Wires Crossed #108 – January 18
Apple Takes Share Price Hit
Apple Takes Share Price Hit
Apple’s share price has taken a hit recently – dipping just under US$500 – after rumours have circulated that orders have been cut for some of the components that make up the iPhone 5. This, married with Samsung making huge inroads into the smartphone market over the past 18 months, has meant some investors are not as keen to buy into the House of Apple. Still, we wouldn’t feel too sorry for them, sales of iPhones were apparently up 58 percent from the year before.
EA Removes Gun Store Links
After a couple of recent mass shootings in the US, game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) has taken down advertising links from its sites that go to websites that sell guns. The links are on its Medal Of Honor page due to the fact that some of the guns used in the game can be bought from the linked sites. The irony is not lost that vocal National Rifle Association vice president Wayne LaPierre, a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, thinks that video games are part of the violence culture in the US, yet it’s highly likely that some of his members were advertisers on the EA site.
Facebook Shows Humane Side Over Injured Dog
Facebook – heck, social media in general – gets a pounding from the cynical press and politicians trying to make a name for themselves, so it’s nice to hear a story where it gets a pat on the back as a useful interactive tool. A three-year-old mongrel dog from Texas was found in a bag tied to a fence with pellets in his head and it was touch and go whether he would live. So local woman Tami Augustyn decided to start a Facebook campaign to help pay for the dog’s vet bills and rehabilitation. The end result being that the bills were paid and he is now on the way to recovery. However, his eyesight might be permanently damaged.
Microsoft Fails Security Test
Internet security is a huge issue with most of us, so Microsoft is not happy to hear that two of its products – Security Essentials and Forefront Endpoint Protection – failed a Germany laboratory’s test to detect malware. In one example, the software detected 72 out of a 100 pieces of malware that had been loaded onto a sample computer. As expected, Microsoft is not happy about the results and how the test was run. Interestingly it appears that Microsoft prioritises how it codes its security products based on the prevalence of threats. It argues that some of the malware used in the test has never been encountered by Microsoft users.
