Twitter

Twitter's new "Cone of Failure"?

Updated 4:30 p.m. ET: Twitter.com appears to be fully up and running.

Updated 2:50 p.m. ET: Twitter.com seems to be slowly coming back online, and the art, while seldom seen, appears to be several years old.

Original post: Twitter, the most popular tool for firing quick utterances across the globe, has buckled under. Our guess: It's strained by too many international "Happy New Year!" tweets. But in its failing, Twitter did leave us something: New "down for maintenance" art.

While Twitter's main website is down, there's still a chance you can get tweets through using apps or the mobile site. As for the cause of the outage, a link to the Twitter status microblog turns up only this message: "Users may currently be experiencing some site issues; our engineers are working on resolving this issue." Hopefully the trouble will be remedied soon; we will keep checking.

In the meantime, we have the new imagery. As you can see above, the iconic Fail Whale of yore has been replaced. By an ice cream cone talking to a caterpillar.

My biggest question, one that I can't use Twitter to ask at the moment, is: What do we call this new fail screen? Fail Whale was easy, almost too easy. Naming this bizarro scene is causing me brain freeze. The best I can do is "Cone of Failure," but I bet you can do better. Share it below if you can't share it on Twitter.

More Twitter news from msnbc.com:

• Lawsuit raises 'Who owns your Twitter account?' issue
• Twitter users shamed for whiny Christmas tweets
• Twitter starts rolling out Facebook-like features

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman (if it's not out of service), or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Duffy-Marie Arnoult / WireImage file

Jonathan Ive

Jonathan Ive, the designer who has created Apple's most successful products in the last decade-plus, has been awarded a knighthood in his native Britain.

Ive, who designed the first iMac in 1998 that was "Bondi blue," then later available in a variety of candy colors, went on to design the iPod, iPhone and iPad. He is considered one of Apple's most important assets, a man whose design philosophy meshed pretty much perfectly with that of the company's late co-founder, Steve Jobs, who died in October.

In an interview with the BBC, Ive, 44, said the knighthood is "absolutely thrilling" and that he is "both humbled and sincerely grateful."

"I am keenly aware that I benefit from a wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making," he said. ""I discovered at an early age that all I've ever wanted to do is design."

Ive was made Knight Commander of the British Empire; the honor is the second one for him by Britain, said the BBC: In 2005, he was made a a Commander of the British Empire.

Ive's title with Apple is senior vice president, industrial design. He has been with the company since 1996. Six of his Apple creations, including the original iPod, are part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In a recent story about the quite-private Ive, Donald Norman, co-founder of usability consulting firm Nielsen Norman Group said of the designer: "He just has a wonderful eye of making things that are simple and elegant. But he also understands that it has to be usable by people."

Related stories:

• Steve Jobs to receive honorary Grammy
• PhotoBlog: Archives offer a window into the early days of Apple
• 'Armani of Apple' will be key in post-Jobs era
• Behind Apple's products is longtime designer Ive

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

For travelers who received a new tablet or smartphone over the holidays, it's time to begin finding and downloading apps that will be of use on the road.

In addition to a few basics such as Google maps for driving directions; Gas Buddy for finding the cheapest places to buy fuel; and TripIt for organizing, tracking and sharing an itinerary, here are some others to get you started.

Forgot to pack underwear?
No matter how well you plan, chances are you’ll discover you’ve forgotten to pack fresh underwear, a camera battery or something else you’ll really need on your trip. Goodzer helps locate — and price — pretty much anything you’d want or need and includes stores of all sizes throughout the U.S. in its database. Goodzer is available online and as a free iPhone app.

Where to go when you have to ‘go’
Tourist bureaus load their websites and brochures with lists of art, history and cultural attractions, but visitors often find themselves flummoxed when they simply need a place to ‘go.’ The Sit or Squat app (you laugh now…) is a free online and mobile database that helps you find the nearest public restroom based on a zip code, address or intersection. In many cases, the site shares information about the hours a restroom is open and includes user ratings.

Other road-tested apps for travelers
Sommer Cronck, a Bellingham, Wash., executive director at Technology Alliance Group for Northwest Washington and a mother of three, favors the free MapQuest GPS app with spoken navigation and, for families planning their 2012 Disneyland trip, the free Disneyland wait times app “and a free flashlight app in case they get lost along the way.”

Sinje Lesemann, the creative director for London-based luxury travel accessories company, KOZA, relies on the free Concierge Insider Guides, Goby and Foodspotting apps during her frequent travels.  

“Concierge is full of insider recommendations from [Intercontinental Hotel Group] concierges around the globe,” said Lesemann. “I like the videos that show you around the destination and [the] interviews with locals. It’s also divided by things to do in the morning, afternoon and evening.”

Lesemann finds Goby useful for filtering and finding local attractions — “especially the offbeat ones” — and Foodspotting for getting tips on bars and restaurants. “What I like about Foodspotting is that it is curated by real people, not just food critics. People take pictures of their favorite dishes so you can see what they look like before ordering. And that’s very useful for exotic and unfamiliar dishes.”

Have a favorite travel app to recommend? Tell us in the comments section below.

More on Travel Kit

• Expedia touts verified hotel reviews
• Get connected at America's techiest airports
• Ewww! Avoid airplane germs

Find more by Harriet Baskas on Stuck at The Airport.com and follow her on Twitter.

This portrait of Arfa Karim Randhawa, by Dan DeLong, accompanied a Seattle P-I story about her 2005 Microsoft visit.

Computer programming prodigy Arfa Karim Randhawa, a 16-year-old girl from Pakistan who seven years ago became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in the world, is on life support after suffering an epileptic attack, according to a newspaper report out of the country.

Her father, Amjad Karim Randhawa, tells The Express Tribune, “only a miracle will allow my brilliant, genius daughter to live now."

In 2005, when I was working for the Seattle P-I newspaper, I got a chance to meet and write a story about Arfa. She was 10 years old at the time, visiting the Microsoft campus to meet Bill Gates and other executives from the Redmond company.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

As I wrote in the story at the time, She made an impression through a combination of charm, flattery and boldness uncommon for someone her age. For example, during Arfa’s meeting with Gates, she presented him with a poem she wrote that celebrated his life story. But she also questioned him about what she perceived to be the relatively small proportion of women on the campus.

In short, she is a remarkable person. She is also very thoughtful, and after the article ran, she made a point of keeping in touch with me via email. It was fun to periodically get messages from her out of the blue, updating me on her progress in school and her plans for the future.

Arfa was extremely proud of her accomplishment as the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, even including the phrase “Youngest MCP in the World” in her email signature line. So a few years ago,when a 9-year-old from India broke her record, I sent Arfa a link and asked her what she thought.

I went back this morning and found her response …

“This is the first time I’ve seen this story. But I must say that I’m really happy to have read it. This is exactly what I had been wishing for ever since I got to bring laurels for my country. I am very glad to see that people are following what I did and have succeeded in beating me. I don’t know whether you’ve heard or not but a boy, named Bilal, from Gujranwala in Pakistan also became a Microsoft Certified Professional at the age of nine. I would say that the other youngsters should follow suit, thereby convincing the people to take us kids seriously. Our generation is very talented and so should be promoted.”

She was 13 at the time, and working hard in school in hopes of attending her “dream university,” MIT, where she wanted to study computer science.

Todd Bishop is co-founder of GeekWire, a technology news site based in Seattle.

Less than 24 hours after it announced it would charge a $2 "convenience fee" for every one-time online or phone payment customers make, Verizon Wireless reversed course after consumer outrage spilled onto the Web. The decision also came hours after it was made known that the FCC said it would investigate the new fee, which would have penalized those who make monthly payments via the Web or phone.

“At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time,” said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless, in a statement.

"The statement speaks for itself," said a Verizon Wireless spokesman to msnbc.com, when asked for more details about the carrier's decision.

The company planned to put the $2 fee into effect Jan. 15. That news also coincided with another PR nightmare for Verizon: the third outage this month of its new 4G wireless network. The problem, the carrier said, was tied to the "growing pains" of being a "pioneer" in offering the most extensive fourth-generation wireless service in the nation at this point.

In the past day, Change.org and other consumer groups organized online protests about the new fee; as of Friday morning, the petition at Change.org had more than 64,000 signatures from those upset about the charge.

Verizon had said the $2 fee was needed to "address costs incurred" because of "those customers who choose to make single bill payments in alternate payment channels (online, mobile, telephone)," and that the charge would be waived for those "who pay by electronic check or enroll in AutoPay" (or pay by snail mail).

Last month, Bank of America also reversed course after public upset over its plan to charge a $5 monthly fee to customers who used their debit cards to make purchases.

Ben Rattray, CEO of Change.org, said the decision was a huge victory for customers: "The era of corporations walking roughshod over consumers without consequence is officially over. Social media sites like Change.org are fundamentally shifting the balance of power from companies to consumers. Companies must now deal with an unprecedented new force: millions of customers hyper-connected and easily able to mobilize together in response to their actions.”

Related stories:

• FCC 'looking into' Verizon's $2 'convenience' fees
• Verizon charging $2 for one-time credit card payments
• Verizon fixes yet another data outage

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Some British police officers are being a bit too social on Facebook, and sometimes inappropriately so: 150 officers have been disciplined, at least two fired and seven forced to quit because of comments or photos they shared on the social networking site between 2008 and 2010.

The information was released to the Press Association, which filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents from a government investigation about police corruption. Among the findings: There is a "significant blurring" between officers' personal and professional lives on social networking sites such as Facebook, and that officers' activities on such sites may need to be monitored from now on.

The officers in question — from 41 of 43 police forces in England and Wales — used Facebook to share information about police operations, or indicate they helped attack members of the public during protests, and in some cases got quite personal, posting inappropriate photos or harassing former colleagues.

"We found a significant blurring between people's professional lives on social networking sites and their private lives which may be in the public domain and private lives which probably should remain extremely private," said Roger Baker, who led the investigation for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

The newspaper noted that one officer was fined three days' pay "after he called for violence against suspects in custody."

Under a video of a youth with a knife being tackled by officers in a police station, he wrote: "Look at this stupid c***, hope he gets a good f****** shoeing in the cells."

A total of 187 complaints were made "against officers over their use of Facebook, with nine officers being given final written warnings, 47 given written warnings and one given a formal warning," the newspaper said. "A further 88 were subject to management action, received guidance or words of advice, while 32 complaints were either withdrawn, found to be unsubstantiated or led to no further action."

The government report, called "Without Fear Or Favor: A Review Of Police Relationships," also noted that it's not just the lower ranks of officers who need to be more careful on Facebook.

"Any lack of clarity felt by staff is not helped by the example set by some senior officers who include what might be considered questionable force-related content or personal opinion in their own messaging."

Related stories:

• Survey: Facebook-related divorces on the rise
• Facebook glitch reveals private photos -- including Zuckerberg's
• Facebook: 6 degrees of separation? More like 4

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Angry customers aren't the only thing causing Verizon Wireless a headache right now. The company — which just finished dealing with its third data outage of the month — is now under the scrutiny of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over the two-dollar "convenience fee" it plans to start charging for every one-time online or phone bill payment.

According to the New York Times, the FCC — which regulates telecommunications in the U.S. — gave a statement explaining that it is "concerned about Verizon’s actions" and will look into the new fee "on behalf of American consumers."

Verizon Wireless

The statement followed public outrage after news of the new fee came to light when tech blog Engadget got its hands on a leaked memo. Almost immediately, customers took to Twitter and other social media outlets to voice their anger and started setting up online petitions in protest of the change.

Verizon's new "convenience fee" structure essentially punishes customers who avoid using the company's AutoPay system by charging two dollars for each month that they make bill payments over the phone or through Verizon's online portal. That fee will be waived for customers who choose to use electronic checks or Verizon gift cards (as well as for those who are enrolled in AutoPay, of course).

It is worth noting that — while annoying and costly to customers — this sort of payment fee structure isn't unusual. Sprint, another wireless carrier, has already used it in order to push customers into using an automatic billing service. (And many credit card companies charge fees for payments made over the phone.)

Related stories:

• Verizon fixes yet another data outage
• Verizon has third data outage in a month
• Verizon charging $2 for one-time credit card payments

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

msnbc.com

A survey by a UK-based divorce website shows that Facebook figures prominently in one-third of divorce petitions, an increase of 13 percent from two years ago.

Of course, Divorce-Online is in the business of dealing and profiting from the breakup of marriages, so take the results as you will, but the blog post describes how 5,000 petitions were reviewed recently, as in 2009, and 33 percent of them contained "Facebook."

The top three reasons Facebook was cited in these petitions:

• Inappropriate messages to members of the opposite sex.
• Separated spouses posting nasty comments about each other.
• Facebook friends reporting spouse’s behavior.

So, not only are people using Facebook to hook up with lost loves and make new ones, but they're also using their virtual walls to wage public relations wars with their soon-to-be ex-spouses.

“Social networking has become the primary tool for communication and is taking over from text and email in my opinion," said Mark Keenan, founder and CEO of Online Legal Services Limited, the parent company of Divorce-Online. "If someone wants to have an affair or flirt with the opposite sex then it's the easiest place to do it. Also the use of Facebook to make comments about ex-partners to friends has become extremely common with both sides using Facebook to vent their grievances against each other. People need to be careful what they write on their walls as the courts are seeing these posts being used in financial disputes and children cases as evidence.”

In the U.S., Facebook has even more clout in divorce proceedings. In 2010, the 1,600-member American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (which focuses on the end of matrimony, as it were) cited a survey that linked Facebook to one in five divorces, with 81 percent of those lawyers focusing on social media as the new affair hotbed. And the hottest of all was Facebook, with 66 percent of those AAML sources mentioning it specifically for evidence of marital discord and misconduct.

In September, a Connecticut judge ordered a divorcing couple to hand over each other's Facebook passwords to aid the discovering process in legal proceedings that included a custody battle.

Of course, on the other end of the spectrum are those who don't blame Facebook, as it is just the latest medium by which the unfaithful carry out their transgressions. People, they say, will always find a way to cheat. It's about establishing boundaries both spouses will respect. As an article on DadsDivorce.com puts it, "It’s not fair to blame Facebook or Internet dating sites because they are just the vehicle — not the driver."

Take our poll and let us know if and how Facebook figured in the dissolution of your marital happiness.

More stories:

• Facebook: 6 degrees of separation? More like 4
• Divorcing couple ordered to disclose Facebook passwords
• Facebook: Marriage killer?
• Facebook is divorce lawyers' new best friend

Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the Google+ stream.

Android Market

It's being billed as "Siri, now for your Android device!" But it's not really Siri, and it's certainly not the same as Apple's intelligent voice-control feature, built into the iPhone 4S.

Developer "Official App" has released the "Siri for Android" app, which is free, and in this case, you do get what you pay for. The app is simply a Siri icon (see, you'll look cool —not —  having that Siri-like icon on your Android phone) that opens Google's Voice Actions app. That's right: In this case, "Siri for Android" is a kind of door-opener, or shortcut.

Google's Voice Actions, while no Siri, does let you do a variety of things by voice: Send text messages, "write" a note, ask for a song to be played, among other tasks.

"It supports many different voice commands and Google is constantly working to make it even more powerful. Show your iPhone friends your Android phone can do what Siri does!" exclaims Official App about Siri for Android.

It doesn't hurt Official App that its official-sounding name appears right beneath the "Siri for Android" name in the Android Market. So far, there have been between 1,000 and 5,000 installs of the app.

This isn't the first Siri knockoff for Android phones. There are some others, and at least one is called by the name it should have: "Fake Siri for Android," created "just for fun," says the developer.

"Just for fun" can be misleading though, and in this case is an example of the Android Market's Wild West approach to apps, where just about anything goes, in contrast to Apple's more rigid app-approval process.

"While this approach allows legitimate developers to quickly release new apps or updates, it also opens to the door to malware or apps that infringe on copyrights, which Google may then remove," writes Jared Newman of PCWorld. "In this case, a complaint from Apple or media attention may cause Google to take action. Hopefully these misleading Siri knock-offs don't last long."

—Via TheNextWeb

Related stories:

• What if Siri went evil?
• Careful! Your iPhone's Siri could easily embarrass you
• My iPhone says the darndest things (thanks to Siri)

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Walt Disney Video

Our "deals of the day" roundup is a selection of some of the better gadgets, gaming and app deals on the Internet right now — with a few strange odds and ends thrown in for fun. Here's what's worth considering today: A Garmin GPS device for $70, discounted gaming bundles, the "Toy Story" trilogy on 3-D Blu-ray for $68 and more.

Gadgets:

• 3.5" Garmin Nuvi 1100LM GPS for $70 (Normally $130)
• 16GB HP P-FD16GHP255-EF USB Flash Drive for $15 (Normally $40)
• 17.3" Dell XPS 17 Core i7-2670QM 2.2GHz Quad-core Laptop w/8GB RAM, 500GB 7200RPM x 2 HDD, 1080p, Blu-ray Burner & 3GB GeForce GT 555M for $1,150 (Normally $1,399)
• 15.6" Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 (1024D9U) Core i7-2670QM 2.2GHz Quad-core Laptop w/8GB RAM, 500GB HDD for $699 (Normally $999)
• 14" Lenovo IdeaPad Z470 (10224MU) Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz Laptop w/8GB RAM, 750GB HDD for $619 (Normally $899)
• Dell XPS 8300 Core i7-2600 3.4GHz Quad-core Desktop w/8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 1GB Radeon HD 6570, Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium & 24" UltraSharp U2412M LCD Monitor for $1000 (Normally $1,199)
• Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150 40812MU Atom D525, 2GB RAM, 500GB HDD for $275 (Normally $499)
• 23" Dell S2330MX LED Monitor for $135 (Normally $210)
• 23" Acer P236HBD LCD Monitor (REFURBISHED) for $120 (Normally $151)
• 120GB Corsair Force Series GT SSD 2.5" CSSD-F120GBGT-BK for $151 (Normally $195)
• 64" Samsung PN64D8000 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV for $2,269 (Normally $2,400)
• 46" Samsung UN46D6500 1080p 3D LED HDTV for $900 (Normally $1,197)
• 46" Panasonic Viera TC-P46ST30 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV for $700 (Normally $790)
• 42" ViewSonic VT4210LED 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV for $500 (Normally $641)
• 42" RCA 42LA45RQ 1080p LCD HDTV for $442 (Normally $557)
• 40" TCL L40FHDM11 1080p LCD HDTV for $350 (Normally $400)
• Toshiba BDX1200 Blu-ray Player for $75 (Normally $84)
• Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens for $650 (Normally $698)
• Klipsch Image S3 Headphones for $25 (Normally $28)
• 23" Lenovo IdeaCentre B520 (77452NU) Core i5-2320 3GHz Quad-core 1080p All-in-one Multi-touch PC w/8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, TV Tuner, Remote for $999 (Normally $1,249)
• 64GB Lexar JumpDrive TwistTurn USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $45 (Normally $79)
• 55" Philips 55PFL5706/F7 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for $960 (Normally $1,099)
• 50" LG 50PV400 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV for $600 (Normally $699)
• 40" Philips 40PFL3706/F7 1080p LCD HDTV for $440 (Normally $529)
• 16GB Kingston DT108/16GBZ DataTraveler 108 Flash Drive for $14 (Normally $41)

Gaming:

• Xbox 360 Live 12 Months (online code) for $40 (Normally $60)
• Xbox 360 320GB Console Gears of War 3 Limited Edition Bundle for $300 (Normally $361)
• Sims Medieval (PC Download) for $15 (Normally $30)
• UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System (Xbox 360) for $30 (Normally $50)
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (Xbox 360/PS3) for $35 (Normally $44)
• Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Bundle (Includes Fable 3, Halo : Reach Download, Xbox 360 headset and 3-month Xbox LIVE Gold) + $75 Gift Card for $300 ($375 value)
• Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor Holiday Bundle (Xbox 360) for $100 (Normally $150)

Apps:

• Warp Dash (Android) for $0 (Normally $2)
• Chicken Revolution (iPhone) for $0 (Normally $2)
• Smile Alarm (iPhone) for $0 (Normally $3)
• Math Garden (iOS) for $0 (Normally $2)
• HD Weather (Android) for $1 (Normally $2)
• Beat the Traffic Plus (Android) for $3 (Normally $4)

Miscellaneous odds and ends:

• Discovery Channel Life On Earth Collection (Blu-ray/DVD) for $60 (Normally $129)
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Widescreen Dubbed) (Blu-ray) for $8 (Normally $12)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition) (Blu-ray) for $5 (Normally $8)
• Toy Story Trilogy (3-D Blu-ray) for $68 (Normally $100)

Today's deals were discovered via:

AppBrain, LogicBUY,Gamingaholic, FatWallet, Laptopaholic, 148Apps, SlickDeals, CheapStingyBargains, Dealzon, Brand Name Coupons, GamerHotline, HDTVaholic and Tabletaholic.

Please read the detailed descriptions of each linked offer carefully before buying — msnbc.com is not responsible for the duration or integrity of individual deals.

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

YouTube

Let's talk about kittens. They're charming creatures — unless you happen to be allergic to them — and they're just plain adorable. So adorable, in fact, that anything they do seems absolutely delightful — even if it leads to shattered egos or scratched iPads.

The fuzzball that's causing both of those issues today is a mysterious yet talented gamer whose name we don't even know. What we do know is that he or she is rather good at playing Fruit Ninja.

Don't believe it? Check out the video below. The quick-pawed feline earns 128 points — which, much to my ego's dismay, is higher than my very first Fruit Ninja score — while potentially scratching up his or her owner's iPad. (Though it's possible that the kitten's declawed or really skilled and not letting its claws mar the gadget's display.)

Related stories:

• Frog rage quits 'Ant Smasher' game
• Pug smarter than tech blogger, spots spoof
• Nintendo's virtual puppies want to lick your real face

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.