Geekly Update - 04 April 2012

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Ivan Barker, a 21-year old in the UK that stole a laptop, went back to apologize for the crime. But when the victim excused himself to go to the bathroom, Barker stole his replacement computer.

"Nutter goes nutty" Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter pranked citizens on April 1st, with the announcement of a special lane on sidewalks for distracted texters.

AT&T formally announced that Nokia's flagship Lumia 900 will be released April 8 at a price of $99.99. The 4G LTE Windows smartphone has a 4.3" ClearBlack display, front-facing camera and Carl Zeiss optics.

"Another good reason to learn to speak Chinese." Richard Clarke, author of "Cyber War," warns that China and other countries have already hacked into most U.S. major companies.

A study from Purdue and Microsoft has found that ad-supported Android and Windows Mobile apps can use up to 75% of the total power consumption. The free Angry Birds, for example, only uses 18% for the game and 82% for the ads, draining power from batteries faster than the paid app.

Speaking of Angry Birds, the latest version launched last Thursday and their Twitter account reported that it was downloaded about 10 million times in less than three days. Angry Birds: Space has more than 60 levels and features zero-gravity planets and slow-motion action.

The bigwigs at Proctor & Gamble, after noting that the company's Internet connection was sluggish, have blocked employees from accessing Pandora and Netflix (but not YouTube) while at work. "Honest, boss... we were just studying product placement in the media!"

Job Poacher has only been around for a couple of months, but it already hosts more than 3,000 seeking employment. If you are looking for a gig or have one to pass on (especially in the area of IT,) you can sign up free on the site.

Those who wanted a TiVo but couldn't spare the extra expense may be pleased that the company has slashed prices on some of their Premieres and service plans. Their new 500 GB Elite is replacing the 320 GB model for more storage, and subscriptions now start at $14.99 per month with a one-year commitment.

In an effort to encourage YouTube video bloggers, Google is offering 16 lucky and talented individuals $5,000 for equipment and $10,000 for promotion. Apply before April 18 and you may become the next iJustine.