Chrome is an open source web browser that is built on Apple’s WebKit rendering engine. When Google launched the first release of Chrome last year, it was surprisingly polished but it lacked a handful of critical features. Google has moved swiftly to close the functionality gap by adding a bookmark manager and other improvements.

Unlike much of Google’s other software, Chrome didn’t stay in beta for very long. It got the 1.0 treatment last month and Google is already courting OEMs with the aim of getting it preinstalled on new PCs so it can reach users as soon as possible. 

Now that the 1.0 version is out the door, Google is leaping ahead and beginning work on a major 2.0 release. The new version that was pushed into the developer channel on Thursday—which includes several significant rendering enhancements, new user interface features, augmented extensibility, and a number of other nice additions—demonstrates Google’s commitment to making Chrome a serious contender on the desktop. 

Google makes Chrome available to end users through three separate channels: stable, beta, and developer preview. The stable channel, which is used by default, provides heavily tested, stable updates. The beta channel, which is generally updated on a monthly basis, has complete features that need widespread user testing before they are suitable for the stable channel. The developer preview channel, which is a bit like Mozilla’s Minefield builds, is used for testing experimental features that are not necessarily complete. 

To switch to the beta or developer channel, users will need the Chrome Channel Changer tool, which is available from the Chromium web site. The new 2.0.x builds are currently only available through the developer channel.
Read More: Hands on: Google leaps forward with Chrome 2.0 dev. preview - Arstechnica.com

Panetta served on the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel that released a report on the war at the end of 2006.
Read More: Obama to nominate Leon Panetta as CIA director: reports  Leon Panetta  

In turning to a political heavyweight with no direct background in intelligence, Obama appeared to be opting for someone who would bring fresh eyes and credibility to an agency battered by controversy over its conduct of the war on terrorism.

"Here is a guy who will be very credible with the Democrats in Congress and here’s someone who brings not only an outsider’s perspective but knows how the White House works," said James Lewis, an intelligence expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
 

"He knows what presidents want and need. That’s a plus," he said.

Panetta was former president Bill Clinton’s chief of staff from 1994 to 1997, following a 16-year career as a lawmaker from California.

Although his expertise in the House of Represenatives and in the Clinton administration was in budgets and finance, observers say his political savvy and connections should make him a powerful CIA director.

His appointment will also help Obama reassure critics who worry that the leadership of the US intelligence community has been dominated in recent years by the US military.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, who will chair the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said she had not been informed about the appointment and was ambivalent about Panetta’s qualifications for the job.

"I know nothing about this, other than what I’ve read," the California Democrat said in a statement.

"My position has consistently been that I believe the (CIA) is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time," she added.

Panetta will work under retired admiral Dennis Blair, Obama’s choice to oversee the sprawling intelligence system as director of national intelligence.

Obama has not yet formally announced either appointment, but Democratic officials and transition aides have confirmed the picks on condition of anonymity.

A former commander of US forces in the Pacific from 1999 to 2002, Blair will be only the third director of national intelligence (DNI).

The position was created by Congress in 2004 after investigations revealed that turf-sensitive intelligence agencies failed to share information that might have averted the September 11 attacks. That failure was followed by US intelligence’s fateful error on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

The DNI’s main mission was to break down the barriers between the agencies, and make them operate more collaboratively.

"It’ll be interesting to see how that relationship between Blair and Panetta develops," said Lewis, noting that Panetta’s political clout as a former White House chief of staff outweighs that of his nominal boss.

"Panetta is a heavyweight, and he will be reporting to Blair," he said. "What does it say about the DNI position? In some ways Panetta would have been good for that job as well."

The current leaders of the US intelligence community are retired or active military officers who have worked together for years, come from similar backgrounds and have longstanding relationships, he said.

"Picking someone who is a civilian works against that fear of militarization. It helps to have somebody who is politically astute, and one thing you can say about Leon Panetta is that he is as astute politically as you can get."

If confirmed, Panetta will replace air force general Michael Hayden, who has led the CIA since 2006.

A key challenge for Panetta will be dealing with the fallout from the CIA’s use of waterboarding and other techniques widely denounced as torture on detainees at secret prisons as part of the war on terror.

John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.Org, a non-partisan research group, said Panetta’s task will be "to keep the agency out of the news."

"You need somebody who can stand up and say: ‘Don’t worry everything is under control, trust me.’"

Having a politically-connected CIA director will help with "the process of deconstructing the Bush policies," said Lewis.

At the CIA, he said, "they’ll be watching to see what he says on the torture issue. Will he be pro-witch hunt or will he be able to defend his guys. And if he defends them, they’ll love him."
Read More: Obama picks Leon Panetta as CIA head

Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is a Democratic politician and scholar from California’s Central Coast. He served as White House Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, and before that was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.
Read More: Leon Panetta - Wikipedia
 

Read More: Army All American Game 2009 Roster | Super Media Blog

There is a ton of elite talent set to compete in Saturday’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl and there is a high concentration of that talent in several key position groups on both the East and West rosters. The 2009 edition of the game presents some position battles within the game that will be intriguing to watch.

Will Xavier Nixon and the East offensive line hold up against the West defensive line?
Read More: army all american game 2009 roster | Digital News

It may be called “FIRST,” but this is the second consecutive year South Central High School has hosted the FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition kickoff coming up this Saturday, Jan. 3rd.
Read More: Kickoff of FIRST Robotics to be held at local high school | WNCT.COM

The FIRST Robotics Competition is a high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. As of early 2007, 1,303 high school teams of 32,500 students from Brazil, Canada, The Netherlands, Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and others compete to build 100 to 120 pound robots that can complete a task that changes every year. Teams are given a standard set of parts and the game details at the beginning of January and are given six weeks to construct a competitive robot that can accomplish the game’s tasks. In 2008, teams competed in 41 regional competitions throughout March to try and qualify for the championship event in Atlanta, Georgia in April. Previous years’ championships have been held in Houston, Texas and at Epcot in Walt Disney World.
Read More: FIRST Robotics Competition - Wikipedia

For the website of FIRST, see http://www.usfirst.org/.

To receive approval, Cargill’s independent panel evaluated the identity, method of manufacture, product specifications and potential exposure resulting from the intended use of the sweetener, as well as published and unpublished studies on rebaudioside A and related substances.
Read More: World Tea News - FDA Approves Cargill’s Stevia Sweetener

It seems all the thousands of protests have helped. Steve is back!

WBZ Radio brings back the laid-off late-night host after thousands air their grief:
Read more: "This time, the listeners were heard. Boston Herald

Or watch the video here at WBZ Newsradio: http://wbz.com/pages/3175088.php. Wade through the videos until you find "Steve Leveille Returns to WBZ!!!".
Or Read more: Steve-LeVeille and Lovell Dyett to return to WBZ. WBZ Newsradio 1030

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The new year has begun with some unexpected news. The latest layoffs hit WBZ-AM (1030) this week, including Steve LeVeille.

Rumors of deep cuts at WBZ 1030 AM have been running rampant in local media circles for some time. WBZ-AM, Boston’s 50,000-watt news/talk station, has just laid off three of its talk show hosts and a sportscaster. The rumor first appeared on the SaveWRKO.com Web site, and was then confirmed in Boston Herald. The demise of the "Steve LeVeille Broadcast" leaves the midnight to five o’clock hours at WBZ-AM unfilled; the departure of Lovell Dyett and Pat Desmarais mean that the evening weekend hours have new gaps in them.
It’s a sad day for WBZ. With a mammoth overnight signal reaching many states and provinces, it’s hard to believe the station would resort to syndication or infomercials in those hours. It’s more evidence of the extreme nature of the media’s meltdown.

Steve LeVeille has worked in radio for 25 years and has been with WBZ since 1991. Since June of 1999 he has hosted "The Steve LeVeille Broadcast" on WBZ from midnight to 5 a.m. weekdays. The call-in program features discussions of current news events, politics and consumer issues with a mix of light topics.

LeVeille, a Boston-area native, began his career at all-news WEEI in 1977 as a news writer and producer. He worked for ABC News in New York as an assignment editor and writer from 1980 to 1986. From 1991 to 1997 LeVeille worked for Monitor Radio as a program host and news anchor on nationally and internationally broadcast programs. He was also heard frequently as a news anchor on WBUR in the 1990s.

Of the awards he has won for excellence in broadcasting Steve’s favorite is the 1988 Associated Press Massachusetts Broadcasters award for Best Sports Commentary for pieces he did for WAAF.

LeVeille is a graduate of Emerson College and lives in the Boston area with his wife, Diane.

Sources:
Boston Herald, Naughtiest newsmakers of ’08
BREAKING: Major Layoffs At WBZ Radio?
Google Cache of WBZ Newsradio 1030 staff

Homepage of Steve LeVeille: http://www.geocities.com/~radiosteve/