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Talk of the day

By Times Staff Writer
Published November 14, 2007

D'oh! 'Simpsons Movie' uploader hard to defend

A Sydney, Australia, man who uploaded the first known pirated copy of The Simpsons Movie to the Internet after recording it on his cell phone was fined $888 by a magistrate Tuesday for breaching copyright. An international operation involving Australian Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.'s Fox movie studios tracked the unauthorized copy to Jose Duarte, 21, who was arrested in August. Prosecutor Chuan Ng said the movie was downloaded 3,213 times in the few hours it was available on the Internet. Duarte's lawyer, Ken Stewart, said Duarte tried twice to upload the movie July 26, the release date, several hours ahead of its appearance in most of the world. He thought he'd failed, said the lawyer. "It would appear that this young man had the sophistication of a dead fish," Stewart said.

Text your toppings to Papa John's

Pizza chain Papa John's International is about to start taking some new phone orders, but this time there won't be a voice on the other end. The restaurant chain is rolling out a service that lets customers order pies via text message. Customers first create an account online where they save as many as four different "favorite" orders that include any combination of pizza, sides and drinks, as well as a delivery address or carry-out information and payment type. Once that's complete, customers can send a text message at any time using the shorthand "FAV1," "FAV2," "FAV3" or "FAV4." A big part of Papa John's motivation is marketing. The company hopes that text-message ordering will provide a new channel for it to hit customers with such things as coupons and updates on new menu items.

Vegas icon goes out with a bang

The New Frontier casino-hotel was imploded early Tuesday, giving a violent end to the second property to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The 16-story hotel tower was felled with more than 1,000 pounds of explosives before a group of reporters and bystanders to make way for a multibillion-dollar resort bearing The Plaza brand, which is set to open in 2011. The New Frontier earned historical notations by becoming the Strip's first theme casino and hosting Elvis Presley's debut in the city. The low-key gambling hall, which opened as the Last Frontier in 1942 with a cowboy village theme and later embraced the space age before returning to its Wild West roots, had become known for bikini bull riding, cheap hotel rooms and $5 craps before it closed its doors for good in July.

McDonald's to pour itself into coffee

In a significant new product offensive, McDonald's Corp. said Tuesday it will move full-scale into the specialty coffee market, serving up mochas and cappuccinos that it says will rival those made by coffee houses. The company has been testing specialty coffees in about 800 restaurants this year, and plans to build out the business nationally, Don Thompson, president of McDonald's USA, said at the company's annual analysts' meeting. "We want to move from beverage as an accompaniment to beverages as a destination, Thompson said.

[Last modified November 14, 2007, 00:58:21]