Closing Wikipedia was a worldwide success

Yesterday's protest of the Wikipedia platform brought greater popularity than in previous days, more people wanted to see the message that online encyclopedia protest against the law "Stop Online Piracy Act" (whisper), which is said to limit the independence and freedom of sites powered by the users. Thus, according to analysis firm Experian Hitwise, Wikipedia was ranked in the top eight most visited websites in the UK, much better than the day before, even if the only available page was a black screen with a message about Internet freedom. The only solution to the blockage was the user to press "Escape" before the message appears,

says Pocket-lint.com site. 5.8 million visitors have been on Wikipedia today only in the UK, and visits from mobile devices increased 14%. Compared to the conventional, online encyclopedia mobile platform was not blocked by anti-whisper message. Success of the campaign was revealed by site founder, Jimmy Wales, who wrote in a message on Twitter "updates! 8 million Americans have sought congressional phone numbers and 162 million users saw the black page ". Wikipedia not only protested yesterday. A Google spokesman said that 4.5 million people signed petition against online giant whisper.

Justin Bieber Slams Mariah Yeater’s “Baby Daddy” Allegations On The Today Show

Justin Bieber won’t back down!
The 17-year-old is a true Belieber that the truth shall set you free so he hit the Today Show to set the record straight about allegations that he fathered the child of 20-year-old Mariah Yeater. When asked by Matt Lauer if he was the daddy of a three-month-old boy, Justin stayed firm on his version of the facts.

“I’d just like to say basically that none of those allegations are true. I know I’m going to be a target, but I’m never going to be a victim,” Justin said as the female fans in the audience screamed in adoration. “It’s crazy, every night after the show I’ve gone right from the stage right to my car, so it’s crazy some people want to make up such false allegations. But to set the record straight, none of it is true. Never met the woman.”

The Under The Mistletoe singer spent the rest of the interview promoting his upcoming Christmas album and said that proceeds would be donated to charity. “Like I said before, there’s going to be good and going to be bad about this business and I want to focus on what’s real, like my fans are real, the charity work that I’m doing with this album is real and this is real,” Justin said. “I do it for these guys and I’m really happy to be here in New York and it’s been fun.”

After the show, Justin took to Twitter to express his pleasure at being to dispels all the rumors: “@todayshow thanks for letting me set the record straight. what is real are my fans…this album…and this charity work. see u guys the 23rd.”

Justin is scheduled to perform live on the Today Show on November 23rd. Watch his interview on the Today Show below. Do you think Mariah Yeater’s allegations are true?

BIG BROTHER Shelly's Family Receives Death Threats Over Jeff's Eviction

"Big Brother" contestant Shelly Moore pissed off America when she voted to evict fan favorite Jeff Schroeder last week -- and now TMZ has learned her family has been receiving death threats from deranged fans because of the move.

Sources close to Shelly tell us ... the reality star's family has received multiple phone calls from people threatening

violence ... even making threats against Shelly's 8-year-old daughter. 

We're told Shelly's employer has also been receiving harassing phone calls -- demanding the company fire Shelly immediately because of the way she voted on the show. 

Sources tell us Shelly's family is preparing to get the FBI involved -- because they're taking the threats VERY seriously. 

UPDATE: "Big Brother" Executive Producer Allison Grodner released a statement on Twitter ... saying, "No matter how much you dislike an HG, this is wrong! True BB fans do not try to ruin lives. Please stop!"

Tara Reid gets engaged and married in 1 night

Talk about a quickie.

"American Pie" actress Tara Reid is now a married woman! Reid married Michael Lillelund, a Danish businessman, in Greece on Saturday, E! News confirms.

Wait, you didn't know she was engaged? Neither did we!

Reid, 35, decided to break the news herself via her Twitter account, writing, "Just got married in greece I love being a wife."

The same night, Reid also broke the news that she was engaged. "I got engaged!," she tweeted, followed up by, "Greece married!" Short and sweet, just like their engagement.

The couple met in Saint-Tropez in November.

Reid was previously engaged to businessman (are you sensing a pattern here?) Michael Axtmann, but called it off in April 2010.

Hacking group Anonymous plotting to 'kill' Facebook

A YouTube video labelled as a message from Anonymous claimed that "Operation Facebook" would take place on November 5. its aim was to destroy the social network on the grounds that it abused the privacy of users, the video said.

But an Anonymous spokesman told AFP that even heads of the group were uncertain how seriously to take the threat since the loosely-knit organisation doesn't have a strict command structure and members mask their identities.

"I found groups of people who say we absolutely are and have a trick up our sleeves," said the spokesman. "I found others that say it isn't us and that this is stupid."

The video displayed a gray image of the Anonymous logo as a digitally masked voice announced a plan to destroy Facebook and called for others to join in the cyber attack.

The video accused Facebook of holding onto the data people post in accounts and of even sharing some of it with law enforcement agencies.

"Join the cause and kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy," the speaker urged in the video, which has been viewed more than a million times since being posted three weeks ago.

A cadre within Anonymous was evidently trying to rally cyber warriors in a Facebook attack, but the plan did not have the backing of the majority of the group, according to the spokesman.

A message on an "Anonops" account at microblogging service Twitter acknowledged that some members of the group were organising a Facebook attack but that didn't mean the sentiment was unanimous.

"This could be as dumb as one person making a video or as big as someone having already broken into the Facebook network," said the Anonymous spokesman.

Facebook declined a request for comment.

One month with Google+: why this social network has legs(Photos)

If you're a stranger who follows me on Google+, you might think I rarely use the service. That's because the majority of my posts have been limited to the seven circles I created for friends, acquaintances, family, Ars staffers, and other people I like to expose to various aspects of my personality. You had no idea? That's

exactly the point.

After one month with Google+, it's clear to me that this—sending updates to certain groups of people and not to others—is the main appeal of the service. I was one of the first people to loudly declare that you can do the same thing on Facebook, but so few people know this that it's basically a nonexistent feature; that's the problem with Facebook. With Google+, sending out certain updates to some people and other updates to other people is right at the forefront of the experience. You are always asked to make a conscious decision about your social circles and about which circles get to see which posts.

Some people don't like this approach. I do, but it took a while. Truth be told, I was a fierce skeptic of Google+ when it was first announced, and I wasn't pleased at the idea of using it every day for a month. (Every single day?) As the Ars forums might say, Google+ was Yet Another Social Network (YASN), and one led by the company behind the spectacular privacy failure that was Google Buzz. Google's previous social network, Orkut, failed to impress (at least, in the US), and the prospect of dedicating my time to YASN wherein I would interact with the same people I already know through Facebook or Twitter was not appealing.

But Google+ has grown on me. Despite some of its latest struggles, I think Google has a leg to stand on with its latest social venture.

What Google+ has going for it

Because most of us like to frame the unfamiliar with the familiar, let's get the necessary comparison out of the way first: Google+ occupies a space somewhere between Facebook and Twitter, but I think it falls closer to the former. Features match Facebook in many ways, but it's the implementation and presentation that makes them starkly different.

Let's start with posts and Circles—the core functionality of Google+. Posts themselves translate to Facebook wall posts or to tweets, while Google's "+1" button translates to Facebook's "Like" button.

Google+'s Circles translate to Facebook's lists but not to Groups (I'll go more into that later). Google+ prompts users to categorize every single person in their life into some sort of Circle, and those people won't be able to see any of your non-public posts unless you do so.

On Facebook, lists are virtually unknown (and are in the process of being supplanted by Facebook Groups) and Facebook users are subconsciously pushed toward public disclosure thanks to default settings and the general UI. Google+ takes the opposite approach; the predominant thought when you go to make a Google+ post is, "Who exactly will see this?"

Because Google+ pushes the Circles so hard, divvying up your posts among different groups of people is at the forefront of the experience. Those who find this laborious tend to be heavy Facebook users, which is understandable—they're not used to facing this decision every time they make a post, and it's undoubtedly annoying to them. But for those of us who have always been trying to find ways to share information with friends while limiting exposure to others, Circles can be a blessing. Simply forcing users to always think about the distribution of their posts is in itself good for privacy.

Compare this to Twitter. Some people like to maintain two (or more) Twitter accounts in order to separate out different aspects of their lives. This has been going on since the beginning of Twitter, but seems to have increased in recent years over increased awareness about privacy. Someone might have a private account for close personal friends but still maintain a public account for everyone else; someone else might have an account for just his own musings while maintaining a second for links he wants to share. 

This is an imperfect solution, and it quickly becomes cumbersome to manage more than one Twitter account. (While using Circles may be a tiny bit tedious, it's no comparison to this kind of account switching.) Google+, on the other hand, allows you to maintain a single, unified account where you don't have to switch between log-ins. I can share a link to a story I wrote with one Circle while talking about some of my life concerns with another, more intimate circle, and the two don't have to cross if I don't want them to.

Even better is Google's tool that lets you see your own profile page from another user's perspective. Want to make sure your mother can't see a post you made about puking at the bar? Type in her name (assuming she has a Google profile—if she doesn't, then she's just public) and see which of your posts show up for her. Or say you have a post about sex toys (gasp!) and you don't want the big boss to see. You may know in your heart of hearts that you marked that post friends-only, but if you want to confirm it, you can. I plugged in my big boss to show you what this looks like:

The tool is simple but effective, and it can certainly help to head off embarrassing over-sharing. In fact, while taking the above screenshot, I discovered that I had accidentally added a (very) loose acquaintance to my "Close Friends" group instead of to the "Acquaintance" group, allowing him to see some of my more private observations. That was a very helpful discovery.

There are other benefits, too. There's no character limit to Google+ posts, meaning that you have much more freedom than the 140 characters allowed by Twitter and—I didn't even know this before writing this article—the 400 character limit imposed by Facebook. This provides the freedom to treat Google+ like a blog, but most people don't (yet) do so, and it's not particularly annoying at this point. I have already used Google+ over Twitter several times for the express purpose of asking longer questions of the general public.

Content controls

There's also the (wondrous) ability to "mute" posts on Google+. You know how you "Like" a friend's photo on Facebook, only to get alerts for every single one of that person's 300 family members when they end up commenting on the picture and arguing over whose body part is in the corner? Imagine if you could simply hit a button to ensure that you never have to hear about that post ever again—even if it's your own post. We're not talking about blocking certain users—sometimes you want to keep a person around, but you just don't want to hear about a topic anymore. That's a huge bonus to Google+, and those I've spoken to agree that it's one of the better unsung features of the service.

Google+ also offers the ability to re-share posts made by others. Twitter's retweet feature is similar, where the other person's content shows up in your own feed as something that you have "forwarded" onto your own followers. This in itself is handy, but Google+ takes it a step further by also offering options not to allow re-sharing (say you make a private post to a small group of people and you don't want those people re-sharing your thoughts to their own friends). The same goes for comments—comments on every post are on by default, but you can turn them off for any specific post if you simply don't want to hear from the peanut gallery this time around.

Google presents its options in a way that acknowledges organization (and thus, privacy) first, whereas Facebook acknowledges organization and privacy as an afterthought, while organization barely exists for Twitter and privacy is an all-or-nothing venture. Google+ also has other neat features, such as the video-based Hangouts that let multiple users get together online and watch things like YouTube videos in an Internet group setting. Though I don't consider Hangouts to be a core reason to use Google+, plenty of users seem to like it, so good for them.

What the competition has going for it

Google+ is not the end-all, be-all of social networks—and Twitter or Facebook have their own strengths.

To take one example, although Facebook lists have some of the same functionality as Google+ Circles, Facebook also has Groups, which sort of have the same end goal but operate much differently. Facebook Groups essentially act like a private "room" in which a group of people can share things. For example, if you're familiar with Facebook events, it's like having an event page where everyone who was invited can leave comments and share items, but without the party attached. Everyone is on equal ground when they are invited to be part of a Facebook Group; it functions like your own private group wall.

This is especially handy for actual groups (as in, not just your clique), such as book clubs or running groups—people who want a centralized place for just themselves to share information, links, commentary, etc., and for everyone to have the opportunity to share equally.

Compare that to Circles (or to Facebook lists), where you create the list of people and then you make posts that go out to those specific people. People in your Google+ Circle cannot make posts that go out to the other members of your Circle unless they create their own Circle that mirrors yours. And if they create their own Circles, there may be other members in those Circles who aren't necessarily included in your Circle on the same topic. This is an obvious downside to Circles and an upside to Facebook Groups for sharing among members of a group.

Most importantly, what both Facebook and Twitter have is what every social network needs to succeed: a wide and active audience. Google+ is seeing a respectable amount of success—certainly much more success than any other new social network has seen in years—but there are plenty of reasons why the masses will remain at their old haunts for a while. Many people stick to Facebook because that's where their real-life friends and family members are, and that's a perfectly valid reason to stay. The same goes for Twitter: people use it to blast observations and information to their followers in a quick-moving and bite-sized manner, and that's exactly why it has been so successful.

Neither of these services will be displaced in the immediate future by Google+, and most Google+ users still use one or both of the others as their "main" social network. That goes for me, too.

But Google+ will stick around

During my month of using Google+ every day, I've already seen signs that the initial rush to check the service out has ended—there's less activity now than there was, say, during its first two weeks. But what's also clear is that a core base seems to be sticking around, and I believe they'll remain long enough to see Google+ establish itself as one of the main networks that Real People™ actually use.

Yes, Google+ has already run into a number of issues in its first month—there was a weekend recently in which a plethora of accounts were swiftly and mysteriously deleted, and it was only revealed later that Google was attempting to enforce a "real name" rule that many people didn't know about. There were also some transparency and consistency issues that turned the whole episode into a minor debacle.

Google+ could also use improvement. For example, the notifications menu on the Web app is borderline useless, communicating as little information as possible while constantly bugging you at the top of nearly every Google-related Web app in existence. (Really? Google can't even give me a hint about which post my friend commented on before I click? There's an awful lot of space where that information could live.) Then, when you click on any item in the list, the entire list marks itself as read! Could this menu and its functionality be any more frustrating?

But such problems are growing pains. Google seems to be taking this project more seriously than some of its other recent efforts, and the company has said multiple times—to the media and on Google+ itself—that it is listening closely to user feedback. Additionally, the company has said that it has plans to expand Google+ support throughout its other services; this is just the beginning.

However, the most important thing for Google to do right now is to retain its current audience and keep the momentum going. Enough people use Google+ and say enough good new things about it that it could establish itself as a legitimate alternative to Facebook, but fickle users can easily be driven away by boredom at this early stage. So long as Google+ keeps improving, it should be okay; if it implements some of the suggestions thrown out by its users, it could be more than okay.

As for me, I have always used Twitter (lots) more than Facebook, and I have always been a little allergic to other services. I still use Twitter the most, but now I use Google+ on a regular basis and Facebook barely at all. Even the thought of going to Facebook seems a little old-fashioned to me when I could be using Google+.

Google+ has legs. Now it's up to Google to see how far it can run.

Riot police respond to rowdy film crowd in Hollywood

The premiere for a movie about a music festival with a controversial past got out of hand itself late Wednesday when thousands of people attempted to crash the Hollywood event, police said.

Crowds spilled into the street around Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, with some

people throwing bottles at police. Witnesses said others were dancing on a police car, taunting officers and "planking" — lying down in the street. There were also sporadic fights among people in the crowd.

Police in riot gear shut down streets around the theater, and dozens of other officers in police cruisers responded to the disturbance.

"I knew it was going to get out of hand when they started taunting the police," said Adam Bloch, 20, who works in a building across from the theater. "They were asking for it."

There were no reports of injuries or property damage. But by early evening, a row of riot police with masks and batons were pushing against the crowd. Police also fired beanbags to disperse people.

Late in the evening, the LAPD set up a mobile field jail at the scene. At least two people were arrested on felony vandalism charges.

The crowd had assembled outside the premiere for the movie about the Electric Daisy Carnival techno music festival. The premiere was to feature acrobats, DJs, celebrities on a red carpet and an after-party at the nearby Supper Club, hosted by DJ Kaskade, who has played at Electric Daisy events.

The premiere of "Electric Daisy Carnival Experience" had been promoted for weeks, and was intended to be followed by a nationwide showing of the film at theaters across the country on one night — Aug. 4. Wednesday's event was by invitation only, said LAPD Capt. Andy Smith.

When news of the premiere went out on the Internet, hundreds of people showed up who were not invited, Smith said.

DJ Kaskade himself may have been part of the reason.

About 2:30 p.m., the DJ, whose real name is Ryan Raddon, took to Twitter and told his more than 90,000 followers that he was heading to the theater for a block party.

"Let's see if the magic of social networking will work today," he tweeted. He followed that with: "ME+BIG SPEAKERS+MUSIC=BLOCK PARTY!!!"

Later tweets from the DJ reflected the mayhem.

About 7:30 p.m. he tweeted: "News choppers overhead. The man trying to shut us down…. This is crazy."

A short while later, he wrote, "EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO HOME NOW! I DON'T WANT THIS TO REFLECT BADLY ON EDM OR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT. BE RESPECTFUL AND CHILL OUT!!!"

Witnesses said a few in the crowd yelled at police that Kaskade was offering a free concert. One fan shouted at officers, "You know, it's our money that pays for you."

Neither Raddon nor the Supper Club could be reached for comment Wednesday night.

About 8:20 p.m., the Supper Club tweeted that "KASKADE IS SOLD OUT! If you are not holding an authentic ticket, or have a confirmed VIP res, you will not be allowed access."

The Electric Daisy Carnival, attended by tens of thousands of people, has been highly controversial since last year, when a 15-year-old girl died of a drug overdose at the two-day event in June 2010 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Exposition Park.

The death prompted increased Coliseum scrutiny on raves. Earlier this year, the Electric Daisy Carnival moved out of Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

The Electric Daisy Carnival in Dallas last month drew renewed concern after a 19-year-old attendee later died of a drug overdose.

Insomniac Inc., which promotes the Electric Daisy events, issued a statement Wednesday night: "We are disappointed that a small group of people would try to mar a private documentary screening of 'Electric Daisy Carnival Experience' and we are thankful that the LAPD were able to quickly restore order."

British Police Make Arrest in Net Attacks

The British police announced the arrest on Wednesday of a 19-year-old man who they said was the spokesman of the online vigilante group Lulz Security, which has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on the Web sites of government agencies and private corporations.

In a statement, the police said the man used the online alias Topiary and had been picked up during a raid on a residence in the Shetland Islands, the rugged archipelago off the northeastern coast of Scotland. The police said they were also questioning a 17-year-old but had not arrested him.

On Twitter, Topiary described himself as a “simple prankster turned swank garden hedge.” His missives were often facetious, suggesting the handiwork of someone who relished playful language.

Lulz Security, the offshoot of a larger and more amorphous hacker group called Anonymous, has said it was responsible for attacks on the sites of PBS, the Senate, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and a company associated with the F.B.I.

The most recent post on Topiary’s Twitter feed is dated July 21, two days after law enforcement authorities announced the arrests of more than a dozen people in the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, who were accused of participating in online attacks at the instigation of Anonymous. “You cannot arrest an idea,” Topiary wrote.

In the United States, 14 men and women, mostly in their 20s, were charged in connection with an online attack last December against PayPal, after the online payment company stopped taking donations for WikiLeaks.

On Wednesday, in response to those arrests, Anonymous called on supporters to cancel their PayPal accounts. Shares in PayPal’s parent company, eBay, dropped 3 percent, in line with declines in other tech stocks.

A PayPal spokesman, Anuj Nayar, denied that any significant number of PayPal users had canceled their accounts in response to the call for a boycott. “We haven’t seen any changes to our normal operations, including account opening and closing,” Mr. Nayar said.

The attack on PayPal’s site last December slowed down the company’s system, but to such a small extent that it would have been imperceptible to customers, he said. At no point, Mr. Nayar said, was the Web site shut down.

Nerds on Call: Google+ improves on Twitter, Facebook

By now, you've probably at least heard of Google+ and you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Is it really the new Facebook?

Facebook stinks when it comes to filtering your conversations. Post photos of your kids playing Batman and

Robin before bed and every "friend" sees it. With the Google+ project, you create circles of people, and you selectively share information with certain circles. As you post comments, photos or links, you choose what circles to share each item with. You can add your mom to a family circle, your boss to a work circle, and your friends to yet another. You can even add people to multiple circles. After all, your cube-mate is a co-worker and a friend, right?

Anyone who has been uncomfortable when asked, "Why haven't you accepted my friend request?" knows the limitations of Facebook. But Google+ has no invites. If someone adds you to a circle, that person will automatically see your public posts. You can follow anyone you want, even without that person adding you as a friend. You can see what people share with the public and, unlike Twitter, they won't be limited to 140 characters. Imagine what Ashton Kutcher will do with this.

Another way to connect with your circles is through the Hangout feature, a video chat that up to 10 people can join. You can open your chat session to certain circles, all of your circles, or even the public at large, as with Chatroulette, the web tool for meeting people. This is great for meetings, book clubs or just reconnecting with old friends. Does your daily dose of updates from your favorite TV show start your morning off right? Instead of fan pages and like buttons, use Sparks to track just about anything from Harry Potter to Starbucks and news that posts anywhere on the internet about your "Spark" will show up in your Stream (Google's version of a Facebook News Feed).

Google+ was built with the mobile user in mind. Huddle is like a chat room and a group text combined. Have you ever tried to coordinate a last-minute venue change for a dinner with multiple attendees? You could group text everyone, but if anyone can't accommodate the change, it's like herding cats. Huddle will let you quickly create a closed chat room where everyone can text the group all at once.

Instant Upload allows you to automatically upload every photo you take with your linked smartphone to a folder in your profile. Then simply choose whom to share it with, if anyone.

Google+ isn't perfect.

If you add to a circle someone who posts a lot of comments, photos or links, there is no way to prevent the prolific poster from filling your "stream" (news feed). This could be a problem if you don't want such posts drowning out all of your other friends.Also, new comments always appear at the top of your stream regardless of how old the original post is, so you may see the same post(s) for days or weeks if the topic stirs a lot of commentary. Facebook has a "hide" feature that lets you block posts from showing in your feed. You can go to the person's profile when you want to catch up, without having to remove him or her as a "friend." The buzz in tech circles is that Google will fix this flaw soon because of less-than-glowing attention from the early adapters.

Currently, Google+ is an "invite-only" service (Google is calling this a "field test," not a beta). But current members can send unlimited invites to their friends. With more than 20 million users already, it's not exactly an exclusive club. There's no publicly disclosed estimate of when the service will open to everyone. Some speculate it may remain "invite only" indefinitely.

I can see myself switching to Google+ as my friends do. Are you ready to take a look at Google+, but don't want to buy an invite on eBay? Send me a note and I'll invite you to the party.

Scores killed in Norway attack

Anders Behring Breivik, the 32-year-old suspect in Friday's attacks in Norway, held right-wing views, say police.
Police chief Sveinung Sponheim said his internet postings "suggest that he has some political traits directed

toward the right, and anti-Muslim views".
"But whether that was a motivation for the actual act remains to be seen," he told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
Little is currently known about him apart from what has appeared on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter - and these entries appear to have been set up just days ago.
On the Facebook page attributed to him, he describes himself as a Christian and a conservative. The Facebook page is no longer available but it also listed interests such as body-building and freemasonry.
The gunman was described by witnesses who saw him on Utoeya island as tall and blond - and dressed in a police uniform. The image of him posted on Facebook depict a blond, blue-eyed man.
The Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang quoted a friend as saying that the suspect turned to right-wing extremism when in his late 20s. The paper also said that he participated in online forums expressing strong nationalistic views.
Bomb ingredient
Mr Breivik is thought to have studied at the Oslo Commerce School and his work is listed as Breivik Geofarm, a company Norwegian media is describing as a farming sole proprietorship.
The company was set up to cultivate vegetables, melons, roots and tubers, Norway's TV2 says, and speculation in local media is rife that through such a link he may have had access to fertiliser, an ingredient used in bomb-making.
A Twitter account attributed to the suspect has also emerged but it only has one post, which is a quote from philosopher John Stuart Mill: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests."
As with his Facebook page, the tweet was posted on 17 July.
It reveals very little about the man except an interest in libertarianism and a clear belief in the power of the individual.

Hackers Gain Access to NATO Data

A group of computer hackers on Thursday claimed to have breached NATO security and accessed a trove of restricted material. The group, called Anonymous, said that it would be “irresponsible” to publish most of the material it took from NATO, but that it was sitting on about one gigabyte of data. “Hi NATO,” the group

teased on Twitter. “Yes, we haz more of your delicious data.” A NATO official, who could not be named under standing rules, said the organization was aware that a hacker group had released what it claimed to be classified NATO documents on the Internet and was investigating. “We strongly condemn any leak of classified documents, which can potentially endanger the security of NATO allies, armed forces and citizens,” the official said. Anonymous is a loosely organized group of hackers sympathetic to WikiLeaks. It has claimed responsibility for attacks against corporate and government Web sites worldwide.

Beckhams Reveal Unique Baby Name

It was an entrance to make her fashionista mother proud. Within hours of Harper Seven's birth, the latest addition to David and Victoria Beckham's clan, was a trending topic on Twitter amid a flurry of speculation over the meaning and origin of her name.

Harper has become an increasingly popular first name in the US in recent years. But the popular theory on Twitter is that the Beckham's inspiration was not its most famous bearer, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee, but the women's fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar.
However, an anonymous "friend" of the Beckhams has told the US media that Harper is "an old English name that Victoria has always liked".
The Seven is believed to be a reference to David's number when he played for Manchester United and England. He has the number in Roman numerals, VII, on his arm as a tattoo.
But the manner of Beckham's announcement of his daughter's birth suggests it simply refers to the date and time of her arrival and her weight. "She weighed a healthy 7 lbs 10 oz and arrived at 7.55 this morning," her father wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.
Twitter posters also suggested that her middle name might be a reference to an episode of the cult US sitcom Seinfeld in which neurotic character George Costanza boasts of his idea of an original name for a baby, Seven.
Whatever the inspiration, like her brothers Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, Harper Seven should be prepared to find herself the butt of jokes. The Thick of It star Chris Addison Tweeted: "Other names considered by the Beckhams: Groucher Six, Chicer Five, Zepper Nine and Gummer Twelve."

Apple rumored to add system-wide Twitter integration to iOS 5

As rumors swirl of an upcoming image service from Twitter, a new report alleges that Apple will participate as a major launch partner with system-wide support in iOS 5. Various sources have confirmed that Twitter plans to announce a photo-sharing service, reportedly called Twitter Pictures, at the D9 conference later this week. TechCrunch now reports that Twitter has lined up Apple as a key partner for the upcoming service. Though a number of popular third-party image services already cater to Twitter users,

the company is reportedly moving to take more control of its product in hopes of creating a more consistent user experience. Of course, money could also be an issue, as sites like Yfrog make millions by selling advertising next to images uploaded by Twitter users. According to the report, multiple sources have said that Apple's iOS 5 will have Twitter's image service "baked into the OS" with a "Send to Twitter" option similar to the current integration of YouTube in iOS. "A tipster informs us that one trigger happy Apple iOS designer has already released a test link into the wild," Alexia Tsotsis said in a separate report for TechCrunch, though she declined to provide the link. John Gruber of Daring Fireball took things one step further, hinting at possible deeper integration. "So close to the bigger story, but yet so far," Gruber said of the report. "Imagine what else the system could provide if your Twitter account was a system-level service." Apple confirmed Tuesday that CEO Steve Jobs will unveil iOS 5 next Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. iOS 5 is also rumored to include "deep" voice command integration. Last week, reports emerged that Apple will revamp notifications and widgets in iOS 5. WWDC kicks off Monday, June 6 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. In addition to iOS 5, Apple will present Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and introduce its new iCloud service. Last month, sources told AppleInsider that the iCloud service, which is expected to replace the existing MobileMe product, will store more than just music. Apple is rumored to be pursuing licensing deals with movie and TV studios for the forthcoming service.

Twitter Paying More than $40m to Buy TweetDeck

Twitter is finally buying TweetDeck for more than $40 million in cash and stocks. TweetDeck is a third-party client for the Twitter and It is the most popular Twitter application with a 19% market share as of June 2009, following only the official Twitter.com website with 45.70% share for posting new status updates.

The purchase isn't official yet and neither of the company has publically spoken about this deal.

On Monday night Twitter's PR employee tweeted "For all those who might be curious, we continue to not comment on rumors."

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter might buy TweetDeck.

A few months ago there was a report that UberMedia, the top developer of apps and Web-based services for Twitter users and other social media platforms, was in chat to acquire Tweetdeck. However, the deal didn't go through.

Twitter has known to either downplay third-party apps or purchase them outright.

TweetDeck would be an important tool for either service, as it's now one of the most popular clients.

Apple's 'Retail 2.0' overhaul launches with interactive iPad displays(Photo-Gallery

Apple retail stores have taken the wraps off Apple's new retail upgrade, which makes use of interactive iPad displays to provide product information, pricing and features.

Apple launched "Retail 2.0" on Sunday morning in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Apple retail stores, as noted by Mac Prices Australia. The Cupertino, Calif., company opened its first retail stores on May 19, 2001, in McLean, Virginia and Glendale, Calif.

According to the report, the main change is the addition of stationary iPads placed next to other Apple products in order to display product prices, information and features. The touchscreen tablets can also be used to compare models and ask for help from a specialist. Photos of the new iPad display units reveal that the devices are placed in plexiglass.

The iPads appear to be running a custom software, as customers report that pressing the home button on the tablets does nothing. Though the power cable for the device does not appear to connect to the dock, one person familiar with the matter said the cable is indeed connected to the dock connector, but is "very well hidden." Also, detaching the cable will reportedly activate an alarm.

Some reports also suggested that Apple retail employees were wearing party hats to celebrate the occasion. Customers reported via Twitter that the Apple store updates created a "totally new experience."

AppleInsider revealed on Wednesday that Apple was stockpiling iPads in preparation for a retail overhaul. The new in-house iPads were due to be rolled out alongside an updated version of RetailMe, Apple's proprietary retail software.

Apple reportedly scheduled overnight shifts for retail employees in preparation for the updates to the Apple store. AppleInsider was first to report in April that Apple was blocking employees from taking vacation from May 20 to May 22. Mandatory meetings have been scheduled on Sunday morning and evening for Apple retail staff.

Apple has also taken offline the Order Status page from its website until Sunday, May 22 in order to perform a system update.

A recent report claimed Apple will update its "Apple Store" retail app for iOS this weekend, adding full build-to-order purchasing options to the application. Apple first released the retail app last year with support for stock configuration orders.

Haley Reinhart: Judges' criticism intended 'to push me further'

In an American Idol season where the judges are being noticed for their kindness more than their critiques, Haley Reinhart took more flak than just about anybody. While the judges, particularly Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez, offered words of support to the other singers, they'd harp on some aspect or another of Haley's performance.

As a result, the 20-year-old singer from Wheeling, Ill., finished in the Bottom Three four times before her elimination last night. Yet time and again she came back -- sometimes within a single show -- to give performances strong enough to keep her in the game.

"I believe their intentions were simply to push me along further," Haley says of the judges. Now, she's looking forward to singing for the fans on the summer's American Idols Live! tour.

"I'm going to enjoy just letting loose, knowing that I'm not going to get judged one more time. I'm just going to love that crowd and look out into each and every seat and show them how much I appreciate them."

She's also looking forward to recording an album, which she expects to have "a sultry, bluesy rock feel."

Haley talked with reporters in a conference call as she rode to rehearsals for next week's finale. Here's an edited transcript of that call.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a giant groundswell of support for you. A lot of celebrities and past Idols like Adam Lambert have supported you on Twitter. Have you been attuned to what people have said about you? Has that been extra motivation?

Definitely. I'm not too big on the blogs. I don't like to look into anything that could possibly be negative. But I look at the tweets. I pretty much ready everybody's that they send me. Getting that support from Adam was just amazing. He's spectacular. He's one of the best to ever set foot on that stage.

If you could take one cover that you did this past season and put it on your debut album, what would it be?

There were so many different types of songs. Bennie and the Jets launched a lot of different stuff for me. I took a different route with the song. I started it slow and jazzier, like I wanted to. That would be pretty cool. There's a bunch of different ones I could think of.

Beautiful. I totally changed Carole King's. It was beautiful the way it was written, but I changed it up and kind of funkified it. That was a different kind of cover.

It was fun seeing you sing with your dad. Tell us what it was like singing with your dad for the first time when you were 8 years old.

My parents have basically taught me the rules of the stage since I was 8. The first big thing I ever got to do, it was on my 9th birthday that day. I got to play the International Tattoo Festival. It was huge! I sang Blue by LeAnn Rimes. That's when I had figured out I could yodel. I heard LeAnn doing it and was captivated by it.

I think I was overwhelmed and probably cried afterward, but it was an amazing feeling.

Going from that to Wednesday, it has always been a dream of mine to get somewhere. Just as important to me, it would be an honor to have my mom and my dad with me up there. I got to go home and play with their band. Having him on the stage and giving him a couple licks to show America what he can do was so special to me.

Paul McDonald said that hanging around with the teenagers on this show was like going back to high school. What were the culture differences this last week when you were hanging with Scotty and Lauren?

I've grown up on the stage and I've grown up around adult crowds, so I've taken a lot of that with me. It's been fun, you know. Lauren, she takes me back to when I was younger. Five years can be a big difference. It's been really fun to hang out with them. I like being a goofball, so I always make the best out of it and have a good time.

The judges were more critical of you than they were of Lauren and Scotty. Did you think that helped or hindered you in the competition?

It could go both ways. I believe their intentions were simply to push me along further. It was apparent that they liked to get me to where I could be at the top of my game, get me a little fired up inside so I came out with something that they didn't expect. As far as if it hindered anything, I got to top three, so that was quite all right.

Would you have done anything different Wednesday, if you could go back?

I don't live in regret. I do nitpick; I'm a Virgo. Other than that, I don't regret anything. Each step along this way has got me to where I am today. All these different songs and the genres I got to show off in the early stages, I wouldn't trade that in for the world. I got to show versatility, and I'm proud to do that.

What do you believe America learned about you during the season?

I think I took a lot of risks early on, when you usually do the opposite. Maybe they didn't know how to take me, because I went along with the themes from week to week. I started getting into my own little niche -- the rock, bluesy, sultry feel. I think America started to catch on, and they kept me around.

What did your dad tell you after the show last night?

He was on cloud nine. He said he had a blast, that this was my best concert ever. This was a keepsake for life that we'll always have. Nothing can take that away from us.

You were in the Bottom Three four times before last night. Did you get the feeling it was only a matter of time before you'd be voted off? Or did it give you a feeling of invincibility because you survived so many times?

I kind of go with Option B a little bit more. I don't like to sell myself short. I believe that taking that all in stride and realizing that I had been in it so many times and I was still around, so there was something going on. I just gotta step my game up even more week to week.

Would it be fair to say you were angry last night when you heard the verdict?

Not at all. Not angry. Of course, everybody's going to be surprised with the verdict. All in all, I accepted it quickly and took it with a grain of salt. I said, "Hey, this happened for a reason. This is a good thing. This happened for a reason, and it only means that I am going to start my career as a solo artist even sooner."

Some people had this view of you as being aloof and not friendly on the show. But none of the people I talked to that know you gave me that impression. You talked about being a goofball. Do you think America didn't really see the person that other people see you as, back home?

Definitely. It's easy to get depicted in different way on the show. It's all in the way the cards end up playing out. I'm usually messing around with all the camera guys. Like, we're all cracking up together. I like to have a good time. I'm usually always bubbly. It's different to see what comes out, in all reality.

You're on that stage, and you've got to perform in front of the judges. It's not like you've got a one-on-one where you can talk and show everybody a little bit of that personality you have inside. It's really hard to get that all out in a minute and a half. It's time now that I've got to really get out there.

We talked about how the judges were harder on you from week to week than they were other contestants. You seemed to react to that on the show. Did you ever talk to any of the other contestants about how the judges were treating you? Did they ever say anything to you?

I don't know. It was apparent on stage, even, Lauren and them coming up to me, and they just don't understand it. The only thing that I can get out of it is that they really waned to push my buttons, push me as far as I could possibly go, to get whatever they wanted to get out of me. Most of the time, it was fire that they wanted, so I would try to take it out on stage. It is what it is.

Randy and them tell me, "It's all love." I'm like, "I understand. You want to see what you can get out of me."

You looked floored last night when you heard the news. How hard was it to pull yourself together? What did you think?

You literally have seconds to think about it. So I took a second to think about it. And then I said, "All right. All right." And I just kept saying it. "Okay. This is it. Guess what? I have to sing a song in about five seconds. Let's move on to that; let's have a good time with that and show America why they kept me there so long." Give them a good show.

What was it like backstage after the show?

I got offstage, and I was at peace with everything. I had that moment where I realized how much I was going to miss everybody, even the stage crew. Everybody is such a great big family, and I've gotten really close. That's one of the most wonderful parts of this whole experience, is to create bonds to everybody and make sure it's an enjoyable experience throughout. I knew I would miss them. But, then again, I'm going to see them, like, today. It's just that reality check.

Everybody was still supportive. They've got my back. I love everybody back there.

A couple other Chicago area folks who didn't make it all the way to the top -- Jennifer Hudson, Crystal Bowersox -- have gone on to do great things. What confidence does that give you going forward?

That's all the confidence the world. I absolutely adore Jennifer Hudson and what strength that woman has. Being a fellow Chicagoan, it's great to see what she has conquered. It gives so much hope and faith to me.

Having Crystal on the show and seeing her, in second place, getting to do the kind of music that she really wants to do in life, it's as a beautiful thing. I'm excited for the future.

What goals do you have for your time on stage during the upcoming tour?

Performing, it's such a different ballgame in front of the judges. Performing on stage is what I've done since I was kid. It's the passion that has started from the very beginning for me. And that's what I'm going to enjoy, just letting loose, knowing that I'm not going to get judged one more time. I'm just going to love that crowd and look out into each and every seat and show them how much I appreciate them and want to be there for them.

After he got voted off, Casey made it clear you guys were never dating, even though a bunch of rumors had floated. What was your reaction when you heard those rumors?

It started a long time ago. I forget which week. It was when we started bonding and getting really close. We could confide in each other and had a different kind of connection from all the rest. So we would sit by each other and all that jazz. I'm pretty sure that's when it all started.

We laughed about it. Obviously, we have a strong relationship. Maybe not dating, but the musicality between us has been wonderful.

Do you think the rumors helped our hurt either one of you in the competition? Did they become a distraction?

Not really. And we never really gave into them at all. We never said yes or no. That's probably the better thing to do.

We got so many questions about it. Either way, it's not going to hurt anybody. We had a lot of fun with it. We played the game.

The trip back home that you made, what will be the biggest memory you'll take from that?

It was raining out. It was very gloomy, yet I had 30,000-plus people waiting out for hours in that rain. I saw so many familiar faces, and it really got me. I took it right to heart.

Definitely the highlight of the whole thing -- other than everybody who showed up and gave me support -- was getting my parents and their band up there playing wiht me. We winged everything about it. We did Sweet Home Chicago. It was a really fun gig.

Have you ever gone to see one of the summer Idol tours?

No. I've watched the show since it started, but I haven't gotten to see the tour, so I'm really excited to see what it's going to be like.

The judges' advice can go from one extreme to the other each week. As a contestant, how hard is it to figure out what they're really asking for?

If I do get the positive, I stick with that. I'll take every kind of criticism in.

Steven, he really helped me out, to make me feel good about a lot of those performances that I got harsh critiques on. It balanced out. I really appreciated what Steven had to say, being the great musician that he is.

Do you sort of sing past the judges, figuring they don't matter as much as the voters?

Everybody's always saying, "It's not up to them, it's up to America." And that's ture. Thankfully, America let me stick around until I got to the Top Three. That's more than I could have imagined. It's just a blessing.

What do you think your album will be like?

I have a lot of ideas, even from now to the future, of what I'd like to do. I'd love to do an album that's sultry, bluesy rock. I absolutely love jazz, so if I can slip that in somewhere or, even, in the future, get more into jazz, but I'm definitely loving the sultry, bluesy rock feel.

On the show, you got to work with Lady Gaga, Jimmy Iovine, Beyonce. What did you take away from them?

It was really cool. I wasn't really that nervous. I was excited to meet them, but I wasn't really nervous.

The experience was so surreal. Then again, I walked up to them and I felt like we were both artists, and they treated me like that. The feedback that they gave me was so wonderful, every time, on an off camera. I walked away on cloud nine.

Who was the best mentor that you learned something from?

As far as mentors? I had a great time with Lady Gaga and Beyonce. And Sheryl Crow. She's definitely somebody I look up to and have grown up with. I could see me going into some of that kind of feel, her earlier stuff, especially.

They were all so down to earth and very generous with their comments and their feedback to me. It was very sweet all around.

What qualities do Scotty and Lauren have that make them the American Idol?

As far as the viewers of the show, this is perfect for them. We have a very young audience out there. They're both just so darn cute. They've got the country calling for them. This is a country year.

I'm excited to see what happens. But I definitely can see the young America being very captivated by these two.

Go out on a limb and predict who's going to be the winner.

Nah, you know I can't do that!

It's a close one. And it's such a close one because they're in such a close lane, as far as country goes. It's anybody's game, man.

As you start to think about your album, who would you like to work with?

I love classic rock. I've just grown up with rock 'n' roll in my life. If I could do something with Steven Tyler, that'd be fantastic.

There are plenty of people out there that I'd love to collaborate with. I adore Esperanza Spalding and Janelle Monae Those are women I think are very unique and powerful in their own way. I hope to do something just as cool, you know?

If you could pick one moment you want people to remember from the show, what would it be?

Well, I picked Bennie and the Jets last night, because that was a big turning point. I had good performances leading up to that, starting with You Really Got a Hold on Me.

With Bennie and the Jets, I had a whole vision of how I wanted that to pan out. It was may arrangement, how I started it off, jazzy and a little bit slower, then it rocked out by the end of it. I planned out that whole thing on the piano. It worked out very well. So I guess I would say that performance.

A lot of times people say you might be better off not winning, because you can make more of your own album. Do you think you might be better off not having been in the finale, that you might get more space to do what you want to do?

You never know. I'm excited to go out there and try to do exactly what I want to do. This is a great position for me to be in. I'm excited for the future.

Cali Swag Victim's GF: Jealousy Triggered Murder

Murdered Cali Swag District member M-Bone was being threatened by a man who was insanely jealous of his success -- this according to M-Bone's girlfriend who spoke with TMZ.

M-Bone's girlfriend -- who lived with him for more than a year -- says a man living in their apartment complex was obsessed with the rapid rise of Cali Swag, and overtly hostile to M-Bone -- aka, Mante Talbert.

The girlfriend -- who is scared and does not want her name used -- confirms M-Bone was in a Twitter war with the jealous man, which we previously reported. We're told the jealous man made threats of violence.

The girlfriend tells us ... on Sunday ... she picked M-Bone up at the airport at 12:15PM and took him back to their apartment. Later that night, at around 10PM, M-Bone took her car and said he was going to the studio to record.

She tells us soon after she got a call from another member of Cali Swag with the devastating news her boyfriend had been shot.

As we first reported, the gunman fired shots as M-Bone stood near his girlfriend's car which was parked outside an Inglewood, CA liquor store. The shooter drove a short distance, then made a U-turn and came back, presumably to see if he had hit his target.

Inglewood Police are currently investigating the shooting -- so far no arrests have been made.

Justin Bieber on Marg Helgenberger Comments: Kinda Lame!

Bieber just went on Twitter and said in response, "it's kinda lame when someone you met briefly and never worked with comments on you."

Still, he added, "I will continue to wish them luck and be kind."

"rumors are just that...rumors. In the end if you just be kind and be yourself people will know who you are. That goes for anyone i think."

Biebs also said, "I know who i am and sometimes people r just going 2 say what they want. Keep ur head up and be the man ur mama raised."
You tell 'em, JB. And u b the man ur fans luv 4 ever 2.

Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon Welcome Newborn Twins

Congratulations to new parents Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon who welcomed twins - a boy and a girl - on Saturday. According to the Associated Press, Mariah gave birth at 12:07 p.m. at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles. The Cannon's bundle of joy come at the same time as the couples fourth wedding anniversary.

Nick Cannon shared his excitement over the news on his Twitter page.

"My wife just gave me the most incredible anniversary gift ever in life!" Cannon wrote. "I won't ever be able to top this!"

Back in February Mariah broke the news that she was expecting twin babies.

"Even before we announced it was twins, I was trying to keep everything gender-neutral, because I didn't want to impose an identity on them too soon," Mariah told Life & Style magazine. "There were fan contests on Twitter about what gender they are and rumors about them being two boys or two girls — but nobody guessed this!"

Friends couldn't be happier for the duo, including one who tells the mag: "It's all about pink and blue these days. It's truly going to be a dream come true for them. They get a son and daughter." The magazine reports that the couple's twin babies are expected sometime in April.

Despite trying to keep details about the pregnancy as private as possible, Cannon admitted in December that the couple were expecting twins. He explained that the pop powerhouse let the news slip during a conversation with the president and first lady backstage at TNT's "Christmas in Washington 2010."

Viral-star sings a different tune after arrest

Kevin Antoine Dodson, star of a viral Internet song warning neighbors to watch out for a sexual predator, was arrested and charged with marijuana possession after being stopped for speeding, police in Huntsville, Ala., said Saturday.

Dodson was charged with second-degree marijuana possession, speeding, failure to have liability insurance and other minor charges after police stopped him early Saturday in Huntsville, police spokesman Harry Hobbs told Reuters.

He was released later on Saturday after posting a $1,340 cash bond, Hobbs said.

"Let me be the first to tell it!!" Dodson tweeted to his 33,000 Twitter followers after his release. "So just got out of jail off a weak charge ... Got pulled over in my Benz and they got me ... I never been in jail except that time in grade school. You remember!!!"

Dodson, who lives in Huntsville, which is about 80 miles north of Birmingham, came to prominence when millions of people watched his response to an NBC television affiliate last summer after his sister was attacked in their home.

The interview was turned into a song titled "Bed Intruder," by New York musicians Evan and Michael Gregory. Thousands of copies of the song were sold on iTunes and earned Dodson royalties.

"Obviously we have a rapist in Lincoln Park," Dodson told the television station. "He's climbing in your windows. He's snatching your people up trying to rape them, so you all need to hide your kids, hide your wife and hide your husband because they are raping everybody out here."

Dodson chastised the sexual predator who attacked his sister in her bed — an attack he reportedly thwarted.

"You don't have to come and confess that you did it," Dodson told the NBC affiliate last year. "We are looking for you. We are going to find you. I'm letting you know now."