Sunday, June 28, 2009

Apple pulls iPhone program containing pictures of topless women

Bloomberg News
1:15 PM PDT, June 26, 2009
Apple Inc. said it removed a program from its iPhone store yesterday because the developer added pictures of topless women, violating the company's policy against "offensive content.""Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content," said Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for the company. "The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content."
The $2 program, called Hottest Girls, was created by Allen Leung. He didn't immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. His Web site no longer contains information about the application.Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced the iPhone App Store in March 2008, saying the company would impose restrictions on the types of programs distributed. Prohibited programs include "porn, malicious apps, apps that invade your privacy," he said at the time.The App Store, which opened in July 2008, offers more than 50,000 programs that run on the iPhone and Apple's iPod Touch media player. The company gets a 30 percent cut of each application sold and distributes free programs at no cost to developers. Customers have downloaded more than 1 billion programs in the past year, according to Apple.

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Friday, June 19, 2009

Obama's 'national conversation' on fatherhood


By Mike Dorning June 20, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- President Obama, who barely knew his own father, devoted his afternoon Friday to promoting the importance of being a good dad, saying he wanted to start a "national conversation" on the subject.Two days before Father's Day, Obama attended events related to fatherhood -- gathering famous and not-so-famous dads for a series of service projects around Washington and a White House town hall meeting, then addressing young men on the South Lawn.
He spoke in deeply personal terms of "the hole in a child's heart" left by an absent father and of the powerful influence his Kenyan father exerted during the only visit the senior Obama made after he and the president's mother had divorced. Obama noted that during that visit -- when he was 10 -- his father gave him his first basketball and took him to his first jazz concert, stirring life-long interests."Fathers are our first teachers and coaches, they're our mentors and role models, they set an example of success and push us to succeed," Obama said at the White House. "When fathers are absent, when they abandon their responsibility to their children, we know the damage that does to our families."Although presidents typically mark Father's Day and celebrate the virtues of family, the attention Obama devoted was unusual. He also wrote an article to appear Sunday in Parade magazine and plans a Father's Day interview on CBS' "Sunday Morning." Friday's White House event was to be followed by regional meetings on fatherhood.

The importance of fatherhood has been a touchstone for Obama throughout his public life, going back to the memoir he wrote after his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. The memoir, "Dreams From My Father," explored the role of his absent father in Obama's search for his own identity.As a politician, he regularly has used Father's Day as an occasion to exhort men, particularly African Americans, to fully embrace the responsibilities of fatherhood. In 2005, on the first Father's Day after his election to the U.S. Senate, he went to a black church in Chicago to challenge African American fathers to act like "full-grown" men. He gave similar speeches tied to Father's Day during both years of his presidential campaign, and frequently quotes the statistic that more than half of African American children grow up in single-parent homes.The fatherhood initiative continues Obama's efforts to ground his life story in the most traditional of values: hard work, advancement by education, and family.First Lady Michelle Obama describes her preeminent role as "mom-in-chief." Obama regularly speaks of raising his two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and frequently is photographed with his children at his side. He often said the most difficult part of his grueling two-year campaign for the presidency was the separation from his children, and has said one of his favorite things about life in the White House is that he lives above the office and can usually share breakfast and dinner with his family.In his essay in Parade, Obama speaks of the struggles that he faces in common with much of the country in balancing work and family life, noting that at times he has been "an imperfect father.""I know I have made mistakes," he writes. "I have lost count of all the times, over the years, when the demands of work have taken me from the duties of fatherhood.""On this Father's Day, I am recommitting myself to that work, to those duties," he writes, "to build a foundation for our children's dreams, to give them the love and support they need to fulfill them, and to stick with them the whole way through."

From the L.A.Times

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Tips for getting ready for the DTV switch

BY GARY DYMSKI gary.dymski@newsday.com
1:03 PM EDT, June 9, 2009


Starting Friday, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop analog broadcasts and switch to digital. To continue receiving their usual programming, viewers not connected to cable, satellite or another pay-TV service will need to acquire a digital tuner. Cablevision customers will not be affected by the transition.


However, Cablevision has eliminated the analog feed on certain channels in its Family Cable package, or expanded basice service, requiring about 150,000 subscribers to obtain digital equipment to continue receiving those channels. It costs $6.75 a month for each digital set-top box and $5.95 a month for navigation service.Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about the switch:Q. What can I do to continue watching TV when analog transmission ends?

A. You have three options:1. Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box with or without a government coupon.2. Connect to cable, satellite or another pay service.3. Purchase a television with a digital tuner. Q. How can I get a government coupon for a converter box?A. Your household is eligible for up to two $40 coupons for converter boxes. Call 888-388-2009 or apply online at dtv2009.gov.Q. Where can I use the coupons?A. Many large retail stores sell converter boxes and will accept the coupons. A list is at newsday.com.Q. Is it difficult to hook up a converter box to my set?A. The box plugs into the TV set. You'll still need your antenna, which works with the converter box. The boxes come with installation instructions, and an installation video is available at DigitalTips.org.

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Friday, June 05, 2009

Obama urges laggards get ready for digital TV

Thu Jun 4, 2009 7:44pm ED
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned Americans on Thursday who have not prepared for the June 12 transition to digital television that their TVs could go dark if they do not get a converter box soon.
"I want to be clear: there will not be another delay. I urge everyone who is not yet prepared to act today, so you don't lose important news and emergency information on June 12," Obama said in a statement.
Congress originally mandated the nation's nearly 1,800 full-power television stations to switch to digital signals from analog on Feb. 17, and about one-third did so at the time.
But fearing that as many as 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households were not ready, lawmakers voted early this year to postpone the transition almost four months.
"The number of households unprepared for digital television has been cut in half. Still, some people are not ready," said Obama, who has been traveling in the Middle East.
"I encourage all Americans who are prepared to talk to their friends, family, and neighbors to make sure they get ready before it's too late," Obama said.
The switch is intended to free up airwaves for broadband and enhanced emergency communications for police, firefighters and other first responders.
A converter box for TVs that now rely on an antenna to receive a broadcast signal costs between $40 and $80.
The Commerce Department offers $40 coupons through its website at www.dtv2009.gov. It warns consumers who apply now that they may not receive a coupon in time. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Peter Cooney)