Archive for July 17th, 2009

Man Sues Apple For “Mafia iPod”

A man is suing Apple because he claims that two of the company’s iPods enabled the Mafia to send him threatening messages.

Gregory McKenna, Florissant, Mo, says the iPods contained illegal receivers that allowed the Mafia to contact him.

McKenna purchased an iPod Shuffle from eBay in 2005 and discovered that the Mafia was able to send him audio threats through the device. McKenna also said an iPod Mini that he owned enabled the Mafia to generate death threats.

The lawsuit is claiming damages in the amount of $14.2 million.

Now eBay may not be the safest place in the world to buy goods, but having two iPods, both with Mafia receivers in them is quite a misfortune. It sounds like a nightmare…literally.

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650 Million Years In 1:20 Minutes

Here’s a nice video animating the past and possible future movements of the Earth’s tectonic plates. From 400 million years ago to 250 million years in the future, all in 1 minute and 20 seconds.

New “Zombie” Cellphone Network Created

Everyone knows about computer viruses. They have the potential to be very dangerous. Botnets are usually networks of infected computers that can be used to make money from spam or extortion. But now, computers aren’t the only device capable of containing such harmful software.

Criminal hackers may have successfully created a network of “zombie” cellphones infected with software that can be used to send spam or attack websites without the owner ever knowing.

Security firm Symantec, says that a piece of software known as “Sexy Space” may be the first case of a botnet on a cellphone. It sends text messages containing a link, which when clicked asks the user to download software which, when installed, sends the same text message to all of the contacts stored in the phone.

Beware of this scam when opening texts.

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Biker Stopped By Police For Having No Arms

Police in China cautioned a motorcyclist after being pulled over because he was driving with no arms.

Liu Yeung, 27, from Jimo was driving his specially modified bike with his two friends when police stopped him.

Officer Zhang Jie said “It was only when we stopped him that we realized he didn’t actually have any arms. He had fitted a specially modified handlebar to the bike and was doing it with his body.”

It must have been an unwelcome experience for Lui, but hopefully there was no ‘arm done.

Make Your Neighbors Green With Envy

How about this. A German company has come up with an ingenious way to get one over on the neighbors with your brand new printed photographic tarpaulin for the garage door.

It’s a nice idea, but surely you’d have to have more money than sense to actually buy one. Maybe I’m just naive. Would you buy one?

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