Did Google Earth error send murderer to wrong address?

Dennis and Merna Koula.

(Credit:
CBS News.com Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

Sometimes, even after a murder conviction, some see reasonable doubt that the conviction was a righteous one.

Such is the case in the murder of Dennis and Merna Koula in La Cross, Wisc, a quiet community.

Their son Eric was found guilty and is currently serving two consecutive life-sentences for the murder of the wealthy couple.

It was Eric Koula who found the body. It was Eric Koula whose alibi didn't stand up. Eric Koula was broke.

Yet as CBS News' "48 Hours" reported, there are some inconsistencies that some can't quite put aside. They include John Christophersen, a special agent at the time with the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

It was said at the trial that Eric Koula treated his father as an ATM. There was a $50,000 check that he cashed right after his parents died.

It was a check from his father. Eric Koula had forged the signature -- something he claimed to have done many times.

But, as his attorney said at the trial: "What sort of an idiot would put a check in the bank the morning after they killed their parents, knowing that bank records are easy to get?"

To some eyes, the murder seemed like a professional hit. No valuables were taken. And there was no DNA evidence to implicate Eric Koula.

Moreover, there was another idea that investigators began to pursue at the time. A neighbor of the Koula's, Steve Burgess, freely admitted that he had received death threats. He was the president of a local bank.

More Technically Incorrect

And, as the CBS News investigation indicated (embedded, but there are some gaps in the audio), if you use Google Earth to locate Burgess' house, you get a surprise.

"48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant said: "In fact, when you Google Earth Steve Burgess' address...the zoom into the house goes to the Koula's house, not to Steve Burgess' house."

Police say they discounted the threatening caller, as they located him and he had an alibi. But then could that individual have hired someone to do any allegedly required dirty work, a person who used Google Earth to go to the wrong house?

This story brings to mind the even more recent case of the alleged murder of Rodrigo Diaz. His friends claim that his GPS had led him to the wrong house.

The owner of that house allegedly became annoyed or threatened by the presence of Diaz and his friends. This resulted in Diaz being shot in what lawyers for the accused, Phillip Sailors, say was a case of self-defense.

The jury in the trial of Eric Koula believed there was enough evidence to convict him.

Others look at the evidence they see on Google Earth and still have their doubts.

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The Audiophiliac wants to see your audio system

This is my system from a few years ago. The speakers are Magnepan 3.6s.

(Credit:
Wes Bender)

If you have a state-of-the-art high-end system, or a tricked out iPod speaker, we'd love to see it. Take an interesting picture of your headphones, Bluetooth speaker, turntable, home theater, or whatever you have. If you built your own speakers or amp, that's right up my alley!

Send JPEGs (not huge files) to theaudiophiliac (at) hotmail (dot) com. Of course, anyone submitting should be comfortable with the photos being publicly posted online "forever after." Please include your name (first name and first initial of your last name). And if you're up for it, tell us where you live.

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Dell's top shareholders don't want it to go private

Dell's largest outside shareholder opposes the computer maker's plan to go private, saying that the deal "grossly undervalues the company," according to a letter sent to the Dell board.

The shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, submitted the letter as part of Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed today. The group owns 8.5 percent of Dell's shares, making it the largest outside shareholder.

Dell announced the $24.4 billion deal, which needs regulatory and shareholder approval, this week. CEO Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake are paying $13.65 per share, while Microsoft is contributing a $2 billion loan, to buy back the company's shares. The idea is the transaction would let the struggling company try to turn itself around without the pressure from shareholders.

Southeastern Asset Management said the $13.65 price per share is too low and argued for other options it said would give shareholders more value.

Apparently, it's not the only one. Three of the top 20 shareholders support Southeastern's opposition to the deal, according to a report from Reuters. An unnamed source told Reuters that Harris Associates, Yacktman Asset Management, and Pzena Investment Management, are the shareholders backing Southeastern. The three firms in total own 3.3 percent of shares.

Pzena's chairman, Richard Pzena, told Reuters that the shares should price in the $20 range or Dell should try other options.

Southeastern Asset Management's letter said it's willing to start a proxy fight -- in which it would persuade shareholders to vote out the company management so the company is easier to take over -- or file a lawsuit to stop Dell's action.

We are writing to express our extreme disappointment regarding the proposed go-private transaction, which we believe grossly undervalues the Company. We also write to inform you that we will not vote in favor of the proposed transaction as currently structured. We retain and intend to avail ourselves of all options at our disposal to oppose the proposed transaction, including but not limited to a proxy fight, litigation claims and any available Delaware statutory appraisal rights.

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First complete 'bionic man' unveiled in U.K.

He's got blood flowing through him, but he sure isn't human. Meet Rex, the world's first complete "bionic man."

Rex has the face of a man; prosthetic limbs; a functional artificial blood-circulatory system; and artificial organs including a pancreas, kidney, spleen, and trachea. At 6.5-feet tall, Rex is valued at a whopping $1 million.

Created for the TV documentary series "How to Build a Bionic Man," Rex was constructed by a team of roboticists. The researchers say they wanted to test scientific boundaries and demonstrate how modern science is beginning to catch up with sci-fi in the race to replace body parts with man-made alternatives.

In the future, people may be able to fix a failing organ without having a transplant. The agonizing wait for a matching donor could be a thing of the past.

Bertolt Meyer, a social psychologist at the University of Zurich, was in London with other researchers to demonstrate how the bionic man works.

"One of my personal favorites is the artificial blood that runs through these tubings, because this is made of nanoparticles that are able to bind oxygen and give them off, just like real blood can do, but this isn't real blood, this is nanoparticles," Meyer told reporters yesterday.

"Also the fact that they are very close to an implantable artificial kidney that will actually be able to replace a failing kidney without the necessity of a kidney transplant. So think of the great benefits technology like that would bring. I knew fairly much about prosthetic limbs apparently, but what we are close to accomplishing in terms of artificial organs -- I find that absolutely mind boggling."

Rex is on display as part of a free exhibit called "How Much of You Can Be Rebuilt?" at the Science Museum in London. The exhibit runs through March 11.

This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com.

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People crave Windows 8 tablets at work more than iPads

Are you drooling?

(Credit:
CNET)

Humans have an insatiable desire for novelty.

Ask them what they want today and it's whatever is new today.

This is something that might be music to Microsoft's lobes and loins. For a thorough piece of research by Forrester suggests that those who work in information would prefer it if they could have a new, exciting
Windows 8 tablet for work, rather than an
iPad.

With timing that some might see as wafting between propitious and suspicious, this research offers that 32 percent of those surveyed declared their panting desire for a sexy new Windows 8 work machine.

As ReadWrite reports, a mere 26 percent said please could they have an iPad. (Android lagged at 12 percent.)

The lovely thing about this research is that it wasn't conducted among 300 people who happened to be hanging around on Twitter, seeking a free thrill.

No, this sample size was 9,766 "information workers."

The less lovely thing is that these information workers didn't seem to offer any information as to their reasoning.

In my own dreamy mind, I hope that their reasoning was predominantly emotional, as this would signify that Microsoft is finally learning to tap right-brain juices, rather than the pedantic, plodding rational side.

With the advent of the Surface Pro, one imagines that, if this research is accurate, there might be a clamoring for the Surface range.

This would be a clamoring that has yet to take place, as some say only 900,000 Surface tablets shipped in the last quarter of 2012.

This research reflected these small beginnings, as only 2 percent of respondents said they owned a Windows 8
tablet.

In this same study, Forrester was less optimistic about Microsoft's chances in phones, as 33 percent of these same workers wanted their next phone to be an iPhone, while only 10 percent were fascinated by a Windows Phone.

More Technically Incorrect

This is a pity, as the Nokia Lumia 920 is -- to my human eyes -- a more than interesting alternative to the iPhone. Indeed, I have watched women flock around my engineer friend George when he subtly materializes his Lumia on a night out.

As more workers bring their own devices to work, it will be instructive as to what choices they make. Will they err toward their own sense of style and pleasure? Or will some sense of righteous businessness prevail?

Or perhaps that gap is closing.

Still, there is plenty of trepidation about Windows 8's ability to maintain Microsoft's hold on work life.

Here's a quote from an organization that professed a little knowledge: "We do not expect enterprises to adopt Windows 8 as their primary IT standard." The headline was: "By The Numbers: Is Windows 8 Dead On Arrival In The Enterprise?"

That was Forrester, too.

As my erudite friend Taylor always tells me: "We live in very interesting times. Uncertain, but interesting."

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Apple's ownership of 'iPhone' name in Brazil in peril

Apple could soon lose its rights to use the iPhone name in Brazil as part of a decision expected from the local patent and trademark office next week.

Citing an unnamed source, both Reuters and Folha de S.Paulo today say The Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property plans to award an exclusive iPhone name trademark to Brazil-based electronics company Gradiente.

Gradiente filed for the iPhone naming rights in the country years before Apple's device came to be. However the company didn't put out its own iPhone-branded product until last December when it began selling a line of touchscreen smartphones running Google's
Android.

In a release about the new products, Gradiente said it had secured the legal rights to the name through 2018.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the reports.

Apple famously wrestled the rights to the iPhone name in the U.S. from Cisco Systems in early 2007, just months before the product's release. Cisco sued Apple for trademark infringement immediately after the iPhone was unveiled at the annual Macworld conference in January that same year. In its complaint, Cisco said Apple had approached the company over the name a number of times, even using a shell company in an attempt to acquire the moniker. The two ended up settling in February 2007.

Internationally the story has been a bit more interesting, including a fight in China over the rights to the "iPad" trademark with a company called Proview. That dispute, which threatened sales of the popular
tablet in the country, was settled last July for $60 million. A similar result is expected in Brazil if the patent office sides with Gradiente, with a report earlier today quoting a company official saying he was "open to a dialogue" of such a deal.

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Canadian penny bites the dust. Is the nickel next?

An obsolete coin for your thoughts: Google.ca paid tribute to the Canadian penny, which was first struck in 1858.

(Credit:
Google)

We Canadians love innovating our money. We're printing plastic banknotes and chucking out useless coins.

Last March I said I wouldn't mourn the passing of the Canadian penny.

And yet today, as the Royal Canadian Mint officially stopped distributing the cent to banks, I have mixed feelings. I saw the Google.ca animated doodle honoring the coin and felt a tad nostalgic.

So I fished out a few pennies from my pockets and considered the brazen image of Queen Elizabeth and the maple leaf.

There's something a little Dickensian in these worn coppers. The oldest on my desk is from 1977. The surface is dull and the queen looks a lot younger.

That coin passed through many hands only to wind up in mine. It's got a real-world history that makes it special.

Electronic money, and e-books for that matter, don't have that historicity, that unique physical existence through time.

While I'm glad to see the penny go, I also feel like I'm losing a tiny link to my fellow human beings, a connection I only really thought of now. Not to mention all those folksy idioms like "the penny drops."

For those who get dewy-eyed over its demise, the mint is offering 20,000 commemorative 50-cent rolls of the last million pennies manufactured.

Meanwhile, 99-cent sales could go out of fashion, since prices for cash sales are being rounded to the nearest nickel. Prices that end in 1 or 2 are rounded down to zero, those ending in 3, 4, 6, or 7 are rounded to 5, and those ending in 8 or 9 are rounded up to 10.

The mint was spending 1.6 cents on every penny it made until production ended last May; axing the coin is expected to save some $11 million. Canada follows New Zealand and Australia in stopping production of the penny.

While the billions of Canadian pennies still in circulation will be legal tender indefinitely, some are calling for the nickel to go too, though there has been some pushback with that idea.

"It shouldn't be as tough as a slog now because the case has been made that life as we know it isn't going to end if we eliminate the lowly penny," NDP member of Parliament Pat Martin was quoted as saying in the National Post.

Life hasn't ended, but I feel for all those penny pinchers out there.

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Super Bowl does Wi-Fi on a massive scale

There should be no shortage of Wi-Fi at the Super Bowl. And the NFL want to make sure it stays that way.

The Wi-Fi network at the Superdome in New Orleans has been structured and reinforced to handle a stunning 30,000 simultaneous connections during the big game, starting shortly, between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. Ars Technica reported that detail and lots more about the setup -- for instance, there 700 wireless access points inside the stadium, and 250 right outside for folks in the parking lots.

Clearly, the NFL understands that we're already deep in the
tablet and smartphone era when people expect easy, uninterrupted access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and more.

But not unregulated access. Fans entering the Superdome are having their bags inspected for wireless gear that could undermine the robust functioning of the Wi-Fi network. There will be no "rogue access points," Dave Stewart, director of IT and production for Superdome management firm SMG, told Ars Technica:

Every device that enters the building has to go through a frequency scan and be authorized to enter. At the perimeter the devices are identified and tagged. If they present a potential for interference, they are remediated at that moment. Either the channel is changed or it is denied access. It's all stopped at the perimeter for this event.

One of the biggest worries is about devices such as wireless cameras tuned to the 2.4GHz frequency range.

The new Wi-Fi network was installed just this season, and though there were some trial runs during regular-seasons games, the Super Bowl marks the first time the network has been publicly advertised as available to all fans, according to Ars Technica. Verizon Wireless built the network, using Cisco gear.

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For Valentine's Day, Cupid ditches arrows, opts for e-cards

Admit it. You've always wanted to love like John Travolta.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

Romance isn't dead.

It's merely been reduced to the level of a friend request, a poke, and a privacy control.

Often in that order.

How else can one interpret the staggeringly predictable research -- performed on behalf of SOASTA, the oddly named company that performs cloud and mobile testing -- that suggests more than a third of American human beings will send an e-card for Valentine's Day?

It's true that some e-cards can be amusing, uplifting, even offering an instant surprise on an otherwise moribund day. But can they truly incite a loving feeling on America's most commercially amorous day of the year?

You will be stunned into loving only yourself for the rest of your days when I tell you that -- of the 2,474 American adults surveyed -- men seem a little keener on Valentine e-cards than women.

Indeed, this research offered that 47 percent of men between the ages of 35 and 44 indicated that the love of their life deserved merely a few clicks and a canned expression of love.

Next in enthusiasm were men aged 18-34, 41 percent of whom will let their fingers do the loving.

But let's not besmirch these men any more than they deserve. 41 percent of women aged 18-34 also claimed that e-cards were their chosen method to stroke their chosen one.

Clearly, convenience is at the heart of this e-card enthusiasm, just as it is at the heart of modern romance.

Respondents were radiant at the idea that e-cards are free. 35 percent beamed at the fact that they offer the possibility of animation. And a deeply serious 34 percent felt the need to point out they were environmentally friendly.

A surprisingly paltry 6 percent admitted that they loved e-cards because you could happily include NSFW content.

More Technically Incorrect

Because ours is an acquisitive society, those who send these free, convenient things to express their temporarily undying love actually expect something in return.

A kiss is expected by 8 percent. A fulsome 10 percent expect sex. They must be among those who believe you can get something for nothing.

There will be those who reach for their Latin and mutter: "Sic transit tragoedia mundi." (Oh, look it up, e-carders.)

But when a whole new personal version of oneself is being created and spun online, who can be surprised that other expressions of love might seem not merely passe but also downright unexpressive?

E-cards surely allow you a far greater breadth than paper cards or balloons to display precisely what you really feel about the most important person in your life.

Which, in the case of 3 percent of the respondents in this moving survey, is "the hot receptionist at work."

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Rarified Retina MacBook Pros get priced closer to earth

13.3- and 15.4-inch Retina MacBook Pros

(Credit:
Apple)

MacBook Pros equipped with a Retina display are not exactly priced to move. Best Buy and Amazon are trying to change that.

Best Buy, for example, is now selling the 128GB version (model MC975LL/A) of the 13.3-inch
MacBook Pro Retina for $1,549.99, $150 off the regular $1,699.99 price.

Need 256GB of solid-state storage with that gorgeous Retina screen? That model (MD213LL/A) is now $1,799.99, $200 off the regular price of $1,999.99.

The pricier 15.4-inch models with 256GB and 512GB solid-state drives (MC975LL/A and MC976LL/A, respectively), also got $200 lopped off their regular prices.

Amazon is going even lower, pricing the 128GB 13.3-inch model at $1,515.59, for example.

The online retailer is offering identical discounts to Best Buy on the 15.4-inch models.

These sales may be short-lived (the Best Buy sale is for two days only) but expect more of this kind of discounting from retailers in the future. Apple's Mac sales sank last quarter to 4.1 million compared to 5.2 million in the same quarter last year.

Some of that is because consumers are opting for the cheaper
iPad, but the Retina MacBook Pros may be a factor too. When Apple sells configurations that push the least expensive Retina model to $1,700 ($1,699) at the regular price, that's not going to win over a lot of buyers.

Best Buy sale: For two days, the 13.3-inch Retina MacBook Pro now starts at $1,549.99.

(Credit:
Best Buy)

[Via 9to5Toys ]

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Smart LED desk lamp is sensitive to your moods

It's more than just a lamp.

(Credit:
Satechi)

The day of the single-purpose gadget is rapidly fading. You can't just have a phone that you use to talk to other people. It has to do 50 other things. You can't just have a desk lamp that lights up your desk. You have to have one that charges your phone and gives you mood lighting, too.

The Satechi Smart LED Desk Lamp tries to fit as much functionality in as it can. It charges smartphones and has a built-in timer to power it off. It's also very touchy-feely. It's controlled through a touch panel and has different lighting modes to fit your mood.

The lamp can be dimmed in increments, or you can choose one of four pre-sets. Reading mode features a mid-range color temperature to be easy on your eyes. Study mode has high-range color temperature, supposedly to increase concentration. Relaxation mode brings low-range color temperature to encourage you to kick back. Bedtime mode has a soft light for people who like to sleep at their desks.

Phone charging functions aren't new to desk lamps. Konica Minolta came out with wireless charging lamp late last year. The Satechi lamp doesn't do wireless, but at $100, it's $200 cheaper than the Konica Minolta. If you're the kind of person who's not satisfied with single-function devices, then the Satechi lamp could be worth a look.

Charge your phone while relaxing with your mood lighting.

(Credit:
Satechi)

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U.S. Cellular dials up $300 rebate for new family plans

For a limited time, the Huawei Ascend Y costs just a penny with activation.

(Credit:
CNET)

U.S. Cellular is offering a limited time "Family Switcher Bonus" for new customers who activate at least two lines on a Family Plan. The deal, which runs through April 1, provides consumers with a $300 MasterCard debit card.

The catch? At least one of the new lines must be a smartphone.

To sweeten the deal, U.S. Cellular has discounted a number of smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S 3 for $150 and the Huawei Ascend Y, which now sells for just a penny.

What's more, the carrier is tossing in a free 4G LTE Samsung Mobile Hotspot with any smartphone or
tablet purchase. Family Plans start as low as $99 for two lines, but vary depending on the amount of allotted monthly data.

Rounding things out, new and existing customers with U.S. Cellular's 4G LTE coverage can sign up for unlimited data plans for $40 per month.

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Smaller Apple TV box hinted at in FCC filing

A new regulatory filing suggests Apple is readying a fourth-generation Apple TV set, one that looks a whole lot like the last two models, but with one minor difference.

That difference is size. The new version, which was spotted by Endgadget in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today, is 93.78mm around versus the current model's 98mm. It also carries the model number A1469, which differs from the current model's A1427 designation.

The filing comes on the heels of a reference to an unreleased
Apple TV model inside of
iOS 6.1, which Apple released to the public yesterday after months of testing. Like the iPhone,
iPad and iPod touch, the Apple TV also runs iOS, though differs in various ways -- notably a lack of touch interface, and the capability to install and use third-party applications.

Apple updated the Apple TV's hardware last March with a third-generation model that added 1080p playback. Since then Apple has put out a handful of interim software updates that added new features, including compatibility with iTunes Match and more recently Bluetooth keyboards. The company is still expected to roll out a full-fledged TV set, possibly as soon as this fall, putting any interim hardware releases under closer scrutiny.

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With new 'Star Wars' on tap, Lucasfilm bails on Episodes II and III in 3D

George Lucas and new 'Star Wars Episode VII' director J.J. Abrams.

(Credit:
Joi Ito)

With the creative team for "Star Wars Episode VII" now in place, Lucasfilm and Disney appear to be using the forward movement on that project as an excuse to shelve plans to release 3D versions of Episodes II and III.

In a news post today on StarWars.com, Lucasfilm announced the abandoning of the release of the 3D versions of the two prequel films.

"Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of 'Star Wars' Episodes II and III in 3D," it wrote today. "Given the recent development that we are moving forward with a new 'Star Wars' trilogy, we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on 'Star Wars: Episode VII' in order to ensure the best possible experience for our fans. We will post further information about our 3D release plans at a later date.

In the weeks since Disney announced the purchase of Lucasfilm for $4 billion, it has made additional news by hiring "Toy Story 3" writer Michael Arndt to pen the screenplay for the next "Star Wars" film, and last week, got the entire "Star Wars" universe excited -- for better or worse -- by hiring "Star Trek" director and "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams to direct "Episode VII."

Lucasfilm released Episode I in 3D a year ago.

Via @FutureBoy

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Pornographic video clips already showing up on Twitter's Vine

Less than a week after Twitter unveiled Vine, the video-sharing app apparently has developed a porn problem.

Released Thursday, the app for iPhone and
iPod Touch lets anyone create and share six-second clips, but it also has become a popular venue for male genitalia and pornographic movies taped off TVs and laptops. As first pointed out last night by The New York Times' Nick Bilton, searches for #porn, #sex, and other associated tags brings up a handful of videos featuring male exhibitionism and other activity.

While Vine's terms of service don't expressly forbid sexually explicit content, Twitter does encourage users to use good judgment when posting content:

You are responsible for your use of the Services, for any Content you post to the Services, and for any consequences thereof. The Content you submit, post, or display will be able to be viewed by other users of the Services and through third party services and websites. You should only provide Content that you are comfortable sharing with others under these Terms.

However, Vine users can flag videos they find offensive. If clips receive enough complaints, Twitter will add a warning still to the beginning of the video that users have to bypass to see the clip, a Twitter representative told CNET.

"Uploaded videos that are reported and determined to violate our guidelines will be removed from the site, and the user that posted the video may be terminated," the representative said in a statement.

Long an advocate for freedom of expression, Twitter has been reluctant to censor tweets. A year ago, the microblogging site announced it would be willing to remove tweets on a country-by-country basis when there are local restrictions against specific content in the tweets.

While the NSFW content might not violate Twitter's TOS, Apple's App Store guidelines state that "apps containing pornographic material, defined by Webster's Dictionary as 'explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings,' will be rejected."

Apple recently removed an app called 500px, presumably because of its photo-sharing capabilities, which might allow users to search for and find naked bodies. CNET has contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

Updated at 3:45 p.m. PT
with Twitter comment.

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In Swartz protest, Anon hacks U.S. site, threatens leaks

In response to the death of tech activist Aaron Swartz, hacktivist collective Anonymous hacked a U.S. government Web site related to the justice system and posted a screed saying it would begin leaking a cache of government documents if the justice system is not reformed.

The group hacked the Web site for the United States Sentencing Commission late Friday, posting a message about what it's calling "Operation Last Resort," along with a set of downloadable encrypted files it said contain sensitive information. The sentencing commission is the caretaker of the guidelines for sentencing in U.S. federal courts.

"Two weeks ago today, a line was crossed," the group's statement reads. "Two weeks ago today, Aaron Swartz was killed. Killed because he faced an impossible choice. Killed because he was forced into playing a game he could not win -- a twisted and distorted perversion of justice -- a game where the only winning move was not to play."

The recent suicide of Swartz, a proponent of freely accessible information, has been blamed by some on what they say were outrageously aggressive efforts on the part of the U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts to punish Swartz for his alleged theft of millions of articles from a database of academic journals. The 26-year-old Swartz, who struggled with bouts of depression, had been charged with 13 felonies and threatened with decades in prison and fines exceeding $1 million. U.S. Attorney Carmin Ortiz says Swartz' lawyers were also offered a plea bargain in which he'd plead guilty and serve perhaps 6 months.

Anonymous encouraged its followers to download the files on the hacked site, a set of nine downloads named after the U.S. Supreme Court's nine justices and collectively referred to by the hacking collective as a "warhead."

"Warhead-US-DOJ-LEA-2013.AEE256 is primed and armed. It has been quietly distributed to numerous mirrors over the last few days and is available for download from this website now. We encourage all Anonymous to syndicate this file as widely as possible."

The group wouldn't specify what, exactly, is in the files, saying only that "the contents are various and we won't ruin the speculation by revealing them. Suffice it to say, everyone has secrets, and some things are not meant to be public. At a regular interval commencing today, we will choose one media outlet and supply them with heavily redacted partial contents of the file."

The contents of the encrypted files can apparently be accessed only with a decryption key, and Anonymous said it didn't necessarily want to provide that key to its followers -- it mentioned "collateral damage" as a result of any leaks and said "It is our hope that this warhead need never be detonated." But the group said the U.S. government must begin acting on reforms to the justice system suggested by the system's critics, and in spelling out its demands more specifically, it mentioned plea bargaining and suggested the overhaul of legislation such as the mid-1980s antihacking law entitled the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

...in order for there to be a peaceful resolution to this crisis, certain things need to happen. There must be reform of outdated and poorly-envisioned legislation, written to be so broadly applied as to make a felony crime out of violation of terms of service, creating in effect vast swathes of crimes, and allowing for selective punishment. There must be reform of mandatory minimum sentencing. There must be a return to proportionality of punishment with respect to actual harm caused, and consideration of motive and mens rea [criminal intent]. The inalienable right to a presumption of innocence and the recourse to trial and possibility of exoneration must be returned to its sacred status, and not gambled away by pre-trial bargaining in the face of overwhelming sentences, unaffordable justice, and disfavourable odds. Laws must be upheld unselectively, and not used as a weapon of government to make examples of those it deems threatening to its power.

The group said it had acquired the files by compromising various government Web sites and installing "leakware," which it has since removed to cover its tracks.

Here's the video Anon posted on the commission's site. A Google cache of the hacked home page, which includes the text version of the screed, can be seen here.

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Marketing 101: Know your audience

One of the ways to know your audience is through research. My never-ending quest as a TV marketing guy is to understand viewer behavior and how to influence that decision-making process. We study why TV viewers choose what they choose.

Recently, I traveled with members of my team to Las Vegas to ask these questions and more at our world-class CBS Television City research facility at the MGM Grand Hotel. The 9,000-square-foot space is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology, and an expert research staff. This is where we test audience response to new TV shows as well as our advertising.

The input we gather from real people who represent a good cross-section of our audience helps us shape our marketing campaigns to be the most effective. We learn what they like, don't like, how they watch, and what is important to them. It's all great feedback that helps us do our jobs smarter.

Oh, yes, in the "I wish I had thought of this" category: one of the most interesting observations during the trip: Restroom TV and ads at the sinks in the MGM Grand Hotel (see picture below). Only in Vegas.

Stay tuned!

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Belkin buying Linksys

Previous reports of Cisco looking to sell its home router division have turned out to be true.

Belkin announced this afternoon that it is planning to acquire Cisco's home networking business unit, which includes the Linksys brand.

While Belkin will also be grabbing some other products, resources, and employees from Cisco's home networking group, it maintained that the Linksys name will remain intact.

Belkin also promised to offer support for Linksys products, and guaranteed that it would honor valid warranties for current and future Linksys products.

Linksys will enhance Belkin's capabilities to meet the needs of OEMs, as well as provide access to a large user base. Belkin and Cisco intend to pursue a strategic relationship focused on a variety of initiatives, including retail distribution, strategic marketing, and products for the service provider market.

Cisco originally purchased the home router company for $500 million in 2003.

After selling or killing off a few other consumer-focused units and products (such as the Flip camcorder), San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco appears to be dedicated to only business and enterprise products.

The buyout is also expected to grow Belkin's reach considerably. After the transaction closes, Belkin asserted, it will account for approximately 30 percent of the U.S. retail home and small business networking market.

Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the merger is expected to be completed by March.

This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline Belkin buying Cisco's home networking business Linksys.

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'Dell dude': I can save Dell, dude

He was a wonder in his day.

(Credit:
TelevisionArchives/YouTube Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

I already know what you're thinking. I'm like that sometimes.

You're thinking: "What is he, high?"

You're thinking that because Ben Curtis, he who once used to invade your home through your TV and say, "You're getting a Dell, dude," believes he can make a comeback and resurrect the brand.

You're also thinking that because Curtis was once arrested for trying to buy marijuana in New York.

On the other hand, it's clear that Dell isn't in quite the shape that it used to be, and vultures -- I mean, admirers -- are circling to lend a hand.

Perhaps this is why it took just one e-mail from Bloomberg to Curtis in order to learn of his master plan.

"I think they're making a huge mistake and simply need to bring back the Dell Dude!," he wrote. "That's it. That's all they need to do. If they brought me back, their sales, stock and media presence would skyrocket. That is by FAR the smartest move they could make."

More Technically Incorrect

Curtis knows smart. When he was ludicrously arrested in the pot bust, he did happen to be wearing a kilt.

It would be fair, too, to ask what the word "Dell" has conjured in people's minds since the company chose to release Curtis because of that arrest.

In my mind, the name is associated most strongly with "The Rich Kids of Instagram" and Padma Lakshmi's baby.

Why wouldn't a return of the Dude, deftly conceived, at least create a little renewed affection for the brand?

Perhaps it could start with him living in Colorado, creating a brand-new (and very legal) pot-growing business and running the whole thing on Dell machinery.

In successive episodes, he rises in the business world, all the time making the Dell product more aspirational. One day, he is asked to become CEO of Dell.

The tagline? "Dell Will Get You Higher," of course.

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Senator disputes Aaron Swartz's SOPA, Protect IP role

Peter Eckersley, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's technology projects director and Aaron Swartz's former roommate, speaks at a gathering in San Francisco.

(Credit:
Declan McCullagh/CNET)

Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, is taking issue with a description of how a discussion with one of his aides led the late Aaron Swartz to campaign against Hollywood-backed copyright bills.

At an event in San Francisco last weekend, Peter Eckersley, Swartz's former roommate and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's technology projects director, told an audience that the late activist created the advocacy group Demand Progress after a fruitless meeting with one of Leahy's aides.

Aaron Cooper, who works for Leahy -- the author of the Protect IP Act -- as the chief intellectual property counsel for the Senate Judiciary committee, told Swartz during the meeting that "the priority of this country is going to be making sure that files cannot be shared, songs cannot be copied, movies cannot be copied," Eckersley said.

Jessica Brady, a spokeswoman for Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNET this afternoon that's absolutely not what happened:

T

he third-party description of the November 2010 conversation between Aaron Cooper and Aaron Swartz is entirely fabricated. It is wrong on the substance, and it is wrong on the very nature of their conversation. The two had a positive meeting, and their discussion focused mainly on whether an agreement could be reached to go after infringers and counterfeiters living in countries where the United States does not have extradition treaties. Aaron Cooper -- a tireless, highly respected and superbly knowledgeable policy advisor on these and other complex issues -- never said anything remotely similar to the quote described in this false account. Further, the timeline provided in this account is inaccurate. The organization Demand Progress began well before the two men met in late November of 2010. And finally, the support Senator Leahy received for his version of the legislation from the Internet service provider community, as well as domain name registries and registrars, is evidence that ensuring the legislation would not 'break' the Internet was a top priority for Senator Leahy and his staff.

Domain name registrar GoDaddy initially supported, but after a customer boycott, backed down and said it opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act and Leahy's similar Protect IP Act. AT&T said at the time that "we have been supportive of the general framework" of Protect IP, which stopped short of a formal endorsement, and Verizon expressed concerns about SOPA.

Swartz committed suicide on January 11 in New York City. His family and friends have blamed Carmen Ortiz, 57, the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, for filing 13 felony charges against the late activist for allegedly downloading academic journals he was permitted to access (but not access in large quantities). A congressional investigation of Ortiz, who has denied any wrongdoing, is underway.

Eckersley -- who did not immediately respond to a request for comment -- told the story about Swartz at a retrospective event titled "a year after SOPA/PIPA," organized by EFF, Engine Advocacy, and Craig Newmark's craigconnects. SOPA was, of course, the Stop Online Piracy Act; PIPA was Leahy's Senate counterpart also known as the Protect IP Act.

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