High-street shopping losing appeal in plugged-in Asia (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
The Internet is replacing the high street as the shopping destination of choice in the Asia Pacific, with a new survey showing a majority of Internet users prefer to go online to buy everything from electronics to holidays.

Digital Photos Act as Unique Fingerprints in Finding Criminals with Digital Cameras [Fingerprint] (Gizmodo)
Forensic specialists can now pinpoint the exact make and model of a camera simply by analyzing the pixels in digital photos. This technique would be useful in the future for tracking down criminals,...

Holiday buying guide: Gift ideas for the traveler (Yahoo! Tech Advisors)
Got someone on your shopping list that spends more time at IAH than H-O-M-E? Check out these gift ideas, designed to make traveling easier, less stressful, and more entertaining -- and which won't add much bulk to their bag! Flip MinoHD - The best-selling, flash-based video camera now does high-def. Just drop it in your pocket and pull it out whenever you need to grab a scene. The ...

Vicki and Joe Price paint Iowa City blue (The Iowa City Press-Citizen)
As mentioned in the review of Vicki Price’s CD below, her already-potent musical gifts have expanded by leaps and bounds since she boldly stepped out of her personal squirrel cage (i.e. the ol’ 9-to-5 grind) and threw herself full time into the blues.

Animated robot 'WALL-E' among this week's DVD releases (SouthtownStar)
The following are available on DVD today:

Salvation Army Launches Appeal for Christmas Gifts (The Christian Post)
The Salvation Army launched its Christmas present appeal on Thursday with a challenge to the public to purchase gifts for people in need as the financial crisis threatens to overshadow the celebrations for many this year.

Simpsonville woman charged with writing bad checks for jewelry (The Greenville News)
Greenville police are warning businesses to watch out for a Simpsonville woman who was charged Wednesday with exchanging bad checks for more than $8,800 in jewelry in less than a month.

Global Ambassador for HIV/AIDS Awareness Nicholas Snow to Make Major Fashion Statement at Bangkok International ... (Thaipr.net)
New public awareness campaign proclaims, "The absolute latest fashion is to know your HIV status." In his role as a credentialed journalist covering Bangkok International Fashion Week as he does twice

'Hancock,' 'Fred Claus' new on DVD (Jam! Showbiz)
Selected home-video releases:

Diamond industry continues call for rough reduction (National Jeweler)
Antwerp , Belgium --A reduction in rough-diamond supply, coupled with an increase in generic diamond marketing, is what the diamond industry needs to do to navigate the choppy economic waters, industry leaders concluded at a symposium held on Monday in Antwerp, Belgium.