2010 June «

Something about Marne

June 26, 2010 by Elias Shams 1 Comment

Here are more information we digged out about the new facebook’s vice president of global public policy babe, Marne Levine, who just left her top position as the National Economic Counsel at the white house. I blogged about her yesterday.

According to Washington Life, Marne is married to Philip Deutch “a managing director of Perseus, LLC, a Washington, D.C. and New York City-based private equity fund. Deutch focuses on venture capital investing in the energy area.”

She donated $4,600 to presidential campaigns in 2008 – $2,300 to Hilary Clinton and $2,300 to Barack Obama Read more of this post

Filed under DC Tales, social media Tagged with banking, barack obama, Clinton Administration, d.c, deputy assistant secretary, facebook, finance, Harvard Business School, Hilary Clinton, Lawrence Summers, Marne Levine, Miami University, National Economic Counsel, Office of Legislative Affairs, Perseus, Philip Deutch, presidential campaign, Public Liaison, Revolution Money, startup, Steve Case, Treasury Department, vice president of global public policy, washington, Washington DC, white house

The iPhone Era

June 26, 2010 by Elias Shams 1 Comment

Wow! I can’t believe it has been four years. Time sure flies! Rock on iPhone and the competition that keeps you on your toes. The entire smartphone market is better for it.

I am not a great fan of Apple, but we got to give them the credit. Their iPhone has seriously revolutionized the “smartphone” market. I believe it made all the other smartphone makers rethink things. Especially Microsoft with their upcoming windows 7 series.

When the iPhone was released, I was excited, not for the phone itself, but for what it would do to the industry… We needed a serious change. Read more of this post

Filed under Wireless Tagged with Apple, history of iphone, iphone, iPhone 3G, iphone 3Gs, iphone 4, iphone 5, iphone history, iphone5, mobile phone, smartphone, wireless phone

Brace Yourself for Google VoIP

June 26, 2010 by Elias Shams 6 Comments

It looks like Google has been developing its Google Voice telephony service into a Skype-rivalling VoIP operation in 2010, which might just mean that it’s finally opened up to everyone with Gmail account.

The new feature means users can now make calls directly from their PC to a normal phone line using Google Voice, which is currently only available in the US. This brings Google into a such a crowded space including Skype.

At present, Google Voice offers a single phone number to replace your existing landline, mobile phone and any other lines you have. With voicemail transcription, threaded SMS, easy conference calling and a web-based admin panel it’s hugely popular with its invite-only US users. Read more of this post

Filed under Tech Tagged with Gizmo5, gmail, gmail users, google, Google Chat, google users, Google Voice, Google VoIP, phone carriers, Skype, VoIP

Baby Red Panda Born at the Washington National Zoo

June 26, 2010 by Kamran Abdi 2 Comments

A baby red panda was born at the National Zoo in Washington, DC on June 16. The newborn is the first red panda to be born at the zoo in 15 years.

The proud parents, two-year-old Shama and three-year-old Tate, first met in February 2009, and got busy immediately. But because red pandas mate only once a year, and “because the two were inexperienced,” it took them a few tries to get Shama pregnant, the National Zoo said in a press release. Read more of this post

Filed under About DC Tagged with baby red panda, bear cat, Burma, d.c, dc zoo, e Sichuan, firefox, giant pandas, lesser panda, National Zoo, Shama, Tate red pandas Ailurus fulgens, washington, Washington DC, Washington National Zoo, Yunnan China

Free HIV Testing This Week in Washington, D.C.

June 26, 2010 by Kamran Abdi Leave a Comment

Sadly, with an estimated one in 20 adults in DC now infected with HIV, several organizations are launching a new effort to get more people tested to prevent the disease from spreading.

The groups are offering free tests as part of Get Yourself Tested Week, leading up to National HIV Testing Day on Sunday, June 27.

Throughout the week, and weekend, anyone can have the free HIV test.

Get Yourself Tested Week is hosted in ten major cities, including DC. Sponsoring organizations range from the Centers for Disease Control to MTV, and include the Kaiser Foundation and Planned Parenthood. Read more of this post

Filed under Health Tagged with AIDS, Centers for Disease Control, d.c, free, free HIV test, Get Yourself Tested, Get Yourself Tested Week, Greater Than AIDS, HIV Testing, infected with HIV, Kaiser Foundation, Metro Teen AIDS, MTV, National HIV Testing Day, Planned Parenthood, Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, Real Talk DC, washington, Washington DC, Whitman-Walker Clinic

The Best Entrepreneurs of Awesome Washington, D.C.

June 25, 2010 by Elias Shams 1 Comment

Ernst & Young on Thursday night named the winners of its Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for Greater Washington to a sold-out crowd of 650 during a gala in McLean. Winners included:

. Sheila Johnson of Salamander Hospitality, Master Entrepreneur

. Luke Hillier of ADS, Government Contracting Read more of this post

Filed under Business & Finance, Tech Tagged with ADS, American Public Education, Avail-TVN, Contact Solutions, d.c, Datatel, elias shams, Entrepreneur of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, entrepreneurs, Eric Anderson, Ernst & Young, Government Contracting, Greater Washington, Health & Education Services, IT Services, John Speer, Long Nguyen, Lucent, Luke Hillier, Master Entrepreneur, Network Communications, Paul Logan, Pragmatics, Ramu Potarazu, Salamander Hospitality, Sheila Johnson, Software, Space Adventures, technology, telecom, telecommunications, telezoo, Telezoo.com, Wallace Boston, washington, Washington DC, Washington Entrepreneurs, yurie, Yurie Systems

Diplomacy over Burger and Fries – Only in Awesome Washington D.C.

June 25, 2010 by Elias Shams Leave a Comment

Those of you still have any doubt why DC is Awesome, here is another reason on top of my long list.

Where else in the world have you seen two proud presidents head to a burger joint to discuss diplomacy in public and act like grown ups?

From White House to Facebook

June 25, 2010 by Elias Shams Leave a Comment

Looks like Facebook has more money than the White House. They just snagged Marne Levine, chief of staff for the White House National Economic Counsel to serve as their new vice president of global public policy. Marne is the blonde all the way to the right.

Levine’s background is perfect for this position. She comes from the online payments space. Prior to her current position with The White House, she worked in the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Legislative Affairs and Public Liaison, and was chief of staff to former Treasury head Larry Summers when he was president of Harvard University. Read more of this post

Filed under social media Tagged with chief of staff, d.c, facebook, international governments, Larry Summers, legislative bodies Facebook's D.C. office, Marne Levine, National Economic Counsel, Office of Legislative Affairs, Public Liaison, Tim Sparapani, Treasury Dept, Treasury head, vice president of global public policy. Department of the Treasury, washington, Washington DC, white house

As One Door Opens for WiMAX, another Door Closes

June 25, 2010 by Elias Shams 6 Comments

According to a new report from In-Stat, the WiMax technology is facing increased competitive pressure that could hamper any further growth.

In their report, “Global WiMAX Subscribers, Base Stations, and Revenues,” In-Stat noted that the future for WiMAX is a “mixed bag” as other wireless technologies vie for market share. “In the past year, there have been positive developments in consumer devices, including smartphones that use WiMAX for data but revert to 3G airlinks for voice. On the other hand, in many regions regulators are postponing spectrum auctions; and several major digital communications companies are reducing their commitment to WiMAX or leaving the space altogether.” Read more of this post

Filed under Wireless Tagged with 3G airlinks, Base Stations, clearwire, Global WiMAX Subscribers, growth, In-Stat, lte, Maravedis, Revenues, smartphones, TD-LTE, voice, wimax, WiMAX technology, Yota

Two New Awesome Apps for the Golfers and for Getting Direction

June 25, 2010 by Kamran Abdi 2 Comments

Given the number of people with passion for golf in DC area and how confusing the streets of DC could be for those visiting, here are two awesome apps you may want to have on your iPhone if you have one. I will do another post once or if they launch the same app for Blackberry and Android.

Skobbler GPS: Travel navigation Gets Cheaper as Turn By Turn Navigation Goes Open Source

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