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Showing posts from July, 2013

Plantronics BackBeat Go 2 Bluetooth in-ears: sweat resistance, six-month sleep

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Plantronics was proud to present its  BackBeat Go  Bluetooth in-ear headphones last year, but it's also aware improvements are always welcome. To that end, the company's ready to show off its second iteration: BackBeat Go 2. P2i moisture resistance and reworked internals for improved sound back up the sporty wire-behind-the-ear design and fit stabilizers -- look out,  Jaybird . Not only does the hardware remember up to eight devices, but a DeepSleep mode shuts it down if you walk out of range without turning the power off, allowing it to sleep for up to six months. The internal batteries squeeze out about 4.5 hours of playtime for music, and an optional microUSB recharging case ($20) can provide about two and a half juice refills. As you'd expect, an inline remote keeps you in control of your playlists and calls, while DSP enhances incoming and outgoing sound. Ears perked? The headphones will be available starting today at various retailers in your choice of black or white

Ford adds Surveillance Mode to squad cars, alerts cops to unexpected humans

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For many police officers, their cruiser's front seat is  often their office  -- but a parked car isn't always a safe car . With Surveillance Mode, Ford hopes to keep your city's finest a little safer in the heat of the night. By combining its existing driver-assist tech -- backup cameras, power door locks and cross-traffic alerts -- the Dearborn automaker has devised a system to signal officers of a potential attack from behind. When a potential assailant crosses into the rear camera's viewing range, Surveillance Mode sounds a chime, the windows roll up and the doors lock. This ought to give officers valuable extra time to apprise the situation at hand. It may not be a  tumbler , but it's a start. Oh, and don't fret about your local  black and white's  sanity: Surveillance Mode can be deactivated at will, so gaggles of pedestrians won't set off the alarm every five minutes.

Sony unveils 3D head-mounted display for surgeons to peer inside you

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Sony's 3D head-mounted displays have been asking for a place in your film-watching and gaming routines  since 2011 , but now their latest HMD is volunteering to act as the viewing end of  medical endoscopes . Hirai and Co. have just unveiled what amounts to a retooled  HMZ-T2 , dubbed the HMM-3000MT, which helps surgeons peek inside a patient's body in 2D or 3D -- the latter of which is said to improve precision. By eliminating the need to keep tabs on an external screen, the electronics giant thinks doctors won't have to restrict their posture and movement. Though the hardware carries the same 720p 0.7-inch OLED panels as its sibling, it's been tweaked for use in a standing position with beefed up support for balance and comfort. The hardware also packs a picture-in-picture feature to catch different views of operations, and even the ability to rotate and flip video feeds. While the headgear has been approved for use in Japan, it hasn't been confirmed for a launch

Donate your Android device's processing power to science with BOINC

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Donate your Android device's processing power to science with BOINC Engadget 

edbox Windows 8 app out now, cuts lines with desktop reservations

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It seems like everywhere we look,  a Redbox is there . If you could use a helping hand to find one though, now there's a  Windows 8 app  for that. Available today, the app assists in tracking down the nearest kiosk (our guess: outside your neighborhood's gas station), lets you reserve movies and games at the cardinal cabinets as well as watch trailers. An  instant streaming app  for the OS still hasn't surfaced, but we'd settle for an update that reminds us to return discs on time. Engadget 

Critics Angry Over Sharpton's Book Deal With Cash Money

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A few weeks ago, Rev. Al Sharpton made an interesting decision. Despite criticizing several rappers throughout his career, Sharpton opted to sign with Cash Money Content to release his new memoir. What's even more strange is the fact that he just criticized Lil Wayne for his controversial line about Emmett Till, and even met with the family. Carl Redding, a chef and former associate of Sharpton's, recently wrote an open letter to the Rev. asking him to "return the blood money" he accepted for the book deal. "As one who has spent years publicly crusading against the harmful effects of misogynistic lyrics on our young people, it's clear that your decision to cut a lucrative financial deal with those who propagate such destructive images in our community, is the latest example of your failed leadership," wrote Redding. He ends his letter by writing, "So Rev. Sharpton, in conclusion of my Open Letter to you, I am publicly imploring you to end your busin

Taco Bell dropping kids meals, toys

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Taco Bell will shock the fast-food industry on Tuesday by announcing plans to drop kids meals and toys at all of its U.S. restaurants. "The future of Taco Bell is not about kids meals," says Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed. "This is about positioning the brand for Millennials." Somewhere around January 2014, the chain's last kids meal will be sold, he estimates. Taco Bell emerges as the first national fast-food chain to eliminate kids meals altogether. The meals are a huge lure for kids -- which is why the industry sells more than 1.2 billion of them annually in the U.S., according to Federal Trade Commission data. In 2011, the regional chain Jack-in-the-Box eliminated toys from its kids meals. The move by Taco Bell comes at a time fast-food giants are under increasing pressure by parents, health advocates and lawmakers to improve the nutrition of meals they serve to children and to stop tantalizing kids with gee-whiz toys linked to Hollywood blockbusters. Last year, a

LG's 55-inch curved OLED TV hits Best Buy for $14,999 HD

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Remember that  curved OLED HDTV  that LG was teasing  way back at CES ? Well, it's just begun shipping here in the US. A Best Buy store in Richfield, Minnesota is the first retailer to stock the 55-inch set, which is available beginning today for just shy of 15 grand. It's due to hit Magnolia stores at select Best Buys in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and San Antonio over the next few weeks. The curved design is intended to provide a more immersive experience for viewers, though $14,999 is a bit too steep any way you look at it. Samsung, meanwhile, has a curved 55-incher of its own  -- that OLED screen arrived in Korea late last month, and is rolling out to (very) select US retailers this week, too. Engadget 

Jermaine Dupri Loses $79,000 Lamborghini Lawsuit

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Jermaine Dupri has come out on the bottom of a $79,000 battle over a Lambo the music mogul hasn't driven in two years, according to TMZ. Dupri was sued back in 2011 after a financial company claimed the So So Def owner stopped making payments on his $330,000 Murcielago. Premier Financial Services demanded Dupri cough up the balance on the car - $79,095 - which was repossessed in 2011, and according to court documents filed in Georgia, a judge sided with PFS. The documents, which were filed on June 18, show Dupri ignored the lawsuit, so a judge entered a default judgment against him. Dupri is already dealing with a reported $800,000 in unpaid taxes, so the ruling couldn't have come at a worse time. Source:  tmz.com

George Zimmerman Helps Rescue Family After Car Crash

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George Zimmerman briefly emerged from hiding last week to rescue a family of 4 from an overturned vehicle, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office tells TMZ. According to law enforcement, around 5:45 pm on July 17, Zimmerman noticed an overturned SUV off a highway in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman and another man approached the vehicle and helped the passengers - 2 parents and 2 children - escape from the wrecked car. The SCSO says, "Zimmerman was not a witness to the crash and left after making contact with the deputy.  There were no report of injuries to the vehicle occupants." The rescue comes just 4 days after Zimmerman was acquitted of 2nd degree murder charges in the death of Trayvon Martin. Source:  tmz.com

Obama Supported "Stand Your Ground" as a Senator in 2004

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President Obama supported the "Stand Your Ground" law as a Illinois Senator in 2004, which is now being brought up after he called on states to review the controversial law. Last Friday, Obama said that the law may need to be reviewed following the George Zimmerman trial. "I know that there's been commentary about the fact that stand your ground laws in Florida were not used as defense of the case. On the other hand, if we're sending a message as society in our communities that someone who is armed has a right to use those firearms even if there's a way for them to exit from the situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we'd like to see?" Obama also posed a question, asking if Trayvon Martin was carrying a gun and felt threatned by George Zimmerman, would it have been acceptable for him to shoot?  "And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might

Kelly Rowland Rescued After Being Lost at Sea for 12 Hours

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Kelly Rowland rented a private boat with a group of her friends hoping to enjoy a relaxing time at sea, but what occurred was something out of a nightmare or edge-of-your-seat high-drama movie.  The boat broke down off the shores of Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Kelly and her friends were stranded at sea for over 12 hours, according to reports from EOnline.com. They had originally intended on spending the day whale watching, but ended up having to be rescued by the Coast Guard, who escorted them back to Provincetown.  Thankfully, Kelly and her friends are ok. Source:  hiphopdx.com

Police: Fake cops robbing on Detroit's east side

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Police are working to track down two men posing as officers. Early Sunday evening, the men allegedly pistol-whipped customers pumping gas at the Citgo gas station near I-94 and French Rd. on Detroit's east side.  They took off with the victims' cash and cell phones. The suspects are described as white men about 30 years old, driving a black Ford 150.  They had police badges, guns and bullet-proof vests. Investigators believe these men may be responsible for another recent robbery in the city, where crooks posing as officers targeted innocent people. In that case, a man was pulled over on Harper Ave. near 3 Mile Dr.  Three men, two white and one black, exited the unmarked Crown Victoria.  As the victim answered questions from one of the men posing as a police officer, the other two rifled through the victims car, stealing his wallet and CD's. Detroit Police are now warning citizens that is someone approaches you identifying themselves as a police officer and something doesn&

This Arduino hackaphone was never going to be pretty, but it does the job

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Okay, we'll admit that it looks a bit like a baby monitor. But in contrast to those  over-engineered  pieces of parenting paraphernalia, this DIY cellphone can actually make calls and send texts over GPRS. More importantly, Hackaday  claims it was put together by a lone hacker ("Victorzie") from an assortment of off-the-shelf and modded parts, including a TFT touchscreen, lithium ion battery, charging circuit, GPRS module and shield. These components were hooked up to an  Arduino Uno  microcontroller running a barebones UI and then jammed into a 3D printed case, which makes the device look far more pocketable than some previous hackaphone efforts. The end result inspires big respect for the creator, but also, more grudgingly, for the pro engineers at places like Nokia, who can pull all this stuff together and even get it FCC-approved for  just a few dollars . Engadget 

AT&T to introduce 300MB and 2GB Mobile Share plans on July 26th

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AT&T's  Mobile Share plans  have sometimes been too expensive for customers who only need a little data. The carrier will soon be more accommodating, however: it's adding both 300MB and 2GB tiers on July 26th. The $20, 300MB pack costs half as much as the 1GB plan, and is intended mostly for basic phone users. We've reached out for more details on 2GB pricing, but it's not hard to see this new tier slotting neatly between the 1GB and 4GB offerings. Both new plans should represent better bargains for frugal customers, although they won't do much for bandwidth lovers --  Lumia 1020  customers will likely want some extra headroom. Engadget 

eBay debuts desktop version of eBay Now, service coming to more cities this summer

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eBay's same-day delivery service has been highly focused on mobile since its very early days, but now the internet giant is looking to change that. Starting today,  eBay Now  will be available on the desktop, giving shoppers  an alternative  to using the site on their iOS or Android device. Naturally, this means users can still make the same purchases and have them delivered in a speedy fashion, only they'll be able to do so on a larger canvas that's optimized to display things like big imagery, reviews and which stores are most popular. In addition, the company's VP of Mobile and Local, Dan Glasgow, told us the service is, as of now, expanding its NYC coverage to Brooklyn and Queens, as well as some more places around the Bay Area. eBay also let us know Now's getting ready to launch in Chicago and Dallas "later this summer," adding that new features are set to debut at around the same time, including one which allows for scheduled deliveries. Still hoping

HopStop drops Windows Phone support in wake of Apple acquisition Mobile

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When tech giants buy developers, they frequently let app support  fall by the wayside  -- and Apple is continuing that trend following its  acquisition of HopStop . Windows Phone users can no longer download or run their version of the HopStop app. Instead, the developer is asking them to use the mobile website for directions. Curiously, though, the Android app is still hanging around; Apple isn't dismissing all competing platforms, like it did after  buying Siri . Neither Apple nor HopStop have offered explanations for the move, but it's clear that Windows Phone users will have to lean on alternatives like  Here Transit  to plan their daily commutes. Engadget 

OJ Simpson Reportedly Careless About Failing Health

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The Daily Mail is reporting that embattled sports legend OJ Simpson only has "three months to live," as a result of his poor diet in prison that has led to "sky high" blood pressure. However, Simpson's lawyer said that he was unaware that his client was in poor health and was under the impression that everything was fine.  Ozzie Fumo said, "As far as I know his health is very good, he was doing just fine. I just spoke to him on Saturday. I spent a lot of time with him preparing for the retrial motion and he never once mentioned diabetes. We discussed health issues, we had meals together, and he seemed fine."  OJ's weight seemed to be the center of attention for the media during a hearing in May, but he seemed to be in good spirits. An unnamed friend of Simpson's spoke out about his health, saying "OJ's doctors have told him he could be dead in as little as three months because of his out-of-control blood sugar and blood pressure...But

Rihanna Warned by Label to Tone Down Wild Behavior

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Rihanna's party girl antics are rubbing her label the wrong way, and the singer has reportedly been given a "written warning" by the label. According to Adelade: Her Diamonds World Tour hasn't slowed down her partying ways at all, and she's been seen on a number of wild nights out, including with model Cara Delevinge. Jay Z, who runs Roc Nation, the label she's signed to, is apparently growing tired of her irresponsible behavior. “Everyone can see Rihanna’s not behaving herself. Fans have paid hundreds of pounds for tickets and she’s regularly showing up hours late,” an insider told British magazine Look. “Then she often gives lack luster performances where she even forgets her words at times. They issued a written warning which was emailed to Rihanna.” Let's hope Rihanna heeds the warning, as Jay Z is certainly not a man you want to piss off. Source:  theurbandaily.com

Rihanna Complains Long Hair Gets in the Way of Pleasuring Men

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Looks like Rihanna's about fed up with her new hair, as the singer posted a message complaining about the downside of having long locks. "I'm just not very good with long hair!...It's always on your neck, or back, and gets in the way of bjs, it's this thing attached to me that I always have to take care of!," lamented Rih Rih. Check out the full gripe in the above slide. Source:  cdn.mediatakeout.com

Bankrupted Sinbad Passes $11 Million Course On Debt

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In what is nothing less than a tragedy, '90s comedian Sinbad filed for bankruptcy back in April, as he found himself in some serious debt. In order to fulfill the requirements that come with bankruptcy, Sinbad had to pass a course on personal financial management. Thankfully, he wound up passing! Considering the comedian was drowning in debt to the tune of $11 million, bankruptcy must now seem rather glorious. Congrats to him. As a celebration, take yourself back to 1991 and watch "Necessary Roughness." Source:  tmz.com

Apple reveals that developer portal was hacked, announces system overhaul

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Been paying attention to Twitter recently? You might have noticed  Apple developers complaining about the company's developer portal, which has been out of service for a number of days. Today, Apple acknowledged the outage, explaining that the site was taken down to combat a  security breach . "Sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed," Cupertino told developers in an email. "However, we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers' names, mailing address and/or email addresses may have been accessed." Naturally, the company is taking the breach very seriously , and has said that it'll be rebuilding its entire developer system database and updating servers to prevent future incursions. Apple also assured developers whose developer accounts were up for renewal during the outage would not have their software pulled from the App Store. Furthermore, the company told  MacWorld that customer information and app

NVIDIA Shield ships July 31st, barely meets delayed launch window

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According to an email issued to  NVIDIA Shield buyers, the Android gaming handheld is scheduled to make its delayed launch window by the skin of its teeth. "We want to thank you for your patience and for sticking with us through the shipment delay of your Shield," reads the statement. "We have great news to share with you -- your Shield will ship on July 31st." The Tegra 4 testing platform was originally scheduled to hit online retailers in late June, but was  delayed  due to "a mechanical issue that relates to a third-party component." The finalized ship date puts the product within its delayed July launch window by technicality, but due to the nature of snail mail, most buyers probably won't receive their unit until after the first of August. Frustrating for eager buyers perhaps, but at least NVIDIA's email strikes an apologetic tone -- assuring customers that the delay was a quality assurance measure. Can't wait until the end of the month? C

Kobe's Mom Winds Up Making Loot After Selling His Memorabilia

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After an arduous battle between Kobe Bryant and his mother, she finally got what she wanted on Friday night. Pamela Bryant auctioned off several items from Kobe's sports memorabilia collection, and made off with a hefty $450,000. Kobe wound up suing his mother over the ordeal to try and keep her from selling the stuff, but Pamela maintained that she was given the items fair and square. She and Kobe eventually reached an agreement, in which Pamela could sell 10% of the items she originally wanted to. Among the items sold were Kobe's 2000 NBA Championship ring, 2000 All-Star ring, a used high school uniform, a used Lakers uniform, and his American flag Adidas sneakers. The Championship ring brought in the most loot, topping off at $165,890. Source:  inflexwetrust.com

Man Dies After Winning Beer Drinking Contest

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Joaquín Alcaraz Gracia won the beer drinking title at a festival in Spain on Wednesday, but died soon after winnig his victory. He consumed about 12.5 pints of beer in 20 minutes, and after hoisting his trophy in the air, began uncontrollably vomiting.  Emergency services were called, as everyone thought he had alcohol poisioning after drinking so much beer. Before a medical team could reach Gracia, he went into cardiac arrest, and died shortly after being admitted to the hospital.  Source:  huffingtonpost.com

Jamie Foxx: I'll Stand Behind Trayvon's Mother Forever

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Jamie Foxx recently showed up to Comic Con in San Diego to promote his new movie, "The Amazing Spider Man 2," and the conversation turned to the Trayvon Martin case. The "Django Unchained" actor has long been a supporter of Trayvon's parents, whom he says he will stand by forever.  "She's always been courageous in saying this has never been about race. She said it's about 17-year-old kids. We have to protect our kids. So I stand with her forever."  He continued, "It was great to see Bruce Springsteen in Ireland dedicate a song to Trayvon. I think that's what really makes it universal in the fact that we know that there's race involved, but to see all races coming together and saying that hey, there's something wrong," Foxx said. "There's something wrong when a 17-year-old child is on his way home and someone with a gun pursues him and he ends up losing his life." Source:  huffingtonpost.com

Kanye Claims the 2nd Verse of "New Slaves" Is the Greatest Ever

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Only a day after his violent encounter with another paparazzo, Kanye is still talking crazy. The G.O.O.D. Music frontman sent out a tweet on Saturday afternoon, proclaiming that the 2nd verse of his song "New Slaves" is the greatest verse in rap history. "I open the debate...The 2nd verse of New Slaves is the best rap verse of all time....meaning...OF ALL TIME IN THE HISTORY OF RAP MUSIC, PERIOD," tweeted Kanye. At least he left it up to discussion. What do you think? Is Kanye out of his mind, or is that 2nd verse really that legendary? www.vladtv.com

2 Chainz Talks New Album & Reveals Pharrell Feature

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With 2 Chainz dropping his new album "Based On A T.R.U. Story 2: Me Time" sometime in August, he sat down with Village Voice to talk about the project and how he deals with critics. While he declined to divulge much about the album, he did reveal one guest feature on the album, and says it's basically completed. "No that's pretty much done," said 2 Chainz, speaking on the album. "I'm just finishing up the mixing. I'm adding a few samples, taking away a few samples. I'm still arranging the album too and also getting the credits right to make sure that side of the business is taken care of." When asked who is featured on the album, 2 Chainz responded, "I'm not telling you. Actually, I will tell you I got Pharrell on there." He also spoke on dealing with haters and critics, which can certainly wear down some entertainers. "My answer to the critics is this, and I quote: Smart people can act dumb but dumb people can't

PayPal Makes Man a Quadrillionaire by Accident

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How often do you hear the word quadrillion when referring to money? Probably never, considering one Pennsylvania man was the first to ever be one, albeit very briefly. Chris Reynolds of Media, PA logged on to his PayPal account this month to discover he had been credited the ridiculous amount of $92,233,720,368,547,800. Reynolds was understandably shocked, but it was short lived. He logged on again a little bit later and found his balance had been reverted to zero. PayPal adrdressed the error, telling the BBC, "This was obviously an error and we appreciate that Mr. Reynolds understands this was the case." Had the balance been a correct one, Reynolds reveals he would have used the money to "pay the national debt down. Then I would buy the Phillies, if I could get a great price." Source:  newser.com

Woman Dies After Falling 14 Stories Off Six Flags Rollercoaster

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A woman was killed Friday at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas while riding the world's steepest wooden roller coaster, the park confirmed Friday night. The 14-story, 4,900-feet-long Texas Giant is one of the biggest draws to the Six Flags located near Dallas. It has been closed indefinitely, the park said in a statement. The park only revealed that the woman died "on" the ride, but witnesses told NBC 5 that they saw her fall from the coaster around 6:30 p.m. Nadine Kelley, who had been in line for the ride, told NBC 5 that riders who were seated behind the woman said that "right when they came down off the first bump and hit that first turn, she flew out." The woman was accompanied by two children, who were "hysterical," according to Kelley. "They were saying that their mother flew out of the car." Carmen Brown, of Arlington, told the Dallas Morning News that she had been waiting in line when the woman got on the ride. She said the wo

Warner Bros Announces Batman/Superman Movie For 2015

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For comic book fans and fans of movies alike, this is huge news. Warner Bros. made an announcement at the San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, which surely knocked the socks off of everyone in the building. According to the media company, a Batman/Superman movie is coming in 2015. The film will be directed and co-written by Zack Snyder, who co-wrote the Dark Knight trilogy with Christopher Nolan. Nolan will be on board as an executive producer for the movie as well. Though it won't be a reboot of the previous Batman movies, and won't feature Christian Bale, but they did hint that "The Dark Knight Returns" would be used to segway into this combined superhero story.

Sub Teacher Cops Sex Charges After Getting Busy With 3 Students

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A Texas substitute teacher recently pleaded guilty to sex charges, after it was realized he had engaged in three different "inappropriate relationships" during his one schoolyear at the school. 29-year-old Jamar Ballard took three concurrent 15-year prison terms for two counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student, and one count of sexual assault of a child. According to Ballard's attorney, prosecutors would have pushed for consecutive terms if he had gone to trial. Ballard got arrested back in April after one of the students told a teacher that she had relations with Ballard in a classroom. An affidavit stated that Ballard requested a student meet him in the classroom after school. Video surveillance of the hallway showed Ballard peek out, look right, left, and then close the door. He then proceeded to have sex with the student against her will. Do you think 15 years is an appropriate sentence? Source:  blackmediascoop.com

​Firefox OS 1.1 now available for Geeksphone devices, users report faster boot times, bug fixes

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Betting on Mozilla's mobile operating system? There's a good chance, then, that you're kicking around a  Geeksphone , one of the  few devices  known for running  Firefox OS . Owners of the company's  Keon  and  Peak  handsets can now manually upgrade their devices to Firefox 1.1, which -- according to enthusiasts on the Geeksphone forums and Twitter -- speeds up boot times, patches an assortment of bugs and tacks on minor navigational and display improvements. Naturally, users interested in trying the build will have to download and flash it themselves. Unsure how to proceed? Check out the Geeksphone forums link at the adjacent source link for tips. Engadget 

Kanye Attacks Another Paparazzi & Sends Him To The Hospital

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Kanye West is having a rough couple of weeks. He's clearly extremely frustrated with the paparazzi, and doesn't seem to know how to properly handle it. Last week, Yeezy went after a TMZ cameraman for trying to speak with him. After the incident, Kanye issued a statement telling the paparazzi not to talk to him--at all. Ever again. Unfortunately for Yeezus, that's just wasn't realistic. On Friday, as he arrived at LAX, another paparazzi dared to speak to Kanye. He told the Chitown rapper he only wanted to talk and wasted no trouble, but 'Ye charged him and allegedly attacked him. The man was taken away on a stretcher and sent to a hospital. Kanye will likely be prosecuted for the event, though no word has come out yet. 

Mom Arrested After Leaving 6-Year-Old Son Alone To Go Stripping

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An Orlando mother was arrested recently on suspicion that she left her 6-year-old daughter in a hotel, while she stripped at the Diamond Club. 21-year-old Brittany Roman was brought in on charges of child neglect. According to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, a security guard saw the little guy walking around the hotel around 10 p.m. He saw the boy walking around again several hours later, still unsupervised, and asked him if he was staying at the hotel. When the boy showed the guard where he was staying, nobody was in the room. Deputies were called, in addition to the Department of Children and Families. Eventually, Roman returned to the hotel room, where she told police she left her son there to "go dancing and working at the Diamond Club in Orlando." She was promptly arrested and booked. Source:  bossip.com

Apple reportedly buys HopStop (updated)

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Don't let it be said that Apple isn't working to improve its  once-maligned  mapping app. We're still in the rumor stages here, but Bloomberg  is reporting that Cupertino has managed to acquire popular navigation tool HopStop, to help improve its own simply-titled Maps. The deal comes hot on the heels of Apple's  Locationary buy  -- we wouldn't quite qualify it as a shopping spree yet, but it's certainly a start. No surprise, the sources for this one are anonymous, due to the non-public nature of the deal. That said, we'll still be reaching out for comment, because that's what we do. More info when we get it. Update:  Apple seems to have confirmed as much -- albeit in a fairly roundabout way, telling  All Things D  that it, "buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," a similarly cagey response to the one the company issued post-Locationary. Engadget 

Galaxy S 4 for Verizon spied in Brown Autumn

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History might be repeating itself. Just as Samsung launched a  red Galaxy S III  for AT&T and followed up with  black and brown  Verizon models, a new  @evleaks  image hints that AT&T's  red Galaxy S 4  could be matched by a Brown Autumn  equivalent on Verizon. The product shot doesn't reveal more than the color, mind you -- we don't know when this GS4 could ship, or if Blue Arctic would tag along. If the past is anything to go by, though, customers won't have to pay a premium for any additional Verizon hues.

Obama: "Trayvon Martin Could've Been Me 35 Years Ago"

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President Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, and he spoke on the highly controversial Trayvon Martin case.  Obama previously advised all Americans to respect the George Zimmerman verdict but also for White Americans to acknowledge that African Americans are still suffering from racial discrimination in different aspects of life.  Barack did, however, relate to Trayvon's situation considering that he himself is part Black, and accepted the fact that he could've potentially been the victim if this tragic incident had occurred when he was 17 years old. "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," Barack said.  He made a greater point afterward though, stressing that African Americans in general need to face the violence problems that plague their communities on a regular basis.   How do you feel about Barack's address regarding the ongoing Trayvon Martin situation? Source:  usatoday.com