However, after a woman employee shrieked, the man made off without any money.
The man, who was detained later in the day, said he decided to rob the bank out of despair after running up a huge debt.
The bank had previously issued him a loan.
( IANS )
Shortly before the Harry Potter saga came to an end on movie screens a year ago, we were teased with more adventures about the young wizard through a website called Pottermore.
One million fans who were able to solve riddles and find a Magical Quill have had a chance to try out Pottermore for nearly a year. The rest of us - the magic-free Muggles - had to wait until it opened to the general public this spring. Even then, much of the attention was on the fact that Pottermore was making e-book versions of the Harry Potter novels available for the first time.
As the anniversary of the final movie approached - it opened in theatres a year ago this weekend - I gave the rest of Pottermore a try.
The free site takes you through the novels chapter by chapter as if you're playing a game. Starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, you're given imagery and summaries of key plots and characters. You must look for picture frames and other items along the way to access certain content and move to the next chapter. Miss one, and you might find yourself unable to brew a potion later on.
As Harry is ready to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you even get your own wand, customised to your height, eye color and personality traits such as your biggest fear and source of pride.
Later, the Sorting Hat will place you in one of four houses at Hogwarts based on how you answer questions designed by author JK Rowling. You and others in your assigned house compete with others in periodic House Cup tournaments. The Slytherin house won the inaugural round and got early access to new content as its prize.
Along the way, Pottermore offers new tales from Rowling and insights into her thinking behind characters and plotlines. You also get excerpts from the books and encyclopedia-like entries on people, places and things. I was reminded that a put-outer is a device used to magically turn off street lights on Privet Drive.
Pottermore delivered for the most part, but what's available is limited.
Clips from the Harry Potter movies would have been nice, but Pottermore chose to focus on the reading experience. Even then, the site so far has only the first book and the first four chapters of the second one, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The latter arrived just this week.
I've read all seven books and watched all eight movies, many of them multiple times. I was at a Borders book store at midnight when the final book came out in 2007 and paid several dollars extra to watch the final movie in 3D on a giant Imax screen last year. It's not a surprise that I found lots to enjoy in Pottermore.
Other adults should find much to like, too, but it's clear that kids are a big part of the target audience.
During the wand selection, for instance, you're asked whether you consider yourself short, average or tall - "for your age."
Many sites exclude kids under 13 because of additional consent requirements under a 1998 US law. Laudably, Pottermore doesn't do that. Instead, the kid must provide a parent's email address, and an email is sent to obtain permission. Nothing prevents a child from lying about his or her age or email address, though.
Pottermore does a good job of keeping child safety and privacy in mind. You're asked for your full name if you're at least 13, but it's not displayed - not even if you wanted it to be. Kids and adults alike must choose a username from a handful presented. You can't write your own, lest you include your real name or attributes such as your school or city.
You can add friends to your Pottermore network, the way you have a circle of friends on Facebook, but you must already know that friend's username. You can't look for friends by entering their email addresses, the way you can elsewhere. That hinders Pottermore's community experience, as I have no way of knowing whether any of my friends are already on Pottermore. But it also helps keep kids and strangers apart.
I do like that e-commerce is secondary at Pottermore. I had expected the site to continually blast me with offers for books, DVDs, mugs and posters. The shop only has e-books and audio books for starters, and you have to look hard for the link at the bottom. You can't even buy more coins to spend on virtual items; you have to find them as you move through the site.
Another nice touch: Pottermore is available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish from the start. Japanese, Korean and others are coming soon. You can choose the American or British flavour of English. The name of the first book even changes to reflect the fact that the Sorcerer's Stone is known as the Philosopher's Stone in Britain.
As I journeyed through the early chapters, I found many of the tasks overly simplistic. Much of my time was spent moving a cursor around the page looking for objects to collect, such as an alarm clock and seaweed.
Part of the challenge is Pottermore's desire to cater to a diverse audience. Kids might find tasks too difficult, while adults might find them too simple. The site also tries to serve both first-time readers and those reading them for the umpteenth time. In order to not ruin tales that come later, Pottermore has to hold back on some of the extra content early on.
Pottermore started getting interesting in Chapter 5, when Harry visits Diagon Alley to buy books and supplies for his first year at Hogwarts.
But even then, Pottermore holds your hand. You're given 500 galleons to spend, but you must buy the required items first, before you can splurge on that unicorn horn (21 galleons, three times the price of a wand). How about teaching kids some tough lessons about budgeting by letting them make some mistakes?
That said, I had trouble finding my way through Gringotts Wizarding Bank, the financial centre run by goblins. I was overthinking the challenges and went back several chapters looking for a key to unlock a bank vault. There weren't any goblins around to point out that the large golden key hanging right above the keyhole was all I needed.
What I liked most about Pottermore were the writings from Rowling. I learned how Rowling named the street where Harry grew up (Privet Drive was derived from a suburban plant called privet bush, meant to evoke associations with suburbia and enclosure). I also learned that Rowling had to resist efforts by her publisher to change measurements to the metric system. And I read the fictional account of how Harry's mean aunt and uncle met and started dating.
I longed for more backstories.
I'm still on Chapter 6 of the first book as I write this, and I'm getting more intrigued as I move further along. There are some stores in Diagon Alley I can't enter yet and hints of opportunities to earn house points by brewing potions and dueling with other wizards.
Pottermore's CEO, Charlie Redmayne, told me that I can eventually expect different experiences on mobile devices and some targeted to certain audiences, so that long-time fans like me won't have to wait for first-time readers to catch up.
The site, which has had 35 million unique visitors worldwide so far, also wants to improve its community features. Redmayne wouldn't say how, though.
Ultimately, Pottermore wants people to keep coming back for new content and new social interactions, even after going through the basic story lines once or twice.
I felt a void after watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 last year. Even with the site's limitations, I'm glad Pottermore is around to offer more of Potter.
( Associated Press )
There were varying reports on Arif Ali's intrusion. One said that he had fallen in love with a girl in Kerni village, which is located on the Zero line opposite to Pakistani posts.
According to the account, Ali took leave on the pretext of going home but crossed over, suspecting that the girl's parents might get her married to a relative in Poonch.
Another version was that he had crossed the LoC to seek asylum in India after being fed up with the attitude of his Pakistani seniors.
"We have repatriated the jawan back to Pakistani authorities as a goodwill gesture today," Brigade Commander Poonch Brigade, Brig M K Magoo, told reporters in Poonch.
The custody of Ali was transferred to the Pakistan Army at a flag meeting along the LoC in Chakan-Da-Bagh Crossing Point in Poonch district at 1010 hours.
The meeting was attended by Major Hamid Gul of 653 Mujahid Regiment from Pakistan and Major A Manhas on this side.
During questioning, the soldier claimed that he was mentally disturbed when he crossed over to the Indian side, Magoo said.
Ali, who is part of Pakistani Army's 25 Frontier Force (FF), and is posted at Saifullah along the LoC in PoK, was arrested in Kerni forward area in Poonch district by Indian troops on Thursday. He is a resident of Quetta.
Police sources said over Rs 13,000 in Pakistani currency along with two SIM cards, a leave certificate issued by the Frontier Force and a photo identity were found on him.
In October 2011, as a friendly gesture, Pakistan had allowed an Indian helicopter that had strayed across from Kargil to return to India within four hours.
About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Peregrine) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops and manufactures monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and viral infections. As of April 30, 2011, the Company had three Phase II clinical programs, including two oncology programs, as well as a hepatitis C virus (HCV) program. Peregrine’s pipeline of investigational monoclonal antibodies is based on two technology platforms, including phosphatidylserine (PS)-targeting antibodies and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)/histone-targeting antibodies. Bavituximab is its PS-targeting antibody. Cotara is the Company’s DNA/histone-targeting antibody-based on its Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT) technology platform. Peregrine’s wholly owned biomanufacturing subsidiary is Avid Bioservices, Inc., which provides integrated cGMP commercial and clinical manufacturing services for Peregrine and third-party clients.
"It's official, I have retired from international cricket! Thanks for all your love and support. It's been an amazing 13 years," Lee said in his twitter account on Friday.
‘‘It has been a dream career, I guess, 13 years at the top. I couldn’t ask for much more,’’ Lee said to Channel Nine news earlier in the day.
"Thirteen years, Friday the 13th, it's appropriate for me to go," Lee said. ‘‘I woke up this morning after not much sleep and it’s the right time to go. It just came to me this morning and I just felt it’s the right time to leave the game. It’s been in the back of my mind for a few months," he added.
Though the Cricket Australia (CA) was keen for the 35-year-old speedster to continue until the upcoming World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, Lee decided to leave the game he was not physically and mentally fit to take the challenge.
"I thought I would go over there and try and play the Twenty20 World Cup [in Sri Lanka in September], but [being] mentally and physically challenged, it would just not be worth it," Lee said. "In a team environment you have to have 100 per cent commitment, mentally and physically. And looking at the next few months I just didn't have that desire any more. It wouldn't be fair on me or the team. You get to a point in life when enough's enough."
Lee, however, will continue to play in the Big Bash League and Indian Premier League.
The 35-year-old paceman, who retired from Test cricket in February 2010 to prolong his limited-overs cricket, injured his calf muscle in the recently concluded one-day international series against England and returned home early, along with allrounder Shane Watson - who suffered the same injury.
Lee was not awarded a central contract in the latest round of agreements by the CA and he declined to continue his stint with New South Wales.
Lee, who had side strains, stress fractures and ankle problems throughout his career, took 310 wickets in 76 Tests and clinched 380 wickets from 221 ODIs. He also represented Kings XI Punjab and is now part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ squad in the IPL.
Who is Jilly Ballistic?
New York City's most well-known unknown street and subway artist.
New street art in New York shows the error messages that should pop up on posters for bad food and movies.
The best street art doesn’t just brighten an otherwise drab urban environment (though that’s always appreciated), it also comments on the environment itself. And new pieces popping up from New York street artist Jilly Ballistic are taking brilliant swipes at one of the more annoying aspects of city living: insipid advertising.
Using the universal trope of computer and phone alert windows, the pieces offer a bit of hard truth along with the hard sell of the advertisement. On a Budweiser ad, an iPhone alert window warns: "ERROR: Cannot refresh thirst. Please try another beverage." An ad for the new movie The Watch warns that it can’t open "due to lack of substance."
While Jilly Ballistic’s pieces might not actually convince anyone to not see, say, Step Up Revolution, due to critically low expectations (though the trailer seems to indicate that movie is, in fact, awesome), they at least provide a slight respite from the constant assault of marketing messages that bombard the captive audiences on the subway. Perhaps, after banning soda, Bloomberg can mandate warnings on all advertising.
Ag++, an Aluminum Case for iPhone 4 / 4S
The Ag++ Metal Case is an aluminum case for iPhone 4 and 4S. It is the result of innovative research where function merges with art and ergonomic blends with user-friendly. The Ag++ Metal Case was created with sustainable materials and is in full compliance with sustainable waste disposal practices.
Technical Details
Produced by Pineway Asia and distributed by Case Logic on the Asia-Pacific market, the Ag++ is shaped from a solid block of CNC aerospace aluminum which makes it ultra-shock absorbing and ultra-bend resistant. The Ag++ features minimalist design: simplified built-in accessories ensure light weight (only 16g) and small size while granting excellent mechanical, functional, and aesthetic qualities. It has a two-part casing and quick to install screw-lock system. Available in three different finishings: glossy, matte, and glossy/matte, in five different colors.
Ag++ Metal Case is produced by Pineway Asia Ltd. and distributed across Asia Pacific by Case Logic.
Pineway Asia Ltd. is the authorized sole distributor for Case Logic Mobile and Hardware in Asia Pacific.
Features
• Price： 49.99 USD
• Compatible： iPhone 4, iPhone 4S
•Company： Pineway Asia Ltd.
• Color： Silver, Gray, Silver-Gray, Silver-Orange, Silver-Blue
• Material： Aluminum
• Back Panel： Carbon Look (White and Black Color)
• Weight： 16g
SpiderFarm is a factory that reconstructs the environmental conditions of a spider’s natural habitat. Within the ‘farm’ the spiders spin silk for human use. The SpiderFarm is an open-ended project that intends to develop new materials and yet unrealized objects.
In the spider factory nature’s perfect balance is reproduced. At the same time the system is intended to evoke a strong awareness of nature’s vulnerability.
The factory mimics the natural setting in which spiders live in the wild, recreating the essential aspects that allow them to prosper. In this setting - a factory as an imitation of nature to facilitate the production of spiders - the animals are stimulated to produce silk for human use. Eventually the system might create a material, and objects, with an as yet unrealized potential.
Suspicions grow that China's slowdown is worse than data tell
Official figures on Chinese economic growth are due today, and the consensus among economists is that a year-on-year gain of 7.6% is likely. But many suspect the true story is grimmer than that, a fact that would compound problems for a global economy that continues to be burdened by the eurozone crisis and slow U.S. growth.
Key Chinese province of Guangdong sees poor first half
China's bellwether industrial province of Guangdong has experienced a sharp slowdown across a range of economic measures since the beginning of the year, Gov. Zhu Xiaodan says. Zhu mentioned lower-than-targeted figures for first-half GDP growth (7.4%), investment, expenditure, foreign trade and financial revenue, citing long-term structural problems and economic fluctuations for the poorer performance.
As Europe's banks fail to lend, ECB may take further steps
With banks failing to step up lending in response to the European Central Bank's new 0% overnight-deposit rates, the ECB held out the possibility of a further jolt. The bank's main interest rate of 0.75%, cut by a quarter point only last week, could be lowered again. "Should the situation deteriorate, there is no article of faith preventing us from going below 0.75 percent," said ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot.
U.S. weekly jobless claims drop sharply, but meaning is uncertain
The number of U.S. weekly unemployment claims fell last week to a four-year low of 350,000, but the drop may only reflect a delayed shutdown at auto plants for annual retooling. The weekly figures also were in conflict with other recent indicators pointing to a broad economic slowdown.
S. Korean lawmakers are warned against hamstringing conglomerates
Foreign investors may be upset if South Korean lawmakers go too far in curbing the power of the nation's corporate conglomerates, warned Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan. "If we adopt systems quite different from international standards in the process of discussing economic democratization, we may get objections from overseas," Bahk told the parliamentary finance committee. The fear is that too much regulation could cut into the conglomerates' hiring and investment.
China accuses EU of "lack of trust" in trade dispute
China strongly warned the European Union on Thursday that continued investigation of trade practices involving makers of Chinese telecommunications equipment may lead to retaliation. China called the EU investigation of possible government subsidies "groundless" and said that if the EU persists, China may launch its own probe of subsidies in several EU export industries.
Market Activities
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS OVERVIEW
Slowing global growth and despair over the apparent absence of any sense of urgency by the U.S. Federal Reserve weighed down European stocks Thursday. And the sentiment carried over into the U.S. market, where poor corporate earnings added to the gloom, sending the S&P 500 down 0.5% for the day. Here is a continuously updated list of global stock indexes.
Economic Trends & Outlook
India's industrial output rebounds in May
India's industrial output rebounds in May
India's industrial output staged a modest comeback in May, rising 2.4% and reversing the 0.9% contraction in April. However, the latest rate is down from 6.2% a year earlier, and concerns remain over the capital goods and mining sectors.
Moody's is upbeat on ASEAN nations
Sustained investment and household spending have helped buoy the ASEAN economies despite a turbulent global market, Moody's declared as it projected a positive outlook for the region. Only the worldwide slowdown is keeping annual growth among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members slightly below its potential at 5%, Moody's said.
Japan's corporate-goods prices drop at steepest rate in 27 months
Sharp declines in prices of crude oil and other raw materials helped push down Japan's corporate-goods prices in June at their fastest rate since March 2010, the Bank of Japan reported. The eurozone debt crisis and global economic slowdown contributed to the fall.
Australian unemployment ticks up
After a run of favorable jobless figures, Australia's unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 point in June to 5.2% as employers cut 27,000 jobs. The new rate, though much lower than in other advanced economies, is more in line with other Australian indicators and reflects big layoffs at some major employers.
As S. Korea's housing prices fall, declining consumption might follow
A new report indicates that falling prices in South Korea's housing sector may lead consumers to slow their purchases, adding further downward pressure on the nation's economy. "A structural change in Korea's housing system -- such as weakening demand for house ownership -- currently is likely to be a painful procedure for Korean consumers, whether or not they own houses," said Na Hong-suk, an analyst at Macquarie Equities Research, which prepared the report.
Economists see near term as rocky for Malaysian economy
New figures due this week for Malaysia's industrial output in May are likely to show year-on-year growth of about 4.6%, a survey of economists reveals. But the outlook is choppy, with little improvement expected before the end of the year.
Capital Markets & Financial Products
Chinese banks issued loans at a surprisingly high pace in June
China's banks are lending at a rapid pace, topping expectation in June with $144.3 billion in yuan loans, according to the People's Bank of China. The new figures support Premier Wen Jiabao's stimulus plan and Beijing's assertions that the economy is stabilizing. Looking ahead, "the data confirms our view that further rate cuts are not needed and thus are unlikely," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong Kong-based senior economist and strategist at Credit Agricole CIB.
Chinese banks buoy Singapore bid for yuan trading
Singapore's drive to become a major yuan trading hub is getting a boost from two Chinese banking giants -- Bank of China and Industrial and Commerce Bank of China -- which are competing for the right to clear such trades in the city-state. Given the "immense pent-up demand for the yuan," as described by Singapore Exchange chief Magnus Böcker, competition is fierce among London, Tokyo, Taipei, Luxembourg, Kuala Lumpur and others to become the world's second offshore yuan-trading hub after Hong Kong.
Looking ahead, Bank of Korea institutes first rate cut in 3 years
Anticipating repercussions from ongoing global economic turmoil, the Bank of Korea reduced its key interest rate to 3.0%, the first cut in more than three years. "The rate was cut in the hope to affect companies and the real economy rather than real estate. We see that it will give a plus to the real economy and alleviate burden on household debts," said BOK's governor, Kim Choong-soo.
Philippines sees foreign investment funds reverse course
Foreign money that flooded into the Philippines a year ago is now on the way out. According to the Philippine central bank, the net outflow in June was $7.69 million, reversing the year-earlier inflow of $353.79 million.
Industry & Regulatory Update
China clarifies boundaries for yuan FDI
In a clarification issued to financial institutions, the People's Bank of China lays out restrictions for yuan-denominated foreign direct investment. Barred are investments in securities, derivatives and property. These rules have been already implemented, a central bank official said, noting as well that the rules are not related to recent changes in economic indicators and cross-border capital flows.
China bars primary bond funds from IPOs
Primary bond funds in China can no longer subscribe to equity IPOs, a practice previously common to this type of fund. The Securities Association of China instituted the ban, effectively transforming primary bond funds into pure bond funds.
Washington OKs U.S. investment in Myanmar
Following up on the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar in May, the Obama administration has given the go-ahead to U.S. companies for investment in the newly open country. Worries had grown that the delayed approval from Washington would put American companies at a disadvantage, particularly in competition for access to Myanmar's oil fields.
Ethics & Standards
Japanese government looks at new ways to penalize insider trading
Looking to apply sterner penalties for insider trading, Japanese lawmakers are preparing to require that the country's pension funds refrain from any future dealings with asset managers who engage in the practice. With fines against companies accused of insider trading restricted by law, the government is taking other steps aimed at "seriously moving to clean up the Tokyo market," said Tsutomu Okubo, lead director of the upper house's financial affairs committee.
The world's cheapest tablet is now commercially available... and only costs $81. On Wednesday, Indian firm Simmtronics announced the launch of their new XPad tablet in Dubai. Retailing for approximately $81, the 7-inch tablet includes a Cortex Arm 8 processor, multi-touch display, and wifi capabilities and runs on Android 4.0. Simmtronics is aiming the tablet towards students; more expensive models offer capabilities such as larger screen size and more stoage. The $81 tablet has only 4GB of storage.
According to Middle Eastern technology site ITP, Simmtronics' Indrajit Sabharwal said that "By launching the XPad in the UAE, we believe in taking the tablet revolution to as many people as possible."
A previous attempt to build a $35 tablet in India, the Aakash, ended in failure.
Twitter And Buddy Media Introduce "Age Screening" So Brands Can Screen Who Follows Their Accounts
As Twitter continues to court advertisers to purchase real estate on the platform, it also has to come to terms with the rules that bind certain brands. Today Twitter and partner Buddy Media introduced age screening, a new opt-in feature that lets brands with age-restricted or adult content prevent minors from following their accounts. Now, when you try to follow a brand such as Jack Daniels Honey or Miller Lite, you'll receive a direct message that will take you to age.twitter.com to verify your age. After you verify once, you won't have to do it for every opted-in brand you want to follow.
Digg, Darling Of The Pre-Facebook Web, Sells To Betaworks For A Rumored $500,000
Via WSJ: Digg, the social news site and former Web 2.0 darling that was eventually pushed into obsolescence by then-newcomers Facebook and Twitter, has been acquired by Betaworks, the New York tech development behind popular links shortener bit.ly and analytics service Chartbeat, among others. The Wall Street Journal reports the price tag for the deal was just $500,000, though TechCrunch cites a source who disputes that number. That's a paltry sum for a company that Google reportedly offered $200 million for in 2008, before the deal fell through. However, trouble for Digg started to mount in 2010 after a controversial redesign led to the loss of a quarter of its audience; founder Kevin Rose departed in March of 2011; and the site lost its tech staff to The Washington Post this April. (Rose recently joinedGoogle Ventures as a partner). Betaworks CEO John Borthwick will head Digg and reportedly plans to have the team behind News.me, Betaworks' news reader service, manage from hereon out. What to expect next? A startup approach to rebuilding Digg, which means smaller budgets and faster cycles for new products, such as a cloud-based Digg in the works.
Columbia Amps Online Courses, Appoints Sree Sreenivasan First Chief Digital Officer
Columbia University is about to start amping up its online-only distance learning programs, as well as its traditional courses that lack a robust digital presence. To that end, the school just appointed long-time professor and journalism school dean Sree Sreenivasan as its first chief digital officer. Columbia's pursuit of the digital route is further affirmation that a new crop of digital education companies is starting to have a trickle-up effect on traditional institutions. Current players in the space range from teach-anyone-anything companies such as Skillshare, online education portals like Khan Academy and Coursera, open education initiatives like OpenCourseWare, and other storied institutions such as MIT and Stanford.
Facebook Makes Events More Useful, Groups More Snoopful
One of the nice things about Facebook when it first launched was that it gave you a quick, casual way to communicate with large groups of people--everyone attending your weekend zombie costume party for example, could be informed of the last minute switch to a pirate theme--without the messiness of endless multi-responder email threads.
Facebook recently made some deft changes to two key group talk tools, Facebook Events and Facebook Groups. On Groups, Facebook has introduced a feature that snitches to Group admins about which members have and haven’t seen new posts on the Group message boards, and when they've seen it. (Update: Members of a group and users who've been included in the visibility settings can also see time stamps and read receipts.) The introduction of these read receipts is in some ways a departure for Facebook, which is traditionally guarded about revealing users’ browsing habits within Facebook to other users. But then, others argue, the feature isn't so different from read receipts Facebook already has for personal messages.
The changes to Facebook's Events feature incorporate ideas born at one of its hackathons. “A couple of us felt there should be a better way for people to see their friends' birthdays a few days in advance and make plans for the weekend. So we built it,” Facebook engineer Bob Baldwin wrote in an introductory blog post. Birthdays, suggested events, and events you're invited to now show up as a list or as thumbnails in a calendar, letting you respond to an invite from a drop-down box that appears within the calendar view. Coincidentally, or not so much, this follows the launch of a plush new events feature on rival Google+. Google+ Events, first showed off and activated at Google's I/O conference in late June, makes good use of Google’s multiple products, seamlessly linking Google+, Google Calendar and Gmail features, with convenient but non-essential add-ons, like letting event attendees automatically upload photographs to a group bin on the event page.
Uber Taste-Tests On-Demand Ice Cream Trucks
Uber, the mobile app that lets you order private cars on-demand, is getting a little sweeter. Tomorrow, the company is test-driving a mini-fleet of ice cream trucks in seven cities across the country and in Toronto. Uber users, who can already order the service's cars on their phones, will be able to request an ice cream truck to purchase treats in bundles. (In New York, for example, you can get a five-pack of ice creams from city favorites Van Leeuwen and Cool Haus for $12.) It's the cherry on top of a great week for Uber: It just won a major victory against the Washington, D.C. City Council that would have required the on-demand service to charge five times the cost of a D.C. taxi by law. It's also an interesting peek into a world in which Uber can offer customers more than just cars. Which makes us wonder: What else can we Uber?
Hackers Publish 450,000 Usernames Pilfered From Yahoo Voices
Hackers have infiltrated a Yahoo service, sneaking out 450,000 passwords and usernames and posting them online. Ars Technica was among the first to spot the breach, which seems to have affected the otherwise low-profile Yahoo Voice network, a voice service associated with Yahoo chat. The hacker group behind the heist is calling itself the D33Ds Company. Worryingly, as the Guardian points out, Yahoo had not encrypted the passwords. The lack of similar first-level security landed LinkedIn in trouble when hackers accessed and published 6.4 million passwords online last month. Yahoo has yet to comment.
Amazing Alex, The New Game From Angry Birds Creators, Launches For iOS And Android
Amazing Alex, the second game from Angry Birds maker Rovio, is now out for iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Like Angry Birds, the mobile game is based on physics and falling, but in Amazing Alex you don’t break, you build. As the teaser video below shows, the game is about balancing regular objects and creating chain reactions, to help engineering nut Alex get things done in a creative way. As a bonus, users can create and share game levels they make. So far, some users are running into difficulties accessing the iOS Game Center after downloading the game, but Rovio says it is looking into it.
Judge Rules New York's Aereo TV Retransmission Service Is Legal
A New York district judge has now ruled that Aereo, which retransmits live TV signals to iPhones and iPads using a complex and strange array of antennas, can continue its business. Aereo asserts its merely sending signals to users on a different device than they'd be watching free TV on at home--because you can't take your domestic TV on the road. TV networks see it differently and say Aereo is infringing their copyright, but Judge Alison Nathan has ruled that the law is on the side of Aereo. An appeal is expected to be filed immediately.
