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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 15 Issue 49
Volume 15, Issue 49 Atari Online News, Etc. December 13, 2013
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2013
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1549 12/13/13
~ Microsoft Takes On NSA ~ People Are Talking! ~ Twitter Nixes Block!
~ Yahoo Email Disruption ~ Verizon Takes Hard Line ~ Microsoft 'Threshold'
~ Lohan To Sue Rockstar! ~ Germany To Probe NSA? ~ Free AVG for Macs!
~ New Instagram Features ~ NYC's Free Public WiFi! ~ Woman Tweets Death!
-* Tech Giants Unite Against NSA *-
-* Microsoft Joins Push vs. Passwords! *-
-* Woman Unknowingly Tweets Death of Husband! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Happy Friday the 13th, to you who are superstitious and/or believe in
any significance of the day. Personally, I think it makes for an interesting
topic for discussion every once in awhile. But, not tonight.
The holiday season is in full swing. We skipped Black Friday, and did
not do anything during Cyber Monday, or any of the other "big sale" days
on the newly-converted calendar. It's like these days are minor holidays
or something! People, relax, these are sales gimmicks to get you into
the stores early, and often!! I don't mind shopping, too much, as long as
I know what I want to buy, and where. If I need to browse, looking for
gift ideas, I get impatient and testy very quickly - especially if I'm
in a shopping mall. This year, we've hit the mall once, and that's likely
the only time we'll go there. Actually, we're pretty much done with our
holiday shopping - early, for a change!
So, while you're out thinking of what to buy this year, or where you're
planning to spend the holidays, relax and enjoy another week's issue!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Lindsay Lohan To Sue Rockstar Over GTA V Likeness!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Lindsay Lohan To Sue Rockstar Over GTA V Likeness
Lindsay Lohan is an actress best known for her work in The Parent Trap,
Freaky Friday, and Mean Girls. More recently she has been in the eyes of
the media for more scandalous endeavors. These range from DUI charges to
failing probation mandated drug tests. All has been quiet though in the
recent days, well, until this. Lohan is suing Rockstar, the developer and
publisher of Grand Theft Auto V, for supposedly using her likeness in the
game.
Lohan's lawyers are apparently forming a case to demand money for the
usage of her face. The clear evidence of this heinous crime includes: The
blonde on the cover, a blonde in a hotel, and even a blonde hiding from
paparazzi! This all comes after Daz Dillinger claimed that Rockstar stole
his music for the same game.
So how will Rockstar respond to 'Grand Theft Lohan'? Only time will tell.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Tech Giants Unite Against NSA
The giants of the tech industry are uniting to wage a campaign for
sweeping reforms to the National Security Agency.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, LinkedIn and AOL are
setting aside their business rivalries to demand that Congress and
President Obama scale back the governments voracious surveillance.
[T]his summers revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform
government surveillance practices worldwide, the companies wrote in an
open letter to Obama and members of Congress, appearing in a national
print ad Monday.
The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the state
and away from the rights of the individual rights that are enshrined in
our Constitution.
Its time for change.
The companies are demanding reforms above and beyond legislation in front
of Congress that would curb the NSAs powers.
The companies outlined a set of principles that should guide surveillance
reforms, including limits on the governments access to data, increased
oversight of surveillance programs and increased transparency from both
the government agencies requesting data and receiving the requests.
Additionally, the companies said U.S. surveillance programs shouldn't keep
American tech companies from operating internationally, including in
countries that oppose U.S. access to their citizens data.
Recent revelations about government surveillance activities have shaken
the trust of our users, and it is time for the United States government to
act to restore the confidence of citizens around the world, Yahoo CEO
Marissa Mayer said in a statement.
The campaign comes after months of leaks that have revealed, in
ever-greater detail, efforts by the U.S. government to spy on Internet
users and track their contacts.
Documents released by Edward Snowden show the government collects
information about Americans phone calls and Internet communications,
including by tapping into tech companies data streams.
Tech companies fear the revelations could put their entire business
models at risk.
If users begin to get skittish about sharing information online, it could
stop the booming business of Internet advertising dead in its tracks.
Speaking in D.C. earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said
companies like Google and Facebook suffered a loss in user trust after
the Snowden revelations.
The trust metrics for all [tech companies] went down when Prism came
out, he said, referring to a surveillance program targeting users of
nine major Internet companies.
The companies alluded to the threat in their call to arms on Monday.
People wont use technology they dont trust, Microsoft general counsel
Brad Smith said in a statement.
Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help
restore it.
The aggressive new campaign is a shift from the summer, when Silicon
Valley giants downplayed the significance of the Snowden leaks.
"There's been spying for years, there's been surveillance for years, and
so forth, I'm not going to pass judgment on that, it's the nature of our
society," Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said at an event in New York in
September.
But the companies began to change their tone as more details of the NSAs
surveillance emerged. The most explosive revelation, from their
perspective, came in October with a report that the NSA has secretly
mined Google and Yahoos data as it traveled between overseas servers.
Schmidt called the activity "really outrageous."
"The steps that the organization was willing to do without good judgment
to pursue its mission and potentially violate people's privacy, it's not
OK," Schmidt told The Wall Street Journal in November.
Since the revelations began in June, the companies have fought for the
ability to tell their users what information the government has accessed.
Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and LinkedIn have all asked the court
that authorizes foreign intelligence surveillance for the ability to
publish information about the scope of requests for user data they
receive.
The news reports of government surveillance made users think that
companies hand over data much more frequently and readily than they do,
the companies have argued.
The companies have also backed surveillance reforms being considered by
Congress.
In October, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, AOL and LinkedIn
announced their support for the USA Freedom Act.
The bill, introduced by Patriot Act author and NSA critic Rep. James
Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), would allow companies to be more transparent about
requests for user data they receive, require the government to be more
transparent about its collection of data and would end programs that
collect data on Americans in bulk.
The tech coalition applauded the bill for its transparency and
surveillance-limiting provisions. Now companies are throwing a few more
proposals in to the mix.
In addition to limits on bulk collection and increased transparency and
oversight measures, the companies outlined steps that would keep them
competitive internationally.
Some countries are considering laws that would force Internet companies
to locate their servers in a country if it processes data belonging to
citizens of that country.
Additionally, the European Union is considering legislation that could
prevent Europeans from using U.S. Internet companies if those companies
comply with the U.S. governments surveillance requests.
The tech companies said Monday that governments shouldnt prevent their
citizens from using foreign Internet services. Governments should also
work together to resolve the conflict when countries have conflicting
laws regarding access to user data, the tech giants said.
We urge the U.S. to take the lead and make reforms that ensure that
government surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law,
proportionate to the risks, transparent and subject to independent
oversight, they wrote.
Microsoft Takes On NSA With Three New Privacy Features
Microsoft has instituted a new set of security protocols for "protecting
customer data from government snooping." The news comes after allegations
that Microsoft assisted the NSA by providing private data.
"Many of our customers have serious concerns about government surveillance
of the Internet," writes general council and executive vice president Brad
Smith. "We share their concerns. Thats why we are taking steps to ensure
governments use legal process rather than technological brute force to
access customer data."
In order to enhance customer security, Microsoft is instituting three
features. The company will be enhancing encryption across all services,
reinforcing legal protection for customers, and improving transparency to
show that Microsoft products do not have back door access.
Among the included products are Outlook.com, Office 365, SkyDrive, and
Windows Azure. Xbox Live and Xbox One are not mentioned explicitly, nor
is Skype (which is present on the Xbox One).
The new privacy and security features will be in place by the end of
2014. Microsoft is also working with other companies to enhance the
security between services, as email often passes among a number of
different providers.
German Prosecutor: Still Weighing NSA Probe
Germany's chief federal prosecutor says he hasn't decided whether to open
an investigation into alleged surveillance by the U.S. National Security
Agency but is suggesting that he's skeptical.
Prosecutor Harald Range's office has been considering since June whether
it has grounds to investigate reports of NSA surveillance in Germany,
which later included allegations that Chancellor Angela Merkel's
cellphone was monitored.
Range said Wednesday he hasn't made a final decision because he's still
awaiting answers to some questions from German authorities. But he says
there so far are "no concrete indications that the NSA or (Britain's)
GCHQ systematically monitored German telephone and Internet traffic."
The prosecutor says he's also still seeking answers regarding the
"conclusiveness and origin" of an alleged NSA document that appeared to
show Merkel's phone was targeted.
Verizon Takes Hard Line on Surveillance Vote
Verizon Communications Inc told activists it may skip a vote on a
shareholder proposal that seeks details on the company's cooperation with
government surveillance efforts.
Verizon's law firm Jones Day said in a November 25 letter that the
company would exclude the measure from its 2014 proxy statement unless
the activists did more to verify their eligibility to file the proposal.
The company's response appears to be more aggressive than the stance AT&T
Inc took against a similar proposal, said Jonas Kron, senior vice
president for Trillium Asset Management, a co-filer of the measures at
both telecommunications giants.
Kron said Trillium has provided more detail, but that Verizon's action
suggests it will sidestep the usual process in which companies ask the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to skip votes on
shareholder proposals.
"If they are going to challenge the shareholder proposal, I hope they will
work within the SEC process," Kron said.
Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni said via email the company's response as
routine.
"At this point, we have not taken any formal position on the proposal," he
wrote. "The SEC requires shareholders to demonstrate their eligibility to
submit a proposal. We've simply sought the information that we believe is
necessary to determine the proponent's eligibility."
A spokesman for the SEC did not return messages.
The dispute at Verizon is just one of many playing out this month ahead of
the springtime, shareholder-meeting season. Generally, corporate
shareholders who own $2,000 worth of stock for a year may file proposals
for a vote by all investors.
But the rise of proposals with a social agenda or those put forth by labor
groups has prompted many companies to push back, often by seeking SEC
permission to skip the measures. The agency grants such permission about
half the time.
To back up their requests, companies typically argue that shareholders
are putting forth ideas that should be treated as "ordinary business"
rather than subject to a shareholder vote, or that if passed their
proposals could hamper other company operations. AT&T made both of those
arguments earlier this month. and Verizon could seek SEC permission.
Both AT&T and Verizon shareholders, including Trillium and New York State
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the state's pension fund, had
filed measures calling for details of their cooperation with U.S. and
foreign spy agencies.
In the wake of revelations by former U.S. National Security Agency
contractor Edward Snowden, the shareholders cited media reports of
intelligence agencies' involvement with the companies and criticism from
foreign leaders.
The activists asked both companies to schedule votes on a measure calling
for the publication of semi-annual reports with details such as how often
customer information was shared with government agencies.
In the November 25 letter Verizon's attorney at Jones Day told Trillum's
Kron that the company intended to exclude the surveillance proposal from
its proxy filing unless it corrected what it called "procedural
deficiencies."
Among other things the firm wrote that material Trillium submitted had
not demonstrated an investor was a shareholder entitled to vote the
shares. Trillium responded to Verizon on December 9 with additional
material but said the firm did not concede the extra proof was
necessary.
Yahoo Blames Ongoing Email Disruption on Tricky Hardware Problem
Yahoo Inc's email service has been unavailable to some users since Monday
night due to a "hardware problem" that the Internet company said has been
harder to fix than it expected.
Yahoo believes the problem will be fixed by 3 p.m. PST Wednesday,
according to a post on Yahoo's official Tumblr blog by the company's
senior vice president of communications, Jeffrey Bonforte.
Bonforte did not specify how many users were affected by the email
outage, which he said began at 10:27 p.m. PST on Monday. He said the
company has "dozens of people working around the clock" to resolve the
problem.
"The issue has been harder to fix than we originally expected," Bonforte
said.
Yahoo Mail is the most popular Web-based email product among desktop
computer users in the United States, according to analytics firm comScore.
Yahoo Mail ranks second worldwide, behind Google Inc's Gmail and ahead of
Microsoft Corp's Outlook.com.
A redesigned version of Yahoo Mail, which the company introduced in
October, has met with a mixed reaction by users. Many users have griped
that the new version eliminated popular features such as "tabs."
NYC Launches Nations Largest Free Public WiFi Network
Internet service is painfully slow and hard to come by in NYC, but at
least it's about to be free for residents of 95 Manhattan blocks!
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that a new outdoor public WiFi
network is blanketing part of Harlem, from 110th to 138th streets between
Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Madison Avenue. The area encompasses 50
parks, and Harlem Children's Zone will be increasing awareness of the
network among residents, business and visitors.
It's the largest continuous free outdoor public wireless network in the
nation, according to a release from City Hall. It's being rolled out in
three phases, to be completed in May, in coordination with the city's
Technology Development Corporation and the Department of Information
Technology and Telecommunications. It'll increase digital access for
80,000 Harlem residents, which includes 13,000 residents of public
housing.
Mr. Bloomberg's canned quote in the release points out that this will
increase access to "information about Harlem's rich history and
attractions," so be sure to google Harlem next time you're in that neck
of the woods.
Twitter Backtracks on Block Feature after Users Revolt
Twitter Inc was forced to nix a change to its "block" feature on Thursday
after attracting a wave of protest from users who said the new policy
empowered perpetrators of online abuse.
The humbling reversal on one of the most sensitive policy issues facing
the social network came as Twitter encountered user revolt for the first
time as a public company.
Under the short-lived change on Thursday, a blocked Twitter user could
view or tweet at the person who blocked him or her, but that activity
would have been rendered invisible to the victim as if the offending
account did not exist.
Under the re-instated policy, users could prevent their harassers from
following them or interacting with their tweets. Users are also explicitly
notified if they are blocked.
Before it backtracked, Twitter had said Thursday that the change was meant
to protect victims of harassment who wanted to filter out abusive messages
but feared that the act of blocking a user would prompt retaliation.
"We have decided to revert the change after receiving feedback from many
users - we never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling
less safe," vice president of product Michael Sippey wrote in a blog post.
Chief Executive Dick Costolo initially sought to address the mounting
criticism by saying on Twitter that the new features were widely
requested by victims of abuse.
But many were not convinced. Within hours, the service was flooded with
angry users, including many who did not understand the nuances of the new
policy, and hundreds had signed an online petition to reverse the change.
"New @twitter block policy is like a home security system that instead of
keeping people out puts a blindfold on YOU when they come in," said user
@edcasey.
"'Just ignore them & they'll stop' is a dangerous thing to say to bullied
kids & a dangerous thing to say to stalked/harassed Twitter users," wrote
@red3blog, another user.
Keeping abuse in check is a key issue for the company, which needs to
keep hold of existing users and attract hundreds of millions of new ones
to justify the stratospheric valuation that investors have placed on its
stock.
Twitter shares have risen 35 percent to $55.33 the past two weeks on
investor expectations that the company can sustain its growth for years
and mature into an internet powerhouse.
The changes were announced Thursday after the market close.
The company's swift about-face similarly drew an outpouring of relief.
"The people have spoken and Twitter listened, thanks," said user
@samar_ismail.
The controversy highlighted Twitter's dilemma over how it should police
the freewheeling service or stamp out abuse.
Twitter, which once espoused a radically hands-off approach to moderating
content, was pressed in August to strengthen its "report abuse" functions
after two high-profile women in the United Kingdom, feminist and
journalist Caroline Criado-Perez and Labour Party politician Stella
Creasy, were subjected to a deluge of death and rape threats.
Twitter's top executive in the U.K., Tony Wang, and Del Harvey, the head
of its trust and safety team, issued personal apologies to the women
after revising Twitter's rules.
Twitter said Thursday that the company's policies were still evolving and
that the block feature remained problematic because some users were
fearful that their harassers would be notified when they become blocked.
"Moving forward, we will continue to explore features designed to protect
users from abuse and prevent retaliation," Sippey, the Twitter executive,
wrote.
"We've built Twitter to help you create and share ideas and information
instantly, without barriers. That vision must coexist with keeping users
safe on the platform."
The backlash was a rare event for a company that for the most part has
been hailed for championing its users, who now number more than 250
million worldwide.
Although Twitter has made unpopular design tweaks, it has maintained a
better policy record than social media rival Facebook Inc, which has
repeatedly upset users with abrupt changes to its privacy policies.
Microsoft Codename 'Threshold': The Next Major Windows Wave Takes Shape
When I blogged recently about Microsoft's plans on the operating-systems
front following Windows 8.1, I mentioned a couple of "spring 2015"
releases.
threshold
It turns out the Microsoft codename for that wave of deliverables is
"Threshold."
A couple of my contacts have confirmed that Microsoft Executive Vice
President Terry Myerson recently mentioned the Threshold codename in an
internal email about plans for his unified operating-system engineering
group.
If all goes according to early plans, Threshold will include updates to
all three OS platforms (Xbox One, Windows and Windows Phone) that will
advance them in a way to share even more common elements.
(The codename Threshold, for those wondering, derives from the planet
around which the first halo ring orbited in the original Halo game
launched back in 2001. Threshold joins "Cortana," Microsoft's answer to
Siri, as yet another codename with its origins in the Xbox franchise.)
From what I've heard, Threshold doesn't refer to a single Windows OS - not
even the expected, converged hybrid comprised of the Windows Phone OS and
Windows RT. Instead, the codename refers to the wave of operating systems
across Windows-based phones, devices and gaming consoles.
The Xbox One OS, Windows 8.x OS and Windows Phone 8 OS already share a
common Windows NT core. As we've heard before, Microsoft is working to
deliver a single app store across its myriad Windows platforms. Company
officials also are laboring to make the developer toolset for all three of
these platforms more similar.
But Threshold will add another level of commonality across Microsoft's
various Windows-based platforms, sources said. With the Threshold wave,
Microsoft plans to support the same core set of "high value activities"
across platforms. These high-value activities include expression/documents
(Office, and the coming "Remix" digital storytelling app, I'd think);
decision making/task completion (Bing, I'd assume); IT management (Intune
and Workplace Join, perhaps?) and "serious fun."
CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned this concept of high-value activities at back
in July when he announced Microsoft's cross-company reorg to make the
company more focused around its new "One Microsoft" mission.
Before Microsoft gets to Threshold, the company is on track to deliver an
update to Windows 8.1 (known as Windows 8.1 Update 1) around the same time
that it delivers Windows Phone "Blue" (Windows Phone 8.1). That's
supposedly happening in the spring 2014/Q2 2014 timeframe, from what my
sources have said.
I've asked Microsoft officials if they'd confirm any of this information
about Threshold. No word back so far.
Update: A Microsoft spokesperson said the company had no comment on
"rumors and speculation."
Free AVG AntiVirus Comes to Apple Macs
By now, the notion that Macs are free of malware is recognized as an
outdated false sense of security. As Apple's computers get more popular
with consumers, so they do with miscreants. There are a few
anti-virus/anti-malware options for Macs, such as the free Sophos
Antivirus for Mac, and today Apple users got another option.
AVG Technologies announced that its AVG AntiVirus software, long a popular
free download for Windows PCs, finally made the jump to Mac computers
today (Dec. 12). The new software, simply called AVG AntiVirus for Mac,
is compatible with both the latest Mavericks (OS X 10.9) operating system
and its predecessor Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8). Mavericks is a free upgrade
for OS X Leopard (10.6.8), Lion (10.7) or Mountain Lion. AVG has stated
that it has 172 million active users of its PC AntiVirus software.
Among AVG AntiVirus for Mac's main features such as auto updates real
time scanning is a potentially handy one that lets users scan individual
files or folders by simply dragging and dropping them onto an icon.
The prospects for AVG's Mac product are good, if its PC performance is
any guide. In July 2013 tests of the PC version, independent lab AV-Test
found that it caught 98.9 percent of 1,972 malware samples that had
emerged in the preceding four weeks. All anti-virus software tends to do
well on such tests, however. The average detection rate for all programs
AV-Test evaluated was 95.2, and AV-Test ranked AVG's malware detection at
5 points out of a possible 6. AV-Test also reported that the PC app had
no significant impact on system performance and battery life, earning 6
out of 6. Of course, it remains to be seen how well AVG AntiVirus for Mac
will do.
This isnt AVG's first Mac app. In November, it launched Cleaner, a hard
drive cleanup program. The company also offers PrivacyFix, a browser
plugin which is also compatible with Macs, that lets you adjust privacy
settings on sites you visit, such as Facebook and Google, and also see
which sites are tracking you, with the option of disabling them.
Instagram Unveils Private Photo-sharing, Messaging
Photo-sharing service Instagram unveiled a new feature Thursday that
allows users to send images and messages privately, as the Facebook-owned
company sought to bolster its appeal among younger consumers who are
increasingly using mobile messaging applications.
The new Instagram Direct feature allows users to send a photo or video to
a single person or up to 15 people, and to have real-time text
conversations.
"Sometimes you want to be able to share, not with everyone, but just with
a specific group," said Kevin Systrom, Instagram co-founder and chief
executive during a presentation in New York. "Instagram Direct is a simple
way to send photos and videos to your friends."
Instagram claims to have more than 150 million monthly users who have
shared 16 billion photos on the service. Until now, the photos could only
be shared publicly, allowing them to be seen by anyone using the service.
Facebook Inc, the world's No. 1 Internet social network, bought Instagram
for $1 billion in 2012.
The new features come as Facebook and Instagram face increasing
competition from a new crop of mobile messaging services, including
WhatsApp and Snapchat.
In October, Facebook said it was seeing a decline in daily use by younger
teenagers in the United States, although it said overall use by teenagers
was stable.
"Bottom line, this is a catch-up move for Instagram," wrote Forrester
Research analyst Julie Ask in a blog post. "Apps like WeChat already
allow users to share videos, photos, messages, cartoons, voice clips to
individuals, groups, groups created around an event."
Instagram made the announcement Thursday in a swanky two-story event
studio in midtown Manhattan, which some industry observers speculated
was picked to lure the attention of ad firms on Madison Avenue. Systrom
didn't address advertising or any revenue-linked potential of the new
features.
Microsoft Joins Major Push To Kill Passwords Once and For All
As passwords have become more annoying and less secure over the years,
several of techs brightest minds have looked at one another and said,
Surely there must be a better way? And although Google has typically
been the most visible face in the crusade to kill the password, it looks
like Microsoft will put more of its own resources into the effort as
well. IDG News, via Network World, reports that Microsoft has joined
the board of directors of the FIDO Alliance, an industry consortium
founded in 2012 to reduce Internet services reliance on passwords. The
alliance, which includes heavyweights such as Google, Lenovo and LG, is
working on standardizing authentication technologies will lead to better
interoperability and innovations in biometrics, PINs (personal
identification numbers) and secondary authentication technologies, IDG
News says.
Woman Unknowingly Tweeted About Death of Husband
A Washington state woman who regularly monitors police scanner traffic
unknowingly live-tweeted about her husband's death in a freeway crash.
In a series of gut-wrenching tweets on Wednesday that grew more frantic,
the Vancouver, Wash., mother first tweeted how horrible it was when she
learned someone had died on Interstate 205 near the Oregon border.
Caran Johnson, who uses the handle @ScanCouver, then told her Twitter
followers that she was trying not to panic because her husband, who
drives the freeway, wasn't picking up his phone and was late getting
home.
"i'm a basketcase," she tweeted.
Johnson also worried because her husband had epilepsy and was feeling
faint when he left work early. She wondered whether he might have pulled
over somewhere and fretted about how long she should wait for him before
calling police.
As the events unfolded, she messaged Washington State Patrol spokesman
Will Finn directly, asking whether he had descriptions of the vehicles
involved in the collision. Finn said he didn't, but it struck him as odd
so he began looking into the crash.
"I contacted the investigator and we put two and two together. I realized
I had a situation on my hands," Finn said Thursday while confirming that
Johnson uses the Twitter handle @ScanCouver that appeared on the
tweets.
Troopers later went to Johnson's home to tell her that her husband,
47-year-old Craig Johnson, had died in the collision.
Caran Johnson then tweeted: "it's him. he died."
"It hits very close to home," said Abbi Russell, a Washington
Transportation Department spokeswoman who is familiar with tweets from
@ScanCouver. "Yes, it is social media, but it is a community of its own."
Finn said Craig Johnson's car crossed the median about 2 p.m. Wednesday
and collided with another car on I-205 about 5 miles north of Portland,
Ore. The other driver, Carol S. Shelley, 54, of Tacoma, suffered serious
injuries and was taken to a hospital with broken bones and internal
injuries, authorities said.
Finn said he held off posting a crash photo on Twitter after Caran
Johnson messaged him asking about the accident, just in case her husband
had been involved. He said he has never met Caran Johnson but the two
follow each other on Twitter.
"It's a terrible situation. We don't want to tell anybody over social
media that they have lost a family member. We would never do that," Finn
said.
Caran Johnson received an outpouring of messages on Twitter after the
crash.
"Thank you all so much for the prayers and thoughts," she tweeted.
A phone listing could not be found for Caran Johnson. Messages sent to
her Facebook and Twitter accounts were not immediately answered.
Finn said investigators did not suspect drugs or alcohol played a role in
the crash. Asked whether Craig Johnson's epilepsy contributed, Finn said
the accident was still under investigation.
Brad Benfield, a state licensing spokesman, said the state can restrict
or deny driver's licenses for people with serious medical conditions,
based on evaluations by doctors.
Washington doesn't have a blanket rule against driving with epilepsy or
other specific conditions, he said.
Finn said Craig Johnson did not have a medical restriction on his
license.
=~=~=~=
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