NEW YORK, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Vapps, Inc., the leading provider of Internet-based audio conferencing technology and services worldwide, today announced the beta launch of HighSpeed Conferencing, the first technology that enables Internet users (VoIP) and telephone or cellular phone users to participate in the same conference in high-definition audio quality. Vapps, which has been on the cutting edge of VoIP technology, has engineered a product that will accept communication from a computer, land-line or cell phone and maintain very high quality audio that will be preserved on the other side of the call. This conferencing service, the only high-definition audio conferencing solution in the industry, also offers flat rates with unlimited usage over the Internet, including Skype, and is available now at www.highspeedconferencing.com.

US elections 2004

For supporters of John Kerry, who have seen allegations about the Democratic candidate's military record sap his campaign, it must have seemed like a case of just deserts.

The president, George Bush, was last week looking vulnerable on the same grounds after CBS's flagship current affairs show, 60 Minutes, broadcast a report claiming he had been suspended from pilot duties for failing to meet the required standards. It was also claimed that a commanding officer had been put under pressure to "sugar coat" Mr Bush's performance reviews.

But while CBS stands by its story, allegations have now surfaced that 60 Minutes based a large part of the report on forged documents.

Although what one man - even a presidential candidate - did more than 30 years ago can seem rather trivial, the US election is being fought between a self-declared "war president" and a man who, in stump speeches, claims he would defend his country as president in the way he had defended it as a young man.

Father-daughter cancer story sold in living rooms

It was her first book, and Kelly Corrigan knew no matter how engaging her writing, how intriguing the topic or how established her publisher, a book tour was out of the question. Old-style, multicity book tours draw crowds only to celebrity authors, she was told, and even then they don't sell many books because most attendees already have a copy. What's left - word of mouth? Precisely, says Corrigan, a Radnor native and the author of The Middle Place (Voice/Hyperion Books). Corrigan and her father were diagnosed with cancer at the same time - an unusual circumstance that highlighted the overlapping roles of parents and children. Corrigan knew she needed to distinguish her memoir from others out there about surviving cancer. So she extended her options by asking friends and acquaintances across the country to host book parties in their homes.

Computerworld's Mac gift guide

With Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday now behind us, the holiday shopping season is in full swing. Last month, Computerworld offered our Holiday Gift Guide to help you sort through this year's gadgets and techie toys.

If you're shopping for a die-hard Mac fan, chances are good that he has already upgraded to Leopard, which has been out since Oct. 26. Many users, however, delay making a major upgrade like this for weeks or months—sometimes for cost-related reasons, sometimes to make sure those first-release bugs have been found and fixed.

Climate change is a challenge, say Scots

Gordon also leaves computers, stereos, televisions and video game machines on for hours when not using them. Instead of putting on a jumper, he turns up the heating in his room. Family holidays involve flights to France and Egypt.• EARLY ADULTHOOD: Buys a seven-year-old old Ford Escort as a student, flies to Thailand on holidays. On getting a job, he upgrades to a VW Golf GTI, goes to a large out-of-town shopping centre, buying food from all over the world, and takes holidays in Spain.• FAMILY MAN: Buys a Volvo V70 estate car, food bill and miles rise as children are born. Holidays are in the United States. Children leave home, reducing emissions, but Gordon buys a Mercedes Benz S500 and now holidays in Peru. He consumes 33kg of food from around the world a week, resulting in 4,370kg of greenhouse gases a year from transport costs.• RETIREMENT: Buys a Jaguar XJ8, takes annual holiday in New Zealand.• DEATH: Chooses a brushed steel coffin and elaborate concrete catacomb.Lifetime emissions of greenhouse gases: 1251 tonnesAWARE AMY• CHILDHOOD: Wears washable nappies, saving 12kg of greenhouse gas emissions a year, compared with disposables.

Harlow runners put in better performance

HARLOW Running Club women's team had some fine individual performers in the third race of the Cross Country League series.

Business Briefs: Chamber organizes annual trade show

The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the annual Business Expo on March 27 at The Classic Center. Organizers for the 2008 Business Expo have adopted the theme "Let's Make a Deal" and will provide activities throughout the day. The day will start with a networking event, Business Before Hours, and end with award presentations at 4 p.m. The awards will include the annual Small Business Person of the Year.

Combat Training Solutions, a Stephens County company that manufactures simulated explosives for the military, announced that it plans to add more than 30 jobs and invest $1 million to expand a facility in Eastanollee.

TheStar.com | News | Tolls strike fear, loathing in hearts of car ...

Compared to other nations we are young, not even middle-aged, but as a culture we have become tired and sclerotic, slow to respond and slower still to act.

Public transit riders have been familiar with the concept since the beginning; they're called fares, and everyone who rides the rails pays them. In Toronto, fares on the much-unfunded TTC rank among the highest in North America.

Starbuck Your Business

To gain visibility, consider sponsoring events and local sports teams and using it on promotional products from pens to Frisbees. You can also incorporate your logo into your packaging and collateral, such as product packaging or your tissue paper. Be savvy in choosing opportunities that are relevant for your company.

24-year old Ben Barry is CEO of the Ben Barry Agency, a model consultancy headquartered in Toronto, Canada and author of Fashioning Reality (Key Porter Books).

Senior Olympics draw new friends to center

The competition wasn't too fierce among the participants, who meet most weekdays at the center. There, they socialize, play games and share lunch. "It's good for them to make new friends," said Jessica Medina, 17, who volunteered to help with this week's games. Medina is a student at the center who takes classes to earn a GED. The brightly painted center at the corners of Ocotillo Road and 54th Avenue in downtown Glendale has become a gathering place for all ages. It's where seniors gather each morning and where students like Medina take classes. Schoolchildren head there after school and teens hang out in the evenings. Julia Aguilera sank 15 shots in one minute. Asked if she ever played on a basketball team, the 68-year-old replied, "Not yet." That spunky attitude made the Glendale woman a two-time gold-medal winner.

Science Engineer Envisions Subcutaneous Display Powered by Blood

For many researchers and scientists, the Holy Grail when it comes to power for mobile electronics and other devices is to harness the natural energy of our bodies rather than relying on batteries.

The display is currently only a concept and was designed for the Core77 Greener Gadgets Design Competition. It has top and bottom display surfaces with matching matrixes of field-producing pixels.