SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple Inc.’s iPad has hatched a new breed of magazines, one filled with a constantly changing mix of articles, photos and videos picked out by your friends, family and other people within your online social circle. This new twist on digital publishing comes courtesy of Flipboard, a free iPad application that made its debut Wednesday. Flipboard is mining the hundreds of millions of Web links posted each day on two of the world’s most popular outlets for sharing information and imagery, Facebook and Twitter. All those links are automatically converted into a “social magazine” format that’s customized for anyone who allows Flipboard to sift through their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Instead of having to click through a hodgepodge of links, Flipboard users will be able to flip through digital pages with all the text and images already displayed on Apple’s hot-selling computer tablet. The content of this advertising-supported magazine will change as frequently as the links posted within a Flipboard user’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. “Everyone will have a different magazine each day,” said Mike McCue, Flipboard’s CEO. In hopes of making things even more personal, Flipboard bought another startup called Ellerdale that developed technology to analyze what kinds of information appeal to different people. Theoretically, Ellerdale would allow Flipboard to figure out users’ favorite sports teams and other unique interests, based on their reading patterns and comments. Flipboard, based in Palo Alto, Calif., is drawing upon the assorted specialty lists created in Twitter to offer categories focused on particular interests, such as technology and sports. It also plans to hone its technology to render links from other popular social media tools, such as the photo site Flickr and the professional networking site LinkedIn. McCue started working on Flipboard late last year as it became apparent that Apple was working on a computer tablet. He had been looking for something new to do since last summer when he left Tellme, a voice recognition company that he co-founded in 1999 and sold to Microsoft Corp. for about $800 million in 2007. Evan Doll, a former Apple Inc. engineer who worked on the iPhone, joined McCue in building Flipboard. The 15-employee company is starting out with $10.5 million in funding from two prominent venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Index Ventures, and two social media pioneers, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskowitz. Flipboard also sold a stake to actor Ashton Kutcher, who is likely to influence what appears in people’s social magazines given that he has 5.3 million Twitter followers. He even posted a link about Flipboard on Wednesday. — Online: http://www.flipboard.com ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
July 21, 2010 | Posted in
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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police say they have arrested rapper-actor Ice-T on accusations of driving with a suspended license. Police say the entertainer was driving a 2009 Cadillac near West 40th Street and 11th Avenue on Tuesday when officers stopped him for not wearing a seat belt. They said they ran a check and discovered his license was suspended. The NYPD said he would be given a ticket and released. Ice-T denied wrongdoing via Twitter. He says he has a valid New Jersey license and calls the police’s allegations against him a “lie.” The actor has played Detective Fin Tutuola on the TV drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since 2000. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
July 20, 2010 | Posted in
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BEIJING (AP) — Dozens of blogs by some of China’s most outspoken users have been abruptly shut down while popular Twitter-like services appear to be the newest target in government efforts to control social networking. More and more Chinese bloggers are using the newer microblogs as their primary publishing tool, using their brief, punchy message format to chat with one another and promote their longer blog posts. But one of the country’s top four microblog sites is now down for maintenance, and the other three show a “beta” tag as if they are in testing, though they have been operating for months. The companies that run the websites aren’t saying why. “I was writing a new post and suddenly my blog couldn’t open,” lawyer Pu Zhiqiang told The Associated Press. Legal expert Xu Zhiyong said his blog on the popular Sohu Inc. portal was also shut down Wednesday, a day after his Sohu microblog was closed. Both men are well-known for taking on sensitive issues. Chinese officials fear that public opinion might spiral out of control as social networking – and social unrest – boom among its 420 million Internet users. China maintains the world’s most extensive Internet monitoring and filtering system, and it unplugged Twitter and Facebook last year. Blogger Yao Yuan listed at least 61 closed Sohu blogs, including his own, on a separate, unblocked blog Thursday. He called the closings mass murder. “If Internet users don’t speak out, all sites will be cracked down on in the future,” said Yao, who owns an Internet-promotion company in Shanghai. “Ordinary people will forever lose their freedom to speak online, and the government can rest without worrying anymore.” Microblogs can quickly aggregate critical voices, which is why authorities have been increasing controls, said Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project at the University of California-Berkeley. “However, given the speed and volume of microblogging content produced in Chinese cyberspace, censors are still several steps behind at this stage,” he said in an e-mail. China’s government actually embraced microblogs earlier this year, with the Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, launching a microblog of its own. The People’s Daily microblog showed no sign Thursday of new restrictions. Meanwhile, Beijing’s public security bureau announced it would set up a microblog for the city’s police, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. But in April, a leading Internet regulator called for requirements that people use their real names when going online. “As long as our country’s Internet is linked to the global Internet, there will be channels and means for all sorts of harmful foreign information to appear on our domestic Internet,” Wang Chen, director of the State Council Information Office, said in comments released this week by the New York-based group Human Rights in China. “Many weak links still exist in our work. These problems have weakened our ability to manage the Internet scientifically and effectively.” Privately run microblogs are showing signs of feeling pinched. The Netease.com Inc. microblog is down for maintenance, while the Sina Corp., Sohu and Tencent microblogs display a beta tag. Sina president Chen Tong responded Wednesday night to speculation that the site could be shut down. “Of course not,” he said on the site’s microblog. “I’ve said that sentence more than any other one today.” Government officials could not be reached for comment. Despite Beijing’s extensive restrictions, technologically savvy users can still jump China’s “Great Firewall” with proxy servers or other alternatives. And they can just keep publishing. Pu, the lawyer, said he has already set up a new Sohu blog – his 13th so far. — Associated Press researcher Xi Yue in Beijing contributed to this report. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
July 15, 2010 | Posted in
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Reaction from some of Thursday’s Primetime Emmy nominees: — “That’s literally just Tina Fey’s Emmy sauce rubbing off on me.” Jon Hamm, on his nomination for outstanding guest star on “30 Rock.” He’s also nominated as lead actor in a drama series for “Mad Men.” — “Congrats to my staff on 4 Emmy nominations. This bodes well for the future of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.” – Twitter post from Conan O’Brien, whose now-defunct show was nominated for variety, music or comedy series. — For me, Emmys are more important than love or family. It’s not about the work with me. It’s actually about winning a statue.” – Kathy Griffin, nominated for outstanding reality show for “My Life On The D-List.” — “I assure you, it is play acting. I didn’t go home and strangle anybody.” – John Lithgow on his Emmy-nominated guest role as a serial killer on “Dexter.” — “I am going to celebrate by eating a piece of cheese. Just kidding designers, I promise, no cheese will cross these lips or hips until after the ceremony.” – Jane Krakowski on her nomination for supporting actress in a comedy series for “30 Rock.” — “I have never had this much fun on anything I’ve ever worked on. All I can say is, I don’t know why people are so obsessed with vampires, but I’m really happy that they are.” – Alan Ball, creator of drama series nominee “True Blood.” — I’ve been around long enough to have struggled through some jobs, struggled through periods where I didn’t work. You’re so appreciative of something like this that allows you to be creative and do the kind of work that you always thought or hoped you could do. – John Slattery, supporting actor nominee for “Mad Men.” — “They announce the nominations so early in the morning, that this year I just stayed up all night and had an Emmy rave. So I must say, I’m deeply honored to be nominated, and also, my hair feels just amazing..!” – Double nominee Neil Patrick Harris, up for supporting actor in a comedy for “How I Met Your Mother” and guest star in a comedy for his turn on “Glee.” — “I’m hoping for a big party bus with a stripper pole!” – Chris Colfer, on the possibility of the “Glee” cast and crew going to the Emmy ceremony together. — “I’m not a big partier, as it is, so I certainly won’t be grabbing a bottle of Jack and hitting the town. Maybe I’ll have dessert tonight? I’m a wild man.” – Jim Parsons, on how he’ll celebrate his nomination for lead actor in a comedy series for “The Big Bang Theory.” — “I was relieved to see that the Academy spelled my name right and as I am now a free agent, LeBron and I will be announcing our plans later this evening.” – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, nominated for lead actress in a comedy series for “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” — “At 67, I’m still capable of giggling.” – Sharon Gless on her nomination for supporting actress in a drama series for “Burn Notice,” her 10th Emmy nod. — “The ceremony is on my birthday, so it’s like the best birthday present in the entire world… What a great birthday party. I think last year mine was at a sushi restaurant or something.” – Lea Michele, now 23, of “Glee,” whose nomination for lead actress in a comedy series was one of the show’s 19 nods. — “I’ve been planning going to the Emmys since I was 6 years old. So for me, getting the dress and all that kind of stuff, I was built for that. The Emmy dress finding machine starts now. I’ve been fueling it up for, you know, 30 years.” – “The Office” star Mindy Kaling, nominated for writing an episode of the comedy series. — “It’s a double celebration. It’s my 21st anniversary today. However, when I turned to my wife and said, ‘Is being nominated enough of an anniversary present for you?’ And she said, ‘No.’ I went, ‘OK. I’ll be right back.’” – Bryan Cranston, nominated for lead actor in a drama series for “Breaking Bad.” — “I’ll be sitting next to my real wife and my TV wife. It’s going to be a great night.” – Kyle Chandler, nominated for lead actor in a drama series for “Friday Night Lights.” ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
July 8, 2010 | Posted in
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NEW YORK (AP) — CNN has fired an editor responsible for Middle Eastern coverage after she posted a note on Twitter expressing admiration for a late Lebanese cleric considered an inspiration for the Hezbollah militant movement. Octavia Nasr later apologized for her tweet, but CNN’s senior vice president for international newsgathering, Parisa Khosravi, said Wednesday that Nasr’s credibility had been compromised. The Atlanta-based Nasr worked at CNN for 20 years, starting as an assignment editor on the international desk. Her job was mostly off the air, but she occasionally would appear as an onscreen analyst during discussions of Middle Eastern news. Lebanon’s Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah died Sunday after a long illness. He was staunchly anti-American and linked to bombings that killed more than 260 Americans, a charge he denied. In a Twitter posting over the weekend, Nasr said she was sad to hear of Fadlallah’s death. She called him “one of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.” CNN issued a statement on Tuesday calling it an error in judgment for Nasr to write such a simplistic tweet. Nasr later said in a blog that she had been referring to Fadlallah’s attitude toward women’s rights. The cleric had issued edicts banning so-called “honor killing” of women and giving women the right to hit their husbands if attacked first. She wrote that Fadlallah was “revered across borders yet designated a terrorist. Not the kind of life to be commenting about in a brief tweet. It’s something I deeply regret.” But Khosravi said in a memo Wednesday that she spoke with Nasr and “we have decided that she will be leaving the company.” ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
July 7, 2010 | Posted in
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NEW YORK (AP) — Larry King, who has interviewed statesmen and stars from a prime-time perch at CNN for 25 years but has seen his ratings sag recently, said Tuesday that he will step down this fall from his nightly show. “It’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders,” King said in a message sent to fans via Twitter. King said he will do occasional specials for CNN. He recently reached his 25-year anniversary and takes pride in a Guinness Book of World Records citation for hosting the longest-running show on the same network in the same time slot. The long-time radio host was a pioneer in cable television, his desk considered a valued spot to sit for anyone interested in talking to the nation. King’s interview style was plain-spoken and critics would suggest occasionally ill-prepared, but he was good at making his guests feel comfortable and ready to talk. King said he felt no pressure from CNN to leave. He said he began thinking about stepping down as his 25th anniversary week ended earlier this month, on the airplane home after interviewing basketball star LeBron James. During that week, he also spoke to Bill Gates, President Barack Obama and Lady Gaga – an apt example of the mix that he always sought on his show. “I said, `I can’t top this,’” King said in an interview Tuesday. “I’m tired of the nightly grind,” he said. “I do want to do other things but I want to stay at CNN in some way … There’s a case of great mixed emotions.” King told his staff during a conference call Tuesday that he called “one of the saddest 10 minutes of my life.” As cable news audiences gravitated toward politically pointed shows and newsmakers found many more outlets for interviews, King slipped behind Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in the ratings. During his interview with Lady Gaga, the 76-year-old broadcast veteran had people wondering if he was really connecting with a pop star a half century his junior. He’s conducted an estimated 50,000 interviews during a 53-year broadcasting career. He said he always tried to ask short questions, never come in with an agenda and “I left my ego at the door.” “I never learned a thing while I was talking,” he said. “That would be my motto.” CNN is in the midst of remaking its prime-time lineup and last week announced that former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and conservative columnist Kathleen Parker would co-host an 8 p.m. EDT show on politics and current events. CNN executives often have said that when “Larry King Live” ends, it won’t necessarily be replaced by a similar show. Recent published reports have suggested that “America’s Got Talent” judge Piers Morgan could be a candidate for a show in that time slot. CBS’ Katie Couric has been considered a potential successor, although that talk has cooled lately. King said if it was up to him, Ryan Seacrest would be the best choice to fill his shoes. He dismissed a series of stories this spring questioning his future and speculating about possible successors. “You can’t worry about things you can’t control,” he said. “I can’t control if a newspaper is going to speculate about something or if a blog is going to speculate … If I let it get me, I’ll go nuts. So what I try to do, and I’m not being morbid, I just try to do the best show I can. If it works, it works.” King said he was able to see the baseball all-star games of his sons this weekend. If it was during the week, he’d miss them. “I’m never going to see these again,” he said. “They’re not going to repeat themselves. They’re 11 and 10. They’re not going to be 11 and 10 again.” ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
June 30, 2010 | Posted in
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NEW YORK (AP) — Sports Illustrated is the latest magazine to take app form on Apple’s iPad. Its application landed in the iTunes store Thursday, with high-definition videos, extra photographs and even an eight-minute mini documentary. The magazine business, fresh from one of the worst advertising droughts in decades, is crowding onto Apple’s new gadget for the chance to win new readers and ad dollars. Publishers see the iPad’s crisp display and touch-screen controls as a natural fit for the lush visuals they offer in print. And the iTunes store gives them a ready-made platform for charging readers. Still, it’s a largely unproven concept. Will readers really want to pay $4.99 – same as the regular newsstand price – to download each weekly issue when the free Sports Illustrated website is available on the same device? Will advertisers bite? Wired magazine, owned by Conde Nast, has boosted expectations. Its own $4.99 iPad app has sold more than 90,000 copies since going on sale last month. Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell said the magazine’s research with focus groups suggests its app can lure new readers as well. “Most people said they’d pay just for the pictures,” McDonell said. The app is indeed heavy on photos, culled from thousand of shots that a dozen or so Sports Illustrated photographers take every week as well as the magazine’s archive. With virtually unlimited space, there’s no reason to cut a good photo. The app’s layout is much like the printed product, with a table of contents and pages that readers swipe through. The medium also provides for some technological leaps that the printed magazine can’t do. As readers scroll through the magazine’s pages they can pull up a menu to get updated sports stats, e-mail a story, or share it on Facebook and Twitter. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
June 24, 2010 | Posted in
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Twitter has agreed to settle charges by federal regulators that it put the privacy of its users at risk by failing to protect them from data security lapses last year that let hackers access their accounts. The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday the settlement bars Twitter from misleading consumers about its security and privacy practices and requires the start-up to establish a comprehensive information security program. No monetary damages were assessed. The FTC complaint said the breaches allowed hackers to gain administrative control over the online service, which lets users send brief messages called tweets to each other. According to the FTC, hackers were able to view email addresses and other private user information, gain access to user messages, reset user passwords and send phony tweets from user accounts. At least one phony tweet was sent from the account of Fox News and another phony tweet was sent from the account of then-President-elect Barack Obama offering more than 150,000 followers a chance to win $500 in free gasoline, the FTC said. The agency charges the incidents deceived users because Twitter’s privacy policy pledged to “employ administrative, physical, and electronic measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access.” “When a company promises consumers that their personal information is secure, it must live up to that promise,” David Vladeck, head of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. One breach occurred in January 2009 after a hacker used an automated password-guessing tool to gain control of Twitter. The second breach occurred in April 2009 after a hacker broke into a Twitter employee’s personal email account, which stored two passwords that were very similar to the employee’s administrative password for Twitter. The FTC said Twitter was vulnerable to these attacks because it used weak, lower case common dictionary words as administrative passwords and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to its system. Such steps include prohibiting employees from storing administrative passwords in plain text in their email accounts, periodically changing administrative passwords and restricting access to administrative controls. In a blog post, Twitter General Counsel Alexander Macgillivray said that even before the company reached the agreement with the FTC, it had already implemented many of the security practices highlighted by the agency. He added that the company quickly closed the security holes, notified affected users and disclosed what had happened in blog posts following both incidents. Macgillivray also noted that Twitter employed fewer than 50 people when the breaches occurred. “At the time of the incidents, we were … in the midst of perhaps unprecedented user growth for an Internet company; and, didn’t employ the security methods that we use today,” the company said on Thursday. Twitter said 45 accounts were accessed in the first incident and 10 accounts in the second incident. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
June 24, 2010 | Posted in
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Russia President Dmitry Medvedev has kicked off his Silicon Valley tour with a tweet. Medvedev set up a Twitter account under the name “KremlinRussia” on Wednesday during a quick visit to the San Francisco-based company that runs the popular Internet service. He marked his Twitter debut with this note in Russian: “Hello everyone. I am now in Twitter, and this is my first message.” Medvedev met with Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone, who launched the short-messaging service four years ago. Medvedev is also scheduled to visit Cisco Systems Inc. in San Jose, then meet Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs. The president wants to bring more high-tech innovation to Russia’s oil-dependent economy and create the country’s own Silicon Valley outside Moscow. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
June 23, 2010 | Posted in
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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Tired of boorish comments and jokes about New Jersey, residents and business people have created a website to express their Garden State pride. The site – JerseyDoesntStink.com – is designed to rally those who are tired of the putdowns about pollution, wisecracks about wise guys, and cheap shots about corruption. With companion Facebook and Twitter pages, state residents can sound off online in defense of their home state. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
June 20, 2010 | Posted in
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