Malaysia a dumping ground for problematic foreign students

Malaysia is not a "dumping ground" for foreign students who have problems and are not qualified to study here, Parliament was told today. BUT I say (and many will agreed with me) that Malaysia is a dumping ground for problematic foreign students.

Malaysia education system is one of the lousiest in the region and the Education Ministers keeping changing the system and policies to suit their own taste. Almost all the best students (if they are non-Malay) further their studies overseas. The local universities are filled with non-Malay students who cannot afford overseas stint and half-qualified Malay students (to fill the entry quota). Having said that, foreign students who study in Malaysia lived in a luxurious lifestyle and has no reason of not affording European or US universities unless they have problem or not qualified. So for them, Malaysia is their destination.

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Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Dr Hou Kok Chung, said the government does not compromise on the quality of foreign students it allows to study in institutes of higher education here.

"In that regard, the government encourages institutes of higher education to
take in foreign students who are under government sponsorship or are being sponsored by an organisation.

"This is because such students are committed and have quality," he said when replying to a supplementary question by Datuk Ismail Abd Muttalib (BN-Maran) in Parliament today.

Ismail had asked the Minister of Higher Education to state the number of foreign students who were studying here, including in international schools.

Ismail also wanted to know the number of offences committed by foreign students over the last five years.

Hou said that as of Dec 31, 2009, Malaysia took in 80,700 foreign students from more than 150 countries and that of that number 22,400 were in public institutes of higher education and 58,300 were in private institutes.

"This means that the Ministry of Higher Education has overtaken its target of 80,000 foreign students in 2010. The data from the Education Ministry shows that the enrollment of foreign students in 51 international schools was 16,600," he said.

He said, in general, the number of cases of crime committed by foreign students was low.

Based on Royal Malaysian Police statistics for 2009, the number of serious crime cases involving foreign students was 17, namely six cases of criminal threat, four cases of rioting, three cases of theft, two cases of molestation, one case of rape and one case of causing hurt.

On another question, Hou said the ministry had taken several steps to address matters related to foreign students like updating criteria related to applications of foreign students into private institutes of higher education.

"Besides that, up till Nov 30, 2009, 29 private institutes of higher education have had their licences revoked by the Home Ministry for taking in students like for courses that were not professionally accredited, those who were not operating in registered premises, and which did not have a foreign students affairs unit," he said.

He said private institutes of higher education should also inform the Immigration Department and the ministry about students who did not attend classes for three consecutive days; or had less than 80 per cent attendance; a CPGA of less than two; or failed examinations; as well as ended their education and returned home.

He said the ministry was also in the process of using the "no objection certificate" or NOC, a support certificate that established a student's nationality.

"The ministry will also place new conditions that private students would be obliged to place a deposit as guarantee that the said student was capable of doing his or her studies here," he said.

Replying to Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman (PAS-Pendang), Hou said all foreign students needed to be adjusted to Malaysian culture.

He said the ministry had also ensured that all private institutes of higher education stuck to the 20:80 ratio to ensure a truly "Malaysian" atmosphere to allow foreign students to rapidly adjust to this country.

Namewee seeks funding for 1Malaysia film

Controversial Malaysian artiste NAMEWEE is one gutsy fellow who doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything. He’s made fun, lambasted and criticised everything – from the high crime rate in Johor Baru, a certain power utility company and even Chinese New Year songs on his controversial yet entertaining songs and online YouTube music videos.

Read also Free 15Malaysia Short Films Portraying Malaysian Life

This time around though, the 27-year-old Muar-born artiste (whose real name is Wong Meng Chee) is looking to expand his horizons beyond YouTube – he’s planning to make a movie.

And not just any movie; he wants to make one about 1Malaysia. And as usual, Namewee is taking the hardest and most controversial route possible.

During a press conference at Berjaya Time Square, Kuala Lumpur, last week, he announced plans to apply for a grant from the National Film Development Corporation’s (Finas) Creative Industry Fund (which allocates RM200mil to finance film, drama, music and other creative projects).

“I think it’s great that under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia initiative, the government has allocated RM200mil for the movie, art and entertainment industry,” he said. “However, many of my friends in the industry had advised me that it is impossible for Chinese movies to get the grant, because the script needs at least 60% Malay content to qualify.

“However, I am confident that my script meets all of Finas’ criteria, and I want to show everyone that no matter what race I am or language I use, I still deserve support from the government just like any other hardworking Malaysian citizen,” he said, adding that he will be submitting a Malay translation of the script, and is also planning to shoot a short documentary film of the entire application process to be posted online.

Although Namewee remained tight-lipped about the storyline, he said it would be like an extended but “cleaner” version of his popular videos on YouTube.

“Of course, there won’t be so much swearing in the movie. I want to present my version of 1Malaysia – a more realistic 1Malaysia story,” he said. “I believe that my presentation style will be well-accepted by the younger generation of Malaysians.”

Namewee first made headlines with his infamous Negarakuku YouTube music video in 2007, which caused a national outcry over its sampling of the national anthem.

Since returning home from his studies in Taiwan, he has released a DVD documentary called I Want To Go Home, written the theme songs for Singaporean movie Where Got Ghost?, which was part of the acclaimed online 15Malaysia short film project (appearing in Ho Yuhang’s Potong Saga and Benji Lim and Bahir Yeusuff’s Meter.)

He doesn’t believe the past controversies he had kicked up would or even should affect his chances of getting the grant.

“If they want to consider such factors, then it is out of my hands. However, I believe that my story conveys a very positive message about 1Malaysia, and that I have followed all their rules and regulations,” he said, adding that even if he does not get the grant, he still intends to go ahead with the film somehow.

Wee stressed that by publicising his intentions, he did not mean to challenge Finas into giving him the grant, but to prove to Chinese-Malaysians that even Chinese movies can get support, too.

How to tidy your online reputation

Are you concerned about your offline and online reputation? While good reputation takes time to be acknowledged, bad reputation can spread like wildfire, especially in this Internet age.

All it takes is a few vicious keystrokes. In a flash, a disgruntled customer or sly industrial saboteur can slur your business online - and they do. The web is awash with negative material that can rumple feathers and dent reputations.

In a reflection, Yelp - a top review site for restaurants among other small businesses - is being sued over toxic user comments. Online acrimony is so dire and widespread that ex-techno-utopian Jaron Lanier propounds the view that the world wide web has soured.

Until someone unplugs the web, the vitriol will remain. So you must learn how to cleanse the coverage - push the bad press below the first pages in Google, Yahoo and MSN - and clearly portray your brand as you want it to be seen: a practice called "Googlewashing".

Instead of countering critics and risking flame wars, a Googlewash image clean-up campaign centres on spreading good publicity.

"From my own experience, the best strategy is to fill the internet with awesome stories that float upwards in search results," says online communications strategist Will Marlow.

"Start today," Marlow says.

Write a daily blog and promote your business.

Get active on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and let those results get indexed by search engines. Then reach out to your favorite customers to review your business. That way, any smear will be counterbalanced.

If you want to wipe all digital dirt from the surface of the web, optimise 30 sites, advises Rutgers University social media wizard Dr Ahmed Gomaa. That may sound hard. But you can start a site in minutes via a hub such as Google Sites, WordPress or Sendible, embedding a keyword for your business in the URL (web address).

For in-depth insight into how to run a thorough clean-up campaign, read our list of Googlewashing tips and tricks, which tap Dr Gomaa's wisdom. Master the art of taking the sting from traumatic PR.

Bury the bad news before it buries you - how to tidy your online reputation

Seven secrets

1. Know your enemy

Manually go over every link for a keyword for your business that leads to negative results. Identify the negative publicity and keep a record, deploying web trends for up-to-the-minute data and perspective on your website.

2. Think pictures

Sow your keywords and company multimedia content on sites that win massive traffic. For instance, try the photosharing site, Flickr, which tangos with Yahoo. Also try YouTube, which Google likes. Alongside the title of any picture or video you post, embed a keyword. Comment on your content using optimised keywords, and link back to your mothership small business website.

3. Blog vigorously

Create blogs that feature keywords that you want to optimise for, and update often. Sincerely try to identify and build rapport with the bloggers in your community. To pinpoint the "influencers", fire up Google Blog search engine or Technorati.

4. Ping the changes

Every time that you post on your blog, remember to "ping" - let the blogosphere know. A good tool, Ping-o-matic, alerts key blog engines.

5. Link strategically

Link back from your website to others. The websites you target should have a Google Page ranking of at least 4/10 and, ideally, praise your service or products.

6. Move on

If you comment on or link back to negative pages, that will only strengthen them. So, forget that. Focus instead on the 30 or so sites that you need to push to the top of Google and other heavyweight search engines.

7. All together

Recruit every person in your firm who knows a bit about websites to pursue these strategies. If you run a mid-size company, organise a contest with, say, a free iPod as a prize for every blog an employee or affiliate creates that makes Google's first three pages.


Source: theage.com.au

Shaoxing, China is a city of hackers

A CITY in eastern China has been identified as the world capital of cyber-espionage by an American internet security company.

Symantec traced 12 billion emails in a study which showed that a higher number of “targeted attacks” on computers come from China than previously thought.

Researchers for Symantec found almost 30% of “malicious” emails were sent from China and that 21.3% came from the city of Shaoxing alone. They were able to identify key targets for the hackers as experts in Asian defence policy and human rights activists, strongly suggesting state involvement.

Symantec is assisting the investigation into suspected hacking attacks on Google, which closed its website in China last week rather than censor itself on behalf of the ministry of state security.

Cyber-espionage uses emails sent in small volumes with legitimate-looking attachments or documents to fool the user into letting a malicious code infect their computer. “The ultimate aim ... is to gain access to sensitive data or internal systems by targeting specific individuals or companies,” the report said.

Symantec succeeded in tracing individual computer registration numbers, known as IPs, to find the true source of the attacks. Previously, hackers in China had been able to camouflage themselves behind servers in Taiwan.

The findings show China was the source of 28.2% of global targeted attacks. It was followed by Romania, with 21.1%, presumed to be mostly attempts at commercial fraud. The United States came third, followed by Taiwan and then Britain, with 12% of attacks.

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The Times to erects pay walls

Readers of Times online, be prepared to pay. Murdoch to charge readers for Times online content. Would you pay for news? In this Internet age, it is only a matter of minutes before the news become a normal news and some sites will post it for free. In some cases, the social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, even break the news first.

RUPERT MURDOCH will block free internet access to the 20 million readers of The Times website. From June, anyone wanting to read The Times or The Sunday Times online will have to pay £1 ($1.65) a day or £2 a week for the privilege. Those who subscribe to the printed edition will be given access the paper's planned thetimes.co.uk and thesundaytimes.co.uk websites as part of their subscription.

Analysts warn The Times risks losing "almost all" online readers when it erects the so-called "pay walls". Read also News Corp to de-index contents from Google

Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of The Sun and chief executive of News International, the British subsidiary of Mr Murdoch's News Corp, said the move was a "crucial step towards making the business of news an economically exciting proposition". She said The Sun and The News of the World, News International's two other British newspapers, would also introduce a fee for online access.

Mr Murdoch, who has accused Google of "stealing" his newspapers' stories and revenue, plans to introduce online charges for all of his newspapers. The company is examining plans to charge for online access to its Australian mastheads.

James Harding, editor of The Times, agreed that the paper was "going to lose a lot of passing traffic", but said charging is "less of a risk than just throwing away our journalism and giving it away for free".

Claire Enders, head of Enders Analysis, said Mr Murdoch was living in "dreamland" if he believed many Times readers would pay for access. "They may get 100,000 regular readers to sign up, but it's not going to be millions, and it's going to take years," she said.

Times Online, the newspapers' current website, had 20.4 million visitors in February. Ms Enders estimated the website collected about £15 million to £18 million a year from online advertising, which she said would drop massively when the content vanished behind the pay wall.

"This is not even going to budge the needle. The Times lost £88 million last year and has lost money on and off for the last 30 years. This is not about making money, it's about safeguarding the existing customer base."

The Times and The Sunday Times are the first mass-market British papers to introduce pay walls. Until now only specialist sites such as the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal have have charged, while allowing access to some free content.

The Big f---ing deal - sparks web frenzy

The US Vice-President Joe Biden's "The Big f---ing deal" (or the f-bomb) gaffe during the recent historic healthcare reform signing ceremony has whipped internet entrepreneurs into a lather and even won praise from President Barack Obama.

The Vice-President delivered a gushing tribute to Obama at the ceremony, then told him, in a comment meant to be private, "This is a big f---ing deal." The exchange was caught on camera and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, have viewed the various versions of the clip on YouTube.

Now, entire websites - such as thisisabigfuckingdeal.com and thebigfd.com - as well as scores of Cafe Press and Zazzle stores have cropped up selling "This is a big f---ing deal" merchandise including T-shirts, mugs, badges, underwear, pooch parkers, ties, posters, stickers, magnets, key chains, trucker hats, aprons and even binders. Remember Falcon Heene make money from being the Balloon Boy

There is a wide variety of designs from a plethora of sellers, who are all looking to cash in on the latest viral internet craze.

Web forums have launched into Biden Photoshop contests, churning out all manner of related image puns - for example, "This is a big f---ing meal" written on top of a picture of the world's biggest hamburger.

One web user even set up a Twitter account: "BigFnDealer".

Biden said Obama told him his salty comment was the best part of the ebullient ceremony in the East Room of the White House, and had tried to get him a T-shirt bearing his now famous remark.

The White House quickly dismissed the incident and Biden told supporters at a fund-raiser in Baltimore late on Wednesday that Obama was not mad at what he delicately termed his "faux pas".

He quoted the President as saying at a morning conference: "You know what the best thing about yesterday was? Joe's comment."

Biden said he shot back: "If you thought it was so good, why didn't you say it?" adding that his first thought when he heard about the commotion was "Thank God my Mom's not ... "

The Vice-President's remarks were drowned out by laughter, but he was apparently saying he was glad his beloved mother, who died in January, had not heard what he said.

nowfollowers.com massfollower expressfollowers.com

If you have used nowfollowers.com to get more Twitter followers, beware. One of nowfollowers.com associate has been banned due to Reported Web Forgery! The so called Mass Follower option by nowfollowers.com promote ExpressFollowers.

To prevent any untoward accident especially if you have entered your Twitter user ID and password through nowfollowers.com, it is best you reset your password.

In Internet business, any website that link to or promote a nasty site, itself "might" be nasty as well. So better be safe that be sorry later.

Sick Water killed million every year

Contaminated and polluted water now kills more people than all forms of violence including wars, according to a United Nations report released Monday (in conjunction with the World Water Day) that calls for turning unsanitary wastewater into an environmentally safe economic resource.

"At the beginning of the 21st century, the world faces a water crisis, both of quantity and quality, caused by continuous population growth, industrialization, food production practices, increased living standards and poor water use strategies," the report by the U.N. Environmental Program says.

As a result, "it is essential that wastewater management is considered as part of integrated, ecosystem-based management that operates across sectors and borders, freshwater and marine."

The report defines wastewater as a combination of fertilizer runoff, sewage disposal and other animal, agricultural and industrial wastes.

According to the report -- titled "Sick Water?" -- 90 percent of wastewater discharged daily in developing countries is untreated, contributing to the deaths of some 2.2 million people a year from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene. At least 1.8 million children younger than 5 die every year from water-related diseases, the report says.

But with proper management, the report notes, "wastewater can be an essential resource for supporting livelihoods."

For example, some of the chemicals that make wastewater a pollutant, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, can also be useful as fertilizers for agriculture.

"If the world is to thrive, let alone to survive on a planet of 6 billion people heading to over 9 billion by 2050, we need to get collectively smarter and more intelligent about how we manage waste, including wastewaters," said Achim Steiner, U.N. under-secretary general and executive director of UNEP.

Despite the staggering statistics included in the report, it "also points to the abundant Green Economy opportunities for turning a mounting challenge into an opportunity with multiple benefits," Steiner said, citing reduced fertilizer costs, incentives for conserving such ecological infrastructures as wetlands and salt marshes, and business opportunities in engineering and natural resource management.

The report acknowledges that such opportunities will require large-scale investments, such as multimillion dollar sewage treatment plants.

"Financing and investment are urgently needed and must address design, ecosystem restoration construction, operation and maintenance of wastewater infrastructure," the report says.

But it also offers up simpler solutions, such as education "to ensure water, nutrients and future opportunities for employment and development are not wasted."

The report's release was timed to coincide with World Water Day, an initiative started in 1992 that aims to raise the profile of water quality.

Recomended reading
* 1 Billion People Lack Access To Clean Water
* Safe Reusable Water Bottles

No more massage parlours licenses for Dubai

Dubai is tightening its grip on massage parlours operating in the city after dozens were found engaged in illegal activities, including sexual services.

No new licences will be issued for massage parlours until further notice, the state-owned daily The National reported on Monday.

It said 25 massage parlours were fined up to 10,000 dirhams ($A2,975.42) for "operating in residential areas and allowing women to massage men, among other breaches of their trade licences".

"We have already stopped such activities. There will be no more new massage centres in Dubai," the Abu Dhabi-based daily quoted the head of commercial compliance at the Dubai economic department, Omar Bushahab, as saying.

"We found some centres were charging 800 dirhams ($A237.03) for an hour. You can imagine what service they were offering for such high charges," he said, apparently implying that sexual services were also on offer."

Inspectors found condoms in some parlours, the paper added.

Bushahab said the economic department had been using undercover agents to detect violations, adding that "illegal activities" were taking place in parlours operating in residential flats.

"Shops, hotels and hospitals are fine, but not inside flats. In fact, many use flats to hide from the authorities and offer illegal services," Bushhab told the daily.

The Gulf city state, which is home to a large non-Muslim expatriate population, tries to strike a balance between its position as a regional business and tourism hub, and the conservative Islamic values of its citizens.

Recommended reading:
* The Miracles Of Cucumber
* 818 metres Burj Dubai now open
* Dubai Property Crash 2009

AC313 - China made large civilian helicopter

China's first domestically developed civilian helicopter has completed a successful maiden flight in Jingdezhen, in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

The heavy-lift AC313 helicopter, built by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic), can carry 27 passengers or up to 13.8 tonnes.



It is designed to be used for rescue missions in earthquakes, typhoons and other natural disasters.

It is the latest advance for the country's ambitious aerospace industry.

At last month's Singapore Air Show, Beijing unveiled the Comac C919 aircraft - China's answer to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, which should be available commercially by 2016.

The AC313 has a maximum range of 900km (560 miles), the state-run China Daily reported on its website.

Its test flight - broadcast live on China Central Television on Thursday - was hailed as a "breakthrough in domestic aviation technology", it added.

Recommended reading:
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Comment Spamming from sangambayard-c-m.com

It is flattering to receive comments from readers. But getting too many comments can be counter-productive, especially spam comments. That just happened to this blog today. I received over 90 comments (see snapshot below) originated from the same person. Each comment basically contained a single line pointing to his or her site. Obviously, it is comment spamming.

That person "representing" sangambayard-c-m.com submitted those comments in a span of few minutes (which include the entry of CAPCHA words). Tedious work for him/her. It is definitely not an automated comment submitter but I do no appreciate such comments.

Apparently, the person "representing" sangambayard-c-m.com does not read my comment policy "Dear Readers, while I appreciate your esteem feedback, I will not publish any comment that contained offensive words, backlink to a landing page or affiliate page. Backlink to a private blog, anonymous comment, URL in the comment and link to hijacked site is also not accepted. Thank you."

So sangambayard-c-m.com, I have to reject your all comments.

Chili Grenade Made From Bhut Jolokia

We have heard of chili sauce, chili powder, chili paste, chili juice, chili cookie and chili plaster. Who could imagine that chili can be used as a weapon ingredient. India has unveiled the latest hot new weapon -- a grenade made using the bhut jolokia, the world's hottest chili.

At more than a thousand times stronger than the average cooking spice the bhut jolokia chili is set to cause a potent explosion on more than just the taste buds.

Military experts in India have developed the new crowd control grenade packed with ground seeds from the chili -- which is officially recognized as the hottest on the planet by Guinness World Records.

When deployed the grenade showers the targets with a dust so spicy that in trials subjects were blinded for hours and left with breathing problems. Lead scientist R.B. Srivastava, from India's Defense Research and Development Organisation, said: "The chilli grenade is a non-toxic weapon and when used would force a terrorist to come out of his hideout.

"The effect is so pungent that it would literally choke them."

The hotness of the bhut jolokia, which is native to Assam, in north-east India, is measured in Scoville heat units and comes in at a massive 1,001,304 -- that is nearly twice as hot as Mexico's red savina that used to hold the record at 577,000.

The average jalapeno measures at about 10,000.

Researchers in India have also come up with some other ingenious uses for the chili.

The scientist said: "There are other applications as well, what we call women power. A specially made chili powder could act as a tool for women to keep away anti-socials and work in this regard is also on."

The department have come up with another plan to rub the chili powder on the fences around army barracks. And Mr Srivastava said: "The chili paste could also act as a major repellent against wild elephants.

Paypal going big in Asia-Pacific

PayPal has seen the future, and apparently it lies out East. The eBay company has just announced plans to double its presence in the Asian-Pacific region by the end of 2010, and made a couple of other, separate announcements to underscore its focus on Asia. Paypal has offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are not in the list. This is probably due to their notorious complaints on financial corruption and unfriendly banking system.

At PayPal’s new international headquarters in Suntec City, Singapore’s technology hub in the middle of the nation’s central business district, the company said that it plans to double the number of employees in Asia Pacific from 1,000 currently to more than 2,000 by the end of the year.

The company plans to add more than 100 new jobs at its international headquarters in Singapore alone, as it represents all of the company’s business outside of the United States.

New jobs will be located at all seven offices in the region including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. For its Singapore business headquarters and development center, PayPal will be recruiting Singapore-based professionals with expertise in technology, product development, infrastructure design, risk and engineering.

PayPal says it has processed more than $6 billion of total payment volume (at spot rate) in Asia Pacific in 2009, an increase of 38 percent from 2008. Since its establishment in the region in 2006, the company has struck dozens of partnerships with Asian companies including this morning’s announcements today with DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, and China UnionPay, China’s bank card association (more about the latter deal over at BusinessWeek).

As part of PayPal’s plans to help grow the e-commerce ecosystem across Asia Pacific, the company also announced that the PayPal mobile payment software development kit (SDK) will be made available to developers in the region. That way, developers can add a checkout button to accept mobile payments without the need to collect financial information from customers with just a few lines of code.

The mobile SDK, which will initially support iPhone app development, will be available in the second quarter of 2010 to developers in the region.

How to make people link to your website

The battle to rank at the top of Google search results is never ending, fierce and mysterious. Nobody can or will unveil all the secrets. Still, search insiders agree that the credibility generated by outside links pointing to your small business site is vital. The more links the merrier, but calibre counts.

Classy links - from sites that the search giants respect - can rocket your ranking. Call the hot leads "link juice" - a phrase that went viral after search engine optimisation (SEO) consultant Greg Boser coined it with a little help from his friends in 2005.

"Initially, it was just a phrase we used amongst ourselves hanging out at conferences," Boser says. "I don't remember the exact point it went mainstream. But I think it was after an episode of SEO Rockstars," he adds, referring to the online marketing show.

If you want to become a SEO rockstar with a wealth of juicy incoming links that convey "social proof", the promotional drive that you run must be tactful. Avoid hitting prospective clients remorselessly, advises guerilla marketing consultant Shel Horowitz. "Be polite and not hypey."

Even if you contact prospects "manually", include an unsubscribe link. Ideally, already have established rapport because the familiarity will boost the kind of "multiple-pronged no-cost marketing campaign" that Horowitz favours. Learn how to pursue one and win tons of so-called "Google love".

Juice boost - 10 secrets of making people link to your website

1. Join forces

Partner with a marketing association and a charity. That gives you muscle and an ethical aura.

2. Blitz new media publishers

Write to several hundred bloggers, newsletter publishers, and e-zine publishers - especially any you have a trusting relationship with. Invite them to join in the launch. Offer incentive in the shape of commissions on an upsell membership programme, besides the standard submit-a-bonus-and-get-exposure deal.

3. Exploit social media

Promote your website across a spectrum of social media. Think Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yahoogroups, Groupsites, Plaxo. Encourage contacts to do so as well. On Twitter in particular, you get pick-up - and retweeting.

4. Enrol as rent-a-quote

Sign up as an expert with a database like Profnet or Haro. Focus on a subject like small business loans, and the media may come to you for enlightenment. If your URL (web address) deftly reflects your speciality, it may well feature in any coverage you get.

5. Write stories

Not fairytales but journalistic features on your chosen subject. Submit them, including your URL to article directories like Ezinearticles.com and Articlesbase.com or a hub like about.com or mashablecom. Ensure your story has a killer headline. Make the content compelling - what's in it for the reader?

6. Shoot for the tube

Turn your stories into videos. Google likes YouTube. So, if you set your stories in motion, you will gain - all the more so because video marketing is a mercurial medium worth exploring.

7. Write product testimonials

If you buy and take a shine to a product, leave a testimonial. Embed your URL in your statement and you should win some traffic.

8. Have your say

Slot your thoughts into comment boxes tacked on to blogs. Make your statement meaningful because, for marketing to work, it must have integrity. Merely paste your web address and you may be treated like a spammer.

9. Sign off

Include your URL in your email signature. That way, every email you send spreads it around. Easy.

10. Take 10

Readers are lured by top 10s and subhead formats generally - whether the angle be myths, tips and tricks or whatever. Remember that, whatever you write.

Ali Hussain Sibat to be executed for sorcery

Ali Hussain Sibat, a former Sheherazade TV presenter will be executed by Saudi Arabia for "sorcery".

Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for "sorcery."

In a statement released Thursday, the international rights group condemned the verdict and demanded the immediate release of Ali Hussain Sibat, former host of a popular call-in show that aired on Sheherazade, a Beirut based satellite TV channel.

According to his lawyer, Sibat, who is 48 and has five children, would predict the future on his show and give out advice to his audience.

The attorney, May El Khansa, who is in Lebanon, said her client was arrested by Saudi Arabia's religious police (known as the Mutawa'een) and charged with sorcery while visiting the country in May 2008. Sibat was in Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic religious pilgrimage known as Umra.

Sibat was then put on trial. In November 2009, a court in the Saudi city of Medina found Sibat guilty and sentenced him to death.

According to El Khansa, Sibat appealed the verdict. The case was taken up by the Court of Appeal in the Saudi city of Mecca on the grounds that the initial verdict was "premature."

El Khansa informs that the Mecca appeals court then sent the case back to the original court for reconsideration, stipulating that all charges made against Sibat needed to be verified and that he should be given a chance to repent.

On March 10, judges in Medina upheld their initial verdict, meaning Sibat is once again sentenced to be executed.

"The Medina court refused the sentence of the appeals court," said El Khansa, adding her client will appeal the verdict once more.

The case has been covered extensively by local media. According to Arab News, an English language Saudi daily newspaper, after the most recent verdict was issued, the judges in Medina issued a statement expressing that Sibat deserved to be executed for having continually practiced black magic on his show, adding that this sentence would deter others from practicing sorcery. Arab News reports that the case will now return to the appeals court in Mecca.

Recommended reading:
* Crucifixion in Saudi Arabia
* Saudi schoolgirl get 90 lashes for assaulting headmistress
* Saudi Man Get 1,000 Lashes For Sex Bragging

Top 10 Richest People - 2010

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the new richest person in the world, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, Forbes said on Wednesday.

It is only the second time since 1995 that Gates has lost the crown, said the magazine.

Here is Forbes ranking of the 10 richest people in the world:

1. Carlos Slim (Mexico) - $US53.5 billion, telecommunications

2. Bill Gates (USA) - $US53 billion, Microsoft

3. Warren Buffett (USA) - $US47 billion, Berkshire Hathaway

4. Mukesh Ambani (India) - $US29 billion, petrochemicals, oil and gas

5. Lakshmi Mittal (India) - $US28.7 billion, steel

6. Larry Ellison (USA) - $US28 billion, Oracle

7. Bernard Arnault (France) - $US27.5 billion, LVMH

8. Eike Batista (Brazil) - $US27 billion, mining, oil

9. Amancio Ortega (Spain) - $US25 billion, retail

10. Karl Albrecht (Germany) - $US23.5 billion, supermarkets

Recommended reading:
* Rev. Tom Brown says Jesus Christ is the richest man on world
* Top 10 Richest People In Malaysia

Carlos Slim is the world's richest person

Bill Gates falls down rich list in 2010. Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the world's richest person, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, as the wealth of the world's billionaires grew by 50 percent over the last year, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday.

It is only the second time since 1995 that Gates has lost the crown, the magazine said, estimating Slim's net worth at $US53.5 billion ($58.7 billion), compared to Gates's $US53 billion fortune, while investor Warren Buffett came in at No. 3 with $US47 billion.

The trio regained $US41.5 billion of the $US68 billion they had lost the previous year, Forbes reported.

Facebook password reset confirmation customer support

"Facebook password reset confirmation customer support" is the purported email from Facebook send to unsuspecting users. Beware, it's the work of hackers phishing for user information. Ignore such email.

Hackers have flooded the Internet with virus-tainted spam that targets Facebook's estimated 400 million users in an effort to steal banking passwords and gather other sensitive information.

The emails tell recipients that the passwords on their Facebook accounts have been reset, urging them to click on an attachment to obtain new login credentials, according to anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc.

If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicious software, including a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday.

Hackers have long targeted Facebook users, sending them tainted messages via the social networking company's own internal email system. With this new attack, they are using regular Internet email to spread their malicious software.

McAfee estimates that hackers sent out tens of millions of spam across Europe, the United States and Asia since the campaign began on Tuesday.

Dave Marcus, McAfee's director of malware research and communications, said that he expects the hackers will succeed in infecting millions of computers.

"With Facebook as your lure, you potentially have 400 million people that can click on the attachment. If you get 10 percent success, that's 40 million," he said.

Axiron underarm cream to rival Viagra pills

Melbourne-based Acrux has inked a deal potentially worth $367 million, giving US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly the right to sell its first-of-a-kind underarm sex-drive testosterone lotion.

Under the terms of the agreement Eli Lilly will get worldwide rights to market the Axiron treatment - applied as an underarm cream - used in the treatment of testosterone deficiency in men over 45. It's the largest licensing deal ever struck with an Australian biotech company, an industry expert said.

Results of a clinical trial released in September showed Axiron brought testosterone levels to normal in 84 per cent of men after four months, Bloomberg reported. Low testosterone levels have been linked to a low sex drive.

The new product may become a rival for the Viagra pill, a global blockbuster drug, made by Eli Lilly's rival Pfizer. Eli Lilly, which already makes a competing drug for Viagra named Cialis, said it planned to expand its range of men's health products.

Acrux will get an upfront payment of $US50 million ($54 million) plus the $US87 million in profits once the US Food and Drug Administration approves the application to commercialise Axiron.

The Melbourne company will then be eligible to receive $US195 million if the drug is successfully put on the market. At the moment, it is not available for purchase anywhere.

Lilly will also pay $US3 million for Acrux's manufacturing assets.

Additional royalties paid to Acrux under confidential terms of the deal could eventually total more than the $US335 million outlined in the milestone payments, the company said.

LG Electronics caught greenwashing (making false or misleading environmental claims)

AN ELECTRONICS manufacturer with a history of making false environmental claims has been caught doctoring fridges to make them appear more energy efficient.

LG Electronics has agreed to compensate potentially thousands of consumers after two of its fridges - models L197NFS and P197WFS - were found to contain an illegal device that activates an energy-saving mode when it detects room conditions similar to those in a test laboratory.

The so-called circumvention device was discovered last month by consumer advocacy group Choice.

The device detects test conditions and activates the mode, creating the impression of lower running costs and energy usage. The devices have been banned in Australia since 2007.

In reality the fridge, which has a 3.5 star energy rating, costs an extra $250 to run over 10 years and can severely affect food quality because it can shut off when opened.

Choice's tests found the energy consumption of the fridge was 876 kilowatt hours a year, compared to the advertised 738kWh.

Yesterday, Choice chief executive Nick Stace said the fridge was an extreme example of a company making false or misleading environmental claims, known as ''greenwashing''.

''This fridge is both a potential danger to your food, your wallet and the environment,'' Mr Stace told the Choice National Consumer Congress.

LG Electronics has agreed to pay affected customers $331 to cover the unexpected increase in their power bills, but has not agreed to refund the purchase price of the fridge.

It is the third time LG Electronics has been caught making false claims about its products' environmental credentials.

In 2008, it had to repay $3 million after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruled it had inflated the energy efficiency rating of five models of air-conditioner.

It is believed the ACCC is investigating the latest matter. An ACCC deputy chairman, Peter Kell, would not comment on the investigation, but said new consumer laws would give regulators greater powers to police claims.

Topless in Goa to be ban

Tourism officials in the Indian resort state of Goa have begun distributing booklets to overseas visitors, asking them to refrain from nude sunbathing and wearing skimpy clothing in the streets.

It comes after one Goa lawmaker accused Russian tourists of "corrupting the minds of locals" and leaving a "horrifying impression on schoolchildren" by wandering the streets and beaches in a state of undress.

The former Portuguese colony is a magnet for overseas visitors, attracted by its long, sandy beaches, dusk-till-dawn parties and laid-back lifestyle.

But the state tourism department said that while Goans were generally tolerant to more informal European styles of dress, visitors should still bear in mind local religious and cultural sensitivities.

"If in doubt take local advice especially with regard to topless bathing," the guidelines read. "Nudity on the beaches and public places is strictly forbidden."

It advises: "Never ride a two-wheeler without clothes on the upper part of the body."

The guide also warns against offers of land sales and modelling contracts, and details strict punishments for drug possession or dealing.

The pocket guide is currently available in English and Russian, as Britons and Russians make up the majority of Goa's 400,000 annual overseas visitors. A German version is planned.

In January, officials mooted a ban on using bikini-clad women for state-funded advertising promoting Goa as a tourist destination after a string of crimes against women.

He Pingping the world's shortest man dies

He Pingping, the world's shortest man, has died at the age of 21, AFP reports. Pingping was 2 feet, 5 inches tall. His death was announced by the a spokesman for the Guinness World records.

Pingping was filming a TV program called "The Record Show" in Italy when he developed chest problems, according to reports.

Born in China with a form of primordial dwarfism, Pingping was recognized as the world's shortest man in 2008.

"For such a small man, he made a huge impact around the world," Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said, according to the BBC.

Scrabble wizard

This has got to be one of the cleverest E-mails I've received in awhile. Someone out there is deadly at Scrabble. Extreme scrabble! (Wait till you see the last one)!


DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM


PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER


ASTRONOMER: When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER


DESPERATION: When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT


THE EYES: When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE


GEORGE BUSH: When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE


THE MORSE CODE:When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS


SLOT MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME


ANIMOSITY: When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY


ELECTION RESULTS: When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT


SNOOZE ALARMS: When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S


A DECIMAL POINT: When you rearrange the letters:
I'M A DOT IN PLACE


THE EARTHQUAKES: When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE


ELEVEN PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE


AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:


MOTHER-IN-LAW: When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER


Yep! Someone with waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands!

dot.com is 25 years

Today, ladies and gents, is too special a day to let us pass by. March 15, as it happens, is the 25th birthday of the revolutionary dot.com. Yep, the big 2-5. But is anyone counting? And it is amazing to even imagine the world without it.

25 years ago the first-ever .com was registered and has since altered the course of history to put the world at our fingertips. Growing by the day, the Internet offers access and opportunity where there previously was none. It has changed the very fabric of how we interact, inform, conduct business, donate, educate, communicate, connect, and share stories with others across the country, continent and all over the world.

Imagine business, technology and innovation without .com. . . news, media and government without it. . . YouTube.com and Facebook.com and Twitter.com without those three tiny fragments. Sure, dot.com is not the only online destination, now joined by the rise of URLs that include the likes of .me, .ly and .xxx. Still, its long-lasting impact is hard too overstate. As the celebratory site www.25yearsof.com points out: "1985's most lasting contribution turned out to be three letters and a punctuation mark."

There are some 84 million .com domains today -- 11.9 million are business and e-commerce sites, 4.3 million are entertainment-oriented, 3.1 million are finance-related and 1.8 million are all about sports. Business. Entertainment. Sports. Clearly, dot.com is really about dot.life in general -- and how our lives have changed because of it.

The growth of .com, it must be noted, did not come quickly. Only five companies followed the footsteps of the Cambridge-based computer manufacturer Symbolics, Inc. when it registered the first .com on March 15, 1985. By the late 1980s, about 100 .coms existed, which included now tech powerhouses IBM, Intel, AT&T and Cisco. It wasn't until 12 years later, in 1997, a year after President Clinton signed the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Act, that .com names passed the 1 million mark.

And it's been growing since. So much so, in fact, that back in 1995, VeriSign handled 18 billion queries. These days, VeriSign handles that same amount of queries in 8 hours.

This is an especially big week for the Internet -- where it was just 25 years ago; where it stands now, in our social media-driven world; and where it will be and where it needs to be in future.

Marking dot.com's silver anniversary, VeriSign will host a small, exclusive, day-long policy forum in Washington, D.C. tomorrow, headlined by President Clinton. The dot.com president will deliver a keynote speech on how the Internet has ushered the era of global connectedness -- what we here at HuffPost Tech call the birth of online global citizenship. On the same day, Julius Genachowski, the blog-friendly chairman of the Federal Communication Commission, will release its ambitious and anxiously awaited National Broadband Plan, a comprehensive road-map for bringing fast, affordable high speed Internet access to all Americans. It's high-time we think of our Internet infrastructure in the same way we thought of the Interstate highways in the last century. And on Thursday, the all-important and underrated Sunlight Foundation, which has championed online transparency in government, will launch a national, non-partisan campaign for real-time transparent government.

That's a movement everyone can and will get behind -- as we sit at home and at work, perhaps just on our cell phones, browsing our dot.coms.

DID YOU KNOW:
In April 1985 cmu.edu, purdue.edu, rice.edu and ucla.edu were the first registered domain names.

The first "dot com" was SYMBOLICS.COM March 15 1985

The first .gov was css.gov and was registered in June 1985.

The first .org was mitre.org and was registered in July 1985.

1995 Amazon sells it first book

1995 Microsoft released Windows 95 and their web browser, Internet Explorer

1997, Google registered as a domain.

1999 Y2K threat is imminent

2003 MySpace launches

2004 Facebook launches

2005 Google Earth unveiled

2010 - 84 millions dot.com domains registered



25yearsof.com

History of .com

Dot com may be the most popular of those three little fragments that helped reshape the world, but the first registered name occurred without fanfare. A computer manufacturer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts called Symbolics, Inc. was the first to stake a claim in .com on March 15, 1985. What followed was hardly a gold rush: that year only five other companies signed up a name.

Early Challenges

At the time, the Internet was largely a project for computer scientists and universities who wanted a way to communicate. As more and more people and institutions discovered the growing network that was set up by the Defense Department, it became increasingly shabby place. Stories about the difficulty of sending an email pepper the early history of the Internet. One of the challenging things in the 1980s was getting mail from one network to another. Figuring out how to manually route through gateways was something of a black art -- and often not officially sanctioned. As mail loads got heavier, sometimes postmasters would ask for people to stop using their connections.

The Birth of .com

The need for some sort of organizing principles became more and more apparent as more entities connected into the fledgling Internet. Bringing order to the increasingly chaotic universe fell to the legendary Jon Postel and his colleagues at the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute.

Postel who was called the "King" of the Internet became the request for comment (RFC) editor in 1969. As RFC editor, Postel and his colleagues personally shaped the Internet as we know it today. In October 1984, RFC 920 "on the requirements of establishing a new domain in the ARPA-Internet and the DARPA research community" was published, setting the stage for the birth of .com.

While we know that the first .com was assigned to symbolics.com on March 15, 1985, the genesis of .com is less clear. According to Craig Partridge, chief scientist at Raytheon BBN Technologies, the name for domains evolved as the system was created. At first, .cor was proposed as the domain for corporations, but when the final version came out it was switched to .com. Likewise, .org was originally .pub and .mil was originally .ddn. Other domains that came into being at the same time as .com were .edu, .gov, .net and .arpa.

Jack Haverty, another Internet pioneer who was at MIT at the time, said they weren't really thinking about business when they were developing the top-level domains. "I think .com originally was derived from "company" rather than "commercial." The. com's weren't thought of as "businesses" in the sense of places that consumers go to buy things," he wrote in an email. "They were companies doing government contract work. The Internet was not chartered to interconnect businesses - it was a military command-and-control prototype network, being built by educational, governmental, and contractors."

Since most of the Internet's pioneers were involved in educational institutions, the military and government, it would explain why the other top-level domains seem more intuitive. Since what would become the Internet wasn't set up to do business, and the profit-motive wasn't officially sanctioned, Internet pioneers wouldn't naturally think about a .biz or something else. Still, they seemed to understand that some kind of commerce was coming.

The .com Bubble

But to say that .com took some time to take off is an understatement. Two and a half years after the first registration, only 100 total .com domains existed. Among the early adopters included IBM, Intel, AT&T and Cisco. By 1992, there were still less than 15,000 .com domains registered and the million-domain mark wasn't crossed until 1997, well into the Internet boom. Then came the ".com boom", with nearly 20 million names registered in the next two years. It also ushered in something termed "cybersquatting," where domains of famous people or companies were registered in hopes of getting a hefty sum to sell it. Nations implemented laws to combat cybersquatting, and the entertainer Madonna won a notable case in 2000 to get control of madonna.com.

The burst of the ".com bubble" cooled off the rapid growth for a short period, and since then .com has grown at a steady rate, with now more than 80 million domains. Yet, some of the most popular websites today were registered late into the .com era. Youtube.com, for example, wasn't registered until 2005. Twitter.com was also registered after the .com boom.

While Symbolics the company didn't fare well, symbolics.com remains as the oldest .com and was purchased by Aron Meystedt, owner of XF.com in 2009.

.com Today

Today, .com is an integral part of a technology boom that reshaped the way people work, live, play and connect with family and friends. Much to the amazement of its creators. "I don't recall anybody ever thinking we were creating an organizational structure to encompass hundreds of millions of entities covering the entire planet in support of all human activities," Haverty explained in another email. "And it certainly wasn't supposed to last for 30+ years, even as an experiment. It just happened to turn out that way."

Earth Hour 2010 campaign growing rapidly

Earth Hour, Every Hour. 8.30 pm, Saturday 27 March 2010



The disappointment of Copenhagen, the stalling of the emissions trading scheme and the revival of the climate sceptics may have led to some fatigue with the Earth Hour campaign this year, but in reality the reverse is the case: more than 100 countries have already signed up to participate. Read also Hypocrisy Of Earth Hour

Earth Hour Global's executive director, Andy Ridley, said this week he feared that the failure of world leaders to reach a binding agreement at Copenhagen last December would spell the death knell for the campaign which aims to raise awareness of climate change.

''I thought we'd have a really bad Copenhagen hangover,'' he said. ''I went to Copenhagen and I [saw] climate change become a football that people kick around.

''But Earth Hour is not political. Earth Hour was always a people-power kind of approach. They have an immense voice and this is one way … in which they can voice their opinion.''

He also pointed out that some good had emerged at the Copenhagen conference. ''It was the first time we had that many world leaders, there were 118, meeting in one place specifically to talk about this issue and acknowledging it's there, acknowledging it needs to be dealt with, acknowledging that we don't want to go over 2 degrees temperature rise.

''But … it isn't in the hands of 118 leaders to deal with this. We all know that. And if you leave it in the hands of 118 leaders the odds are that it's not going to get dealt with.''

The conservation group WWF created Earth Hour in Sydney in 2007. The symbolic gesture of switching out the lights for one hour, supported by Fairfax Media, publisher of the Herald, spread throughout the country the following year and was taken to the world last year to great success.

''We had very optimistically set 1000 cities and towns as our target and got 4159 in 2009,'' Mr Ridley said. ''This year we've already surpassed the country target.''

And it's growing rapidly, even without the advocacy of WWF - in over 40 per cent of the countries signed up there is no WWF presence.

''It's happening because people are organising it … It's got this energy behind it, it's got a life of its own.''

Recommended reading:
* Hypocrisy of Earth Day 2009

6.6 Magnitude Quake hit Fukushima prefecture

A strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit off the eastern coast of Japan on Sunday, rattling buildings across a broad swath of the country, including the crowded capital.

There were no reports of casualties, with only light damage to structures near the epicenter, according to local officials.

The quake hit at 5:08 p.m. and was felt most strongly in central Fukushima prefecture about 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

"It was fairly strong, but didn't knock over anything in the office," said Ken Yoshida, a town official in Naraha, one of the hardest-hit areas. He said an earthen wall in town was partially toppled.

The earthquake was centered about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the eastern coast at a depth of about 25 miles (40 kilometers), the meteorological agency said.

The government said there was no danger of a tsunami, although slight changes to ocean levels were a possibility in some areas.

It was strong enough to gently sway large buildings in Tokyo and was felt across a broad stretch of Japan's main Honshu and northern Hokkaido islands.

Japan's early warning system predicted the earthquake just before it hit, with public broadcaster NHK interrupting a sumo match to warn residents to take cover.

The country is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the western port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.

Top 10 big dot.com flops

10 years ago, the Nasdaq hit its all-time high. Here are some of the biggest dot.com busts.

1. Pets.com

The Pets.com sock puppet has become synonymous with the dot.com bust. The company lost $147 million in the first nine months of 2000, and the company was unable to secure more cash from investors. When Pets.com went public in February 2000, its stock started at $11 a share and rose to a high of $14. But the rally was shortlived and Pets.com's stock quickly fell below $1 and stayed there until its demise.

2. Webvan.com

Like many victims of the bubble, the grocery delivery service grew too fast, expanding its services to eight cities in just a year and a half. In the summer of 1999, Webvan announced it was making a $1 billion investment in warehouses and would expand to 26 more cities by 2001.

At its November 1999 IPO, Webvan raised $375 million, shares traded at around $30 and the company was valued at $1.2 billion. But that was its peak. By the time the company announced it would close up shop in July 2001, Webvan's stock fell to just 6 cents a share. Webvan laid off 2,000 employees when it failed.

3. eToys.com

When eToys.com shares hit a high of $84.35 in October 1999, who could have guessed that just 16 months later, the company would warn investors that its stock was "worthless?" After reporting a $74.5 million loss in the last quarter of 2000, the company said it had just enough cash to last until March 31, but after that it would require "an additional, substantial capital infusion." It never found a white knight. Citing debt of $247 million, eToys said in February 2001 it had no alternative but to file for bankruptcy.

4. GeoCities.com

Not all of the dot.com busts disappeared right away. In fact, GeoCities lasted until last October. The Web hosting service gave many Internet users their first Web sites. With 19 million unique visitors per month, GeoCities was the third-most visited site on the Web behind AOL and Yahoo in 1998.

When Yahoo bought GeoCities for $3.6 billion in January 1999, it was widely considered a coup. At the point of sale, Yahoo traded at $368 and GeoCities shares sold at $117. Yahoo closed down GeoCities on Oct. 26. Many believe GeoCities and its millions of users represented a missed oportunity for Yahoo to evolve the service into a more modern social network.

5. theGlobe.com

TheGlobe.com isn't remembered for becoming one of the first social media sites way back in 1995 as much as it's remembered for its record-setting initial public offering. When theGlobe.com went public on November 13, 1998, its stock jumped a then-record 600% in its first day of trading. The company set the offer price at $9 a share, but the stock opened at $87. Shares of theGlobe.com rose to a high of $97 during its first day of trading before closing at $63.50.

The company raised $27.9 million in its IPO, and its market cap was valued at $842 million. But less than two years later, in August 2001, theGlobe.com's stock was delisted by the Nasdaq stock exchange for failing to stay above $1 per share.

6. Go.com

In 1998, Disney set up Go.com to compete with the likes of Yahoo and AOL. Go.com grew out of a merger of Disney's online properties like ABC.com and ESPN.com with the search engine Infoseek. In November 1999, Disney even created a tracking stock for Go.com, a separate class of stock that reflected the performance of the new Web property.

But Go.com never really got going, unable to grow its user base by more than 21 million visitors per month -- less than half of AOL and Yahoo in 2000 and 2001. One likely reason for its lack of success: Being owned by Disney, Go.com restricted adult material.In January 2001, Disney announced it would shut down Go.com, and the company took a write-off of $790 million. Disney never actually shut down the site, which is now just used as a hosting site for ESPN.com and ABC.com.

7. Flooz.com

Flooz.com sold online currency that could be used instead of credit cards. After users bought enough Flooz, they could spend it at participating online stores like Tower Records, Barnes & Noble, Outpost.com and Restoration Hardware. Despite the stupidity of its concept, Flooz.com raised $35 million from investors. Corporate partners Cisco and Delta Air Lines used Flooz for corporate gifts.

And despite spending $8 million on an ad campaign featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Flooz went bankrupt in August 2001, less than two years after it opened its virtual doors.

8. theGlobe.com

Founded by 20 year-old Cornell students Todd Krizelman and Stephan Paternot, theGlobe.com was revolutionary for its day. The site allowed users to create and post their own Web pages.

The company stopped its Web hosting business in 2001 but its online gaming sites stayed popular. TheGlobe.com was ultimately unable to sustain itself, and the company finally closed up shop for good in March 2007.

9. drKoop.com

Before there was WebMd, there was drkoop.com.

The health information Web site co-founded in 1998 by Reagan administration Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop made a splash when it raked in $88.5 million in its June 1999 initial public offering. The site was quickly ranked the No. 1 health care content site on the Internet, with an average of about 1.4 million unique visitors per month in 1999.

10. Kozmo.com

The delivery service would allow urban customers to order a wide array of products, including CDs, DVDs, electronics and snacks. Deliverymen would then come and deliver the order to customers' doors for free within one hour. Kozmo.com, which was available in nine cities, was once seen as a new method of delivery for online purchases that would eventually challenge UPS and FedEx. Kozmo secured about $280 million from investors, including $60 million from Amazon.com. and a $150 million promotion deal with Starbucks.

But free delivery and no minimum purchase became the company's undoing. Kozmo.com had to withdraw plans for an initial public offering in the summer of 2000, citing unfavorable market conditions and losses of $26 million in 1999. The company laid off 900 of its 2,000-person workforce and instituted a $10 minimum charge in the first quarter of 2001, but it was forced to shut down its service in April 2001.

11. Garden.com

It took just 14 months for the dot.com bust to kill off gardening products retailer Garden.com.

The company's stock climbed above $20 in September 1999, just days after its initial public offer. But a year later, Garden.com announced it would cut 40% of its workforce, after the company lost $9.9 million in the third quarter of 2000.

6.4 magnitude quake in Ternate, Indonesia

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia on Sunday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, deaths, or damage in the island nation.

The quake struck at 9:57 a.m. (7:57 p.m. ET Saturday). The epicenter was 285 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Ternate, on Indonesia's Moluccas island group, and 2,415 kilometers (1,500 miles) east of Jakarta, the nation's capital, at a depth of 52.4 kilometers (32.6 miles).

No tsunami warning was issued.

What is augmented reality phone

Ever heard of X-Ray vision or see through phone? The technology, known as augmented reality, appears to be X-ray vision, but in reality it uses pictures and images that already exist in databases such as Google Earth and Google Streetview. Technically, Augmented reality (AR) is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time.

The application needs two pieces of information: a 3D model of the area or city the phone user is in and the user's exact position.

A 3D model of a city could be built using information collected from aerial surveys. Survey planes capture the shape and size of the buildings in a city. That data is merged with images from databases to complete the 3D model.

GPS is used to work out the user's exact position. Once the software knows this information, it uses information and images from the 3D model to display a picture of what is behind the building.

The technology could not be used by peeping Toms to see into people's houses because only the exterior views of buildings and streets were held in the databases.

Augmented reality technologies had only become possible in the last 10 years because of the development of sophisticated networks such as Google Earth and Streetview.

As well as X-ray vision, the research team has developed two other types of mobile phone applications called Meltvision and Distortvision.

Meltvision works using a similar process to the X-ray vision application, but the image of the front of the building ''melts away'' to reveal what is behind.

Distortvision alters the mobile video image so that objects out of the line of sight can be ''bent'' into vision.

YouTube Online TV

YouTube, which is already trying out the movie rental business, is into online TV. Will they make money from this new venture? While YouTube users have an insatiable appetite for video, they’ve yet demonstrate much interest in paying for it.

YouTube's first major move away from being a video-sharing site and towards an online TV destination begins early tomorrow morning when it begins streaming free live Indian Premier Cricket League matches.

The Google-owned YouTube yesterday unveiled eight sponsors, half of which are global brand names. HSBC, Hewlett Packard, Coca Cola, Samsung, Indian mobile phone company, Airtel, Honda motorcycles, an Indian university, and one of the teams, the Bangalore-based Royal Challenger team were named as sponsors of the initial 56 matches of this season.

YouTube does not disclose the dollar size of the sponsorship packages but interviews with executives have indicated that because this initiative is a new one they are not asking advertisers to pay over the odds.

At least 32, 30-second ads will appear during the play in each match watched live or on demand later.

The cricket deal is part of YouTube's ambition to become a destination for internet users as a place not just to upload content but watch it, in the form of movies, sport and concerts, said Leigh Terry managing partner of media buyers OMD.

"Rather than just going to YouTube and searching for a video they hope to become a destination much like a portal where people can go for a variety of content, not just sports," he said

"I have a feeling that this is just going to be the first [of others] to come."

Mr Terry said that while YouTube's success at attracting audiences was not in doubt - an estimated 36 million videos are watched by Australians each month - it had struggled to gain advertising dollars. "The audience hasn't been the problem, it's the quality and the exclusivity of the content," he said, adding that initiatives such as this addressed that.

Nasr 1 - Iranian cruise missile

Watched out USA. Iran has become the first Muslim nation to produce a cruise missile, dubbed Nasr 1 (or Victory 1).

Iran announced Sunday that it has started a new production line of highly accurate, short range cruise missiles, which would add a new element to the country's already imposing arsenal.

Gen. Ahmad Vahidi told Iranian state TV that the cruise missile, called Nasr 1, would be capable of destroying targets up to 3,000 tons in size.

The minister said the missile can be fired from ground-based launchers as well as ships, but would eventually be modified to be fired from helicopters and submarines.

Western powers are already concerned about Iran's military capabilities, especially the implications of its nuclear program. The U.S. and some of its allies, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency, fear Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

The West is considering stiffer sanctions against Tehran to try to force it to halt uranium enrichment, a process that has civilian uses but can be also used for nuclear arms if the uranium is enriched over 90 percent.

Iran also boasts an array of short and medium-range missiles capable of hitting targets in the region, including Israel, U.S. military bases in the region and much of Europe.

Tehran frequently makes announcements about new advances in military technology that cannot be independently verified.

Gen. Vahidi said the production of the cruise missiles, which took two years to develop, showed that sanctions on Iran have failed. He said the cruise missiles would strengthen Iran's naval power.

Cruise missiles are highly advanced, usually subsonic rocket-powered weapons that can hug the ground and hit targets with great precision. The U.S. used large numbers of cruise missiles in its attack on Baghdad in 2002, launching most of them from warships in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian state TV showed a video of boxes in a warehouse containing several missiles. It also showed footage of Iran's cruise missile test in 2007. That missile was apparently imported.

Tehran began a military self-sufficiency program in 1992, under which it produces a large range of weapons, including tanks, missiles, jet fighters, unmanned drone aircraft and torpedoes.

Recommended reading:
* Iran Banned Facebook
* Iran and Iraq tussled over al-Fakkah oil field

Top 10 Most Expensive Domain Names Ever

The coveted domain name 'Sex.com' is about to hit the auction block. The bidding will start at a cool $1 million. The domain name was last sold for $14 million--and it's not even the most expensive URL out there.

Take a look at the 10 most expensive (or maybe overprice) domain names to date. Not surprisingly, most are breasts, booze, gambling, and 'bling' heavy, but there are some curveballs on the list.

10. Toys.com - $5.1 million

Retailer Toys 'R Us purchased Toys.com in 2009 for $5.1 million

9. Casino.com - $5.5 million

The site was sold in 2003 for a grand total of $5.5 million.

8. Israel.com - $5.88 million

The Telegraph purchased the Israel.com site for $5.88 million in 2004

7. Beer.com - $7 million

Beer.com was sold for $7 million in 2004.

6. Diamond.com - $7.5 million

Ice.com purchased 'Diamond.com' (tied with Business.com) for a reported $7.5 million in 2006.

5. Business.com - $7.5 million

The domain name is tied with 'Diamond.com' for multi-million dollar pricetag. Business.com was purchased for $7.5 million in 1999. In July 2007 business.com, the company, was sold to Yellow Pages publisher RH Donnelly for $345 million.

4. Porn.com - $9.5 million

Close behind 'sex.com,' ''Porn.com' is one of the most valuable domain names on the web. The address last sold for around $9.5 million in 2007

3. Fund.com - $9.99 million

The URL was reportedly sold for $9.99 million in 2008.

2. Sex.com - $14 million

Sex.com has recently hit the auction block with a starting price of $1 million. It was first purchased by Match.com founder Gary Kremen in 1994, and was last sold in 2006 for $14 million.

1. Insure.com - $16 million

The domain name reportedly sold to QuinStreet for $16 million in 2009.


On the other hand, bank.com and credit.com ought to be worth $ billions.

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El nombre de dominio deseado 'Sex.com' está a punto de golpear la subasta. Las ofertas comienzan en US $ cool 1 millón. El nombre de dominio fue modificada por última vendió por $ 14 millones - y ni siquiera es la dirección más cara que hay.

Echa un vistazo a los 10 más caros (o tal vez sobreprecio) los nombres de dominio hasta la fecha. No es de extrañar, la mayoría son los senos, la bebida, el juego, y 'bling' pesado, pero hay algunas curvas en la lista.

10. Toys.com - 5,1 millones dólares

Toys 'R Us Minorista comprado Toys.com en 2009 5,1 millones de dólares

9. Casino.com - 5,5 millones dólares

El sitio fue vendido en 2003 por un total de $ 5,5 millones.

8. Israel.com - 5,88 millones dólares

The Telegraph compró el sitio Israel.com de 5,88 millones dólares en 2004

7. Beer.com - $ 7 millones

Beer.com se vendió por $ 7 millones en 2004.

6. Diamond.com - 7,5 millones dólares

Ice.com comprado 'Diamond.com' (empatado con Business.com) por la suma reportada de 7,5 millones en 2006.

5. Business.com - 7,5 millones dólares

El nombre de dominio está empatado con 'Diamond.com' para costando varios millones de dólares. Business.com fue comprada por $ 7,5 millones en 1999. En julio de 2007 business.com, la empresa fue vendida a las Páginas Amarillas editorial RH Donnelly por $ 345 millones.

4. Porn.com - 9,5 millones dólares

Inmediatamente detrás de sex.com ','''Porn.com 'es uno de los nombres de dominio más valioso en la web. La última dirección se vendió por alrededor de $ 9,5 millones en 2007

3. Fund.com - 9,99 millones dólares

La URL fue supuestamente vendido por $ 9.99 millones en 2008.

2. Sex.com - $ 14 millones

Sex.com ha afectado recientemente a subasta con un precio inicial de $ 1 millón. Fue adquirido por Match.com fundador Gary Kremen, en 1994, y se vendió por última vez en 2006 por $ 14 millones.

1. Insure.com - $ 16 millones

El nombre de dominio al parecer vendió a QuinStreet 16 millones de dólares en 2009.


Por otra parte, y bank.com credit.com debe ser un valor de $ miles de millones.

$76 million Akutan Airport - Most expensive airport to nowhere

I thought I am the only one who built an airport for my 100 odd SIMS CITY residents. Apparently, Akutan, a remote village in Alaskan have the same privilege. Akutan (ACK-oo-tan) (Achan-ingiiga in Aleut) is a city (with village size population) in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 713 at the 2000 census.

The Alaskan village of Akutan is home to 100 permanent residents and 900 seasonal workers. Like many Alaskan communities, Akutan makes its money off seafood production. At the moment, the village is only reachable by a Grumman Goose, 70 year old sea plane - and they are quickly running out of parts for it.

The solution is a new airport. The facility will transport people on the 20 minute flight to the town of Unalaska where they can connect to other flights. Like most Alaskan transportation services - this route is extremely heavily subsidized.

The new airport will cost a whopping $76 million. The sea plane currently carries 5500 people annually, so some simple math shows that in the first ten years of operation, the tax payers are forking over $1350 for every single passenger using the facility. This doesn't even include any additional costs of operating the airport (another $500,000 each year).

Larry Cotter, the chief executive of the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association says the following about the airport:

"Some people are probably positing, 'Oh, it's another Bridge to Nowhere, except it's an airport to nowhere. Anybody who says that is really ignorant."

Well, call me ignorant, but I don't understand why a village of 100 permanent residents needs a $76 million airport. If the current sea plane is falling apart, wouldn't the best solution be a new sea plane? Alaska has 256 airports, and even the smallest of them may only serve 40 people - costing millions to build and maintain.

Then again, when you read that Chicago's O'Hare is spending $6.6 billion on its renovation plan, $76 million seems like a bargain.

Source:
* Gadling.com - Alaskan village building $76 million airport - for 100 people
* Newsminer.com - Akutan says goodbye, Grumman Goose; hello, airport to nowhere

Sex.com for sale

Sex.com, one of the most valuable Internet domain names, will go up for auction next week after the previous owner defaulted on its debts. Escom LLC paid a reported $14 million for the Web site in 2006. But the company failed to repay debt owed to DOM Partners LLC, the New Jersey-based lender that helped finance the deal.

The auction is set for March 18 in New York, and bidders are required to appear with a certified check for $1 million to participate. Could sex.com fetch double digits million in the next sale?

Source: Sex.com domain goes up for grabs

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Digital Sky Technologies offer to buy Chatroulette.com

Digital Sky Technologies (DST), the Russian venture capital firm that has invested $400 million in Facebook, has apparently made an offer to buy a piece of Chatroulette, the webcam network where you can chat with random strangers.

Read also How does ChatRoulette.com make money

According to Spiegel Online, DST made an offer to 17-year-old Andrey Ternovskiy to buy a piece of his booming website. He has yet to say yes though, as he is traveling to the U.S. to speak with American venture capitalists before taking any investment.

Multiple venture capitalists have apparently expressed interest in Chatroulette, which has more than 1.5 million visitors per day and a reputation for, well, extraordinary amounts of male exhibitionism. Some of the potential investors may include Google, Union Square Ventures and Skype.

Look, we understand why people would want to invest in Chatroulette: It’s hot, it’s fast-growing and it’s taken the web by storm. However, as we argued in an article earlier today, we believe that Chatroulette is unlikely to be the next Twitter — its primary functions are novelty and shock factor, not utility.

Unless Mr. Ternovskiy has a plan to turn the site into a legitimate business (with the male genitalia completely removed), we have a tough time seeing Chatroulette as a smart investment.

500 Dogo Nahawa villagers hacked to death

Another massacre in Nigeria. The once-virgin bush on the fringes of the village of Dogo Nahawa turned into a cemetery overnight, after more than 500 Christians were hacked to death with machetes in a three-hour orgy of violence on Sunday close to Jos.

Pregnant women and children were among the scores of people cut down by axes, daggers and cutlasses, officials said.

Much of the violence was centred on Dogo Nahawa, where gangs set fire to straw-thatched mud huts as they pursued the rampage. Around two-thirds of the houses are burnt to the ground.

The weekend's explosion of violence is the latest between rival ethnic and religious groups in the same area. In January, 326 people died in clashes in and around Jos, according to police, although rights activists put the overall toll at more than 550.

Source: SMH: Three villages are attacked in Nigeria leaving hundreds dead.

Recommended reading:
* 21 dead in Maguindanao massacre (Nov 2009)
* Top 10 Crime Stories of 2009