A possibly X-rated photo of a Lakeville middle schooler has reportedly made the rounds at Century.

Give rambunctious adolescents camera phones what do you get? A big, messy scandal, that's what!

Numerous students at Lakeville's Century Middle School have been suspended after a student snapped an inappropriate photo of another student with a phone, then shared the image with fellow students.

A 7th grader at Century says the "rumor going around" is that 61 students have been suspended, three expelled, and all but one of the suspended students in 8th grade. But otherwise tight-lipped school administrators say less than 50 students have been punished as a result of the scandal.

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Work like this went away last year, but still pays a lot.

​Americans cannot get enough technology, from wall-sized televisions that play movies to handheld gadgets that play very small movies. But even the technology field can't avoid getting caught up and tossed around in the tide of the recession.

Minnesota lost 2,900 technology jobs in 2010, with the majority of the losses coming on the manufacturing side, according to a new report from the TechAmerica Foundation.

The same report found that tech jobs disappeared across the country, and that Minnesota's ranking, No. 17  in America with 120,800 tech jobs, is unchanged from last year.

Tech jobs come with pros and cons, it seems. For example, con: You have to figure out how to use those skinny little screwdrivers. Pro: You get paid by the truckload.
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Bytemarks on Flickr

Best Buy thinks it owns "geek"

Best Buy has already taken over the technical support world with its Minnesota-grown Geek Squad. Now, the company is claiming that it owns the word "geek."

The electronics chain recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to Newegg.com--an online competitor that tends to sell products a whole lot cheaper--demanding that it stop using a "Geek On" advertising slogan. The phrase, Best Buy argues, is too similar to its "Geek Squad" brand.

Since when did being a "geek" become a corporate product?

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The inventors answer the question, 'Is Oregon Trail on Facebook as good as the original?'

​This week, Oregon Trail on Facebook went live.

As we explained in our January cover story, it's been 40 years since three Minnesotans invented the most successful educational computer game of all time.

Though inventors Paul Dillenberger and Bill Heinemann never saw a dime of the game's profits, we asked them to play the new Facebook version and review it. They readily agreed.

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Maybe you can just ignore that friend request from dysentery.

​The world's most popular educational game will soon arrive on the world's most popular social network--Oregon Trail is being reborn on Facebook.

When we interviewed the three Minnesotans who invented the game 40 years ago for our January 19 cover story, not even they were sure who--if anyone--still owned the rights to the game.

As it turns out, someone does and they have big plans for the classic game.

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Our cover story jogged some memories.

This week's cover story on the early computer game Oregon Trail, and its creators, Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger, has generated a lot of comments and link love.

Autumn Banter was among them.

"I am 33 years old and Oregon Trail is one of the strongest memories I have of elementary school," she says. "I clearly remember sitting in computer class with my friends, after learning how to use the mouse on the Apple II E and playing Oregon Trail with amazement. The game is legendary and I know of many adults who for years searched for the original version to play on modern computers."

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The continuation of the Oregon Trail saga.

This week's cover story relates the origin of the most successful educational video game of all time -- Oregon Trail.

It started with three Carleton student teachers, but it certainly didn't end there.

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​Months back, a peeved Illinois sheriff mounted a crusade to dismantle Craigslist's "erotic services" section. Calling the site "the single largest source of prostitution in the nation," Sheriff Tom Dart filed a suit against the single largest source of online classified ads in the world.More >>

​(picture of an Intel D945GCLF2D, Mini-ITX Atom 330 motherboard by Karl-Martin Skontorp) More >>

Photo by itsbeach

If you've been stalling on requesting or using a DTV converter coupon for your old-school bunny ears TV set, you're quickly running out of time to get the $40 government coupon.

The coupon program officially ends July 31, so be sure to get your coupon now. If you have a coupon you aren't planning to use, now is the time to pass it along to someone in need.

To apply for the coupon, you must call 1-888-DTV-2009 or visit the DTV coupon Web site. The coupons are valid for 90 days once they are issued.

If you have an unused or unneeded coupon, please mail it to the address below. The coupons will be distributed to homes that need them.

Twin Cities DTV Coupon Exchange Program
P.O. Box 50253
Minneapolis, MN 55405