Category: News

Tower defense game lover? Yeah, we got you. Check out the latest game to hit the Google Play Store as it’s sure to satisfy your ever increasing addiction for strategy games. Hot off the press this game has been touted as smart as hell for its game play in mimicking that of real ant behavior. And with what’s being dubbed as an “award-winning interface” it’ll have no shortage of pleasing one’s aesthetics.

By drawing pheromone trails, you direct your ground forces to different destinations, working with streams of units rather than individuals.

With various types of ants at your command your duty is to protect the hill at all costs as you fend off swarms of enemy bugs which will come at you in different military offensive tactics. You’ll have four different ants you can upgrade your defenses with; workers, spitters, bombers and soldiers.  

Features:

• Tower defense game-play protect your ant hill
• Variety of units to deploy workers, soldiers, spitters and bombers
• Real critters to defeat evil enemy beetles, bugs and flies
• Draw pheromone trails simple touch and slide interface
• Upgrade your units grow and develop your colony

Ready for the download? Hit up the Play Store link below for either the free version or the paid version (advertisement free) when you’re ready and good luck soldier. Feel free to drop a comment or two below as to what’s your favorite part of the game. And don’t forget to check out the awesome video and pics below for more highlights.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Store Download Link – Free

Play Store Download Link – Paid

Come comment on this article: Anthill Hits Google Play Store In The Form Of A Strategic Tower “Trail” Defense Game (Video)

KKR has agreed to buy a majority stake in SMCP Group of Paris. Financial terms were not announced. KKR will have about 65% of SMCP while management will retain 35%. SMCP is an apparel retailing group, that operates in the attractive affordable luxury apparel segment across four brands: Sandro, Sandro Men, Maje and Claudie Pierlot.

PRESS RELEASE

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP (together with its affiliates, “KKR”) and SMCP Group (Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot) (“SMCP” or “the Company”), a leading ready-to-wear affordable luxury apparel retailer, today announced that KKR signed a definitive agreement with SMCP’s current shareholders to acquire a majority stake in the Company alongside its management team. KKR will own approximately 65% of the Company’s share capital with management retaining approximately 35%. The agreement remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

“I have created this beautiful family history with my sister, Judith Milgrom, and I am pleased to embark on a new phase of our lives with KKR. Alongside Elie Kouby and Frédéric Biousse, Judith and I are reaffirming our full commitment to the business and have great ambitions for the group: building a global leader in the affordable luxury segment”, said Evelyne Chétrite, President of SMCP Group.

“We are excited to partner with KKR”, added Frédéric Biousse, the CEO of SMCP Group. “We are proud of the Company’s strong development over the recent years and would like to thank our shareholders L Capital and Florac for their support. We look forward to working with KKR as we accelerate the international expansion of our brands, particularly in the United States and Asia. KKR’s global presence and extensive experience and track-record in the international retail sector will be important assets in helping us continue our growth trajectory”.

Jacques Garaïalde, Partner and Managing Director in charge of KKR’s French operations, added, “SMCP is a remarkable business with an outstanding management team. The Company has developed strong French brands with international appeal, and high quality products at affordable prices that meet the needs of consumers around the world. We are pleased to support the team in their growth strategy”.

Over the past five years, the Company has experienced significant growth driven by a combination of like-for-like growth and new store openings across its four brands: Sandro, Sandro Men, Maje and Claudie Pierlot. Today, the Company has established a leading position in the French affordable luxury segment and a fast-growing international business with strong positions in Europe and a growing presence in the USA and more recently Asia. SMCP operates more than 570 points of sale, and generated a turnover of 350 million euros in 2012. Approximately 150 new store openings are planned for 2013, mainly outside France.

“We are delighted to have accompanied SMCP Group during the last couple of years of rapid development and we wish the managers, founders and KKR much success”, added Daniel Piette and Eduardo Velasco from L Capital and Léopold Meyer from Florac.

KKR was advised by Rothschild & Cie and SMCP Group was advised by J.P. Morgan and Leonardo & Co.

About SMCP Group

SMCP Group is a leading apparel retailing group, operating in the attractive affordable luxury apparel segment across four brands: Sandro, Sandro Men, Maje and Claudie Pierlot. Sandro and Maje were founded by Evelyne and Didier Chétrite and Judith Milgrom and Alain Moyal in the late 1980s and 1990s, respectively. In 2007, Evelyne and Judith were joined by Frédéric Biousse and Elie Kouby to accelerate the development of their brands. Claudie Pierlot was acquired in early 2009 and SMCP Group was subsequently created in 2010 upon an investment made by L Capital and Florac. SMCP Group developed a unique and effective business model: combining luxury codes (marketing & communication, shopping experience) with creative design content and high-quality fabrics while leveraging best practices from the fast fashion industry (short collection cycles and reactivity to market trends supported by an efficient supply chain). Having already opened 69 retail outlets in North America over the last 18 months, Sandro, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot also have five stores in Hong Kong and will open their two first stores in Shanghai in July, followed by four additional stores by the end of the year.

About KKR

Founded in 1976 and led by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR is a leading global investment firm with $75.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31st, 2012. With offices around the world, KKR manages assets through a variety of investment funds and accounts covering multiple asset classes. KKR seeks to create value by bringing operational expertise to its portfolio companies and through active oversight and monitoring of its investments. KKR & Co. L.P. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KKR), and “KKR,” as used in this release, includes its subsidiaries, their managed investment funds and accounts, and/or their affiliated investment vehicles, as appropriate.

Shareholders

L Capital: Eduardo Velasco, Philippe Franchet and Manal Saleh

Florac: Léopold Meyer, Olivier Golder and Gautier Preney

Advisers

Buyers: Rothschild & Cie (Laurent Baril), Bredin Prat (Sébastien Prat), Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Landwell, McKinsey, Roland Berger, Anne Beall, Deloitte.

Sellers: JP Morgan (Séverin Brizay), Leonardo & Co (Laurance Danon), The Financial Company of Edmond de Rothschild, SJ Berwin (Jérôme Jouhanneaud), DLA Piper (Michel Frieh), Shearman & Sterling (Guillaume Isaultier), KPMG (Axel Rebaudières and Vincent Delmas), Taj (Sophie Blegent-Delaphille), Oloyrn (Frédéric Jannin and Eric Lesieur).

The post KKR Invests in SMCP appeared first on peHUB.

Google’s CEO Larry Page revealed something during today’s earnings call that his company doesn’t seem to have actually spelled out before: Google Glass runs on Android. In response to a question about how much people can expect to see engagement increment with new products like Glass, he said that “obviously, Glass runs on Android, so [Android] has been pretty transportable across devices, and I think that will continue.”

Many have speculated that Google Glass would run on an Android-based OS, but to date, Google hasn’t come right out and said so. Recent reports suggested that it would be ore of a proprietary system separate from Android, but Page’s statement today seems to indicate that in fact it will at least be a version of Android.

And Android-based Glass, even if it’s a modified version of the original OS, is good news for developers, since it means they share at least a common language. That should make integration, at least between Glass and Android-powered smartphone apps easier. The comment about portability also strongly suggests that Android has the potential to power a range of devices in the future, including the smart watch it reportedly has in development.

We’ve contacted Google to find out more about the Glass OS and how closely related it is to Android for smartphones, and will update if we hear more.

Google has stepped up its infrastructure spending once again, to the tune of $1.2 billion in the first quarter, according to its earnings report released on Thursday. That’s a 20 percent quarter-over-quarter increase, and the previous quarter’s $1.02 billion represented Google’s second-biggest quarterly investment ever.

There’s not much to say about this uptick in spending that hasn’t been said before. Essentially, Google has to keep on spending to keep its services running as well as possible and as efficiently as possible. Competing against Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft in everything from search to mobile to cloud computing costs a boatload of cash. Rolling out Google Fiber — soon to be in three cities — certainly isn’t cheap, either.

Apples-to-apples comparisons can be tough, because everyone’s businesses are different and decisions to build or buy new gear can affect expenditures, as can massive new headquarters. But here goes: In its fiscal third quarter earnings announced on Thursday, Microsoft claims it spent $930 million. Facebook, Apple and Amazon have not yet released their latest earnings, although both Apple and Amazon spent more than $2 billion on “property and equipment” in the previous quarter. Facebook spent $198 million and another $89 million leasing property and equipment.

This quarter’s $1.2 billion also represents a nearly 2x increase over last year’s first quarter infrastructure spending for Google.

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Hype and excitement still surround software-defined networking (SDN). For evidence, look no further than the continuing disagreement on the definition of SDN. Yet, surprisingly, there were few startups at this year’s Open Networking Summit, which wrapped up Wednesday. But a few on the exhibition floor are worth writing home about.

• One Convergence, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is playing the easy-to-use card with the OpenStack-based network-virtualization overlay software it was demonstrating at the conference. It will launch in the coming months. The One Convergence offering is similar in some ways to Nicira’s Network Virtualization Platform, said Roshan Gudapati (pictured), vice president of marketing and sales. “As traffic increases, you can bring up more and more (network) instances,” he said. It’s just as easy to hit the delete button on a network, as Gudapati demonstrated at his company’s booth. (Gudapati later said the One Convergence software is similar in some ways to the approach Nicira had taken in the past.)

• Saisei Networks, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is working on software for traffic management — the act of setting and enforcing policies that can limit the traffic over a network. The idea is to deliver a product that eliminates the need for purpose-built legacy hardware and works at carrier grade, said Dave Newman, Saisei’s co-founder and chief operating officer.
• EstiNet, based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, has a network simulator to see what would happen if an OpenFlow controller were to send packets across multiple OpenFlow-enabled switches. The software visualizes the route of packets across switches and lets customers figure out the most efficient path and simulate the failure of switches in a network.
• Accelera Mobile Broadband Inc. is combining two favorite GigaOM topics, heterogeneous mobile networks (het-net) and network virtualization. The company, which was founded in 2009, is trying to use network virtualization to set policies and take action across the next generation of wireless networks that combine Wi-Fi, LTE, 3G technologies and sometimes even older networks.

As conference attendees heard this week, investors are still looking for SDN startups to fund. Perhaps these companies will help meet the investor demand. Perhaps still more startups need to start up.

This post was updated at 5:31 p.m. PT to add context to Gudapati’s statements at the conference.

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Sure, we have our Roombas and a few AR Drones here and there, but researchers expect that we’ll have many more – and better – robots within the next few years and that the overall market should hit $6.5 billion by 2017.

According to ABI Research’s Consumer Electronics Research Service, the consumer robotics market is currently at about $1.6 billion and growing. A slow economy and fairly expensive parts has stagnated things for the time being but improved devices and more interesting implementations – home helper robots, for example – could push the market up considerably.

As we’ve seen in our visit with Bossa Nova Robotics, devices like the Mobi ball bot can move through crowded spaces and help out in unique situations. While it’s still no Rosie the Robot, I could imagine a cleaning bot that could also help move heavy objects as a team effort and robots that can inspect chimneys and drains. Interestingly, the problem of safety begins to crop up when talking about consumer robotics.

Obviously the question remains: did the robots start the fire on purpose?

via RoboticsTrends

If you’re anticipating Gameloft’s Iron Man 3 game that’s set to be released on April 25th, be excited. Gameloft has released a new trailer showing off more gameplay and a few of the other features in the endless shooter game, including some of the armor and weapon upgrades. Check out the video below for the full trailer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come comment on this article: Gameloft shows off Iron Man 3 gameplay with new trailer

Patients typically learn from medical professionals, but a new startup wants to make it easier for patients to learn from themselves — and educate the rest of the industry in the process.

Launched Thursday by Google’s former Chief Health Strategist Roni Zeiger, Smart Patients is an online community for cancer patients and caregivers that incorporates social networking and search technology.

“Given how many tools are accessible to everyone and how even scientific information is being democratized, there is now an impressive number of smart patients out there [and] we haven’t really thought about how to collaborate with them.,” Zeiger told me at this week’s TEDMED conference. “What can we learn from them to help take care of them and others better?”

While there are other online communities for patients, like PatientsLikeMe, as well as cancer-specific sites, Zeiger said Smart Patients differs in a couple of key ways.  For example, he said, given the important role clinical trials can play in a cancer patient’s treatment, the site includes a patient-friendly clinical trial search engine and it enables them to start conversations about those trials.

Additionally, while most other health-focused social networks and web communities – as well as most things in health care – tend to be siloed by disease, Smart Patients enables patients to follow conversations across their specific cancer and other kinds of cancers. That’s important, Zeiger said, because topics like bone metastasis or certain kinds of drugs may matter to patients with different kinds of cancers.

The free site will not include any advertising or marketing, but the company plans to conduct surveys and share anonymous patient insights with other health care companies, including biopharma companies, Zeiger said. For example, a current project with Oncosec Medical is working with a subset of the community to get patient feedback on how to design upcoming clinical trials of the biotech company’s skin cancer treatments.

Earlier this year, PatientsLikeMe announced that it had received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create an open research platform that enables patients to take part in the clinical research process. But, for the most part, patients don’t play a part in clinical trials until they’re already designed.

For the past three months, Smart Patients has been in private beta with a few hundred patients but, to help build the network, it’s launching Thursday with partners including The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and the non-profit Cancer Commons. While Zeiger said he doesn’t think Smart Patients’ model will fit with every disease, he added that if their approach is successful, they’ll likely expand beyond cancer. He also said that while the company has been self-funded to date, it’s planning to raise a seed round in the near future.

“Our core philosophy is to learn from patients,” Zeiger said. “And I think that’s going to help us build something really useful.”

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Microsoft released its Q3 earnings, including $20.49 billion in revenue. Operating income was $7.61 billion. Net income was $6.06 billion.

CEO Steve Ballmer said, “The bold bets we made on cloud services are paying off as people increasingly choose Microsoft services including Office 365, Windows Azure, Xbox LIVE, and Skype. While there is still work to do, we are optimistic that the bets we’ve made on Windows devices position us well for the long-term.”

In addition to the results, the company announced that CFO Peter Klein will leave at the end of the current fiscal year after four years in the role and 11 years with the company.

“I’ve had a great experience as CFO and overall in my time at Microsoft,” Klein said. “We have an incredibly strong finance organization, and I’m looking forward to working with my successor on the transition through the end of the fiscal year.”

Here’s the release in its entirety:

REDMOND, Wash. — Apr. 18, 2013 — Microsoft Corp. today announced quarterly revenue of $20.49 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $7.61 billion, $6.06 billion, and $0.72 per share.

These financial results reflect the net recognition of revenue related to the Windows Upgrade Offer, Office Upgrade Offer and Pre-Sales, and the Entertainment and Devices Division Video Game Deferral, partially offset by the European Commission fine. The following table reconciles these financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to non-GAAP financial results. We have provided this non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance.

Download: Web

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“The bold bets we made on cloud services are paying off as people increasingly choose Microsoft services including Office 365, Windows Azure, Xbox LIVE, and Skype,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “While there is still work to do, we are optimistic that the bets we’ve made on Windows devices position us well for the long-term.”

The Microsoft Business Division posted $6.32 billion of revenue, an 8% increase from the prior year period. Adjusting for the net recognition of revenue related to the Office Upgrade Offer and Pre-Sales, Microsoft Business Division non-GAAP revenue increased 5%. During the quarter, we launched the new Office, enhancing productivity and the user experience through new mobility, social, and cloud features.

The Server & Tools business reported $5.04 billion of revenue, an 11% increase from the prior year period, driven by double-digit percentage revenue growth in SQL Server and System Center.

“Our enterprise business continues to thrive,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “Enterprise customers are increasingly turning to Microsoft for their IT solutions and as a result, we continue to take share from our competitors in key areas including hybrid cloud, data platform, and virtualization.”

The Windows Division posted revenue of $5.70 billion, a 23% increase from the prior year period. Adjusting for the recognition of revenue related to the Windows Upgrade Offer, Windows Division non-GAAP revenue was flat. During the quarter, we added to the Surface family of devices with Surface Pro.

The Online Services Division reported revenue of $832 million, an 18% increase from the prior year period. Online advertising revenue grew 22% driven by an increase in revenue per search.

The Entertainment and Devices Division posted revenue of $2.53 billion, an increase of 56% from the prior year period. Adjusting for the recognition of revenue related to the Video Game Deferral, the division’s non-GAAP revenue increased 33% for the third quarter. Xbox LIVE now has over 46 million members worldwide, an 18% increase from the prior year period.

“Our diverse business continues to deliver solid financial results, even as we navigate the evolving device market,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in long-term growth opportunities to drive our devices and services strategy forward and deliver ongoing value to shareholders.”

Business Outlook

Adjusting for the European Commission fine, Microsoft is revising operating expense guidance downward and now offers a range of $30.2 billion to $30.5 billion for the full year ending June 30, 2013. Microsoft also offers preliminary fiscal year 2014 operating expense guidance of $31.6 billion to $32.2 billion, representing 4% to 6% growth from the mid-point of fiscal year 2013 adjusted guidance.

CFO Transition

The company also announced Microsoft CFO Peter Klein will leave the company at the end of the current fiscal year, after nearly four years in role and 11 years at the company. Microsoft will be naming a new CFO from its finance leadership team in the next several weeks.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Peter as CFO,” Ballmer said. “He’s been a key member of my leadership team and a strategic advisor to me, and I wish him the very best.”

“I’ve had a great experience as CFO and overall in my time at Microsoft,” Klein said. “We have an incredibly strong finance organization, and I’m looking forward to working with my successor on the transition through the end of the fiscal year.”

Webcast Details

Peter Klein, chief financial officer, Frank Brod, chief accounting officer, and Chris Suh, general manager of Investor Relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. PDT (5:30 p.m. EDT) today to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/ . The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on Apr. 18, 2014.

Adjusted Financial Results and Non-GAAP Measures

For the third quarter fiscal year 2013, GAAP revenue, operating income, and earnings per share included the recognition of revenue for the Windows Upgrade Offer, the Office Upgrade Offer and Pre-Sales, and the Entertainment and Devices Division Video Game Deferral, partially offset by the European Commission fine. These items are defined in our Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2013. In addition to these financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we have provided certain non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. Presenting these measures without the impact of these items gives additional insight into operational performance and helps clarify trends affecting the company’s business. For comparability of reporting, management considers this information in conjunction with GAAP amounts in evaluating business performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Windows Division

 

Download: Web

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Microsoft Business Division

Download: Web

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Entertainment and Devices Division

Download: Web

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About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as:

• intense competition in all of Microsoft’s markets;
• execution and competitive risks from our increasing focus on devices and services;
• significant investments in new products and services that may not be profitable;
• Microsoft’s continued ability to protect its intellectual property rights;
• claims that Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of others;
• the possibility of unauthorized disclosure of significant portions of Microsoft’s source code;
• cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities in Microsoft products that could reduce revenue or lead to liability;
• improper disclosure of personal data that could result in liability and harm to Microsoft’s reputation;
• outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure;
• government litigation and regulation that may limit how Microsoft designs and markets its products;
• Microsoft’s ability to attract and retain talented employees;
• delays in product development and related product release schedules;
• unfavorable changes in general economic or market conditions, disruption of our partner networks or sales channels, or the availability of credit that affect demand for Microsoft’s products and services or the value of our investment portfolio;
• adverse results in legal disputes;
• unanticipated tax liabilities;
• quality or supply problems in Microsoft’s consumer hardware or other vertically integrated hardware and software products;
• impairment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a charge to earnings;
• exposure to increased economic and regulatory uncertainties from operating a global business;
• geopolitical conditions, natural disaster, cyber-attack or other catastrophic events disrupting Microsoft’s business; and
• acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances that adversely affect the business.

For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/.

All information in this release is as of Apr. 18, 2013. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.

Google’s results came in near expectations on Wednesday with core revenues of $11 billion and earnings per share of $11.58. The numbers, which don’t include the company’s Motorola division, also showed a slight decline in Google’s “cost-per-click” revenues which is a key barometer of the company’s advertising business.

Google share price was up about 1 percent in after-market trading to $772. The company’s consolidated revenue, which includes Motorola and traffic acquisition costs, was $13.97 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted $14.09 billion, and earnings per share of $10.66.

On an earnings call following the release of the results, CEO Larry Page talked up the company’s highly experimental products of the future such as driverless cars, the secret Google X lab and Google Glass. He said products like Gmail were at one time considered to be far from the company’s core search business, but eventually became everyday features. He also cited the fiber-to-home networks Google is unrolling in Kansas, Austin and Provo, Utah.

“That’s why we’re investing in what appear to be speculative products to you today,” said Page, adding in reference to Google Glass, “I get chills when I use a product that is the future.”

Analysts on the call were not entirely persuaded, with one asking if the company would shift the resources it devotes to core versus experiment products. Page said the company would continue doing what it was doing.

In response to a question about whether Facebook’s Home screen for cell phones could marginalize Google software, Page did not address the issue directly but emphasized the company’s overall strength.

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Verizon has made it official that they will be announcing something on May 22nd at CTIA. There’s no word on what the actual announcement will be, but it’s probably going to be a big enough deal to warrant a formal invitation like this.

A Galaxy S 4 announcement would be unlikely, since we all pretty much know it’s coming, so it could be some other device announcement. Droid DNA Plus, anyone? It could also be something related to Verizon’s new device payment plans, or something network related, like VoLTE. We won’t for another month, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated as soon as we hear anything.

Come comment on this article: Verizon to make a special announcement on May 22nd

Three fascinating speakers have been added to the lineup for TEDGlobal 2013, which kicks off in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 10 to 14.

First, Anne-Marie Slaughter, who exploded the conversation about women’s work-life balance with her July/August 2012 The Atlantic article, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” will join the conference to lend her expertise on policy and work. Slaughter, who’ll become president of the New America Foundation in September, will speak during session 1, “The Moment of Truth.”

Brazilian neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Heuzel will also take the TEDGlobal stage. Herculano-Heuzel created “brain soup” in order to count the number of neurons in the human brain. She will speak during session 5, “Listening to Nature,” as her latest work has her studying elephant and whale brains.

The final new addition to the program: Andras Forgacs, the co-founder and CEO of Modern Meadow, a company which is “bio-printing” meat and leather. In other words: no animal will be killed in the making of the final consumer products.

See the full lineup of speakers, and read their detailed bios.

The 70+ presenters at TEDGlobal 2013 are an enthralling bunch. Here’s a look at some of the other speakers who’ve been in the news recently.

• What, you ask, is an “airborne ecologist?” Last week, The Economist took a look at Gregory Asner’s work studying the hunting patterns of lions from a twin propeller plane. What is the benefit? The ability to make a 3D map of an area and chart animal movement through it — without having to catch animals in the act.

• Economist Dambiso Moyo, the author of Dead Aid who most recently turned her eye to China’s race for resources, was named the winner of the 2013 Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award this week. She follows in the footsteps of TEDGlobal 2011 speaker Niall Ferguson, who also wrote the foreword to her most well-known book.

• Shereen El Feki’s new book, Sex and the Citadel, was reviewed last week by Janet Maslin of The New York Times. Maslin writes, “Though she warns her readers that she is not writing an encyclopedia or staging a peep show, Ms. El Feki does ask an array of highly personal questions about present-day sexual relations in Muslim societies, with particular emphasis on Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.”

• Financial Times interviewed Michael Sandel over a seafood lunch in a piece subtitled, “The Harvard philosopher and ‘moral rock star’ on Obama, education’s new frontiers and the shortcomings of markets.” In a great moment in the interview, Sandel shares why thousands of people attend his lectures: “There is an enormous hunger to engage in big questions that matter,” he says.

• On March 30, The New York Times ran a story on behavioral economist Allessandro Acquisti, who looks at the vast wealth of information we give away online without even realizing it. Thing to note: by posting a photo online, you actually give out clues to your social security number.

• “You know when you have a bird, and it’s been in a cage all its life? When you open the cage door, it doesn’t want to leave. It was that moment.” Women’s rights activist Manal Al-Sharif quoted in a recent The Wall Street Journal profile describing how she felt the first time she got behind the wheel of a car in Saudi Arabia.

• Plutocrats author Chrystia Freeland wrote an op-ed for Reuters last week called “The sorrow and the pity of Obama’s budget.”

• Reviewer Hari Kunzru of The New York Times mentions Lesley Hazleton’s first TED Talk, “On reading the Koran,” in his review of her new book, a biography of Muhammad. He writes, “Hazleton approaches her subject with scrupulous respect … In 2010, she gave a TED talk debunking some of the more egregious myths about the Koran, notably the salaciously Orientalist ‘72 virgins.’ This is a writer who is working to dispel contradictions, not sharpen them.”

• A study on whether false memories can curb a person’s desire to drink alcohol by Elizabeth Loftus was featured on TIME.com last week.

We can’t wait for these speakers to make us “Think Again” at TEDGlobal 2013.

How would you like to draw a nice bath and fill it up with some nice blue crystal?

Lucky for you, you can. Introducing Bathing Bad, the Breaking Bad-themed bath salts. No, not those kinds of bath salts – the ones you use in the tub. I know it’s confusing. Anyway, here’s what makers Firebox has to say about their bath salts:

Whether you’re an underappreciated science teacher or a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, sometimes the only way to relax is to take a bath. Crafted from all-natural ingredients under strictly controlled conditions, the Bathing Bad Bath Salts are vastly superior to the bath salts you might cop on the corner. Contrary to a certain particularly gruesome scene, this is one time when baths and Breaking Bad DO mix.

Here’s another shot of the salts, complete with generic dude in a biohazard suit holding them up:

You can purchase these awesome bath salts for a mere $23 on Firebox – but only in the U.K.

[Firebox via Laughing Squid]

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a love letter to the 80s. The game features the neon lights, out of place ninja cyborgs and larger-than-life battles that made the action movies of the 80s so memorable. It’s only fitting then that one of the most iconic actors of the 80s plays the leading role.

In the latest trailer for Blood Dragon, Michael Biehn speaks about his experience in recording the voice of Sergeant Rex “Power” Colt. It’s probably the best behind-the-scenes promo video that you’ll see this year.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon launches May 1 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

It’s no secret that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been struggling for years. The company has seen its revenues fall in the face of email and the new internet economy.

In February, the USPS announced that it would be dropping Saturday mail delivery to try and cut its losses. However, congress just this month passed a resolution barring the USPS from getting rid of Saturday delivery. It’s the type of congressional mandate that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has been complaining about in every dismal USPS quarterly financial disclosure.

This week, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing titled Options to Bring the Postal Service Back From Insolvency. Donahoe was invited to give testimony at the hearing, during which he revealed just how bad the situation is for the USPS.

“In the past two years, the Postal Service has recorded $21 billion in losses, including a default of $11.1 billion in payments to the United States Treasury,” said Donahoe. “The Postal Service has exhausted its borrowing authority and continues to contend with dangerously low liquidity. We are losing $25 million a day, and we are on an unsustainable path.”

Donahoe went on to outline the usual points made by the USPS when addressing its financial situation. First class mail use has dropped 28% since 2007, and the Postmaster General complained that restrictive laws governing the Postal Service prevent it “from fully responding to these changes in consumer behavior.”

Donahoe’s testimony was then countered by Fredric Rolando, the president of the National Associatio of Letter Carriers (NALC), the union that represents the USPS’ letter carriers. Rolando stated that the congress-mandated pre-funding of retiree health benefits is the major factor in the USPS’ insolvency.

CIC Bancshares has received an investment from Consumer Capital Partners and Rick Schaden, CPR’s founder and chairman. Financial terms weren’t announced. Denver-based CIC operates Centennial Bank.

PRESS RELEASE

Consumer Capital Partners, (CCP), the owner of the fastest growing better burger chain in America, Smashburger, announced today that its Founder and Chairman, Rick Schaden, is diversifying his investments further by investing in a local Colorado-based bank holding company, CIC Bancshares, the owner and operator of Centennial Bank.  The privately-owned bank has nine locations throughout the Front Range and mountain resort communities.  Schaden made the investment in CIC Bancshares to support Centennial Bank’s mission of providing loans to small businesses and contribute to the strength of the Colorado economy.

“People often ask me to talk about what drives me or what inspires me.  The answer has always been about helping small businesses and fostering entrepreneurialism,” said Schaden “I remember how I got my start in business with a loan from my dad and a local small business bank.  Without this financial support, I would have never been able to open my first restaurant.  Today I look back and see how that initial help allowed me to develop and grow two international restaurant chains and invest in a variety of other business ventures.  It was apparent that Centennial Bank shares this same passion for supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs.”

Supporting small-to-mid sized businesses is a strategic vision of Centennial Bank.  Local manufacturers, professional services firms, real estate developers and construction contractors are all examples of small businesses that are receiving financial support through Centennial Bank.  According to Kevin Ahern, President and CEO of CIC Bancshares and Chairman of Centennial Bank, “We pride ourselves on fueling local economic growth by providing capital to small business owners.  It’s our niche, along with our relationship-based business approach with our customers. With Rick’s involvement, combined with our extensive list of other local shareholders, we not only have access to the capital resources we need to grow, but we also have extensive Colorado-based business connections that lead to additional business for the bank.”

About Consumer Capital Partners
Consumer Capital Partners is an innovative investment and operating company focused on consumer and lifestyle brands like Smashburger, the USA Pro Challenge (professional cycling race), CIC Bancshares and Centennial Bank, FrontRange Capital Partners, as well as associated restaurant concepts like Tom’s Urban 24.

About CIC Bancshares and Centennial Bank
CIC Bancshares, Inc. is a privately-held Colorado-based bank holding company focused on acquiring and developing banking and financial services assets in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.  Centennial Bank, established in 1986 and acquired by CIC Bancshares, Inc. in 2010, is a full-service community bank focused on providing banking solutions to businesses, business-owners, professionals and consumers in Colorado. Centennial Bank provides personalized service to customers for their business and personal banking needs with nine locations and over $400M in assets. For more information, please visit www.CentennialBanking.com.

The post Consumer Capital Invests In CIC Bancshares appeared first on peHUB.

An interview with Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, authors of the article Creating the Best Workplace on Earth.

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