Episode 121

posted in: Show Notes

GLENN’S SHOWNOTES

Man proposes to girlfriend by hacking Chrono Trigger video game | News | News.com.au
Man proposes to girlfriend by hacking Chrono Trigger video game

 PHILL Spiess loves his girlfriend Annie Flansburgso much he spent weeks rewriting the game she was playing to include a surprise marriage proposal.

“I wanted to propose in a unique way and had bounced several ideas off our friends,” Mr Spiesstold Greenpixels.com.

“I really wanted to do something more memorable than just dropping to one knee in a restaurant.

Mr Spiess, a computer science student and software engineering intern, decided to rewrite one of the games she was playing so that it would include a story of some of their special memories and end with a proposal.

iPhone application iSteam pays off for developer GreatApps | News | News.com.au
iPhone application iSteam pays off for developer GreatApps 

‘Thief’ nabbed by Facebook detectives | News | News.com.au
‘Thief’ nabbed by Facebook detectives

 NEW Zealand police have arrested a safe burglar by using the popular social networking website Facebook to identify and track him down.

Calling it the “first Facebook arrest”, Queenstown police in southern New Zealand posted security-camera footage and pictures showing the man’s face as he tried to break into the safe of a local tavern on Monday.

“The offender was identified after a movie and images of him were displayed on Facebook.

He was identified from members of the public viewing him on Facebook and also seeing him on TV after the Facebook images were displayed on the news,” the police station said in a statement on its Facebook page.

Paris Hilton’s website gives you a virus | News | News.com.au
Paris Hilton’s website gives you a virus

 HACKERS have planted a virus on Paris Hilton’s website that attempts to steal personal information from her fans.


Security experts at ScanSafe warn that anyone who visits the site risks their computer being infected with malware.
 

Google searches are costly to the environment, experts say | News | News.com.au
Google searches are costly to the environment, experts say 

Apple boss takes medical leave, shares tumble – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Apple boss takes medical leave, shares tumble

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Apple boss takes medical leave, shares tumble

Posted 1 hour 0 minutes ago

Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Taking leave: Apple CEO Steve Jobs (AFP: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, file photo)

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will take a medical leave of absence until the end of June because his health problems are “more complex” than he had thought, shocking investors and sending the company’s shares down as much as 10 per cent overnight.

Mr Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, made his announcement only nine days after he sought to soothe persistent concerns about his health by saying his marked weight loss over the past months was due to a hormone imbalance that was relatively simple to treat.

Mr Jobs said he planned to remain involved in major strategic decisions while he is away.

Chief operating officer Tim Cook will take responsibility for day-to-day operations in Mr Jobs’ absence.

An Apple spokesman declined to elaborate on Mr Jobs’ health.

Speculation about his health resurfaced in June 2008, when Mr Jobs appeared markedly thinner at an Apple event.

 

 

Some analysts fear that without a big product launch – such as last year’s 3G iPhone – Apple will lack a share catalyst in 2009.

Apple’s stock fell as much as 10 per cent following Mr Jobs’ announcement, before trading at $US79.64 after hours.

The stock closed down 2.71 per cent at $US85.33 in regular Nasdaq trading.

 

One million hits for ‘best job in the world’ application – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
One million hits for ‘best job in the world’ application

Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle says about 200 people are accessing a website every minute to find out about a job in the Whitsundays billed as the best in the world.

The job offer is part of an international tourism campaign and will allow the successful applicant to live rent free on Hamilton Island for six months, exploring the region and blogging about their experiences.

Ms Boyle says there have been more than a million hits.

“It is going to be the best tourism campaign, because apart from actually filling the job, we then have all the follow-through publicity there’ll be with the shortlist of applicants being flown to the Whitsundays, with the person then travelling around the islands – Lizard, Magnetic and Fraser – as well as the Whitsundays,” she said.

Optus fined $110,000 for sending spam – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Optus fined $110,000 for sending spam

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has accused Optus of sending 20,000 electronic messages without accurate sender identification.

Optus says the messages promoted the OptusZoo entertainment service and the company assumed customers would make the link between the sender ID of 966 and its alphanumeric equivalent ZOO.

“Optus assumed that recipients of their messages would make the connection between 966 and ZOO,” ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman said.

“However, this was not considered sufficient identification, as ‘966’ could be used to represent any number of permutations on a telephone keypad.”

The ACMA says it decided to issue the infringement notices because Optus did not adequately address the issue.

Garmin introduces lifetime map update program – News – GPS
Garmin introduces lifetime map update program

 Anyone who’s ever purchased, or contemplated purchasing, a map update will tell you, it’s not a cheap exercise. Garmin though is hoping to offer its customers living in North America and Europe a better deal with its new nüMaps Lifetime Map Update Program.

For a one-time fee, you’ll be able to download, up to four times a year, new points of interest, streets and addresses to your Garmin for the life of that unit. Subscribers will be alerted when new updates arrive via email and maps will be downloaded directly to your computer to be transferred to the GPS via USB cable. There are some restrictions in that you must have said maps first and you can’t transfer the subscription to another Garmin GPS or if you eventually sell your unit.

There are three different combos available: North America only (AU$190), Europe only (AU$225), and both North America and Europe (AU$240). Not a bad deal when you consider a single map update costs US$70 (AU$98). If you have any of the above maps and regularly travel overseas with your GPS — we know it’s not a huge market — the lifetime map update scheme will be available starting 21 January.

World’s first internet car radio, Aussie-style – News – Entertainment
World’s first internet car radio, Aussie-style

 The system uses a Bluetooth connection to stream internet radio from a 3G-capable mobile phone, and was developed in conjunction with Melbourne-based company MiRoamer, which specialises in streaming audio.

Blaupunkt currently has two prototypes, which they had running at CES, the single-DIN Hamburg 600i and the double-DIN New Jersey 600i. The products are scheduled to be released locally in the second half of 2009, and are expected to start from €299 (AU$600).

 

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