted to press the matter. Despite this ominous warning flag, the RIAA's lawsuits in the state have continued apace. But, if MediaSentry felt it could successfully challenge the Department of Labor's decision if called on it, its chances of doing so dropped precipitously.

THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL has axed an episode of its popular show Mythbusters which revealed how easy it was to stuff up Radio Frequency Indentification (RFID) technology after a call from the nice people who make the gear.

The show's co-host Adam Savage claimed that he set out to do an episode on the vulnerabilities of RFID but encountered some very powerful resistance.

A conference call was arranged between co-host Tory Belleci and Texas Instruments to talk about the RFID vulnerabilities. Texas Instruments showed up with the chief legal counsel for American Express, Visa, Discover, and everybody else.

Apparently the combined legal might made it really clear to the folks at Discovery that they were not going to air this episode talking about RFID hacks.

The Inquirer

Saturday, August 09, 2008

CHICAGO — Bernie Mac, an Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor and comedian, died suddenly Saturday at age 50 of complications from pneumonia. The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005.

He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease. "Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital," his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles. She said no other details were available and asked that his family's privacy be respected.

Mac worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. Recently, Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama. Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language.

The performance earned him a rebuke from Obama's campaign. But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer. "Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show." Mac started his comedy career at age 8, with a standup performance at a church dinner. In 1977, at age 20, he took that act to comedy clubs in Chicago.

August 10, 2008 @ 3:31 CST

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards, has been found dead at home. He was 65. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says a family member found Hayes unresponsive near a treadmill on Sunday. He was pronounced dead about an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis.

The cause of death was not immediately known. In the early 1970s, Hayes laid the groundwork for disco, for what became known as urban-contemporary music and for romantic crooners like Barry White. And he was rapping before there was rap. His career hit another high in 1997 when he became the voice of Chef, the sensible school cook and devoted ladies man on the animated TV show "South Park."

November 17, 2008

Could former President Bill Clinton's charitable affairs cost Hillary Clinton the secretary of state job in Barack Obama's administration? That's what insiders are wondering after reports that the former president's financial and foreign entanglements could hurt the New York senator in her bid for a Cabinet post.

Politico.com reported Monday that Democrats "are becoming exasperated" by Bill Clinton's response to requests for information about his finances. "The sense among the no-drama Obama world is: This is well on its way to winning best Oscar for drama," an unnamed Democrat told Politico.com. Of worry, Politico.com said, is whether Clinton's charity would create a conflict of interest with foreign governments.

The New York Times reported Sunday that lawyers from the Obama camp were looking into the former president's dealings with foreign governments and pharmaceutical companies. "I think certainly she's been vetted, he's been vetted; but let's remember it's her who's up for this appointment, not Bill Clinton," Brad Blakeman, a former deputy assistant to President George W. Bush, told FOX News. "I think they cleaned a lot up before she decided to run for president.

"Certainly his activities going forward, if she is the secretary of state, would be curtailed, but I can't see any reason why Hillary Clinton would not be nominated by this president and certainly confirmed by a Democratic Senate," Blakeman said. Bill Clinton, addressing a symposium at the National Bank of Kuwait on Sunday, spoke about the possibility of having his wife in the new administration.

November 13, 2008

The Senate Banking Committee grilled top bank executives Thursday as credit markets remain frozen and worries mount they are misusing bailout money. Lawmakers urged the executives, all from banks who have received money from the $700 billion bailout, to start lending more to consumers and businesses.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the committee chairman, told the executives Congress wants to see more progress in foreclosure mitigation, lending and in curbing excessive compensation. Dodd also said banks need to step up assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure and loosen up credit markets. The financial sector is slated to receive at least $250 billion per the package passed last month to help bolster balance sheets and resume lending. Officials from Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM), testified on Capitol Hill.

Dodd, who stressed that transparency in the industry is crucial, expressed concern banks are hoarding the money and using it for internal gain. Sen. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., said that he would take action in conjunction with other lawmakers to ensure banks ramp up consumer lending moving forward. Executives from the four financial institutions vowed they wouldn't use the money to pay their executives and employees.

Gregory Palm, general counsel at Goldman Sachs, said that compensation would be down “significantly” this year throughout the firm, especially at senior levels. Both Democrats and Republicans have been critical of the way the Treasury Department implemented the bailout. Democrats are pushing for banks to lend more, while Republicans are seeking more transparency from the Treasury.

By Cade Metz
5th November 2008 19:28 GMT

Michael Crichton - the author, filmmaker, and television producer best known for his 1990 novel Jurassic Park - is dead at the age of sixty-six. According to a statement released by his family, Crichton was privately battling cancer.

"While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us - and entertained us all while doing so - his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father, and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes," the statement read. "He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget."

Crichton's books - including The Andromeda Strain, Disclosure, Congo, and Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World - sold more than a 150 million copies worldwide, and several were adapted into high-profile Hollywood films. Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park - made in 1993 from a screenplay co-written by Crichton - is still among the top fifteen highest grossing films of all-time.

Born in Chicago, Michael Crichton attended Harvard Medical School, where he penned The Andromeda Strain, his first best seller, which was later adapted for the screen by Robert Wise. Crichton would go on to direct six films of his own, including Westworld, Coma, and The Great Train Robbery, and produce four others. He was also the creator and executive producer of the long-running American TV drama ER, for which he won an Emmy, a Peabody, and a Writer's Guild of America Award.

November 05, 2008

After clinching an historic victory, President-elect Barack Obama wakes up Wednesday morning to the task of uniting a divided country and laying the groundwork for an ambitious presidential agenda. Obama will inherit on Jan. 20 the worst financial crisis in 70 years, as well as the task of winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Within minutes of taking the stage in Chicago Tuesday night to acknowledge becoming the first black president of the United States, Obama cautioned voters of the tough road ahead. "Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there," Obama said in Grant Park.

And to those who did not back his candidacy, Obama said, "I will be your president, too," and noted the need to "heal the divides that have held back our progress." With his victory, Obama, the Hawaiian-born son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, is poised to turn the page on Republican policies of the last eight years, as well as some racial barriers that have stood for generations.

The 47-year-old Democratic junior senator from Illinois swept to a landslide victory over his Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, building an Electoral College majority of at least 349 votes. "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," Obama told the massive crowd of cheering supporters in Grant Park Tuesday night.

November 03, 2008

With voters making their way to polls across America, Barack Obama and John McCain plan to drag their tireless presidential campaigns into Election Day in a last-ditch bid to sway battleground votes. The Democratic presidential nominee plans to make a campaign stop in Indianapolis Tuesday after voting in Chicago.

Then he returns to Illinois for what has become an election day tradition -- playing basketball. McCain's schedule takes him first to Phoenix to vote, and then to Colorado and New Mexico -- both states President Bush won in 2004 but that are trending Democratic this year. Both candidates radiated determination Monday as they reached for the finish line of a two-year marathon. The polls, however, gave Obama more reason to be optimistic.

With the presidential race mostly being played on Republican turf, Obama sounded a confident tone as he toured Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. Obama began his speech in Jacksonville, Fla., with the line: "I've got one word for you: tomorrow." And in what sounded like hints of a victory speech, Obama even congratulated McCain "on the tough race that he has fought."

But he proceeded to criticize his rival, as he has done for months, as President Bush's "sidekick" for standing with him on economic issues "every step of the way." As he did so, McCain continued to sound alarms about Obama's alleged tax-and-spend policies and his "far left" tendencies. "Senator Obama's massive new tax increase would kill jobs and make a bad economy worse. I'm not going to let that happen," McCain said in Tampa, Fla.