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Google: 'Beauty and The Beast' message wasn't meant to be an ad
That didn't take long. Shortly after Google told us that its Beauty and The Beast ad being read by Assistant was not in fact an ad, the search juggernaut has reversed that stance. "This wasn't intended to be an ad," a Google spokesperson told us. "What's circulating online was a part of our My Day feature, where after providing helpful information about your day, we sometimes call out timely content." Okay, sure.
'This American Life' issues retraction episode over Foxconn report
This American Life is airing a new episode today titled "Retraction." The title and show are a direct response to the January 6th edition of the popular public radio program titled "Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory," an adaptation of a one-man show that helped put Cupertino's involvement with Foxconn back in the public spotlight. "Regrettably," the show's producers write in the description of this week's episode, "we have discovered that one of our most popular episodes was partially fabricated." The hour-long show has been dedicated to clearing up some of the misconceptions, including an interview with Mike Daisey to discover "why he misled This American Life during the fact-checking process." For his part, Daisey responded on his personal blog, explaining, "What I do is not journalism." Daisey adds: My show is a theatrical piece whose goal is to create a human connection between our gorgeous devices and the brutal circumstances from which they emerge. It uses a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity.An MP3 file of the episode will be made available for download on Sunday.
BYTE retracts anti-Apple rant by blogger
Back in the early days of the personal computer revolution, there was no better magazine to read than BYTE. It was often a thick tome full of reviews, programming tips, and insightful columns by industry legends. The magazine disappeared in 1998, but was recently resurrected as an online magazine by the publishers of Information Week. It's obvious the BYTE name retains much of its journalistic credibility, as the magazine recently retracted an anti-Apple rant by one of its bloggers. The post, titled "The Crucible: A Sobering Look at Apple," was written by BYTE blogger Demetrius Mandzych and published originally on July 11, 2011. Whenever a post starts out by stating that In all honesty, I don't know why people buy products from Apple. Apple assures everyone its products 'just work,' that specs don't matter and that its products are like finely-tuned German roadsters ... The reverse is actually the case. you have to wonder what's going on in the author's mind. By July 15, there were a number of negative reader responses, and BYTE pulled the post. The rant is back now, but completely covered with a strikethrough from beginning to end, and with an apology at the beginning: The opinion column that follows doesn't live up to the proud tradition and our best intentions for BYTE. It not only lacks the deep and authoritative technical content that we want BYTE to be known for, but it also doesn't reflect the community's views on Apple. Although there are plenty of people who don't like Apple products, and some who have had bad experiences with Apple, those are the exception, not the rule. As you see from our heavy coverage of Apple – in particular our aggressive coverage of OS X Lion -- we consider Apple and its products to be important topics for news, reviews, how tos, tips, and debate. BYTE strives for authority above all, in keeping with the highest journalistic standards. That standard was not met here. Well done, BYTE. And welcome back. (I'm personally happy to see sci-fi legend Jerry Pournelle back in the saddle at Chaos Manor.) [via Daring Fireball]
T-Mobile UK quietly retracts Pulse's buggy 2.1 update, Huawei says it was non-final anyway
Remember T-Mobile's money-saving, finger-friendly Pulse? You know, the Huawei Android handset that received a 2.1 update in Hungary back in May? Earlier this month (on the 6th, to be precise), said phone's British counterpart also received its share of cream-filled pastry, but perhaps one with cream gone sour. How so? T-Mobile UK didn't explain when it quietly pulled the plug shortly afterwards, but some users were reporting problems with SMS and 802.11x enterprise WiFi authentication. Pretty serious stuff, especially for the former. A few developers from MoDaCo got in touch with us as they struggled to get a reply from T-Mobile about the retraction, which got us curious. After all, a working 2.1 update would make the Pulse -- now priced at £99 ($153) on pay and go -- a pretty good buy, so we tweeted the carrier on Tuesday for an update. Coincidentally, the next day T-Mobile finally caved in and let loose on what happened: "After receiving feedback on the recent T-Mobile Pulse Android 2.1 software update we've decided to suspend it temporarily. We're working with the phone's makers on an updated version which is expected in October." Yikes. But just you wait -- read on for the juicy part.
Nokia grabs the Windex, clears up 'erroneous' Maemo carrier customization claims
We aren't too sure where a number of outlets overheard that Nokia was planning to pass on customizing its Maemo-based devices, but one of two things has happened: either Nokia is lying to our faces and has secretly had a change of heart, or everyone was just misinformed from the get-go. Regardless of the hows and whys, Nokia has now come clean and stated that those very reports -- you know, the ones that "erroneously suggested that Nokia will not support operator customization for Maemo devices" -- are "simply incorrect." A long winded explanation follows, but the long and short of it is that the suits in Espoo are (at least now) very open to letting operators "tailor future Maemo devices to suit their needs," which may or may not be a positive in your eyes depending on the carrier you're chained to. Now, aren't you glad we had this little talk?[Thanks, Dallas]
JP Morgan retracts iPhone nano insinuations, hints at 3G flavor in 2008
Oh c'mon, it did sound too good to be true, did it not? To just about everyone's chagrin, the hope-filled comments made yesterday by Kevin Chang have now been retracted by JP Morgan, and it looks like the iPhone nano will return to the depths of our imagination for the moment. According to a rebuttal put forth by the North America Equity Research division, the firm "has not been able to independently confirm" his comments with a second source, and also mentions that "a lower-end iPhone appearing in the near-term would be unusual and highly risky." Notably, putting the rumors to rest wasn't the only order of business in the writeup, as it was suggested numerous times throughout the document that JP Morgan believes a "high-priced, non-subsidized 3G model" will surface "in the first half of 2008." Squashing one piece of scuttlebutt whilst conjuring up another (entirely more probable) report, now that's the way we like it.
Fuh Yuan retracts $299 Wal-Mart HD DVD statement
That sound you're hearing is your hopes of a $299 HD DVD player anytime in the immediate future deflating, that is, is Fuh Yuan is to be believed this time around. Unfortunately, it seems that the firm pulled the trigger a bit too soon on a hopeful order, as a recent retraction on the company's website insinuates that Wal-Mart simply inquired about their ability to "provide a schedule" along with "cost and quantity" details for Wally World to evaluate. Currently, it seems that the "capacity is still under consideration," but it did leave the door open to believe that this idea may still be churning in the background by cordially inviting anyone with an up-to-snuff manufacturing facility to ping them for more details. The good news is that a sub-$300 HD DVD player isn't a matter of "if," it's just a matter of "when," and as long as Wal-Mart keeps burning down price barriers, we're sure it'll surface (arguably) soon.[Thanks, Jimmy]Update: Wal-mart concurs, stating today that "The article... was full of inaccuracies and we had no participation in it," and "Most of the facts, including the purchase, were untrue."
1UP pulls Neverwinter Nights 2 review
In a move reserved for only the most high-ranking of screw-ups, 1UP.com has pulled their review of Neverwinter Nights 2. Stating that the review did a "disservice to fans of the RPG genre." We have what is said to be the original review after the break.It's a very difficult decision to pull a story. An editor would normally rather suffer the wrath of an angry readership than go forth with a retraction. Not only does it show a lack of respect to the writer of the piece, but it shows a collapse in the editorial chain of command at a publication. As our metareview showed this morning, 1UP gave NWN2 a 5 out of 10, which was quite the departure from the rest of the reviews. Not that publications can't have different opinions, but seriously, when was the last time you saw a decent game get below a 7?
