Lil Weed

Ronaldo....futba...

2007-10-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima (born September 18, 1976), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Brazil and the Italian Serie A club AC Milan. He has been nicknamed "The Phenomenon" (Portuguese: O Fenômeno, Spanish: El Fenómeno). Pelé named him one of the 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
Ronaldo has enjoyed success at the international level, winning the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cups with Brazil. Ronaldo has won three FIFA World Player of the Year awards (1996, 1997, 2002). He and former Real Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane are the only two men to have won the award three times.
Ronaldo was born in Bento Ribeiro, a poor neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Like many of his friends, he began to play football in the streets of his neighborhood. Ronaldo's actual date of birth is September 18, 1976, however, his father did not register his birth certificate until September 22, 1976 so some discrepancy has existed as to his actual birth date.
In April 1999, Ronaldo married Milene Domingues. The marriage lasted four years and ended in divorce. The couple had a son, Ronald (born 2000). In 2005, Ronaldo got engaged to Brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniela Cicarelli, who became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage; their relationship lasted 3 months after their engagement. He ended his relationship with Brazilian supermodel Raica Oliveira in December 2006. Writer Andrew Downie asserted a correlation between Ronaldo's personal life and performance on the pitch, noting that his most prolific periods of goalscoring have coincided with the times when he was happily married.
In 2005, Ronaldo became co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, alongside Brazilian motorsports legend Emerson Fittipaldi. The team participates in the A1 Grand Prix series, with Nelson Piquet, Jr., Tony Kanaan and João Paulo Oliveira as drivers for the debut season.

Ronaldo's football abilities were first recognised when he was 14. He was recommended to the Brazil youth team by World Cup winner Jairzinho, who also arranged for his own former club, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, to sign him when he was old enough for a professional contract.[citation needed]
Ronaldo scored 12 goals in 13 games in the Brazilian National Championship, and in the Minas Gerais State Championship he scored all three goals in Cruzeiro's 3-1 victory against arch-rival Atlético Mineiro. After being scouted by Piet de Visser, he was soon transferred for US$6 million to PSV Eindhoven, where he scored 42 goals in 46 league games and reached a total of 55 goals in 57 official appearances. Later he attracted the attention of Spain's FC Barcelona. He played for Barça in the 1996-97 season, scoring 47 in 49 (including appearances in the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners Cup) on the way to leading the Catalan side to UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph (where he capped the season with the winning goal in the cup final itself). Inter Milan swooped to sign him the following year, and Ronaldo duly helped them repeat his former side's cup-winning run, this time in the UEFA Cup. As of 2006, Ronaldo is the last player to score more than 30 goals in 1 season in the Spanish La Liga.
On 21 November 1999, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the pitch. Medical exams after the match confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his right knee and would require surgery. During his first comeback on April 12, 2000, he played only seven minutes during the first leg of the coppa italia final against Lazio before injuring his knee for a second time.
After two operations and 20 months of rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in 2002 he won the World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid for approximately €39,000,000, after frequent disputes with Inter coach Héctor Cúper.[citation needed] His transfer to Madrid was the subject of a media frenzy not just laced with the usual hype because of his reputation, but more so because he was now the third successive Galactico (or superstar) signed in as many years by the Spanish giants as part of their policy of signing the world's biggest superstar football players in order to maintain their levels of success whilst broadening their reaches of fame.[citation needed]
Ronaldo was such a well-known signing that sales of his shirt on the day of his signing alone broke all records the world over.[citation needed] Proof of his fame came with the fact that even though Ronaldo was sidelined through injury until October 2002, fans continued to chant his name in the stands. Ronaldo scored twice in his debut for Real Madrid. That same reception was observed on the night of the final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo scored again to seal his first season with 23 league goals (not including the goals in the UEFA Champions League that included a hat-trick away at Manchester United - in which Real Madrid still lost 4-3 away but proceeded 6-5 on aggregate.) and the La Liga Championship title for 2003, which Ronaldo had previously failed to win whilst at FC Barcelona.
Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil in 1994, in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina. He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA as a 17-year-old but did not play. He came to be known then as Ronaldinho, since Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older team-mate on the tournament, was too called Ronaldo (and nicknamed Ronaldão to further distinguish them). Another Brazilian player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, who is widely known as Ronaldinho, would come to be called Ronaldinho Gaúcho when he joined the Brazilian main national team in 1999.
Voted the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996 and 1997, he scored four goals and made three assists during the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The night before the final, he suffered a convulsive fit. He was initially removed from the starting lineup 72 minutes before the match but he requested to play and was later reinstated by coach Mario Zagallo. Ronaldo did not perform well and he was injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Brazil lost the final to hosts France 3-0. Adrian Williams, professor of clinical neurology at Birmingham University, said that Ronaldo should not have played, saying that he would have been feeling the after effects of the seizure and that "there is no way that he would have been able to perform to the best of his ability within 24 hours of his first fit -- if it was his first fit."[10]
Ronaldo won the Golden Shoe as the top scorer in the 2002 FIFA World Cup with eight goals. He scored against every team he came up against except England in the quarter finals and scored two in the final against Germany, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. He also equaled Pelé's Brazilian record of 12 World Cup goals, adding to the four he scored in the 1998 tournament.
On June 2, 2004, Ronaldo scored an unusual hat-trick for Brazil against arch-rivals Argentina in a CONMEBOL qualifier for the 2006 World Cup, scoring all three of Brazil's goals from the penalty spot, winning all the penalties himself.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, respectively, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow (Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva questioned the national coach "Ronaldo is fat or isn't he?"). Nonetheless, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the starting lineup in face of calls to have Ronaldo replaced. With his two goals against Japan in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he became the 20th player ever to score in three different FIFA World Cups. Ronaldo scored in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. On June 27, 2006, he broke the all-time World Cup Finals scoring record of 14, held by Gerd Müller after scoring his 15th World Cup goal against Ghana in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Round of 16. He also equaled a much less talked about mark: with his third goal of the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo became only the second player ever (Jürgen Klinsmann being the other) to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups. However, Brazil was eliminated by France 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo is currently the third highest all-time scorer of the Brazil national football team, with 66 goals. He trails second place Zico, 66, and first place pele, 77.
Following the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo had surgery on July 16, 2006, to remove calcifications from his left tibia.
Ronaldo became a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador in 2000. "No one should be doomed to a life of poverty, whether by birth or as a consequence of war", Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo has also supported numerous Israeli and Palestinian children's charities and conducted a tour of Israel and the West Bank.

Ronaldinho.....fudbal....

2007-10-21T07:54:00.003-07:00

Ronaldo de Assís Moreira (born March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian footballer, also known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho (due to him being from the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil), or simply and most commonly Ronaldinho. He became a naturalized Spanish citizen in January 2007.

Ronaldinho (IPA - [χonawˈdʒĩɲu]), meaning "little Ronaldo", is better known in Brazil by the nickname Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo (already called Ronaldinho in Brazil). However, upon Ronaldo's move to Europe, he began to be known simply as 'Ronaldo', thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop Gaúcho and remain simply as 'Ronaldinho'.
Among his many achievements and accolades, Ronaldinho has been awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice (2004, 2005), as well as the European Footballer of the Year award and the FIFPro World Player of the Year award twice (2005, 2006). He has downplayed suggestions that he is the best footballer in the world, telling FourFourTwo magazine, "I don't even feel I'm the best at Barça." Currently, he plays for FC Barcelona with a contract ending in 2010

Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre, a city in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. Ronaldinho's mother Miguelina is a former salesperson who later studied to become a nurse. His father João was a shipyard worker and footballer for Cruzeiro. The family moved to a more affluent home in Porto Alegre when Ronaldinho's older brother Roberto signed to play professional football for Grêmio. João died when Ronaldinho was eight, after suffering a heart attack while swimming in the family's pool. This house was given to Roberto Assis as a present from Gremio to convince him to stay at the club. At the time, Torino were interested in him. Injuries ended Roberto's career prematurely, and he now manages Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho's sister Deisi works as his press coordinator. Ronaldinho's son, named João after his father, was born on February 25, 2005. João's mother is Janaína Nattielle Viana Mendes, a former dancer on the Brazilian television show Domingão do Faustão.

On July 19, 2003, FC Barcelona acquired Ronaldinho for £21 million. Originally, Barcelona President Joan Laporta had promised to bring David Beckham to the club, but following his transfer to Real Madrid, Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and beat Manchester United to his signature. It was thought that a failure on the part of the English and French clubs to agree on a fee was the reason Manchester United's deal fell through. Ronaldinho is also said to have signed with Barcelona instead of Manchester United because of his friendship with former Nike executive in Brazil and Barcelona's then vice-president in charge of sports, Sandro Rosell. Ronaldinho's signing with Barcelona follows in the footsteps of a number of illustrious fellow countrymen who enjoyed successful careers with the club, including Romário, Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

Ronaldinho is one of few players to play at every footballing level, for he has played at under 15, under 17, under 20, under 23, and senior level. He made his first ever appearance for Brazil playing against Scotland on the 7th of March 1995 in an under 15s match, Brazil lost the game 1-0.

Ronaldinho was part of the first ever Brazilian team to win the Under 17s championship. His first goal was scored from a penalty against Austria in the first group match, which Brazil won 7-0, and eventually went on to finish top of their group. In the quarter-finals Brazil beat Argentina 2-0, in which Ronaldinho was named the Man of the match after setting up his teammate Fabio Pinto and creating numerous scoring chances. In the semi-finals Brazil had their first game against a European team, they had to play Germany, Brazil won the match 4-0 and Ronaldinho scored the fourth goal with a penalty. In the final Brazil had to play reigning champions Ghana, the game went 1-0 up for Ghana just before the half time break, only for Brazil to win the game 2-1 with the second goal being scored in the 87th minute. During the six matches of the tournament Brazil conceded only 2 goals and scored 21. Ronaldinho was named one of the best players of the tournament, receiving the Bronze Ball award. After the under 17's championship, he debuted for the Brazilian national team on June 26, 1999 against Latvia in a game which Brazil won 3-0.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldinho was a starting player for all of Brazil's five matches, but his performances were considered disappointing by both fans and commentators. He scored no goals and made only one assist (for Gilberto's goal in a 4-1 victory over Japan). When Brazil were eliminated by France 1-0 in the quarterfinal, he failed to make an impression.

After the World Cup, he has played in three of five official matches under Dunga's command (one start and two substitute appearances). After coming off the bench against Ecuador, Ronaldinho excelled, creating the winning goal for Kaká and hitting the post twice.
On March 24, 2007, Ronaldinho made his first start for Brazil since September 2006 and scored twice in Brazil's 4-0 win against Chile, putting an end to a scoreless streak that lasted nearly two years.

Soccer

2007-10-21T07:54:00.002-07:00

Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players. It is the most popular sport in the world.[1] Football is a ball game played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field, with a goal at each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeeper is the only player allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in mid air. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout, depending on the format of the competition.
The modern game was codified in England following the formation of The Football Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Football is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international football competition is the World Cup, held every four years. This event, the most widely viewed in the world, boasts an audience twice that of the Summer Olympics.

Seven Blunders of da World!!!!!!...

2007-10-19T07:46:00.001-07:00

>Wealth without work
>Pleasure without conscience
>Knowledge without character
>Commerce without morality
>Science without humanity
>Worship without sacrifice
>Politics without principle

Machu Picchu

2007-10-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Pikchu "Old Peak") is a pre-Columbian Inca city located at 2,430 m (7,970 ft) altitude[1] on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. It is often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas". The site was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization".[2]
Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911, who made the first scientific confirmation of the site and wrote a best-selling work about it.

Singapore Fyler.......!!!!!!

2007-10-18T10:34:00.003-07:00

The Singapore Flyer (Chinese: 新加坡摩天观景轮) is a giant observation wheel under construction in Singapore and slated for an opening on March 1, 2008 or earlier[1]. Reaching 42 stories high, it consists of a 150 metre high wheel built over a three-story terminal building, giving it a total height of 165 metres. This will exceed The Star of Nanchang (currently the tallest) by 5 metres and the London Eye (currently the largest) by 15 metres. It will feature 28 air-conditioned capsules capable of holding 30 passengers each. A complete rotation of the wheel will take an estimated 37 minutes. As on 02 October 2007, it has installed the last capsule of the Singapore Flyer..
Located on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land, it is expected to offer excellent views of the city centre and beyond to about 45 kilometres, including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia.

It is being built by Singapore-based company Great Wheel Corp.

The London Eye

2007-10-18T10:34:00.002-07:00

The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is a Ferris Wheel (or observation wheel) in London, England. At the time of building, it was the biggest in the world, although there are now larger wheels, such as The Star of Nanchang, which was opened in May 2006. The Singapore Flyer, at 15 metres taller than the London Eye, is due to open in early 2008.[1] The London Eye has become the most popular paid visitor attraction in the UK, visited by over 3.5 million people a year.[1] The London Eye stands 135 metres (443 ft) high on the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, England, between Westminster and Hungerford Bridges.
Designed by architects David Marks, Julia Barfield, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, Steven Chilton, Frank Anatole and Nic Bailey, the wheel carries 32 sealed and air-conditioned passenger capsules attached to its external circumference. Each capsule holds approximately 25 people. It rotates at 26 cm (10 in) per second (about 0.9 km/h (0.5mph) so that one revolution takes about 30 minutes. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers: the rotation rate is so slow that they can easily walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. It is, however, stopped to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to embark and disembark safely. The rim of the Eye is supported by tie rods and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel, and was depicted as such in a poster advertising a charity cycle race. The lighting for the London Eye was redone with LED lighting from Color Kinetics in December 2006 to allow digital control of the lights as opposed to the manual replacement of gels over fluorescent tubes.[2] The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on pontoons. Once the wheel was complete it was raised into an upright position by cranes, being lifted at 2 degrees an hour until it reached 65 degrees. It was left in that position for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift. The total weight of steel in the Eye is 1,700 tonnes (1,870 short tons). The London Eye was built in The Netherlands by the company Hollandia. It was opened by British Prime Minister Tony Blair at 20:00 GMT on December 31, 1999, although it was not opened to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye, operated by Merlin Entertainments but sponsored by British Airways, has become a major landmark and tourist attraction.

Casino

2007-10-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

A casino is a facility that accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are often placed near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships and other vacation attractions. Some casinos are known for hosting live entertainment events, such as concerts and sporting events. Worldwide there are about 4750 casinos.

Casinos focus greatly on security. Large amounts of currency move through a casino, tempting people to cheat the system. Security today consists of cameras located throughout the property operated by highly trained individuals who attempt to locate cheating and stealing by both players and employees.
Modern casino security is usually divided between a physical security force, which patrols the casino floor and responds to calls for assistance and reports of criminal and/or suspicious activities, and a specialized surveillance department, that operates the casino's closed circuit television (known in the industry as eye in the sky) system in an effort to detect any misconduct by both guests and employees alike. Both of these specialized casino security departments work very closely with each other to ensure the safety of both guests and the casino's assets.
When it opened in 1989, The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full time on all table games.[4]

Ferrari - No.1 in 2007 list of the 100 Best Workplaces in Europe...

2007-10-18T07:17:00.001-07:00

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello and Modena, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Ferrari's cars are among the most desirable of vehicles to own and drive, and are one of the ultimate status symbols of wealth in the world. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has largely enjoyed great success, especially during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, late 1990s, and 2000s.
Finally, after years of financial struggles, Enzo Ferrari sold the company's sports car division to the Fiat group in 1969 in order to help ensure continued financial backing for the foreseeable future. Enzo Ferrari himself retained control of the racing division until his death in 1988 at the age of 90.
Ferrari also has an internally managed merchandising line that licenses a wide range of products bearing the Ferrari brand, including eyewear, pens, pencils, perfume, clothing, high-tech bicycles, cell phones, and even laptop computers. Financial Times named Ferrari number one on its 2007 list of the 100 Best Workplaces in Europe.

Get a ferrari soon........fast.....
boooommmmmmmmm......

LYTWEED......

Hip-Hop/Rap......Genre........

2007-10-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hip hop (also spelled hip-hop or hiphop) is both a music genre and a cultural movement developed in New York City starting in the 1970s, predominantly by African Americans and Latinos.[1] Since first emerging in the Bronx, hip hop music has grown into an entire lifestyle, commonly referred to as hip hop culture, which has today spread around the world and is practised by many people regardless of nationality, ethnicity or religion. Hip hop as a cultural movement encompasses a wide array of human activities, so called elements, including but not limited to hip hop music, breakdance, graffiti, DJing and MCing.

Early hip hop has often been credited with helping to reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with hip hop battles of dance and artwork. However, with the emergence of commercial and crime-related rap during the early 1990s, an emphasis on violence was incorporated, with many rappers boasting about drugs, weapons, misogyny, and violence. While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of its media-baiting sibling, gangsta rap.[10]
As traditional as the rap battle, Black-Consciousness rap answered the diss handed down by gansta' rap.[11] Highly influnenced and rebeverating the soul of the Struggle, Black-Consciousness rap was a force that became popular after the barriage of attacks within the Black coummunities nation-wide. With popular artists such as Public Enemy (Chuck D & Flavor Flav), Boogie Down Productions (KRS-One) [12], and Brand Nubian, the Stop the Violence Movement [13], it was submerged by an enormous force called gangsta' rap, from which West Coast hip hop began to take the forefront. Carried by the African Bambaataa luz of Electro hop's more bass-heavy sound, West Coast hip hop carved and created the rift between "hip-hop" and "rap".[14] Many artists are now considered to be alternative/underground hip hop when they attempt to reflect what they believe to be the original elements of the culture. Artists/groups such as Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Immortal Technique, Dilated Peoples, Dead Prez, Blackalicious, and Jurassic 5 may emphasize messages of verbal skill, unity, or activism instead of messages of violence, material wealth, and misogyny.
Though born in the United States by African Americans, the reach of hip hop is global.[15] Youth culture and opinion is meted out in both Israeli hip hop and Palestinian hip hop, while France, Germany, the U.K., Africa and the Caribbean have long-established hip hop followings. According to the U.S. Department of State, hip hop is "now the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world," that crosses social barriers and cuts across racial lines.[16] National Geographic recognizes hip hop as "the world's favorite youth culture" in which "just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene.

hip-hop/rap.....

VAIO

2007-10-18T04:25:00.002-07:00

VAIO, an acronym for Video Audio Integrated Operation, is a sub-brand for many of Sony's computer products. The branding was created to distinguish items that encompassed the use of consumer audio and video, as well as being conventional computing products. One example of this was the Sony VAIO W Series personal computer, which functioned as a regular PC and a miniature entertainment center. Although Sony made computers in the 1980s for the Japanese market only, Sony withdrew from the computer business around the turn of the decade. Sony's re-entry to the computer market, this time globally, under the new VAIO brand, started in 1996 with the PCV series of desktops. The VAIO logo also represents the integration of analog and digital technology. The 'VA' represents an analog wave and the 'IO' represents digital binary code.

Sony is expanding the use of the VAIO label. It can now be found on notebooks, subnotebooks, desktop, and a hard-disk-based audio player that comes in both 20GB and 40GB variations (called VAIO POCKET player). Network media solutions by Sony will also carry the VAIO brand.
High-end VAIO notebooks are usually shipped with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium or Business, while low end laptops such as N series come with Microsoft Vista Home Basic. As of October 2005, VAIO notebooks and desktop are available upon request without pre-installed software at a slightly lower price. Most recently, some models no longer ship with a Recovery CD, but a special partition on the hard drive is used for the recovery information, including operating system and all bundled software. VAIO users are prompted to create a set of recovery CDs or DVDs immediately after purchase.
VAIO computers come with components from companies such as Intel processors, Seagate Technology or Fujitsu hard drives, Infineon RAM, Sony (usually made by Hitachi) or Matsushita optical drives, Intel or NVIDIA graphics processors and Sony speakers.....

Buy A VAIO n make y r lyk moe devoted 2 Video n Audio........

Take care,

LYT WEED

iPod Touch

2007-10-18T04:25:00.001-07:00

The iPod touch is an iPod portable media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The device, which features a Multi-Touch interface, was unveiled to the general public on September 5, 2007 as part of an event dubbed "The Beat Goes On",[1] - an event which featured the introduction of Cover Flow to the iPod line. The iPod touch uses 8 or 16 GB of flash memory, costing US$299 and US$399 respectively. It also has Wi-Fi and includes Safari, Apple's web browser. The iPod touch is the first generation of the iPod line to include wireless access to the iTunes Store.[2] The iPod touch also has the capability to detect the current and last 10 songs playing in a Starbucks café within the vicinity of the device, and offers the user the opportunity to download the tracks in the iTunes music store. This feature will slowly be offered in limited markets. There are currently no plans to expand into international Starbucks stores.

The iPod touch has a touch screen interface similar to that of the iPhone. Like the iPhone, it includes a physical home button separate from the touch screen. The home screen includes a list of buttons corresponding to the available applications: Music, Videos, Photos, iTunes on the bottom button row. Safari, YouTube, Calendar, Contacts, Clock, Calculator, and Settings are at the top. The iPod touch comes preloaded with 28 wallpaper photos (some of which are figures from the iPod advertisements).
On October 17, 2007, Steve Jobs, in an open letter posted onto Apple's webpage, announced that a SDK for the iPhone would be made available to third-party developers in February 2008. Due to security concerns and Jobs's praise of Nokia's digital signature system, it is suggested that Apple will adopt a similar method. The SDK will also apply to the iPod touch.

The iPod touch is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, and, like the iPhone, includes a mobile version of Safari browser and a viewing client for YouTube. The device's Wi-Fi capabilities can also be used to purchase music from the iTunes store wirelessly. However, the iPod touch lacks VPN support, which makes it unsuitable for networks that utilize this. There has not been any mention of UPnP AV media rendering support, as of now.

The iPod touch is now being shipped to Apple Stores across the U.S., and many have 16GB versions of the unit in stock as of September 13, 2007, while few carry the 8GB version. Many electronics retail stores carry both versions of the iPod touch.
According to Steve Jobs at the "Beat Goes On" conference on September 5, 2007, the iPod touch shipped in September 2007 and Apple's website shows that it was available to ship in the USA and most other countries on September 28, 2007.[citation needed]
Certain Apple Stores throughout the world have been reporting that the stores were receiving the larger 16GB model of the iPod touch, before the expected release date. The first report of the early shipping of iPod touch models was filed on September 13, 2007.
Many online orders began to be delivered to US and UK customers on September 18, 2007. Online orders in Australia started shipping on September 22, 2007. Shipments worldwide started September 28, 2007; online orders have begun to be delivered to Hong Kong customers on October 2, 2007.
The iPod touch began to be shipped in Europe October 5, 2007. There were some legal problems with a couple of resellers and the shipments were delayed till October 9.

It is thought that the Royal Mail strikes in the United Kingdom have delayed Apple's delivery of the iPod touch to online dealers such as Amazon and Play.com as delivery dates have been pushed further and further back. Play.com's current expected availability date is October 19, 2007. UK customers can still purchase the iPod touch direct from Apple Inc. via the online and high-street Apple Stores. Argos (retailer) began taking pre-orders for the iPod Touch for its initial release on September 28th but failed to meet delivery due to stock problems, customers who had pre-ordered the Touch were contacted via letter/phone saying that the iPod Touch will be delivered between September 28, 2007 and October 12, 2007, by October 12th customers still did not receive the iPod Touch and were told that it would arrive on Monday 15th after stating they received new stock on the Friday. Many customers were told on Monday 15th that Argos didn't have enough stock in and their orders would be delayed further. During the course of this many customers have canceled their orders with Argos and ordered with other retailers like Currys and Comet, or simply picking up an iPod Touch at a local Apple store. Argos have also been criticized for advertising availability of the iPod Touch in-store and online when clearly they did not have any stock at all, but still accepted payments from customers saying they would receive the iPod within 2-3 days, customers who canceled their orders then require to wait 6-10 days for a full repayment

Specifications:

Screen material: glass
Screen size: 8.9 cm (3.5 in)
Screen resolution: 480×320 pixels at 163 ppi
Input method: Multi-touch screen interface
Operating system: OS X
Storage: 8 or 16 GB Flash memory
Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
Built-in rechargeable, non-removable battery with up to 5 hours of video playback, and up to 22 hours of audio playback
Size: 110×61.8×8 mm (4.3×2.4×0.31 in)
Weight: 120 g (4.2 oz)
Built-in iTunes Wi-Fi store
Wide screen video
Safari (web browser) and YouTube built-in
Access to Starbucks music (currently only in New York and Seattle)

BillBoard

2007-10-18T04:25:00.000-07:00

History
When founded in 1894, Billboard magazine was a trade paper for the bill posting industry, hence the magazine's name. Within a few years of its founding, it began to carry news of outdoor amusements, a major consumer of billboard space. Eventually Billboard became the paper of record for circuses, carnivals, amusement parks, fairs, vaudeville, minstrels, whale shows and other live entertainment. The magazine began coverage of motion pictures in 1909 and of radio in the 1920s.
It was the development of the juke box industry during the 1930s which led Billboard to begin publishing the music charts for which it ultimately became famous. This also began the process which would lead the magazine to gradually cede coverage of other parts of the entertainment industry to such publications as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. It continued to carry news of fairs, carnivals, theme parks and other outdoor entertainments until 1961 when these departments were transferred to a new weekly magazine called Amusement Business.
From 1961 until 2005, Billboard was devoted entirely to the music industry. In 2005, the magazine and its web sites were repositioned to provide coverage of all forms of digital and mobile entertainment. Amusement Business prospered for a few decades, but was struggling by the beginning of the new century. Shortly after that its frequency of publication was reduced to monthly, and it finally ceased publication altogether following its May, 2006 issue.

Billboard Charts
On January 4, 1936 Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade and on July 20, 1940 the first Music Popularity Chart was calculated. Since 1958 the Hot 100 has been published, combining single sales and radio airplay.
To this day, the most successful acts on the Billboard charts are The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, The Supremes, George Strait, The Bee Gees, Bing Crosby, Pink Floyd, and Whitney Houston.

Billboard Today
Billboard magazine covers every aspect of the music business, from radio and television to CD, DVD and video cassette sales and internet music downloads. It features news stories and opinion articles. For the most part, Billboard is intended for music professionals, such as record label executives and DJs. It is generally not intended for the general public, although it can occasionally be found at bookstores. However, despite their extensive coverage of the entertainment business, they remain best known for their charts. The editorial coverage and broader strategy is guided by its editorial director, Scott A. McKenzie
Online Video: Billboard.com carries a 60-second news video about the world of music hosted by Danielle Flora called "Billboard In Sixty".[1] Another program is "Billboard Underground"[2] which is artist interviews, performances and out-takes. Artists have included Ace Young, Wes Hutchinson, and Ryan Starr.