Apple says the iPad is “magical and revolutionary,” but I don’t know if it’s worth losing a finger over. A man in Denver purchased an iPad for a business associate—he didn’t even know what an iPad was—and as he was exiting the mall another man came up to him and ripped the bag away, severing his finger in the process. Sigh. → Read More
It’s the start of yet another lazy Saturday, so let’s make things a little more interesting with a side dish of outrage. A 15-year-old student in Pennsylvania has accused his high school of spying on him using a school-supplied MacBook. The school had accused the boy “inappropriate behavior” that it found him engaged in via the built-in Webcam. Lawsuits are flying, as you might imagine. → Read More
Man, people are pretty uncomfortable with their bodies. Remember those whole-body airport scanners? Well, “privacy advocates” are now demanding that the Transportation Security Administration remove them from all airports because, yes, they say it’s an invasion of privacy. As such, a group called the Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC (really, EPIC? perhaps this whole story is… → Read More
“Don’t try to leave. I will tackle you.”
That’s what rent-a-cops say to you when you take a picture of an open ATM being serviced by two Loomis & Fargo guards in an REI store. That’s right: snap a picture of publicly available ATM innards and get tackled by a fake cop.
Shane Becker, an anarchist, straight-edge, vegan, Rails developer who most of us would assume just needs a sandwich and a… → Read More
Oh look, outrage. It’s been a few minutes since we last ran into outrage. This time: an evil plot, hatched by the Missouri University School of Journalism, that, in effect, lets students cover the cost of their iPhone or iPod touch with federal student loans. Someone call Superman, or at least Daredevil. → Read More
Shock! Outrage! Whatever! All words that are totally appropriate forthis here story. Get this: a six-year-old boy gets a brand new Sony PSP from Wal-Mart. He turns it on for the first time, and bam! A naked lady is set as the PSP’s screensaver. Now, in our book that sounds like a win, but the boy’s mother wants a pound of flesh. → Read More
Help me out here. The iPhone version of Skype was released the other day; it’s Wi-Fi-only, but it’s a VoIP product, so I don’t understand from where the outrage is coming. Do people, e.g. the Consumers Union, expect AT&T to subsidize the phone to the tune of hundreds of dollars, and then allow you to use some other provider exclusively? A “dance with the one who brung you” sort of… → Read More
In a stunning turn of events, Apple has now started putting App Store rejection letters under non-disclosure agreements. That means if the developer whose app got rejected posts the rejection letter to his or her blog, Apple has the right to sue him or her out of existence. This has now prompted the tired and predictable Organized Freakout by much of the blogosphere. Apple’s playing… → Read More
Sure, everyone loves having the latest, greatest cellphone, but who wants to be told to have a cellphone? At a school, no less? Exactly. Students at Montclair State University in Dirty Jersey now must purchase, out of their own pocket, a Sprint cellphone, dubbed the “School Phone” by students. Ostensibly, the plan is designed to ensure student’s safety. The least expensive plan… → Read More
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