Gold Mercedes Benz Value of 9 Million USD

You’re looking at pictures of a Mercedes C63 AMG with a chrome (gold?) paint job in none other than Dubai. While the popular new C63 AMG comes with many options and luxuries from the factory, a chrome paint job is not one of them. These pictures were originally posted on a popular online message board for Dubai car enthusiasts called SupercarsDubai. Maybe this C63 AMG is the the daily driver of the person who owns this chrome Mercedes SLR McLaren. - http://www.exoticsandluxury.com

Sex, porn, and Michael Jackson top kids' searches in 2009

by Lance Whitney

Sex, porn, and Michael Jackson were among the most popular items kids searched for online in 2009, as tracked by Symantec's OnlineFamily.Norton.

Symantec on Thursday revealed the top 100 favorite search terms among children 18 and under found by its free OnlineFamily.Norton service, which helps parents monitor their kids' online searches. Though innocuous terms like Sesame Street and "New Moon"--a popular movie in the Twilight vampire series--made the cut, sex showed up fourth on the list for boys and fifth for girls, following YouTube, Google, and Facebook as the three top terms.

Top 10 search terms by boys and girls for 2009 (Credit: Symantec)

For boys, the top 25 search terms focused on social-networking sites, shopping sites, and certain adult terms. Girls seemed to favor subjects related to music, TV shows and movies, and celebrities.

Speaking of celebrities, to no one's surprise, the late Michael Jackson was the most searched for celebrity, coming in at number 12, followed by pop singer Taylor Swift at No. 13. Other hot stars that made the list included Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas, the Jonas Brothers, Eminem, Rihanna, and Chris Brown (who was in the news this year after admitting that he assaulted ex-girlfriend Rihanna).

Searching for celebrities online, however, may be hazardous to your PC's health. Symantec has found found that these searches sometimes draw people to dangerous Web sites, which spew out viruses, spam, and other malware.

Kids seven and under searched for items related to video games, while older kids were heavy into music, with 34 percent of teens and 27 percent of tweens searching for music-related topics. The Miley Cyrus song "Party in the USA" was the most-searched for tune among kids, while "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eye Peas took the No. 2 spot.

Top 10 searches by age group for 2009 (Credit: Symantec)

Tech terms that popped up on the list included MySpace at No. 8, MSN at No. 33, the iPod Touch at No. 98, and Bing last at No. 100.

To compile its top 100 list, Symantec tracked 14.6 million searches run by users of its OnlineFamily.Norton service and ranked the terms according to ones submitted most frequently to those submitted the least. The terms were collected anonymously, so none could be associated with any specific children or families. - http://news.cnet.com

New paper battery may change the energy landscape

Ordinary paper could one day be used as ultra-lightweight, bendable batteries, according to scientists from Stanford University.

Simply coating a sheet of paper with ink made of silver and carbon nanomaterials makes an efficient storage device that is 10 times as powerful as lithium-ion batteries used to power laptops.

The light-weight battery is created by painting nanotube ink onto paper

Paper is a porous material that helps carbon nanotubes and silver nanowire films stick to it, much like ink does.

After it is coated and heated heated the paper becomes super-conductive and works as a battery even if the material is crumpled.

'Taking advantage of the mature paper technology, low cost, light and high-performance energy-storage are realized by using conductive paper as current collectors and electrodes,' the scientists said in research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This type of battery could be especially useful for applications like electric or hybrid cars, which depend on the quick transfer of electricity.

Battery weight and life have been an obstacle to commercial viability of electric-powered cars and trucks.

'Society really needs a low-cost, high-performance energy storage device, such as batteries and simple supercapacitors,' Stanford assistant professor Yi Cui said.

'Our paper supercapacitors can be used for all kinds of applications that require instant high power.

'Since our paper batteries and supercapacitors can be very low cost, they are also good for grid-connected energy storage.'

Peidong Yang, professor of chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley, said the technology could be commercialized within a short time.- www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech

Windows 7 users hit by 'black screen of death'

Frustrated Windows 7 users are facing 'black screens of death' after logging on to their computers, Microsoft have confirmed.

The software giant said they were investigating a disabling glitch that seems to particularly affect its latest operating system.

However, they have denied reports that its latest monthly security update has caused the serious system problems.

Microsoft wrote in a blog posting: 'We have conducted a comprehensive review of the November Security Updates, the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, and the non-security updates we released through Windows Update in November.

An artist on the website 'Poorly Drawn Portraits' made this picture of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer using photos of crashed Windows computers showing the iconic 'blue screen of death'


A close-up of the Ballmer portrait showing the computer screens

'That investigation has shown that none of these updates make any changes to the permissions in the registry. Thus, we don’t believe the updates are related to the 'black screen' behaviour described in these reports.'

It had been suggested by Software firm Prevx that the blank screen problem was caused by the firm's latest security patch.

Prevx said millions of people may have been affected and issued a general fix it said would save many from the laborious process of reloading their machines.

However, they have since retracted this claim and suggested malware could be the culprit.

Prevx's Director of research Jacques Erasmus said: 'We apologise to Microsoft for any inconvenience our blog may have caused.'

Microsoft said that people who are affected by the problem should contact its customer service line.

The 'black screen of death' is a play on the 'blue screen of death' colloquialism used for the error screen that has plagued Windows users over the years.-www.dailymail.co.uk

The Windows 7 software is supposed to make it easier to become connected and share or to sync files

10 Ways to Spot an E-Mail Scam

The increasing flood of e-mail hitting your inbox can lower the guard of even the most cautious person. In the rush to keep up with important notes, it's easier than ever to fall prey to the scam artists and identity thieves who lurk online.

E-mail scams and phishing attempts evolve constantly, hoping to take advantage of the latest trends and current events. Although the e-mails change, the people behind them inadvertently send up the same warning signs again and again. We dug through mountains of spam to find the most prevailing trends. We've collected some actual scam e-mails and highlighted the warning signs to help you spot a hustle the next time one lands in your inbox.

1. Requests for personal information

No legitimate organization will ask for your social security, bank account or PIN number via e-mail – and none will include a link, sending you to a form to enter it. No matter how authentic these emails may look, ignore 'em.

2. Watch for typos or spelling mistakes

Scam artists are street smart, but many flunked basic grammar (or barely speak English). Look for mistakes like inappropriate hyphens or confusing "your" and "you're." If the note has multiple typos or grammatical errors, odds are it's not legitimate.

3. Clickable Web links in e-mails

Don't trust links to Web sites in e-mails. What might look like a legitimate address is often linked to a third-party site that looks official, but is actually run by thieves and scammers. These are the fast track to identity and financial theft.

4. 'Market research' or surveys that ask you for personal information.

Disguising scam e-mails as marketing is a classic ploy. You'll be asked to fill out a survey or enter a contest – requiring you to give personal information or "log on" to your account. Once you've done so, the scammers can use it themselves.

5. Stock tips from random people or companies

Got a "hot stock tip" via e-mail? It's probably a "pump and dump" scheme. The sender already owns shares – and when you and others act on the "tip," the stock price soars and he sells fast – leaving you with virtually worthless shares.

6. Attachments in e-mails from anyone you don't know
It should be common sense, but just in case, we'll remind you again: Don't open an attachment from someone you don't know – even if it appears to be your bank or credit card company. It's almost always a virus or spyware meant to steal your personal information.

7. Wordless e-mails
Some legitimate looking "e-mails" are actually just images. The danger with these is that clicking anywhere in the body takes you to a suspect Web site – where you may be fooled into entering personal information, or the scammer may slip spyware onto your machine.

8. Outdated information

Some scammers like to pose as technical- or customer support from a company you associate with – but fail to keep up with current events. For example, in the example above, the senders forgot that Earthlink bought Mindspring in 2000.

9. Red-flag phrases
If you see the phrases "verify your account," "you have won the lottery" or "if you don't respond within XX hours, your account will be closed," it's a scam – every time. Hit the delete button and don't look back.

10. Generic greetings

While you can't trust every e-mail that knows your name, you can definitely ignore the ones that start "Dear member" or "Hello friend." If your bank or credit card company is writing you, it knows who you are. So do your friends.
- www.switched.com

Funny ad created to make you want a real bike