By Admin 
Man reacts to seeing Times Square and iPhones in modern age after spending 44 years in prison
Otis Johnson left a very different world behind when he was jailed in 1970
After spending a sizeable portion of his life behind bars, this man got a rude awakening when he wandered around Times Square for the first time.
While taking in the dazzling displays, Otis Johnson seemed to realise just how much he had missed out on while spending 44 years locked up.
He was left wondering whether the smartphone-clutching passersby were secret CIA agents due to the headphone wires draped around their neck, completely unaware of Apple’s ascension to tech titans.
But considering Johnson was jailed in 1970 and therefore completely bypassed the digital revolution, it’s no wonder really, is it?
Otis Johnson was left mesmerised by the billboards in Times Square (YouTube/Al Jazeera)
This is a guy who has probably never heard of the likes of Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos…whether that’s for better or for worse.
Johnson was imprisoned when he was 25 years old for the attempted murder of a police officer in May 1970 in New York – and by the time he was freed, he was 69.
The former martial arts teacher never confessed to the crime and maintained his innocence, previously telling Dazed: “Why would a man shoot at a police officer and then stand on the corner talking to people with the same clothes on?”
Upon his release from prison in 2014, Johnson claimed he was handed an ID, documents discussing his criminal case history, two bus tickets, and $40 (£32.04).
“Prison affected me a lot,” he told Al Jazeera 12 months after he gained freedom. “My re-entry was a little bit hard at first, because things have changed.”
You can say that again – as when Johnson was first locked up, the first mobile phone hadn’t even been invented yet, and he was a few decades off the invention of the iPhone.
So you can forgive him for being a little taken aback when he saw neon billboards plastered across Times Square, and for suspecting people glued to their gadgets might be government agents.
Taking in the extraordinary sights at the tech-drenched tourist hotspot for the first time, Johnson said of the advertisements: “On the windows?! I ain’t never seen anything like this before! Look! On the windows?
Even the supermarket shelves are a lot different in comparison to the late 1960s (YouTube/Al Jazeera)
“We ain’t seen nothing on no windows but people walking by, not no video,” he laughed, before sharing his thoughts about the people who passed through the thoroughfare.
“I was looking at the atmosphere, the new things that was happening and I seen that the majority of people were talking to themselves,” he continued.
“Then I look closely and they seemed to have things in there ears. I don’t know with those things, the phone things…iPhones they call them or something like that?
“I thought, ‘What, everybody became CIA or agents and stuff like that?’ Because that’s the only thing I can think of if somebody walking around with wires in the ears. That’s what they had when I was out during the 60s and the 70s.”
Johnson said he was also baffled by the fact that people could ‘walk and talk on their phone without even looking where they’re going’.
“That was amazing to me,” he added, before saying of the street performers which stalk Times Square: “I stand out here for a long time watching this crazy stuff.”
The advancements in technology weren’t the only things that had changed while Johnson was inside though, as the cost of making a call on a pay phone had shot up by 75 percent.
“I remember this when I first got out,” he smiled. “I was gonna make a call – then I seen the 1$ thing. It was what, 25 cents when I was out?”
As well as this, the supermarket aisles in the US were adorned with a lot more stuff than they were in the late 1960s, which came as quite a surprise to Johnson.
“I eat different things now because I’m looking at all this crazy stuff they got,” he said. “The funny dinners, different coloured drinks.
“There’s so many things that you can eat, so it’s a hard choice to pick out the food that you want. For instance, the peanut butter – it had jelly in it?
“And I ain’t never seen nothing like that before, it definitely wasn’t in the prison system. Peanut butter and jelly in the same place, in a jar? That that was strange.”
He was extremely relieved to see that Skippy’s peanut butter still had a place on the shelves, a condiment which he fondly remembered from his younger years.
Despite the demise of some of his favourite snacks coming as quite a blow to Johnson, he was still thrilled to have his freedom.
“Being in society is a good feeling, a very good feeling. Being inside the prison, you only can go outside at certain times. So I like being in the sun and also observing people. It’s nice. It’s nice to be free.”
Hearing Johnson’s perspective really might make you think twice about your mammoth amount of screen time, that’s for sure.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Al Jazeera
Olivia Burke
Chilling final wish of British grandmother who has spent 11 years awaiting execution on death row in Indonesian prison
This British grandmother has one chilling wish after spending 11 years on death row in Indonesia
This British grandma waiting on death row in Indonesia has a chilling final wish.
Lindsay Sandiford has spent an excruciating 11 years behind bars on charges of smuggling £1.6 million of cocaine into Bali from Bangkok.
The 68-year-old was found guilty back in 2012 and was set to be executed by firing squad.
SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images)
The execution was set to be carried out within months of the verdict, but a decade has passed and Sandiford still remains behind bars.
This is because executions aren’t regularly carried out in Indonesia. And given that the last one took place in 2016, Sandiford could be waiting a long while yet.
While awaiting her grim fate, the Essex gran spends most of her time knitting items in her cell. She sells these in a bid to raise legal funds.
One inmate has spoken of Sandiford’s final wish.
Heather Mack, who was serving 10 years for murdering her mother, got to know Sandiford. Mack claims that she was withdrawn and struggling with prison life.
The American killer said: “She spends all day pretty much alone in her cell and doesn’t mix so much with the other prisoners.”
According to her, Sandiford has one wish: “She has said she wants to die.”
SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images)
The grandmother apparently said: “It won’t be a hard thing for me to face anymore.
“It’s not particularly a death I would choose but then again I wouldn’t choose dying in agony from cancer either.”
As it currently stands, Sandiford is residing in Kerobokan prison, which was built in 1979 to hold 320 prisoners. In 2017, almost 1,300 people were living there, leading to a new facility being built the following year. Despite this, the issue of overcrowding persists.
At the time of her trial, Sandiford claimed that she had been forced into carrying the drugs by a gang who threatened to hurt her family. Her lawyers put forward the case that she was suffering from mental health problems.
Speaking to the court during her trial, the grandmother expressed her regret.
She said: “I would like to begin by apologising to the Republic of Indonesia and the Indonesian people for my involvement.
SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images)
“I would never have become involved in something like this but the lives of my children were in danger and I felt I had to protect them.”
Drug trafficking offences are covered in Indonesia’s Narcotics Act. Article 111 stipulates that a minimum of four to twelve years in jail should follow such an offence.
Featured Image Credit: SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images
A woman who paid a man $800 (£624) to jump the queue and buy $100,000 (£78,000) worth of iPhones made a huge – and expensive – mistake.
Back in 2007, when the first iPhone came out, people were pretty eager to get their hands on one.
Of course, back then, people had no idea just how huge the iPhone could become.
But one woman who wanted to capitalise on the launch made a plan to purchase every iPhone she could – although it horribly backfired.
The very first iPhone (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
When the iPhone was first released, people even camped outside stores to be at the front of queues to get their hands on it.
One day late in June 2007, the original iPhone was released and outside a store in Dallas, Texas, one woman showed up with $100,000 and a determination to walk away with as many phones as possible.
She even paid the guy at the front of the queue $800 to take his place so she didn’t have to camp outside the store for hours and could be the first one to make it inside.
The woman declared that her intentions with attempting to buy $100,000 worth of the new iPhones was to resell them on eBay, essentially becoming a scalper, someone who gets in first and buys up all of something people want to resell it on at a much higher price.
Fox 4 Dallas
When they first went on sale, original iPhones went for about $499 (£389) each, but she was sure she could make double that on each one she bought by reselling it on eBay.
However, her plan hit a snag when the store’s doors opened and she was the first customer in as she was promptly told that they were limiting sales to one per customer.
It was a measure introduced precisely to block someone from doing what she did and to ensure that as many people queuing up could get their hands on one.
She’d started her day declaring she’d be ‘buying $100,000 worth of iPhones’ and ended up very much not doing that, having instead paid a guy $800 so she could be disappointed as soon as possible.
PA Images / Alamy
Still, it worked out pretty well for the guy she bribed to queue jump, he’d have been able to buy his iPhone with that cash and still have some left over.
Years later, Steve-O interviewed the man on Wild Ride! Podcast.
Marc Rebillet explained that he had initially thought it was a marketing ploy, due to the news crews that showed up.
Meanwhile, Steve added: “What made her think she was going to keep everyone’s place in line?
“Maybe if she showed up with a team of people, she needed a physical person for every person’s spot in the line.”
Perhaps she ought to have bought the phone anyway and just kept it in the box as a collector’s item, as an original iPhone from 2007 in mint condition sold at auction last year for $39,339.
That’s more than 75 times the original retail price, proving that all good things come to those who wait.
Featured Image Credit: Fox 4 Dallas
Topics: US News, iPhone, Technology, Money
Joe Harker
Strict rules for tourists as British teen faces 20 years in Dubai prison after having sex with girl on holiday
The 18-year-old was reportedly taken into custody without explanation
Even if it might seem like the most luxurious, dream holiday for many, Dubai comes with a whole host of strict rules that tourists need to follow.
Having headed out there for a family trip, a British teen is currently facing 20 years in a Dubai prison after having sex with a girl.
UAE Civil & Criminal Justice Specialists Detained in Dubai report that 18-year-old Marcus Fakana had travelled to the city for a holiday with his parents back on 26 August.
And while there, the Tottenham lad struck up a romance with a fellow Londoner.
Marcus said they ‘had a wonderful time together’ and they’d hoped to continue their relationship back in the UK.
However, they were having to keep things secret from her family.
18-year-old Marcus faces up to 20 years in prison. (Detained In Dubai)
What led to Marcus’ arrest?
“We really liked each other, but she was secretive with her family because they were strict,” he said.
“My parents knew about our relationship, but she couldn’t tell hers. She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy.”
He was excited to see her again when he got home, but then police suddenly showed up at his hotel, and he was taken into custody without any explanation. Marcus was detained for three days, unable to contact his parents.
It is understood that the girl’s mother found the pair’s chats and photos when they returned to the UK, and contacted police in Dubai.
At the time, she was a few months younger than Marcus and has since turned 18.
Dubai recently changed the rules for tourists around sex. (Getty Stock)
What are the rules in Dubai?
Chief executive of Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling, explained that the recent rule changes in Dubai means sex outside of marriage is legal for tourists, but only if both parties are over the age of 18.
“Dubai has only recently legalised out-of-wedlock sex for tourists but still hosts a strict Islamic legal system,” the campaigner explained.
“The girl was just a few months younger than Marcus and he didn’t know that at the time,” said Stirling. “Since his arrest, she has turned 18.
“This is not something Dubai should be prosecuting.”
Unlike the stricter rules of Dubai, Marcus and the girl’s relationship would not be illegal.
Stirling added that the woman was ‘clearly a very strict mother to involve police in a private matter that is completely legal in the country where she lives and where the children have grown up’.
However, she may not have realised that she was potentially causing Marcus to face up to 20 years in prison.
What is Marcus’ situation now?
“I’m living in Airbnbs that are costing my family £2,000 per month. They had to go home to work. They earn a humble living, my mother is a cleaner and my dad works in a warehouse,” the 18-year-old said.
“They saved up for this one-off holiday and they have now used all of their savings. The police demanded 10,000 AED for bail which I’ve been told is not normal and the costs are mounting.
“I’m here all alone. I pray this nightmare will be over and I’ll be home for Christmas.”
Featured Image Credit: Detained In Dubai
Topics: Travel, UK News, World News, Prison
Jess Battison
All iPhones that will not be able to run new iOS.18 update that comes with major changes to phone
Apple Intelligence has arrived, sort of
Apple has announced their new iOS.18 update with a number of highly anticipated features.
Tim Cook did nothing but hype up the tech giant’s new AI features with ‘Apple Intelligence’ at the September event, whilst displaying their new iPhone 16 range.
Despite showing off some cool stuff – including ChatGPT integration, Image Playground and the rather bizarre Genmoji – Apple told us that we have to wait months to actually use them.
Apple Intelligence has arrived, sort of (Apple)
“With ChatGPT from OpenAI integrated into Siri and Writing Tools, you get even more expertise when it might be helpful for you — no need to jump between tools. Siri can tap into ChatGPT for certain requests, including questions about photos or documents,” Apple said.
“With enhanced language capabilities, you can summarise an entire lecture in seconds, get the short version of a long group thread, and minimise unnecessary distractions with prioritised notifications.”
Finally, on Monday (28 October), they launched the well overdue iOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence, but not without a catch.
Now, if you live in the UK, you won’t have access unless you have two things.
You will need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or later to use Apple Intelligence.
Apple Intelligence is only available on certain Apple devices (Apple)
And because, officially, Apple Intelligence is not coming to the UK until December, you can only use it if you switch your device language and Siri language to English (United States).
This is where it gets (even more) confusing.
Every single iPhone with an A12 Bionic chip or later can download iOS 18.1, though only iPhone 15 Pros or later can test out Apple Intelligence.
Apple iOS 18.1-supported iPhones
- iPhone SE, 2nd gen
- iPhone XS, XS Max and XR
- iPhone 11 series
- iPhone 12 series
- iPhone 13 series
- iPhone 14 series
- iPhone 15 series
- iPhone 16 series
iPad and MacBook can use Apple Intelligence if the device is fitted with an Apple silicon chip (Apple)
Apple Intelligence-supported iPhones
(Not officially available in the UK until December)
- iPhone 16 series
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
Apple Intelligence will also be rolled out across all of their ‘M’ powered devices, which use Apple’s own silicon chip.
This includes, all M1 and later powered iPads, MacBooks, iMacs and so on.
With the addition of all these new features, the tech company is promising ‘great privacy’.
“Apple Intelligence is designed to protect your privacy at every step. It’s integrated into the core of your iPhone, iPad and Mac through on-device processing. So it’s aware of your personal information without collecting your personal information. And with groundbreaking Private Cloud Compute, Apple Intelligence can draw on larger server-based models, running on Apple silicon, to handle more complex requests for you while protecting your privacy,” they added.