Advertised 'freelance' job was to 'eradicate' wife of woman's lover
Associated Press Jan 27, 08 5:32 PM CST
(Newser)
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A Michigan woman posted a job on Craigslist last year to murder her lover's wife, the FBI announced yesterday. Ann Marie Linscott, 49, put up a generic "freelance" ad but asked responders to "eradicate a female living in Oroville, California" for $5,000. "I've seen some screwy things, but I've personally never heard of anything like this," an FBI agent said.
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Spate of copycat
deaths sparks calls
for tougher laws
Times (UK) Jan 26, 08 3:45 PM CST
(Newser)
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A spate of apparent copycat suicides in a Wales town has lead to a nationwide campaign against suicide websites, the Guardian reports. Rumor has it that seven recent suicide victims in the town of Bridgend knew each other, and noted each others' deaths on a social networking site. Police are probing for a possible link, as politicians have swung into action.
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Red-faced Charter Comm. apologizes for goof, offers credits
Associated Press Jan 25, 08 12:34 AM CST
(Newser)
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Embarrassed executives at Charter Communications have given $50 credits to each of 14,000 customers who had their email accounts accidentally wiped out, the AP reports. A company spokeswoman apologized for the technical error that saw active accounts erased in a routine clearout of unused email accounts.The cable company didn't realize their mistake until complaints started flooding in.
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Ministry says 'young minds' are being 'perverted'
Associated Press Jan 23, 08 4:00 PM CST
(Newser)
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China took down 44,000 porn websites last year, arrested 868 people, and penalized 2,000 others. The Public Security Ministry said today that Internet pornography has “perverted China’s young minds,” the AP reports. Porn and paid sex are illegal in almost all forms in the country; the crackdown involved the seizure of cash and film equipment.
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Internet giant to cut staff and narrow focus, say sources
New York Times Jan 22, 08 4:14 AM CST
(Newser)
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Yahoo! is preparing for its first big round of layoffs since the 2001 dot.com bust, the New York Times reports, seeking to narrow its focus, increase profitability, and revive its tumbling share price. A statement from the company said it planned to "eliminate some areas of the business."
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In cities outside the US, hackers shut down grid for blackmail
PC World Jan 20, 08 8:38 AM CST
(Newser)
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Foreign extortionists have managed to hack into US power grids and shut them down, PC World reports, citing a CIA analyst speaking at a security conference this week. "In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks, but all involved intrusions through the Internet," the analyst said.
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Companies seek to broadcast web over unused TV airwaves
Associated Press Jan 19, 08 12:20 AM CST
(Newser)
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After a series of unsuccessful tests, the Federal Communications Commission is heading back to the lab to assess a new round of devices for broadcasting high-speed Internet in the white space available in between TV airwaves. The prototypes come from a coalition of top-tier bidders, including Microsoft, Philips, and Intel, none of which received positive grades the first time around, the AP reports.
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Explosions, fires lead to replacement of 17,000 units
Wall Street Journal Jan 16, 08 2:50 PM CST
(Newser)
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AT&T will replace 17,000 backup batteries for its U-Verse TV system after a handful of small explosions and fires, reports the Wall Street Journal . The batteries, made by a now-defunct Québec company, were housed in outside equipment cabinets. There was property damage in two cases but no one was hurt by the mishaps, which AT&T says won’t affect the Internet-based TV service.
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French prez seeks to compensate for plan to ban public TV ads
Time Jan 11, 08 4:45 AM CST
(Newser)
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed taxing internet access and cell phone use to compensate for a ban on advertising on state-owned television stations, reports Time magazine. A monthly tax of a single Euro would generate $290 million per year—a quarter of what would be lost from the ad ban Sarkozy is also seeking, but some officials fear public outrage over such a tax.
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Partnerships help company ready new wireless network
Washington Post Jan 10, 08 1:17 PM CST
(Newser)
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Sprint has unveiled new corporate partnerships to help meet its goal of deploying its WiMax wireless broadband network in DC, Baltimore, and Chicago by April, the Washington Post reports. The wireless provider has joined with several companies to provide online storage, security, and mobile devices for WiMax, which offers speeds comparable to DSL at ranges far greater than typical wireless networks.
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Service provider faces investigation over claims of traffic-blocking
Associated Press Jan 9, 08 12:54 PM CST
(Newser)
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The Federal Communications Commission will investigate allegations Comcast hinders file sharing by blocking internet traffic for some users, the AP reports. Reports last year showed Comcast interfered with popular BitTorrent file-transfer protocol. Comcast has denied blocking data, rather claiming it delays such transfers to maximize network efficiency for all users. File sharing, widely used for online piracy, has substantial legitimate use as well.
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Web portal expands portable handset functionality
CNET Jan 8, 08 3:46 PM CST
(Newser)
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Yahoo is moving to expand the reach of its services with new software designed for mobile devices, CEO Jerry Yang said yesterday as he vowed to "get Yahoo yodeling again." Dubbed Yahoo Go 3.0, the software aims to provide users with access to the usual weather and news, as well as Yahoo-specific services like Flickr and Yahoo Mail, CNET reports.
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Critical postings, government shutdown may spark legal fight
Associated Press Jan 6, 08 6:32 PM CST
(Newser)
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A Thai ministry has shut down a website critical of the country's monarchy, the AP reports. Postings on Sameskybooks.com questioned news accounts that all citizens mourned the king's sister, who died Wednesday, and criticized officials. "I think we're one of the few sites posting remarks against the monarchy," Thanapol Eiwsakul, who ran the site, told a Thai newspaper. "This is the price we are paying."
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Private Harry Lamin's letters appear in real time online
Daily Telegraph (UK) Jan 6, 08 5:38 PM CST
(Newser)
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Does he live, or lose his life to "liquid fire and bombs"? That question is keeping tens of thousands glued to a site that is posting the letters of a World War I soldier in real time, 90 years after they were written. The soldier's grandson, who collected the letters, prefers to leave readers in the dark: "That is the way it would have been at home," he said.
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