Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas Crib at our home
Dear all here is few photos of our Christmas Crib decorated in my home...
Monday, November 22, 2010
Liberian becomes Africa's first female president
MONROVIA, Liberia — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in Monday as war-battered Liberia's new president, making history as Africa's first elected female head of state and pledging a "fundamental break" with the West African nation's violent past.
Officials adjust Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf necklace as she takes the oath of office on Monday, becoming Africa's first elected woman head of state in a country torn apart by 14 years of civil war.
"We know that your vote was a vote for change, a vote for peace, security ... and we have heard you loudly," Sirleaf told Liberians in an inaugural speech.
"We recognize this change not a change for change's sake, but a fundamental break with the past, therefore requiring that we take bold and decisive steps to address the problems that have for decades stunted our progress," she said.
Dignitaries on hand for historic moment Sirleaf takes charge of a ruined nation struggling for peace after a quarter-century of coups and war. Speaking for the first time as president, she also promised to stamp out corruption to secure the trust of skeptical foreign donors whose aid is desperately needed to rebuild.
In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulated Sirleaf, saying she had a "historic mandate to lead the nation toward a future of lasting peace and stability."
Standing in front of a Liberian flag with her left hand on a Bible, Sirleaf pledged to "faithfully, conscientiously and impartially discharge the duties and functions of the office of president of the Republic of Liberia to the best of my abilities, so help me God."
The ceremony was attended by thousands of Liberians and scores of foreign dignitaries, including Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki.
Two U.S. Navy warships were visible offshore for the first time since the war ended in 2003, a rare show of support also meant to protect two high-profile American guests, first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Security was tight, with armed U.N. peacekeepers surveying the scene with binoculars from atop surrounding buildings. The U.N. redeployed 500 peacekeepers previously stationed outside the capital to strategic points in Monrovia and the international airport.
Taylor legacy
Sirleaf will serve a six-year term as head of Africa's oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847. The country has known little but war, however, since a rebel group led by Charles Taylor plunged the country into chaos, invading from neighboring Ivory Coast in 1989.
Sirleaf will serve a six-year term as head of Africa's oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847. The country has known little but war, however, since a rebel group led by Charles Taylor plunged the country into chaos, invading from neighboring Ivory Coast in 1989.
Taylor became president in 1997 but stepped down and was exiled to Nigeria as part of the 2003 peace deal brokered as rebels pressed on the capital. He is now wanted on war crimes charges by a U.N.-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone for his role in backing a brutal rebel group during that country's 1991-2002 civil war.
On a flight to Monrovia early Monday, Rice told reporters Taylor "is through raping and pillaging this country, and the Liberian people are trying to look forward."
Nigeria has refused to hand Taylor over to the court and Sirleaf has said only that she would consult with regional leaders regarding Taylor's future. Rice said she's confident Sirleaf will work to hand Taylor over to the Sierra Leone court.
Rich in diamonds, iron ore and timber, Liberia was relatively prosperous and peaceful until a 1980 coup saw illiterate Master Sgt. Samuel Doe seize power and order Cabinet ministers tied to poles in their underwear and executed.
Harvard-educated Sirleaf was finance minister at the time, but was spared, she told The Associated Press in a recent interview, "by the grace of God."
Twice imprisoned in the 1980s by Doe's junta, Sirleaf fled into exile.
When Taylor launched a rebel invasion in 1989, Sirleaf briefly supported him — a move that still draws criticism today. The war saw children as young as 10 take up arms. Fighting uprooted half the country's three million people and killed 200,000.
Challenges ahead for ‘Iron Lady’ A truce paved the way for presidential elections in 1997 that Sirleaf lost to Taylor. The brazen bid earned her the nickname "Iron Lady."
After another rebel war forced Taylor from power in 2003, Sirleaf ran for president again, this time winning a heated November run-off buoyed by a resume that included senior jobs at Citibank, the U.N. and the World Bank. Her soccer star rival, George Weah, was backed by ex-rebel leaders and many ex-combatants.
Sirleaf inherits a nation in tatters. The capital has no running water or electricity, and unemployment is an astounding 80 percent. Reflecting how slowly economic wheels are turning, the annual budget is a mere $80 million. Annual donor aid is three-and-a-half times that.
Sirleaf says her top priorities include stamping out corruption, getting electricity in the capital and assuring a future for 100,000 ex-combatants who laid down arms last year, many of whom are prowling the streets, unemployed.
Source : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10865705/ns/world_news-africa
Source : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10865705/ns/world_news-africa
Rewarding web application security research
Monday, November 1, 2010 12:30 PM
Back in January of this year, the Chromium open source project launched a well-received vulnerability reward program. In the months since launch, researchers reporting a wide range of great bugs have received rewards — a small summary of which can be found in the Hall of Fame. We've seen a sustained increase in the number of high quality reports from researchers, and their combined efforts are contributing to a more secure Chromium browser for millions of users.
Today, we are announcing an experimental new vulnerability reward program that applies to Google web properties. We already enjoy working with an array of researchers to improve Google security, and some individuals who have provided high caliber reports are listed on our credits page. As well as enabling us to thank regular contributors in a new way, we hope our new program will attract new researchers and the types of reports that help make our users safer.
In the spirit of the original Chromium blog post, we have some information about the new program in a question and answer format below:
Q) What applications are in scope?
A) Any Google web properties which display or manage highly sensitive authenticated user data or accounts may be in scope. Some examples could include:
- *.google.com
- *.youtube.com
- *.blogger.com
- *.orkut.com
UPDATE: We also recommend reading our additional thoughts about these guidelines to help clarify what types of applications and bugs are eligible for this program.
Q) What classes of bug are in scope?
A) It's difficult to provide a definitive list of vulnerabilities that will be rewarded; however, any serious bug which directly affects the confidentiality or integrity of user data may be in scope. We anticipate most rewards will be in bug categories such as:
These categories of bugs are definitively excluded:
A) Please, only ever target your own account or a test account. Never attempt to access anyone else's data. Do not engage in any activity that bombards Google services with large numbers of requests or large volumes of data.
Q) I've found a vulnerability — how do I report it?
A) Contact details are listed here. Please only use the email address given for actual vulnerabilities in Google products. Non-security bugs and queries about problems with your account should should instead be directed to the Google Help Centers.
Q) What reward might I get?
A) The base reward for qualifying bugs is $500. If the rewards panel finds a particular bug to be severe or unusually clever, rewards of up to $3,133.7 may be issued. The panel may also decide a single report actually constitutes multiple bugs requiring reward, or that multiple reports constitute only a single reward.
We understand that some researchers aren’t interested in the money, so we’d also like to give you the option to donate your reward to charity. If you do, we'll match it — subject to our discretion.
Regardless of whether you're rewarded monetarily or not, all vulnerability reporters who interact with us in a respectful, productive manner will be credited on a new vulnerability reporter page. If we file a bug internally, you'll be credited.
Superstar performers will continue to be acknowledged under the "We Thank You" section ofthis page.
Q) How do I find out if my bug qualified for a reward?
A) You will receive a comment to this effect in an emailed response from the Google Security Team.
Q) What if someone else also found the same bug?
A) Only the first report of a given issue that we had not yet identified is eligible. In the event of a duplicate submission, only the earliest received report is considered.
Q) Will bugs disclosed without giving Google developers an opportunity to fix them first still qualify?
A) We believe handling vulnerabilities responsibly is a two-way street. It's our job to fix serious bugs within a reasonable time frame, and we in turn request advance, private notice of any issues that are uncovered. Vulnerabilities that are disclosed to any party other than Google, except for the purposes of resolving the vulnerability (for example, an issue affecting multiple vendors), will usually not qualify. This includes both full public disclosure and limited private release.
Q) Do I still qualify if I disclose the problem publicly once fixed?
A) Yes, absolutely! We encourage open collaboration. We will also make sure to credit you on our new vulnerability reporter page.
Q) Who determines whether a given bug is eligible?
A) Several members of the Google Security Team including Chris Evans, Neel Mehta, Adam Mein, Matt Moore, and Michal Zalewski.
Q) Are you going to list my name on a public web page?
A) Only if you want us to. If selected as the recipient of a reward, and you accept, we will need your contact details in order to pay you. However, at your discretion, you can choose not to be listed on any credit page.
Q) No doubt you wanted to make some legal points?
A) Sure. We encourage broad participation. However, we are unable to issue rewards to individuals who are on sanctions lists, or who are in countries (e.g. Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) on sanctions lists. This program is also not open to minors. You are responsible for any tax implications depending on your country of residency and citizenship. There may be additional restrictions on your ability to enter depending upon your local law.
This is not a competition, but rather an experimental and discretionary rewards program. You should understand that we can cancel the program at any time, and the decision as to whether or not to pay a reward has to be entirely at our discretion.
Of course, your testing must not violate any law, or disrupt or compromise any data that is not your own.
Thank you for helping us to make Google's products more secure. We look forward to issuing our first reward in this new program.
Q) What classes of bug are in scope?
A) It's difficult to provide a definitive list of vulnerabilities that will be rewarded; however, any serious bug which directly affects the confidentiality or integrity of user data may be in scope. We anticipate most rewards will be in bug categories such as:
- XSS
- XSRF / CSRF
- XSSI (cross-site script inclusion)
- Bypassing authorization controls (e.g. User A can access User B's private data)
- Server side code execution or command injection
These categories of bugs are definitively excluded:
- attacks against Google’s corporate infrastructure
- social engineering and physical attacks
- denial of service bugs
- non-web application vulnerabilities, including vulnerabilities in client applications
- SEO blackhat techniques
- vulnerabilities in Google-branded websites hosted by third parties
- bugs in technologies recently acquired by Google
A) Please, only ever target your own account or a test account. Never attempt to access anyone else's data. Do not engage in any activity that bombards Google services with large numbers of requests or large volumes of data.
Q) I've found a vulnerability — how do I report it?
A) Contact details are listed here. Please only use the email address given for actual vulnerabilities in Google products. Non-security bugs and queries about problems with your account should should instead be directed to the Google Help Centers.
Q) What reward might I get?
A) The base reward for qualifying bugs is $500. If the rewards panel finds a particular bug to be severe or unusually clever, rewards of up to $3,133.7 may be issued. The panel may also decide a single report actually constitutes multiple bugs requiring reward, or that multiple reports constitute only a single reward.
We understand that some researchers aren’t interested in the money, so we’d also like to give you the option to donate your reward to charity. If you do, we'll match it — subject to our discretion.
Regardless of whether you're rewarded monetarily or not, all vulnerability reporters who interact with us in a respectful, productive manner will be credited on a new vulnerability reporter page. If we file a bug internally, you'll be credited.
Superstar performers will continue to be acknowledged under the "We Thank You" section ofthis page.
Q) How do I find out if my bug qualified for a reward?
A) You will receive a comment to this effect in an emailed response from the Google Security Team.
Q) What if someone else also found the same bug?
A) Only the first report of a given issue that we had not yet identified is eligible. In the event of a duplicate submission, only the earliest received report is considered.
Q) Will bugs disclosed without giving Google developers an opportunity to fix them first still qualify?
A) We believe handling vulnerabilities responsibly is a two-way street. It's our job to fix serious bugs within a reasonable time frame, and we in turn request advance, private notice of any issues that are uncovered. Vulnerabilities that are disclosed to any party other than Google, except for the purposes of resolving the vulnerability (for example, an issue affecting multiple vendors), will usually not qualify. This includes both full public disclosure and limited private release.
Q) Do I still qualify if I disclose the problem publicly once fixed?
A) Yes, absolutely! We encourage open collaboration. We will also make sure to credit you on our new vulnerability reporter page.
Q) Who determines whether a given bug is eligible?
A) Several members of the Google Security Team including Chris Evans, Neel Mehta, Adam Mein, Matt Moore, and Michal Zalewski.
Q) Are you going to list my name on a public web page?
A) Only if you want us to. If selected as the recipient of a reward, and you accept, we will need your contact details in order to pay you. However, at your discretion, you can choose not to be listed on any credit page.
Q) No doubt you wanted to make some legal points?
A) Sure. We encourage broad participation. However, we are unable to issue rewards to individuals who are on sanctions lists, or who are in countries (e.g. Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) on sanctions lists. This program is also not open to minors. You are responsible for any tax implications depending on your country of residency and citizenship. There may be additional restrictions on your ability to enter depending upon your local law.
This is not a competition, but rather an experimental and discretionary rewards program. You should understand that we can cancel the program at any time, and the decision as to whether or not to pay a reward has to be entirely at our discretion.
Of course, your testing must not violate any law, or disrupt or compromise any data that is not your own.
Thank you for helping us to make Google's products more secure. We look forward to issuing our first reward in this new program.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sell Google Apps through Google’s reseller program
Ever wanted to be a salesperson for Google? Well, now you may get your chance through the Google Apps Reseller program, which allows companies to sell their own versions of Google Apps, the business offering that bundles products like Gmail, Google Docs, and more. The program creates a new way for technology service providers to make money from Google’s products — and for Google to grow the size of its salesforce.
Basically, Google will offer Google Apps to resellers at a 20 percent discount, will train resellers, and will continue to host the product, while resellers will control their customer relationships, including billing. Of course, you can just purchase Google Apps from the search giant directly, so why bother with a middleman? The idea is for resellers to package Google Apps within a larger product or to offer services that complement Apps. Those could include one-time services like data migration or user training, or ongoing offerings like an outsourced help desk. Companies can also build on the product using Google App Engine or the features in Google Sites, for example customizing the general Apps offering to a specific industry.
The program already launched in pilot mode with more than 50 resellers — the name most familiar to VentureBeat readers is probably Appirio, the Sequoia-backed company that connects different cloud computing platforms. Paul Slakey, Google’s director of enterprise channels, says it’s hard to know exactly how popular this initiative will be, but he wouldn’t be surprised if more businesses eventually buy Apps from resellers than from Google itself.
“We’re not going to be getting the luxury, especially in this environment right now, to hire a huge salesforce, but we know we have a hot product,” he says.
Google says more than one million businesses use Apps, including big names like Genentech and Yelp, with 3,000 more signing up every day. The company doesn’t provide a breakdown of how many customers use the free version compared to the premiere version, which you have to pay for. However, the paying camp is about to grow, since Google will now require any business with more than 50 users to use the paid version.
You can apply to be part of the reseller program here.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Jesus Christ 3D Animation - Good Friday
Pixel Studios team, takes great pleasure in launching this 3D animated video on Jesus Christ who spread the message of love even at his last breath. We are happy it is coming live just before Good Friday.
Do you know Kitty Kreatives ?
A small dream that got shaped up to a full fledged website. The very purpose of this website is to inspire you and make you believe that you have everything in you to make your dream come to pass.
So, what do we have here in that simple website?
Stories : Stories that are inspired by real life incidents that teach us some value. If you think you have a story to share, do write to us.
Articles : The articles are a part of the mailer group that we operate. The mailer group is called the A2Z club and it aims at kick starting your day every morning. These articles are homegrown and are aimed to highlight LIFE in a different viewpoint.
Wallpapers : Every month, we publish an inspiring wallpaper that keeps reminding you of your purpose. Do download them and have them in your desktop.
A to Z Email Club : A email club with inspiring thoughts for a day.
Website by Senthil Anand, Pixel Studios
http://www.kittykreatives.com/
Google's Web fonts on the rise
Google launched the Google Font Directory and Google Font API to help establish a core set of web fonts that can be used openly across devices and platforms. Recently, the Google team took some time to reflect on their progress, the adoption of web fonts in general, and on the current limitations. they shared some of the most interesting stats from their analysis:
- The Google Font API currently serves over 17 million requests [1] a day to users across the globe.
- they have seen a 30% month-over-month growth rate since we launched. (This corresponds to over 20x year-over-year growth.)
- Roughly 400,000 unique websites [2] use the Google Font API.
The adoption of the Google Font API has been fantastic, and they think it speaks to the potential of web fonts to change the web. Google isn’t the only player in this space to see promising adoption stats. In order to fully assess the state of the web font ecosystem, they worked together with their friends at Typekit. They performed a similar analysis and their results are equally exciting.
Although there is a long way to go for comprehensive browser and device support (especially for complex scripts like Arabic), they are highly optimistic. With web font adoption quickly gaining momentum, there will be increased pressure on the browsers and platforms of the world to support web fonts in a standard and consistent manner.
Posted by David Wurtz, Product Manager, Google Font API
Source : http://googlewebfonts.blogspot.com/
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