PLUSMiles loyalty card

If you want to save cost in term of toll expenses, you might want to try PLUSMiles loyalty card as you can enjoy various toll rebates and benefits.
For example, users of PLUS highways nationwide will receive a 5% rebate on toll fees when they spend over RM100 monthly using the PLUSMiles loyalty card. The rebates will be translated into top-up value in the card, which comes with the Touch n Go facility.
PLUSMiles loyalty card may be used on highways run by other operators but the rebates will only be applicable on roads run by PLUS Expressway Bhd, except at the Bukit Kayu Hitam, Bangunan Sultan Iskandar and Tanjung Kupang toll plazas.
What else ? the existing 20% toll rebate currently enjoyed by those who make transactions using the electronic toll payment system for at least 80 times per month is still valid.
Based on the press statement, PLUSMiles is now agressively deals with other merchandise to provide more value added services to their card holder. For example on the recent MOUs, PLUSMiles card users will be entitled to free towing service up to 35km by AAM panel workshops, conversion of reward points from Esso and Mobil’s Smiles card to free reload into PLUSMiles cards, and free SmartTag units for future Proton buyers.
Source : JDM Blog

Rare crab re-appears in Malacca

MALACCA: The re-appearance of a rare species of crab along the shores here has caused a stir among the people, especially Christians, due to a cross-like mark on its shell.
The crustacean, with the scientific name Charybdisferiatus, is a species of Malacostraca and is mainly found in Malaysian and Indonesian waters.
It was reportedly last seen in the Straits of Malacca in the 1960s.

Sparking frenzy: A fisherman holding the rare crab (left) next to a normal crab. The rare crab was reportedly last seen in the Straits of Malacca in the 1960s.

The species is different from another commonly found species in the state and which also has a cross on its shell.
A fisherman from Tengkera here hauled a dozen of these crabs on Sunday, sparking a frenzy among locals who rushed to buy the crabs.
The fisherman, who only wanted to be known as Man, 65, said the crabs were considered scarce.
He claimed that the crab was last caught in small numbers in the late 1960s.
“Only minimal quantities of the crabs were caught. Many locals don't buy them to eat, but to preserve the shell as it's considered sacred,” Man said.
State Rural Development and Agriculture Committee chairman Datuk R. Perumal said the state would ask the Fisheries Department to record and monitor the landings of the rare crab.
“We may conserve the crab by breeding it,” he added.
A marine biologist, who declined to be named, said the crabs became rare after rapid development along the state coastline led to the deterioration of the mangrove swamps where the crabs thrived.
Legend has it that Saint Francis Xavier was sailing to Malacca from an Indonesian island sometime in the 16th Century when he was caught in a storm in the Straits of Malacca.
He then dipped his crucifix into the sea and prayed to God to calm the raging storm.
However, the crucifix slipped from his grip and fell into the sea. He prayed that he could get it back.
When he reached the shores of Malacca safely, St Francis saw a crab crawling on the beach and clutching the same crucifix between its claws.
Surprised, St Francis knelt down and recovered his crucifix.
He blessed the crab and the sign of a cross then appeared on its back.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Now Wealthier Than Google Founders

about 16 hours ago by Todd Wasserman

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a personal net worth of $17.5 billion, edging out Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page for the first time, according to Forbes‘s annual “Richest People in America” list.
Zuckerberg, who was number 35 on the list last year, is number 14 on the list now, just below Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who has a personal fortune worth $19.1 billion, according to Forbes. Brin and Page each have net worths of $16.7 billion, placing them both at number 15, compared to last year’s number 24 ranking. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz made number 91 on the list with $3.5 billion. And Sean Parker, former Facebook president, is 200 on the list with $2.1 billion.
Though none of those tech luminaries cracked the top 10, Bill Gates topped the list and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison was number three. (Warren Buffett came in at number two.)
Other techies include Michael Dell (18), Steve Ballmer (19), Paul Allen (23), Steve Jobs (39), eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (50), Eric Schmidt (51), George Lucas (107) and Mark Cuban (171).
Jobs’s relatively low ranking on the list may come as a surprise to some since Apple is now the world’s most valuable company and was deemed “CEO of the Decade” by Fortune. Most of Jobs’s wealth is in the form of preferentially owned stock. He owns about 5 million shares of Apple and 138 million shares of Disney, which he received when Disney bought Pixar, according to CNNMoney.

KATE MIDDLETON IS PREGNANT!

LONDON – Just five days into her marriage with Prince William – Kate Middleton announced that she is pregnant!

Kate Middleton is pregnant with Prince William’s first child.   The announcement was made by Kate with her friend Victoria Beckham standing at her side.

Beckham reportedly encouraged Kate to have a baby as soon as possible because “it is   one of the best things in the world.”

Royal insiders believed that Kate would get pregnant within the first year of her marriage to Prince William, but everyone was surprised at how fast it happened.

“Prince William and Princess Kate spent over fifteen hours in the Royal Wedding Suite,” said Royal butler, Thomas Hillstrom.  “They spent quite a lot of time ‘enjoying’ each other’s company.”

Many in England are now speculating that Kate was pregnant at the time of the wedding, but Royal gynecologist, Dr. Fritz Barnwell, said “Kate was not pregnant last Friday, the Queen had us test her to ensure that she was without child.  But today, at Prince William’s request, we performed advanced pregnancy tests on Kate and we can confirm, decidedly, that she is five days pregnant.”

Queen Elizabeth is thrilled to learn that she will have her first great-grandchild.  Prince Charles, however, is not so happy.  “What’s the point of having a baby, when the world is about to burn up.  We must all stop using fossil fuels, we must kill all the cows, and we must plant as many trees as possible,” Prince Charles said before getting onto his private jet in Los Angeles with twenty-five members of his staff.

Princess Kate said that she and Prince William will continue to enjoy each other’s “company” in the Royal Wedding Suite, even though she has already made Her Majesty happy with her pregnancy.  “Prince William is a Royal stud. That’s all I can say.”

The happy couple has not been seen for the last ten hours – but there’s been a lot of moaning coming from the Royal Suite.

Free Music on Facebook: How Can It Fail?

Facebook will launch a music service later this month, we reported last week. Facebook is partnering with top music services Spotify, MOG and Rdio to let users stream music on Facebook.com.
For the uninitiated: Spotify is a service that lets you listen to virtually any song for free on your desktop, with an occasional (but infrequent) ad. Users can pay a small fee to remove the ads or use the service on their phones.
That’s right — Facebook may be about to unleash unlimited free music to all its users.
Providing free music to more than 750 million people (assuming Facebook Music launches globally) seems like a no-brainer: Why wouldn’t everyone in the world want to listen to and share free music with friends? This is the web equivalent of giving away free ice cream.
How could Facebook Music fail?
That’s the topic of my CNN column this week.

U.S. Troops Overseas Can Use Gmail To Call Home For Free

Uniformed U.S. military personnel serving abroad can use Gmail’s phone calling feature for free. The promotion starts now and runs through the end of the year.
The free offering merely requires would-be callers to add and validate their .mil email addresses in Gmail. Then they can click the “Call phone” link in the Chat sidebar to initiate a call via Gmail’s dial pad.
“We recognize and appreciate the sacrifices U.S. troops make when they serve abroad, and we’re proud to help make it a little bit easier for them to stay connected and hear a familiar voice,” Ilya Frank, Senior Software Engineer at Google, says of the company’s decision.
The generous free calling offer is Google’s second of the year. The company is letting Gmail users make free phone calls to the U.S. and Canada throughout the year to promote its Skype-challenger.

Yahoo Forms “Executive Leadership Council” to Replace Carol Bartz

Yahoo has formed an “Executive Leadership Council” to govern the struggling Internet company in the wake of Carol Bartz’s firing. To fill the void left by Bartz’s departure, Yahoo CFO Tim Morse has been promoted to interim CEO.
“The Board has also named key senior Yahoo! executives to a newly formed Executive Leadership Council tasked with supporting Morse in managing the Company’s day-to-day operations until a permanent chief executive is appointed, as well as supporting a comprehensive strategic review that the Board has initiated to position the Company for future growth,” the company said in a statement released on Tuesday evening.
Yahoo’s new executive council contains most of Yahoo’s key players. Mike Callahan (EVP, general counsel and secretary), Blake Irving (EVP & CPO), Ross Levinsohn (EVP, Americas), Rich Riley (SVP of the EMEA region) and Rose Tsou (SVP of the APAC region) will sit on the council. Co-founders David Filo and Jerry Yang will not sit on the council, but will remain as Chief Yahoos. As we reported earlier, Yahoo is now conducting a thorough search for the company’s next CEO.
The move doesn’t change anybody’s title (except for Morse) and it doesn’t come as a surprise. Bartz’s departure leaves a power void that Yahoo will need time to fill. Bartz, known for her bombastic and strong-willed nature, definitely got the last laugh with her feisty email to all Yahoo employees, informing them that she had been fired over the phone by Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock.

Carol Bartz’s Memo to All Employees: I’ve Just Been Fired

Carol Bartz confirmed that she is no longer the CEO of Yahoo in a memo that appears to have been sent from her iPad to all employees of the company.
Mashable has obtained a copy of the note, which reads:

To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Carol
Sent from my iPad

The firing apparently came as a surprise to Yahoo employees.
Mashable reached out to a source at the company when the initial report of Bartz’s departure surfaced, at which time the news had not yet reached our contact’s desk. Several minutes later, however, the short missive from Bartz included here, sent to all-worldwide@yahoo-inc.com, appeared in our contact’s inbox.
In other words, someone either forgot to turn off Bartz’s email account before doing the deed or decided (however unlikely) to let Bartz have the last word, which in a way is fitting, given Bartz’s reputation for colorful candor.
As of 8:08 p.m. ET, Yahoo employees have yet to receive an official memo from the company updating them on Bartz’s departure.

New Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Message to Employees

With Steve Jobs no longer at the helm of Apple, it’s up to new CEO Tim Cook to lead the company and its employees to greater heights.
Cook, whose career at Apple has spanned more than 13 years, sent a message to the company to assure the troops that “Apple is not going to change” and that Jobs will continue to be involved as chairman of the company. Cook has been running the day-to-day operations of Apple since Jobs took a medical leave of absence in January; yesterday’s announcement just makes it official.
We have decided to post Cook’s four-paragraph email in its entirety below. Check it out, and let us know what you think of Cook’s message to the troops in the comments:

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Tim Cook’s Email

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Team:
I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve’s optimism for Apple’s bright future.
Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve’s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.
I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.
I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.
Tim

RM12,000 for a maid

KUALA LUMPUR: The critical shortage of foreign maids and demand from desperate employers have pushed the employment fees so high that an upfront sum in the five-figure region is now a must.
Checks show that a recruitment agency asked for RM12,075 for a Filipino maid while another said it would cost RM11,900 for a Cambodian maid.
Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies acting president Jeffrey Foo said foreign maid agencies were charging outrageous fees, causing local agencies to hike up their fees as well.
Meanwhile, an officer at the Indonesian embassy urged Malaysians not to count on his country for maids.

Tim Cook Named CEO of Apple

Steve Jobs, co-founder and two-time CEO of Apple, offered his resignation to the company’s board Wednesday.
“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, that day has come.”
Jobs has been in poor health for some time. In January, he announced that he would be taking a medical leave of absence from the company. He returned to the public spotlight in March to help launch the iPad 2.
Jobs advised the board to “execute our succession plan” — by naming Tim Cook to replace him. Cook, formerly the COO of the company, has been standing in for Jobs since January and was widely tipped to be his successor. Cook also stood in for Jobs during his bout with pancreatic cancer in 2004. “The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” said board member Art Levinson, chairman of biotech firm Genentech, in a prepared statement.

Jobs will not be leaving the company altogether, and the move was clearly well-planned in advance. He has been elected chairman of the board, Apple said Wednesday, and Cook will be joining the board, effective immediately.
“I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it,” Jobs wrote in his resignation letter to the Apple board. “I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.”
Apple stock was down 7% in after-hours trading but rallied and was down just 5% by 7:50 p.m. ET — suggesting Apple’s succession plan had calmed the markets.
Here’s a look at some of the most iconic moments from Steve Jobs’ career at Apple:

Fake Apple Stores Get Fake News Video

By NICK BILTON

Earlier this week I wrote about a series of fake Apple Stores that have been cropping up in China. They look so real that even the store employees, who wear authentic Apple T-shirts and branded name-tags, believe they work for the real Apple.
Now the Apple stores have their own Taiwanese cartoon news video, which have become an Internet staple with major news events. You can watch the video in full above.
All the media attention has not been good for the fake stores. Reuters reported Friday that “customers at an apparent Apple Store in the Chinese city of Kunming berated staff and demanded refunds on Friday after the shop was revealed to be an elaborate fake.”

Asleep for two months

Asleep for two months

She could be this generation’s sleeping beauty…
A female student in the United Kingdom sleeps up to two months at a time, every seven months, reported The Sun.
Lily Clarke suffers from the rare Kleine-Levin Syndrome.
She slept through exams, Christmas and New Year.
Lily’s mother Adele, 47, said she is missing out on a big chunk of her life.
Liliy's curious condition began in 2007 after the family went for food after an ice-skating session.
She said, "Before the food arrived Lily had fallen asleep in her chair. We couldn't wake her and had to carry her from the restaurant."
Unfortunately, there is no known cure for the syndrome but medics believe it affects young people - so Lily may grow out of it.
Lily is woken just long enough to be fed at her parents' home in Surrey.
Source: The Sun
Image: The Sun
Published Aug 15 2011

Google buys Motorola

Google buys Motorola

Google Inc. is buying cell phone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for US$12.5bil in cash. It's by far Google's biggest acquisition and a sign the online search leader is serious about expanding beyond its core Internet business and setting the agenda in the fast-growing mobile market.
Google will pay US$40 per share, a 63 percent premium to Motorola's closing price on Friday.
Google's Android operating system runs smartphones that compete with iPhones, BlackBerrys and Windows-based mobile devices. Motorola Mobility was separated from the rest of Motorola in January. The company has remade itself as a maker of smartphones based on Android, but has struggled against Apple Inc. and Asian smartphone makers.
"Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies," said Google CEO Larry Page in a statement. "Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers."
The acquisition has the approval of both companies' boards and is expected to close by the end of this year or early 2012. That may be overly ambitious, however, as the deal is likely to face regulatory scrutiny. It dwarfs Google's previous biggest deal, the 2008 purchase of DoubleClick for US$3.2 billion, which took a year to get approval.
What Google likely wants from the acquisition is Motorola's trove of more than 17,000 patents on phone technology. Google recently lost out to a consortium that included Microsoft Corp., Apple and Research In Motion Ltd. in bidding for thousands of patents from Novell Inc., a maker of computer-networking software, and Nortel Networks, a Canadian telecom gear maker that is bankrupt and is selling itself off in pieces
Motorola has nearly three times more patents than Nortel.
In premarket trading, shares of Motorola Mobility soared 60 percent, or US$14.72, to US$39.19. Shares of Google, meanwhile, fell US$14.68, or 2.6 percent, to US$549.95. - www.thesun.co.uk