Technology Bubble

What PayPal does with your money?

2008-02-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

(FORTUNE Small Business) -- Next month, eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) intends to implement a controversial new policy that will entail holding payments sent through PayPal for up to 21 days for certain "high-risk transactions."

Furious at the prospect of waiting to receive funds, sellers have been publicly speculating about how much money PayPal (and its parent company, eBay) makes off the accruing interest on funds under PayPal's control - and whether a desire to retain those funds for longer spurred eBay's holding plan.

However, company executives and industry analysts say the money PayPal makes off such payments has a negligible impact on its bottom line.

Any funds PayPal holds for dispersal are automatically deposited in a corporate bank account, which earns interest, according to Paypal representative Amanda Pires. The money is kept there until it's ready for distribution. PayPal, which processes payments for eBay auctions as well as e-commerce transactions from elsewhere on the Internet, counts interest payments on those funds as one of its revenue streams.

That's a perfectly legal practice, as PayPal is classified as a deposit broker, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) spokesman David Barr.

"Deposit brokers make money being deposit brokers," Barr said. "That's the reason they're in business. As long as fees are disclosed, that's fine from our standpoint."

Indeed, Paypal's user agreement - which all accountholders must read and accept - states: "Paypal may combine your funds with the funds of other Users and place those Pooled Accounts in one or more bank accounts in PayPal's name."

This applies to any user funds that are in the company's "custody." The agreement further states that accountholders "irrevocably transfer and assign to PayPal any ownership right that you may have in any interest" that accrues in these accounts.

EBay boycott winds down, but anger remains

But the revenue generated from this practice is miniscule given PayPal's total revenue picture, said Thomas Weisel Partners managing director Christa Quarles.

"Money's definitely being made on the float, but is that the purpose at the end of the day?" said Quarles, who covers eBay. "Our sense is it's not necessarily material in its contribution."

Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) Director of Internet Research Mark Mahaney arrived at similar estimates by examining PayPal's public quotes of average "stored value." Mahaney approximates the interest earned on the float at "single-digit millions per quarter, and at most $10 million a quarter."

All that's a drop in the bucket, said Quarles. In 2007, PayPal generated $1.8 billion in revenue. EBay's total 2007 revenue was $7.7 billion. EBay does not break out PayPal's earnings in its financial statements, meaning analysts must rely on their own estimates of the division's profits.

"I understand sellers are angry about [the 21-day policy], but the fee changes are really what's going to drive broader revenues at eBay," Quarles said.

PayPal's Pires said accountholders should be aware that they have the power to collect interest for their own use on delayed funds. It's as simple as enrolling in the company's PayPal Money Market Fund, Pires said.

For enrolled accountholders, any funds earmarked for a hold are diverted into the Money Market Fund rather than PayPal's corporate bank account, Pires said. The dividends earned are credited to user accounts on a monthly basis.

"Every U.S. accountholder has the ability to invest in the Money Market Fund," Pires said.

PayPal's Money Market Fund is run by Barclay (BCS)'s Global Investments. No minimum balance is required, and the fund's current interest rate is 3.46%.

PayPal funds freeze draws fire

The company would not disclose what percentage of PayPal's 57 million active accountholders have enrolled in the fund. But Pires said the fund is a "well-utilized service by our customers."

Barr of the FDIC notes that PayPal does not ultimately fall under the jurisdiction of the FDIC, which regulates banks and banking institutions. Regulation of deposit brokers or money-transfer operations falls to individual states, he said.

Alana Golden, spokeswoman for California's Department of Financial Institutions, said PayPal's plans for a 21-day holding period do not run afoul of any DFI regulations. The DFI regulates only PayPal transactions that involve transmitting money to foreign countries, and has no jurisdiction over PayPal's domestic operations.

Therein lies PayPal's competitive advantage, said Quarles of Thomas Weisel Partners.

"They've figured out how not to be regulated, and they've done that globally," Quarles said. "[PayPal] has gone to great pains to be not considered a bank."

Microsoft must pay $1.4bn to EU!

2008-02-27T11:15:00.001-08:00

EU fines Microsoft record $1.4bn

What's the dispute about?

The European Commission has fined US computer giant Microsoft for defying sanctions imposed on it for anti-competitive behaviour.

Microsoft must now pay a record 899m euros ($1.4bn; £680.9m) after it failed to comply with a 2004 ruling that it abused its position.

The ruling said that Microsoft was guilty of not providing key code to rival software makers.

EU regulators said the firm was the first to break an EU anti-trust ruling.

The fines come on top of earlier fines of 280m euros imposed in July 2006, and of 497m euros in March 2004.

"Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the Commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.

Future improvements?

An investigation concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was guilty of freezing out rivals in products such as media players, while unfairly linking its Explorer internet browser to its Windows operating system at the expense of rival servers.

The European Court of First Instance upheld this ruling last year, which ordered Microsoft to pay 497m euros for abusing its dominant market position.

DISPUTE TIMELINE

March 2004: EU fines Microsoft 497m euros and orders it to release key Windows code to rival software developers

September 2004: Microsoft tries to have the ruling temporarily suspended

April 2006: Microsoft appeals the ruling in the European Court of First Instance

September 2007: Microsoft loses its appeal

Last week, the firm announced that it would open up the technology of some of its leading software, including Windows, to make it easier to operate with rivals' products.

"As we demonstrated last week with our new interoperability principles and specific actions to increase the openness of our products, we are focusing on steps that will improve things for the future," Microsoft said.

Further cases

But the firm is still being pursued by Brussels.

Last month, the European Commission launched two new anti-competition investigations against Microsoft into similar issues.

The first will look at whether there are still problems regarding Microsoft abusing its dominance of the PC market to grab market share of the internet.

The Commission will also investigate the continued interoperability of Microsoft software with rival products.

Below is a selection of your comments:

Why should Microsoft have to pay fines for something like this? All manufacture and trade is competition whether you want to accept it or not. If you fine Microsoft for competition then you have to fine every company and firm in Europe for competing with other companies and trying to be better than them. Some are always going to be better and you can't stop it from happening.
Elias Lammi, Vammala, Finland

Last time I checked Microsoft was worth somewhere in the region of $350bn, so a fine of $1.3bn is nothing; it's less than 0.3% of their overall wealth and hardly a deterrent. Should the EU feel the need to do this again, they should strive to impose a fine that has a more noticeable effect on the company's turnover. Something that would make the board members and share holders sit up and take notice.
Stephen Sweeney, London

Microsoft have every right to compete the way they want. If they reveal the key window code, how can they sustain competitiveness. Did any other company teach them the code? No, it is one of the rare resource, where others failed in acquiring such ideas and intellectual capital. I hope EU is not going to fine Microsoft for not helping its competitors to acquire working culture which embedded down the company.
zubair, Melbourn/Australia

Not enough. Microsoft has been getting away with uncompetitive behaviour for far too long. They should no longer be allowed to sell any product without publishing every line of source code.
Brian Beesley, UK

I think it is a bad ruling because Microsoft is being charged for not sharing their OWN code they wrote. Microsoft has every right not to share what they wrote. There's many other platforms out there for companies to write code for. There are many alternatives to web browsers and media players to download off the internet to begin with, so I don't see how this is a problem.
Nathan Vorgang, West Lafayette, IN, USA

I believe that the fine is too small for Microsoft.
Mohammad Bashir, Philadelphia, PA USA

I find it amazing that we have such ridiculous laws!! Why are we punishing a company for being good?? It's not Microsoft's fault that no-one else has come up with products that can compete...
Andy, Bracknell

Microsoft MUST be brought to account for its' practice of dominating by exclusion. If the company, Microsoft, continues to practice in a manner which refuses to be competitive, then it should be excluded from the EU. Nicholas Carton, USA
Nicholas Carton, Saint Louis, Missouri USA

I find it amazing that the EU can put sanctions on a company, who are to them ''anti-competition'' Yet have a complete monopoly on money in the form of the Euro. If it didn't make me laugh, it'd make me cry!
Richard Wilkins, Westbury, Wiltshire, Uk.

Definitely agree with the European Commission, even though I am employed as a microsoft .net developer.
Iain, Truro/UK

I very much agree with the decision of the European Commission. Microsoft, throughout its history, has been guilty of abusing its de facto dominance of pc operating systems. The US Federal Government has always favoured the company's interests over the customers and so the market abuse has continued. Microsoft must learn to compete rather than try to snuff out or take over competitors and companies with technology that they want.
R W Bater, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

I do not agree with the EU. Whom is the judgement awarded too? The EU or does it go to the Microsoft competitors? What happened to innovations and property protection? Like a number of things coming out of Brussels it does not make sense.
Hans K Vieregge, Aviemore , Great Britain

I am glad that Microsoft have been fined, if they had made the code open suorce, then they would not have been the main target for hackers,and may have ended up with a better product. How many times have you heard of Linux software being hacked? its not!! as all the lines of code are open source. If you have a problem with Linux you can actually converse with the person who wrote the code. This is not possible with Windows. If you use Linux or a Unix based operating system, you will be less likely to be hacked.
Ian, London

I think the fines are ridiculously high and that the EU is going after Microsoft because its a good American business. Sure Microsoft was a little arrogant but the fines are way to high.
Charles Parker, Des Moines Ia. USA

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The 9 Most Baffling Theme Parks From Around the World

2008-02-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

The Amusement Park is the pinnacle of cultural achievement: technology and resources dedicated purely to people having fun. And we can all agree that history wasn't complete until Walt Disney allowed humanity to experience "The Happiest Place on Earth!" (for a nominal fee).

Now societies throughout the world have their own wondrous amusement parks. And like Disney did for us, their parks reflect their culture's stories, passions and traditions ... and make outsiders cock their heads and say "What the fuck!?"

#9.

Diggerland: The Dumpiest Place on Earth!

If you visit this amusement park's website you'll be treated to their wonderful jingle. The fun lyrics infused with surf-rock riffs almost make you forget that this park is nothing more than modified excavation equipment.

Diggerland, surprisingly, is not located near a NASCAR track, but resides solely in the United Kingdom. That's right, British people pay money to turn fantasy into reality and drive and operate construction equipment. Here in America, that fantasy becomes reality too, and all you need to do is drop out of high school.

One of Diggerland's biggest attractions is the "Dancing Diggers," a 30-minute show featuring five JCBs and a mini loader that perform coordinated musical numbers, daredevil stunts and comedy.

Now if only they could get to work on building an actual amusement park, we'd really be impressed. But even then, it's hard to fully ridicule this park's concept. Haven't we all daydreamed, at least once, of fucking around on a piece of construction equipment? Before anyone gets too excited, keep in mind that all operations are conducted under strict supervision. So the latter half of that fantasy where you plant a back hoe into the windshield of your boss' Corvette will have to wait.

#8.

Grutas Park: The Most Miserable Place on Earth!

Also known as "Stalin's World," it resides in the wetlands of Dzukija National Park in Lithuania. The park's theme is the half-century Soviet occupation of Lithuania. That means big on education, short on amusement. The park is a two-mile trek across wooden walkways, enclosed by barbed wire fences and guard towers to help give tourists that authentic Gulag prison camp feel.

Hey, check out the adventure map!

It must be hard to choose between the glowering stone face of Lenin and the sullen, unflinching stare of Stalin. So much to do!

All of the statues represent the men and women who influenced the occupation of Lithuania, with the exception of Karl Marx. Our guess is that of the 46 sculptors who were commissioned, none could do fluffy beards. Every one of the 86 statues include a placard explaining the historical significance, which means reading, a whole lot of reading; about tyranny, death and other unspeakable horrors.

Look, it's Stalin! Erecting several monuments in his image sure will show that murdering bastard what for!

#7.

Nintendo Amusement Park: The Nerdiest Place on Earth!

This park devoted to Super Mario is still in its developmental stages, but its developing into something totally fucking insane. Stomping goombas, busting blocks and collecting coins in what looks like some fanboy's basement. Just watch this poorly narrated commercial (and note that they hired some girl to intentionally speak in Engrish, since the project is located in New York City).

In the video you see a person fitted with Mario's gloves, overalls and mustache. Oh and also his power harness. As all loyal Nintendo fans know, it was the source of Mario's abilities, but couldn't quite be made out by the poor NES graphics. Customers for the Nintendo Amusement Park however will be fitted with the harness, and be free to move wherever their heart and a motorized truss and suspension system desires.

Using state of the art, crane-game technology, a person is able to leap on to brown, googly-eyed pillows and pop-yellow balloons. This is a magnificently underwhelming experience for gamers and amusement park enthusiasts alike. For authenticity each completed ride results in a man wearing a mushroom cap telling you the princess has been moved to a different ride. Please pay another admission fee to save her.

#6.

Seagaia Ocean Dome: The Most Unnecessary Place on Earth!

The Japanese are always at the forefront of state of the art technologies. Take for example the Seagaia Ocean Dome, boasted in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest indoor water park. A great achievement from a publication that also recognizes who can put the most clothespins on their face at one time. Though, the beauty of the vacation spot is undeniable.

The dome also features waves for surfers--fun! A volcano that has hourly eruptions--spectacular! And a retractable roof that can replicate a blue sky when closed--mindfuck! In Miyazaki, Japan, this featured destination had it all. But the park did happen to have one design flaw ...

It was built less than 1,000 feet from an ocean. A real ocean. One that also has waves and sand. If you want the hourly erupting volcano and dome, then you'll have to throw some M-80s in a sandcastle from under your umbrella. The $50 admission fee for the Ocean Dome sent potential customers heading outdoors, because at those prices the ultimate indoor ocean becomes nothing more than a dirty public pool.

The losses were so great that the Dome has been closed and reopened and closed again, never becoming the money-maker investors had envisioned. Perhaps a project meant to bring the fun and wonder of the ocean to a people would go over better in a country that isn't an island.

#5.

Suoi Tien Cultural Amusement Park: The Most Disquieting Place on Earth!

Located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, this beautiful park has it all: water parks, go-karts, rides and parades. It also taps in to an overlooked theme, Buddhism. Nearly all areas of the park reflect the history and religious teachings that have been a part of the Vietnamese culture for generations. And as a bonus you never have to stray far before finding a statue's belly to rub for good luck!

The park also features Heaven Palace--a facsimile of the afterlife for those who can escape the 12 torments of hell. There's nothing like being reminded of your eminent death and eternal judgment in-between go-karts and bumper boats. But what are those 12 torments? Well, for all you potential (and probable) sinners there is a Pirates of the Caribbean-style ride, featuring animatronics that represent levels of hell. There are specific punishments for drug addicts, gamblers and adulterers. Now you can laugh nervously with the whole family while poorly made robots are punished for their earthly cravings.

If you start feeling a little anxious pondering eternity, try relaxing at the duck pond where you can feed live ducks. Except in Suoi Tien they call it Crocodile Kingdom, and instead of ducks it features over 1,500 live crocodiles.

And instead of tossing in bits of food you can tease the crocodiles with meat dangling from fishing poles.

It's what Buddha would have wanted.

#4.

Dickens World: The Most Ill-Conceived Place On Earth!

Charles Dickens was one of the most influential writers of his or any generation. And now you too can step into the filthy streets of 19th century London and experience the improper waste management and disease-ridden beggars first hand. What child wouldn't want to visit a place like this?

Besides of course, any child appearing in Dickens' novels. Although the park features a boat ride between decrepit streets and houses, it is leaning more toward a living museum than honest to goodness amusement park fun. Like Colonial Williamsburg there are actors mingling in the streets, bothering any person walking by. Because, sometimes you just want to know where a bathroom is and not hear a rehearsed 10-minute spiel about the local orphanage. Let's take a look at the promo package.

Wow! Hoop and stick, jump rope and a person being bound to a pole! The flashbacks to the largely ignored readings of high school English are at every turn!

#3.

Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park: The Copyright Infringingest Place On Earth!

China, determined to reinforce stereotypes of producing nothing but cheap knock offs, is the location for a completely bootleg theme park. Shijingshan Amusement Park has a lot of familiar faces, although park officials refer to them in not so familiar ways.

Here, for instance, is "Duck" and "Girl Cat."

Those who aren't idiots might notice that the cat has rather large, round ears, or the fact that it's a blatant copy of Minnie Mouse. Other characters can be seen throughout the park including a goofy dog, a peasant girl turned princess in glass slippers and a sleeping beauty. Disney bosses have issued numerous copyright infringement lawsuits and recently park workers destroyed the sleeping beauty statues with sledgehammers, and gave no official reason as to why.

But the fakes don't end at Disney characters. Popular Japanese cartoon characters are also seen parading around the park.

The park's owners say everything in the park is original and based off of Grimm's Fairy Tales. We're not sure about all that, but based on Snow White's ticket booth, maybe we all should give those old fairy tales another read.

In 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland was opened, a Walt Disney-licensed park under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Government. Shijingshan Amusement Park was opened in 1986 but it wasn't until Japanese bloggers began reporting about it in late 2007 that people started noticing the suspicious similarities. Minor troubling coincidences like this festival of Disney dopplegangers, that was held under a banner that read "Disney is too far, so please come to Shijingshan."

Looks like the big, round-eared cat is out of the bag.

#2.

Love Land: The Horniest Place On Earth!

This hot spot for Korean lovers and newlyweds was opened in 2004 on Cheju Island off the coast of South Korea. It is an outdoor park featuring 140 sculptures, sex education films and, what the heck, a gigantic stone penis.

After the Korean War, the island was a great place for young lovers to get away from it all, and favorable because of the warm climate. Then 2002 marked the beginning of graduates of Seoul's Hongik University starting sculptures that would be placed in the labyrinth of delicious hedonism. There really is something for everyone at Love Land. If you find mammoth cocks intimidating, try watching a mountain finger itself.

The idea of stone labia got you down? Then just enjoy sculptures of couples enjoying their partners company. Remember, it's not porn if it's carved in stone. If you're at work just tell everyone you are an art enthusiast.

The park is around the length of two soccer fields and takes approximately one hour to view all exhibits, not factoring in time it takes to furiously masturbate in the bushes. Owners hope the place will not only be seen as dirty fun but also help the inexperienced understand more about sex and pleasure. However the exhibits may still be too simplistic.

If only it were easy as turning a handle. There are a lot of empty compliments and unfulfilled promises before you get to that stage.

If you're young, horny and curious, give Love Land a try. Or you can try it if you're old, perverted and lonely. Or even if you just like fresh air accompanied by people fucking.

#1.

Bon Bon Land: The Tackiest Place On Earth!

Some amusement parks use fantasy as theme; others go for adventure. And others still, like the Danish amusement park Bon Bon Land, use the crassest visual gags possible. The concept of the park is that a candy maker creates his confections involving animals and objects, and these characters populate the nasty little world. One of the most popular rides is the "Hundeprutterutchebane", which translate to Dog-Fart-Coaster.

The shitting dog the riders encircle is Henry Hound. He's always letting out some embarrassing gas and feeling embarrassed. Henry, you're so loveable, if only there were a way to interact with you. And luckily for us there is, because at one turn of the coaster's track, riders are treated to being farted all over by Henry. Using speakers and the latest advancements in fart replication everyone leaves happy, assuming "everyone" is a mental defective. But the fun, and toilet humor, doesn't stop there. Hop on the crazy Turtle.

Or ride the carousel featuring these cute characters.

Yes, it seems everywhere you look something is about to throw up, in the act of throwing up or exposing itself. Uh oh Mr. Seagull, is there something you'd like to add to the depravity?

You rascal, shitting into the alligator's mouth, a clever ruse indeed.

The trip isn't one you'll soon forget, no matter how tight you close your eyes while damning the images burned into your memory. Watch these tourists visit to Bon Bon Land and enjoy the sights (cow titties) and sounds (dog farts). Keep an eye out for the exciting "self operated" rides. Exciting because you could die!

Amusement parks need to always meet one goal, make the customer happy. If the Danish people consider topless cattle and huge piles of dog shit fun, then they better be the biggest tits and tightest-wound shit piles possible. Excellence is all a customer can demand, and that's what Bon Bon Land delivers. Tacky, vulgar excellence.

To find out about some countries that are about the size of an amusement park, check out The The Insane Histories Behind the World's 6 Tiniest Nations or, check out a video of Rick Astley abusing a child. Well, sort of.

Hot for Teacher: Top 18 Sexiest Sex Offenders

2008-02-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

It has to be said: female school teachers are the new male Catholic priests.

Sexual offenses committed by female teachers is at its peak, much like the libidos of the accused. While male teachers are (rightfully) lambasted for their sexual misconduct, women seem to get off much easier - literally and figuratively. And why, you ask? The answer is simple: older women seducing younger men is part of our culture, like it or not. Just ask Mrs. Robinson, or Stifler’s Mom.

South Park touched on the subject in “Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy,” where Kyle’s little brother Ike has an affair with his Kindergarten teacher. The cops in the episode have a field day with the case, exclaiming “niiiiiiiiice” after hearing about the teacher’s naughty secret. Their point, however blurry, was well taken: everybody loves a sexed-up authoritative figure, within reason.

My point and solution? Horny teachers should wait, ever so patiently, until their prey graduates. If you’re into kids, you derserve to be locked up; if you’re into being the older lady for kicks, play your cards right, don’t break the law, and have at it like a jackrabbit.

We here at COED do not condone sexual misconduct by any means, unless said means consist of hot, willing and able teachers getting down with young studs. Just kidding…?

Check out 18 of America’s Sexiest Sex Offenders after the jump and vote!

Cameo Patch
Age at time of offense: 29
Location: Toole County, UT

Occupation: Substitute Teacher

Lover: 17 year-old male student

Crime: Performing oral sex on a minor. Charged with unlawful sexual conduct and lewdness

Sentence: $2000 fine, 36 months probation and ordered to obtain a psycho-sexual evaluation.

Angela Comer
Age at time of offense: 26
Location: Kentucky

Occupation: Middle School Math Teacher

Lover: 14 year-old male student

Crime: Fled the country with a 14-year-old lover and her four-year-old son.

Sentence: Indicted by a grand jury in Kentucky on felony custodial interference, two counts of third-degree sodomy and four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor relating to sexual acts.

Danielle Walls
Age at time of offense: 25
Location: San Diego, CA

Occupation: High School History Teacher

Lover: 16 year-old male student

Crime: 10 to 25 sexual encounters with a minor, supplying drugs and alcohol to a minor. Pled guilty to multiple counts of unlawful sexual contact and furnishing alcohol to a minor in addition giving a controlled substance to a minor.

Sentence: 1 year in jail, 5 years six months probation.

Christine Scarlett
Age at time of offense: 39
Location: Strongsville, OH

Occupation: Art Teacher

Lover: 17 year-old male student

Crime: Scarlett allegedly held a win a date with a teacher contest, and took Bradigan to Dairy Queen. Bradigan said Scarlett then made a move on him in the parking lot of a Strongsville mall. Bradigan says a sexual relationship followed.

Sentence: Sentencing yet to take place.

Amber Jennings
Age at time of offense: 30
Location: Dudley, MA

Occupation: High School English Teacher

Lover: 16 year-old male student

Crime: Emailing nude pictures and video of herself to a former student. Pled guilty to “disseminating harmful materials to a minor”.

Sentence: 2 years probation

Rebecca Dawn Bogard
Age at time of offense: 27
Location: Biloxi, MI

Occupation: High School Teacher

Lover: 16 year-old male student

Crime: Sent explicit text messages and trysted with the victim in her white Jaguar, which bore the license plate “GRRRRR.”

Sentence: Facing felony sexual battery charges.

Mary Kay Letourneau
Age at time of offense: 34
Burien, WA

Occupation: Elementary School Teacher

Lover: 13 year-old male student

Crime: Having sex with a minor.

Sentence: Pled guilty to two counts of second-degree statutory rape and was sentenced to 89 months in prison.

Fact: Letourneau was her victims 3rd grade tacher and began their sexual relationship when she taught him again in 6th grade when he was 13 years old. Letourneau gave birth to his love child while serving her 89 month prision sentence. Letourneau was released from prision in 2004 and was married to her victim (now 21 years old) one year later.

Pamela Smart
Age at time of offense: 23
Location: Derry, NH

Occupation: Media Services Coordinator

Lover: 15 year-old male

Crime: Seduced 15-year-old William “Billy” Flynn and threatening to leave him unless he killed her husband.

Sentence: Charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Note: Nicole Kidman portrayed Pamela Smart in the movie To Die For.

Janelle Batkins
Age at the time of crime: 42
Location: Clinton, MI

Occupation: French Teacher

Lover: 17 year-old male student

Crime: Had sex with underage student at her home over a several month period.

Sentence: Charged with two counts of CSC and if convicted she will serve jail time.

Loni Folks
Age at time of offense: 24
Location: Petal, Mississippi.

Occupation: 5th Grade Teacher

Lover: 16 year-old male student

Crime: Arrested on Jan 28, 2008 for having sexual relations with a minor.

Sentence: Charges pending.

Sandra Geisel
Age at time of offense: 42
Location: Colonie, NY

Occupation: English Teacher

Lover: 4 students incuding a 16 year-old student.

Crime: Having sex with 4 students including a minor in the backseat of her car.

Sentence: Albany County District Attorney’s office filed two felony rape charges.

Heather Shelton
Age at time of offense: 22
Location: Buncombe, NC

Occupation: Teacher’s Assistant

Lover: 18-year-old student

Crime: In North Carolina it is a felony for any teacher to have sex with a student regardless of the age of the student.

Sentence: Fired from her job

Carrie McCandless
Age at time of offense: 29
Location: Jefferson County, CO

Occupation: High School English Teacher
Lover: 17 year-old male student

Crime: Having sex with a minor during a school sponsored camping trip to the Rockies. Pled guilty to tampering with evidence and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Sentence: 45 days in days in prison, 5 years probation, 1 - two year deferred sentence, 1 – 4 year deferred sentence and 10 year registration as a sex offender

Odd Fact: Carrie’s husband was the school’s principal.

Amy McElhenney
Age at time of offense: 25
Location: Austin, TX

Occupation: High School Spanish Teacher

Lover: 18-year-old student

Crime: Charged with having an improper relationship with a student, a second-degree felony.

Sentence: A conviction on a second-degree felony could result in up to 20 years in prison

Notes: Competed in the 2002 Miss Texas pageant after she was crowned Miss Bexar County.

Pamela Rogers Turner
Age at time of offense: 27
Location: McMinniville, TN

Occupation: Elementary School Teacher, Physical Education and Basketball Coach

Lover: 13 year-old male student

Crime: Having vaginal and oral sex with a minor on more than a dozen occasions at school, her home and the teens’ home. She was later arrested for sending nude photos, sex videos and text messages to a minor and continuing communications with the boy through blogs and a website after her original arrest. She was ultimately charged with 4 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and violation of probation

Sentence: 270 days in prison, an 8-year suspended sentence, 7 years 3 months probation, register as a sex offender and surrender her teaching certificate for life.

[click image to see gallery]

Debra Lafave
Age at time of offense: 25
Location: Tampa, FL

Occupation: Middle School Teacher

Lover: 14 year-old male student

Crime: Numerous sexual encounters with a teen in her classroom, her home and her SUV. Charged with 4 felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition.

Sentence: 3 years house arrest, 7 years probation and lifetime registration as a sex offender who cannot work near children

Odd Fact: Nick Carter claims to have lost his virginity to Ms. Lafave

Check out Debra’s super hot gallery here.

— Honerable Mention —
*Neither of the two below have been convicted of a sex crime*

[click image to see gallery]

Erica Chevillar
Age: 26
Location: Boca Raton, FL

Occupation: 10th grade social studies teacher

Notes: Posed for the US National Bikini Team and resigned rather than facing punishment when parents in the school district saw the pictures online. After resigning Chevillar posed for Playboy and joined WWE’s Diva search.

Check out Erica’s super hot Playboy and US Bikini Team pics here.

Tamara Hoover
Age : 29
Location: Austin, TX

Occupation: Art teacher

Crime: Allegedly being the subject of explicit photos that had been posted on Flickr, a public photograph sharing website.

Sentence: Agreed to resign from her position at Austin High School in Texas and received a $14K settlement from the school.

The Greatest Nintendo Games of All Times - Playable Directly In Your Browser!

2008-02-27T11:04:00.002-08:00

1.	Super Mario Brothers
2.	Super Mario Brothers 3
3.	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
4.	Tetris
5.	Legend Of Zelda
6.	1942
7.	Double Dragon
8.	Super Mario Brothers 2
9.	Bubble Bobble
10.	Bomberman
11.	Dr. Mario
12.	Contra
13.	ExciteBike
14.	Mario Is Missing
15.	Galaga
16.	Kirby's Adventure
17.	Paperboy 2
18.	Duck Tales 2
19.	Mega Man 2
20.	R.C. Pro-Am
21.	Tecmo Super Bowl
22.	Simpsons - Bart Vs. Space Mutants
23.	Battletoads & Double Dragon
24.	Battle Tank
25.	Lifeforce
26.	Ghostbusters
27.	CastleVania
28.	Skate Or Die
29.	Spy Vs. Spy
30.	Batman
31.	Metal Gear
32.	Adv. Dungeon & Dragon - Heros of Lance
33.	Blades Of Steel
34.	Metroid
35.	Rampage
36.	American Gladiators
37.	Donkey Kong 3
38.	WWF - Wrestlemania Challenge
39.	Marble Madness
40.	Simpsons - Bart Vs. The World
41.	Monopoly
42.	Legend Of Zelda 2: Adventure Of Link
43.	Contra Force
44.	Family Feud
45.	1943 - The Battle Of Midway
46.	Tecmo Bowl
47.	F-15 Strike Eagle
48.	Ironman Stewart's Super Off-Road
49.	Ghosts N' Goblins
50.	Ms. Pac-Man
51.	Back To The Future
52.	Yoshi
53.	Commando
54.	Tennis
55.	Pac-Man
56.	Jurassic Park
57.	Adventure Island
58.	Mega Man
59.	Micro Machines
60.	Tiny Toon Adventures
61.	Ice Hockey
62.	Paperboy
63.	R.B.I. Baseball 3
64.	California Games
65.	All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros
66.	Adv. Dungeon & Dragon - Pool of Radiance
67.	Bomberman II
68.	Double Dare
69.	Pro Wrestling
70.	Kid Icarus
71.	Adv. Dungeon & Dragon - Dragon Strike
72.	CastleVania 2: Simon's Quest
73.	Darkwing Duck
74.	Bionic Commando
75.	10-Yard Fight
76.	Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing
77.	Adventures of Lolo
78.	Simpsons - Bartman Meets Radioactive Man
79.	Guerilla War
80.	Mega Man 6
81.	Donkey Kong Jr.
82.	Kung Fu
83.	Arkanoid
84.	Gradius
85.	Mighty Final Fight
86.	Goal! Two
87.	Adventures In The Magic Kingdom
88.	Mega Man 4
89.	Batman Returns
90.	Mario Brothers
91.	Yoshi's Cookie
92.	Mega Man 5
93.	Conflict
94.	Lemmings
95.	Donkey Kong Jr. no Sanssu Asobi
96.	Q*Bert
97.	Mega Man 3
98.	Ghostbusters 2
99.	Adventure Island II
100.	Top Gun

New National Polls: Obama gaining ground

2008-02-27T11:04:00.001-08:00

Two new national polls show Barack Obama surging against Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In a New York Times-CBS News poll, 54 percent of Democratic primary voters say they would prefer the party to nominate Barack Obama while 38 percent prefer Hillary Clinton. That is a sharp shift in Obama's favor from the previous poll in late January, when voters were split evenly, 41 percent each for Obama and Clinton.

The poll found similar swings in Obama's favor on other questions. For example, asked how they would vote if the race were between Obama and Republican John McCain, 50 percent said they would support Obama to 38 percent for McCain, while respondents were split evenly, at 46 percent each, when the choice was between McCain and Clinton. Obama gained ground within nearly every sector, the poll found.

In a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll, Obama leads Clinton by a narrow margin, 46 percent to 43 percent, whereas Clinton had had a 5-point lead among Democratic primary voters in early February. Obama achieved that swing by advancing on Clinton in several demographic sectors, including white men, liberals and middle-income earners, the AP reported.

The AP poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, and the Times poll 3 percentage points. Those margins increased to about 5 percentage points when questions were asked of Democrats or Republicans only.

Funny Computing Image: You computer is at risk

2008-02-27T11:03:00.001-08:00

A Skype user received a message about security problem with his Windows machine. The funny part, is he was running Linux!
Click the image for bigger.

Comcast Blocking: First the Internet — Now the Public

2008-02-27T11:02:00.001-08:00

There was huge turnout at today’s public hearing in Boston on the future of the Internet. Hundreds of concerned citizens arrived to speak out on the importance of an open Internet. Many took the day off from work — standing outside in the Boston cold — to see the FCC Commissioners. But when they reach the door, they’re told they couldn’t come in.

The size of the crowd is evidence that many Americans don’t want giant corporations like Comcast and Verzion to decide what we can do and where we can go on the Internet.

Comcast’s sleeper cell

But will the FCC hear these voices? For many people who showed up on time for the hearing, apparently not.

Comcast — or someone who really, really likes Comcast — evidently bused in its own crowd. These seat-warmers, were paid to fill the room, a move that kept others from taking part.

[Update: Comcast admits to paying people to stack the room in their favor. Read the report.]

They arrived en masse some 90 minutes before the hearing began and occupied almost every available seat, upon which many promptly fell asleep (picture above).

Seat warmers

One told us that he was “just getting paid to hold someone’s seat.”

>> Listen to the audio

He added that he had no idea what the meeting was about.

If he was holding someone else’s seat, he never gave it up.

Many of this early crowd had mysteriously matching yellow highlighters stuck in their lapels.

Comcast payoff

We also photographed them outside the venue being handed papers by an organizer who had been seen earlier talking with several of the Comcast people at the hearing.

Here’s why this is a problem. Comcast clearly paid disinterested people to fill seats. This barred interested citizens from entering.

More than 100 people who arrived at the appointed time for the hearing were turned away by campus police because the room was already full.

Barred: The interested public

The Cambridge hearing is part of the FCC’s ongoing investigation into Comcast’s blocking of Internet traffic. But there’s much more at stake. We are at a critical juncture, where it will be decided whether we have a closed Internet controlled by a small handful of giant corporations, or an open Internet controlled by the people who use it.

Comcast wants the former — to dictate which Web sites and services go fast, slow or don’t load at all. And they’re backed by the other would-be gatekeepers at AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner.

Tell the FCC to stop Comcast from blocking Internet traffic and to permanently protect Net Neutrality: http://www.savetheinternet.com/comcast.php

garfield minus garfield

2008-02-27T11:00:00.001-08:00

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life?
Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against lonliness and methamphetamine addiction in a quiet American suburb.

Motivators

2008-02-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Man Records Phishing Call

2008-02-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

A man in Virginia who apparently likes to record suspicious phone calls captured a very funny 10-minute talk with the world's clumsiest phisher who called his house trying to get his bank account number. His local news station reports, "Howard says he recorded it because he wanted to help people by putting it on the news."

Update: A lot of people were having trouble with the linked wma file, so we've got the full audio after the jump.

We love this call partly because of the war of accents, with Howard Beasley's slow Virginia drawl going head-to-head against what sounds like a young Indian man— we like to pretend Howard is a cartoon basset hound and the phisher is a cartoon weasel.

Howard Beasley told the caller he was being recorded, but the man didn't hang up.
The caller said, "I'm a representative of the United States Banking commission and by mistake we took $481 out of your checking account.", says Howard Beasley.

Howard Beasley started recording.

Howard: The government cannot take money out of your account. So I know this is nothing but a scam.

For ten minutes, an extremely persistent man tried everything he could think of to get Howard's account number, the man said to give back the money.

Caller: What's your bank account number?
Howard: If you got it out, you've got the number.
Caller: Please verify me your account number.
Howard: No way.
Caller: Please verify me your account number.
Howard: No way.
Caller: You don't want the money? You don't want your money?
Howard: I don't want to be scammed.
Caller: Sir, you are not a scam. You have no right to talk to me like that.
Howard: I can tell you to take the $480 dollars and shove it up your *** that's what I can tell you.

The tape continues to roll as the caller spits out Howard's address and threatens to pay him an unwelcome visit.

Caller: I'm just coming within two days with two FBI agents, OK.
Howard: Well, you come down here with two FBI agents.
Howard: I'll have them same two FBI agents on you.
Caller: OK, you just wait and watch. I'm coming within two days.
Howard: Well, you bring 'em here. I've got a 357. I'll put your name on it.

Another brilliant moment: about three and a half minutes in, his wife calls out, "Who are you talking to!?" right after he tells the guy he has a 357. Then she starts yelling at the scammer that her husband has a heart condition. We're pretty sure the scammer had no idea what he was in for when he called this number.

(Thanks to Nicole!)

Speed Up Windows Vista

2008-02-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

The flash and polish of Windows Vista seduced you, but so far the glamorous interface is just sucking the life out of your PC. Fear not, this guide has everything you need to turn Vista into the beautiful *and* speedy OS you were dreaming of.

Keep in mind though, that, while these tips can help you speed up Windows and recover hard drive space, you aren't going to see the sort of speed boost you'd get from upgrading your hardware. If you're unhappy, for instance, with the speed of Vista on a machine where Windows XP used to scream, these tips will help. But you might want to consider a new graphics card, more RAM and perhaps even a faster processor.

Clean House

Part of what slows Vista down is the number of secondary applications running in the background and hogging RAM. An essential step to speeding up Vista is getting rid of the things you don't need.

Turn Off Unnecessary Services

Services are background processes that run silently without you ever knowing about them. Because Vista takes the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to what it loads on boot, there are likely some unnecessary services running in the background.

To get rid of them go to Start > Run, type services.msc and hit Return. Double-click on the service you want to get rid of and change the startup type to Disable.

Some examples of services you may not need: Secondary Logon, Remote Registry, Computer Browser, KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator, Windows Error Reporting, Tablet PC Input Service and Distributed Link Tracking Client. There are dozens more. Sift through them and run a few web searches to see if you need all of them.

Unclutter Your Hard Drive

Like most people, you probably have a number of third-party programs eating up hard drive space. When it comes to files it's your call, but for getting rid of programs we recommend the free application CCleaner which is faster and much more thorough than Vista's default Add/Remove application.

Improve Startup Times

Whenever Windows starts it automatically loads a number of programs, many of which you may not need. The System Configuration Utility and Windows Defender can both be used to control what programs auto-start in Vista.

To disabling auto-start applications with the System Configuration Utility

Open up msconfig (use the Vista Start Menu's Instant Search feature: just press the Windows key and type 'System' and the hit return).
Select the Startup tab.
Uncheck any items that you do not want to auto-load and click OK.

To disabling auto-start applications with Windows Defender

Open Windows Defender
Click on the Tools in the top menu bar.
Click on Software Explorer.
Hit Show for All Users.
Select an application and then click either Remove or Disable.

Defragment Your Hard Drive

Fragmentation happens when the computer writes files to disk without keeping everything together in one spot. Thus if you just saved a large image you've been working on in Photoshop, part of it might be near the middle of the disk and part of it might be at the end, which means it takes longer for the disk to find it. Bringing those disparate parts together is what's known as defragmenting.

Defragmentation was once the go-to solution for all speed problems in Windows. But Vista actually defragments your drive automatically in the background. In fact, the system is configured to defrag your hard drive once a week by default.

The problem with Vista's defragmentation routine is that unless you frequently install and uninstall programs and constantly move files around, once a week is probably overkill, and when Vista is defragmenting you'll see a performance hit. We suggest turning off the scheduler and doing it by hand.

To manually defragment your boot drive, open My Computer and right-click the disk you want to defragment. Select Properties and then click the Tools tab where you'll see the Defragment Now option. Just click Defragment and wait for the process to finish.

You'll may notice that Vista did away with many of the nicer features in XP's defragmenting program. If you'd like more advanced feedback try out the free Disk Defrag from Auslogics, which gives you a nice drive map and other advanced features.

A proper, intelligent automatic defragmenter that can run in the background utilizing only free system resources and quietly defragmenting when required is the best option, no matter which piece of software you choose. It's far more convenient, time-saving and efficient than obsolete scheduled or manual defragmentation.

Use ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost is one of the more appealing features in Vista. Put simply, it uses a solid state memory disk as an extra disk memory cache.

To take advantage of ReadyBoost, find the fastest USB flash drive you can find and plug it in. AutoPlay will pop up a dialog offering to use it for ReadyBoost. Just enable it and you're done.

Microsoft suggests that you use a USB drive roughly the same size as the amount of RAM you have.

ReadyBoost data is encrypted, so if someone snatches your flash drive, they won't be able to read your data.

Tip: Don't expect miracles from ReadyBoost, and keep in mind that it is not an alternative to a memory upgrade. Rather, it caches disk reads on the fly and can often speed up data access. It won't help at all if you're short of Vista's minimum RAM requirements. Buying more RAM is always a better alternative to running ReadyBoost if you're looking for long-term performance gains.

Use vLite

To take a radical approach to make Vista faster, you can use the free application vLite. The software, which was created by a developer named Dino Nuhagic, claims to reduce Vista's footprint by as much as one half. vLite strips out many of Vista's default system components like Windows Media Player, Windows Mail, Windows Photo Viewer, MSN components, Wallpapers and SlideShow.

Using vLite will save gigabytes of disk space, but the changes it makes to your machine are permanent, so use it with caution. You can also take solace in the fact that many of the applications vLite removes can be replaced with free downloads or web apps.

Speed Up Vista on Older Machines

Vista's snazzy UI design is easy on the eye but hard on the processor. Consequently, older machines may lag. But there's no need to rush out and buy new hardware. Give these tips a try first and see if they improve your Vista experience.

Get rid of Aero -- The Aero interface is pretty nice, but it has demanding graphics requirements. Vista will disable it by default if your graphics card isn't up to snuff, but even if it is, you might find the speed tradeoff unacceptable. Head to the Window Color and Appearance panel (right click the desktop and choose personalize) and click the link to "Open classic appearance properties for more color options." Select an option other than Aero and you're done.

For a less radical option just turn off the "glass transparency" setting which seems to be the source of much of Aero's memory usage.

Another less-drastic solution is to turn off the animations and other visual effects.

Disable the Sidebar -- Widgets are memory hogs and getting rid of them will help speed up Vista.

Glam Raises Another $85 Million

2008-02-25T09:56:00.000-08:00

California Based glam.com has raises $85 Million from Hubert Burda Media, GLG Partners, Duff Ackerman & Goodrich, Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Accel, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Information Capital.

Company is not into a profilt and looking forward to raise more millions.This round was $65 millions in cash and rest in debt.
Glam Media, Inc. is a privately held company that runs a network of more than 400 lifestyle websites and blogs, providing an advertisement platform for fashion-oriented brands.

Glam Media is best known for Glam.com, a style website targeted at women and having high visitor numbers.

it was founded in 2003 by former NetObjects CEO Samir Arora together with a group of veteran software engineers who aleady worked together at NetObjects, Inc., amongst them Raj Narayan and Fernando Ruarte.In October 2007,

Glam Media had more than 25 million unique visitors a month in the U.S., reaching reaching #23 on comScore 100 list, up from #34 in August 2007 and overtaking other women-oriented fashion sites like iVillage or AOL Living. January 2008 saw a light decline in ranking to #28 with a steady 24.6 million visitors.

Getty Images Is On a New Way

2008-02-25T09:46:00.000-08:00

Stock photo firm getty images is selling itself to PE firm Hellman & Friedman. The amount has been disclosed and it's $2.4 billion or $34.00 per share.The intial estimation was quite low , was at around $1.5-1.6B.

Getty based in Seattle, was founded in 1995,the site has around 4 million monthly unique visitors( as they says).Jupitermedia was also in the news for the takeover.

Mixx Raises $2 Million By InterSouth Partners

2008-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

Digg Competitor Mixx has raised $2 Million funding from the existing investor InterSouth Partners.

Mixx offers a social voting system like digg . Mixx was launched in sep 2007 and has raised total $ 3.5 M as to date.

I personally feel that this website is giving a good competition to digg. They have already launched a feature of duplicate content earlier then digg and just for an update they have some good plans :) for the future.

This is My first Post....

2008-02-25T09:29:00.003-08:00

This is My first Post....

and i hope that i would continue to post more..:)