Episode 201

GLENN’S SHOWNOTES

Apple supply manager pleads not guilty in kickbacks case – Hardware – Technology – News –
Apple supply manager pleads not guilty in kickbacks case

An Apple global supply manager pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of accepting kickbacks from Asian companies, while prosecutors said he is a flight risk and should not be granted bail.

Devine, 37, was charged in a federal grand jury indictment last Wednesday with 23 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and accepting kickbacks, court documents showed. In a separate civil lawsuit, Apple accused him of receiving more than US$1 million in payments and bribes over several years from companies that supplied iPhone and iPod accessories.

Optus seeks court ruling on meaning of “unlimited” internet – Telco/ISP – Technology – News –
Optus seeks court ruling on meaning of “unlimited” internet

Optus has amended advertisements for its “unlimited” internet and phone bundles but will pursue a Federal Court declaration that “unlimited” in the context of the internet wasn’t understood by consumers to refer to the “speed” of connection.

The telco had previously marketed an “unlimited home phone and broadband bundle” that included 50 GB of “superfast” broadband that was then throttled to a speed of 256 Kbps.

“Speeds of internet usage are, of course, always limited. The speeds of everything are limited, including the speed of light.

“No consumer with any knowledge of broadband would be misled that the use of [the word] ‘unlimited’ [in that context] was a reference to speed.”

Optus would seek a ruling on the lawfulness of the amended advertisement and interpretation of the word ‘unlimited’ when the case was heard in October.

Panasonic misled customers: Court – Hardware – Technology – News – iTnews.com.au
Panasonic misled customers: Court

The promotion offered a Bonus Nintendo Wii gaming console by redemption to shoppers who purchased a participating television.

In order to submit a claim, consumers had to enclose the serial number and send it off within 14 days of purchase. But the serial number was only obtainable on delivery of the television to the consumer and there was no guarantee that a consumer would receive the unit within 14 days.

The court found that Panasonic engaged in “misleading or deceptive conduct” and found the advertising to contain “fleeting fine print”.

The court ordered that Panasonic establish and maintain a trade practices compliance program for three years to ensure that Panasonic staff are aware of their obligations under the Trade Practices Act 1974. Under the program Panasonic has to:

• Appoint a director or a senior employee with suitable qualifications or experience in corporate compliance as Compliance Officer.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure that there is a director or a senior employee appointed as Compliance Officer.
• Compliance officer reports in writing to Panasonic’s board of directors every six months with respect to the on-going maintenance and administration of the Compliance Program.
• Establish a Compliance Policy which is communicated in writing to all employees within the next two months.

why not also get them to pay for the wii for people with a legitimate claim or have been duped by the deal

Overheating iPod delays train
Overheating iPod delays train

An overheating Apple iPod music player forced delays to a busy Tokyo commuter train during the Friday morning rush hour after passengers complained of a strong burning smell, the rail line operator said.

The train came to a halt for eight minutes about 8.20am in western Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward, 17 kilometres from the capital’s centre, while officials investigated the cause of the smell, said a spokesman for Tokyu Corp.

“When a member of staff went to investigate inside the train, a passenger came over showing him that the iPod she was listening to had burst apart,” the spokesman said, confirming local media reports. He added that there were no reports of injuries.

The model of the overheating iPod that caused delays on Tokyo’s Denentoshi line was unknown, the Tokyu spokesman said.

Facebook ‘Dislike’ Fake | Facebook ‘Dislike’ Button Is A Scam
Facebook scam lures users craving ‘Dislike’ button

Hackers are enticing Facebook users to install an application pitched as a “Dislike” button that jokingly notifies contacts at the social networking service “now I can dislike all of your dumb posts.”

Once granted permission to access a Facebook user’s profile, the application pumps out spam from the account and spreads itself by inviting the person’s friends to get the button, according to Sophos.

The ruse was described as the latest in an ongoing stream of tricks that includes baiting booby-trapped links with messages including “the biggest and scariest snake” and “world’s worst McDonald’s customer.”

Wikileaks: we won’t be threatened by Pentagon
Wikileaks: we won’t be threatened by Pentagon

Wikileaks will publish its remaining 15,000 Afghan war documents within a month, despite warnings from the US government, the organisation’s founder said.

The Pentagon has said that secret information will be even more damaging to security and risk more lives than Wikileaks’ initial release of some 76,000 war documents.

 

This organization will not be threatened by the Pentagon or any other group,” Julian Assange told reporters in Stockholm. “We proceed cautiously and safely with this material.”

That has aroused the concern of several human rights group operating in Afghanistan and the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which has accused Wikileaks of recklessness. Jean-Francois Julliard, the group’s secretary-general, said that Wikileaks showed “incredible irresponsibility” when posting the documents online.

Wikileaks describes itself as a public service organisation for whistleblowers, journalists and activists.

“There are no easy choices for our organisation,” Assange said. “We have a duty to the people most directly affected by this material, the people of Afghanistan and the course of this war which is killing hundreds every week. We have a duty to the broader historical record and its accuracy and its integrity. And we have a duty to our sources to try and protect them where we can.”

 

iTWire – Open software passes Australian tipping point
Open software passes Australian tipping point Almost two in three Australian enterprises now has a policy or strategy in place regarding the use of Free Open Source Software, with just about every enterprise using elements of open source in their day to day operations.

That’s in stark contrast to the situation four or five years ago when “the policy was ‘don’t use it’,” according to Sam Higgins, research director of Longhaus, which conducted the 2010-11 adoption survey

Two years ago 20 per cent of Australian enterprises told Longhaus they were using open source software, today; “I think you would struggle to find organisations without open source software,” said Mr Higgins. However he acknowledged that not every enterprise actively went out seeking open source systems, but often bought solutions which “have an open source element.”