Summary: News: Zappos customer data accessed in security breach Zappos is urging its customers to change their passwords after an intruder gained unauthorized access to the online shoe retailer's servers. Customers' names, e-mail addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of their credit card numbers, and their scrambled passwords may have been illegally accessed, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said in a letter sent to the company's 24 million customers today. However, he said that "critical credit card data and other payment data was not affected or accessed." The company has voided and reset customer passwords so that new ones can be created, Hsieh wrote in the letter, which includes a link and instructions for creating a new password. The letter also urges customers to change their passwords at other sites if they are the same or similar to the ones used at Zappos. "We've spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers. It's painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident," Hsieh wrote in the letter. "I suppose the one saving grace is that the database that stores our customers' critical credit card and other payment data was not affected or accessed." Hsieh said that all employees at the company's headquarters, regardless of their department, would be enlisted to help assist customers. Hsieh wrote that the affected servers are located in Kentucky but did not indicate when the breach occurred. He said the company was cooperating with law enforcement officials on an investigation of the breach. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57359536-83/zappos-customer-data-accessed-in-security-breach/?tag=mncol;topStories Apple postpones iPhone 4S in Shanghai and Beijing after chaotic launch crowds Apple has delayed sales of the iPhone 4S at some of its stores in China after the launch crowds at Apple's flagship Sanlitun store in Beijing got more than a little rowdy. Police had reportedly told Apple not to open the store as scheduled due to the massive crowd, which then turned into something of a mob and threw eggs at the storefront. The New York Times put the crowd in context by noting that many of the people in the crowd were actually migrant workers who had been paid to go and wait to purchase the phone, so when the store didn't open they were not going to be paid. Police dispersed the crowd. In a statement to AllThingsD, Apple said that it would be pausing sales for awhile in some stores, and reportedly the company sold out of the iPhone 4S very quickly in many stores in the area. Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers. http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/13/2704680/apple-postsones-iphone-4s-sales-in-shanghai-and-beijing-stores-after Minecraft updated to version 1.1: new languages, improved sheep and bows Less than two months after getting its official 1.0 release, Minecraft is getting another update this week, to version 1.1. The update adds a few fun features to the game: sheep that now eat grass and will re-grow their wool, enhanced bows, apples that fall from trees ("Newton would be proud," the video announcing the update sais), and different-colored eggs for spawning pigs and other animals. New languages might be the most important change, though: Minecraft now supports German, French, and Swedish translations. (And Pirate.) That's a lot of new stuff to turn into 3D printables, or some new things to add to the entire level of Super Mario you built. Or, failing all that, it's just some fun new stuff to play with in the giant world of Minecraft. http://www.theverge.
