Apple dedicated its homepage to its founder with this image within minutes of announcing Steve Jobs' death.
Apple visionary, co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs has died. He was 56. He had been battling pancreatic cancer for years.
Jobs, known for his signature black turtleneck, stepped down as CEO about a month ago. He had founded the company when he was 21.
Jobs had a knack of revolutionizing industries and inventing products that the world didn’t realize it needed — but quickly come to depend.
Apple launched the Macintosh computer in 1984 under Jobs’ leadership.
However, in 1986, he left the company in a power struggle.
Ten years later, he returned and helped transform the then-struggling technology company into the giant it is today.
At the time of his departure, he wrote: “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”
However, he remained Chairman of the Board of the company, as well as director and a beloved Apple employee.
He recommended Tim Cook, who was formerly the company’s COO, take his place. Cook gave his first keynote speech in the position a day before Jobs’ death when the new iPhone 4S was annnounced.
Apple’s board of directors has just put out a statement on the passing of its great visionary and former CEO, Steve Jobs:
We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.
Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.
His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.
Within minutes of the news, Apple dedicated its homepage to Jobs, who was born in 1955, with the following statement:
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com
PETA sent Tech Talk this screen capture of a message its members posted on DKNY's Facebook page.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals used Donna Karan New York’s own social media presence against it on this, one of the largest online shopping days of the year.
PETA members posted a vertical message that reads “DK BUNNY BUTCHER” for the fashion titan’s more than 204,700 fans to see in the past hour in reference to the company’s decision to sell fur.
“PETA has sent Donna Karan executives detailed information about the suffering of animals who are raised and killed for their fur, and thousands of people have taken action against the designer, who continues to use rabbit fur from China,” a PETA spokesperson wrote to Tech Talk. “Undercover investigations have revealed that animals on Chinese fur farms are hung upside down, screaming and kicking, and are forced to watch those ahead of them die violently before their own throats are cut.”
The 16 accounts posted seemingly positive messages on DKNY’s Facebook wall — with the real message hidden in each user’s profile photo.
Among the wall posts:
Listen, some bunny loves you!
Fashion is life and death.
Can u show us what goes into ur designs?
Nothing is more important than fashion, right!?!
Fashion to die for…
I would kill for one of your fur coats.
DKNY continually shocks me!
I’m trying to save something today – can u help?
What’s the cost of a fur coat?
Who wouldn’t do anything for a Donna Karan coat!
Of course, after understanding the context of the overall message, the individual wall posts take on a different meaning.
DKNY appeared to be unaware of the messages as it posted at least once after its wall was defaced:
Our Cyber Monday treat: 20% Off of the entire site (both DKNY & Donna Karan New York) PLUS Free Shipping. Happy Shopping! www.dkny.com
Administrators are not notified each time a person posts on a fan page and must monitor comments.
Regardless of one’s opinions on either company, PETA’s strategy is a smart one — and one that will likely be repeated more often as more brands turn to the Web to disseminate their message.
“This is the first time that PETA has used this particular approach on Facebook,” Ashley Byrne, a senior campaigner for PETA, told Tech Talk. “We have, however, used Facebook many times to get our message across. When Brookstone was selling live frogs inside cheap plastic enclosures — misleading customers and causing the deaths of countless frogs in their stores by hiding sick animals in back rooms — we asked our members and supporters to post comments on Brookstone’s page expressing their concern for the frogs’ welfare. It was not long before the company’s Facebook fan page was taken down.”
Byrne said her company believes the use of social media is an effective tool for online advocacy and virtual activism.
“PETA uses social media in a variety of ways to interact with supporters on a personal level and share information,” she told Tech Talk. “PETA members took over Donna Karan’s Facebook page in order to pressure Karan to drop fur from her designs. We knew that Facebook would be an effective platform for letting Donna Karan’s fans know that Karan continues to design with fur even though she’s aware that gentle rabbits endure tremendous suffering because of the fur industry.”
Byrne said PETA hopes that by posting on the DKNY Facebook page, a new audience may be reached.
“Social networks have allowed PETA to connect with supporters on an individual and immediate level,” Byrne said. ”We are able to interact with any one of our 1 million Facebook fans or 100,000 Twitter followers. We can address specific questions and concerns, offer advice, and share in joint victories.”
Byrne said social media allowed PETA to stay in constant touch with supporters.
“By using social media, we can deliver information to our supporters in real time. We are able to update them on developments relating to campaigns and victories as they happen,” she said. “We knew that by targeting Karan’s Facebook page on Cyber Monday, we could convince more people to boycott her designs until she drops fur for good.”
Folks in some of the most rural parts of New England have been left to fend for themselves at this hour — thanks to the very individuals promising to deliver a better life. Interesting strategy.
The Associated Press is reporting that political robocalls have sparked service outages among Comcast subscribers throughout parts of Massachussets and New Hampshire meaning 911 service has been knocked offline.
The telecommunications company was forced to reroute phone traffic as a result, the wire service reported Monday evening.
In addition, the New Hampshire Democratic Party reported a loss of phone service at 11 locations across the state on Monday afternoon, the wire service reported. The outages reminded Hearst Connecticut copy editor Bob Gottlieb of outages the party suffered in the state eight years ago.
Conspiracy theorists, be on alert.
Tech Talk thanks Hearst Connecticut copy editor Tim Bleasdale for this tip.
Readers of Hearst Connecticut’s four daily and six weekly newspapers have never had as much of an influence in the final product – or ability to reach the reporters and editors with such ease.
“Never in any other era of journalism have we had the ability to get instant, dynamic, deep feedback from readers on any aspect of our report,” David McCumber, editor of The Advocate and Greenwich Time and editorial director of Hearst Connecticut’s newspaper group, which includes the Connecticut Post and Danbury News-Times, recently told Tech Talk. “I remember when tagging our print stories with reporters’ e-mail addresses suddenly opened up dialogues with readers. Before that, somebody really had to work hard – leave a phone message, write a snail mail letter. That was the start of the change. Of course now, between online commenting, sharing, rating on social media, online forums, etc., we have a better idea than ever.”
Readers of Hearst Connecticut’s print and digital entities want largely the same basic product they have always wanted, McCumber, who was previously managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize at the Arizona Daily Star, said.
“They want the news, quickly, with fairness and clarity,” he said. “They want the story behind the story – the kind of depth reporting that newspaper staffs do better than any other journalists. In these markets, they want a lot of local and enough national and world news to give them context and a baseline so they can seek more depth in the areas they want elsewhere. Of course, technology advances mean the method of delivery has to change to keep up with readers’ new abilities to ingest news in different ways. But the basic value of news is a constant.”
However, there is some evolution in what readers want, McCumber said.
“Readers appreciate the right approach at the right time,” he said. “They want straight-ahead breaking news reporting but they don’t mind analysis or even a little attitude in more in-depth work. And as the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert generation grows in number, they even appreciate a little snark.”
However, McCumber said want Hearst Connecticut’s readers do not want is to be deceived.
“What they don’t want is bias disguised as ‘fair and balanced’ – the old-style ‘objectivity’ that divides the world into two sides,” he said. “The whole ‘tell both sides’ when that means reporting ‘X said Y is a jerk. Reached for comment, Y said X doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’ Today’s more sophisticated reader, I believe, wants more nuanced, sophisticated, authoritative reportage.”
Knowing what its readers want benefits everyone, McCumber said.
“We can reach new readers and non-readers and expand our universe if we do this right,” he said. “It’s game-changing from a standpoint of audience.”
In many cases, readers of the Hearst Connecticut Newspaper Group are similar to readers across America – except in their strong identification to their town.
“Readers here not only don’t want news from the next town over, sometimes they are actively offended if you give it to them,” he said.
Hearst Connecticut’s digital properties are of enormous value to the company, McCumber said.
“They represent the future, and a very good chunk of the present,” McCumber said. “Online revenues are a very significant part of our overall revenue picture these days – in Connecticut because we’re farther along than some other news sites, to a larger degree than almost anywhere else in the country.”
Knowing what its readers want offers the Hearst Connecticut group a major advantage.
“It gives us a chance to get qualitative, in-depth feedback from our customers that would literally cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars if we didn’t have the built-in mechanisms our online platforms give us,” McCumber said. “It gives us hope for the future.”
The information helps the editors make decisions about what is covered and where resources are allotted, McCumber said.
“I’m particularly interested in seeing how our enterprise packages are received online,” McCumber said. “Also, I find it fascinating to watch the differences between print audience and Web audience. I think we are foolish to ignore those differences.”
Together, Hearst Connecticut is working with its readers to move into the future.
“This close connection with our readership will help us correctly redefine and reshape what we do to meet the needs of emerging audience,” McCumber said.
Social media often shines the brightest during the darkest times — particularly in terms of Twitter.
Of course, it’s always nice to use the network to learn the latest sports scores, headlines, menu options and weather patterns, but that information could be easily gathered in other places.
Reporters from across the state converged Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court to hear Dr. William Petit’s heart-wrenching testimony of his family’s final hours together and what it was like during and following the brutal attacks that would leave his wife and two young daughters dead.
Alaine Griffin deserves credit for feverishly updating the Courant’s story more quickly than any other known outlet.
Tech Talk encourages you to follow these talented journalists, but know that some of the details being shared may be difficult to read given the nature of the brutality of the slayings.
Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky are charged with murder, sexual assault and other crimes stemming from the July 2007 killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela. Hayes is currently on trial. Both men face the possibility of being executed, if convicted.
A century ago, the public would have to wait for the next day’s newspaper to learn what was said in court.Three quarters of a century ago, the public could hear a news update on the radio — after the reporter was able to leave the courthouse during breaks in testimony. Even as recently as a decade ago, the majority of the public would have to wait for the evening news to learn the latest. Today that has all changed.
Now, thanks to our forward-thinking state press, anyone could follow the trial in real time — and read what they have missed by simply scrolling down. It’s as incredible as it is heart-breaking. The press ought to be commended for their efforts.
Of course, wired justice isn’t blind. The judge must make clear that jurors must sign off of social networks, like Twitter, until the conclusion of their service. Avoiding traditional media is no longer enough, as Tech Talk stressed late last year.
Craiglist’s decision to drop its adult services section is being hailed as a victory — but is it really?
The popular classifieds site replaced the link to its section with the word “censored” this weekend. The site has been facing mounting legal and public pressure to kill the section and has been the subject of wide-spread criticism for its promotion of prostitution, child trafficking and erotic massages. It was not immediately clear as to why it made the decision to pull the content when it did.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., scheduled a House Judiciary Committee hearing later this month to probe how sites like Craigslist are used to “facilitate criminal activity,” the San Francisco Chronicle, a sister publication of Tech Talk, reported.
“Craigslist’s decision demonstrates a commitment to seeing these horrific abuses end, and I commend them for taking this step,” she said in a statement released Saturday.
Perhaps the decision demonstrates a commitment to seeing the abuses end, Rep. Speier; but it also represents a great threat to our First Amendment rights and marks a dangerous precedent that the congresswoman seems too ignorant to recognize. However, Tech Talk does also commend Craigslist on one point – for choosing to state things as they really are. Craigslist was indeed censored. It must be a proud day for you, Congresswoman. You successfully limited free speech and commerce on a U.S.-based website. Bravo.
Jim Buckmaster, chief executive of Craigslist, defended the site last month in an interview with The Chronicle.
“Is moving advertising around our best hope for addressing these harms?” he asked the newspaper. “Then the ads fall under personals, and how long before the demand is that we shut down personals? And where do those ads go next? What other sections of our site would they like us to shut down?”
Buckmaster is correct. It’s clear that the problem will not go away with the death of a section. The individuals publishing the advertisements will simply go elsewhere to find what they are seeking — both on Craigslist and on other websites. Driving this problem underground will not help anyone, but will rather cause more problems.
HOW WE GOT HERE
When the attorneys general from more than 40 states demanded changes to the way Craigslist does business two years ago, the site began requiring posters to provide verification information in a good-faith effort to encourage compliance with its regulations. And for the past year, according to The Chronicle, Craigslist has manually screened every ad — yes, every single ad — submitted to the adult section prior to publication. Further, whenever advertisements indicating involvement of an underage person was detected, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was notified, Buckmaster told the newspaper.
Just over a week ago, a group of state attorneys general said there were not enough protections against blocking potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution, the Connecticut Post reported.
LOCAL TIES
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is one of 18 misguided attorneys general who pressed for the change.
“I’m very pleased that Craigslist has taken this significant step toward eliminating … ads for prostitution that were so flagrant and blatant, and my hope is that it will set a model for other sites,” he said. “Craigslist is voluntarily doing the right thing.”
Does Blumenthal really believe that will solve the problem? At least Craigslist was doing something about the disheartening posts.
Now, the ads will be posted without any regulation elsewhere on the site. Tech Talk hopes Blumenthal can sleep tonight knowing that he just accomplished the complete opposite of what he vowed to do. Doubt that? Don’t. He acknowledges it.
“These ads will migrate elsewhere and we’re going to continue to monitor and scrutinize this site and others to pursue similar prostitution ads,” he said.
Good luck with that, Mr. Blumenthal. And sleep tight.
And what model is the attorney general hoping other sites will follow? One that restricts user freedoms?
CREATING A GREATER PROBLEM
Now the posters will likely simply post their advertisements elsewhere on Craigslist — or on other sites — as Connecticut’s attorney general predicted. Looking for a new apartment, home or blender? Here’s hoping there aren’t any impressionable young children around.
All of the progress Craigslist has made in screening the advertisements in the adult section will be impossible to duplicate throughout its expansive site — and you may never know for sure what will pop up. Be sure to send Mr. Blumenthal and Congresswoman Speier notes of appreciation when you get the not-so-pleasant surprise.
Just because a few people do not want to see something does mean it should removed from an entire site — or the entire Internet.
BRAVE NEW WORLD
In terms of civil liberties, it is always better to air on allowing a few potentially inappropriate things to be said or posted than cut speech to everyone — which is exactly what this ruling does. Tech Talk hopes Rep. Speier and Mr. Blumenthal is happy.
Tech Talk hopes they don’t have any young relatives who post inappropriate photos to Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr or the pleathora of other sites out there — because their freedoms to do so may be cut. Do yhry really believe other sites will want to face the backlash Craigslist did? And who gets to determine what is inappropriate anyway? Perhaps it’s a minor with alcohol? Perhaps it’s one’s belly button? Perhaps it’s cleavage? Perhaps it’s any skin on any female? Perhaps one’s arms are too risque. We’re entering very dangerous territory.
Craigslist demonstrated that they were working to solve the problem, and should have been commended for that. Sure the system was not perfect, but most are not. Have you ever surfed through the comments section of many websites? Bad stuff appears, it’s a problem but certainly not a reason to censor.
Web publishers are generally protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Communications Decency Act from the illegal actions of third parties who use their sites, though there are narrow exceptions in the latter law when it comes to criminal statutes, the Chronicle reported.
Let’s be frank: We are approaching a pivotal moment in history.
The legal pressure could force websites to adopt conservative policies that could squash free speech, expression and a steady flow of information from being posted online — essentially endangering everything America holds dear. Let’s reject those efforts — before it’s too late to even speak out against them.
We are pleased to welcome contributor Timothy Bleasdale to the Tech Talk community.
Bleasdale, a Hearst Connecticut copy editor and A1 designer, has written the following piece exclusively for Tech Talk.
By Timothy Bleasdale Special to Tech Talk
Officials from the National Weather Service have confirmed Friday that four tornadoes touched down in Connecticut towns –- Litchfield, Thomaston, Bristol and the Terryville section of Plymouth –- during the severe thunderstorms that blew through on Wednesday knocking out power around the state.
With the twister that struck downtown Bridgeport in June, that brings Connecticut’s 2010 count to five. For a place that’s nowhere near Tornado Alley, that seems high. But how unusual is it really?
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Climate Data Center, five tornadoes in one year is pretty unusual for the Nutmeg state -– especially since summer, the peak season for tornadoes, isn’t over yet.
The NCDC has tornado data stretching back to 1950 that can be accessed by entering different variables on this website. Since 1950, Connecticut has been visited by 92 twisters, which makes for an average of 1.5 tornadoes per year with the highest number in any one year being seven.
Another website offering a neat tornado tool is Tornado-HistoryProject.com, which uses data from the Storm Prediction Center and the NCDC to plot tornadoes on Google Maps. The two screenshots with this post were taken on the Tornado-HistoryProject.com.
The first one shows all the tornadoes that hit Connecticut since 1950, excluding data from 2010. The second shot shows a zoomed-in view of the path of the F4 that hit New Haven in 1989. It’s cool enough that someone plotted all that data on a map, but kudos to the TornadoHistoryProject.com for actually showing the path of the twister when you zoom in.
Here are Connecticut’s twister highlights:
At seven tornadoes, 1974 holds the record for the most twisters in any one year since 1950. Currently tying for second is 2002 and 2010, with five tornadoes each. But with August yet to come, 2010 could be making a run for first place. There’s a three-way tie for third place with 1989, 1999 and 2001 all clocking in with 4 twisters each.
The two strongest tornadoes recorded since 1950 were both F4s. One F4 hit Hartford in 1979, killing 3 and injuring 500. That was the only twister to hit the state that year. The other F4 struck New Haven in 1989, with no fatalities and only 40 people injured. Both twisters caused approximately $250M worth of property damage.
Excluding data from 2010 (which isn’t completely available yet), tornadoes in Connecticut have killed 4 people, injured about 700 people and caused about $592,453,000 of property damage since 1950.
RT @HuffingtonPost TV news anchor recovering after dog bite on face during live segment http://t.co/JkwaUAmF#15 hours ago
Definitely subway. RT @taymonte At 2pm on a Friday in NY, is it faster to take a cab or a train from downtown to get to Grand Central? #help#15 hours ago
RT @Poynter: Now that's leadership: @arusbridger cuts his own pay 10% for The Guardian's benefit, http://t.co/3tfw1E15#17 hours ago
Waze to allow users to report traffic conditions with a wave of a hand - http://t.co/5m1uW4kd#2012/02/09
