Here's A Way To Break Google's Search Page [Google]

There's an interesting glitch on Google's search page that'll misalign the page content when you search for the string "${". It doesn't appear to be serious; just surprising to see Google's mighty coders make a mistake like this.

There are lively discussions on Hacker News and StackOverflow as people try to figure out why this is happening. Google has not responded and it will likely be fixed quickly, so check it out while you can. You can test it using this link. Enjoy! [Google via Bryan English]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Google Flight Search Listed the WTC as a Destination Airport [Wtf]

Well this is uncomfortable. Google's new flight search had the World Trade Center listed as an unavailable destination airport for New York City-bound flights.

Google's flight search uses International Air Transport Association and International Civil Aviation Organization codes to generate its list of airports, but Google didn't know that decommissioned airports remained in the list until after the service was live. They're still removing other unavailable airports, but it looks like they've already yanked the WTC.

It's an honest mistake to be sure, but still, an immensely embarrassing one. [Sydney Morning Herald via NY Post]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Apple Investigators Reportedly Impersonated SF Police in iPhone 5 Search (Developing) [Iphone 5]

According to The SF Weekly, Apple investigators looking into the missing iPhone 5 may have been impersonating San Francisco police officers. That's a crime.

The SF Weekly reached Sergio Calderón, who believes he was the person referred to as a suspect in a CNET story claiming that an iPhone 5 was lost in a bar. He tells The SF Weekly that six people with badges claiming to be San Francisco police officers stopped at his home and began asking questions about the missing iPhone 5. At least one of these men was actually an Apple employee.

With Calderón's consent, the six searched his home, car and computer. The SF Weekly also notes that the investigators questioned Calderón and his family's immigration status. He tells the Weekly that at no point did investigators ever claim to be working on behalf of Apple, and he still has no idea who was in his home, or rifling through the files on his computer.

"They threatened me," Calderón told The SF Weekly. "We don't know anything about it, still, to this day."

The San Francisco Police Department told Gizmodo it has no knowledge of the search.

However, The SF Weekly did reach one of them men who searched Calderón's home. Anthony Colon left his contact information with Calderón. The Weekly called him. It turns out Colon is not a member of the San Francisco police department at all. He's a former San Jose cop who now works for Apple. According to his LinkedIn profile he's a senior investigator for Apple. (Colon appears to have taken his LinkedIn profile down. Here's the Google cache.) The San Francisco police are looking into what went down.

It would not be the first time Apple has used private security to hunt down leaks. However, if the people who stopped in at Calderon's home were not with the San Francisco police, that's a crime. And if they were with the SFPD, they had an obligation to report the information to the department, which did not happen.

So, aside from Colon, who were the other five "officers" that stopped by Calderón's home and threatened him? Were they off-duty SFPD? Were they members of REACT, the special unit (the same unit that raided Jason Chen's home last year) charged with investigating computer crime? Why were they questioning Calderón's immigration status? If you know anything, please get in touch. [SF Weekly]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

San Francisco Police Now Admit Participating in Search for Lost iPhone 5 [Lost IPhone]

The San Francisco Police Department has changed its tune. It now says officers did come to the home of Sergio Calderón, looking for a missing iPhone 5, but that only Apple employees went inside, according to The SF Weekly.

After previously telling both Gizmodo and The SF Weekly that the San Francisco police had no record of being involved, SFPD spokesperson now tells The SF Weekly that "three or four" officers did in fact take part in a July search of Calderón's home. However, these plainclothes officers apparently did not enter the premises.

Calderón confirmed to The SF Weekly that only two people entered his home, who were apparently Apple employees. However he was under the impression that these too were police officers. None of the people who came to his home identified themselves as Apple employees. As the Weekly reports:

"When they came to my house, they said they were SFPD," Calderón said. "I thought they were SFPD. That's why I let them in." He said he would not have permitted the search if he had been aware the two people conducting it were not actually police officers.

So in essence, the SFPD came over, flashed badges, seemingly made threats, and then stood by while private citizens searched the Calderón home. Oh, and then they conveniently forgot about it.

Yet, it's still not clear exactly who questioned Calderón and his family's immigration status (they're legal) or why. Nor are we clear on whether or not officers were there in an official capacity. Obviously, much in this story is still developing.

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Apple's Lost iPhone Search Team Flashed Three Badges to Toss Man's Home (Updated) [Lost IPhone]

First reported by SF Weekly, it's come to light Apple investigators looking for a lost iPhone prototype might've impersonated SF police officers to search the Bernal Heights home of Sergio Calderon. A family member tells us that at least three members of the team that searched the home flashed badges.

Six officials showed up at Calderon's home, according to SF Weekly, one of whom is confirmed to be an Apple employee—Anthony Colon, a Senior Investigator for the company. We spoke to a family member who was present during the search, and he told us that at least three members of the security team that searched the house had flashed badges and seemed like police officers. The team with badges consisted of two women and one man.

The San Francisco Police Department has no record of the search. Sergio Calderon is the man believed to be the suspect in a CNET story claiming a next-gen iPhone prototype was lost in a bar and possibly sold on Craigslist for $200.

Further, the police department has been unable to secure any information from Apple about the missing iPhone prototype—the department has received no cooperation from Apple.

As reported by CNET in their original article, the team was allowed to search the house and Sergio's computer for any information about the missing iPhone, after it was traced to the home with GPS. When that search turned up nothing they concluded that the iPhone wasn't there and said that it "doesn't look like it was."

If the security team at any time represented themselves as SFPD, they're in for a heap of trouble if Sergio files charges. Until that happens, the police can't investigate.

Update: I spoke to Officer Alan Byard of the San Francisco Patrol Special Police to inquire if they were working with Apple during the investigation of the missing iPhone prototype, or were present during the search of Sergio Calderon's home. Alan told me that they were not working with Apple and were not involved in the search of the house.

The San Francisco Patrol Special Police is a neighborhood police force authorized by the San Francisco city charter. The privately-paid force wears uniforms, carries weapons and uses SFPD two-way radios.

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Google Search Results Could Soon be Determined by +1 Button [Google]

Google told Wired that it's researching plans to use the +1 button as a crowdsourcing tool to adjust search results and battle web spam.

Google recently expanded the powers of the +1 button to include their new Google+ social networking service. Click on +1 button on a site, or in search results, and you're Google+ +1 feed is updated with the site. It's similar to Facebook's Like button.

Of course, if you remember Digg in its heyday, you'll know how quickly this sort of system can be "gamed" to push articles to the top of search results above more relevant content. Google reiterated to Wired that "There are more than 200 signals that we use to determine the rank of a website, and last year we made more than 500 improvements to the algorithm."

Still that leaves Google in an odd situation. They want to capitalize on the +1 button to promote their new social networking service and fix search results, but they have to make sure they don't piss off the justice Department with what could be construed as Google using its search engine to squash rival Facebook. Plus, the whole system could backfire on them and instead of fixing search spam, it could make it worse. [Wired]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.