Can I get this cheaper online?

Have you ever seen something in a store and fretted over impulse-buying, wondering whether you could get it cheaper online? A new service, Frucall, aims to answer that question for you.

• Call 1-888-DO-FRUCALL.
• Enter the product barcode.
• Discover if you can get the item for less through one of Frucall's partner sites.

If you register with their site, there's more features available, like saving items for later purchase, and leaving yourself voice notes...

Click on Frucall for the website

The High School Drop Out Epidemic

If 16 is too young to buy cigarettes and to vote, how can it be old enough to make such a life-changing decision?

In several of the largest schools in America, educational systems are losing half of the students through drop out. However, the problem is not only in the big cities. A recent study by the Department of Education found that 31% of American students were dropping out or failing to graduate in the nation's largest public school districts.

The consequences of students dropping out of high school are massive. Not only for the student but to the national economic community. Students who drop out of High School risk a higher chance of poverty according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, High school drop outs demonstrate a higher risk of criminal activity and a shortened life span due to crime. It's estimated that about 2,500 students drop out of U.S. high schools every day.

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CA Supreme Court ruled that Internet service providers & users can not

In a sweeping decision, the California Supreme Court just ruled that Internet service providers and users--including bloggers--can't be sued for defamation merely for publishing material written by someone else.

The case, Barrett v. Rosenthal, had attracted the attention of civil rights groups including the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which hailed the court's ruling as a free speech victory.

"The court has ensured that the Internet will remain a vibrant forum for debate and the free exchange of ideas," Ann Brick, staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California, said in a statement. "Any other ruling would have inevitably made speech on the Internet less free."

The case stemmed from a dispute between Ilena Rosenthal, who ran the Humantics Foundation for Women as well as an Internet discussion group, and two doctors--Stephen J. Barrett and Timothy Polevoy--who operated Web sites that exposed health frauds. Participants in Rosenthal's discussion group sent in comments impugning the doctors, according to the court opinion. The physicians warned Rosenthal that the comments were false, but she allegedly republished them online.

In its decision, the court interpreted the Communications Decency Act of 1996 as protecting everyone but original authors from liability for defamation. The law, "does not permit Internet service providers or users to be sued as 'distributors,' nor does it expose 'active users' to liability," wrote the court.

At the same time, the judges didn't appear to be entirely happy with the result. "We share the concerns of those who have expressed reservations," the court wrote. "The prospect of blanket immunity for those who intentionally redistribute defamatory statements on the Internet has disturbing implications."

Gaming industry

Trade PS3 for 8,389 Gorditas

Taco Bell wants your PlayStation 3 and trying to do a good deed with a trade off. How about a lifetime supply of Gorditas, Chalupas, Double Deckers, and Crunchwraps for your brand new PS3? The first person to donate a PS3 will receive $12,500 in Taco Bell Bucks*, in turn, the console will end up in the hands of the Boys & Girls Club. So why doesn't Taco Bell simply make its own anonymous gift to charity? Can't get its hands on a PS3? Nah, this one reeks of publicity stunt ending in heart attack. Shameless. Who's gonna take one for the team? The offer expires December 1; limited to one recipient. So only 1 boy or girl - hopefull girl because geek gurls rock! will ge a PS3...

Speaking of gaming...

Guild Wars beta testing to begin in China

As if Chinese gamers didn't have enough online gaming to occupy their leisure (and work) time. They has announced Guild Wars China will begin closed beta testing on Nov. 29. One of the most anticipated games on the mainland. Guild Wars attracted 200,000 applicants on the first day of beta registration last week. Maybe an aspiring Chinese clan will unseat South Korea's reigning Guild Wars champs The Last Pride at the next world tournament. The9 also hosts World of Warcraft and Webzen's Soul of the Ultimate Nation, but it is unknown if the Shanghai-based developer's Guild Wars deal with NCsoft also includes the Factions and Nightfall expansions.
It's not Halloween, but it is scary

Cooking & gaming PS3 grills a great piece of meat

Waffle irons are completely overrated. A PS3 grill you say? Now you're talking. Well a working one finally arrived care of some anti-PS3 blokes who gutted a 20GB unit and inserted a sizzling griddle turning the $500 machine into a console cooking monstrosity. The thing even slants left for proper grease drainage. Premium indeed!




“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” - Dr. Suess

Door to Door Atheists - Spreading the Word of Darwin

John Safran got so pissed off by Mormons constantly coming to his door trying to push their faith on him, so he decided to trade places for one day, and began to spread the word of atheism.

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Town makes it illegal to fly a foreign flag

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- This is where we've arrived in this country: You have the constitutional right to burn an American flag, but you can get into trouble for simply flying a foreign one.

At least you can in the 30,000-person town of Pahrump, Nevada, which is close to Las Vegas and even closer to stepping over the line with an idiotic, intolerant and insulting ban on foreign (read: Mexican) flags. The town council voted last week, 3-2, to approve an ordinance that makes it illegal to display a foreign flag -- unless an American flag is flown above it. Scofflaws face a $50 fine and 30 hours of community service.

Learn a new lnguage for free

FSI is a public domain site that actually teaches you how to speak foreign languages for free. The program is contributed to by the U.S. government of all places and your lessons are either text based or played over the PC in an MP3 format. Some of it is still in development but a few languages are ready to go.

A few of the languages they list:

· Cantonese

· Chinese

· French

· German

· Greek

· Portuguese

· Spanish

· Turkish

· Serbo-Croatian

http://fsi-language-courses.com/default.aspx