ROCKSTAR GAMES - GRAND THEFT AUTO - AN APOLOGY

 On 21 July we published an article claiming that the video games company Rockstar Games were planning to release a version of their popular Grand Theft Auto video games series titled “Grand Theft Auto Rothbury”.

 

We also published what we claimed would be the cover of this game, solicited comments from a family member impacted by the recent tragedy and criticised Rockstar Games for their alleged plans.

 

We made no attempt to check the accuracy of the story before publication and did not contact Rockstar Games prior to publishing the story. We also did not question why a best selling and critically acclaimed fictional games series would choose to base one of their most popular games on this horrifying real crime event.

 

It is now accepted that there were never any plans by Rockstar Games to publish such a game and that the story was false.We apologise for publishing the story using a mock-up of the game cover, our own comments on the matter and soliciting critical comments from a grieving family member.

 

We unreservedly apologise to Rockstar Games and we have undertaken not to repeat the claims again. We have also agreed to pay them a substantial amount in damages which they are donating to charity.

via http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com

In the middle of a starstruck interview by a reporter for London’s Daily Mirror, the artist currently known as Prince launched into a short, punchy tirade against Internet music distribution.

Prince, in case you haven’t followed him lately, has shut down his own website. He has ordered clips of his music removed from YouTube. Asked to explain why his next album will be sold as CD only and won’t be downloadable, he said:

“The Internet’s completely over. I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it … The Internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated.

“Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.”

Is MTV really outdated? The network’s Video Music Awards drew an estimated 5.8 million viewers. In the first quarter of this year, MTV.com averaged about 25 million unique monthly visitors. Maybe Prince should fill his head with those numbers.

His real gripe seems to be that he’s not getting paid enough for digitally distributed music. He wants an advance from iTunes, rather than waiting to see how much they pay him. He doesn’t believe the conventional geek wisdom that posting his songs on the Internet will drive sales of music and merchandise to new heights.

Credit the guy for not following the pack, and for challenging the conventional wisdom that the Internet makes everything better for everybody. But you’d think Prince of all people would have one hell of a social media presence. Think how hot he’d be on Twitter. Instead, he’s left the playing field wide open for Net-savvy acts like Chester French. He will need to convince the multitudes that it’s the Net and not Prince that is over. There’s one obvious path to that: If Prince can crank out another hit without the help of the Internet, he’ll have a lot more credibility.

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Nutcase :-)

Apple boss Steve Jobs reveals iPhone 4 may be recalled

 

By Richard Ashmore

 

The much-vaunted new iPhone 4 may be recalled, Apple boss Steve Jobs revealed last night.

Posting a message on the social networking site Twitter, the tycoon said: ‘We may have to recall the new iPhone. This I did not expect.’

Launched in Britain last week, the £500 handset has been dogged by technical problems.

 

 

Steve Jobs shows Russian President Dimitry Medvedev the new iPhone 4. The Apple boss said the new phone may be recalled following a glut of complaints

Reception has been found to cut out when users cover a metal band built into the phone’s bottom left-hand corner.

The new iPhone was also said to be unsuitable for left-handed people.

Mr Jobs responded to complaints about the new iPhone losing its signal by telling users to 'just avoid holding it in that way'.

Angry users have complained that the phone's reception suddenly plunges to almost zero when they simply hold it in their hand.

Dozens of videos have been placed on YouTube showing the iPhone 4 losing signal the moment the metal antenna that surrounds the edge of the new device is covered.

Mr Jobs issued his bizarre advice as he responded to an email from a user on the Ars Technica technology news site who had complained about the sudden loss of signal.

 

A clip from an iPhone 4 advert which shows the model holding the device in the 'wrong' way

 

In an astonishingly blunt response, Mr Jobs replied: 'Just avoid holding it in that way. All phones have sensitive areas'.

In a statement, Apple said: 'Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas.'

'This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.'

Apple claims that using one of its 'bumpers' - which cost £25 each and clip over the iPhone to protect it - will stop the user's hand interfering with the signal.

Another iPhone 4 ad shows the model's hand blocking the antenna

The firm is selling the rubber bumpers on its website but none will be shipped to the UK until July 16th.

Users have flooded Twitter with rumours about the problem and stop-gap remedies including using tape to cover the bottom of the phone.

Left-handed users are being particularly affected because when they hold the phone in their left hand their fingers cover more of the right-hand side of the phone - where the antenna is.

The left side of the iPhone 4 receives Wi-Fi signals while the right side picks up the 3G signal for calls.

Technology website T3 ran a test using one of the ‘bumper’ cover for the phone which appears to solve the issue.

Danish wireless technology expert called Gert Frølund Pedersen told Wired magazine that the problem is probably because the phone’s new antenna is built into the metal frame which surrounds the device.

‘Human tissue will have an inhibitory effect on the antenna. Touch means that a larger portion of the antenna energy turns into heat and lost.

'This makes the antenna less efficient to send and receive radio signals,’ he said.

A loss of signal, known as attenuation, can occur when an antenna is bridged.

Holding it in your hand will change the length of the antenna and interfere with the specific wavelengths it is calibrated to pick up.

The Apple iPad also faced some teething problems when it was launched with users reporting problems when they tried to connect to wi-fi. A software update had to be issued to sort this problem out.

 

A new iPhone complete with black rubber 'bumper' which Apple claims will help solve the problem

And the iPhone 4 is not the first Apple 3G phone to have problems with its reception - users also reported problems with the earlier iPhone 3GS when it was first released too.

There have also been early reports of problems with the iPhone’s screen.

Launched by Steve Jobs as ‘retina display’, with an paralleled definition and number of pixels, some users in the US have complained about some yellow discolouration.

The spots can appear in corners and the thin bands have shown up toward the tops and bottoms of customers' screens. 

Some Apple insiders on web forums have claimed that the yellow colour is down to the clue that the firm uses to bond the glass on its screens which has not had the time to evaporate.

They claim that the discolouration will clear after a day or two as the glue evaporates.

The iPhone 4 was unveiled earlier this month. At the time, Mr Jobs said it represented 'the biggest leap since the original iPhone'.

It offers video calling, a higher-resolution display and the ability to record and view high-definition video.

The new handset updates the iPhone 3GS which launched a year ago and sold more than a million units in its first weekend.

A spokesperson for Apple was not immediately available to comment.

Four sets of five-day strikes had originally been planned

Fresh BA strikes look set to go ahead after a panel of senior judges, including the Lord Chief Justice, overturned a ban on industrial action.

BA was granted an injunction on Monday after the High Court ruled that the Unite union had not reported results of its strike ballot correctly to members.

But Unite appealed against the decision, and the panel ruled 2-1 in favour of overturning the injunction.

Strikes are now free to go ahead, possibly from as early as next week.

The two sides have been rowing over pay, jobs and working conditions.

Unite members outside the court sang "we are the champions" after the verdict was announced.

But Unite joint leader Derek Simpson said: "This is not a moment for being triumphant. We shouldn't have been in this process.

"The case brought by BA was trivial and, in my opinion, irresponsible."

The first strike had been scheduled to begin on Tuesday, ending on 22 May, with the three further strikes planned to begin on 24 May, 30 May and 5 June.

Despite the ruling in favour of BA on Monday, flights have been disrupted this week with the airline unable to reinstate all services.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Starr's autograph often features a five-pointed star under his name

Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr says his decision to stop giving autographs was prompted by fans selling signed items on eBay.

The drummer posted a video message on his website in October 2008 saying he would no longer sign memorabilia, and that fan mail would be thrown away.

Speaking to BBC Radio 2 on Sunday, Starr said he had become aware that fans "were making money" from his name.

"I was signing and then they were on eBay the next day. So I just decided, I think I've done my share. That's it."

Starr told Sir Terry Wogan he had written "millions" of autographs before imposing the ban, and he had been surprised by the reaction to his announcement.

"I honestly didn't think it was going to be world news - BBC and CNN," he laughed.

Starr announced his autograph ban in this video

Items carrying the autograph of all four Beatles can still command a high price - a business card signed by the Fab Four sold for £3,500 at Christie's last year.

But the price of Starr's signature on its own varies widely, according to Mark Riddle from autograph experts Memorabilia UK.

Items signed during his time in the Beatles can be expected to fetch between £300-500, but more recent items will sell for around £80-120.

Mr Riddle says the value of Starr's signature had risen slightly, around 30%, since his self-imposed ban.

Ringo Starr's full interview from Weekend Wogan will be available on the BBC Radio 2 website from Monday, 12 April.

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Shit drummer from Liverpool refuses to give any autographs. What an absolute prick!

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has lost "all credibility" over the way it had dealt with paedophile priests.

Rowan Williams said the problems, which had been a "colossal trauma" for the Church, also affected the wider public.

BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said Dr Williams' words represented unusually damning criticism from the leader of another Church.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said he was "stunned" by the remarks.

He said those working to renew the church would be " immensely disheartened" by Dr Williams' comments.

The Church in Ireland said the issue of abuse was being taken "very seriously" and was being addressed by the Pope and the Irish bishops.

'Everybody's problem'

Dr Williams' voiced his first comments about the scandal in an interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week programme.

He said: "I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it's quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now.

"And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society, suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility - that's not just a problem for the Church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland."

Catherine Pepinster, editor of Catholic weekly newspaper The Tablet said his comments were "very striking" and that many Catholics would share his opinion.

Archbishop Williams' comments will be for them immensely disheartening and will challenge their faith even further Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin Cleric's apology to abuse victims

Last month, Pope Benedict XVI apologised to victims of child sex abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland. The issue has prompted increasing controversy about his role in handling the accusations, before he became Pope.

But his supporters say the Pope had introduced rules to protect children.

The Archbishop of Dublin, head of the biggest Catholic diocese in Ireland, said: "I still shudder when I think of the harm that was caused to abused children. I recognise that their Church failed them.

"I also journey with those - especially parents and priests - who work day by day to renew the Catholic Church in this diocese and who are committed to staying with their Church and passing on the faith in wearying times.

"Archbishop Williams' comments will be for them immensely disheartening and will challenge their faith even further," he said.

Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Dr John Neill - a senior figure in Ireland's Anglican communion - said he had listened to the remarks of Dr Williams with "deep regret".

"As one who... acknowledges the pain and deep suffering of the victims of abuse, I also feel for the countless priests and bishops who daily live out their Christian vocation," he said.

He said he supported Archbishop Martin "as he works for the proclamation of the Gospel and the healing of hurt, including that of the faithful and their clergy whose ministry has been undermined by those guilty of the abuse of children."

Vows of silence

Rowan Williams' comments came after Pope Benedict's personal preacher, the Rev Raniero Cantalamessa, compared criticism of the pontiff and Church over child abuse to "collective violence" suffered by the Jews.

Speaking at Good Friday prayers in St Peter's Basilica, Father Cantalamessa quoted a Jewish friend as saying the accusations reminded him of the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism".

The Vatican said this was not its official position and the comments were criticised by Jewish groups and those representing abuse victims.

On Sunday, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, is expected to apologise during his Easter address in Edinburgh to the victims of paedophile priests.

The Start the Week programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Monday at 0900BST.

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Look in the mirror gobshite!

Dim UK Tabloids Report Ghost App Prank

7:36 am, March 5th, 2010, Giles Turnbull

Ahh, bless ‘em. The hacks at The Sun aren’t famous for hard-hitting investigative journalism, but at least you’d expect them to know an iPhone app when they see one.

A couple of weeks ago a builder fooled them (and the Daily Mail) into believing that he’d taken a photo of a ghostly boy on a building site in Hull.

But as the internet pointed out shortly afterwards, anyone can make the exact same ghostly figure appear pretty much anywhere they like, thanks to the Ghost Capture app for iPhone.

Even funnier are some of the comments posted under the stories. On the Daily Mail’s version, for example, Mel from Stroud says:

“i am mildly psychic and i snese this boy was evacualted from the war,his father died,his mother died of old age,he lives with an old couple and this used to be his school,hopes this helps everyone”

(To be honest, I don’t think for a minute that the journalists at either paper actually believed that the photo was real, and they probably did instantly work out where it came from. But The Sun’s purpose is to entertain as much as it is to inform – so they wrote it up in all innocent seriousness, knowing that readers with a clue would be in on the joke. And that some readers would fall for it.)

(Via Macenstein, Know Your Mobile, Tabloid Watch, and half the rest of the internet.)

Posted by Giles Turnbull in Humor, News, iPhone, iPhone Apps | Comment on this article

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