Dark demonstration: Wikipedia will black out the English language version of its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress, the foundation behind the popular community-based online encyclopedia announced Monday night. The website will go dark for 24 hours in an unprecedented move that brings added muscle to a growing base of critics of the legislation. Wikipedia is considered one of the Internet’s most popular websites, with millions of visitors daily. “If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States,” the Wikimedia foundation says. The Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate are designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas. The Associated Press has the full story here.
It’s a family affair: It looks like that eerily lifelike Steve Jobs doll you might have heard about won’t be sold after all, as a result of “immense pressure” from Apple’s lawyers and requests from the late chief executive’s family, The Los Angeles Times reports. “We understand that this decision will cause many of the fans’ disappointment, but please forgive us as there is no other alternative unless to have the blessing from Steve Jobs’ family,” says In Icons—the company that advertised the action figure—in a statement on its website. The company says it will aim to provide full refunds to customers who have ordered the doll, which was to measure 12 inches tall, cost $100 and include “one realistic head sculpt and two pairs of glasses,” “one highly articulate body and three pairs of hands,” a black turtleneck, a pair of jeans and two apples—one with a bite taken out of it. The company says it had planned to start shipping the dolls in February. Check out the full story here.
A Whopper of a flopper: USA Today reports No. 2 burger chain Burger King has quietly begun testing home delivery of its burgers, fries and other menu items since last fall at four of its restaurants in the Greater Washington, D.C., area, with an eye on expanding beyond that. Should home delivery catch on for the burger giants—as it has for the pizza kingpins—it could be an industry changer. But it runs counter to long-held consumer perception that fast-food burgers and fries travel poorly—and don’t warm up well in the microwave. So how to forestall those soggy fries and limp burgers that folks fear go hand-in-hand with home delivery? Well, Burger King has developed a “proprietary thermal packaging technology,” says Jonathan Fitzpatrick, chief brand and operations officer for Burger King, “which ensures the Whopper is delivered hot and fresh, and the french fries are delivered hot and crispy.” There’s a $2 delivery fee. Read more about the BK delivery experiment here.
