Brandon Dimmel

Given the influx of phishing scams on the web these days, it seems identity theft is on just about everyone's mind. That's why the story of runaway suspect Alicia O'Hara seems particularly interesting, given that her pursuit has now moved through ... three international locales. A warrant for O'Hara charges her with an organized scheme to defraud, and was issued last week. According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office of Florida, O'Hara is strongly linked to an identity-theft scam that had elements in the United States, England and Canada. What was the crime? Authorities want to speak with O' ... (view more)

"Black Friday" really isn't so bad. Despite the fact that Friday, November 23 represents the busiest shopping day of the year, it's certainly no Black Tuesday: the infamous October 29, 1929 stock market crash that sent the world into a decade of ... desperate poverty. "Black Friday" doesn't really stack up. Or, does it? According to some security experts, Black Friday could indeed prove a frightening day for the world's web users. Vice president of strategic accounts for Secure Computing Paul Henry recently warned all Internet surfers to be especially vigilant today. "The holiday season in ... (view more)

Last year there were few hotter items than the world's newest video game consoles, the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Both launched in November, both were highly anticipated, and both instigated massive line-ups that inevitably led to some ... profane language and marked frustration. This year, the dynamics of the console war have certainly changed. It may surprise our readers to hear that many gaming critics are now predicting a big season for Sony. For the last year, the PlayStation 3 has been stuck in a distant third position behind Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii, despite real ... (view more)

I bet Al Gore likes it when we have to shell out more dough to fill our gas tanks. Indeed, there's a good chance any environmentalist appreciates high fuel costs, especially now that a recent study is reporting that skyrocketing energy costs can ... limit greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study can't find a good side for everything. Sure, the environment is going to benefit if we all try to avoid paying high fuel prices by carpooling, taking public transit, or heck, a bicycle to work, but the general trend is not good. In fact, the MIT researchers ... (view more)

Since it came out last November, the Sony PlayStation 3 has struggled to regain reign over its gaming throne, established during the first and second ages of the PlayStation. Heck, right now I think Sony would be pleased just to stand next to that ... throne, swinging a big fan and supplying Nintendo or Microsoft with juicy, delicious grapes. So, yeah, Sony isn't number one. But, it's doing all it can to change that. In a recent move, the company has lowered the price of its software for developers intent on crafting games for the PlayStation 3. In the past, that's been a bit of a problem, both ... (view more)

Console gamers have been getting it lucky in recent months. With the release of Halo 3, a new Ratchet and Clank, and anything Wii, PC gamers -- despite the impressive history of their platform -- have been left on the outside looking in, at least ... recently. That's not the case as of last week with the retail release of anticipated PC shooter Crysis. Some critics are calling it the greatest graphical achievement yet, as the game's overall rating challenges the console world's heaviest hitters. (Source: gamerankings.com ) Developed by Crytek and published by hegemonic gaming power Electronic ... (view more)

Why is it that Windows Vista hasn't completely taken over the operating system (OS) market? Is it glitches? Security concerns? Too many Microsoft-haters? According to one survey, it seems no one has a problem with the Redmond-based company at all. ... In fact, it's the success of its last OS that is keeping Vista on store shelves. In a recent survey of some six hundred U.S. and European companies employing over a thousand people each, 84% of all PCs continue to run Windows XP, Microsoft's last great OS. That's actually an increase of 67% from the year before, despite the fact that Windows Vista ... (view more)

In North America, we certainly take for granted our freedom of speech. Although some libertarians argue that the battle to freely speak one's mind is still being waged, the situation here is clearly nothing like the restrictions of communist China, ... where the government and multimedia are still fighting for control of the public. The problem for many in the United States is not necessarily the policy of the Chinese government -- that's tough to change -- but the ethical standards of American companies operating in the country. Finally, there's a sign that the web's most powerful companies will ... (view more)

If you and a friend were to walk into a furniture store this morning and each grab one end of a $2,000 leather couch you'd be arrested almost immediately. Let's face it, stealing furniture isn't the 'swiftest' move, nor is it the work of a criminal ... mastermind. But, what if you were to do it in the 'virtual' world? It seems that might have the same consequences. According to some stunning reports, a Dutch teen who stole about 4,000 euros worth of virtual furniture from the Habbo Hotel lobby has recently been sentenced to time in a real-world prison. Funny thing is, there's nothing real about ... (view more)

American broadcast heavy NBC recently launched the beta of a new direct-download initiative, NBC Direct , which offers many of the channel's new hits for free download. While functional and attractive, it doesn't hold up to the competition: NBC. The ... catch, in addition to the randomly-placed ads, is that it doesn't make sense when compared to the near-identical NBC Universal web app, Hulu , not to mention other "options". Unlike Hulu, which offers streaming episodes at any time, NBC Direct offers the ability to download episodes directly to your machine (which you can stream during download), ... (view more)