IT News HeadLines (HardOCP) 03/09/2010

Steve Jobs Talks About Facebook's "Onerous Terms"
Hearing Steve Jobs say anything about Facebook having "onerous terms" is comical. As far as I knew, Apple owned the term "onerous." When I asked Jobs about that, he said Apple had indeed held talks with Facebook about a variety of unspecified partnerships related to Ping, but the discussions went nowhere. The reason, according to Jobs: Facebook wanted "onerous terms that we could not agree to." Comments
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US told EU to Hide ACTA from Public
According to this report, officials from the United States are refusing to let their European counterparts publish the latest draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. American officials blocked European attempts to publish the latest draft of the global Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on an EU website after a Washington-based round of negotiations in August. Comments
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Do Not Track Me Video of the Day
The folks at Consumer Watchdog put out a funny / creepy video lampooning Google's CEO and the company's "Don't Be Evil" mantra. Comments
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Offensive Mouse Pads Anger Some Customers
You know what is sad? This whole situation could have been avoided if Sears just sold RatPadz. "I was shopping at Sears online store," she wrote, "and I was shocked to find that they sell mouse pads, saying things like, 'I molested your honor student' and 'I got your honor student pregnant.'" Comments
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Microsoft Patents Operating System Shutdown
Microsoft has just received a patent for operating system shutdown. Let the BSOD patent jokes begin. Microsoft describes this feature as "a user interface and scheme [Â…] for facilitating shutting down an operating system. Aspects include the operating system receiving a command to initiate shut down, and automatically terminating graphical user interface (GUI) applications that delay shut down which do not have top level windows." Comments
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HP Ups 3Par Bid to $33 a Share
If you thought the bidding war between HP and Dell was getting ridiculous last week, you haven't seen anything yet. The current bid for 3Par is now $2.4 billion. Any bets on how high this will go? 3Par on Thursday said Hewlett-Packard has raised its offer to $33 a share for the storage company, or $2.4 billion, after Dell countered with a $32 a share offer. Needless to say, 3Par deemed HP's bid as superior. HP had bid $30 for 3Par and Dell countered with $32 a share. Dell also revised a termination fee to $92 billion. Comments
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Online Harassment-Spoofing is a Crime
You can now go to jail for using a fake Twitter account to claim someone is having an affair. The charge? Online harassment-spoofing. Mike Lavender, 36, has been charged with one count of online harassment-spoofing, an addition to the state's penal code that one legislator said is intended to protect people against anonymous online attackers. Comments
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Twitter Plans to Record All Links Clicked
You have the right to remain off Twitter. Every link you click can and will be held against you. You have the right to tweet requesting an attorney but Twitter records those tweets too. An e-mail announcement Wednesday night said "all users" will soon be switched over to Twitter's t.co link-shortening service and, once that happens, "all links shared on Twitter.com or third-party apps" will use it. In addition, the company said, when anyone clicks "on these links from Twitter.com or a Twitter application, Twitter will log that click." Comments
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Microsoft's Newest Mouse Flattens to be the Ultimate Portable Device
Some say the mouse's days are numbered, but today Microsoft Corp. proves the gadget is alive and well by unveiling the Arc Touch Mouse, the first mouse designed to flatten for portability and pop up for comfort. The new mouse features Microsoft's first touch scroll strip for easy navigation — just move a finger slowly for controlled scrolling or flick for hyperfast scrolling. Windows-based PC users will love packing up their laptop bags without the added bump of a mouse, as the Arc Touch Mouse flattens with just the touch of a finger. Comments
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AMD Technology Allows Studio to Slice Through Special Effects
AMD today unveiled its close collaboration with Troublemaker Studios to produce the striking visual effects for the action epic "Machete", a project for the studio that saw the Troublemaker team finalize more than 500 shots, a personal best made possible with AMD graphics and computing technology. Directed and conceived by Robert Rodriguez (director of "Predators", "Sin City", and "Shorts"), and featuring an all-star cast including Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Alba, "Machete" is set to revitalize the action genre. Comments
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Epic Brings Unreal Engine 3 to iOS Devices
Epic Games has just announced the world's first Unreal Engine 3 powered iOS app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. There is a demo available on iTunes called Epic Citadel. Epic Games, Inc. today announced its "Epic Citadel" App is now available from the App Store. The app showcases the technical capabilities of Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine 3 on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. In "Epic Citadel," players navigate a fictional castle realm using simple controls and the innovative Multi-Touch user interface. "Epic Citadel" also features stunning visuals and special effects, with an environment inspired by "Project Sword," Epic's newest game. Comments
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FCC Appears to Delay Net Neutrality Rules
The Federal Communications Commission is kicking the can down the road. According to this news item, the FCC will be conducting a "further inquiry" into the matter but there is no telling when any action will be taken. The Federal Communications Commission said it will be conducting a "further inquiry" into the details of broadband regulation, including whether wireless networks should be exempted from strict Net neutrality rules, a concept that Google and Verizon recently endorsed. Comments
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SilverStone Strider ST1500 1500W Power Supply Review
SilverStone raises its flagship Strider PSU to what is the near-limit of wattage you can pull out a normal North American wall plug. At 1500 watts continuous and 1600 watts peak this power supply will hopefully get the job done for you. Let's see how it holds up under full load.
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