| Inside Iverson's block party
Before surrendering to the authorities Tuesday morning, Allen Iverson threw one last shindig for family and friends at his house Sunday night. So, what happened that evening at the estate of the Sixers star? The following timeline was gathered with the help of surveillance cameras, audio bugs and eyewitness accounts. .
kajeet Introduces New Handset Lineup and Expanded Retail Locations for ...
BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- kajeet announces the latest handsets in its growing line of phones for tweens and teens: the ultra-sleek SANYO Katana(R) II, as well as the stylish Samsung m300, which recently made its debut. This holiday season, families can find kajeet at more than 3000 select retail locations nationwide including: Best Buy, Target, Toys "R" Us, Longs Drugs and Limited Too, as well as online at kajeet.com. Whether calling, texting, instant messaging or picture messaging, kids will love these phones that come packed with the features they want most: flip-phone styling, a camera, fashion colors and much more. And, the kajeet(R) pay-as-you-go service ensures that there are never any surprise bills. Kids and parents get a simple and affordable rate plan, along with easy-to-use tools that help them determine who pays for what; who can or cannot call or text the phone; and, what time of day the phone can and can't be used.
Jury-rigged, jerry-built: Maybe a problem?
The word had popped up the week before in The New York Times Magazine article, "The Sleep-Industrial Complex," all about the mattress and pharmaceutical industries. The piece included a reference to a man who was such an enthusiast for Sleep Number Beds that he "jury-rigged something similar for his bulldog." On the subject of exactly how the dog expressed its preference for a particular Sleep Number, the author was silent. Jury-rigging is a term with nautical origins. "Rig" is one of those little words so short that it contains nearly infinite meanings (an early form of nanotechnology). One of its meanings is "the arrangement of masts, sails, etc., on a vessel." In the days of the tall ships, when a vessel on the high seas lost a mast in a storm or a battle, the ship's carpenter would fashion what was known as a jury mast from spare parts down in the hold.
Software Windows Vista SP1 Performance: Mixed Results
On the other side of things, CNET reports the SP1 update has somehow created a performance degradation in copy times to external USB 2.0 hard drives. Something is going wrong in Windows Vista SP1 during USB copies, and the issue is currently under investigation. Meanwhile Windows Vista SP1 takes a 40 to 50 percent performance hit in this type of file copies, when compared to base Windows Vista. Testers did comment on SP1's rather good job in delivering bug fixes. This leads to a more stable environment. Still, feelings towards SP1 will probably depend heavily on users' expectations as it delivers a mixed bag of performance changes. .
Engineered Mosquitoes Could Wipe Out Dengue Fever
Scientists at a British biotech company said they have evidence that their genetically modified mosquitoes, which are programmed for sudden, early death, can control the spread of dengue fever. Dengue is carried by mosquitoes and is the scourge of urban areas in the developing world, much as malaria is in rural regions. The company, Oxitec, said it can decimate mosquito populations by breeding genetically modified male mosquitoes, then releasing them to mate with wild females. Their offspring contain lethal genes that kill them young, before they can reproduce. Company officials told Wired News that their latest test results show that the genetically modified bugs can breed just as well as wild ones. "We will be able to control dengue through controlling the mosquitoes that transmit it, especially in large urban areas," said the company's chief scientist Luke Alphey.
Rock Stars in the Greenroom
I wasn't able to spend much time the greenroom today because I was on-set filling in for Gretchen. So, I temporarily deputized Maureen (fellow Jersey girl/make-up artist extraordinaire) and Jeisohn (famed hair stylist) to record all the behind-the-scenes action. Here's what they tell me: Brian Welch has a lot of tattoos. (Actually, I could see that for myself). The former lead guitarist of the heavy-metal band Korn is covered head-to-toe in them. Believe it or not, he got most of them after quitting the band, quitting drugs and finding God. Brian told Maureen that his favorite one is a picture of his daughter Jennea on his left arm. It took three months to get all of the ink done on that tat ... but he says that wasn't even the most PAINFUL one. That would be the flames on the top of his hands.
Identity theft a 'very real' problem
Even though information can be difficult to safeguard in some instances, there are many other situations where a thief can take advantage of someone's trust or carelessness. Thieves can find personal information through mail theft and dumpster diving, he said.
Others simply look over shoulders, or use camera phones to photograph financial information at the bank or ATM.
Many people fall victim to phishing, Hamp said, where a thief will create an e-mail that looks like correspondence with a person's bank, asking to verify personal information.
Secured sites have lock icons at the bottom of the screen," Hamp said. "If you are on a secure site, the (icon) will be locked."
Hamp said any financial site that asks current customers about their financial information is a scam.
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