Sin Chew Daily reported that there are foreign students whop are studying in Singapore who are paying people online money to dish out assignments. This is not something new and I am not surprised that foreign students in Singapore have to resort to this.

Foreign students have their parents’ money to spend but it comes with the pressure of excelling. Singapore is a very competitive country so it certainly is not easy to score. Worry not; they can do that with just S$70 and S$100 every 1000 words. Is this price worth paying? Definitely if all the students and their parents care about are grades.

These so-called “online teachers” who are dishing out assignments according to the students’ requirements, get to earn some extra bucks too. Surprisingly, most of them are Masters Degree holders. Don’t tell me they couldn’t earn enough working a regular job even with their qualification.

Much has been said about Google’s threat of pulling out of China completely after facing censorship and cyber attacks from the government over the past few years. Who will win in this battle; Google or China?

I think the ones who will lose out are the people in China. The ones who will suffer the most will be expatriates and returning Chinese who were educated overseas. The internet is supposed to be borderless and I am sure these people expect to use the same internet services that they have used while overseas.

On the other hand, it is not so bad for Chinese people who have not been overseas and exposed to the freedom of the internet. To these people, the web is like a playground where they seek entertainment and friendship, unlike many of us who make use of the internet to help us work better.

I think that in the end, the lack of freedom of the web in China will drive away many returnees to seek employment overseas or to start up businesses in countries where they have a better chance of succeeding. This in turn will create brain drain in China.

What do you think?

Sigh! School children of the internet generation are having it so easy. They could check up on the internet anything that they want but the bad thing is that they are COPYING them wholesale and handing them up as their own work.

I remember back when I was a student, we had to check up on text books and if we do not have the relevant books at home, we have to go to the library for reference. Now, everything is available at home on the computer at our fingertips.

Indeed, if I were a student now, I too would be heading to the web for every little piece of information that I want. Even if I know the answer already, I too would go online to double confirm my answer. LOL

The recent unveiling of Budget 2010 saw a proposal to lower income tax by 1% for top income earners. I find it laughable that some people see this as a “goodie” for the masses but let’s be frank, how many of us earn that much to be taxed to the maximum to enjoy this goodie?

Did you know that if we lived in Las Vegas, we do not have to pay income taxes at all? I found this information on the website of a Las Vegas CPA firm. The reason that there are no city or state income taxes is that Nevada earns enough tourist dollar from the casinos and other attractions.

Well, of course I am not hoping for 0% income tax even though we also have casino and race courses but I think that seeking lower income tax across the board is reasonable. Don’t you think so?

News and media websites as well as entertainment sites that provided live online streaming of Michael Jackson’s public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles from 12noon Eastern Time (ET) right up to 4 or 5pm all reported record breaking surge in web traffic even beating the live streaming of President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

I am not surprised as Michael Jackson, good or bad, had touched and will continue to touch many of our lives. Michael Jackson’s effect was worldwide while President Obama’s was just American-oriented, touching people in America and Americans around the world.

Personally, I watched the public memorial service on E! Online. The webcast was of excellent quality and I didn’t have to download a player or anything like what I had to do if I were to watch it on InMusic.

Plus, I get to chat with other Facebook members who were watching the show at the same time, or even my Facebook friends, if I were so inclined.

But the reason I opted to watch the service online rather than on TV was that I could work at the computer at the same time while I watched. That’s multi-tasking for you.

I am not sure if you have read the news recently where the Securities Commission and Central Bank issued a reminder on fraudulent companies that are taking deposits of up to thousands of dollars per person in exchange for gold flakes.

People are advised to check the website of these the Securities Commission and Central Bank first to see if the company is a legitimate company with a license to accept deposits.

I always remind friends that if they were to invest in gold coins, bullion or flakes, they should always go to established companies with a long history. There is no use giving money to a new company with no background and then end up losing it.

Also, with internet access, we could always do a search on the company online and look for feedback from customers!

I found out that 8TV would be airing Michael Jackson memorial service live at 1am on Wednesday morning (8th July, 2009). A couple of friends asked if I would be watching and I told them I would not. Really, I did not plan to. I am not a huge fan of his and I have plenty of work to do.

Just now, I thought that I would check if there’s any live coverage of Michael Jackson memorial service online and true enough, there is! I guess now I could do my work at the computer AND watch Michael Jackson memorial service live coverage online and in High Definition too.

According to the website of InMusic, coverage of Michael Jackson memorial service at Neverland in Los Angeles will start at 12pm Eastern Time. If you are like me and would rather watch Michael Jackson memorial service live on your computer screen rather than on your TV, visit the website of InMusic HERE.