galtgulch

Below are several testimonials from the Home Shopping Network website www.hsn.com where they offer two Shadow Ojos for $499 and where the Ojo is a "customer pick" in the Electronics section. One Shadow Ojo lists for $299 at the www.wgate.com company website. May be less expensive online or at ebay. Stock in WGAT plummeted to 48 cents a share on heavy volume over 1M but came back to 53 cents on 300K. SNAP deal still awaiting shipment and interoperability testing www.snapvrs.com. First quarter revenue was down but there was deferred revenue. www.ojoconference.com in which CEO remains confident but cannot reveal what he knows An insider did purchase more shares recently Product is great, see below testimonials, stock is high risk, but 2007 may be the year of video telephony, then again it may not. Customer Reviews review this product 7 reviews Average Rating 5.0 Ojo is simply the best! (Peggy, MI) 05/07/2007 Our family is spread out in several states with my daughter in Pennsylvania and my son in Florida and we talk on Ojo daily, it''s like you''re in the same room. Ojo is simple to use even at age 78 and it acts just like a regular telephone. I frequently demonstrate the phone to friends that stop over and a few of them have bought for the same reason I did. The OJO - what a great phone!!! (Sharon, MN) 05/04/2007 I love my OJO video phone- I wouldn''t want to be without it! The audio and video are perfectly synchronized, so it is like being in the same room with the person you are calling. It''s not just a conversation, it is a personal visit!! My family lives across the state and across the continent and the OJO allows us to maintain a much closer relationship...you see and hear each other...it''s the closest thing to reaching out and giving a hug! We bought 2 OJOs last month so we could see our (louis, FL) 04/12/2007 daughter in college. My wife see and talks to her everyday, as if she never left home. We are 1200 miles apart yet it feels like she''s in the room with us. The kids in her dorm think this is the coolest phone and are wanting the same for themselves. I My brother in Israel bought 3 to take back with him last month for his family members and now Joseph and I can see each other all the time. What a great product. The picture is perfect and the audio is excellent. The Jetsons are here now! (Farmer Jack, WV) 04/07/2007 Now, my wife and I are able to SEE our grandson grow up! We get an Ojo call when he loses a tooth or something significant happens. Plus, in August, my daughter''s boyfriend asked my permission to marry her...using the Ojo. This may sound tacky, but if you''ve ever used the Ojo, you''d think it was completely normal. It''s just like being across a table from someone. Fantastic (Bill, FL) 04/05/2007 Everybody in my family owns an OJO. We are spread out all over the country and its amazing how well we now stay in touch. My parents don''t own a computer and they love using the OJO. Great product! I own 3 OJOs and use one of them to talk and see (Laurie, FL) 03/23/2007 my son in college. This is the best video phone on the market. The picture is clear, the audio is perfect and the image is large. We can sit and talk to each other for hours, simultaneously looking at our PCs, shopping together on EBAY or giving the feeling they are still home with us.The other one my son uses to talk to his friend at another University. We love this!! Great product; well worth the cost. (John, PA) 03/16/2007 I purchased 4 Ojo shadows. one for my home and the other three for out of state family. The Ojo''s picture quality and voice are crystal clear and in perfect sync; just like a television picture. Our children send and receive Ojo calls to/from their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins several times a week. If you want to stay in touch with family and friends, Ojo is a great product. Highly recomended!

Here is an even better picture of Angelina, think Dagny! This link is one with which I am most sympathetic so far, 435,000 to go! The reason is that the writer appreciates that a film version of Atlas without Galt's speech is anathema and expresses that theme over and over. Delightful! http://neveryetmelted.com/?p=2074 galt

There is a large poster for Atlas Shrugged on the wall near the escalators in the Barnes and Noble in Manhattan on East 17th Street near Union Square Park. They do have several copies of the Script magazine on the third floor which include the interview with Randall Wallace. I do hope that his version of Atlas will only be the first of many versions. I hope it is not such a bomb that no one ever tries to do it again. On the bright side, if it does crater, perhaps someone who has the artistic talent will endeavor to make a Classics Illustrated comic book version which includes every word in the book! Kids would love it and that would save the future of the human race. Imagine airlifting Arabic language copies of the comic book and dropping them all over the muslim world. galt

Michael, You said: >>>"That is one of the things that made Wallace's solution so right in my mind."<<< I googled Randell Wallace Atlas and there are thousands of links. I enjoyed reading the one which follows because it gives the history of attempts to make the movie. As you will see though the real reason I give this link is because of the scantily clad Angelina at the top! Seriously I do wish that Wallace had chosen to go with the trilogy approach. It would give us more time to live in the world Rand created and which we experience when we read the book, would enable more dialogue and explicit statement of Rand's philosophy, and would give us more to look forward to as we await the production of each part of the trilogy. http://prodos.thinkertothinker.com/?p=293 galt

Brant No argument about the stock. However the product is sensational and the testimonials for the Ojo are outstanding. People who own the Ojo and use it to 'visit' with loved ones and friends are quite pleased with it. It is tough to succeed with a new technology in a realm where previous attempts in video telephony have not measured up. The Ojo does deliver with smooth motion and audio synchrony. Then it takes time to find acceptance by the huge telcos and cables but WGAT is doing that and has signed contracts with major communications companies around the world already and others in advanced negotiations. I am not advocating purchase of either the Ojo or the stock in WGAT here. I just want to make fellow Objectivists aware of both, especially the Ojo which they might find appealing to have in their own lives. This company has accomplished what AT&T was unable to do despite spending many millions of dollars in research and experimentation over many years. Still it may fail and go bankrupt. It has barely enough cash now to last two more quarters. But within the next quarter finalized deals may manifest themselves with orders sufficient to establish a cash flow to make them profitable. If so ... Here is a link to the first quarter 2007 conference call from last Friday: http://www.ojoconference.com/ I do appreciate your feedback. I agree the stock was only of value to shorts so far. The future may be another story. The product has to be seen to be appreciated. Read the testimonials at www.hsn.com under electronics for the ojo where the Ojo is a customer pick. Better still, go to www.ojophone.com, the company's new website and find the testimonials there as well as the "ojosodes" which will give you an idea of what the Ojo experience is like and its many uses will be hinted at. galt

Michael, Imagine if you will: Eddie Willers arrives at Taggart Transcontinental and approaches Dagny and tells her that the competent contractor from the Ohio Division is nowhere to be found. Dagny tenderly cups Eddie's face and says, "Eddie, I know I can rely on you." Then Dagny suddenly slaps Eddie's face and says, "Don't ever come to me with this kind of irrelevant nonsense! Just find me the next most competent man for the job!" Dagny enters the office of the President of Taggart Transcontinental and encounters her brother James who is saying, "Don't bother me! Don't bother me! Don't bother me!" Dagny approaches him and tenderly cups his face... galt

TREVOSE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WorldGate Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: WGAT), a leading provider of personal video phones, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007. Recent Highlights: The first quarter of 2007 was marked by continued technology and marketing advancements for our Ojo video phone that enhance our leadership position in the video telephony market and facilitate deployment of our products by service operators and consumers. Key recent operating highlights during and subsequent to the first quarter include: * Announced that the Company had received a notice of allowance of its patent application for a video phone system and method. This application, containing 39 claims, all of which have been allowed, describes a video phone system as well as a method for making video phone calls. * Announced extended Ojo capability to interoperate with various video phones and soft clients using previous generation communications protocols and video and audio codecs, specifically, enabling Ojo to communicate with video phones using H.263 and G729 video and audio codecs and enabling utilization of the H.323 communications protocol. This added functionality also provided the ability for video phone calls to be made between an Ojo and PCs with webcam capabilities. * Adopted Texas Instruments Incorporated’s (TI) DaVinci™ technology for the next generation of the Ojo personal video phone to reduce overall system cost while getting to market quickly with advanced functionality. * Developed a new Service Provider Package that allows Ojo video phones to be more quickly and easily adapted to their networks around the world using a wide variety of technology platforms. * Launched an exciting promotion for Mother’s Day featuring two years (24 months) of unlimited Ojo video phone calls for $19.95 a month and including an Ojo Shadow Personal Video Phone at no additional cost. * Debuted Ojo video phone on Home Shopping Network, introducing the video phone experience to millions of HSN customers. * Featured Ojo on FOX’s “Good Day New York”, during a Mother’s Day technology gift segment, titled “Mom-Friendly Technology”, hosted by Dotster.com’s Steve Greenberg. * Featured Ojo on the cover of Hello Direct's February 2007 catalog, which marked an aggressive launch of the Company's efforts toward the enterprise market. Management Comments During the past quarter the Company has taken several steps to increase the competitive advantage of Ojo and facilitate the deployment of its products. First, we developed software enhancements that allow Ojo to be interoperable with various video phones and soft clients using previous generation communications protocols and video and audio codecs. This allows service providers to upgrade to the higher quality available with Ojo while still being compatible with video phones the service operator may currently have deployed, thereby offering a genuine path to upgrade their overall offering. Second, the Ojo functionality we have added provides the ability for video phone calls to be made between Ojo and PCs with web cam capabilities. This again facilitates the selection of Ojo by end users in their purchase of telecommunication devices and by service operators interested in the implementation of a video phone strategy. Further toward this end, we have developed a new Service Provider Package that allows Ojo video phones to be more quickly and easily adapted to their networks around the world, which use a wide variety of technology platforms. The Company also received a notice of allowance of its patent application for a video phone system and method. This application, containing 39 claims, all of which have been allowed, describes a video phone system as well as a method for making video phone calls. The patent furthers our competitive advantage and provides additional basis for service providers selecting Ojo video phones when determining their video phone platform. “The developments we have accomplished in the area of interoperability and with our service provider implementation package, coupled with Ojo’s unmatched quality and our increased patent portfolio, continues to add to our competitive advantage in video telephony and provides compelling arguments for choosing Ojo,” said Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO of the Company. “Although our sales for the quarter were low, in part reflecting a deferral of some orders, we believe the developments we have announced will contribute to increased activity in the upcoming quarters. We are currently in active discussions with eight VoIP and CLEC providers and over a dozen cable, telco, and ISP providers worldwide and hope to announce the closure of agreements with several of these potential customers in the next few weeks and months. We also expect that a number of the agreements we have previously concluded, including those with Aequus, British Telecom (BT), ISR (Israel) and Payment Systems (Russia), will shortly begin to provide increased deployment as the infrastructure, and appropriate testing and accreditation of Ojo on their platforms is completed,” continued Mr. Krisbergh.

American voters never seem to learn, except for those of us in the habit of thinking. It is conceivable that we are on the verge of becoming a christian theocracy given that there are so many of them and more candidates who share their worldview. I did once enlighten a fellow who had been raised in the christian faith, having befriended him first and gained his respect. We had time to spend chatting about such things at length as we were in the military stationed overseas with nothing else to do. So I know that it is possible to change the mind of someone who is under the spell of religious dogma. Still it is daunting to try to change the minds of tens of millions. The books by Sam Harris, The End of Faith and the other book called The God Delusion are not likely to change anyone's mind. More than likely they just make the faithful that much more defensive. It will be curious to see if the voters support the more religious ones who are seeking the nomination. Huckabee sounds like tha name of a character Rand would have dreamed up. I wonder if anyone is busy working on The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization. One positive note is the election in France where I understand the winner is for the free market, whatever that means. galt PS: Be sure to check out the Forum Residential Video Telephony may be next big thing, especially if you have a loved one or friend whom you would want to see who lives at a distance.

If by any chance you might be interested in seeing the Ojo demonstration which appeared on Home Shopping Network last Friday morning on the Sunrise segment 8AM They make a video available on www.HSN.com for one week. It is still available for purchase. It is a pretty good deal. two Shadow Ojos in the box. You don't have to pay a service charge for the first three months either. This gives you time to discuss with spouse and loved one with whom you would want to "visit." It is only necessary to have a broadband cable or DSL internet connection and a compatible modem or router. (most are, compatibility can be checked at www.ojoservices.com) There is no up front cost for the phones if you were to buy them from www.ojoservices.com if you contact them and ask about the Mother's Day special. their phone number is found at www.ojoservices.com You only have to commit to two years of service at $19.95 a month. The usual monthly charge was $14.95 but is temporarily $9.95 until the end of June.'' So you may want to see the Demo at HSN where the cost is $499 for two Shadow Ojos but consider buying at www.ojoservices.com and get just one Shadow Ojo for the two year commitment. Your friend or relative would have to do the same and make the two year commitment for $19.95 to get their Shadow Ojo for no up front charge. After the two years the monthly service charge will come down to whatever they are charging at the time. galt

On Thursday, May 3, 2007 in the Business Day section of the NYTimes a full page ad for J&R Computer World appeared on page C8. diredtly across from it there appeared on the bottom of page C9 a one third of a page ad for the Ojo PVP900 Personal Video Phone also by J&R. It featured a smiling young girl standing in front of a Shadow Ojo which showed the smiling face of a woman who might be her grandmother. The girl was holding up a drawing of a flower she had made for mother's day for her grandmother to see. As a Mother's Day special both models of the Ojo were offered with instant rebates reducing the cost of the Ojo to $349.99 and the Shadow Ojo to $269.99. effective through 5/09/07. To place an order and or to get a free catalog call 1800 221 8180 www.JR.com//nyt order code THNT 0503 Its not too late to order a couple and if you BUY NOW you get first three months of free service for Unlimited Video calls and free ground shipping in Continental USA . Monthly service fee is normally $14.95 but is reduced to $9.95 before june 30. See the Ojos at www.ojophone.com with info on features and specs. All you need is a broadband connection to internet. No PC needed. You know 2007 is the year of internet video telephony. In a couple of years virtually everyone will have a video telephone in their home to use to keep in better touch with relatives, friends and loved ones or for business uses. The higher the price of gas goes the more appealing a video telephone will be. It might get more expensive to drive to visit relatives who live at a distance but the video phone will enable you to "visit" for a flat monthly rate for unlimited video calls over broadband anywhere in the world where broadband can be found, meaning virtually everywhere. WorldGate also announced that it is now connecting customers in 56 countries worldwide. With broad popularity and word of mouth appeal, Ojo has been embraced by an extended family of Ojo video phone subscribers around the world. galt :heart:

Electronic Retailer HSN to Debut Ojo™ Video Phones via COMTEX May 3, 2007 TREVOSE, Pa., May 03, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WorldGate Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: WGAT) - a leading provider of personal video phones and related technology announced today that its Ojo Video Phone will debut on electronic retailer HSN, bringing the video phone experience to millions of HSN customers. The Ojo Shadow Video Phone may be purchased online today at http://www.hsn.com and viewers will be able to experience the Ojo Shadow Video Phone first hand with the expected product debut on Friday May 4th at 8 am, EDT, on HSN. The Ojo Shadow, WorldGate's latest entry in video calling, is as simple to use as a telephone and just as easy to install. With the purchase of the Ojo Shadow, HSN customers will be able to see family and friends from the comfort of their homes. Ojo's smooth, clear video and sound makes you feel as if you're sitting right next to the person. "HSN is an important piece of our retail strategy as we expand the availability of Ojo for connecting families and friends," said Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO, WorldGate. "Having this multi-channel retailing giant offer Ojo is testimony to their confidence in the Internet-based video telephone experience Ojo brings to their marketplace." WorldGate also announced that it is now connecting customers in 56 countries worldwide. With broad popularity and word of mouth appeal, Ojo has been embraced by an extended family of Ojo video phone subscribers around the world.

Hi Chris, Thanks for not pointing out to me that there already was a thread about the fact that Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged were prominently presented on Jeopardy. I watch it often if not daily with my wife who is away this week on a business trip. She would have gotten a kick out of seeing the final category revealed and the fact that someone wrote the correct question, "Who is John Galt?" It was so obvious that the other two contestents who led in the game had not read the book. I wonder if viewers will be prompted to buy the book themselves now as a consequence? galt

Martin and Fran, My wife taught for many years in an expensive private school in central massachusetts. On occasion she did encounter a student who had been diagnosed with ADHD and his private psychiatrist, not the school, did prescribe a central nervous system stimulant. My wife told me that she had seen the child before and after the medication and did observe profound improvement in their behaviour and academic performance. i only post this to dispell the notion that private schools which are child centered would not have to deal with children with the condition because of their orientation and priorities. I happen to believe that the condition is overdiagnosed and overtreated. I expect that children with the Defiant, noncompliant child syndrome, untreated, often are misdiagnosed with ADHD and given Ritalin, Adderal or Concerta. I will not ask what all this has to do with Euthanasia but I am glad that you found each other to discuss whatever you like here. No kidding. galt

It was quite a thrill to see Alex Trebek point out the final question last evening. Who is the character named in the first line of Atlas Shrugged? Did anyone else see it? The young lady who was trailing was the only one who wrote: "Who is John Galt?" but she was so far behind she did not end up winning. The next fellow wrote: "Who is Zeus?" The fellow who was far out in front also did not know and wrote: "Who is Atlas?" but he only bet a few hundred dollars and remainded the impressive winner. What an unexpected pleasure to see the question and that one of the contestents did write the correct answer so that there on the screen to be seen by millions of viewers like me who watch Jeopardy: "Who is John Galt? :heart: "

[Mother's Day promo of a "free" Ojo Shadow with a two year contract of just $19.95 a month!] This promo may only be good if you call www.ojoservices.com and ask for the Mother's Day special on or before Mother's Day. Conference Call to discuss first quarter revenue and all other questions expected in one more week. I will post actual date, time and numbers as soon as they are announced. galt

>>>" What is so hard to understand about this, I'm not sure. Sounds like you've got yourself a "conceptual level" error, my friend. "<<< I discern an example of the "stolen concept" here. It seems that you are suggesting that since Man's senses might be fallible, that no knowledge of reality is possible. If that were the case all your concepts would be equally baseless yet you assert them with abandon. I understand that humans are in contact with reality through our senses and that it is up to our conceptual ability and rational faculty to come to grips with these issues and to verify the evidence provided by our senses. The last time I drove on the highway I noticed that huge tractor trailer trucks which seemed enormous as they passed me seemed to shrink in size as they pulled away and were mere dots in the distance. It is nonsense to conclude that our senses do not provide evidence of reality at all because of such experiences. Also the very essence of an axiomatic concept is that it does not require proof to someone who doesn't get it. How do you set up an experiment to show that Existence exists or that Consciousness is conscious for the benefit of someone who asks us to prove Existence and Consciousness to them? At this point I am reduced to resorting to profanity based on my uncivilized roots on the wrong side of the tracks in Brooklyn. galt (no relation)

>>>"Imagine a whole civilization based on a warped sense of humor. They bankrupted their whole population to perfect space travel."<<< Speaking of space travel, I recently heard that unless our species finds a way to find another planet to move to that it will not survive. A planet has been found "just" twenty light years away which is at the right distance from its sun to enable human life to manage but is five times larger than Earth. I gather that travel at the speed of light or anything close to it is not practical so I wonder how long it would take to get there? I suppose it would require several generations living aboard such a space transport vehicle to make the trip. Well the sun has another five or is it ten billion years before it becomes a red giant star and engulfs the earth and the entire solar system out to Neptune and Pluto. So there is time to find a way to sidestep the bullet. The fact that a huge percentage of species which have inhabited the earth over the last three or four billion years have become extinct suggests that our own species may not be around for much longer anyway. But if anyone can survive my bet is on humanity. I found the humorous start of this thread to be... amusing. But your mention of space travel conjures up issues I am curious about. I try to imagine what life on a large space transport would be llke for the generations which will never know the Earth except from info brought along for the ride. It might be sad that they would not be able to ever know and experience life on Earth as we know it. The fact that Earth might be doomed at that point would be small consolation. galt

I believe that there are individuals who arrive at a naturalistic scientific view of the real world, are aware early on in their lives that the supernatural is a fantasy realm which does not exist in reality other than in the minds of believers. The individuals I am talking about have a commitment to reason and rational evidence, are inclined toward the sciences, have an innate skepticism about others assertions, and also accept the implicit moral standard of life on earth. I believe that man's life is the implicit standard within the medical profession but obviously there are those physicians whose religious upbringing subject them to conflict when the subject of a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy arise. What I am suggesting is that by the time some individuals first encounter a novel of Ayn Rand their own understanding in the realm of metaphysics, epistemology and ethics may very well be such that they discover a kindred spirit in Rand regarding those fundamental realms of philosophy. I think that explains the appeal of Rand's philosophy to many who encounter it. Others might certainly have more obstacles to overcome to understand it and to adopt it. Of course those who grew up and came to understand the world, the criteria for knowledge and ethics on their own did not call themselves Objectivists and I am not suggesting that Rand's dramatization of her philosophy and her explicit statement of it is not a staggering achievement. I know that in my own situation I was reading Asimov, Gamow, Sir James Jeans, Heinlein, Clarke, G.G. Simpson, Harzanyi, and others, and was aware of the battle between Science and Religion throughout the centuries. I recall telling a young Rabbi when I was ten or eleven, "If the Universe always existed, there would be no need to hypothesize a God to create it!" I always found natural explanations for the "miracles" in Bible stories in Sunday school. I found Rand to be a kindred spirit and as tough a row as it is to hoe I believe Objectivism is the antidote in the philosophical realm and expect that as long as it takes it will ultimately prevail. The rest will be relegated to the realm of mythology where it belongs. galt

Be sure to read the post above about the patent. Below is a statement by SNAP VRS (www.snapvrs.com) earlier this month: April 10/07 We are receiving a very positive response to the Ojo videophone. Testing is taking longer than we would have hoped due to regulations set by the FCC at the same time we came into business that require the Ojo to communicate with old technology. This is more complicated than it may seem. The Ojo is very advanced technology which we are excited to bring to the Deaf community, yet we are still testing its ability to communicate with existing VPs in the marketplace. Testing is going very well and we should be done soon. We cannot disclose to you the number of subscribers we have at this time. This is proprietary and confidential information. However, I can tell you that there are many more applicants than we expected to have at this point and we are very excited about this! Thanks for your interest in Snap!VRS The SNAP deal should lead to a boost for Wgat and publicity for the Ojo. Coupled with the Mother's Day promo: sign a two year contract for $19.95 a month and receive a free Shadow Ojo, will help the cause! galt

The Company will conduct a conference call on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 4:15 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time to discuss the issuance of this patent. The conference call telephone number is (800) 274-0873. The conference ID is 2381246. A replay of the conference call will be available for one week after the call on the WorldGate website at www.ojophone.com under Investor Relations WorldGate Receives Notice of Allowance of a Patent for its Ojo Video PhoneLast update: 4/27/2007 1:41:13 PMTREVOSE, Pa., Apr 27, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WorldGate Communications, Inc. (WGAT) - a leading provider of personal video phones and related technology today announced that it has received a notice of allowance of its patent application for a video phone system and method. This application, containing 39 claims, all of which have been allowed, describes a video phone system as well as a method for making video phone calls. As originally filed, this application contained 73 claims. The balance of the 34 claims were declared by the U.S. Patent Office to describe two separate inventions, and accordingly these claims were re-filed as two additional patent applications which are currently still pending. These additional applications relate to video telephony apparatus using plural networks and the use of video telephony apparatus to deliver information services. "We are very excited about the allowance of this application since it validates our pioneering efforts in the field of video telephony," stated Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO of WorldGate. Krisbergh further stated, "We worked very hard to develop a video phone that for the first time delivered a quality video communication experience in a cost effective and easy to use manner, and we believe the allowed claims in this application broadly describe such a video telephony system and give WorldGate significant intellectual property protection." The Company will conduct a conference call on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 4:15 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time to discuss the issuance of this patent. The conference call telephone number is (800) 274-0873. The conference ID is 2381246. A replay of the conference call will be available for one week after the call on the WorldGate website at . www.ojophone.com If you want to see the original patent application here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/3k8s4 Stock up today, April 27, 2007 to close at 81 cents a share. (still a bargain!) Imagine how many Ojos might be sold with the Mother's Day promo of a "free" Ojo Shadow with a two year contract of just $19.95 a month! Reality will show, naturally. Think Reardon Metal!

WorldGate already holds a US Patent for Design and now another patent has been granted: United States Patent Application 20050073574 Kind Code A1 Krisbergh, Hal M. ; et al. April 7, 2005 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Videophone system and method Abstract System and method for providing personal videotelephony in which a plurality of videophones are connected to a communications network that is configured for transmitted video and audio communications. Each of the videophones typically includes a camera, display device, telephone keypad, speaker and microphone all of which are operatively connected. The videophones further include means for selectably receiving and transmitting signals over the communications network, which signals represent images and/or sound, and for selectably displaying the signals representing any received signals representing the images on the display screen, and for playing any received signals representing the sounds on said speaker. Means are also provided for selectably accessing a remote location, such as, but not limited to, another videophone, using information entered or selected by a user of the videophone, and to retrieve the signals representing the images and sounds being transmitted from the remote location. In one or more embodiments the present invention further includes at least one networks operation center to store information related to the operation of the videophones and to facilitate the operation of the videophones. ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Inventors: Krisbergh, Hal M.; (Meadowbrook, PA) ; Augenbraun, Joseph E.; (Princeton, NJ) ; Jesup, Randell E.; (Malvern, PA) ; Gort, Randall J.; (Malvern, PA) ; Reavy, Maire D.; (Malvern, PA) ; Kannan, Navneeth; (Westford, MA) ; Blackmon, Whitney D.; (Holland, PA) ; Westerfer, Richard W.; (Lower Gwynedd, PA) ; Wachob, David E.; (New Hope, PA) Correspondence Name and Address: William A. Blake Jones, Tullar & Cooper, P.C. Eads Station P.O. Box 2266 Arlington VA 22202 US Serial No.: 674789 Series Code: 10 Filed: October 1, 2003 U.S. Current Class: 348/14.01; 348/14.03; 348/E7.071; 348/E7.081; 348/E7.083 U.S. Class at Publication: 348/014.01; 348/014.03 Intern'l Class: H04N 007/14

Actually it would be a tremendous feat of ingenuity and persuasion for someone who might find a way to achieve the seemingly impossible as you suggest. However, given that Man is characterized as having a "volitional conceptual consciousness" it should be within the realm of possibility. Of course given the present state of mind of most of even the most productive members of society it would be a hard sell. More likely it would take a movement the likes of which may never have been known to occur in the civilized world. The Protestant Reformation comes to mind or better still the Renaissance. I do wonder what might happen if the movie Atlas Shrugged were done right it might become a kind of classic which might be sufficiently inspiring among the younger generation, meaning those who had not yet been subjected to a college indoctrination, to lead to an ongoing struggle sustained for long enough to encompass several generations of young folks who would grow up to produce leaders with a growing popular support thoughout the country. So in the end Rand would be correct that a successful political implementation would require the establishment of a widespread philosophical foundation. Why be so pessimistic? The idea does not require that we stop the motor of the world but to inspire it and get it to work for its own freedom! galt

Hi fellow Ayn Rand admirers, Here is the latest marketing endeavor by WorldGate Comm with today's press release: Press Release Source: WorldGate Communications, Inc. This Year, Don't Just Tell Mom You Love Her, Show Her With Ojo™ Wednesday April 25, 11:31 am ET Sign up For Two Years of Service, and Receive an Ojo Shadow Personal Video Phone TREVOSE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For husbands, sons and daughters who want to give their wives and mothers something new and exciting for Mother's Day, WorldGate Communications today announced a special Mother's Day offer for Ojo. This year, don't just tell Mom you love her, show her with an Ojo personal video phone (http://www.ojophone.com). Sign up for two years (24 months) of UNLIMITED Ojo video phone calls for just $19.95 a month, and receive an Ojo Shadow Personal Video Phone at no additional cost .................... Here is one person's experience ordering Ojos from www.ojoservices.com: WOW, The deal is even BETTER than advertised! 25-Apr-07 10:10 pm I just got off the phone with Ojo Sevices and picked up a couple of more Ojo's. If you pay up front for the year they take off a month so it's only $219.95! Then $219.95 next year. You save $40 on the 2 year agreement. Shipping is only $10. Nice! 1-877-367-6965 ____________ Now we just need to advertise this offer so everyone becomes aware of it! The stock went up to seventy one cents a share, up four cents for the day. This may prove to be quite a bargain if this wonderful product becomes ubiquitous worldwide as it should. galt

>>>"My friend -- his name is Peter Breggin -- became a crusader against lobotomies and was almost single-handedly responsibe for having them outlawed. Should one have recommended euthanasis for such patients or not?"<<< Hello Barbara, I once encountered a young woman who had been "treated" as a young teenager with a lobotomy, not of the ice-pick swirl variety you mention, but one which just cut certain connections between the frontal and the parietal lobes of the brain I believe. She had been engaging in incessant obsessive compulsive ritualistic behaviors which totally incapacitated her. The lobotomy worked well and she was able to continue her schooling and ultimately was able to hold down a job. It is a shame that Dr. Breggin used the power of the State to prohibit doctors and patients to use a procedure which might be advantageous under certain limited conditions. Another example of the tragedy of the lack of separation of the State and the interactions of consenting individuals. galt

I once took a tour of a place called the West Seneca State something and in it were housed babies who were suffering from advanced and untreatable conditions such as hydrocephalia in which the head was grotesque in its size with damaged brain to the point that there was no hope that the child would ever be human. One little girl had been a normal child but had an episode of viral encephalitis and it had destroyed the parts of the brain necessary for cognition, speech, etc and she was severely profoundly impaired. I will not go on with other examples. The point is that these kids, and there were large rooms filled with cribs in rows and files filled with hydrocephalics, microcephalics, etc, who were cared for, fed, changed, bathed, but there was no hope for them to ever have what we would call a human existence or the attainment of a volitional conceptual consciousness. They had become wards of the State of New York and would be cared for for as long as they lived. I encountered another sad case while I was working in a County Hospital in Buffalo NY. A nurse had mistakenly given a Morphine injection meant for a grown man with severe bone pain from metastatic cancer in his bones, to a male of about 18 years of age. This poor fellow had been cared for at home by his mother since birth but had suffered brain damage from anoxia at birth and was profoundly retarded, paralyzed, blind, deaf, dumb and non communicative. The Morphine caused his respirations to slow to dangerous rate and an anesthesiologist was called to intubate the fellow and breath for him until medication to counter the effect of the Morphine could take effect. The mother stood by stoically and said nothing. I was not in a position to inquire anything of her but I wondered what her life must have been like to care for this virtually subhuman creature for eighteen years who was unable to respond and had no hope of attaining status as a human being. I could only wonder whether any part of her hoped that this unforseen situation might release her from an unrewarding burden. I imagine that her religious beliefs played a role in her devotion. My point is that I think that the option in such cases should be euthanasia as a decision to be made by the parent, primarily the mother, under circumstances where there is no reason to hope their newborn will ever be able to attain a normal cognitive state. Sometimes these conditions can be diagnosed intrautero these days in which case an abortion would be an option. I am talking about cases after birth. We are more "humane" with horses, dogs and pet cats and put them out of their misery. I know it is tough to know where to draw the line. galt