Buy an essay

When essay submission is a part of curriculum and it carries scores and grades, keeping oneself away from essay writing will not do well. There are no chances of escaping from such a highly demanding situation. It is often this that makes students under high pressure even at a thought of going to college.

Students can search for a way out of this problem at colleges through the concept of custom writing service. When essays are available for sale, students need not worry more on the issues related to essay submission. They can find various companies offering essays which maintain equilibrium between cost and quality of essays.
Students can buy an essay on the topic they want. Such companies can provide essays on diversified topics and areas. Such essays are usually written by experts who go for thorough research after understanding your terms and conditions. They will strictly adhere to the quality of the essays submitted and recycling is never performed when the number of customers increases. Hence students can buy essay even when deadline is nearing.

When customers buy essay at urgency, there are high chances that they fail to take notice of fraud sites stealing their money. Such websites can be too cunning to offer you essays at cheap rates. Students have to understand that those companies that are offering essays at the same rate for colleges and term papers as that of a school level essay or compositions are not reliable. Trust a reliable source to pick up original essays and you’ll certainly fare well.

June 2nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Whole life insurance – types:

Whole life insurance is started to help people who want to insure their life against anything that might happen unexpectedly. It is also easy to get a home improvement loan along with the guaranteed cash with whole life insurance. There are various types of whole life insurance.
1. Non-participating:
The various issues concerning the value of the policy like death benefits, cash surrender values and premiums are determined by the policy issue. This cannot be altered once the policy is issued and continued till the end of the contract.
2. Participating:
Here the insurance company is ready to share the profit as dividend with the policy holder. Excess profits will be shared with the customer in a participating whole life insurance.
3. Indeterminate premium:
The premium in this case may vary from year to year. This variation will never make the premium to exceed the maximum value set in the policy at the time of contract issue.
4. Economic:
This combines the term life insurance and the participating life insurance policies. The death benefit will be higher in this policy.
5. Limited pay:
The policy here continues till the end of the life of the insured. Up front for such policies are usually high.
6. Single premium:
A single up front that is high in amount is the pay period. This is another form of limited pay. They have charges as fees during the earlier period of payment of the policy.
7. Interest sensitive:
This is a newer form of whole life insurance. This mixes up the traditional form of whole life insurance and universal life insurance.
There are various advantages for whole life insurance. They help the investor to earn a large amount in the later period of his life. This case can help him to deposit a high amount as the investment for later part of his life. This makes whole life insurance get high acceptance from the investors.

May 7th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

EVDEN EVE NAKLIYAT - MOBILYA

Because of the much higher densities of people and activities, environmental, economic, public health, social and quality of life considerations and constraints are important in cities.
Urban transport has been led by professional transport planners and traffic experts, who have made use of the same forecasting and response tools that they have used to good effect in other transport sectors. This has led in most cities to a substantial overbuilding of the road and supporting infrastructure, which has maximized throughput in terms of the numbers of vehicles and the speeds with which they pass through and move around in the built-up areas.
evden eve nakliyat

Too much infrastructure and too much smoothing for maximum vehicle throughput means that in many cities there is too much traffic and many - if not all - of the negative impacts that come with it. It is only in recent years that traditional practices have started to be questioned in many places, and as a result of new types of analysis which bring in a much broader range of skills than those traditionally relied on – spanning such areas as environmental impact analysis, public health, sociologists as well as economists who increasingly are questioning the viability of the old mobility solutions. European cities are leading this transition.
evden eve nakliyat

May 6th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Which market to be selected?

It is very important to decide and to have a very clear picture in mind regarding the ultimate objective of putting up a trade show booths in a trade show. What your company should convey at the end of the day should be clear and authentic in all respects. Another critical aspect to be considered is whether your company needs to present themselves in a vertical market or a horizontal market?

Yes, markets can be broadly classified into two based on the objectives set and goals attained. They are horizontally based trade shows and vertically based trade shows.

In a horizontally based trade show, you can find trade show booths who essentially concentrate in the marketing and selling products and services in a broader way. People who see the trade show display or who visit the trade show booths are generally specific in concentrating their attention to specific products or to products in a broader sense. Their objectives often could be compromised with very similar products which are of the same intended nature and habit.

Vertically based trade shows convey a different style and meaning. People who want to see trade show displays of vertically based trade shows are only focused to a typical product or service. They aim at a very particular product or service and they are attending the trade shows for that product or service only. Here, the concept of trade shows is categorized and a vertically based trade show rather conveys a very narrow meaning.

May 4th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Dedicated webhosting – disadvantages

Most of the webhosting companies in today’s market use dedicated servers to host websites. They try to attract customers saying that, they can enjoy individual servers for hosting their websites. But often this has several disadvantages. Customers can know the opinion of experienced people in web hosting reviews who have already worked with dedicated servers. This will help them to know if the hosting plan is beneficial for them.

The monthly charge for hosting is extremely high with dedicated server hosting. Companies demand that this is in turn for the high benefits they are obtaining from such hosting plans.

Customers are expected to have better skills for managing the server. Even if they are best web hosting companies, customers are expected to resolve the server related problems. This requires excellence and are time consuming as well. If they seek the help of others, this process will become too expensive.

Dedicated servers are preferable only if the customers enjoy high website traffic at their site. They can go for this plan, if they feel that they are making money from hosting to meet the requirements. Otherwise customers will have to weep about the loss incurred on website hosting.

Using dedicated servers might bring better webhosting rating for you. But this is done at the expense of money from your pocket. So it is always advisable to choose dedicated servers only if you really require it for hosting. Your requirement is that matters and of course expense is a great factor for hosting websites.

May 3rd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Categories for blogs:

Blogs are getting high popularity these days. People use blogs to get information on various topics they need. Hence blogs are of high use to internet visitors. But these visitors expect the blogs to be of attractive form so as to improve their readability. Hence blogs have to be organized in a proper manner.  

Categories can be used to organize blogs in the right manner. When blogs are grouped into headings, users find it highly comfortable to search for the one they are looking for. They can easily go through the pages and get the one suited for them.  

The categories have to be named interestingly when they are used in blogs. These names must be capable of capturing user attention. Then customers will be interested to read them to know what is inside the heading. The categories can be linked to blogs available in other internal pages. Hyper links can be given in the blogs using these categories.  

Users can click on the category name given somewhere in the internal pages of the blogs. This click will easily direct them. Thus categories will increase the popularity of blogs. When blogs are more readable, they will be visited by more number of users.  

Since blogs are used by visitors who are interested in reading, they have to be extremely interesting. The content given in the internal pages have to be interesting. This has a high place in making the blogs free from boring content. Users will not be interested in reading anything that is not relevant to the context or bulk data.

May 1st, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Teen underwear online shopping at SugaPlum Shop

Everyone wants underwear that suits one; this is not only the comfort but also ones character. Moreover underwear plays a major role in person’s character. A teen cannot be in adult lingerie. Adult underwear is not something that a growing teen would like to be in. As such underwear’s are moreover suitable to an adult character. What a teen wants is underwear that substantiates her character. If you are a teen and are looking for teen underwear that is teen oriented, than you should look for the sugarplum site on the net. They have Specially made teen underwear online shopping at SugaPlum Shop.. This underwear is manufactured after considering a number of points that a teen would like in her underwear. Such as the comfort design and color. The best part of the underwear’s on this site is that, the underwear’s are in plenty. You can get your desired size shapes design and color. These are designer made, which gives you another reason to get one. Specially made in Italy it comes just for you young teens. The finest quality undergarments that are Designer teen underwear made to measure just for teenagers, not their mums!
So now that you know that you don’t have to be in the adult underwear’s, so wait no more. Go ahead and browse sugarplum site and get the underwear that suits you, instead of you adapting to one. Surely you would love your new teen underwear. It’s funky, got life and fits you like never before.

April 27th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Save time, save tax, save worry with OrangeGenie

Being an independent contractor is a brilliant career option but being there all by yourself isn’t going to work for you in the United Kingdom. Here you need t be associated with an umbrella company who will look after certain aspects for you. In fact the guidance of an umbrella company is brilliant because they look forward to helping you better your work prospects. Once you are sheltered by an umbrella company your work prospects grow tremendously. When working with OrangeGenie Umbrella Company Solutions, the foremost assistance is in regards to the Save time, save tax, save worry with OrangeGenie Umbrella Company Solutions concept.
When you get linked with an umbrella company it’s essential that you don’t get caught in a non-understandable tax whirlwind. You’re doing this to improve your work opportunities and income capacity so make a wise choice and select an umbrella company that’s truly worth it. One things certain, the OrangeGenie Umbrella Company Competitive administration costs are worth a mention. They offer an easy start up for those who join up so that you can be initiated into the process easily rather than worrying yourself over this episode. Honestly, it’s not going to get much easier and you don’t have an alternative. Being associated with an umbrella company is an absolute necessity when working as a freelance contractor. As such, it makes best sense to find a company that’s going to work well for you. The OrangeGenie Umbrella Company Solutions is one of its kinds and is dedicated towards improving your occupational opportunities.

April 27th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

All about Visas

Visa Requirements

Visa is a document that gives you permission to enter the country that has issued the visa. Visas are issued after proper verification and are issued for the stipulated time period as requested by the applicant and also for the purpose as mentioned by the applicant. Nowadays, visa norms have become stringent and very strict. Valid visa possession is one of the conditions that a foreigner needs to fulfill to enter into a country.  Generally, visas are valid for a single country that is, a visa issued by particular country can be used to obtain entry only in that country, but due to some agreements between countries that are part of a group can grant a visa which can give to entry in multiple countries. A few examples of this kind of multiple visas are Schengen Visa, Central American Single Visa also known as Visa Unica Centroamericana, East African Single Tourist Visa, SADC UNIVISA. Many countries also have some exemption schemes for some high profile individuals like people who hold diplomatic passports may be granted a visa free entry.

Basic Requirements

First and foremost, the individual who is applying for a visa should have a valid passport (passport application). The person who wishes to play for a visa should not have any criminal record, nor should he be associated with some fraud or with any banned activities like drug trafficking, etc. The person who is applying for a visa should be the person himself and not an impersonator or a misrepresentative. Persons who are not able to prove strong ties with their home country or country that they are presently residing in, or even persons who show intention to stay in foreign countries are generally denied a visa or they face problem while acquiring a visa. This problem is mainly faced by individuals who are applying for a work permit visa or individuals who wish to travel to a developed country, but are a citizen of a developing country. These strict norms were introduced due to immigration problems.

For a person to acquire a visa for particular country; he should have a legitimate reason to visit that country. People with dubious reasons don’t get a visa. The person should have means of sustenance and should be monetarily sound. If he fails to clear this criterion, then his visa application may be rejected. The applicant should have a lodging arrangement in the concerned country and should be able to provide the required documents regarding this; if he fails to do so then he won’t get a visa. With proper lodging, the applicant also needs to provide his means of travel and transportation.

One of the most important things for your visa application to be recognized and processed is to have a health as well as travel insurance. The insurance should be valid for the duration of the stay and proper documents proving this should be provided. The concerned authorities also look into the topics like moral character of the individual and this can also be a reason for your application to get rejected. Some embassies deny visa if the applicant is applying for a visa on urgent basis and applies on a short notice. Such types of applications are looked at as security threats. Many people are unable to get visas because their previous applications have been rejected, hence it is very important to maintain a clean record and submit a proper application.

Visas are also denied if the person is a citizen of a country and that country has poor relations with the country that he wants to visit. For example, some Muslim countries may not offer visa if you are from Israel or if you have been to or visited Israel even once.

Persons with poor health record or even with bad medical history and who have communicable diseases may most probably not get a visa. Individuals with prior immigration violations also face problems in acquiring a visa and more often then not, their applications are rejected.

Including these common norms, there will be some other rules and regulations depending upon the government of the concerned country and the department of the foreign affairs. The home country government can not interfere with the procedure of the issue of visa and can not help individuals if their visa application gets rejected.

April 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

What are playpens?

Playpens are generally used by parents to keep their children safe and away from harm. It is a type of furniture used for this purpose. There are various types of playpens available but the traditional ones were made of wood. This generally had a rectangular platform where the child can be made to sit. These traditional playpens were square in shape and have four vertical bars on which the playpen stands. The child can see out when made to sit in a playpen.
Usually playpens have a higher wall than the height of the child. This will prevent climbing injuries happening to children. Most categories of playpens have detachable lids, though various newer designs are coming in.
The main intension of using playpens is to confine children to a particular place safely otherwise they might wander about restlessly. This wandering might cause them to hurt their body parts. Usually parents make use of playpens when they are occupied with some chores and can’t give due attention to their kid. Children also enjoy being in playpens and will love the comfort there. They can choose the place as the best place for various activities.
Now more and more varieties are introduced in playpens. Various new designs and models are coming in but while choosing a playpen for the kid, parents need to be extremely careful. They have to ensure the security of the kid more than anything else. This has to be the prime area of concern while choosing a playpen.

April 21st, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

What are water tanks?

Water tanks were there since man became civilized. They are storage equipments for storing water for various purposes related to human life. The purpose of storing water might vary ranging from drinking purposes to irrigation to suppressing fire and various manufacturing purposes. Even when various modern techniques replaced the olden forms of water tanks, they continue to be in use and are of great help to human beings.
Water tanks are usually made of various materials. The general type of water tanks are made of plastic, polyethylene and fiber glass. There are water tanks of concrete and steel as well. Those immovable water tanks made of earth looks more like a pond, yet is referred to as water tanks.
The water tanks use various chemical materials in the manufacturing process. The water and various chemicals used for the construction of water tanks has to be in set and mixed properly and the chemical that helps in this process of retention is FDA and NSF polyethylene. This is most commonly seen in chemical water tanks. Carbon steel is used in the manufacture of the ground water tanks. They can be used for string large quantity of water by receiving water for storage from a well or pond.
Water tanks must not harm the purity of the water stored in it. Water can be affected by a large number of negative elements including bacteria and fungi. Water tanks must have facilities for preventing against this. They can be of varying sizes and shapes. The size generally is determined by the purpose for which water tanks are generally used. Different international standards evaluate the quality of water tanks and assure that, they are not bringing any damage to water and indirectly to life in the surroundings.

April 21st, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Great shutters

The need for shutters can never be sidelined. It’s the one important thing that can help keep you safe and secure. You obviously don’t want to take a chance with your belongings. If you have a business unit and need to protect assets and products, you can keep them safe in a storage capacity with strong and secure roller shutters. It’s not something you’ll be worrying about at all times but it’s certainly something that you want to install at the onset. Of course there’s insurance to protect you in case of an untoward event but you need to do all you can from your end to make sure that you did all that was possible to ensure the safety of your goods.
With the need for shutters being so important, it’s essential that you know where t head when you decide to by them. It is true that there are many designs and types available but make sure whatever you choose comes from a trustworthy source. This is a need or else you will be risking your venture. You are not going to shop for shutters too often. As such, when you make an investment here make sure it’s a wise one. Getting shutters may not be the most interesting task but it certainly requires your attention. When you are out shopping for shutters, make sure you look around and know what you wish to buy and how much you should be paying for it and settle for the best deals available.

April 18th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Get A Loan Til Payday

If you are one of the many people who are in need of fast cash, payday loans might be something that you want to consider. This is now one of the quickest and easiest ways to borrow money, especially since these companies gave up the bricks and mortar and went online. These loans are easy to get and the criteria for obtaining one is also quite quick, most of the time you will have the money deposited in your bank account within twenty four hours.

It is always a good idea to find out as much as you can about such companies and you will find some information if you look in the payday loans center directory to see if the company is listed there. While most paday loan companies are reputable there are some things you need to look out for when applying for a fast cash payday loans..

The first thing you should look at before choosing one of these companies is their security record -remember you are giving them highly personal information such ss you bank details.. It’s especially important to do as much research as you can before giving out your details to one of these companies.

April 16th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Iddaa

When it comes to football, the entire world is watching. It’s truly the one game that will keep you on the edge of the chair. The great one touch moves, long passes, corners and the all exciting penalty kicks, there’s always something to watch out for. The underdogs against the winners and so often the best of games come down to that one goal difference. When it comes to league matches, it can’t get better than this. The knockouts are brilliant as each team gets a fair share. You play to survive in the league and at the end of play each goal counts.
The European subcontinent has excelled in the genre of league football games and one such par excellence league is the <a href=”http://www.iddaaevi.com”>Iddaa</a>. If you are wondering what that is, we’re talking about the all exciting third level of the Turkish football league system. Of course the Champions’ League happens to be the most popular in all of Europe but you really wouldn’t know what you are missing till you don’t start watching all the minor leagues that culminate into the big ones.
At <a href=”http://www.iddaaevi.com”>Iddaa</a> the game layout is easy to follow. You start with the first round where ten teams in five groups play the regular season. At the end of play, the top two groups in each subgroup qualifies for the play offs. It starts to get super exciting at this stage and there’s no missing a match now. Of course you may find it difficult to get the names of all players and teams correct but that’s about the only hitch you’ll experience if football is your first language. The rules of the game are always the same and there’ll always be those nail biting moments.
So if you really want to get into the groove, just step in here and watch the fixtures. You’ll know who is playing who and when your favorite team is scheduled to play. You’ll know how each individual player stands and you’ll get the watch videos of those winning moments. Anything, that’s news at Iddaa is presented to you just as it is. Know about match scheduling,, player information, coach details, injury news and all that’s been scandalous and winning through the league. Find out more about reigning stars and more about those who made it big previously. Know who’s playing and who is not and best of all you get t know what the professionals have to say. Hear expert opinions of football bigwigs to know what they predict at the end of the season. This is ne lively place with all the information you could have ever wanted. So much so, that you wouldn’t even need to go elsewhere because anything that you are looking for is right here. The sites easy to navigate with clear categories and dedicated sections for popular searches. Catch the latest in Iddaa and know more about the game you so love. There’s a lot f depth in football and maybe it’s time you steered away from just the popular games and gave each league its due attention, there’s too many heroes out here.

April 11th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Trade Show booths

Portable trade show booths are dedicated areas within which the company has to display all the products and services. The booth may be a stationery one or a portable display area that works as a make shift office. The trade show is your chance to connect with potential clients and establish trade relationships with other companies. The trade show booth enables you to connect and present the products and services to people who you may not even know are interested in your business. The trade show booths may have banner stands, pop up trade show displays or could be the plain display areas. What matters is that the product line and services are on show effectively and in a presentable manner to attract new clientele.
There are a number of dedicated trade show booth resources that enable you to design and organize the one allotted at the trade show to ensure that the whole exercise is fruitful. It is very essential for the trade show booth to be organized and contain all possible information on the company, in the form of brochures or hand-outs or even fliers, so that potential customers do not have to re-establish contact at a later stage for some information. And the truth is – they never do! The first impression is the best and last one. Effective trade show booth selection involves team work and you should ideally involve the whole sales team to ensure that the product line is well displayed. It pays to conduct some prior research and plan the display and company representation in advance.

April 10th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

What Should Accident Insurance Cover

The insurance market is a very competitive one so if you are searching for accident cover or for an individual health insurance policy the best time to go for it is now. Because the market is competitive do your research as you will be more likely to find a policy and a premium structure that will suit your needs and your budget. The best type of accident insurance will guarantee you a small income for a certain period of time if you are unable to work because of the accident – some policies will also pay out compensation if the accident is severe, such as losing a hand.
Car, rail and air accidents are everyday news. Whether you are travelling a couple of blocks or several thousand miles you have to accept the likelihood of an accident. Some auto insurance policies will also cover your medical bills and a small income if you have an accident, but that does not cover the other areas. If you are abroad and you have an accident the costs could be astronomical unless you have either an international accident insurance policy, or one that will pay for your flight home on top of the associated medical costs.

April 10th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

The Popularity of Bidding Directories

If you want to get traffic to your site and more exposure to the public, which will increase your sales, then you know that this depends on how the search engines rank your site. High volume traffic is largely dependent on where your site appears on the search results page, if it is right at the bottom then it is likely to get overlooked by the searcher. Listing your site with a web directory is designed to increase your exposure, however this doesn’t always work because you have no control over where your site will appear on a results page. This has led to an increase in the number of sites submitted to a bidding directory.

A bidding directory is the same as any other directory except for the fact that the webmaster attaches a bid to their submission. The highest bid is the one that gets the best placement on a search page. All websites will receive back links when they submit to a directory and although this does help your page rank, it can be a long process. Building your site’s popularity this way is a cost effective means of getting more exposure and hopefully increasing your page rank.

April 9th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Gutters Boston and roofing company in Boston

Gutters are meant to be used for the proper facilitation of the drainage system. Accidents are bound to happen when gutters are not properly cleaned and it takes the residents of Boston great pains to clean off the sewage that gets accumulated in gutters. It is often seen that rain waters and snow fills up the gutters Boston. This major problem can have detrimental consequences on your home and property in the following ways: the ground erosion might lead to many sorts of foundation problems; it might also become a very costly damage of plants and vegetation. It might also lead the roof to leak as the result of a large pool of water into that of the gutters that may have overfilled or are left unattended.
Roofing company in Boston are meant to provide you complete relief from that of the hassle that you would be facing in cleaning the gutters all by yourself. In fact the roofing companies in Boston provide you solution to all your problems at one go. The roofing companies in Boston are more than a smart way to protect the investment of your family. It has also the good looks and the essential cleaning capacity which is the ultimate requirement. The gutter guards provided by all these companies are made of durable aluminum which also has a baked finish. They are also available in a wide range of colors to suit both the style and purpose. In addition to this, the roofing companies in Boston also provides an easy installation system and ensures that rain water would be flowing through the two-way route and away from your home in an efficient manner. You also would not require repainting the whole or replacing the siding at frequent intervals.
The roofing companies in Boston also provide you with round the clock customer care service to ensure that your nightmares on leaky gutters are gone forever. At any point of time when you find that the rain gutters are clogged you can simply get in touch with these companies and they would immediately find out an easy alternative for you. The gutter guards designed by the roofing companies in Boston are also a great way to enhance the appeal of your house in a truly unique way and that is why the inhabitants are able to rely on the roofing companies of Boston when it comes to provide a protection to gutters. All over the state, you can get in touch with roofing companies and before zeroing on in a particular company. Make sure that the products and services that it provides are truly up to the mark and would take care of your requirements in the most appropriate way. The roofing companies in Boston are also believed to be the best in the trade with the best quality products at your doorstep. Over the years they have in their records satisfied customers who always bank upon them whenever there is a problem with gutters and the drainage system. It’s important you play it safe and can rely on someone trustworthy.

April 9th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Best Mortgage Rates and Credit Card Offers

Mortgage and credit cards are an integral part of our life, as both of these are important sources from which we can derive financial help as and when we need. The best mortgage rates are those which offer very low rates of interest and are comparatively less pinching than the other fixed rate loans.
When you would go out shopping for the best mortgage rate you will find it quite frustrating at times if you are not at all aware of the term. Interest rates are believed to be one of the most important things which you would be considering when you shop for the best mortgage rates in town. The first and foremost thing that you need to do is gather information from the most valuable resource. You must in fact, gather information from those who have gained quite an experience in this field. They are the ones who will be able to guide you better on this. Surf the net for the best sites from there and then zero in on a few of the lenders in your choice list. There are a lot of questions which you need to keep in mind while shopping for the best mortgage rates. You must also be aware that there are a lot of fees which are involved with that of the mortgage rates. These fees in the due course of time can prove to be quite expensive and in the long run your lower rate of interest does not remain to be the best deal. First of all, ask lenders what is the rate for the product in which you share an interest and following that ask them what will be the APR of the same?
Credit card offers are such nowadays that anybody would make a plunge and grab the offers. It is very difficult for some to understand that there are some aspects related to the interest rate of a credit card which is very tough to conceive. A careful note should be taken into deep consideration. A single credit card might have many Annual Percentage Rates attached to it. Best credit card offers are generally known to offer best deals in terms of grace period and the number of days within which you will make your bill payment without paying any sort of extra charges. Hard pinching are ones which charge a very high rate of interest when you make cash advances as well as balance transfers on an immediate basis. Then again, if you wish to make use of your credit card solely for these purposes then you must also seek to find the lowest APRs which are in relation with these kinds of balances. You must also be aware of the method that the credit card company uses in the calculation of interest charges. So before you set to get the credit card with best offers, just see to it that you have gathered enough information on the interest rate and the value returns of the credit card in question.

April 8th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Escort for you

When you are out, away from home and need to be busy with business meetings, life can be quite a drag for you. Apart from the work that you are scheduled to complete, there’s nothing else that you have planned. As such, after your successful meetings, you are left rather clueless because you have no idea what to do next. If this is you, there is an option for you. You can make your British holiday as memorable as you want it to be. Your best option is to get in touch with a noteworthy London escorts service.
This is a brilliant alternative to sitting clueless in your hotel room or wandering around trying to mix in. in the company of an escort you won’t feel the loneliness because she’ll be there to show you around and take you to all the trendy places. This guarantees that your holiday is truly worth it and you get to do just what any other Londoner would be doing een without having an inkling about the city.
With the escorts London system working for you, you can now visit all the restaurants that expect you to walk in as a couple. You can visit everyplace and have company and boredom won’t come anywhere close to you. With an escort by your side you can walk the city like you belong there. The good thing being that they know the place well so you are not going to miss out on fun at any time during your stay.

April 6th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Internet money making

A new site has been created which lists the top 10 income opportunities available from the internet today. The opportunities listed on this site if implemented properly can result in the opportunity to make money online.

All the examples listed on the site are work at home friendly and are split into various popular categories, such as affiliate marketing and betting systems.

Every opportunity has a ranked listing on the site, as mentioned the site focuses on the top 10 examples and the listings are regularly updated as required, the internet is an ever growing place and the rankings continue to get updated as new products are released and as popular products continue to gain popularity.

One thing about this site, is that it is totally impartial, a lot of sites on the market are out there to ‘make a quick buck’ however you can see from this site that it is not a marketing gimmick, it is an excellent resource for people looking to make money online or perhaps start a home business.

On the front page of the site there is also some scam information, if you simply enter your personal details then you will gain access to scams which seem to plauge the internet, this resource by itself makes the site more useful then the vast majority.

The site also focuses on the very best opportunities in the most profitable categories and you could soon be changing from your job in an office, to working from a study in your office, take the first step and realise your dream and work from home.

April 5th, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Microsoft and HP to set up Taiwan technology center

Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, the world’s top software and PC firms, on Thursday announced plans for a new technology center in Taiwan, the world’s computer-manufacturing hub.

Companies such as HP and Dell are the world’s top sellers of PCs, but most of the actual hardware–about 80 percent of all laptops–is made by Taiwan firms, including Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics.

“Microsoft and HP solution centers will help advance the technology of our Taiwanese business partners and corporate clients,” John Knutsen, director of Global Microsoft Technology Center, said at a news conference.

Microsoft said the center would be focused on investing in advanced software, hardware, and improving technical support to its Taiwan partners.

The two companies said they expect the new center to be able to generate a return of $83 million worth of sales in five years.

There are now 16 Microsoft technology centers in the world, including in the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Britain, India, and the United States, Knutsen said.

Software giant Microsoft said earlier this month that it had not seen any major impact on its businesses from an economic slowdown, particularly in the United States, and that it has been helped by emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil, and Russia.

Hewlett-Packard posted forecast-beating quarterly earnings last month and has said its strategies in emerging markets will help it weather a tough economic climate this year.

March 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Microsoft’s top visionary sees a parallel world

Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, is sure he has a good handle on where technology is going. When is another story.

Mundie, who took over as Microsoft’s lead visionary from co-founder Bill Gates in 2006, is preparing the company for a technology shift that he expects will be as big as the rise of the personal computer or the Internet: parallel computing.

“It’s a lot easier for us to have a fairly accurate sense of what will happen and even make good technical progress toward achieving it,” Mundie told Reuters in an interview last week. “Almost everything we tried to do took longer than we expected.”

The overseer of Microsoft’s $7 billion research and development budget, Mundie knows firsthand how even promising technologies can take time to develop. After all, he has led Microsoft’s efforts in Web-based television and nontraditional forms of computing.

Parallel computing has been hyped for years as the next big thing in technology, allowing computers to run faster by dividing up tasks over multiple microprocessors instead of using a single processor to perform one task at a time.

The technology’s full potential is almost unfathomable today, but it could lead to major advances in robotics or software applications that can translate documents in real time in multiple languages.

The computer industry has taken its first steps toward parallel computing in recent years by using “multicore” chips, but Mundie said this is the “tip of the iceberg.”

To maximize computing horsepower, software makers will need to change how software programmers work. Only a handful of programmers in the world know how to write software code to divide computing tasks into chunks that can be processed at the same time instead of a traditional, linear, one-job-at-a-time approach.

A new programming language would be required, and it could affect how almost every piece of software is written.

“This problem will be hard,” admitted Mundie, who worked on parallel computing as the head of supercomputer company Alliant Computer Systems before joining Microsoft. “This challenge looms large over the next 5 to 10 years.”

The shift to parallel computing was born out of necessity after processor speeds ran into heat and power limitations, forcing the semiconductor industry to assemble multiple cores, or electronic brains, on a single chip.

Intel and Advanced Micro Devices have already assembled chips with as many as four processors on a single chip. Tilera, a Silicon Valley chip start-up, foresees a 1,000-core chip by 2014.

Killer applications
Mundie, who assumed half of Gates’ job almost two years ago, sets the long-term technological direction for the company as the co-founder moves to a part-time role in July to focus on philanthropy. Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, sets the shorter-term agenda.

Mundie has at his disposal Microsoft’s research department, with more than 800 Ph.D. researchers working on the new technology.

The research focuses on everything from Web search to simultaneous translation to touch-screen technology, but parallel computing is certainly among its top priorities because it will likely affect every part of Microsoft.

Computers about 100 times more powerful than now will emerge within 20 years, Mundie estimated, packing the capabilities of a corporate data center into a single die sitting inside a mobile phone or laptop.

A “killer application” will bring this computing power to the forefront, he said, just like what word processing and spreadsheets did for the PC, and how e-mail and the Web browser popularized the Internet.

Pushing a company as big as Microsoft–with about 80,000 employees–to look past historical strengths and traditional ways of doing things to focus on new technology is not easy.

“Bill (Gates) and I have both (said) at times over the years that you can’t do these jobs unless you are an optimist, almost an extreme optimist, because in a way, you are fighting so many forces that are resistant to change,” Mundie said.

March 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Newsmaker Benioff takes stock of software shifts

newsmaker For years, Marc Benioff appeared in public wearing an “End of Software” button on his lapel–just to rankle Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, or any other software mugwump making a killing on selling packaged applications.

Nowadays, the peripatetic entrepreneur might just as well swap the old buttons out with a replacement bearing a new slogan: “Told you so.”

His company, Salesforce.com, which posted record fourth-quarter revenue, raised its outlook for its next fiscal year to between $1.03 billion and $1.035 billion. The company, which has become closely identified with the move toward software as a service, has registered 85 percent annualized sales growth over the last five years.

But Salesforce.com now has company. Among other new rivals, the company will butt heads increasingly with Microsoft, which has committed itself to offering more software services via the Internet.

CNET News.com caught up with Benioff to talk about the future of software services as well as his plans to re-create Software.com as more of a computing platform.

Q: In 2005 you said that Microsoft was a dinosaur facing the obsolescence of a technology and a business model. Fast-forward to 2008 and Microsoft just had a big event in Las Vegas, where Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie got up onstage and articulated a vision that had a lot of similarities to what you’re talking about vis a vis platform as a service, such as its SQL Server data services. So, has your opinion changed?
Benioff: No. If we had waited for Microsoft to create any of those, nothing would be created yet. Look at the whole software service phenomenon. Where are they?
I think Microsoft is still a dinosaur.

But what I’m asking today is whether you have changed your opinion. Do you think that Microsoft is still a dinosaur?
Benioff: I think Microsoft is still a dinosaur. More than ever, it tries to hold onto its monopolistic position around technology that they hold, whether it’s SQL Server, whether it’s NT, whether it’s Windows, whether it’s Office–these are their cash cows they don’t want slaughtered.

But are those cash cows monopolies?
Benioff: Well, I think one was ruled a monopoly.

Right, but we’re talking about SQL Server. We’re talking about their software-as-a-service strategy, and so on. Can we consider those monopolistic?
Benioff: Well, not in the same way, of course. But the point is that they’re trying to hold onto their past more than trying to create their future. This has been the great failing of Microsoft over the last 10 years. I haven’t seen the level of innovation from them that we see from other vendors.

As the concept of the platform as a service becomes more of a reality over the next decade, do you think that Microsoft has an opportunity to be one of the big platforms?
Benioff: The evidence is that history, more or less, will repeat itself because there is no acknowledgement to some of the core tenants of this new paradigm. I think only in the cases where they will be dragged, kicking and screaming, and I think the best example probably is Gmail.

Google is doing really well with Gmail. I think that’s why now you will see Microsoft have to respond with a multi-tenant e-mail solution. They have Hotmail, but not Hotmail for business per se. They’re definitely going to have to do that.

With Ozzie taking over as chief software architect, Microsoft is talking more about how to take the plunge in software services. So where do you see the chief obstacle preventing them from turning this into a success? They’ve got all the developers in the world.
Benioff: I am not the CEO of Microsoft so I don’t really know. You’d have to ask them why they haven’t delivered on the vision. We’re not unique in saying that it’s the end of software. That’s our phrase, but Microsoft has not delivered on the promise. They haven’t used their power to innovate in the way that others have.

Do you say the same thing about SAP and Oracle as well?
Benioff: When I left Oracle nine years ago, Oracle’s revenue was $10 billion a year. Today it’s $20 billion a year. Where Oracle has innovated is in the business model. You’ve seen substantial growth and a substantial return to Oracle shareholders through that change. With SAP, you really have not seen innovation in the last 10 years. If you think about what is the one thing that SAP has ever innovated, what have they created that’s unique to the industry or value-added technology? I have a hard time thinking about what SAP is going to be known for at the end of the day.

The application service provider model was popular in the ’90s but got hurt when capital dried up and the economy went south. Do you see parallels with what’s going on nowadays?
Benioff: I think it was because of the code. They were trying to repurpose other people’s code and they were just trying to move your data center into their data center, but it was still the same old code.

These days, people go home and they’re having a really great experience on the Internet. They’re already using Web 2.0, with all these great applications and they’re blogging and collaborating with their friends. But then they get to work and they don’t have that same quality of application.

newsmaker You’re looking at applications that have been around for 10 or 20 years, and I think there’s frustration. The industry has really delivered on the dream of the Internet, but when you get down to the CIO level, the CIO is struggling to match that experience inside the enterprise and out.

You’ve shifted from software as a service to platform as a service. How do you think you’re doing in terms of colonizing the Web with your platform as a service in terms of getting companies to just shift over to this new model–where it’s, you come to us and we do everything for you?
Benioff: It’s taken about a decade of Salesforce to kind of get the software service movement to really happen. We will be 10 years old on March 8 of next year. People overestimate what you can do in a year and they underestimate what you can do in a decade, unless you’re (Apple CEO) Steve Jobs.

I think that it’s going to take a decade to make platform as a service happen because it’s the re-creation of all the ISVs (independent software vendors), the technology also, the ecosystem, the implementation, and so forth.

And just in the same way that we don’t want to be the only ones doing software as a service, we certainly don’t want to be the only ones doing platform as a service. We want to be able to clearly show that this is the future of the industry, too.

How are you defining “platform” in this context?
Benioff: Platforms are things that an ecosystem can evolve around. We’ve seen that in our industry multiple times.

But platforms as a service?
Benioff: It is a really a new concept. Certainly, eBay is a platform as a service in many ways because there is an ecosystem that is evolving around it. But I think we mean something more along the lines of .Net as a service or the traditional application servers delivered as a service. In the same way that before you had to buy an operating system and database and an application server, you will be able to get that all delivered to you, as a multi-tenant shared service. This is a tremendous revelation for the IT department because to build new apps, you don’t want to have to invest a risk that’s traditionally associated with the software industry.

Does this mean that you’re done with the “End of the Software” slogan that you started with nine years ago?
Benioff: No, I think that this amplifies it. It’s now also really the end of software as regards to software development platforms. I think that is really key. The other really exciting thing is that it’s not going to be established players–the Microsofts and the IBMs and the Oracles–who are going to bring this. It’s not going to come from those who have been the traditional platform vendors the last two or three decades. A wave of new companies is going to create new value in our industry.
A wave of new companies is going to create new value in our industry.

When will Salesforce.com bring online productivity software applications that we’re seeing from Google or Zoho or other companies?
Benioff: Those are not technologies that we want to create. We have our hands full in terms of doing our core areas.

So do you see Salesforce.com as being a platform not just for business applications but for consumer applications? So, for example, the next Facebook could be developed upon the Salesforce platform?
Benioff: It’s possible and, of course, we would encourage it, but today our platform is mostly designed for the requirements of enterprises. That includes the scalability, reliability, availability, redundancy.

But consumers need that as well. They don’t want their mail systems or their Facebook going down.
Benioff: Right, but they tolerate it more than enterprises do. We’re more architected for applications where there is a cost from the customer and they’re paying for a level of reliability. I am not saying that that cannot happen, but at the end of the day we haven’t seen the next Facebook being built on Salesforce.

What about the brand name. Do you plan to keep Salesforce.com?
Benioff: It’s something that we constantly review. We have invested a tremendous amount; it has a lot of brand equity.

What are your thoughts on a slowdown or recession and what it means for the tech business?
Benioff: We haven’t really had any technology companies report numbers or make statements that this was affecting them. Maybe we will see it at some point, but I don’t know. You get where you read about it and you see it on CNN and, of course, the stock market has a 200-point bear selloff. I think that’s why it’s on everybody’s mind. But so far, tech companies haven’t reported that it’s an issue.

Does this kind of economic climate, where there’s lots of uncertainty, make it easier or tougher for someone selling software as a service?
Benioff: The power of software as a service is that it’s less risk than software, no matter what. That’s because the traditional software model has you buy the software and then you attempt to implement it. The risk is all yours. You’re kind of paying up front. With software as a service, you pay as you go so the risk is mitigated over time. If it’s not right for you for whatever reason, you’re not as far into it as the old model. The old model was you bought everything–the software, the hardware, the implementation–and then you had to make the determination: Is this the right product for me?

Does the sales pitch change a lot because of what’s going on in the economy?
Benioff: I don’t think it does today, but maybe over time it does. I don’t think we’re far enough in this. Technically, at least, we’re not yet in a recession.

March 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Nokia gives mobile application developers their big break

Mobile applications are turning into big business, and Nokia is looking to launch a few start-ups on their way.

Nokia’s developer arm, Forum Nokia, announced the results of its Mobile Rules contest Wednesday night at San Jose City Hall. Nine companies were chosen, representing four application categories, best business plan, and four winners of the best technology innovation.
The winners were judged by a panel of Nokia executives, venture capitalists, and media representatives. They’ll get a chance to pitch their ideas to Nokia’s higher-ups and the venture capital community. With smartphones and mobile phones growing more and more capable, most companies in this market are looking to court developers for their platform. Apple will get around to it eventually.

Without further adieu, the winners:

Best Application - Multiplayer and Connected Games:
Gamica. The Sumo Sumo game is a multiplayer Tetris-like game where you have to build “clusters of colored blocks before you get squashed by a giant spike wall,” according to the program description.

Best Application - Multimedia:
Mystrands. This company is building a social-networking music player, of sorts. They say they have 6 million songs available and help people discover new music by hooking them up with other users that share similar tastes.

Best Application - Enterprise:
Upcode. UpCode is building a mobile parking payment system that uses an optical scanner on a cell phone like a parking ticket. Instead of pushing the button for the ticket, and losing it later on, the idea is that you’d scan your cell phone to gain entry, and then pay later from your phone on the way out. Parking businesses then get the ability to track their customers’ habits more closely and adjust to peak demand, offer specials, or change pricing.

Best Application - Infotainment:
Earthcomber. These guys are working on ways to exploit GPS technology in mobile phones. Their winning entry involved a partnership with the Travel Channel where a visitor to Chicago could choose to be informed of attractions and sites around his or her current location.

Best Business Plan:
MedApps. MedApps is developing a product that lets patients with chronic diseases submit their most recent vital stats, like heart rate or blood sugar levels, wirelessly over the Internet to a health care provider.

Best Technology Innovation:
Four winners were chosen from the 12 finalists in this category. Genusion has developed a type of NOR flash memory called B4-Flash that is supposedly faster, cheaper, and more reliable than what’s currently available. Kannuu’s lookup application combs through databases to find likely results.

Kareline came up with a natural and Earth-friendly composite material for mobile phones than today’s plastics. And Tiki Labs is probably thinking about iPhone 2.0, having developed a system for interacting with a touchscreen using different combinations of thumbs and fingers.

March 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Why “laws” are against people?

How many of you, at least once, have been thiking of trying a sex toy? Be frank to yourselves as you’re answering not just a random question but one that lays deep inside your mind now for quite a long time.
Sex toys where always available on the shelves of sex shops and appeared long before that episode of “Sex and the city” with a Pearl Rabbit vibrator. People were enjoying them when this serial, and television itself, would be considered by the Inquisition as diabolic attempts intended to ruin peoples’ good conscience. Anyway, if we take a look through the retrospective of sattisfied and grateful customers, you will easily come to the conclusion that sex toys do deserve to slam the door of your sex life and make quite a mess over the “order” estbalished by the monotone flow of things throughout the time.
For people using sex toys, it’s more than just a way to manifest their nonconformist spirits, that concerns their sex life, it’s an opportunity to escape from routine when it comes to bedroom fun. Little people know but an impressive procentage of sex toys are made exclusively for couples. Thus, from one hand, they are a spicy addition to naughty couple’s sex games and, on the other hand, they are oriented to those who face hard times in finding a partner. If the little bastard “Cupidon” might have missed you heart, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy sex. You know - “Variety is the spice of life” - try some toys. Furthermore, if you’d pay more attention, you will see that adult toys are being purchased like hot cakes in many states, unless the “Law” prohobit their sale (yes, there are such “intelligent” laws in a couple of states).
People were always attracted by new sensations, like extreme sports, ultimate speeds and heights and other unusual things that make adrenaline pumping through the whole body. If speaking from the sexuality’s point of view, sex toys have same “adrenalin rush” aim of making your heart beat faster and giving you more energy for “whole night long” stands, you know what I mean, don’t you?

March 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Online games by the hundreds, with tie-ins

or some children, watching Dora the Explorer on television is becoming passe. Now they want to be Dora.

Tapping into this desire, media companies are increasingly entering the marketplace for online games–called casual games–and treating them as new programming, not just online add-ons to their television properties.

In addition to building brands, one of the big lures in casual games is the opportunity to attract advertising, including from food companies that have gradually agreed to limit the nature and volume of television advertisements aimed at children. But those agreements have not always extended to the Internet.

Viacom, the parent company of Nickelodeon and MTV, may be moving the most aggressively. On Tuesday, Nickelodeon is expected to announce the first of 600 original and exclusive games for its network of Web sites, as part of a $100 million investment in game development.

“We don’t believe they have enough homework,” joked Cyma Zarghami, the president of MTV Networks’ Nickelodeon Kids and Family group.

The term “casual,” used to contrast with the action-packed console games popularized by Sony and Microsoft, belies the fact that users devote hours to the games.

Studies show that a third of Internet users play online games at least once a week. Millions of children and teenagers play games on sites like AddictingGames.com, Miniclip, and Disney.com, and social-networking sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook are also becoming popular platforms for gaming.

A recent study by Grunwald Associates found that multitasking young people are often driven to online games by television shows, and they frequently interact with both media at the same time.

“Sitting and watching Dora DVDs is quite different from playing Dora in a game,” said Michael Cai, the director for broadband and gaming at Parks Associates, whose 3-year-old daughter is a fan of the preschool brand. “It’s definitely more engaging–and the brand affiliation is stronger–in an interactive setting.”

Just how important are games to Nickelodeon’s future? Standing on stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan at an annual event for advertisers last Wednesday, Zarghami began her presentation by gesturing to a giant overhead monitor tinted in the channel’s signature shade of orange. A message promoted the company’s gaming audience: “Over 25 million unique visitors last month.”

“What video is to TV, games are to the Web,” Steve Youngwood, the executive vice president for digital media at Nickelodeon, said in an interview. “For us to be relevant to our audience, that is where we need to put our investment.”

With a series of customized sites for different age groups (preschoolers, tweens, teenage boys, moms), Nickelodeon calls itself the “biggest gaming network in the country.”

Movie studios, video game publishers, and toy makers are among the top marketers on the sites. In the online-game market, its stiffest competition comes from Yahoo Games, which had 15.5 million unique visitors in February, according to the measurement firm ComScore.

With more than 12 million visitors each, Electronic Arts and Disney.com are also leaders in the arena. (By comparison, Microsoft’s online-game network, Xbox Live, has about 10 million members.)

The N, Nickelodeon’s teenage network, has dozens of games for children ages 12 to 17. Slightly younger players are directed to Nick.com, which drew an average of 7.9 million visitors in February and is expected to add 185 games this year. The youngest players of all are welcome on the sites of Nick Jr. and Noggin, where games are meant to be played by children “on the laps of their moms,” Zarghami said.

The company also owns Neopets, a virtual-pet Web site. The investment will add scores of new games to each site in the coming year.

Judy McGrath, the chief executive of MTV Networks, said many of the company’s assets are ripe for game development. Fresh off an impromptu Rock Band jam session in her Times Square office, McGrath made a reference to “Frog Baseball,” a 16-year-old pilot episode of the cartoon “Beavis and Butt-head.” In the episode, the two characters play the game described in the title.

“That would be a brilliant game,” McGrath said with a grin.

But the revenue streams for casual games are still experimental. Companies are exploring try-before-you-buy models, integrated advertising, and micro-transactions, where players can purchase items and levels within games. Advertisers have shown interest in inserting their products into game play.

Last year on Shockwave, a game site acquired by MTV Networks in 2006, players struggling with the jigsaw puzzle game could press the “easy button” sponsored by Staples to see a solution hint. Last year on Nick.com Arcade, the game site for Nickelodeon viewers, a custom game promoted Bee Movie for Paramount Pictures. Games are repeatable, customizable, and measurable, adding up to “great engagement for the advertiser,” Youngwood said.

Across the company’s game sites, sponsored and pay-to-play games are always labeled as advertisements. Still, some parents and watchdog groups worry that children are already smothered by branding messages.

For instance, the television version of the preschool brand Noggin is mostly commercial-free, but the channel’s Web site displays advertising. These ads–for Target, Circuit City, Six Flags and Orlando vacations on a recent day–are aimed at parents, but the young faces and bright colors probably appeal to children as well.

Some advertisers have devised their own games to pull in children from media sites. An advertisement for Cinnamon Toast Crunch that ran at the top of Nick.com one afternoon last week linked to the Millsberry Arcade, a site operated by General Mills where visitors can play games like Reese’s Puffs Cereal Snowboard Slalom.

Margo G. Wootan, director for nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the games produced by food companies are of more concern than those run by media outlets. “On food Web sites, lots and lots of junk food is built into online gaming,” Wootan said.

Her organization threatened to sue Viacom in 2006 over its television advertising to children.

Some analysts, however, said media companies and game publishers have generally behaved responsibly in their advertising.

“Since its inception, the online-games business for kids has been far more sensitive than the TV industry was,” said Evan Wilson, a senior research analyst for Pacific Crest Securities.

MTV Networks acquired three sites to strengthen its game brand in 2005 and 2006. Of the three, Addicting Games is by far the most popular, averaging 9.4 million unique visitors in February, a 50 percent increase over the same month last year, according to ComScore.

The site houses hundreds of simple games with names like Max Dirt Bike and Don’t Shoot the Puppy. In the latter, users see how long they can wait before firing a giant cannon at an animated dog. It’s no surprise, then, that Addicting Games’ intended audience is teenage boys.

Cradling a laptop in his lap, Youngwood demonstrated Pencil Racer, a simple-seeming but oddly compelling challenge on Addicting Games that lets users create, share, and rate racetracks. It has registered 1.5 million plays.

“Do I want to be a truck, a car, or a warthog?” he asked before choosing the animal. “Everyone loves the warthog.”

March 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »

Police Blotter Murderer nabbed via tracking, Web search

Police Blotter is a weekly CNET News.com report on the intersection of technology and the law.

What: Woman, sentenced to 25 years in prison for murdering her husband, appeals on Fourth Amendment grounds. Conviction based in part on GPS tracking and her Internet searches.

When: Texas appeals court rules on March 13.

Outcome: Sentence upheld.

What happened, according to court documents: For the last three years or so, Police Blotter has followed topics like police tracking vehicle movements through GPS and search engine history being used as evidence in court.

Texas resident Wendi Mae Davidson enjoys the dubious distinction of being a convicted murderer whose case involves both types of electronic monitoring.

Davidson’s legal travails began on January 16, 2005, when she told the U.S. Air Force that her husband Michael Severance, an airman, had been missing since the day before. Air Force investigators and the San Angelo Police Department began parallel investigations, which led them to conclude it was unlikely that Severance had deserted.

Air Force Special Agent Greg McCormick did learn early on that Davidson owned a horse on a ranch, but investigators didn’t know where it was. In hopes that Davidson would lead them to it, Air Force agents placed a tracking device on the underside of her car in the middle of the night on February 26.

One day later, “data retrieved from the device” showed that Davidson had driven to a ranch owned by Terrell Sheen, who told agents that he boarded horses including Davidson’s and that they were welcome to search the property. The Air Force agents did: it proved to be an expansive ranch that included a barn, mobile homes, fenced corrals, and ponds.

Their search did not find Severance, the missing airman. On March 5, a Texas Ranger and a San Angelo sergeant interviewed Davidson at the veterinary clinic where she worked. They already knew at this point (it’s unclear how they knew this) that the computer had been used to perform Internet searches on topics including polygraphs and the phrase “decomposition of a body in water.” The police said Davidson became defensive when asked about the pond on Sheen’s ranch and her Internet searches.

What you might expect to happen did, in fact, take place. Michael Severance’s body was found in one of the ponds, with Davidson claiming she moved the body to protect a family member who might have been the murderer.

The police didn’t believe her; she was charged with murder and two counts of tampering with evidence and, after a no-contest plea, was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison. One report said Davidson owned a small animal clinic and had apparently poisoned her husband with a mix of phenobarbital and pentobarbital before weighing down his body with a boat anchor.

On appeal, Davidson’s lawyers filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained from the tracking device. (It’s not clear that it was a GPS-based unit, but because that’s by far the most common, it’s a fair assumption.) Her appeal said the tracking data should be suppressed because a judge’s approval was necessary–and more specifically that it violated the Fourth Amendment, the Texas Constitution, and the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

Note that while her husband was a member of the U.S. military, Davidson was not, and the same Fourth Amendment standards that circumscribe the actions of local police should presumably circumscribe the actions of federal investigators as well.

If the same rules apply, what should those rules be? Courts have split on the topic; here’s a review of cases I wrote in 2005. Suffice it to say that a pair of U.S. Supreme Court cases–U.S. v. Knotts and U.S. v. Karo–established that police don’t need court approval to track suspects, at least when using a crude radio beeper.

The trial judge found that the military investigators followed procedures when placing the tracking device on Davidson’s car, not least because they consulted with the U.S. attorney and obtained approval from their regional commander. The request for the order says it “only requires a region commander’s approval” and that “no search warrant or search authorization is required, as long as the installation and monitoring of the device is conducted in a public area.”

In terms of the Fourth Amendment, Davidson conceded that the feds could track her on a public road. But once she turned off public roads, onto the ranch property, passed through a locked gate, and drove to the stock pond, she claimed to have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Both the trial court and the appeals court disagreed. The appeals court said there was insufficient evidence to show that she should have an expectation of privacy on the property. What’s more, it said nobody should have any expectation of privacy in an “open field” and upheld her conviction.

Excerpts from Texas Appeals Court’s opinion: In any event, the government’s intrusion upon the open fields is not one of those “unreasonable searches” proscribed by the Fourth Amendment or Article I, Section 9. The Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 9 accord special protection to people in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, but that protection does not extend to “open fields.”

The “open fields” doctrine allows a law enforcement officer to enter and search an area of land without a warrant. An “open field” need not be “open” or a “field” as those terms are commonly used; the term “open field” may be defined as any unoccupied or undeveloped area outside the curtilage of a dwelling. An individual may not legitimately demand privacy for activities conducted out of doors in fields, except in the area immediately surrounding the home, i.e., the curtilage.

The court distinguished the “open fields” of “the vast expanse of some western ranches” or woods from the “curtilage,” the land immediately surrounding and associated with the home. The court concluded that “from the text of the Fourth Amendment, and from the historical and contemporary understanding of its purposes, that an individual has no legitimate expectation that open fields will remain free from warrantless intrusion by government officers.”

Appellant failed to present any evidence during the suppression hearing to demonstrate that the monitoring of her vehicle implicated a reasonable expectation of privacy. The evidence at the hearing showed that the rural ranch property in question falls squarely within the definition of “open fields,” in which appellant is not entitled to an expectation of privacy. That the property was fenced and gated does not create an expectation of privacy that society recognizes as legitimate and reasonable.

The record does not show that the trial court abused its discretion in determining that the police did not violate appellant’s reasonable expectation of privacy by monitoring the tracking device on Sheen’s property, and the evidence obtained through use of the device was properly admitted. Having overruled appellant’s sole issue, we affirm the trial court’s order denying appellant’s motion to suppress and the judgments of conviction.

March 22nd, 2008 by Techgeek | No Comments »