Media News and Analysis

"Roger Ebert writes on Twitter: "Each and every change to my Twitter page is a Bad Idea. Did they go berserk?" permalink I'll paraphrase in terms that software developers will understand. "It burns my braincells when you guys move stuff around for no good reason." He's totally right." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"U.S. authorities are stepping up investigations, including an FBI criminal inquiry, into possible violations by employees of Rupert Murdoch's media empire of a U.S. law banning corrupt payments to foreign officials such as police, law enforcement" - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"Once upon a time I braved a retail line to purchase a then top of the line Apple iPad. Sure, in hindsight I could have settled on the 16GB WiFi-only version but dammit I’m a productive kind of guy! Certainly I require (and can justify the expense of) more power, right? So, $829 later I walked out of the store with the 64GB 3G/WiFi Full Meal Deal. I would be unstoppable forever more – or at least until an iPad 2 came out. A month or so went by and I found myself using my shiny new iPad less and less. For all of its promise, for all of its power, it ended up being nothing more than a large ebook reader and no amount of Angry Birds, even 10 “beautiful” inches of it, was going to change that. So I sold it and went back to using a laptop." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"Decades of deciphering tech industry jargon have left me numb to the things that really matter, like usefulness, and now my cranium expends more energy trying to justify the existence of my various digital devices than it does simply enjoying them." - smallq

"The FBI is investigating how activists linked to the Anonymous network managed to intercept a conference call between British and US police in which they discussed legal action against hackers. Anonymous has released a tape of the call in which detectives give details of alleged hackers being tracked. The FBI said the information had been obtained illegally. Later, it emerged Anonymous had also hacked the websites of US police forces and the Greek justice ministry. The FBI said in a statement: "The information was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained. A criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible." London's Metropolitan Police's central e-crime unit said the matter was being investigated but that no operational risks had been identified." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"A French court has ruled that Google's free Google Maps application API is anti-competitive and has ordered the company to pay €500,000 to Bottin Cartographes, a for-pay map company, as well as a €15,000 fine. Bottin Cartographes argued that Google was only planning to give away the service for free until all the competitors had been driven out of business and then they would start charging. This seems implausible to me, and contrary to Google's business model (give away services, make money from mining the use of those services). Google says it will appeal." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"Summary: Twitter said today that it will begin censoring tweets, if required by law, on a country-by-country basis. Europeans and Americans, however, will most likely be affected." - Jim from Bookmarklet

eesh - Prosey BUTTONS!

"According to the Blue Arkansas blog, the campaign manager to Ken Aden, who’s running for the state’s third congressional district, came home last night to discover the family pet had been murdered and left on their front porch, as if the attacker wanted it to be discovered." - Jim from Bookmarklet

"The Pew Internet and American Life Project shed light on one of the biggest challenges for retailers: more than half of U.S. adult cell phone owners used their mobile phone during the recent holiday season to get in-store help for their purchases. The figure highlights the rise of what my colleague Om called the “smart buyer” who wields their phone to ensure they get the best price and most information when buying in store. In a new study of 1,000 adults conducted earlier this month, Pew found that 38 percent of mobile users called a friend while in store for buying advice while 24 percent of cell phone users used their phone to obtain product reviews on line. And 25 percent of adult cell phone users looked up prices online for products in store in attempt to find the best deal online and in other stores. Altogether, 52 percent of all adult cell owners relied on their phone for one of these purposes and 33 percent specifically turned to their phone for online information while shopping inside a store." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

According to Symantec, 13 apps from three developers—many in the official Android Market—have been carrying malicious chunks of code called Android.Counterclank, and are suspected of running on as many as five million phones, stealing info and running ads against the will of the device's owner. ComputerWorld, speaking to Symantec, learned that the apps have been downloadable for over a month, and Symantec calls it the biggest android malware outbreak to date. - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"Indecision 2012 - I Know What You Did Last Quarter Mitt Romney justifies making more in one day than the median American family makes in a year, while paying the same tax rate as the guy who scans his shoes at the airport." - Jim from Bookmarklet

"Information technology has become a ubiquitous presence. By visualizing the processes that underlie our interactions with this technology we can trace what happens to the information we feed into the network." - Amira from Bookmarklet

"We’ve already explored the physical underbelly of the Internet, but what happens to the actual data that it digests? 28,000 MMS messages — multimedia pieces of communication like photos, videos, and voice communication — are sent into the world every second, and cell phone companies record much of the metadata that travels with them, like location, identity of the receiver, amount of... more... - Amira

News Corp.’s The Daily, a tablet-only daily newspaper app launched on the iPad a year ago, is on its way to Android. But it’s not coming to all Android tablets right away. Instead, Verizon, an advertising partner at The Daily’s launch who sponsored the first two weeks of trial subscriptions, will have an exclusive window for its relaunch on Android. According to a spokesperson for The Daily, other Android users will not be left out of the party forever. “We are launching as an exclusive pre-load with Verizon devices,” she said, “but we will be expanding to other Android devices.” No information about specific dates or devices was available. In this first window, Verizon will preload The Daily on a handful of Android tablets on its network. This starts with Samsung’s popular (for an Android tablet, in countries where you can legally find it, which includes Verizon’s coverage area) Galaxy Tab 10.1 this month, and the spiffy new 4G/LTE high-res Galaxy Tab 7.7 when it’s eventually... more... - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"Last week The Hollywood Reporter said that Warner Bros.' live-action Akira adaptation was dead, and there was much rejoicing. Then Variety had to shit in everyone's Cheerios and report this: At a time when blockbuster budgets are facing extra scrutiny, Warner Bros. has halted pre-production on its live-action "Akira" remake, which Jaume Collet-Serra is set to direct. Studio confirmed Thursday that it shut down the project's Vancouver offices as the creative team reworks the story." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

Isn't this the second time in the past year that it's supposed to have died? - ronin

Brick-and-mortar bookstores of all types are disappearing at an alarming rate in my neck of the woods to my great sadness. But I am part of the problem: I buy most of my books from Amazon.com these days, and nearly all of them are ebooks. The march of technological progress is impossible to stop and leaves much wreckage in its wake. - Sean McBride

"As exclaimed by Jeremy Kirk: "Yes! We all get to keep saying the name Benedict Cumberbatch!" Indeed we do. Variety, with extra confirmation from Deadline, is reporting that on-the-rise British actor Benedict Cumberbatch has nabbed the villain role in J.J. Abrams' currently untitled Star Trek 2. This kind of throws a wrench in the mix, considering we were all following Edgar Ramirez for Khan, and now Variety says he "landed the role that Edgar Ramirez had auditioned for last month." So who is the villain? Someone new, perhaps? Benedict currently appears on "Sherlock" on BBC right now and he was also in War Horse." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

:D - Brent from iPhone

"Roku, maker of competitively priced set-top boxes that stream Web video on TVs, is introducing a new device it thinks will offer a simpler option for Internet connectivity than some “smart” TVs. Today, the company is unveiling plans for its Roku Streaming Stick, a flash-drive-sized dongle that plugs into the back of television sets to enable the same streaming capabilities as a Roku box. The Streaming Stick will deliver HD streaming video and feature Wi-Fi capabilities, a processor and upgradable software. The Stick won’t require any cables or a separate remote. It will, however, work only on TV sets with HDMI ports that are enabled for Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL). Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said the company plans to continue making Roku set-top players. But as the television industry shifts more toward smart TVs that connect to the Internet without use of an additional device, Roku wants to be the solution that TV manufacturers look to in the interim" - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

Jim -- Ron Paul is the only candidate who has stood up for Bradley Manning. Ron Paul is a hero -- a person of courage -- not a coward, like all the other candidates (including Barack Obama). - Sean McBride

"A couple of months ago the Austrian law student Max Schrems asked facebook to send him all their data stored about him. All Europeans have a right to do this. Because facebook is based in Dublin, Ireland. It took a while and then facebook sent Max a CD with 1222 PDF files. In short, every move that Schrems ever made on the site had been recorded, including the messages that he thought would be long gone after he deleted them. Employment, relationships, geotagged photos…it’s all there, inside those 1,222 files, the length of which would rival the English translation of War and Peace, which clocks in at roughly 1,400 pages itself. At any rate, the video is an eye opener, and should make us all a bit more aware of what we’re sharing out there. After all, as Sean Parker said about Facebook, “there’s good creepy and then there’s bad creepy.” And just remember, almost everything that you’ve done will be handed over to the police if Facebook gets a subpoena." - Amira from Bookmarklet

"The FBI disclosed this weekend that it uses data gathered by Carrier IQ software for "law enforcement purposes", but refused to give any details of exactly how it has done so. Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Muckrock, the FBI said that it held relevant records but that their release could interfere with pending or prospective law enforcement proceedings. The request asked for "manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ." Muckrock's Michael Morisy says he plans to appeal the FBI's decision: "What is still unclear is whether the FBI used Carrier IQ's software in its own investigations, whether it is currently investigating Carrier IQ, or whether it is some combination of both."" - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

It should be clear by now that the neocons are laboring mightily to create a total surveillance police state in the United States that the Soviets and Nazis would envy. - Sean McBride

"Just two days after the European Commission announced that it was investigating Apple and major international publishers for possible e-book price fixing, the US Justice Department has made it clear that it's also launching a probe into the possibility of "anticompetitive practices involving e-book sales." Although Justice Department officials didn't name which companies they're looking into, it's very likely that they're focusing on the same agreements between publishers and the major e-book platform owners -- either Apple or Amazon or both." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

I have to say, this isn't a surprise. I've thought for some time that the price on these books was way to high. Part of the advantage of ebooks was no printing or distribution networks needed as with brick and mortar business. That should of meant much cheaper books. Instead you only get a discount of a few dollars under what ever the current price is on a title. - Bluesun 2600

Yuppers. - ωαřмaiden BrokerPokerface

"Briefly: Following up news that Hugo star Asa Butterfield had been offered the lead role in Gavin Hood's Ender's Game sci-fi adaptation, confirmation has now arrived, in two forms. Butterfield himself took to his own twitter (@asabfb) to celebrate, stating, "Oh yes. Im really doing it. F*** YEAAA!!!" after tweeting "battle school, here I come" and a few good Ender Wiggin quotes: "Welcome to Dragon Army." Then Variety followed up with confirmation as well, saying he has "closed a deal to star as the title character" in the film, being produced by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, as well as Odd Lot Entertainment and Summit. Read on! Variety's latest casting update also hides a few other interesting details. Now that Butterfield, currently age 14, is set to star as young gamer prodigy Ender, they can focus on casting other areas, like the lead adult - Colonel Hyrum Graff, Commander of Training for the International Fleet, an elite boys' military academy where Ender is trained in strategy... more... - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

I still don't see how this will come out as a movie... - Bluesun 2600

"Even though GPS does not work reliably indoors, Google has found a tricky way around that limitation to map the insides of buildings, starting today with a handful of malls, airports and retailers in the U.S. and Japan. Google Maps 6.0, available to Android users, will provide access to indoor layouts for a few dozen locations, so shoppers and travelers can find their way around without having to ask for directions. Google’s Product Management Director Steve Lee told All Things D that — just as with outdoor Google maps — a person’s location will be highlighted by a flashing blue dot surrounded by points of interest. In an airport, that means you’ll be able to find a particular gate or ATM, or if you are in a mall, you’ll be able to find the Gap or the kids’ play area. For Ikea, the home furnishings store known for its sprawling layout and chaotic atmosphere, it means finding the bathroom or the smorgasbord before a state of emergency is reached. Better yet, it could even mean... more... - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

No more walking in circles to find the mall's bathroom, or aimlessly wandering in search of a refreshing Orange Julius. - Bluesun 2600

OMG it's not straight! So are you calling us Canucks gay or something!? What a douche bag writer, def not: http://ff.im/OmQfK - The Real sofarsoShawn

"According to what seems to be a well-conducted and properly-analyzed PublicMind poll from Farleigh Dickinson University, how informed you are about world and national affairs is heavily influenced by where you get your news. (...) People who watch Fox News, the most popular of the 24-hour cable news networks, are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government than those who watch no news at all (after controlling for other news sources, partisanship, education and other demographic factors). Fox News watchers are also 6-points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their government than those who watch no news. (...) The moral? No matter where you get your news, avoid Fox News or MSNBC, and watch the Sunday morning news shows if you have the time. It’s surprising to me that watching any non-comedy news show could make you more ignorant than watching none: presumably both Fox and MSNBC accurately convey the news from Syria and Egypt, as well... more... - Amira from Bookmarklet

Why am I not surprised? - Steven Perez

Yep...*sigh*... - Prosey BUTTONS!

This, of course, begs the question: if this is one lobbyist that we know of, how many others have been pumping out misinformation for the last two months? - Steven Perez

"Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman released this statement to Business Insider: "The weaknesses exposed by today's test of the emergency alert system are unacceptable. Government and media carriers must work together to make sure the system does what it is intended to do, which is to transmit a nationwide message from the President in a crisis. I commend FEMA for carrying out this long-overdue, first-ever, nationwide test of the system. Without it, we would never have known the extent of the system's vulnerabilities."" - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

Why is this such a hard story to find anything on? Why isn't every news station talking about their failure to do what, by law for the last 40-50 years, they have supposed to be able to do? - Bluesun 2600

I would have some doubt about American justice and unfortunately we have a bad ( = rather biased) extradition treaty with the americans :( - Winckel