BeautyMeter was an application that allowed users to upload a photo of themselves and users had the ability to rank them based on Face, Body, and Clothes.  Recently a photo appeared of a nude 15 year old girl and there was a media frenzy about it.  Apple was bashed in the media for not being able to prohibit inappropriate content.

Today Apple pulled the application from the iTunes store.  By the time it was removed, about 5,000 people rated the photo and Apple App review site Krapps discovered and pointed out the picture first.

Another application that contained pornography that slipped through the cracks is Hottest Girls.  The Hottest Girls application had topless photos of women that was added through a server to the application.  This application was promptly removed as well.

The BeautyMeter application developer FunnyMals said that the application users were required to provide their iPhone device ID so that illegal content can be traced back to the user.  “We don’t review each uploaded photo exclusively but from time to time we will clean up,” wrote Funnymals in the Ts and Cs of BeautyMeter.

Considering all the negative press Apple received as a result of this application, it may be a while that a new version of BeautyMeter will be added in iTunes.  There will probably need to be more strict security for the application.

[via Wired]

At the end of May, Psystar filed for bankruptcy.  The company was facing a legal battle against Apple Inc. which put them in bankruptcy in the first place.  Now the company is out of bankruptcy and is ready to take on Apple once again.  Below is a statement from Psystar:

As you all may already be aware in late May, Psystar filed for Chapter 11 protection. Although this was critical to our continued daily operations, we now are ready to emerge and again battle Goliath.

More information will be available in the coming days when we will be formally discharged by the Bankruptcy court.

When life gives you apples, make applesauce.

Psystar is best known for building computers that use the Mac operating system, but at cheaper prices than what Apple sells computers for.  Psystar has even introduced a couple of new products.  One is called Open(7) which is a system that uses the Intel Nehalem Xeon platform.  The new system is available in desktop and server form.  The price of the Open(7) starts at $1,4999 with OS X Leopard installed.

[via MacRumors]

Its not every day that you see a traditional media company poach from a new media company, but this is exactly what happened when CBS hired Richard Lawson from Gawker Media.

Lawson will be writing for TV.com in a role that is similar to what he already has been doing for Gawker: writing what is happening on famous TV shows.

Lawson will be writing fewer posts per day and do actual reviews.  Lawson has supposedly been generating 2.4 million pageviews per month for Gawker, more than any of Gawkers’ others writers.

[via BusinessInsider]

Sony Music Entertainment has invested in IODA, an online music distribution company.  Financial details about the transaction were not available.  But Sony did mention that they will be integrating IODA’s services into RED, a company that Sony bought back in 1994.

IODA has about 2 million music tracks and about 2,000 videos in their collection.  Some of IODA’s partners include iTunes, Amazon.com, and MySpace Music.

[via paidContent]

uSocial is a business that revolves around gaming social media for profit.  They to get your content on the homepage of Digg, Propeller, StumbleUpon, and Yahoo! Buzz for about $150.  Now the Australian company is out to game Twitter.  They are offering the ability to buy followers, $87 for 1,000.

The Twitter follower service has become quite popular because the company said that businesses and individuals are queued up.  USocial reaches out to potential followers and recommends accounts to be followed.  USocial uses the Twitter search engine to help find potential followers.  About 150 customers bought followers and there are about 80-90 campaigns that is going to be rolled out.

In late May, Digg sent uSocial a cease and desist letter, but uSocial responded that they are not breaking any laws.

uSocial’s clients have a range of interests.  Some of uSocial’s Twitter clients include a user that is interested in spreading yoga tips.  Another client is a user that wants to spread the word about God.

While some people may believe that uSocial’s behavior is unethical, I am pretty neutral about their business.  The reason I am neutral is because it is a business and businesses have to make money somehow.  The second reason is that Twitter does not level the playing field for certain users.  They have a user recommendation system that features only “high profile” users such as CNN, BBC, Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, etc.

Being a recommended follower is worth money.  Back in March, Jason Calacanis offered Twitter $250,000 to be a recommended follower.  At one point, iJustine took cupcakes to the Twitter headquarters and became a recommended follower shortly after.  Its a dog eat dog world when it comes to marketing yourself.

[via BBC]

We’ve seen the death star BBQ grill and a Star Wars fanboy receiving a kidney from a fellow Stormtrooper, but we haven’t seen a way to store data with a Star Wars theme much in the past.  These big-headed Star Wars character USB drives complement the Star Wars bobbleheads quite nicely.

The Star Wars 2GB USB flash drive set includes Yoda, Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett.  They will be selling for $25 each this October.

[via Technabob/Engadget]

Some of the biggest complaints going around regarding the iPhone 3G S is that the device overheats.  However Apple noted in their support pages that this issue is caused by “operator error,” meaning that the consumers are at fault for the overheating.

This issue was reported by iPhone 3G S users from around the world.  One Apple user said that every time he used the GPS, the device somehow overheated and it needs to be shut down because it becomes unbearable.  The issue seems to be reflected more upon white iPhones over black iPhones.  Some users have reported that the overheating causes discoloration as well.

On the iPhone support page, Apple reports some of the reasons why the phone may be overheating:

*  Leaving the device in a car on a hot day.

* Leaving it in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time.

* Using certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight.

[via InformationWeek]

Classifieds website giant Craigslist is being sued by a Texas-based real estate company for trademark infringement.  The Texas real estate company First Call reported that AAA Apartment Locating started to post ads on Craigslist using keywords such as “first call,” “call first,” and “call us first.”

First Call believes that AAA is using these phrases to confuse customers so they have taken both AAA and Craigslist to court.  First Call believes Craigslist has responsibility to remove the ads because they are aware of the trademark infringement.  In Texas, Craigslist does not charge for classifieds which will make the case even more interesting.

The court case was filed in Nueces County this past May but is now being transferred to federal court in the southern district of Texas.

[via MediaPost]