At first it was thought that Obama’s Twitter account was hacked after a shortened link sent users to a Syrian account, however it was found to be the URL shortened software that was hijacked instead.  By hijacking the URL shortener, they were able to redirect user’s to the link of their choice!

Obama campaign group Organizers for Action: “An account with our link shortener was hacked. [But] at no point did they have access to the Twitter handle.” Twitter has also confirmed to us that there’s no evidence the Twitter account was hacked. The tweet was up for 19 hours before the redirect was noticed, making it possible that the change happened only recently. Not long after, the link was fixed; it now sends readers to Barack Obama’s site.

We accessed many Obama campaign emails accounts to assess his terrorism capabilities. They are quite high #SEA pic.twitter.com/ARgGLX8IjN

— SyrianElectronicArmy (@Official_SEA16) October 28, 2013

Hardware

Mobile technology is dictating change, as 60 percent of email messages are now opened on smartphones and working remotely is no longer the exception, according to information-management.com. A new set of cloud printers, that quickly connect to smartphones and tablets, are becoming increasingly available. Tap an Android onto the printer’s user panel and establish an instant connection, or print a document at the office to expand your business power.

Software

Data is driving technology because it has been proven to analyze customer preferences effectively compared to only utilizing management experience and intuition. Descriptive and diagnostic analytics that have defined your customer data have paved the way for the future. Predictive Analytics software, such as SalesPRISM, is the new Big Data incarnation that will reach beyond the human and computer divide. Targeted toward analyzing past sales and customer data to make predictions about future customer behavior patterns and sales, it integrates your human intelligence with the data’s number crunching, which helps anticipate marketing needs and reduces risk.

Voice Recognition Mobile Applications

Mobile technology is driving application development compatible with the on-the-go business trends. The hands-free feature is particularly appropriate for mobile devices, limiting tiny keyboard and button presses on the go and supporting the growing BYOD in the workplace culture. The voice recognition software that brought the Siri virtual assistant to iPhone is expanding to include more mobile applications geared toward business. According to the MIT Review, today’s smartphone is as powerful as a computer was in the 1990s, and its ubiquitous access to the cloud further promotes its ability to power complex voice recognition software. A voice-instructed virtual assistant, Nina, for smartphone devices organizes your day and several voice-to-text application help record notes or compose documents. A voice-activated Google search engine is in development.

Local Marketing

The Internet has moved from global to local. More small- and medium-sized businesses effectively market locally thanks to the increasingly available Web sites that help promote your brick-and-mortar presence. GetListed is a great place to start because the Web site identifies the links to your business already circulating on the web. Other services that expand your street view are the leading search engine directories, Google and Bing places for business. Sign up is free and it helps in your ongoing quest for page one search optimization ranking.

GTA 5 online is filled with an excess of over 500 missions and a good number of leisure activities that will capture a players imagination. It comes with the usual chaos and crimes, sports, races, job opportunities the capability of customization and the opportunity to increase the player’s reputation and earning cash while at it. It also promises to have the typical gaming pains of crashing, bugs, glitches and numerous re-calibrations among many other unexpected surprises. It promises to be the ultimate game the GTA fans have been waiting for since it now introduces micro transactions. GTA 5 online is the same size and style of the single player game but it also incorporates something on top that brings in an entirely separate games not included before like scenes of bizarre interrogating methods, torture and murder scenes.

The creators, Rockstars, have lined up quite a number of free online content to be releases as updates after few weeks upon the game going online. Some of these updates will include creator tool box used to create, tailor-made and publish your own death matches and races and building your own mode of capture the flag, new vehicles, weapons and outfits which will be included in the Beach and heist pack updates while also incorporating cooperative missions. In addition to some developments, players will not have to use real cash while purchasing guns, cars, clothes among other things but can use the GTA dollars that from part of cash cards.

The developers also acknowledge that there may be some flows in the games which is usually inevitable in such a big open world game and so will do everything in their power to fine tune and smoothen the games with your input as far as likes, dislikes, disappointments, bugs and together making the gaming experience grow better over time.

The GTA teams request players to report their findings, experiences, loves as well as hates to their email GTAonline@rockstargames.com to make this game the ultimate gamers choice.

8. Press Releases

This time-honored tool of public relations practitioners offers the public news about your company. Be sure you offer a strong angle related to something that’s new and worth sharing. Provide plenty of details about your company’s newest development, and include contact information.

Whether you ask people to contact your business by phone or email, make sure there are people available to handle inquiries the day the press release goes live on your website or gets shared by your company on social media. It’s poor form to put out a press release and then shut down the office for a long weekend.

7. Podcasts

Image via Flickr by davitydave

Anyone who thinks audio is dead doesn’t have a smartphone. Media experts hail the podcast as a personal way to reach your fans. Of course, the audio needs to be engaging enough to capture and keep the listener’s attention. Practical information, unusual stories, and helpful tips related to your industry are just a few potential kinds of content you can cover in a podcast.

6. Interactive Tools

What better way to draw people to your website than by offering them a tool to make their lives better? You may need to work with an outside firm to develop an interactive tool, but as the business owner, you get to develop the idea.

For example, if you own several car wash facilities, offer potential customers an online tool that assesses the impact of dirt on their vehicle. Let them input the kind of soil and where it’s stuck on their car. Once the data is in place, the interactive tool tells them if the dirt could compromise their vehicle’s paint or create other problems. The idea is to give them useful information that ties to your business.

5. Blogs

The best blog posts have a catchy title and theme, along with a tight focus. Write about issues that relate to your industry, and make them relevant to your fans. By doing this, you’re reinforcing demand for your product or service and educating customers on what you do.

One popular approach to creating interesting blog content involves listicles. Highly engaging and designed to be shareable, these lists present new, exciting information or old information in a new way. Looking for inspiration on how to do listicles well? Check out Buzzfeed.

4. Videos

Image via Flickr by kalleboo

Thanks to the network morning shows, most people know what viral videos are. These clips gain popularity as they’re shared across social media platforms. Create your own videos to inform, entertain, and engage your audience. Share a formal interview with one of your employees to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at what your company does. Or, produce a video highlight reel showcasing your products.

Producing high quality videos improves your company’s reputation because it enhances your credibility and increases the amount of positive information that’s available online about your firm. If you still find yourself fighting an uphill battle to build a positive impression of your company, consult a company like Reputation.com to advise you on additional strategies for overcoming obstacles through social media and other methods.

3. Ebooks

Providing valuable and engaging information in an ebook engages your fans and wins new ones. While the idea of writing a book may seem overwhelming, you only need about three chapters to get started. You gain leads when people give their email address in exchange for gaining access to the ebook.

2. E-Newsletters

The electronic newsletter lets you provide brief updates about your company in a format that’s visually appealing. Incorporate relevant graphics and photos. Reward your readers with exclusive deals or coupon codes. Distribute e-newsletters via email, but also post them online and share the link through social media channels.

1. Photo Slideshows

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, several of them assembled in a slideshow could be worth a thousand shares. Capture compelling images, give them meaningful captions, and put them together in a slideshow you share online. You can create the photos yourself or curate a slideshow from photos you ask customers to submit. Make sure your customers understand and consent to letting you use their photos on social media platforms associated with your business.

What kinds of content shared on social media platforms are most popular with your customers?

Apple has always been the brand setting high standards in the smartphone arena. Whether it be swanky features in its each new ios or startling looks of the iPhone, Apple has been setting the benchmark to compete with. But with Microsoft and Google right on its tail, one can expect the smartphone war to spice up in the near future.

With the launch of two new smartphones, iPhone 5S and 5C, Apple already has the attention of everyone. And its a very smart move by Apple to launch the ios 7 update on September 18, just a few days after the launch of its two new iPhone. Microsoft has already released its Windows 8 platform for the smartphone and with Google too planning to release the latest version of Android to replace the existing Jelly Bean, its going to be interesting to see how the new ios 7 stack up against these two.

So, what should we expect in the new ios 7 update?

First of all, although the new update is available on iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later and iPad mini, the owners of older devices would not be able to enjoy all the new features and will surely feel left out. But there are going to be plenty of hidden features that would be unlocked by the new update for them as well.

Apple has finally come up with the torch for all the iPhone. Just press the button and use the LED flash as a torch to find your keys or door lock in the dark. Now next time when you would swipe down you will find an all new Control Centre making it much easier to control Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, adjust the brightness and play or skip music, a welcome change.

Do not Disturb. Although it was there on the ios 6 as well, it was way underused and mainly overlooked, the reason why is because it was buried down in the settings. Luckily in ios 7 Apple has moved it to the Control Centre making it easier to access.

An all new Search. Just swipe down on the home screen and find the search box, users are no longer needed to swipe to a dedicated screen to access search.

Password Problem, not anymore. Well you no longer need to remember your multitude of login accounts or even your credit card details. Now Apple would store them in iCloud and fill in automatically the next time you login.

Camera got Wider. That’s right all the iPhone 4 and later can shoot in a larger Panoramic Format. Also one can focus with the volume button- neat.

Sharing made Easier. One complaint that Apple always have dealt with is the frustrating experience while sharing files or media. The users were required to send text or email to share but not anymore. Apple has finally come up with AirDrop, enabling the user to share files via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth with the people nearby.

But unfortunately AirDrop would only be available to iPhone newer than the fourth generation. Another astonishing feature, the Fingerprint ID Function, would also be available only on the newer devices. What else we can expect, that would be revealed with the launch of ios 7 on September 18.

Apple has made some fantastic changes to the existing ios to make the smartphone experience a better one, but is it enough? Of course we’ll only find ou ton September 18th.  Will you download the IOS 7 update right away? When we updated to the latest IOS 6 version, we had no problem, but we had tons of users reporting problems, bugs, and issues after upgrading to IOS 6.

Earlier last month, LinkedIn has announced a couple of updates for its mobile app which would help you in taking advantage of “in-between” events, for example idling for a corporate meeting to begin or perhaps the train to arrive. Among those updates integrated is the capability to hunt for jobs on the move.

Beginning Monday, you cannot only hunt for job opportunities, but also make an application for them as well, straight from your own Smartphone. If you are interested on how this new features works, then keep on reading.

Firstly, open up your LinkedIn application and click on the “Jobs” tab to look for a job position which satisfies your preferences. Every single job placement will offer you the choice to possibly “Save” it for a later time or “Apply” to submit an application instantly. Keep in mind that several job listings can have an “Apply on the Company’s Website” button rather. In such cases, the company needs that you apply with its corporate employment website.

As soon as you click on Apply, LinkedIn will tell you in case elements of your current user profile are unfinished. You will have the opportunity to modify your current user profile straight from the mobile application prior to submitting your details. In case your user profile is readily updated, click on the “Next” button at the top.

Within the last screen, LinkedIn is going to prompt you to verify your current contact information, such as phone number and email address. LinkedIn states these types of fields are usually auto-populated based upon the details you have previously supplied on the user profile. If they happen to be outdated, you are able to change your details to guarantee the company has the correct contact information.

As soon as you have verified your current contact information, merely tap the final “Submit” button, and then the application process is complete.

Asiana Airline Seeks Legal Approach

Asiana Airlines which is a South Korean airline seeks redress in court over the listing of fake names by a San Francisco television station. Additionally, the same airline firm said on Sunday that it was planning to conduct highly integrative and well-followed up lawsuits against United States transport authorities for mistakenly confirming as well as airing false names of pilots behind its fatal crash recently in San Francisco.

Asiana Airlines Planning to Sue TV Station That Aired Fake Pilot Names

A KTVU-TV news anchor read the names on air Friday as ”Wi Tu Lo”, ”Sum Ting Woo”, ”Bang Ding Ow” and ”Hoo Lee Fuk”. Confirming the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as its ultimate source, the news company later realized the mistake and apologized. Blaming the mistake on an intern, the NTSB later confirmed the names as fake, inaccurate and offensive. However for the Asian Airline Company, they recognized the names and report of the crash as a serious source of offense in tarnishing the name and dignity of the firm alongside its operational efficiency.

To make it even worse, the report by the San Francisco company was accompanied by some graphics with the phony names well listed beside in the crash that occurred on 6th of July, killing three and injuring many on board. And since the video was a broadcast, it was spread across the internet therefore encompassing a great deal of viewers. Asiana suing KTUV-TV, it seeks to demand the TV station to strongly respond to the racial discriminatory report released hours after the agonizing crash.

Speaking from Asiana offices, Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin stated that the airline company decided not to sue NTSB because it was solely the TV station that aired the offensive names as opposed to the United States federal agency. And since neither the agency nor the radio station responded immediately to emails sent, Asiana hopes that finally justice will be accorded and restore harmony and understanding between the company and its customers.

Asiana Airlines News Station Youtube Video – Pilot Names

Facebook’s rudimentary search capabilities meant you could only find your friends if their email address was registered correctly but now you can do much more than that. You can find friends of friends who like to read, people who enjoy hiking and wont mind an activity partner and so on. You can even search photos to see how your teacher looked back in their student days provided all that information is uploaded to their Facebook account.

Now not everyone advanced is good too. Once the Facebook graph search was out, people started using it for very embarrassing reasons like finding people who tolerate racism or people who like prostitutes. These kinds of searches are what would lead to huge privacy violation cry from public once more people start using the graph search feature. Blogs are already posting search results to show how invasive this new search tool can be. For example you may like a page and totally forget about it but someone now can search a relevant keyword and find you on Facebook. In short everything you enter on Facebook or do to your social profile is now searchable and this is actually invasion of privacy to many.

Facebook has already come under fire for other reasons like News feed and more but this feature is likely to do Facebook more harm than good in terms of attracting negative publicity. However Facebook is doing it in a desperate attempt to protect its sinking reputation. Twitter is already the favorite social media hangout for celebrities and so far very few have ever criticized twitter for its numerous features. But Facebook repeatedly attracts criticism because it appears to care little about privacy especially the privacy of those naive users who might have no idea how their information can be used.

It is believed that the FBI and the NSA are directly responsible for illegally collecting millions of pieces of information from web based companies like Goggle, Skype, and YouTube. This includes data such as pictures, voice or video chats, emails, and even Facebook status updates.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook and all of the other alleged businesses claim that they have never participated in any government based programs. Furthermore, the United States government is never surrendered any personal information unless it is deemed necessary by law.

In a rebuttal released by Zuckerberg in defense of Facebook, he strongly denied any cooperation with PRISM or other government based programs. To continue, Zuckerberg does state that there are times when the government does request data. In order for the government to be given any data, it must be within accordance to all legal protocol.

To continue, in his press release, Suckerberg ( I am sorry, Zuckerberg) even goes as far as reprimanding the United States government. Recommending that the next time that the NSA or the FBI decides they want to have a program that collects personal data that they should just be more “transparent” about any attempts to protect public safety and the free will of citizens everywhere.

Thus far, as of Friday, Facebook has been the first of any of the blamed companies to release a statement to claim their innocence. The bright,young CEO said he had never even heard of the governmental program called PRISM in his entire career.

First, navigate to your Facebook company homepage.  Then click on “edit page” > “manage notifications”.

You’ll then get to a simple control panel like the one below.  Simply check off:

Email Notifications: Send notifications to youremail@whatever.com when people post to, comment on, or message your Page.

There, that wasn’t hard now was it?  Just click save changes and you’ll be good to go!

The Benefits of Social Media for Business

The benefits of social media have been proven, even amongst smaller businesses, and the simple fact that conversion rates for Facebook and Twitter average around double that of most other outlets means that a solid fan base will, simply put, directly increase sales.

With social media you also have the opportunity to respond quickly and on customers’ terms with answers to their questions that they may not have asked through email or a comment form. Link building can also be a major reason why companies love to have a social media network, and have both direct and indirect benefits. There are plenty of other reasons to build a social media community, but it’s also worth thinking about the drawbacks.

The Drawbacks of Social Media for Business

An effective social media network does require effort. Indeed, it’s no longer acceptable for most companies to have an ad-hoc attitude to social media, and many have social media departments or outsource their needs to companies specializing in social media. Giving it to the intern to post a few articles or tweets when he or she isn’t making the tea will get you very few results. You should also think about your reputation. If you aren’t posting or tweeting on-message information, you’ll lose respect, reputation and fans. It’s very easy for a social media page to go off-brand, and it needs to be controlled, monitored and analysed to get the best results.

Twitter: The Breakdown

• 29% of users follow a brand
• 35% daily users
• 25% of users have 100+ followers
• 2.26% visit-to-lead ratio
• Average age of user: 39

The stats don’t paint a particularly good picture of Twitter, despite the fact that it can be an awesome weapon in your marketing arsenal. The benefits of Twitter are focussed less on the customer-facing side, and more as a tool to generate buzz within an industry, or B2B connections. The relatively low viral potential of twitter in terms of direct numbers is outweighed by a system weighted much more in the favour of thought leaders, celebs and big names in various industries

Industries such as tech, media and finance can benefit strongly from Twitter, as it’s all about content distribution. The people and brands on Twitter that get followers are the ones that offer the most high-quality content possible. Look at this in terms of retail. NBC, for example, has 680,000 followers across its news networks, while Wallmart can only boast half of that. News moves quickly, and is based on content distribution, whereas news from consumer-facing companies comes at a much, much slower pace: weekly, or at best daily.  If you’re in the business of offering high quality information on a daily (or close) basis, Twitter is likely to offer better returns on investment.

Facebook: The Breakdown

• 58% of users follow a brand
• 74% daily users
• 57% have 100+ friends
• 2.10% visit-to-lead ratio
• Average age of user: 38

By contrast, customer-facing brands do a good deal better on Facebook than they do on Twitter. Facebook offers your brand or company direct access to something that your fans will see in a very visual way every time they log on, assuming you have a coherent and regular posting regime. Users spend much more time (on average 300% longer) on Facebook than they do on Twitter, so you have a little more leeway with them. Also, the use of images and promotional tools is far greater on Facebook, allowing you more freedom to engage directly with users.

Automotive, FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and travel industries do well here because of the slower pace of information. For example, an airline might be having a sale on European flights. Obviously, this is known and promoted well before the event, and the event may last a few weeks. This gives them an opportunity to create buzz leading up to the event and keep the promotion in users’ minds during it’s run-phase. While the information about the promotion is high quality, it’s much less time sensitive than a news piece about daily stock figures. Taking the Wallmart/NBC comparison, Wallmart have over 21,000,000 fans, while NBC can muster just a quarter of that number.

The Social Hub System

Building an effective social media strategy is not simply about sticking to one media platform, but rather using the different platforms to their strengths. While you may not have the resources to mount a massive social media campaign, you should think about using more than one outlet, including blogs and forums, in tandem with your existing marketing methods. Similarly, the type of content should differ between social media platforms, offering targeted information to the users specific to that platform. Once you have a handle on your fans, followers and engagement, you can begin to really make strides in offering them the highest quality posts and tweets as possible.

David Ingram is part of the Digital Marketing team at MySocialAgency, a leading London Social Media Agency. David is a regular blogger with a passion for technology, sport and tra

For those users who received a redemption code for OS X Mountain Lion while the Up to Date program was temporarily live, it appears that many of the original codes are invalid.

Users are reporting receiving errors while trying to redeem codes. Errors include “The code you entered is not recognized as valid code” and errors that the code has already been used.

Several users are tracking the issue in our forums and have been told by AppleCare representatives that new codes will be issued shortly:

I got my code 2 days ago and mine is invalid also. I just called up applecare about 30 minutes ago and told the guy my situation and he had me try to redeem it again but it said it had already been redeemed. He then said that his system had a note in it saying that anyone who redeemed their serial number and got one of the invalid codes should recieve another email within one business day after mountain lion was released (already happened so the time is ticking now).

A lot of people seem angry and mad at Apple because of this slip as they seem to be quite careless an sloppy with their OS updates.  It seems like their support is very slow to tend to this issue like they are with all of their support.  Hopefully their support team gets these codes straightened out because a business day after you purchase an operating system really sucks!

Pinterest Annoyance #1 : Wait to be invited, we’re so exclusive

I am particularly annoyed by one thing Pinterest did though.  When I signed up it gave me two options:

I understand how marketing works, and I understand they are looking to use the edge of demand, curiosity, and anxiousness to make you want to join.  I do however think it’s very annoying when they are already well established and I’m just trying to get my account started.

Pinterest Annoyance #2 : We’re so exclusive we’re letting you explore pins while you wait so you can be annoyed as hell

Ok, I just requested an invite for Pinterest so I’m thinking, “there’s no way they could possibly hold this process up!”.  No I was wrong.  I checked my email thinking they would say, we’ve added you to Pinterest!  But no, they give me this pathetic email message that tells me to explore pins.  Why would I want to explore pins when I can’t pin them?!

How to speed up your Pinterest invite

Stupid me didn’t think to use Google before I requested an invite.  Apparently you can get approved faster if you know someone with a Pinterest account.  They just have to invite you from their Pinterest account!  Hopefully you get your invite through an invite from a friend when you join.

Luckily for us, there is a lot of great solutions out there now where you can purchase a bluetooth keyboard for your iPad that acts simultaneously as a cover and case.  And best of all, these keyboards that are now coming out for the iPad are actually making the experience on your iPad more similar to what you’d find on a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

So do you own an iPad 2 or the New iPad (iPad 3), and wishing you could type and browse the web just like you would on a laptop?

If so, then you might be very interested in checking out the Logitech Keyboard Cover for the iPad 2 & The New iPad (iPad 3).

There’s been a lot of debate brewing up lately about whether or not the iPad will become the demise of the traditional laptop.  Let me just make this prediction right now, in front of everyone.  I’m predicting that within 5 years, the laptop be heading down the same path as the cassette tape or the VHS movie.  It’s not a matter of if, it’s just a matter of when this process will start to escalate on a large scale.

One of the things that are perpetuating the fall of the laptop is iPad covers & cases that also have built in bluetooth keyboards.  For example, the Logitech Keyboard Cover.  This particular accessory makes it super easy to snap your iPad into place and instantly have a nice, small form factor laptop for you to type away on.  Best of all, when you open the iPad case, your iPad turns on – and when you close the case, your iPad turns off.  It’s super easy to use and allows for fast, easy typing, just like you’d expect from your laptop.

The one huge advantages that iPad has over traditional laptops is the long lasting battery life.  With an iPad, you can easily work non-stop for up to 10 hours or more without having to charge your battery.  This is something that’s just not possible with your traditional laptop.

And with cases like the Logitech Keyboard Cover, you are able to preserve that battery length even longer because of the on / off feature of simply closing and opening the iPad case.

Some of the great features of the Logitech Keyboard Cover for the iPad 2 & The New iPad (iPad 3)

The Cover Photo

Undoubtedly, the most striking feature of the new interface is the cover photo. It comes right on the top of your entire profile or fan page and does make a statement about you. Though Facebook strictly says no advertising through cover photos, it does not stop you from promoting your brand. Brand promotion does not need website addresses or emails or phone numbers. It just needs to create an emotional impact on the viewers. If the impact is right, they can search for the rest. Many big brands have already done it. They have their strategy clear in their minds and the brand is right in the minds of its fans. Even though you cannot add a visible call to action in your cover photo you can compel them to action by what you show there. It is the face of your brand so it is a good idea to have your logo and your tagline there. In one glance, the cover photo must speak of what your brand is all about.

Custom Tabs

With the arrival of Timeline, we had to bid adieu to default landing tabs. We got custom landing tabs that are equally great. Each tab has a unique URL, as if you want to make a facebook fan page for, so we can share it when we want people to land directly on a particular tab. This is useful when we are running a campaign or a special offer etc. It will now require work to get people on the custom tab because when they land on the main page, they only see small links of the custom tabs on the side. However, a catchy icon increases the chances many times. These can also be used for fan-gating, where only people who like the page will see a particular content. This improves the like rate and also makes the existing fans special.

About Section

The cover photo and custom tabs do their jobs and for everything else we use the about section. This is the place to add links, emails, phone numbers and any other useful information. The other two components have a strong aesthetic appeal, but this is just pure information. This is the place where you can add actually clickable links, brag about your company, its vision and achievements without any hesitation. There is a short about text that is displayed right below your cover photo. This should be a crisp and precise copy of who you are and what you do.

Facebook has always been growing and would continue to grow. There are many more features that can be explored and exploited to the best of their potential. As a brand, the idea is to create lasting impressions on the minds of the users and keep the connected with the business.

ABC News emailed the top 10 grocery chains in America about Pink Slime and seven responded:

1. Safeway
“We rely on the federal government to help guide us on food safety issues. USDA has been clear in its judgment that Lean Finely Textured Ground Beef is a safe source of nutrition. However, we are reviewing the matter at this time.”

2. Ahold (Stop & Shop/Giant)
“Stores operated by the divisions of Ahold USA do carry ground beef made with Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (BLBT), also called Finely Textured Beef (FTB). Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (BLBT) is beef and is absolutely safe for consumption. To make the product, beef companies use beef trimmings, which are the small cuts of beef that remain when larger cuts are trimmed down. These trimmings are USDA-inspected, wholesome cuts of beef. This process has been an industry standard for almost 20 years. Alternatives to the conventional ground beef supply, in the form of Certified Angus Beef and Nature’s Promise ground beef products, are available to customers in stores across all of the divisions of Ahold USA. These products do not include the use of BLBT. Customers are being encouraged to ask any meat associate should they have any questions or would like to be directed to meat that does not include Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings. Our labeling is in compliance with USDA regulations. BLBT is USDA tested and approved ground beef and therefore does not require labeling.”

3. Costco
Does not use pink slime.
“Anything that we sell at Costco we want to explain it’s origins, and I personally don’t know how to explain trim treated with ammonia in our ground beef,” Craig Wilson, vice president of quality assurance for Costco, told ABC News. “I just don’t know how to explain that. I’m not that smart.”

4. Publix
“We have never allowed the use of LFTB (pink slime) in our meat. It’s 100 percent ground beef with no LFTB.”

5. H-E-B
“All our ground beef sold at H-E-B is 100% pure with no additives.”

6. Whole Foods
Does not use pink slime.

7. Kroger
“We do not use finely textured beef in our fresh ground beef. … We are routinely presented the finely textured beef as an option, but have always refused.”

I got an email asking for my Facebook password.
Do not respond to this email. Facebook will never request your password over email, and we advise against providing your login information to anyone under any circumstances.

Before their terms did not include the “over email” part because they actually do ask for your password when users navigate to Facebook’s Update Your Security Information webpage.  This was also explained in his handy article since it confused users.  Here’s his original Facebook Password article.  Basically he says it appears that it’s a major bug or flaw since it’s scaring people into thinking it could be some kind of a phishing scheme.  Anyway, now you can be safe and know that Facebook does in fact ask for your password on their website.  Just be sure the URL is definitely from Facebook!

Ceglia made the move in filings in federal court in Buffalo on Monday. He has had a revolving door of lawyers in the long-running dispute with Facebook. Milberg is a New York firm that built its reputation representing consumers and investors in class-action litigation. It was previously known as Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach before an investigation sent four former partners to prison.

Ceglia claims he signed a 2003 contract with Zuckerberg, then a student at Harvard, that entitles him to a large stake in the Menlo Park, Calif., firm, which is on the verge of an initial public offering that could value the company at $100 billion or more. Facebook says the partnership agreement was doctored.

Ceglia has retained multiple attorneys in his quest to win a legal judgment against Facebook.

“We took a good hard look at all of the information available, including evidence in Ceglia’s favor, and we believe he deserves to have his day in court,” Milberg attorney Sanford Dumain said in the statement.

He added, “We look forward to examining records from computers that Mr. Zuckerberg used when he was a freshman at Harvard and other records that will help answer questions about the ownership of Facebook.”

Attorneys for Facebook, which won a motion for expedited discovery last summer, won the right last week to inspect the contents of Google Inc. (GOOG) email accounts owned by Ceglia including getzuck@gmail.com, according to court filings. The email address is a reference to Zuckerberg’s nickname, Zuck.

So what if they have my email and password?

What do hackers do with millions of email addresses other than the potential embarrassment to these users?  The hackers can use these emails and passwords to try and access more sensitive accounts like Facebook, PayPal, etc…  Recently someone got a hold of my Gmail account, and let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty what they did.  I learned a valuable lesson: If you use one password across the web, a hacker can access almost anything.  For example:  if you use your “myname@gmail.com” account and password “1234” in your gmail, facebook, some random site, another random site, anther site you forgot about, then all it takes is for a hacker to gain access to one of those sites to get into all of your accounts.  They can even reset passwords so you can’t access accounts.  Soon I’ll explain how I got hacked and you’ll understand better!

OOPS!  NYT made a huge mistake sending out an email on Wednesday.  They mistakenly sent an email to over 8.6 million people rather than 300.  The email sent out told people they’d cancelled their print subscription, and urged them to reconsider by offering a special discount — 50% off for 16 weeks.

Many Twitter followers started thinking that New York Times was hacked or spammed.  They started to publish Tweet’s like, “Was New York Times Hacked?”, but this was not the case according to NYT.  This is a simple mistake if you’ve ever used newsletter software.  It’s very easy to have multiple lists checked off for a blast or get campaigns mixed up.  I guess it could’ve been worse though, what if it was something more personal?  This makes you realize what happens when a business is on a large scale.  It’s so much more detrimental to send off a newsletter than a website with 10,000 subscribers!  All I know is that I wouldn’t like to be the one who takes the blame for sending out that email, what about you?

Carmen Winstead Sewer Story

They hurt her. R.I.P Carmen gone but not forgotten… Keep Reading:

After lunch, her teacher announced that the school was holding a fire drill. When the alarm sounded, Carmen and the other students filed out of the classroom and assembled in the yard outside. As the teachers read out the roll call, the gang of five girls decided that this was a great opportunity to embarrass Carmen in front of the whole school during the fire drill. They moved over to where Carmen was standing, near a sewer drain, and began crowding the poorgirl, getting in her face and nudging her towards the open manhole.

They pushed her and she tripped over and fell head-first down the manhole. When they saw her falling, the girls started giggling and when Carmen’s name was called out, they shouted “She’s down in the sewer!”

All of the other students began laughing. But when the teachers looked down the manhole and saw Carmen’s body lying at the bottom in the muck and the poop, the laughter abruptly stopped. Her head was twisted around at an odd angle and her face was covered in blood. Worse still, she wasn’t moving. There was nothing any of the teachers could do for her. Carmen was dead. When the police arrived and went down into the sewer, they determined that she had broken her neck. Her face had been torn off when she hit the ladder on the way down and her neck snapped when she landed on her head on the concrete at the bottom.

The police hauled Carmen’s body out of the sewer and sent her to the mortuary. Everyone had to stay behind after school while the police questioned all of Carmen’s classmates. The five girlslied to the police, saying they had witnessed Carmen falling down the sewer. The police believed the girls and Carmen Winstead’s death was ruled an accident and the case was closed. Everyone thought that was the last they would hear of Carmen Winstead, but they were wrong.

Months later, Carmen’s classmates began receiving strange e-mails on their MySpaces. The e-mails were titled “They Pushed Her” and claimed that Carmen hadn’t really fallen down the sewer, she had been pushed. The e-mails also warned that the guilty people should own up and take responsibility for their crime. If they didn’t there would be horrible consequences. Most people dismissed the e-mails as a hoax, but others were not so sure.

A few days later, one of the girls who pushed Carmen down the sewer was at home taking a shower, when she heard a strange cackling laugh. It seemed to be coming from the drain. The girl started to freak out and ran out of the bathroom. That night, the girl said goodnight to her mom and went to sleep. Five hours later, her mom was awoken in the middle of the night, by a loudnoise that resounded throughout the house. She ran into her daughter’s room, only to find it empty. There was no trace of the girl. The worried mother called the police and when they arrived, they conducted a search of the area. Eventually, they discovered the girl’s grisly remains.

Her corpse was lying in the sewer, covered in muck and poop. Her neck was broken and her face missing. It had been completely torn off. One by one, all of the girls who pushed Carmen that day were found dead. They had all been killed in exactly the same way and were all found at exactly the same spot. In the sewer at the bottom of the same uncovered manhole where Carmen had met her doom. But the killing didn’t stop there. More and more of Carmen’s former classmates were found dead. It seemed that anyone who didn’t believe that Carmen had been pushed, was eventually found down in the sewer with their necks broken and their faces torn off.

They say that Carmen’s ghost is still on the rampage, hunting down anyone who doesn’t believe herstory. According to the legend, Carmen will get you, whetherit’s from a toilet, a shower, a sink or a drain. When you go to sleep, you’ll wake up in the sewer, in complete darkness, paralyzed, unable to move, hearing cackling laughter all around you. Then, as you scream in horror, Carmen will come and tear your face off.

So be careful who you bully, because you just might find yourself on the receiving end of the curse of Carmen Winstead.

FACT: About two months later, 16-year-old David Gregory read this post and didn’t repost it. When he went to take a shower, he heard laughter, started freaking out, and ran to his computer to repost it. He said goodnight to his mom and went to sleep, but five hours later, his mom woke up in the middle of the night from a loud noise and David was gone. A few hours later, the police found him in the sewer, with a broken neck and the skin on his face peeled off.

Even Google her name – you’ll find this to be true.

If you don’t repost this saying “They hurt her,” then Carmen will get you, either from a sewer, the toilet,or the shower.

Wow, isn’t it obvious by now that this is a fake story? Check out how naive these Facebook users are :

Proven wrong on snopes:

Claim is false according to snopes! (and common sense)

The Duggar Family from the show “19 Kids & Counting” chose an interesting and powerful message at the memorial of their 20th child, who passed away this week in a miscarriage.  The Duggars took a close up picture of the fetal corpse between their fingers and distributed it at the memorial.  It’s very strange but also a really intense way to show how much they were impacted from their loss.  Here is a message from the Duggars website regarding their tragic loss:

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the whole Duggar Family we would like to thank everyone for their prayers, emails and outpouring of love. We discovered during a routine 19-week ultrasound that our 20th child, who was due in April 2012, passed away recently. As our whole family is grieving, we also know that God promises to work all things for good in our lives. We rest in knowing, that even though our child has departed this life that we will one day see each other again in heaven.

Our prayer is that baby Duggar’s passing will help us all realize that this life is short, and our relationship with Jesus is the most important thing. He gives us a peace in our hearts as He guides us through whatever we might face.

We love you,
Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar & Family
Romans 8:28

Apple’s website has a picture of Steve Job’s and when you click to it a simple note saying the following:

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 to work with Steve have lost a dear friend and 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

Steve Job’s Resignation Letter Prior to His Death

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

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.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

With all of the hype about a new model, updated screen size, different glass, different buttons, the iPhone 5 didn’t happen as everyone expected.  In fact, Apple release the second model of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S.  Similar to the second unveiling of the iPhone 3g to 3gs but in a grand fashion with tremendous hype. I guess the answer to our article, “Will the iPhone 5 be a flop” was finally answered.

Should I upgrade from my iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S?

There’s a simple answer to this question in my opinion.  After looking at the new features of the phone, I can’t justify myself paying to upgrade from my iPhone 4.  There are updates to the screen resolution, camera, and video, but other than that it’s not very impressive.  Hopefully the next version of the iPhone is actually an iPhone 5 (completely new model)!

Take a look at the press release and video below to judge the phone for yourself…

Official iPhone 4S Press Release

Apple Launches iPhone 4S, iOS 5 & iCloud

iPhone 4S Features Dual-Core A5 Chip, All New Camera, Full 1080p HD Video Recording & Introduces Siri

CUPERTINO, California—October 4, 2011—Apple® today announced iPhone® 4S, the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. With the launch of iPhone 4S also comes the launch of iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features; and iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.

“iPhone 4S plus iOS 5 plus iCloud is a breakthrough combination that makes the iPhone 4S the best iPhone ever,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “While our competitors try to imitate iPhone with a checklist of features, only iPhone can deliver these breakthrough innovations that work seamlessly together.”

iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 200 new features including Notification Center, an innovative way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption and iMessage, a new messaging service that lets you easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS 5 users. iOS 5 will also be available as a free software update for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS customers allowing them to experience these amazing new features.*

iPhone 4S also introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing you to speak naturally when you ask it questions, for example, if you ask “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” it understands you are looking for a weather forecast. Siri is also smart about using the personal information you allow it to access, for example, if you tell Siri “Remind me to call Mom when I get home” it can find “Mom” in your address book, or ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location. Siri helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, get directions and more. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations just by asking.

iCloud is a breakthrough set of free cloud services, including iTunes® in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices. When content changes on one device, all your other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly.

iPhone 4S includes an all new camera with the most advanced optics of any phone. The 8 megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels so you can take amazing high quality photos with more detail than ever. iPhone 4S includes a new custom lens, a larger f/2.4 aperture and an advanced hybrid IR filter that produce sharper, brighter and more accurate images. The Apple-designed image signal processor in the A5 dual-core chip is built for performance, and coupled with the features built into iOS 5, makes the camera one of the fastest on any phone. With iPhone 4S, the Camera app launches much faster and the shot to shot capability is twice as fast, so you’ll never miss another shot.

New features in the Camera and Photos apps give you instant access to the camera right from the lock screen, and you can also use the volume-up button to quickly snap a photo. Optional grid lines help line up your shot and a simple tap locks focus and exposure on one subject; and the new Photos app lets you crop, rotate, enhance and remove red-eye, and organize your photos into albums right on your device to share them on the go. New iOS 5 features include built-in Twitter integration and iMessage, so you can instantly share your photos via Twitter directly from the Photos app and send photos via iMessage to individuals or groups. And with iCloud’s innovative new Photo Stream service, a photo you take on your iPhone is sent to iCloud and automatically pushed to your iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC. You can even view your Photo Stream album on your Apple TV®.

iPhone 4S can also now record video in full 1080p HD resolution and with the new video image stabilization feature, you can take richer, smoother videos. Other iPhone 4S video camera improvements include increased sensitivity, sharpness and an increased ability to capture video in low light conditions. With the new iMessage service in iOS 5, you can now instantly share videos with family and friends.

iPhone 4S has the same beautifully thin glass and stainless steel design that millions of customers around the world love, while being completely redesigned on the inside. Apple’s dual-core A5 chip delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than iPhone 4, all while maintaining incredible battery life—now up to 8 hours of 3G talk time.

Improving on the innovative stainless steel external, dual-antenna design of iPhone 4, iPhone 4S is the first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to send and receive. iPhone 4S now supports twice the download speed with HSDPA of up to 14.4 Mbps and iPhone 4S is a world phone, so both CDMA and GSM customers can now roam internationally on GSM networks.**

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.*** iPhone 4S will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4S will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on Friday, October 14 and customers can pre-order their iPhone 4S beginning Friday, October 7. iPhone 4 will also be available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS will be available for free with a two year contract. Siri will be available in beta on iPhone 4S in English (localized for US, UK and Australia), French and German. iOS 5 software will be available on October 12 as a free software update via iTunes 10.5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch customers.

iPhone 4S will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries by the end of October including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Plain Dumb Website posted a funny article that may go viral.  It’s about the new trend of Facebook users who have a problem of chain posting, like the old email chains.  They post status updates that show concern, care, or a particular interesting subject and ask everyone to re-post the status.  Little do they know that they are contributing to the making Facebook spam-like.   The solution?  Well there isn’t really one other than to share this post to help stop the madness!  It’s kind-of hypocritical of us to ask to re-post this, but maybe we can make them think before they attempt to make another Facebook Chain Status (Re-Post).

Here are some Stupid Facebook chains going around!

This year October has 5 Mondays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This Happens once every 823years. This is called money bags So copy this to your status and money will arrive within 4days. Based on Chinese Feng Shui. The one who does not copy, will be without money.

The girl you just called fat? She’s overdosing on diet pills. The girl you just called ugly? She spends hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her. The boy you just tripped? He’s abused enough at home. See that man with the ugly scars? He fought for our country. That guy you just made fun of for crying…his mother is dying. If you’re against bullying, make this your status for an hour. National Suicide Prevention

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO…IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY

HAPPILY MARRIED WEEK: If your spouse is your best friend, works extremely hard, has been with you through triumphs and tragedies, loves you when you’re at your worst, and is someone you’re proud to be married to, post this as your status with the date you were married.

YOU…Hey You…yea I mean you if you have taken a minute to read this… God has seen YOU struggling with something. God says its over. A blessing is coming your way. If you believe in God send this message on, please dont ignore it, you are being tested. God is going to fix two things (BIG) tonight in your favor. If you believe in God… drop everything and repost. If you do not want to, it is up to you

BREAKING NEWS: We need to send money to the following country: United States Of America. There are many without food, shelter and clean drinking water. Residents are going without heat for the winter and no a/c in the summer. Thousands are without jobs, need healthcare for the sick. Stop sending our money over seas. We have people here that lack the basic human needs. Do you have the guts to re-post this? I just did! AMERICA FIRST

Think about this for a minute. If I showed up on your doorstep crying, would you care? If I called you and asked you to come pick me up because something happened, would you come? If I had one day left to live my life, would you be a part of it? If I needed a shoulder to cry on, would you loan me yours? Life is lonely without friends. It’s World’s Best Friend Week. If you agree repost

Share more in our comments and re-post this on Facebook to stop the madness!

The video below gives you a quick and easy “how to” for changing the view of your Gmail account.

In your Gmail account, and assuming you are using the new Gmail platform, you can view your inbox’s unread messages first, or messages you’ve previously starrted, or even messages that Gmail thinks are a top priority based on your previous usage data – or high priority.

Check out the video below on how to change your Gmail view:

Some of these “how to’s” might seem elementary, but for most users, the basics is the best place to start.

So below is my first “how to” video on the iPad 2 and like I said, it’ll show you how to add Gmail to your iPad email application.

Enjoy!

P.S.  Any questions, put them in the comments below:

The future of computing could quite possibly be found in the new Chromebook.

What’s a Chromebook you ask?  Basically it’s a laptop built from the ground up to run on the web – and it’s made by Google.

I just received an email from Google telling me that the Acer Chromebook is now available at Amazon for $349.  This thing cost less than brand new iPads and other Android tablets.

Get the Acer Chromebook at Amazon

One of the more impressive specs on the Acer Chromebook is that it boots up in 8 seconds or less and resumes instantly.  No more having to wait endlessly for your laptop to boot up – just hit start, and less than 8 second later you on the Chromebook surfing away.

Another really awesome feature with the Chromebooks is that it’s the first consumer operating system designed from the ground up to defend against the ongoing threat of malware and viruses.

Here’s some product information from Amazon:

Key Features of the Acer Chromebook:

• 11.6” HD Widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit LCD: (1366 x 768) resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
• Dual-core Intel® Processor
• 2GB DDR3 Memory
• Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
• 16GB Solid State Drive
• 1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam (1280 x 1024)
• High-Definition Audio Support
• Two Built-in Speakers
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
• 2- USB 2.0 Ports
• 1- HDMI Port
• Full-sized Chrome Keyboard with dedicated keys for the web
• Oversized, Multi-touch Touchpad
• Memory card slot for storing photos, music, and video
• 6 hours of continuous use
• 3.2 lbs (system unit only)

Amazon product description

However, one quick search in Google for “Google new sign in box” told me otherwise.  People have been writing about Google’s new sign in box for about a week or so now.  Regardless, I didn’t notice it until just now which tells me that it didn’t actually show up for me until just now – I wouldn’t have missed something like that before.

Here’s an image of the new Google sign in box:

Basically, you are getting a bigger, more prominent sign in box and field forms to enter your email and password.

And that’s about it from what I can tell.  Now it’s possible other things are going on here in the sign up box, but I just need to research it a bit more to see.

What do you think about Google’s new experimental sign in box?