IT'S WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23.
I'M WILSON TANG, AND IT'S TIME TO GET LOADED.
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DOODLE-4-GOOGLE IS A CONTEST WHERE CHILDREN CAN UNLEASH THEIR CREATIVITY AND MAYBE WIN A LITTLE CASH AT THE SAME TIME.
BUT GOOGLE YET AGAIN HAS FOUND ITSELF IN MORE PRIVACY TROUBLES.
THE INITIAL PARENTAL CONSENT FORM ASKS FOR THE LAST FOUR DIGITS OF A STUDENT'S SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND THEIR CITY OF BIRTH.
WITH THAT INFORMATION, IT WOULD BE RELATIVELY EASY TO FIGURE OUT A YOUNGSTER'S COMPLETE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.
A GOOGLE SPOKEPERSON, HOWEVER SAYS, IT USES THE INFORMATION TO STOP DUPLICATE ENTRIES AND TO ASSURE THAT ALL APPLICANTS ARE LEGAL U.S.-RESIDENTS.
GOOGLE ASSURES THAT IT IS NOT STORING SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.
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OKAY YESTERDAY WE REPORTED THAT IPAD 2 COULD BE DELAYED UNTIL JUNE.
BUT NOW THE WORD IS THAT IT COULD BE AS EARLY AS NEXT WEEK.
MEDIA INVITATIONS FOR BIG LAUNCHES LIKE THESE TEND TO GO OUT ON SHORT NOTICE.
ONCE THE CNET INVITES COME IN, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW.
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AMAZON ANNOUNCED THAT AMAZON PRIME MEMBERS CAN NOW STREAM MORE THAN 5,000 MOVIES AND TV SHOWS FOR FREE.
AGAIN, THIS IS ONLY FOR AMAZON PRIME MEMBERS THAT PAY AN ANNUAL $79 FEE FOR AMAZON PERKS LIKE FREE SHIPPING.
AND NOW FREE MOVIES.
CUSTOMERS WILL BE ABLE TO WATCH THEIR FREE STREAMS ON MACS, WINDOWS MACHINES, ROKU BOXES, AND OTHER INTERNET-CONNECTED DEVICES.
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CHINA NOW HAS AN OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT SEARCH ENGINE.
IT IS CALLED PANGUSO AND IT WILL COMPETE WITH BAIDU FOR THE NUMBER ONE SEARCH ENGINE SPOT IN THE COUNTRY.
REMEMBER HOW CHINA AND GOOGLE HAD IT OUT LAST YEAR OVER FILTERED SEARCH RESULTS?
WELL I GUESS IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM.
THE SEARCH ENGINE WILL PROVIDE GOVERNMENT APPROVED SEARCH RESULTS SO DON'T BOTHER SEARCHING FOR FALUN DAFA.
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MINT HAS ADDED A FEW NEW TOOLS THAT WILL HELP ITS USERS GET OUT OF DEBT.
THEY ARE CALLED "GET OUT OF DEBT TOOLS." THEY WILL HELP YOU SET AND MANAGE A PAYMENT SCHEDULE FOR ANY MONEYS OWED.
IT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT YOUR SALARY AND CURRENT SPENDING HABITS TO HELP YOU GET A SENSE OF WHEN AND HOW YOU CAN PAY OFF ANY DEBT.
MINT SAYS THAT THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST REQUESTED FEATURES.
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IF YOU HAVE ANY MEDIA UPLOADED TO YAHOO VIDEO, YOU SHOULD DOWNLOAD IT NOW IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT.
THE SITE, YAHOO VIDEO, DISCONTINUED VIDEO UPLOADS IN DECEMBER, AND NOW ANY VIDEOS THAT WERE UPLOADED BEFORE THEN WILL BE PULLED AFTER MARCH 14TH.
YAHOO ENABLED DOWNLOADING UNDER THE "MY VIDEO" TAB, SO USERS CAN RETRIEVE THEIR CONTENT BEFORE THEN.
YAHOO VIDEO ISN'T SHUTTING DOWN, IT JUST WON'T ALLOW USER GENERATED CONTENT ANY MORE.
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THAT IS YOUR NEWS FOR THE DAY.
WE'LL HAVE MORE FOR YOU TOMORROW.
AND REMEMBER VISIT CNET-DOT-COM-SLASH-LOADED FOR LINKS TO OUR STORIES.
I'M WILSON TANG FOR CNET AND YOU'VE JUST BEEN LOADED.
