Saturday 31 December 2011

Cyclone Thane kills at least 33 in southeast India (Reuters)

CHENNAI, Dec 31 (AlertNet) ? At least 33 people died when Cyclone Thane hit coastal southern India near the former French colony of Pondicherry, officials said on Saturday, causing thousands to evacuate and damaging roads, buildings and power lines.

Thane hit Tamil Nadu state on Friday with winds of up to 135 kmph (83 mph) and tidal surges of up to 1.5 meters (5 feet). About 6,000 coastal villagers were forced to seek safety in relief shelters, the state's Chief Minister J Jayalalitha said.

"Most of the deaths in the district were because of house collapses and electrocution," said V. Amuthavalli, an official in Cuddalore district, the worst-hit area.

At least seven people died in Pondicherry, popular with Indian and foreign tourists for its beaches and gardens, a town official said.

Trees were uprooted and roads damaged along a 40 km (25 mile) stretch of coast that includes the township of Auroville, known for its avant-garde architecture and yoga community.

The storm quickly lost strength over land and on Saturday morning India's weather office said it was now a depression that would bring some heavy rain across the south.

India's cyclone season generally lasts from April to December with severe storms often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people from low-lying villages and widespread crop and property damage.

In 1999, a "super-cyclone" battered the coast of the eastern state of Orissa for 30 hours with wind speeds reaching 300 kph (186 mph). It killed 10,000 people.

(Writing by Frank Jack Daniel)

(AlertNet is a global humanitarian news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation. Visit www.trust.org/alertnet)

(Writing by Nita Bhalla; Additional reporting by Ashok Kumar Kesani in Hyderabad; Editing by Ed Lane)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111231/wl_nm/us_india_cyclone_thane

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Friday 30 December 2011

Poll: The most admired of 2011 (Politico)

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continued their reigns as Americans? most admired man and woman in 2011, as First Lady Michelle Obama jumped up a spot from her previous ranking, according to a poll out Tuesday.

Both Obama and Clinton once again hold the honor of the most admired man and woman with 17 percent of the vote each, the USA Today/Gallup poll shows. And Michelle Obama, who came in fourth in last year?s list, now ranks as the third most admired woman. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who has held the second spot since 2008, dropped to fourth in the 2011 poll.

Continue Reading

Clinton has held the title of most admired woman 16 times since first appearing on the list in 1992. This is her tenth consecutive year with that distinction, according to the pollsters.

Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, is in third place this year for men ? the same ranking he held last year. The number two spot on the men?s side is former president George W. Bush, who Obama first beat out for the honor of most admired man in 2008.

Meanwhile, Warren Buffett garnered two percent of the vote for a number five ranking, while Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump tied in sixth with one percent of support each.

For women, Condoleezza Rice came in at fifth most admired, followed by Laura Bush. Michele Bachmann rounded out the top ten.

The poll surveyed 1,019 American adults from Dec. 15-18.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1211_70881_html/44014320/SIG=11mip3a14/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70881.html

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Thursday 29 December 2011

Harry Potter Dominates 2011 Box Office

'Deathly Hallows, Part 2' was among several sequels to make it in the top 10.
By Kevin P. Sullivan


Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"
Photo: Warner Bros.

Harry Potter said goodbye to Hogwarts and movie theaters in 2011, but not without earning boatloads of cash along the way.

The boy who lived dominated the box office this past year with more than $1.3 billion worldwide, making him the undoubted winner in a less-than-stellar year financially for movies, but "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" wasn't the only sequel to succeed. Eight of the top 10 earners at the theaters belonged to sequels, prequels or remakes.

This trend is what Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, sees as the big box office story of 2011, for good and bad. "You can't deny sequels' potency at the box office, with seven of the top 10 grossing films of 2011 being continuing sagas (eight if you count 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes',"Bock said.

But not every movie with a number slapped onto the back of it fared as well as Harry Potter. Bock pointed out that holiday sequels like "Happy Feet Two," "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" and "Alvin and the Chipmunk: Chipwrecked," all underperformed compared to their predecessors.

"You could also argue that sequels are part of the problem, too," Bock said. "The domestic box office looks like it's going to come up short in terms of overall grosses and drop three percent versus last year, with attendance down nearly five percent — which will hit its lowest point in 15 years. That's a no-win for the entire industry."

As for surprise successes and failure, two films stuck out to Bock, the comedy hit "Bridesmaids" and DC's disappointer "Green Lantern."

"Bridesmaids" made $288 million worldwide on a budget of just $32 million, Bock said. "It was finally a coming out party for women of comedy," Bock said of what he called the "female 'Hangover.' " "Universal has already made plans for a sequel, and the brides-to-be are now flirting with A-list status."

Ryan Reynolds' most recent foray into the superhero realm did just the opposite. "This was supposed to be the next Batman for the studio, and it nearly turned into 'Howard the Duck,' " Bock said. "Well, it wasn't that bad, but when you spend $200 million on a film, you obviously expect to make more than $219 million worldwide. And that's not including all the marketing and print advertising that went into the big-budget blockbuster."

For 2012, Bock expects even more sequel domination, especially with the lineup of franchise films coming out next year. He predicts "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" will top with box office in the #1 and #2 slots, respectively, with "The Hobbit," "The Avengers" and "Men in Black 3" rounding out the top five.

Check out everything we've got on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Related Videos

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676548/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-2-box-office-2011.jhtml

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paulstpancras: RT @This_is_Europe: #Roma's #Colosseum collapsing stone by stone while awaiting long-delayed restoration. http://t.co/Okdo4NjS #rome #it ...

Twitter / This is Europe: #Roma's #Colosseum collaps ... Loader 's collapsing stone by stone while awaiting long-delayed restoration.

Source: http://twitter.com/paulstpancras/statuses/151743856973582336

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Wednesday 28 December 2011

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves Are Engaged! (omg!)

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves Are Engaged!

It was a very Merry Christmas in the McConaughey-Alves household!

Matthew McConaughey had an extra special present for his girlfriend of five years, Camila Alves, on Sunday -- an engagement ring!

PHOTOS: More celebs who got engaged this year

"Just asked Camila to marry me, #MerryChristmas," the Lincoln Lawyer actor posted to his Twitter along with this pic of the happy couple kissing on his WhoSay account.

PHOTOS: Matthew's hottest shirtless moments

The proposel comes as no surprise being that back in March, the 42-year-old told Esquire that he's known the 29-year-old model and host of Bravo's Sheer Genius is The One. "I found the woman... I wanna make a family with, hopefully live our life out together," he declared to the magazine.

PHOTOS: Best celebrity weddings of 2011

The couple met at an L.A. bar in 2006 and have two children: a three-year-old son Levi and a daughter, Vida, 23 months.

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_matthew_mcconaughey_camila_alves_engaged142932779/44006551/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/matthew-mcconaughey-camila-alves-engaged-142932779.html

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Navy Credit Union - 3% CD 20 months- IRA max 18k


posted: Dec. 25, 2011 @ 12:30p

Good for seniors living off a fixed income. Membership is restricted; ask a family member who is a Navy FCU member to invite you.


This offer is effective December 19, 2011. The 20-Month Special Certificate has a maximum balance limit of $18,000. Only one 20-Month Special Certificate per member is allowed. You may make additional deposits to the certificates at any time. At maturity, the certificate will automatically renew to a $1,000, 24-Month certificate at the prevailing rate. Federally insured by NCUA.

Navy FCU


Membership Eligibility Checklist

Navy Federal's field of membership is determined by the National Credit Union Administration.
If you fall under any of these categories, you're eligible to join:

All Department of Defense (DoD) uniformed personnel?Army, Marine Corps, Navy and
Air Force retirees and annuitants

All Department of Defense Reservists?Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force retirees
and annuitants

All Army and Air National Guard Personnel?civilian employees, retirees and annuitants

All Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP) Personnel

All DoD Officer Candidate programs?Midshipmen and cadets at the United States Naval Academy,
United States Military Academy, United States Air Force Academy, United States Coast Guard Academy
and the United States Merchant Marine Academy; Other Officer Programs*

U.S. government employees assigned to DoD installations (including Coast Guard)

All DoD civilian employees?including retirees and annuitants

DoD contractors assigned to U.S. Government installations

Family Members?including grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, grandchildren, children (including adopted and stepchildren) and household members

Once your family members have joined, they can extend the membership opportunity to their family members, too.

Still not sure if you are eligible? Use our Membership Eligibility Wizard or call us at 1-888-842-6328, then press *31.


updated: Dec. 25, 2011 @ 1:41p by johnnybs

posted: Dec. 25, 2011 @ 12:31p

Member Summary

*APY=Annual Percentage Yield. Navy Federal reserves the right to end or modify these offers at any time. Offering rates may change. Penalty for early withdrawal on term share accounts. (1) This offer is effective March 28, 2011. $3,000 maximum balance. Only one Special EasyStart Certificate per member is allowed. Certificate owner(s) age 18 and older must have Direct Deposit of Net Pay (minimum $300 per direct deposit), a Navy Federal checking account, and a monthly automatic transfer of at least $15 into your Special EasyStart Certificate within 90 days of the certificate issue date. If these requirements are not met, your Special EasyStart Certificate dividend rate will be reduced to the prevailing dividend rate of the standard EasyStart Certificate for the remainder of the certificate's term. At maturity, the Special EasyStart Certificate will automatically renew to a $100 minimum, standard EasyStart Certificate at the prevailing dividend rate unless member specifies otherwise. (2) This offer is effective December 19, 2011. The 20-Month Special Certificate has a maximum balance limit of $18,000. Only one 20-Month Special Certificate per member is allowed. You may make additional deposits to the certificates at any time. At maturity, the certificate will automatically renew to a $1,000, 24-Month certificate at the prevailing rate. Federally insured by NCUA.


posted: Dec. 25, 2011 @ 1:47p

mwa423 said: ??I'm kicking myself right now for not having taken the easy in to Navy FCU about a year ago. Though, does anybody know what qualifies as "DoD contractors assigned to U.S. Government installations"? I have some family who are contractors at some firms that do a lot of work for an air force base and wonder if they could get me in...post_quote>

Family members include parents and siblings ONLY. Aunts, Uncles and cousins don't qualify you


updated: Dec. 25, 2011 @ 2:21p

posted: Dec. 25, 2011 @ 2:19p

kaveh2k said: ??mwa423 said: ??I'm kicking myself right now for not having taken the easy in to Navy FCU about a year ago. Though, does anybody know what qualifies as "DoD contractors assigned to U.S. Government installations"? I have some family who are contractors at some firms that do a lot of work for an air force base and wonder if they could get me in...post_quote>

Family members include parents and siblings ONLY. Aunts, Uncles and cousins don't qualify youpost_quote>

What if: Cousin qualifies -> Grandma opens a CD -> Suddenly all grandchildren are eligible? I could see it being advantageous for an entire family to have grandparents keep a stable of credit union accounts....

Using grandparents' for fun and profit?


posted: Dec. 25, 2011 @ 2:24p

BigManonCampus said: ??kaveh2k said: ??mwa423 said: ??I'm kicking myself right now for not having taken the easy in to Navy FCU about a year ago. Though, does anybody know what qualifies as "DoD contractors assigned to U.S. Government installations"? I have some family who are contractors at some firms that do a lot of work for an air force base and wonder if they could get me in...post_quote>

Family members include parents and siblings ONLY. Aunts, Uncles and cousins don't qualify youpost_quote>

What if: Cousin qualifies -> Grandma opens a CD -> Suddenly all grandchildren are eligible? I could see it being advantageous for an entire family to have grandparents keep a stable of credit union accounts....

Using grandparents' for fun and profit?post_quote>

You pretty much nailed my thought process using this condition above "Family Members?including grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, grandchildren, children (including adopted and stepchildren) and household members". I'm also curious who is a "household member". If I have a military roommate is he a household member?


Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.

Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FatwalletFinance/~3/ATNeU8AEnNg/

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Tuesday 27 December 2011

PFT: Saints outclass Falcons, lock up NFC South

Tony Romo, Jerry JonesAP

During Saturday?s loss to the Eagles, Cowboys owner Jerry Jone went down to the sideline to talk to head coach Jason Garrett, to make sure Garrett knew the Giants had won earlier in the day and therefore the Cowboys didn?t have anything to play for.

Some fans and media members have suggested that Jones was out of line by doing that, but Jones says he can?t understand why anyone would think the owner of a business shouldn?t be involved in every element of that business.

?It has amazed me to be criticized for really walking down on the floor of the company,? Jones said on KTCK-AM 1310, via the Dallas Morning News. ?The more involved your top management, the more involved ownership can be, I?ve always thought made the best way for it to work.?

Jones says he doesn?t act any differently on game days now than he did in the 1990s, and that it worked out pretty well then.

?You didn?t see that kind of criticism very early on, but we were winning Super Bowls,? Jones said. ?And it was the same exact way that we handled our decision-making and the exact same way that we handled our ultimate information gathering system. We?ve been doing it ever since I owned the team. The exact same way.?

Jones says he doesn?t tell Garrett who can play and who can?t, but he did want to make sure Garrett understood that quarterback Tony Romo didn?t need to take any chances by playing in an essentially meaningless game against the Eagles.

?That?s Jason?s decision, but he doesn?t need to be making that one by himself,? Jones said. ?So I wanted to, very briefly, step down there with just a few minutes gone in the first quarter, sit there and say, ?Here?s the lay of the land. Romo?s got a hand injury, but it looks like we?re going to have him for New York.??

And if Jones thinks his coach might not know the lay of the land, Jones is going to make sure his coach knows the lay of the land. That?s going to be the case as long as Jones owns the Cowboys.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/27/falcons-simply-not-in-saints-class/related

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iStock Tools / Apps: LiveStock - an iStock contributor app for your Android phone

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:48AM

Updated: 2011-10-12 new version (2.9.66) available via the Android Market
60_avail_market_logo2

You can follow http://twitter.com/LiveStockIStock for LiveStock-related announcements.

Are there any contributors out there with an Android-based phone?

I've written a little app which lets you keep watch on your account and notify you of sales. It also shows you assorted statistics, sales details, and lets you read your iStock sitemail. It's free.

screen-2_8_10-1
Main Screen screenshot from version 2.8.10

screen-2_8_10-2
Download Details View screenshot from version 2.8.10

screen-2_8_10-3
Monthly Stats View screenshot from version 2.8.10

screen-2_8_10-4
Yearly Stats View screenshot from version 2.8.10

screen-2_8_10-5
Uploads Stats View screenshot from version 2.8.10

screen-2_6_16-2
Sitemail View screenshot from version 2.6.16

It is available (for free!) from the Android Market. Just start the Market application on your phone and search for Livestock.
Or if you have a barcode scanner on your phone, just scan this:
livestock2-market-qr

The current version is 2.9.66 (as of 12th October 2011).

If you have an older phone running Android 1.5, 1.6 or 2.0 then look for LiveStock Classic in the Android Market.
The current version of LiveStockClassic is 2.7.38 (as of 11th January 2011).

Edited to refer to the latest version.

(Edited on 2011-10-12 07:41:14 by theasis)

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:41AM

Updated LiveStock to correctly track Dollar Bin sales.

Edited to remove obsolete (and misleading) information.

(Edited on 2009-05-29 02:02:15 by theasis)

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:41AM

Updated to give better information (size and royalty earned) for recent sales.

Because this involves scraping data from more webpages, the very first time you run the application it will spend quite a while in the "Talking to iStock: Gathering data..." phase.? How long depends on quite a few factors including, of course, how good a signal your phone has and whether it's connected by 2G, 3G or Wifi.? Best to set it running and go make yourself a sandwich and a cup of tea (or a pie and a pint if that's more your thing).? Subsequent refreshes will be much faster (unless you have hundreds of sales and don't refresh for days).

Edited to remove obsolete screenshot.

(Edited on 2009-05-29 02:01:17 by theasis)

Member is a Diamond contributor and has 25,000 - 199,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphotoEl miembro ha tenido un Archivo de la semana

Comentado Fri Dec 19, 2008 4:29PM


i really thank you for writing this app, finally somthing for the G1, but anyway im visiting the page from my phone but cant find any application link!! is it deactivated, the page i see is exactly like the one on my PC no difference..

maybe im missing something..

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:10AM

Hi there
Posted By thesuperph:

i really thank you for writing this app, finally somthing for the G1, but anyway im visiting the page from my phone but cant find any application link!! is it deactivated, the page i see is exactly like the one on my PC no difference..

maybe im missing something..

That's odd. I just checked with my phone to make sure that it is still active and all looks fine. I took a look through the web logs and I don't see any Android browsers connecting for the last couple of days. My first thought was that you might be using one of the 3rd party browsers that are in beta-test, but I don't see any connections from them, either. Do you remember roughly what day and time you looked with your phone's browser (and what timezone you're in!) because I'd really like to get to the bottom of it if there's a problem on the server.
However, on a different note...now that I have an API key from istock, I'm completely rewriting the application. It might be worth holding off for a little while whilst I knock it into shape.

Thanks a lot for your interest,
Martin

Member is a Diamond contributor and has 25,000 - 199,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphotoEl miembro ha tenido un Archivo de la semana

Comentado Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:06PM


well im checking now at this moment and only from my G1.. you can get the time from this post time..

still the same thing (i refreshed three times), also the browser that i use is the default built in one..

?

anyway i think the best thing o do is to wait for your newer one really thanx again for your effort

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:53AM

Thanks for trying again. My best guess is that there's a cache somewhere between your phone and the livestock webserver and it's feeding you old pages. My phone doesn't seem to give me a cached page, so I wonder if it's a difference between the USA and UK services, or if you're on some non-standard service.

When I have a stable version of the app I'll submit it to the Android Marketplace (it'll still be free) and any such problems should go away. Sorry that it's being a pain for you in the meantime

Member is a Diamond contributor and has 25,000 - 199,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphotoEl miembro ha tenido un Archivo de la semana

Comentado Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:13PM


i have it now installed on my G1.. bugs are there but its cool to have something IS related on my mobile

ill be waiting for the final version, and thanks alot for your efforts..

Member is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 2,499 Photo downloadsExclusive

Comentado Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:28AM

Is this still in the works?? This would be especially useful now that the iStock page is slightly mangled in the Android browser (the main toolbar gets wrapped around under the search bar).

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:29AM

Development of LiveStock is on hold for the time being. I'm hoping to put some time aside in the next few weeks in order to knock it into a decent shape.

If I don't find time to do that, I'll put out the version that's currently on my phone. This doesn't do much more than let you know you've had a sale and what you've earned.

Sorry for the delay on this - real life sometimes gets in the way

Member is a Silver contributor and has 2,500 - 9,999 Photo downloadsExclusive

Comentado Tue Apr 7, 2009 11:49AM


Any update on this interesting project? Is real life still in the way?

Thanx for your effort.

?

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Thu Apr 9, 2009 4:12AM


Posted By Mac99:

Is real life still in the way? ;-)
?

Heh - actually, the reasons for delay have changed somewhat. The chap in the Glasgow store where I got my phone told me that I was one of the first people to get a G1 from them, and that I was definitely the first to bring one in for repair. I don't expect it back for at least another couple of weeks...hopefully I can then make some more progress.

Thanks for the patience!

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:29AM

A positive update, at last.
My G1 has been repaired and returned. I'm re-implementing LiveStock, building on what I learned about programming for the G1 first time around. I'm planning on releasing an alpha version of LiveStock2 in the next few days:
- the new version will be simpler than the old version to avoid using up the G1's resources so quickly - this should result in fewer bugs and better battery life;
- I'll be releasing through the Android Market rather than my own web pages - that means installing and upgrading between versions will be more straightforward. I understand that it takes a little while for an application to work its way through the Market after release, so I'll not announce its availability until it's actually visible.

Thanks for your patience!

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:02AM

I'm happy to announce that a new version of LiveStock is now available.
It is available (for free!) from the Android Market. You'll find it in the Market in Applications->Tools, or just search for "livestock".

The current version is 2.0.14 alpha (as of 17 April 2009); this is a complete rewrite of the previous version of the application. Although it is usable and, I think, useful, I'd like to stress that this should be considered alpha quality software.

I am aware of a few flaws. In particular, the first time you run it it can take a long time to pull some of your information from the istock servers. This pull really should happen in a background thread - because it doesn't, your phone may warn you that LiveStock is taking a long time to respond. If that happens, just touch the "Wait" button. This is the item highest on my priority list to fix.

The first time you run it, it will ask you to enter your istock login details. I strongly recommend that you touch the "Test" button before saving so that LiveStock can attempt a connection to the iStock servers to check you entered them correctly.
screen1

The main screen will display some current stats and your most recent downloads.
screen2

From the main screen, just touch the refresh button and it will pull your current details from istock.

This is still an early version and there are many things I want to improve and features I want to add. First on the list of things to fix is the horrible delay the first time you pull data from istock. The next most important feature is to make LiveStock run as a service so that it automatically pulls data from istock at regular intervals. Once that is done, it will be able to notify you as sales happen.

Of course, this isn't istock-supported software so please direct your complaints, plaudits, requests, rants, bug reports, etc to me either in this thread or via sitemail.

Enjoy.

Member is a Diamond contributor and has 25,000 - 199,999 Photo downloadsMember is a  contributor and has more than 0 Logo downloadsMember is a contributor and has less than 250 Flash downloadsMember is a contributor and has less than 250 Illustration downloadsExclusive

Comentado Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:15PM


Oh wow i just found it in the market browsing recent apps!
I have not read this thread before but i was looking for such an app.

It works really good THANK YOU!
You've made the G1 a much more interesting phone

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:13AM

I've just pushed a new version (2.0.15) to the Market. If you look for Livestock in the market and you already have 2.0.14 installed, you will be given the option to update.

The main change in 2.0.15 is that the disturbing silence (or even more disturbing Force Close/Wait dialog) when refreshing the list of recent downloads is now replaced by a progress indicator - no more wondering whether or not there's anything happening. A lesser, but related, change is that there is now a "Refresh recent DLs" option from the Menu button to force an update of the recent downloads list.

Please let me know if these changes don't seem to work for you, or if other issues appear.

The current plan is for the next release to run as a service and automatically inform you of sales - no more having to hit Refresh.

Member is a Gold contributor and has 10,000 - 24,999 Photo downloadsMember is a Bronze contributor and has 250 - 1,249 Video downloadsExclusiveVide?grafo exclusivo de iStockphoto

Comentado Thu May 7, 2009 9:45AM

I'm pleased to announce that I've just pushed a new version (v2.1.0) of LiveStock to the Android Market. If you search for Livestock in the market on your Android phone you have the option to install or, if you have an earlier version installed already, to upgrade.

There are a number of changes in this release:
- the list of recent downloads does not update automatically. You can request an update simply with MENU->Refresh Recent DLs. This was made manual as updating the DL list involves a fair amount of network traffic which helps run down your phone's battery.
- you don't need to request that Livestock checks to see if you've had a sale. Instead it runs in the background and automatically checks for any changes to your balance. If your balance changes, you get a notification. (But see my note below!)
- a few minor cosmetic changes.
- quite a few small bugs have been squashed.

Automatic Checks
Every 20 minutes or so, LiveStock will check to see if your balance has changed. If it does change, LiveStock posts a notification.
livestocknotification1

livestocknotification2

If your phone is in sleep-mode (i.e. when the screen has blanked), LiveStock will not wake the phone to check the balance. Waking the phone seems to be relatively power-hungry and it runs the battery down far too quickly. I hope to improve this in future. However, if some other application wakes the phone then LiveStock will take the opportunity to do its checks.

I hope you like the changes. Please do let me know of any bugs or strange experiences, or feature requests you may have.

Edit: I should add, this has been tested on both the older version of Android (1.1) and the new "cupcake" release (1.5).

Enjoy!

(Edited on 2009-05-07 10:08:02 by theasis)

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Comentado Tue May 12, 2009 4:01AM


Hi,

Most of the time if i open your app it says "stats updated" and if i close it and then open it it will give the new stats. I have never seen a notification about automatic stats update after 20 minutes. It only gives this message if i have the app opened. Am i missing something?

I love this app! thanks for your hard work.

Michel

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Comentado Tue May 12, 2009 5:27AM

Hi Michel
Thanks for the feedback.
Posted By micheldenijs:

Most of the time if i open your app it says "stats updated" and if i close it and then open it it will give the new stats. I have never seen a notification about automatic stats update after 20 minutes. It only gives this message if i have the app opened. Am i missing something?

Hmmm...I've seen the same thing some days, but not always. In a future version I'll try triggering the notifications a different way and see if that helps.

If I can get to the bottom of it, I'll put out a new version in the next couple of days. If I can't find the problem immediately, it will probably be a couple of weeks before I put out a new version due to other commitments.

Many thanks for the report!

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Comentado Wed May 27, 2009 5:09AM

I've completely rewritten the automated checking and it now works in a way that I think you'll like. The checking also does less processing, which means less drain on the battery. Which means LiveStock can now check for and notify you of sales even when the phone is sleeping.

I'll delay releasing it until after Thursday night's downtime just in case there are any site changes that would affect LiveStock.

Source: http://espanol.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=80029&messageid=6565865&source=rssforums

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