PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - The burglar who broke into Steve Jobs' house made off with the Apple Inc. co-founder's wallet with a dollar inside and his driver's license in addition to Apple gadgets and jewelry, according to a police report released Tuesday.
The details of the July 17 theft, and the suspect's alleged confession, were reported Tuesday by the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/OgMKB0 ).
The suspect, Kariem McFarlin, 35, targeted the unoccupied Palo Alto home because it was under renovation, authorities said. When construction crews left, he hopped a fence and found a spare key, according to the report. McFarlin apparently realized he was in Jobs' house when he saw a letter addressed to him.
Also taken in the 15-hour overnight heist were iPhones, iPads, iPods, Mac computers, Cristal Champagne and $60,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. jewelry. McFarlin sold the jewelry to a dealer online and gave the iPads to a daughter and a friend, according to the report.
'There's certain things you don't do, and burglary is one of them. But burglarizing an icon like that, that just puts yourself pretty much in the deep hole,' McFarlin's former boss, Ross Rankin, told the San Jose Mercury News.
McFarlin was arrested at his Alameda home earlier this month after Apple investigators identified him after he connected to the Internet on the stolen devices with his iTunes account, police said. McFarlin acknowledged to police that he broke into other homes and also wrote an apology letter to Jobs' widow, according to the police report.
He remains jailed on $500,000 bail and is expected to appear in court Monday. He faces almost eight years in prison if convicted. His public defender did not return a call for comment.
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Google upgrades Android maps as Apple battle looms
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google is upgrading the maps designed for mobile devices running on its Android software as it braces for new competition from Apple.
The improvements in the latest version of mobile maps for Android center on listings for public transportation options in nearly 500 cities around the world.
The update released Wednesday includes directions and departure times for more than 1 million stations worldwide for the first time.
New technology on the maps will allow users to focus exclusively on directions for specific transportation options, such as the subway, while excluding other alternatives such as the bus.
The changes come as Apple Inc. prepares to replace Google's maps as the automatic navigation service on the iPhone and iPad. Apple is casting aside Google for its own mobile mapping service.
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The improvements in the latest version of mobile maps for Android center on listings for public transportation options in nearly 500 cities around the world.
The update released Wednesday includes directions and departure times for more than 1 million stations worldwide for the first time.
New technology on the maps will allow users to focus exclusively on directions for specific transportation options, such as the subway, while excluding other alternatives such as the bus.
The changes come as Apple Inc. prepares to replace Google's maps as the automatic navigation service on the iPhone and iPad. Apple is casting aside Google for its own mobile mapping service.
This article is brought to you by BUY AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
Retailers to launch mobile app for payments
NEW YORK (AP) - A bevy of big-name retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best-Buy Co. and Target Corp., are teaming up to create a company that will give customers another way to make purchases with their mobile devices.
The businesses said Wednesday that the new company, Merchant Customer Exchange, is developing a mobile application that will be available for nearly any smartphone. The app is expected to integrate a variety of consumer offers, promotions and retail programs.
The new system takes aim at Google's Wallet payment app and other efforts aimed at moving payment cards from wallets to smartphones.
Mike Cook, corporate vice president and assistant treasurer for Wal-Mart, said in a statement that using a mobile app will help to cut down costs and make shopping faster and more convenient.
'As merchants, no one understands our customers' shopping and payment experience better than we do, and we're confident that together we can develop a technology solution that makes that experience more engaging, convenient and efficient,' Mark Williams, president of financial services for Best Buy, said.
Other retailers included in Merchant Customer Exchange are 7-Eleven, Inc., Alon Brands, CVS/pharmacy, Darden Restaurants Inc., HMSHost, Hy-Vee Inc., Lowe's Cos., Publix Super Markets Inc., Sears Holdings Corp., Shell Oil Products US, and Sunoco Inc.
The initial retailers that are part of the new company account for about $1 trillion in annual sales. More retailers are expected to be announced as new members in the coming months, the group said.
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The businesses said Wednesday that the new company, Merchant Customer Exchange, is developing a mobile application that will be available for nearly any smartphone. The app is expected to integrate a variety of consumer offers, promotions and retail programs.
The new system takes aim at Google's Wallet payment app and other efforts aimed at moving payment cards from wallets to smartphones.
Mike Cook, corporate vice president and assistant treasurer for Wal-Mart, said in a statement that using a mobile app will help to cut down costs and make shopping faster and more convenient.
'As merchants, no one understands our customers' shopping and payment experience better than we do, and we're confident that together we can develop a technology solution that makes that experience more engaging, convenient and efficient,' Mark Williams, president of financial services for Best Buy, said.
Other retailers included in Merchant Customer Exchange are 7-Eleven, Inc., Alon Brands, CVS/pharmacy, Darden Restaurants Inc., HMSHost, Hy-Vee Inc., Lowe's Cos., Publix Super Markets Inc., Sears Holdings Corp., Shell Oil Products US, and Sunoco Inc.
The initial retailers that are part of the new company account for about $1 trillion in annual sales. More retailers are expected to be announced as new members in the coming months, the group said.
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Facebook insiders can sell stock as 'lock-up' ends
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) - Facebook's early investors and a handful of top executives become eligible on Thursday to sell stock they own in the social networking company. It marks the beginning of a time-honored process for public companies, which will culminate in the fall, when many Facebook employees receive the same right to sell their shares.
It's conceivable none of them will sell. But if they do, up to 1.91 billion more shares could flood the stock market, joining the 421 million that have been trading since Facebook's initial public offering in May. So-called 'lock-up' periods, which prevent insiders from unloading shares too close to an IPO, generally start to expire 90 days after a stock makes its public debut.
Lock-ups are designed to prevent a stock from experiencing the kind of volatility that might be caused if too many shareholders decide to sell a newly-traded stock all at once. The progressive phasing-in of various shareholders allows early owners to shed their stock and make way for new investors, says Peter Zaleski, a professor economics at the Villanova School of Business in Pennsylvania. But there's risk involved too. If too many people sell, Facebook's stock price could decline.
That's a problem the company can't afford. On Monday, the stock closed at $21.60, down 43 percent from its initial public offering price of $38.
This week, Facebook's operating chief and No. 2 executive Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's, as well as finance chief David Ebersman and firms ranging from Accel Partners to Goldman Sachs will be free to sell stock they own. In all, 271 million shares will become eligible this week, according to Facebook's regulatory filings. Microsoft Corp., another early Facebook investor, will be eligible to sell, too.
Facebook's 28-yearold chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg won't be able to sell his shares until mid-November. Facebook hasn't explained why Zuckerberg didn't become eligible with the other top executives this week. He controls about a third of the 1.22 billion shares and stock options that will become unlocked on Nov. 14
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes it's unlikely that top executives will sell their shares as soon as they can. It would look bad for the company, Pachter says. Zynga Inc., the online game maker behind 'FarmVille,' was sued last month for waiving lock-up restrictions for insiders, including CEO Mark Pincus, before the company's first-quarter results in April.
'The only people who would sell are people who need the money,' says Pachter. 'I would be very worried if Sheryl Sandberg or Ebersman sell, but they are not that dumb.'
Following this week's expiration date, about 243 million more Facebook shares and stock options will become eligible for sale into the public stock market between Oct. 15 and Nov. 13. Then there's the Nov. 14 expiration, and another a month later. Next May, a year after Facebook's IPO, the Russian Internet company Mail.ru Group and DST Global -both of which made early investments in Facebook- will be able to sell the shares.
The early investors who sold their stock to the public as part of Facebook's IPO did so at a price of $38 each. If they sell now, they will make far less money from each share than they did in the IPO. Facebook's stock has not hit its IPO price since its first day of trading. As a result, the company's market value has plummeted from $104 billion to $59.1 billion in roughly three months.
Goldman Sachs and a few other investors are in a unique position to profit if they sell Facebook's stock at its current price A January 2011 investment round from Goldman Sachs and others valued Facebook at $50 billion.
Even before the Facebook's disappointing IPO, Silicon Valley merchants -those who sell real estate, cars, and other luxury items- had been expecting a boost to the local economy from rank-and-file Facebook employees who received stock options as part of their compensation. Now, experts are cautioning those merchants to temper their expectations.
'In light of the company's market value being half of what was expected, and the fact that the big gainers are not in Silicon Valley year round, I would not expect a new boom in Silicon Valley resulting from this,' says Zaleski.
Jon Burgstone, professor at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley, points out that many of Facebook's shareholders had already been able to sell their stock before the company's initial public offering, through secondary stock markets set up to allow trading in private businesses. In many ways, he added, 'Facebook's IPO was really a secondary public offering. A number of large shareholders and early employees have already been cashing out.'
As for flashy cars and fancy clothes?
'People here generally don't spend their money on expensive clothing, jewelry, etc.,' Burgstone says. 'The ethos of Silicon Valley remains - what have you done, and what can you do now? -not what label are you wearing.'
This news article is brought to you by GLOBAL WEATHER NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
It's conceivable none of them will sell. But if they do, up to 1.91 billion more shares could flood the stock market, joining the 421 million that have been trading since Facebook's initial public offering in May. So-called 'lock-up' periods, which prevent insiders from unloading shares too close to an IPO, generally start to expire 90 days after a stock makes its public debut.
Lock-ups are designed to prevent a stock from experiencing the kind of volatility that might be caused if too many shareholders decide to sell a newly-traded stock all at once. The progressive phasing-in of various shareholders allows early owners to shed their stock and make way for new investors, says Peter Zaleski, a professor economics at the Villanova School of Business in Pennsylvania. But there's risk involved too. If too many people sell, Facebook's stock price could decline.
That's a problem the company can't afford. On Monday, the stock closed at $21.60, down 43 percent from its initial public offering price of $38.
This week, Facebook's operating chief and No. 2 executive Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's, as well as finance chief David Ebersman and firms ranging from Accel Partners to Goldman Sachs will be free to sell stock they own. In all, 271 million shares will become eligible this week, according to Facebook's regulatory filings. Microsoft Corp., another early Facebook investor, will be eligible to sell, too.
Facebook's 28-yearold chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg won't be able to sell his shares until mid-November. Facebook hasn't explained why Zuckerberg didn't become eligible with the other top executives this week. He controls about a third of the 1.22 billion shares and stock options that will become unlocked on Nov. 14
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes it's unlikely that top executives will sell their shares as soon as they can. It would look bad for the company, Pachter says. Zynga Inc., the online game maker behind 'FarmVille,' was sued last month for waiving lock-up restrictions for insiders, including CEO Mark Pincus, before the company's first-quarter results in April.
'The only people who would sell are people who need the money,' says Pachter. 'I would be very worried if Sheryl Sandberg or Ebersman sell, but they are not that dumb.'
Following this week's expiration date, about 243 million more Facebook shares and stock options will become eligible for sale into the public stock market between Oct. 15 and Nov. 13. Then there's the Nov. 14 expiration, and another a month later. Next May, a year after Facebook's IPO, the Russian Internet company Mail.ru Group and DST Global -both of which made early investments in Facebook- will be able to sell the shares.
The early investors who sold their stock to the public as part of Facebook's IPO did so at a price of $38 each. If they sell now, they will make far less money from each share than they did in the IPO. Facebook's stock has not hit its IPO price since its first day of trading. As a result, the company's market value has plummeted from $104 billion to $59.1 billion in roughly three months.
Goldman Sachs and a few other investors are in a unique position to profit if they sell Facebook's stock at its current price A January 2011 investment round from Goldman Sachs and others valued Facebook at $50 billion.
Even before the Facebook's disappointing IPO, Silicon Valley merchants -those who sell real estate, cars, and other luxury items- had been expecting a boost to the local economy from rank-and-file Facebook employees who received stock options as part of their compensation. Now, experts are cautioning those merchants to temper their expectations.
'In light of the company's market value being half of what was expected, and the fact that the big gainers are not in Silicon Valley year round, I would not expect a new boom in Silicon Valley resulting from this,' says Zaleski.
Jon Burgstone, professor at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley, points out that many of Facebook's shareholders had already been able to sell their stock before the company's initial public offering, through secondary stock markets set up to allow trading in private businesses. In many ways, he added, 'Facebook's IPO was really a secondary public offering. A number of large shareholders and early employees have already been cashing out.'
As for flashy cars and fancy clothes?
'People here generally don't spend their money on expensive clothing, jewelry, etc.,' Burgstone says. 'The ethos of Silicon Valley remains - what have you done, and what can you do now? -not what label are you wearing.'
This news article is brought to you by GLOBAL WEATHER NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Evolution of Olympics Tech: From Carrier Pigeons to Quantum Timers
A high priestess passes on the Olympic flame lit using a concave mirror to concentrate the sun's rays. APThis news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY MUSIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
FTC finalizes privacy settlement with Facebook
NEW YORK (AP) - The Federal Trade Commission voted Friday to finalize its settlement with Facebook, resolving charges that the social network exposed details about users' lives without getting the required legal consent.
Facebook Inc. didn't admit wrongdoing, but agreed to submit to government audits of its privacy practices every other year for the next two decades. The company also committed to getting explicit approval from users before changing the types of content it makes public.
The settlement, announced in November, is similar to agreements the FTC reached separately with Google Inc. and Myspace.
The FTC approved the settlement Friday after a public comment period. It came a day after the FTC fined Google $22.5 million to resolve allegations that Google didn't comply with the earlier settlement.
Both Facebook and Google have vast amounts of data on their users - Facebook through the things people share on the site, and Google through the searches and other things people do. Such information is valuable because it can be used to improve the lucrative targeted advertising pitches that both companies aim at users.
Over the years, Facebook has been pushing users to voluntary share more about themselves. That ultimately encourages users and their friends to spend more time on the site, which in turn allows Facebook to sell more ads. Although Facebook boasts that it gives users a variety of software settings so they can decide which photos, links and updates to share with whom, the company changes those options on a regular basis.
Much of the FTC's complaint against Facebook centers on a series of changes that the company made to its privacy controls in late 2009. The revisions automatically shared information and pictures about Facebook users, even if they previously programmed their privacy settings to shield the content. Among other things, people's profile pictures, lists of online friends and political views were suddenly available for the world to see, the FTC alleged.
The complaint also charges that Facebook shared its users' personal information with third-party advertisers from September 2008 through May 2010 despite several public assurances from company officials that it wasn't passing the data along for marketing purposes.
Facebook believes that happened only in limited instances, generally when users clicked on ads that appeared on their personal profile pages. Most of Facebook's users click on ads when they are on their 'Wall' - a section that highlights their friends' posts - or while visiting someone else's profile page.
Under the settlement, Facebook must get explicit consent - a process known as 'opting in' - before making changes that override existing privacy preferences. The company also may not make misrepresentations about the privacy or security of users' personal information - a broad clause that led to Google's fine on Thursday.
Violations will be subject to civil penalties of up to $16,000 per day for each infringement.
The FTC approved the settlement 3-1, with one commissioner not participating. Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch dissented, as he did with the Google deal on Thursday, partly because it didn't require an admission of wrongdoing. He also worried the settlement was too vague on whether it applied to Facebook apps written by outside parties. The three commissioners who approved the deal believe it covers apps.
Facebook had no comment beyond a statement that it is pleased the settlement received final approval.
Facebook's stock gained 52 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $21.53 in midday trading Friday. The company, based in Menlo Park, Calif., began trading publicly in mid-May, after the settlement with the FTC was reached.
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Facebook Inc. didn't admit wrongdoing, but agreed to submit to government audits of its privacy practices every other year for the next two decades. The company also committed to getting explicit approval from users before changing the types of content it makes public.
The settlement, announced in November, is similar to agreements the FTC reached separately with Google Inc. and Myspace.
The FTC approved the settlement Friday after a public comment period. It came a day after the FTC fined Google $22.5 million to resolve allegations that Google didn't comply with the earlier settlement.
Both Facebook and Google have vast amounts of data on their users - Facebook through the things people share on the site, and Google through the searches and other things people do. Such information is valuable because it can be used to improve the lucrative targeted advertising pitches that both companies aim at users.
Over the years, Facebook has been pushing users to voluntary share more about themselves. That ultimately encourages users and their friends to spend more time on the site, which in turn allows Facebook to sell more ads. Although Facebook boasts that it gives users a variety of software settings so they can decide which photos, links and updates to share with whom, the company changes those options on a regular basis.
Much of the FTC's complaint against Facebook centers on a series of changes that the company made to its privacy controls in late 2009. The revisions automatically shared information and pictures about Facebook users, even if they previously programmed their privacy settings to shield the content. Among other things, people's profile pictures, lists of online friends and political views were suddenly available for the world to see, the FTC alleged.
The complaint also charges that Facebook shared its users' personal information with third-party advertisers from September 2008 through May 2010 despite several public assurances from company officials that it wasn't passing the data along for marketing purposes.
Facebook believes that happened only in limited instances, generally when users clicked on ads that appeared on their personal profile pages. Most of Facebook's users click on ads when they are on their 'Wall' - a section that highlights their friends' posts - or while visiting someone else's profile page.
Under the settlement, Facebook must get explicit consent - a process known as 'opting in' - before making changes that override existing privacy preferences. The company also may not make misrepresentations about the privacy or security of users' personal information - a broad clause that led to Google's fine on Thursday.
Violations will be subject to civil penalties of up to $16,000 per day for each infringement.
The FTC approved the settlement 3-1, with one commissioner not participating. Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch dissented, as he did with the Google deal on Thursday, partly because it didn't require an admission of wrongdoing. He also worried the settlement was too vague on whether it applied to Facebook apps written by outside parties. The three commissioners who approved the deal believe it covers apps.
Facebook had no comment beyond a statement that it is pleased the settlement received final approval.
Facebook's stock gained 52 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $21.53 in midday trading Friday. The company, based in Menlo Park, Calif., began trading publicly in mid-May, after the settlement with the FTC was reached.
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Thursday, August 9, 2012
Yahoo CEO mulling possible changes in strategy
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Yahoo says its new CEO, Marissa Mayer, may revise the Internet company's plan to pay shareholders billions of dollars from an anticipated windfall later this year.
The potential change disclosed Thursday caused Yahoo's stock to drop nearly 4 percent in extended trading.
Mayer is mulling a shift in direction as part of a sweeping review of the company. Yahoo Inc. lured Mayer away from rival Google Inc. three weeks ago to become its fifth CEO in the past five years.
As part of her evaluation, Mayer is scrutinizing Yahoo's agreement to sell half its stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group Ltd. for $7.1 billion.
Yahoo had promised to reward shareholders with most of the Alibaba proceeds. Now, Yahoo says Mayer may have something different in mind.
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The potential change disclosed Thursday caused Yahoo's stock to drop nearly 4 percent in extended trading.
Mayer is mulling a shift in direction as part of a sweeping review of the company. Yahoo Inc. lured Mayer away from rival Google Inc. three weeks ago to become its fifth CEO in the past five years.
As part of her evaluation, Mayer is scrutinizing Yahoo's agreement to sell half its stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group Ltd. for $7.1 billion.
Yahoo had promised to reward shareholders with most of the Alibaba proceeds. Now, Yahoo says Mayer may have something different in mind.
This news article is brought to you by DATING ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
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