What is it that everyone says about Macs? "They just work?" Well, that might have been true pre-Snow Leopard...

In addition to news of rampant compatibility problems and a quiet admission that even Macs are vulnerable to malware, there is now word that the 10.6 version of OS X was shipped with a bug so severe it could wipe out all of your data. If you upgraded to the latest version, and have yet to log in using the guest account, we suggest you immediately disable said account.

If you've got a lot of enemies (or watch too many spy movies), you've probably noticed those online ads for cell phone bugging software and thought: "Hey, I wonder if my phone is bugged?" Fortunately, the news crew at Fox 26 in Houston shares your paranoia: it recently tested out some cellular spyware to figure out if your ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend is listening in.

After dropping $250 for the software on the Internet, the crew had it up and running on a test phone in 10 minutes. As you can imagine, the spyware enabled call- and text-monitoring, gave access to the phone's contact list, and kept extensive logs of call times and duration. The coolest function let the testers tap into the test phone from a remote location and activate its microphone, allowing them to listen in even with the phone on standby and concealed in a pocket.

As for figuring out if your own phone is bugged, the Fox team says to watch out for significant, unexplained drops in battery power or random screen flashes. Strange billing activity and text messages with random numbers and symbols could also be signs of a bugging. To be safe, you should lock your phone with a password, and if you want to go super clandestine, pop out your phone's battery when you go meet that guy with the briefcase chained to his wrist. [From: Fox 26]

Fans of the open source Songbird media player need to be extremely cautious before downloading Songbird 1.1, the player's latest version. Wired reports that an iPod add-on for the installment can come equipped with a bug capable of corrupting data and erasing music from your iPod. The bug, which only ravages your music if you have your iPod connected to the app, has so far grounded only a minority of Songbird users.

Some of those affected have witnessed their entire libraries vanish, a crushing blow for those of us who ignorantly or lazily refuse to back up our music files. One such victim told Wired that, not only did he lose 60 GB worth of music, but he is now going to have to replace the songs by re-ripping hundreds of CDs. Ouch. As a temporary fix, Songbird has removed the iPod add-on from its recommended list.

According to the Songbird bug trackers, a solution has already been created and will be included with the next update release. Until then, if you've already installed the latest upgrade, go to "Preferences" and disable the iPod add-on. If you need to back up your files, but are unsure of what route to take, check out our handy-dandy guide: 8 Ways to Back-Up Your Computer (and Keep Your Stuff Safe). [From: Wired]

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You read that right: Scientists have created bugs that are able to snack on woodchips or sugar cane and produce waste in the form of easily malleable oil. Not only are the buggers capable of creating a by-product that can quickly be refined into fuel for vehicles, but scientists say the process is carbon-negative -- it outputs less carbon than is required to produce it. Director of the project -- dubbed LS9 -- Greg Pal says that barrel prices could run as low as $50, and that the company plans to have a commercial facility producing the crude in 2011.

And as for the potential threat of world-destroying attack from the mutant bugs? Says Pal, "We're putting these bacteria in a very isolated container: Their entire universe is in that tank. When we're done with them, they're destroyed." Sure buddy -- but we're going to re-watch 'Them!' just in case. [Source: Times Online]

Conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, we all know the frustration of computer bugs and unanswered pleas for tech support. Case in point: conservative radio talk personality Rush Limbaugh made a public plea to Apple CEO (and Democrat) Steve Jobs on his broadcast last week for help with a problem he's encountered with his collection of networked, high-end Mac Pro computers.

"El Rushbo" (as his Web site calls him) relies almost exclusively on his e-mail application for all communication and even word processing. The problem is that the Mac Leopard operating system, which has an automatic file backup system called Time Machine, doesn't seem to want to back up his e-mail. Limbaugh has had his own Mac rep work on the problem and also called Mac tech support, all to no avail, with even a Mac tech support staffer saying they have the same problem with their machine.

Limbaugh broadcast this plea: "Mr. Jobs, please help me. I know we don't agree on anything. You love Al Gore -- and by the way, I've got no problem with him now, but can you put me to somebody that can get this going, because I know it's gotta work for most people. What am I doing wrong?"

Could his plea to Steve Jobs fall on deaf or maybe just unsympathetic ears? Limbaugh's producer jokingly suggests the Macs don't do what Limbaugh needs because of the political divide.

Still, Limbaugh is looking for help. He notes he's not alone with this dilemma and that "there's a whole thread at the Apple site of people having the same problem."

Limbaugh has been a long-time Mac supporter and has stated his computer preference on his show many times over the years. So, maybe it's not true that Macintosh lovers are all liberal after all?

Limbaugh is still waiting for a solution. He posted an update to the situation on his Web site, noting that some in the Mac community are offering suggestions for work arounds to the problem.

In the meantime, maybe we should all be satisfied the computer bugs and system gremlins don't discriminate based on status or political leanings. In front of a computer, we're all equal -- and equally frustrated.

From Vallywag.

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Everyday this Big Brother stuff gets scarier and scarier. Pretty soon the only place you'll be safe is in your own home, in your bed room, under the blanket. We posted before about experts declaring that by 2057 there will be roughly one million sensors and recorders for every U.K. resident. It looks like London is wasting no time rushing towards that goal.

We're well aware of the security cameras already all over the city, but it looks like Londoners will also have to brace themselves for audio surveillance, too. In order to break up gangs, London police have begun a program using audio bugs placed in public places.

Currently, the listening devices have only been deployed in Lambeth, in south London, where youth gangs are particularly prevalent, and where gun crime has risen 10 percent in the last six months. The hope is that the intelligence gathered will help authorities identify key figures in the tight-knit, but loosely organized groups, which will better allow police to disrupt their activities.

Public eavesdropping, sans warrants, by law enforcement is sure to rankle some privacy advocates. Authorities are hoping a drop in crime will quell the inevitable uproar. We shall see.

Would you approve of audio eavesdropping if it reduced crime in your area?

From The BBC

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You can buy anything on the Internet, and our curent favorite is a site selling insects as pets. No, we're not talking about the (relatively) typical big creepy spiders, we're talking about ant lions, scary looking beetle things with giant fangs. They hide under sand, eat anything that walks over them, and, according to AntLionDen.com, make great pets!

We're not so sure about that last part, but the site is certainly an interesting place to peruse. They have a series of Steve Irwin-style videos about the critters, a whole suite of ant lion-related products for sale, and even have a "Wrangler" program where you and your kids can capture the critters and mail them in for $.20 each ... only to have the site turn around and sell them in packs of 3 for $9.95.

Seems e-commerce is alive and well in the insect kingdom!

From Boing Boing

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As seen at Engadget, AppleHound has compiled a list of confirmed bugs in Apple's uber-product, the iPhone. None in the list are exactly critical, meaning they won't result in your iPhone becoming useless (aka getting "bricked"), but many will cause it to crash, requiring a reboot. The majority of them are just annoying, though, like the screen flickering if something is detected by the proximity sensor for less than a second, or in certain situations items being listed in random order in the calendar.

Apple hasn't responded to most of these, but it has stated that a fix is coming for one of them, the so-called charging glitch. Here, the phone stops charging itself yet does not indicate a full charge. Apple indicates this is not a problem in charging but is instead a bug in the display, as according to the company the phone's batteries are, indeed, topped off.

From Engadget, AppleHound, and BetaNews

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