By Cynthia Herbert :: 11:16 AM
Google is reporting issues with its cloud storage service, Google Drive.
Many users have tried to access Google Drive this morning and had problems either making the initial connection, or being booted out after the login was completed.
The company has updated its status page noting that there is an issue with the service, but no further details, or an estimated fix time have been released yet.
We will update this article with more information as it becomes available.
Update: As of 11:55 AM, Google has updated their status page with information that the Google Drive service has been restored for some users, and should be restored for most users within one hour.
By Leslie Spellman :: 12:57 AM
Chrysler yesterday announced a recall of its Dodge Challenger vehicles – nearly 4,500 of which are affected by an electrical issue that could lead to a fire. Certain wire harnesses in 2013 model year Challengers could short circuit, overheat, and catch fire.
Roughly 2,500 of the 4,500 vehicles have been sold, the rest are on Dodge dealers’ lots. The recall only includes Dodge Challengers equipped with V6 engines, not V8-powered Challengers. The affected cars were assembled by Chrysler during an eight-week period that ended January 24.
According to a Chrysler spokesperson, the electrical fault was found in a single batch of misconfigured electrical components, and the company has yet to identify the particular part that is causing the problem. So far there have been seven incidents of the harness overheating, but no injuries have been reported.
Chrysler is recommending that Challenger owners refrain from driving their cars until the problem is fixed. In addition, Chrysler is suggesting that owners not park their cars in garages or adjacent to their homes or other structures in case they catch on fire while parked. The company will make free loaner cars available to Challenger owners while repairs are being completed.
This is the second fire-related recall this year. Last month, Chrysler recalled 1,785 model year 2013 Chrysler 200’s and Dodge Avengers over a fuel tank issue. According to the government regulators, cars affected by that recall may contain a broken control valve in the fuel tank assembly, which could lead to fuel leakage.
Owners with questions have been encouraged to contact Chrysler by telephone at (800) 247-9753.
By Gilbert Falso :: 2:57 PM
Chicago lawyer Chris Connors, purchased the domain name popefrancis.com in 2010 on a whim. Not until the election of the new Pope earlier this week did he ever realize that something would come of it.
“I thought that at some point in the near future that the names would get more relevant. Nobody names their kids Innocent anymore. And I thought it’d be great if a pope chose Francis after the great saint,” he told the Chicago Tribune.
Many domain speculators took to domain name registrars last week, snapping up pope and Catholic Church related domain names in the hope of being able to sell them off quickly.
In the case of Connors, however, he’s not looking to turn a quick buck. The attorney has offered to transfer the domain over to the Pope or the Vatican free of charge if they want it.
Connors admits that some people have offered him quite a bit of money for the domain, but he wants to “give Pope Francis dibs first,” he explained.
Cardinal George, who represents the Chicago area, called the idea “delightful” – however there has been no statement about the offer on the Vatican’s part.
By Paul Thomson :: 11:55 AM
Apple has been accused by THX, a company founded by Star Wars producer George Lucas, of stealing technology used in the speakers of Apple iPhones, iPads and Mac computer products.
A 2008 patent held by THX outlines details for a speaker unit that boosts sound output and attaches to computers and flat-screen televisions, according to the legal filing yesterday, submitted to federal court in San Jose, Calif.
THX claims that Apple products making use of the speaker units infringe on its patent, causing the company to suffer “monetary damage and irreparable harm,†according to the lawsuit.
The suit asks for a court order to halt the alleged infringement and royalties and damages to compensate THX for lost profit.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 11:28 AM
Sales of Microsoft’s new Surface RT and Pro tablets have taken off at a much slower pace than the company had expected, according to reports published by Bloomberg earlier this week.
The company has sold only 1 million Surface RT tablets since launching them last fall, and only about 400,000 Surface Pros, the version of the tablet that runs the full version of Windows 8. The Pro line was introduced last month.
Microsoft has invested significant money and development effort into Windows RT, which allows for a version of Windows 8 to run on an ARM architecture chipset rather than the traditional Intel architecture that runs more than a billion PCs worldwide. The company views this new architecture as an important platform for its new low-power, smaller devices.
Slow sales reports were surfaced almost right after the initial tablet launch. Microsoft’s supply chain sources noted in mid November that the company had already halved its planned order from around to 4 million to 2 million units.
Microsoft’s new tablets move it right into the competition crosshairs with both with Apple’s iPad and Google’s Android tablets – difficult markets because they are already very well established.