Bizarre tech stories of 2012
2012 saw many bizarre stories in the world of tech throwing up equally outlandish headlines. BusinessTech takes a brief look back at some of those stories which caught the eye in 2012.
Girls, guns and murder: the crazy life of John McAfee
John McAfee, the anti-virus software guru, who started McAfee Associates in 1989, has had a year that reads like a twisted soap opera. He was arrested after having been in hiding since police said they wanted to question him about the murder of his neighbor, fellow American Gregory Faull, with whom McAfee had quarreled.
During his exile, McAfee, 67, remained in contact with the media, providing a stream of colorful bulletins over his predicament, state of mind and his claim that Belize’s authorities wanted to kill him. He was eventually caught and deported back to the US.
Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson to resign: report
Former Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson stepped down from his post in May following controversy surrounding his allegedly inflated resume.
While Thompson claimed to hold a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science on his CV, Stonehill College stated that he was granted a B.S.B.A. degree in Accounting only, following investigation by Yahoo!
Thompson’s 130 day tenure came to an end in May, and he joined the online-shopping service ShopRunner as CEO in July 2012.
Gangnam Style most watched video on YouTube
South Korean pop sensation Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became YouTube’s most-watched video of all time in November, registering more than 803 million views to overtake “Baby” by Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber.
The 34-year-old rapper rocketed to fame after releasing his “Gangnam Style” video — in which he performs a now cult horse-riding dance.
The video was on track to reach a billion views at the time of writing, having chalked up in excess of 945.86 million by mid December.
In August HelloPeter user, “Booi” lodged a complaint against Absa claiming the bank indirectly put his life at risk twice in one week.
“When a Type 1 diabetic asks ABSA bank to be 100% certain about the time taken for a new card to work, and whether or not my account will be blocked due to FICA, it isn’t curiosity that drives me,” Booi wrote.
Before allowing the bank to take his old card away, Booi claims to have asked the Absa employee dealing with him seven times whether there would be a chance he wouldn’t be able to access his account.
“My card has now not (worked) for 7 days, and in those 7 days I have twice had my sugar drop low enough to put myself at risk of going into a hypoglycimic coma,” Booi said. “On both occassions I tried desperately to access the cash in my accounts with ABSA with no success.”
Related articles
Girls, guns and murder: the crazy life of John McAfee
Loading ...