Apple has released a series of new ads touting the advantages of Mac’s over PC’s. Although some are more subjective than others, one points out that last year there were 114,000 known PC viruses. The reason I point this out? Because an article released by the AP today claims that viruses have caught up to the Mac. Their evidence? Apparently two users have confimed that by clicking on series of links that their computer obtained a Mac virus.

1 virus.

MacOS X was initially released to the public in 2000 in the form of a public beta, however the core of the operating system is based on BSD Unix and the OpenStep/NeXTStep operating system which was released by NeXT computer in 1989.

Prior to MacOS X the original MacOS had about 50 known viruses over its life span, starting in 1984.

In addition the article cites the move from a PowerPC to an Intel as a vulnerabilty, an erroneous statement as vulnerabilities are due to weaknesses in the operating system software, the hardware it runs on seldom if ever factors in to the equation.

In addition the article fails to explain if the virus actually did anything, or how it worked in general.

If you’re passing through Bloomington, Indiana, you may want to think twice before ordering finger food.

UPDATE: Link got Farked; here’s a new link.

My mom called me from a pay phone somewhere on Broadway around 6:30 PM this evening to report that there were a “sh*tload of people” at the immigration rally and march from Union Square to Foley Square. Heh. I got the sense that she was enjoying herself, having flashbacks to her glory days as a ’60s radical. :) She tried to audioblog, but it didn’t work, alas. She did take pictures, though, and plans to send them to me tomorrow.

USC’s football team may be having a fair amount of off-the-field trouble these days, but the basketball team is on the rise, if the interest of the country’s #1-ranked high-school junior is any indication. We’ll ignore the fact that his name is “O.J.,” thank you very much. :)

Speaking of the various football scandals and kerfuffles, the L.A. Daily News’s Scott Wolf reports on the Mark Sanchez case:

A knowledgeable USC source given an opportunity to glance at the facts of the alleged sexual assault said his/her initial impression was that Sanchez had pretty good case. That’s not a prediction of what will happen, merely an opinion of someone with expertise in these matters.

Another factor I alluded to last night is that several witnesses could emerge that will bolster Sanchez’s version of events. That would be in addition to what Sanchez’s roommate, linebacker Brian Cushing, says happened in the apartment.

None of this is meant to exonerate Sanchez, just giving a little insight into what I’m hearing.

As for the Leinart/Jarrett rent controversy, Wolf writes:

USC’s compliance office is investigating the manner, however, unlike the issues regarding Reggie Bush, the university seems prepared to “fight back” on this one, according to several sources.

“This is ridiculous,” a source said. “Bob Leinart jumped the gun and went public when there’s been no proof of wrongdoing.”

Wonkette has an update on WatergateGate. (Previous post here.)

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Michael Manor, an inmate of a Houston area prison, has been given a 40 year sentence (in addition to his existing 32) for possession of a cell phone. Authorities “caught Manor with the phone when it fell from his bunk bed. He told investigators that he paid another inmate $10 in commissary items for unlimited use of the phone.” Prosecutors offered him a deal where he would only get an additional 25, but he turned it down. (Apparently there are no pay phones in Texas prisons.)

More here and here.

MASSIVE PROTEST UNDERWAY IN CHICAGO!! :) Heh.

UPDATE: I am Pablo is liveblogging from Chicago.

News photos here. Liveblogging the protest-related news, from the Right: Hot Air. More liveblogging links in my previous post.

UPDATE 2: 600,000+ in Chicago, according to the organizers.

Meanwhile, “crowds of several dozens to more than 650″ in Phoenix, 500 to 700 in Detroit, and “scores” in Indianapolis.

Flickr has some new photos.

UPDATE 3: Live-photoblogging from Chicago on Flickr are: Chad Sexington, swanksalot, wood_tang and mugsy1274. This photo is by swanksalot:

UPDATE 4: Lots of photos on swanksalot’s blog. Meanwhile, Bareknuckle Politics links to various live video feeds.

Seems like things finally picked up a bit, not just in Chicago (where the police estimate 400,000). Lots of big protests in various places. “More than 100,000” in L.A. That said, the headline in the L.A. Times, “Wave of Dissent Grips U.S. Cities,” seems a little dramatic — though not quite as dramatic as AllahPundit’s alternative suggestion, “Criminals Use Economic Extortion to Move to the Head of the Naturalization Line.”

As for the impact on businesses:

The normally bustling downtown Los Angeles produce and garment districts were virtually shut down this morning and truck traffic at the ports was lighter than normal after many employees protesting the nation’s immigration policy’s did not show up for work.

The dearth of activity in the produce and garment districts, both heavily dependent on immigrant labor, was so far the most dramatic sign of the impact of today’s organized immigration protests on local commerce. Only sporadic business closures and staffing shortages reported across the remainder of Southern California.

But:

Immigrant-owned taco stands and bakeries from California to New Jersey largely were shut down on Monday, but most U.S. restaurants reported no shortage of busboys and cooks despite a national boycott and major protests by pro-immigration activists.

InstaPundit has a post on the day’s events. Pajamas Media has some liveblogging, and promises video later. Reporting from the front lines:

A lot of the organization from the downtown demonstration came, alas, from ANSWER and their extremist ilk, but that didn’t stop us from being moved by the demonstrators and their earnest desire to be Americans and to find honest work here. Nevertheless, there were some among them who wanted, unfortunately, the whole enchilada, the return of California to Mexico. But when you interview these people (you will see the results later), you find some are more confused than anything else. For the most part, they just want to work and raise families. They are being exploited by leaders singing a very old and tired song.

Meanwhile, back on the East Coast, my mom is heading to Union Square in Manhattan, where they’re rallying as we speak. She has her digital camera, and promises pictures tomorrow.

UPDATE 5: Roger Simon has pictures of the rally in L.A., where there are reports of 600,000+ people.

The Buffalo Sabres won Game 5 of their best-of-seven series against Philly yesterday, to take a 3-2 lead. (See also here and here.) One thing is now certain: the Sabres will not lose this series on the road. Either they’ll wrap it up tomorrow night in Philadelphia, or else there will be a Game 7 in Buffalo on Thursday. Thus far, the home team has won all five games in the series.

In a related story, Casey notices an unfortunate gaffe by the Associated Press.

Also taking a 3-2 series lead yesterday were the Hartford Whalers of Raleigh.

…because I laughed out loud at this Fark headline?

Almost one and a half people are run over by trains each day. “There are no half people” you say? After the train goes by there are.

Heh.

It was inevitable: of course bird flu would first reach America’s shores via New Jersey (sorry, Vicki).

I say these illegal immigrant birds should go back to wherever they came from! They’re taking all the good perches and worms from decent, non-diseased American birds! :)

This site definitely doesn’t want you to stick their “I Park Like An Idiot” bumper stickers on other people’s cars. Nope, definitely not. They explicitly discourage that sort of thing. Totally opposed to it. Uh-huh. (Hat tip: KTinBUFFALO.)

As a Little League, Rec League, High School League, and Men’s League umpire, I often find myself confronted with some degree of adversity. That isn’t to say that I don’t love my (part-time) job… (MLB’s “I live for this” slogan doesn’t begin to do my love of baseball justice). Anyway, two separate stories this week caught my eye, and because they involve umpires, made me tingle just a little bit.

And not necessarily in a good way.

Up first is the nationally-reported upon incident in Pawtuckett when the Triple-A Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) squared off against hometown favorite Pawtuckett Red Sox (Boston). Delmon Young, the #1 prospect in the Devil Rays organization, not liking a strike three call he got from the umpire, argued the call. Now, I’ve been in my fair share of confrontations. Most of these end with the player mumbling and grumbling as he walks back to the dugout. Occasionally, I’ve had to toss people. But Young did something I had never heard of. He threw his bat, end-over-end, at the umpire who had tossed him out of the game! To be suspended is an afterthought. Of course, Young has been suspended. But there is a chance that Young will never play baseball again. In an organization as pathetic as the Devil Rays’, you are almost guaranteed a spot on the roster at some point in the future, when the team decides to try out its new talent. Young is an idiot, period. (I suppose I should add “IMO” here, but really, I’m not sure that this is an opinion-laden statement.)

In a completely unrelated story, in Montgomery County, MD (the county where I live and teach) this past week, a pitcher was ejected from her Varsity softball game by the umpire. The fact that this happened isn’t news in of itself. As I said, people get tossed all the time in baseball and softball for a variety of reasons. However, here is a situation where the umpire was clearly in the wrong. He ejected Candice Thompson, the Ace of Richard Montgomery HS’s rotation for “smiling” at him. Apparently, the umpire thought it was “mocking laughter” and warned her. He then proceeded to toss her from the game. Hell, I wish I got smiled at more. Usually, I get nasty looks. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that constituted “unsportsmanlike conduct” and toss the player. If they don’t like my zone, that’s fine by me. Throw more definite strikes and fewer borderline pitches and we’ll have less to talk about.

Anyway, those are the two stories of the weird from the world of baseball and softball this week. I hope that the readers of BrendanLoy.com can forgive me for going on and on about the game I love :-)

PS: In case you’re wondering, Young is suspended indefinitely, and Thompson has been reinstated with no penalty for future games. (In HS baseball and softball, an ejection from a game warrants an automatic 1-2 game suspension. Thompson’s case was reviewed by the County’s Athletic Director, who reinstated her.)

May Day has arrived. But it remains to be seen how massive/effective/paralyzing today’s planned nationwide immigration protests will be.

Blogger of the Year Captain Ed thinks division in the ranks over the wisdom and timing of the protests “will probably result in smaller turnouts than predicted, although the walkout will probably get some traction in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, and other major cities of the Southwest.”

Pajamas Media will be liveblogging from Los Angeles. (Hat tip: Roger Simon, via InstaPundit.)

I’m sure Flickr will have lots of stuff, too.

They’re expecting 300,000 in Chicago. I’m not sure if Metblogs or Chicagoist will be liveblogging.

If you know of any good sites for liveblogging, leave ‘em in comments. Better yet, if you’re heading to a protest later today and you want to liveblog, shoot me an e-mail at bloy[at]nd.edu. If you have a cell phone, I can get you hooked up to be a roving BrendanLoy.com correspondent. :)

UPDATE: Powerline plans to liveblog the day’s events.

Tantalizing rumors on the Internets that Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey (who really, really, really, really, really sucks) might be headed to N.C. State have, alas, been shot down. We’re stuck with him for at least another year. (Hat tip: NDNation.)

It’s a shame, really — given how much Becky hates Brey, it would have been sweet if Arizona State, her grad-school alma mater, had, by hiring former N.C. State coach Herb Sendek, set into motion a chain of events leading to Brey’s departure from South Bend. Oh, well.