Ethel Lindley: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

MotoGP 2012 Entries Promise A Return To Full Grids

If the changes to the 2012 MotoGP regulations were aimed at filling out the grid, then they appear to have succeeded. Today, the FIM released the numbers of teams who had put in for a provisional entry for the 2012 season. The numbers were very promising: 16 teams entered, of which 14 were accepted, representing a total of 21 riders.

As in the Moto2 class, the number of entries actually accepted will be much smaller. The ideal grid size, as both Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and IRTA staff have confirmed, is around 24 bikes. But with the total commitment of the current factories likely to remain somewhere between 14 and 16 bikes (6 Hondas, 4 Yamahas and probably 5 Ducatis), getting an additional 8 to 10 bikes on the grid from the current entry list should be perfectly feasible.

Though no names or details were issued of exactly who the entries are, MotoMatters.com has learned that most of the entires have come from top teams in the Moto2 class. This comes as no surprise, as indeed, this was the very purpose of the Moto2 class, to groom teams for entry into MotoGP. The final list of accepted teams will be made public at Le Mans.

Below is the text of the FIM press release:

MotoGP Class Applications for 2012 Season

Lisa Snowdon Mariah Carey Taylor Swift Milla Jovovich Maggie Grace

Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster

Auslogics Disk Defrag has been part of my system maintenance toolkit for quite some time. With the release of version 3.2, it's now even better at tidying up and optimizing your system's hard disk drives. In addition to a cleaner, easier-to-use interface, Disk Defrag 3.2 offers improved single file and folder defragging, better processing of multiple disks, a simplified scheduling screen, and more informative tool tips. Auslogics has also fine-tuned the program's defragmentation and file consolidation algorithms.

For laptop users, there's a new option to lock the program if your system is running on battery power -- so scheduled operations don't kick in and drain your power source at an inopportune moment. If you happen to have an SSD installed in your PC, you can head to the Disk Defrag options and exclude it from scanning (many think that defragmenting an SSD is a very bad idea).

Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free download and works with most versions of Windows.

Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sarah Polley Aisha Tyler K. D. Aubert Sara Spraker Alexis Bledel

Warren Buffett: There's "No Question" The Dollar Will Keep Falling

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger don't like gold (or silver), and they're not eager to place any FX bets, but Buffett's view on the dollar seems pretty unequivocally negative.

Via Liz Claman, Buffett told the crowd in Omaha: No question that the purchasing power of U.S. dollar will decline over time. Only question is at what rate it will happen.

He says he's had fears that it could happen at a quicker rate.

All that being said, this isn't necessarily a gloomy pronouncement. Buffett noted how much the dollar has depreciated since he was born, and yet economic progress since then has been remarkable in the US. What's more, all currencies will decline over time (vs. real things), it's just a matter of the pace.

And ultimately, even still, Buffett says right now he'd rather be born in the US than anywhere else in the world.

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Leighton Meester Dominique Swain Jamie Chung Alicia Witt Radha Mitchell

MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo Takes Pole at a Damp Estoril

Jorge Lorenzo was the top dog today in Estoril, Portugal, as the Spaniard claimed the pole position for the start of tomorrow’s Portuguese GP. The top qualifying result is the fourth in a row for Lorenzo at Estoril, which according to Monopoly Rules means the Spanish GP rider can now build a hotel at the Iberian track. Lorenzo’s result is undoubtedly impressive, but Italian Marco Simoncelli might be stealing some of the World Champion’s spotlight, ...

Blu Cantrell Jaime King Lokelani McMichael Freida Pinto Eva Longoria

Making your own iPad magazine

A lot of publications are adding iPads and other portable devices to their distribution chains. As a result, we're beginning to see some solutions for small- and medium-sized companies that are starting to approach the idea of offering a self-publishing solution. You can always send people a PDF, but that's really not a magazine, and it won't show up in the App Store.

One interesting product is from some former Apple employees who have started MagAppZine. You submit a PDF, and the company quickly converts it to a magazine and submits it to the App Store for you. You can see some customer examples in the App Store here. Using MagAppZine is not inexpensive, but it's far cheaper than hiring a programmer and managing an App Store submission. Costs are about US$3000 for a magazine, plus charges each time you add a new issue. You get to keep 75% of the revenue if your magazine is a paid creation, MagAppZine gets 25%. That's after the Apple's 30% cut. Naturally, MagAppZine can't guarantee that your app won't get rejected from the App Store, so customers need to understand Apple's rules on content.

Continue reading Making your own iPad magazine

Making your own iPad magazine originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Padma Lakshmi Sarah Mutch Gabrielle Union Alessandra Ambrosio Amanda Detmer

Rok Bagoro? Meets the KTM 125 Duke

We thought we had the good life here at Asphalt & Rubber, blogging in our pajamas until noon, no rent, and mom making us an endless supply of cookies. This was of course before we got an email from KTM Factory stunt rider�Rok Bagoro?. The young Slovenian probably has the dream job of more than few motorcyclists. Traveling the world, riding bikes all day, and teaching Spanish cops how to wheelie are just some of ...

Zoe Saldana Rachel Perry Mary Elizabeth Winstead Piper Perabo Anna Kournikova

Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster

Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HipstaCase iPhone case perfect for Hipstamatic hipsters

The folks behind the Hipstamatic iPhone app are ready to let you take the old-school camera vibe all the way. They've introduced a Hipstamatic iPhone case called (what else?) the HipstaCase, and while it isn't quite as functional as that concept Leica iPhone case we posted the other day (it's purely cosmetic), it will still give your iPhone the feel of an old camera.

All right, so it's not quite purely cosmetic -- there is a tripod mount that attaches on the bottom, and there's a nylon wrist lanyard as well. But essentially, it's a piece of plastic that makes the back of your iPhone look like one of those cameras you carried around however many years ago. The Hipstacase is available right now for US $39.95.

[via Gizmodo]

HipstaCase iPhone case perfect for Hipstamatic hipsters originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Radha Mitchell Melissa Rycroft Chloë Sevigny Janet Jackson Georgianna Robertson

The Poscast with Bill James

Brooke Burns Lena Headey Ali Larter Angelina Jolie Erica Leerhsen

QE2 and the Laffer Curve.

I am not able to get anyone to debate me on monetary policy in a liquidity trap. Therefore I resort to crude provacation.

I recall two claims about monetary policy which were not controversial until this year. First that the effects of a shift in monetary policy peak after roughly 6 months. Second that it acts through investment and especially housing investment (the second follows from the view that it acts via interest rates but not the short term rates which the Fed can control but medium and long term rates which matter a lot for housing and some for investment in productive capital).

After fiddling with the dates to avoid the inconvenient fact that medium term nominal interest rates went up when the actual QE2 purchases began the money supply side economists decided that the date the policy began was late August. That means that the data you present here would, in a sane world, be the last nail in the coffin of the hypothesis that the Fed can stimulate the US economy when it is in a liquidity trap by buying 7 year Treasury notes.

I get rude after the jump.

I note already that 7 year real interest rates are higher than they were when the actual purchases started and equal to what they were when Bernanke first mentioned QE2 (late August).

So I ask you what evidence could possibly convince you that QE2 was ineffective. You have a powerful imagination and should be able to think of something (I can't).

I also note that the quality (intelligence and integrity) of data analysis of the money supply side economists reminds me of the data analysis by supply side economists. I think they have resorted to each and every cheap rhetorical trick used by the supply siders. For every bit of bogus supply side data abuse, I claim I can find the same bogus trick played by advocates of quantitative easing.

If I am presented with no such examples, I will conclude that the money supply siders admit that they as bad as supply siders. I will present my examples of similarly bogus data analysis tomorrow.

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Kristanna Loken Aubrey ODay Drew Barrymore Marley Shelton Thalía

Software updates, Speed test results [from the forums]

Android Forums at Android Central

Plenty of news happening today as we head on into the weekend. Android 2.3.4 got rolled out in unofficial form, the Motorola Atrix 4G OTA is arriving for some folks along with the HTC Inspire 4G update. Plenty of excitement in the forums so, be sure to jump in there and join in on the fun.