Tramec, which is backed by MacLean Investment Partners, has acquired both Sloan Transportation Products and HEBCO Products. The seller was Qualitor. Financial terms weren’t announced. Holland, Mich.-based Sloan provides original equipment quality air and electrical components to the heavy-duty tractor and trailer industry. HEBCO, based in Bucyrus, Ohio, makes screw machined brass fittings for vehicular applications. Angle Advisors provided financial advice to Qualitor.

PRESS RELEASE
Angle Advisors is pleased to announce that Tramec, LLC (“Tramec”) a holding of MacLean Investment Partners (“MIP”) has acquired both Sloan Transportation Products, Inc. (“Sloan”) and HEBCO Products, Inc. (“HEBCO”) from Qualitor, Inc. (“Qualitor”). Angle Advisors acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to Qualitor in completing this transaction.

Based in Holland, Michigan, Sloan is an ISO certified company serving the heavy-duty tractor and trailer industry as a single source provider of original equipment quality air and electrical components. Sloan is recognized as a leading supplier of quality heavy-duty truck and trailer products to original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. The company has one of the industry’s broadest product offerings for the tractor and trailer replacement market, including air and electrical delivery components, lift gate cylinders, hose clamps, gladhands, brass fittings, water pumps, oil filler caps, dipsticks, and air compressor discharge hoses. HEBCO Products, based in Bucyrus, Ohio, is a niche manufacturer of screw machined brass fittings for vehicular applications.

Gary E. Sullo, President of Tramec, noted, “The addition of Sloan to the Tramec group of companies significantly expands our product portfolio and enhances our presence in the heavy duty marketplace. Sloan provides an exceptional level of customer service and their expertise in manufacturing and aftermarket distribution will benefit customers across all Tramec companies. Sloan is an excellent strategic fit with the Tramec business located in Iola, Kansas and will be integrated into one company, Tramec Sloan, LLC, that will be under the leadership of myself and Thomas Bronz, President of Tramec Sloan, LLC.” Thomas Bronz stated, “Our management, sales and operations teams look forward to providing service excellence to Tramec and Sloan customers, under the new name Tramec Sloan, LLC, with increased manufacturing capabilities and our vast combined product portfolio.”

Scott Gibaratz, Chief Financial Officer of Qualitor, commented, “Our management team at Sloan has performed at an extremely high level and they are excited to leverage Tremac and MacLean Investment Partners’ extensive resources to continue to grow the business. The transaction will also allow Qualitor to focus its resources on its expanding automotive brake hardware and wiper blade business units. We would also like to thank the Angle Advisors team who executed a seamless and highly competitive process. We at Qualitor are ecstatic with the result of this transaction and found Angle’s industry expertise critical to the marketing process.”

Based in Southfield, Michigan, Qualitor is a leading diversified supplier of aftermarket safety and wear parts for the automotive and heavy duty truck industries. Qualitor provides wiper blades and auto care accessories (Pylon) and brake hardware and related components (International Brake Industries) to the automotive aftermarket. Qualitor is a portfolio holding of HCI Equity Partners. For additional information, please visit www.qualitorinc.com.

Tramec, LLC was formed in May 2008 with the merger of Tramec Corporation, Iola, Kansas, a family owned business that was founded in 1980 to service the heavy-duty tractor and trailer markets, and MacLean Crewson of Buffalo, New York. Tramec, LLC companies include Tramec Continental-Aero, Tramec Hill Fastener, Tramec HDSS, Stemco Crewson and Tramec Sloan, LLC. Tramec LLC supplies a diverse range of highly engineered components to the heavy-duty tractor and trailer OEM and aftermarket sales markets, along with the general industrial fastener market. The company’s product portfolio includes: automatic brake adjusters, air brake connectors and fittings, brake hose assemblies, pressure release valves, electrical connectors and components, specialty fasteners and a diverse range of truck and trailer components and accessories. For additional information, please visit www.tramec.com.

Angle Advisors, with offices in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and China, specializes in mergers and acquisitions with a particular emphasis on the vehicular and industrial sectors. The firm’s 33 professionals have completed 83 M&A transactions since the beginning of 2009 for multinational corporations, privately-held companies, private equity funds, and public sector clients. For additional information, please visit www.angleadvisors.com.

The post Tramec Buys Sloan Transportation, HEBCO appeared first on peHUB.

The artist/NFL wid receiver previously known as Chad Ochocinco is a wanted man in the County of Broward, which is probably best known for being the area Fort Lauderdale resides in. The news comes thanks to a TMZ.com exclusive, and apparently, the warrant stems from the mess that was his marriage to Evelyn Lozada, and the domestic violence conviction that came with it. Apparently, Johnson failed to appear in front of his probation officer, and the warrant was issued on May 7 of this year.

While Johnson has yet to undergo the process that is due to him, if he is found to be in violation of his sentence, he could find himself behind bars. Of course, we’re still a little ways off from that happening, but the wheels are certainly turning, and the ball is now in the previous Cincinnati Bengal’s court. Speaking of which, his Twitter account gives us a clue as to his current whereabouts:

Chilly in Pasadena

— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) May 16, 2013

The news of the warrant represents simply another chapter in what has become the meteoric fall of once-really-good NFL wide receiver. Yes, Chad’s mouth wrote much bigger checks than perhaps his ability should have allowed, but he was, for a time, a top-tier NFL wide receiver, something the following video demonstrates (if you’re not a rap fan, you may want to turn the volume down).

Sadly, that seems like a long time ago.

Active Life Scientific has raised a $500,000 Follow On Series A round of financing. New and existing investors, including follow on investment by members of Tech Coast Angels, filled the round. Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Active Life Scientific is a life science research and diagnostic tools company.

PRESS RELEASE

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Active Life Scientific, Inc., a life science research and diagnostic tools company, today announced a $500K Follow On Series A round of financing. The round was filled by new and existing investors, including follow on investment by members of Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel investment group in the country.
Active Life is developing next generation medical tools to cost effectively address the growing problem of degenerating and stiffening tissues – a leading cause of frailty. The company’s technology, Reference Point Indentation (RPI), is the latest breakthrough from world-renowned inventor Dr. Paul Hansma . Active Life’s products are currently being sold to scientists and are under development for physicians to directly measure tissue physical properties inside a living body. Previous to RPI, similar tests required an invasive biopsy and destructive testing in an advanced laboratory, and as a result were rarely performed.
“Tech Coast Angels are confident in our reinvestment into Active Life and the vast potential of the Company,” stated Mike Panesis , Vice Chair of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA) and President of TCA’s Central Coast Network. “The platform nature of their technology is extremely interesting. The technology fills important needs in numerous markets including life science, medicine, animal science, consumer products, and more.”
“Modern medicine is successfully extending the duration of life to new levels. At Active Life, we are focused on extending and improving quality of life,” stated Davis Brimer , Active Life’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are honored to pursue this goal with the support of top-notch, sophisticated investors.”
About Active Life
Active Life Scientific, Inc. develops life science research and diagnostic tools with previously impossible ability to quantify physical properties of tissues without the need for an invasive biopsy. Frailty and diseases linked to degenerating or stiffening tissues, or tissue physical properties, are currently assessed using surrogate endpoints. Active Life’s Reference Point Indentation introduces an unrivaled direct, in vivo measure of tissue physical properties. The Company’s products are based on world renowned inventor Dr. Paul Hansma ‘s latest breakthrough, Reference Point Indentation.
About Tech Coast Angels
Tech Coast Angels is an angel investor network in the United States and one of the leading sources of funding to early-stage companies in Southern California. Since its inception in 1997, TCA members have focused on building valuable companies, personally invested nearly $119 million and helped portfolio companies attract more than $1.4 billion in additional capital, mostly from venture capital firms. TCA members give companies more than just capital; they also provide counsel, mentoring and access to an extensive network of potential investors, customers, strategic partners and management talent. TCA has more than 250 members, including its venture capital affiliates, in five networks in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Westlake/Santa Barbara, and the Inland Empire.

The post Active Life Scientific Raises $500,000 Follow On appeared first on peHUB.

Sprint and HTC are releasing their first update over-the-air for the HTC One. This update, labeled version 1.29.651.10, includes BlinkFeed improvements, a new Sprint Zone client, and improved back and home key sensitivity.

The most notable of these is the improved key sensitivity. Users have complained that the capacitative back and home buttons were not properly reacting due to the touch targets being placed too close to the screen. This update is supposed to increase the size of the touch targets, hopefully fixing the problem for HTC One users. The update is expected to be rolled out to customers in stages, beginning today. To check for it, you can go to Settings -> System Updates -> HTC software update -> Check Now.

Source: Sprint Community

Come comment on this article: Sprint HTC One receiving OTA update to fix key sensitivity

Did you hear about the new version of Android? No? That’s because there isn’t one, at least not in the traditional sense.

Although it was widely expected that Google would introduce Android 4.3 during Wednesday’s Google I/O keynote this week, it didn’t happen. Instead, more than three hours were spent talking about new services — a music subscription and multiplayer gaming — with developer tools that tie Android and Chrome together. These services and new developer tools actually help Google to update Android many of the 900 million Android activated devices without adding more fragmentation challenges brought by new a new software version.

Android enthusiasts are likely disappointed by any news on the Jelly Bean software front, leaving people like Computerworld’s JR Raphael wondering: What happened to Android?

I try to be as platform-agnostic as possible, but I’m certainly considered a member of the Android enthusiast crowd. And like others, I was disappointed when no new Android version appeared. I also felt let down with a lack of new hardware, but that’s another story. But I’m a consumer, so these thoughts make sense. And Google I/O is a developer event; not a consumer conference.

It turns out that every developer I’ve informally spoken with at Google I/O is actually relieved that Android 4.3 doesn’t exist yet. Note, it likely will arrive soon, as an updated Bluetooth stack for Android is coming arriving in the “coming months” with support for Bluetooth Smart and Smart Ready devices. So why would developers be happy there’s no new Android version?

I can think of a couple of reasons. First, with a new Android version would come what Google calls an API level. Typically, new APIs and services are supported in the new version and these aren’t supported on devices with older software. But by offering new APIs and services now — which is exactly what Google did during day one of I/O — existing devices can take advantage of the new features. The new Hangouts app, Google Play Music All Access, and Google Cloud Messaging are good examples. Sure, some of these will require at least Android 4.0 but none of them require Android 4.3.

Second, developers told me they’re tired of taking heat for their apps not being supported on certain versions of Android. Adding another version would only make things potentially worse in that area, not better. Simply put: the features that Android is lacking, according to developers, are getting added through the new services that Google is releasing. And these new functions aren’t adding to any lingering fragmentation challenges.

Frankly, Google has iterated Android relatively quickly in order to make it comparable to iOS in terms of design and usability. That’s good, but it came at a great cost: The pace of software change has been faster than hardware change. I don’t mean in the power and functions of hardware: Chips of all kinds have improved just as quickly as software. But consumers don’t switch devices that quickly, often waiting 18 to 24 months to upgrade a phone, for example.

Google can slow the pace of Android versions while improving the platform at the same time with this approach. And it can also allow more time for hardware makers and carriers push Android updates out, helping to get more users on the most current version of Android. While all this happens, consumers will also help the process, by upgrading to newer phones with Android 4.0 or better. Looking at the situation this way, it was actually a smart move for Google to focus less on the version of Android and instead improve the platform for developers and consumers with better APIs.

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Paul Shane, the British actor who became famous for his role on the show “Hi-De-Hi!” has died after a brief illness. He was 72 years old.

Shane actually got started in showbiz in an unlikely way; after a mining accident at the age of just 27, he sang in small pubs in the ’70s and was eventually offered television roles. His biggest role was that of entertainer Ted Bovis on the popular BBC series “Hi-De-Hi!”

Linda Kremer, Shane’s agent, had this to say about her client and friend:

“Paul Shane was a consummate professional, a true gentleman, a good friend, and a joy to work with over the past 15 years. He didn’t suffer fools, always maintained his sense of humour, never stinted on the time he gave to his fans. He lightened my life and I’ll miss him enormously.”

Shane is also being remembered on Twitter today by those who knew him and those who grew up watching him.

Very sad to hear about the passing of Paul Shane. A comedy genius full of joy, talent, and charm. ‘Goodnight campers.’

— westendproducer (@westendproducer) May 16, 2013

Sad to hear of Paul Shane’s passing – really loved him in Hi-De-Hi #massivepartofmychildhood

— Aled Jones (@realaled) May 16, 2013

I remember watching the first ever episode of Hi de Hi and just loving him. RIP PaulShane.

— Tracy Ann Oberman (@TracyAnnO) May 16, 2013

RIP Paul Shane I adored you in Hi-Di-Hi great comedy actor lost!!

— Lisa Jane riley (@Reallisariley) May 16, 2013

RIP Paul Shane. His Pebble Mill appearance scarred us all. With brilliance.youtu.be/ZJvGdOC6D1Y

— David Easson (@DavidEasson) May 16, 2013

I’m genuinely sad at the death of Paul Shane. He was a huge part of my childhood and had a really endearing way about him! RIP Ted!

— Kosmic Kris (@KosmicKris) May 16, 2013

San Francisco-based awe.sm said Thursday that Fred McIntyre has joined the company as CEO. Jonathan Strauss, awe.sm’s co-founder and founding CEO, has taken on the role of head of product development. Strauss will continue to lead the company’s product, strategy, and engineering efforts. The company’s software is designed to allow developers to add social-media performance tracking to their websites and online applications.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–awe.sm, the leading platform for measuring the financial performance of social media marketing activity, today announced that Fred McIntyre has joined the company as CEO.

McIntyre is a technology and media veteran who has held senior leadership roles at AOL, Last.fm, and CBS, with responsibility for building brands, growing audience, and increasing revenue for some of the industry’s biggest video, music, web, and mobile properties.

“Fred has solved the real-world problems awe.sm’s customers face,” said Mark Suster of GRP Partners. “Having found product/market fit, we knew now was the time to accelerate the growth engine.”

awe.sm’s customer list includes Zynga, Playdom, Topspin Media, Maker Studios, Groupon, and hundreds of other leading brands and developers.

“Our customers are tired of the vanity metrics of likes and followers. They want to measure bottom-line performance metrics that translate into real dollars,” said awe.sm CEO Fred McIntyre. “awe.sm’s products spoke to the marketer in me.”

awe.sm co-founder and founding CEO Jonathan Strauss has taken on the role of Head of Product Development and will continue to lead the company’s product, strategy, and engineering efforts.

“I am exceedingly proud of the team, technology, and business we’ve built over the last four years, and I am more excited than ever about the opportunity ahead of us,” said awe.sm co-founder Jonathan Strauss. “As we’ve grown, it became clear to me that we needed a full-time CEO to handle scaling the business while I focused on making our products even more awe.sm.”

About awe.sm

awe.sm measures how social marketing leads to more signups, purchases, and other business goals that drive real financial results. Its customer base includes well-known brands in technology, media, and retail who care about bottom-line results. awe.sm has raised $6.5 million in VC financing led by GRP Partners and Foundry Group with participation from investors including kbs+ Ventures, Neu Venture Capital, Social Leverage, and Apricot Capital. The company was founded in 2009, and is based in San Francisco, CA.

The post McIntyre Joins awe.sm as CEO appeared first on peHUB.

Concrete Software wasted no time incorporating Google’s new gaming service into their title PBA Bowling Challenge. Multiplayer support was a function users had been requesting for the highly rated game and the new game service enabled Concreate to quickly incorporate that feature into their title. Concrete’s decision to take advantage of the new game service may be a harbinger of how Google’s game service will serve both players and developers. According to Keith Pichelman, CEO of Concrete Software:

“…finding a multiplayer service that would meet our needs proved to be difficult. We were very fortunate that the release of Google Play game services happened to coincide with our plans for the game. We were able to integrate quickly and easily with their services to give our users the ability to bowl in one-on-one, real-time matches against their friends.”

In addition to the multiplayer support that came with yesterday’s update, players also get access to leaderboards, achievements, and daily challenges with a single Google+ login required. PBA Bowling Challenge joins several other games supporting the new framework. The game is free, so check it out using a download link after the full press release.

Concrete Software Releases Multiplayer Update to PBA® Bowling Challenge for Android

(PRLEAP.COM) Minneapolis, MN – May 16, 2013 – Concrete Software, developers of rock solid mobile games, and the Professional Bowlers Association are pleased to announce addition of Multiplayer in PBA Bowling Challenge on Google Play™.

Following an outstanding initial release, leading to over 2.8 million downloads and a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Google Play store, a long-awaited multiplayer update to PBA Bowling Challenge has finally arrived.

“Multiplayer was the obvious next step for the title,” said Keith Pichelman, CEO of Concrete Software. “It was by far the most user-requested feature and something we had intended to include from the beginning, but finding a multiplayer service that would meet our needs proved to be difficult. We were very fortunate that the release of Google Play game services happened to coincide with our plans for the game. We were able to integrate quickly and easily with their services to give our users the ability to bowl in one-on-one, real-time matches against their friends.”

In addition to multiplayer functionality, the integration of Google Play game services includes full Leaderboards and Achievement systems all through a single G+ login. Concrete Software plans to take advantage of other features, such as cloud saving, in future updates to PBA Bowling Challenge.

PBA Bowling Challenge is available now on Google Play.

About Concrete Software
Since 2003, Concrete Software has been creating your favorite games across all major mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. Fun, challenging, addictive
– Concrete Software makes rock solid games. Find out how at www.concretesoftware.com.

About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,200 of the best bowlers from 17 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional and PBA50 Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands around the world watch PBA activities on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive video streaming service. PBA sponsors include Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, Jack Link’s, MOTIV, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com.

Google Play is a trademark of Google, Inc.

Kayla Mueller
Concrete Software

Google Play Download Link

Come comment on this article: PBA Bowling Challenge adds multiplayer support thanks to Google Play’s game service

If you’re browsing Pinterest and you see a specific pin that you know your friend would like, you’ve always been able to send that pin to them. The process was annoying, however, and involved email.

Today, Pinterest alleviates this annoyance with the new send button. You can now send pins directly to your friends and family on both mobile and the web, as long as you both follow each other on the network.

“Just tap Send from either web or mobile to send a pin. You can send pins to fellow pinners (if you both follow each other), Facebook friends, or email contacts. We’ll show you the most recent people you’ve sent pins to for easy access,” says Pinterest. “You can even include a message to give it a more personal touch!”

When you send a pin to another user, they’ll be notified. If they make an action on that pin, including commenting, liking, or repinning, you’ll see that in your notifications as well. It’s a nice little fix to a previously irksome issue.

According to Pinterest, users should start to see the new send option rollout over the next few weeks.

Speaking of notifications, Pinterest finally added them to the mobile experience (both the iOS and Android apps). That update, which launched earlier this week, also brought mentions and improved search to both apps.

Verizon is finally getting its own flagship Windows Phone device in the Nokia Lumia 928. It has many of the same features of the highly praised Lumia 920, but Nokia decided to ditch the polycarbonate chasis in favor of an aluminum one. Does the change make the 928 more resilient?

Everyone’s favorite smartphone murderer, ratedrr, has put Nokia’s flagship smartphones to the test in a head-to-head competition to see if either can survive being shot with a AK47. As expected, both phones don’t survive.

For more ratedrr fun, check out his previous video featuring the Galaxy S4 losing to a sniper rifle.

Tomorrow is a holiday, and one you can celebrate simply by eating.

Jamie Oliver, who won the TED Prize in 2010, has declared May 17 as Food Revolution Day. Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about foodHis vision: that people gather in homes, schools, workplaces and social spaces to share their culinary knowledge, cook together and simply enjoy each other’s company as they chow down and discuss the centrality of food in life. Anyone is invited to host a Food Revolution Day activity — Oliver recommends organizing a potluck dinner, leading a farmers market tour, planting a community garden or throwing a street party. There’s a downloadable activity guide for those interested in hosting an event, and a search engine for those interested in joining one in their area. Anyone is also welcome to get involved by sharing a treasured recipe.

Why Food Revolution Day? Because Oliver has been on a many-year mission to change the way people relate to food. As he explains on the holiday’s website, “Cooking skills used to be passed down from generation to generation, but now millions of people lack even the most basic cooking skills. We need to get back to basics: to cook and eat fresh local produce; to share cooking skills and food knowledge; to join forces within communities and get as many people involved as possible. Food Revolution Day is our opportunity to get the world to focus on the importance of good food and essential cooking skills.”

In an unexpected TED Prize synergy, Oliver has teamed up with fellow prize-winner JR, who launched the global art initiative Inside Out, to get the word out about Food Revolution Day. Oliver visited JR’s studio and shared a snapshot of himself holding his portrait on Instagram. He also posted an image of JR pasting the poster in Times Square, along with thousands of other portraits.

“Me laid out!! My TED brother @jr pasting the paper & glue in Time Square NYC for his incredible ‘Inside Out project,’” Oliver wrote. “FOOD REVOLUTION DAY is coming this Friday thank you. @jr Can’t wait to do a massive wall for the #insideoutproject.”

Oliver is planning on doing an Inside Out group action, around his message of getting people to eat healthier. Stay tuned for more information.

On the second day of Google’s I/O Developers conference, the company announced the availability of more “glassware” applications for its heavily hyped wearable computing device. Google Glass applications including CNN, Elle, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Evernote are available now to early Glass adopters, The New York Times reported. The applications join Path and The New York Times’ own app, which were previously the only other third-party apps available for the device. Each application will bring something unique to Google Glass. The CNN application, for example, allows users to be notified with news alerts for a specific topic, while the Evernote app will let users send notes, such as a grocery list, to Glass for reference later on.

It is being reported that NASCAR legend Dick Trickle has died due to wounds suffered by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The news comes from Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina, which is where the former racer resided. Darkening the tone even further, it appears as if Trickle called the emergency responders before turning his gun on himself. WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina reveals:

The incident occurred at 12:02 p.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Highway 150 East in Boger City. The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call apparently from the victim that “there would be a dead body and it would be his.”

Attempts to return the call went unheeded. The following commercial is, more than likely, how most were introduced to the driver with the unique:

Trickle was 71 years old.

Jacksonville, Florida authorities this week revealed that police were involved in a shooting in a parking garage at Jacksonville International Airport.

Jacksonville Police Chief Tom Hackney stated that police were following up on a car theft case from earlier this month. Police were able to follow 20-year-old Rodney Lorenzo Addison (pictured) to a rental car return parking garage at the airport and block his car in. The suspect began ramming police cars without regard for the officers standing in front of them in an attempt to escape, causing one officer to fire at the car.

Addison was able to drive away, but the car was later found at a nearby apartment complex. An unidentified 17-year-old male who was in the car with Addison was shot in the leg by the officer in the parking garage. He has been treated at a nearby hospital, and is now cooperating with police. Another unidentified male was in the car during the airport confrontation. Addison remains at large, and is currently wanted for a variety of charges, including some related to attempting to run over police officers. Hackney made it clear that police believe Addison to be dangerous, and possibly armed.

Jacksonville police are currently searching the car the suspect was driving at the time of the incident. Authorities have learned that the car, a white Crown Victoria, was reported stolen on May 9.

The weekend isn’t upon us just yet, but here’s a little project to tuck away for when the Sunday doldrums set in — the New York-based tinkerers/part suppliers at Adafruit Industries have worked up a way to give your old pair of Chuck Taylors a bit of luminescent DIY flair.

The process is pretty straightforward — with about $21 in specialized parts like a small sheet of electroluminescent material and a pint-sized power inverter (I suspect there’s a fair chance you’ve got AAA batteries, sewing needles, and glue nestled in a drawer somewhere) you too can have a pair of Converse that light up in the dark. Adafruit’s Becky Stern says that once everything is put together your shoes will stay aglow for about an hour before starting to dim if you’ve opted to use the slightly smaller CR2032-powered inverter, though you can eke out extra juice by playing with smaller EL panel sizes or using an inverter that runs on AAA batteries instead.

If nothing else, it’s a neat little crash course in cobbling together components and the end result is a pair of sneakers that are sure to catch some attention — just make sure not to get them too wet. First-time makers may not be completely comfortable with the concept of lashing together a gadget with an Arduino and some shields, but a lightweight hack for some light-up shoes may be enough to get them ready for more ambitious hacks to come.

As always, there’s nothing to stop you from peeking at the project tutorial and looking for somewhere else to buy your components. After all, when Adafruit Industries founder Limor Fried chatted onstage with our own John Biggs at Disrupt NY 2013, she said the company isn’t so much a parts vendor as it is an educational tutorial company “with a gift shop at the end”.

James Russell, a London based designer, took issue with my post Wednesday about the new Google+ design and how its aesthetic is different from Facebook. He argued that, well, the new Google+ still looks like Facebook and went on to make his case using visuals from both services. Basically, he thinks it is business as usual. I accept his criticism for his reasoning makes sense, but I just don’t agree.

I don’t know James, but my sense from reading his post is that he approaches design through a visual lens. Unlike him, I am not a designer and so my way of thinking about design is influenced by not mere visual aspects, but also how things are constructed. I don’t just love the shoes because of how they look — though that matters — but I also look at where the leather comes from, how it is stitched together and what kind of craftsmanship has gone into it. From shoe trees to little patters to packaging to the font on the label, all of those little things add up to the design aesthetic.

And that extends to other things, including website design. Yes, fonts matter, and the layouts matter, but so does the relative relationship to the kind of content, the speed of the web service and even the screen size and how it all correlated to me.

So, using that lens, when I looked at Google+ and its new design, what I saw was that it was less social in the Facebook sort of a way. And by that I mean: it’s less about people, likes and shares being the action drivers on the page. Instead, I saw a design aesthetic defined by data and machines inferring relationships, the importance of content and the relative weight of all the elements on the page. The new super hashtag is a good example of what I am talking about — it surfaces a lot more information on those specific topics.

As I pointed out in my post and also on my post about Google Maps’ redesign, we have moved into the world of data-informed applications and design too has to adapt to this reality. So, while there might be elements on the page might overlap on few occasions, the departure in the core philosophies that is reflected in the overall aesthetic is pretty clear to my eye.

And as far as I can tell, that aesthetic is all about a philosophy and how it relates to senses. Google has always been about inferring and serving up information. Facebook is about implicit actions.

The new Google+ design is an extension of that thinking. And as Google’s Senior Vice President of Google+ said: “We have put Google in Google+.”

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Twitter co-founder Biz Stone’s startup Jelly still hasn’t revealed a product — it hasn’t even hinted at a direction — but the startup has announced a good deal of news over the past month. On Thursday, the company announced in a blog post that it raised a Series A funding round for an undisclosed amount led by Spark Capital with investment from SV Angel.

A wide variety of angel investors participated in the round, possibly emphasizing the “social good” concept Stone hinted at in his intial launch post. Stone, who co-founded Twitter, has only described Jelly as a company with an eye for “social good” that takes advantage of the proliferation of mobile devices.

The investors include fellow Twitter co-founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, U2 musician and activist Bono, Greylock’s Reid Hoffman, former Vice President Al Gore, and Emmy-winning director Greg Yaitanes, among several others.

“They work in divergent fields,” Stone wrote. “Knowledge diversity is something we prize highly and is also something that will be represented in our product.”

Stone has been building up a good deal of ex-Twitter talent at the company, and the funding announcement noted that they would use the addition funding for hiring as they continue protyping a product before launch. Earlier this month, Stone announced that he added a COO in Kevin Thau, the Twitter executive who launched Twitter #music, and a co-founder and CTO in Ben Finkel, formerly engineering manager at Twitter in charge of user growth.

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AGY Holding Corp., which is backed by Kohlberg & Co., has reached an agreement in principle with its senior lenders, bondholders and metal lessor to restructure and recapitalize its capital structure. Aiken, S.C.-based AGY produces fiberglass yarns and high-strength fiberglass reinforcements. Craig Marcus, Steve Rutkovsky and Eric Elfman of Ropes & Gray provided legal advice for AGY/Kohlberg. John Pollack, Adam Harris, Ronald Risdon and Kurt Rosell of Schulte Roth & Zabel was the attorney for the majority bondholders.

PRESS RELEASE

AGY Holding Corp. (“AGY”) today announced that it has entered into a Restructuring and Support Agreement (the “Support Agreement”) with holders of approximately 92% in aggregate principal amount (the “Majority Bondholders”) of its 11% senior second lien notes due 2014 (the “Existing Notes”) to recapitalize the company. In addition, AGY has entered into a short-term amendment to its Amended and Restated Master Lease Agreement (the “Metals Facility”) with DB Energy Trading LLC (“DB”) providing for an extension of the term of the Metals Facility through July 15, 2013. Under the amendment to the Metals Facility, DB has agreed to forbear from exercising its rights under Metals Facility with respect to any event of default arising out of or resulting from failure to make any interest payment due under the Existing Notes or AGY’s revolving credit facility (the “ABL Facility”) until July 15, 2013, subject to an earlier termination in certain circumstances. Similarly, UBS AG, Stamford Branch, and UBS Securities LLC have agreed to forbear from exercising their rights under the ABL Facility with respect to any event of default arising out of or resulting from the failure to make any interest payment due under the Existing Notes. A description of these agreements has been included in our Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“AGY is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement in principle with our senior lenders, bondholders and metal lessor to set the course for a restructuring and recapitalization of our capital structure,” said Richard Jenkins, Interim CEO. “This restructuring, combined with the significant operational improvements that we have achieved over the past 18 months, positions AGY to further develop new products, grow the business and pursue our business strategy to be a world-class provider of advanced materials.”

Drew Walker added, “Today’s milestone is a very significant accomplishment and we believe demonstrates an important vote of confidence in AGY’s products, engineering capabilities and strategic direction.”

In the Support Agreement, the Majority Bondholders have agreed to forbear from exercising their rights under the indenture governing the Existing Notes with respect to any event of default resulting from failure to make any interest payment that may come due.

In addition, the Support Agreement outlines the key terms of a restructuring transaction involving the Existing Notes through an exchange transaction with the following key provisions (collectively, the “Exchange Transaction”):

1. AGY will exchange outstanding Existing Notes under the following terms: (A) 50% exchanged for shares of convertible participating preferred stock of KAGY Holding Company, Inc. (“KAGY”) and (B) 50% exchanged for new 11% Senior Second Lien Notes (the “New Notes”) with an extended stated maturity of December 15, 2016,

2. Accrued and unpaid interest through the date of the exchange will be split: 50% of such interest will be paid in cash (as part of a full-year accrual from November 15, 2012 to November 15, 2013, which will be paid on November 15, 2013) and 50% will be paid-in-kind in shares of convertible participating preferred stock of KAGY,

3. the New Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, and

4. The holders of Existing Notes will agree to certain proposed amendments to the indenture governing the Existing Notes to eliminate substantially all of the covenants and collateral provisions and certain events of default currently applicable to the Existing Notes.

The Support Agreement provides that consummation of the Exchange Transaction will be conditioned upon, among other things:

1. Participation in the Exchange Transaction by holders of at least 97% of the outstanding principal amount of the Existing Notes,

2. An amendment or replacement of the ABL Facility on terms reasonably acceptable to the Majority Bondholders holding a majority of the principal amount of Existing Notes (the “Controlling Bondholders”),

3. A further amendment to (or replacement of) the Metals Facility on terms reasonably acceptable to Controlling Bondholders (AGY is actively working with DB on a new long-term lease for the metals that are currently available pursuant to the Metals Facility),

4. Entry by AGY into a new term loan agreement with one or more of the Majority Bondholders or their respective affiliates providing for borrowings of an aggregate principal amount of $15 million (the “New Term Loan”) on terms to be mutually agreed by the parties, and

5. Entry by AGY into a new intercreditor agreement to replace the existing Intercreditor Agreement on terms not inconsistent with the Summary of Terms attached as Annex A to the Support Agreement and otherwise reasonably acceptable to the Controlling Bondholders.

Unless earlier terminated in accordance with its terms, the Support Agreement will terminate on July 15, 2013 if the closing of the Exchange Transaction has not occurred.

The parties’ obligations under the Support Agreement and the completion of the transactions contemplated by the Support Agreement are subject to a number of customary closing conditions, termination rights and approvals, and there is no assurance that the transactions contemplated by the Support Agreement will be consummated on the terms described above, or at all.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the New Notes or preferred stock in the Exchange Transaction. The New Notes and preferred stock to be offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933.

About AGY

AGY is a leading global producer of fiberglass yarns and high-strength fiberglass reinforcements used in a variety of composites applications. AGY serves a diverse range of markets including the following: aerospace and defense (the “A&D” business); electronics; and construction, continuous filament mat (“CFM”) and industrial markets (the “G&I” business). Headquartered in Aiken, South Carolina, AGY has a sales office in Lyon, France and two manufacturing facilities in the US, located in Aiken, South Carolina and Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, respectively, and a controlling interest in a manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. Additional information and a copy of this press release may be found at the Investor Relations section of AGY’s website, www.agy.com or by email at [email protected].

Safe Harbor for Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements

Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking statements. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should” or “could.” Generally, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects, ” “plans” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Although AGY believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Among these risks and uncertainties are general economic and business conditions; our ability to complete the debt restructuring on the terms described, or at all; AGY’s substantial debt and ability to generate cash flows to service its debt; AGY’s compliance with the restrictive covenants contained in its various debt agreements; adverse changes in market conditions or product demand; the level of cost reduction achieved through restructuring and capital expenditure programs; changes in energy, alloy metals and raw material costs and availability; downward selling price movements; the success of new technology; labor disputes or increased labor costs; AGY US’s borrowing base sensitivity to precious metals market prices and amount of owned alloy metals; AGY US’s ability to maintain an available minimum $6.25 million borrowing capacity to avoid the triggering of a springing covenant, which would likely result in an event of default under its senior secured revolving facility; AGY’s ability to complete a divestiture or alternative exit event on acceptable terms and in a timely manner; currency and interest rate fluctuations; increases in AGY’s leverage; AGY Asia’s ability to satisfy its mandatory term loan repayment obligations, to refinance its working capital loan, and to get a waiver for the breach of the maximum debt-to-assets ratio covenant; changes in AGY’s business strategy or development plans; the timing and cost of plant closures; and increases in the cost of compliance with laws and regulations. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those risk factors listed from time to time in AGY’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by applicable law, AGY assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

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Are any Wii U games coming out this Summer? I honestly can’t remember anymore after so many were delayed earlier this year. Good thing Nintendo is going to jog our collective memories tomorrow with a Nintendo Direct.

Nintendo announced today that it will be holding a Nintendo Direct tomorrow at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST to discuss upcoming Wii U and 3DS games. This particular Nintendo Direct will only focus on the games coming out in the Summer so that means any releases from now until August. As such, you can probably expect to see more details on Pikmin 3 and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

There’s always the potential for a surprise, however, and Nintendo may just have one in store for us tomorrow. The last Nintendo Direct seemed like it would be pretty ordinary, but the company used it as a platform to announce a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the 3DS.

That being said, I don’t think we’ll see any new game announcements tomorrow. Instead, we can only hope that Nintendo decides to announce some release dates for its other promising titles like The Wonderful 101.

Nintendo will be announcing some new games next month though at another Nintendo Direct that’s scheduled to go up before E3. The company had already said that it would be going against the trend of hosting a major press conference this year by holding smaller, separate events for gamers, the press and investors. June’s Nintendo Direct will be squarely aimed at fans, and we’ll probably get to see the promised new 3D Mario game and maybe even a new Metroid that doesn’t transform Samus into a sexist stereotype from the 19th century.

As always, we’ll be bringing you all the updates from the Nintendo Direct tomorrow. If you want to watch it yourself, it will go live here.