A new kind of wiki

Now there is a wiki for any hot selling concept. I was searching for iPhone Wiki and came across this wonderful ShopWiki that specializes on an industry leading shopping wiki of 223,116,952 products from every store. Well I cant authenticate that number but they sure have picked up every product selling this holiday season and converted into a ShopWiki.

The interesting concept on ShopWiki is the handing out of a brand new iPod nano for first-time registrations made during the months of September, October, November, and December of 2008. So all you need to do is register on the site for the first time to be automatically entered into the Give Away! Even your photo will be featured on ShopWiki. Could you ask for anything more?

You can look for Wiki Gift Guides for any occasion or best selling products or even shop products by brand in alphabetical fashion. Wiki has never been so easier.

Cash back rebates like never before

Its the holiday season again this year and there are so many shopping sites including online retailers. How do you get a great online shopping deal for that iPhone or iPod that you have been waiting for the whole year. Well now there is a unique concept of cash back rebates which gives you money back for the purchases you make thereby making this more attractive than discount offers or mail in rebate offers.

This is absolutelu FREE and Extrabux will not charge you for anything. All you need is an email address to get started on your pathway to comparison shopping and getting money back when spending it.

The more online shopping you do, the more you will earn. It's a win-win-win situation where you have nothing to loose but everything to gain.

Windows Embedded Standard CTP is Available!

We're excited to announce that the Windows Embedded Standard Community Technology Preview (CTP) has been made available for download! Please download this build and help us improve the quality and reliability of Windows Embedded Standard with your valuable feedback. You can submit bugs and suggestions directly on the Connect site, and if you have any questions please post a thread on the Windows Embedded Standard MSDN forum. The product team will be monitoring the forum and responding as quickly as possible.

Don't forget to join us on June 3rd for the Windows Embedded Standard Launch Event to hear all about this new release and get ready to build the next generation of smart, connected devices. And if you want a chance to win an Xbox 360 Elite console, simply register for the Launch Event AND download the CTP then you will be automatically entered in to win one of ten Xbox 360 Elites! For more information and official rules, click here.

Thank you for your interest and continued passion for Windows Embedded. If you have any questions about this CTP please send mail to ewtap@microsoft.com.

Thank you for your participation,
- The Windows Embedded Standard team

Exclusive invitation to a new Microsoft BETA, codenamed "Albany"

CONFIDENTIAL – PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD THIS EMAIL OR DISCLOSE ANY INFORMATION INCLUDED

Hello –

The Office Pre-Release Programs team recommended you as an ideal candidate for an exciting new Beta program, based on your participation as a 2007 Microsoft Office technical Beta tester. We value the feedback you have provided us in the past as trusted partners, and thank you for helping us make Microsoft Office better for you and other customers. Now, you have the opportunity to provide important feedback about another new product!

We are excited to invite you to a private, very limited and confidential Beta for a new Microsoft product, codenamed “Albany.” “Albany” targets home PC users, and includes Microsoft software and services that meet the most common needs of PC consumers, plus new features that create an easy, clean experience. Because “Albany” is designed for consumers, not enterprise customers, we recommend that you install the Beta on a home PC, though this would not be a requirement.

We are offering you this exclusive, early sneak preview of “Albany” as part of an elite group of trusted Beta testers, because we believe that you will provide us valuable feedback, and will also respect the confidentiality of “Albany” by not disclosing any details about this product.

If you would like to participate, please go to this URL to apply:
on Microsoft Connect if you have not already done so, and we will ask you to agree to a Non Disclosure Agreement before we share more details about “Albany.”

If you are selected as a participant, we will contact you with more details about “Albany” and the Beta. Please note that the Beta is open only to those who receive this official invitation from us – please do not forward or share this invitation with anyone else.

We look forward to working with you to make “Albany” the best product possible for our customers.

If you have questions, please email us at ******@microsoft.com.

Thanks,
The Microsoft “Albany” team

Proposals Sought for Innovative Global Health Research

First round of Grand Challenges Explorations to support bold, unconventional ideas to fight infectious diseases

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today that beginning March 31, 2008, it will accept grant proposals for the first funding round of Grand Challenges Explorations, a new $100 million initiative to help scientists across the globe pursue ideas that have never before been tested for solving major health problems. The four topics for the first funding round were also announced.

Initial grants through the Explorations initiative will be $100,000 each, and projects showing success will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of $1 million or more. The initiative will use an agile, accelerated grant-making process—applications will be two pages, and preliminary data are not required. The foundation will select and award grants within approximately three months from the proposal submission deadline of May 30, 2008.

"Breakthrough ideas can come from anywhere, and we hope this new process will encourage a broad range of scientists from around the world to bring their ideas to the table," said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation's Global Health Program. "We're especially interested in reaching people who work outside the field of global health, innovators in the developing world, and young investigators."

Grand Challenges Explorations is an expansion of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, which was launched in 2003 to spur the discovery of new technologies to improve global health. The Explorations initiative focuses on research areas where creative, unorthodox thinking is most urgently needed.

Topics for First Funding Round

The first funding round of Grand Challenges Explorations will consider proposals in four topic areas:

Creating new ways to protect against infectious diseases: Untried or unproven approaches to protect against infectious diseases, including harnessing natural or synthetic immune responses, or eliminating the need for an effective immune response.


Creating drugs or delivery systems that limit the emergence of resistance: Innovative ideas for discovering or delivering drugs that are less likely to lose effectiveness because of resistance developing in the disease-causing agent.


Creating new ways to prevent or cure HIV infection: Innovative ideas for HIV prevention or treatment methods that fall outside current research on vaccines, antiretroviral drugs, and other biomedical and behavior-change strategies.


Exploring the basis for latency in TB: Unconventional approaches to understanding latent TB infection, with the goal of discovering new ways to identify and eliminate latent infection, and break the cycle of TB transmission.
Grant proposals for the first Explorations funding round will be accepted online at Grand Challenges Explorations from March 31 through May 30, 2008; applicants must register intent to submit a proposal by May 15, 2008.

Once the first Explorations funding round is complete, the foundation will announce subsequent funding rounds. Topics may vary over time, to cover a range of priorities in global health research.

Full descriptions of the initial topic areas and application instructions are available at www.gcgh.org/explorations.

$200 Savings End Today for VSLive SF

Sign up for 170 Hours of Developer-Focused Content
This is our final reminder to register and save on VSLive San Francisco, March 30-April 3 at the Moscone Center West. After today, prices will go up to the standard rate. In 5 days, you’ll get over 170 hours of developer-focused content covering ASP.NET, VSTS, Server System, .NET and more.

Sign up today. Call (800) 280-6218 or (541) 346-3537 or register online. Make sure you mention Priority Code VSE24 to ensure your $200 discount.

Can’t make the San Francisco dates? Meet us at VSLive Orlando, May 12-16 at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando®.

We hope to see you at VSLive in 2008.

The VSLive Conference Team

Ohio STEM Learning Network Receives Investment to Launch Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Initiative

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help support statewide collaboration, providing more than 100,000 Ohio students with a 21st century education



Contact:


Shaun Yoder
Ohio STEM Learning Network
Phone: 614.228.6084

Katy Delaney
Battelle Memorial Institute
Phone: 614.424.7686

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Phone: 206.709.3400
Email: media@gatesfoundation.org




COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An unprecedented public-private partnership designed to train and connect more than 100,000 students to jobs in Ohio's 21st century economy today announced a $12 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The investment—part of a $50 million commitment by state and private partners—will support the launch of the Ohio Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Learning Network, to be managed by Battelle, the world's largest non-profit independent research and development organization. The network will begin with five regional STEM-based schools targeting low income and minority students. Ohio lawmakers also have targeted $100 million for STEM college scholarships.

Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Senate President Bill Harris and Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted gathered at Metro High School in Columbus with Battelle CEO Carl Kohrt, students, educators, public officials as well as business and community leaders to celebrate the unique partnerships that have been formed to nurture and grow Ohio's talent to compete and succeed in college and the workplace. The Ohio STEM Learning Network (OSLN), to be led by Rich Rosen, Battelle's Vice President for Education and Philanthropy, will work with Ohio's public schools to ensure that all students meet the STEM literacy challenge and are prepared to fill the high-quality jobs that will transform Ohio's economy from an industrial economy to a "solutions" economy.

"Today's businesses will succeed based on how well we solve problems like climate change, energy independence, high health care costs, and others. STEM literacy, with its emphasis on real-world problem-solving, gives students the intellectual as well as the technical foundation they need to make sense of the world around them and move ahead in this environment," Kohrt said. "Improving education is one of Battelle's founding purposes and operational signatures. As a business based on scientific discovery and application, we have a keen interest in vigorously promoting STEM education. This is what Ohio owes its children and it's what we must do to meet the Governor's commitment to open the doors of our colleges and adult career centers to an additional 230,000 Ohioans over the next decade."

The OSLN, in cooperation with the Ohio Partnership for Continued Learning, seeks to: double the number of college graduates in Ohio by 2015 with degrees in the STEM disciplines, with a special emphasis on increasing the number of low income and minority graduates; dramatically increase the number of individuals who choose a career in STEM fields to support Ohio's economic growth and ensure the state's position as a leader in innovation, research, and emerging technology; and design and implement a statewide infrastructure that ensures all secondary STEM school creation is aligned with Ohio's education reform, economic development, workforce, and two- and four-year higher education endeavors.

Governor Strickland, President Harris and Speaker Husted made the following joint statement: "We can all agree that creating jobs and building our economy are essential and vital to our progress as a state. To do so, we must prepare our students with the skills and tools needed to compete in the ever-changing global marketplace—an environment where talents in the STEM disciplines will drive the economy and dictate success. With Ohio's focus on STEM education we are laying the groundwork for a highly competitive 21st century "solutions" revolution. We look forward to working with Battelle, the Ohio Business Roundtable, the Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy and the Ohio STEM Learning Network partners across the state on this bold initiative that will benefit Ohioans for years to come."

AEP Chief Executive and Ohio Business Roundtable Chairman Michael Morris, one of many Ohio business leaders who have supported the development of OSLN and the state’s STEM learning initiatives, remarked, "Ohio's greatest challenge is to cultivate and nurture the next generation of knowledge workers to fuel our innovation economy. The Roundtable is proud to join hands with Carl Kohrt and Battelle, our business, philanthropic and education partners, and Ohio's elected leaders to ensure that STEM learning 'sticks'—that it thrives and becomes part of Ohio's permanent education landscape."

Metro High School in Columbus, a STEM school and the site of today's announcement, opened its doors in the fall of 2006. According to Ronny Oppong, a sophomore at Metro, every day of school is a 'WOW' moment for him. "My curriculum is challenging with lots of advanced math and science. I'm discovering and inventing, but I’m also given opportunities to apply new ideas to problems in the real world," Oppong said. "Learning is 'hands-on' and personal. And it's not just math and science—there's a lot of history, writing and literature, as well as music and the arts. If it were my decision, STEM would be part of every school."

OSLN's goal is to support schools' efforts to inspire, train and connect more than 100,000 Ohio students over the next 10 years to the high-quality jobs that will define the state's success in the global economy. "Our shared mission is to graduate all students ready for college, career and life," said Steve Seleznow, Program Director of Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We are excited about the network of STEM schools that Ohio is creating and applaud the statewide commitment to link a challenging curriculum to the future vitality and prosperity of the state's regional economies."

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The Ohio STEM Learning Network (OSLN) is a privately-supported, non-profit initiative designed to advance high-quality STEM education for all students in Ohio. Managed by Battelle, and a team of affiliated entities, the OSLN will provide critical funding and technical assistance for the regional development of STEM-education initiatives that have a broad base of committed local partners and are aligned to the State of Ohio's broader STEM goals and programs. Focused on innovative teaching and learning, its overarching goal is to create a growing network of connected and thriving STEM schools and programs. The result: student success in the 21st century "solutions" economy. Battelle's Rich Rosen, Vice President for Education and Philanthropy, will lead the OSLN.

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Battelle is the world's largest non-profit independent research and development organization, providing innovative solutions to the world's most pressing needs through its four global businesses: Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Technology, and Health and Life Sciences. It advances scientific discovery and application by conducting $4 billion in global R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 20,400 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including seven national laboratories which Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Battelle also is one of the nation's leading charitable trusts focusing on societal and economic impact and actively supporting and promoting science and math education.

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The Ohio Business Roundtable is a partnership of the chief executives of the state's major businesses who represent all sectors of the economy and are committed to working with public leaders to build a better Ohio. Its 501(c)(3) affiliate, the Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy, is coordinating the public policy, communications and engagement activities of the OSLN.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.