Wires Crossed #43 – July 1
Facebook Hires Hacker
Facebook Hires Hacker
Using the old Godfather adage of keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer, Facebook has apparently hired infamous iPhone and PS3 hacker George Hotz as a ‘product developer’. Hotz was in hot water earlier this year when he was involved in a spat with Sony over his hacking the software of the PS3 allowing unauthroirsed third-party games to be played on the console. Some might see the hiring of Hotz as good publicity, others might see it as letting the inmates take over the asylum (enough of the clichés already – Ed).
Judge Confiscates Xbox
Some cruel and unusual punishments can be meted out in a court room with one underage burglar in Ireland finding out that judges can be just as sneaky and underhand with the best of them. A 13 year old accused burglar was in front of the bench when the judge asked him what piece of gear he owned meant something to him. The accused replied his Xbox. Using the wisdom of Solomon the judge decided that until the case was heard, the boy would be deprived of his Xbox. Civil Libertarians might cry “innocent until proven guilty”. Still, you can’t help but smile at the smarts of the judge.
That’ll Be 3 Hl Mrys & 1 Our Fthr
It seems even a conservative institution such as the Catholic Church sees the benefits of social networking, with his holiness the Pope opening an account. He made his inaugural tweet early this week, but whether it will be a regular gig is yet to be seen. Still, the first inroad into the micro blogosphere of Twitter is seen as one of those baby steps that will try and bring the archaic institution into the 21th century – and it might just work.
Diplomacy Not Netanyahu’s Strong Point
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair, has decided that the Diplomatic Corp will not be his calling when he finishes his compulsory two year stint in the Israeli army. Seems the teenager has caused a bit of a kerfuffle on Facebook by dissing Muslims and Arabs on his Facebook home page, only for the post to be taken down within an hour of it going up. It appears Benjamin has a tight rein on his family, but this can hardly be conducive to good relations between the Jewish and Arab peoples. Yet another example of why instant news can be a dangerous thing.
