6:24 PM
The bridge connecting Arizona and Nevada next to the Hoover Dam sure sounds amazing--1,900-feet-long, 890 feet above the Colorado River, improving traffic while protecting the dam from terrorist threats:
http://www.parade.com/news/2010/10/17-the-birth-of-a-modern-marvel.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iS_y4VSI3v9VdpHbPxfTKqYtASGQ?docId=CNG.25952df47c270a7bf48166d814f52027.201
South Korean intelligence says that hackers in China have stolen South Korea's defense and foreign affair secrets by sending e-mails that appears to be coming from Seoul officials and diplomats. The attached files were disguised as important documents and contained viruses:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/hackers-in-china-steal-skorean-secrets-seoul-20101015-16ng2.html
A superbug could spread so quickly under certain conditions (originate in a major city during the winter) that it could infect EVERY single person on Earth in a year:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/superbug-could-spread-every-single-person-earth-one-year
The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook's largest apps are capturing personal information about Facebook users and sharing it with advertisers, violating Facebook's privacy policy and the app makers' privacy policy! This article points out that Facebook fixed a similar glitch last May after the Wall Street Journal reported that personal ID protection problem with Facebook:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/facebook-evil-or-merely-incompetent-041
Article about how Clearwire selling its spectrum was their last resort for raising money to build out their network, but none of Clearwire's investors wanted to put anymore money into Clearwire. The article points out that if Sprint buys a significant amount of spectrum from Clearwire, Sprint's incentive to buy out Clearwire later will be reduced:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwires-last-resort-has-come/2010-10-18
Sprint and Clearwire will offer WiMAX service in NY on November 1, LA on December 1, and San Francisco around end of December...just in time for the Christmas shopping season:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69H0E020101018
Motorola asked a federal judge in Delaware to invalidate 11 Apple patents in Apple's dispute with HTC. I think that Motorola is moving to help one of their Android competitors because they figure that Apple is going to sue them regarding the same patents Apple is suing HTC over:
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/10/motorola-moves-offensively-with-a-new-lawsuit-against-apple.html
Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 smartphones will not connect to hidden WiFi networks since there is no way to add networks manually:
http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2271643/windows-phone-connect-hidden-wi
T-Mobile is going to introduce a $9.99 data plan for smartphone users who use 200 MB or less data per month:
http://www.tmonews.com/2010/10/t-mobile-to-introduce-new-data-plan-for-smartphone-owners/
Verizon is killing their $9.99 data plan for feature phones (phones that can check e-mail but aren't smartphones) and are going to a tiered data system. Smartphones and feature phones can pay $15/month for 150 MB or $29.99 for unlimited data. AT&T offers $15/month for 200 MB or $25/month for 2 GB with no unlimited data option. Existing subscribers are grandfathered into their current prices but can switch when they wish to the new plans:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/18/verizons-tiered-data-plans-hitting-october-28-smartphones-stil/
These parents in Michigan has 3 children--their first was born on 08/08/08, their second child was born on 09/09/09, and their last child was born on 10/10/10! I wonder if they will go for 11/11/11 also?
http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/10/born_on_101010_baby_makes_thir.html
Nielsen found that the average US teenager sends 3,339 text messages each month! That is an increase of 8% from last year and text message usage increases every year:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-15/tech/teen.texting.mashable_1_texts-teenagers-age-teen-males?_s=PM:TECH
Wisconsin woman's search for her stolen wedding dress helped solve several other burglaries as well. She found her wedding dress for sale on Craiglist and let police know where she was meeting the seller--a 16-year-old girl, 17-year-old boy and 23-year-old man have confessed to multiple thefts:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/17/ap/strange/main6965621.shtml
Meg Whitman has spent $140 million of her own money into the California governors race, outspending her competitor 10x1. She has been running more than 1,300 TV ads a day, the most expensive campaign ever for a nonpresidential candidate!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101803069.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
http://www.parade.com/news/2010/10/17-the-birth-of-a-modern-marvel.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iS_y4VSI3v9VdpHbPxfTKqYtASGQ?docId=CNG.25952df47c270a7bf48166d814f52027.201
South Korean intelligence says that hackers in China have stolen South Korea's defense and foreign affair secrets by sending e-mails that appears to be coming from Seoul officials and diplomats. The attached files were disguised as important documents and contained viruses:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/hackers-in-china-steal-skorean-secrets-seoul-20101015-16ng2.html
A superbug could spread so quickly under certain conditions (originate in a major city during the winter) that it could infect EVERY single person on Earth in a year:
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/superbug-could-spread-every-single-person-earth-one-year
The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook's largest apps are capturing personal information about Facebook users and sharing it with advertisers, violating Facebook's privacy policy and the app makers' privacy policy! This article points out that Facebook fixed a similar glitch last May after the Wall Street Journal reported that personal ID protection problem with Facebook:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/facebook-evil-or-merely-incompetent-041
Article about how Clearwire selling its spectrum was their last resort for raising money to build out their network, but none of Clearwire's investors wanted to put anymore money into Clearwire. The article points out that if Sprint buys a significant amount of spectrum from Clearwire, Sprint's incentive to buy out Clearwire later will be reduced:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwires-last-resort-has-come/2010-10-18
Sprint and Clearwire will offer WiMAX service in NY on November 1, LA on December 1, and San Francisco around end of December...just in time for the Christmas shopping season:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69H0E020101018
Motorola asked a federal judge in Delaware to invalidate 11 Apple patents in Apple's dispute with HTC. I think that Motorola is moving to help one of their Android competitors because they figure that Apple is going to sue them regarding the same patents Apple is suing HTC over:
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/10/motorola-moves-offensively-with-a-new-lawsuit-against-apple.html
Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 smartphones will not connect to hidden WiFi networks since there is no way to add networks manually:
http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2271643/windows-phone-connect-hidden-wi
T-Mobile is going to introduce a $9.99 data plan for smartphone users who use 200 MB or less data per month:
http://www.tmonews.com/2010/10/t-mobile-to-introduce-new-data-plan-for-smartphone-owners/
Verizon is killing their $9.99 data plan for feature phones (phones that can check e-mail but aren't smartphones) and are going to a tiered data system. Smartphones and feature phones can pay $15/month for 150 MB or $29.99 for unlimited data. AT&T offers $15/month for 200 MB or $25/month for 2 GB with no unlimited data option. Existing subscribers are grandfathered into their current prices but can switch when they wish to the new plans:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/18/verizons-tiered-data-plans-hitting-october-28-smartphones-stil/
These parents in Michigan has 3 children--their first was born on 08/08/08, their second child was born on 09/09/09, and their last child was born on 10/10/10! I wonder if they will go for 11/11/11 also?
http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/10/born_on_101010_baby_makes_thir.html
Nielsen found that the average US teenager sends 3,339 text messages each month! That is an increase of 8% from last year and text message usage increases every year:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-15/tech/teen.texting.mashable_1_texts-teenagers-age-teen-males?_s=PM:TECH
Wisconsin woman's search for her stolen wedding dress helped solve several other burglaries as well. She found her wedding dress for sale on Craiglist and let police know where she was meeting the seller--a 16-year-old girl, 17-year-old boy and 23-year-old man have confessed to multiple thefts:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/17/ap/strange/main6965621.shtml
Meg Whitman has spent $140 million of her own money into the California governors race, outspending her competitor 10x1. She has been running more than 1,300 TV ads a day, the most expensive campaign ever for a nonpresidential candidate!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101803069.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics