Author: Serkadis

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

The Dakar Rally just ended, but there’s always another one to get ready for. Off-road racer Emily Miller, of Rod Hall Racing, Baja 1000 and Ironman fame, will be doing the 20th Anniversary Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles in March with extreme-skier-and-navigator Wendy Fisher.

The Rallye Aïcha has a few key differences to traditional races like the Dakar. In the manner of orienteering, drivers can’t use GPS or pace notes; instead, navigators find their way with a compass and a 1:100,000-scale map. Like, the paper kind. And no binoculars or cell phones are allowed. Stages aren’t won on time, but by getting to the finish in the shortest driven distance compared to as-the-crow-flies. The race is carbon neutral. There is no prize money for winners; proceeds from the race go to support a team of doctors that care for locals throughout the year. Oh, and the race is for women only.

The race runs from March 13-27, and Team Miller Fisher will be one of more than 120 teams competing. Follow the jump for a video look at the race, and to Emily and Wendy and their Hummer H3, best of luck.

[Source: Team Miller Fisher]

Continue reading Emily Miller and Wendy Fisher gear up for the Rally Aïcha des Gazelles (w/video)

Emily Miller and Wendy Fisher gear up for the Rally Aïcha des Gazelles (w/video) originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might not think it but Pope Benedict XVI is proving to be quite the social media advocate, at least some of the time. During his short tenure, he has launched a YouTube channel, a Facebook app and an iPhone app. And he’s not done yet, he is now urging clergy men and women to make good use of the new communication channels, specifically blogs, to spr… (read more)

Numerous publications reported earlier this morning that General Motors could sign a deal to sell Saab to Spyker either today or sometime early this week.

Spyker has just released a short statement saying:

Spyker Cars N.V., manufacturer of exclusive premium sports cars, has noted recent press speculation about the SAAB negotiations. Spyker confirms that talks are ongoing, the outcome of which is still uncertain. As SAAB is currently in liquidation talks must end soon.

Bloomberg reported earlier today that Spyker had offered GM cash and share in a new Saab that would be worth $500 million.

– By: Omar Rana

{img align=left}We’re not sure if they want to hide some details of their 2010 challenger prior to its testing debut or anything – it’s not like we’re not going to see the new Ferraris on track next week anyway – but the Maranello-based team did not invite any of the well-known F1 photographers to their launch event on Thursday.

The news emerged on Monday, during the unveiling of Mercedes GP’s livery for the 2010 season. The media present at the Mercedes-Benz Museum revealed that they will al… (read more)

Acer has big plans for 2010. Sometime within the coming months the world’s second largest computer maker will launch a 6-inch monochrome ebook reader, cross-platform application store and a Chrome OS netbook — along with probably a crapton and a half of computers under its Acer, Gateway, and EMachines brands. And yes, the company is working on a tablet computer says the president of Acer’s IT Products division. Tablet!

The app store is slated for a June launch and will support Android and Winmo with Google Chrome OS supporting coming later. The apps will be low-cost or free. So far there isn’t any word on the developers on board or if there will be a SDK.

The Acer ebook reader’s launch date hasn’t been announced, but US buyers shouldn’t worry about it anyway. The device is heading to five unannounced European countries first. In fact, it sounds like it may never hit the States. Acer already has content deals worked out in Europe and it seems that Acer knows that it can’t compete with the Kindle or Nook’s distribution and content library anyway.

As for the Chrome OS netbook, details are still light besides that it should launch sometime in 2010’s 3rd quarter. Acer expects to sell at least one million of them this year — or 8% of its total projected netbook sales. An impressive amount for a product that might only be available for 3-5 months in 2010.

Jim Wong, president of IT Products division, quoted by Bloomberg,

“We’re developing something, and we will see what happens” after Apple’s tablet release, Wang said. “We’re going to work either in the Windows world or in Google’s defined OS space.”

So, what if Apple doesn’t announce a tablet? Just asking.

Bloomberg, flickr

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So how’s Nintendo’s push for digital downloads coming along? Based on the batch coming this week, well, it could be better. Don’t take my word for it though, see for yourself.

According to the Sustainable Development Commission, UK needs average speed cameras on more motorways and urban routes, and automatic speed controllers fitted to cars in order to reduce the carbon emissions. The SDC just launched today a 64-page report called Smarter Moves which asks for important changes.

The changes featured in SDC’s Smarter Moves report also include:

The Department for Transport, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Department for Culture, Medi… (read more)

Don’t know if this qualifies as a parable. But it’s interesting, at the very least: An iPhone app developer has figured out how combat the burgeoning problem of piracy on Apple’s (AAPL) software platform — by embracing the pirates.

Here’s the story of Tapulous, relayed from the Midem music conference in Cannes by MocoNews’ Robert Andrews:

Rhythm game Tap Tap Revenge saw 2.5 million downloads in its first two months – but a million of those were pirate downloads, Tapulous business development head Tim O’Brien told delegates.
But that’s okay. “We know who they are,” O’Brien said, adding that many of the pirates are now buying virtual goods and legal music downloads within the app.
“We’ve started running ads to the pirate users more aggressively.  Some of those users, because we sell virtual goods, have become high-volume users.” Now Tapulous has 25 million unique users and has been profitable since June.

Had the music labels tried this approach, would the industry be in any better shape today? I’m not sure. The labels do make periodic attempts try to steer “file-sharers” to legal purchases, either via marketing or threats.

But the big problem there is that people who are looking for free music are looking for free music, and there’s no equivalent “virtual good” that the labels can sell to enhance the music they’re not selling.

The labels have started branching out again into revenue streams beyond music sales — concerts, t-shirts, headphones, etc — so in theory there could be an opportunity to do a variant: Hey we noticed you’re “sharing” a Madonna song. Would you like to buy a concert DVD? Etc. But if they’re doing it — and if its working — that’s news to me.

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We’re still a few days away from the presumed unveilling of Apple’s mythical tablet computer and already analysts are trying to divine the impact the new device will have on the company’s bottom line. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky expects Apple (AAPL) to sell 5 million tablets in the product’s first year at market. At a retail price of $600, and a 30 percent gross margin, that would generate about $2.8 billion in revenue and add 30 cents to EPS. This assumes the tablet is neither a hit (iPhone) nor a niche (MacBook Air) product, but ends up somewhere in between, the scenario that Abramsky believes is the most likely.

As the analyst notes, nailing the sweetspot on price is crucial to the device’s success. “… Pricing is key,” Abramsky writes. “… Significant demand exists at $500-799, narrowing at $1000 at which level subsidies may be needed (assuming a mobile data version) for mass acceptance, suggesting both retail and carrier marketing/distribution similar to iPhone. … An Apple tablet priced at $500-700 unsubsidized ($200-300 subsidized) strikes squarely at heart of the entry level laptop and Netbook markets. Although the tablet would not offer the breadth of features or raw performance of traditional laptops, it would deliver an optimal experience for buyers looking for user-friendly, media-centric computing at entry-level price points. The tablet may cannibalize some Mac and iPod Touch buyers (est. 2-5% in scenario analysis), but the lack of Mac OS X compatibility (and emulated Windows) reduces the appeal of the tablet as a Mac replacement for Apple’s traditional premium Mac buyers.”

• Apple’s Tablet: MacBook Airbus?
• Apple Announces Jan. 27 Special Event: “Come See Our Latest Creation”
• Major Apple Product Announcement Set for Wednesday, Jan. 27
• Apple Pitching Tablet to Publishing Industry; Spring Launch Expected
• Time (Finally) for the Tablet? Apple Developers Supersizing Their Apps for January Event.
• The Apple Tablet Is Delayed? So What?
• $1.9 Billion in Capex? What’s Apple Planning?
• Apple’s Tablet: Read Different?
• Imaginary Demand for Mythical Apple Tablet Exceeds All Estimates
• Apple Tablet Coming to AT&T?
• New From Piper Jaffray Analyst Gene Munster: The Apple iPad
• Rumored Apple Netbook Actually an E-Book?
• iTablet: Apple’s Killer App for Higher Ed
• iFugly

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Although Renault is currently involved in one of the most important electric vehicle efforts of the auto industry – we’re talking about the Zero-Emission mobility programme – this doesn’t necessarily mean that the French manufacturer is ignoring the other vehicle categories. And the living proof is the new Renault Master, the popular van that will go on sale in April 2010.

The new Renault Master will be offered with several engines, including a new 2.3-liter dCi unit that is fitted transvers… (read more)

 

To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends,

• From a client who’s a very senior officer at a community bank:  “Examiners are hammering everyone about loans with ridiculous standards, i.e. if it is weak it is bad, if it is OK it is bad, if it is good we must be missing something because it has to be bad.  If you don’t have an appraisal that was done one week ago, it is too old and they discount it.  If you have a current appraisal, it must be based on unrealistic comps.” The banker who wrote this is very smart, very experienced, and very much on target.
• We just finished Jesus of Nazareth,  a 1925 book by Jewish scholar Joseph Klaussner. Toward the end, he writes “If we omitted the miracles and preserved only the moral precepts and parables, the Gospels would count as one of the most wonderful collections of ethical teachings in the world. If ever a day should come and this mythical code be stripped of its wrappings of miracles and mysticism, the Book of the Ethics of Jesus will be one of the choicest treasures in the literature of Israel for all time.”  We agree.  But what Klaussner apparently didn’t know is that Thomas Jefferson had already done it.  We read Jefferson’s Bible a few months back and Jefferson had done precisely what Klaussner wrote about 125 years later.

• We’ve been critical of Boards of Directors for approving management plans to go into subprime lending, but we’d like to make one thing clear.   We don’t really fault these Directors for deciding to allow management to move into subprime lending.  Directors are human, and people often make decisions that look foolish only in hindsight.  So we don’t fault them for the decision per se.  What we’re concerned about is whether they did proper due diligence and analysis before making the decision.  We’re less concerned with bad decisions and more concerned with how they made that decision. Bad decisions can be excused, but not bad decision-making practices.   Does that make sense?

• With all the discussion about doing away with or merging regulatory bodies, how about this:  Instead of one regulator for national banks, one for state banks and one for thrifts, how about three regulatory bodies based on the size of the bank?  It doesn’t make sense for the OCC to regulate $2 trillion Bank of America as well as a $200 million community bank, just because the smaller one happens to have a national bank charter.  How about one regulator for all banks under $500 million in size, a second regulator for all banks between $500 million and $5 billion, and a third regulator for all banks over $5 billion?

• Do you like Neil Young’s music? One scientist liked him so much that when he discovered a new species of spider recently, he named it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.

• What’s a sudden?  When someone says, “All of a sudden, the Examiner-in-Charge decided to give us a Cease and Desist” we know generally what he means, but do we really know what that noun sudden  means?  Isn’t all of a sudden kind of a weird phrase?  What’s wrong with just saying “Suddenly, the Examiner-in-Charge decided to give us a Cease & Desist”?   Actually, the proper English is “All of a sudden, the sunuvabitch decided to give us a Cease & Desist.”

• There’s a proposal in California to re-write the state’s unwieldy constitution, and one of the many components of the plan is to require drug testing for all members of the state legislature.  Isn’t that hilarious?  Don’t you love it when hypocrites can be uncovered.
• Speaking of  California , prison guards here can retire at 50 with a pension equal to 90% of their final years pay. There are hundreds of prison guards who make well over $100,000 a year, many who make over $150,000 with overtime. We wrote Arnold and asked how many made six figures, but we never heard back.
• We just read that Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary died sometime last year. If you’re seeing this for the first time, doesn’t it kind of make you feel like a part of an era has passed?

• Cal professor Jack Gallant can literally read your mind.  He shows thousands of images to people while they’re in an MRI machine that reads brain patterns, and he measures and records the brains response to each image.  Later, he can ask you to think of something, and by measuring your brain waves through MRI’s, he can know with complete accuracy what you’re thinking about by matching brain wave patterns. While fascinating, it’s also scary.  You can only imagine what this could be used for 10-20 years from now.  On the other hand, you don’t need all this hi-tech science if you have teen aged boys. You already know what they’re thinking about, or you can at least narrow it down to 2-3 things. Maybe 1-2.
• Remember we quoted Fred Jackson that “If you get your deposit pricing right, you’ll find lots of good loans to make”?” meaning you won’t have to chase higher risk loans for their yield.  At the old Chino Valley Bank in Southern California , now CVB Financial, the cost of their deposits was 53 basis points last quarter. When your deposits only cost you 53 bps, you can make lots of money making only the safest loans.

• For all of you who are starting to plan for your June wedding, yes, getting married on a beach in Hawaii sounds romantic, but as the photograph shows, you might want to consider a church.
  

On the other hand, getting married in a Church doesn’t necessarily mean that everything will be perfect.  See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLUYo-Nc4zg&feature=related It’s short and funny.· The photo above is interesting. The bride looks full of hope and love, but what’s going through his mind? (1) He might have just spotted the topless person to his  right and is wondering if it’s a he or a she, (2) he’s wondering when his wife will discover that his FICO score is on the wrong side of 500, (3) he’s a bank CEO who’s wondering how he’ll tell his Board he just got a CAMELS-5 or (4) he could be looking at his wife’s sister in the front row, wondering what she looks like naked. · Plans for our East Coast Client Appreciation Dinner are coming along. We’re looking at locations in Washington D.C. and Baltimore.  We’ll keep you posted. · And can we talk about John Edward’s love child for a moment? Was it the New York Times that broke the story? The Washington Post?  Heck no.  The National Enquirer has been writing abut this for months, and if you think newspapers are no longer relevant, look no further than this.  No industry that could break a story of such national importance will ever die.  Put another way, is this a great country, or what?

• To prove that  we’re serious lads here at Garrett, Watts , we  list the names of some famous people – and what their names were before they changed them.

Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lipschitz)	Bo Diddly   (Ellis M cDaniel)
Dear Abby  (Pauline Ester Friedman)	Bill Wyman   ( William Perks)
Albert Brooks  (Albert Einstein)	Bob Dylan  (Robert Zimmerman)
Andre the Giant  (Andr Roussimoff)	Brigette Bardot  (Camille Javal)
Marty Balin (Martin Buchwald)	Cary Grant   (Archibald Leach)
Chuck Norris  (Carlos Ray Norris)	Courtney Love   (Courtney Harrison)
Col. Tom Parker (Andreas Kuiijk)	Curly (Three Stooges) Jerome Horwitz
Dean M artin  (Dino Crocetti)	Elton John   (Reginald Dwight)
Fred Astaire  (Fred Austerlitz)	Ho Chi M inh   (Nguyen Thanh Thank)
Jack Palance  (Vladimir Palaniuk)	Jennifer Aniston  (Jennifer Anastassaki)
Joey Ramone  (Joey Hyman)	John Cleese   (John Cheese)

It seems that many of the original names were just fine, and doesn’t Dino Crocetti sound so much better than Dean Martin? On the other hand, can you really fault Ralph Lipschitz?  High school must have been really hard for him. 

• Exactly two years ago, January 2008, California had 16.6 months inventory of unsold homes.  Today, it’s down to only 3.8 months of unsold homes.  This is the sort of thing that is an absolute sign that housing prices have bottomed out.  With such low inventory, people have already started over-bidding, and if you believe California is  a bell-weather for the rest of the nation, better times are around the corner.
• We were pretty disgusted when Goldman Sachs became a bank holding company just to get their hands on TARP money.  They somehow nabbed $36 billion in deposits, we suspect almost all are non-core deposits.  Their lack of loyalty to the banking industry was never in doubt, and with the new banking regs on the horizon, it wouldn’t surprise us to see them dump their bank charter pretty quickly.
• We have an idea.  Eliminate or sell FNMA Freddie Mac, and GNMA. They performed the job they were meant to do, which was to provide the liquidity needed to make home ownership more available. They  did the job well for decades, and recently they did it too well, buying or insuring loans of people desperately unqualified.  Instead, how about a GSE of some sort to do for infrastructure what FNMA did for housing?  It could buy or insure bonds or loans to finance the rebuilding of bridges, freeways, power grids,  windmill farms, and whatever other infrastructure our country needs.  It’s just an idea.
• Some of you sent you examples of people tolerating mediocrity.  One commercial banker wrote that “If 99.9% is good enough, then 22,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong checking account in the next hour.” A powerful message.

We’ve talked to many, many clients recently about tracking secondary market leakage.  Some can track it loan by loan, and others look at it on a 2-3 month rolling basis it.   Unfortunately, too many have never really thought about it.  But however you look at it, you need to be aware of it, watch it, and think about it.  It’s one of the 3-4 most important things you can focus on. See you later in the week.Special Bonus: How To Use Return on CapitalGarrett, Watts & Co.“Helping mortgage lenders increase revenues, control costs, and better manage risk.”

• Joe Garrett      (510-469-8633)
• Corky Watts      (408-395-5504)
• Mike McAuley   (281-250-2536)

Our friend Chris Harris just sent us a video of his take on the new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and well, in short, he likes it more than the Jaguar XF-R and the BMW M5. Has Chris driven a Cadillac CTS-V sedan? We’re not sure.

Either way, follow the jump for the video.

Refresher: Power comes from a 6.3L V8 making 518-hp and a maximum torque of 465 lb-ft mated AMG’s SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission. 0 to 60 mph comes in just 4.4 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph (electronically-limited).

2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG:

2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: EVO

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Hatchback, GM, Pontiac, Toyota

It is easy to forget that among the debris swirling in the tornado of claims against Toyota, the Pontiac Vibe is really a Toyota Matrix. Hence, the Vibe is also included in Toyota’s recent recall of 2.3 million vehicles to repair accelerator pedal mechanisms that could stick and cause unintended acceleration.

The Vibe was built at the NUMMI plant in a California. The joint venture between Toyota and General Motors became a victim of last year’s industry turmoil. GM pulled out of the partnership last June, and Toyota is reportedly ending production there in March.

GM doesn’t yet know how many 2009 and 2010 model Vibes are included in the recall. When it receives details on numbers and the fix from Toyota, customers will be notified and they can get their hatches repaired at Buick–GMC dealerships.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req.]

Don’t Forget Me! Pontiac Vibe also included in Toyota recall originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GM

Our inbox contained an email from General Motors this morning that informed us company CEO Ed Whitacre will be giving a press conference today at 11:30AM EST. Our only clue as to what he’ll talk about: “updates on GM business activities.” Your guess is as good as ours, but the internet has been buzzing this morning with news that GM might announce its approval of Spyker’s bid for Saab.

Come back at 11:30AM EST to watch the press conference live (after the jump) or stay tuned for our report immediately following.

Continue reading GM holding surprise press conference at 11:30AM EST, watch live here

GM holding surprise press conference at 11:30AM EST, watch live here originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hatchback, Fiat, Design/Style

What better place to introduce a new set of duds than at a fashion show? Fiat chose the “Bread & Butter” youth fashion show in Berlin to debut a new color for its Fiat 500 by Diesel. The limited edition Diesel has been available in black and green up until now, with 6,000 of the planned 10,000 units already sold. Those still in the market for a 500 by Diesel can now choose to have their Cinquecento slathered in the newly available “Midnight Indigo” blue, which was specially chosen because it “recalls the denim used to make jeans,” according to Fiat.

Now, a new body color usually isn’t enough to warrant a whole post, even a sharp-looking dark denim blue. No, Fiat has more to offer in this update than just the cool new hue. Underhood they’ve stuffed their latest Euro 5 compliant 1.3-liter Multijet II engine. The second-generation turbodiesel features the company’s Start&Stop system and is good for 95 horsepower.

The Indigo version also gets the same upgrades as its predecessors – 16″ alloy wheels, a faux rear air intake, satin chrome trim, and yellow brake calipers on the 1.4-liter, 100 horsepower version. Inside you’ll find a dark denim fabric with yellow stitching that features the signature Diesel fifth pocket, the famous Mohican head on the shift knob and more satin chrome highlights. The full press release can be found after the jump and there’s a pair of big images available in the gallery below.

[Source: Fiat]

Continue reading Fiat releases revised 1.3-liter Multijet diesel and new hue

Fiat releases revised 1.3-liter Multijet diesel and new hue originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Menlo Park, CA-based Mayfield Fund, founded over 40 years ago, has officially announced the expansion of its team with two noteworthy Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs): Sean Moriarty and Rajeev Chawla.

Moriarty is the former CEO and President of Ticketmaster who recently joined Eventbrite as a director. He also served on the boards of iLike (acquired by MySpace last year) and Points.com.

Prior to Ticketmaster, Sean was part of the technology team at Citysearch, where his roles included Executive Vice President of Technology and Vice President of Internet Systems.

Rajeev Chawla founded and is the former President & CEO of NeoPath Networks, which was acquired by Cisco Systems in March 2007.

Mayfield Fund’s portfolio includes companies like Rubicon Project, BigDeal, Gigya, and Jaxtr. The firm has over $2.8 billion under management.

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(Editor’s note: “Ask the Attorney” is a VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions. Submit yours in the comments below and look for answers in the coming weeks. Author Scott Edward Walker is the founder and CEO of Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC, a boutique corporate law firm specializing in the representation of entrepreneurs.)

Question:  Two former classmates and I are launching a new venture.  Unfortunately, we don’t have enough money to hire a lawyer.  I found a lot of articles on the web, but I’m still not sure what kind of entity we should form and where.  I also was wondering if there are any other legal issues we should be worrying about.

Answer: Last Monday, I looked at some of the issues surrounding this question, including the choice of entity, place of formation, equity issuance, vesting restrictions and prior employment.  Below are five more issues that should be on your radar. With issues this critical, though, it’s worth reiterating that it would be prudent for you to retain a good, reasonably-priced attorney to assist you and watch your back.

1.  Management Issues.  You and your co-founders need to sit down and agree on how the company will be managed (e.g., who will be on the Board of Directors and what position each founder will hold).  Whatever you decide should be reflected in a written agreement, referred to as a stockholders’ agreement or voting agreement. This should also address other significant issues, including: (i) rights of first refusal with respect to the sale of any shares by a founder; (ii) whether any founders/stockholders will have veto rights with respect to certain extraordinary company actions (such as the sale of the company or borrowing in excess of a certain amount); and (iii) whether founders/stockholders will have so-called “drag-along” and/or “tag-along” rights.

2.  IP Issues.  For many start-ups (particularly technology companies), intellectual property (IP) is the most valuable asset and, accordingly, certain steps must be taken to ensure that the company owns the IP.  First, if any technology/IP were developed prior the company’s formation, you must do two things: (i) as noted last week, confirm that none of the founders’ prior employers have rights to the technology/IP because of prior agreements or applicable law (i.e., because a founder was “moonlighting” while still employed); and (ii) make sure ownership to the technology/IP is transferred from the applicable founder(s) to the company in writing.  Once the company has been formed, protect the ownership of the technology/IP by requiring all of the company’s employees and independent contractors to sign confidentiality and IP/invention assignment agreements (see #4 below).

3.  Securities Laws.  As I have previously discussed, a company may not offer or sell its securities unless (i) the securities have been registered with the SEC and registered/qualified with applicable State securities commissions; or (ii) there is an exemption from registration.  The most common exemption used by start-up companies is the so-called “private placement” exemption.  As the term implies, a private placement is a private offering to a small number of purchasers – like a few founders.  The SEC and each of the State securities commissions have their own set of rules regarding private placements, and it is imperative that you follow them to the letter.  Non-compliance could result in serious adverse consequences, including a right of rescission for the securityholders (i.e., the right to get their money back, plus interest), injunctive relief, fines and penalties, and possible criminal prosecution.

4.  Employment Issues.  If any employees are hired by the company, insist that they sign two documents:  an offer letter agreement and, as noted above, a confidentiality and IP/invention assignment agreement.  The offer letter agreement will set forth the employee’s rights and obligations, including position, compensation, benefits and, most importantly, whether the relationship is “at will.”  The confidentiality and IP/invention assignment agreement is designed to prevent disclosure of the company’s trade secrets and other confidential information – and to ensure that any IP developed by the employee is legally owned by the company.

Non-competition and non-solicitation provisions may also be included; however, such provisions are generally unenforceable in California other than in the context of the sale of a business (though California courts will generally enforce provisions that prohibit employees from soliciting the company’s employees provided they are reasonable in scope and duration).

5.  Stock Option Plan.  In order to attract and retain key employees (and consultants) and to conserve cash, it would make good business sense for your company to establish a stock option plan or other form of equity compensation plan.  As I mentioned last week, the goal is to issue any equity (including options) as soon as possible when the value of the company is as low as possible; and, as noted above, because options are “securities” their issuance must comply with applicable federal and state securities laws.  The SEC and most State securities commissions (including California) have created an exemption from registration for any offer or sale of securities pursuant to certain plans and contracts relating to compensation.

Disclaimer: This “Ask the Attorney” post discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect.  No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.  The author and his firm expressly disclaim all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post.

Photo by vaXzine via Flickr

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The original Xbox has been cracked six ways to Sunday, giving us the distinct impression that those consoles still in use are, at this point, providing services very different than its designers intended. XBMC is largely responsible for that, turning the original big black box into a more than respectable media machine, and now modder Richard Wileman has given it a redesign to suit its functionality. He’s replaced the original, full-sized HDD with a 2.5-inch model, performed a DVDectomy, and wedged everything into a svelte, aluminum case. There’s even an IR port on there for remote control and a wee LCD for checking playlists without turning on the TV. It’s less than half the size of the original and, by our count, more than twice as attractive.

Modder trims the fat, turns chubby original Xbox into svelte XBMC machine originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the late, great Rodney Dangerfield would attest, DoubleTwist has been jonesing for some respect for quite some time. For those unaware, said software essentially acts as an iTunes for everything else, giving users of all those non-Apple devices a somewhat familiar interface and portal to sync media, playlists, etc. Up until now, Android users have been forced to figure out content management on their own, and while geeks have obviously had no issue, those expecting iTunes to take the wheel have found themselves in an uncomfortable position. Reportedly, T-Mobile USA has decided to partner with the company and pre-load the software onto a number of new Android devices — not just the Fender myTouch 3G. The only real pitfall here is that Amazon’s MP3 Store integration is missing, but we should learn more as T-Mob goes official with the details later today. Is this the big break DoubleTwist has been waiting for? Time shall tell.

DoubleTwist partnering with T-Mobile for Android music management originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you didn’t see Glenn Beck’s documentary on FNC this past Friday night…you should take the time to watch it:

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

I realize that it’s easy for the Left to dismiss Beck as an “FM shock jock” (which is absurd given that they have Senators that were Stuart Smalley and a Grand Klegal) but common sense would dictate that Rupert Murdoch wouldn’t risk his kingdom over a “FM shock jock” let loose to slander, libel and lie. Though groups like Media Matters exists soley to monitor Glenn, Rush and the like…none have been sued to my knowledge. You’d think if Glenn Beck actually was the “Misinformer of the Year” some lawsuits could have been brought…right?

I want to get a liberal reaction to this…well, other than Politico’s article where they found very weak refutes of the content and then seemed upset some of the people questioned seemed impressed with Beck’s documentary…so they buried their quotes at the end of the article on the second page.

Politico’s synopsis: “Over the past year, Beck has used images from Nazi rallies or the Soviet Union when stoking fears of creeping socialism in the United States. And he’s often placed historical figures into the far-out theories he diagrams on his chalkboard. But in Friday’s hour long documentary, titled “The Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free … or Die,” Beck doubled down on the use of imagery pulled from the 20th century’s totalitarian past to make a point about citizens needing to be wary of government overreach in the present.”
Buried on the second page: But Edwards said he was impressed by Beck’s “solid research” and willingness to take on “still-prevailing myths about Che Guevara and Mao.” In Edwards opinion, it was “one of the best documentaries [he’s] seen on communism,” and rare in today’s media world.

“I think this suggests the line on Beck that he is some kind of wild man is just not true,” Edwards said. “This guy is thoughtful and interested in history. How many journalists in cable, print or whatever have this kind of interest in giving you a historical context. I think he should be commended for that.”

Gillespie, who covered the Hollywood-ization and marketing of Guevara as a fashion icon for Reason, agreed that Beck is doing something no one else is doing in cable news — which even critics would probably agree with, although for different reasons.

“Beck may be a strange mix of comedy and pathos, but he’s also bringing substantive discussion to cable news and creating arguments that can be engaged, refuted or amended,” Gillespie said after the film aired.

Goldberg, reached before the show aired, described what he’d seen of it as “very hard-hitting.”(source)

There have been articles suggesting a Palin-Beck 2012 ticket…Consider me in.