[November 04, 2009]

Prep-Cyber Corner

(Canadian Press Broadcast Wire (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A lot of people know that shopping online is one way to nail down a bargain or two.

And because of that, a research group is forecasting an increase in online holiday sales this year.

Forrester Research says it expects online sales to rise by eight per cent -- to 44.7- (b) billion dollars during the holiday season.

Forrester says it expects bargain hunters to head for the World Wide Web for deals.

Forrester says the expected increase would be higher than the five per cent sales gain posted for the 2008 holiday season, but well below the 20 per cent surge posted in 2007.

(Online-Betting) The founder of the online gambling site BetOnSports-dot-com has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Under terms of his plea agreement, Gary Kaplan must also give up 43.6- (m) million dollars in revenue he illegally obtained while running one of the world's largest offshore sports gambling companies.

Prosecutors say Kaplan still has tens of (m) millions in Swiss bank accounts.

Kaplan pleaded guilty in August to racketeering conspiracy, violating the Wire Wager Act and conspiring to violate it.

Prosecutors had been investigating offshore sports gambling since 1997 -- and have been focusing on Bet On Sports since 2001.

(Abortion-Shooting-Auction) E-Bay has removed items posted for sale by anti-abortion activists trying to raise money for defence of a man accused of killing a Kansas abortion provider.

Two supporters of Scott Roeder posted items on separate e-Bay auctions late Sunday.

Among the items listed for bids were an underground publication for anti-abortion militants that describes ways to shut down clinics.

Activists say e-Bay removed 10 items within hours of their being listed.

E-Bay says the anti-abortion memorabilia violated its listing polices.

On the Net: eBay site: http://www.ebay.com (Samsung-Digital-Camera) Used to be if you wanted to take a picture of yourself, you'd hand the camera to someone and ask them to do the deed.

But in these days of social networking, lots of folks are taking pictures of themselves, and you've seen what they can look like -- heads chopped off, shoulder sockets showing up in the frame, and what not.

Now, Samsung is giving self-photographers the chance to make their pictures look better with the Dual View camera.

It has a small, colour L-C-D screen on the front so you can frame your self-portraits before taking them.

Rich Campbell of Samsung says the company decided on the feature after noting how people are putting photos of themselves on sites like Facebook or MySpace all of the time -- and this would improve those images.

He also says it's cool for families who want to get shots of everyone in the picture at the same time.

The camera boasts a 27 millimetre wide-angle lens that makes it easier for the photographer to get in those group shots.

And Campbell says the camera has other features besides the two screens.

It can shoot 12 megapixels, has a 4.6-times digital zoom -- and can shoot high-definition video with sound.

And for those who want to take pictures of kids, the front screen can display animated slides that give the youngsters something to look at while you're snapping their pictures.

There are two different models of the Dual View camera.

The higher-spec version is about 300-dollars.

One with a smaller rear screen and no H-D-M-I output jack sells for 50-dollars less.

On the Net: Samsung site: http://www.samsung.com (The Associated Press) (c) 2009 The Canadian Press

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