The End Is Nigh!

I've been fearing this day for years now.

According to some researchers at Symantec, the company that makes Norton Antivirus software, the first virus to specifically target Macs is now on the loose.

The little bugger has been named "iBotnet," and although it's only infected a few thousand Macs, it still scares the crap out of me. 

Apparently it's a trojan horse virus that hides in illegally downloaded copies of iWork. Luckily, I haven't pirated that program. But I have downloaded hundreds of torrents over the past few years, and experts say it's only a matter of time before Mac viruses are a lot more prevalent.

In the past, virus designers have almost exclusively targeted PCs because of their dominance of the computer market. But since Macs have become so popular recently, researchers say that more Mac-targeted bugs are on the way.

I don't feel safe anymore. My Mac used to feel like a bulletproof body suit, shielding me from all the harm that the internet has to offer. But I feel a lot more vulnerable now. This sleek, white machine might not have my back anymore.

Maybe I should stop pirating copyrighted material.

Yeah, right.

Smoke Green, Blow White

Kelsey Maniez loves marijuana. A lot.

But don't get too excited, stoners. She doesn't smoke.

Maniez is the founder of Spartans for Medical Marijuana, an organization that you've probably never heard of. But I'll bet you've seen their T-shirts.

You know: they've got a pot leaf silhouetted against a green Spartan "S", and they've been all the rage among hipsters on campus. Yeah, you've seen them.

Spartans for Medical Marijuana have been all over campus lately. They're Facebook group's got 500 members, and they've appeared on the Impact radio show.

"We're trying to be as visible as possible," said Maniez. "People have been shunning this issue for too long and it's time for us to be seen."

Even though medical marijuana is now legal in Michigan, Maniez says there's still work to be done.

"We need to fight injustice beyond state borders," she said. "Michigan is only the beginning."

Did you hear that, potheads? Time to get off the couch and make a difference!

Students Rally to Protest Tuition Increase

Members of the Michigan State University Accountability and Transparency Initiative gathered outside the Hannah Administration building today to protest a proposed 9 percent tuition increase.

The rally was led by the group's founder, Horia Dijmarescu. The group's main objective was to call for the administration not to raise tuition by more than 2 percent.

Tuition for in-state students is currently $10,264. If he 9 percent increase is enacted, tuition will rise to $11,187. Out-of-state students pay $25,722 currently, which could be raised to $28,032.

Unemployment Benefit Extension

Unemployed Michigan workers can now breathe a little easier, thanks to new legislation signed today by Governor Jennifer Granholm.

The new law allows jobless workers to receive unemployment benefits under the extended benefit (EB) program for an additional seven weeks. This will lengthen the maximum period of qualification for unemployment benefits from 72 weeks to 79 weeks.

"It's a sad sign of the times that this is necessary," Granholm said. "People are hurting. People are losing jobs every day. This is a small step that we can take to help working families in Michigan."

About 3,000 jobless Michigan workers are currently receiving aid under the EB program. But as emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) funds are exhausted, many more workers are expected to file for EB support, which will skyrocket the number receiving those benefits to 70,000 by the end of April. That number is expected to reach 200,000 by the end of the year.

The extension of the EB program will be funded by the federal Recovery Act.

Granholm also mentioned that she will apply for a federal waver to grant benefits to people not actively seeking employment because of enrollment in trade schools.

"I'm working twenty-four-seven to bring jobs to Michigan in homeland security, alternative energy, and advanced manufacturing," Granholm said. "There is great potential in this state, but recovery will take time." 

Visit from Robin Sloan

Journalism students were given a glimpse of the potential future of their field today, thanks to a visit from Current_ Vice President of Strategy and MSU alumnus Robin Sloan.

Sloan, who graduated from the MSU Honors College with a degree in economics in 2002, spoke to a news-writing class about his experiences in the rapidly changing world of journalism. He offered advice on how to navigate and succeed in the field's new model, which is increasingly based on the internet.

Much of the advice was given from Sloan's personal experiences. While working at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, Sloan and his younger colleagues noticed that many of their older co-workers weren't catching on to the role that the internet was beginning to play in the world of news.

To illustrate how much the internet was changing things, Sloan and a partner created a "Epic," a short film that told a fictional futuristic account of how the standard print media was overrun by internet companies.

The video garnered millions of views, and Sloan took his vision of the future to Al Gore's start-up cable news network, Current_, which gears stories toward a younger, more internet-savvy audience.

Sloan described his vision of journalism's new business model to the students, explaining that larger, more traditional news outlets would eventually be phased out by smaller organizations of journalists with devoted online followings.

He recommended that journalism students get acquainted with new technologies online and experiment with their own models of reporting. He predicted that a job with a small internet start-up company would be more promising than a position at a larger network.

Look for a follow up to this story tomorrow.

Izzo Scares Me

Whenever I watch the MSU Spartans play basketball, I find myself much more concerned with Tom Izzo's health than with the outcome of the game. The vein in his forehead is becoming much more prominent lately, jutting out whenever he lambasts his players as if its just as mad as he is. If I had to answer to that bright red face every time I missed a finger roll, I would never miss any finger rolls.

Tom Izzo gets so mad sometimes, I legitimately get scared of him through my TV. Even though I can't hear what he's screaming, the unbridled rage he expresses through his facial expressions is enough to make me steer clear of the Izzone for life. I don't want to be under that guy's jurisdiction.

But the Spartans are in the Sweet Sixteen again, so I guess I can't knock the guy for having a winning team. I wonder what kinds of things he must be saying to his players to make them play so well...

"I should have recruited your sister over you."

"Even Sparty hates you right now."

"Miss this free throw, and you die."

"I will eat your unborn children if you travel one more time."

"You guys look like U of M."

Inspiring.

Non-Tenure Union Update

Jon Curtiss, an organizer for the American Federation of Teachers, outlined his organization's goal of unionizing non-tenure track faculty at MSU today.

Curtiss said the union will emphasize job security for these workers, who often have to wait until a few weeks before a new semester begins to learn if they have been hired for that term. The union will also look to secure higher salaries for non-tenured instructors, as well as health insurance benefits and opportunities for professional development. 

A similar unionization drive occurred at the University of Michigan in 2003, where the AFT was successful in achieving better job security for its members.

A petition with the names of prospective union members will be presented to the Michigan Employment Relations Commission in about two weeks, Curtiss said. He predicted a vote will be made on the issue by the end of the spring semester.

Break

Forget the body shots and wet T-shirt contests. Thanks to the global recession, students are planning on spending this year's spring break a little differently.

"With the way the economy is, I can't afford a fancy vacation," said communications sophomore Jason Kemp. "I guess the fun is going to have to wait until next year."

Kemp is indefinitely postponing his trip to Miami that he had planned for the break due to his shrinking wallet. He says that a few days of fun in the sun are not worth the cost nowadays.

Instead, he's now planning on working at his former job in his hometown of Glen Lake for the entire nine days he has off from school.

"I see it as a responsible financial decision," Kemp said. "Now is the time to save, not blow all your money on a week you probably won't even remember."

Others, like packaging sophomore Jeremy Brown, are planning on staying financially neutral during their break. Jeremy has decided not to vacation or work all week.

"I see spring break as exactly that: a break," Brown said. "I'm going to be doing a lot of sleeping and enjoying my mom's food."

Whatever your plans for spring break, keep in mind that it only lasts a week, and this recession isn't supposed to end until around 2013 by some estimates. Have fun out there!

In case you've been under a rock...

I know some of us have been listening to this album for a few months now and the hipster economy has already consumed and digested it, but for the few out there who still haven't heard Merriweather Post Pavilion, please do so before you fade away into complete irrelevance. 

This album is Animal Collective's masterwork. I've been a fan of the band for a couple years now, but none of their previous albums has drawn me in and kept me utterly mesmerized through its entirety like MPP. The album represents the culmination of AnCo's musical techniques, featuring fireside chants, Brian Wilson-esque harmonies, and sampled soundscapes that will either cause you to jump up and dance or sink into the couch in a stupor of aural bliss (please excuse the hyperbole, but the album is just that amazing).

But the reason MPP has stood out to me as such a landmark record is its incorporation of conventional music styles into AnCo's trademark sound. The album is paradox: every song sounds both familiar and new at the same time. By blending folk melodies with electronic experimentation, their influences really shine through and allow the band to reach new levels of maturity absent from their previous work. If you've listened to AnCo before and were unimpressed, this is the record that will convert you into a believer.

It may be a little too early to say, but MPP just may be that long-awaited stepping stone into the future of music. But if not, it's still a ton of fun.

Hypemachine: "My Girls", "Daily Routine", "Lion in a Coma", "Brothersport"