Mobile phone companies are earning a lot of money through its added services, particularly text messaging. Text messaging is the most used mobile phone feature right after voice calls. Actually, I think text messages are more commonly used rather than voice calls.

This doesn’t mean people should send text messages wherever they are. I’ve seen people texting even while driving, what seems to be a physical impossibility is being done with impunity by a lot of people. Thankfully, more rational minds are beginning to see the dangers of texting while driving.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wants to make it illegal to text while driving and he has publicly denounced the practice with the same level of gravity as drunk driving and wearing seatbelts.

About 16 percent of deadly crashes that happened in 2008 involved a driver whose attention was distracted in one way or another. This is an 11 percent increase from figures posted in 2005.

This is the right move to make. I’ve seen motorists who text while driving and they are road hazards. They’re so dangerous on the road that I want to shove their phones down their throats.

A few years ago no one would even dare think that the internet would even surpass television but based on a recent study it looks like that day has come.

According to a report published by the Internet Advertising Bureau the UK has seen advertising on the internet increase and overtake TV advertising. It is the first large media market to post this remarkable shift in advertising money.

Online advertising spend has grown by 4.6 percent in the first six months of 2009, reaching £1.75 billion. Most of the advertising has been directed at search engine advertising. On the other hand, overall spend on advertising has fallen by 16.6 percent.

I think this is an undeniable sign of the internet’s relentless surge and inevitable position as the top “medium” for advertising in the next few years. Advertisers should take notice. You guys wouldn’t want to be left behind.

I still remember the horror stories parents recounted when Tickle Me Elmo arrived in stores and became THE TOY to to give during that Christmas season. I’ve read about parents getting into fisticuffs trying to fight over the annoying little red muppet (yes, i’m NOT A FAN).

The nightmare is about to return.

Elmo Tickle Hands, a $29.99 new toy from Mattel, produces sounds and phrases from the Sesame Street character and will become the toy that your kids will badger you about for Christmas. Elmo toys have been known to be sought after toys even when it was being retailed at a higher price point. Now that Mattel has addressed consumer requests for lower priced toys, expect these Tickle Hands to be transformed into boxing gloves as parents scamble to get them when it is finally released.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Vacation timeshares started becoming popular in the 1970s because it’s a great way of spending a vacation without paying too much.

But even a “budget” level vacation option is getting a drubbing because of the recession. According to the American Resort Develpment Association, timeshares sales may drop by 30 percent this year, compared to sales figures posted last year. The Association also said that selling timeshares will be a big challenge for the next 18 months.

I think that these are obvious conclusions. With so many people defaulting on their mortgages and losing jobs, buying a timeshare in some vacation locale is just a bad decision. Timeshares are considered “perpetual vacations” and with everyone scrambling to save every precious dollar, vacations should be farthest on their minds.

Talk about a knee-jerk reaction.

Reacting to the swine flu scare, Egypt President Hosni Mubarak ordered the slaughter of the country’s 300,000 pigs. Unfortunately, the government has also forgotten one crucial fact — those same pigs are helping the country by eating its organic waste.

Now that those pig “cleaners” are in hog heaven, the country’s garbage is beginning to pile up, it has also affected the livelihood of the zabaleen — freelance trash collectors and pig farmers. An estimated 70,000 families are now suffering from this short-sighted government response to the swine flu scare.

Experts say that the Egyptian government failed to consider the economic ramifications of their kill-all-pigs policy and its people are suffering because of it.

Epic fail, Egyptian government.

The Beatles is the most successful band of all time and by all accounts the best selling band, too. I think someone made a survey or study and found out that the Fab Four made a gazillion dollars from the sales of their albums.

And now, more than thirty years after The Beatles released its last album, the Fab Four is about to rake in millions for The Beatles’ current owners of its music rights.

According to reports, Viacom — the publisher of The Beatles: Rock Band — has guaranteed payment of $10 million to the song and likeness rights-holders of the band and the payment is guaranteed to increase when it posts good sales figures.

The owner of The Beatles catalog is Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which is a joint venture between Sony and the late Michael Jackson. The two other record labels that have control over the remainder of the music are Apple Corps for Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and EMI Music for George Harrison

According to estimates, the rights holders could stand to earn up to $40 million. One of the reasons for this big payday is because of the large amount of songs that are in the game. And this will also likely increase because of the plans by Viacom and MTV Games (who distributes the game) to release album packs every month after the game’s release.

And to add to the windfall, this month also sees the release of the remastered Beatles catalogue. This is going to be raking in money because it is the first time that The Beatles’ work has been remastered and given that new polish.

It’s amazing how a band that has been gone for decades can end up selling so much more again and earning the Fab Four boatloads of money.

The announcement that Disney has acquired Marvel for $4 billion came as a shock to many people.

The family-oriented company successfully made its buyout offer for Marvel Comics, which currently has over 5,000 characters in its stable. This includes, of course, such popular characters as Spider-man, The X-Men, The Hulk and Iron Man.

The thought of the Magic Kingdom coopting some of the most bad-ass characters existing today leaves me cold. Disney’s been known to “kid-ify” its properties. I don’t want to see my beloved comic book characters starting to pull punches just because of Walt’s evil influence. Yup, you read it right Disney’s the devil. Looks like the Marvel super heroes have one tough fight to deal with and it’s going to be from Mickey and friends. As far as I’m concerned I’m all for Wolverine goring Mickey’s ass.