Blackberry service outage equals more woe for RIM

BlackBerry logoResearch In Motion (RIM) is not exactly doing that great at this point in time, shrinking market share and all that, but Murphy is certainly having a fun time with RIM as there is word that Blackberry users have been hit by a service outage this morning. Considering how it is less than a year after there was a Blackberry network outage, it can be rather infuriating for Blackberry users. The service outage lasted for several hours before it was restored, resulting in Blackberry users across Europe, the Middle East and Africa who were unable to send or receive emails during that particular time frame. Good thing RIM was apologetic about the whole event, where they mentioned, “We can confirm that services have been restored and are now operating normally.”

Unfortunately, RIM did not spell out just what was the cause behind the service outage, and I am quite sure that many people are curious as to what happened that resulted in the outage. One thing is for sure though, this is definitely not going to look nice on RIM’s portfolio, where reliability is one issue that has to be looked into.

As at press time, the Blackberry service in Europe has been restored, although no reasons were forthcoming from RIM still.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Fan-made “Blackberry Love” commercial is certainly attention grabbing, but might not be entirely appropriate [NSFW], Blackberry 10 L-Series smartphone teardown,

Kirsten Gillibrand Introducing Voter Empowerment Act In Senate

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is introducing the Voter Empowerment Act Friday, a measure designed to protect voting rights as dozens of states have recently passed laws adding restrictions to voting.

The measure seeks to both expand voter registration, a goal of voting-rights activists, and ensure “integrity,” which authors of state laws cite as the reason to pass such restrictive voter ID laws.

“We’ve come too far in our nation’s history to re-fight old battles over voting rights that already have been won,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “Instead of adding new burdens on voters, we should be giving them new protections. Ensuring that every vote counts is a cornerstone of our democracy that should be embraced by both sides of the aisle.”

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JetBlue Promises Free Wi-Fi, Faster Connectivity

Traveling has become a special kind of hell in recent years, thanks to ever-multiplying fees. Check a bag, that’s $25. Buy a sandwich for the flight, that’s another $10. Ask for a blanket or rent a movie? Be prepared to fork over some serious cash.

But when it comes to in-flight Internet, some airlines are moving in the opposite direction from charging additional fees, at least for now. JetBlue announced this week it will offer free Wi-Fi for in-flight use starting early next year. (Hat tip: Time’s Moneyland Blog.)

The Wi-Fi won’t just be free, according to the company’s blog, it’s also supposed to slay any other airline’s Internet service in terms of connectivity speed. According to the chart JetBlue published with its announcement on Tuesday, the new satellites that its planes will be using to connect passengers to the Internet are 100 times more powerful than the old-school satellites other (unnamed) airlines have been using. However, JetBlue did leave the door open to charging fees in the future — and said its free basic Wi-Fi service was just “to start.”

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Is This Tuna-Bot the Future of US Harbor Security? [Video]

What’s the difference between a tuna fish and an unmanned underwater vehicle? About a million years of purpose-built evolution. That’s why the Department of Homeland Security is hoping to leverage Mother Nature’s handiwork into a fleet of ichthyoid-inspired drones to defend our harbors. More »

Kim Kardashian’s Cat Mercy Was A Gift From Kanye West

Sure, a sentimental card or a fancy piece of bling would have been nice, but Kanye West had an even better special gift in mind for girlfriend Kim Kardashian to mark her Miami filming schedule.

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Obama Empty Chair ‘Lynchings’ Found At Douglas Berner’s Virginia Home

Three “lynched” empty chairs with signs that read “Nobama” were found hanging at a home near a public park in Centreville, Virginia.

Douglas Berner, the owner of the home, told Patch.com the chairs were just a reference to the internet meme popularized by Clint Eastwood’s bizarre speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

“It’s just Eastwooding,” Berner said.

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‘Innocence Of Muslims’ Film Permit: FilmLA Releases Document About ‘Desert Warriors’ Production

LOS ANGELES — The makers of an anti-Muslim film that sparked violent protests had a one-day permit to shoot parts of the movie at a Los Angeles County ranch and were allowed to use animals and fire.

In the document released Thursday by FilmLA, the group that handles permits for the county, the movie later known as “Innocence of Muslims” is listed as “Desert Warriors” and its production company as Media for Christ.

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus finally lands Jelly Bean update

Verizon Galaxy Nexus finally lands Jelly Bean update

As Alton Brown is fond of saying, “your patience will be rewarded.” Today, those of you with Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus handsets (at least those that didn’t run out and download an unofficial Jelly Bean) are finally getting your reward. Android version 4.1.1 (better known as JRO03O among the hack happy) is being pushed out OTA to Big Red customers, complete with the preemptive magic of Google Now in tow. If you haven’t seen an alert yet, head to the About Phone section in your settings, and tap System Updates. Having recently been welcomed back to the AOSP fold, we’d have hoped for an update sooner, but it’s still among the first wave of handsets to move to the latest version of Android. Now if only this would restore Google Wallet functionality. (Hey, a guy can dream can’t he?) The complete announcement from Verizon awaits after the break.

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus finally lands Jelly Bean update originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York Fracking Health Impacts To Be Reviewed Before Moratorium Lifted

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s health commissioner and “qualified outside experts” will review the health impacts of shale gas drilling before a moratorium on the “fracking” extraction process is lifted, Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens said Thursday.

Martens said he has rejected calls from health and environmental groups for a health impact analysis by a university school of public health or other independent group, saying such a review is the job of government. Martens said he’s asked Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to assess DEC’s own health impact analysis.

“I have also asked Dr. Shah to identify the most qualified outside experts to advise him in his review,” Martens said in a prepared statement. “While the review will be informed by outside perspectives on the science of hydrofracking, the decision-making will remain a governmental responsibility.”

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‘Chicks in Hats’ Shows Off a Multitude of Chicken Personalities, in Hats

Don’t expect a gallery of human chicks in hats, because this post is going to be about actual chicks in hats. You know, baby chickens.

Chicks in Hats2If you’ve seen chicks in real life before, then you know how hard it is to get them to stay put. Which is why I think Julie Persons did a fantastic job capturing them in all sorts of poses with wacky hats on their heads in her new photo series, ‘Chicks in Hats.’

Check out the gallery for more awesome shots of the chicks.

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Prints from the series are on sale in Julie’s Etsy shop for $3(USD) each.

[via Incredible Things]