Piracy, the act of robbery committed at sea, has been around since the 1700’s, but only in the past two decades has it been making a steady comeback. Bimini, a small island off the coast of Florida and measuring 700 feet in length, was and still is a hotbed for smugglers and pirates. According to Jeff Pearlman of The Wave Magazine, pirates can be classified into three categories:

1) Fisherman who work by day and pirate ships by night for their catch and loot

2) The Professionals who take over the ship, loot the cargo, but don’t kill the crew.

3) Organized Crimers who take the ship and cargo, kill the crew, take the boat to port and re-register and sell the ship for profit.

Today piracy is a growing problem with a worldwide loss of approximately 16 billion dollars per year, and Bimini is once again becoming a prime location for this activity. In the past thirteen years, pirate attacks worldwide have tripled due to the increased demand for international shipping. Increased patrol of US waters and the Caribbean by the United States Coast Guard is helping to eradicate piracy in the nearby waters, but the growing number of smugglers and their small-scale tactics are making it a difficult feat to overcome.

Modern day pirates also have a surplus of newer, more destructive weapons at their disposal. According to Wikipedia, pirates today “…use a great deal of technology. It has been reported that the crimes of piracy have involved the use of mobile phones, modern speedboats, AK-47s, shotguns, pistols, mounted machine guns and even rocket propelled grenades. There is also speculation that modern pirates eavesdrop on satellite communication networks such as Inmarsat to determine cargo and the degree of risk involved with an operation.”

While some pirating is done for the ships and to gain cargo, Bimini’s main attraction for pirates is to gain access to smaller speed boats in order to smuggle illegal substances into the U.S. Being that Bimini is only 50 miles from the Florida coast, it makes for an invaluable spot for smugglers to use as a stopping point. And it’s been that way for centuries. Bimini was a hotspot for legends such as Captain Henry Morgan and Blackbeard who used the island to store loot and as a capture point for looting merchant ships. Today Bimini is a large tourist spot boasting top fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling and an active nightlife. However; the large uninhabited areas on the island provide a perfect place to hide cargo and other loot with little disturbance.

Piracy may seem to be something of the past, but it is a proving to be a thriving business at sea. Bimini may seem like a local, touristy, sleepy Caribbean island, but with its close proximity and obvious convenience, it will continue to be a hotbed for modern day piracy, looting and drug smuggling.

A PimpWiz Exclusive By, Lauren Fairbanks

Labels: LaurenFairbanks

Free music downloads? Is this good news for music lovers!? What's the catch?

Universal Music, the world's largest music company, has shaken up the record industry by announcing that it will make its song catalogue available as free internet downloads. Unlike Napster and other competing online music retailers, could this service actually pose a challenge to iTunes.

Are these tracks really free??? Don't be silly.

Is Universal Music just giving away all their music for free? Not exactly. A series of advertisements would play while you wait for each song to download. Will this advertising model work for an online music store? According to research conducted by Universal Music and SprialFrog, consumers willing to watch non-intrusive relevant advertising in exchange for the free content. I guess some people like watching advertising. Not me. I'd rather pay TiVo a service fee for the ability to fast-forward thru the commercials.

Catch#1: you have to watch advertising before/while downloading tracks


So what is stopping someone from redistributing these free tracks on P2P sharing services like BitTorrent once downloaded? According to SprialFrog, Universal Music Group's online distribution partner, digital rights management (DRM) technology will be built into all audio and video content to address the issue of piracy. However, DRM can be a double-edged sword if you are not careful. The model of DRM they plan on using is Windows Media based and means that any free tracks that you download cannot be burned on to a CD and won't work with Apple computers or iPod music players. Personally, that's a major deal breaker for me.

Catch #2: tracks cannot be burned on to a CD
Catch#3: tracks won't work with Apple computers or iPod music players


In addition to Universal Music's artists, which include U2 and Kanye West, SprialFrog is seeking to license the catalogs of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Group. It's a start. iTunes currently offers millions of songs and video content worldwide. SprialFrog and Universal Music Group have a lot of catching up to do.

Catch#4: smaller music catalogue than iTunes


Will this service actually pose a threat to Apple's iTunes Music Store? Since iPod owners can't use these free downloads, it's doubtful. But you can't blame the entertainment industry for scrambling to find new ways to make money as the Internet rewrites the rules of distribution and marketing.

digg story | methodshop

Labels: computer, Ipod, mac

These are not in order of who is the best but rather a collection of the best.
QUINTESSENTIALLY
Advertised as a “club for those who believe that life is too short to waste time on the mundane or second-best,” the uber-elite Quintessentially offers an insane amount of benefits that make its steep annual fee (almost $1000 USD for single general membership) totally worth it. With benefits in 15 countries, Quintessentially helps you find hard-to-book tickets, invites members to exclusive parties, and even arranges events FOR you, simply out of gratitude for your membership. The service also offers a number of discounts for spas, hotels, international shopping venues, and even has its own wine club, making paying up and partying hard merely club bonuses. However, part of its exclusivity is that it’s precisely that – exclusive. If you aren’t already invited, you have to fill out an application for approval – think a more grown-up version of the high school varsity teams.

MILLIONAIRE’S CONCIERGE
Yea, this company doesn’t even fake the funk with a pretty company name for membership hopefuls – it’s for millionaires, and if you’re not one, you probably can’t afford it. With access to private islands, high performance driving events, and even a section entitled “Famous Celebrities for Hire”, this company can throw you a party and make James Brown your date…just because you’re a member.

CAREFREE LIFESTYLE
You may not actually be media-popular enough to need one, but a bodyguard might be something fun to have when you actually have access to one. The Florida-based Carefree Lifestyle concierge service is mainly a lux rental service, allowing you to temporarily pimp in the finest cars, mansions, yachts and more. Having a sweet rental and a bodyguard not only makes your vacation ten times better, but makes you at least fifteen times more likely to score a vacation fling way hotter than the one you’d have picked up in your Subaru.

At PimpWiz, we are always evolving and we realize we might have missed some amazing concierge companies. So if you think there should be another company included to this list please write in and let us know!

We would also like to mention two "upgrade your lifestyle" companies that are making big waves on the West Coast, The Karma Foundation and Xenii.

A PimpWiz Exclusive By Alyson Mance

Labels: AlysonMance, KarmaFoundation

With Paris Hilton’s debut CD hitting the shelves this fall, it looks like she’s finally succeeding at being famous for something other than being rich. Who ever shall we fixate over for their ability to collect recognition and a celebrity fan base without any noticeable marketable skill? Say hello to nineteen-year-old Anna Anisimov, New York’s first Russian-American princess.

Anna’s most recent exploit takes place at Denise Rich’s less-than-humble home in Southampton, which Anna sublet for the summer. The price tag for a few months of luxurious fun in the sun at Chez Rich? A whopping $550,000. She owes this pleasure to the bank account of her father, aluminum-business alumnus, Vassily Anisimov. Anisimov boasts a position as No. 67 on Forbes’s “Richest Russians” list, with an estimated net worth of $350 million.

Speaking of millions, Anna also recently bought design mogul Diane von Furstenberg’s townhouse for a cool $23 million, closing the deal with her son, whom she considers a friend. And don’t forget about her two-bedroom in the Time-Warner Center at Columbus Circle, with its modest price tag of $10 million.

These days, many Russian moguls, known as “The Ogligarchs”, are moving their families to safer locations than their homeland. London is a favorite, but New York, Florida, and Connecticut also provide relatively safe havens for the wealthy families. “They spend a lot of money on real estate because they have a lot of cash,” says one Russian. “In Russia, there is no such thing as a mortgage, and nobody trusts anybody, so people are paid up front.”

In her free time from attending Coalco business meetings and perusing expensive properties, Anna often makes the rounds with 28-year-old former real estate investment banker turned nightlife maven, Jeff Goldstein. The celebrity-studded Star Room is a favorite. While Goldstein insists that “There’s no waaay Anna’s going to turn into Paris Hilton,” he has been accused of serving as Anna’s agent in much the same that party-promoter Noah Tepperberg did for Paris. Recently, Anna was also romantically linked to Oliver Ripley, a financial analyst that worked on many Russian accounts.

Despite friends and family is high places and preternatural poise (due to her past employment as an Elite model), Anna is, in many ways, like most teenagers. In high school, she was an accomplished truant: “I would call the school and pretend I was the family secretary,” she said. The school’s headmaster allowed her to finish her senior year at home.

At her party, she flutters around a clambake at her deluxe sublet in a designer gown, channeling her nervous energy into a pack of Parliaments. When an interviewer questions her, she responds, bites her tongue, giggles, then fesses up to the tongue-biting. Her 27 -year-old sister Angelina is also in attendance, wearing Ungaro and accessorizing with blue Nat Shermans.

What can we expect to see in Anna’s bright future? Actress, clothing designer, real-estate mogul, maybe a bit of all of the above. Because, well, when it comes to money, some girls just wanna have fun, but Anna wants to get things done, too.

A PimpWiz Exclusive

Labels: Minx of the Month, MinxoftheMonth, women

Check out the All-New PimpWiz MySpace Page!

Thanks to Google, residents in Mountain View, California have one less monthly bill to pay every month... their Internet.

This month Google launched their free wireless Internet service called Google WiFi Mountain View. The service is completely free to the 72,000 residents of Mountain View and is not supported via ads. It covers the 12 square mile radius of the town and is comprised of some 380 access points.

Speeds have been reported at 1Mbps and Google is hoping that their product will convince many residents to drop their DSL & Cable offerings. Although these speeds aren't super fast, Google's free alternative will be something that most people will embrace. People who still want their high speed connections will have to pay for it.

If you're not in Mountain View don't despair, Google has teamed up with Earthlink for a more ambitious project - providing wireless Internet service to the San Francisco area. The San Francisco service will be a little different from the one now available in Mountain View in that it will be tiered. The free service (300 Kbps) will be supported by ads. If you want higher speeds (1 Mbps) without the ads, then you will have to pay monthly subscription fee.

So what is Google really up to here? Is Mountain View and San Francisco just beta cities for something much bigger like national WiFi? Google has been quietly buying up miles of "dark fiber" across the United States for years. Add that fiber network to the Wimax routers and chip sets slated to hit the consumer market next year and Google could wipe out the telecom and cable companies before they knew what hit them. Think about it... Google could instantly become a national ISP, phone (VoIP) and TV provider for the entire country.

It sounds easy, but consider the deployment difficulties of a national wireless network. A single WiFi base station can only cover a limited area. With overlap you are probably talking about 300-500 base stations per square mile depending on terrain. I'm no math major, but how many base stations would Google need to cover the entire United States? Over a billion? If Google did decide to build a national network, they'd probably have to hire all those former cable and DSL employees just to repair and maintain this massive network.

National WiFi domination... something to think about.

Sources: Techie Diva, News.com

digg story | methodshop

It is common knowledge that you should say nice things to pretty girls that you want to bring home with you. Compliments are crucial in the first meeting and easy to come by when you haven't been around her long enough for her to annoy the hell out of you yet.

But compliments to get the girl are a dime a dozen and now, a thing of the past. A new and controversial method of picking up women has been introduced to the meat market and has become an effective method of making a girl remember you, and well, think of you quite often.

"Negging" was first coined in 2005 in Neil Strauss's Book, "The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists". The "neg" is the latest addition to a first encounter with a potential mate in which you say something to her about her appearance, features, clothing, etc. that is not offensive or insulting but rather makes her question her own value to you. The point is to seem a bit disinterested in order to peak her interest.

She will be astonished that you have not fallen at her feet like every other guy in the place, and wonder what you meant by that kind-of-bold statement you just threw at her so nonchalantly with an easy smile. She knows she is hot, and so do you, but because you "negged" her she is questioning her own worth and what it is about you that makes you confident enough to not kiss her ass but rather keep her on her toes.

"Negs" also keep women who typically have social ADD in front of you that much longer. She will feel the need to re-gain her footing and prove her value to you, having conversations inspired by the motivation to make you want her. Don't be alarmed if she suddenly gets self-conscious or pink in her cheeks, she will definitely be trying to conceal the pangs of a minor hit to her ego, but have no fear. She cannot get over your coolness around her, and she knows that you have enough confidence to risk losing a hot woman since to her, it seems like you get them enough to take that gamble.


Here are some examples of quality "negs":

1. "That is such a beautiful dress. We should go out sometime and you should wear it again. I would love to see it on you properly tailored."

2. "I love your hair. Do you ever go out without those extensions?"

3. "I really like your shirt. I just saw another girl wearing the same exact one.

4. "You are so cute when you drink too much. Your right eye kind of gets a little lazy."

5. "I love watching you try to dance."

6. "God, you are so curvy."

7. "I like how your front two teeth overlap your other ones a little."

8. "Wow, you have naturally curly hair? I can't imagine that on you."

9. "I can't believe you went to school there. I totally can't see that."

10. "Do you always wear this much makeup?"

When you wrap up the first encounter, she will be sure numbers were exchanged (you will be surprised how many women after a quality "neg" will ask you for yours), and you will see/talk to her again soon. An effective "neg" is leaving your mark. She will not be able to forget what you said, and she definitely will not forget you.

A PimpWiz Exclusive By, Lauren Weiss

Labels: Ask Lauren, Lauren Weiss, women

Unfortunately Dell isn't the only company plagued by exploding defective Sony batteries. On Thursday afternoon Apple announced that they will recall 1.8 million lithium-ion notebook batteries after nine devices overheated. Two people have even reportedly suffered minor burns due to these battery malfunctions.

You can check out some of the fiery Apple laptops in this clip from NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams.



This recall is the second-biggest consumer electronics recall in U.S. history. Dell proudly holds the #1 position thanks to the 4.1 million batteries they announced a recall for last week.

So how do you know if you have a bad Sony battery in your Apple laptop? The bad batteries were sold worldwide from October 2003 through August 2006 in the following notebook computers: 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4 and 15-inch PowerBook G4.

If you own one of these Apple laptops, carefully remove your battery and take a look at the numbers printed on the back. The battery serial number is printed in black or dark grey lettering beneath a barcode. See this flickr photo for more info.



Once you mail your defective Sony battery back to Apple, you can still use your Apple laptop sans battery. Just plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives. Apple pays for all the shipping costs and will even send you a postage paid label to send the bad battery back. Unfortunately you'll lose the joys of laptop portability for about 4 to 6 weeks. That's the estimated time it will take Apple to replace your battery. Look on the bright side - at least you won't have to worry about a bonfire spontaneously igniting in your lap for a few weeks. Flame on!

For more information on the battery recall, check out this page on Apple.com.

youtube | digg story | methodshop

According to the TheDeal.com:

"TSG Consumer Partners, formerly the Shansby Group, hit a home run with an exit from a 30% stake in Energy Brands Inc., maker of a vitamin- and herb-infused bottled water, for $677 million.

Energy Brands and Tata Group, a conglomerate from India, announced Wednesday, Aug. 23, an agreement to buy out TSG's stake.

The deal values Whitestone, N.Y.-based Energy, whose sole asset is the Glaceau infused-water business, at $2.25 billion. That is more than six times the $340 million in revenue observers said is projected for the company this year, a multiple that is considered extremely high.

Darius Bikoff, the quixotic founder and CEO of Energy Brands, and other shareholders will retain a controlling stake.

For TSG, the deal will translate into a stunning return of around 17 times its roughly $40 million total investment in Glaceau, whose product is called vitaminwater."

This article is kinda of making us a little sick so we will just stop now. All we have to say is damn the guys over at TSG Consumer Partners are pysched!

And so this ends another tale of our monthly series, "Fat Pockets" ...Till next time folks ;-)

There's no doubt the iPod has revolutionized the way we to listen music. People take their iPods everywhere. On the run, in the car, or at the gym, our iPods have gone with us to the ends of the earth... except places near water.

Until recently, a short fall or a splash of water meant certain death for an iPod, but not anymore.

Thanks to a company called OtterBox, makers of watertight storage cases for electronic equipment like PDAs, and GPS units, you can safely take your iPod near or even underwater. OtterBox has created a waterproof hard shell case they call the OtterBox for iPod.

We put all their waterproof iPod cases through several tough tests including a steamy shower and a trip to the beach.

Here's our full series of Otterbox case reviews:

• OtterBox for iPod Mini
  
• Otterbox for iPod
• Otterbox for iPod Nano
• Otterbox for iPod Video
  

digg story | methodshop

Labels: computer, Ipod, mac

Maybe its called London Gentleman, Blackbeard's Delight or Pherlure. These are just a few of the thousands of products on the market that claim they can help any guy attract hordes of hot females. They all claim to include the same ingredient, and no it’s not good looks, money or a flashy car. It’s all about your scent, better known as Pheromones. I’m sure you’re wondering, is it really possible to make a woman want you with just your smell? Read on, my friend.

It probably sounds too good to be true, but pheromones do exist. In fact, all animals, including humans, have pheromones. Animals give off smells to mark territory or alarm prey, and they also give off sex pheromones, which alert males that the female is ready to breed. Human pheromones work a little bit differently, and unfortunately for some, ours are a bit more selective. Although most ads for pheromone products claim they will help any man attract any woman, it’s effects aren’t necessarily so broad.

Studies have shown that natural human pheromones (the ones already in your system, not the ones you need to buy) can make a person more attractive to an extent. It’s basically like winning the lottery; the scent of some men will naturally be attractive to many women, and others just won‘t have the same luck. However, human pheromones are much more selective than animal pheromones, and are basically trying to sniff out the best partner for reproduction. In other words, your body doesn’t care how many women you hook with now, it’s more concerned with who you end up with in the long run.

So, maybe pheromones won’t make every woman in the room flock to you There is still the possibility of them increasing your sexual attraction. The trick is knowing which product will work. If you do a search for pheromones on Google, it’s easy to see the market is saturated with products that all proclaim the same results. Chances are most of them are about as legitimate as all the male enhancement products on the net. However, one brand called Athena has received recognition from reputable sources such as CNN.com. In fact CNN says it’s participates who used Athena’s pheromones saw an increase in interaction with the opposite sex. Their product, called 10Xtm, was made to mix with your favorite aftershave, was created by a scientist and has been thoroughly tested. Their website, AthenaInstitute.com, claims that the product has a 75% success rate, but can take up to 6 weeks to work for some men. To top things off, it costs a whopping $100 a pop. It’s not cheap, but how much would you pay to have the woman of your dreams at your feet? That’s what I thought.

Despite what the movie Anchorman might tell you, real bits of panther are not necessary to make your girl purr. Knowing that pheromones can work, all that’s really important is finding a legitimate product and making sure you don’t get ripped off. After that you can skip the flirting and let your scent do all the talking.

A PimpWiz Exclusive

The new Receptor HD Clock Radio by Boston Acoustics is the latest in a long line of high-quality, compact systems on the market; not to mention that everything Boston Acoustics makes, from car speakers to clock radios, is of the highest quality.

Next on our review list is a nice pair of cherry Boston Acounstics bookshelf speakers.

From Crutchfield.com, here's the hands-on research:

HD Radio: HD Radio is digital FM and AM broadcasting, allowing you to enjoy your same favorite FM and AM stations with digital sound quality. FM stations offer near CD-quality sound and AM stations sound like today's analog FM stations. Because the transmission is digital, multi-path distortion (a common problem with analog radio, receiving signal reflections slightly later than the direct signal) is eliminated. Stations broadcasting HD radio can also pass along text information, such as artist name, song title, weather, traffic, etc. Another benefit of FM HD radio is a station's ability to multicast, broadcast multiple programs (up to seven) using their existing frequency. The display shows multicast stations with the frequency followed by the multicast number, 107.1-1, 107.1-2, 107.1-3, etc.

Tuner: The Boston Acoustics Recepter radio has a highly sensitive AM/FM digital tuner. It can pull in weak FM stations while its high selectivity allows it to separate closely-spaced stations clearly. The tuning knob makes it easy to manually tune to your favorite stations.

Presets: The Recepter radio features 20 station presets for your favorite AM and FM stations, including primary and multicast HD stations. Once you set the preset stations, you can quickly tune only the preset stations with a turn of the tuning knob.

Antenna Inputs: This unit is equipped with a built-in AM antenna. External FM wire and AM loop antennas are also included. The FM antenna input on the back of the radio is a threaded coaxial jack (75Ω) and the AM antenna input has spring terminals. When using the external AM antenna, first disconnect the internal antenna from the spring terminals.

Speakers/Amplifier: The Recepter features wide-range drivers, specifically designed for this radio, with a rear-firing ports to enhance the bass output. These high-performance speakers are coupled with an actively-equalized amplifier that uses Boston BassTrac circuitry for full, satisfying sound, even at low volume. The result is a unit that delivers smooth, natural response and room-filling sound despite its small size. When placed near a wall the bass may be too pronounced, in this case the bass trim function can be used to turn the bass down.

Display: The unit's large easy-to-read display clearly shows the station frequency, preset number, HD radio text information, clock, and alarm/sleep status. If desired, the display can be dimmed. The display dimensions are 2-1/2" wide and 1-1/4" high.

Dual Alarms: The radio features two independent wake-up alarms, each of which can be set to music or tone. When the alarm sounds, the snooze function will silence the alarm for 10 minutes. If you push the snooze button again within 3 seconds, you can add another 5 minutes to the snooze time, up to a maximum of 60 minutes.

Sleep Timer: You can set the unit's sleep timer to play the radio for a preset amount of time, then turn itself off. The sleep timer can be set for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes.

Auxiliary Input: A mini-jack input (1/8") on the back of the radio allows you to play an external source through the Recepter.

Headphone Output: There is mini-jack (1/8") headphone output on the back of the radio. When headphones are plugged in the speakers are muted.

Satellite Speaker: The included second speaker completes a two channel stereo system. The satellite speaker is connected to the main radio using the attached 20" cable which terminates with a male RCA plug. A 10' RCA extension is also included to offer greater placement flexibility and improve stereo separation.

digg story | treblemaker

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