EBay Bidders Find Way to Fix Highest Bid
(ContentDesk) August 13, 2005 -- While monitoring online auction sites for the sale of illegal artifacts from Mesopotamia, Iraq Museum International (http://www.BaghdadMuseum.org) discovered a way that bidders on eBay can influence the highest bid and cheat other bidders.Using an eBay listing and its bidding history, Iraq Museum International demonstrates how a 4-step price-fixing process led to the online sale of a fake "Sumerian Stone Statue of a Seated Male" on eBay for $3,726 on Monday, August 1, 2005.Dubbed the "Sniper Trap," the process can be executed on eBay from any computer in the world and involves the following steps for any auction listing on the site: 1. The seller and a second person posing as a bidder prepare to precisely synchronize their keystrokes on two separate computers logged onto eBay.2. In the final minute of bidding, the person posing as a bidder places an extremely high bid on the item. This has the effect of triggering all automatic bids set by any other bidder, instantly revealing his or her secret maximum bid.3. Meanwhile, the seller has filled out a bid cancellation form at eBay, and is ready at the keyboard with a finger over the "Enter" key.
Within the last 30 seconds of the electronic auction the seller presses the key, submitting the form to automatically cancel the bid placed by the false bidder.4. During the few seconds while the false bid was in play, other bidders would be deceived by what they saw: a high bid placed by the false bidder that was only a few dollars higher than the maximum set by the real high bidder. Thus, the last-second bidder, or "sniper," would know that he or she would have to bid over that amount in order to win the auction.This method would account for higher-than-normal bids placed during the final 30 seconds of an auction on eBay. EBay is the Internet's largest auction site, with over 114 million registered members worldwide.Iraq Museum International is a volunteer organization created after the looting of the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad. It seeks to accelerate the recovery of Iraq's stolen treasures by bringing the rich history and cultural heritage of Iraq to the world.
It invites the active participation of the Iraq reconstruction community as well as students, professors, professionals and cultural enthusiasts from all countries. To see how a variation of the "Sniper Trap" played out in eBay's antiquities market, visit Iraq Museum International at http://www.BaghdadMuseum.org..
10 Things You Will Hate About A Home Based Business!
10 Things You Will Hate About A Home Based Businessby
(C)2004Every year thousands of Americans share one very common objective:Starting A Home Based Business! Although starting a home based business excites the imagination:A few caveats exist!
Lets get started with the countdown!1. Take Me Seriously...Please!That's Right! The minute you start yourhome based business friends and family will not get the message! Especially if you arein your PJ's sipping coffee while slumped overyour computer keyboard most of the day. They will not hesitate interrupting you during an important telephone call to a clientor while you are working on an important report. Manywill see your little business as just a hobby. Very frustrating!2.
You Gotta Have Friends/Neighbors.Friends and neighbors will ring you up to chat about your little "hobby" and will not understand why you are taking this new hobby (your business) so seriously. After all you gotta have time for your friends.3. IsolationWorking...
10 Things You Will Hate About A Home Based Business!
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Cherry Introduces Rows and Columns SPOS Keyboards for Grocery and C-Store Applications
PLEASANT PRAIRIE, WI (ContentDesk via ContentDesk Direct) February 6, 2006 -- At last weeks Marketechnics 2006 Show (Food Marketing Institute show) in San Diego, Cherry Electrical Products announced the expansion of its popular SPOS Keyboard Line to include a variety of rows & column layouts.
Suitable for a variety of POS applications such as grocery and convenience stores, these matrix-style SPOS keyboards offer a fully programmable, reconfigurable solution in a compact, affordable package.
Available options are a three track magnetic stripe reader and a high resolution touchpad.Cherrys SPOS keyboards offer plug and play configuration for all common POS features and unique function enhancement via Cherry Tools virtual programming.
The Cherry Tools software also allows for quick product set-up and program configuration, including remote installation.
Cherry also offers comprehensive UPOS support...
Keyboard > Cherry Introduces Rows and Columns SPOS Keyboards for Grocery and C-Store Applications
Scrabble Tips: That scary Q.
For many players the letter Q is the scariest unless you happen to have a U.Ther are actually several words that do contain Q without a U, although to be fair these are all of non English origin. Still if it's in the dictionary it counts, right?Memorize these few words for a distinct Scrabble advantage.Since these are difficult to spell, let alone pronounce, I've included definitions to help memorization.QAT: A shrub (Catha edulis) cultivated in the Middle East for its leaves that are a stimulant when chewed or brewed as tea.QOPH: The 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. QAID: A Muslim leader.QINTAR: A coin formerly used in Albania and worth one one-hundredth of a lek.FAQIR: Muslim or Hindu mendicant monk who is regarded as a holy man.SHEQEL and SHEQELIM are both Israel currency.QANAT: a gently sloping underground tunnel for irrigation purposes, esp. in ancient Persia.QWERTY: Yes, it's a word. Relating to, or designating the traditional configuration of typewriter or computer keyboard...
Scrabble Tips: That scary Q.
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Handwriting Recognition for All Palm OS Applications
(ContentDesk) September 10, 2005 -- Inkmark Software has released MobileWrite v. 3.5, a popular handwriting recognition program that makes it easy to enter text and data into your favorite Palm OS applications. Unlike handwriting recognition programs that force you to learn special characters, or to write your text in all upper case or all lower case letters, MobileWrite recognizes your own handwriting immediately.
MobileWrite also gives you an option to use Graffiti 1 or Graffiti 2 letters, instead of regular letters. Version 3.5 has improved character recognition.
Clicking on this link will download an evaluation copy of MobileWrite: http://www.inkmarksoftware.com/download/mobilewrite.zipMobileWrite converts your stylus strokes into letters, numbers, and punctuation. You can write directly onto the screen of the application which you're using, with no need for a keyboard.
Handwriting Recognition for All Palm OS Applications
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Creating Your Own Unique Music
Have you ever dreamed of penning your own compositions? Writing music has been a dream of mine for the longest time. And it's a dream I am fortunate enough to have realized.The idea of having a finished piece of music in front of you is exciting to say the least, but many students rush the process and end up with music that is less than what they originally thought of.The way around this "compostion trap" as I like to call it is to be able to sit down at the piano or keyboard and be able to play for at least 15-20 minutes without judging what is coming out of you. Once you can do this, your ability to capture musical ideas as they first came to you increase.First thoughts are powerful!Your first ideas will ALWAYS BE YOUR BEST IDEAS! Why? Because this music comes straight from the heart and does not have the censorship of the critical mind attached to it. Always improvise first, then memoralize your ideas if you wish. I do this by jotting down an 8-bar section.
Once the melody...
Creating Your Own Unique Music
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Silhouette Roto 2.0 Ships, Layers, Match Moving and More
Los Angeles, CA (ContentDesk) July 29, 2005 -- Silhouette FX, LLC is pleased to announce the imminent availability of a major new release of Silhouette Roto, the roto system that's underpinning visual effects production at major post houses around the world. Version 2.0 of Silhouette Roto (SR) adds a sophisticated layering / grouping system that enables individual layers to have their own tracking and stabilization information. This means the basic motion of an object being roto'd is automatically compensated for and keyframes only need to exist on frames on which the shape of the object changes. This results in a dramatic reduction of key frames requiring manual touchup, speeding the rotoscoping process to new levels of efficiency. Adam Bradley, a Weta Digital senior roto artist, said: "A film like King Kong requires uncompromising roto software that offers speed, efficiency and an intuitive workflow.
The innovative engineering team at Silhouette recognize this and are always...
Silhouette Roto 2.0 Ships, Layers, Match Moving and More
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