Category: News

  • Growl – Personalize Your Notifications System

    Mountain Lion’s Notifications Center is a great tool, but if you are looking to give a bit more oomph to your alerts, Growl is what you need. Between the community-created notification styles and the directions to make your own, reaching the perfect look becomes an achievable task.

    Initially developed as a free System Preferences Pane, Growl has become a commerci… (read more)

  • The Toyota-Nissan Recalls: Noblesse Oblige

    The recent massive recall of Toyota and Nissan is a stark reminder of the costs of strategic dominance.

    Although external suppliers account for most (around 75%) of the cost of making a car, automobile manufacturers have long for been legally responsible for the entire product. This principle, enshrined in US law by a famous decision of the New York Court of Appeals in 1916 (MacPherson vs. Buick), means that the automobile manufacturers, for better and for worse, have to stand by the car’s faults, whether they are the result of themselves or their suppliers.

    Now, being legally liable for something might appear to be a headache, and many in the automobile industry certainly treat it as such. Yet my recent research, with Wharton’s John Paul MacDuffie, suggests that this short-term headache is also a long-term strategic weapon, which automobile manufacturers have used to ensure they keep a high, and steady proportion of the total value-add in the sector.

    Despite the extensive outsourcing that took place in cars, from the 1980’s onwards, automobile manufacturers have been able to retain value. Unlike the computer sector, where vertical dis-integration led to value migration from computer makers such as IBM to chipmakers such as Intel and software and OS writers such as Microsoft, in cars the automobile OEMs still are able to keep the lion’s share of the sector’s total market capitalization.

    This achievement is in no small measure due to the fact that they are ultimately legally responsible for a car. This liability has allowed them to shape standards and demand compliance (with backing from regulators) from their suppliers. As a result the “master and servant” relations between those who outsource and those who produce have not reversed in the car industry, unlike in the computer industry.

    That being so, it is quite reasonable to expect automobile manufacturers to graciously accept responsibility for the faults of their cars, and take the short-term financial hit that recalls, small and large, impose.

    The same goes for Tesco’s and other retailers in Europe, who were found to have horsemeat in their burgers. They were wise not to use the cheap defense that “we didn’t know, and it was the fault of our (obscure) suppliers who told us all is good”. They recognized that with their acceptance of responsibility was the price of being seen by customers to be their products’ guarantors of quality, a key driver of strategic control and profits.

    As they used to say in medieval France, “Noblesse Oblige.” Much as the nobles of yesteryear understood that they had to accept some responsibilities to stave off revolutions, today’s industrial leaders must be willing to take the hit if they are to keep their role at the top of the supply chain pecking order. History is full of examples of what happens to those who become too greedy, choosing short-term gains over long term positioning.

  • A Secret Lookup Exposed For “Google”

    Su objetivo es mejorar la imagen de nuestro pas, tanto en el interior como ms all de nuestras fronteras, en beneficio del bien comn. En un mundo worldwide, una buena imagen-pas es un activo que sirve para respaldar la posicin internacional de un Estado poltica, econmica, cultural, social, cientfica y tecnolgicamente.

    It will be less difficult to understand for individuals who have use google Docs. Just like the Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other kinds of information can be uploaded and edited in actual time and be commonly set to be considered by the meant viewers, Google Sites allows customers to make and edit net webpages in a extremely person helpful way.

    This is a single of the biggest indicators of a good pal and actually does stand out. Do you steer clear of speaking terribly about others or spreading rumours in purchase to hurt them? Do you protect pals when you listen to others gossiping about them? If you stay away from gossiping other people will discover how various you are and shortly realise what a really great friend you are.

    This will enable artwork enthusiasts all more than the globe to enjoy Spains artistic heritage without leaving the convenience of their personal properties, and will also inspire many vacationers to select Spain as a cultural vacation spot.

    If a person is beneath arrest with a felony scenario there is a chance that his document will be posted on the web but for some who dedicate hefty offense there are other web sites that so stringent, in order to surf a lot more details you want to log in very first or to sign-up it is the initial step of the process to shield the personality of a individual in community interest. In addition, It’s a reality that when you are the accused and you will see your mug shot on-line is such an uncomfortable minute because we all know that World wide web cater worldwide info particularly when you go to the a few greatest search motor that can provides thousand of outcomes about legal phrases, if this is the scenario, anticipate that your mugshot will also evolve global.

    Since authorship boosts your overall on the internet identity and material relevance, there follows that your rankings may well modify drastically with this. Google authorship may well be the next large thing when it will come to improving your SERP’s, so better maintain a near eye on the subject. Some are even predicting that the authorship tag might engage in a big element on the search giant’s algorithms in the close to long term.

    Video clip creating with search engine optimization technique will make positive that your efforts are not squandered, and you will get very fast good ranking with Google. Some will think about it as marketer’s goldmine.

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  • Cell Telephone Offers: Highly Influence The Life Of The Individuals

    A number of evaluations have recommended that cellular studying could assist people to be much much more inspired and as a consequence improve their school performance. M-understanding introduces an additional sort of learning, totally in contrast to the standard duties such as making notes, reading through from a textbook, and so on. This particular selection in a understanding computer software undoubtedly assists to boost fascination among learners.

    Once the computer software is downloaded to your cellphone or tablet, open up an account, confirm you are previous adequate to play and register a credit rating card, which should be in your name. Most casinos request for this for verification purposes. Right after this you will be capable to make a deposit.

    When evaluating similar on the internet items between the two opponents, Microsoft Dynamics CRM On the internet is available for less than fifty% of the Salesforce payment. The newest pricing in the United states of america signifies that “Microsoft CRM [On the internet] operates $44-59 per user for each month, in contrast to $a hundred twenty five for Salesforce” Expert Edition.

    This is 1 area of net style and development that has swiftly expanded more than the last 10 years. It is also believed to be a single that will regularly broaden and develop as a lot more individuals make the go to having a mobile gadget as the primary device for looking the web. Presently, there are many different units that make use of programs, which contain the Iphone, iPad, and Android telephones and devices. New items are turning into available all the time as individuals research for goods that deliver more functions and are a lot more effective.

    The BlackBerry Storm 9530 makes use of a touch display screen-based technologies. All of the fundamental text messaging functions are integrated, and you can now also produce information. Built-in Bluetooth technologies on the Blackberry 9530 cellphone allows go wi-fi and to listen to songs on WiFi. The world’s initial “clickable” display screen was utilized in the Storm 9530 cell cellphone. Providing individuals a sense of ease and comfort was the intent driving this. It let the cell cellphone consumer to do comparable steps to those on a typical keyboard. Other supported feature includes individual and multi-touch for interacting with various apps.

    ‘Although customers of mobile broadband can avail the benefit of pay, initially they have to shell out excellent sum of income for the USB stick or information card.

    What can be inferred from the over benefits and disadvantages of utilizing cellular broadband is that the service is worth its investment decision for folks who require to access Internet while they are on the go, and/or for individuals who are more into examining emails, and browsing. On the other hand, those who generally hook up to the Web at house, and/or who usually engage in intense bandwidth activities might not advantage from using the providers of cell broadband.

    For more regarding mobile voip look at ripplnreviews.net

  • Winklevoss Twins Deemed ‘Bitcoin Moguls’

    Silicon’s favorite (or least favorite, depending on what side of the coin you prefer) twins, the Winklevoss twins, have been deemed “Bitcoin moguls” in a new report from the New York Times.

    The publication reports that the twins have “amassed since last summer what appears to be one of the largest portfolios of the digital money.”

    A couple choice quotes from the Winklevii:

    Cameron: “People say it’s a Ponzi scheme, it’s a bubble. People really don’t want to take it seriously. At some point that narrative will shift to ‘virtual currencies are here to stay.’ We’re in the early days.”

    Tyler: “We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error.”

    We recently revisited an interview we did with Bitcoin lead core developer Gavin Andresen, who talked about where the virtual currency is headed. He had a lot of interesting things to say, and you should probably read it.

    Also, check out this new video that’s been making the rounds, explaining Bitcoin:

  • Apple set to pay $53M in water-damaged iPhone warranty dispute

    Apple has a policy against replacing water-damaged iOS devices and now it’s going to pay for it. Wired got its hands on a settlement of a class action lawsuit between the company and iPhone and iPod touch owners in San Francisco who say Apple failed to honor their warranties. Apple has agreed to pay $53 million, according to the documents.

    Anyone who’s had to have an iPhone replaced at an Apple Store Genius Bar is familiar with the process of checking for damage, which includes an employee using a tool to see if the device has ever gotten wet. It turns out that the water-detection method may not have provided totally clear-cut evidence. From Wired:

    According to several lawsuits combined in San Francisco, no matter what the problem, Apple refused to honor warranties if a white indicator tape embedded in the phone near the headphone or charging portals had turned pink or red. However, the tape’s maker, 3M, said humidity, and not water contact, could have caused the color to at least turn pink.

    The lawsuit covers older iPhones and iPod touch devices, and the petitioners may get around $200 cash payout each. That might be a somewhat meaningful amount for customers who had to pay for another phone. But the total, $53 million, is a drop in the bucket for a company with about $140 billion on hand.

    Image courtesy of Flickr user JD Hancock via Compfight cc

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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  • Friday Funny: Into Every Life, A Little Rain Must Fall

    It’s Friday and time for a little data center humor! Before you head out for the weekend, add your suggestions for the data center cartoon caption contest below.

    This time, our data center gurus, Kip and Gary, are facing a little indoor water feature in the data hall.

    For those of you who don’t know, here’s how it works: We provide the cartoon (drawn by Diane Alber, our awesome data center cartoonist) and you, our readers, submit the captions. We then choose finalists and the readers vote for their favorite funniest suggestion. The winner will receive their caption in a signed print by Diane.

    Please visit Diane’s website Kip and Gary for more of her data center cartoon humor.

    april-showers-smClick to enlarge.

    For the previous cartoons on DCK, see our Humor Channel.

  • Breakdown of Android tablet market shows small slates rule the roost

    The market for Android tablets appears hotter for less expensive small slates than their bigger, pricier counterparts. On Friday, Animoca, a cross-platform app publisher of entertainment products for Android devices, shared its internal data of the Android tablet market. The figures come from Animoca users around the world for one month, ending March 20, with a sample size of 978,000. When figuring market share, the company assumes that 75 million Android tablets are in use.

    Android tablet share

    Animoca notes that there are numerous Android tablets that follow this list, but Samsung, Amazon and Google are clearly the bigger players here. Note that Google’s Nexus 7 is actually built by Asus, which has a few larger slates on the list.

    Assuming Animoca’s data is representative of the Android tablet market at large, it shows the development of the trends spotted in late 2010: small tablets have some advantages over larger ones. The lower costs are surely a factor but the improved portability over their larger cousins could be influencing the market as well.

    This actually could bode well for Microsoft if it is indeed planning a smaller version of its Surface tablets. The current product line doesn’t appear to be making a huge dent in the tablet  or PC markets just yet. If the company can keep the costs down — Surface RT is too expensive compared to Intel Atom Windows 8 tablets, in my opinion — while focusing the experience on touch-friendly applications, a smaller Surface could outsell its big brothers.

    Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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  • ASUS Qube to finally launch on April 23

    ASUS_Qube_Google_TV_01

    We had a chance to see the ASUS Qube in action back in January at CES, but we have no idea why it wasn’t released yet. We were told that it would be available in February/March for a price of $129. We aren’t sure what the holdup was, but those of you that are waiting for this one will be happy to know that it will be available starting April 23rd for the same price. Unfortunately we don’t know if this is a global release date or if it’s for one region.

    The ASUS Qube is a Google TV device that is not only shaped like a cube, but the interface is cube-like. It’s actually a departure from what ASUS has been doing in that they really haven’t change the Android UI all that much as far as their tablets. For whatever reason, they decided to change things up with their first Google TV offering. It also costs a little more than other recent offerings from VIZIO and Hisense. Check out our hands on from CES and let us know if the Qube will be the one that finally gets you onboard with Google TV.

    source: gtvsource

    Come comment on this article: ASUS Qube to finally launch on April 23

  • Fingerprint identification technology may be next-gen iPhone’s Siri

    iPhone 5S FingerPrint Scanner
    Apple’s (AAPL) next-generation iPhone is expected to be an “S” upgrade like the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S before it. Rather than a complete overhaul like the iPhone 5 was, Apple’s upcoming “iPhone 5S” will likely feature minor cosmetic changes and some updated internal components. Apple will likely want to introduce a new key feature that will help convince Apple fans to upgrade their year-old iPhone 5 handsets, however, just as Siri prompted iPhone 4 owners to buy the iPhone 4S. According to a new report, the next iPhone’s “Siri” will be a new fingerprint scanner that Apple builds directly into the new iPhone’s hardware.

    Continue reading…

  • Kelly Ripa on Regis: “I Haven’t Seen Him”

    After Kelly Ripa took over Kathie Lee Gifford’s seat on the renamed Live! with Regis and Kelly, she spent ten years sitting next to Regis Philbin on the morning talk show. Despite the morning show couple’s memorable farewell in November 2011, it seems that Ripa never got personally close to Philbin.

    Ripa reportedly told The Hollywood Reporter this week that she hasn’t seen her former co-host when asked if she kept in touch with Philbin. The comment was made at the publication’s celebration party for its ’35 Most Powerful People in Media’ issue. Ripa also compared Philbin to her new co-host, former New York Giants NFL star Michael Strahan, joking that “they’re both incredible football players.”

    After Philbin retired, Ripa spent almost one year co-hosting Live! shows with a rotating cast of auditioning co-hosts, including Neil Patrick Harris, Jerry O’Connell, Joel McHale, Jerry Seinfeld, D.L. Hughley, Rob Lowe, and Mario Lopez before Strahan was chosen for the role.

    Ripa attended The Hollywood Reporter’s event with her husband, actor Mark Consuelos. In addition to discussing co-hosts, Ripa and Consuelos bantered about whether former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner should make a run for mayor of New York City:

  • Protip: Don’t Stick An Eel In Your Anus, It Will Eat Your Colon

    One of the strangest fetishes on the planet involves putting live animals up the anus. It’s also a dangerous one for both the human and the animal. Unfortunately, one man got the stupid idea in his head to try it out for himself with an eel.

    A man in China’s Guangdong province was hospitalized after he had shoved a 20-inch long eel up his ass. In his (admittedly poor) defense, he was drunk and watching bizarre porn at the time.

    The eel, like most terrified animals, fought back after being inserted into the man’s ass. Eels have sharp teeth and it immediately tore a hole in the man’s colon causing internal bleeding. After that, it began to work its way through the body going after other internal organs. Here’s how far it got:

    Protip: Don't Put Eels Up Your Anus

    Unlike other men who have died from performing this incredibly stupid stunt, the unnamed man sought medical attention immediately for the eel that was going to town on his internal organs. The doctors removed the eel with a medical probe, but the animal died as a result. The doctor who performed the surgery only had this to say:

    “This was a particularly idiotic stunt and could have caused him a serious injury. Eels have small but very sharp teeth.”

    I agree with the good doctor here. Eels are not sex toys. It’s not advisable to ever have eels up inside you.

    [IBTimes via Geekosystem]

  • T-Mobile Begins $99 iPhone 5 Sales, Sees Lines At Retail Stores

    t-mo-line

    T-Mobile is kicking off its official sales of the iPhone 5 today, marking the first time the U.S.’ fourth largest carrier has offered an Apple smartphone. Thanks to T-Mo’s new Uncarrier plans, the iPhone 5 can be had starting at just $99, with two years of $20 monthly payments to cover the balance, or for free if you’re switching from another carrier and bring a device in for trade. So far, so good, according to reports of lines forming at retail stores for a phone that’s now over six months old.

    BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk tweeted the photo above of a line at a location this morning, and reports on Twitter suggest that small lines are forming at various locations around the U.S. Our own intern Michael Seo said there was a small one outside the T-Mobile store near our New York offices when he came into work this morning.

    The appetite for the T-Mobile iPhone is good news for both Apple and the small carrier. T-Mobile’s existing potential reach only represents around 26.1 million total additional subscribers for Apple (a smaller percentage of which are realistically potential iPhone 5 buyers). That’s not a huge number in global subscriber terms, but it does give Apple room to expand its smartphone dominance in the U.S., and could provide it a late-stage bump for the iPhone 5, which is going to face increasing pressure from new competing flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4.

    T-Mobile has consistently been left out of launch day hype surrounding the release of Apple’s iPhone, with the carrier relegated to watching from the sidelines as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon locations saw customers queue for the iPhone 5 back in September, so it’s probably very happy to see lines form with this launch. Combined, the iPhone 5 and the carrier’s new model could lure away quite a few switchers, but we’ll have to wait and see if that impacts the overall distribution of U.S. wireless customers in any significant way.

  • Are You Paying Enough Attention to Your Sales Force?

    There’s a question all top managers should ask: How can I make my sales force, which is one of the biggest and most important investments my company makes, perform more effectively?”

    There are several reasons that question is so important.

    Sales forces are expensive. Despite predictions by some pundits that many sales jobs would disappear due to the Internet and “big data”, companies continue to invest in sales forces in a big way. According to Selling Power magazine, the largest companies in America selling products such as computer and office equipment, consumable goods, insurance, telecommunications, and financial services, each employ tens of thousands of salespeople. By our estimates, the amount invested in U.S. sales forces exceeds $800 billion a year. This is 4.7 times the estimated $169.5 billion spent on all media advertising in 2012 and more than 20 times the estimated $39.5 billion spent on Internet advertising in 2012.

    Sales forces are empowered. The significance of a sales force goes beyond its cost. The sales force is perhaps the most highly empowered organization within most companies. Usually working alone and unsupervised, salespeople are entrusted with a company’s most important asset — its relationship with its customers. To many customers, the salesperson is the company. As customers face a proliferation of buying choices, the way a company sells becomes a key point of competitive differentiation and a source of customer value. This makes an effective sales force essential for driving top-line performance.

    Sales force dynamics are complex and poorly understood. Managing a sales force requires many difficult decisions. For example, you need a sales strategy defining which customers to target, what value proposition to offer, and what sales process to use to engage customers and create mutual value. You need to decide what sales force size and structure best allows you to meet customer needs and achieve company goals. You need to choose who to hire for the sales team, and how to continually develop sales team skills and knowledge. And you need to determine the goals, incentives, and sales culture that will motivate peak sales force effort levels and performance.

    Many companies today are taking a more strategic and data-driven approach to making all of these and other sales force decisions. But regrettably, our understanding of what drives sales force success still falls short when compared to the cost of a sales force and the huge impact that salespeople have on customers and company performance. Sales continues to be one of the most poorly understood and under-optimized areas of business. Compared to marketing, the number of good books and academic articles in the sales force space is woefully inadequate. In the last ten years, only 3% of the articles in four leading academic journals (Marketing Science, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research) have focused on sales force topics. In 2009 (the last year that one of this blog’s authors taught MBA students at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern), the graduating class left the university having taken over 4,000 course equivalents on marketing topics — but only 100 course equivalents on sales. Less than 1% of undergraduate institutions in the U.S. offer a major or minor in sales and none of the top 20 graduate business schools offer a concentration in sales for their MBA students. (HBR ran an article on the dearth of academic programs in sales in its July/August 2012 issue.

    Improving sales force management is a huge opportunity. We believe that sales force improvement initiatives typically produce incremental short-term revenue gains of at least 10%, and long-term increases of 50% or more. Consider the following examples of companies that have implemented sales force improvement initiatives that had big positive bottom-line impact.

    • A business within GE that leases over-the-road trailers sought to refocus sales efforts to improve productivity. Leaders invested to develop better measures of customer potential. In just one year, qualified leads increased by 33%. The customer potential data also helped GE redeploy several sales territories into more lucrative markets, allowing the business to grow sales productivity by 7 percent without adding people.
    • Global healthcare company Novartis identified a group of outstanding performers in its U.S. sales force, and isolated a set of “success principles” and behaviors that differentiated their performance. Leaders developed a new sales process based on these success principles and behaviors, and aligned sales hiring, development, and other programs to support the new process. The initiative contributed to six consecutive years of double-digit top line growth, well above the industry average.
    • Temporary housing provider Oakwood Worldwide transformed its sales force to align better with customers’ need for a more consultative sales approach. This involved a new sales force hiring profile, training program, coaching process, and sales enablement tools and metrics. A large percentage of the sales force did not survive the transformation, but most top performers did. A year after implementation, deal win rates had tripled, sales cycle time had dropped by 50%, and salesperson turnover had declined to under 5%.

    More research and education on sales, and continued work to develop and refine frameworks for understanding the drivers of sales force effectiveness can make a significant business impact in the years to come.

  • Relay Foods Raises $8.25M

    Relay Foods said it raised $8.25 million. Few details were provided. The online foods market place said its investors were “market, tech, and social impact investors and investment funds.” Relay Foods added that it remains a Battery Ventures and TomorrowVentures portfolio company.

    PRESS RELEASE

    Relay Foods, a Rapidly Growing Online Food Marketplace, Raises $8.25 Million

    Common Stock Sale Spurs Growth of Sustainable Online Food Company in the Mid-Atlantic

    Charlottesville, VA – – Relay Foods, a leading online grocer in the Mid-Atlantic, has raised $8.25 million to expand its service and make other key operational improvements. RelayFoods.com is an online food marketplace featuring an unmatched selection of high-quality sustainable and artisanal foods from hundreds of local producers, combined with a comprehensive grocery offering from leading national brands.

    The capital infusion – raised through a common stock-only sale – will enable the company to expand market share in the Washington, DC and Baltimore metro area markets and drive a planned expansion into Williamsburg, Virginia. The company is also using the funds to launch its first dedicated mobile platform, redesign its online marketplace, and make key executive team and development hires. These changes will further enhance Relay’s position as a national leader in the rapidly-growing e-commerce segment of grocery retail.

    “We are extremely pleased to work with so many top-quality investors to bring our products and service to more customers,” said Relay Foods founder and CEO Zach Buckner. “With our rapid expansion in the Mid-Atlantic region, our shift to next-day delivery across all markets, and our aggressive move into mobile, we believe Relay Foods will achieve huge growth throughout 2013 and make a strong positive impact in each of the communities we serve.”

    Relay’s enhanced online platforms for web and mobile will incorporate the company’s improved ability to tailor user experience utilizing individual consumer preferences. In an effort to move towards the company’s stated goal of 100% food system transparency, the new website and mobile application will also incorporate more robust information about Relay’s producer-partners, including detailed product sourcing data and expanded nutritional data. In-depth vendor profiles, one-click recipes, and an innovative browsing experience will all further improve the user interface, giving customers informative and interactive ways to shop and connect with the local food community.

    Further, Arnie Katz, Co-Founder and President, noted the impact that additional behind-the-scenes operational changes will have: “Adding over 15 new vehicles to our fleet, dramatically increasing our freezer and cooler capacity, and launching a commercial kitchen operation are all investments that customers cannot see immediately but that will dramatically enhance the overall Relay customer experience. These changes will enable the rollout of new pickup locations, the development of an in-house prepared foods line, and the addition of even more product offerings from local vendors.”

    Investors who contributed to the $8.25 million round include a mix of forward-thinking market, tech, and social impact investors and investment funds. Relay Foods remains a portfolio company of Battery Ventures and TomorrowVentures.

    About Relay Foods
    Relay Foods (www.relayfoods.com) is a leading online food retailer in the Mid-Atlantic, currently serving the Washington, DC metro area, Baltimore, MD, and Charlottesville and Richmond, VA. Relay offers a full selection of local and sustainable foods, national brands, and grocery staples from a range of producers, including local farms, food artisans, and national retailers. The company is a certified B-Corp, offering a service that strengthens local food economies and improves the quality of life of each family and individual they serve. Learn more at www.relayfoods.com.

    The post Relay Foods Raises $8.25M appeared first on peHUB.

  • Michael Arrington Posts Detailed Letter with Evidence Refuting Abuse Allegations

    TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington has just published an extensive letter sent to Jenn Allen by his lawyers, presenting a highly detailed explanation of his side of the story.

    As you may recall, Arrington’s former girlfriend Jenn Allen recently alleged that he had been physically abusive, and accused him of rape. In a short response last week, Arrington called the allegations “completely untrue” and said that he would have a full response in a few days. It appears that he has made good on that promise.

    “You have posted statements about Michael that are false and defamatory, and that have caused significant harm to his good name. It is my hope that you immediately will take corrective action, by retracting those statements. I have examined your posted statements, and compared them with provable facts. This comparison shows without any doubt whatsoever that, among others, the following of your statements about Michael are false,” says Arrington’s attorney Eric M. George in the letter.

    The letter breaks down Allen’s accusations one-by-one, providing emails, photos, texts, and social media communications that refute her story. For instance:

    (1) You stated that “he was physically abusive [on] March 5th [of] last year” (April 1, 2013, 2d posting, Gawker.) “[H]e did rape me, on March 5 last year, when he invited me over to make amends from a major catastrophe a couple months prior.” (April 1, 2013, 3d posting, Gawker.)

    Your twice-repeated allegation of rape/physical abuse by Michael is not only false, but factually impossible. On March 5, 2012, Michael was in Washington and you were in California. Michael’s whereabouts are confirmed by travel records and credit card statements in my possession, and your whereabouts are proven by a photo of you at a San Francisco party at 1:05 a.m. on March 6, 2012. This photo was posted online but has been removed in the past several days. (The photo, together with screenshots of your Facebook page in March 2012 before and after it was deleted, are appended hereto as Attachment A.)

    The letter calls for Allen to retract her accusations publicly by April 15th or face legal action. You can check it out in its entirety below:

    Demand Letter to Jennifer Allen

    For her part, it doesn’t appear that Allen is backing down from the allegations, as judged by her recent tweets:


  • Zeptolab teases upcoming Cut the Rope: Time Travel [Video]

    Cut_The_Rope_Time_Travel

    Looks like Zeptolab is readying another installment of Cut the Rope. This latest version will still feature the cute and lovable Om Nom, but it will involve time travel. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 2 years since their last game, Cut the Rope: Experiments, so we are looking forward to it. We don’t have anything else to go on other than the trailer video (after the break), but be rest assured that Cut the Rope: Time Travel will be another hit.

    Click here to view the embedded video.

    Come comment on this article: Zeptolab teases upcoming Cut the Rope: Time Travel [Video]

  • IBM Makes $1 Billion Investment In Flash

    IBM has announced a strategic initiative to drive Flash technology further into the enterprise to help organizations better tackle the mounting challenges of big data. Challenges like swelling data volumes, increasing demand for faster analytic insights, and rising data center energy costs is what has driven Flash to quickly become a key requirement to enable the “Smarter Enterprise.” IBM said.

    Big Blue will invest $1 billion in research and development to design, create and integrate new Flash solutions into its expanding portfolio of servers, storage systems and middleware.  IBM plans to open 12 Centers of Competency around the globe to enable clients to run proof-of-concept scenarios with real-world data to measure the projected performance gains that can be achieved with IBM Flash solutions.

    “The economics and performance of Flash are at a point where the technology can have a revolutionary impact on enterprises, especially for transaction-intensive applications,” said Ambuj Goyal, General Manager, Systems Storage, IBM Systems & Technology Group. “The confluence of Big Data, social, mobile and cloud technologies is creating an environment in the enterprise that demands faster, more efficient, access to business insights, and Flash can provide that access quickly.”

    IBM also announced the availability of the IBM FlashSystem line of all-Flash storage appliances, which are based on technology acquired from Texas Memory Systems. The IBM FlashSystem provides organizations instant access to the benefits of Flash. The IBM FlashSystem 820, for example, is 20 times faster than spinning hard drives, and can store up to 24 terabytes of data – more than twice the amount of printed information stored in the U.S. Library of Congress.  Sprint Nextel Corp., an early adopter of Flash, recently completed a deal with IBM to install nine flash storage systems in its data center, for a total of 150TB of additional Flash storage.

  • HF985 (Telecommunications enforcement authority clarified) on Agenda Monday April 15

    I wrote about HF985 a couple of weeks ago. It is on the agenda for Labor, Workforce and Regulated Industries Committee next Monday. The issue will heard for informational purposes only – but it could be very informative. I am hoping to attend the session and will take notes if I am able to attend.

    Here’s more info…

    MONDAY, April 15, 2013
    9:30 AM
    Meeting Time Note: We have the room from 9:30 until noon.
    Room: 118 Capitol
    Chair: Rep. Sheldon Johnson

    Agenda:
    HF985 (Johnson) Telecommunications enforcement authority clarified, new requirements for tariffs added, proprietary information protected, criteria for certificates of authority specified, alternative regulation plans terminated, definitions added, technical corrections made, obsolete provisions removed, and conforming changes made.

    HF985 will be heard for informational purposes only.

  • Les Fleurs du Mal: France may force ‘brutal’ Apple to embrace ‘platform neutrality’

    Apple France AppGratis Analysis

    Fleur Pellerin, the French junior minister for digital economy, did not mince words when she addressed the Apple (AAPL)-AppGratis controversy on Thursday. She called Apple’s decision to kick AppGratis out of App Store “extremely brutal and unilateral.” France is now planning to demand tighter regulation of “digital platforms” after long seething about the distribution power that American companies such as Apple, Google (GOOG), Twitter and Facebook (FB) have gained over the past five years. France is Europe’s biggest developer of software, but its companies are increasingly being reduced to creating applications for platforms owned by Americans.

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