Like the Eye of Sauron watching over the lands of Middle-earth, Wednesday Verizon Wireless announced that it is now tracking the location of subscriber devices, recording search terms and websites they visit via the wireless network, and recording their app and device feature usage. This information will supposedly be used to make mobile ads more relevant to subscribers, and to be used for “certain business and marketing reports.”

In a statement announcing its privacy policy changes, Verizon said that it will also use information detailing subscriber use of Verizon products and services including data and calling features, device type, and amount of use. Demographic and interest categories provided to Verizon by other companies, such as gender, age range, sports fan, frequent diner, or pet owner, will also be used.

“We will combine Mobile Usage Information and Consumer Information in a way that does not personally identify you,” the company claims. “We will use this information to prepare business and marketing reports that we may use ourselves or share with others. We may also share Location Information with other companies in a way that does not personally identify you. We will allow these companies to produce limited business and marketing reports.”

According to the privacy policy changes, all Verizon customers will be tracked by default. However, the company is offering subscribers a chance to opt out of the information tracking by heading here or by calling the wireless carrier directly at 1-866-211-0874. “You will receive mobile ads whether you participate or not, but under the advertising program, ads may be more relevant to you,” the company adds.

As the Huffington Post points out, FCC rules on mobile privacy assert that wireless carriers must get permission from customers first if they want to use subscriber information for marketing purposes unless it’s for “enhancements to services you already use.” The LA Times also reports that every wireless carrier stores these types of data anyway although they all have different approaches to how the data is used or not used.

Just recently General Motors-owned OnStar came under fire for changing its Terms & Conditions. The changes granted it the right to keep a connection to an installed system active even if the subscription had been canceled. The changes also meant that OnStar could collect data including a vehicle’s whereabouts and current speed, and sell/offer the information to law enforcement, credit card processors and more. However after a thorough lashing by consumers and government officials, OnStar reverted back to its original Terms & Conditions.

Patriot Memory updates its SSD lineup with the release of the Pyro SE SSD series, which utilizes synchronous MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory versus asynchronous MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory.

Patriot Memory Pyro SE SSD is a 2.5-inch form-factor based on the SATA 6.0 Gb/s interface and the SandForce SF-2281 controller. The Pyro SE will be offered in 60 GB, 120 GB and 240 GB capacities. In addition, the drives include DuraClass, DuraWrite, TRIM support and comes with a 3-year warranty. The Pyro SE’s performance is expected to deliver sequential read and write speeds of 550 MB/s and 520 MB/s, along with a maximum 4K random write of 85,000 IOPS.

“The Patriot Memory Pyro SE will offer increased performance while still maintaining our aggressive pricing strategy”, says William Lai, Patriot Memory’s Product Manager. “The Patriot Memory Pyro SE will be the ultimate choice for performance users looking to increase productivity while not bankrupting their budget.”

Though pricing has not been announced, users should expect the pricing for the drives to be close to the current pricing of the Pyro SSD drives:  60 GB – $110, 120 GB – $205, and 240 GB – $440. Read more on the new Patriot Memory’s Pyro SE SSDs at the product page.

Sony denies a recall but admits that there have been reports of overheating. Sony has confirmed issues with several models of its Sony Bravia TV line, but contrary to early reports, insists that it’s not issuing a product recall affecting 1.6 million television sets. In an announcement posted to its television and projectors support pages, the company said it is beginning a free inspection and repair program following reports of over-heating components in its TVs.

“We have recently become aware of a potential issue affecting a very limited number of BRAVIA LCD TV models, which have been available for purchase in Europe since June 2007,” the company said. “The issue came to our attention through reports in Japan that a limited number of products might contain a component affected by a quality issue, which in a rare number of cases might over-heat and ignite inside the television and possibly result in the melting of the upper casing of the television.”

Sony says that there has yet to be any reports of injury or further damages. Still, if you purchased your Sony Bravia TV in Europe post-2007, you might want to check out the model number and consider getting it inspected. The following models are affected:

KDL-40D3400, KDL-40D3500, KDL-40D3550, KDL-40D3660, KDL-40V3000, KDL-40W3000, KDL-40X3000, KDL-40X3500.

If you own one of the products listed, you should contact your nearest Service Centre to arrange an inspection of the TV.

SOURCE via Sony

So, just how personal can you get with Apple’s Siri? We already know that Siri is very polite and may even make compliments, if you are treating your virtual companion nicely.  What if you were to get very personal and, say, ask Siri to marry you?

There is a screenshot circulating on Facebook (originating from TIMN’s review) that answers that question. Siri’s answer is, as you may expect, polite, but a definite no. “My end user licensing agreement does not cover marriage. My apologies.” Don’t take it too hard, at least you get an apology and since you technically own your personal Siri, you can be sure that you two can stay friends.

As a side note, you may also find some peace in the fact that Steve Jobs reportedly left plans for at least four product generations at Apple and there could be a version of Siri that could get more personal, sometime in the future.

According to the L.A. Times, Verizon, AT&T and other cell major cellphone providers have reportedly agreed with U.S. regulators to end bill shock by sending warning text messages to subscribers who are approaching monthly voice, text and data limits.

The agreement has thus helped produce a new set of voluntary industry guidelines called the Wireless Consumer Usage Notification Guidelines aimed to avoid the threat of new government regulations, and includes warnings about situations like my own where we’ve exceeded the plan’s limits and face overage charges. Customers will also receive warnings when traveling overseas and are about to incur pricey international roaming fees.

The agreement arrives just as wireless carriers move away from the unlimited data plans, charging customers for limited packages of data for hefty fees. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is expected to officially reveal the carriers’ guidelines Monday at a news conference with the head of wireless industry trade group CTIA and an executive from advocacy group Consumers Union. These guidelines should be in place within the next 18 months although from personal experience it looks as if Verizon has already set the warnings system wheel in motion.

“Far too many Americans know what it’s like to open up their cellphone bill and be shocked by hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unexpected fees and charges,” President Obama said in a statement. “Our phones shouldn’t cost us more than the monthly rent or mortgage.”

Steve Largent, president of the CTIA, said the new guidelines are the “perfect example of how government agencies and industries they regulate can work together … to consider whether new rules are necessary or would unnecessarily burden businesses and the economy.” The new guidelines will be included in the CTIA’s existing consumer code which also demands accurate coverage mapping and giving customers 14 days to cancel a service without having to pay early termination fees.

Monday FCC officials said that the nation’s four largest carriers — Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — will follow the new bill-shock guidelines. Other wireless carriers including US Cellular and Clearwire have also signed on to follow the guidelines. Participating companies have agreed to apply any two of the four alerts within 12 months, and all four within 18 months.

“Regulations, no matter how well-intentioned, simply cannot be as flexible and responsive to consumer needs as a self-regulatory code,” CTIA said.

EVGA has caused quite some buzz when it displayed one of the first X79 motherboards at the GeForce LAN 6 party. Gamers attending got a first peek at a prototype of its flagship X79 Classified board, which will be supporting Intel Sandy Bridge-E Core i7-3000 series processors. Besides the displayed E779 model, EVGA will also be offering the E775 (X79 SLI) and the E777 (X79 FTW).

According to pictures that are making the rounds on the Internet, the E779 will have four DDR3 slots, five PCIe x16 3.0 and one PCIe x1 3.0 interface, as well as two SATA 6 Gbps, four SATA 3 Gbps and two eSATA ports. EVGA integrates VIA’s Superspeed USB controller and will offer eight USB 3.0 ports on the E779. Additionally, there are two USB 2.0 connectors as well as a Bluetooth radio.

Targeted at overclockers, EVGA told visitors that the board will pass the most stringent requirements for CPU tuning, including deep freezing.

SOURCE via Legit Review

Last week, Research in Motion suffered what’s being called the worst service outage in company history. Affecting users around the world, the service interruption lasted three days. Not long after normal service resumed, unhappy customers started demanding compensation. Today, RIM announced that it will be compensating users. However, the company is not doling out cash refunds to the affected. Instead, users who experienced problems last week will be getting free apps.

The company announced today that a selection of premium apps worth a total value of more than US $100 will be offered to subscribers as an expression of appreciation for their patience during the service outages. The apps will be made available to customers over the coming weeks on BlackBerry App World and will continue to be available until December 31, 2011.

Aside from the special package of apps, enterprise customers will also be offered one month of free technical support and current customers will be offered a complimentary one month extension of their existing technical support. If you don’t have a tech support contract already, RIM is giving you a one month trial of RIM’s BlackBerry Technical Support Services – Enhanced Support, free of charge.

“We truly appreciate and value our relationship with our customers,” said said RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. “We’ve worked hard to earn their trust over the past 12 years, and we’re committed to providing the high standard of reliability they expect, today and in the future.”

“We are grateful to our loyal BlackBerry customers for their patience,” he added. “We have apologized to our customers and we will work tirelessly to restore their confidence. We are taking immediate and aggressive steps to help prevent something like this from happening again.”

For additional details about the free tech support program and information about how to register will be available at www.blackberry.com/enterpriseoffer.

The apps included in the special compensation package are:

• SIMS 3 – Electronic Arts
• Bejeweled – Electronic Arts
• N.O.V.A. – Gameloft
• Texas Hold’em Poker 2 – Gameloft
• Bubble Bash 2 – Gameloft
• Photo Editor Ultimate – Ice Cold Apps
• DriveSafe.ly Pro – iSpeech.org
• iSpeech Translator Pro – iSpeech.org
• Drive Safe.ly Enterprise – iSpeech.org
• Nobex Radio™ Premium – Nobex
• Shazam Encore – Shazam
• Vlingo Plus: Virtual Assistant – Vlingo

SOURCE via RIM