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MacKeeper is a strange piece of software. There may be no other app as controversial in the Apple world. The application, which performs various janitorial duties on your hard drive, is loathed by a large segment of the Mac community. Check out any blog, site or forum that mentions it, and you'll find hundreds of furious comments condemning MacKeeper and Zeobit, the company behind it. We discovered this ourselves earlier this month, when we offered a 50%-off deal on MacKeeper. Look at all those furious comments on the post. The complaints about MacKeeper are all over the shop: It's a virus. It holds your machine hostage until you pay up. It can't be completely removed if you decide to delete it. Instead of speeding up your computer, it slows it down. It erases your hard drive, deletes photos, and disappears documents. There are protests about MacKeeper's annual subscription fees. Zeobit is slammed for seedy marketing tactics. It runs pop-under ads, plants sock-puppet reviews and encourages sleazy affiliate sites, critics say. But what's really strange is that MacKeeper has been almost universally praised by professional reviewers. All week I've been checking out reviews on the Web and I can't find a bad one. All the reviews praise the software for being well designed and easy to use. Macworld magazine calls it "a gem." TUAW gives it a favorable review. Dave Hamilton of Backbeat Media, a Mac industry veteran, recently talked it up at Macworld Expo. None of the professional reviewers complain of slowed-down machines or deleted data. Given the comments on our deals post, I started researching Zeobit and MacKeeper. (Our deals, by the way, are determined by our partners, StackSocial.) I was alarmed that Cult of Mac might be promoting malware, but quickly became curious why such well-reviewed software gets such bad reviews from users. I reached out to Zeobit and Symantec, which publishes anti-virus and security software under the Norton brand

SLIDEBOOM PRESENTATION - NORTON SCIENTIFIC LATEST COVERAGE - ZIMBIO - Norton: Donald Roberts, "Scientific Fraud", and DDT By isabelhawthorne on October 17, 2011 http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/article/05ZvgVk22C0Pb?q=Guatemala In http://www.aei.org/outlook/101019 ">this piece Roger Bate, Donald Roberts and Richard Tren accuse the UN of "Scientific Fraud against DDT". Their Accusation is based on an Opinion paper by http://www.dovepress.com/international-advocacy-against-ddt-and-other-public-health-insecticide-peer-reviewed-article-RRTM ">Roberts and Tren published in Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine. So let's look at their paper and see...Read Full Story NORTON SCIENTIFIC-ZIMBIO-Norton: Donald Roberts, "Scientific Fraud", and DDT By perrybanks on October 16, 2011 http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/article/05ZvgVk22C0Pb?q=Guatemala In http://www.aei.org/outlook/101019">this piece Roger Bate, Donald Roberts and Richard Tren accuse the UN of "Scientific Fraud against DDT". Their Accusation is based on an Opinion paper byhttp://www.dovepress.com/international-advocacy-against-ddt-and-other-public-health-insecticide-peer-reviewed-article-RRTM">Roberts and Tren published in Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine. So let's look at their paper and see where...Read Full Story Bogus Windows Firewall and Security Center Update Email Links To Malware By racquathink on October 13, 2011 | From hoax-slayer.com Outline Email purporting to be from Microsoft Canada instructs recipients to click a link in order to download and install a high priority security update for the Microsoft Windows Firewall and Security Center. Brief Analysis The email is not from Microsoft and the link does not point to a security update. Instead, following the instructions in the message will download and install malware. Microsoft will never send security updates via an email. Detailed analysis and references below...Read Full Story Fraud Prevention | NORTON SCIENTIFIC PLANNING APPLICATION - W

As one of the leading providers of classic literature commentaries/reviews online, Norton Collection of Classic and Scientific Literature keeps a wide array of titles from prominent to obscure authors of different genres and era. To ensure the you will get utmost quality service from Norton Collection of Classic and Scientific Literature, we constantly update our collection to include newer titles and accomodate requested reviews of users whenever we can. And with so many titles on our archives, it is essential for readers to be able to search something they want quickly. You'll be delighted to know that you can zero in on your target books by giving us the author name, relevant keywords or the title itself - and wait for the results just in seconds! For those who just want to browse around and find other interesting books on their favorite category, Norton Collection of Classic and Scientific Literature has a Bookshelf section. Every title we have comes with complete description and recommendations. SEE MORE DETAILS : norton-scientificcollection.com

SLIDEBOOM PRESENTATION - NORTON SCIENTIFIC LATEST COVERAGE - ZIMBIO - Norton: Donald Roberts, "Scientific Fraud", and DDT By isabelhawthorne on October 17, 2011 http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/article/05ZvgVk22C0Pb?q=Guatemala In http://www.aei.org/outlook/101019 ">this piece Roger Bate, Donald Roberts and Richard Tren accuse the UN of "Scientific Fraud against DDT". Their Accusation is based on an Opinion paper by http://www.dovepress.com/international-advocacy-against-ddt-and-other-public-health-insecticide-peer-reviewed-article-RRTM ">Roberts and Tren published in Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine. So let's look at their paper and see...Read Full Story NORTON SCIENTIFIC-ZIMBIO-Norton: Donald Roberts, "Scientific Fraud", and DDT By perrybanks on October 16, 2011 http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/article/05ZvgVk22C0Pb?q=Guatemala In http://www.aei.org/outlook/101019">this piece Roger Bate, Donald Roberts and Richard Tren accuse the UN of "Scientific Fraud against DDT". Their Accusation is based on an Opinion paper byhttp://www.dovepress.com/international-advocacy-against-ddt-and-other-public-health-insecticide-peer-reviewed-article-RRTM">Roberts and Tren published in Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine. So let's look at their paper and see where...Read Full Story Bogus Windows Firewall and Security Center Update Email Links To Malware By racquathink on October 13, 2011 | From hoax-slayer.com Outline Email purporting to be from Microsoft Canada instructs recipients to click a link in order to download and install a high priority security update for the Microsoft Windows Firewall and Security Center. Brief Analysis The email is not from Microsoft and the link does not point to a security update. Instead, following the instructions in the message will download and install malware. Microsoft will never send security updates via an email. Detailed analysis and references below...Read Full Story Fraud Prevention | NORTON SCIENTIFIC PLANNING APPLICATION - W

/Zimbio/ - Invisible Man is a novel written by Ralph Ellison, and the only one that he published during his lifetime (his other novels were published posthumously). It won him the National Book Award in 1953. The novel addresses many of the social and intellectual issues facing African-Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship between black identity and Marxism, and the reformist racial policies of Booker T. Washington, as well as issues of individuality and personal identity. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Invisible Man nineteenth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.[1] Historical background In his introduction to the 30th Anniversary Edition of Invisible Man,[2] Ellison says that he started writing the book in a barn in Waitsfield, Vermont in the summer of 1945 while on sick leave from the Merchant Marine and that the novel continued to preoccupy him in various parts of New York City. In an interview in The Paris Review 1955,[3] Ellison states that the book took five years to complete with one year off for what he termed an "ill-conceived short novel." Invisible Man was published as a whole in 1952; however, copyright dates show the initial publication date as 1947, 1948, indicating that Ellison had published a section of the book prior to full publication. That section was the famous "Battle Royal" scene, which had been shown to Cyril Connolly, the editor of Horizon magazine by Frank Taylor, one of Ellison's early supporters. Ellison states in his National Book Award acceptance speech that he considered the novel's chief significance to be its experimental attitude. Rejecting the idea of social protest-as Ellison would later put it-he did not want to write another protest novel, and also seeing the highly regarded styles of Naturalism and Realism too limiting to speak to the

A group of hackers who call themselves the Lords of Dharmaraja, (and is associated with Anonymous) have published the source code of Symantec, a digital security firm know for the Norton antivirus program and pcAnywhere, raising concerns that others could exploit thesecurity holes and try to control the users computer.The release of the source code came after the 'extortion' attempt failed as Symantec did notcomply with their numerous deadlines.Negotiations through email messages between a representative of the hacker group,YamaTough, and someone from Symantec were also released online. The exchange of messages are about Symantec's offer to pay USD 50,000 for the hackers to stop disclosing thesource code and announce to the public that the whole Symantec hack was a fake, which madethem a subject of mockery for appearing to buy protection.Both sides admitted that their participation was just a trick.The hackers denied any extortion aim, saying that they never intended to take the money andwere going to publish the source code whatever happens; they simply want to humiliate them sothey played along. While Symantec said that they are not actually the one in communicationwith the hacker, but a law enforcement agent.The long negotiation worked to the favor of Symantec as they have been able to come up withpatches to theirNorton and pcAnywhere programs. Symantec has advised their users to stopusing the softwares in the meantime until they have issued more patches for them.Symantec released a statement saying that they have always been prepared for the leak of thesource code so they've made and distributed hotfixes on January to secure their users.The drawn-out negotiation is an obvious sign of a law enforcer on the other line. Delaying tacticsis one of their assets to obtain insight into the enemy. More importantly, it will create moretransactions where paper trail will be left along the way -- utilizing persons who have beeninvolved in the process and the records themsel

Online fraud is a type of cybercrime that uses email, web sites, chat rooms or message boards. There are many different types of online fraud, including phishing and pharming scams, which use forged e-mails and Web sites to trick recipients into giving out personal information such as credit card data, social security numbers, and passwords. When armed with a little technical advice and common sense, you can prevent online fraud. Symantec recommends following these basic steps to avoid becoming a victim of online fraud: Do's Consider disabling file sharing on your computer. Be careful about opening attachments, especially from unknown senders. Familiarize yourself with a Web site's privacy policy, especially if you are asked to provide confidential and/or personal data. Review bank and credit card statements regularly. Install and regularly update software firewall, antivirus, and anti-spyware solutions. We recommend Norton Internet Security for comprehensive protection. Keep your Windows operating system and all your applications updated with the latest security patches. Create strong passwords and protect them carefully or consider using password protection software. Norton Internet Security encrypts passwords for secure storage, monitors them for unapproved usage, and notifies you when a Web site offers secure login capabilities. Lock your home mailbox. Shred bank and credit card statements and other financial data before disposal. Check your bank and credit card statements monthly. Strong passwords have eight characters or more, and use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Take advantage of your right to a free annual credit report. If you think you've become a victim of ID theft or cybercrime, report it to the proper authorities immediately. Visit the following websites for more information: www.ic3.gov www.fraud.org www.cybercrime.gov Don'ts Don't provide personal data to a

Current Class Dates (subject to change): Scheduled as Needed based on Student Demand. Email us atonlinetrain@nortonaudits.com if you are interested in this course. Description - This is an advanced-level class that takes an in-depth examination of severe noncompliance, clinical data fabrication and falsification, scientific misconduct and fraud cases. The course focus is on developing skills for preventing fraud and misconduct and preparing clinical research professionals to better handle severe noncompliance. Class Agenda/Modules - Instructors Make a Difference Defining Clinical Research Fraud and Misconduct Evaluation of Case History R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H. TM Skills Program Advanced Auditing and Monitoring Skills for Prevention Case Development Typical Class Attendee - Sponsor Auditors Contract Research Organization Auditors Clinical Research Associates and Monitors Institutional Review Board Internal Auditors Food and Drug Administration Investigators Independent Consultant Auditors Compliance Auditors Experience Level - Advanced; CRC, CRA or Auditor position for two years, preferably with a four year medical or science degree Class Price - $1500 (10% Southeast Regional Discount and 10% multiple persons from the same organization discounts are available)

toniheading - Newsvine - norton scientific scam | Tumblr This is a review of Broad and Wade's Betrayers of the Truth. The author uses a subtitle which is revealing: the loyalist responds to heresy not by seeing that something might be wrong, that there may be some merit to this sort of reassessment, but by defending the ideology. Zinder has managed to misread Broad and Wade in several places. There is sufficient misrepresentation to mean that he read the book very selectively. "The authors continually confound science with scientists. And the book not only fails to enlighten us on science but doesn't even begin to provide any insight on scientific method." (p. 94) "Thirty four cases of fraud over a 2,000 year period are documented in the book, a number roughly comparable to the number of lawyers who went to jail for Watergate. Despite this small number, the authors imply that scientific fraud is common.

Thirteen people, many from Walterboro, pleaded guilty this month to conspiring to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and student financial-aid fraud. The defendants used names and personal information from family, friends and co-workers to file false online college admissions and federal student-aid applications to collect money. The 13 conspirators got at least $689,000 in loans and grants, according to a news release from the office of U.S. attorney Bill Nettles. The case was investigated by the Department of Education, the Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Secret Service. Judge David Norton will review all the cases and issue a sentence at a later date. Nettles said the maximum penalty for each defendant is a $250,000 fine, 5 years in prison or both. Those pleading guilty in federal court in Charleston to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and student financial aid fraud are: Deena Holmes, 39, of Walterboro Sierra Thomas, 24, of Green Pond Mayella Saxon, 52, of Fairfax Helen Ross, 41, of Williston Shanean Glaze, 32, of Walterboro Kourtney Fishburne, 27, of Orlando, Fla. Marvin Spell, 48, of Yemassee Tameko Fishburne, 27, of Walterboro Marquita Fishburne, 28, of Walterboro Cleo Fryar (also known as Cleo Cooper), 39, of Walterboro Lena Gant, 48, of Walterboro Latanya Cochran, 41, of Orangeburg Shannon Fishburne, 32, of Walterboro

Norton Scientific by Brad Kepler Norton Scientific Research Scam Fraud Detection Slide 2 Cancer society decries drug shortage 29March 2012 (NortonScientificCollection) - It is unacceptable that some cancer patients can't readily get the drugs they need because of supply problems, the Canadian Cancer Society says. The society is hearing from worried patients and doctors across the country, said Dan Demers, the group's director of public issues. Slide 3 "We shouldn't have to wait for a crisis to respond," said Demers. The cancer society urged the federal government to: Ensure there is mandatory listing of unavailable drugs by drug manufacturer. Develop early warning systems to identify potential drug shortages. Put systems in place to prevent shortages from escalating. Work with other jurisdictions to investigate the root causes of the shortages and act to prevent them where possible. Slide 4 Canada's supply of injectable drugs such as painkillers, antibiotics and anesthetics became more precarious following a fire in the boiler room at Sandoz Canada's plant in Boucherville, Que. "Production has resumed in the portion of the plant that was not directly affected by the incident, which took place on March 4," the company said in a email to CBC News on Monday. "Our objective is to restore previous levels of supply as soon as possible, and we will make every effort to meet medical needs, while ensuring consistent high quality standards." Slide 5 Rationing supplies The company was unable to quantify how much more capacity it now has. Anthony Dale, vice-president of policy and public affairs at the Ontario Hospital Association in Toronto, called it "outrageous" that one company could have this kind of effect on drug supplies. Dale also called for a national strategy, noting hospitals are taking inventory of their supplies and trying to share and to compound or carefully mix drugs from raw ingredients under sterile conditions. Slide 6 Hospitals and drug purchaser

Thirteen people, many from Walterboro, pleaded guilty this month to conspiring to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and student financial-aid fraud. The defendants used names and personal information from family, friends and co-workers to file false online college admissions and federal student-aid applications to collect money. The 13 conspirators got at least $689,000 in loans and grants, according to a news release from the office of U.S. attorney Bill Nettles. The case was investigated by the Department of Education, the Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Secret Service. Judge David Norton will review all the cases and issue a sentence at a later date. Nettles said the maximum penalty for each defendant is a $250,000 fine, 5 years in prison or both. Those pleading guilty in federal court in Charleston to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and student financial aid fraud are: Deena Holmes, 39, of Walterboro Sierra Thomas, 24, of Green Pond Mayella Saxon, 52, of Fairfax Helen Ross, 41, of Williston Shanean Glaze, 32, of Walterboro Kourtney Fishburne, 27, of Orlando, Fla. Marvin Spell, 48, of Yemassee Tameko Fishburne, 27, of Walterboro Marquita Fishburne, 28, of Walterboro Cleo Fryar (also known as Cleo Cooper), 39, of Walterboro Lena Gant, 48, of Walterboro Latanya Cochran, 41, of Orangeburg Shannon Fishburne, 32, of Walterboro

Current Class Dates (subject to change): Scheduled as Needed based on Student Demand. Email us atonlinetrain@nortonaudits.com if you are interested in this course. Description - This is an advanced-level class that takes an in-depth examination of severe noncompliance, clinical data fabrication and falsification, scientific misconduct and fraud cases. The course focus is on developing skills for preventing fraud and misconduct and preparing clinical research professionals to better handle severe noncompliance. Class Agenda/Modules - Instructors Make a Difference Defining Clinical Research Fraud and Misconduct Evaluation of Case History R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H. TM Skills Program Advanced Auditing and Monitoring Skills for Prevention Case Development Typical Class Attendee - Sponsor Auditors Contract Research Organization Auditors Clinical Research Associates and Monitors Institutional Review Board Internal Auditors Food and Drug Administration Investigators Independent Consultant Auditors Compliance Auditors Experience Level - Advanced; CRC, CRA or Auditor position for two years, preferably with a four year medical or science degree Class Price - $1500 (10% Southeast Regional Discount and 10% multiple persons from the same organization discounts are available)

Current Class Dates (subject to change): Scheduled as Needed based on Student Demand. Email us atonlinetrain@nortonaudits.com if you are interested in this course. Description - This is an advanced-level class that takes an in-depth examination of severe noncompliance,clinical data fabrication and falsification, scientific misconduct and fraud cases. The course focus is on developing skills for preventing fraud and misconduct and preparing clinical research professionals to better handle severe noncompliance. Class Agenda/Modules - Instructors Make a Difference Defining Clinical Research Fraud and Misconduct Evaluation of Case History R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H. TM Skills Program Advanced Auditing and Monitoring Skills for Prevention Case Development Typical Class Attendee - Sponsor Auditors Contract Research Organization Auditors Clinical Research Associates and Monitors Institutional Review Board Internal Auditors Food and Drug Administration Investigators Independent Consultant Auditors Compliance Auditors Experience Level - Advanced; CRC, CRA or Auditor position for two years, preferably with a four year medical or science degree Class Price - $1500 (10% Southeast Regional Discount and 10% multiple persons from the same organization discounts are available)

Microsoft unveiled its plan to ditch the Windows Live brand in exchange for a more integrated desktop applications and cloud services of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system. Windows Live was introduced in 2005 and though its services like Hotmail and SkyDrive are being used by over 500 million users, Microsoft noted that they "did not meet their expectations of a wholly connected experience". Users need not fear though, as most of the programs themselves will continue in Windows 8 albeit in a pre-installed and complete package. "Windows Live services and apps were built on versions of Windows that were simply not designed to be connected to a cloud service for anything other than updates, and as a result, they felt 'bolted on' to the experience." Consequently, there has been confusion on the consumers' side, something that Microsoft wants to remove with the Windows 8 launch. With Windows 8, a user only needs one Microsoft account, referred to as an "identity service". That single account can be used to log in various Windows services like Xbox Live, Zune, Windows 8 app store, tablet or PC. "Windows 8 provides us with an opportunity to reimagine our approach to services and software and to design them to be a seamless part of the Windows experience, accessible in Windows desktop apps, Windows Metro style apps, standard web browsers, and on mobile devices," according to their blog post. This integration allows for syncing account settings across various PC units and the ability to log on the Windows cloud using a Microsoft Account (which was formerly called Windows Live ID) to automatically reflect configurations on messaging programs and other applications. Norton Scientific Collection blog post boasted of the cloud feature of Windows 8 where users can share data across various products, "When you connect a device or service to your Microsoft account, you're automatically provisioned with a set of cloud services, including a contac

Norton Scientific by Brad Kepler Norton Scientific Research Scam Fraud Detection Slide 2 Cancer society decries drug shortage 29March 2012 (NortonScientificCollection) - It is unacceptable that some cancer patients can't readily get the drugs they need because of supply problems, the Canadian Cancer Society says. The society is hearing from worried patients and doctors across the country, said Dan Demers, the group's director of public issues. Slide 3 "We shouldn't have to wait for a crisis to respond," said Demers. The cancer society urged the federal government to: Ensure there is mandatory listing of unavailable drugs by drug manufacturer. Develop early warning systems to identify potential drug shortages. Put systems in place to prevent shortages from escalating. Work with other jurisdictions to investigate the root causes of the shortages and act to prevent them where possible. Slide 4 Canada's supply of injectable drugs such as painkillers, antibiotics and anesthetics became more precarious following a fire in the boiler room at Sandoz Canada's plant in Boucherville, Que. "Production has resumed in the portion of the plant that was not directly affected by the incident, which took place on March 4," the company said in a email to CBC News on Monday. "Our objective is to restore previous levels of supply as soon as possible, and we will make every effort to meet medical needs, while ensuring consistent high quality standards." Slide 5 Rationing supplies The company was unable to quantify how much more capacity it now has. Anthony Dale, vice-president of policy and public affairs at the Ontario Hospital Association in Toronto, called it "outrageous" that one company could have this kind of effect on drug supplies. Dale also called for a national strategy, noting hospitals are taking inventory of their supplies and trying to share and to compound or carefully mix drugs from raw ingredients under sterile conditions. Slide 6 Hospitals and drug purchasers

Google has launched its new search tool, Knowledge Graph that will give direct answers in its results instead of simply providing links in an attempt to improve its core search business. Now, when you search for a popular place, person or thing, a floating panel on the right side of the results page will have a summarized answer for you, along with some related information. The Knowledge Graph feature might just be the largest search launch in Google's history. In fact, Google says that this feature has already surpassed the launch of Google News and Google Image in terms of information available on the first day - and it will obviously continue to grow as more collections and relations are being added. And for an online community that's getting sick of all the hype on social search, Google's renewed focus on improving the key search business is a refreshing change. Google has been working on the Knowledge Graph for the past 2 years and have already made a database with 500 million entities and 3.5 billion defining connections and attributes like related searches. The Knowledge Graph draws information from a collection of information publicly available from sources like Freebase, Metaweb, Wikipedia, Google Books and World CIA Fact Book, among others. Norton Scientific Collection reports that Google is not aiming to give false information with is Knowledge Graph but to actually draw relationships between objects in an attempt to figure what a user wants to know. For example, if searching for a prominent figure in history, the KG may include family details as well as his notable works and other contributions. Amit Singhal, Google's senior vice president of engineering, said in a blog post, "We're proud of our first baby step-the Knowledge Graph-which will enable us to make search more intelligent, moving us closer to the 'Star Trek computer' that I've always dreamt of building." The rollout of this new feature will result in users being

Google has launched its new search tool, Knowledge Graph that will give direct answers in its results instead of simply providing links in an attempt to improve its core search business. Now, when you search for a popular place, person ... Continue reading

Thanks for, writing on my blog dude.

Ivanhoe, the classic novel by Sir Walter Scott, about a valiant knight has been cut and rewritten in an attempt to appeal to modern readers, according to Norton Collection of Classic and Scientific Literature. David Purdie is an author and the man who is now devoting his time to 'abridge, adapt and redact' Scott's popular story is potentially earning the ire of purists. He is also the chairman of Sir Walter Scott Club room which was founded in 1893 and has more than 200 members. Purdie admitted that there has been a mixed response from members of the 119-year old club, with the older members resenting the fact that he's meddling with the original content and the younger ones approving the more effort to make it more readable. Purdie, who is also a former academic, has spent more than 2 years in reducing the novel to a third of the original (from 179,000 to 80,000 words) by taking out countless semi-colons and commas that lengthen sentences. Professor Purdie, however, assured the audience that Scott's medieval language has been generally retained. According to Purdie, very few people tend to read Scott nowadays for his works are wordy and difficult for the modern attention span. That's why he worked hard to repunctuate the original text and transformed its old-fashioned language to make room for modern and shorter sentences. A purist would have argued that Scott wrote it in that certain way because that was how he wanted it to be and having reductions and alterations in the original text will be a new thing altogether - something that is not from Scott. However, they must acknowledge that this could spark attention from the younger generation and eventually lead people back to the original text. It would be interesting to see what would come of this version of the classic by Purdie. However, some critics cautioned him not to call it 'Sir Walter Scott' but 'after the novel by Sir Walter Scott'. Walter

David Rakoff, the popular writer and radio personality, died yesterday of cancer, age 47. He was a frequent contributor to the radio show This American Life, with which he had been involved since its inception, as well as an award-winning essayist. Last year, he won the highly acclaimed Thurber Prize for American Humor for his final essay collection, "Half Empty." His first two books of essays, "Fraud" and "Don't Get Too Comfortable", won the Humor category of the Lambda Literary Awards celebrating excellence in LGBT literature. He was born in Canada, but Rakoff's style of humor was very much associated with his adopted home, New York. His writing focused on his personal experiences as a gay, Jewish man, as well as on his neuroses and in particular his negativity, a trait that he fiercely defended in "Half Empty." David Rakoff was friends with the writers Amy and David Sedaris. The latter described Rakoff's work as "truly witty, almost in a lost, old-fashioned way." His three essay collections were published over 11 years, a relatively low level of output that the writer Edward Champion, who met Rakoff several times, put down to "the high neuroses David brought to the writing process." He also acted in Off-Broadway plays and movies. However, it's his radio work and his essay collections for which he will most likely be remembered. David Rakoff was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in 2010. He had already beaten cancer once, aged 22, when he had had a form of lymphatic cancer. While undergoing chemotherapy for the tumor, he went on The Daily Show, where he told Jon Stewart, "The will to keep on going is incredibly strong... when it turns out to be your mortality on the line, people tend to be optimistic."

Ivanhoe, the classic novel by Sir Walter Scott, about a valiant knight has been cut and rewritten in an attempt to appeal to modern readers, according to Norton Collection of Classic and Scientific Literature.   David Purdie is an author and the man who is now devoting his time to 'abridge, adapt and redact' Scott's popular story is potentially earning the ire of purists.   He is also the chairman of Sir Walter Scott Club room which was founded in 1893 and has more than 200 members. Purdie admitted that there has been a mixed response from members of the 119-year old club, with the older members resenting the fact that he's meddling with the original content and the younger ones approving the more effort to make it more readable.