Thursday 31 January 2013

an interesting 'what if' scenario on Breaking Bad

Jane Kaczmarek May or May Not Be Joining 'Breaking Bad':
Last week Dean Norris, who plays "Breaking Bad" resident DEA agent Hank Schrader, tweeted a photo of none other than Jane Kaczmarek on the set of "Breaking Bad," posing with him and a shiner-sporting Bryan Cranston as Walter White. And earlier this week Kaczmarek herself tweeted that "Yes, it's true... I will indeed be on #BreakingBad. Can't wait for you all to see it."
Will, as some have theorized, "Breaking Bad" at last be revealed as one long, incredibly dark prequel to "Malcolm in the Middle," with Walt starting a new life under a different name as a non-drug-dealing suburban dad after getting remarried to Kaczmarek's Lois? Could Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) turn out to be a lost half-sibling to Frankie Muniz, Justin Berfield, Erik Per Sullivan and Christopher Masterson's band of brothers?
Alas, probably not, at least not in context of the series itself. Vulture reports that "a source at the show tells us that the Lois and Hal reunion will be for the DVDs only and not one of the final episodes of the series" -- which makes sense, as that kind of meta nod to the actors' pasts might be a little jarring in what's probably going to be a very intense final eight episodes set to air this summer.
via. Indiewire

Friday 25 January 2013

In Germany, internet service providers pay you! (for loss of service)


German
Ever lost your internet connection? Do the loathsome words "executive customer service" resonate with you? They shouldn't if you live in Deutschland -- at least, not after today. While that course of customer service whinging can occasionally yield some form of restitution stateside (we're being generous), for Germans it's now almost unnecessary. In a ruling issued today, a federal court in Karlsruhe has determined interruption of internet service to be grounds for compensation, as it can be categorized as an "essential material item," Reuters reports. The decision, which allows impacted users to file compensatory claims, stems from a 2008 - 2009 incident in which a private German citizen incurred a loss of phone, fax and internet service over a two month period. Apparently, the man had already been partially reimbursed for having to rely on mobile phone service, but decided to take things a little further. In other news, Americans can just threaten to switch to FiOS. Worked for us.

Source: Reuters

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Lance


                                              Dope:

Samsung takes aim at iOS and BlackBerry in latest SAFE commercial


Samsung has released another competitor bashing commercial. Except while previous commercials have taken shots at the iPhone, this time around they have also chosen to include the BlackBerry. This commercial focuses on a business that has a bring-your-own-device program. And past that, the commercial talks about SAFE, Samsung For Enterprise.
for-work-for-home-540

Basically, the story here is that with Samsung and SAFE you shouldn’t need to carry two devices. The commercial highlights this by offering such gems as when one coworker asks another if he is finally going to retire that thing — referring to his BlackBerry. The BlackBerry user fires back by saying that he isn’t even working, he is watching basketball. Of course, that bit also brings in another Samsung feature because he is using multi-window and editing a spreadsheet (while watching basketball).
Another bit has one coworker asking another if she is finally going to consolidate her phones. To that, she shows her BlackBerry is for work, her iPhone is for home and asks for her system to be respected. Funny cracks at competing platforms aside, SAFE has features that are security minded. For example, SAFE offers advanced Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync features.




SAFE also includes on-device AES 256-bit encryption, VPN connectivity and top-tier Mobile Device Management support — all things that Samsung refers to as the Four Pillars of SAFE. Finally, for those wondering, Samsung offers SAFE on some of their more popular smartphones including the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II.

via. Android Community.