By Gilbert Falso :: 11:58 AM
File this one under ‘strange bug discoveries’ – you can crash just about any application running on a Mountain Lion OS Mac by simply typing in these eight characters:Â File:///
The discovery was made earlier this week, and surfaced on the OpenRadar website. It only happens in the Mountain Lion version of the operating system, and does not appear to affect Macs that are running Lion or Snow Leopard. Typing that string exactly as it appears above, will crash whatever application you are working in at the time.
Want to share this news on Twitter? Â You can’t do it – an OpenRadar user tried Tweeting a message with those characters, and crashed his Twitter application.
The issue behind the bug appears to be in the operating system’s Data Detectors feature. This feature, built into the OS, allows applications to recognize dates, locations, and contact data as it appears displayed on the screen, allowing users to easily save address book and calendar information.
The bug has been reported to Apple, and will likely be fixed in a software patch at some later date. It is not likely to be a rush job, however, so a patch may take a few months.
In the meantime, to disable the functionality that is causing this bug to occur, go to your Mac’s System Preferences> Language & Text > Text, and then uncheck the “Correct spelling automatically†and “Use symbol and text substitution†boxes.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 6:45 PM
Pair, the mobile app geared toward use between two people in a relationship, today announced that it has acquired a rival mobile app company from the U.K., Cupple, and will rebrand its service as Couple.
No terms behind the deal have been made public yet, and Pair’s studio, Tenthbit, is only acquiring the Cupple app, and not any of the development talent behind it.
Cupple will remain as a standalone app alongside Pair for now, although users will be able to soon migrate Cupple data to Pair if they choose.
By Gilbert Falso :: 7:26 PM
Twitter has released information that up to 250,000 users on the microblogging service may have been compromised by hackers. Sensitive information, including usernames, e-mail addresses, and encrypted versions of user passwords may have been stolen.
“This week, we detected unusual access patterns that led to us identifying unauthorized access attempts to Twitter user data,” the company said in a blog post.
In one hacking instance, Twitter was able to observe the incident as it happened, and shut it down.
No group or organization has claimed responsibility for the hacking attempt, and Twitter is not yet certain exactly what information may have been revealed from the user database.
This hacking attempt is the latest in a string of hacking announcements this week. Earlier, both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal admitted that hackers had been able to gain access to the newspapers’ computer systems, and had been active on their internal networks for many weeks.
In an email sent to users who had been compromised, Twitter explained, “this attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident. The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked. For that reason we felt that it was important to reset your password and publicize this attack while we still gather information. We are also helping government and federal law enforcement in their effort to find and prosecute these attackers to make the Internet safer for all users.”
This story is continuing to develop, and we will follow it and update as applicable.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 6:46 PM
You’ll soon be able to snack on delicious breadsticks at Olive Garden, or pick up that 24-pack of toilet paper at Target thanks to a gift card your friends have given you on Facebook.
Facebook users will be able to buy each other cards through the new Facebook Gifts platform, called “Digital Gifts and Cards.†Zuckerberg’s empire will then send the recipient a physical card that will carry multiple gift balances from Facebook retail partners. Recipients will be able to view and manage their balances online through their Facebook account or on the Facebook mobile app.
The first round of Facebook retail partners includes Target, Olive Garden, Jamba Juice and Sephora.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 2:53 PM
Amazon today announced a deal that will give its Prime members early exclusive access to episodes of the hit PBS series Downton Abbey.
Beginning in June, the company’s Prime Instant Video
In an interesting twist, Amazon’s agreement with the show producer has also allowed streaming videos of all remaining Downton Abbey season 3 episodes before they air on PBS stations in the United States. Â Access to all episode will require users to purchase an Amazon TV Pass
Amazon’s Prime service is priced at $79 for a one-year subscription. The subscription includes unlimited streaming access to roughly 35,000 movies and TV episodes, complimentary two-day shipping on items purchased through Amazon, and one free book per month via Amazon’s Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
With Amazon’s major coup to grab rights to this smash hit series, obviously it means someone else is losing out. In this case, the parties losing out are Netflix and Hulu, which currently carry prior seasons of the show. Netflix has Season 1, which will disappear from the service on July 1,2013, and Hulu Plus currently has Seasons 1 and 2, with no date given as to when their contract will expire on that service.