Rediscovered Ancient Text Tells a Different Three Wise Men Tale

In the 'Revelation of the Magi,' Christ Appears as a 'Star-Child'


An ancient text called the "Revelation of the Magi," has been rediscovered and tells a very different version of the Three Wise Men's journey to Bethlehem.

"It ends up being the most complex, richest, most strange, the strangest story of the Wise Men to come out of Christian antiquity," said Brent Landau, an expert in ancient Biblical languages and literature. "Until now, it had never been translated into English."

Landau, who teaches in the Religious Studies program at the University of Oklahoma, translated the text from Syriac and published it in his book, "The Revelations of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem."

The ancient text's original author is still unknown, although it is written from the point of view of the Magi themselves. Landau tracked it down in the Vatican archives and believes it is about 1,700 years old.

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Google "Places" replaces "Maps"

Google has changed its local search algorithm (again!). Your company's listing - which may have been on the first page of an organic search a month ago, may now be on the 8th!

We're still pondering the implications of the new rules. But, generally, the old standards still apply: optimized pages, keywords, external backlinks, and original content.

Happy Happy Thanksgiving

Hope your holidays were great.

If you have nice Thanksgiving photos for your website, send 'em over!

Google TV Growing Pains: Networks Block Web TV Shows

Google’s throwing a party, but network TV is snubbing the invitation.

Three major broadcast networks are blocking Google TV’s access to their online programs. That’s not a good first sign for a product whose main purpose is to make internet content as easy to watch as your local station, whether you’re looking at a TV screen or your computer.

To be clear, ABC, NBC and CBS are not stopping their over-the-air programming from being viewed through Google TV, which is only now just going on sale. Watching programs that come from your cable or satellite feed are unaffected. But online versions of network programming — on the sites of the broadcasters, which are ordinarily accessible from any computer — are not available from Google TV, the Wall Street Journal first reported Friday.

And the reason is clearly to further postpone the time when you can cut the cord.

Convergence has been a hot topic for more than a decade but Google TV is the first serious attempt to combine the internet and broadcast television in sort of simple “one-click” way. It’s not about web surfing or e-mailing from your couch, but rather getting easy access to programs off the web as easily as you’d change channels. And, thanks to the broadcasters themselves, a lot of professional content already lives online.


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Facebook VS Google: Who Will be Number One?

Users spend more time on Facebook than Google says the analyst firm ComScore. According to the American Institute, the time spent by Internet users on the social network is more important than that spent on Google. And this concerns not only the search engine, but also other services from Mountain View: YouTube, Gmail, or Google News.

Facebook, Social Network shown a great growth in recent years, Facebook has become very important in the online activities of many users. With 500 million members, the social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg has become one of the busiest websites on the net. So much so that now it is giving threat to Google, and eventually persuade advertisers to invest more in Facebook than in the firm in Mountain View.

A new study by analyst firm comScore U.S. goes in this direction. According to the Associated Press, which reports the findings of the investigation, the U.S. Internet have spent more time on Facebook than Google in August last. ComScore said that they spent 41.1 million minutes on the social network, 39.8 million cons on all sites of the Google brand.

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Unemployment Rate Unchanged - but No Double Dip Recession

Employers cut a more-than-expected 131,000 jobs in July as modest private sector job gains were outpaced by the loss of 143,000 temporary Census workers and steep layoffs by state and local governments, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.  

The total 131,000 job cuts also exceeded the 65,000 projected by economists.

"There's some loss of momentum here," says Jim O'Sullivan, chief economist of MF Global. "It's still a very weak labor market recovery."

Another troubling development: Total job cuts in June were revised upward to 221,000 from 125,000 as the private sector gained just 31,000 jobs, fewer than the 83,000 initially estimated.

Nevertheless, Friday's report provided no signals that the nation is at risk of slipping back into a recession that most economists believe ended last summer. Rather, the news simply underscored recent evidence of a weakening recovery, including sluggish consumer spending, a stalled housing market and a slowdown in factory output.

"Slower growth looks certain, but it's not a double dip," says Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner. 

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Paul the Octopus: Spain to Beat Germany in World Cup Semifinal

German football fans should brace themselves for disappointment in Wednesday's World Cup semifinal against Spain, according to the latest prediction of an octopus with a knack for picking winners.

Paul the octopus, a psychic cephalopod at Sea Life in Oberhausen, western Germany, has become a World Cup phenomenon after correctly predicting the victors in all five of Germany's matches so far and Tuesday's ceremony was carried live on German television.

Sea Life staff help Paul make his prediction by lowering two boxes of food into his tank, one carrying a German flag and the other bearing that of their opponents. The case he opens first is adjudged to be his predicted winner.

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Summer Solstice -- Happy Midsummer Day!

Solstice celebrations center around the day of the astronomical summer solstice. Some choose to hold the rite on the 21st of June, even when this is not the longest day of the year, and some celebrate June 24th, the day of the solstice in Roman times.

The solstice itself has remained a special moment of the annual solar cycle of the year since Neolithic times.

Although Midsummer is originally a pagan holiday, in Christianity it is associated with the nativity of John the Baptist, which is observed on the same day, June 24, in the Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant churches. It is six months before Christmas because Luke 1:26 and Luke 1.36 imply that John the Baptist was born six months earlier than Jesus, although the Bible does not say at which time of the year this happened.

In East Asia, the summer solstice is Xiàzhì (pīnyīn) or Geshi (rōmaji) (Chinese and Japanese: 夏至; Korean: 하지(Haji); Vietnamese: Hạ chí; literally: "summer's extreme") and is the 10th solar term.

Jupiter "Takes One for the Team" - Again!

A huge fireball has been spotted on Jupiter in yet another collision from space caught on camera and video by amateur astronomers.

The events on Thursday night serve as a strong reminder about how Jupiter is a critical component for life in our solar system. The gas giant acts as a gravitational 'vacuum cleaner' swallowing any outer-solar system debris that stray too close, preventing a huge number of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets from taking a nosedive into Earth.

Studying the gas giant and understanding how many times it gets struck by comets and asteroids will help scientists understand how many chunks of rock and ice are floating around in the outer solar system. As Wesley and Christopher Go have proven, amateur astronomers from all over the world perform an increasingly important role in this endeavor.

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For a Minute on May 6th, Corzak Interactive Stock Nearly Worthless

You think the action in Procter & Gamble was weird, check out the nosedive on Corzak Interactive, which plummeted from above $2 at 2:47 p.m. to $0.01 at 2:48 p.m. Had demand for website design services declined so sharply in that one minute?

Obviously there was some sort of technical snafu out there. Still, it seems that the worries about Greece were seriously worsening Thursday. But Corzak currently has no Greek clients (although he is talking to a gyro shop).

So what's going on? How much of that scare was robots gone wild and how much was sensible worry from flesh and blood investors? We’ll have to wait and see, though the company did close down more than 3% on the Dow.

Eyjafjallajökull Volcano: Top Ten Best (Worst) Jokes on the Internet

It’s a bit early for Iceland volcano jokes. We should wait awhile for the dust to settle.

I see that America has declared war on Iceland. Apparently they are accusing them of harbouring a “weapon of ash eruption”.

It was the last wish of the Icelandic economy that its ashes be spread over Europe.

Iceland goes bankrupt, then it manages to set itself on fire. This has insurance scam written all over it.

Iceland, we wanted your cash, not your ash.

Waiter, there's volcanic ash in my soup. II know, it's a no-fly zone.

Richard Curtis is working on a new rom-com about people stuck in an airport who fall in love. The working title is "Lava Actually".

I came out my house yesterday and was hit on the head by a bag of frozen sausages, a chocolate gateau and some fish fingers. I realised it must be the fallout from Iceland.

Volcano in Iceland. What next Earthquake in Asda?

Woke this morning to find every surface in the house covered in a layer of dust and a foul stench of sulphur in the air. No change, I’ve been married to that bone-idle slob for 20 years.

Corzak Interactive Files On Time

AP - Although some financial analysts expressed concern that internet conglomerate Corzak Interactive was considering applying for a tax filing extension this year, their fears proved groundless. The company's taxes were filed before the deadline, midnight April 15.

Markets  reacted apathetically to the news.

FCC Chairman's Broadband Goals, in His Own Words

Since Julius Genachowski became chairman of the Federal Communications Commission last year, his main priority has been overhauling the government's strategy for expanding high-speed Internet access.

Genachowski, who has been an executive and investor in technology companies, argues that people who lack fast Internet connectivity have fewer economic opportunities. He also says the entire nation needs faster access in order to remain competitive with other countries for digital-age jobs and investment.

As the FCC's broadband plan was being finished before its delivery to Congress, Genachowski, 47, discussed his goals in an interview with The Associated Press in his eighth-floor office overlooking Washington.

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Google Deals in Doubt Amid Spat with Beijing

China issued a blistering public attack against Google on Wednesday and appeared to quietly begin getting businesses to abandon the U.S. Internet giant after it moved its controversial Chinese search engine offshore.

The critical remarks in a high-profile Communist Party newspaper coupled with souring business deals underscored Beijing's determination to settle scores with Google Inc. after a public two-month dispute over stringent Chinese censorship policies. By challenging the often tetchy government, Google appears to have violated an unspoken rule of doing business in China, especially in the Internet industry whose control Beijing sees as crucial to maintaining its authoritarian rule.

"Everybody in the Internet space operates under the good graces of the government, and if the government's not happy with your partner, you probably are going to have to change," said T.R. Harrington, founder and CEO of Shanghai-based Darwin Marketing, which specializes in advertising for China's search engine market.
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Chinese Media Say Google to Leave China Next Month

Chinese media reports say U.S. Internet giant Google will close its business in China after complaints of censorship and cyber-attacks. The reports say the announcement could come as early as next week, although Google is refusing all comment.

In January, Google unexpectedly said that it is prepared to pull out of China because of cyber-attacks and concerns over government censorship.

On Friday, the China Business News, one of the country's top economic papers, quoted an unnamed official with a Google-affiliated agency as saying he has learned that Google will leave China next month.

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Google Honours Iranian Women Bloggers

Internet giant Google on Thursday joined a top journalists' rights group in rewarding a collective of Iranian women bloggers for their reporting on last year's post-election unrest.

The online journalists of women's rights blog we-change.org were given the "Net Citizen" award, a new prize by Google and French media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to defend freedom of expression online.

Dozens of the Iranian site's contributors have been detained for reporting online on huge anti-government demonstrations that broke out amid claims of fraud in Iran's election, RSF said.

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Internet Explorer 6 Finally Laid to Rest!

A design group in Denver thought it was finally time to put Internet Explorer 6 to rest, holding a mock funeral for the outdated Microsoft browser last night. It was 8 years old.

Apparently, IE6 died from “a workplace injury sustained at the headquarters of Google, Inc.” (Sounds like a hit job…) Event organizers suggested “funeral” attire, but added that there would also be a tapas bar. That seems more like it for a tech event.


Microsoft showed they have a sense of humor too, as they sent some flowers in remembrance for the deceased.

The news of this funeral means that any of you still using IE 6 must upgrade IMMEDIATELY!

Google Gives $2 Million to Wikipedia

Google Inc., the Internet's most profitable company, is giving $2 million to support Wikipedia, a volunteer-driven reference tool that has emerged as one of the Web's most-read sites.

Wikimedia Foundation, owner of Wikipedia, said Wednesday that Google has donated $2 million to further develop the popular encyclopedia and other projects.

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder, broke the news on Twitter on Tuesday, followed by a formal announcement from the nonprofit organization.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in a statement, called Wikipedia "one of the greatest triumphs of the Internet…this vast repository of community-generated content is an invaluable resource to anyone who is online."

The search giant's funds will be used on technology projects to help Wikipedia handle its increasing bandwidth and multimedia needs.


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Google To Build Ultra-Fast, Consumer Broadband Networks in U.S.

Search and advertising giant Google plans to build and test super fast fiber-optic broadband networks in a few communities around the U.S., promising up to a one gigabit per second service — a hundred-fold increase over what most Americans currently can subscribe to.

A 1 Gbps could let a user download a HD movie in minutes and is more than 1000 times faster than AT&T’s basic DSL offering.

The company, whose experience running a ISP is limited to a small, free wireless service in its hometown of MountainView, California, called the intiative an “experiment” in keeping with what it urged the FCC to do with its upcoming national broadband plan. The company is asking municipalities to apply to be candidates and said it will offer a competitively priced service to 50,000 to a half a million people.

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China Tries to Limit Google Dispute Fallout

China tried Friday to keep its censorship row with Google from damaging business confidence or ties with Washington, promising good conditions for foreign investors but giving no sign it might relax Internet controls.

U.S.-China trade and economic ties will not be affected by any Google Inc. decision to withdraw from China, said Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian at a regular briefing. However, he insisted foreign companies must obey Chinese law.

"China will still strictly adopt a policy of openness and offer a good investment environment," Yao said. "We emphasize that foreign companies including Google should all follow international standards and respect local law and regulations and local culture and customs to shoulder social responsibility."

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Google Threat a Rare Show of Defiance in China

Google's threat to pull out of China over censorship is a rare display of defiance in a system where foreign companies have long accepted intrusive controls to gain access to a huge and growing market.

Dismayed by the prospect of a China without Google, visitors left flowers at its Beijing headquarters Wednesday as Web sites buzzed with words of support and appeals to stay.

"I felt it's a pity and hope it will not withdraw from the Chinese market," said a man who left flowers at the building in the high-tech Haidian district and would give only his surname, Chang. "Google played a key role in the growth of our generation. The control (of the Internet) is excessive."

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Facebook CEO Causes Stir Over Privacy

One privacy advocate contends Facebook is pushing users to expect less privacy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's contention last week that privacy is becoming less important to online users caused a stir across the Internet and among privacy advocates.

Zuckerberg told an audience at the 2009 Crunchies Awards ceremonies in San Francisco on Friday that social norms are changing and people don't expect or want nearly as much privacy as they have in the past.

"When we got started, the question people asked was, 'Why would I want to put any information on the Internet?'," he said during the presentation of awards to top online startups and makers of innovative technology.


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Google Poised to Take Wraps Off New Mobile Phone

Google expected to raise stakes in mobile market with new phone designed by its own engineers

Google Inc. is again trying to shake up the mobile market.

In holding an event Tuesday in which it was expected to outline its vision for how a mobile phone should be made and sold, the Internet search leader will likely raise the stakes in its bid to gain more control over how people surf the Web while they're on the go.

The catalyst in Google's latest attempt to redefine the mobile market apparently will be the Nexus One, the first smart phone designed by the company's own engineers.


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AT&T Tells FCC It's Time to "Cut the Cord" on Landlines

In response to a Notice of Inquiry released by the FCC to explore how to transition to a purely IP-based communications network, AT&T has declared that it's time to cut the cord. AT&T told the FCC that the death of landlines is a matter of when , not if, and asked that a firm deadline be set for pulling the plug.


AT&T said in its response to the FCC that "with each passing day, more and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based services, leaving the public switched telephone network ("PSTN") and plain-old telephone service ("POTS") as relics of a by-gone era."

It also stated "It makes no sense to require service providers to operate and maintain two distinct networks when technology and consumer preferences have made one of them increasingly obsolete."

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