Singulair linked to serious mood and behavior issues

United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it is evaluating available information for a potential link between some serious issues involving mood changes and behavior affecting patients who take Merck & Co, Inc's Singulair (montelukast).

Singulair is a prescription drug for the treatment of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and the prevention of exercise-induced asthma. Accordingly, it has been associated with unlikely mood changes, suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality), and suicide. Merck & Co, Inc has made several changes to the patient and prescriber information issued for Singulair and has worked with the FDA to determine how to communicate the latest changes in the most effective manner.
Updates on the drug include alerts for adverse reactions and recently has included tremor, depression, suicidality, and anxiousness. Plans to increase awareness of these potential side effects include personal interaction with prescribers and information leaflets for patients. Merck is conducting a re-evaluation study for Singulair and the FDA is reviewing patient reports of adverse reactions while taking Singulair. The FDA anticipates the review and evaluation process may take as long as nine months before firm data is available for public release.
Singulair is a leukotriene receptor antagonist with mechanism of action similar to Accolate (zafirlukast). Another popular drug used for the treatment of similar symptoms is Zyflo/Zyflo CR (zafirlukast), which is a leukotriene synthesis inhibitor. The FDA is also reviewing reports of similar adverse reactions reported in patients taking these medications to determine if further investigation should be made.
Patients and physicians are requested to report any incidence of these adverse reactions while taking any of these drugs. The FDA has a program for reporting adverse reactions, the MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program, that can be accessed by:
going online to www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm,
by calling 1-800-332-1088, or
by faxing to 1-800-FDA-1078.
Source: FDA

Photoshop Express

Adobe recently released its online Photoshop Express application (on public beta). This isn't GIMP but it's a free web-based application that is also cross-platform available. Installed with Adobe's Air technology, Photoshop Express could readily serve the needs of MySpace users and educators who upload illustrations and images on the web.

This new online Adobe service features all the basic photo manipulation features including red eye reduction, retouching, and cropping. Adobe is looking into the possibility of monetizing the service but for now, it appears Photoshop Express will be available for free in its present form.

Photoshop Express offers a variety of features in an easy-to-use package with 2GB of web storage and sharing for photos. One minor drawback though, there is no Linux support for Adobe Air yet. Moreover, Photoshop Express may not be satisfactorily considered as an online extension of the image editing heavyweight. Seems a disappointment: How can Adobe let itself lose to Splashup and the extensive design suite Aviary.

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Paypal is not for Safari

"Drop Safari if you want to avoid online fraud." This somehow sums up a statement issued by Michael Barrett, PayPal's chief information security officer.

The default browser on Apple's Macintosh computers doesn't figure in PayPal's list of recommended browsers because it doesn't have important anti-phishing security features. Now that Apple seems bent on reaching a wider base of users (Safari is being introduced to the Windows platform), the Paypal warning is indeed timely.

Safari has no built-in phishing filter to warn users when they are visiting suspicious websites. It also lacks support for an anti-phishing technology, called Extended Validation (EV) certificates. Extended Validation is an Internet technology turns the address bar green when the browser is visiting a legitimate Web site. EV certificates are already supported in Internet Explorer 7, and they have been used on the PayPal website for over a year now.

Barrett says: "Opera, IE, and Firefox are safer, precisely because we think they are safer for the average consumer." "I'd love to say that Safari was a safer browser, but at this point it isn't."

Reason to buy PS3 console as Blu-Ray player

Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console was the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market when it was launched. Recently, an announcement of a firmware upgrade seems to give consumers a reason to buy the console a little beyond it Blu-Ray capabilities.

Sony says the new firmware enables users to take advantage of something called BD-Live, and to dynamically download "additional content and special features" associated with movies on Blu-ray. This means (as Sony adds) that BD-Live "will keep your (Blu-ray) discs fresh with new content and in some cases exclusive content only accessible to owners of BD-Live enabled discs." "With this update, the PlayStation 3 becomes the first Blu-ray player on the market with BD-Live functionality."

The PS3 appears (for the video gamers' community at the least) to be that illegitimate child that has been always outclassed by Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360. This recent--shall we call it smart--move from Sony could bring up sales for the machine. And as how a CNET article puts it "After all, they say, when faced with lemons, make lemonade."

Windows Mobile to get Flash support

Microsoft has Silverlight, its own mobile video-viewing software, but it has still decided to license Adobe's Flash Lite and Reader software. What does this mean? Simply put, future generations of Windows Mobile devices will be able to view and interact with a wider range of mobile websites.

This development between Microsoft and Adobe provides Microsoft's mobile browser an advantage. IE for mobile devices is fine but other mobile browsers that perform better -- Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, the S60 browser, and the iPhone's Safari. The iPhone browser has no Flash support.

Devices that offer users greater web experience are definitely welcome. There is a prevailing perception that Apple's products are better and more user-oriented. And Microsoft seems to be hell-bent on changing that. If for Apple, less is better; Microsoft thinks otherwise. Undoubtedly, Flash is the hot and dominant item Microsoft would find hard to topple. Microsoft's move here is a welcome one. Definitely benefits users!

The financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed, and Microsoft didn't provide any details on when or the software support would become available to users.

Ad management service from Google

The leader of web advertising launches a free hosted service called Ad Manager. It is designed to help website publishers in selling advertising slots on their websites faster. It aims to streamline the way ads are placed on websites and to generate performance reports that detail how successful published ads are in reaching readers or viewers.

Google says Ad Manager is meant to ease some problems associated with the management of website advertisements. It simplifies the gauging of inventory and the process of picking the highest paying ads. Website owners can easily access this new service as it is hosted on Google's servers.

Ad Manager is developed to be flexible enough to allow publishers sell their own advertising. For ad space they can't sell, publishers can choose to use Google's AdSense system to fill unsold slots. What's more, Google also enables publishers to use Ad Manager with similar technology from other competing ad placement networks.

Ad Manager can also target ads at specific users and delivers ads based on a user's domain, the brand of web browser, language, operating system, and bandwidth.

TiVo announces partnership with YoutTube

From the computer monitors to the TV sets, YouTube videos will start showing on the boob tube.

Tara Maitra, Vice President and General Manager for Content Services at TiVo said: “YouTube APIs enable TiVo to provide an extremely rich and highly personalized viewing experience for streamed video on the television.”

Reminiscent of a similar Apple initiative last year, this partnership means TiVo users will be able to search, stream, and watch high-quality videos from YouTube right on their TV screens. There's some drawback though. The service requires broadband connection that can only work with more recent hardware versions.

The service will be available in the later part of the year.

Wi-Fi to soon become irrelevant?

Ericsson's chief marketing officer believes that Wi-Fi is already irrelevant and will be replaced by high-speed wireless broadband too soon. The 3G and 3.5G networks are expected to outstrip Wi-Fi in coverage throughout the world.

3G can be a reliable technology when connecting to the Internet on the go. Mobile phone manufacturers keep producing Internet connectivity handsets and bettering related technologies.

From theInformationWeek Blog:

Bergendahl (Ericsson's chief marketing officer) was the keynote speaker at the European Computer Audit, Control and Security Conference in Stockholm. He told attendees, "In Austria they are saying that mobile broadband will pass fixed broadband this year. It's already growing faster, and in Sweden, the most popular phone is a USB modem. Hotspots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era. In a few years, it [HSPA] will be as common as Wi-Fi is today."

It's funny he uses the Starbucks example. I am writing this article while sitting in a Starbucks. To prove his point, I am not using Starbuck's Wi-Fi, but am using my own wireless broadband card to access the EV-DO Rev. A data network from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless. This is exactly Bergendahl's vision, though of course he'd prefer I was using Ericsson's technology and not Qualcomm's.

Google may be helping terrorists

United States' defense department has banned Google from capturing images of military facilities for its Street View feature on Google Maps after intimate pictures of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas were discovered.

The department, in a statement, said that the offending snaps included "360-degree views of the covered area to include access control points, barriers, headquarters, facilities and community areas." This definitely poses threats to national security.
In a BBC interview, Google spokesman Larry Yu admitted that the drive-by recording of Fort Sam Houston had been "a mistake". He added that Google has "a compliant image removal policy - not only relative to the military but to consumers also", a reference to privacy concerns which last August led the search monolith to agree to obscure number plates and faces on request.

The new IE8 has web dev tools

I'm not a fan of Internet Explorer but just allow me to share this.

Four months ahead of schedule, Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 8 beta 1. This is a version of Microsoft's web browser particularly aimed at web development needs. This is also one great start for new Microsoft directions: interoperability and improved standards support.

Giving in to pressure, the newly launched IE8 beta is created to offer better support for web standards and increased interoperability with other vendors' browsers. It includes web dev features such as CSS 2.1 support and tools for quickly and visually debugging HTML, CSS, and scripts.

List of the IE8 Beta features:

• Facebook integration: IE8 users can get status updates through their browser toolbar from Facebook, which partners with Microsoft for advertising syndication.
• WebSlices: lets users get updates from other sites through IE8, without having to actually visit those other sites. This will provide a connection to eBay, which will also offer WebSlices, so IE8 users can track their auctions from the browser toolbar.
• Integration with Microsoft Live Maps.
• Integration with Me.dium: A social discovery mechanism that lets users browse Web sites together with their friends who are also on the Internet.

Microsoft Office Live

Bill Gates has already lost his position as the world's wealthiest human being. What's next? Microsoft giving in to Apple? I bet Gates wouldn't allow it.

When IE couldn't be enough to sustain the domination, new products and services had to be introduced. Oh even "acquisitions" and "hostile takeovers" as well. There's no doubt Microsoft needs the web to remain on top. Everything nowadays seems web-bound.

It's a good thing Microsoft finally makes greater efforts to capitalize on the Internet proliferation. The Microsoft Office Live is one good idea. "Microsoft Office Live" is a Microsoft service that allows users to save Office documents online so that they may be accessed by other users over the Internet. This new service enables users to save more than 1,000 MS Office documents to one place over the web. It allows users or collaborators to access and modify shared/uploaded documents.

Google, Zoho, and other Internet companies have been offering similar services already. Microsoft's Office Live, though (as the company puts it), is different because it simply makes it easier for users to use their previously purchased Office applications over the Internet.

Microsoft announced that it would offer its online business services to companies of all sizes. In the past, those services were limited to firms with at least 5,000 users. Signing up for the Microsoft Office Live service is for free.

Microsoft really wants and needs the web

After an unsuccessful hostile takeover on Yahoo!, the world's largest software company tries its luck for web domination via the introduction of web-inspired products.

It has recently introduced Microsoft Office Live, a service that makes it more convenient for Microsoft Office users to use their paid for software over the Internet. Google already has Google Docs online and as a defense to being called a copycat, Microsoft says they are only trying to make it simpler for Microsoft Office users to extend the capabilities of their applications online. Well the concept is the same: users save their documents online for sharing and collaborative modification--basically the Google Docs concept.

Another development is Microsoft's introduction of the Silverlight platform in collaboration with Nokia. Silverlight is deemed as a competitor to Adobe's Flash and it will debut on Nokia's high end smart phones that run a Symbian operating system. The Silverlight platform is designed to enable web designers and developers to create rich web applications that are independent on browsers, operating systems, and handsets.

Microsoft-Nokia deal brings Silverlight to the mobile web

Software giant Microsoft has inked a deal with handset manufacturer Nokia to introduce its Silverlight platform to mobile phones. Deemed as a competitor to Adobe's Flash, Silverlight will debut on Nokia's high end smart phones that run a Symbian operating system.

This development means that the latest web 2.0 applications that run on Mac or PC may now run on mobile phones as well.

Nokia's (Symbian-running) S60 platform will be the first to make use of Silverlight's advantage. S60 is the most popular smart phone software with an over 53% market share. S60 is used in LG and Samsung handsets. It is also used in Nokia's latest phone, the N96.

The Silverlight platform enables web designers and developers to create rich web applications that are not dependent on browsers, operating systems, and handsets. A challenger to the Flash-dominated mobile web world, Silverlight will try to compete in a market of mobile phones that has over 450 million handsets already installed with a cut down version of Flash, called Flash Lite.

Less computer gaming and television is slimming option for kids

A University at Buffalo study reveals that blocking access to television or the computer helps young overweight children in eating less and losing weight.

In the United States, approximately 16% of children aged 6 to 19 are overweight, a 45% increase over one decade. This new finding might just help solve America's growing problem of obesity.

Watching TV has been linked to obesity in previous studies, but the University at Buffalo research is the first to show significant weight loss in children whose TV and computer time had been reduced.

“Television viewing is related to consumption of fast food and foods and beverages that are advertised on television. Viewing cartoons with embedded food commercials can increase choice of the advertised item in preschoolers, and television commercials may prompt eating,” study authors said in a prepared statement.

The two-year research involved 70 children between four and seven years old who regularly watched TV or played computer games for at least 14 hours a week. All the selected children were in the heaviest quarter of their age group on the body mass index, or BMI.

During the study, half the group were allowed to continue in their old habits, while the other half were made to reduce their TV and computer habits by 50 percent. The researchers attached an electronic device called the TV Allowance (costing $100), made by Mindmaster Inc., to the children's televisions and computers. The TV or computer would not work after some configured amount of time.

The study results were impressive.

At the end of the study, 30% of kids (whose TV time was restricted) went from overweight to not being overweight. Only 18 percent had weight improvement (in this case, weight loss) in the control group.

The study also showed that the TV Allowance device also helps parents who cannot control their children while they are at work.

The researchers concluded: “Using technology to modify television viewing eliminates parental vigilance needed to enforce family rules and reduces the disciplinary action needed if a child exceeds his or her sedentary behavior limits. Perhaps most important, the device puts the choice of when to watch television in the child's control, as opposed to a rule such as ‘no television time until homework is completed,’”

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that children aged two and older should only have not more than two hours of television or computer time everyday. The younger ones should have none. In reality, this is not the case. Children usually spend 50% or more time than recommended in front of their computer or TV sets.

Microsoft Office Live

"Microsoft Office Live" is a Microsoft service that allows users to save Office documents online so that they may be accessed by other users over the Internet.

A promotional campaign scheduled Tuesday (March 4, 2008) featuring actor Jeremy Piven and scripts of HBO's "Entourage" will introduce "Office Live Workspace." This new Microsoft service enables users to save more than 1,000 Microsoft Office documents to one place over the web. It allows users or collaborators to access shared/uploaded documents and make modifications.

Google, Zoho, and other Internet companies have been offering similar services already. The difference with Microsoft's Office Live is it simply makes it easier for users to use their previously purchased Office applications over the Internet. Signing up for the Microsoft Office Live service is for free.

Microsoft also announced that it would offer its online business services to companies of all sizes. In the past, those services were limited to firms with at least 5,000 users.

Easily save webpages as images with Firefox's Screengrab

Screengrab is a Firefox add-on that enables users to easily save or copy webpages as images -- the entire page, the visible portion, or a selection. It saves images in .png and .jpg formats and works with Firefox: 2.0 – 3.0a3.

Using this add-on is as simple as clicking the Screengrab button on the Firefox status bar. Upon clicking the Screengrab button, two options are given: to save or to copy.

Get it here.

Atom: Intel's new chips

Apparently deriving the name from the Physics term's connotation of extreme minuteness, Intel announced Sunday that is has chosen the name "Atom" for a new family of ultra-small chips.

The "Atom" name will be applied to Intel's new family of chips with two members that are expected to be released later this quarter.

One of which--previously know as Silverthorne--is a low-power mobile processor designed for use in next generation of mobile Internet devices. Featuring a state-of-the-art low-power state, this chip essentially shuts down in between processing tasks, thus limiting power consumption.
Another one, code-named Diamondville, is a single-core processor for ultra-low-cost laptops. Diamondville is a tiny 45-nanometer processor that involves a design simpler than standard Intel processors. Intel refers to the low-cost notebook design as "netbook" and estimates the pricing for these devices will go as low as $250.

On the other hand, Intel has rebranded its Menlow chip as the Centrino Atom--a low-power companion chip with integrated graphics and a wireless radio. It also features thinner and lighter design.

Bacteria as snow nuclei

Bacteria, oftentimes, are at the core of snowflakes.

Moisture needs something to cling to in order to condense into snow and rain. Scientists--however--were surprised to find out how frequently that something is bacteria.

A study published Friday in the journal Science reveals that a large share of those so-called nucleators turn out to be bacteria that can affect plants.

"Bacteria are by far the most active ice nuclei in nature," said Brent C. Christner, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Louisiana State University.

Christner and colleagues studied snow samples from Antarctica, France, Montana, and Canada's Yukon and found that as much as 85% of the nuclei were bacteria. The bacteria finding was most common in France, followed by Montana and the Yukon, and was even present in Antarctica.

Pseudomonas syringae were the most typical bacteria observed. These bacteria can cause diseases in several types of plants including tomatoes and beans.

Christner said that in the past, scientists have tried to eliminate Pseudomonas. After learning that these bacteria turn out to be a major factor in encouraging snow and rain, he wonders if that is a good idea. Eliminating the bacteria might result in less rain or snow. There must be some substitute first before doing such alteration of nature.

Vit E supplements and lung cancer

Vitamin E can increase the risk of developing lung cancer according to a study published in the March issue of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The Washington State Vitamins and Lifestyle study involved data on 77,126 men and women between the ages 50 and 76 from the , spanning over four years. The surprising raised risk level equaled seven percent for every 100 mg a day of Vitamin E supplement taken.

“In contrast to the often assumed benefits or at least lack of harm, supplemental vitamin E was associated with a small increased risk of lung cancer,” according to Dr. Christopher G. Slatore, M.D., of the University of Washington in Seattle.

This study may strengthen the notion that nothing beats nutrients from real fruits and vegetables. The use of vitamin supplements as fruit and vegetable substitutes has long been controversial due to the fact that these supplements contain not only vitamins, but also phytochemical compounds and other components. “Future studies may focus on other components of fruits and vegetables that may explain the decreased risk [of cancer] that has been associated with fruits and vegetables,” said Dr. Slatore.

Email is dying?

Email is antiquated, it's backward, and everybody hates it. This seemed to be the consensus on how email is for speakers and several participants at the Future of Web Apps conference.

According to Kevin Marks, Google engineer and Technorati veteran, e-mail is a "strange legacy idea."

"E-mail has died away for a group of users. For the younger generation, they don't use e-mail," he said, talking about the young Web users who have started to abandon e-mail for Facebook messaging and mobile texting. "They see it as this noisy spam-filled thing that annoys them every day...they see it as how you talk to the university, how you talk to the bank."

Likewise, WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg inferred that overwhelming volumes of spam were making Web users explore options other than e-mail.

Several industry players are aware of the decline of email popularity. Social networks, spams, and the introduction of new messaging services are some of the culprits. Nevertheless, email's death is something remotely possible (for me). It has been said that the younger generation relies on social networking websites for messaging. Well, how do users register in social networking websites in the first place? They'd need some email address of course! Email popularity may suffer some decline primarily in terms of usage frequency. It will not die too soon though--not even in the next couple of centuries.

Up to 48% Vista price cut

Prices for the latest OS from the world's largest software company will be trimmed 15-20% in the US and up to 48% in non-US markets.

Microsoft announced late Thursday the sweeping price cuts on boxed copies of Vista. According to the company, it plans to slash prices for retail copies of Windows Vista up to almost 50% for certain editions in poorer countries to help raise lower-than-expected sales. The price cut is primarily aimed at markets in developing countries. Wealthier countries may see lower price cuts -- as small as 3% or none at all.