The Inquisitr

Hurricane Ida Path Puts Gulf Coast on Hurricane Alert

Duncan Riley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:58:36 +0000

Residents across Florida and the Gulf Coast have been put on hurricane alert as Hurricane Ida’s path has turned to the North.

Ida was upgraded from a tropical storm to Hurricane status Saturday, and has since intensified to a Category 2 hurricane with winds at its center of over 100 miles an hour. Forecasters are predicting that it may intensify further before crossing the Gulf Coast Monday or Tuesday.

The edge of Hurricane Hurricane Ida swept through the Mexican resort city of Cancun on Sunday, although only minor damage was expected.

Hurricane Ida was moving to the northwest at 10 mph (17 kph), and was 650 miles to the south-southeast of Pensacola, Florida as of Sunday morning.

Twitter once more playing with the future of developers

Steven Hodson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:28:25 +0000

One of the constants that has been with Twitter since day one has been its hands off approach towards the service as it is presented to the users at the Twitter home page. They have let a rich and vibrant 3rd party developer ecosphere build up around the service as they have given the impression more than once that they aren’t interested in expanding beyond the simple interface as found at the Twitter homepage.

As a result we have seen a number of desktop and smartphone clients rise to the surface that have continually added features and improved the user interface experience. That hands off approach however looks like it could be changing and this should make developers who are trying to hook their wagon to Twitter a little nervous. I have written about his in the past but in light of recent moves by Twitter it bears repeating – Twitter is no friend to developers.

The one area that developers might have thought themselves fairly secure had to be developing clients for smartphones like the iPhone but if what Martin Bryant at The Next Web has found out not even that may be as safe as it seems.

In a post yesterday Martin reports on how Jesse Stay, developer behind Social Too, may have spotted what looks like a native Twitter app for the iPhone:

With the new geolocation feature being tested internally and the new version of Seesmic Desktop featuring the ability to read location from tweets that use it, how is Twitter generating location tags for its test tweets? From the looks of the screenshots Stay has uncovered, by using a secret iPhone app.

Now, we’re not suggesting that Twitter is about annoy its third party developer community by launching its own iPhone app. Given its bare-bones look this is probably noting more than a test app for adding geolocation data to tweets.

Now Martin may be being overly kind by suggesting that Twitter doesn’t want to step on any toes but I doubt it very much. We have already seen many times over just how Twitter feels about developers of clients for its service.

Things like turning off Twitter services without any notification to developers leaving them to scramble and deal with irate users. Or, cutting back on the number of API calls clients can make – again without any notification to the developers.

Twitter makes decisions about features they want to add that are for the most part re-interpretations of user developed features that developers have taken and added to their clients. Yet Twitter decides heavy handedly and without any apparent conversation with developers who actually deal with the people using the service change the ideas to what they think is best.

We have seen this with the @reply and most recently with retweeting. and as noted by Rob Diana on his blog Twitter is now trying to add features that will make their home page a better destination by showing you new message notifications.

I understand why Twitter is wanting to do things like this and it all boils down to pageviews. As it stands right now Twitter is probably only seeing half – or less – of the traffic on their home page because of all of the third party clients out there. They need to do something to increase their pageviews in order to even think about living up to their outrageous valuation.

This means that have to get people either using native Twitter client(s) and/or using the Twitter homepage. This is a situation that isn’t going to get any better either as pressure mounts, as it will, for Twitter to be able to find some business revenue that will justify their valuation.

In the end this doesn’t bode well for all those developers out there whether they be web based, desktop based or smartphone based – especially those without any business models of their own other than feeding off of Twitter.

Happy Plane 2

Kim LaCapria — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:00:53 +0000

Knows not what Happy Plane 1 has been up to.

Lawsuit: iPhone app developer Storm8 stole phone numbers, user data

Kim LaCapria — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:10:07 +0000

A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday claims that popular App Store app developer Storm8 may have bypassed safeguards in order to obtain data such as phone numbers via games downloaded over 20 million times.

World War, iMobsters, Racing Live, Vampires, Kingdoms, Zombies Live, Rockstars Live and Ninjas Live are some of the iPod Touch and iPhone titles listed on Storm8’s website. Court documents point to “secret code” written into games to circumvent protections preventing apps from collecting data on unsuspecting users:

“…Storm8 makes use of the ‘backdoor’ method to access, collect, and transmit the wireless phone numbers of the iPhones on which its games are installed,” states the complaint, which was filed in US District Court in Northern California. “Storm8 does so or has done so in all of its games.”

The Register points to a column written back in August about privacy concerns and the iPhone. The columnist highlights data-gathering in Storm8’s Vampires Live mini MMORPG:

One of the best selling iPhone app is Vampires Live, a very cool game which is a take off from the current pop culture fascination with vampires. The app is built by Storm8 and is the 8th best selling iPhone app.

The game is essentially an massive multi-player online game which will use your 3G or WiFi connection. 3G is your data plan. So far so good. While playing vampires is fun, it does not involve exchanging phone numbers with other players. In fact, no one needs your phone number to play with you.

But guess what?

Without your permission, Storm8 harvests both your UDID, phone number, email and name (on registration).

(Examples of code.)

As you can see, the personally identifiable information which is the PNUM is being transmitted and I guess stored with Storm8’s servers. For non-technical types, PNUM is phone number and I changed the telephone number on the log to hide my personal number. I would not want just anyone to have my personal phone number. Worst of all, the information is transmitted unencrypted in plain text.

Storm8 is claiming that the data collection was unintentional and part of a “”a bug that has been fixed.” But the prosecution is skeptical, saying the developers used “very specific and specialized software code to do so.” The claimant in the case is hoping to obtain class action status.

[Source: The Register]

He’s $20 Million Manny: Ramirez Remains With Dodgers For 2010 Season

Joshua Lobdell — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:23:25 +0000

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) – Manny Ramirez decided not to opt out of the second year of his two-year, $45 million pact with the Los Angeles Dodgers and will remain with the team in 2010, his agent told the organization Friday.

Ramirez, one of the game’s most feared sluggers, had an up-and-down year in L.A. hitting 19 homers with 63 RBI in 104 games.

He was much better early on, hitting .348 with six home runs and 20 runs batted in his first 27 games with the club.

Manny’s season was then interrupted by a 50-game MLB ban for violating baseball’s drug policy.

He was not much of a force in the playoffs either, as the Dodgers fell to the Phillies in the NLCS.

Manny hit .281 with a home run and two RBI in the Dodgers’ eight postseason contests.

He is an all-time great hitter, however, with a .313 batting average, 546 home runs and 1,788 RBI.

Manny is just six hits shy of 2,500 with 2,494 base-knocks.

Phil-Lee: Team Excercises Option On Pitcher For 2010

Joshua Lobdell — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:19:19 +0000

Philadelphia, PA (AHN) – The Philadelphia Phillies exercised their $9 million option on pitcher Cliff Lee, bringing the talented lefty back to the team for the 2010 season.

Lee was terrific for the Phils, going 4-0 in the postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The Yankees finally got to Lee in game five of the World Series, collecting seven hits and five runs though the Phils still won the game 8-6.

Lee did not allow an earned run over his previous two starts, 17 innings of work in wins over the Yanks and Dodgers.

He was 14-13 overall this past season with the Tribe and the Phils,

Lee went 22-3 with the Indians in 2008, posting a 2.54 ERA en route to winning the AL Cy Young award.

No. 3 Alabama Rally, Defeat (9) LSU For SEC Bid

Joshua Lobdell — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:13:54 +0000

Tuscaloosa, AL (AHN) – Julio Jones caught a 73-yard touchdown pass in the last quarter for a come-from-behind win to lift the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide 24-15 over the No.9 Louisiana State University Tigers Saturday night.

Alabama’s Leigh Tiffin blasted a 40-yard field goal with 3:04 left in the game to seal the win.

The victory means that Alabama clinches the Western Division title. The Tide will also take their second- straight trip to the SEC championship game, where they will take on the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators Dec. 5.

Alabama was trailing 15-10 going into the fourth. But the Tide tallied 14 points during the last 15 minutes of the game.

It did not help the Tigers that quarterback Jordan Jefferson and running back Charles Scott were injured and did not see much action in the second half.

Jarrett Lee took over for Jefferson, who had 114 yards with a touchdown. Lee had 44 yards and an interception. Regardless, the Crimson Tides’ defense was staggering and limited the Tigers to 95 yards rushing.

The Tide (9-0, 6-0) is still in the running for the BCS national championship.

The OpenOffice Mouse, The Trabant of Desktop Peripherals

Duncan Riley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:01:28 +0000

Introducing the OpenOffice Mouse, a new (we kid you not, see the picture) 18 button mouse that is going on sale with the backing on the OpenOffice people.

According to the media release, with “a revolutionary and patented design featuring 18 buttons, an analog joystick, and support for as many as 52 key commands, the OpenOfficeMouse is intended to provide a faster and more efficient user interface for OpenOffice.org applications such as Writer and Calc than the conventional icons, pull-down menus, and hotkeys presently permit.”

John McCreesh, Marketing Project Lead at OpenOffice.org, says that “the OpenOffice Mouse is a really cool addition to the desk of any keen OpenOffice.org user. The Mouse team have worked closely with experts from the OpenOffice.org User Experience project to deliver the full benefits of the world’s leading open-source office software to the fingertips of users.”

If you’ve ever wanted to understand the difference between free market capitalism and the economics of committee, you need to look no further again that the OpenOffice mouse. It’s the Trabant of desktop peripherals, supposedly practical but 20 years out of date with some bling to tart it up a bit.

Oh, and I can’t stop laughing: they’re seriously asking $75 for it.

A boatload of trouble

Steven Hodson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:52:42 +0000

Fox News and Bill O’Reilly are gloating over the numbers they got during the 8 o’clock slot over the news of the Ft. Hood shootings, saying that they wiped out CNN and MSNBC. Even scarier is that they seem to be under the impression that they are now the new voice of the news.

“We did 5 million viewers at 8 O’Clock, wiped out CNN and MSNBC, wiped them off the face of the earth. The guard has changed in this country. The media guard has changed. And you know why people came in here, because they knew they were going to get an honest story. They weren’t going to get spin that Hasan is some kind of post-traumatic syndrome victim. Some kind of victim of a terrible public policy gone awry. They’re not going to get that….. I almost said a bad word. They’re not going to get that garbage here.”

Source: TVNewser

If Fox News is the new guard of the old media then we are in for a boatload of trouble. Any shadow of old media impartiality just flew out the window.

O’Reilly and guest gloating over how Fox is getting the news right

Tropical Storm Ida Strengthening Over Yucatan, Becomes Hurricane Again

AHN — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:52:40 +0000

Miami, FL (AHN) – Tropical Storm Ida picked up strength and speed Saturday, becoming a hurricane again late Saturday with the Mexican government putting into place a hurricane watch for the Yucatan Peninsula.

Ida could threaten the United States along the Gulf of Mexico coastline on Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Ida had near hurricane force winds of 70 miles per hour, U.S. National Hurricane Center forecasters in Miami, FL said in the agency’s 7 p. m. advisory on Saturday.

At 7 p.m., Ida was moving north-northwest at 10 mph and was located about 180 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico and about 165 miles south-southeast of the western tip of Cuba, hurricane center forecasters said.

Ida is expected to move through the Yucatan Channel on Sunday and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday night.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the Yucatan Peninsula from Tulum to Cabo Catoche. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Cuban province of Pinar Del Rio, however, hurricane force winds could spread across western Cuba on Sunday and a hurricane warning might become necessary tonight, forecasters said.

Ida had been a hurricane before it made landfall in Nicaragua on Thursday, but it had downgraded to a tropical depression with winds of only 30 mph as it passed over Nicaragua and Honduras, before picking up strength again over the Yucatan Peninsula. However, Ida dumped a lot of rain in Nicaragua and flooding left at least 13,000 people homeless.

Ida is still a rainmaker with accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are possible across the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba.

Anti-piracy group raises the surrender flag

Steven Hodson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:00:04 +0000

While it may be a long time before we see this type of thing happen in the US and Canada the people of Denmark can look forward to one less anti-piracy agency trying to sue everyone in sight for downloading music from the internet – legal or otherwise.

It appears according to a report over at TorrentFreak that the Danish anti-piracy group Antipiratgruppen has given up on trying to get illegal downloaders convicted as well as announcing the group will no longer take people to court.

Part of the reasoning behind the decision is as the Antipiratgruppen lawyer, Mary Fredenslund, is that the evidence required has to be strong and concrete in order to have people convicted and the organization apparently couldn’t convince the courts the lift the burden of proof in cases like these.

Defense attorney Per Overbeck says that in addition to these outcomes, cases against two of his clients have been dropped in recent years. “Antipiratgruppen has acknowledged that they can not get people convicted without either catching them in the act or threatening them to confess,” Overbeck said. “In practice, this means that without a confession there is no case,” he added.

Per Overbeck and Antipiratgruppen’s assessment that recent High Court rulings make it virtually impossible to get individuals convicted for illegal file sharing are supported by a recent Government report from the Ministry of Culture.

According to the report, IP-addresses can only be used to identify the person paying for the Internet subscription, not the person who actually downloaded the files. The courts have ruled several times that in terms of evidence, an IP-address alone is insufficient to prove guilt.

Source: TorrentFreak

It’s too bad we couldn’t see the same common sense be applied here in North America but with so many politicians being supported by entertainment industry trade groups common sense seems to be in short supply. When it comes to the courts they can only really go by the guidance of the laws as they exist – laws crafted by lobbyists and condoned by politicians.

Jahvid Best Injury (Video)

Duncan Riley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:49:32 +0000

California tailback Jahvid Best was rushed to the emergency room Saturday night after landing on the back of his head after scoring a touchdown.

Jahvid Best flew into the air over Oregon’s Cameron Collins 6:07 before half time before smashing into the ground. The impact was so strong it ripped his helmet off.

A team spokesman said that Best sustained a concussion, although more tests were being undertaken. Fortunately there was no sign of spinal damage.

The Jahvid Best injury video as follows:

Myka ION HD Player Provides Hulu And Boxee Access In A Nice Package

James Allen Johnson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:27:10 +0000

The Myka ION HD player as the name would suggest provides NVIDIA ION graphics with Hulu and Boxee support all from one centralized location. The device also provides PC application support for XBMC and other options and provides the ability to “browse to any web site and play video content directly onto your TV.”

The base model starts at $379 with basic WiFi access, while Wireless-N and Blu-ray add-ons can quickly run the system price up to $644.

The systems regardless of model include a 1.6GHz dual-core Atom 330 CPU processor, while up to 4GB RAM and ten USB 2.0 ports are available. Video out options are also abundant in the form of VGA / DVI and HDMI with an eSATA connector, Ethernet and a bunch of useful audio outputs. [SlipperyBrick]

New Mexico Soccer Player Elizabeth Lambert Regrets Actions

Duncan Riley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:23:43 +0000

New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert, who made headlines this week after footage of her playing dirty spread across the internet, has said in a statement that she “regrets” her actions.

“I am deeply and wholeheartedly regretful for my actions. My actions were uncalled for. I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation,” Lambert said in the statement. “I take full responsibility for my actions and accept and punishment felt necessary from the coaching staff and UNM administration.”

After first being highlighted on ESPN’s Sport Center, the Elizabeth Lambert video has continued to go viral…which is highly understandable given that it shows a staggeringly large amount of foul play.

In case you missed it: Elizabeth Lambert video.

Daonolfix Trojan Sweeps Web

Duncan Riley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:14:10 +0000

A relatively new trojan by the name of Daonolfix is sweeping forums in what early user reports suggest might make it the new Conflicker.

Daonolfix is part of the Win32/Daonol family of trojans and is capable of monitoring network traffic, stealing FTP credentials, preventing access to security Web sites, disabling access to system programs, and redirecting Web searches to sites hosting other malware.

The Daonolfix trojan is reported to be difficult to remove by anti-virus software as it recreates itself when deleted by standard anti-virus tools. If you are infected, Avira has a Daonolfix removal guide here. Microsoft advises that the best way to prevent infection is with the use of a firewall.

Rihanna 20/20 Full Interview

Duncan Riley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:27 +0000

As we reported yesterday, Rihanna has finally spoken out about the beating she took at the hands of her former boyfriend Chris Brown.

“I felt ashamed to have been involved with Chris Brown in the first place.” Rihanna told Diane Sawyer. “I was so far in love, so unconditional that I went back. It’s humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It’s a traumatizing experience.”

“But again … I’m a human being, and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal. And all these expectations, I’m not perfect. Also it’s pretty natural for that to be the first reaction. … It’s completely normal to go back. You start lying to yourself. The minute the physical wounds go away you want this thing to go away. This is a memory you don’t want to have ever again.”

In case you missed it, the Rihanna 20/20 full interview video as follows:

Louvre gets France’s first Apple Store

Kim LaCapria — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:24:35 +0000

Is the Carrousel du Louvre getting a Wok n’ Roll and Spencer Gifts, too?

A month after McDonald’s announced plans to besmirch the Carrousel du Louvre, the “upscale shopping mall” became home to France’s first Apple Store. Much like a chubby bunch of yanks outside a Walmart on Black Friday, throngs of French shoppers lined up outside the Louvre’s Apple Store, and just like when they’re obstructing Starbucks in SoHo and congregating en masse at the Broadway/Lafayette subway station, French people still have those big obnoxious backpacks when they’re still in France. Who knew?

Video below shows the hordes of French people waiting, the red-shirt-clad Apple Geniuses running into the store and high-fiving customers like a winning baseball team, and the massive crowd counting down (en Francais!) to the Apple Store’s grand opening fete. Interestingly, the store in Montpelier was ready to open first but waited in deference to the Parisian flagship.

Le Target can’t be far behind.

[Image]

Sammy Sosa’s skin tone raising questions

Kim LaCapria — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:43:54 +0000

Retired MLB right fielder Sammy Sosa seems to have undergone a bit of a strange transformation after his last appearance in baseball in 2007.

Blogs are buzzing and web searches are heating up for pictures of Sammy Sosa’s skin after the baseball star was snapped at the Latin Grammys looking a bit… well, pale. Sammy Sosa’s previously dark skin is now Michael Jackson-pale, and fans want to know exactly how one of their favorite players of all time has drastically changed so much over the past few years.

Sosa hasn’t commented on his new, lighter complexion, but the internet is speculating that Vitiligo or fashion bleaching may be at least partly a cause. The addition of cat-like green contact lenses seems to suggest the latter may be more likely than the former.

Shell To Settle Toxic Waste Suit For $19.5 Million

AHN — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:56:37 +0000

San Francisco, CA (AHN) – Shell Oil Co. has agreed to pay California and the state’s local governments $19.5 million as settlement for violations of underground fuel storage and hazardous waste laws by the firm’s gasoline station across California.

Shell filed the settlement agreement at the Alameda County Superior Court to cover more than 1,000 gas stations. The settlement also requires Shell to improve its waste storage, leak monitoring and training of worker.

Inspectors pointed to defective leak-monitoring system, waste storage and disposal, company inspections, record -keeping and emergency plans.

Researchers: Prostate Biopsy Not Always Necessary, May Lead To Other Health Ailments

AHN — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:00:06 +0000

Winston-Salem, NC (AHN) – Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that some elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men may be caused by a hormone normally occurring in the body. What the findings mean is the antigens are not necessarily a predictor of the need for a prostate biopsy, which can lead to numerous health ailments in males.

Medical professionals typically view the levels of PSA as a potential sign of prostate cancer, leading to the widespread use of PSA testing. However, University of Wisconsin researchers found that parathyroid hormone, a substance the body produces to regulate calcium in the blood, can elevate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in healthy men who do not have prostate cancer.

These “non-cancer” elevations in PSA account for many men to be biopsied unnecessarily, which often leads to unnecessary treatment.

“PSA picks up any prostate activity, not just cancer,” said lead investigator Gary G. Schwartz, Ph.D., M.P.H., an associate professor of cancer biology and epidemiology and prevention at the School of Medicine. “Inflammation and other factors can elevate PSA levels. If the levels are elevated, the man is usually sent for a biopsy. The problem is that, as men age, they often develop microscopic cancers in the prostate that are clinically insignificant. If it weren’t for the biopsy, these clinically insignificant cancers, which would never develop into fatal prostate cancer, would never be seen.”

As a result of the prevalence of PSA screening more men are being biopsied. Most men, when told that they have prostate cancer, elect treatment even though it may not be necessary. According to health officials in only one of six cases does a biopsy diagnosis of prostate cancer result in a cancer that would be fatal if untreated. High rates of prostate biopsy, therefore, lead to the over treatment of prostate cancer which lead to an increased rate of the side effects of treatment, including impotence and urinary incontinence.