Trick-or-Treaters Descend Upon Steve Jobs' House

Outside Steve Jobs' house on Waverly Place in Palo Alto

A thin gray mist of dry ice fog enveloped large, squat jack-o'-lanterns at one particular Waverley Street home in Palo Alto on Halloween night.

The sound of thunder rumbled from hidden speakers, eliciting a few gasps and eeps from children waiting in line to get candy at the home of Steve Jobs, where trick-or-treaters have been a welcome sight for years.

"It's too scary!" one child squealed at his mother.

About 50 children and their parents stood on the sidewalk in front of the home of the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, who died Oct. 5. They waited for the gate to open at 6:30 p.m. to the front yard of the Jobs' family home. Many parents snapped photos of their children and the home.

Children and teenagers were dressed as Vikings, Spiderman, priestesses and video game characters; a pair of boys were dressed as an iPad and as an iPod.

At the entrance to the front yard, three women at a table handed out fist-sized cellophane bags filled with orange candy slices, Toblerones and sour drops. Behind them were large Halloween dummies wearing ghoulish masks.

Hayward residents Maria and Sal brought their 7-year-old son Raymond, who was dressed as a U.S. Marine. The family had gone trick-or-treating in Palo Alto before, Sal said, but it was their first time visiting Jobs' home. They noticed the long line, but didn't realize whose home it was until they got in line, he said.

Palo Alto resident Bob Kocher brought his two daughters, ages 5 and 3, dressed as princesses. Kocher and his family, who just moved to the city in August, heard from neighbors about Jobs' tradition of opening up their home on Halloween.

"It's a wonderful testament to Steve Jobs and his family. My daughters will be talking about this for the rest of the year," Kocher said.

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Taiwanese Animators Distill Steve Jobs’ Bio Into 93 Seconds of Funny

Those kooky Taiwanese animators from NMA.TV have reached a new high in campy 3D synthesis of real-world events: They’ve boiled down all 630 pages of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs bio into a 90-second joyride through the book’s most juicy revelations.

For the Apple purist or the devout Steve Jobs fan, Next Media Animation’s video may be interpreted as sacrilege. But, no, it’s just hilarious, and all in good fun.

SPOILER ALERT: The animation opens with coverage of how the biography is flying off shelves. Then the fun begins. An iPhone projects Steve Jobs’ ghostly visage, which punches its younger self for not seeking out cancer treatment sooner. Steve later visits Barack Obama to tell him he’ll only be a one-term president. Other video highlights: Steve dancing at a rave (ostensibly on LSD), Steve riding an Apple-branded thermonuclear missile (think Dr. Strangelove) aimed at an Android army, and Tim Cook as Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker.

But let’s let you decide. Take a gander at the video yourself, embedded below, and tell us what you think.

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In Memory of Steve Jobs, Apple has decided to give away 1000 Limited Edition iPad 2's - Facebook Scam 

Scam Signature Message:

In Memory of Steve Jobs, Apple has decided to give away 1000 Limited Edition iPad 2's
ipads4everyone.com

To celebrate the life of their founder, Apple have decided to give away 1000 Limited Edition iPad's to honor Steve, who
passed away yesterday.

 

Scam Type: Bogus Offer

Trending: October 2011

Why it's a Scam:

Clicking the wall post link takes you to the  following page: 

This site requires you to share the scam message on your Facebook wall - obviously, this is how the scam is spreading from user to user. Step 2 asks you to leave a comment in the area below the instructions. Once you leave a comment, you are taken to the following page:

Here we see the typical iPad, iPhone marketing scam. These are wildly popular on Facebook. People just can't resist the possibility of receiving a free iPad or other cool, high-end device. Like you have heard before, "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." No where are these words of wisdom more true! 

If you read the fine print, you have to complete several sponsor offers and jump through other hoops to get the "free iPad." Chances are, after you have completed the offers it isn't going to be worth the iPad, assuming that part of the promotion isn't a scam itself. (we have never had one person tell us they have actually received an iPad after completing the offers) Also keep in mind the scammers are acquiring a treasure trove of your personal data. You will be required to provide your name, address, phone numbers and date of birth. This will enable the shady marketers to not only spam your Facebook account, but also harass you via snail mail, phone calls and text messages.  

How to Deal with the Scam:

If you did make the mistake of sharing the scam link, then you are now spamming your friends with the very same message. Clean-up your newsfeed and profile to remove references to the scam. (click the "x" in the top right hand corner of the post).

Be on the lookout for more marketing offers arriving to your email inbox and physical address if you submitted that information to the scammers. Also be aware and alert for possible identity theft attempts.

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Westboro Baptist Church uses iPhone to announce protest at Steve Jobs’s funeral

 

Westboro Baptist Church announced plans Wednesday night to protest Steve Jobs’s funeral, sending the message out. . .wait for it. . . via Twitter for iPhone.

Margie Phelps, daughter of the small church’s founder and the lawyer who represented the church during their First Amendment case at the Supreme Court, (which Westboro won,) was among the Phelps family members to use Apple products to Tweet about the death of the Apple co-founder.

“Westboro will picket his funeral. He had a huge platform; gave God no glory & taught sin,” Margie tweeted Wednesday night on her iPhone.

The Topeka, Kan. based church is mostly made up of Phelps family members but has risen to international infamy because of their funeral protests of celebrities and American soldiers. The church’s members believe that God punishes America for its tolerance of sin, including acceptance of homosexuality.

The iPhone-wielding Westboro members seemed unable to find any irony in their embrace of the technology of a man they condemn. One church member even suggested that God was using Jobs to help advance the message of Westboro Baptist Church: “God used Steve Jobs to create amazing STUFF for WBC to preach,” wrote Shirley Phelps-Roper.

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