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Text Messaging While Driving Verboten in CA
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Transportation,
The Governator signed a bill in July that requires Californians to use hands free devices when driving and using a cell phone. He has now gone one step further by banning text messaging while driving. The SB28 makes drivers keep their “hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road,” Schwarzenegger said in a written statement. Other states have already adopted the law and considering the statistics about how dangerous the practice is, we hope they all do.
Read More 
| SF Gate
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Nicole Richie In (and Out of) Jail
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Reality, Talent, Gossip,
Simple Life star and famous celebutante Nicole Richie has been booked and released from jail…in under two hours. Richie was assigned to complete four days at the LA County Sheriff’s Department as part of her December 11 DUI arrest. Richie was spotted driving the wrong way on the 134 Freeway, and admitted to arresting officers she had consumed Vicodin and marijuana. Richie was sentenced to four days in jail, three years’ probation, asked to pay a $2,048 fine, and must take alcohol education classes. Nicole reported to the Century Regional Detention Facility at 3:15 pm to check in. She was processed and released at 4:37 pm. Though this quick catch-and-release might sound odd, it’s actually part of standard procedure. The Sheriff’s Department is already under federal order to reduce jail overcrowding, but crime hasn’t slowed down. This leaves the Department will few other options. Thousands of inmates have been released before their full sentences have been completed, not just famous inmates.
Click to continue reading Nicole Richie In (and Out of) Jail
Read More | LA Times
24 Hours For Lindsay Lohan
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Celeb News, Celebrity Controversy,
As reported earlier, Lindsay Lohan lucked out when prosecutors decided not to pursue felony charges against the actress. We now know that Lohan, 21, will likely face around 24 hours in jail after reaching a plea deal. Although the two DUI counts were dropped, she did plead guilty to being under the influence of cocaine. She also plead no contest to the reckless driving and driving with a BAC of .08 or higher charge.
Officials took into account her previous stay in jail and are allowing her to do community service in lieu of more time. Lindsay will need to serve her sentence by the end of this year.
No Felony Charges for Lindsay Lohan
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Celeb News, Celebrity Controversy,
Originally faced with a possibly lengthy stay in prison, Miss Lindsay Lohan now may see a Paris Hilton-esque jail term for her run-ins with the law. Prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office have decided not to file felony charges against the actress due to the ‘insufficient’ amount of cocaine that was in her possession. (I’ve never really understood what that term really meant).
This does not mean that Lohan gets off easily though. She still faces seven misdemeanor counts including charges for reckless driving, DUI and being under the influence of cocaine (See! That’s why there was an ‘insufficient’ amount! She snorted it all!). Conviction on these counts could get Lindsay a several day stay in the joint. In the end, that’s probably a great deal for her. Given her reputation for hospital stays due to ‘exhaustion’ (another term I can’t understand), this should give her ample opportunity to rest up. And let’s not forget all the money she’d save staying in a facility funded by tax payers…
Read More | People
Vonage Can’t Get Around Verizon Patent - What Now?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Corporate News, Internet,
So, it looks like things are going from bad to worse for VOIP phone company Vonage. Last week, a judge ruled in favor of Verizon citing that Vonage was infringing upon Verizon’s patented Internet phone technology, which lays out methods for getting calls to go between the Internet and conventional phone networks. The ruling was that Vonage was banned from signing up new customers, while existing customers were unaffected. Vonage asked for, and received, an emergency stay which allows them to conduct business as usual for the time being. They went so far as to tell investors not to worry, because a “workaround” was currently under development.
Unfortunately, today Vonage has changed their tune, and they are now saying that they have no workaround that would moot the need for a stay. Uh oh. We don’t know how much longer Vonage will be around in it’s current form, but for a company that loses 2.5% of it’s customers per month, if they can’t bring in new customers to replace lost ones, it’s fairly obvious what will happen.
Read More | USA Today
FilmCrunch 030: The Most Passionate Borat Review Ever
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: 20th Century Fox, Satire, Comedy, Celeb News, Short FilmCrunch, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,
Neil Estep goes off on the people trying to sue to the makers of Borat. He gives you an overview of what the Borat film is all about, and why it’s really a genious piece of work, being that it is unique with real-life people. Watch out Borat haters…if Neil sees you on the street, he will yell at you, and then run quickly when you reciprocate. If you are unfamiliar with Borat:
Journalist Borat Sagdiyev leaves his native Kazakhstan to travel to America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior generates strong reactions around him, exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture. In some cases, Borat’s interview subjects embrace his outrageous views on race and sex by agreeing with him, while others attempt to offer a patriotic lesson in Western values.
Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.
Editorial: Sony Bullies Lik-Sang Right Out Of Business
Posted by Rob Stevens Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Features, Video Games,
Playfeed is reporting that Sony has managed to win a major battle in the war against grey market imports, basically by suing the company into the ground. The company in question is Lik-Sang, one of the largest import companies on the internet, and one that I’ve personally used in the past for games I knew would not be released stateside.
Never mind the fact that Lik-Sang already had a British judge rule against them for selling the PSP without Sony’s permission, and never mind the fact that Sony made the PSP region-free and is now trying to put that genie back in the bottle. Hell, let’s even ignore the fact that Sony’s own upper-tier executives in Europe purchased PSP’s from Lik-Sang because they couldn’t get them from their own company.
Sony could have filed a single lawsuit and have seen this reach a decision, which is exactly what happened. Sony stooped to new lows by filing the same lawsuit in every single EU country, basically drowning Lik-Sang in paperwork and lawyers fees. Sony wins because Lik-Sang can’t afford to defend themselves. The end result is that Sony didn’t just say, “Hey, stop selling our stuff, if you don’t mind.” They proceeded to nothing less than thuggery by beating the company while they were down.
Click to continue reading Editorial: Sony Bullies Lik-Sang Right Out Of Business
Arnie Bans Handheld Cellphones
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Wireless / WiFi,
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that he will sign into law legislation that bans the use of handheld cellphones while driving. Although 38 state legislatures have considered similar bills, only New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. have actually passed them. Under the new law, which takes effect in 2008, a minimum of a $20.00 fine will be given when using a cell without a headset, speaker phone, or other wireless device.
“Public safety is the governor’s No. 1 priority,” said Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson, “and this bill will make the streets and highways of California safer by ensuring that drivers have both hands available for driving.”
Senator Joe Simitan (D-Palo Alto) has taken five years to bring his idea to fruition. The California Highway Patrol indicates that last year alone there were 775 accidents involving drivers who were using hand-held cellphones. Statistics show that the risk of death is 9 times greater for those drivers. Our only question is if public safety is Arnie’s #1 priority, why are they waiting until 2008?
Read More | LA Times
