Gamers Just Got Gamed

Although I love the occasional hour or two per month of Call of Duty or Spyro, I'm not a huge gamer. However, if you own a PlayStation, you may have noticed in the past week or so that you can't play it on-line! According to the New York Times, this freeze in Sony's PlayStation network is due to an anonymous hacker attack. Since the attack, almost 77 million gamers have been unable to play their PlayStation's on-line. Several days after the attack, Sony reported that "an 'unauthorized person' had obtained personal information about account holders, including their names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and PlayStation user names and passwords" (par. 3). Um, uh oh! What's even worse than your personal information getting out for all of the world to see is your CREDIT CARD information getting out for the world to see! Sony advised their customers that their credit card information could have also been leaked during the attack so they should remain alert to their bank accounts (par. 3). 

Sony is also losing business, in addition to money, because of this attack. While the PlayStation network is down, kids and other gamers have turned to Microsoft and Nintendo products to entertain themselves until Sony is back up and working. Who knows if the customers will stay with Microsoft and Nintendo once Sony gets back up and running? According to New York Times, Sony has decided to rebuild the network to make it more secure (par. 10). While that might sound like a good idea, Sony is actually losing more money and more business than if they decided to do a quick-fix and get the network back up and running as soon as possible. 

So, if you're a Sony PlayStation fan and have been off-line for the past two weeks, be cautious with what information you put in your on-line account!

Photo Courtesy of: Joey Yen

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/technology/27playstation.html?_r=1&ref=business

Moving Forward..Or Are We?

Toyota is at it again.

According to Today's THV, Toyota is recalling about 51,000 Toyota Tundra trucks to inspect for a damaged part called the slip yoke, which is located in the rear drive shaft of the truck. Of the 51,000 trucks that are being recalled, they suspect that less than 1% of the trucks actually have a faulty slip yoke (par. 1-2).

Now, this is not the first news we've heard about Toyota recalling vehicles. People make mistakes; even corporations make mistakes (:P). But how many faulty parts have to be installed and recalled for Toyota to understand that they need to monitor the assembly of their vehicles closer?

According to The Wall Street Journal, Toyota is aware of only one case in which the slip yoke failed a customer. However, there were no accidents or injuries due to the faulty part (par. 3). While it's great that Toyota is stepping up being proactive about the faulty part before someone is hurt, they also need to be more aware of what parts are going into their vehicles and make sure that they aren't faulty or next time they might not catch it in time.
Like I said before, people make mistakes. It's understandable to a certain extent. And Toyota is being brave and coming forth with their declaration that something is wrong with their products before the products actually start messing up. But when people's lives are in danger, it's best not to have to fix something that should already be built correctly. 

Photo Courtesy of: Trynes


Sources:
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/155022/119/Toyota-recalling-about-51000-Tundra-trucks-
http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2011/04/26/toyota-recalls-51000-tundra-pickups/?mod=google_news_blog

I always feel like..somebody's watching me..

Do you ever get the feeling that someone is following you, but every time you turn around, no one's there? Well, someone IS there, and they're following you if you have an iPhone or an iPad.


Photo by: Yutaka Tsutano

Ever since the internet has been around, privacy has been a hard thing to achieve. But now it's gone further than the world wide web. Your cell phone provider is TRACKING you at ALL times if you have an iPhone or an iPad! According to Sandra Guy, a business reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, cell phone providers have always been able to track your phone and give emergency personnel your location in case of an emergency. But that information was never available to the public. Now, iPhone and iPad data are extremely accessible on the devices and on the devices that they have been backed up on (par. 2). As an owner of an iPhone, I feel like my privacy has been seriously violated! Researchers that Guy interviewed said that "users can download the data and put their movements on an interactive map for all to see. The location information has been being gathered for about a year, ever since Apple’s iOS 4 operating system came out" (par. 6). This makes me glad that I haven't updated my iPhone since that update came out! :P Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., was asked how and why the data was collected and whether or not the data was being shared (par. 7). Alex Levinson, a senior engineer at Katana Forensics, posted an article saying that "the tracking activity isn’t new and reminding iPhone and iPad users that they can turn off location services by using the “settings” menu on their device, which prevents applications from accessing the data" (par. 8).


While I love my iPhone, this information makes me really hesitant when it comes to my phone. What if my phone falls into the wrong hands? If you have an iPhone or and iPad, make sure to turn off the tracking abilities on it so your privacy is protected.

Sources: http://www.suntimes.com/4949980-522/iphone-ipad-tracking-data-easily-accessible.html

Hand Sanitizer, anyone?

I've never really been one for hand sanitizer, but I have a good friend who puts it on every hour. I never saw the point in it. And I was right to think so.

Within the past few weeks, according to THV.com, the FDA has sent letters to four hand sanitizing manufacturers (Tec Laboratories, JD Nelson and Associates, Dr. G.H. Tichener Antiseptic Co. and Oh So Clean Inc.) warning them to stop "making unsupported claims about the bacteria-fighting benefits of their products" (par. 1). For a company to claim that their products can prevent certain infections and diseases, they must first submit scientific evidence to support that claim before they can market the product (par. 2). These companies claimed that their products can prevent infections such as E. coli and the bird flu, but they have not given the FDA the scientific evidence to support that claim. The FDA has given them fifteen days to come up with the evidence or change their claims. According the stltoday.com, these claims are fraudulent and the FDA goes so far as to advise consumers not to even "buy over-the-counter hand sanitizers or other products that claim to prevent infection from MRSA, E. coli, salmonella, flu, or other bacteria or viruses" (par. 4). Although E. coli and the bird flu are, well, not really rare but not as thought of as other infections, they are very serious infections and if a company tells me that their product can protect me from them, they better mean it and have scientific proof. 





         Photo Courtesy of: PNASH

Sources: http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/154245/119/FDA-issues-warnings-to-4-hand-sanitizer-companies-
http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health/article_e20ae33a-6b93-11e0-883d-0019bb30f31a.html

Can you hear me now?

As one of the fastest growing cell phone companies in the nation, you would think Verizon had all of the money that they needed. Wrong.

Although a lot of customers have switched over to new smart phones that automatically come with data packages, a lot of customers still have un-smart (?) phones that don’t automatically come with data packages. I recall (when I had an un-smart phone) flipping my phone open and accidentally hitting a key that sent me to the internet and then pressing the end button multiple times to try and get out of it before I was charged since I didn’t pay for interent for my phone. I actually did that quite a few times. Well, each time a Verizon customer does that, they are charged $1.99. EACH time they do that, they basically give Verizon two bucks. According to the research done by a New York Times blogger, a Verizon customer will accidentally hit that button three times a month on average. Verizon has 87 million customers. Let me do the math for you. Each month, Verizon makes over $300 MILLION in data revenue (par. 2).

So, as Verizon says, why stop that revenue? The New York Times blogger also said that, when confronted by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), Verizon claimed that they don’t charge their customers for hitting that button (par. 9). However, about 400 people commented on the blog and said that they were charged for accidentally hitting that button. Obviously, Verizon is just trying to cover their behind. 

Eventually, the FCC won out and required Verizon to refund their clients for all of the charges. That sum totalled $90 million. And according to Verizon’s website, in their ethics and governance section, they claim to have a special department of senior executives that makes sure that they stay on the road to becoming a better corporation. They even developed a “corporate responsibility process [that] helps [them] assure that [their] practices keep pace with the evolving needs and expectations of [their] customers” (par. 4).

So, if you’re a Verizon customer, watch out! Corporations are hard to trust and their past actions don’t make it any easier.

Photo by: Matt McGee

Sources: http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/verizon-comes-clean/
http://responsibility.verizon.com/home/approach/chairmans-message/

Are you lovin' it?

When one thinks of fast food restaurants, many names come to mind. However, the most popular fast food restaurant in America, and possibly the world, is McDonald's. And it is for a reason. Not only do they have the best french fries ever made, they have a wide variety of fried and greasy food that seems to be irresistible. Studies have even shown that these foods are irresistible; not just for their taste though.

According to rense.com, an additive called monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been in the food at McDonald’s for over 50 years (par. 14). No wonder America is so fat and unhealthy! This additive has undergone extensive studies and has been proven to not only be a source of obesity, but it’s also an extremely addictive substance (par. 13). MSGExposed.com says MSG has significant effects on your body (obesity), brain, and endocrine system (par. 1). And what’s even worse is that McDonald’s tries to hide it! In each McDonald’s, a nutritional chart is hung on the wall. In all of the McDonald’s that I have been in, I have had to seriously search for the chart to find it, though. And even then, they only list the amount of fat, calories, etc. They don’t list the ingredients, including MSG. Even on the McDonald’s website, under their nutrition section, they only list the healthy ingredients in their food. They forget to tell you the harmful ingredients.

MSG is a very addictive substance and, unfortunately, is in a LOT of the food we eat everyday. It’s just one of those evils that can’t be avoided. However, corporations should try and be more honest when it comes to what exactly is in their food.

Photo by: Roadsidepictures

Sources: http://www.msgexposed.com/boat-loads-of-msg-in-mcdonalds-food-are-you-lovin-it/
http://www.rense.com/general52/msg.htm

Did you just rock my world?

Although I was born in Texas, I’ve lived in Arkansas for about 18 years. In all of those  18 years, I have never felt an earthquake. I mean, come on. An earthquake? In Arkansas? Until recently, I had no idea that there was a (somewhat) major fault line only a couple of hours away. But really. This isn’t California. The danger that comes with living in a place that has numerous earthquakes a day hadn’t occurred to me... until three nights ago when my world was rocked by the largest earthquake Arkansas had seen in 35 years.



Less than two minutes after the worst of the first earthquake I had ever experienced, Facebook exploded with status updates about it. Who was to blame? Was the New Madrid fault line acting up? Or are the natural gas drills to blame?



According to fairwarning.org, an online news site about safety, health, and corporate conduct, researchers can not make a link between the earthquakes and the hydraulic fracking that is taking place in the area (par. 5). However, Scott Ausbrooks, a geohazards supervisor for the Arkansas Geological Survey, says that, “geologists don't believe the production wells are the problem, but rather the injection wells that are used to dispose of "frack" water when it can no longer be re-used. The wastewater is pressurized and injected into the ground” (huffingtonpost.com par. 9). Additional information about wastewater and whether it is illegal or not can be found at this blog.



Any news site or geological website that you can find will tell you almost the same thing; there is not enough information at this time to place blame on anyone. Central Arkansas has a history of small earthquake clusters, so it would not be surprising for history to repeat itself. However, the locations of the earthquakes and the locations of the gas drills is a little bit suspicious.



Regardless of who is to blame, I know I am not alone in wanting these earthquakes to cease their rumbling!

Photo by: danielfoster437




Sources: http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/03/arkansas-quakes-possibly-linked-to-gas-drilling-disposal-operations/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/17/guy-earthquake-swarm-arkansas_n_824497.html