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07 May 2009 20:31

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Music, Tech: Gamers, meet DJ Hero, conditioning agent for wack DJs

You know, some people will think this is an awesome game. We’re afraid that this is going to create the next Linkin Park. source

07 May 2009 18:52

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Sports: Manny being Manny? Ramirez’s steroid bust puts him out of action

  • 50 game suspension for the L.A. Dodgers slugger source

07 May 2009 10:15

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Sports: St. Louis ballplayer Rick Ankiel hits a wall – painfully

  • Poor Rick Ankiel. The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder slammed head-first into a wall when trying to catch a pitch. Hard to watch. He’s still in recovery mode, BTW.source

07 May 2009 10:05

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Culture, Tech: Hugh Jackman’s leaked “Wolverine” graced a ton of laptops

07 May 2009 10:01

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Tech: T-Mobile: We’ll support your iPhone even if we don’t sell it

  • All in all, this cements my loyalty to T-Mobile. Even without officially supporting a particular phone, they are willing to make accommodations to ensure the iPhone users on their network continue to enjoy good service.
  • Consumerist reader “John” • On his positive experience with the wireless provider after his unlocked, jailbroken iPhone went wonky due to a problem on T-Mobile’s end. The company offered service credits to affected customers and a rep even went so far as to post on Apple hacking forum about the problem. Well, that’s just awesome. • source

07 May 2009 09:53

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U.S.: Jackson, Miss. mayor Frank Melton dies in dramatic fashion

  • Background: Melton moved to the city in the early 1980s to run a local TV station, where he became known for his fiery op-ed pieces. in 2005, he was elected mayor. source
  • Conflict: His odd way of running the city led to charges that he and a bodyguard attempted to attack a duplex he considered a crack house with sledgehammers. source
  • Crisis: The charges, which were about to be retried in federal court, took a toll on his political career, and he ended up losing a heated primary for re-election. source
  • Resolution: Melton, in ill health for years, went to the hospital just after the primary results were announced and then died. He leaves behind a killer biopic. source

07 May 2009 09:32

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Biz, Tech: Protip: Want venture capital? Make a cloud computing startup.

  • Apparently, it’s the big thing for investors right now. Despite the lack of name recognition, there’s a heavy amount of interest in companies who are involved in cloud computing – i.e. using a huge cluster of servers to run powerful applications, rather than forcing those apps to run on home computers. Anonymous companies like Engine Yard and Elastra – who run services to keep those cloud computing apps afloat – are able to get tens of millions in investments in a down economy. Did someone hear the sound of a gold rush? source
 

07 May 2009 09:16

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Culture, Tech: Wikipedia managed to hijack a dead guy’s obit with a fake quote

  • The quote When he died at the end of March, Maurice Jarre was quoted on his Wikipedia entry as saying: “One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear.” source
  • The quote When he died at the end of March, Maurice Jarre was quoted on his Wikipedia entry as saying: “One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack. Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear.”
  • The reason Jarre is an Oscar-winning composer who has the perfect combination of obscurity, cultural impact and newsworthiness to allow for a quote like this to be completely fabricated, a fact 22-year-old Irish student Shane Fitzgerald took advantage of to see how journalists will tend to use the Web as a primary source. Prick. source

07 May 2009 09:03

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Biz, Politics, U.S.: Timothy Geithner sounds like a smart guy in this NYT op-ed

  • The effect of this capital assessment will be to help replace uncertainty with transparency. It will provide greater clarity about the resources major banks have to absorb future losses.
  • Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner • Making an argument in the New York Times as to why the banking industry stress tests were necessary, even though they made Bank of America look like the worst company on the planet to hold your money. Jeez, if only he did this a few months ago when everyone hated him for sucking at his job. • source

07 May 2009 08:48

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U.S.: Lots of tide-turning news on the gay marriage front

  • Nearby New Hampshire is right behind with legislation, but faces a tougher battle in the form of an undecided governor who has yet to sign the bill.