Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Back To The Typewriter?? – Experts Expect “Conficker” Computer Worm May Activate 1 April.

By Mitch Mader (The Intelligencer—Advance)

Sydney, N.S.—The internet, the key to 21st century life, used by nearly everyone at one time or another, is at risk, experts say. A large computer worm called “Conficker” is expected to possibly activate tomorrow, 1 April. The worm, which started spreading about half a year ago, is estimated to have infected millions of computers, without the owner even knowing. It has remained relatively silent, but tomorrow it is expected to possibly activate and send a message to its ‘main base’ for instructions on what to do. It could be used for collecting information, and may possibly hi-jack the host computer, leaving the host computer nearly useless. However, no one is sure if this will happen, as it may be one of the largest April Fools jokes ever. However, if the worm activates, it could literally cripple the internet, and could cause mass disruption of everything, even this newspaper’s production, but please don’t panic, just take the necessary precautions, like having good anti-virus, and a firewall activated. Also, unplugging your computer’s internet connection, until it is known if this is real or not, which will be by tomorrow night most likely, may prevent the virus from receiving instructions, if the worm activates, and may help to protect your computer. Until tomorrow, we can only wait, and find out if its back to the typewriter or not.

Monday, March 30, 2009

School Cancelled Across Cape Breton

By Mitch Mader—The Schools in Cape Breton County & Victoria County were closed at Noon, as well classes in Richmond & Inverness Counties were cancelled today due to a large weather system which is forecast to bring 15 to 25 cm of snow to Cape Breton late in the afternoon Monday and overnight. The system which brought heavy rain to southern Mainland Nova Scotia will change over to snow before hitting Cape Breton, Environment Canada says. The snow is expected to diminish by Tuesday morning in Cape Breton. For full coverage, please see our next Print Edition.

**Send us your news tips at: red.inc(at)hotmail.com**

Sunday, March 29, 2009

March 31st Deadline For Parking At County Arena Approaches

*This story relates to the ban on student parking in the parking lot of the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre, which was put into effect in September, and temporarily removed for students with a permit in February.

By Mitch Mader – The County Parking Lot Parking Permits expiry date, March 31st, is fast approaching. Red, Inc. will continue to monitor this issue, and invites people to write their thoughts on this issue to the editor for publication in our ‘Editorial’ section. Look for complete coverage in our next Print Edition published after the 31 March 2009.

** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WILL BE ACCEPTED & PUBLISHED BY THE R.R.H.S.N.C. UNDER THE RIGHT TO FREE EXPRESSION, PROVIDING THE LETTER DOES NOT INFRINGE ON OTHER’S RIGHTS UNDER THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS & FREEDOMS. ALSO, PROFANITY WILL BE REMOVED. THE EDITOR & ADVISOR RESERVE THE SOLE RIGHT TO EDIT LETTERS BEFORE PUBLISHED IN ANY PUBLICATION OF THE R.R.H.S.N.C.

Letters should be e-mailed to red.inc@hotmail.com, and will be published in our next print edition, and shown here on our Live News Service.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Earth Hour: Saving Energy, Saving Money, & Saving The Earth!

By Mitch Mader—From Sydney, Australia to Sydney, Nova Scotia, Earth Hour, which was held on March 28 from 8-9pm (20:00-21:00), has made a huge impact, not just on the environment, but on people too. Earth Hour, which is a designated hour where people are encouraged to power down and turn off the lights for a whole hour, to conserve energy and spread global awareness of climate change. The Sydney (Australia) Opera House, where Earth Hour began three years ago, dimmed it’s lights, along with Big Ben in London, the Eiffel Tower, the Egyptian Pyramids, and the Canadian Parliamentary Buildings on Parliament Hill. The event isn’t so much about saving electricity as it is about spreading awareness, but electricity usage levels dropped in most cases, in Alberta it was down over 3%, compared to last years increase in electricity usage of 3%, showing that the event is catching on, and spreading awareness like it should. Next year’s event is expected to bring even more drops in the usage of energy.

Riverview Rural High School Newspaper Commission Goes Online

By Mitch Mader—The RRHS Newspaper Commission has officially opened it’s Live News Service which is intended to compliment, not replace, it’s print publications. This comes just a week after the decision to turn the bi-monthly newspaper the commission produces into a bi-weekly. The online news service dubbed “The Riverview Rural High School Newspaper Commission Live News Service” will post brief news bits about stories, but if readers want the whole story, they will have purchase the next edition.