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.

First Windows 'Mango' Phone Unveiled

The first smartphone based on the new "Mango" edition of Microsoft's Windows Phone platform was unveiled on Wednesday in Tokyo.

The phone is the first of several handsets due over the next few months, that Microsoft hopes will signal its

return to the smartphone market as a serious player. (Video of the new phone and its launch is available on YouTube.)

If that wish sounds familiar, it is. This time last year the company was hoping the first version of the Windows Phone 7 would accomplish the same thing. But that didn't happen.Despite getting several thousand applications and generally positive reviews, the new platform, which replaced Windows Mobile, was relegated to the sidelines by a rush of new Android devices and updates to Apple's iPhone.

Far from boosting its market share, the introduction of the new operating system saw Microsoft lose share.

Microsoft captured 2.7 percent of the smartphone market during the first quarter of 2011, according to IDC. But a year earlier during the first quarter of 2010, its market share was 7.1 percent, the market research company said. In terms of handsets shipped, those with Windows Phone 7 or Windows Mobile fell from 3.9 million to 2.8 million phones in the two periods."We've gone from very small to....very small," quipped Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer earlier this month on his company's lackluster performance.

Mango, officially Windows Phone 7.5, adds some 500 improvements to the Windows Phone 7 platform, according to the company. They include an e-mail "conversation view" that is said to make long e-mail discussions more efficient, a "threads" feature that brings together text, instant messages and Facebook chat, and Internet Explorer 9 for faster Web browsing.

"Mango is a substantial improvement bringing multi-tasking and other needed features," Al Hilwa, an analyst with IDC, wrote in an email. "This really begins to close the gap and in a couple of ways exceeds its competitors."

Some of those improvements can be seen in the new handset, the IS12T, which will be available in Japan only. Built by Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications, the phone will be available in September or after. No price was disclosed.

The company is one of several partners Microsoft is working with on Mango handsets. Others include Taiwan's Acer and China's ZTE, but perhaps the most awaited phones will be from Nokia.

The Finnish cell phone maker threw its weight behind Windows Phone 7 earlier this year when it announced a wide ranging agreement with Microsoft to collaborate on future handsets and technologies.

Nokia is losing market share to aggressive competitors, but it remains one of the world's largest manufacturers of smart phones, so it has the potential to help Microsoft shift the market.

he launch of the phone came just hours after Microsoft signed off on the operating system and declared it ready to be installed in consumer handsets. That should mean additional phones will get launched in the coming weeks.

"Now everything rests on the diversity of the device portfolio that begins to emerge," said Hilwa.

Looking ahead, IDC predicts Windows-based smartphones will account for 20 percent of the market in 2015, making them second only to Android.

"Microsoft will claw its way to success and market share over the next couple of releases," the analyst said. "Its chances will be helped significantly with a successful Windows 8 release in 2012 which will create synergies between the PC and the phone in new ways."

For Japanese consumers, the IS12T phone has a 3.7-inch screen and a 13.2 megapixel camera. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are included in the CDMA-based phone. It weighs 113 grams and Fujitsu Toshiba says the battery should provide more than 11 days on standby and more than 6 hours of talk time.

The phone has 32GB of memory and is waterproof with an IPX5 rating.

Survey: Consumers Give Thumbs Down to Facebook, NY Times

Low customer satisfaction with Facebook could leave an opening for Google's Google+ social network, according to a report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which presented its 2011 results on Tuesday.

Facebook's score increased 3 percentage points to 66, a number derived from 70,000 annual customer evaluations and used as inputs into an econometric model, the ACSI said. However, that score was not only the lowest of the social-network companies ACSI evaluated, but the lowest of the three categories - Internet news and information, social media, and portals - that the ACSI studied.

The report was completed before Google launched Google+, which left ForeSee's Larry Freed only able to speculate about the impact of Google's social network on Facebook.

"We don't know yet how Google+ will fare, but what we do know is that Google is one of the highest-scoring companies in the ACSI and Facebook is one of the lowest," Freed, who is president of ForeSee Results, which conducted the survey, said in a statement. "An existing dominance of market share like Facebook has is no longer a safety net for a company that is not providing a superior customer experience."

Wikipedia dominated the social media category, recording a score of 78, one better than last year. YouTube finished second at 74, also a point higher than 2010. The "others" category, which includes the multitude of social networks not explicitly surveyed, plunged 6.9 points to finish at 67. That left Facebook's ranking, followed by MySpace, which wasn't surveyed.

Overall, social media is one of the lowest-scoring industries measured by the ACSI, at a category ranking of 70 - only airlines, newspapers, and subscription television services score lower. In 2010, Facebook and MySpace finished at the bottom of the heap, as well.

Customers reported a higher overall satisfaction with the Internet portal and search engine category; ACSI reported a score of 80 for the category.

In the all-important race between Microsoft's Bing and Google, Google won, 83 to 82. Both showed gains - 80 to 83 for Google, and 77 to 82 for Bing. Behind the two search leaders came the "others" category, at 81, followed by Ask.com and Yahoo at 80 and 79, respectively. The smaller players, Ask.com, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and AltaVista, all trailed behind.

ACSI also surveyed the top mainstream news sites, which slipped a point to a score of 73. The top news site, in terms of satisfaction? FoxNews.com, which held steady at 82.

"FOXNews.com tops all news and information sites for a second straight year with an unchanged ACSI score of 82," ACSI wrote in a commentary. "While there may be several reasons for this strong performance, the relative homogeneity of its audience is a contributing factor. Not so for The Huffington Post, which has gone from serving a fairly tight, liberal-leaning audience to reaching a much broader user base. As a result, at least in part, the site debuts in ACSI with the lowest score in the category (69). As Huffington Post continues to grow following its acquisition by AOL, the challenge of ensuring user satisfaction becomes greater as well."

ABCNews.com finished second, but far behind Fox, at 77. Behind ABC came USAToday.com, at 76, and CNN.com, at 74, tied with MSNBC.com. Perhaps surprisingly, NYTimes.com came in last, at 73, just above the "Others" category, which ACSI attributed to its new paywall strategy.

Mila Kunis maps out a singular path to stardom

NEW YORK — When Marine Sgt. Scott Moore famously asked Mila Kunis to a formal dance via YouTube, he likely had no idea that he'd be the first to extend such a chivalrous invitation to the red-hot actress.

"I've never been asked out on a date," says Kunis, who plans to attend the Marine Corps Ball with Moore in November. "A real date, like a dinner and a movie? No. And I respect the guy for having big enough cojones to do it."

Watching Kunis, 27, discuss her latest film, the romantic comedy Friends With Benefits, in a Midtown restaurant, one is inclined to agree. The woman who came into public consciousness as the oft-irritating teen Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show has evolved into a forbiddingly goddess-like creature. Wearing a speckled white sundress, gold-and-turquoise hoop earrings framing her enormous hazel eyes, she speaks animatedly but with the relaxed poise of someone who has never had to strain to command attention.

Yet there is an accessible quality to Kunis, whose career trajectory and personal life hardly evoke Hollywood it-girl clichés. After honing her comedic chops on a pair of sitcoms — she also voices the insecure, affection-starved Meg Griffin on the animated Family Guy— the actress, by her own admission, "auditioned for everything, just to prove that everyone who assumed I could only do TV was wrong."

PHOTOS: A Mila Kunis collection

Kunis landed female leads in male-dominated fare such as the action flick Max Payne and the Denzel Washington vehicle The Book of Eli. But her most high-profile film roles, in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the best picture Oscar-nominated Black Swan, found her cast as foils and rivals to characters played by then-bigger names (Kristen Bell and Natalie Portman, respectively).

In Benefits, Kunis is squarely the leading lady and very much on equal footing with her male co-star, Justin Timberlake. She plays Jamie, a Manhattan headhunter who lands Timberlake's Dylan, founder of a Los Angeles-based tastemaker blog, a plum job as art director of GQ. After the two meet at an airport, a camaraderie develops, along with a clear if unspoken chemical spark.

Determined not to let stereotypical relationship issues sabotage their platonic bond, Jamie and Dylan resolve to enjoy casual sex while remaining just buddies. What follows is a sweetly bawdy updating of classic rom-com trials and themes, in which the genders emerge as separate but plainly equal.

"It took me five years after (shooting) Sarah Marshall to venture back into the romantic-comedy world," says Kunis, who identifies that 2008 movie as a "turning point" in proving her diversity to audiences. "Every script was the same. What attracted me to (Jamie) is that I think she stays true to what a twentysomething-year-old is nowadays — as opposed to today's romantic-comedy version of that, which is more fairy tale-based, with the woman a little ditzier. Jamie's smart and honest and grows as a person; it's less about the man here than about how these two characters grow together."

Benefits director Will Gluck also promised Kunis, he says, "that I wouldn't make the movie unless her voice came through." Kunis notes that the script "was originally PG-13, but we wanted to make it R-rated, make it a little more modern. We sat around and improv(is)ed scenes for close to two months, so I had more input into this character than I've ever had before."

Timberlake, who signed on before Kunis, says Benefits benefited as a result. "Will and I wanted this to be an honest two-hander, and we needed someone who could play what's real and who also had a very quick wit. Mila is that girl. She's ridiculously beautiful, and at the same time she comes across as someone who can hang with the guys, make lowbrow jokes. You can throw anything at her and she'll roll with it."

Forced to be funny

Some of that affinity may date back to Kunis' youth. "I never thought of myself as funny, but I grew up in a very sarcastic household," she says. "My dad is very funny, very dry. So since I was little, I've learned to roll with the punches — and punch back a little bit."

Kunis still lives just 10 minutes away from her parents, who fled Ukraine as the Soviet Union was collapsing in 1991 to settle in West Hollywood. "My parents told me that we were moving across the street, because it wasn't OK to leave and they didn't want me to say anything to anyone," Kunis says. "Then we just got on a train one day, went to Moscow and got on a plane to America."

Though she entered second grade in the USA without understanding a word of English, Kunis performed well at school and maintained, she insists, "a very normal life," even after she began acting at 9. "I went to public school in Los Angeles, had friends at school who weren't in the industry. I still do. My best friends Julie and Kat and I grew up together; Julie's a teacher at L.A. High and Kat is a dentist — she just got married."

Kunis' mother still works full time, she adds, "as the manager of a Rite Aid. And my dad's a cabdriver in Los Angeles." She still speaks with them in Russian, though she concedes her skills are "not that great now. It's conversational."

Kunis is less forthcoming about certain aspects of her life that have gotten more attention in the press. For eight years, she was in a relationship with fellow child actor Macaulay Culkin, a subject she refuses to broach. In contrast, Kunis speaks openly, and effusively, about life as a single gal.

"I'm loving it," Kunis says. "I've always been pretty independent, and it's an amazing feeling to just be by yourself and be OK with it. I had never experienced that. To know that I can do what I want to, that there's no one to check in with — that can be freeing."

There are drawbacks, as she alluded to in discussing her Marine suitor. "Since I became single, it's not possible to date. If I meet a guy and think he's great and go out to dinner with him, the next day the whole world will know about it."

Not a fan of social media

In her desire for privacy, Kunis shuns Facebook and Twitter. "Why would I want to share my life with the world when it's being shared already, without my consent? The only problem with not having an account is that there are fake accounts, pretending to quote me. But what am I going to tweet about? 'Today I'm eating dinner, and here's what I'm eating.' Whoo-hoo! I can understand politicians or people running charities or doing something productive using it. But no one should follow me. Why, so that I can tell you that I got my hair done?"

Patricia Clarkson, who plays Kunis' mother in Benefits, notes that the younger actress is "rather egoless. She's exceptionally warm and available, and that's rare with young girls who are on this fast track. She's a real professional, and at the same time she's just getting started in that now she's in a place where she can do anything she wants, anything she feels capable of."

Kunis has two more movies on the horizon. She just completed filming Ted, directed and co-written by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, in which her character lives with a boyfriend (Mark Wahlberg) and his talking teddy bear. And she's now shooting the prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful, in which she, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams play witches and James Franco is the title character, "a man coming to terms with who he is."

Eventually, Kunis would like to balance her busy schedule with a boyfriend, though "marriage is not something that's ever been that important to me. I love the idea, and understand why other people want it. But I see no need. I'll be with somebody because I want to, not because a piece of paper tells me I have to. That said, if the future love of my life thinks it's important, fine, I'll get married. And maybe if I have children, because kids ask questions."

Her own positive experiences notwithstanding, Kunis wouldn't want her own offspring to follow her into show business. "I guess I'd have to cross that bridge when I get to it. But if my kid could be a doctor or a lawyer, that would be great. Because this whole industry is based on rejection. That's the first thing you learn: the word no."

It's not a word that Kunis has heard much lately, one suspects, nor one she's likely to encounter a lot in the near future. But even as her star continues to rise, the actress tries to remain pragmatic.

"I wish I could play this industry like chess, but I can't," Kunis says. "It's too unpredictable. All I want to do is put out work that I can be proud of. After That '70s Show, I just wanted to learn; and I can only do that by surrounding myself with brilliant directors and co-stars — with people who are 10,000 times better than I am. That's still what I want."

The apps that eat your wireless data

Are you a wireless-data glutton or a nibbler?
New Verizon Wireless smartphone customers will have to figure that out starting Thursday as the country's largest wireless carrier rolls out data plans with monthly usage caps, instead of the unlimited plan for which existing customers pay $30 a month.
Under the new plans, smartphone users will pay Verizon between $30 and $80 each month for 2 to 10

gigabytes of data usage. Customers who use more than their allotment will be charged $10 more for each additional gigabyte.
If you have a monthly limit on how much data you can use, here are some tips on what types of phone use will gobble up megabytes:
Streaming video and videoconferencing. One minute of YouTube-quality video eats up 2 megabytes. Unless you're on WiFi, if your plan gives you 200 megabytes per month, you can't even watch Lady Gaga's "Telephone" video once a day. AT&T charges $15 a month for 200 megabytes, though Verizon is not offering such a limited plan.
Streaming audio. Audio consumes about a quarter of the data that video does, but 10 minutes a day will break the bank if you're on a 200-megabyte plan. One hour a day of Pandora consumes nearly a gigabyte, which you can afford if you're on a 2-gigabyte plan and don't use other data-hogging apps.
Photos. If you're a real shutterbug, photos can consume significant amounts of data. Sending and viewing photos both count toward your monthly limit. Posting 10 photos per day eats up most of a 200-megabyte plan. If you're on a 2-gigabyte plan, you probably don't have to worry about photos.
Maps. Navigation apps consume lots of data when they retrieve map images, up to a megabyte a minute. You're also likely to use them for long periods of time when you're away from WiFi, such as when you're driving. Watch out for these.
Web surfing. Roughly speaking, 10 Web pages a day will eat up about half of a 200-megabyte plan. Again, those on 2-gigabyte plans don't need to worry much about surfing.
Facebook. Roughly equivalent to Web surfing. Status updates won't take much data, but sending photos and viewing friends' pictures will.
E-mail. Most e-mails are tiny, in terms of data. Basically, you can send and receive e-mail messages all you want, as long as they don't have attachments such as photos.
Twitter. Like e-mail, these short messages don't use much data, but if you follow a lot of people and click on links, usage adds up.

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.

Apple Could Win the Cloud Music Game Thanks to Google and Amazon

Amazon.com (AMZN) revealed its own Cloud Player in late March. At this point, Apple (AAPL) is really the last major player to make its move. But judging by the offerings so far, that might work to Apple's advantage.

Both Google (GOOG) and Amazon have decided that seeking special licensing for cloud music playback isn't necessary, and that they're allowed to offer their services without seeking any additional consent or agreements from major record labels. Google has announced that it will take down any music found to be in violation of copyright agreements, in much the same way it does with YouTube content.

Amazon, likewise, has taken a similar stance, arguing that they "do not need a license to make Cloud Player available" since saving files to Cloud Drive "is the same as if a customer were to save their music to an external hard drive or even iTunes."

There's definitely a sound logic to that argument, but even so, Amazon seems to be rushing to smooth things over with its music content partners, according to the Wall Street Journal. Which makes sense, because Amazon also wants to control the sales channel for music, as well as the means of its storage and playback.

Apple's Waiting Arms

While Amazon and Google may be trying to make nice with major labels behind the scenes, the "shoot first, ask questions later" approach hasn't won them any allies. And, in fact, it could send those content providers rushing into Apple's arms.

Apple is said to be still in talks with the four major record labels ahead of the launch of its own cloud music service, and in this case, patience may prove to be a virtue. No doubt the labels are reluctant to give up any additional revenue they might be able to garner through cloud-based offerings, but Apple is now in a unique position with regard to negotiating proper licenses, since Google and Amazon have both taken a firm, public stance on the other side of the fence. Simply put, Apple is now the only game in town.

Even if Apple can't reach a favorable agreement with record labels, it can still easily go the route of Amazon and Google before it and declare cloud music services are well within its existing rights. But while that's an option, it's one that Apple shouldn't have to exercise. Instead, it can use its leverage as the music industry's biggest current distribution channel, and the reluctance of Amazon and Google to play nice to force an agreement that would see it be able to offer a label-friendly solution which would ultimately probably benefit consumers. That could take the shape of fewer restrictions on how and when music can be accessed and transferred between devices, and make it possible to purchase a wider variety of music that's immediately available directly from the cloud.

Apple's service will look and work better than that of its competitors, at a minimum. And if it can also launch soon (like at WWDC next month) and with the full backing of the four major record labels, it'll best its rivals in all categories, and continue to dominate mobile music.

Noah's mistake a teachable moment for all, including spectators

MIAMI -- The Chicago Bulls have plenty to worry about heading into Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. How do they resurrect their abysmal fourth-quarter offense? How do they stop the Miami Heat's newfound ruthlessness when it comes to closing out games?

But sometimes, sports are bigger than the games themselves. Sometimes, sports make us think about issues we'd rather not confront. You pay money or sit in front of your TV to watch sports and be entertained -- to get away from the mundane issues of life, and in some cases, to block out the complicated, sensitive entanglements we're involved in every day.

Sometimes, sports and life collide, as they did Sunday night in Game 3 between the Heat and the Bulls.

Joakim Noah was whistled for his second foul in the first quarter. He went to the bench. A loud, persistent, disrespectful heckler (and a drunken one, according to a teammate) wouldn't leave Noah alone. NBA players, who are seated within say-it-don't-spray-it proximity to fans 82 nights a year (plus, for the lucky ones, the playoffs), rarely lash out.

Noah did. He lost his composure. He did so profanely and disrespectfully, and used a bigoted slur for homosexuals. It was caught on camera and uploaded to YouTube within minutes.

No sooner had he checked his cell phone after the game did Noah realize what a huge mistake he'd made.

You know the rest. Noah apologized -- after the game, and again Monday -- and it wasn't one of those fake "if I offended anyone" apologies. It was genuine, and from the heart. Noah was fined $50,000 by the NBA -- the correct amount, because it's clear to me that a heat-of-the-moment rant directed at a heckler is worse than doing the same to a game official, which cost Kobe Bryant twice that amount for the same slur. Noah couldn't have been more contrite, expressing his willingness to accept the consequences of his actions.

Case closed. But not really.

This has to be a teaching moment for players across the NBA, and in sports. Another player cannot use that word on the court, on the bench -- anyplace where NBA business is being conducted. (The trustworthy soul in me wants to believe that such hateful speech would be off-limits at home, in the weight room, and at the club, too. But let's just police what we can and hope it carries over to the rest in time.)

At a time when the NBA is taking the lead in the public discourse on gays in sports, with the universal backing of Suns executive Rick Welts after he came out last week, this can't happen again. Players are creatures of habit, and the NBA has proved that habits can be reformed. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the dress code, NBA players somehow learned to appear in public dressed for work instead of for a pickup game at West 4th Street. It took some time, but the NBA managed to get players to curb their reactions to referees' calls, too. Call this the David Stern mind-control police if you want, but the game is presented in a much more positive light when every stoppage in play isn't punctuated by a tantrum.

Whether you agreed or disagreed with the 73-game suspension imposed on Ron Artest for the unconscionable act of going into the stands at the Palace, you can't argue with the results. The point was made, unequivocally, that the line between the court and the seats is one that is never to be crossed. Artest hasn't been mistake-free since the incident, but it's worth pointing out that he did receive the NBA's citizenship award this season.

Noah isn't going to be nominated for any humanitarian honors any time soon, but it's hard not to commend his handling of the aftermath. He did interview after interview at the team hotel Monday, answering every question and expressing remorse at every turn. He didn't duck, didn't make excuses. He admitted he was wrong -- and more importantly, understood why he was wrong.

"People who know me know I'm an open minded guy," Noah said. "I'm not here to hurt anybody's feelings."

Noah stayed around long enough to conduct a one-on-one interview with Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com, an out, gay sportswriter -- and a talented one at that -- in a profession rarely called upon to wrestle with life's weighty topics. Noah was raised in the melting pot of New York City's SoHo neighborhood. His father, of course, is former tennis star Yannick Noah. His mother's best friend was a gay man known to Noah as "mom."

When Arnovitz approached Noah Monday, these were the first words out of Noah's mouth: "I'm really sorry about what I said."

This is the Noah his friends and family know: respectful, contrite, self-aware, and better yet, accepting of people's differences. Not the guy everyone saw using hurtful, bigoted language on national TV Sunday night, and on YouTube forevermore.

"I'm pissed off at myself," Noah told Arnovitz, "because that's not who I am."

Noah will pay his fine, proceed with his promising basketball career, and try to put his true self forward from now on. He'll try to act more like the thoughtful, apologetic 26-year-old who comported himself in exactly the right manner Monday, and not like the hothead who forgot his roots and failed his upbringing in an instant that will follow him everywhere.

Which brings us to the final lesson, another teachable moment that should not be overlooked in this collision of life and sports that has interrupted the Eastern Conference finals -- though I'm glad it has, because the more light that is shone on bigotry, the more it will slink back to the shadows. NBA players aren't the only people required to learn from this. The paying customers have to change, too.

In the major team sports, NBA fans are seated closer to the action -- and to the players -- than in any other. On a nightly basis, players face repeated, disrespectful, and sometimes disgusting heckling from people who think paying for a ticket gives them the right to act like fools. The ticket does not give you the right to do that; read the fine print on the back. But forget the fine print for a moment, and just think about common sense.

Why would anyone shout obscenities -- and worse -- at a person he doesn't even know? Why would he expect the recipient of these vile attacks not to respond -- which they rarely do? Why does anyone expect that a person with a bigger paycheck than you should adhere to a different set of standards for conduct and decency?

Despite the disconnect in that logic, NBA players almost always take the high road. In the rare cases when they don't, any language pertaining to race and sexual/cultural orientation clearly should be off-limits. This is the hard lesson that Noah, who is bigger and better than the word he used, has relearned over the past 24 hours. But what about fans? Where is the line that you shouldn't cross? Why do you believe that it's your right to continue to cross it?

The vast majority of fans understand this. According to teammate Taj Gibson, the fans who were seated near Noah's heckler Sunday night realized it, too -- and tried to get him to knock it off. But the guy wouldn't stop. He wouldn't stop flexing his beer muscles and wouldn't curb his tongue, which Noah said launched something "disrespectful" his way about this mother.

"The guy just kept going," Gibson said. "I know the crowd looked at the guy, too, like, 'Come on man, leave him alone. It's over.' But the guy just kept going. ... It was the usual, but in those circumstances, it was heavy because he was really loud. And he was a big guy, too. He was intoxicated. When I saw him, I was surprised, because he just kept going and going. Normally a fan may say a couple of things and then sit down. But he just kept going and going, and it was Joakim the whole time."

Even after the incident, the guy kept going at Noah and other players on the Bulls' bench for the rest of the game, Gibson said. Why not ask that he be removed?

"I've seen guys removed for doing stuff like that," Gibson said. "But being from New York and playing in hostile environments like Rucker Park, Joakim knows better than to get a fan thrown out after spending so much money on a good ticket."

Noah has to be better than this, and based on his response to this self-inflicted controversy, he will. But the fans do not live in a cocoon that shields them from responsibility. There will continue to be those who think they're above it all, and they shouldn't be tolerated, either.

So how about this? The next time a heckler thinks his $300 ticket and beer receipts give him license to say whatever he wants to people he doesn't even know, take out your phone and aim it at him. Then, put him on YouTube and see how he likes it -- how his wife likes it, and how his boss likes it.

Shine the spotlight on the guy who thinks he's big enough to sit in the big-boy seats, but never has to follow the same rules or face the same consequences as the player seated a few feet away. Joakim Noah will learn from this and do better. But the question that also has to be asked is, will you?

Schwarzenegger announces separation from wife(Photos)

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, announced Monday that they are separating.

The statement, issued by a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the two were working on the future of their relationship while living apart and they would continue to parent their four children together.

"This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us," the two said in a prepared statement. "After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together."

It was not clear from the statement if either remained at their estate in Brentwood, or whom the children were with.

Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, said he wouldn't answer questions beyond what was said in Monday's statement.

The breakup comes about four months after Schwarzenegger, a Republican, ended a bumpy, two-term run as California governor.

Since stepping down, Schwarzenegger has been travelling to deliver speeches and pursuing entertainment projects. He tweeted frequently during his travels to such faraway places as Brazil, Nigeria and France. Shriver was not mentioned in his Twitter updates from the road.

Shriver, also active on social networks, posted three updates on her Twitter page on the day of their 25th wedding anniversary, April 26, but did not mention the milestone.

Shriver's Facebook message

About a month before the anniversary, Shriver wrote on her Facebook page that she was going through a transition in her life.

"As you know, transitions are not easy. I'd love to get your advice on how you've handled transitions in your own life," she said in a video posted on YouTube.

"It's so stressful to not know what you're doing next. People ask you what are you doing and then they can't believe that you don't know what you're doing," she said.

Schwarzenegger has said that Shriver, who is keenly attuned to the risks of a life in politics, initially was very upset about his plan to run for governor. But when Schwarzenegger announced his decision on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in August 2003, he said his wife stood by his decision.

During Schwarzenegger's time as governor, Shriver and the couple's children never moved to Sacramento, preferring their secluded canyon estate a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Schwarzenegger commuted by private jet between his home and the state capitol.

Their marriage in 1986 was considered a storybook pairing of the muscle-bound action star, son of an Austrian policeman, and a well-connected professional woman.

Kennedy connection

Shriver, a member of the Kennedy political dynasty and the daughter of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, left her job as an NBC News correspondent after Schwarzenegger took office.

In a May 2009 commencement speech at the University of Southern California, Schwarzenegger alluded to the powerful influence Shriver had on his life. He said when people ask him the secret to success, "I say, number one, come to America. Number two, work your butt off. And number three, marry a Kennedy."

As the state's first lady, Shriver ran an annual women's conference that attracted a long list of business, political and entertainment luminaries, along with an audience of thousands. She also was credited with overhauling the California Museum in downtown Sacramento and, with Schwarzenegger, starting the California Hall of Fame.

The separation announcement comes months after the death of Shriver's father, Peace Corps founder and former vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver, in January.

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Hacker discovers PS3 3.56 exploit, will not release

On Saturday night, the well-known hacker Mathieu Hervais posted on his Twitter that he had found a way to exploit Sony PlayStation 3 firmware 3.56 although he refuses to release the details, as not to anger Sony.

The hacker will not unveil the exploit, but says "this wasn't about getting attention at all, or fame, this was just done so the right people know this bug is there for the finding."

Hervais' decision comes after Sony has taken custom firmware creator Geohot to court, as well as subpoenaed IP addresses of other hackers and even casual visitors of Geohot's site and YouTube account.