Yahoo Launches Live - A Live Streaming Video Service

by Michael Arrington

Given all the chaos this week surrounding Microsoft’s bid to take over Yahoo, it’s not surprising that a new Yahoo product launch wouldn’t have an abundance of exuberance attached to it. Still, the only word anyone got that Yahoo Live has gone live is a three word post on Bradley Horowitz’s blog: “Live is live” (Horowitz is head of the Technology Development Group at Yahoo).

Yahoo Live allows anyone with a webcam to stream live video of themselves to a dedicated site. They call it “a platform for live video.”

It is very similar to existing live streaming services like Stickam, Justin.tv and Ustream and Blogtv. Users create a channel, authorize their webcam and start broadcasting to the public. Other people can drop by and watch, or choose to participate via video, sound or text chat.

We’re still testing it, but for now the service is very unstable and keeps going down. It’s also clearly got a ways to go with features - videos are not archived for playback, for example, meaning once it’s broadcast live, that’s it.

Users can set up profiles for themselves and track how many people have watched them stream live, how many broadcasts they have made, and how long total they’ve been on the air. When you’re in a streaming session with others, up to five other people can be shown on your screen at the same time, one of which is the main presenter and four others who are simply in the session. Everyone else can be seen in a chat room associated with the session, and these sessions can also be embedded around the web.

Right now it looks as though Yahoo has hired two people - one of which is a girl who will sing songs on request - to help launch the site by providing some ongoing content. Yahoo has also set up a Twitter account that you can follow to see who’s streaming at a given time. Want to pull out information from Yahoo Live and access it elsewhere? There’s also an API available.

Update: Yahoo’s Chad Dickerson responds below in the comments about the stability issue.

Streaming Video

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation.

In order to view these lectures, you will need the RealPlayer version 8.0 or later.. RealPlayer is available free from RealNetworks. Currently, version 10 is available for most platforms. Please Note: You do not need the enhanced version. Also, the location of the free version within the RealNetworks web site is ever-changing and often obscure; with perseverance, you will find it.

It is assumed that you are connected to the Internet via a Local Area Network---not by a 28.8kb phone modem. Furthermore, since the audio of the lecture is an important component, you will need a sound card. For that reason, RealPlayer will not work on an X-terminal.

LCROSS Lunar Swingby Streaming Video (Launch +5 days)

Two Perspectives of the LCROSS Lunar Swingby

Overview
Approximately five days after launch, LCROSS performed a lunar swingby to enter into an elongated polar Earth orbit. This orbit positions LCROSS for impact on the lunar south pole (see mission overview video) on Oct. 9, 2009. Shortly after periselene, the time of closest approach to the lunar surface, the LCROSS science payload was switched on for the duration of one hour.

During the swingby , the spacecraft's instruments calibrated by scanning three sites on the lunar surface. These sites were the craters Mendeleev, Goddard C and Giordano Bruno. They were selected because they offer a variety of terrain types, compositions and illumination conditions. The spacecraft also scanned the lunar horizon to confirm its instruments are aligned in preparation for observing the Centaur's debris plume.

The following videos show two perspectives of the LCROSS lunar swingby. The first video is taken from the LCROSS visible light camera and the animation is a 3-D is representation of the spacecraft based to actual telemetry recieved during the swingby. Both videos are condensed in timeframe.

Visible Light Footage


Footage taken with a visible light camera on the LCROSS spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center.

Animation Footage


STK animation of the LCROSS lunar swingby. Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center.


Swingby images

Visible Context Camera

NIR1 Camera

MIR1 (Thermal) Camera
The three images show Target 2, Goddard C Crater, as seen through a visible context camera, an NIR1 Camera, and a MIR1 (thermal) camera. LCROSS was approximately 8500 km. from the target when these images were made. Goddard Crater is seen along the border between day and night (the terminator) in the center of the visible context image. These images are raw, unprocesses, and uncorrected. Credit: NASA/Ames Reseearch Center

Edited Video of the Swingby and Launch
Video recap of LCROSS launch and swingby.


Graphic visualizations of the early part of the LCROSS orbit leading up to lunar swingby at Launch +5 days. The blue line represents the Earth's orbit around the sun. The white circle is the moon's orbit around the Earth. The yellow line is the orbit of the LCROSS spacecraft. The intersection of the yellow line with the moon's orbit represents the Launch +5 days lunar swingby. Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center

Video Streaming with Twitter

In a marriage of social networking and live video, Livestream this week launched twitcam.com, the first application that lets Twitter users add live streaming video to their Twitter feeds with just one click.

Twitter users need only to log in to twitcam.com using an existing Twitter user name and password and press the ‘go live’ button. Twitcam automatically detects the camera, creates a page and live video player for the broadcast, and posts the link in the user’s Twitter feed so followers can join in live.

The new Livestream offering enables twitter users to share live video and chat. Twitcam.com was taken from concept to product in a week thanks to a soon-to-be-announced player API from Livestream. Livestream (formerly Mogulus) provides everything needed to easily webcast live, build an engaged audience and monetize these efforts, explains the company.

CamTweet, a similar concept from rival Justin.tv, is currently invite-only. Meanwhile, both compete with Ustream, which has its own social stream features and a huge following on Twitter (@ustream). Livecast has also been adapted to run on most mobile operating systems, enabling hundreds of phones, as well as Windows PCs, Macs and Linux devices to send live video with tweets.

The Webcam Plus application ($25), transforms your PDA or Smartphone to high-resolution web-camera. You can use your PDA/Smartphone as microphone and it works through Wi-Fi.

Unwanted pregnancy and abortion information

It's that taboo subject that makes parents across the world, shudder. How can you possible approach your children about sex? It just seems so awkward. This may be because no one schooled you regarding the birds and the bees; or it could simply be due to the fact that your kids roll their eyes every time you begin one of the classic parent-child speeches. While sex in general may be one of the most difficult things for human beings to converse about, the education aspect must be passed on to our youths. This will at least give them a leg to stand on when faced with grown-up decisions. These days it's important to educate our children on more than basic sexual relations. The modern day world we inhabit is loaded with bigger issues concerning STD's, unwanted pregnancy and abortion information.

I have to admit that STD and abortion information are certainly in demand now days. If they're not, they very well should be. Now more than ever, far too many individuals are engaging in careless sexual activity. Unfortunately this leads to much larger problems than simple heartbreak. Thousands of people around the globe are infected by STDs on a regular basis. This is rather sad when it can easily be prevented. A much touchier factor of sex concerns abortion. At least in more modern times, kids across America are receiving abortion information in the classroom. It's mandatory that everyone understand the consequences of unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Regardless of your stand on the issue, it most likely isn't going anywhere. While I can certainly see some warranted cases for abortion, some individuals abuse the concept. I actually knew a young woman who resorted to abortion on two separate occasions. This is where the dilemma begins. There's a fine line when it comes to such an act. Abortion is necessary for some women in irregular circumstances, or simple if it is the more prudent route considering all aspects of the situation; however abortion should not be someone's method of birth control.

Have you received and understood valid abortion information? If the answer is no, I suggest you delve into cyberspace for a deluge of data on abortion and STDs. Being informed and knowledgeable is the key to making good decisions. Abortion information is easy to come by these days if you just take a look. Be sure to educate your children on abortion as well.

About the author or the publisher
Eric Raymond has been Web Developer since 1999. His expertise and know-how, combined with his eloquent professionalism allows him to offer a wide range of high-end services such as: WebSite Design, Web Ranking, Web site optimization, WebSite Hosting, Domain name registration, Online marketing, e-Business, customized Web-based applications and more.

Visit his website for more details or to contact Eric Raymond.
www.your-website.ca

Breast Cancer Symptoms

What Breast Cancer Symptoms Women Need to Know

By Lisa Fayed, About.com

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. It is estimated 1 in every 7 American women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Two hundred and twenty thousand American women will develop breast cancer this year.

Breast Cancer Symptoms

Reported breast cancer symptoms include:

# discharge from the nipple(clear or bloody)
# persistent tenderness of the breast
# pain in the nipple
# swelling or mass in the armpit (lymph nodes)
# inverted or scaly nipples
# a lump that can be felt, no matter how small
# swelling of the breast

Sometimes there are no symptoms of breast cancer when it is in the early stages. If you notice a lump, or are experiencing anything unusual, you must report the symptoms to your doctor as soon as possible. Performing a monthly self breast exam is the one of the best ways to notice any changes in your breasts.

Breast Cancer Symptoms

What Breast Cancer Symptoms Women Need to Know

By Lisa Fayed, About.com

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. It is estimated 1 in every 7 American women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Two hundred and twenty thousand American women will develop breast cancer this year.

Breast Cancer Symptoms

Reported breast cancer symptoms include:

# discharge from the nipple(clear or bloody)
# persistent tenderness of the breast
# pain in the nipple
# swelling or mass in the armpit (lymph nodes)
# inverted or scaly nipples
# a lump that can be felt, no matter how small
# swelling of the breast

Sometimes there are no symptoms of breast cancer when it is in the early stages. If you notice a lump, or are experiencing anything unusual, you must report the symptoms to your doctor as soon as possible. Performing a monthly self breast exam is the one of the best ways to notice any changes in your breasts.

Education - Adult

You're never too old to learn! Continue your education throughout your adult life with these Web sites for Columbus area adult and continuing education organizations.

ABLE Center for Central Ohio
GED programs, a lending library and lending workshops for ABLE professionals, and other programs by this state funded program serving areas from Columbus to the south and east.

Eastland/Fairfield Vocational Schools Adult Education
Student services, community education, adult basic education, and other programs from the Eastland Vocational Center in Groveport and the Fairfield Vocational Center in Lancaster.

SCORE Page
Improve your business with these educational programs from SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives.

Upper Arlington LIfelong Learning Program
This program includes over 200 non-credit courses each quarter for both adults and families.

Zocklein and Associates
Grantwriting workshops and services in Columbus and around the country from Zocklein and Associates.

NASA diapers become topic No. 1

By Roy Rivenburg, Times Staff Writer

It's the diaper that boldly goes where no incontinence product has gone before.

The sordid saga of a love-struck, diaper-clad astronaut has transformed a somewhat obscure NASA undergarment into a cultural phenomenon.

Comedians and bloggers can't get enough of the topic.

"We will not be stopping for commercials tonight ... because I am wearing a diaper," Jay Leno joked Thursday.

And David Letterman told his audience that when police nabbed astronaut Lisa Nowak in Florida, "she was wearing a wig and an adult diaper — and there was a lot of confusion because authorities originally thought she was Elton John."

Meanwhile, NASA officials have been besieged with questions about their special space diapers, which are officially known as "maximum absorption garments."

Who manufactures these long-distance disposables? The answer is shrouded in mystery.

According to a 1998 Associated Press article, astronauts were outfitted with Depend adult diapers and an inserted pad called Rejoice, made by a Seattle company.

But a spokesman for Kimberly-Clark, which makes Depends, insisted the product isn't used in space. And the Seattle company apparently went out of business.

A collection of astronaut toilet technology at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington revealed few clues. Curator Valerie Neal said she checked the museum's eight astro-diapers and found no labels or logos.

The aerospace undies, which come in several styles, are worn when astronauts don't have access to the spaceship toilet, Neal said.

In the early 1980s, female astronauts relied on zipper-fastened "disposable absorption containment trunks." Men wore "urine collection devices," which featured a condom-like sheath connected to a tube and pouch.

In the 1990s, these orbiting bedpans were exchanged for adult diapers laced with a liquid-absorbing chemical called sodium polyacrylate. A NASA spokeswoman said the official brand used now is Absorbencies, manufactured by a company that has folded.

Fortunately, NASA owns a huge stockpile. The agency snapped up 3,200 of the diapers about 15 years ago, the spokeswoman said, and "we still have about a third of the supply left."

On space shuttle missions, each crew member receives three diapers — for launch, reentry and a spare in case reentry has to be waved off and tried later.

At that rate, the supply should last for years to come, allowing astronauts to stay secure in the knowledge that in space, no one can hear you pee.

roy.rivenburg@latimes.com