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These days there are quite a lot of people, stunted businesses and also chunky companies that have some form of air or another on the Internet.( Read more... )

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Planning to start a business? Whether it is a part time one or something that you are really going seriously into, you should consider cake decorating.( Read more... )

Business Angels are people who like to invest in struggling businesses which they think have a good chance of making it in the business with some financial backing as well as businesses that are just starting up.( Read more... )

After a year of analyzing data from a probe sent to the moon, scientists have found that the moon has more water than they thought, making a permanent human base there more feasible.

Last year NASA launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, together with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The probes were designed to test the composition of the lunar surface.

The method was simple: take something very heavy, smash it into the Moon, and see what comes up in the debris cloud.

In October 2009, LCROSS separated from the Centaur rocket that pushed it into orbit. The Centaur was essentially a large empty hulk, and it was sent crashing into a crater called Cabeus, near the south pole of the Moon. LCROSS followed, taking a path through the cloud of debris generated by the Centaur's impact, and relaying data about the chemicals in the cloud back to Earth.

Later, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, flying in a low orbit, took measurements of the plume kicked up by LCROSS's crash, as well as getting close-up images of the impact site.

Cabeus was chosen because the bottom of the crater is always in darkness; because of the Moon's orientation relative to the Sun, there are regions near the poles where the interior of a large crater never gets any light. These areas are protected from a lot of the solar radiation, so water and other volatile compounds can survive on the surface for billions of years.

The choice paid off. Analysis of the data showed evidence of pure water ice crystals. The LCROSS and LRO instruments also found that as much as 20 percent of the material kicked up by the impacts is chemicals called volatiles: methane, ammonia, hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center, said in a statement that the chemicals show evidence that there is an active water cycle in these craters, and that it is likely that comets and asteroids brought the chemicals to the surface during billions of years of impacts.

The presence of water and volatiles means astronauts could get air, drinking water and rocket fuel from the lunar surface. Previously, it was thought that the moon was bone-dry, meaning water would have to be supplied from elsewhere.

"The observations by the suite of LRO and LCROSS instruments demonstrate the moon has a complex environment that experiences intriguing chemical processes," said Richard Vondrak, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This knowledge can open doors to new areas of research and exploration."

 

(Corrects fourth paragraph to remove reference to "The Office")

Three of the biggest U.S. television broadcasters have blocked their shows from Google Inc's new Web TV service, throwing a wrench into the company's plans to expand from computers to the living room.

Spokespeople from Walt Disney Co and NBC Universal confirmed on Thursday that the companies blocked access to its broadcast TV shows from Google TV. Disney owns network and cable TV businesses ABC and ESPN.

News Corp's Fox is also considering blocking access to shows on its website, but a decision has not yet been made, a source familiar with the matter said.

CBS has blocked access to full-length episodes of their programs, including popular fare like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

CBS declined to comment.

Google TV, which became available this month in the United States, allows consumers to access Web content on their television screens.

The service, which is built-in to devices from Sony and Logitech International, could open new advertising opportunities for Google, which generates the bulk of its roughly $24 billion in annual revenue from Web search ads.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic, Yinka Adegoke, Jennifer Saba and Sue Zeidler. Editing by Kenneth Li and Robert MacMillan)

Sony said on Thursday it sold 1 million units of its Move motion-based video game controller in its first month on the American market, and that demand was outstripping supply.

Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said the company does not expect to have enough supply on hand until February 2011.

"We had to go back and increase production twice, we're absolutely maxed out right now," Tretton said.

Sony launched Move, which is used with its PlayStation 3 video game console, on September 19 in the U.S. with its camera priced at $39.99 and its motion controller wand at $49.99.

Move is available at more than 30,000 retail outlets in the Americas. Sony said previously that it has sold better than 1.5 million Move units in Europe. It just launched in Japan.

Microsoft will start selling its Kinect motion-based gaming platform on November 4, for use on the Xbox 360 console. Kinect will cost $150 and does not require a separate handheld controller.

Microsoft expects to sell 3 million Kinect units this year.

Game publishers are gauging the demand for motion sensor technology before investing heavily to develop motion games for Sony and Microsoft, analysts say.

Tretton said there are 24 games available for Sony Move, with a total of 40 expected by the end of march.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Amazon.com Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings as revenue rose 39 percent, but its costs rose even faster, and shares in the world's largest online retailer fell nearly 5 percent.

Net income in Amazon's third quarter ended September 30 rose 16 percent to $231 million, or 51 cents per share, from $199 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had been expecting earnings of 48 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 39 percent to $7.56 billion. That was above the 35 percent rise to $7.36 billion expected by Wall Street. At the same time, operating expenses rose more than 40 percent to $7.29 billion.

A lower-priced Kindle e-reader, plus new categories of products, more outside sellers and fall sales momentum have helped Amazon post robust sales that have outperformed rivals and e-commerce trends in general.

Looking ahead, Amazon said it expects sales in its holiday fourth quarter of between $12.0 billion to $13.3 billion -- representing growth of 26 percent to 40 percent -- on operating profit of $360 million to $560 million -- representing a decline of 24 percent to growth of 18 percent.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Gary Hill)

A sour economy and outsourcing aren't the only reasons for job losses—technology is another factor. As technology rapidly evolves and makes various tasks and processes more efficient, economical to perform, and just downright easier, once-secure careers become victims of progress. Here's a look at ten jobs that have either recently become obsolete or are dangling over the precipice.

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Binding calendars with twin loop wire is really not that hard. You simply need a wire binding machine, wire binding supplies, a thumb-cut punch and pre-formed calendar wires.( Read more... )