Logically speaking, if two wrongs don’t make a right, then it must take at least three. Fortunately, we’ve got at least that many: a supposed revolt of Nokia shareholders? Bzzt. Apple and a game company having a tiff? Nope. And don’t even get me started on a Dell marketing stunt—who ever thought that would go right? If being wrong is right, then the remainders for Wednesday, February 16, 2011 don’t want to be, uh, right.
Nokia Plan B was just a hoax all along (Engadget)
You may have heard something in the last couple days about “Nokia Plan B,” a supposed proposal by some shareholders of the Finland-based cell phone maker that aimed to wrest control from CEO Stephen Elop in the wake of the company’s deal with Microsoft. As it turns out, the story, which even made it to the Wall Street Journal , was a complete and utter hoax—the nine investors were actually “one very bored engineer who really likes his iPhone.” Hey, has anybody seen that industrial-strength can of Doh!?
Capcom Says Apple Never Scolded Them Over Smurfberry Cash (MacLife)
Capcom’s Smurfs’ Village came under fire earlier this month for its undocumented feature of “letting children squander their parents’ money on worthless virtual goods.” But after whispers that Capcom and Apple were sparring over the app, the game company went on record stating that those reports were patently false and that, in fact, Apple had just agreed to purchase an oil tanker’s worth of smurfberries for $2 million.
Accelerating the Windows Phone Ecosystem (Windows Phone Blog)
Speaking of undocumented features, Microsoft’s Brian Seitz took time out to respond to a comment on the company’s Windows Phone blog about why Windows Phone 7 resets its camera software to the default settings on launch: it’s a feature, not a bug! But don’t worry, Microsoft’s looking into it: “feedback from folks like you has the team seriously looking at that option to see if there is a more optimal option.” I’m thinking maybe Seitz was hoping that reading that sentence would cause your head to explode, which I guess is one way to solve the problem.
AT&T CEO: Apps should run on many devices (USA Today)
He’s back! After Tuesday’s comments that the Verizon iPhone would help AT&T, CEO Randall Stephenson has returned to explain that phone users should be able to buy an app once and use it on any platform. I’ll give you one guess as to who should get to sell those apps. The name of Stephenson’s plan, if you’re curious, is “Hey, That Whole 30 Percent Gig Sounds Pretty Good, Actually.”
Two arrested in Dell marketing stunt (KXAN)
How do you know your marketing stunt is a success? When the cops show up and arrest people. That’s what happened at Dell’s Round Rock, Texas campus when a black-clad biker with a skull mask paraded around the building carrying metallic objects and telling people to “go to the lobby.” Turns out it was an attempt to show off the company’s Streak tablet, which can apparently interface with Harley-Davidson motorcycles. So, I guess we’ve proved that not even the threat of mortal peril can get anyone interested in Dell’s tablet.