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18 Feb 2011 21:20

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Tech: Twitter goes after UberTwitter, looks pretty lame in the process

  • We’ve had conversations with UberMedia, the developer of these applications, about policy violations since April 2010, when they first launched under the name TweetUp – a term commonly used by Twitter users and a trademark violation. We continue to be in contact with UberMedia and hope that they will bring the suspended applications into compliance with our policies soon.
  • A message from Twitter • Revealing that they had temporarily banned some of the most popular third-party apps on their system – Twidroid, UberTwitter and UberCurrent – for their unauthorized usage of Twitter copyright in their apps. UberMedia, which owns all three of these apps, has quickly become the most-powerful third-party developer in the Twitter ecosystem, and recently bought the also-offending Tweetdeck (which hasn’t been shut down). While UberMedia is working hard to fix the problems, the real question is why Twitter had to do this in the first place. These apps helped make Twitter popular. Now that Twitter is huge, all of a sudden they’re going to be the heavies? Not sure how we feel about this, honestly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 20:12

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U.S.: Tucson shooting: Christina Taylor Green’s photographer may sue. Ugh.

  • Christina Taylor Green’s death may have been the saddest of the many that took place in Tucson last month. But now that Gabrielle Giffords has started to recover and the dust has mostly settled, ugliness is starting to seep in a little. Photographer Jon Wolf, who owns the copyright to this photo of Green, has pressured a number of media organizations, including the Arizona Republic, and the Tucson Citizen, to pay a licensing fee for use of the now-iconic image. He wants $125,000, which he’s said he wants to mostly give to charity, and he’s, uh, threatened to sue. Green’s family doesn’t support his actions, the charity has refused to take any of Wolf’s money, and there’s a Facebook campaign against Wolf’s business picking up steam. It’s a photo of someone who died. If we were him, we’d just take the modest licensing fee (which the media organizations have offered) and be done with this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 19:47

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Music: Hey, guess who Smashing Pumpkins’ new bassist is?

  • One of these two girls may be Nicole Fiorentino: Fiorentino recently became the band’s new bassist, and Billy Corgan claimed on Twitter after she joined, she revealed that she was one of the girls in the above album that anyone worth their salt in 1993 owned. (“Today” still sounds just as good many days later.) She said that she held the info back out of fear it would cost her the gig. Anyway, because Rolling Stone likes bursting bubbles, they got a hold of the photographer involved in this shot, who claims that Fiorentino, 31, was too old for the photo. Even though they claim this, she looks almost exactly like the girl on the right. WE WANT TO BELIEVE. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 19:21

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Culture: The Red Cross is cool, drinks Dogfish Head, into #gettngslizzerd

  • We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.
  • A tweet from @redcross • Using a Twitter gaffe as a way to get people’s attention for their cause. The offending tweet went a little like this: “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer…when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd.” Impeccable taste in beer for a humanitarian organization, kids. Anyway, Dogfish Head noticed the tweet and retweeted it, ensuring many others saw it. From there, the Red Cross used the opportunity to correct the problem and in response, got numerous donations and tons of attention. This is how you deal with social media, kids. (thanks 2105) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 15:50

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U.S.: Another paper tiger? House pushes to strip Planned Parenthood funding

  • 240-185 to strip the org of funding source
  • » This has nothing to do with abortions: This bill, which only passed in the GOP-controlled house, affects preventative-health services like cancer screenings or contraception – not abortions, which are maybe 3% of Planned Parenthood’s entire array of services and are already not supported through federal funding – at the grand cost of $330 million. Now, the likelihood that this would actually affect Planned Parenthood as-is? That’s very low, because this is part of that whole Republican-pushed spending plan that will likely not get through the Senate or Obama in its current form, but the fact that it’s even on the table is getting a lot of people worked up.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 12:55

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World: Things get even worse – and deadly – for protesters in Bahrain

The AP is reporting that at least 50 people have been injured in attacks on protesters in Bahrain. “People started running in all directions and bullets were flying,” one person said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 12:27

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Tech, U.S.: Obama meets with everyone TechCrunch cares about all at once

  • Finally. Most of the people we write about were in a single room last night, having alcohol together. Obama. Mark Zuckerberg. The Twitter guy. Steve Jobs. And if you’re stretching it, that @$$hole Larry Ellison. If a nuclear bomb hit this restaurant last night, we would have nothing to write about and would probably have to shut down the blog. We’re glad it wasn’t. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Feb 2011 12:02

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Biz, Tech: Regulators probe Apple’s new subscription service plans

  • tuesday Apple launches its subscription plan – in which it’ll take a 30 percent cut off of in-app subscriptions. OK for newspapers, awful for online music firms.
  • friday The Department of Justice launches an inquiry into the subscription plan, which suggests that something may be pretty rotten in Denmark. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 11:18

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World: Muammar Gaddafi loyalists: We’ll snuff out any fresh protests

  • The response of the people and the Revolutionary Forces to any adventure by these small groups will be sharp and violent.
  • A message from the Libyan Revolutionary Committees • Suggesting that the Gaddafi loyalists will attack protesters who dare show their face in the country. This message was released after a particularly deadly day in the country – when 24 protesters were reportedly killed, according to Human Rights Watch. Ugh. We hate humanity sometimes and wish it’d take a good look at itself in the mirror. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Feb 2011 09:58

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Music: VIDEO: Radiohead’s awkward-dance-heavy “Lotus Flower”

  • Never have we been so excited to see a middle-aged man dancing like a rockstar. Welcome back, Thom Yorke. Your fans missed you. The song rules, too – a clear continuation of “In Rainbows”-era awesomeness. Oh yeah, the album’s out now, not tomorrow. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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