HOW TO Archives » News

Apple Patent Outlines a System To Track Users

Harun Abdurrazaq — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:02:41 +0000

Future versions of Apple’s iPhone may come equipped with the smartphone version of a LoJack car-recovery system, a patent application filed by the computer giant suggests. The application details a system that can take photos of an unauthorized user, pinpoint his or her location, or even detect the user’s heartbeat patterns after the phone owner reports it lost or stolen.

The technology, which can also be applied to Wi-Fi-equipped iPods and iPads, could notify Apple or the user if the SIM card is removed or if multiple failed log-ins occur.

The Aug. 19 application drew notice in the tech media for its reference to jailbreaking — the process of owners modifying an iPhone to run applications not approved by Apple — as one of the red flags triggering remote action. But while the system might alert Apple if an iPhone has been jailbroken, there’s not much the company can do about it.

The Library of Congress ruled last month that, despite Apple’s protests, “Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications” are exempt from the prohibition against circumventing technological measures that control access to copyrighted works.

That’s as long as the modification is “for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.” So the process is legal, although it voids Apple’s warranty.

Remote Wipe

Previous tracking solutions for wayward iPhones have involved apps that continuously transmit the iPhone’s data via GPS — which only work if the program is running in the background — and one that sends tweets with the phone’s coordinates to a Twitter account. But neither enables remote locking or deletion of data.

Apple used a remote wipe to deactivate a prototype of the iPhone 4 that was lost in a California bar and ended up in the hands of a tech blog last spring.

The trademark application, entitled Systems And Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device, outlines signs of misuse and possible responses.

“When an unauthorized user is detected, various safety measures can be taken,” the application says. “For example, information related to the identity of the unauthorized user, the unauthorized user’s operation of the electronic device, or the current location of the electronic device can be gathered. As another example, functions of the electronic device can be restricted.”

“In some embodiments, the owner of the electronic device can be notified of the unauthorized user by sending an alert notification through any suitable medium, such as, for example, a voice mail, e-mail, or text message.”

Big Brother?

The system could also potentially be used to track the activities of an authorized user. Collecting data on customers’ phone usage is increasingly as easy as it is appealing to carriers, manufacturers, developers and advertisers.

Last week the world’s biggest phone maker, Finland-based Nokia, announced that it will acquire a company to monitor the use of applications and web-site visits on its phones, ostensibly in a bid to determine which apps are the most popular.

“It’s the way the industry is moving,” said wireless analyst Kirk Parsons of J.D. Power and Associates. “The critical element is getting the customer’s permission to sign up and participate in any tracking program or app. Some customers won’t mind, while others will.”

Parsons said that while “the applications are endless as to what could be used in this potential service application,” increasing concern about electronic privacy by Congress and others makes it likely that companies will need customers’ consent to track their usage.

Apple seemed to anticipate concern about privacy when it unveiled iOS 4 earlier this year. The iPhone operating system places a green arrow over applications that transmit location data to give users an option to turn them off.

For 3Par, HP tries to outbid rival Dell

Harun Abdurrazaq — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:55:41 +0000

The world’s two biggest personal computer makers are locked in a pricey struggle over which can move away from the PC business the fastest.
Hewlett-Packard Co. offered $1.5 billion on Monday for 3Par Inc., a company whose data-storage machines are designed for “cloud computing,” or delivering services over the Internet. HP’s rival, Dell Inc., last week offered about $400 million less for 3Par, and many analysts and investors expect Dell to make a sweeter counteroffer.

HP’s offer comes just weeks after HP CEO Mark Hurd’s ouster over inaccurate expense reports and shows that the company is committed to continuing to grow through acquisitions, even without him at the helm.

The willingness to spend so much money on such an obscure company underscores how aggressively both companies are about moving into more profitable markets than PCs.

Cloud computing is one of those markets.

It has caught on because many companies aren’t buying their own computer servers for certain tasks anymore. Instead, they’re paying to have software they would have stored on those machines delivered to them over the Internet.

Companies such as Dell and HP are trying to take advantage of the trend by offering those kinds of cloud-computing services directly on a subscription basis, along with the equipment and software for customers to build their own cloud systems.

One problem, though, is the machines needed to run such operations are designed to be shared by multiple customers. Those machines need to ramp up or scale down their output quickly based on demand. Storage machines offered by 3Par could help cut the cost of operating those services because they are designed for such tasks.

Dell began the bidding contest last week by offering to buy 3Par for $18 per share, or $1.13 billion. HP responded by offering a third more, or $24 per share, for a total of $1.5 billion.

Investors, believing Dell will make a counteroffer, sent 3Par shares above HP’s offer price. Shares of 3Par closed Monday at $26.09, up $8.05, or 45 percent.

But many analysts are worried that the price for 3Par has gotten too high, meaning HP or Dell would be overpaying for the company. HP shares fell 81 cents, or 2 percent, to $39.04. Dell shares were down 13 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $11.94.

Analyst Ben Reitzes with Barclays Capital called 3Par “a very good fit for HP strategically” but said the timing and price “may raise a few concerns.”

Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. said 3Par’s shares have traded at around $10 for most of the year, so some investors are wondering why HP is now offering more than double that price.

“The biggest winners here are clearly 3Par employees and shareholders,” he wrote.

The tussle over 3Par comes at a time both companies are dealing with CEO troubles and badly need a win on Wall Street.

HP is eager to prove that it hasn’t missed a beat since the abrupt departure of Hurd, who engineered more than $20 billion in acquisitions in his five years atop HP. HP’s stock has fallen 16 percent since Hurd’s resignation, erasing about $17 billion in shareholder wealth.

Hurd resigned Aug. 6 in a dispute with HP’s board over how to handle a sexual-harassment allegation against him, something the board decided was meritless but felt it had to disclose anyway. As part of that probe, the board found he had filed inaccurate expense reports connected to his accuser. Hurd says he didn’t do his own expenses, and that any errors were inadvertent.

Hurd had been instrumental in moving HP into markets beyond PCs and printer ink. One of his biggest bets was paying $13 billion for Electronic Data Systems, an outsourcing company. That deal made HP look a lot more like IBM Corp., which has milked its software and services model for better profits than the PC business it sold off.

HP, Dell and other PC makers are victims of their own success. The companies that made personal computers affordable and ubiquitous now have to lure new buyers with rock-bottom prices. Prices for parts, meanwhile, have increased this year, putting even more of a squeeze on the computer makers’ profits.

There are signs the deal was being explored at HP before Hurd’s departure.

In a letter Monday to 3Par CEO David Scott – who previously worked as a manager in HP’s storage division – HP revealed that it had made an earlier offer for 3Par.

That offer wasn’t made public. HP wouldn’t say when the offer was made, or how much it was for. Dave Donatelli, an HP executive vice president, said HP has been looking at buying 3Par “for a period of time.”

Jayson Noland, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co., said HP’s earlier offer was likely rebuffed because the price was too low.

While HP looks for a new CEO, Dell needs to shore up support for the CEO it has.

Michael Dell has been embroiled in a scandal about undisclosed payments the company took from Intel Corp. for allegedly avoiding chips from an Intel rival. Dell and the company settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges on that matter last month, without admitting wrongdoing.

Dell has lost the faith of some investors. Two weeks ago, investors holding a quarter of the company’s shares did not cast votes to re-elect him to the board of directors. A year ago, he was re-elected with 98 percent of the shares in his favor.

Dell can afford to bid up 3Par a bit, with almost as much cash on hand as the much larger HP.

Dell declined comment on the company’s next move, while 3Par said its board was reviewing the offer.

The HP-Dell struggle has shades of earlier duels.

The recession has given cash-rich companies an opportunity to scoop up new technologies – or steal them away from rivals – relatively cheaply.

For more than a month last summer, a fierce bidding contest between EMC Corp. and rival NetApp Inc. for a company called Data Domain Inc. lit up the data-storage industry. EMC muscled its way into acquisition talks and eventually outbid NetApp to walk away with Data Domain for $33.50 per share. That was nearly double the price of Data Domain’s shares when NetApp first announced its intent to buy the company.

And last spring, Oracle Corp. beat out IBM and won the right to buy slumping computer-server maker Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion.

___

Mintz reported from Seattle. AP Business Writer Andrew Vanacore contributed to this story from New York.

Sony PS3 Update 3.41 Released

Harun Abdurrazaq — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:06:57 +0000

After waiting for a long time for Sony PS3 Firmware Update version, finally they confirmed that the PS3 Update 3.41 has been officially released and available to be downloaded. However, it’s not like as the earlier version that contains the hidden features on that the user can’t edit or upload content added to the system. The Sony PS3 Update 3.41 does not have any hidden features. According to Sony, the new firmware update 3.41 will be included on the next PS3 devices for the Playstation Store, there are a new list will be displayed on the right side which is called “You May Like”, so that you will see the new title based on your last purchase. Sony also confirmed that any hidden features on the PS3 device that still uncovered will be added as soon as they are ready to release. However the PS3 Firmware Update 3.41 will be affected for those who want to connect this Sony’s game console to internet. If you think that you do not need to play the PS3 game online, then you may skip this Sony PS3 update. You can download the update to the following links :

Download Firmware Update 3.41 Sony PS3 :
PS3 Firmware Update 3.41 (US)
PS3 Firmware Update 3.41 (EU)

15 Devices using Android

Harun Abdurrazaq — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:56:06 +0000

Android Operating System

All this has been known as Android operating system on the latest mobile phones. However, due to be developed based on the Linux operating system and is compatible with a variety of hardware, then Andorid can also be used on other devices. Instead released on the car, there are other devices which rely on Android utilize as the Operating System among others, at least there is 14 devices :

1. E-Reader: Gigabyte EB10, Pandigital Novel
2. Game Console : Hardkernel ODROID-S
3. GPS Receiver : Mio MiBuddy
4. Home Audio : Bonux Media Player
5. Cable Phone : Motorola HS1001, Biatone iHome Phone
6. Multimedia Player : Creative Zii Egg, RAmos Blue Magic T8
7. Netbook : Acer AspireOne D260, HP Compaq Airlife 100
8. Cell Phones : Google Nexus One, HTC Desire, Motorola Milestone
9. Photo Frame : Parrot Speccio DPF
10. Platform : MOTO AMP 5″
11. Smartbook : Toshiba AC100
12. Tablet : Archos 8, Dell Mini5
13. Television : Sony Dragonpoint, People of Lava Scandanavia
14. Ultra Mobile PC : aigo MID, ENT ET-M4301
15. Car : Roewe 350

It seems that Android is not only reliable in the smart phone market, but this Open Source operating system is also penetrated every related smart phone devices.

A Low-Cost Assault Rifle from Indonesia

Harun Abdurrazaq — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:58:00 +0000

A low cost military weapon

Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies. Examples of assault rifles include the M16 rifle, AK family, G36, FN FNC, and the Steyr AUG. An assault rifle is loosely defined as a selective fire rifle designed for combat that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. But now, they do not need any magazines anymore since there are a new weapon technology founded in indonesia, the standard military weapon without magazine but only bullets. The ammo have been changed by the electric thrower system with dynamic power shot speed. The weapon has been powered by 12 volt battery which will be converted into 300 volt by 6 capacitors.

An Electromagnetic Assault Rifle

Starting from the concern over the limitations of military weaponry, delivering Miftah YAMA Fauzan (16) students of SMAN 1 Sidoarjo steal the gold medal at the International Conference of Young Scientist (ICYS) 2010 in Bali some time ago. Project entitled Development of Smart Electric Gun Bullet With Adaptive Speed tries to create a weapon with a cheap but effective operation. By removing gunpowder (ammo) in the bullets hurling projectiles. Instead, Miftah using an electromagnetic systems. This system combined with the proximity sensor mechanism for determining the burst strength of the bullet.

The problems that often faced in the shooting is the bullet did not reach the target because the target is too far when using a small-caliber bullet otherwise when used a large-caliber bullet with a target that close it will shattered the target.

This requires a special mechanism to measure the distance of the target. Miftah using a sensors for electric gun. The sensor works by capturing the reflection of a laser beam fired from below the barrel of the rifle, the target distance information about the received sensor is then translated to the setting coil launchers. Here, the launcher will adjust the power sliding bullet with a gun to target distance.

“We can adjust the strength of the bullets burst, whether to paralyze the target or eliminate the target. It all depends on the power supply and capacitors. For this prototype I use 12 volt batteries which was converted into 300 volt with 6 capacitors. If you want raise the shoot power, you can raise the specification of batteries and capacitors, ” he said.

It’s called as a Low-cost Rifle, since it’s low in production cost and very cheap. To develop these weapons, Miftah issued only no more than Rp 1 million ($100 USD).

After his succeed to get an ICYS gold medal in 2010, Miftah precisely more eager to create new innovations in the weaponry products. His Obsession in the future is to create an elegtromagnetic gun jamming that could disrupt telecommunication systems and radar detection.

“If the United States military prefer to in the form of electromagnetic bomb, then I am interested to make a prototype of weapon, because it’s easier to carry,” he explained.

The bullets made from a vero-magnetic materials, with a full power mode (6 capacitors), this electro-magnetic assault rifle can penetrate an object 30 meters of the distance.

I can say, this is the new ‘Kalasnikov’ from Indonesia.

Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program has been Extended

Harun Abdurrazaq — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:23:45 +0000

Well, finally there is a good news about unemployment insurance from Rhode Island since the authority notify that the federal unemployment insurance extended benefit program which was known s EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation). These program has been extended throught April 5, 2010.
According to our legal resource the state’s unemployment insurance program has established a special toll-free telephone number for you to use in filing a new claim or reopening an established claim. There is no compulsory national unemployment insurance fund, rather, benefits are provided for in the annual Federal Budget by the National Treasury and are administrated and distributed throughout the nation by Centrelink.
In general, the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program provides unemployment benefits to eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own (as determined under State law), and meet other eligibility requirements of State law. File an unemployment claim using our convenient Internet Filed Claims service. Unemployment benefits are generally given only to those registering as unemployed, and often on conditions ensuring that they seek work and do not currently have a job. For tax year 2009, the first $2,400 paid in UI benefits is not subject to federal income tax. The Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs provide unemployment benefits to eligible workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own, and meet certain other eligibility requirements. Employers can perform a variety of UIA functions and access UIA account information on-line. Or, once you create your Personal Identification Number (PIN) using Teleserve, you can certify online using our new internet application. Unemployment benefits are divided into a voluntary scheme with income related compensation up to a certain level and a comprehensive scheme that provides a lower level of basic support. On March 2, 2010, President Obama signed legislation that lengthened the time period for which individuals may receive the following unemployment benefit programs: The federally funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program has been extended from February 2010 to March 28, 2010. File an Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) claim or an Extended Benefit (EB) claim. Only those drawing regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) or Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) can request checks via the telephone. [...] Unemployment insurance (UI) benefits received by claimants are considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service and the Kentucky Department of Revenue.

Kim Yu-na wins the olympic gold medal 2010

Harun Abdurrazaq — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:43:06 +0000

kim yu-na win gold medal

The South Koreans Athletes Kim Yu-na Wins the GOld Medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver with a record score on Friday. This is the first South Korean athletes bring the gold medal home at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than speedskating. Kim Yu-na showing her best performance On Thursday night which has scored 150.06 points in the ladies’ free skating at the Pacific Coliseum. Combined with her 78.5 points in the short program on Wednesday, the total score was 228.56 points, breaking the previous world record of 201.03 points which she set in the Grand Prix Trophée Eric Bompard in Paris last October.

Kim’s arch rival Asada Mao of Japan took the silver medal with 205.5 points and Canada’s Rochette Joannie the bronze with 202.64 points. Korean figure skater Kwak Min-jung finished 13th with a personal best score of 155.53 points.
Twenty-year-old Kim is the first Korean figure skater ever to win an Olympic medal.

Even Kim seemed to be dazzled by the show she put on, gasping when she saw the monstrous score. Coach Brian Orser gave a Rocky-like victory pump, shaking his clasped fists over each shoulder.

kim yuna best skater 2010

“I still can’t believe it,” Kim said. “I waited a long time for the Olympics, and it feels like a large weight has been lifted off.”

The 19-year-old grinned as she hopped up to the top spot on the podium, tugging at the bottom of her dress. When the gold medal was slipped over her head, she kissed both sides and held it up. Her lip quivered when the South Korean anthem began, and then came the tears.

She made a beeline for someone holding the South Korean flag as she set off on her victory lap, and carried it triumphantly as fans serenaded her with cheers and applause.

“Truly I still can’t believe that I did what I wanted to do at the Olympics,” she said.

Longtime rival Mao Asada of Japan won the silver medal, but it was no contest—even with Asada landing both her triple axels, one in combination with a double toe loop. Asada was more than 23 points behind Kim, a margin so big Kim could have done nothing but figure 8s for the last half of her program and still finished in front.

In fact, Kim’s score was so off the charts, it would have put her ninth in the men’s competition—even though they skate 30 seconds longer and do an extra jump.

“It’s one of those programs that, when it’s done like that, when it’s perfection …” Orser said, his voice trailing off.

Joannie Rochette, skating four days after the sudden death of her mother, won the bronze, giving Canada its first women’s medal since Liz Manley’s silver in 1988.

kim yu-na on skating

“I had to be out there as Joannie the athlete and not the person,” she said. “It’s not easy at some points. There’s always some moments when emotions take over. But I really tried to be strong to make my mother proud and my father, who was in the stands.”

kim-yu-na best skater

The Americans, meanwhile, are going home without at least one medal for only the second time since 1952. The other time was 1964, three years after a plane crash wiped out the entire U.S. team on its way to the world championships.

kim-yu-na maneuver

But there is hope on the horizon with 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu finishing fourth. U.S. champion Rachael Flatt dropped two spots from the short program and was seventh.

Kim came in bearing almost incomprehensible pressure. Not only was the reigning world champ the biggest favorite since Katarina Witt in 1988—she’s lost just one competition during the last two seasons—she carried the weight of an entire nation. Maybe her sport, too.

Kim-Yu-Na Olympic 2010

The most popular athlete in South Korea, she’s been dubbed “Queen Yu-na”— check out the sparkly crowns that twinkle in her ears—and she needs bodyguards whenever she returns home from her training base in Toronto. Anything she does creates a frenzy, and even a simple practice draws a rinkful of photographers.

Figure skating is also counting on her to bring back the sass and star power that has traditionally made the women the must-see event of the Olympics. Think of some of the greatest Winter Olympians ever and Dorothy, Peggy and Michelle— no last names needed for die-hard fans—immediately come to mind. But the sport has lost some serious luster since Michelle Kwan stopped skating.

Kim seemed to shrug off any jitters earlier this week, saying after the short program that it felt like any other competition. But it was clear Thursday that it meant so much more—for her and Orser, a two-time Olympic silver medalist who was devastated when he lost to Brian Boitano at the 1988 Calgary Games.

“It’s more gratifying,” Orser said. “(But) it’s definitely her medal. She’s a champion.”

There were simply no visible flaws in Kim’s performance, from her skating to her expressions to that lovely cobalt blue dress. While other skaters slow down as they approach their jumps to steady themselves, she hurtles into them at full speed yet touches down with feathery lightness. Her connecting steps are like art on ice, and her edges show not even the slightest hint of a harsh scrape. Her spins were centered so perfectly the tracings looked as if they were made with a protractor, and she must be quadruple-jointed to pull off all those positions in her combination spins.

What really makes her transcendent, though, is her performance skills. She breathed life into Gershwin’s “Concerto in F,” moving across the ice like notes on a score. As the music lifted the first time, she put one hand on the small of her back and gave a flirty little smile that set shutters clicking throughout the building.

When she finished, you could almost see the pressure fall away as Kim bent over and cried. So many stuffed toys and flowers littered the ice the full complement of sweepers had to be deployed—not once, but twice.

“It’s not any time to hold back. It’s not a time to be conservative or cautious. Be Olympic,” Orser said. “We’ve talked about that, coming here. You’ve got to be Olympic. You’ve got to be a competitor. Yes, you’re beautiful. Yes, the programs are beautiful. Beautiful lines. Great presentation and choreography.

“But you’ve got to be Olympic and you’ve got to be fierce. And she was.”

It almost wasn’t fair that Asada, skating next, had to try and one-up that.

She couldn’t. Not even close.

“Because there was so much noise from the crowd, I was not able to hear her score,” Asada said. “But judging from the loud reaction, I knew she must have had a great performance.”

Asada, who has swapped titles with Kim since their junior days, is one of the few women who even tries a points-packing triple axel, and she did two on this night. But she melted down later, stumbling on the footwork into her triple toe and forcing her to cut it to a single. She did only four clean triple jumps, two fewer than Kim, and did not do either a triple lutz or a triple toe.

Asada looked stone-faced as she waited for her marks. She didn’t even crack a smile when she got her silver medal.

“The triple axel I landed I’m happy with,” Asada said, “but I’m not satisfied with the rest of my performance today.”

For Rochette, the medal is a culmination of “a lifelong project with my mom.” Therese Rochette, 55, had a massive heart attack just hours after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter skate, and Rochette has been the picture of courage this week.

Supported by her father, Normand, and longtime coach Manon Perron, Rochette decided to go ahead and compete. Her performance Thursday wasn’t perfect; she two-footed and stepped out of a triple flip, and had shaky landings on a couple of other jumps. But she made up for those errors with an emotional and expressive portrayal of “Samson and Delilah.”

When she finished, Rochette blew a kiss skyward.

An Experienced Animal Trainer killed by a Killer Whale

Harun Abdurrazaq — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:58:17 +0000

Dawn Brancheau a Sea World Trainer killed by The Killer Orca Whale at a Sea World in Orlando. A 16-year veteran trainer at the animal park, drowned in a water tank stadium while stunned tourists watched, Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Solomons said. Witness Victoria Biniak said she saw the deadly incident from a viewing area. “The trainer was explaining different things about the whale and then the trainer that was down there walked away from the window. Then Telly (the whale) took off really fast in the tank and he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing (her) around,” Biniak said. “He was thrashing her around pretty good. It was violent”.

SeaWorld officials halted the Dine with Shamu show and escorted viewers from the area. SeaWorld also suspended its killer whale show at its San Diego facility.

The 30-year-old killer whale, named Tilikum, was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer who fell into a pool in 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia, the AP reported, quoting SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs.

The same animal, nicknamed “Tilly,” was involved in the 1999 death of a man who sneaked past Orlando SeaWorld security and remained in the park after it had closed. His body was found draped over Tilly. An autopsy ruled that he died of hypothermia.

Dan Brown, manager of the Orlando park, gave few details and declined to answer questions when he appeared briefly before reporters after Brancheau’s death.

“One of our most experienced trainers drowned in an incident with one of the killer whales,” he said.

Solomons said investigators consider it “an accidental death” and are continuing to investigate.

Brazilian tourist Joao Lucio DeCosta Sobrinho, 28, and his girlfriend Talita Oliveira, 20, told The Orlando Sentinel that they were at an underwater viewing area when they saw a killer whale with someone in its mouth. They said that Brancheau was bleeding from the face or mouth and that the orca turned her over as it swam.

Exxon Mobil Deals Off $31 Billion of XTO Energy

Harun Abdurrazaq — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:12:26 +0000

exxon mobil buy xto energy

This Monday, Exxon Mobil has agreed to buy XTO Energy in all-stock deal which have value for USD $31 billion. It’s the largest energy deals in this year as the NY Times reported. It’s mean Exxon Mobil have a new rush to own natural gas assets by major integrated producers, and perhaps the start of a significant consolidation in energy industry.

Under the terms of the deal, Exxon will pay XTO shareholders .7098 common shares for each of their XTO shares, or about $51.69 based on Friday’s closing prices. The deal, which is taking advantage of low natural gas prices, represents a 25 percent premium for XTO’s shares.

The deal would give Exxon the equivalent of about 45 trillion cubic feet of natural gas throughout the United States, in a bet that demand will continue to rise. XTO, founded in 1986, is the nation’s largest domestic producer of natural gas.

“XTO is a leading U.S. unconventional natural gas producer, with an outstanding resource base, strong technical expertise and highly skilled employees,” Rex Tillerson, Exxon’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Exxon’s deal has prompted speculation among analysts over which natural gas producers may be up for sale next, with companies like Devon Energy now considered potential takeover targets.

Exxon said that after the deal’s close, expected in the second quarter next year, it would keep XTO as an upstream business unit to develop natural gas resources from unconventional sources like shale rock. The business will remain in XTO’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Tex.

Exxon was advised by JPMorgan Chase, while XTO was advised by Barclays Capital and Jefferies.

Red Sox Signed Starter Boof Bonser

Harun Abdurrazaq — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:36:17 +0000

Boof Bonser to Red Sox

According to MLB Trade rumors, Boof Bonser moves out from The Twins to Red Sox. This has been confirmed by the official of Red Sox that they have signed starter Boof Bonser. However ed Sox lost Rich Harden to Ranger.

The Red Sox acquired pitcher Boof Bonser, according to the pitcher’s agency Reynolds Sports Management. Bonser was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for Carl Pavano. The 28-year-old had labrum and rotator cuff surgery in February. Bonser sports a 5.12 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 over 391.6 career innings spanning three seasons.

HOW TO Archives » News

Apple Patent Outlines a System To Track Users

Related Posts

For 3Par, HP tries to outbid rival Dell

Related Posts

Sony PS3 Update 3.41 Released

Related Posts

15 Devices using Android

Related Posts

A Low-Cost Assault Rifle from Indonesia

Related Posts

Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program has been Extended

Related Posts

Kim Yu-na wins the olympic gold medal 2010

Related Posts

An Experienced Animal Trainer killed by a Killer Whale

Related Posts

Exxon Mobil Deals Off $31 Billion of XTO Energy

Related Posts

Red Sox Signed Starter Boof Bonser

Related Posts