Wires Crossed #123 – July 19

Our last Wires Crossed column talked about Swiss teen Fanny Schlatter who alleges her Samsung Galaxy S3 caused third-degree burns on her thigh when it got too hot. Now there are allegations out of China that a young lady, Ma Ailun, was killed by an electric shock while answering her iPhone 5, which was charging in the wall.

By Mike Wheeler

 

Apple Investigates Shock Death From Charging iPhone
Our last Wires Crossed column talked about Swiss teen Fanny Schlatter who alleges her Samsung Galaxy S3 caused third-degree burns on her thigh when it got too hot. Now there are allegations out of China that a young lady, Ma Ailun, was killed by an electric shock while answering her iPhone 5, which was charging in the wall. While Apple is doing the right thing by investigating the incident, we would suggest that the local power company – and the people responsible for the power supply – need to do some investigating of their own.

 

Jokes On Cameron As He Enlists Help From Serial Prankster
British Prime Minister David Cameron was made to look silly as he sent a tweet with a hashtag he thought was from one of his MP’s Twitter account. He believed the account he included in his tweet –@IDS_MP – belonged to fellow Conservative Secretary of State For Work and Pensions Ian Duncan Smith. The tweet said “We’re rolling out a cap on Benefits today – @IDS_MP and I are determined to make work pay, and help the UK compete on the #GlobalRace.” However, the account belonged to a serial joker who set up the account as a satirical take on politics in the Conservative-led British government. Wishing to remain anonymous, the owner said he has set up similar accounts in the past including one that lambasted the corporatisation of the Olympics Games that were held in London last year.

 

US Customs Feel Wrath Of Microsoft
In the litigious world of technology yet another lawsuit is in the offering via software giant, Microsoft. This time it’s not a rival tech company but the US Customs.  Microsoft is alleging that US Customs colluded with Motorola to allow the smartphone manufacturer to import phones even though the US International Trade Commission had issued an import ban on the devices in question.  What US Customs had to gain by doing so is unclear, but it seems unless there was something surreptitious going on between certain people within the agency and Motorola staff, it seems a weird suit to bring. We will watch this case with interest.

 

Gamers Boo Xbox One Mention At Evo
Gamers can be a Bolshie lot, which was reinforced at the recent EVO tournament in Las Vegas, USA. Members from developer Double Helix were demonstrating its Killer Instinct game at the Expo when one of them mentioned the words “Xbox One”, which led to a resounding set of boos from the audience. It’s not so much the console or Double Helix the punters had issues with, it has been the heavy handed way in which Microsoft has launched the device with lots of caveats and rules which is anathema to the gaming culture. They have since amended some of their rules, but that doesn’t make gamers in any less a forgiving mood.