Today in Tech News Digest, Apple is cleared of misrepresenting the capabilities of Siri, Google and Apple stop the Flappy Bird clones, the Titanfall beta is opened to all, Kickstarter gets hacked, Barack Obama isn't tweeting, Ken Burns documentaries arrive on the iPad, and Sesame Street Fighter is revealed.

Court Rules Siri Works As Advertised

iPhone = Eye Phone = Illuminati Phone. And even ''Siri'' spelled backwards is ''Iris'' which means Eye. They're Watching You.

— Stewie Griffin (@tbhstew) February 15, 2014

Apple has had a lawsuit claiming it misrepresented the capabilities of Siri dismissed with prejudice. According to Apple Insider, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken described the claims by four plaintiffs as "non-actionable puffery."

In a lawsuit dating back to 2012, the plaintiffs argued that commercials for the iPhone 4s suggested Siri was a lot more capable than it actually is, with all queries being answered and without any significant delay.

In dismissing the lawsuit, Wilken stated, "Apple made no promise that Siri would operate without fail," further adding, "a reasonable consumer would understand that commercials depicting the products they are intended to promote would be unlikely to depict failed attempts."

Regardless of the outcome of the case, it is rather interesting to go back and watch iPhone 4s ads featuring Siri and compare the reality against the sales pitch.

Google & Apple End The Flappy Flap

The End of Flappy Bird https://t.co/sL6AtmnUZ8

— WORLD STAR (@WorldStarFunny) February 16, 2014

Apple and Google are both sick of Flappy Bird clones and are attempting to put a stop to the madness. This is according to TechCrunch, which is tracking Flappy Bird clones being rejected from both the App Store and Google Play.

After the short story of Flappy Bird ended when its creator pulled the game, clones began cropping up everywhere. Developers hoping to cash in on the craze are now having their versions of the game rejected by Apple and Google, not because they're copying the gameplay or design, but because of the use of the word "flappy." Which is rather easily fixed.

Titanfall Beta Now Open To All

http://youtu.be/_8y0Z4F2frI

PC and Xbox One gamers eager to take part in the Titanfall beta can now do so without needing an invite code. The beta is expected to last until later this week, with the game due to be released on March 11.

Our own Dave LeClair and James Bruce have already played the Titanfall beta, streaming a session on Twitch.tv. They will likely air their views on the game on the next episode of Technophilia, broadcast live every Wednesday at 11am EST.

Kickstarter Was Hacked

Oh my. Kickstarter is hacked. Guess they need to kickstart some decent security controls?

— Kevin Mitnick (@kevinmitnick) February 16, 2014

Kickstarter is the latest big-name website to be hacked, with the perpetrators accessing "usernames, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and encrypted passwords." However, no credit card information was stolen.

Kickstarter has apologized for the breach and advised all users to change their passwords ASAP. CEO Yancey Strickler blogged, "We have since improved our security procedures and systems in numerous ways, and we will continue to do so in the weeks and months to come." But then they all say that after a breach has occurred.

Reminder: Barack Obama Isn't Tweeting

Tomorrow: @HouseOfCards. No spoilers, please.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 13, 2014

Barack Obama recently tweeted about House of Cards, except he didn't. The tweet is there above for all to see, but the U.S. President had nothing whatsoever to do with it, despite it coming from his official Twitter feed.

The problem, as discovered by The Wire, is that many people don't realize that the @BarackObama account is run by a non-profit organization called Organizing For Action. So no, Obama didn't spend the weekend watching a House Of Cards marathon. Probably.

Ken Burns Brings Docs To The iPad

ken-burns-ipad-app

Legendary filmmaker Ken Burns has released an iPad app packed full of short videos which tell the story of the United States of America. One playlist is available for free, with others requiring in-app purchasing. The app is meant to complement the Ken Burns America website.

Sesame Street Fighter = Mad Mashup

http://youtu.be/zERj3QlS5NM

And finally, Sesame Street and Street Fighter are both beloved things with the word "street" in their names. Which is the only excuse game developer Cocoalasca needed to create a mashup of the two called Sesame Street Fighter.

This HTML5 game playable directly in your Web browser features Sesame Street characters given a Street Fighter makeover. Which is as brilliant as it is utterly bizarre.

Tech News Digest… Breaking News Into Bite-Sized Chunks.

Image Credit: Matthew Pearce via Flickr