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Kendra Cunningham

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ACLU Helps Expelled Student Sue School for Illegal Cell Phone Search

by Kendra Cunningham on September 3, 2009 at 04:15 PM


On the behalf of a North Mississippi middle school student, the ACLU and its Mississippi chapter have filed suit against Southaven Middle School, claiming that administrators wrongfully expelled the boy after illegally searching his cell phone.

According to Cellular-News, 12-year-old Richard Wade's cell phone was confiscated after he was caught reading a text message. But rather than giving him detention, the honor student's football coach searched through his personal information, including pictures he had taken of himself dancing in his bathroom. After interpreting those dance moves as gang signs (wrongfully, the plaintiff's lawyers say), the coach alerted the rest of the staff, as well as the authorities. The whole escapade resulted in suspension, a disciplinary hearing, and ultimately the expulsion of young Wade -- all founded on the coach's claim that the youngster was throwing gang signs in the illegally seized images.

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High School and Porn Site Have Similar Web Addresses

by Kendra Cunningham on August 30, 2009 at 10:54 AM


A Florida high school is having serious problems with its Web presence, and it has nothing to do with viruses, spam, or hackers. Both PaceHighSchool.net and PaceHighSchool.com are working perfectly fine; unfortunately, one address is for a public Florida high school and the other is for a hardcore porno site.

Pace High School shares a domain name with a site owned by PimpRoll, the only difference being the '.net' and '.com.' Teachers and parents are terrified for their kids, and frustrated when they find themselves on the porn site PaceHighSchool.com. (The high school students, on the other hand, have probably been joking about it for months.)

Pace High School Principal Frank Lay told the NWF Daily News, "We found out about this site a couple of weeks ago and there is nothing we can do."

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U.S. Lags Behind Latvia in Broadband Speeds

by Kendra Cunningham on August 26, 2009 at 07:23 AM


Internet connection speeds are the modern day weather; conversations about upload speeds are just as common as comments about last night's thunderstorm. USA Today writes that a new report from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) reveals that broadband speeds are significantly faster in some areas than in others.

The average download speed for the U.S., reports CWA, is 5.2 megabits per second, but that could be drastically slower depending on where you live. Delaware has the fastest connection of any state, with an average of 9.9 megabits per second, while Alaska and Montana lag behind with a 2.3 average.

Why the vast difference? Much of it is due to the dispersed nature of the physical infrastructure of the Internet in the U.S. Telecom companies have consistently reserved faster speeds and better service for larger, more populated areas.

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Frustrated Flyers Venting via Twitter

by Kendra Cunningham on August 23, 2009 at 08:43 AM


There are few things worse than a terrible flight. Long delays, endless taxing, and random layovers can make flying unbearable. Only in the last few years have passengers been able to do anything other than complain to the person next to them. Stranded, angry, and delayed passengers are filing their complaints on Twitter, much to the airlines' dismay.

A quick Twitter search for major airlines quickly reveals loads of negative flyer comments (e.g. Delta, American Airlines). "It's almost an underground rage factory," Terry Trippler of TripplersView.com, a travel review Web site, told Reuters.

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91-Year-Old Man + Rabbit-Hunting Ferrets = YouTube 'Stardom'

by Kendra Cunningham on August 22, 2009 at 10:43 AM

Crotchety old men with curious accents and a penchant for smoking and swearing are, face it, charming. So England is touting its newest YouTube personality, Frank Farr, 91, of Budleigh Salterton, Devon, as harkening back to the good old days, when hunting rabbits meant ferrets and a snare.

The three-minute long YouTube video, made by Will Halfacree, is meant to teach younger generations of a dying trade, he told the Telegraph. Halfacree follows around Mr. Farr as the latter sends his two snow white ferrets into warrens, snagging the rabbits as they try to flee. Aside from the ferrets, Mr. Farr is only armed with a net, a metal hook on a stick, and a cigarette. "There's nothing quite like a good rabbit. He hasn't been injected with this, that, and the other," he explains in the video (featured above).

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DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Research Says

by Kendra Cunningham on August 19, 2009 at 04:18 PM

It's hard to believe that crime scenes could get any more complicated than they are on 'CSI,' but The New York Times reports that scientists in Israel have discovered that DNA evidence can be fabricated -- and easily, at that. Apparently, DNA can be cooked up like cookies in an E-Z bake oven...

Scientists at the Tel Aviv-based company Nucleix have been able to infuse one individual's DNA into blood and saliva samples of a completely different person. Also, according to the research, DNA can be fabricated to match DNA profiles saved in databases, without even having an original sample.

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Wife of Twitter CEO Tweets During Child Birth

by Kendra Cunningham on August 11, 2009 at 04:58 PM



Sara Morishige Williams, the wife of Twitter CEO Evan Williams, twittered the birth of the couple's first child to over 14,000 followers. Sara's going the old school route by sending in tweets via text message. Here's a sample birth-tweet: "Dear Twitter, My water broke. It wasn't like Charlotte in Sex and the City. Now, timing contractions on an iPhone app."

Starting this morning, Sara updated updated hourly with news of contractions, going to the hospital, and epidurals -- a bit too much information for us. Husand Evan Williams's tweet at 3:55pm EST confirmed the the healthy baby boy's birth; "Yes! @sara gave birth to a perfect baby boy. Both are well. 8 pounds, 21 inches! Smiles all around."

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Cute-Seekers Overload Zoo's Panda Cam

by Kendra Cunningham on August 11, 2009 at 06:58 AM


The birth of a baby panda at the San Diego zoo attracted so many online viewers (perhaps one-upping the panda sneeze) that the zoo's webcam-feed up and crashed

Three-hundred-pound panda mom Bai Yun gave birth to a 4-ounce cub last Wednesday in front of a streaming webcam at the San Diego Zoo. Baby animals are always exciting (apparent after the Webby-award-nominated Shiba Inu puppy cam changed our lives), but the Internet may not be able to handle the fervor. Last Thursday, the video feed crashed as a mob of cute-seekers clicked to watch the one-day-old panda cub, the AP reported.

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DesignYourDorm.com Lets Students Plan Their Room -- in 3-D

by Kendra Cunningham on August 9, 2009 at 11:07 AM


Are you an incoming college freshman worried about sharing space with new, unknown, and potentially disastrous roommates? Well, luckily for you, a new site called DesignYourDorm allows college newbies to virtually plan their first-year space.

The site has 3-D models of average dorm rooms and allows users to drag and drop furniture to get an idea of how much space they'll have and how much stuff they should bring. Trying to move your whole life into an 8-by-12-foot room you have to share may not be the best idea. The site also allows two users to be in one virtual room at the same time, thus enabling future roommates to collaborate.

The site also has some real-world use, as it has teamed up with Amazon to provide real products to place in the room, automatically compiling a shopping list. Once a user is satisfied with her layouts, she can purchase items from that shopping list and have them delivered on move-in day.

According to TechCrunch, DesignYourDorm plans to team up with universities in order to feature actual floor plans. (The site is currently testing this strategy with the University of Pennsylvania.) Less time at Bed Bath and Beyond and more time comforting mom as her baby leaves the nest. [From: TechCrunch]
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Will 'Smart Cane' Render Seeing-Eye Dogs Obsolete?

by Kendra Cunningham on August 8, 2009 at 08:39 AM

Seeing-eye dogs may soon be looking for work as ordinary house pets, thanks to the development of a new "smart" walking cane. An engineering professor and his five students at Central Michigan University have developed a cane with a navigational system to aid the visually impaired.

According to Newsvine, the Smart Cane uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology (the same technology employed in those security tags on department stores' clothes) to "read" electronic tags placed on buildings. The cane, which contains an ultrasonic sensor, works in conjunction with a miniature navigational system carried inside a specially designed messenger bag. You can find images of the system here. A speaker located within the strap of the bag alerts the carrier of upcoming obstacles. (The students have also created a glove that vibrates in order to alert the hearing impaired.)

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YouTube Beauty Guru Debuts Makeup Line

by Kendra Cunningham on August 7, 2009 at 02:38 PM

U.K. Internet darling Lauren Luke, who has become an overnight YouTube sensation for her homemade makeup tutorials, has launched her own line of makeup at Sephora. "By Lauren Luke" premiered earlier this week with a grand opening at the Sephora in Times Square, PSFK reports. Check Lauren getting giddy about the line on her YouTube page. The 27-year-old single mom got her start by broadcasting ... Read more »
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Kidz Bop Uses Auto-Tune for Kanye West Cover

by Kendra Cunningham on August 7, 2009 at 08:36 AM

The Kidz Bop crew, known for family-friendly covers (drastically ranging in quality) of popular songs, isn't taking any direction from anti-auto-tune rapper Jay-Z. As part of a new album 'Super Mega Smash Hits... For Kids (With A Z),' the Kidz have inexplicably covered Kanye West's 'Heartless,' complete with computer-altered vocals. Regardless of where you stand on the topic of kid-friendly ... Read more »
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Astronaut Brings Back Space Undies for Scientists to Study

by Kendra Cunningham on August 2, 2009 at 03:58 PM

After four months in space, Koichi Wakata is returning to Earth -- and bringing his astronaut underwear with him. According to the Associated Press, scientists will be examining these experimental anti-bacterial, flame retardant, antistatic, and water-absorbent briefs. More importantly, the underwear (dubbed "J-Wear") is designed to be odor-free. Designed in Japan, the undies are made of a ... Read more »
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How Not to Get Fired Over Internet Misuse at Work

by Kendra Cunningham on August 1, 2009 at 03:25 PM

It's 2009, and surfing the Web during work is pretty much an accepted activity, but take heed -- when you're on company time and dime, you may still want to stick to the straight and narrow. According to the 2009 Electronic Business Communication Policies & Procedures Survey, 26-percent of bosses have fired workers for e-mail violations and 52-percent have fired workers over inappropriate ... Read more »
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Seen-On-TV Gadget Claims to Slim Your Neck

by Kendra Cunningham on July 13, 2009 at 02:38 PM

Want to reverse the signs of aging with dramatic results guaranteed? Well, then just check out the newest, "As Seen on T.V." product, the Neckline Slimmer. With the spring-resisted pump that fits between the base of your neck and your chin, you can just pump out a few head nods and, apparently, lose those loose jowls instantly. Advertised by former, but fairly undecorated Australian rugby player ... Read more »
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