Adobe preparing to sue Apple over Flash blocking?

By: Matthew Humphries

Although the iPad has been topping the news charts for the past couple of weeks, so has the debacle with Adobe over a lack of Flash on Apple devices.

With the iPhone it was a case of Flash being too slow and buggy. With the iPad the same case was pleaded, but Apple went one step further and updated the iPhone 4.0 SDK license agreement to block cross-platform compilers. In doing so, Apple rendered one of the new features of Adobe’s just released Creative Studio 5 completely useless. That feature is the ability to compile out a Flash project as an iPhone app.

Such a move has upset developers as it effects any such cross-platform compiling meaning converted Silverlight apps will never work on iDevices, and MonoTouch (converts C# and .NET to iPhone) is also rendered unusable. Other solutions, such as the popular Unity engine, may be ok, but clarification is required.

The loudest response to the SDK license change has been Adobe, and it’s an angry one. Flash isn’t on iPhone OS devices, and Flash developers now can’t convert existing projects for iPhone/iPad. If you need proof of how upset Adobe is just look to Lee Brimelow’s blog. He is an Adobe platform evangelist and signed of his entry on the matter with “Go screw yourself Apple”.

If you thought that the fight was over and Adobe must now accept defeat, think again. According to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols at ITworld Adobe is gathering itself for a lawsuit against Apple. He refers to “sources close to Adobe” that have told him the company is not going to sit back and accept this, and Apple has a fight on its hands.

We await official word from Adobe on how they intend to move forward.

Read more at ITworld

Matthew’s Opinion

I think both companies are getting good and bad press over this “fight” so far. Flash-haters are applauding Apple for taking this stance, while Flash developers are denouncing Apple. But Apple did itself no favors with the SDK license changes as they managed to block a lot of developers from using their tools and the languages they know.

If a court case is started then things could get very messy. Adobe would likely focus on the fact Flash specifically was originally blocked as a case of its platform being blocked while others could remain. The company may also argue that the changes made to the SDK license were again aimed specifically at Adobe, and in a way meant to damage the launch of CS5.

Who would ultimately win such a court case? I believe Apple holds the stronger position here. It’s Apple hardware, it’s an Apple App Store, and it’s Apple’s own SDK. They can do what they like with it. Apple also isn’t in a monopolistic position in the market, so Adobe does have other platform options, which it already supports.

Is this a case of Adobe desperately trying to get Flash on to the most popular smartphone and Apple devices in general? Or is it a case of Adobe pushing back against an overbearing Apple intent on controlling everything without a care as to who it hurts?

Applause for Matsui

I think it was a coincidence that the first home game of the Yankees' season was against the Angels, the current team of last year's World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, but it sure was a good coincidence. Matsui was the last player to receive his ring and he got roaring applause from the crowd as well as hugs from every Yankee on the field. During his first at-bat, he receive even more applause as Andy Pettitte stepped off the mound and he tipped his helmet. Hideki Matsui has always been a class act and he'll always be a Yankee to Yankee fans.


Another nice appearance at the pre-game ceremonies was Gene Monahan, who left the team early in Spring Training due to an illness. Monahan is still officially away from the team as he attempts to get better, but everyone was happy to see him. Hopefully he can get better soon and rejoin the Yankees as their primary trainer.


(Photo by Peter Morgan/AP)

Vatican attacked over cardinal's claim of homosexuality and paedophilia link

Gay rights groups have condemned the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, for claiming that the Catholic church's sexual abuse crisis was linked to homosexuality and paedophilia and not celibacy among priests.
Bertone, who is considered Pope Benedict's number two, sparked the controversy on a visit to Chile when he suggested gay sexuality was to blame for the church's child abuse scandals.

Homosexual associations in Italy reacted with anger and indignation.


The biggest group, Arcigay, called the cardinal's words "shocking and irresponsible".


The president of the gay media service, Gaynet, said if senior church officials "feel constrained to dump the blame on homosexuals, it says a lot about the current state of desperation in the Vatican".

Gay rights advocates in Chile also waded in. "Neither Bertone nor the Vatican has the moral authority to give lessons on sexuality," Rolando Jiménez, president of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation in Chile, told AP.

No reputable study exists to support the cardinal's claims, said Jiménez added. "This is a perverse strategy by the Vatican to shirk its own ethical and legal responsibility by making a spurious and disgusting connection."

The cardinal, who is known for his blunt and sometimes tactless manner, made the remarks at a televised press conference in Chile's capital Santiago.

He said: "Many psychologists and psychiatrists have shown that there is no link between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have shown, I have recently been told, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia. This pathology is one that touches all categories of people, and priests to a lesser degree in percentage terms. The behaviour of the priests in this case, the negative behaviour, is very serious, is scandalous."

In apparent embarrassment, the Holy See's official daily, L'Osservatore Romano, did not mention Bertone's remarks in its report on the press conference.

Five years ago the Vatican implicitly linked homosexuality and paedophilia when, following the child abuse scandals in the US, it banned men from studying for the priesthood if they "showed deeply rooted homosexual tendencies".

But the connection was questioned last year in the preliminary version of a report commissioned by the American Catholic bishops, which is due to be published in December.


They said the data they had studied so far did not support a link between a homosexual identity and a higher probability of sexual abuse.

Cardinal Bertone's remarks in Chile may have been prompted in part by renewed calls in Latin America and elsewhere for the church to drop its celibacy rule. Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias last week urged the Vatican to "correct that error".

The church is also under pressure in Argentina, Mexico and other Latin American countries which have ignored its injunctions against granting civic rights to same-sex couples.

Santiago was not an ideal venue for the cardinal's remarks given that one of the Chilean church's highest-profile paedophile cases involves a priest having sex with young girls.


Despite multiple complaints the church hierarchy kept Father José Andres Aguirre, known to parishoners as Father Tato, serving at several Catholic girls' schools in the capital.

Sears on Obama's short list for Supreme Court

By Bill Rankin

Leah Ward Sears, the former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, is once again on the short list to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, the Associated Press and ABC News reported Monday.

Sears, 54, was among those considered to replace Justice David Souter, who retired in June 2009. President Barack Obama wound up selecting Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a federal appeals court judge from New York.

Sears' name now is among more than half a dozen candidates being considered by the president to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who is retiring this summer.

Others being considered by the White House include federal appeals court judges Diane Wood of Chicago, Sidney Thomas of Montana and Merrick Garland of Washington, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the AP reported. A number of news organizations reported last week that Wood, Garland and Kagan are the leading candidates.

Obama is expected to name a nominee within a few weeks to replace Stevens, who is retiring at the end of the high court's term.

Sears retired from the Georgia Supreme Court last June to teach, work for a think tank and join the Atlanta office of Schiff Harden, a law firm headquartered in Chicago. Sears was out of the country Monday and unavailable for comment.

After it was disclosed that she was being considered to succeed Souter, Sears said in a interview, "I like being thought of, because that means I'm being well thought of."

Sears broke a number of barriers as a judge. When appointed by Gov. Zell Miller in 1992 to the state Supreme Court, she was the first woman and youngest person ever to sit on the court. In 1995, Sears became the nation's first black woman to preside over a state Supreme Court as chief justice.

Don Samuel, an Atlanta criminal defense attorney, said Sears would be a good pick for the nation's highest court because she would bring a new perspective. Unlike all the court's current justices, he noted, she has not served as a federal appeals court judge.

"She'd be a breath of fresh air, just like [former] Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who had served on the Arizona Supreme Court," Samuel said. "I think she'd be a fabulous choice."

Said Atlanta lawyer Linda Klein, "Justice Sears has distinguished herself in many ways as both a lawyer and as a jurist. I'm not surprised she's receiving serious consideration."

T-39N Crash Sabreliner !

Three persons are dead from that T-39N Sabreliner crash. The T-39N Sabreliner Monday in Georgia has killed three Navy members; yet one additional passenger has not been located.

The T-39N Sabreliner crash was in northern Georgia on training Monday as part of the Training Air Wing 6. The Navy has not announced how many were on board but reports say the T-39N Sabreliner could carry in total eight including two pilots.

Despite early reports, no one on the ground was injured. The location of the T-39N Sabreliner crash was roughly two hours north of Atlanta

$1.4M Jury Award For Boy Scout Sexually Abused By Mormon Troop Leader

A Portland, Oregon jury has awarded $1.4M to a man sexually abused by the scoutmaster of his Mormon Church sponsored Boy Scout troop. The scoutmaster had confessed to church and Boy Scout leaders that he molested at least 17 scouts, yet he was allowed to remain in contact with the boys. The LDS does not have to pay their portion of the judgment because they settled out of court with the plaintiff last year.

Nine out of the 12 jurors found Boy Scouts of America and its local body, the Portland-based Cascade Pacific Council, negligent in the lawsuit brought by plaintiff Kerry Lewis, who is now 38. The Boy Scouts of America said in a statement on its Web site that it plans to appeal the verdict. ""We are gravely disappointed with the verdict. We believe that the allegations made against our youth protection efforts are not valid... We are saddened by what happened to the plaintiff. The actions of the man who committed these crimes do not represent the values and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America." he jury found that the Boy Scouts of America was liable for 60 percent of the negligence and the Cascade Pacific Council was responsible for 15 percent. Together they will have to pay Lewis $1.05 million.

Packers Getting Closer To Signing Westbrook

DP and I talked about where Brian Westbrook might land a couple weeks ago on our radio show. The two strongest cases were for the Vikings and Packers, well it looks like we may have been right on the money, as rumors as surfacing today that the Packers are taking a long look into signing future Hall of Famer Brian Wekstbrook.

"Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel received info from two sources on Monday that the Packers have "shown interest" in Westbrook. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter confirmed on Tuesday morning that the team has contacted Westbroo (ESPN)."

It just makes sense. The Packers have been looking for a backup to Grant for a couple years now, even getting so desperate they brought back Ahman Green. Westbrook is not a #1 RB anymore, but that doesn't mean he can't be the best 3rd down back in the buisness. He can catch, run, and block, what more could you ask for from your 3rd down back. With a passing offense like the Packers I think this is a perfect fit, and I wouldn't be surprised if he signs within the next couple weeks.

Report: Larry Brown Receives Permission to Return to Philadelphia

Posted By Eric Freeman
Whoo boy, that's a big headline, huh? Larry Brown has guided the Bobcats to their first playoff berth in franchise history, but that success could be over before it starts if he jumps ship to the Sixers. It's also particularly striking that Michael Jordan would give him permission to leave before the start of the postseason.

Before you jump out of your britches, though, keep in mind that this story comes from the New York Post's Peter Vecsey, whose personal rumor mill is often based on little more than speculation and fever dreams.

So read on, but do so with my disclaimer in mind:
Coincidentally squared, Next Town Brown, I'm informed, has received approval from Bobcats owner Michael Jordan to return home, home on the range -- Philadelphia -- where his wife, school-age children and the antelopes still play, to re-take control of the 76ers from top to bottom.

I presume permission isn't activated until after the playoffs, but with Next Town, one can never be sure.

Forgive Vecsey's bizarre "Home on the Range" references and focus on the story, which actually has some merit to it. Brown likes to change jobs fairly often, and his heart could still be in the City of Brotherly Love, even if his darling Allen Iverson is no longer there.

But when Vecsey reports a story, it actually seems less likely, even if an objective view suggests it could be true. It's like a zen koan, or one of those square watermelons.

So keep the possibility of Brown-to-Philly in the back of your mind heading forward. Without Vecsey's name attached, it strikes me as a real possibility. The Sixers, despite their internal disagreement between focusing on young players and playing veterans, are actually quite talented and not terribly far from being a playoff team. Brown could be the man to bring them back to the postseason.

Celebrity Tweets: Jim Carrey Criticizes Elin

In this week's edition of Celebrities Thinking We Care About Their Opinion On Everything, Including Other Celebrities we've got Jim Carrey defending Tiger Woods and criticizing wife Elin over the affair.

A newly single Carrey posted several tweets last week regarding the Tiger Woods scandal. He defended the golf star saying Tiger "owes nothing 2 anyone but himself" and that Elin was "ignoring the obvious".

Welp, I guess we've heard it all now, right? Jim Carrey has given his opinion on the matter so we can finally put this thing to rest? All righty, then*.

In next week's Celebrities Thinking We Care About Their Opinion On Everything, Including Other Celebrities, Demi Moore tweets her disapproval of Kim Kardashian's use of the word pimpin'.

Oh, no, wait. That already happened. Well, I'm sure somebody will give their unwarranted opinion on something. And then we'll all hear about it.

*Yes, Ace Ventura quotes will forever be topical.

Posted by: Carly Hallam

Clemson Hires Brad Brownell as Men's Basketball Coach

by Associated Press

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Brad Brownell of Wright State was hired Tuesday as the basketball coach at Clemson, which is turning to another coach from a mid-major school in Ohio.

Brownell succeeds Oliver Purnell, who was hired in 2003 from Dayton and led Clemson to the past three NCAA tournaments. Purnell surprised Clemson last week when he left to coach DePaul.

Clemson said Brownell was to be introduced Tuesday at an afternoon news conference, where terms of the agreement were to be discussed.

"Brad Brownell is an unbelievable coach," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "He has been a winner everywhere he has been. I am happy to see Brad go to a great school and a great program like Clemson."

Brownell went 84-45 in four years at Wright State. He led the Raiders to a 20-12 record last year, including 12-6 in the Horizon League. Wright State lost to NCAA tournament runner-up Butler in the conference championship game.

Before arriving at Wright State, Brownell coached UNC-Wilmington and went 83-40 in four seasons.

At Clemson, Purnell was 138-88, including three straight first-round losses in the NCAA tournament. Purnell took a school that was near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference and built it into a contender, although his teams tended to fade down the stretch.

Clemson had only once before made the NCAA tournament in three straight seasons. The Tigers, however, lost each time as the higher-seeded team. Last month, they were beaten by Missouri.

Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips learned of Purnell's departure last Tuesday. Phillips spent the week vetting candidates that included former Boston College coach Al Skinner, Wofford coach Mike Young and Tigers interim coach Ron Bradley.

The most serious appeared to be Rick Stansbury of Mississippi State. He said Monday he and his wife met with Phillips and considered jumping from the Southeastern Conference before deciding to remain with the Bulldogs. That left Phillips targeting Brownell, who has won 20 games in each of his past six seasons.

Brownell inherits an inexperienced corps of players, and some challenges. Devin Booker, the brother of star Trevor Booker, has talked about leaving. The family of Tiger signee Marcus Thornton had asked the school for a release from his letter of intent after Purnell's departure.

Breaking: Moment of Silence for Poles, Obama Announces Next Nuke Security Summit in S. Korea

President Obama led representatives of 47 nations at the international Nuclear Security Summit in a moment of silence to mourn the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski. Obama also announced South Korea, rival to North Korea and its bedeviling nuclear weapons program, will host the next nuclear security summit in 2012.

The United Nations, the U.S. and a handful of other countries including China, South Korea and Japan have tried but failed for years to coax the reclusive Communist North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for stronger financial support, trade, help with a civilian nuclear program and humanitarian aid. North Korea has refused or betrayed agreements to halt its production of weapons-grade nuclear material.

North Korea was not invited to the nuclear summit. It withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003. In April 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency agreed with a North Korean announcement that it had become a "fully fledged nuclear power."

Choosing South Korea as the host of the next summit is an unmistakable signal to North Korea that its methods are likely to come under even greater scrutiny as the international community concentrates on monitoring the visibility, storage, and shipment of nuclear materials.

In discussing the massive loss of life to Poland's current government, Obama said he wanted the international assemblage to "acknowledge the terrible tragedy that struck Polish people."

Obama acknowledged Poland's ambassador to the U.S., Robert Kupiecki. Originally, Prime Minister Donald Tusk was to have represented Poland at the nuclear security summit. Tusk remained in Poland to cope with a nation in mourning and is likely to see his influence in the Polish government expand. Kaczynski and his Law and Justice Party led the opposition to Tusk and his ruling Civic Platform's pro-market, pro European Union agenda. Polish law has made parliamentary speaker Sejm Bronislaw Komorowski acting president until a special election is held by the end of June.

Obama said the world was "shocked and saddened" by the death of Poland's First Family, calling it a "loss not just for Poland, but the world," adding the United States "stands with Poland and Poles everywhere."

In prepared remarks opening the plenary session here, Obama noted what he called the great irony of the post-Cold War era: "the risk of a nuclear confrontation between nations has gone down, but the risk of nuclear attack has gone up."

Obama said highly enriched uranium or weapons-grade plutonium - the two fissile materials that can make a nuclear bomb - exist in dozens of nations across the globe. Small amounts, no bigger than the size of an apple Obama said, "could kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people."

"Terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda have tried to acquire the material for a nuclear weapon," Obama said. "If they ever succeed, they would surely use it. Were they to do so, it would be a catastrophe for the world."

Obama called the plenary session - which is pre-determined to yield a non-binding communique on new steps to securely house, monitor, and ship loose nuclear materials - is the place "not simply to talk, but to act."

"It requires a new mindset," Obama said. "That we summon the will, as nations, as partners, to do what this moment in history demands. It is increasingly clear the danger of nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to our global security."

Roethlisberger, Goodell meet in NY

NEW YORK — Ben Roethlisberger has finished his meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and there's no immediate word if the Steelers quarterback will be punished for his problems off the field.

Roethlisberger flew to New York from his Pittsburgh home one day after a Georgia district attorney announced the player would not be charged after a college student accused him of sexually assaulting her in a nightclub bathroom last month.

He tells ESPN that Tuesday's meeting was "very productive."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello says the league will review the facts — in accordance with its personal conduct code — and will follow up with Roethlisberger and the Steelers.

The Steelers, clearly angered with their star player's conduct, can discipline Roethlisberger even if the league doesn't.

Video: Obama's Cruel Irony: Risk of nuclear attack higher than in Cold War

World leaders arriving in Washington for President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit must have felt for a moment that they had instead been transported to Soviet-era Moscow.

Suit againt Seagal claims sexual assault

Dave Cohen Reporting

CBS News has learned additional details of the allegations against actor and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's reserve captain Steven Seagal.

"She applied for a job as an executive assistant, and when she arrived in Jefferson Parish found out the job she was offered was quite something different, and claims there were at least 3 instances when she was put into a very uncomfortable sexual situation and essentially assaulted by Steve Seagal," CBS Online Executive Editor Neil Katz told WWL First News.

He says the court documents CBS has obtained show former model Kayden Nguyen alleges she was taken to Seagal's home in a "remote rural area of Jefferson Parish." Seagal has been shooting the second season of the A&E TV Show in which he chronicles his police work for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

"She claims that there were two Russian women that worked for Steven Seagal almost as his sexual servants, and her lawsuit describes that she was treated as a sex toy," Katz explained.

The documents claim Seagal told the 23-year-old that his wife wouldn't mind if she were his lover. Nguyen also claims that Seagal placed his hands up her shirt and down her pants, sexually assaulting her over several days at the home in Jefferson Parish. The suit outlines graphic allegations.

Nguyen says that after six days she fled the home as Seagal allegedly chased her with gun.

She never called police.

"We talked to her attorney and he said that she was essentially terrified to go to the police in Jefferson Parish because Mr. Seagal is a deputy in Jefferson Parish, and she felt that there was no way she would get justice at that moment," Katz said. "It's a nagging question in this case, why didn't she go to police at some point?"

Katz says Seagal's attorney, Marty Singer, claims this is a bunch of nonsense, "And that she was in fact a disgruntled employee who was on drugs."

Singer has also been quoted saying the allegations are "ridiculous and absurd."

CBS is checking on claims that Seagal harassed other women.

"We're looking into past allegations against Steven Seagal," Katz said, "There are several instances of people alleging sexual harassment... The most surprising thing that we found... is that Jenny McArthy -the one time playmate and actress- claimed to the Daily News back in '98 that she applied for a role in 'Under Siege 2,' and instead of being asked to act, she was asked to strip."

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