Your House of Cards-watching mania has finally received the hip-hop tribute it deserves.
“I can’t stop watching house of cards – six episodes in like twenty-four ahrrrrrrrs.” That’s all.
Some minor spoilers ahead – but nothing that damaging.
[Adam WarRock via NYT]
Microsoft is at it again with a new “Scroogled” campaign (you know, the ads where Microsoft attacks Google for things). The whole thing is a promotion for Microsoft’s Outlook.com.
The basic premise is that Google serves you ads in Gmail based on the content of your messages. Google has been doing this since Gmail launched in 2004. It’s been well known. They are doing nothing new or different than what they’ve done all this time. It’s completely algorithmic, and they have no humans reading emails and deciding what ads to serve. Google serves ads. It’s how they make money to keep providing users with products like Gmail.
Microsoft, on the “Scroogled” site, says, “Think Google respects your privacy? Think again. Google goes through every Gmail that’s sent or received, looking for keywords so they can target Gmail users with paid ads. And there’s no way to opt out of this invasion of your privacy.”
Of course, there is the option of not using Gmail, which is what Microsoft wants you to do, obviously. What Microsoft doesn’t tell you in the Scroogled campaign (which search industry vet Danny Sullivan does), is that Microsoft does go through your messages (also algorithmically) to help filter out spam and phishing attacks (which Google also does). The difference is that Google is also able to serve targeted ads as well – something that Microsoft has evidently chosen not to do.
Sullivan spoke with Microsoft senior director of Online Services, Stefan Weitz, who says that for security, the practice makes sense, and it’s the scanning for contextual targeting of ads that Microsoft objects to (again, this is after nearly a decade that they’re suddenly objecting). This is essentially the basis for MIcrosoft’s new ads.
Check out the natural dialogue in this one:
The next one asks, “Who wants a free pet exam coupon when the family cat has been put down?”
The cat thing is a fair point. It is always possible that ad targeting will go wrong, but that really just says to me that Google could get better at targeting.
An opt out option is certainly not a terrible idea for consumers, but it would be interesting to know how big a concern the privacy thing this really is to consumers to begin with. Gmail has become very popular over the last decade, and this ad targeting thing has always been a well known part of the system. Does every user realize it’s happening. Probably not, but this was a story that was covered in the media back when it was relevant, and it did little to stop Gmail’s popularity from growing. Here are the Microsoft-commissioned polling numbers the company is throwing around about consumer reaction:
That second ad also pulls out some old footage of Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt smiling and saying, “There’s what I call the creepy line and the Google policy about a lot of these things is to get right up to the creepy line, but not cross it.”
Of course, that clip is completely out of context here. It’s from a 2010 interview with The Atlantic (which Google itself has posted to YouTube):
You can start about 14 minutes in. The line comes at a part where Schimdt and the interviewer are joking about brain implants, which Schmidt says would in fact cross the “creepy line”. Granted, he does follow up with “at least for the moment…until the technology gets better”. I’m eager to see the Scroogled ad about brain implants, for sure, but Schmidt was not talking about the algorithmic ad serving that takes place within Gmail. He does talk about Google Instant and the type of technology that would pretty much become the basis for Google Now (neither of which is being attacked in this Scroogled campaign).
So what does Google think about the latest attack from Microsoft? Here’s the statement they’ve been sending around:
“Advertising keeps Google and many of the websites and services Google offers free of charge. We work hard to make sure that ads are safe, unobtrusive and relevant. No humans read your email or Google Account information in order to show you advertisements or related information. An automated algorithm — similar to that used for features like Priority Inbox or spam filtering — determines which ads are shown.”
If you want a more in depth explanation from Google, here’s an old help center article about Gmail and privacy. Here’s the entirety of the ad-related section:
All major free webmail services carry advertising, and most of it is irrelevant to the people who see it. Google believes that showing relevant advertising offers more value to users than displaying random pop-ups or untargeted banner ads. In Gmail, users will see text ads and links to related pages that are relevant to the content of their messages. The links to related pages are similar to Google search results, and are culled from Google’s extensive index of web pages. They are selected solely for their helpfulness and are not paid advertisements.
In Gmail, ads appear alongside messages, in the same way that ads appear next to search results on Google. Ads are clearly identified as ‘Sponsored Links.’ They are displayed in a way that doesn’t interrupt users as they read their messages and ads are never inserted into the body text of either incoming or outgoing Gmail messages.
Ads and links to related pages only appear alongside the message that they are targeted to, and are only shown when the Gmail user, whether sender or recipient, is viewing that particular message. No email content or other personally identifiable information is ever shared with advertisers. In fact, advertisers do not even know how often their ads are shown in Gmail, as this data is aggregated across thousands of sites in the Google Network.
By offering Gmail users relevant ads and information related to the content of their messages, we aim to offer users a better webmail experience. For example, if you and your friends are planning a vacation, you may want to see news items or travel ads about the destination you’re considering.
To ensure a quality user experience for all Gmail users, we avoid showing ads reflecting sensitive or inappropriate content by only showing ads that have been classified as “Family-Safe.” Gmail’s filters also block ads from running next to messages about catastrophic events or tragedies, erring on the side of not displaying an ad if the content is questionable.
Many people have found that the search-related ads on Google.com can be valuable–not merely a necessary evil, but a welcome feature. We believe that users will also find Gmail’s ads and related pages to be helpful, because the information reflects their interests. In fact, we have already received positive feedback from Gmail users about the quality and usefulness of our ads and related pages.
The part about the scanning of email content is particularly relevant here as well:
All email services scan your email. They do this routinely to provide such popular features as spam filtering, virus detection, search, spellchecking, forwarding, auto-responding, flagging urgent messages, converting incoming email into mobile phone text messages, automatic saving and sorting into folders, converting text URLs to clickable links, and reading messages to the blind. These features are widely accepted, trusted, and used by hundreds of millions of people every day.
Google scans the text of Gmail messages in order to filter spam and detect viruses, just as all major webmail services do. Google also uses this scanning technology to deliver targeted text ads and other related information. This is completely automated and involves no humans.
When a user opens an email message, computers scan the text and then instantaneously display relevant information that is matched to the text of the message. Once the message is closed, ads are no longer displayed. It is important to note that the ads generated by this matching process are dynamically generated each time a message is opened by the user–in other words, Google does not attach particular ads to individual messages or to users’ accounts.
We recognise that seeing ads based on the content of an email message can be unsettling at first. Our experience has been that this feeling recedes as users become more familiar with Gmail. However, some people, many of whom have not used Gmail, have reacted by condemning all automatic scanning of email content, on the grounds that it amounts to a violation of privacy. We think this criticism is misplaced. All major email services, including Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, automatically scan email content for the benefit of users. When email messages are fully protected from unwanted disclosure, the automatic scanning of email does not amount to a violation of privacy.
On the other hand, delivering information gathered through email scanning to a third party would be a violation of privacy. Google does not do this. Neither email content nor any personal information is ever shared with other parties as a result of our ad-targeting process.
Emphasis in both sections is Google’s.
“Emails are personal — and people feel that reading through their emails to sell ads is out of bounds,” says Weitz. “We honor the privacy of our Outlook.com users, and we are concerned that Google violates that privacy every time an Outlook.com user exchanges messages with someone on Gmail. This campaign is as much about protecting Outlook.com users from Gmail as it is about making sure Gmail users know what Google’s doing.”
Around the holidays, Microsoft started its Scroogled campaign against Google Shopping. Last week, we learned that Microsoft will be launching its own product listing ads (the ad format on which Google Shopping is based) later this year. Microsoft’s David Pann tells us, however, that the Bing Shopping experience will keep free listings alongside the paid ones.
We should have more on this latest Scroogled campaign from Weitz in the near future.
The Document Foundation released LibreOffice 4.0 FINAL. The open-source, cross-platform productitivty suite, which is based on OpenOffice, has evolved to the point where the developers are happy to assign a major new version number.
Version 4.0 includes a number of relatively minor new features, but the big changes will come under the hood, marking the first radical development in the program’s API since the app it was built on — OpenOffice — was first released. Other changes include support for Firefox Personas, integration with CMS and online storage providers, plus support for importing both Microsoft Publisher and the latest VISIO documents.
While the new API won’t in itself manifest itself visibly to end users, the hope is that it will facilitate more radical changes to LibreOffice going forward. It also marks the beginning of LibreOffice’s evolution into a separate animal.
Besides a new API, LibreOffice 4.0 debuts a new graphics stack based on XML UI definitions, which, according to The Document Foundation, will lead to “new UI widgets, cleaner looks and new opportunities to handle new tools and improve our interface”.
The new build also promises to integrate with a wide range of Content Management Systems and online document storage providers via the CIMS standard.
Another major behind-the-scenes change is LibreOffice’s licensing, which now adopts a dual licensed approach, ostensibly to make future versions of LibreOffice’s tablet build — due later this year or early next on iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 — more compatible with mobile store restrictions.
Visible Changes
Despite the lack of major changes, there are a large number of minor additions and improvements to LibreOffice 4.0. Users of Writer, the suite’s word processor, will find the tool now supports first page header and footers as well as left and right ones — users can now untick a box marked “Same content on first page” in the Page Style dialog to set this up. Note, only OpenOffice’s native ODF format currently supports this.
Writer also introduces a new LibreLogo toolbar, which will allow programmers to produce a Logo-like, Python based programming environment for creating vector graphics using LibreOffice.
Other tweaks in Writer include support for attaching comments to document text ranges as well as allowing extra word boundary characters for the purposes of generating word counts. Writer can also now import ink annotations from DOCX and RTF documents generated on Tablet PCs running Microsoft Word. Users will also find clicking on fields selects them rather than placing the cursor before them.
Calc users should see improved performance – particularly when opening larger files. This is due in part to an option that allows files to show the values of formulae in ODS and XLSX files as they were when the file was saved, rather than being recalculated in OpenOffice.
Other improvements include the automatic rotation of chart axis labels if they overlap each other, doubling of the supported size limit of uncompressed ODF files to 4GB and improvements to the XML Source dialog when importing arbitrary XML content.
Also promised is better quality rendering and print/PDF export of charts, support for new conditional formats (including date formats) and better conditional format dialogs, new icon sets and the ability to export a single chart as a JPG or PNG image. Finally, the Pivot table now supports multiple selections in the page field.
Notable tweaks to Impress, the suite’s presentation tool, include a new Impress remote control app for Android phones (currently restricted to Linux builds of LibreOffice), much accelerated multimedia previews and Presenter Console RTL support.
The Draw vector graphics tool now uses supersampling to improve the quality of page previews, and adds several Linecap improvements, shear transforms for GraphicObjects and the addition of the Circles and Ovals toolbar already found in Impress.
Linux Base users can now access their Thunderbird address book from within the database app thanks to a new mork driver implementation on non-Windows platforms, while the AutoFilter portion of Forms no longer treats values as patterns.
New import files include support for Microsoft Publisher publications, plus extended support for Visio files up to Visio 2013. GUI enhancements include a new templates manager and support for using Firefox Personas (access this feature via the Tools > Options… > Personalization > Select Persona dialog).
Despite, or perhaps because of, all these major changes, LibreOffice has been reduced by around 20MB in size. LibreOffice 4.0 FINAL is available now as a free, open-source download for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Photo Credits: Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock
Despite being one of the coolest features in Kinect, its voice recognition software was often overlooked in favor of arm waving shenanigans. That may not be the case with the next Xbox as Microsoft is rumored to be greatly expanding the software with new features and functionality.
The Verge reports that the next Xbox “will support wake on voice, natural language controls, and speech-to-text.” The current Kinect can only recognize simple speech patterns that are pre-programmed into the software. The next Xbox will greatly expand this to include natural interaction – the kind of voice recognition that you see in Apple’s Siri and other similar software.
So, what does this mean for games? The Verge uses the example of a user being able to ask the Xbox, “What are my friends playing?” and the system would immediately bring up the player’s friend list. Other examples include the user being able to ask questions with the system returning a relevant answer, no doubt provided by Bing.
The real advantage here is if more games started supporting voice commands or interactions. The current Kinect’s voice sensor has only been used in a small selection of games, most notably Mass Effect 3. It would be far more interesting if something like Peter Molyneux’s ill-fated Project Milo were to launch on the next Xbox featuring natural interaction with an on-screen character.
This rumor is just the latest to hit the net in regards to Microsoft’s next console. Just yesterday, a rumor came out saying that the next Xbox would feature an anti-used game system in the form of always online DRM. The console’s specs, which paint the system as being fairly powerful, has also been leaked.
George Zimmerman, the man who fatally shot an unarmed teenager last year after an altercation while the boy was walking home, has been denied the chance to delay his trial, which is set to begin in June.
Zimmerman claims he shot in self-defense after he approached 17-year old Trayvon Martin for looking “suspicious” as the boy walked home from the store. Zimmerman was a self-appointed neighborhood watchman at the time and had called police to alert them of a suspicious presence; they advised him to stay away from the boy, but he confronted him anyway and a fight ensued. If convicted, Zimmerman faces 25 years to life in prison.
Zimmerman’s attorneys originally asked for the trial to be pushed back so they could have more time to prepare and so they could raise money for his defense, but Judge Debra Nelson ruled that the trial would start on time.
“The state has virtually unlimited resources to prosecute George,” Zimmerman’s defense attorney Mark O’Mara said. “To finance his defense, however, George relies on the generosity of individuals who believe he is innocent.”
Outside the courthouse, supporters of Martin and his family gathered with candles and handmade signs featuring photos of the boy. Tuesday would have been his 18th birthday.
“The spirit of Trayvon Martin was definitely in the courtroom today on what would have been his 18th birthday. The judge ruled that the trial would not be delayed,” Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said.
The last developer update on the upcoming standalone version of DayZ included just about everything fans of the game could want to know. Dean “Rocket” Hall revealed that many of the proposed overhauls are complete and that others are being worked on.
What the last update did not include, however, was a video of gameplay. This week’s update on the DayZ Tumblr blog has corrected that oversight.
The first DayZ standalone video blog includes a look at configuration options, map improvements, and new areas, including swamps, an expanded military base, and an all-new island. There is also a long section that gives a basic overview of the new clothing available in the game.
New loot spawn mechanics are also detailed in the video. Instead of piles of a few objects sitting on floors, loot can now be found on the tops of tables or other surfaces, as well as underneath objects or hidden away in hard-to-find locations. Unfortunately, the re-vamped inventory system is meticulously edited out of the video.
In addition to the video blog update, Rocket mentioned that closed, internal beta testing has uncovered many bugs, and closed, external beta testing still has not commenced. He provided no date for when external testing may occur, but did promise to provide regular updates on the title’s progress.
Growth. In my world of venture capital, we hear all the time that growth drives value. It is how some investors justify putting sky-high valuations on companies that are growing, but not yet making any money. Consider Zynga, which lost $209 million in 2012 — but is still valued at about $2 billion because of the cash it raised and because its revenue is still growing. On the other hand, there’s Groupon, once lauded as the “fastest-growing company ever.” Its stock price peaked weeks after the company went public in 2011 and is down about 80% since. The market has come to question whether its growth can be sustained, and with what underlying earnings.
Focus on growth and growth alone is always a temporary strategy. Over time, a company’s value becomes a function of both growth and cash flow. Superior earnings eventually lead to superior value creation.
Put another way, quality (i.e. sustainability) of revenue matters as much as quantity (i.e. growth) of revenue. High-quality revenue has three main characteristics: predictability, profitability and diversity. So in addition to looking at year-over-year growth, you should be looking to these three metrics to drive long-term value:
1. Predictability. What is your predictability metric? That is, how much of an “annuity” does your business model have? This is best measured by counting your customers from last year, and seeing what percent of them remain customers this year. For example, if you had 1,000 paying customers in 2011, how many of them were still with you as paying customers in 2012? At our venture firm, we look for companies that have the potential of getting to 90% of their customers returning year over year and spending at least the same amount or more. With that level of recurring revenue, your product has gone from “good-to-have” to “must-have.” The client-recurrence count year over year (or its inverse metric, churn), along with a measure of whether those recurring clients are spending at least the same amount in aggregate (recurring dollars), are the best proxies for predictability of revenue. It’s always easier to forecast if you can be confident that 90% of last year’s customers and dollars will be back this year.
2. Profitability. Where does your profit really come from? A company’s earnings are the sum of many different revenue streams contributing different margins and by extension different profit streams. At a fast-food establishment, for example, a fountain drink is likely a key profit driver relative to other elements of the meal. Or take giant online retailer Amazon. It makes its money as an e-commerce giant by selling goods, right? A closer look would show that the majority of its profits come not from e-commerce sales but from its third-party marketplace, media, and growing web and cloud services. Unpack your profit margin to see where you really want to drive your sales — to higher-margin areas. A practical approach is to divide your revenue into higher-margin and lower-margin categories. What is a benchmark for a good margin? It obviously varies by sectors — for example, retail businesses will have lower gross margins than SaaS (Software as a Service). We like business models that can generate gross margins of over 70%.
3. Diversity. When we evaluate companies we look closely at revenue concentration. While early-stage companies may often have a couple of customers that make up a large portion of revenue, over time you want to build a diverse revenue base. In general, we urge companies to ensure that none of their top five clients makes up more than 15% of revenue.
So there you have it. It’s a simple enough framework, but often difficult to achieve. High-quality revenue requires predictability, profitability and diversity. Do you have highly predictable revenue with high gross margins and without revenue concentration? Growth fueled by low-quality revenue can be exciting, but it eventually fizzles out. For the long run, as with most things in life, high quality is the way to go.
WASHINGTON D.C. — The Institute for Energy Research study, entitled “Beyond the Congressional Budget Office”, received more recognition today from influential Congressional leaders. The study, conducted by Dr. Joseph Mason, a professor at the Louisiana State University and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, is an assessment of the economic impact associated with policies to immediately open federal lands and waters.
U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa (CA)
Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
“I welcome the analysis done by the Institute for Energy Research as it explains the potential of American energy sources to grow our economy. The report, “Beyond the Congressional Budget Office: The Additional Economic Effects of Immediately Opening Federal Lands to Oil and Gas Leasing,” offers an effective analysis of how opening up federal lands for energy development will ensure that Americans receive the full benefit of these resources through increases in jobs, wages, and tax revenue.
U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (ID)
Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife
“One of Congress’ main priorities should be addressing our nation’s massive debt problem, and this study shows commonsense policies that could contribute significantly to deficit reduction.
“A successful national energy policy should be shaped like a financial portfolio made up of many different energy sources. This study demonstrates that expanding our domestic energy sources could immediately create millions of jobs and generate billions in revenue to reduce our federal debt, while also furthering our energy independence. Utilizing our diverse resources is central to energy affordability, economic recovery and national security. If the administration is truly committed to identifying and overturning burdensome, unnecessary regulations that stymie economic growth, this study shows a good place to begin.”
U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO)
Chairman, House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
“This economy could use the boost. Millions of American families are barely making it each month as they struggle with high taxes, high gasoline prices, and high unemployment. We can do better, and boosting domestic energy is a great place to get started.”
U.S. Congressman Mike Pompeo (KS)
Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce
“While the president insists we need to waste billions of taxpayer dollars propping up risky and unreliable energy sources, we already have vast resources available to us. Our GDP just shrank, yet, according to IER’s study we could easily replenish it by committing to expand exploration on federal lands. Unemployment ticked up, yet we have the opportunity to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. The White House must stop neglecting the needs of Americans and allow our economy to grow.”
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One of the most-rumored features of the mythical Apple television set is Siri integration that would allow you to naturally ask questions and issue commands to your TV, but Microsoft may beat Apple to the punch, if a new report from The Verge is accurate. Microsoft already has some voice features built into the current generation Xbox, but the next-gen console will get much-improved abilities including natural language processing powers, the report claims.
New voice-based abilities include the option to wake the new Xbox from sleep mode with an “Xbox on” command, as well as a system that can use Kinect to detect people in the room and offer up multiplayer game suggestions. Users can also query the new Xbox to ask it what their friends are currently playing, tell it to pick up playing a movie where it was last left off and more. The new system will also be much better at vocalizing responses to voice-based user input, according to the report, which should make the overall experience feel much more like an ordinary conversation.
Natural language input for Smart TV platforms is a trend that’s just starting to find its sea legs. The tech was discussed at CES this year by many CE companies including LG as part of their upcoming or shipping platforms, and language processing industry leader Nuance launched its Dragon TV platform last year at CES, to be offered up for integration into OEM hardware and cable/satellite services that want to start building in NLP functionality.
Microsoft is clearly interested in more than just games with the Xbox, and the next generation version of that console will probably take its efforts to be the locus of the living room further still. Building a Siri-like experience into that platform is one way to increase its value proposition over competing, more affordable devices like the Roku and current Apple TV, for users who might not be so interested in the gaming side of the equation.
We’ll see the next Xbox at E3 this year, but also possibly before if Verge’s sources are correct, at an event similar to the one Sony is holding on February 20th in NYC. Both consoles are also expected to make their official commercial debuts later this year, in time for the holiday shopping season.
Although it may be tempting, you should avoid clicking any links on Facebook claiming to house a leaked sex tape featuring Grammy award-winning artist Taylor Swift. That’s because it’s a hoax that will lead you down the annoying road of a survey scam.
Facebook users are seeing a viral scam message that suggests a page called “TMZ Leaks” has stumbled upon a new Taylor Swift sex tape.
“The famous singer Taylor Swift had her iPhone hacked Monday and a sex tape between her and former boyfriend Harry Styles has been leaked on the internet,” one of the scams reads. “Taylor’s publicists are trying to take down all of the websites hosting it, but we found a working one! Watch the video before it’s taken down! CLICK HERE,” says the message.
If you click the links, you’ll be directed to a series of online surveys – some of which phish for personal information. No sex tape exists at the end of the rabbit hole – instead you may be prompted to download spammy toolbars and other software.
Facebook sex tape hoaxes aren’t uncommon, and you should be aware of the various survey scams that plague the network. You may think that there’s no harm in simply clicking, just to see if this is finally the legit sex tape leak you’ve been waiting for – but don’t do it. That’s how viral hoaxes spread across the network.
Yesterday, we told you about another hoax making the rounds on Facebook. It suggests that Facebook will close for a three day maintenance period – from February 29th to the 31st. If you think really hard (or check a calendar), you should quickly see why that’s untrue.
[Bitdefender via Fox News]
Halo 4 was one of the most critically lauded games of last year. It proved that 343 Industries has what it takes to carry the Halo torch. Of course, it can’t really be deemed a critical success until it gets a pass from the toughest critic of them all.
Clueless Gamer, Conan’s insanely delightful game review show, takes on Halo 4 in the latest episode. Of course, the game doesn’t get much of the attention as Conan is too busy invested in Cortana, Master Chief’s AI companion. He does get in a few good jabs, however, including a particularly insightful comment on how games focus too much story at the expense of gameplay.
Personally, Clueless Gamer is wasted on Conan’s late night show. The latest episode only further proves this point. In fact, just get him into focus groups and game testing from now on. I’d love to play a game that was built around his expectations of what a good game is.
A.G. Lafley, former chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble, led the company to think about fragrances in a new way and grew a successful new product line. He is the coauthor of the HBR Press book Playing to Win.
After experiencing a roller coaster pre-production period, the folks over at FormLabs have announced that the Form 1 3D-printer is entering into full production.
The “large majority” of Kickstarter orders set for delivery by the end of April. They’ve purchased enough components to build out over 1,000 Form 1 3D printers.
The company first launched the Form 1 on Kickstarter to an awesome reception, scoring over $2.9 million in pre-orders after asking for a mere $100k.
But before the company could begin production, it was hit with a patent infringement lawsuit from 3D Systems, which also accused Kickstarter of promoting the allegedly infringing product.
FormLabs pressed on, and is now ready to begin full production of the 3D printer.
FormLabs claims that it can offer better accuracy than competitive 3D printing offerings, like the Makerbot, at a similar price.
According to FormLabs, the team will begin by vigorously testing the first small batch of Form 1 printers. After that, the company plans on setting exact ship dates.
Last month, U.K. electronics retailer HMV entered administration. Employees and customers were left wondering whether the business would be shutting down.
Today, Deloitte, the firm hired to oversee HMV’s administration, announced that 66 HMV stores will be closing throughout the U.K. These stores collectively have 930 employees, and no plans to relocate them were revealed. HMV currently has 220 stores in the U.K.
This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of securing the business’ future as a going concern,” said Nick Edwards, joint administrator of HMV. “We continue to receive strong support from staff and are extremely grateful to them for their commitment during an understandably difficult period. All other key stakeholders remain very supportive and I continue to be hopeful of securing a future for the restructured business.”
No date has been set for the closure of the stores, but they are expected to shut down sometime in the next two months. Below is the list of stores that will be closing. Consumers near these stores would be well-served to keep an eye on them to watch for closeout sales.
Ashton-under-Lyne, Ballymena, Barnsley, Bayswater, Belfast Boucher Road, Belfast Forestside, Bexleyheath, Birkenhead, Birmingham Fort, Blackburn, Boston, Bournemouth Castlepoint, Bracknell, Burton-upon-Trent, Camberley, Chesterfield, Coleraine, Craigavon, Croydon Centrale, Derry, Dumfries, Durham, Edinburgh Fort, Edinburgh Gyle Centre, Edinburgh Ocean, Edinburgh Princes Street, Edinburgh St James, Falkirk, Fulham, Glasgow – Fort, Glasgow – Silverburn, Glasgow Braehead, Huddersfield, Kirkcaldy, Leamington Spa, Leeds White Rose, Lisburn, Loughborough, Luton, Manchester 90, Moorgate, Newry, Newtonabbey, Orpington, Rochdale, Scunthorpe, South Shields, Speke Park, St Albans, St Helens, Stockton-on-Tees, Tamworth, Teesside, Telford, Trocadero, Wakefield, Walsall, Walton-on-Thames, Wandsworth, Warrington, Watford, Wellingborough, Wigan, Wood Green, Workington, Wrexham.
Stuart Freeborn has been credited with creating some of the most recognizable faces of the past forty years and has been called a “legend” by “Star Wars” director George Lucas. Indeed, the artist behind Yoda, Jabba, and Chewbacca had already worked on several successful/future classic films, such as “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “Superman”, and “The Omen”. Having began his career in 1936, he often took jobs that would leave him uncredited in the film’s list of contributors just so he could have the experience. He quickly rose in the industry to become one of the top names in makeup and special effects.
“He brought with him not only decades of experience, but boundless creative energy,” George Lucas said. “His artistry and craftsmanship will live on forever in the characters he created. His “Star Wars” creatures may be reinterpreted in new forms by new generations, but at their heart, they continue to be what Stuart created for the original films.”
Freeborn once said that he felt pulled into a creative life, shunning a more traditional job in favor of what he loved.
“I didn’t want to spend my life in an office,” he said. “I felt I was different.”
Freeborn died on Tuesday at the age of 98, his granddaughter confirmed. Michelle Freeborn also said her grandfather was her hero and inspired her to go to work in the film industry.
“He was a really fun and imaginative individual.” she said. “He gave you the feeling that if you wanted to achieve something, you should just get on and do it, and don’t ever use excuses. He enjoyed life and the amazing world we live in.”
There are a lot of 2012 internet video compilations that have surfaced, and even though we’re already in February of 2013, I expect there will be plenty more. 2012 was the biggest year for internet video – bigger and more powerful than 2011, which was bigger and more powerful than 2010 and so on.
Although there are a lot of 2012 video wrap-ups, this is probably the best and most fully-realized one I’ve seen so far – although it leans pretty heavily on sports, auto, and other feats of athleticism.
Here’s twelve and a half minutes of what everyone was watching for the past year. Buckle up:
[MiamiViceStyle via Gizmodo]
Yelp released its Q4 and full-year 2012 earnings report on Wednesday after market close. The company posted net revenue of $41.2 million for the quarter, a 65% year-over-year increase. Yelp also posted a $5.3 million net loss for Q4.
Cumulative reviews grew 45% year-over-year to over 36 million by the end of the year. Average unique monthly visitors grew 31% year over year to about 86 million. Active local business accounts grew 68% year-over-year to approximately 39,800.
Yelp also announced that in January, it surpassed 100 million uniques for the first time, and put out an infographic about it.
CEO Jeremy Stoppelman said, “2012 was a tremendous year for Yelp. We completed a successful IPO, launched new products to improve the Yelp experience for consumers and business owners, expanded into new markets while increasing our presence in existing ones, and completed our first acquisition. We believe 2013 will be a tipping point for our brand in Europe as Yelp continues to become a trusted local resource. Our mobile strategy will remain a top priority as engagement increases, and we will continue to focus on the business owner, creating more ways to measure the value of Yelp leads.”
Here’s the release in its entirety:
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects consumers with great local businesses, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2012.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20050511/SFW134LOGO)
Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $5.3 million, or $0.08 per share, compared to a net loss of $9.1 million, or $0.56 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2011. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was approximately $1.8 million, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $15,000 for the fourth quarter of 2011.
Net revenue for the full year ended December 31, 2012 was $137.6 million, an increase of 65% compared to $83.3 million in the same period last year. Net loss for the full year ended December 31, 2012 was $19.1 million, or $0.35 per share, compared to a net loss of $16.9 million, or $1.10 per share, for the comparable period in 2011. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2012 was approximately $4.6 million compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.1 million for the prior year.
“2012 was a tremendous year for Yelp,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s chief executive officer. “We completed a successful IPO, launched new products to improve the Yelp experience for consumers and business owners, expanded into new markets while increasing our presence in existing ones, and completed our first acquisition. We believe 2013 will be a tipping point for our brand inEurope as Yelp continues to become a trusted local resource. Our mobile strategy will remain a top priority as engagement increases, and we will continue to focus on the business owner, creating more ways to measure the value of Yelp leads.”
“Yelp continued to deliver growth and scale in 2012 with both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA ahead of our expectations,” added Rob Krolik, Yelp’s chief financial officer. “These results, along with our strong operating metrics, demonstrate that our playbook continues to deliver growth across Yelp markets.”
2012 Business Highlights
Business Outlook
As of today, Yelp is providing guidance for the first quarter and full year of 2013.
Quarterly Conference Call
To access the call, please dial (866) 770-7120, or outside the U.S. (617) 213-8065, with Passcode 89233749, at least five minutes prior to the 1:30 p.m. PT start time. A live webcast of the call will also be available at http://www.yelp-ir.com under the Events & Presentations menu. An audio replay will be available between 3:30 p.m. PT February 6, 2013 and 11:59 p.m. PT February 20, 2013by calling (888) 286-8010 or (617) 801-6888, with Passcode 31161883. The replay will also be available on the Company’s website at http://www.yelp-ir.com.
About Yelp
Yelp Inc. (http://www.yelp.com) connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Singapore, Poland and Turkey. Yelp had a monthly average of approximately 86 million unique visitors in the fourth quarter 2012*. By the end of the same quarter, Yelpers had written more than 36 million rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Yelp’s mobile applications were used on approximately 9.2 million unique mobile devices on a monthly average basis during the fourth quarter 2012.
* Source: Google Analytics
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes information relating to Adjusted EBITDA, which the Securities and Exchange Commission has defined as a “non-GAAP financial measure.” Adjusted EBITDA has been included in this press release because it is a key measure used by the Company’s management and board of directors to understand and evaluate core operating performance and trends, to prepare and approve its annual budget and to develop short- and long-term operational plans. The presentation of this financial information, which is not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:
Because of these limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including various cash flow metrics, net income (loss) and the Company’s other GAAP results. Additionally, the Company has not reconciled adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income (loss) guidance because it does not provide guidance for other income (expense) and provision for income taxes, which are reconciling items between net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA. As items that impact net income (loss) are out of the Company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, the Company is unable to provide such guidance. Accordingly, reconciliation to net income (loss) outlook for the first quarter of and full year 2013 is not available without unreasonable effort. For a reconciliation of historical non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures, see “Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA” included in this press release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the future performance of Yelp and its consolidated subsidiaries that are based on the Company’s current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected financial results for the first quarter and full year 2013, the future growth in Company revenue and continued investing by the Company in its future growth and the Company’s ability to build Yelp communities internationally and expand its markets and presence in existing markets. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the Company’s short operating history in an evolving industry; the Company’s ability to generate sufficient revenue to achieve or maintain profitability, particularly in light of its significant ongoing sales and marketing expenses; the Company’s ability to successfully manage acquisitions of new businesses, solutions or technologies, including Qype; the Company’s reliance on traffic to its website from search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo!; the Company’s ability to generate and maintain sufficient high quality content from its users; maintaining a strong brand and managing negative publicity that may arise; maintaining and expanding the Company’s base of advertisers; changes in political, business and economic conditions, including any European or general economic downturn or crisis and any conditions that affect ecommerce growth; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the Company’s ability to deal with the increasingly competitive local search environment; the Company’s need and ability to manage other regulatory, tax and litigation risks as its services are offered in more jurisdictions and applicable laws become more restrictive; the competitive and regulatory environment while the Company continues to expand geographically and introduce new products and as new laws and regulations related to Internet companies come into effect; and the Company’s ability to timely upgrade and develop its systems, infrastructure and customer service capabilities. The forward-looking statements in this release do not include the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures that may be announced and/or completed after the date hereof.
More information about factors that could affect the Company’s operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q at http://www.yelp-ir.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. Yelp assumes no obligation to update such statements. The results we report in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012 could differ from the preliminary results we have announced in this press release.
Media Contact Information
Yelp Press Office
Stephanie Ichinose
(415) 908-3679
[email protected]
Investor Relations Contact Information
The Blueshirt Group
Stacie Bosinoff, Nicole Gunderson
(415) 217-7722
[email protected]
| Yelp Inc. | |||||
| Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | |||||
| (In thousands) | |||||
| (Unaudited) | |||||
| December 31, | December 31, | ||||
| 2012 | 2011 | ||||
| Assets | |||||
| Current assets: | |||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ 95,124 | $ 21,736 | |||
| Accounts receivable, net | 11,474 | 8,257 | |||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 4,912 | 1,733 | |||
| Total current assets | 111,510 | 31,726 | |||
| Property, equipment and software, net | 14,799 | 9,881 | |||
| Goodwill | 48,735 | – | |||
| Intangibles, net | 5,942 | – | |||
| Restricted cash | 6,400 | 365 | |||
| Other assets | 310 | 1,849 | |||
| Total assets | $ 187,696 | $ 43,821 | |||
| Liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit) | |||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||
| Accounts payable | $ 2,284 | $ 2,973 | |||
| Accrued liabilities | 16,367 | 7,685 | |||
| Deferred revenue | 2,856 | 2,072 | |||
| Total current liabilities | 21,507 | 12,730 | |||
| Long-term liabilities | 527 | 3 | |||
| Total liabilities | 22,034 | 12,733 | |||
| Commitments and contingencies | |||||
| Redeemable preferred stock | – | 55,435 | |||
| Stockholders’ equity (deficit) | |||||
| Common stock | – | – | |||
| Additional paid-in capital | 225,245 | 16,625 | |||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 805 | 271 | |||
| Accumulated deficit | (60,388) | (41,243) | |||
| Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) | 165,662 | (24,347) | |||
| Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit) | $ 187,696 | $ 43,821 | |||
| Yelp Inc. | ||||||||||||||||
| Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations | ||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||||
| (Unaudited)
|
||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Twelve Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ 41,157 | $ 24,905 | $ 137,567 | $ 83,285 | ||||||||||||
| Cost and expenses | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue (1) | 3,003 | 1,833 | 9,928 | 5,931 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing (1) | 25,511 | 16,024 | 85,915 | 54,539 | ||||||||||||
| Product development (1) | 6,244 | 3,162 | 20,473 | 11,586 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative (1) | 7,852 | 5,267 | 31,531 | 17,234 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,421 | 1,448 | 7,223 | 4,238 | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring and integration costs | 1,262 | – | 1,262 | – | ||||||||||||
| Contribution to The Yelp Foundation | – | 5,928 | – | 5,928 | ||||||||||||
| Total cost and expenses | 46,293 | 33,662 | 156,332 | 99,456 | ||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (5,136) | (8,757) | (18,765) | (16,171) | ||||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (203) | (252) | (226) | (395) | ||||||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (5,339) | (9,009) | (18,991) | (16,566) | ||||||||||||
| (Provision)/Benefit for income taxes | 20 | (37) | (122) | (102) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | (5,319) | (9,046) | (19,113) | (16,668) | ||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock | – | (48) | (31) | (189) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to common stockholders | $ (5,319) | $ (9,094) | $ (19,144) | $ (16,857) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ (0.08) | $ (0.56) | $ (0.35) | $ (1.10) | ||||||||||||
| Diluted | $ (0.08) | $ (0.56) | $ (0.35) | $ (1.10) | ||||||||||||
| Weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 63,015 | 16,097 | 54,151 | 15,291 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted | 63,015 | 16,097 | 54,151 | 15,291 | ||||||||||||
| (1) Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows: | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Twelve Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ 38 | $ 17 | $ 122 | $ 50 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 1,746 | 496 | 4,917 | 1,607 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 696 | 164 | 1,705 | 721 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 778 | 689 | 8,134 | 2,499 | ||||||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation | $ 3,258 | $ 1,366 | $ 14,878 | $ 4,877 | ||||||||||||
| Yelp Inc. | ||||
| Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows | ||||
| (In thousands) | ||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||
| Twelve Months Ended | ||||
| December 31, | ||||
| 2012 | 2011 | |||
| Operating activities | ||||
| Net loss | $ (19,113) | $ (16,668) | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net
cash (used in) provided by operating activities: |
||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 7,223 | 4,238 | ||
| Provision for doubtful accounts | 599 | 35 | ||
| Stock-based compensation | 14,878 | 4,877 | ||
| Contribution to The Yelp Foundation | – | 5,928 | ||
| Loss on disposal of assets and web-site development costs | 64 | 13 | ||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
| Accounts receivable | (2,017) | (1,682) | ||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | (2,384) | (1,099) | ||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | 70 | 3,975 | ||
| Deferred revenue | (443) | 633 | ||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | (1,123) | 250 | ||
| Investing activities | ||||
| Acquisition of Qype GmbH, net of cash received | (24,125) | – | ||
| Purchases of property, equipment and software | (7,524) | (4,798) | ||
| Capitalized website and software development costs | (2,930) | (2,506) | ||
| Change in restricted cash | (6,013) | (149) | ||
| Cash used in investing activities | (40,592) | (7,453) | ||
| Financing activities | ||||
| Proceeds from initial public offering, net of underwriter fees | 114,006 | – | ||
| Payments for deferred offering costs | (1,749) | (456) | ||
| Proceeds from issuance of common stock | 3,675 | 2,038 | ||
| Repayment of acquired debt | (1,308) | – | ||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 114,624 | 1,582 | ||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash | 479 | 283 | ||
| Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | 73,388 | (5,338) | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | 21,736 | 27,074 | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | $95,124 | $21,736 | ||
| Yelp Inc. | ||||||||
| Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA | ||||||||
| (In thousands) | ||||||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Twelve Months Ended | |||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||
| Net loss | $ (5,319) | $ (9,046) | $ (19,113) | $ (16,668) | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | (20) | 37 | 122 | 102 | ||||
| Other income (expense), net | 203 | 252 | 226 | 395 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,421 | 1,448 | 7,223 | 4,238 | ||||
| Stock-based compensation | 3,258 | 1,366 | 14,878 | 4,877 | ||||
| Restructuring and integration costs | 1,262 | – | 1,262 | – | ||||
| Contribution to Yelp Foundation | – | 5,928 | – | 5,928 | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ 1,805 | $ (15) | $ 4,598 | $ (1,128) | ||||
SOURCE Yelp Inc.
Samsung has effectively taken control of the Android smartphone market by becoming the most successful Android OEM in the world. That’s particularly true in the U.S. where its marketshare continues to grow. In fact, the latest comScore numbers show that the U.S. is no longer an iOS vs. Android market, but rather a Samsung vs. Apple market.
December’s smartphone market statistics came out of comScore Wednesday, and the results show the U.S. market warping into a battle between the giants of mobile where there’s increasingly no room for the little guys. In fact, besides an anomaly from LG, every major smartphone manufacturer’s market share declined except for Apple and Samsung.
It should come as no surprise that Apple was the top smartphone maker in December. The company commanded a 36.3 percent share of the 125.9 million smartphones in use in the U.S. Its great adversary, Samsung, is catching up, however, as its share increased to 21 percent from 18.7 percent in September. HTC and Motorola both saw declines, while LG saw a small increase to 7.1 percent. LG’s growth is probably due to the relative success of the Nexus 4.
As for smartphone platforms, Android reigns with a 53.4 percent majority of the smartphone market. It may have a majority, but it also little growth as its control only grew by 0.9 percent. In comparison, iOS grew 2 percent from September to December to have 36.3 percent of the market. BlackBerry and Microsoft both saw declines while Symbian stayed flat.
The U.S. smartphone market is slowly becoming the battleground for Apple and Samsung as other smartphone manufacturers continue to lose more marketshare to these behemoths. I wouldn’t be surprised if consumers started associated Samsung with Android as one in the same instead of two separate entities.
McFarlane Toys this week announced that it is partnering with Ubisoft to release Assassin’s Creed III-branded figurines.
The first set of the collectibles will include seven different figures, including Connor, Haytham Kenway. Two different Connor figures are being made, one with the character in the traditional assassin cloaks and one with the character in his Ratonhnhaké:ton outfit from the upcoming “The Tyranny of King Washington” DLC add-on.
There is no date set for when the figures will be released, but the prototypes for the items will be on display at the International Toy Fair next week. The toys will be be around six inches tall and will have “an average of 25 points of articulation.” They will cost $15 to $16 and will be found at most toy retailers throughout North America, South America, and Australia.
The figures will also come with a code that provides “exclusive” Assassin’s Creed video game content, such as weapons and character outfits.
“We’re always looking to raise the bar with our figures, and Ubisoft has been a great partner to help make that happen,” said Todd McFarlane, CEO of McFarlane Toys. “These will be the first McFarlane Toys to include integration with the game itself. Our Assassin’s Creed figures will include codes that unlock unique content in game – things like new weapons, clothing colors, or other customization options. Features like this reward the hardcore fans who buy the figures, and give collectors some added value.”
Apple had a new patent application published by the USPTO today, describing an unlocking method for digital devices that uses image identification to properly recognize an authorized user. The system would present a user with photographs from their iPhoto or iCloud collections, and then ask them to identify who or what the subject is in order to unlock the device. The item in question could also be an object or series of images.
The authentication process would work by displaying at least one image to be identified from the user’s library, though it could also display a number in succession if users are looking for more security. It’s highly likely that someone close to you will recognize another individual depicted in photos on your phone, for instance, but if you’re worried about granting access even to that inner circle of acquaintances, it becomes increasingly unlikely they’ll be able to identify each of a series of more than one picture.
Different means of input are also described in the patent, from a multiple selection list of choices for one-tap entry, to using an on-screen (on an iOS device) or physical keyboard (on a Mac) to type in the exact answer, to just speaking the name of the person or object aloud. Combined with voice recognition, you can see how the third option would provide yet another layer of added, personalized security, which would be very hard to beat via conventional machine-based security workaround tools.
If the system uses objects instead of people, the patent describes a process by which users would offer up unique, alternative nicknames for recognizable monuments and landmarks. So, for example, a picture of the Eiffel Tower could actually be linked to the phrase “The Big Stick.” Since no one else is likely to use quite the same idiosyncratic alternate names for highly recognizable objects, the system should remain fairly secure.
In most cases, Apple’s current passcode unlock system is probably sufficient for the needs of users, but should the company want to meet the needs of privacy sensitive users, a method like this that’s highly personal and hard to hack could be of considerable benefit.
