http://blog.flurry.com/bid/92719/Christmas-2012-Shatters-More-Smart-Device-and-App-Download-Records
"On Christmas Day, activations soared to more than 17.4 million, a 332% increase over the December baseline. By comparison, Christmas Day 2011 held the previous single-day record, having reached 6.8 million device activations. Christmas 2012 is more than 2.5 times larger than Christmas 2011, which surpassed its own baseline by more than 300%."
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http://mobile.france24.com/en/20121211-french-bakery-old-yesterday-baguette
" The baguette, a prized symbol of French identity and considered sacred by French chefs, is usually considered spoilt the day after it has been baked, and generally thrown away. According to Le Parisien, even the sales assistant working in the shop joked that day-old bread is considered the "anti-Christ" in France, but that the shop was nonetheless proving popular in a city that is one of the worst-hit by the country's financial crisis."
"I suppose that this entire exercise was rendered a bit obsolete the moment Starbucks decided to join forces with Green Mountain behind the K-Cup format. It would be nice to imagine some consortium of high-end roasters getting behind the Bunn paper pod solution and doing the coffee part of that program right, but that seems unlikely, as does Peet's managing to promote some alternative to K-Cups. Unless Nestlé foments an unlikely success with its so far rather undercoffee-ed and poorly distributed Dolce Gusto system, it looks like a coffee future in which consumers with enough time for quality continue to brew their coffees in traditional ways while the no-time-now set brews their drip-style coffee from K-Cups and their espresso from Nespresso or competing capsules. Not a bad outcome, I suppose, given the quality of these two programs. At least quality prevailed in single-serve, unlike Starbucks' apparent triumph with VIA instant coffee, a success that only can be attributable to a combination of shrewd marketing and mass sensory hallucination." |
" "We don't think Whitman has two years to show substantial progress. With money burning holes in the pockets of private equity funds and HP's problems now more transparent to investors, we would not be surprised to see someone attempt to unlock value," Milunovich said."
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http://bgr.com/2012/11/28/google-fiber-praise-comcast-criticism/
1Gbps Download and HD tv. $120/mo. What do I need my cable Co for again?
http://robertreich.org/post/36219730368
" Most new jobs in America are in personal services like retail, with low pay and bad hours. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average full-time retail worker earns between $18,000 and $21,000 per year.
But if retail workers got a raise, would consumers have to pay higher prices to make up for it? A new study by the think tank Demos reports that raising the salary of all full-time workers at large retailers to $25,000 per year would lift more than 700,000 people out of poverty, at a cost of only a 1 percent price increase for customers.
And, in the end, retailers would benefit. According to the study, the cost of the wage increases to major retailers would be $20.8 billion — about one percent of the sector's $2.17 trillion in total annual sales. But the study also estimates the increased purchasing power of lower-wage workers as a result of the pay raises would generate $4 billion to $5 billion in additional retail sales."
Into the breach steps... Microsoft?
It's still any body's game!
It could be HP's if they have the guts!
By the way if you've purchased anything at an Apple Store lately you'll see what this guy is talking about. Employees too busy being hipster to help customers.
"Further, Chowdhry said that Apple is "not as customer centric as it used to be, and the rate of innovation is declining when the rate of innovation of competitors has dramatically risen."
Long-term, Chowdhry believes that Microsoft may "dislodge Apple in computational innovation."
"Apple's innovation is sputtering," said Chowdhry. "Why is that Apple, the company that brought touch to phones and tablets, stopped just there and did not bring touch to notebooks and iMacs? Why is it that Apple brought high-resolution screens to some iMacs and some MacBooks and not to all devices? High-resolution screens are a commodity today."
As it stands, Chowdhry thinks that Microsoft has "almost dislodged Apple by being the most innovative computing company that handsomely marries touch with stencil on high-resolution screens." "
The vultures circle... Whitworth's intention is obvious. Even before the latest Autonomy debacle, I believed a breakup of HP is inevitable - and it will happen in 2013.
"As of June 1, SEC filings (see the most recent one here) show that Whitworth, through Relational, has doubled his holdings in HP, and now controls more than 34.5 million shares, a stake that is approaching 2 percent of the shares outstanding. That would put Relational on track to be the eighth-largest institutional holder of HP shares.
At this point, it's worth looking at Whitworth's history: Last June, after acquiring a 6 percent stake in L3 Communications, Whitworth pushed for a breakup of that company. The result was the spinoff of a $2 billion unit that is to be called Engility.
Also in 2011, after amassing a stake of nearly 4 percent, Whitworth pushed for — and ultimately won —the breakup of the industrial conglomerate ITT. In that case, Whitworth threatened a nasty proxy fight by nominating himself and two other Relational officers to that company's board. It ultimately broke itself into three publicly held pieces: ITT, ITT Excelis, and Xylem.
Whitworth's latest target appears to be soft-drink giant PepsiCo. Having accumulated a stake amounting to about 0.6 percent of its shares outstanding, he is said to have agitated for the separation of its slow-growing beverage business from its faster-growing snacks line."
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http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/22/technology/hp_leo_apotheker_severance/index.htm
It barely registers against $8.8B in write down, but just on principle, and as an ex-HP employee, I want Leo's money back.
"Apotheker will take home $25.4 million.
Mark Hurd, who exited HP scandalously, received a cash severance payment of $12.2 million.
HP CFO Cathie Lesjak filled the gap between Hurd and Apotheker. As thanks for her three-month CEO stint, she was granted a $1 million cash bonus and $2.6 million in stock grants in recognition of her "exceptional service," according to a regulatory filing.
And Carly Fiorina, who resigned (read: was shoved out the door) as CEO in 2005, was given a $21.4 million cash severance in addition to another $21.1 million in stock grants.
In all, the ousters of its past three CEOs, including the bonus for the interim CEO, have cost HP $83.3 million."
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" That Hewlett Packard would miss results (it did, with revenues coming at $30.0 billion on expectations of $30.4billion, guiding Q1 ESP $0.68-$0.71 on expectations of $0.85) is no surprise to anyone who had followed the stock, and/or seen the recent dump of half of Seth Klarman's stake in the name (as was pointed out here previously). What was not only surprising, but shocking is that as part of its earnings announcement, HPQ took a $8.8 billion impairment charge to intangiblesand earnings, primarily as a result of what it said was "serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations at Autonomy Corporation plc that occurred prior to HP's acquisition of Autonomy and the associated impact of those improprieties, failures and misrepresentations on the expected future financial performance of the Autonomy business over the long-term." As a reminder, HPQ bought Autonomy plc for $10.3 billion in August 2011. We now learn that anywhere between 50% and 80% of this purchase price was based on meaningless numbers and fraud. $10.3 billion is also about40% of what HPQ's market cap will be when the stock opens down at least 10%. And this is how one destroys shareholder value. One in this case being the company's former CEO Leo Apotheker, whose executive decisions and lack of diligence have left the company in a stateof complete disaster.What was Leo's punishment for his brief tenure on top of HPQ and swath of absolute value destruction? $25,000,000 in all in comp."
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http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-20/scary-story-hewlett-packard-shareholders-one-chart
Pretty much says it all.
" Earlier today Hewlett Packard stunned investors by announcing that its had effectively bungled a massive acquisition, that of Autonomy plc, despite extensive prior warnings about the accounting practices of the UK firm (for which it appears Deloitte will now have to take the blame), by paying over $10 billion for a transaction that is now clear will provide zero income statement benefit. The one problem, however, is that HP incurred a massive debt load to fund EBITDA and Cash Flow which will never materialize.The result: a capital structure that is now appropriate of a B1/B+ rated company, i.e., one whose debt needs would be serviced by a firm like Jefcadia, and therefore whose time to default in years can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The chartbelow explains it all: why shareholders should just get out while they can, and also explains why despite, or rather due to, endless central bank mingling, cash flowsstill, oddly enough, matter. Oh, and those hoping the HPQ dividend continues uninterrupted in perpetuity, hope again."
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Ouch, ouch, ouch.
"In our view, innovation is the only way out of this wormhole, and spending $384M/qtr on buybacks and dividends siphons off cash that should be in R&D. "
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http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/13eufq/hostess_took_union_members_self_funded_pensions/
From Reddit, more discussion about the Hostess bankruptcy including a discussion of whether "stolen pension" is accurate: it is not theft but breech of contract.
Also, read the comments to learn about medical benefits to union workers. What are they complaining about?? I worked for a large multinational and didn't get benefits like that.
http://m.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/18/1162786/-Inside-the-Hostess-Bankery
"In July of 2011 we received a letter from the company. It said that the $3+ per hour that we as a Union contribute to the pension was going to be 'borrowed' by the company until they could be profitable again. Then they would pay it all back. The Union was notified of this the same time and method as the individual members. No contact from the company to the Union on a national level.
This money will never be paid back. The company filed for bankruptcy and the judge ruled that the $3+ per hour was a debt the company couldn't repay. The Union continued to work despite this theft of our self-funded pension contributions for over a year. I consider this money stolen. No other word in the English language describes what they have done to this money."
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Jackie Goebel has worked for Walmart for 24 years, but this year, for the first time, she will spend the Thanksgiving holiday working at the retail giant. Like many of her colleagues, she is not happy. "Walmart has become a company so obsessed by the bottom line and greed that it no longer values the importance of the people and families that work for it," she said.
A Walmart spokesman said "Last year, our highest customer traffic during the Black Friday weekend was during the 10pm hour on Thursday. According to the National Retail Federation, Thanksgiving night shopping has surged over the past three years. Most of our stores are open 24 hours and, historically, much of our Black Friday preparations have been done on Thanksgiving, which is not unusual in the retail industry."
http://marketsaw.blogspot.com/2012/11/exclusive-more-secret-details-revealed.html
Star Wars was the defining movie of my generation. I couldn't be more excited to hear about Disney's plans! And, what a great excuse to expand the Star Wars section of Disney Hollywood Studios!
"Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, C3PO and R2D2 are I am assured to feature prominently in the new trilogy, as was always the idea. Apparently some have already been approached. Quite a while back too to my understanding. Hamill is a certainty.
There are two trilogies planned, all following an original overview by Lucas, which was always planned as a multi generational saga. Movies 10 -12 are from my understanding about the offspring of the Skywalkers, set many years later with the surviving cast playing much older versions of themselves and featuring a female protagonist named Skywalker."
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"Retailers are relying on part-time workers, a trend that has frustrated millions of Americans who want full-time jobs but must instead settle for reduced pay and benefits.
The widening use of part-timers has been a bane to many workers, pushing many into poverty and forcing some onto food stamps and Medicaid. And with work schedules that change week to week, workers can find it hard to arrange child care, attend college or hold a second job, according to interviews with more than 40 part-time workers.
To be sure, many people prefer to work part time —for instance, college students eager for extra spending money and older people earning money for presents during the holiday season.
But in two leading industries —retailing and hospitality —the number of part-timers who would prefer to work full-time has jumped to 3.1 million, or two-and-a-half times the 2006 level, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In retailing alone, nearly 30 percent of part-timers want full-time jobs, up from 10.6 percent in 2006. The agency found that in the retail and wholesale sector, which includes hundreds of thousands of small stores that rely heavily on full-time workers, about 3 in 10 employees work part-time.
Retailers and restaurants use so many part-timers not only because it gives them more flexibility, but because it significantly cuts payroll costs."
http://nyti.ms/Pyeplc
http://www.zdnet.com/nice-ipad-mini-apple-but-im-keeping-my-nexus-7-7000006267/
This article sums it up well: against the Galaxy Nexus 7, the iPad Mini has:
LOWER screen density (163 ppi vs 216 (or 280 for Galaxy Note!)),
proprietary charging connector (prepare to buy new home, office, car charging cables),
no Google Maps,
iOS 5 Wifi problems,
No advantage expected on performance and battery life,
And for all this, costs $130 more.
Oh yeah, it's thinner and lighter than the Nexus 7. Apple is overly obsessed with thinness and lightness. Move on! Fix maps, fix Wifi, and get a display that's at least as good as your smartphone, not worse.
BlackBerry was so in love with things it did right (corporate email, physical keyboard) that they failed in innovate in other areas where they were falling down (very late to market with Wifi, higher camera resolutions).
Apple has the same exact problem. And where is BlackBerry now? In the poorhouse.
http://m.seekingalpha.com/article/939621
"We find it amusing that even though Intel is facing a challenging operating environment due to the decline of the personal computer, at least it is giving noogies to AMD. We find it absolutely amusing that Intel's bottom line net income of $2.97B in Q3 2012 was comparable to AMD's top line revenue in H1 2012 of $3B. AMD preannounced another revenue decline of 10% for Q3 2012 on Thursday October 11, and it announced its second round of layoffs recently, in which it would cut up to one-fifth of its 12K employees.
In a way, we think that Intel's dominance of AMD served to weaken it, because while Intel was beating AMD worse than a government mule, it overlooked the nascent smartphone and tablet computing devices, and these products have served to sap demand for desktop PCs and even laptops."
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http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/world/asia/north-koreans-say-life-has-not-improved.xml
"The lucky few who make it to Dandong are stunned by what they find: the car-choked streets, hot showers and the ability to speak out without fear. But mostly, they are overwhelmed by the array and abundance of inexpensive food. While her compatriots said they stuffed themselves with meat-filled dumplings and rice, Mrs. Kim ate only apples for the first five days. She said she had not eaten them since childhood.
"I thought our country lived well," she said, "but I was mistaken." "
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https://ebooksagsettlements.com/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx
I love the legal system in this country. They don't even have to admit they were wrong. But what does it matter. They got hit in the pocketbook.
" The antitrust lawsuit was filed by Attorneys General of 49 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories and commonwealths, and claims there was a conspiracy involving three of the nation's top publishers and others to fix and raise retail prices of E-books.
These three Publishers ("Settling Publishers") have agreed to settle the lawsuit. The Settling Publishers deny they have done anything wrong but have agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of trial. The case is in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It is called Texas et al. v. Hachette Book Group et al., Case No.12-cv-6625. ("Et alia" is a Latin phrase that means "and others.")
This Court has preliminarily approved the proposed Settlements and will consider whether to grant final approval on February 8, 2013. (See Question 19.)
A separate case continues against two additional Publishers ("Non-Settling Publishers") and Apple, Inc. This separate case is called Texas et al. v. Penguin Group, (USA) Inc.et al., Case No. 12-cv-03394, and is scheduled to go to trial in 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York."
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Swiftkey is my favorite keyboard. Wish I could have it on my iPad, especially text predictions). And, all my frequently used punctuation is accessible thru the first screen with a long press. Only wish there was a ".com" button.
SwiftKey 3 lets me see how I type! Get it for Android at http://swiftkey.net
http://m.voiceofsandiego.org/mobile/education/article_c83343e8-ddd5-11e1-bfca-001a4bcf887a.html
Wow, just wow. I can see now our plan will be to move out of Poway School District 20 years from now. There is zero chance, in my opinion, that real estate values will quadruple 20 years from now. Salaries would have to increase to support that. And in this era of stagnant salaries and pressure from worldwide competitors with much lower costs of living, it will never, ever happen.
"The full 2,200 word statement makes no mention of capital appreciation bonds, and says little about how the borrowing would be paid back. The ballot arguments against the bond don't mention the unusually high costs involved in borrowing money that won't begin to be paid back for 20 years. The bond also had considerable cachet, thanks to a coveted endorsement from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. Indeed, association President Lani Lutar's name was first on a list of five local dignitaries named on the ballot as supporting the bond. Lutar said had she known the full implications of the bond, she would not have recommended the association support it."
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It's gotten to where I dont want to download any more apps. They all seem to be location reporting, battery sucking apps. I'm looking at you, Facebook app. And Linkedin as well.
Downloaded it yesterday and un installed it this morning. See how the idle periods in the battery graph (when the screen is off) still show lots of Awake time? I uninstalled the Linkedin app about halfway thru the graph, when I saw that my battery was at 65% at 10 in the morning!
You can see the Screen Off times now show no Awake time and the battery life stays almost flat (as one would expect when the display is off).
I just look at everything thru the web now. Forget apps. Facebook, Linkedin, most mobile websites look the same online as they do in the app. Now if Dolphin could could just release ONE version that didn't crash all the time. Just one! I'm begging you!
Spiffing up my ebay auction pages. I'm trying to not buy anything new without selling an equivalent amount first.
Lesjak: FY 2013 outlook: Non-GAAP EPS $3.40-$3.60.
There goes the $4 that analysts had been looking for.
This is based on an assumption that Enterprise Services Business Revenue will decline 11 percent to 13 percent across the company. With operating margins of zero to 3 percent. That's pretty huge.
Tough to disagree with that assessment, given the soaring smartphone market and the dawning of the "post-PC" era.
But it's also hard not to wince at the idea of HP taking another run at the smartphone and tablet market after a failed first attempt that ended in embarrassment and more than $3.3 billion in goodwill- and inventory write-offs. As Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said, following Whitman's first smartphone comments, "While [it] makes sense strategically, we see it as a high risk move. On top of adding costs and working capital burdens to an already stressed balance sheet, there could be additional write-offs. We note that to date almost all PC OEMs have failed to gain significant traction in consumer tablets/smartphones." "
" "My world almost ended this morning when the local Starbucks told me they were out of Pumpkin Spice Latte," tweeted Jason Sizemore, 38 years old, of Lexington, Ky."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444223104578036560736681482.html
Any company desiring to enter the mobile market right now, from a dead stop, would do well to ask whether it should simply be aiming for whatever is to come AFTER smartphones. Because the tsunami is now.
" As Jefferies analyst Peter Misek observes, right now there simply aren't enough iPhone 5s to go around. "Remember, there are 170 million post paid subscribers coming off contract," Misek told AllThingsD. "That's overwhelming all supply ramps. The demand here is unprecedented." "
http://allthingsd.com/20121005/still-not-enough-iphone-5s-to-go-around/
With more fungal meningitis cases reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was important for people who had injections for back pain to come forward.
" Doctors urged anyone who had a spinal injection for pain in the last few months to contact a doctor if they became ill, particularly with symptoms that include a new or worsening headache, fever, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, nausea, slurred speech or loss of balance. The medical name for the injections is a lumbar epidural steroid injection."
http://nyti.ms/QQzaUd
" A healthy neuron looks like a tree in spring, he says, with lots of branches and leaves extending toward synaptic connections with other neurons. "What happens in depression is there's a shriveling of these branches and these leaves and It looks like a tree in winter. And a drug like ketamine does make the tree look like one back in spring." "
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2010893/hps-windows-8-tablet-has-a-fatal-flaw.html
HP ought to get in and negotiate harder with their suppliers for better cost, or just suck up the cost of the higher res display. HP can't afford to look uncompetitive or look like they dont understand market needs, if they mean to dominate in mobile.
" "The integrated display resolution is below the threshold for Snap, a Windows Store interface feature that allows two Windows Store applications to be viewed simultaneously," HP's announcement says. "This feature may be enabled by attaching an external 1366 x 768 or higher resolution display.""
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http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/10/01/caesars-bringing-bowling-cupcakes-to-the-vegas-strip/
By the way, don't forget to get your room reservations for CES 2012!
" Casino operator Caesars Entertainment announced Monday that it has signed tenants for roughly 70% of the space in its 260,000-square-foot project, called the Linq, across Las Vegas Boulevard from Caesars Palace. Caesars intends to open the $550 million project in late 2013. It plans to install a 550-foot-high Ferris wheel there in 2014.
The roster of early tenants named by Caesars includes Brooklyn Bowl, a 16-lane bowling alley and live performance venue; Sprinkles Cupcakes and Sprinkles Ice Cream, a Los Angeles boutique; and Tilted Kilt, a Celtic-themed sports pub. Caesars is designing the Linq with leasing and consulting assistance from Los Angeles mall owner Caruso Affiliated, to focus on entertainment venues and rare boutique shops."
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Love this blog. His ideas are fascinating. His theory #5 why Romney refuses to release his returns seems plausible. It has to be a reason that is simply unspinnable. Paying 0 taxes, for example, could merely be described as perfectly legal. It has to be worse than paying no taxes.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/09/romney-tax-records/
" Profiting handsomely from a housing/stock market short could easily be turned into an anti-Romney sound bite that would only add to the narrative of the candidate as a ruthless über-capitalist concerned only for himself while the 47 percent moocher class struggles.
The bottom line is that there's something in Mr. Romney's tax returns that he doesn't want made public. Having bet against America would be at the top of my list –far more devastating, in my opinion, than simply having paid an absurdly low rate."
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" Watching that awful trailer, I thought about the other actors who had been duped as I was. I felt particularly bad for Michael, who played George. His character became Muhammad. I can tell you without any doubt that Michael would never have played the part if he'd known what it would become."
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z8qwl/iama_former_soviet_red_army_sergeant_stationed_in/
Interesting opinions on Soviet leadership, Islam, the US, Romney, Obama, the Kardashians (he is Armenian).
http://mobile.latimes.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=2666310&postId=2666310
"The tax revenue from these online sales is being lauded as a win for the debt-ridden state of California, which estimates it will see an additional $317 million annually as a result; more than $83 million of that is expected to come from Amazon alone. "
Failure to do this before September 28, the entire world will be allowed to view the documents with a publicly released key to unlock everything.
Bitcoin Address to Stop Release:
1HeF89wMjC48bWNgWvVo7Wu3RaLW8XVsE8
And the same time, the other interested parties will be allowed to compete with you. For those that DO want the documents released will have an different address to send to. If $1,000,000 USD is sent to this account below first; then the encryption keys will be made available to the world right away. So this is an equal opportunity for the documents to remain locked away forever or to be exposed before the September 28 deadline.
Who-ever is the winner does not matter to us."
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"The jury handed down its decision today in the case between Apple and Samsung in the US. It was a big win for Apple and a sweeping loss for Samsung, which will have to pay nearly $1.05 billion in damages assuming its appeals do not change the damages (and assuming the judge does not impose additional penalties for willful infringement). Here is a quick breakdown of the claims and how the jury decided on each.
This patent describes the bounce-back feature that happens when you scroll beyond the edge of an image or document. The jury found that all of Samsung's devices infringe this patent.
This patent describes the one finger scroll or two finger pinch to zoom gestures. The jury found that all devices except the Intercept and the Replenish were infringing.
This patent describes the tap to zoom gesture. The jury found that the Droid Charge, Epic 4G, Exhibit 4G, Fascinate, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize and Replenish. The jury found that the Captivate, Continuum, Gem, Indulge , Intercept, Nexus 4G and Vibrant did not infringe.
This patent covers the design of the iPhone. The jury found that the Fascinate, Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G touch, Skyrocket, Showcase, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize and Vibrant are infringing. The Galaxy Ace did not infringe.
This patent covers the design of the iPhone. The jury found that the Galaxy S, Galaxy S 4G and Vibrant are infringing. The Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch, Skyrocket and Infuse 4G are not infringing.
This patent is a trade dress patent for the iPhone's homescreen. The jury found that the Captivate, Continuum, Droid Charge, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Galaxy S, Galaxy S 4G, Showcase, Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize and Vibrant are infringing.
This patent relates to the industrial design of a tablet computer. The jury found that none of Samsung's tablet devices are infringing.
The jury found that Apple did not infringe any of Samsung's patents.
The jury found Samsung violated Section 2 of the Sherman antitrust law by monopolizing markets related to the UMTS standard, while Apple did not."
Roy Futterman: I am surprised that the attorneys and the judge have allowed the jury's job to be staggeringly complicated by providing them with an elaborate verdict form and remarkably long jury instructions. In our experience working on complex patent litigation, we always advise attorneys to do everything possible to clarify the complex legal and technological issues for the jurors as a means to a favorable verdict. A simpler case with a clear verdict form would be most favorable to Apple as the plaintiff charging infringement. A complicated verdict form may lead an overwhelmed jury to check a box that leads to an invalid patent."
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And that award isn't going to ruin Samsung: The Korean manufacturing giant made a profit of $4.5 billion in the most recent June quarter, 63 percent of which came from its mobile business. So the jury award amounts to about half of one quarter's mobile profit for the company. (Of course, the financial hit could wind up being bigger for Samsung: The judge has the option to triple the damages awarded to Apple.)
Furthermore, of the products that the jury found violated Apple's patents, only the Nexus S 4G and the T-Mobile Galaxy S II are still being sold. Other devices in Samsung's current product line should be safe, thanks to design shifts Samsung made following the Galaxy S II.
Those shifts were most likely defensive, made to protect Samsung against lawsuits like this one, which Apple filed in April 2011. Many of the infringements that the jury cited in Friday's verdict centered on elements of the TouchWiz user-interface that for the most part are no longer used."
http://m.gizmodo.com/5931223/not-even-the-olympics-can-make-3dtv-worth-it
"HD was a quantum leap in part at least because you can reap its benefits with the naked eye. 3D glasses and the cost are turn have turned out to be a bigger barrier than anyone anticipated. People are cooling down to the gimmick.
Consider the movies as an example. Sure Avatar was an incredible 3D experience unlike anything anyone had seen before, but just a few years later Christopher Nolan refused to shoot The Dark Knight Rises in 3D. It just wasn't worth it to him because he didn't think audiences cared."
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Pinnacles is a great park. We hiked thru one of the caves a few years back. Some of the sections of the cave are in complete darkness! Bring your flashlight. Not a large park but a very enjoyable one.
Dont miss it if you're near the central California coast. Glad to see it will be protected.
Look about 60% of the way down for a watercolor illustration by Shitty_Watercolor. This guy is a phenom on Reddit, he occasionally creates watercolors for interesting threads. In this case its a depiction of Granbo (Grandpa) defeating an intruder with a rifle with a glass of scotch in his hand. I often see calls for Shitty_Watercolor's work on other Reddit threads.
As Boromir says, you cannot just spend 15 minutes on Reddit...
http://m.techcrunch.com/2012/07/18/women-in-tech-put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is/
"While making money investing in startups is not guaranteed, investing in startups is one of the best ways to learn about how the industry works. And whether or not you make money, I bet it can do as much for YOU as for your bank account or the founders you invest in. My own personal investing experiences have been some of the best ways for me to learn how founders and investors can grow and lead companies. And, in a few cases I made money too."
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