Archive | 2012 | June | 19

Speaking at a Tel Aviv conference, Schmidt praises Israel’s engineers and development centers and discusses the role of technology in the region’s political upheaval.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt said on Monday that the company’s development centers in Israel are among the company’s most efficient and that Google is constantly expanding them.

Speaking at a Tel Aviv conference called “Big Tent,” Schmidt said that the quality of Israel’s engineers is very high, not least due to the country’s universities and the training acquired in the army. He also praised local salespeople as among the best in the world, saying they continue to contribute to the company’s profits.

“We love Israel,” Schmidt said, drawing applause from the crowd.

One of Google’s main rivals, Facebook, announced on Monday that it was buying Face.com, the Israeli company that provides facial-recognition technology, for an estimated sum of between $80 million and $100 million.

Schmidt said that Israel has a good education system and great universities, but added it needs to strengthen them further.

Schmidt also touched on the company’s recent departure from China. “We thought there would be popular demand to stop censorship,” he said, adding that instead, the censorship only became more severe. “China started to censor more because she could do it,” he said. “That’s why we lefty China and started to focus on Hong Kong.”

“Google is anti-censorship,” Schmidt said. “As a user, you have the right to get all the information there is; in the long run, countries that block information are less competitive.”

Speaking about the Arab Spring, Schmidt said that “the dictators of the Arab world were censoring everything except for the Internet; they were too old and didn’t know about [it].” He added that it was not the tech companies that carried out the Arab Spring, but rather people who used technology “to revolt against the dictators.”

“If the government shuts down the Internet, it’s a sign that the government is scared,” he said.

Schmidt also spoke about innovation, saying, “If you don’t try, you don’t know – we tried, I and you don’t even remember the names of the products that failed – that’s the secret of innovation.”

Asked by Haaretz if Google intends to buy a newspaper or expand its content production, Schmidt answered: “We considered many times buying a newspaper, but we decided not to, producing content is difficult; we prefer linking to the content that you are doing.”

“People should not be afraid of technology,” Schmidt concluded. “The future is just starting.”

Source: Haaretz.com

Feeling creative? As part of Tel Aviv Art Year events, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality announces an open call for submissions to paint on the city’s sewer covers. Anyone can apply, just fill out the form below, scan and send it to kolkoretlv@gmail.com. Those accepted will be invited to paint their idea on one of the sewer covers in Tel Aviv-Yafo. The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2012 at 12:00.

Sounds like fun, but do take note: the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality will only cover the cost of supplies, not labor, for the project. The accepted artists will not have any claim regarding the maintenance of the artwork, and the Tel Aviv –Yafo Municipality does not commit to maintaining the painting. Furthermore, the painting may be removed or erased at any time, according to the decision of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, and the artist will not have any claim against them. The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality will have the right to use photos of the sewers for any purpose.

Still interested? Print and fill out the form below, then scan and send to kolkoretlv@gmail.com:
Questionnaire – Suggestion for Sewer Cover Painting /שאלון להגשת הצעה לציור על מכסי ביוב
1.    First name in Hebrew:
2.    First name in English:
3.    Family name in Hebrew:
4.    Family name in English:
5.    Age:
6.    Phone number:
7.    Email address:
8.    Website address (where applicable):
9.    Street address:
10.    A short Bio (150 words):

Source: MidnightEast

President answers Facebook users’ questions about life and politics using unique video technology

President Shimon Peres recently invited web surfers across the globe to get to know him on a personal level by asking him questions on Facebook.

Ahead of the fourth annual Presidential Conference, which began Tuesday, Peres teamed up with Israeli musician and new media entrepreneur Yoni Bloch to acquaint Internet users with his opinions on various issues and a few of his many stories.

Using video technology developed by Bloch’s company, Interlude, Peres answered selected questions asked by users over the conference’s Facebook page

“As a president, I have many duties. But this is not a duty, but a pleasure; let’s have a conversation, one on one, on any subject. Seriously or with a wink in your eye,” Peres says in the video. Viewers are invited to select a topic from four categories: Childhood, Tomorrow, Men and Women and You.

In the video, Peres talks about everything, including the day he fell in love with his wife, Sonia.

According to a statement issued by the conference, Peres is the first leader to hold an interactive conversation with web users from various countries, using unique Israeli technology.

Source: Ynetnews.com

“Oh my Gosh your notes are in Ivrit!,” these were the first words of Kat Graham when meeting Abbanibi.com during the Paley Fest earlier this year in Los Angeles.

Triple-threat-Graham turned  TV star after appearing on the hit TV show ‘The Vampire Diaries’ as Bonnie the witch, but she has always been passionate about music, and this week her dream has become even more real as her debut EP was released on iTunes. It’s doing very well, and is also being shamelessly promoted by her new BFF Perez Hilton.

Graham, who introduced her vocal talent on the Funny-or-Die  hilarious spoof music video ‘Black and Jewish’ a while ago, has always been proud of her religious heritage.” My mom is Jewish,” she tells Abbanibi.com, “She grew up on a Kibbutz. My brother lives in Tel Aviv. I speak Hebrew because I go to Hebrew school. ”

“I’m all about Israel and I can’t wait to go there again!,” she says excitedly.

to continue reading and download her track click here

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