Eideard

Researchers are creating software that links fans’ smartphones into a network so they can easily share messages, images and video.

The software could prove a boon for seated events when friends are not able to sit together but want to chat about the on-field action.

It could also help them include fans and friends who did not manage to get tickets to a match…

“We are not trying to take away from the quality of the football match, we are trying to augment it,” said Dr Matthew Chalmers, a reader in computer science at the University of Glasgow and principal investigator on the “smart stadium” project.

The researchers are working with the Tartan Army – fans who travel round the world following local Scottish football teams and the national side. Some Tartan Army fans have been given Apple iPhones fitted with prototypes of the software Dr Chalmers and his co-workers are developing…

For instance, he said, key members of supporter groups cannot sometimes travel to a match but want to keep up with what happens before, during and after…

The researchers also plan to use the Bluetooth short-range wireless technology built into most smartphones as a messaging system so those attending a match can keep in touch or share media.

He added that the researchers plan to release the software as a free mobile application so that anyone can use it.

Interesting they decided to drop Windows Mobile and switched to the iPhone early on.

Cripes – I’d load it onto my laptop Mac in the living room and use it to follow along a match from the Prem or the SPL. I’d love it.

Already the undisputed leader in the gas-electric vehicle market, Asahi (via Reuters) reports the Japanese automaker is planning to launch a new compact hybrid based on the next-gen Yaris platform and due to go on sale in Japan for $15,760 by 2011. That bargain-basement price will be made possible by a low-cost version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, used in the current Prius and featuring a downsized four-cylinder engine that may make it even more fuel efficient than its larger sibling.

In addition to production plants in its home market of Japan, the report indicates that Toyota may also assemble the compact hybrid in France for the European market. This news comes just weeks after Toyota officially announced its intentions to build a hybrid version of its Auris hatchback in the United Kingdom. We certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Toyota imported either of the new hybrids to the States in light of the success it’s seen with the Prius.

It’s expected that the new Yaris-based hybrid will go head-to-head with Honda’s recently announced Fit Hybrid. While Toyota’s interest in hybrid technology is anything but new, the fuel-saving models have just recently earned the top sales spots in Japan and are expected to be increasingly important in over the next few years as the latest round of strict emissions and fuel economy requirements are implemented worldwide.

Another couple of choices welcome in our family for certain. My wife’s ancient Volvo is too old and gets gas mileage too good for the Cash for Clunkers program. If and when it croaks we’ll probably turn it into a planter. Not unknown in our community.

Having a couple of affordable hybrid options for commuting and errands covers 99% of our time spent on motorized wheels. Though I think I’d still prefer she have something with all the cushy bits of a Prius – more choices is what it’s all about.

A Broward father lost all rights to his daughter after being declared an unfit dad. Now he is dead, and a court is reconsidering whether to restore his parental rights.

In life, he was a lousy father. His love for the crack pipe was mightier than the love for his children, a Broward judge decided, and ended his parental rights to his pre-teen daughter.

But before his appeal of the judge’s order was final, the father known in court records as C.A. died when he was hit by a car. And now, an appeals court is wondering: perhaps the little girl should keep her father, after all.

A Broward County court is set to consider restoring a dead man’s parental rights to his now 13-year-old daughter, so she might be able to receive part of a possible payout from a lawsuit over his death…

Child welfare legal experts…say the ruling appears to be the first time a Florida judge has been asked to restore a parent’s rights after death.

“Obviously, this case presents challenges that we haven’t dealt with yet,” Judge Frusciante said.

Where is Solomon when you really need him?

Those 140-character “microblog” posts to Twitter don’t constitute much more than links, dinner recipes, and bitching, right? Be careful with the bitching, though—a property management company in Chicago has filed a lawsuit against a tenant who tweeted an off-the-cuff comment about the company. The company, Horizon Group Management, says that the Twitter user in question sent the message maliciously, and is now asking for $50,000 in damages.

It all started when Twitter user @abonnen (Amanda Bonnen, who has since deleted her Twitter account) said to a friend on May 12, “You should just come anyway. Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.” At the time of the tweet, Bonnen’s profile was public (meaning that everyone could read her Twitter stream) and she had about 20 followers.

Horizon must have been monitoring its mentions on Twitter—as many companies do these days—because someone there saw the tweet and immediately got moving with legal action. In its complaint, Horizon says that the tweet was “wholly false” and that the company has been “greatly injured in its reputation as a landlord in Chicago.” It is suing Bonnen on the grounds that her tweet was defamatory, she damaged the company’s reputation and business, and that she should be liable for the damages.

With 20 followers, @abonnen wasn’t likely to have a dramatic effect on Horizon’s biz. You would think.

OTOH, anyone who spends time in the blogosphere considers their opinions free and clear of danger – with a bit of existing law to back that up. A case worth watching.

Armed with ATM cards and a little-known federal regulation, four old college buddies used a “beaut of a scam” to rip off Brooklyn banks for $422,000.

The four, who studied finance together at NYU, exploited a regulation that requires banks to repay customers who claimed their ATM cards were lost or stolen within 10 days, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said.

Using something known in the banking world as Regulation E of the Federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the four cleaned out their accounts and put in claims for some $700,000 over five years, prosecutors said…

Cameras caught defendants taking the money out, but they were almost always wearing motorcycle helmets or some other covering to protect their identities, Hynes said.

“They thought that nobody was looking,” Brooklyn rackets chief Michael Vecchione said. “But these institutions have massive data bases and it’s just a matter of time when they cross-reference them and people get caught…”

Eric Manganelli, 36, a lawyer; Lam Dang, 37, a financial consultant; and John Tluczek, 37; and his wife, Marzena Tluczek, 35, who both have worked for banks over the years, face multiple counts of grand larceny, falsifying business records and other charges.

Each faces 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison for the top counts. Hynes vowed to ask for consecutive time, if they are convicted.

Greedy bastards.

The rule isn’t so obscure, though – except maybe to journalists. Believe me, the banking IT folks I chat with all knew about it.

A Swedish couple in search of the isle of Capri drove to Carpi, an industrial town in northern Italy, because they misspelt the name in their car’s GPS.

Italian officials say the couple asked at Carpi’s tourist office where they could find Capri’s famous Blue Grotto.

The car’s sat nav system had sent them 650km off course to Carpi.

“Capri is an island. They did not even wonder why they didn’t cross any bridge or take any boat,” said a bemused tourism official in Carpi.

Once they realised their mistake, the couple got back in their car and headed south, the official added.

Maybe GPS should come with spell check?

Chinese President Hu Jintao sent Taiwan counterpart Ma Ying-jeou a telegram on Monday applauding his election as party chief, the first direct communication between leaders of the two sides since the civil war ended in 1949.

Taiwan’s Nationalist Party (KMT) elected Ma as chief on Sunday, giving him more control of the island’s China policy at a time when ties are warming.

“I hope our two parties can continue to promote peaceful cross-Strait development, deepen mutual trust, bring good news to compatriots on both sides and create a revival of the great Chinese race,” Hu, who is also chairman of the Communist Party of China, said in the 73-word message in Chinese.

China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.

Colonization of Formosa by mainland China began in the 16th Century. A fact which seems to escape most Westerners.

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Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted, 13 to 6, to endorse the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, easing her path to likely confirmation as the first Hispanic member of the tribunal.

As expected, all 12 Democrats on the judiciary panel voted for Judge Sotomayor. But among the seven Republicans on the committee, only Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voted in favor.

“She is a restrained, fair and impartial judge,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who heads the committee.

The action sends the nomination to the full Senate, where her confirmation by a comfortable margin seems to be assured…

Mr. Graham said he supported the nomination, despite early reservations. “I feel good about Judge Sotomayor,” he said, adding he was sure that she would decide cases “based on what she thinks is right” and be an inspiration for young women. The Senate is expected to debate the nomination next week, so Judge Sotomayor is likely to be sworn in as the Supreme Court’s first Hispanic justice (and only its third woman) in time for the start of the high court’s next term, which begins in October.

Graham made than one important political point which also places him outside the pale of reactionary ideologues. Essentially, he told his fellow Republicans – President Obama won the election. Remember that? He deserves to submit and place his own choices on the Supreme Court as have presidents before him.

Double-har!

Thanks, Sergio

A key U.S. Senate committee will hold a hearing on the military’s controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays and lesbians, according to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold the hearing in the fall, she said in a written announcement.

” ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is an unfair, outdated measure that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women,” Gillibrand said in her statement. “By repealing this policy, we will increase America’s strength — both militarily and morally.”

Rep. Patrick Murphy, an Iraq war veteran, urged Obama in early July to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Murphy, D-Pennsylvania, appeared at an event with gay, lesbian and straight service members to launch a new initiative.

“We can not afford to wait any longer” for the policy’s repeal, Murphy said at the National Press Club in Washington. “Now is the time to change this, when our military is stretched so thin” with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…

Nearly 13,000 service members have been discharged for their sexual orientation since 1993, Gillibrand said…

And it’s not just gay groups urging a change in policy, but former generals and top Defense Department officials.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that a review is needed.

“Sixteen years have now gone by, and I think a lot has changed with respect to attitudes within our country, and therefore I think this is a policy and a law that should be reviewed,” Powell has said.

And then you’re left with homophobes, copouts and know-nothings who would rather talk than do anything – especially when that “doing” requires supporting civil rights for all Americans. Something our politicians have a great deal of experience at delaying – if not defeating.

Quit wasting our nation’s time. Get rid of this 19th Century law!