PCWorld: How To Use Facebook Places

http://www.pcworld.com/article/203819/how_to_use_facebook_places.html

I think it's more fun to use Foursquare myself. I don't see why social media has to boil down to just one application. I mean, I already don't trust Facebook, why should I trust them with my places?

"This can be rather tricky for users concerned about privacy--while researching this piece, I checked several of my PCWorld colleagues into local bars at about 11am on a workday--so if you want to use Facebook Places without letting your friends check you in, you can disable it by turning off Friends Can Check Me Into Places in the privacy settings (click the link for detailed instructions). Once this is disabled, your friends can still try to add you at check-in time, but it won't display on the actual check-in."

Hurd and the Board: Failure all around

http://m.cnbc.com/us_news/38704024

"On the other hand, putting up dazzling short-term numbers that have the effect of enriching himself while robbing H.P.'s future — isn't that what a C.E.O. should be fired for? Firing Mr. Hurd for that reason, however, would have taken courage, something that has always been in short supply on the H.P. board."

Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Larry is furious about this Mark Hurd thing

http://www.fakesteve.net/2010/08/larry-is-furious-about-this-mark-hurd-thing.html (link NSFW)

"My own paranoid conspiracy theory is that this woman was probably a Microsoft plant. Because think about it. A few months ago HP shoved a fork in Ballmer’s eye when they bought Palm and, in effect, rejected Windows. So, Ballmer waits a little while and then bam — he knocks Hurd out of the box. Maybe this all sounds crazy but trust me, the Borg has these sluts planted everywhere. We all do it, actually. They work their way in on some CEO or other top manager; they gather evidence; and then when we’re negotiating something tricky and we need something, we pull the trigger. The slut springs a blackmail attempt or, in this case, a groundless sexual harassment claim which everyone knew would fail in court but was basically just a way to embarrass Hurd and knock him out of his job."

Men with money, and the women who prey on them

For some reason I keep thinking about this article that I read a little while ago...(article link in the blogpost below is NSFW)

http://princess-teri.blogspot.com/2010/05/diane-passage-knew-just-how-to-hook-him.html

WSJ: New Superbug Spurs Warning

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704901104575423340559483222.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

"Researchers in an article published in the U.K. journal Lancet Wednesday identified a superbug that is resistant to most antibiotics and warned that it is widespread in India and could spread globally.

The new gene, called NDM-1, alters bacteria, allowing them to become resistant to nearly all known antibiotics including carbapenems, a group of antibiotics often reserved as a last resort for emergency treatment for multi-drug resistant bugs."

Mark Hurd, Larry Ellison, and girlfriends that pass in the night

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/10/mark-hurd-larry-ellison-steve-jobs/?source=yahoo_quote

"In his 1997 book, "The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison (God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison)," St. Petersburg Times reporter Mike Wilson described Ellison conducting simultaneous romantic relationships with as many as three female employees. That sometimes created confusion -- Ellison openly described to Wilson an incident in which a woman employee arrived at the executive's house one night, only to find another girlfriend-employee there."

Watch out for them reality TV stars

Woman in HP's Mark Hurd case, Jodie Fisher, comes forward.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15712227

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0167546/

Source: HP's Hurd paid harassment accuser to settle claim, denies sexual relationship - San Jose Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15700217

"But according to one source, the woman complained to HP that she felt pressured to have sex with Hurd and feared she might lose her work with the company if she did not comply. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hurd has acknowledged a friendship with the woman but denied having any sexual relationship or ever pressuring the woman about sex.

Hurd has paid the woman an unspecified amount of money to resolve her claim, according to a person who has spoken with Hurd's advisers. The person described the amount as" less than what Hurd's legal fees would have been if the matter had gone to trial.

AP: Timeline: Major HP events over past 5 years

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5it6z7wvPVX-KxbyGPyDCOMwvi4DAD9HEVRK00

"A timeline of some key controversies, acquisitions and news events for Hewlett-Packard Co. over the last five years, and the trajectory of HP's stock price under now-ousted CEO Mark Hurd:"

HP CEO ouster leaves leadership hole - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100808/ap_on_re_us/us_hp_ceo_resigns

"Hurd will get about $28 million in cash and stock just to walk away. The person said Hurd realized he could no longer lead HP in part because at least two board members were convinced he had had a sexual relationship with the woman and was trying to cover it up."

Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd Resigns After Sexual Harassment Probe - WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703309704575413663370670900.html

hmmm, do i smell conspiracy?? - funny that it happens during contract renegotiation. who knew that and could benefit from it?

the fact that there was no affair is a red herring. harassment is an attempt tocoerce someone into an improper relationship thru ones position power. looks like he tried for a while, wined and dined her, paid her a little too much, but she turned him down, and like any Master of the Universe, he thought he didnt have to take no for an answer, and she finally called him on it. and by that time there was a paper trail. hello, gloria allred? she probably got the big payoff for not pressing further charges in public.

with all the ethics scandals that hp has seen, the board had no choice but to fire him. any other ceo would have gotten away with it, come on.

"Mr. Hurd, H-P's CEO since 2005, had been in discussions with the board to extend his tenure as CEO before the woman's letter surfaced, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Mr. Hurd was in talks for a three-year contract that could have been valued at $100 million, a person familiar with the matter says.

Mr. Hurd's relationship with the board soured during the investigation, people familiar with the matter said. The findings of the investigation were presented to the board July 28, these people said.

"
.

Orange County Register Mobile story - Blufftop mansion's price cut $25 million

Portabello, the sprawling, 20,000-plus square-foot, two-level blufftop home in Corona del Mar is back on the market with a listing price chopped by a third.

Owner Frank Pritt, a computer software mogul, is now reportedly asking $49.6 million for the residence that boasts its own theater, bowling alley, soda shop and jewelry store. It also features an outdoor grotto, two pools and an upper-deck whirlpool tub with a see-through plastic bubble on the bottom. (Click on photos above for larger views!) When the home first went up for sale four years ago, it?s $75 million asking price was the county?s high and the second-highest in the nation.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

"Mr. Pritt purchased three oceanfront lots in 1996 for $13 million, with a total of 325 feet of oceanfront, and built the house over about six years. He says he?s selling because his youngest children are out of college; he now lives in Seattle. He took the house off the market about a year after its 2006 listing. Despite the size, he says ?it?s really a pretty cozy house,? with the everyday living spaces designed to feel intimate."

Study: Mixing school-age kids and computers makes for bad stuff

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/07/12/study-mixing-school-age-kids-and-computers-is-bad-stuff/

Studies are showing that free computers provided to school age kids are associated with lower grades in school.

Microsoft, Kin, and the future

http://www.google.com/reader/m/view/?dc=gbb&c=CKXB-6K-26IC&i=-8787154665778909931&n=1

"Maybe that next great idea hasn't shown itself just yet to Microsoft. Or maybe that's why we're seeing a complete reboot of the Windows Mobile brand as Windows Phone? Mobile is the obvious choice for that next big idea. Hell, it already is a massively big idea (just ask Apple and Google). But it's going to get even bigger. And mobile computing in particular is going to get more important to the fabric of society. Microsoft undoubtedly realizes this, and that's why it's okay that they're re-entering the game so late. The big prize is still there for the taking.

But unlike with Windows 25 years ago, Microsoft faces one very big challenge this time around if mobile is the next great idea they're going to pursue: Google. Google's Android platform is more or less taking the role that Windows took during the PC wars of the 1980s. They're the more open variety of Apple's popular but closed idea. They're the ones going for massive market share while Apple continues to prefer tight controls over its system.

Microsoft can't get away with the licensing fees that they got PC vendors to pay for Windows this time around because the Android software is free. And again, Microsoft is already coming late to the game. So that leaves Microsoft with no clear outlet to make money in mobile since they'd neither be selling hardware nor selling software licenses (again, if they truly hope to compete with Android). What does that leave? Mobile search? Maybe — but again, that's Google's game plan and Microsoft is going to have a hard time playing catch up there.

The touchscreen tablet computing revolution is also a problematic area as Microsoft's next idea. Again, there they'll be facing both Apple and Google. The latter is starting to ramp up Android tablet ideas, and soon, Chrome OS too. Microsoft can offer a full-fledged OS (a flavor of Windows 7) to run on tablets — but will anyone want that? Or will native apps win out?"

Business: China's housing boom spells trouble for boyfriends

http://m.latimes.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=0319289B1E9D7865E952.213?view=Business+Items&feed:a=latimes_1min&feed:c=businessnews&feed:i=54451641&nopaging=1

"Young Chinese are coming of age at a time of exploding wealth and rising expectations for material success. In a survey last year on Sohu.com, a popular Web portal similar to Yahoo, 73% of respondents said homeownership was a necessity for marriage. An almost equal percentage said they had difficulty buying an apartment.

"I'm 25 years old, looking for a boyfriend.... I want you to have an apartment and a car.... The apartment has to be built after 2000 and the car has to be better than a minivan," read one post on the popular Chinese Web portal Baidu."

The End of Men - Magazine - The Atlantic - Flash Player Installation

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-end-of-men/8135/1/

"As recently as 1985, about half of all women in a national survey said they "must have a son." That percentage fell slowly until 1991 and then plummeted to just over 15 percent by 2003. Male preference in South Korea "is over," says Monica Das Gupta, a demographer and Asia expert at the World Bank. "It happened so fast. It's hard to believe it, but it is." The same shift is now beginning in other rapidly industrializing countries such as India and China."

TechCrunch: Zynga goes to the mattresses with Mafia Wars users

http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/14/zynga-goes-to-the-mattresses-with-mafia-wars-users/

"When Zynga continued to ignore users they started emailing us [TechCrunch] instead. Emails thousands of words long came in containing the kind of bitter passion that you usually only see when we say something mildly critical about the iPhone. Some users are saying that they are going to do a credit card charge back on money they've previously spent on Zynga games. Others say they're leaving to try one of the many competitors. Etc.

What really seemed to make the users angry is the tone Zynga used in communicating with them:

"Your account was determined to have attempted to use an unauthorized redemption code that would result in $120 worth of Reward Points.
As a result of this action, your account has been reverted to its status as of 5am PST on Tuesday June 8th."

Remember that this is just fake money to buy fake stuff on Mafia Wars that costs Zynga nothing to create. The code was created by Zynga and distributed without any technical restrictions on its use (meaning anyone could use it).

In other words, Zynga screwed up."

Engadget for Mobile

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/02/hp-ceo-we-didnt-buy-palm-to-be-in-the-smartphone-business/

"hey, Mark? You should really look into the smartphone business when you get a second, okay? Just trust us on this one"

- hopefully he means "today smartphones, tomorrow the world".

Or is Hurd in the "cell phones are toys" camp?

Diane Passage knew just how to hook him: Rich men like Kenneth Starr are easy prey for strippers

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/05/29/2010-05-29_dancers_have_the_guys_by_the_youknowwhat.html

"The [girls] make them feel comfortable. They assuage their insecurities. They somehow convince them they are attractive, interesting, funny. That they are loved not for their money or power, but for who they really are.

"These CEOs are easy prey for a beautiful Scores girl," Osher says. "They become hypnotized, and follow them around like lost puppy dogs.""

For a laugh...

Follow @BPGlobalPR on twitter:

"Just got the concession call from Exxon Valdez. They were great competitors and remarkably evil about everything. #bpwins!"