The Situation Got Kicked Out of the Apple Store for Trying to Cut in Line [Apple]

By Casey Chan Oct 16, 2011 5:28 PM 55,346 86

The Situation, from the MTV hit freak show Jersey Shore, was apparently trying to get an iPhone 4S from the Apple Store but got kicked out instead. Was the fake tan and hair gel combo smell unbearable? Nope! Sitch foolishly tried to cut the line.

When an Apple Store employee saw Mike up to no good (he's either killing or making this season of the Shore btw), he told him to GTFO and threw him out. Maybe Sitch gets special treatment at Karma but at the Apple Store, we all wait together bro. You should of had Snooks sneak in or something. [@laurenmcc, Image Credit: Getty]

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Biker Gang Raids Apple Store [Crime]

By Sam Biddle Oct 10, 2011 9:09 AM 13,723 29

Moped life on the open road. Unbridled asphalt rebellion. The thrill of the throttle, wind in your hair, roar of the engine beneath you. Breaking into an Apple Store to steal a bunch of iPads. Rebels.

Seven English idiot moped-riders smashed through a London Apple store early this morning, snatching Macs, iPads, and "other similar devices," according to police. The Next Web's Matt Brian says the motorized mischief was witnessed by a blogging gent who's been camping outside the store for publicity: "Really annoying as I was having an early sleep and was out for the count."

Who is the sadder figure here: a guy stealing iPads on a moped, or a guy sleeping outside of an Apple Store by choice? Trick question: the most miserable of all are the two who got caught:

A 16-year-old boy and 21-year-old man were arrested at the scene on suspicion of burglary. Property, believed stolen from the store, was found in bags in their possession, Scotland Yard said.

Photos via The Next Web

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Which Telecoms Store Your Data the Longest? Secret Memo Tells All [Privacy]

The nation's major mobile-phone providers are keeping a treasure trove of sensitive data on their customers, according to newly-released Justice Department internal memo that for the first time reveals the data retention policies of America's largest telecoms.

The single-page Department of Justice document, "Retention Periods of Major Cellular Service Providers," (.pdf) is a guide for law enforcement agencies looking to get information—like customer IP addresses, call logs, text messages and web surfing habits—out of U.S. telecom companies, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.

The document, marked "Law Enforcement Use Only" and dated August 2010, illustrates there are some significant differences in how long carriers retain your data.

Verizon, for example, keeps a list of everyone you've exchanged text messages with for the past year, according to the document.  But  T-Mobile stores the same data up to five years. It's 18 months for Sprint, and seven years for AT&T.

That makes Verizon appear to have the most privacy-friendly policy. Except that Verizon is alone in retaining the actual contents of text messages. It allegedly stores the messages for five days, while T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint don't store them at all.

The document was unearthed by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina via a Freedom of Information Act claim. (After the group  gave a copy to Wired.com, we also discovered it in two other places on the internet by searching its title.)

"People who are upset that Facebook is storing all their information should be really concerned that their cell phone is tracking them everywhere they've been," said Catherine Crump, an ACLU staff attorney. "The government has this information because it wants to engage in surveillance."

The biggest difference in retention surrounds so-called cell-site data. That is information detailing a phone's movement history via its connections to mobile phone towers while its traveling.

Verizon keeps that data on a one-year rolling basis; T-Mobile for "a year or more;" Sprint up to two years, and AT&T indefinitely, from July 2008.

The document also includes retention policies for Nextel and Virgin Mobile. They have folded into the Sprint network.

The document release comes two months before the Supreme Court hears a case testing the government's argument that it may use GPS devices to monitor a suspect's every movement without a warrant. And the disclosure comes a month ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Electronic Privacy Communications Act, an outdated law that the government often invokes against targets to obtain, without a warrant, the data the Justice Department document describes.

"I don't think there there is anything on this list the government would concede requires a warrant," said Kevin Bankston, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "This brings cellular retention practices out of the shadows, so we can have a rational discussion about how the law needs to be changed when it comes to the privacy of our records."

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has proposed legislation to alter the Electronic Privacy Communications Act to protect Americans from warrantless intrusions. Debate on the issue is expected to heat up as the anniversary nears, and the Justice Department document likely will take center stage.

Infographics: Michael Cerwonka/Wired.com. Cell tower photo courtesy Locomotive8/Flickr

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Never Mind the Bollocks, London Gets the Google Chrome Zone Store [Google]

Google is hoping that it can talk the British into buying Chromebooks on the High Street. I hope they remembered to replace the $ key with a £ key.

The search giant is testing the Chrome Zone shop-within-a-shop inside the Currys and PC World superstore (no relation to PCWorld magazine) in London's Totterham Court Road. The shop currently only selling the Samsung Chromebook. It's your one-stop-shop for exactly one device.

The mini store's design matches Google's color scheme. Google's head of consumer marketing for the UK and Ireland, Arvind Desikan said that, "We've put a great deal of thought into the design of this Chrome Zone." They've also hired dedicated staff so you won't be talking to the stereo guy while shopping for Chromebook. [TechRadar]

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Vimeo's Got a New Music Store for Easy Soundtracks [Video]

You've got your gorgeous, HD DSLR-shot movie all ready to upload. But you need music. And you really, really don't want to get sued. Vimeo's hoping you'll park your film with them, by way of an easy soundtracking service.

The Vimeo "Music Store," open today, offers over 45,000 songs—free via Creative Commons, $2 tracks for personal use, and $100 licenses if you're planning on earning some dough from your creation. Unfortunately, even the $100 songs are from "emerging artists," which is code for bands you've never heard of before. They could still be good! And probably highly useful for an indie auteur who wants something affordable to make a movie sound as good as it looks. But you're not going to be able to score your film with anything recognizable, which is a bummer if you want to use Lil Wayne's "Shooter" for an opening title sequence, which I've always thought would be really cool. [Vimeo]

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GameStop Will Let You Trade In Your Gently Used iPhone for Store Credits [Gaming]

Well, it's clearer than ever that GameStop thinks mobile gaming is its future. At a trade show in Vegas last week, they officially dragged iDevices into their kinda bad trade-in business while also carrying new ones. The good news? They might sell iPhone 5s, too.

Selling the full array of iOS devices is probably the natural next stop for GameStop. While the gaming industry keep pushing against them, the mobile gaming market keeps growing. Having Apple as a partner can only help with their bottomline, and with the iPhone 5 around the corner, this announcement is very shrewdly timed. If you trade in your iPhone now, your credits can be used toward buying a new one come October.

I just can't help but worry someone somewhere is going to get ripped off for trading in an iPad with a few dings in it. What's this? A scratch? $30. Sorry! [9to5 Mac via Geekosystem]

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

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