IBLOG SPACE

If you’re a teenager, you better be careful what you post on Facebook. That’s especially true if you have a father who works in IT. But there’s that one quirk about teenagers – no matter what common sense says, they think they know better. That is, until they’re taught a lesson they can never forget. Apparently this dad thought a bullet might teach that lesson. Better yet, nine bullets. He shot his daughter’s computer after finding a disparaging message on her Facebook wall. And he documented it all on video so he could post it on YouTube for all to see. And so far it has received nearly 2.9 million views. In the video, the angry dad reveals he saw a ‘hidden’ wall post on her daughter’s Facebook account while he was upgrading her computer. “Since you want to hide it from everyone, I’m going to share it with everybody,” the dad, Tommy Jordan, said. He then goes on to read her tirade about how she dislikes her chores and all the other stuff most teenagers have to deal with. Apparently th

If you absolutely have to be among the first to pick up Sony’s newest game device, head to GameStop. The retailer will be offering midnight launch events at locations throughout the country. Select stores will open at 11:00 PM on Tuesday night, then as the clock strikes midnight will begin giving the Vitas to eager early adopters. Customers are encouraged to pre-order a unit on GameStop’s website prior to arriving for the event, though it is not mandatory. As has become standard with GameStop’s midnight launch events, the time between 11 PM and midnight is when you’ll actually pay for your Vita and finalize the transaction. Then, when the calendar turns to February 15, the store will begin handing out the units to expedite the process and get everyone out of the store as close to midnight as possible. It appears that most gamers will have a participating store within just a couple miles of their home, though we did a quick search and found no midnight launch stores in Manhattan. The V

After a couple was found dead in their Tennessee home, police pointed the blame to a couple computer clicks. Specifically, officials said, they were each shot in the head because they “defriended” someone on Facebook. And it wasn’t even the defriended person who committed the homicides; it was her father and another man. There have been many reports of bullying and even violence connected to social networking sites, but a double murder is beyond almost anything reported to date. In a Reuters report, the county’s Sheriff Mike Reece called the act “the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” adding, “We’ve had murders, but nothing like this. This is just senseless.” The story goes that Billy Clay Payne, Jr and Billie Jean Hayworth axed their former friend Jenelle Potter from Facebook. Potter, described as being in her late 20s or early 30s, lived at home and spent most of her time on the social networking site. She must have expressed outrage about the digital dissing to her dad, Marvin Potter, bec

Are you in good hands? Better yet, is your car? GPS manufacturer TomTom is ready to give a judgment on how good of a driver you are. The company has partnered up with insurance broker Motaquote to give drivers individualized quotes based on their specific driving habits. For the insurance industry, it’s like an underwriting gold mine. But for the individual driver, it may feel kind of like an invasion of privacy. So here’s how it works. If you want to sign up for the plan, you’ll receive a TomTom Pro 3100 unit for free, with specialized software that determines when you might make a maneuver that is deemed risky. For example, it’ll notice when you’re going too fast or if you take turns too sharply. But that’s not all. You’ll also have to have a device installed to your car itself which tracks more detailed driving info. There are benefits to this intrusion. Of course, you get a free GPS. And also, if you are in fact a really good driver, it will recognize that. You’ll be eligible for a

In the highly competitive world of digital streaming, where everyone can pretty much get access to the same slate of popular content and offer it at pretty much the same price, there’s a strong need to create something new and differentiated. Hulu has been trying to set itself apart not only by offering much more timely TV content but also creating a bold initiative on making its own Web shows that are available exclusively on Hulu. It looks like Amazon wants to take a page out of that book. Amazon is still very much the new kid on the block when it comes to streaming. Even though a year of Amazon Prime is cheaper than a year of Netflix, and the volume of movies and TV shows is comparable, it’s tough to compete against the well defined leader in the market. So these new job postings on Amazon.com are pretty interesting. Specifically, the jobs are for Amazon’s “People Production Company.” One of the listings is for a VP of Series Development, which lists responsibilities like asessing p

After months of agony, PS3 gamers are now finally able to download a patch for the newest Elder Scrolls game that promises to fix what was a monumental lag glitch. The problem revolved around the save file, which got bigger and bigger as players progressed deeper into the game. As a result, the more time you put into Skyrim, the more frustrating you’d get. Now, though, it seems whatever was causing that problem has been taken care of. The crippling file size bug seemed to really only affect PS3 users, and had absolutely no impact on PC gamers. Bethesda released a patch to the PC version last month, but because consoles require an entire certification and scheduling process before any game-related file can be pushed out to users, PS3 owners were forced to just wait and wait. And now, the wait is over. According to gamer reactions, the new patch does the job just fine. Bethesda recommends that after downloading the patch, players should go into the game and manually save their progress t

To say the least, LG made some heads turn when its newest smartphone, known as the Optimus Vu, made its rounds on the blogosphere. The fact that it sports a 5-inch display is intriguing enough; it’s part of what could be new trend. But what’s really odd is its 4:3 aspect ratio, making us think back to the days of old-school TV. You know, before the letters “HD” meant anything to most people. The question many posed was “why do we want to step back to that time?” The flip side of the argument, though, is that a 4:3 display gives the device a wider aesthetic when held in portrait mode, making it more amenable to reading books or looking at portrait-oriented photos. We’ve all become accustomed to widescreen displays so something like this just looks inherently weird. And as the above picture shows, compared to Samsung’s large Galaxy Note phone, it just looks outdated. Nevertheless, the Vu will surely appeal to a select group of phone users. The market for a 5-inch phone is probably notabl

At last year’s E3 trade show, Nintendo admittedly bungled the debut of its Wii U console. But if you were actually in the crowd when the company showed off the revolutionary new controller, which looks and feels more like an iPad than a bunch of joysticks and buttons, you would have seen a lot of excitement among the gaming establishment. Now it looks like Microsoft might be trying to tap into that excitement as well. According to Xbox World Magazine, the successor to the Xbox 360 will use controllers that have “an HD screen surrounded by the traditional 360 buttons and sticks.” The main purpose of incorporating a display into the controller is apparently to demonstrate the multipurpose functionality of the Xbox 720. That is to say, when you’re playing an Xbox game the controller will display game menus and functions, but when you’re watching streaming video it might be used as a virtual TV remote. The Xbox 360 has obviously been transformed from a game box that had no HDMI output or W

A group of Japanese researchers have developed technology that allows someone to wear a visor and a special pair of gloves to control a nearby robot. It’s like putting yourself in place of the robot, from the comfort of sitting down. If that sounds at all confusing, how about we put it this way – it’s like the movie Avatar but in real life. Oh yeah; you knew it was only a matter of time, right? We may not be able to beam up Scotty or use the force on planet Earth just yet, but this instance of science fiction turning into real science is just as exciting. So with the visor over your head, what you see is exactly what the robot sees. Sensors in the robot, named Telesar V, can also relay sound. And as for the gloves, well they’re lined with semiconductors and tiny motors to relay sensations of heat or texture. So, yes, in addition to seeing and hearing exactly what Telesar V sees and hears, you can also feel what he feels. So far, though, there are no plans to send the little robotic bud

As far as unique skins for the mobile market go, iPhone or not, there’s nothing quite as detailed and unique as SkinIt’s own Etched Metal Plates. These plates are made specifically for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S and attach flat to the back of your device with a simple adhesive sticker. The adhesive is no joke, of course, strong as it needs to be to hold this plate on for the long haul, and the folks at SkinIt mean business when they say its stainless steel. Those of you looking for protection for the back of your iPhone, you’re certainly going to find it here. This is a plate, meaning its flat and does not wrap around the edges of your device in any way. These plates are not made specifically for protection, nor do they interfere with any other accessory you might have for the device (to a degree – it’s not invisible, after all,) and will not cut down on your reception in any way at all. These plates are made to make your iPhone into a “sculptured work of art” – and they certainly have

Notorious hacker group Anonymous is claiming credit for taking down the CIA’s website today, which went offline for about an hour. A public website for the state of Alabama was also knocked down by hackers today, says a state official. Around Eastern time 3:30pm, Anonymous posted via its Twitter account the following tweet: “CIA TANGO DOWN: https://www.cia.gov/ #Anonymous.” The CIA website had become unresponsive likely due to a distribute denial of service (DDoS) type of attack that the hacker group commonly launches against its targets. Following the recent MegaUpload shutdown, those targets have included websites belonging to the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the US Copyright Office. Anonymous also recently intercepted a call between the FBI and Scotland Yard in which the two agencies discussed investigations into the hacker group’s activities.

Hertz announced this week that it will be the first rental car company to implement a wireless charging system for its fleet of electric vehicles (EVs). The company will be participating in Plugless Power’s pilot program, a first of its kind in the world. The Plugless Power system is supplied by Virginia-based Evatran, which plans to be selling the wireless charging kit as an aftermarket option for the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf by the end of this year. Hertz has a diverse fleet of EVs that currently includes these two models. The wireless charging system is intended for both fleet and home use with a consumer price tag of $2,500. The solution will be deployed initially in low volumes and will include wall-mounted screens that guide drivers to park their EVs properly over the charging unit.

There’s a brand new study being pushed at the moment which suggests that there’s no evidence that Torrent piracy affects US Box Office returns. In addition the only discernible link found in this paper published by the University of Minnesota and Wellesley College was in potential sales cut down by users downloading films in the time between their US and international release. What these two points suggest is that if BitTorrent were the only way people were able to download movies, it would essentially be solely on the shoulders of the film industry to change their ways to stopper up piracy, not any type of government-made law. The 28-page report comes from Brett Danaher, Department of Economics at Wellesley College, and Joel Waldfogel, Department of Economics at University of Minnesota and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Carlson School of Management, Twin Cities. These two fellows have published the paper Reel Piracy:The Effect of Online Film Piracy on International Box O

Samsung’s Galaxy Note smartphone-tablet hybrid may sport a massive 5.3-inch screen that seems a tad masculine, but it will be arriving soon in a new color that aims to appeal to the ladies. According to a leaked insider info sheet, Samsung will be introducing a Berry Pink-colored Galaxy Note in the next few weeks. GSM Arena obtained the document, which reveals that the first samples for the Berry Pink Galaxy Note will arrive on the 8th week of this year, with public availability starting in the 9th week, or about three weeks from now. The device will also be available in its standard Carbon Blue and Ceramic White, with which we’ve recently spent some hands-on time. The new color makes sense since Samsung has admitted to targeting the female demographic with the Galaxy Note. The device’s size is generally too big for comfort in pants pockets, but fine in purses and handbags. Unfortunately, the device just misses Valentines Day, but will likely make a showing at Mobile World Congress lat

This week we’ve had no lack of rumors and near-confirmations that the next iPad is on its way, and it’s on its way soon – with a much crisper display in tow. Developers for one of the world’s most lucrative app markets are watching the airwaves to see what the newest iteration of the world’s most popular tablet will consist of so that they might develop future iterations of their apps to match the iPad 3‘s potential. What we’ve got is a couple of tips that lead us to believe that not only will the iPad be bumping up the resolution it’s been working with since its inception, it’ll have four times the amount of pixels it’s had thus far. If you’ll take a look back at our first of several posts regarding the Retina status of the future iPad’s display, you’ll find a leaked photo of some iPad 3 components. In this photo you’ll find a three wide ribbon cables as opposed to the two that the previous models had. This extra cable is more than likely in place to carry additional data to the high

Google’s bid to purchase Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion is set to be approved by the US Department of Justice next week and now insiders claim that the merger will also get the green light in Europe. The European Commission will reportedly approve the deal in “unconditional” form, determining that the acquisition is not anti-competitive. Both the US DOJ and EC are expected to make their final approvals on Monday, February 13, after which the deal must still seek approval in China, Israel, and Taiwan. It’s possible that the Commission will decide to hold off on approval to open an in-depth investigation, but this is believed to be unlikely. Google has promised that the massive trove of patents it would acquire from the Motorola deal would be licensed on fair and reasonable terms. It has placed a cap on the fees it would charge at 2.25 percent of the net selling price of each infringing device and has also outlined the conditions under which it would launch patent suits against infr

Apple will radically revamp its MacBook Pro line of notebooks this year, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans for 2012. The new MacBook Pros are expected to feature an ultra-thin unibody design modeled after the MacBook Air and get a spec boost to Intel’s next-gen Ivy Bridge chips. Citing a source familiar with the new MacBook Pro design, AppleInsider reveals that the new Air-like MacBook Pros will be phased in over the course of this year. The revamped version of the more popular 15-inch model will be introduced first, followed by the 17-inch model later. For the new notebooks, Apple is expected to eliminate optical disk drives and traditional hard drives, replacing them with solid-state drives. They will rely heavily on Thunderbolt for data transfer as well as digitally distributed software and media, such as downloads from the Mac App Store The notebooks will feature extended battery life, instant-on capabilities, and Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge chips that are set

The device you will soon be looking at is a $256 7-inch tablet running on a basic mobile version of Linux, and its name is Spark. The software user interface goes by the name Plasma Active and has been in the works for some months, ramping up to this point at which this tablet can bring the lovely functionality to the market with what we hope is a beta version of the Spark tablet. You’ll find that the software experience looks familiar if you’re used to using a Linux environment on your computer now, but that the tablet itself isn’t all that impressive when it comes to hardware. The tablet we’re looking at here is essentially a rebranded Zenithink C71, a device which in that iteration ran Google Android. In this Spark release, the tablet will be packaged with the ability to run Mer as well as Plasma Active. You’ll see more than just a little bit of lag here and there, as even though the tablet has a 1 GHz AMLogic ARM Cortex-A9 processor with Mali 400 graphics, we’re still seeing less t

Today Acer has both revealed the Acer CloudMobile smartphone and shown it to be a winner of the iF design award 2012. This award is given to Acer for the smartphone for recognition of outstanding achievement in design, and the device is set to be revealed again in detail at Mobile World Congress 2012. This device is the first smartphone in the Acer line to offer AcerCloud technology and is set to be released with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich aboard. This device is given the CloudMobile name because of its ability to work with Acer’s version of the cloud as we were given introduction to at CES 2012. This device is set to bring a depth of less than a centimeter and a lovely “Sleeve DNA design” which includes comfortable wrapping contours, soft and smooth for a great experience in the hand. This device also features a stainless steel reciever on the front, a fabulous Dolby speaker plate on the back, and “tiny perforation” that bring a tactile experience to such tiny details as the volum

Relatively hot on the heels of the IPO of electric car making company Tesla and the reveal of their newest Model X, the head of the group Elon Musk is speaking of an IPO for SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies Corporation. Musk is a man who is set to be one of the few in the history of the world to head three separate companies opening three separate IPOs in the span of three years, and riding high on the wave of press he and Tesla are receiving today amid the reveal of the Model X, he’s been vocal about his next big adventure. This man is so well known for his ability to conceive of and execute giant-style plans like this that he was given a cameo in the film Iron Man 2 pitching an electric jet to Tony Stark – how’s that strike you? The Tesla Motors group headed by Musk sold its first shares publicly in 2010, and another company whom Musk is the chairman of, SolarCity Corp, will be preparing their IPO this year as well – so say people familiar with the matter speaking

Another smartphone to add to the Mango world for Windows Phone comes here in the LG Fantasy, code named E740 and very likely the same device we saw earlier this week in the LG Miracle. This device is one that’ll be sporting a lovely 4-inch super-bright NOVA display, a 1GHz Snapdragon single-core processor, and a 5 megapixel camera on the back – so you know what that means: mid-range time! LG will certainly need to come correct with the price on this beast if they hope to put a kink in the already standardized set of devices out there for Windows Phone right this minute – drowning is a distinct possibility! That said, this “Not for sale” labeled working unit does appare to have ScanSearch and what PlayTo has been renamed as: SmartShare, both of these previously exclusive the the Optimus 7, so some sort of exclusive business may be going on in the innards of this device. LG has been relatively quiet on the Windows Phone front thus far, bringing such lovely oddities as the LG Spectrum wit

Say farewell to your beloved all-white MacBook, lovers of the early 2000s, because now in addition to stoppering the white MacBook from their consumer lineup, Apple has cut off shipments to educational institutions as well. This means it’s quite likely that the supply of these devices has been drained, Apple’s manufacturers having stopped putting these machines together some time ago. Those of you with the latest batch of MacBooks without the “Pro” or the “Air” name attached, you hold on your lap or desk the last of a now halted breed! What this means for the rest of the users out there looking to buy an Apple computer in the near future is this: MacBook may be coming back as a basic name for the low end of high. Your MacBook Pro lineup in smaller sizes very well could be the MacBooks of tomorrow while the MacBook Air keeps its lofty name. Or the opposite could be true: perhaps the “Air” moniker will float away with the White plastic of yesterday and yesteryear. Either way, the stock i

Finally the one-two-three punches of Verizon’s 4G LTE, a dual-core processor, and an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video has come to the DROID line of QWERTY keyboard-having Android devices. Those of you who are die-hard fans of the DROID line know that Verizon and Motorola have dipped in a few devices that strayed from the original power combo complete with QWERTY and may have had hard luck picking up the DROID 3 which, despite its having a decent processor and a fair but not too fantastic camera on the back, had no LTE and was released when Motorola’s user interface change-over was at a bit of a strange point. Now the QWERTY DROID line is back and stronger than ever, and if you’re not a person who minds the massiveness of the chassis here, you’re in for a treat. Hardware The display here is a massive 540 x 960 pixels on 4-inches of space, putting this device at 275 pixels per inch. That’s quite impressive when it comes down to it, it being not quite as rich with pixels as the G

One of the more exciting ultrabooks that we spotted at CES 2012 was the Envy 14 Spectre, HP’s high-style and low-weight addition to its ENVY line. The ultrabook made a good impression thanks to is unique Gorilla Glass top, 1600×900 LCD and a compact body that crams a 14-inch screen into a size usually reserved for 13-inch laptops. DigiTimes reports that HP is showing off a 15-inch version of the Spectre in Taiwan, and that means it can’t be too long before it shows up in western markets. Details are scarce on the 15-inch version, but aside from size it’s not likely to vary too much from the current Spectre model. The 15-inch Spectre was given a whopping MSRP of $2,200 in Taiwanese currency, but keep in mind that the exchange rate makes for a big price bump. Considering the difference between the US and Taiwanese prices of the base model of the Envy 14 Spectre, the Envy 15 Spectre would probably start at around $1,900. There’s no information on what hardware changes are being planned, b

Apple‘s expected third-gen iPad reveal in the first week of March could see not only the company’s latest tablet make its debut, but the start of a twin-line slate strategy ratcheting up pricing pressure on rivals. The new iPad 3 - or, indeed, iPad 2S as some rumors have indicated – is likely to feature a Retina Display and a new Apple A6 processor; however, Apple could also opt to keep the existing iPad 2 on sale alongside the reworked model, offering a more affordable entry point for users. Although Apple was historically known for its premium pricing, rival manufacturers and carriers offering Android tablets have struggled to match or significantly undercut the iPad’s sticker price. It’s unclear at this stage whether Apple will be forced to raise the cost of the iPad 3/2S because of the new technologies involved, but even if it does, the company could salve the pain by slashing the price of the existing model. Apple has shown it is willing to play the long game on building out its p

Web users in Iran have seen their access seriously curtailed today, with reports that the Iranian Government has blocked sites using the HTTPS protocol, meaning internet banking, Google services and various other sites cannot be reached. The decision to enact the ban is believed to be connected to the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Kabir News reports, with experts suggesting it is a temporary block rather than a permanent change. Even so, HTTPS – or HTTP Secure – is vital to sites where user data is particularly sensitive, such as online banking and communications where the risk of eavesdropping is possible. The system adds an added encryption layer of SSL/TLS to regular HTTP traffic, with a certified server ensuring a trusted link between it and the user. The censorship is not the first move against a free internet by the Iranian government. A monitoring system is believed to be in place, and ISPs are legally required to keep records of all data sent and received

Google’s Home Entertainment System testing isn’t the only prototype hardware the company is putting through its paces; filings with the FCC also reveal a “next generation personal communication device” in the pipeline. Details on the new Google gadget are sparse, though the FCC request does confirm both WiFi and Bluetooth, with the search company requesting permission to trial 102 units in different locations across the US. Google is listed as the manufacturer of the devices, described as “in the prototyping phase”, and says that they will be connected to home internet connections via WiFi. Staff in Mountain View, Los Angeles, Cambridge and New York will all be involved, using the gadgets at work and at home. It’s also possible that the device is Google’s HUD Smart Glasses project, being tested in the wild. Although the Home Entertainment System was immediately connected with the Android@Home, there are other possibilities for these latest filings. Google has also requested permission

If you’re an iPad user of any generation of the tablet that is looking for a nice dock that will improve the audio quality for your streaming media, and hold the tablet at a more comfortable angle for use, the bassDock might be exactly what you need. The device has 2.1 audio inside and promises nice bass with support for both the iPad and the iPad 2. It will even hold the screen of the tablet in portrait or landscape mode. The dock has dual 1.6-inch stereo speakers for mid and high range sounds. The bass is delivered by a 3-inch subwoofer promising power and deep bass. This may be a great dock for music and movie fans. The dock has 10W and 2.1 amps of charging power, and the stand tilts for additional comfort. That means it will charge and play from your iPad at the same time. The docking station comes with adapters that have to be swapped to use the iPad or iPad 2, depending on which you own. The dock is available right now directly from Scosche for $149.99. This nice dock would also

A very strange video has surfaced this week that claims to show an extinct woolly mammoth wading through a river. There are several obvious issues, the biggest of which is the fact that the mammoth has been extinct for thousands of years. Apparently, the other issue is the man the posted the video has been tied to other videos believed to be hoaxes. The video was allegedly shot by some sort of government-employed engineer in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug region of Siberia. The man who posted the video is Michael Cohen. The video is very brief and very blurry. I say that no further than where the person shooting video is standing from the creature crossing the river, the video shooter would’ve clearly been able to see what sort of an animal it was. It looks to me like some sort of brown bear trotting across the water with a large fish flopping around, hanging from its mouth. It appears in the video the section that is supposed to be the “trunk” is actually a much lighter color than the

Motorola’s DROID 4 has gone on sale at Verizon, priced at $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement, the company’s latest Android QWERTY slider. Announced at CES last month, the DROID 4 has a 4-inch qHD touchscreen along with its edge-illuminated five row keyboard, while inside lurks 4G LTE connectivity. There’s also an 8-megapixel main camera with LED flash and 1080p Full HD video recording, a front-facing camera for video calls, and WiFi hotspot support for tethering other devices. Motorola has splashed plenty of enterprise-level software at the DROID 4, too, with government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2) and the Citrix Receiver app preloaded. However, even if you’re planning on using the DROID 4 for play rather than work, the 1.2GHz dual-core processor should be easily sufficient. OS is Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, but an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade is in the pipeline. More on the Verizon DROID 4 by Motorola in our hands-on and unboxing from earlier this week; stay tuned for the full Slash

Take the portability out of mobile broadband, and you’re left with a plain old broadband connection, but what if your home or office doesn’t get a high-speed hookup or you’re only going to be around for a short chunk of the typical 12-24 month agreement? Carrier Three believes it has the answer with the Web Cube, in effect a mobile broadband router that can’t go any further than an AC socket. In return, you get convenience, some degree of mobility and – every geek’s favorite – blue LED lighting. But is a non-mobile mobile modem niche or nonsense? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. Hardware While the key components of the Web Cube may be the same as your average, pocket-sized mobile hotspot, the device as a whole is much bigger. Almost a 10cm cube (it’s 9.5cm high) it’s a distinctive addition to your desktop, with white base and top plates sandwiching a frosted midsection that reveals a fluted inner pillar. An array of blue LEDs cause the whole thing to glow when a devic