Drones Large and Small Coming to US

 

Most of the drones that have begun to appear in the skies above the U.S. homeland don't resemble the Predators or Reapers flown by the U.S. military and CIA above Afghanistan and Pakistan. Instead, these smaller versions of flying, unmanned vehicles almost rival the animal kingdom in their diversity. Government agencies such as NASA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection operate aircraft-size military drones that take off from runways like airplanes. Labs in the United States have even built tiny drones that look like hummingbirds. But most drones resemble the radio-controlled aircraft and toy helicopters flown by hobbyists for decades, capable of taking off horizontally, vertically or by being thrown into the air like a trained falcon or hawk. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration does not plan to permit drones armed with weapons in U.S. civilian airspace, according to an official quoted by the Washington Times. But state agencies, sheriff's offices and universities have already found more widespread use for drones that carry cameras for taking photos or video from above. 

Draganfly Innovations builds small drones weighing less than 5 pounds that fly under the control of a human operator using two joysticks. The Canadian company has sold some drones to law enforcement for taking pictures or video of traffic accidents or crime scenes, as well as aiding SWAT teams preparing to storm a building or housing compound. FAA drone license applications tracked by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital rights organization, suggest many other possible uses. Some U.S. states have begun considering drones for checking on highway traffic conditions, inspecting bridges and fighting wildfires. U.S. corporations, such as FedEx, have already begun planning for the day when drones could deliver packages. Bird watchers accustomed to spotting a gaggle of geese or a murder of crows may someday spot similar groupings of drones. Such drone swarms will likely use advanced forms of today's artificial intelligence programs to coordinate their missions without precise human control, a future with possibilities both delightful and daunting. Tech News Daily

Apple, Mac computers hit by hackers who targeted Facebook

 

BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc (NSQ:AAPL - News) was recently attacked by hackers who infected the Macintosh computers of some employees, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented disclosure that described the widest known cyber attacks against Apple-made computers to date. Unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers, the company said in a statement provided to Reuters. The same software, which infected Macs by exploiting a flaw in a version of Oracle Corp's (ORCL.O) Java software used as a plug-in on Web browsers, was used to launch attacks against Facebook (FB.O), which the social network disclosed on Friday
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The malware was also employed in attacks against Mac computers used by "other companies," Apple said, without elaborating on the scale of the assault. But a person briefed on the investigation into the attacks said that hundreds of companies, including defense contractors, had been infected with the same malicious software, or malware. The attacks mark the highest-profile cyber attacks to date on businesses running Mac computers. Hackers have traditionally focused on attacking machines running the Windows operating system, though they have gradually turned their attention to Apple products over the past couple of years as the company gained market share over Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). MadOne

Source: Blake Griffin joins Jordan Brand

Blake Griffin made his 2012-13 debut for the Clippers Wednesday night sporting a sharp pair of cobalt blue Jordans, and not without good reason. The Clippers' high-flying forward has become the latest NBA star to join Nike's Jordan Brand, an industry source told CBSSports.com. An announcement is expected soon on the new endorsement deal for the Clippers' two-time All-Star

While Jordan Brand has yet to officially announce anything, Blake Griffin is currently rocking the Jordan Super.Fly sneakers in Game Royal/White-Deep Royal Blue-Black for the Clippers season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. While we will wait for Jordan Brand to give us the official nod, which should come soon, there is a reason why Blake is rocking the Team Jordan Jordan Super.Fly. We are confident that you can figure it out on your own. MadOne

Samsung ordered to pay Apple $1.05B in patent case

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — After a year of scorched-earth litigation, a jury decided Friday that Samsung ripped off the innovative technology used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad. The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in the latest skirmish of a global legal battle between the two tech giants. An appeal is expected. Apple Inc. filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the country's highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit seeking $399 million.

The verdict, however, belonged to Apple, as the jury rejected all Samsung's claims against Apple. Jurors also decided against some of Apple's claims involving the two dozen Samsung devices at issue, declining to award the full $2.5 billion Apple demanded. However, the jury found that several Samsung products illegally used such Apple creations as the "bounce-back" feature when a user scrolls to an end image, and the ability to zoom text with a tap of a finger.

As part of its lawsuit, Apple also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market. A judge was expected to make that ruling at a later time.

The outcome of the case is likely to have ripple effects in the smartphone market. After seeing Samsung's legal defeat, other device makers relying on Android may become more reluctant to use the software and risk getting dragged into court.

Jay-Z executive producing 2K Sports’ “NBA 2k13″

Jay-Z is putting the game’s soundtrack together for NBA 2k13 and will be working directly with developers on off-court aspects of the game, including menus, intro/outro videos, and much more. In addition to two tracks from Jay – “Public Service Announcement” and “On to the Next One” records from the likes of Hip-Hop icons Too Short, Eric B. and Rakim, Nas, Mobb Deep, and Kanye West. Other Artists included are U2, Santigold, Daft Punk, Roy Ayers, and Coldplay will contribute some of their most popular tracks to the games soundtrack as well. MadOne

Full list of songs from the “NBA 2K13″ soundtrack below: 
The Hours – “Ali in the Jungle”
Too Short – “Blow The Whistle (Main)”
Eric B. and Rakim – “I Ain’t No Joke”
Phoenix – “1901″
Jay-Z – “Pump It Up (Freestyle)”
Puff Daddy and the Family – “Victory” (feat. Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes
Daft Punk – “Around the World (Radio Edit)”
Santigold – “Shove It” (feat. Spank Rock)
Kanye West – “Amazing”
Jay-Z – “Run This Town”
The Dirty Projectors – “Stillness is the Move”
Nas – “The World is Yours”
Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”
Roy Ayers – “We Live in Brooklyn, Baby”
Justice – “Stress”
Jay-Z – “The Bounce”
Kanye West – “We Major” (feat. Nas & Really Doe)
Mobb Deep – “Shook Ones, Pt. II”
Meek Mill – “Ima Boss — Instrumental”
Kanye West – “Mercy” (feat. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz)
U2 – “Elevation”
Jay-Z – “On to the Next One”
Jay-Z – “Public Service Announcement”
Jay-Z – “H.A.M. (Instrumental)”

“NBA 2K13″ will be released on October 2.

Dr. Dre Inks Development Deal With FX Network For New Crime Drama

(AllHipHop News) Rapper, producer, and entrepreneur Dr. Dre is officially in business with FX, and is developing a brand-new drama with the network, according to THR. The site reports that “[FX] has inked a script development deal with writer Sidney Quashi and music mogul Dr. Dre for a drama pilot. The one-hour project, set in present-day Los Angeles, explores both the music business and crime business.” Quashie will serve as the creator of the show, as well as one its executive producers, alongside Dr. Dre. The deal will involve Dr. Dre’s Crucial Films/Crucial TV company, which was originally launched in 2007 with New Line Cinema, and now currently rests under Warner Bros.

Currently, FX is airing new seasons of the critically acclaimed show, “Wilfred and Louie”, while the network’s highly anticipated fifth season of its biker show, “Sons of Anarchy”, will premiere on September 11. More details about Dr. Dre’s involvement and the show itself are expected in the near future.

Space Plane Builders Pick Texas for New Test Site

A private rocket-building company that is designing a suborbital space plane for future paid trips to the edge of space will open a new test facility in Texas, company officials announced today (July 9). The Mojave, Calif.-based XCOR Aerospace and the Midland Development Corporation unveiled plans today for XCOR's new Commercial Space Research and Development Center Headquarters in Midland, Texas. The research facility will be used to test XCOR's Lynx space plane, a reusable, winged spaceship that is designed to carry two passengers and science experiments to the edge of space.

The company also plans to eventually develop and test components for an orbital version of the Lynx vehicle in Midland, company officials said. 

The new R&D headquarters will be established in a newly renovated 60,000-square-foot hangar at the Midland International Airport (MAF). Construction of the office space and test facility will begin early next year, company officials said, and is expected to be complete by late autumn in 2013. XCOR recently announced it is aiming to begin operational Lynx flights from California's Mojave Spaceport in 2013, and flights from the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao the following year. XCOR is not the only private rocket company that has expressed interest in building new facilities in Texas. California-based SpaceX, the private aerospace firm that successfully launched the first commercially built, unmanned spacecraft to the International Space Station, has proposed building a launch facility in Cameron County in southern Texas for orbital and suborbital vehicles. Space.com

SpaceX Successfully Launches the First Privately Built Spacecraft to the International Space Station

After a handful of delays and one abort on the launch pad, SpaceX began its historic journey toward the International Space Station just before 4:00 a.m. eastern time this morning as its Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in a spectacular nighttime launch. MadOne

Best Buy announces locations for store closings

RICHFIELD, Minn. (AP) — Best Buy on Saturday announced the locations of 50 stores that it is closing this year, including seven in California, six in Illinois and six in the company's home state of Minnesota. The struggling electronics chain said last month that it would close some of its so-called big box stores, cut 400 corporate jobs and trim $800 million in costs. Best Buy plans to open 100 smaller, more profitable Best Buy Mobile stores. The company is trying to avoid the fate of Circuit City, which went out of business in 2009. It faces slower sales of expensive items like TVs, plus increased competition from Amazon.com and discount stores like Target.

Best Buy has about 1,400 locations in the United States. It has already closed two stores this year, one in Missouri and one in Arizona. Most of the rest of the 50 will close May 12, others this summer.

Wal-Mart is Worried about Amazon

Five years ago, the world’s largest retail chain didn’t have to worry much about the world’s largest online mall. Only about a quarter of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) customers shopped at Amazon.com (AMZN), according to data from researcher Kantar Retail. Today, however, half of Wal-Mart customers say they’ve shopped at both merchants. That’s leaving the mega-retailer—which long ago bested local brick-and-mortar merchandise stores and supermarkets across America—with a massive online competitor that is too tough to ignore. Threatening Wal-Mart’s dominance are two trends: The discounter’s traditional customers—bargain hunters making less than $50,000 a year—are getting more tech-savvy, and more-affluent shoppers who began frequenting Wal-Mart during the recession are returning to Amazon as their finances improve. 

In the last year Wal-Mart has increased its investment in its online business. The company has spent more than $300 million acquiring five tech firms since May and hired more than 300 engineers and code writers in the U.S. and India. Wal-Mart is trying to improve links between its store inventory, website, and mobile phone apps so that more customers can order online and pick up their purchases at stores, which half of Web customers do already. Wal-Mart is trying Web-based shopping tactics, like its Pay With Cash program for Wal-Mart customers who don’t have credit cards. The new program allows them to reserve products online and pay cash at their nearest store. To cater to its affluent customers, Wal-Mart is selling more expensive items—for example, high-end televisions from Sony (SNE) and Samsung—only online. What's my take on all this.... shop Amazon. MadOne / Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Ashton Kutcher Buys 500th Ticket for Virgin Galactic Spaceship Ride

 

The 500th paying customer has signed up to ride Virgin Galactic's private spaceship, and that customer is Ashton Kutcher. The actor, currently starring in the CBS TV comedy "Two and a Half Men," will be among the first people to ride Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, which will carry paying customers up to the edge of space and back. "I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him," Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson wrote in a blog post announcing Kutcher's reservation Monday (March 19). "He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself."

 

SpaceShipTwo is a suborbital spaceship built to carry six passengers and two pilots. It is launched from the air using a carrier plane known as WhiteKnightTwo. The brief space trip, which will offer passengers a few minutes of weightlessness and a view of Earth from the blackness of space, costs $200,000 per seat. Virgin Galactic's first SpaceShipTwo vehicle, the VSS Enterprise, and its WhiteKnightTwo mothership have completed a series of manned glide tests. The next step will be for WhiteKnightTwo to carry the space plane up to midair, and then ignite SpaceShipTwo's rocket engines for a powered test flight.

Virgin Galactic officials have said they hope the first customers will ride in 2013 or 2014. The flights will launch and land from the new Spaceport America facility in southern New Mexico. Space.com / MadOne

Man Poses As Denny's Manager, Cooks Burger

 

Wearing a maroon tie and with a briefcase in hand, James B. Summers, 52, strolled confidently into a Madison, Wisc., Denny's restaurant ready to start his first day of work as general manager. There was just one problem- he wasn't hired for the job. 

"He claimed he was the new general manager, that he had worked for the restaurant chain for 30-years and was starting his new job - right now," the police report stated. The restaurant's manager, Tracy Brant, suggested perhaps Summers had the wrong restaurant, but the self-appointed general manager refuted the idea. Brant closed the door to her office and called the corporate office while Summers got to work on his first "official" duty- cooking himself a burger and fries. After receiving confirmation from those higher-up on the food chain that Summers was lying, Brant confronted her new faux boss mid-meal and told him that his charade was over.

When police arrived, they found Summers walking away from the restaurant. He told officers there must have been a "paperwork goof-up." He returned to the restaurant so police could hear both sides of the story. Summers' ruse was not a grand slam. Police booked him on charges of fraud, possession of an electric weapon (a stun gun), disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia. As police escorted Summers out of the restaurant, he shouted, "This is why you don't dine and dash, kiddies!" MadOne

Derrick Rose to Sign $250 Million Deal with adidas

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has had one heck of a month to say the least. Just nine days after the announcement of his $94.8 million extension with the Bulls, we have now learned that the 2010-2011 MVP is expected to sign a new contract with adidas reportedly worth $250 million. Sources say this “lifetime” deal will pay him $25 million annually over 10 years and will be adidas’ counter to Kobe Bryant in China. Sources also state that Rose already outsells LeBron James in China. If this deal goes through, it will probably make Derrick Rose the highest paid shoe endorser in the NBA. Let’s just say adidas is serious about D.Rose. MadOne

 

Magic Johnson plans to bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers

Former Lakers star Magic Johnson is putting together a potential ownership group that includes former Braves and Nationals executive Stan Kasten and the backing of a high-powered financial services firm with assets of $125 billion. Needless to say, Magic is not playing around.

From the Los Angeles Times:

"I am so hyped, I'm ready to start right now,'' said Johnson in a phone interview Friday morning. "The Dodgers have been so important to this community for so many years, for so many reasons. I've lived through it all like everyone else and I want to make them great again.''

Johnson is that rare former sports star whose business acumen has matched his athleticism. Since retiring from the Lakers in 1996, he has made millions in investments that have focused on rebuilding inner cities. His substantial portfolio includes Starbucks franchises and movie theaters and a piece of the Lakers, which he recently sold.

"The Dodgers are my next big thing," Johnson said. "This is not just millions of my money, this is dear to my heart. This is bringing back the brand for the people of Los Angeles."

 Yahoo Sports

Jordan Brand “Love the Game” Commercial

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Buy Part of NBA Team

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z may be making major moves with the Brooklyn Nets, but now the Roc Nation emcee has a little friendly competition from fellow hip-hop legend Will Smith and his wife, acclaimed actress Jada Pinkett Smith. According to reports, the Hollywood power couple have now acquired a minority stake in Will’s hometown NBA team, the Philadelphia 76ers. According to Comcast Sports Network, the Sixers held a press conference on Oct. 18 at the Palestra to announce that the team had been sold from Comcast-Spectator to a group of investors led by multibillionaire Joshua Harris, with the Smith’s being minority stakeholders in the investment. Unfortunately for the Smith’s, the NBA is still under a lockout and the first two weeks of the NBA season were recently cancelled. 

While the Smiths wait for NBA to get back in full swing, Will is keeping busy working on a musical comeback and recently entered the studio to work on new music with longtime friend and collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff. “He came down like two weeks ago and was like, ‘Yo, I wanna get back into the studio, and we just knocked out some stuff,’ ” Jeff told XXL. “I just think more than anything there is no set pattern, no set plan, but we just wanna go into the studio and see what we come out with. If I can get it back to the way we used to make music, you know, it used to be just me and him in the room. You don’t need no entourages and cameras and all of that and see what happens. He hasn’t decided exactly what he wants to do.”

Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith

Well, Will may not (always) be in it for the money, but with his and Jada’s current NBA venture well underway, their growing piggy bank will undoubtedly give the power couple something to smile about. –nicholas robinson/ MadOne

Private Spaceship Factory Opens for Business in Calif. Desert

The WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipTwo launch system is showcased during opening day ceremonies of the Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar.

In a grand and ceremonious style, a factory site that will crank out private spaceships has opened its hangar doors. The $8 million hangar was specifically designed to support the final stages of assembly and integration for prime customer Virgin Galactic’s fleet of passenger-carrying suborbital SpaceShipTwos and the mothership launch craft, WhiteKnightTwos. Called the Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar, or FAITH, the special building was unveiled Sept. 19 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. That’s the home port for Scaled Composites, builder of the SpaceShipTwo/WhiteKnightTwo launch system.

Onlookers take part in Sept. 19 ceremonies at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

FAITH is a 68,000-square-foot (6,317 square meters) structure. It's big enough to accommodate the first-ever side-by-side public viewing of WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipTwo and the WhiteKnightOne/SpaceShipOne system, which happened at the grand opening ceremony. TSC is the aerospace production joint venture of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites, which teamed up to build the world’s first fleet of commercial spaceships and flying launch pads.


Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is being built to carry six customers and two pilots on suborbital jaunts. That trek to the edge of space and back provides passengers several minutes of out-of-the-seat, zero-gravity experience. During the flight, space travelers are promised astounding views of the planet from the black sky of space for about 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) in every direction. In the space reservation department, Virgin Galactic has signed up more than 450 individuals who have made deposits between $20,000 and the total per-seat cost of $200,000. Total deposits received are over $57 million. Over 85,000 people from 125 countries have registered their interest in becoming a Virgin Galactic astronaut, according to the company.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo private spaceliner flies over San Francisco's Bay Area Bridge with the city as a backdrop while en route to San Francisco International Airport with the Virgin America aircraft "My Other Ride is a Spaceship" to open a new terminal at San Francisco International Airport on April 6, 2011.

Dwyane Wade Yelled At David Stern At NBA Labor Meeting

It seemed like things took a turn for the worse on Friday during a meeting between the NBA brass and the players. According to multiple reports from ESPN, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade flipped out at commissioner David Stern. According to Chris Broussard, the meeting became "incredibly heated," especially when Wade made "pointed remarks" at Stern. Fellow ESPN reporter Ric Bucher tweeted that a source informed him that Stern had been pointing his finger at the players while speaking. That is apparently when Wade shouted, "You're not pointing your finger at me. I'm not your child."

Broussard reported that Wade and the other superstars "nearly stormed out of the hotel." Union chief Billy Hunter was said to have calmed the players down. Not surprisingly, Broussard tweeted that the owners were "stunned" by the players' resolve. To make matters worse, Wade, LeBron James and Chris Paul reportedly told the union that they're actually willing to sit out a year instead of making any more sacrifices. Speaking to NBC's Darren Rovell on Saturday morning, Wade revealed that he hasn't felt that the owners have shown they're willing to meet the players half way during any of the many meetings between the sides.

"We may lose a year," he said.
Great, just great...

Huffington Post / MadOne

U.S. Dollar to drop on S&P move

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar may fall and Treasury yields rise on Monday in response to the United States losing its top-tier credit rating from Standard & Poor's but any selling is likely to be tempered by the euro zone's escalating debt crisis. Equity markets' likely reaction was indicated by a drop of more than six percent on Sunday in Tel Aviv stocks, one of the first to open globally after S&P on Friday cut the U.S. long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus from AAA. 

Investors will be all the more likely to withdraw to safe havens, such as the Swiss franc, the yen and gold, if euro zone officials cannot stem concern that their debt crisis risks engulfing Italy, the bloc's third largest economy, whose government bond yields have soared to 14-year highs. "The real effects of this (U.S. credit rating downgrade) will take time to show through but a weaker U.S. dollar and marginally higher yields are likely," said Charles Diebel, a strategist at Lloyds Bank.

U.S. Loses Triple AAA Rating.

After a week that saw $2.5 trillion wiped off global stock markets, they are under pressure to show political leadership and reassure markets that Western governments have both the will and ability to reduce their huge and growing public debt loads.  Standard and Poor's deepened the urgency for action late on Friday by stripping the United States of its top-tier AAA credit rating, a move that over time could ripple through markets worldwide by pushing up borrowing costs and making it more difficult to secure a lasting recovery.

It cited the acrimonious debate in Washington on raising the debt ceiling and near political paralysis over the best way to reduce the its $14.3 trillion debt, which on the current trajectory could climb above 100 percent of U.S. national output this decade. S&P's one-notch downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating to AA-plus, while not totally unexpected, adds another level of uncertainty. Loss of gold-plated status for the world's benchmark interest rate risks pushing up borrowing costs on everything from car loans, mortgages and corporate debt to government bonds worldwide. 

China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, took the world's economic superpower to task for allowing its fiscal house to get into such disarray. It also revived its calls for a new stable global reserve currency to replace the U.S. dollar, gaining a sympathetic ear in the United Kingdom. "The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone," China's official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary. Xinhua scorned the United States for a "debt addiction" and "short sighted" political wrangling. China, it said, "has every right now to demand the United States address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets." MadOne