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Saturday Highlights: Apple breaks past $600 billion market cap barrier, stock hits all time high, is $700 possible this year?; Motorola, now a Google subsidiary, has filed a lawsuit to block Apple's imports into the United States; every Apple fan's favorite pundit, Rob Enderle, says Samsung's "ruthless pace could put it ahead" of Apple given the company's faltering reputation for execution; MacDailyNews responds to Enderle's "disinformative ramblings" but admits we've not seen a whole lot from Apple?post-Jobs?"to get excited about yet"; Paul Hartsock at TechNewsWorld recaps the Apple TV news from the week; eXtensions examines the iCloud preference in Mountain Lion; tech cartoonist, PC Weenies has a non-cartoonish look at Microsoft's SkyDrive for the Mac; Mactuts+ presents a guide to Disk Utility for beginners; Sprint's iPhone efforts may payoff after all; purported photos of iPhone 5 front panel have leaked; and in an op/ed from BGR's Jonathan Geller, AT&T's FaceTime over cellular network move is heavily slammed.
Friday Highlights: In case you haven't been following, Apple's stock has crossed the $645 barrier into record territory; Judge Koh asks Apple lawyers if they've been smoking crack?!; if Samsung is right that Apple used a patent without permission, Apple could be looking at a $422 million royalties payment; if Apple can negotiate successfully with cable companies, the Apple TV might just be heaven in a box where any and every TV show would be viewable on demand, on your schedule; but Rocco Pendola over at The Street believes Tim Cook has no idea how to move forward with Apple TV; in a short, albeit intriguing post at WSJ blogs, Max Murphy says Peter Oppenheimer exuded such confidence on a Thursday call with analysts that the obvious implication is Apple is readying both iPhone 5 and iTV...; Apple being sued for media playback patent infringement; why is Pineville, Oregon so attractive as a data center locale?; eXtensions continues to look at Mountain Lion's system prefs, today focusing on the General pref; Macdrifter looks at your Mac's interface for scanning; Apple's retail boss, John Browett, under scrutiny for bungling Apple store staffing; Jim Tanous of The Mac Observer expresses deep concern, in fact, says Cook made a downright mistake hiring the former Dixon's CEO; Kodak mulling pull out of patent sale, perhaps the low offers received are signs of "auction fatigue" on the part of Apple, Google?; App Store customers in China complaining that they would like the store in their own language; Kenny the Clown given one of the stolen iPads from Jobs' house, was actually Steve Jobs' iPad ; Android users beware, Help Net Security notes sharp rise in malware targeting your platform; James Kendrick, user of both a Nexus 7 and iPad, believes an iPad mini will simply blow away the competition; however, David Gewirtz has now officially ceased developing for iPhone and explains his reasons, calling his time a "sordid experience".
This weekend's MacUpdate Promo offers 75% off Onde Mini Bundle 1.02. "The Onde Mini Bundle is special opportunity to get over $150 worth of apps that will help you get the most out of your Mac for only $39.99, that's 75% off!"
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News
"Weekly Wrap: iCloud woes, Mountain Lion tips, and more"?Macworld?8/18
"Is Apple Thinking of Challenging Google's Picasa?"?Patently Apple?8/18
"Second beta version of OS X 10.8.1"?HardMac?8/18
"Mat Honan: How I Resurrected My Digital Life After an Epic Hacking"?Wired?8/17
"OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1 Beta Build 12B17 Seeded To Developers"?Redmond Pie?8/17
"Apple seeding second OS X 10.8.1 beta to developers"?MacNN?8/17
AppleCare/Troubleshooting
"Sync Services: Advanced troubleshooting for contact and calendar syncing"?Apple Support?8/17
"Q&A: MacFixIt Answers/We answer questions about installing OS X on a replacement hard drive, and more."?MacFixIt?8/17
Reviews/How-To/Tips
"System Preferences in OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion: Keyboard"?eXtensions?7:16 AM
"System Preferences in OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion: iCloud"?eXtensions?8/18
"First Impressions of Microsoft's SkyDrive for Mac"?The PC Weenies?8/18
"What is Disk Utility? The Complete Beginner's Guide"?Mactuts+?8/18
"TweetDeck 1.5.3 Becomes Usable"?TidBITS?8/17
"How to set a due date for Mountain Lion Reminders"?MacFixIt?8/17
"System Preferences in OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion: General"?eXtensions?8/17
"Scratch DJ Academy Mix Review"?Mac|Life?8/17
"Expand your Google Play library with YouTube music on your Mac"?GigaOM?8/17
"MacMost Now 749: Programming JavaScript To Send Safari 6 Notifications"?MacMost?8/17
"Navigating the Terminal: A Gentle Introduction"?Mactuts+?8/17
"Mac Tip: Assigning A Keyboard Shortcut to Notification Center"?iSource?8/17
"What You Didn't Know About Safari: There's A Way To Retire Expired Or Broken Bookmarks"?Mac 360?8/17
"How To Organize And Archive Mail On Your Mac (and what will make you hate email even more)"?Mac 360?8/17
"What To Do With Your Photos? Customized Posters, Photo Collages, Calendars All On Your Mac"?Mac 360?8/17
"How To Defrag And Optimize Your Mac The Easy Way (fast, simple, almost cheap)"?NoodleMac?8/17
"How Much Time Do You Waste On Your Mac? How Productive Are You? How To Find Out"?TeraTalks?8/17
"A New, Fast, Inexpensive Way To Delete Files On Your Mac Without Touching The Trash Can"?McSolo?8/17
"3 Ways To Clean Your Mac For Free And 2 Ways To Clean Your Mac And Pay"?BohemianBoomer?8/17
Op/Ed
"OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion gripe list"?TUAW?8/17
"Mountain Lion discussion includes user interface issues, parameters and hacks; dictation; compatibility issues (including a Apple Remote Desktop and Timbuktu updates); a 'survival guide' for video editors; plus various other experiences and problems."?MacInTouch?8/17
"Why Would You Own a Mac and Not Update to Apple's OS X Mountain Lion?"?Forbes?8/17
Press Releases
"iTunification Gives You Notification Center Alerts For iTunes [Mac]?AddictiveTips?8/18
"Ninja Guy for OS X: Epic Cult Action Adventure Finally Comes to the Mac"?prMac?8/18
"Mac DVD ripping: DVDRipper Pro, RipIt updates released"?FairerPlatform?8/18
"SIG: Poser 3D 9.0 SR3 unveiled graphics show"?Architosh?8/17
"Download & Play Mario on your Windows PC, Mac and Linux | Download"?iHackintosh?8/17
"Safari and Chrome now offer support for high-resolution CSS code"?The Verge?8/17
"MathMagic Pro v8.1 for Mac Supports InDesign CS6, Pica Unit, More Fonts"?prMac?8/17
"OS X Maintenance: ML Cache Cleaner, Cocktail updates available"?FairerPlatform?8/17
"Why China's Xiaomi is inspiring loyalty that rivals Apple 'fanboys' and Google 'fandroids'"?The Next Web?7:39 AM
"App eyes campaign ads: Does fact-checking and points out lies"?Boston Herald?7:32 AM
"Will Sprint Continue Rising from the iPhone 4S Disaster?"?The Motley Fool?8/18
"Double Robotics gives your iPad some serious wheels"?iDownload Blog?8/18
"Apple, Kors, Francesca Lead IBD 50's 5 Fashion Firms" ["IBD 50 stocks Francesca's, Ross Stores and Apple have done well during the weak economy by providing trendy, hip clothing or accessories that consumers want."]?Investor's Business Daily?8/18
"Big Fish takes first crack at a real-money casino iOS app, debuting in U.K."?Digital Trends?8/18
"Apple calls cuts in retail store staffing levels 'a mistake'"?Bloomberg News [Free Registration Required]?8/17
"Apple axes loyal store staff in Essex, Milton Keynes/Apple is cutting down on UK retail staff at its stores in Milton Keynes and Essex: blueshirted fanbois on short-term contracts will get the heave-ho, sources in the Mac channel claim."?Channel Register?8/17
"Apple's iPeople get world's largest iPhone arts exhibition"?Computerworld?8/17
"AT&T Won't Charge for FaceTime Over Cellular, Will Require New Mobile Share Plan"?MacRumors?8/17
"AT&T announces FaceTime over cellular on iOS 6 will ONLY be available on Mobile Share plans"?9 to 5 Mac?8/17
"AT&T won't charge for FaceTime over cellular ? but there's a catch"?GigaOM?8/17
"Rumors of Apple-Google alliance to buy Kodak patents show smartphone giants' auction fatigue"?Foss Patents?8/17
"Chinese App Store users complain that Apple doesn't speak their language"?The Next Web?8/17
"Most Loyal Apple Fans Now Aged 35+, DVD and Blu-ray Movie Rentals Top Streaming, and More"?Low End Mac?8/17
"Mars Curiosity rover team prefers Macs to PCs"?CNET News?8/17
"Surfing ROBO-shark hunter stalks great whites along US coast: iOS app will warn fanbois of attacks, fandroids not so lucky"?The Register?8/17
"iPads becoming more popular among Pharmaceutical sales reps"?Edible Apple?8/17
"Vectronic's Apple World: The Ultimate Mac Museum"?FairerPlatform?8/17
"How Steve Jobs' Stolen iPad Wound Up With Kenny the Clown"?PC Magazine?8/17
"Perfect: Steve Jobs' Stolen iPad Ended Up With Kenny The Clown"?TechCrunch?8/17
"Steve Jobs' stolen iPad ends up in street clown's routine"?The Verge?8/17
"Kenny The Clown Busted Using Steve Jobs's Stolen iPad To Entertain Kids"?Cult of Mac?8/17
"Hey, Kiddies, Here's a Funny Picture of an iPad Mini Prototype, Ba-Ha!"?AllThingsD?8/17
"Clown gets busted using Steve Jobs' stolen Ipad"?The Inquirer?8/17
"OnLive rumored to close service, entire staff reportedly laid off"?The Verge?8/17
"State Department cancels $16.5M Kindle contract"?Computerworld?8/17
"Google Invents 3D Video Conferencing for Notebooks & Beyond"?Patent Bolt?8/17
"Kodak: Maybe We Won't Sell Our Digital Imaging Patents"?AllThingsD?8/17
"Unsold Patents Hint at a Kodak Comeback Strategy: The fallen powerhouse is keeping patents covering some promising technologies."?Technology Review?8/17
"New Twitter Guidelines and APIs Squeeze Third Party Apps"?The Mac Observer?8/17
"Twitter Makes Some Unwelcome Changes"?AppleBitch?8/17
Publications/Podcasts
"Gene Steinberg meets Susie Ochs from Mac|Life, John Martellaro from The Mac Observer, and Bob 'Dr. Mac' LeVitus this week on The Tech Night Owl LIVE"?The Tech Night Owl?8/17
"Dan Berube and Michael Horton on the Amsterdam SuperMeet and Video Production Passion"?MacVoices TV?8/17
"Complete 'iPhone 5' Front Panel and 4' Screen Photos"?MacRumors?8/18
"Apple responds to iPhone text message spoofing, reminds us how secure iMessage is"?Engadget?8/18
"Apple responds to iPhone SMS security vulnerability"?CNET News?8/18
"Apple: We can't protect you from fake SMS messages, just use iMessage"?Digital Trends?8/18
"Apple States That There's Already A Solution To The SMS Security Issue"?App Advice?8/18
"Apple responds to SMS security flaw; Touts more secure 'iMessage' in the process"?Edible Apple?8/18
"New high-res photos of black, white 'iPad mini' and next-gen iPhone dock connector cables"?AppleInsider?8/17
"Apple Must Remain a Moving Target to Win in China"?Patently Apple?8/17
"iPhone 5 components confirm mini dock connector: Adapters at the ready!"?Electricpig?8/17
"iPhone 5 Release Date of September 12th All But Confirmed"?Tapscape?8/17
"[Rumor] Apple to include roadwork alerts in iOS 6 Maps"?AppleTell?8/17
"Podcasts apps make their way back to iTunes"?CNET News?8/17
"Messaging flaw found in Apple's iOS may encourage iPhone phishing"?The Next Web?8/17
"Flaw allowing SMS spoofing still present in latest iOS 6 beta"?Ars Technica?8/17
Price Trackers/Deals
"Piyo Blocks 2 For iPhone Is Temporarily Available For Free (Normally $1.99)"?Apple Sliced?8/18
"Conquist 2 Pocket For iPhone Is Free Right Now (Previously $0.99)"?Apple Sliced?8/18
"Knockball For iPhone and iPad Is Free Today (Was $0.99)"?Apple Sliced?8/18
"Mac Compatible Printers... Prices Range From $70 To $450 -Best Selling -Prices, Deals, Reviews And Information"?MacReviewZone?8/18
"Best Selling Mac Scanners -From $85 To $496 -Prices, Reviews And Information"?MacReviewZone?8/18
"Hambo HD For iPad Is Temporarily Available For Free (Normally $2.99), The iPhone Version Is Also Free"?Apple Sliced?8/17
"LightBomber For iPhone Is Free Right Now (Previously $0.99)"?Apple Sliced?8/17
"Boat Race Harbor Madness For iPhone Is Free Today (Was $0.99)"?Apple Sliced?8/17
"MacBook Pro Prices & Sales"?MacPrices?8/17
"MacBook Air Prices & Sales"?MacPrices?8/17
"iPad Closeout & Refurbished & Used Buyer's Guide -Prices From $250 To $779 -Best iPad Prices Reviews & Information"?MacReviewZone?8/17
"Apple MacBook Air Buyer's Guide -Prices $693 To $1,599 -Prices, Reviews And Information"?MacReviewZone?8/17
"Apple MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide -13 Inch Models -Prices $760 To $1,499 -Best Prices, Reviews & Information"?MacReviewZone?8/17
Deal Brothers Daily Deal: Mac mini 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5:? $1189.00 Delivered
Reviews
"STM Scout Tablet Bag: Tough as the Outback, More Pouches Than a Troop of Kangaroos [Review]?Cult of Android?7:42 AM
"Hands on: adding AirPrint to your home network with xPrintServer"?Ars Technica?8/18
"Music on air: Koss reinvents headphones for the wireless internet age"?VentureBeat?8/18
"Gum USB backup battery review"?AppleTell?8/18
"Reviews: Harman/Kardon AE + NI In-Ear Headphones"?iLounge?8/17
"iLuv Workstation review: The return of the Amstrad E-m@iler?"?Electricpig?8/17
iPad/iPhone/iPod touch Apps
"This Theme Brings An Almost Complete OS X Mountain Lion Experience To iPad"?Redmond Pie?8/18
"Hands on: Mac and iOS task management with Things 2"?GigaOM?8/18
"Essential College iPad Apps ? A Beginner's Guide"?Tapscape?8/18
"10 essential apps for football fans: The Premier League kicks off later today. Make sure you're ready by getting hold of these apps."?Telegraph?8/18
"Royal Rumble At The iTunes Store: Official WWE App For iPhone Makes Its Debut"?AddictiveTips?8/18
"InstaBackup review: Backup all your Instagram photos with ease"?Macworld UK?8/18
"Amazon Instant Video Review"?Mac|Life?8/17
"Deets For iOS Keeps Contacts Up To Date Automatically, Lets You Share Files, Photos & More"?TechCrunch?8/17
"InstaGenius Review: InstaGenius teaches an old dog new tricks with dozens of filters and a host of features to make InstaGram photos really pop."?148Apps?8/17
"This Week in iOS Apps: Slam dunkin'/This week's roundup of iOS apps offers a closer look at zombies, planets, and donuts?as well as a deeper insight into a classic movie."?Macworld?8/17
"Is The New Ultralingua Dictionary The Ultimate Dictionary App For iOS?"?App Advice?8/17
"Collagetastic: Create Photo Collages & Send Them As Postcards [iOS]?AddictiveTips?8/17
"You Should Play: Tiny Tower"?TechHive?8/17
"Go To Hell And Shoot Some Demons Up In Project: Holy Shield"?App Advice?8/17
"You'll Fall Hook, Line And Sinker For Disney Fish Hooks' Physics-Based Action"?App Advice?8/17
"Appidemic: Emaki for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch"?AppleTell?8/17
"Critter Escape! Review: It's madness, mayhem, and lots of hats in this wacky maze chase."?148Apps?8/17
"Bigfoot: Hidden Giant Review/It might not be the finest of Hidden Object games but Bigfoot: Hidden Giant still offers some fun."?148Apps?8/17
"Angel Salvation Review: Barring a few foibles (and an internet requirement), Angel Salvation is actually a really cool match 3 RPG."?148Apps?8/17
"Puppy Sanctuary Review: If match-3 puzzlers and little doggies tickle your fancy, Puppy Sanctuary is definitely worth exploring."?148Apps?8/17
How-To/Tutorial
"Convert Any Audio or Video File to an iPhone Ringtone Easily with QuickTime"?OS X Daily?8/18
"How to use the Rule of Thirds in your iPhone photography"?iDownload Blog?8/18
"Ins and outs of upgrading your iMac"?Macworld?8/17
Tips
"Does an iPad battery need discharging? What is the best way to manage an iPad battery, a reader asks."?Telegraph?8/18
"Open Safari Links in the Background on iPhone & iPod Touch"?OS X Daily?8/17
"Why you can't take your unlocked iPhone 4S to another U.S. carrier"?CNET News?8/17
"Apple Negotiating With Cable Companies About Live TV on Apple DVR?"?Touch Reviews?8:17 AM
"Hey, Guys, Remember When You Used To Care About Flash?"?TechCrunch?7:45 AM
"Apple responds to SMS vulnerability concerns, suggests using iMessage"?iMore?7:45 AM
"iPhone SMS Security Problem? Nope, You're Texting Wrong"?Tapscape?7:16 AM
"Rant: Facebook app on iPhone"?iSource?8/18
"Forget Apple Vs. Samsung, Motorola Wants Import Ban On iPhone, iPad And iPod touch"?Redmond Pie?8/18
"Apple and Samsung trial comes to an end; Closing arguments set for Tuesday"?Edible Apple?8/18
"Enderle: The king is dead. Can Samsung slay Apple and steal its crown?"?MacDailyNews?8/18
"The Macalope Weekly: Vacation interuptus"?Macworld?8/18
"AT&T just pulled a dick move with FaceTime over cellular"?BGR?8/18
"Apple sued for alleged patent infringement in iPhone and iPad"?BGR?8/18
"New iPhone Dock Connector Up Close And Personal"?AppleBitch?8/18
"iPhone 5, iPad mini Dock Connectors: 9-pin"?Tapscape?8/18
"Finally! Apple, Samsung Finish Up Witness Testimony in Jury Trial"?Wired?8/17
"Apple attacks Samsung for asserting standards-essential patents: Samsung wants too much money and failed to follow standards process, Apple says."?Ars Technica?8/17
"Particle Debris: A Juicy Week of Lies, Deception, Betrayal & Insecurities"?The Mac Observer?8/17
"Editorial: Where's That BIG Cash Opportunity Steve Jobs Promised us?"?The Mac Observer?8/17
"Is Apple Store overstaffed?"?BetaNews?8/17
"Why Your iPad Is Almost Always The Cheapest Way To Get Your Textbooks [Back To School]?Cult of Mac?8/17
"A New Look At How Apple Should Spend All Of That Money"?App Advice?8/17
"Apple CFO confidence in conference call equals iTV launch?"?9 to 5 Mac?8/17
"DT Debates: Do we really want a Google-less iPhone?"?Digital Trends?8/17
"True confessions of a former iPhone developer: As of last Wednesday, I am officially no longer an iPhone developer: which frees me up to tell you about my sordid experiences as an iPhone developer."?ZDNet?8/17
"Why is Apple scared to compete with Samsung?"?ZDNet?8/17
"Samsung's Alleged Patent Infringing Devices Not Very Profitable"?The Mac Observer?8/17
"Is Apple Already Preparing To Rearrange Your Living Room?"?App Advice?8/17
"Analyst Believes Apple Television Set Already in 'Full Production', Launch Timeframe Unclear"?MacRumors?8/17
"Apple's plan to take over TV: Cloud-based DVR, iOS interface, social sharing"?BGR?8/17
"Rumor: New Apple TV Killer Feature Is Recording 'In The Cloud"?AppleBitch?8/17
"11 features Apple's TV must have" [Slideshow]?Fortune?8/17
"I'd Love To See Ultra-D On An ITV"?MacNews?8/17
"Cloud DVR: The New Apple TV"?Tapscape?8/17
"Apple, you can't say you weren't warned about your new retail boss"?GigaOM?8/17
"Apple newbie John Browett brings Dixons to Apple Retail Stores"?MacDailyNews?8/17
Non-Apple
"Infinite Scroll: The Web's Slot Machine"?TechCrunch?8/18
"Would you move your family to Sprint for $400? A leaked promo flyer shot shows the third-place carrier really wants you to switch over, and it's willing to pay for your business."?CNET News?8/17
"What A Difference A Year Makes"?ParisLemon?8/17
"This Could Be The Samsung Galaxy Note II"?TechCrunch?8/17
"Microsoft Surface Tablet for $199 --Think Again"?Tech.pinions?8/17
"Windows RT Tablets Up To $300 Less Than Win 8 Tabs, Says Lenovo Exec: The iPad is about to get some legitimate competition."?TechCrunch?8/17
"How To Deal with Someone Unfriending You"?Gizmodo?8/17
"Hey, Twitter ? shouldn't it be about the users?"?GigaOM?8/17
"Why the Google Play experience is about to rival iTunes"?GigaOM?8/17
"New from Twitter: crowdsourced analytics"?GigaOM?8/17
"New York artist fashions dead drop from dying hardware, mounts DVD burner in city wall"?Engadget?8/17
"Friday Poll: What could Best Buy do to survive? Electronics retailing is a cutthroat world and Best Buy seems to be dropping to the bottom of the pile. What could the company do to revive itself?"?CNET News?8/17
"Review: Nintendo's 3DS XL expands the system's screen, and its appeal/The larger system offers improved form factor without sacrificing portability"?Ars Technica?8/17
Oklahomans need few reminders of the importance of the energy industry to the state. They?ll get more reminders next week as the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs holds an energy summit on Tuesday and an American Energy Alliance (AEA) bus tour makes a stop here on Friday.
One in every seven Oklahoma jobs is directly or indirectly tied to energy, according to the AEA. The group?s bus tour has already logged more than 2,000 miles to spotlight the continued importance of fossil fuels in the age of renewable energy mania. The bus will be at the Oklahoma History Center near the state Capitol at 9 a.m. Friday.
OCPA?s National Policy Summit on Energy & Federalism is scheduled for the new Devon Energy Center in downtown Oklahoma City. Panel discussions will focus on national security and state and federal regulations.
Energy?s importance is highlighted monthly in reports on state revenues and demonstrated daily by the thousands of industry employees who live, work and shop in the state. Fossil fuel is still cool here. May it be so for a long time to come.
By the way, those buses that ferry Barack Obama campaigners around the country this fall won?t be running on solar power.
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Some people decide to pay their respects via drive-thru. Others hang coffins from cliffs. Despite the variety of their methods, the rituals are based in the same idea: communities want to remember and honor their dead.
Funeral rituals vary tremendously. Whether in the same country or on opposite sides of the world, people find unique ways to send off their family and friends who have died. Here are 10 fascinating funerals found around the world.
In many ways, the United States is a land of convenience. Fast food chains sit on many street corners throughout the country so that anyone can drive through and grab a bite to eat, no matter their schedule. Some places in the US have taken this concept and applied it to rituals for the deceased. Parking is no issue, as you can view the body and sign the guest book without ever leaving your vehicle. It is truly a fascinating example of common North American burial practices mixed with America?s culture of convenience.
People are scattered throughout the globe more than ever, and many people do not have enough disposable income on hand to drop money on a pricey plane ticket with little notice. That can make attending funerals difficult for family and friends who are thousands of miles away from the service of a loved one. Some are electing to stream funeral services as webcasts so that location does not get in the way of a person being present for the service, even if it is from the other side of the globe. Webcasting funeral services serves as an interesting mix of tradition and technology.
Some people are just dying to go out with a bang. Cremation fireworks make that possible in a new way. Some companies offer services where they pack cremated remains into firework shells and then launch them into the heavens, creating a stunning fireworks display over land or sea. The results are a vibrant, powerful testimony to anyone who led an exciting life and wished for the same kind of excitement during their funeral.
A traditional funeral ceremony on the South Pacific Island of Fiji can get really grim. When someone dies, those closest to the deceased are then killed too, often through strangulation. The idea is to ensure that the dead is surrounded by family and friends even after death. People would seek to kill female widows, in particular, believing that the god Ruvuyalo would kill the spirit of a man who was not accompanied by his wife. This murderous ritual has since been phased out in modern times on the island.
When many people think about coffins, they imagine a casket that rests deep underground. Some communities hold a different view: they believe that coffins need to be close to the sky so that their dead can be closer to heaven. You can see this practice in minority groups from the Philippines as well as southern parts of China, where the deceased are placed in coffins and then left suspended from the sides of cliffs.
In the Amazon rainforest, parts of the indigenous population go a step further than honoring and remembering their dead ? they eat them, too. Up until the 1960s, for example, a group called the Wari? would engage in mortuary cannibalism. They would eat their kin, anthropologists reported, as a way to emotionally detach from memories of those who pass. The group considered the act a respectful way to dispose of bodies. It was less cruel, to them, than leaving it to rot in the ground. Contact with outsiders eventually put a halt to the practice; the Wari? needed food and medicine, which affluent outsiders would often withhold from participants in mortuary cannibalism.
The Tibetan funerary ritual called sky burial is a practice designed to dispose of remains while allowing a person?s flesh to nourish living beings. In a sky burial, a person dissects a corpse and leaves it in the open, often on raised land like a hill or mountain. Carrion birds like vultures then descend on the corpse and consume its flesh. Remaining bones are later ground up and usually given to animals like hawks and crows.
Humans are carbon-based life forms. Due to that trait, bodies can be used to create a wide variety of things. Now, companies are using that fact to shake up burial practices ? it is possible, for example, to get a person?s remains transformed into a diamond. A combination of heat and high pressure changes human ash into a shimmering jewel. This practice is not cheap. Customers looking to preserve a person?s remains in the form of a large diamond could be set back around $25,000.
Aboriginal groups in Australia sometimes use trees in their funerary traditions. They take the deceased?s body and place it in a tree. There, it is left to decompose. Months or even years later, members of the group retrieve remaining bones. These bones are painted with red ochre and placed in a decorated, hollowed-out log during a ceremony complete with dancing. Those involved in the ceremony transport the log containing the bones to the main camp and, after more singing and dancing, they leave it to endure the elements. That completes the burial cycle.
People who want their physical remains to leave the planet can opt for a space burial. Here, a company collects a tiny fraction of your cremated remains, packs it into small container made to withstand the demands of space travel, and sends it out into space. One problem with this practice is that, in many cases, the remains eventually return to earth. For a hefty price tag, you have the option of a more permanent placement: your remains can take a one-way trip to the moon.
The world is full of fascinating funeral rituals. Whether inspired by the trends of modern America or ancestral traditions dating back thousands of years, funerals help reveal how varied communities and their cultural practices can be.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2012) ? Most people are not aware of the fact that 84% of the European crops are partially or entirely dependent on insect pollination. While managed honeybees pollinate certain crops, wild bees, flies and wasps cover a very broad spectrum of plants, and thus are considered the most important pollinators in Europe.
The serious decline in the number of managed honeybees and wild bees reported in Europe over the last few decades has the potential to cause yield decreases with threats to the environment and economy of Europe. The future of the pollination services provided by bees is therefore of serious concern. Effective actions for the mitigation of the pollinator declines need to be taken across Europe.
Although honeybees are important pollinators in large scale plantations, for some crops, including sunflowers, a combination of wild bees and honeybees are essential to provide optimal pollination. Wild bees can support farm productivity when the honeybees can't do the work, for example when their number is insufficient, or when weather conditions prevent them from flying. Moreover, it is well known for several crops, that wild bees are more efficient at pollinating than honeybees, such as mason bees on apples and bumblebees on beans. In addition, wild bees can be a lower cost alternative to honeybees since they do not need to be rented commercially if sufficient high quality pollinator habitat is available in and around farms.
To raise awareness among farmers for the importance of wild pollinators, the EC FP7 project STEP -- 'Status and Trends of European Pollinators' published a farmers' factsheet in 15 European languages. The factsheet encourages farmers to utilize the benefits of wild insect pollination services, and thus reduce the risks of relying on the honeybee as a single species for crop production. Farmers are encouraged to take actions to protect pollinators by selecting appropriate agri-environmental schemes and modifying agricultural practices to become more pollinator friendly.
Simultaneously, STEP is undertaking a broad-scale survey of the public opinion through online questionnaires available in seven European languages. The survey aims to reveal if, and to what extent, people are aware of the role of pollinators in agricultural ecosystems and the consequences for the environment from the decline of bees and other insect pollinators. People are also being asked to give their opinion on the importance of insect pollination for agriculture to share their perception on the status of pollinators in Europe, their importance for public health, wildlife and the European economy and how important they believe this issue to be. Readers of all nationalities are invited to express their opinions through this online survey.
STEP Farmers' recommendation factsheet [available in 15 European languages]: http://www.step-project.net/page.php?P=4&SP=14
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?The Morning Briefing? is SmartPlanet?s daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we?re reading about patents and legal disputes.
1.) Google enhances patent search service. The Prior Art Finder should help simplify patent research, to the benefit of companies making infringement claims and defending against them.
2.) Patents are not the enemy. This anti-patent onslaught operates on two distinct levels.
3.) Big hopes for Kodak patent auction, but small bids. Kodak?s patent auction in New York has failed to generate the premium bids that the company and creditors had hoped for, with some suitors leaving the action in the past few days, people familiar with the matter said.
4.) FTC says drug patent settlements used to delay generics. The Federal Trade Commission said makers of branded drugs that settle patent challenges by promising not to launch their own generic alternatives are using such agreements to delay generic competition.
5.) Judge urges Apple and Samsung to settle their patent dispute. The judge presiding over an intellectual property dispute between Apple and Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that the chief executives of the two companies should talk again before the jury begins its deliberations.
Some football leagues around the globe have already kicked off the 2012-2013 season, but there's still some time before the ball officially starts rolling in other parts of the world -- unless, of course, you take into consideration this past Sunday's Community Shield. In any case, ESPN appears to have prepared itself pretty well for the upcoming footie spell, announcing an all-new ESPNFC landing page and a full set of applications to accompany the fresh site -- which will essentially be replacing what we used to know as ESPNsoccernet. Furthermore, The Worldwide Leader in Sports updated its ESPN Goals app on iOS, Android and Windows Phone, bringing game previews and highlights, analyst ramblings from folks like Tommy Smith, as well as the ability to easily share these videos with friends on Twitter or Facebook. If you asked us, we'd say this isn't a half bad way to keep yourself updated on the latest global soccer happenings, and could, perhaps, even help in your quest to become fantasy league champion.
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