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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 14 Issue 14
Volume 14, Issue 14 Atari Online News, Etc. April 6, 2012
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2012
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 #1414 04/06/12
~ Twitter Versus Spammers ~ People Are Talking! ~ PlayStation "Orbis"!
~ New Xbox Coming in 2013 ~ Yahoo To Have Layoffs! ~ Teacher's Aide Fired!
~ Internet Threat to NYC? ~ Google Tablet in June? ~ Facebook Gun Fight!
~ ~ Google Creates Spectacle ~
-* Anonymous After China Sites! *-
-* China Shuts Political Websites Down *-
-* EU Commission Urges: Hold Off the ACTA Vote *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sorry, we're really late this week! Just too much going on here that it's
been difficult doing anything that I've wanted. Yes, the past few weeks have
been of a personal disaster status. First, my father passed away last
month and I'm trying to deal with getting his estate in order - a daunting
task.
Then, last Sunday, we got a phone call from my wife's family in Boston.
The family-owned three family home was afire. We immediately drove to
the site, and watched as the home burned. The entire family got out safely,
thankfully. Three buildings burned, and will have to be torn down. Some
of the family is staying with us for now until they can determine what
they will be doing. The rest of the family is staying with other relatives
or friends considering what they will do.
A couple of days later, my wife was there helping relatives get
prescriptions replaced, as well as other immediate necessities; she was
there for most of the day. We was getting ready to come home, and the
transmission on my car died. She spent the night with her cousin, and
returned home the next day with a rental car, and her sister.
A few days later, her sister was going to another room and tripped and
fell, breaking her arm! We had to have some EMTs come and take her to the
hospital.
So, it's been a rough time around here lately trying to help my in-laws
start to get their life back together, a few small steps at a time. It's
not an easy task.
So, even though I realize that I don't need to do so, I just wanted to
explain what's been happening and relate why we're late this week (and may
be late in subsequent weeks).
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - PS4 To Arrive Before Next Xbox!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Next Xbox Coming in 2013!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
PlayStation 4 To Arrive Before Next Xbox
The next PlayStation console, colloquially referred to as the
PlayStation 4 but codenamed "Orbis," is to arrive before the new Xbox,
according to new reports.
News site VG247 cites an unnamed source in predicting that the
PlayStation 4 will get the jump on Microsoft's machine, at least in terms
of release timing.
The Xbox 720 - again, an informal term, with the codename "Durango" - is
to launch in time for Christmas 2013, according to information previously
published by VG247, with key development studios briefed in February.
Sony is believed to be holding its own developer summits in May and June.
Nintendo's successor to the Wii, known as the Wii U, was treated to an
official announcement at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June 2011,
though representatives for both Microsoft and Sony have indicated that
their own machines won't be subject to the same treatment at this year's
event.
Next Xbox Coming in 2013, With Upgraded Kinect As Standard
The next Xbox will be with us by the end of 2013, will come with an
upgraded version of the Kinect sensor as standard, and packs two graphics
chips and a Blu-ray drive, according to the most recent report.
The report comes by way of VG247, a site that obtained first photos of the
PlayStation Vita while it was still in development and leaked Grand Theft
Auto V's Hollywood backdrop ahead of time.
A more powerful central processor, said to be between 4 and 6 cores
strong, would mean that development studios can leverage Kinect's voice
and motion control features without having to make sacrifices elsewhere.
The machine is to make greater use of internet connectivity, not least as
an anti-piracy measure, but won't entirely switch over to App Store-style
digital distribution, instead electing to include a Blu-ray drive just as
the PlayStation 3 did.
It's possible that the two graphics chips are intended for development
kits only. However, a bespoke setup is in line with the Xbox 360's inner
workings, and Microsoft would have over a year and a half to reduce
production costs - AMD's equivalent Raedon HD 7990 graphics card will cost
an eye-watering $849 when it launches on April 17.
Either way, the implication is that Microsoft is keen to court studios
like Epic Games (Unreal Engine), EA DICE (Frostbite 2.0), and Crytek
(CryEngine 3), whose game engines are designed for cutting edge PCs rather
than 6-year old consoles.
The first Xbox cost $299 when it launched in 2001, and the 2005 Xbox 360
was initially available in two configurations at $299 and $399.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Cyber-Defense Slow Due to Generation Gap
Sluggish moves to counter the rising threat of cyber-attacks can be blamed
on a generation of policymakers out of touch with rapid technological
change, a senior US official said Monday.
"The truth is there are a lot of senior officials in many countries who
barely even know how to use an email," Rose Gottemoeller, US acting
under-secretary for arms control and international security, said during a
visit to Estonia.
"The change will come with the new generation," she told the audience at a
lecture delivered at the Estonian IT College, in the Baltic state's
capital Tallinn.
Estonia is one of the world's most wired nations, and its high-tech savvy
has earned it the nickname "E-Stonia".
Home to NATO's cyber-defence centre, founded in 2008, the nation of 1.3
million has been at the forefront of efforts to preempt cyber-attacks.
Estonia has bitter experience in the field.
A politically charged dispute with its Soviet-era master Moscow in 2007
was marked by a blistering cyber-attack blamed on Russian hackers - though
the Kremlin denied any involvement.
Gottemoeller also said governments should consider incorporating
open-source IT and social networking into arms control verification and
monitoring.
"In order to pursue the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons, we are
going to have to think bigger and bolder," she explained.
"New concepts are not invented overnight, and we don't understand the full
range of possibilities inherent in the information age, but we would be
remiss if we did not start thinking about whether new technologies can
augment over half a century of arms control negotiating expertise," she
added.
EU Commission Urges Euro MPs To Hold Off ACTA Vote
The European Commission urged the EU Parliament on Wednesday to hold off
on voting on a controversial global anti-online piracy pact until judges
rule on its legality.
The commission is expected to refer the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice in a few weeks, hoping
to settle if it respects fundamental rights such as freedom of expression
and data protection.
EU commissioners agreed Wednesday on the legal question to put to the
Luxembourg-based judges: "Is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
(ACTA) compatible with the European Treaties, in particular with the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union?"
The EU Parliament is expected to vote on ACTA in June, but EU Trade
Commission Karel De Gucht urged the assembly to wait until the court
ruling, saying it would bring "clarity" about its legality.
ACTA aims to beef up international standards for intellectual property
protection.
But fears it may curtail online freedoms by attacking illegal downloading
and file-sharing have sparked angry protests from Internet users across
Europe.
"Considering that tens of thousands of people have voiced their concerns
about ACTA, it is appropriate to give our highest independent judicial
body the time to deliver its legal opinion on this agreement," De Gucht
said.
"This is an important input to European public and democratic debate. I
therefore hope that the European Parliament will respect the European
Court of Justice and await its opinion before determining its own
position on ACTA."
Twenty-two of the 27 EU states as well as other countries including the
United States and Japan signed ACTA in January but the treaty has yet to
be ratified anywhere.
China Shuts Political Websites in Crackdown
Two Chinese political websites said Friday they had been ordered by
authorities to shut for a month for criticising state leaders, the latest
move in a broad government crackdown on the Internet.
Officials told the Mao Flag website, named after late leader Mao Zedong,
and the Utopia website, also known for a leftist political stance, to
close for "rectification", the sites said in separate announcements.
Authorities said their postings had "maliciously attacked state leaders"
and given "absurd views" about politics, according to statements posted on
the websites.
Those statements, dated Friday, were later removed. The operators could
not be reached for comment and content on the sites was unavailable.
The latest crackdown comes after a surge in online rumours in China,
including one about a coup led by security chief Zhou Yongkang, following
the March dismissal of rising political star Bo Xilai.
Two other sites, China Elections and April Youth, also appeared to be shut
on Friday but operators claimed they were down for maintenance and
staffing reasons.
The Utopia website was a supporter of the policies of Bo, who was removed
as Communist Party chief of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing in
mid-March.
During his time in the city, he ran a hardline crackdown on crime and a
populist Maoist revival campaign that included singing patriotic songs,
which was praised by Utopia.
China launched a sweeping Internet crackdown last week, highlighting
official unease ahead of a leadership transition later this year.
Efforts to quell "rumour-mongering" come as President Hu Jintao and
China's other top leaders step down from their Communist Party posts in a
secretive 10-yearly leadership transition that will culminate in early
2013.
Authorities shutdown 16 other websites, arrested six people and slapped
temporary curbs on two popular microblog services, preventing users from
posting comments.
China, which has the world's largest online population with over half a
billion users, has long blocked content it deems politically sensitive as
part of a vast censorship system known as the Great Firewall.
But the rise of social media, in particular Twitter-like microblogs, have
proved more difficult to control and have become a popular outlet for
expressing discontent towards the government.
'Anonymous' Says It Will Hack More Chinese Sites
The hacking group Anonymous said Friday it would continue targeting China,
after announcing it had hacked hundreds of Chinese websites to protest
against Internet censorship in the country.
Most of the sites Anonymous China claimed to have hacked were working
normally early Friday, although some still carried error messages, among
them an official site for the ruling Communist Party in the southern city
of Hezhou.
But the group, which announced its existence last month via Twitter, told
AFP in an email it would continue targeting Chinese sites.
"It will keep going. The targets are selected," it said.
Anonymous said this week it had hacked 300 Chinese websites and posted
messages to the government and the Chinese people.
One read: "To the Chinese people: your government controls the Internet in
your country and tries to filter what he sees as a threat to him."
Another said: "Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible. Today
websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall."
China has the world's largest online population, with more than half a
billion users, but its government tightly controls the web, using a vast
and sophisticated censorship system known as the "Great Firewall".
This week's hackings came after the government last month shut down
websites, made a string of arrests and punished two popular microblogs
after rumours of a coup linked to a major scandal that brought down a top
politician.
Twitter Takes Hard Stance Against Spammers
In an effort to combat the increasing number of spam tweets on its
platform, Twitter has announced its newest spam-fighting weapon: the law.
The microblogging site is not just going after individuals who send
annoying or potentially malicious messages known as spam, it is targeting
the 'bad actors' who create tools and programs used to distribute spam on
Twitter.
"This morning, we filed suit in federal court in San Francisco against
five of the most aggressive tool providers and spammers," said Twitter in
an April 5 post on its blog. "With this suit, were going straight to the
source. By shutting down tool providers, we will prevent other spammers
from having these services at their disposal. Further, we hope the suit
acts as a deterrent to other spammers, demonstrating the strength of our
commitment to keep them off Twitter."
Its good news for consumers, especially those who have a penchant for
clicking on links within tweets that promise the latest Justin Bieber song
download, free iPads or sexy pictures of women.
Twitter is taking additional steps to fight "@mention" spam and malicious
links hidden with link shorteners. It also encourages its users to report
and block spammers by following the steps listed in its help center.
Both Twitter and Facebook have had to ramp up their spam-fighting efforts
in the wake of a new breed of 'social spam' that has been built to target
unsuspecting users on social networks.
According to a recent article in The New York Times approximately 4% of
all content shared on Facebook and 1.5% of all tweets were considered to
be spam in 2010.
Yahoo To Lay Off 2,000 Employees
Yahoo Inc will lay off 2,000 people, or 14 percent of its workforce, in
its deepest round of job cuts in years as new Chief Executive Scott
Thompson tries to jumpstart growth while saving hundreds of millions of
dollars.
Wall Street was lukewarm on the move, after two previous CEOs failed to
find an answer to rivals like Web-search giant Google and the Facebook
social-networking site.
Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, which ended 2011 with some 14,000
employees, said it would save $375 million annually from the cuts, and
will incur a pretax cash charge in the second quarter of $125 million to
$145 million.
The company declined to comment on severance details.
Some analysts were skeptical about the layoffs, which had been widely
expected.
"You can't cut your way to revenue growth," said Colin Gillis of BGC
Partners. "What people want to see out of Yahoo is they want to see a plan
and provision for revenue growth."
Thompson, who took over from the outspoken and occasionally profane Carol
Bartz, argued the changes would transform Yahoo into a leaner outfit
focused on its core businesses which were identified as "co re media and
communications," "platforms" and "data."
"The changes we're announcing today will put our customers first, allow
us to move fast, and to get stuff done," Thompson said in a memo to
employees on Wednesday, obtained by Reuters, adding that the changes will
results in a "smaller, nimbler, more profitable" company.
"We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying
resources to our most urgent priorities," Thompson wrote.
Macquarie Research's Ben Schachter saw the layoffs as a start in
determining the new direction of the company.
"Scott Thompson is not there to tweak the business," Schachter said. "He
saw something in the assets to make him think there was potential."
A Yahoo spokeswoman said that every organization within the company was
affected by the layoffs, but that some groups were affected more than
others. She declined to specify which particular groups were the most
affected.
Yahoo said it would provide more details of its plans when first-quarter
results are released on April 17.
The layoffs follow Yahoo's declining revenue due to competition from
Google and Facebook. Last year, Yahoo's revenue totaled $4.98 billion,
compared with Facebook's $3.71 billion with just 3,200 employees.
Yahoo is also fighting a battle with hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb.
Loeb, who runs Third Point, is seeking to appoint four new directors to
Yahoo's board. Third Point, with a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo, is the
company's largest shareholder.
U.S. Investigates Possible Internet Threat to NYC
U.S. law enforcement and counterterrorism officials are trying to figure
out the significance of recent occurrences on websites believed to have
close links to al Qaeda, including a graphic some fear could be an attack
threat directed at New York City.
The graphic contained a picture of the Manhattan skyline superimposed with
a Hollywood-style caption that says: "ALQAEDA - coming soon again in New
York."
It was posted on Monday by a site called the Ansar al Mujahiddin Arabic
Forum, or AMAF, a militant web forum which allegedly has close connections
to the Afghan Taliban and a key militant leader in Jordan.
At the same time, two Internet forums authorities believe have official
al Qaeda sanction have been down for nearly two weeks, said Evan Kohlmann,
an expert who monitors militant websites for government entities and
private businesses.
A spokesman for the FBI office in New York said the Joint Terrorism Task
Force was investigating whether the posting was authentic and that while
every threat is taken seriously "there is no specific or credible threat
to New York."
New York Police Department chief spokesman Paul Browne said his officers
were "investigating the origin and significance of the graphic ... which
appeared today on a few Arabic-language al Qaeda forums that remain
online at the moment."
Browne noted, however, that the graphic was posted in a section of the
forum labeled "art and design". Kohlmann said that this raised questions
as to whether the messages really constituted a serious threat. "That's
not where an important threat would be posted," Kohlmann said.
A U.S. intelligence official said federal agencies would examine the AMAF
graphic to "evaluate" its significance.
The U.S. official said that government agencies also were aware of the
interruptions in traffic on the two main websites which purportedly have
official sanction from al Qaeda.
Kohlmann identified these as Arabic-language forums called Shamukh and
al Fidaa. He said that they were recognized as official al Qaeda forums
because they were where the group's couriers first post "official" videos
produced by what remains of al Qaeda's core leadership and its affiliates,
such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen.
Kohlmann said that in the past, the two official websites had sometimes
gone offline, but never for the length of time they have lately been down.
He said that usually when the sites went offline some kind of explanation
was posted.
But he said that this time, no explanation appeared until Monday, when a
message on one of the sites said that it would be up and running again
shortly after a few more "tweaks."
Kohlmann said that the outages began roughly around the time of two
potentially significant recent events: the arrest in Spain of a suspect
who some investigators believe was an administrator for some militant
websites, and the shootout in Toulouse, France in which Mohammed Merah, a
militant who shot dead a rabbi, three children and three French soldiers,
was himself killed by police.
Kohlmann said speculation in the online world was that the forums had gone
offline because they were attacked by government or non-official hackers
of some kind.
The outages of al Qaeda-linked sites were first reported by the Washington
Post.
A person familiar with U.S. government monitoring of militants said that
because U.S. authorities have erected legal barriers severely restricting
the launching of offensive cyber-attacks by U.S. agencies, it was unlikely
the U.S. government played a role in the militant websites' current
outages.
Googles 7-Inch Tablet Held Up Till June
Google is planning to release a 7-inch tablet running Android 4.0 Ice
Cream Sandwich, but its pushing the launch to June 2012 in order to
tweak the device and bring down its price tag.
Thats the report from The Verge, which states that Googles branded
tablet, co-created with Asustek, is heading to store shelves this summer
to take on Amazons Kindle Fire. Citing unnamed sources, the story claims
that the tablet currently will run consumers about $249, which is higher
than a previously rumored tag of $149-$199. In order to be competitive
with the $199 Kindle Fire tab, Google is reworking the design of the
device to bring down its costs. The less the tablet costs to make, the
less Google can sell it for to consumers.
We previously heard rumors that Google was working on a branded tablet
with the hopes of bringing it to market at a pretty low price tag.
Originally, the tablet was set to launch in May, but reworking the design
will hold it up a month. What The Verge story says wont hold the tablet
back, however, is Android 5.0. Previous reports suggested the new
software, which Google is working on this year, believed to be codenamed
Jelly Bean and rumored to be designed for tablets the same way Android
3.0 Honeycomb was, would hold up the launch as Google attempts to get it
ready for its new tab.
Apparently, thats not the case, mostly because waiting for Jelly Bean
would hold up the tablet significantly as Google engineers continue to
work on the software. Theres some speculation that Google wants to
release its 7-inch tab ahead of a rumored offering from Apple known as
the iPad Mini. Either way, it seems Google isnt interested in waiting
for Jelly Bean before it launches its branded tablet, so the device will
reportedly run Android 4.0 ICS instead.
A branded Google tablet could be a big boon for the Android tab market,
which has seen plenty of contenders struggling against the iPad and each
other, and most have really failed to take off. The one exception, it
seems, is the Kindle Fire, which is getting by partially because of its
extremely low price, and partially because of Amazons content library
backing it up. Google has a similar infrastructure that it could put
behind its tablet, plus the power of its brand to sell it.
But the last time Google attempted this model, it was with its Google
Nexus smartphone, which was a struggle for the search giant to sell
online. A tablet should be easier - its Wi-Fi only, The Verge reports,
which will remove the need for carriers. This summer, it seems, well see
if Google has the chops to become a force in the Android tablet market.
Google Creates A Spectacle with Project
If you think texting while walking is dangerous, just wait until everyone
starts wearing Google's futuristic, Internet-connected glasses.
Directions to your destination appear literally before your eyes. You can
talk to friends over video chat, take a photo or even buy a few things
online as you walk around.
These glasses can do anything a smartphone or tablet computer does now -
and then some.
Google gave a glimpse of "Project Glass" in a video and blog post this
week. Still in an early prototype stage, the glasses open up endless
possibilities - as well as challenges to safety, privacy and fashion
sensibility.
The prototypes have a sleek wrap-around look and appear nothing like
clunky 3-D glasses. But if Google isn't careful, they could be dismissed
as a kind of Bluetooth earpiece of the future, a fashion faux-pas where
bulky looks outweigh marginal utility.
In development for a couple of years, the project is the brainchild of
Google X, the online search-leader's secret facility that spawned the
self-driving car and could one day let people ride elevators into space.
If it takes off, it could bring reality another step closer to science
fiction, where the line between human and machine blurs.
"My son is 4 years old and this is going to be his generation's reality,"
said Guy Bailey, who works as a social media supervisor for Kennesaw
State University outside Atlanta. He expects it might even be followed by
body implants, so that in 10 years or so you'll be able to get such a
"heads-up" display inside your head.
At its best, the goal is to make your life easier by putting the tools now
at your fingertips in front of your eyes.
"There is a lot of data about the world that would be great if more people
had access to as they are walking down the street," said Jason Tester,
research director at the nonprofit Institute For the Future in Palo Alto,
California.
That said, "once that information is not only at our fingertips but
literally in our field of view, it may become too much."
Always-on smartphones with their constant Twitter feeds, real-time
weather updates and "Angry Birds" games are already leaving people with a
sense of information overload. But at least you can put your smartphone
away. Having all that in front of your eyes could become too much.
"Sometimes you want to stop and smell the roses," said Scott Steinberg,
CEO of technology consulting company TechSavvy Global. "It doesn't mean
you want to call up every single fact about them on the Internet."
Still, it doesn't take much to imagine the possibilities. What if you
could instantly see the Facebook profile of the person sitting next to you
on the bus? Read the ingredient list and calorie count of a sandwich by
looking at it? Snap a photo with a blink? Look through your wall to find
out where electrical leads are, so you know where to drill?
"Not paint your house, because the people who looked at your house could
see whatever color they wanted it in?" pondered veteran technology
analyst Rob Enderle.
Wearing the glasses could turn the Internet into a tool in the same way
that our memory is a tool now, mused science fiction writer and computer
scientist Vernor Vinge. His 2006 book, "Rainbow's End," set in the
not-so-distant future, has people interacting with the world through
their contact lenses, as if they had a smart phone embedded in their
eyes.
"Things we used to think were magic, we now take for granted: the ability
to get a map instantly, to find information quickly and easily, to choose
any video from millions on YouTube rather than just a few TV channels,"
Google CEO Larry Page wrote in a letter on the company's website Thursday.
In Google's video, a man wearing the spectacles is shown getting subway
information, arranging to meet a friend for coffee and navigating the
inside of a bookstore, all with the help of the glasses. It ends with
playing the ukulele for a woman and showing her the sunset through a video
chat.
Google posted the video and short blog post about Project Glass on
Wednesday, asking people to offer feedback through its Google Plus social
network.
By Thursday, about 500 people did, voicing a mix of amazement and concern
about the new technology. What if people used it in cars and got
distracted? What about the effect on your vision of having a screen so
close to your eye?
Some asked for prototypes, but Google isn't giving those out just yet. The
company didn't say when regular people can expect to get their hands on a
piece of Project Glass, but going by how quickly Google tends to come out
with new products, it may not be long. Enderle estimates it could be about
six months to a year before broader tests are coming, and a year or more
for the first version of the product.
With such an immersive device as this, that sort of speed could be
dangerous, he cautions.
"It's coming. Whether Google is going to do it or someone else is going to
do it, it's going to happen," Enderle said. "The question is whether we'll
be ready, and given history we probably won't be. As a race we tend to be
somewhat suicidal with regard to how we implement this stuff."
Facebook Relationship Status Update Sparks Gun Fight
Gunshots were fired at a Georgia Waffle House Friday morning over a
Facebook post. The fight broke out at the late-night eatery around 5 a.m.
local time. The source of the dispute: someone's relationship status on
Facebook.
According to authorities, one group of women was inside the Augusta
restaurant when another group of ladies approached. An argument ensued
regarding someone's relationship status on Facebook, and the fight was
eventually taken outside where one of the women fired four shots in the
air. That woman is now in police custody.
The other women involved fled the scene in three vehicles, all of which
are thought to have contained firearms. No additional details about the
incident have been released.
This is undoubtedly not the first debate that has ensued from someone
changing their Facebook relationship status. Going from 'Single' to 'In a
Relationship' on the site has become a common way to announce a new
relationship. If things get complicated there's a status for that, and
breaking up can make just as big a splash on the social network as
announcing a new love.
If you think changing your relationship might incite a parking lot brawl,
check out our guide to changing your Facebook relationship status without
alerting your friends.
Grade School Teachers Aide Fired for Refusing To Hand Over Facebook Password
Kimberly Hester, a grade school teacher's aide in Michigan, was fired for
refusing to hand over her Facebook password to her supervisors. Hester
posted a picture of a co-workers' shoes and pants bunched around her
ankles on Facebook in April 2011 with the caption, "Thinking of you." She
posted the picture in jest, but a parent who's on her Facebook friend list
saw the image and reported it to Frank Squires Elementary where Hester was
employed, prompting the investigation.
Teachers have gotten in trouble for Facebook status messages before, but
in Hester's case, it's her refusal to hand over her password that actually
got her fired. One of the supervisors from the Lewis Cass Intermediate
School District (ISD), the regional service center for education in
Michigan, even wrote her a letter when she refused to give them her
password for the third time. Part of the letter read: "... in the absence
of you voluntarily granting Lewis Cass ISD administration access to you[r]
Facebook page, we will assume the worst and act accordingly." Lewis Cass
wanted to put Hester on a paid administrative leave before they fired her,
but she chose to go on an unpaid leave because she believes she did
nothing wrong. She plans to use the letter she received to sue the school
district.
An increasing number of companies and schools have started asking
employees and students for their Facebook passwords. The practice has been
growing at such an alarming rate, that Facebook released its official
stance on the issue, telling its users that they have the right not to
comply with their employers' request. Several politicians including
Michigan's own State Representatives Aric Nesbitt and Matt Lori have been
pushing for bills that will make the breach of privacy an illegal practice.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been going very well for them - the House of
Representatives recently rejected a legislation that would protect your
passwords from employers' prying eyes.
=~=~=~=
Atari Online News, Etc. is a weekly publication covering the entire
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