Yesterday, we told you about an issue being experience by Samsung Windows Phone owners that was causing a recently released update to fail — or in the worst cases render a handset unusable. Late last night, Microsoft took to the web to explain exactly what it’s discovered about the missteps of its first Windows Phone update.

“90 percent of people who’ve received an update notification have installed the new software patch successfully,” writes Microsoft’s Michael Stroh. “Of the 10 percent who did experience a problem, nearly half failed for two basic reasons—a bad Internet connection or insufficient computer storage space.”

Mr. Stroh goes on to concede that the update has not gone perfectly, and that a “technical issue” with the update process “impacts a small number” of Samsung devices. But he reinforces that Microsoft is “committed to learning from our first update and improving the process.”

The article concludes with a handful of frequently asked questions. If you want to know more about the Redmond company’s first Windows Phone update, hit the read link and have a look for yourself.

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David Kernell, the 20-year-old University of Tennessee student indicted for allegedly accessing Governer Palin’s email illegally, has been given a bit more time to enjoy fresh air before things potentially heat up. The son of Tennessee state Rep. Mike Kernell will not stand trial May 2009 when he is now scheduled to face one count of accessing a computer without authorization, a crime that carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The reason for the delay according to a filing from the U.S. Attorney and the Department of Justice:

Because of the nature of this case, significant forensic evaluation is required [and] the parties agree that … an extension should be granted to allow counsel the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.

Kernell and his lawyers are hardly upset by the judge’s decision to delay the trial of course, as it will give them plenty more time to attempt to have the case thrown out. Unlikely as it may seem, crazier things have happened. Barring some extraordinary legal eagling, the Kernall trial will begin on May 19, 2009.

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The saga continues. David Kernell, University of Tennessee student and son of Tennessee Democratic state representative Mike Kernell, has now been indicted by a grand jury in Knoxville Tennessee. What started as a prank that Kernell laughingly bragged about in an online forum has now become a nightmare that may land the 20-year-old in prison. Kernell, as you may recall, allegedly used Yahoo’s password reset mechanism to change the password for one of Governor Palin’s email accounts and then posted the new password on 4chan.org along with screen shots of her email. The FBI conducted an investigation with the help of ISP Parlov Media, cTunnel webmaster Gabriel Ramuglia and others that quickly lead them to Kernell, who reportedly fled the scene during an initial FBI raid of his on-campus residence. Earlier today, Kernell willingly turned himself in to the FBI and is scheduled to be arraigned before the day is through. It was initially believed that the culprit of the Palin email invasion would likely face a misdemeanor charge but the situation is much more serious in fact. If convicted, Kernell faces up to five years in prison and a fine to the tune of $250,000.

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Oh man… This just keeps getting better and better. Last week we told you about the recent invasion into an email account belonging to Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. At the time, it was thought that a group of hackers known as Anonymous sloppily battled their way into Palin’s Yahoo account, snapped some screen shots and stole a handful of family photos. Well people, the plot thickens. At around midnight Sunday evening, the FBI raided a party being held in the on-campus residence of University of Tennessee student David Kernell who has been implicated in the Palin email scandal. According to witnesses, Kernell reportedly fled the scene when agents arrived but that of course didn’t stop them from photographing his residence and collecting evidence. Kernell and his three roommates have been subpoenaed to appear in court in Chattanooga later this week, though no formal charges have been filed. So what, you might ask, is so interesting about David Kernell? It just so happens that he is the son of Mike Kernell – Tennessee’s Democratic state representative.

What lead the FBI to Kernell? Firstly, no one “hacked” Palin’s account. The intruder used Palin’s birthdate, zip code and other publicly available information to reset the password on her Yahoo account to “popcorn”. He or she then posted the password along with screen shots to a public forum where others used the information to access Palin’s account as well. The user name of the person who originally posted this information, “rubico”, also happens to be included in a yahoo email address used by David Kernell. In addition (and as suggested by San Fransisco blogger Dan Goodin), the proxy URL found in screen shots of Palin’s email account was eventually traced to an IP belonging to Pavlov Media, the ISP that provides internet access to the dormitory in which Kernell resides. It is likely, though not disclosed at this point, that the FBI worked with Pavlov Media to further trace the attack.

If Kernell is charged, it will likely be with a misdemeanor and he will face little or no time in prison.

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