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  Teen Creates 'Twifficiency' App, Endures Twitter's Misguided Wrath

  JP 1:44 am on August 19, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: app (21), James Cunningham, marissa mayer (3), nbsp (1,691), Read (1,473), statuses (3), tweets (128), Twifficiency, U.K.

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  Yesterday, a harmless teenager from the U.K. suddenly found himself under a flood of Twitter attacks — all because of an app called ‘Twifficiency.’ “Twifficiency calculates your Twitter efficiency based upon your Twitter activity,” the service’s site explains. “This includes how many people you follow, how many people follow you, how often you tweet and how many tweets you read.” As with any other app that allows users to compare scores, Twifficiency went viral pretty quickly, and even landed a spot among yesterday’s top trending topics.

  What users didn’t realize, though, was that the app would automatically update their statuses to display their twifficiency score, along with a link to the website. Even Google exec Marissa Mayer got duped, while revealing a 0-percent Twifficiency score. Not surprisingly, more than a few users began sounding the alarms about what they suspected to be a scam in app’s clothing, and some began viciously targeting the app’s developer, 17-year-old James Cunningham.

  Continue reading Teen Creates ‘Twifficiency’ App, Endures Twitter’s Misguided Wrath

  Teen Creates ‘Twifficiency’ App, Endures Twitter’s Misguided Wrath originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Computer Glitch Sends 2,500 Erroneous College Acceptance Letters

  JP 1:46 am on August 13, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: acceptance, college (5), college acceptance letter, college acceptance letters, computer hiccup, nbsp (1,691), Read (1,473), U.K.

  Filed under: Computers, Back to School

  Waiting for a college acceptance letter can be extremely stressful. But once you’ve finally been accepted (or rejected), it’s all over, right? Apparently not, if you applied to the U.K. institution of Middlesex University. The college has confirmed that a computer glitch caused 2,500 acceptance letters to be sent out to applicants who had not actually been evaluated yet. That’s two and a half thousand frustrated students who likely jumped for joy, only to be told a day later a serious mistake had been made. Eventually some of them will get real acceptance letters, while the rest… well, at least they’ll have a souvenir of the biggest computer hiccup in the university’s history. [From: TG Daily, via: Engadget]

  Computer Glitch Sends 2,500 Erroneous College Acceptance Letters originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Indian Phone Scammers Pose as Microsoft Technicians, Plant Malware Across U.K.

  JP 11:44 am on July 23, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Durga Pujas, Eastern Indian, indian metropolis, Microsoft (19), microsoft technicians, nbsp (1,691), phone (7), random households, Ray, Read (1,473), U.K., U.K.Indian

  Filed under: Computers

  

  Kolkata may be the land of elaborate Durga Pujas, cinematic legend Satyajit Ray and coronary-inducing kati rolls, but the Eastern Indian metropolis is also the land of a virulent phone scam that’s been quietly making its way around the world for the past two years.

  As the Guardian reports, a group of scam artists based out of the former Indian capital have been calling random households, and posing as Microsoft technicians. The callers typically claim that they’ve detected a major problem with their victims’ PC and say that if the issue isn’t remedied, the computer will be rendered unusable. With a heavy Indian accent, the scammers then direct their targets to their computers, where they ask them to open ‘Windows Event Viewer,’ which displays a long list of technical jargon that, to the layperson, might look worrisome. The “technicians” instruct users how to fix the non-existent problem by directing them to a website and asking them to install “preventative” software (which, of course, costs £185, or about $283). If the user falls for it and installs the malware then, he or she instantly gives the scammers complete access to data on the computer.

  Continue reading Indian Phone Scammers Pose as Microsoft Technicians, Plant Malware Across U.K.

  Indian Phone Scammers Pose as Microsoft Technicians, Plant Malware Across U.K. originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Prof Embeds PCs in Walls to Educate Delhi Street Kids

  JP 11:15 am on July 21, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: building (4), Cambodia, Delhi (2), Delhi Street, India (9), Italy (7), Mitra, nbsp (1,691), office (5), Professor Sugata, Rajasthan, Read (1,473), social contexts, TED, ted conference, U.K.

  Filed under: Computers

  In 1999, Professor Sugata Mitra was working for a software company in Delhi, at an office building surrounded by one of India’s infamous slums. The children populating the slum, needless to say, were mired in poverty, and hardly spent any time in school, much less in front of a computer. That didn’t stop Mitra, though, from embedding computers on the walls of his office building, and exposing Delhi’s poorest children to the wonders of technology. Much to his delight, the kids quickly learned how to navigate their way around the computers and the Internet, often by teaching each other. Inspired, Mitra embarked on a decade-long, global experiment that may end up revolutionizing the way officials approach education — in developing and developed countries, alike.

  As the BBC reports, Mitra soon expanded his research to different regions of India and, eventually, to entirely different countries. In the Indian state of Rajasthan, a group of children taught themselves how to record and play music on a computer within just four hours of its arrival at their village. The professor found similar results in disparate social contexts like Cambodia, the U.K. and Italy. “At the end of it we concluded that groups of children can learn to use computers on their own irrespective of who or where they are,” Mitra explained at a recent TED conference.

  Continue reading Prof Embeds PCs in Walls to Educate Delhi Street Kids

  Prof Embeds PCs in Walls to Educate Delhi Street Kids originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Facebook Page Pays Tribute to Raoul Moat, Fallen U.K. Murderer

  JP 1:46 am on July 17, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: canny lad, david cameron, hour standoff, nbsp (1,691), Newcastle, page (10), Prime Minister David Cameron, R.I.P Raoul Moat, Raoul Moat, Read (1,473), Siobhan, tribute, U.K., UK (10)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  Just a few days after being released from prison, 37-year-old Raoul Moat, of Newcastle, UK, shot his ex-girlfriend, killed her new boyfriend and blinded a police officer. The ensuing nationwide manhunt finally came to a close last Saturday, when Moat took his own life after a six-hour standoff with armed police. Now, a group of people have flocked to Facebook to pay tribute, not to Moat’s victims, but to the killer himself.

  As the BBC reports, a woman named Siobhan O’Dowd recently decided to create a fan page for Moat, as a way to honor his ‘legend.’ The page quickly garnered more than 35,000 members, before being pulled down in response to harsh criticism from Prime Minister David Cameron. Today, though, another Moat sympathizer created a new honorific page in its stead. Titled ‘R.I.P Raoul Moat,’ the page describes Moat as a “loving father and canny lad,” and by late morning, had already attracted more than 13,000 users.

  Continue reading Facebook Page Pays Tribute to Raoul Moat, Fallen U.K. Murderer

  Facebook Page Pays Tribute to Raoul Moat, Fallen U.K. Murderer originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Facebook Child Safety App to Report Online Predators in U.K.

  JP 1:44 am on July 14, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Africa (2), child (6), child exploitation and online protection centre, child safety advocates, Europe (7), James Brokenshire, Joanne Shields, Middle East (3), nbsp (1,691), online (28), Read (1,473), U.K., U.K.Facebook

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  After hearing lengthy complaints and protests from child safety advocates, Facebook has finally decided to implement a new feature designed to help teenage users stay safe online. As Reuters reports, members between the ages of 13 and 18 will now automatically receive an invitation to add an application that allows them to easily report suspicious activity. The feature, which is the result of a joint initiative between Facebook and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), also provides advice and support about staying safe online.

  Joanne Shields, Facebook’s vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, acknowledges that the new app likely won’t be a “silver bullet” of Internet safety, and insists that “it is only through the constant and concerted effort of the industry, police, parents and young people themselves that we can all keep safe online.” British crime prevention minister James Brokenshire echoed Shields’s sentiments, maintaining that it’s still “vital that government continue to work with industry, police, and parents to educate children about the dangers they may face online.”

  Continue reading Facebook Child Safety App to Report Online Predators in U.K.

  Facebook Child Safety App to Report Online Predators in U.K. originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Feds Bust Social Network for Child Porn Collectors

  JP 1:46 am on May 30, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: child pornography (2), federal prosecutors, nbsp (1,691), network (5), Read (1,473), Social (40), social networking sites (55), U.K.

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  Niche social networking sites are a dime a dozen these days. If you’ve got an interest, chances are you can find a social network dedicated to it. Apparently, that even extends to disturbing and illegal hobbies, like collecting child pornography. Working in conjunction with local police departments, federal prosecutors have broken up one such network, leading to the arrests of more than 50 people so far.

  At one point, the site boasted more than 1,000 users trading explicit images of underage girls and boys. Accessing the network required a membership and password, and accounts were tightly controlled. In order to join, new members needed to be sponsored by existing users, and then others had to vote on whether or not to allow the person membership. It also featured a hierarchical structure that granted extra permissions to users who had attained the rank of “trusted member,” “grand master,” “moderator,” and “administrator.” At the top of the pile was the “root administrator,” alleged ringleader Delwin Savigar, who is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence in the U.K. for sexually assaulting three underage girls.

  Continue reading Feds Bust Social Network for Child Porn Collectors

  Feds Bust Social Network for Child Porn Collectors originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 28 May 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Apparently 'Huge Numbers' of Birth Parents are Hunting Adopted Children Online

  JP 2:02 am on May 26, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: birth (3), birth parents, facebook (320), guardian reports (3), nbsp (1,691), Read (1,473), social networking sites (55), U.K.

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  Trend story or bona fide trend? The Guardian reports that the birth parents of adopted children are flocking to Facebook to locate and contact their descendants. The article claims that, at least in the U.K., two-thirds of adopted children are removed from their birth parents due to abuse or neglect; and now “huge numbers” of adoptive parents are reporting that their children are being contacted by those birth parents via Facebook.

  But, the article also acknowledges that “there are no reliable estimates of how many children have been contacted using social networking sites.” The writer cites a few examples, including a 16-year-old girl who received a message from her abusive biological mother that caused her to feel “a whole range of emotions.” Another boy met up with his birth father, who had physically abused him in the past, after the father contacted him through Facebook. Interestingly, the article doesn’t quote any of the reactions from the children themselves. (And yet its headline — “Adopted children face anguish as birth parents stalk them on Facebook” — would make you think otherwise.)

  Continue reading Apparently ‘Huge Numbers’ of Birth Parents are Hunting Adopted Children Online

  Apparently ‘Huge Numbers’ of Birth Parents are Hunting Adopted Children Online originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 25 May 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Remote-Controlled Robot Successfully Completes Heart Operation

  JP 2:34 am on May 1, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: consultant cardiologist, Dr. Andre Ng, heart (2), heart rhythm, manipulation system, nbsp (1,691), procedure, Read (1,473), U.K.

  Filed under: Computers

  

  Surgery, by definition, has always been a hands-on endeavor. It gets messy, it gets fleshy, and it definitely gets a doc’s hands dirty. But all that may soon change, thanks to a new, robotic procedure that doesn’t even require a surgeon be in the same room as the patient.

  Dr. Andre Ng, a consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Glenfield Hospital in the U.K., recently became the first person in the world to successfully complete a heart rhythm operation using a remote-controlled robot. Using a device known as a Remote Catheter Manipulation System, Ng was able to complete the procedure on a 70-year-old British man without ever setting foot inside the operating room. After the man’s heartbeat returned to normal within a mere hour, Ng told Reuters, “[The procedure] exceeded our expectations and we achieved what we set out to in very good time.” Despite not actually being next to his patient, Ng said he felt “complete control” over the situation, thanks in large part to the fact that he could see and speak to the medical staff who were present.

  Continue reading Remote-Controlled Robot Successfully Completes Heart Operation

  Remote-Controlled Robot Successfully Completes Heart Operation originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  BlackBerry Twitter App Finally Launches... in Beta

  JP 1:49 am on April 11, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: app (21), Beta (2), Beta Zone (2), BlackBerry (4), home screens (2), nbsp (1,691), North America (3), party apps (4), Read (1,473), rim blackberry (2), U.K.

  Filed under: Cell Phones, BlackBerry, Social Networking, BlackBerry 101

  It may be late to the party, but the official Twitter app has finally graced the BlackBerry with its presence. On Thursday evening, BlackBerry-maker RIM unveiled an open beta version of Twitter, specially designed for BlackBerry smartphones, and, according to CNET, the latest app is much more tricked out than the bare bones preview that leaked back in February.

  While the preview version allowed users to upload photos and retweet, it lacked a lot of the juicy extras that third party apps like UberTwitter and Seesmic possessed. With this new app, though, BlackBerry users can now receive tweet notifications directly on their home screens and BlackBerry Message lists, and can curate their Twitter lists with relative ease. Although Twitter trends are noticeably absent from the beta version, users can still edit their profile information and picture directly from their smartphones, and are able to visually customize their homepage to a certain extent. Anyone can grab the app from the Test Center of the BlackBerry App World, and, if you’re in the U.K. or North America, you can download it directly from the RIM BlackBerry Beta Zone. [From: CNET]

  BlackBerry Twitter App Finally Launches… in Beta originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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