“I deeply regret the passing of our beloved and admired Carlos Fuentes, writer and universal Mexican. May he rest in peace,” he wrote.

Fuentes dabbled in a little bit of everything, from novels to plays to short stories to nonfiction. He tended to draw inspiration from real life and gained praise in the states for his portrayal of historic figures, such as Ambrose Bierce–an American writer who disappeared during the Mexican Revolution–in the novel The Old Gringo. The book went on to become a best-seller and was later made into a movie.

His politics were regarded as odd by some and revolutionary by others, as he tended to side with only some of the beliefs of world leaders; if they made a change or came out in favor of an idea he didn’t support, he was quick to speak against them. Such was the case with Fidel Castro, whom Fuentes initially supported during the revolution in Cuba but later spurned as his manner became increasingly authoritarian.

Fuentes recently said in an interview that he had just finished a writing project and was about to start on another; no word yet if a posthumous publishing date is in the works.

As you can see from this selectively edited video, people who listen to this station are angry. Some don’t think that it is right for gay people to get married, some do not agree with gay people at all. It was summed up perfectly when the hosts asked a caller identified as Anthony: “Anthony, how do you feel about Obama? You’re not feeling him, huh?” Anthony’s response is what a lot of minorities in general feel, and while the overall support numbers for minorities and gay marriage are gaining, they are still mainly against it. He said “No, because I’m totally against that same-sex marriage, man. I’m 27, I grew up in the days where a female’s supposed to marry a female, I mean a male supposed to marry a female.”

Proposition 8 was on the ballot in California in 2008. It was a measure that, as described in Wikipedia, would add a new provision, Section 7.5 of the Declaration of Rights, to the California Constitution, which provides that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” While it passed by a slim margin of 52.24% who voted yes to 47.76% who voted no, the biggest eye opener for the Democratic party and liberals in general is that 70% of African Americans voted yes on prop 8.

So it seems as though Obama has a bigger hole to pull himself out of now, because a New York Times/CBS News poll found Sixty-seven percent said they thought Obama’s announcement was made “mostly for political reasons,” while 24 percent said it was “mostly because he thinks it is right.” Also found in the poll was that 70 percent of Independents attribute the president’s move to politics, along with nearly half of Democrats. A caller on Hot 97 had pretty much the same sentiment saying: “I’m not going to vote for Obama because I feel like… he knew he was losing votes and he needed to get people’s attention. And that’s what he did. Why did he want to do this now, when he knows election day is…”

Pizza Delicious, a small business owned by Michael Friedman and Greg Augarten, peddles takeout New York-style pizza in New Orleans, two nights a week. The two wanted to expand, but weren’t sure how to proceed. So they decided to run a paid ad on Facebook – and NPR, while compiling other stories regarding Facebook, stepped in and hooked Friedman and Augarten up with Rob Leathern, a social media advertising guru.

Incidentally, there is also a Kickstarter project for the restaurant presently winding down. Here’s a clip:

The three first targeted the friends of users who already ‘liked’ Delicious Pizza on Facebook, which equated to roughly 224,000 people, or 74% of people who reside in new Orleans. This was too broad a demographic, so those who like N.Y.C-type things (the Jets, the Knicks, Notorious B.I.G., etc.) were targeted, bringing the demographic down to about 15,000. Still, after 12 hours of running the ads, nobody clicked, and Facebook took it down. If an ad spot isn’t doing anything on the social network, Facebook promptly pulls it. New Orleans-based ‘likers’ of Italian food were then tried, about 30,000 users, and these ads went viral, presenting about 700,000 times.

Alas, the results weren’t anything to write home about really. The campaign ended up costing $240, which equated too about a dollar per new Facebook fan. So, out of 700,000 ad views, 240 users actually ‘liked’ what they were seeing. Friedman commented, “Is that feeling of exhilaration worth 240 dollars? – I don’t know – hopefully, that translates into new business.”

There would be no new business really. Though, when Augarten was emptying the trash one night, he got a message on his cell reading, “Just found out about you guys via a sponsored Facebook ad if you can believe it. Super excited about your new place -happy to toss in a few bones over the top.” The person who sent the message contributed 10 bones, I’m assuming the the Kickstarter project. So, 10 bones against $240 was the final result of the Pizza Delicious Facebook ad campaign. Optimist Friedman said, “And that was cool – We got some return on our ad.”

It would appear that social media advertising might not replace TV ads anytime soon, though some businesses have had better luck. I wonder how well Samsung Mobile USA’s ad on the Facebook logout screen did yesterday – Facebook logout screen ads run about $700,000 a day.

Many of those systems are imperfect – for example, SYNC can’t interface with the iPhone’s music controls via voice command. Moreover, many cars don’t have such systems. If you drive one of those cars, getting your phone or iPod’s music onto your stereo requires a little extra work – an AUX jack, an FM transmitter, or a tape deck adapter. And then, once you get your phone hooked up to your stereo system, actually controlling music playback can be difficult, and even hazardous.

Apple, it seems, has a solution to that problem in the works. Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent for a wireless, steering wheel mounted iPod/iPhone remote control that allows the user to control music playback, among other things. The patent covers a touch-sensitive rotating faceplate attached to a base that mounts to the steering wheel of a car by means of a pair of hinged (possibly spring-loaded) clamps. The rotating faceplate is intended to allow the user to put the remote wherever they want to on the steering wheel.

The remote’s wireless functionality actually limits its use somewhat. Of the current line of iPods, only one – the iPod Touch – has built-in Bluetooth capability. While Bluetooth adapters exist that would enable the iPod Classic and iPod Nano to work with the remote, that would require an extra purchase from the consumer; unless, of course, Apple starts building Bluetooth functionality into its new iPods, which is always a possibility.

As with any patent, this should not be treated as an indication of what Apple has coming down the product line. All we can know at this point is that Apple is exploring the possibility of a remote of this kind. On the other hand, there are precious few remotes of this kind on the market, and one made by Apple for Apple products is bound to be popular. That being the case, don’t be surprised if you see this hit the market at some point in the future.

Now, however, the hackers over at the XDA Developer forums have discovered there is a new limit to the number of devices that can be de-authorized. User Amphibliam on the XDA Galaxy Nexus forum revealed that Google is now preventing the de-authorization of more than 4 devices per year for each Google Music account. The smartphone users in the XDA community often root their Android phones and flash them to an updated ROM frequently, meaning this new limit prevents them from experimenting with their phones as much as they would prefer.

There is no word yet on why Google has implemented this limit. It really only affects three very specific types of users: the aforementioned tech reviewers, the Android modding community, and Android app developers, who must test their products on a wide variety of phones to ensure compatibility. These are precisely the users that Google does not want becoming unhappy with its services.

(XDA-Developers via Slash Gear)

“I’m not going to be taking a bubble bath and drinking Champagne or on a sex swing [on camera] like Khloé and Lamar do. It’s not going to be like that,” Kim explained. If that’s going to be the case, then what’s the point of tuning in?

What viewers can hope for is seeing West consume mass quantities with the Kardashian clan. Because, you know, watching Kim and Kanye cram food into their gaping maws while discussing stuff that matters to absolutely no one is what people want to see. Maybe Kanye will throw one of his infamous expletive-laden tantrums. One can only hope, right?

In other Kardashian-flavored news, Kris Jenner has been pushing her daughter Khloe to get a DNA test to prove once and for all who her father really is. In the book, Kris describes her sexual encounters in vivid details, including one wild tryst with a young producer. Because, you know, that’s what every kid wants to read in the press and see in bookstores.

The seventh season of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” airs on May 20th.

That’s at least what analyst and founder of Digital World Research P.J. McNealy is saying in his latest book, “Early Days: The Social Gaming Market And Facebook’s Achilles Heel.” USA Today did a quick run through the book and found some interesting insight into what Facebook is doing to marginalize its own gaming economy.

Zynga is really important to Facebook. The social game developer provides a lot of revenue to the social media platform and in turn Facebook provides Zynga with perks. That’s a problem says McNealy because it’s leaving the other developers out of the loop. He says that while Zynga is getting all these nice perks like increased visibility through “Now Playing” updates; other developers are being left to fend for themselves.

McNealy has also heard word of many developers leaving Facebook. They are moving to other platforms where they have a better chance of being seen. One of the platforms is of course mobile. While mobile has its own problems, like increased competition, developers have more power over their product.

To play devil’s advocate for a moment, it’s totally Facebook’s choice to allocate more resources to Zynga. They are the platform’s biggest partner when it comes to getting games on the platform. That means increased revenue from both the games and the advertisements that litter the page. If you have a successful partner, you’re going to do everything in your power to keep them around.

That might soon be a huge problem for Facebook though. As you probably know, Zynga has launched its own gaming platform at Zynga.com. Back when it was first announced, I, and many others including McNealy, speculated that it was a move by Zynga to distance itself from Facebook. Without Facebook, they don’t have to share any of the revenu they make from their games. It’s a big win for Zynga, but a huge loss for Facebook.

So what can Facebook do to keep its best and brightest developers around? I think the impending launch of the App Center is going to help a lot with that. It’s currently kind of a pain to find games on Facebook and it’s even harder to judge the quality of the game in question. The App Center will hopefully fit into what developers told McNealy they want – “more help and less hostility from Facebook.”

The inclusion of paid apps might also help attract more game developers. Zynga has made a killing off of its in-game purchase model, but paid apps might be the next big thing for social gaming. It has the potential to drive up the quality of apps and sales will hopefully follow.

If game developers do start to leave Facebook in droves, there’s always Google+. I hear they give plenty of perks to game developers who decide to side with their platform.

The Brazilian-born Saverin has been a resident of the United States since 1998, but more recently moved to live in Singapore. As of late september he appears on a list of US residents who have renounced their citizenship. This decision stands to save Severin millions in taxes to the IRS.

Tom Goodman, a spokesman for Saverin, commented on Saverin’s decision:

“Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time,”

According to Bloomberg, Saverin would owe taxes on a sum total of about $2.44 billion, which, according to a tax professional’s calculations, would run him about $67 million in US tax. By choosing to leave the country and denounce his citizenship, Saverin would owe an exit tax of about $365 million. He could indefinitely delay paying this tax until the shares are actually sold, as the figure is derived from an estimated capital gains tax based on him actually selling the shares.

Tom Goodman commented to Bloomberg about these tax calculations and Saverin decision to leave the United States:

“The calculations and assumptions are not only erroneous, they also further perpetuate the false impression that tax was the reason behind Eduardo’s decision,”

“His motive had nothing to do with tax and everything to do with his desire to live and work in Singapore.”

There has been no word from Saverin on what he is currently working on or if he plans to ever return to the United States. Either way, his 4% stake is bound to increase in value once Facebook goes public. After the exit tax is paid, Eduardo won’t owe any future capital gains tax on appreciation in the United States and Singapore doesn’t have a similar tax.

If you answered yes to any of the above, don’t worry – you’re far from alone. A new study from Business Software Alliance reveals that 57% of people who use personal computers admit that they have some pirated software. The study, the 9th Annual BSA Global Software Piracy Study, surveyed 15,000 computer users in 33 countries in January and February of 2012, most of whom don’t pay for all of their software. Globally, the amount of pirated software is valued at $63.4 billion in 2011, up from $58.8 bilion in 2010.

BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman doesn’t think that governments are taking software piracy as seriously as they should. “If 57% of consumers admitted they shoplift, authorities would react by increasing police patrols and penalties,” he said. “Software piracy demands a similarly forceful response – concerted public education and vigorous law enforcement.”

A bold 31% of users gleefully admit that they pirate software “most of the time” or “occasionally,” where another 26% admitted to doing it rarely. Only a shrewd 38% said they “never” take unlicensed software.

Here, take in this video BSA put together that highlights some of the results from the study.

The most pirate-likely region of the world is Central and Eastern Europe with a 62% piracy rate. That roughly translates into $3,227,000. However, while that area might have the greatest density of software pirates, by far the largest sink hole of money lost from pirated software is the United States. Incredibly, though, nearly $9.8 billion was lost due to pirated software in the U.S. in 2011 but the piracy rate there was only 19% due to legal software sales of over $41 billion. While China’s total value of pirated software wasn’t far behind the U.S. with $8.9 billion, its piracy rate was towered at 77% because the country only had $2.7 billion in legal software sales. That roughly translates to PC buyers spending only $8.89 on average for legal software.

Still, the developing world is where piracy is most rampant. The study found that frequent pirates in developing economies install almost four times as much pirated software as do the software pirates in established economies. The piracy rate of emerging economies was 68% whereas first-world economies had a piracy rate of 24%.

BSA Senior Vice President of Anti-Piracy Jodie Kelley feels that governments need to address the swelling problem of software piracy. “Governments, especially in emerging markets where most of the theft is taking place, must take steps to modernize their IP laws and expand enforcement efforts to ensure that those who pirate software face real consequences,” Kelley said.

Typically, most of the piracy talk these days seems to revolve around the entertainment industry and the debate over anti-piracy measures typically focus on curbing pirated movies and music. Depending on which study you want to rely on, the total amount of lost revenue from pirated music and movies could range anywhere from $58 billion to as high as $200 billion (although this is said to be a highly inflated). Regardless, Holleyman makes a good point about the response (or lack thereof) from authorities to the plague of software piracy. The amount of money lost on pirated software is a considerable, possibly as much as what is lost from the entertainment industry, and yet the computer software industry doesn’t have nearly the lobbying influence that the entertainment industry does. You hardly even hear about them being invited to the debate.

You’d think piracy of operating systems or business software would be the more relevant problem than, say, people pirating something as insipid as Suckerpunch.

Priorities, people. Priorities.

(Image courtesy of South Park/Comedy Central.)

As an example, the Journal article looks at how Facebook’s new Timeline feature was developed. Timeline is the new look of user pages that shows significant and recent events as blocks on the page. According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook spent 18 months developing Timeline, with Zuckerberg himself spending hours each week in meetings with the volunteer design group. The company even used focus groups to get user feedback on the design. The change was previewed months before launch, and then user were given a choice to switch to it or not.

But it didn’t matter. Users still complained, at least as much as when the News Feed was introduced with no warning. If Timeline had been thrown together during an all-nighter hackathon, would the user outcry be any less dramatic?

Another recent change, the promotion of “trending articles” within users’ News Feeds has proven unpopular as well. It’s a given that the decision to put news reader app articles into the News Feed wasn’t made overnight.

There was a time when Zuckerberg seemed not to care what Facebook users thought of the site’s changes. His confidence was almost condescending as he professed to know exactly what people want in a social network. And you know what? He was right. His vision was spot-on and years ahead of anyone else. So what will happen as Zuckerberg takes a step back and allows focus groups design Facebook features? Will he be able to keep his long-term vision for Facebook on-track now that the company will have shareholder to please on a quarterly basis? It’s time to find out and I, for one, am eager to see how corporate money and culture will shape the world’s largest social network.

(via Wall Street Journal)