user: News: OnStar will soon offer a service that reads both Facebook and text messages to subscribers, according to an undisclosed source. Drivers will be able to respond with pre-canned messages, allowing them to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. The service, which is expected to launch later this month, will be OnStar’s first attempt at integrating social media services into its fleet of in-vehicle hardware. Although it’s improbable that many users will opt to have a torrent of Facebook updates read to them while driving, the text message service will likely be a quick hit.

That said, the potential integration of Facebook Places with OnStar could be a major hit. With GPS at OnStar’s core and geolocation the next great digital frontier, General Motors could provide precisely the fuel Facebook needs to accelerate adoption of Places.

Since early iterations of the service are said to be focused primarily on content delivery, it’s unlikely that Places will find itself on OnStar this year. But if this relationship is meant to be, it’s hard to imagine a situation in which Facebook and General Motors won’t soon take advantage of geolocation.

Title: Facebook Coming to General Motors' OnStar


News: CNN PRODUCER NOTE Rod Guajardo, a systems engineer by day and filmmaker by night in San Antonio, Texas, says he loves prank shows on TV and wanted to see if he could pull off something similar. He called up his brother-in-law, Mando Guerrero, who 'excitingly agreed to be the monster.' With the help of two filmmaker friends, they shot this video on October 12.'People's reactions were wonderful and exactly what I was hoping for! We were not only down there to scare people, but also spread some Halloween spirit by taking pictures with kiddos young and old,' Guajardo said. 'By the end of the night we had a large crowd waiting and watching for the next "victim" to walk by.'- dsashin, CNN iReport producer

Title: Halloween Scares from Texas!


News: A 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit central Alberta Saturday morning, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The agency's earthquake monitoring website says the earthquake hit at 9:28 a.m. MT and was lightly felt in Rocky Mountain House, a town of roughly 7,000 people that is located west of Red Deer between Edmonton and Calgary.

"There are no reports of damage, and none would be expected," the agency said on its website.

Clearwater County, the municipal district to which Rocky Mountain House belongs, issued a statement on its website saying that it had been made aware of the earthquake by the Provincial Operations Centre of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

Power was disrupted to about 500 customers, including a gas plant near Rocky Mountain House.

AltaLink spokesperson Scott Schreiner says a substation in the area locked out to prevent a surge or other damage on the system, and that power was restored about two hours later.

Keyara Corp., which operates the Strachan gas plant, says the facility flared off excess gas when it lost power, but there was no damage.

Julie Puddell, a spokesperson for Keyara, said the gas was flared as a safety measure. She said Alberta Environment was contacted for air quality monitoring.

Ted Hickey, the director of community and protective services for Clearwater County, said there was no risk to the public during the flaring.

Hickey said there were no reports of damage from the quake.

He said some people reported feeling the earth shaking, but noted that he didn't feel it at all.

Although earthquakes are rare in Alberta, they do occur, said Honn Kao with the Geological Survey of Canada.

“Most people actually don’t feel it and therefore they seem to get the impression that Alberta is seismically inactive, which is actually not true,” Kao said. “We have detected enough small earthquakes in Alberta, especially in the areas close to the Rocky Mountains."

Since 1985, fewer than 15 earthquakes above a magnitude-3 have been recorded anywhere in Alberta, according to the Alberta Geological Survey's website.

There has been an increase in small earthquake activity since the 1960s, the organization says.

Earthquakes Canada recorded 471 earthquakes in the province between 1985 and 2010 and the Alberta Geological Survey says the vast majority of those have been natural.

However, the organization says some of them may have been triggered by oil and gas production.

A map of earthquake locations recorded in Alberta by Earthquakes Canada between 1922 and 2005 and the Alberta Earthquake Studies Project between 2006 and 2010. (Alberta Geological Survey/Earthquakes Canada)

Title: Power out after 4.3-magnitude earthquake hits central Alberta


News: Alice Tyson suffers from Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a rare genetic skin condition, which means if she goes out in the sun she risks getting cancer or going blind.

If she goes outside she must cover up and wear protection.

After months confined to her family's sitting room she will soon be able to play in the garden with her friends following an £8,000 donation from a businessman.

Three months ago her parents, Neil and Tracey, of Carlisle, launched a nationwide appeal for help to build a special outdoor play area which will shielded Alice from direct sunlight.

When Nigel Tobias who runs Children's Aid, a charity to support sick children, heard of Alice's plight he pledged £8,000 to help build the special garden, which would feature a summer house and a play tunnel with lights.

Her mother said: "It's awful to have to keep her inside when all the other children are outside.

"The other day she turned round and said 'I wish it was dark so I could go outside' – it breaks your heart to hear her say things like that."

Mr Tobias said: "The story of Alice touched a nerve with us and we just felt very sad for her. We didn't want her to be imprisoned at home.

"The garden allows her to go outside and not be cooped up in the house. It is a play area where Alice can go out at any time of the day and invite friends."

The rare and incurable genetic disorder affects only about 150 people in Britain.

Title:

assistant: Girl allowed to play in garden for first time