Alec Baldwin kicked off AA flight for not shutting his iPad down due to an intense game of Words with Friends. Love it.

Alec Baldwin photo courtesy of David Crotty/PatrickMcMullen.com

Alec Baldwin kicked was kicked off an American Airlines flight earlier tonite for refusing to shut off his iPad when a flight attendant asked. What was so important? Words with Friends.

His rep said he loves the game so much he was willing to give up his flight for it.

Gotta love it!

Read the online post from Scoop and MSNBC here.

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 11.30.11 Gmail abandons the Blackberry.

Research In Motion moves on from Blackberry

How many of have experienced a lack of access to your GMAIL account via the app on your Blackberry? As of November 22nd, this function will no longer be available – unless you have had it previously installed.

Those who have a lot of patience can access the web through their Blackberry and visit their Gmail account, but anyone who has ever had to access the web on their BB knows that this is not the best option as the web browser is agonizingly slow.

The following is an exerpt from an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on November 10th.

In a statement, RIM [Research In Motion] played down this development.

“Since 2009, RIM has incorporated native support for Gmail in BlackBerry [operating system] 5.0 and above, which means that a separate Gmail app is not required,” the statement said. “The large majority of users who access Gmail on their BlackBerry smart phone already rely on the native support (provided through BlackBerry Internet Service) rather than the separate Gmail app.”

The development comes as RIM deals with product launch delays, a plunging stock price and a rapidly decreasing share of the key U.S. smartphone market.

RIM’s share of the U.S. smartphone market had fallen to 11.6% as of the end of June, according to research firm IDC, behind Google’s Android-powered phones and the Apple iPhone. Five years ago, RIM had 48% of the U.S. market.

After an embarrassing service outage…left millions of BlackBerry users without access to email, many analysts worried that BlackBerry users would begin migrating to Apple and Android devices at an even faster clip.

RIM said…that it was investigation reports of fresh delays for BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, but did not provide further details.

Google’s decision to end support for Gmail on BlackBerrys comes as the Internet giant increasingly focuses on a key RIM rival: Apple.

Earlier this month, Google unveiled a Gmail app for Apple’s iOS operating system, which powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. But the app was hobbled soon after its release on Nov. 2 by a bug associated with its notifications feature. Google apologized and pulled the app for repairs.

Google’s Gmail ranks among the most popular Web-based email services, and the company has said the service has around 200 million users. According to data from comScore Inc., the number of unique visitors to Gmail rose 31% in October compared with the same month last year, reaching 59.6 million. The number of visitors to Yahoo Inc.’s email service, meanwhile, fell 1% to 93.5 million, while visitors to Microsoft Corp.’s email service fell 3% to 44.5 million, according to the comScore data.

In a statement posted online, Google said that while Gmail users on the BlackBerry will be able to continue consulting Google’s guide for troubleshooting in the app, the guide “will not be maintained or enhanced.”

—Amir Efrati contributed to this article.

Write to Will Connors at will.connors@wsj.com and John Letzing at john.letzing@dowjones.com

Mutt Media: Suggestions for giving back this season

While it’s true that this is the season to give, some of us may feel a bit strapped financially during the holidays. We need to remember that at this time of year, more than ever – there are people less fortunate that need our help.

So how do we give to others in need while still taking care of our family and friends? Here are some great resources that empower us to give without even writing a check. Some of these sites will seamlessly make donations to charities while you shop, while others will help you clean out your house and send along items you no longer have use for to those who do. Please take a moment before the stress of the season takes its grip to have a look and find the cause that speaks to you. Here are just a few.

Give While You Shop

Goodshop.com and GiveClicks.com. Here are two sites where a portion of how you spend goes to charity. Select your cause, shop and donations are made. Want to donate to a loved one’s college education? Enroll your credit card info at UPromise.com and use this portal to access hundreds of stores you probably already shop at….added bonus: whenever you use enrolled credit cards on or offline – you’re donating!

Clean House & Give Back – A Great Way to Recycle

Give your gently-worn shoes via SolestoSouls.com,where your donations are distributed to those in need, whether due to financial hardships or natural disasters. You can also help others in their search for employment by donating your previously (but gently)-worn business attire at CareerGear.org (for men) or TheWomensAlliance.org or DressForSuccess.org (for women).

Kids can give back to by donating their stuffed animals, children’s books and blankets via ProjectNightNight.org.

Happy Holidays

Daily Bone | 3.1.11 A Mutt Media reminder to update to the newest version of WordPress!

WordPress has released a new version of their software. These updates may actually be visible to the naked eye unlike previous updates where the changes may not be tangible to the user….Read all about it here.

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 5.23.10 Great parenting luncheon on cyberbullying happening in July courtesy of Woodbury Magazine.

Great parenting luncheon on cyberbullying happening in July courtesy of Woodbury Magazine. Was honored to be asked to be a part of this committee and really looking forward to an informative, eye-opening talk. Please join us in July at the Carltun in Eisenhauer Park. Purchase tickets here.

The Daily Bone 4.9.10 | Mutt Media talks about cyber-bullying & applauds new crop of legislation for prevention/penalties

Mutt Media on cyber bullying

You can’t pick up the newspaper (or, if you prefer to read online, peruse the headlines) lately without coming across one story or another where the phenomenon of cyber-bullying isn’t discussed. The effects of this online form of bullying can be severely traumatizing for the victims and can lead to isolation, depression and suicide.

Children have always been bullied, whether in the playground, in school or on the very blocks that they live and play. It remains a disturbing part of growing up; a seemingly random assignment of torment to particular kids, sometimes with provocation and more often, without any. Bullying today has been taken to new heights with the emergence of social networking and the ability of our children to be constantly “plugged in” whether via their computers or cell phones.

What was once limited to the time kids spent in and around the school or playground has now infiltrated our homes on a 24 hour rotation without end. Kids are not only using Facebook, but text messaging, AIM Instant Messaging, YouTube and video chats. The ability to virally reach an infinite audience – even those we don’t know personally, has given new meaning to the word torment. There is, quite literally – NO ESCAPE.

What can we do to stop this? In a word? PARTICIPATION. If that word is not enough, then here’s another. WATCH (closely!). TALK is a good one, too. As parents, we have got to step up and engage with our children. Find out what they are doing online, and just as you would correct their manners at the dinner table, do so with their behavior in this forum.

Don’t even get me started on monitoring your children’s “harmless” photos that they post and tag for all to see. That’s a topic for another post.

For now, I will leave you with this thought. It is much easier to post your feelings, thoughts, etc (both naughty and nice) on a screen of some sort. Let’s try to encourage real, LIVE interaction whenever possible. So much gets lost or misinterpreted via emails, texting and the like. What ever happened to actually picking up the phone?

I will post instructions on how to limit your children’s computer time, which programs they use and for how long in a future post, but for now – dialogue!

I, for one, would hate to think that one of my kids could be participating in cyber-bullying a classmate or friend – or worse – to be on the receiving end of this awful behavior and taunting.

Here are links to just a few of the articles of interest on this subject.

Rachel Neblett, Cyber bully victim

Click here if you’d like to read the official press release announcing Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper’s co-sponsorship of an important bill that will criminalize cyber-bullying against minors.

Some cyber-bullying resources and sites of interest:

• Stop Cyber Bullying Now
• Cyber Bullying Research Center
• Real life Stories
• Alexis Pilkington (Local Long Island Girl posthumous Facebook Page)
• the story of Rachel Neblett (another girl who committed suicide)

Mutt Media's Daily Bone 4.6.10 | Microsoft Announces Project Pink :) | Apple sells over 300,000 iPads

Technology Update

According to Reuters…

Microsoft is set to announce the launch of a much-anticipated product – a cell phone targeted for frequent users of social media. Called “Project Pink, the phones will be sold by Verizon. Invitations were sent to various media to attend the unveiling of the new product…which supposedly will happen on or about April 12th.

On another note, Apple announced that iPad sales topped 300,000 on the first day they were available. Over a million apps were have been downloaded as well as approx. 250,000 ebooks from the iBookstore.

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 3.12.10 Google vs. China: who will win the censorship battle?

China vs. Goole

China is threatening to pull Google off it’s internet feed citing Google’s refusal to censor the online content available to citizens of the country.

According to the New York Post, China said, “Google would be unfriendly and irresponsible if it defies rules to censor online content”. This statement has escalated the already heated dispute between the two giants.

As recently as today, a piece appeared on SevenSidedCube.net, Nicole Wong (Google’s VP) stated, “We are no longer willing to censor our search results in China, and we are currently reviewing our options. If the option is that we’ll shutter our .cn operation and leave the country, we are prepared to do that.”

This is one to watch. Representatives from China have gone on record stating they will give Google the boot for failure to comply.

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 1.25.2010 Hulu may begin charging this Fall

Hulu, the (so far) free internet website that allows visitors to watch movies, tv shows and play video games is toying with the idea of charging in the neighborhood of $5 for a subscription plan that will allow unlimited access to groups of shows. For example, instead of limiting views to a handful of shows, you may have access to an entire season…a great feature if you like to play catch-up and cram it all into a day or weekend.

Hulu is owned by NBC, Fox and the Disney Channel. I must say, I do like the idea of watching the entire season of 24 and getting my Jack Bauer fix all in one shot. The $5 fee doesn’t seem all that prohibitive from where I stand. Just no commercials, please!!!

Mutt Media's Daily Bone 1.22.2010 | ABC News on Haiti's First Responders – Isreal comes through.

Here’s a link to a piece ABC News did on Haiti and the first responders. You may be surprised (or not!) to learn that Isreal was the first country on the scene to lend a hand. The medical structures they set up are well-stocked with supplies and run with the military precision that has become synonymous with the Isreali government. An interesting segment…take a look. Makes you wonder how Isreal got to the scene so quickly and efficiently with the great distance they had to travel while it took the US more time to physically arrive there and still struggling with organizational issues.

Click here to view “Low Supplies, Many Injured”.