<![CDATA[Gizmodo: false alarm]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: false alarm]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/falsealarm http://gizmodo.com/tag/falsealarm <![CDATA[SWAT Team Called In Over a Lego Gun]]> A normal night at the office got interesting when neighbors spotted a man with what appeared to be a pistol. The SWAT team was called in, only to find out it was a pistol built from Lego bricks.

According to an account on Jeremy Bells' blog, he was hanging out at the office playing Call of Duty. Suddenly, the SWAT team was knocking on the door, and they sent more than just a few troops. Listen to this description of the event:

A co-worker said she saw at least 6 SWAT, 2 uniformed officers, 2 undercover and a chopper in the air. I've since been told that the surrounding streets were blocked off with five cop cars in total, two ambulances, and a dozen cops all taking positions of cover around the office.

In hindsight, the situation is pretty humorous. But if I were the police, and a someone sent in the highly convincing image above, I would probably panic too. I'm sure everyone left very happy that they didn't have to handle a serious situation.

As soon as the team found out the "weapon" was made out of Lego Bricks, everyone went home. All's well that ends well! As a bonus, the good people of Toronto can sleep well knowing that the SWAT team is very well prepared to handle this sort of situation. [CTV via Geekologie, Jeremy Bell. Thanks B3ND3R.]

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<![CDATA[False Alarm: Apple Mac OS X Anti-Virus Recommendation Is Old]]>

The Washington Post, the BBC, Cnet, and other outlets are pointing out that Apple is, for the first time ever, "quietly" recommending anti-virus software for Mac OS X. A little research shows that this is completely false.

Here's the Apple note they point at, postulating the old theory that Apple is feeling the heat of the increased market share and, therefore, an increasing risk of virus attacks:

The BBC labels this as the result of a "fresh threat". The Washington Post wonders if they will stop showing their Mac and PC "Virus" TV Commercial. Cnet goes as far as saying that "Apple changes its tune by advising Mac users to install antivirus software in nod that even Mac users aren't immune to rising malware threats." (they have edited their story after it was demonstrated false by some internet users). The reality is that the note above is just an update to this support article from 2007:

The new tech support note, which even shows the reference from the old article, only lists new anti-virus software versions. This is normal in tech notes.

In fact, the old tech note itself is actually nothing new either: Apple offered anti-virus software as part of their .Mac subscription. In fact, the company has been recommending virus software since the pre-Unix years.

In other words: No conspiracy theories, no "quietly published" technical notes. Just the same old recommendation they have been doing forever.

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<![CDATA[Drunk Aussie Threatens to Blow Up City With TV Remote]]> A 57-year-old man was sentenced to a year's probation for threatening to blow up Brisbane, Australia with his TV remote. Geoffrey Fryatt's drunken stunt prompted Australia to declare a state of emergency in the city, send in paramilitary police to pelt Fryatt with rubber bullets and arrest him. Fryatt expressed concerns that probation would interfere with his trip overseas to do humanitarian aid work. Hmmm, a bit ironic? [Reuters]

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