The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now | ||
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1. A World Health Organisation report released Tuesday shows that malaria deaths dropped by 47% worldwide compared with 2000, but contains a warning that Ebola could worsen in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. 2. Hong Kong authorities are preparing to clear the city's main pro-democracy protest next to government headquarters, following a court order requested by a local bus company. 3. NASA's Curiosity rover has found stronger evidence that Mars once supported life more than three billion years ago after the six-wheeled robot observed sedimentary deposits that suggest Gale Crater once held lakes, streams, and deltas. 4. Brent crude fell to its lowest in five years on Tuesday, slipping below $66 a barrel on fears of oversupply. 5. Human rights group Amnesty International accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes against the people of Gaza during a nearly two-month war this summer. 6. The International Olympic Committee on Monday approved the largest reforms package in decades, that, among some of the most significant changes, calls for the launch of a TV channel and would allow the Games to be hosted by two countries in extreme circumstances. 7. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Monday called a snap presidential election, pushing the vote forward by two months to Dec. 17 in a move to “prevent the opposition from undermining Greece’s economy," a government spokesman said. 8. Many former Sony Pictures employees are furious with the studio for not offering enough protection after more than 40,000 Social Security numbers, as well as other confidential documents, were leaked online following a massive hack. 9. Apple has named the best iPhone apps of the year, with Elevate, an app designed to train your brain and increase your memory, taking the top spot. And finally ... General Mills is bringing back French Toast Crunch, a sugary corn cereal that was pulled from US supermarket shelves in 2006, but remained on sale in Canada. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Good morning! Here's what you need to know for Tuesday. Sony Hackers Expose Celebrity Aliases For Natalie Portman, Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig, And More | ||
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Natalie Portman, Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig, and other A-list (and B-list) stars are the latest to feel the effects of Sony's hackers. In new documents obtained by Fusion, actors' aliases they used to protect themselves while working on Sony projects have been revealed to the public. The documents were leaked by the "Guardians of Peace" hacker group, which earlier today posted a message online demanding that Sony pull "The Interview," a James Franco and Seth Rogen comedy about about two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Ahead of the film's December 25th release, Sony has experienced a series of scary cyber attacks. Check out some of the fake names used by actors below revealed in the latest leak (via Fusion): Tom Hanks: goes by “Harry Lauder” and “Johnny Madrid” (the former of which was the name of a famous Scottish comedian, and the latter of which may be a reference to a character on Lancer, a 1960s Western series) Tobey Maguire: goes by “Neil Deep” Natalie Portman: goes by “Lauren Brown” Clive Owen: goes by “Robert Fenton” (his wife’s name is Sarah-Jane Fenton) Rob Schneider: goes by “Nazzo Good” (not so good – get it?) Jude Law: goes by “Mr. Perry” Daniel Craig: goes by “Olwen Williams” (an homage to his grandfather, Olwyn Williams) Jessica Alba: goes by “Cash Money” On Monday, Sony CEO Michael Lynton sent a company-wide memo to staff on Monday assuring the studio is doing everything it can to protect employees after a series of cyber attacks that revealed their personal information, including Social Security Numbers and addresses. Lynton, whose $3 million salary was revealed in one of the leaks by hackers, promises staffers the FBI "have dedicated their senior staff to this global investigation" and that "recognized experts are working on this matter and looking out for our security." SEE ALSO: Here's The Internal Security Memo The Sony CEO Just Sent Worried Staffers MORE: Sony Hackers Post New Message Demanding Studio Pull 'The Interview' Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Now We Know Why Sony Gave Up On The Steve Jobs Biopic | ||
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Thanks to the huge Sony Pictures hack, we now have a good idea why the company passed on a Steve Jobs biopic based on Walter Isaacson's biography of the Apple cofounder. Sony's revenue projections for the movie fell by 25% after Leonardo DiCaprio declined the lead role, according to Fusion's Kevin Roose. DiCaprio announced he wouldn't be playing Jobs in October. Sony then turned to Christian Bale, though he later dropped out of the role. At the end of November, Universal Pictures announced they had picked up the screenplay from Sony and cast Michael Fassbender as Jobs. A hacking group called the "Guardians of Peace" released troves of Sony's internal documents last week. SEE ALSO: Here's The New Actor Who Will Play Steve Jobs Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Portland Sues Uber After Four Days Of Operation | ||
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The City of Portland, Oregon, has filed suit against Uber and declared it an "illegal, unregulated transportation service." Mayor Charlie Hales said in a press release, “Our main concern is public health and safety, because the state invested in the cities the responsibility to do that. Beyond that, though, is the issue of fairness." Uber announced it was launching in Portland in a blog post on Friday. Hales also threatened to fine Uber in a Facebook post on Friday. "The city will enforce existing regulations," he said. "That could include fines for the company, as well as fines for drivers." The City's Bureau of Transportation issued two civil penalties for Uber on Monday for operating without a company permit and operating without a vehicle permit. Uber's website claims it is "not a transportation provider." An Uber spokesperson gave Business Insider the following statement: Uber has received a tremendously warm welcome from riders and drivers in and around Portland. We appreciate the way residents have welcomed Uber into the Rose City, their support illustrates why it’s time to modernize Portland transportation regulation. In less than 4 hours, nearly 7,000 Portland residents have signed the petition in support of Uber and we remain hopeful that the city will listen to Portlanders who want safe, reliable, hassle-free ride options now. SEE ALSO: Uber Is Generating A Staggering Amount Of Revenue Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL-MEDIA ADVERTISING: Programmatic, Mobile, And Improved Analytics Fuel Aggressive Spending | ||
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A convergence of three high-tech trends — precise ad analytics, programmatic audience-buying tools, and the stickiness of social apps — means social media is becoming one of the major ad platforms of the future. New data from BI Intelligence finds that US social-media ad spend will top $8.5 billion this year and reach nearly $14 billion in 2018, up from just $6.1 billion in 2013. Social will grow faster than all other offline ad mediums, and faster than traditional digital formats, like desktop display ads and search ads. In the report and associated PowerPoint presentation, BI Intelligence looks at all the numbers for this fast-growing ad industry and explores the drivers of social ad adoption. Access The Full Report And Downloads By Signing Up For A Free Trial » Here are some of the key takeaways:
The report is full of files, slides, charts and data that can easily be downloaded and put to use. In full, the report:
For full access receive to all BI Intelligence's analysis, reporting, and downloadable charts and presentations on the digital media industry, sign up for a free trial. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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YouTube Boss Susan Wojcicki Joins Salesforce.com Board (CRM) | ||
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Wojcicki has been with YouTube since February 2014, after leaving her post as senior VP of Advertising & Commerce. She’s one of the most experienced executives in online advertising, having worked on multiple Google ad platforms, including AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick, and Google Analytics, for 12 years. "Susan is an extraordinary executive who has been instrumental in helping to build the world's largest consumer cloud company, where scale, reliability and security are of critical importance. Her experience will make her an outstanding addition to our board,” Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff said in a statement. With the addition of Wojcicki, Salesforce.com now has 11 board members. Aside from Benioff and Wojcicki, Salesforce’s board includes some high profile names, including General Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State; and Maynard Webb, a long-time entrepreneur and investor and currently the chairman of Yahoo. Here's the full press release: Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, announced today the appointment of Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, to its Board of Directors. The appointment was effective as of Dec. 5, 2014, and increases the size of the Salesforce Board of Directors to 11 members. "We are delighted that Susan has joined our Board of Directors," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "Susan is an extraordinary executive who has been instrumental in helping to build the world's largest consumer cloud company, where scale, reliability and security are of critical importance. Her experience will make her an outstanding addition to our board." "Salesforce has revolutionized enterprise software and has an amazing culture of innovation," said Susan Wojcicki. "I'm very excited to be joining the Salesforce Board of Directors." With this appointment, the Salesforce Board of Directors now consists of Marc Benioff, Salesforce chairman and CEO; Keith Block, Salesforce vice chairman and president; Craig Conway, former CEO of PeopleSoft; Alan Hassenfeld, former chairman and CEO of Hasbro; General Colin Powell, retired four star general in the U.S. Army and former U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. National Security Advisor and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sanford Robertson, principal of Francisco Partners; John Roos, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Lawrence Tomlinson, former senior vice president and treasurer of Hewlett-Packard; Robin Washington, CFO of Gilead Sciences; Maynard Webb, chairman of Yahoo! Inc.; and Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube. Background on Susan Wojcicki
SEE ALSO: Who Are The People In That 1999 Google Video And Where Are They Now? Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Susan Wojcicki, a Google veteran and currently the head of Google's YouTube business, has joined Salesforce.com’s board of directors, the company said on Monday. The move happened last Friday. Here's The Internal Security Memo The Sony CEO Just Sent Worried Staffers | ||
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Sony CEO Michael Lynton sent a company-wide memo to staff on Monday assuring the studio is doing everything it can to protect employees after a series of cyber attacks that revealed their personal information, including Social Security Numbers and addresses. Lynton, whose $3 million salary was revealed in one of the leaks by hackers, promises staffers the FBI "have dedicated their senior staff to this global investigation" and that "recognized experts are working on this matter and looking out for our security." To reassure employees, the FBI will be visiting Sony's Culver City studio lot this Wednesday for employee cybersecurity awareness briefings. Additionally, the company will hold an "All Hands" meeting on Friday. On Monday, a group calling themselves "Guardians of Peace" posted a new message online demanding Sony not release "The Interview," a buddy comedy about two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The Pyongyang government denounced the film as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism, as well as an act of war" in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June. Ahead of the film's December 25th release, Sony has experienced a series of scary cyber attacks. Read Lynton's full memo below (via Deadline):
Over the weekend, you should have received my note sharing cyber As you know, the FBI is the lead government agency investigating the This morning, our senior leadership team met with the lead Additionally, the FBI will be on-hand on Wednesday, December 10, in Furthermore, should you have any relevant information related to the Finally, on Friday, we will have an “All Hands” meeting on the Lot in Thank you again for all of your hard work and resourcefulness at this SEE ALSO: Sony Hackers Post New Message Demanding Studio Pull 'The Interview' MORE: HACKERS TO SONY STAFF: Do As We Say Or You And Your Family Will Be In Danger Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Hello everyone. Microsoft May Make A Gigantic Shift In How It Makes Money From Windows (MSFT) | ||
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Here's a quick look at the state of Windows devices. My colleague Lisa Eadicicco is testing a $200 Windows 8 laptop from HP called the Stream 11. It's small, plasticky, and has similar low-end specs to what you find in many of Google's Chromebooks. It's an incredible value. You get a real Windows laptop plus a free subscription to Office 365 and 1 TB of online storage for a year with your $200 computer. And the Stream isn't the only budget-friendly Windows 8 device coming out in time for the holidays. There are other cheap Windows 8 tablets and laptops Microsoft's partners are selling for as low as $99. And like the Stream, a lot of those have bonuses like free cloud storage and software. Part of the reason for the recent price drop in Windows machines is to compete with Chromebooks, which have become the laptop of choice for a lot of people as smartphones and tablets have become primary computing devices. Why spend more than a couple hundred bucks when all you're going to be doing is writing some emails and browsing the web when you're not swiping away at your smartphone? (At the same time, low-powered Windows 8 laptops like the Stream have trouble with some tasks like running too many apps at once. Chromebooks don't need a lot of power under the hood because they're just running a web browser.) So, as the prices of Windows machines plummet, how is Microsoft going to make money? The way Microsoft turned Windows into a $20 billion annual business is by selling licenses to Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and all the other PC manufacturers that use the operating system. It also made money when people purchased upgrades to new versions. But in an effort to boost PC sales with cheap devices, Microsoft's license fees aren't as steep as they used to be. Microsoft's COO Kevin Turner hinted last week that the company is exploring new ways to make money from Windows now that devices are so cheap. As Geekwire points out, Turner teased subscription services for Windows as a way to make money instead of charging a lot for devices when he spoke at the Credit Suisse Technology conference. Here's the key part of Turner's talk: We’ve got to monetize it differently. And there are services involved. There are additional opportunities for us to bring additional services to the product and do it in a creative way. And through the course of the summer and spring we’ll be announcing what that business model looks like. That sounds like Windows 10, the new version that promises to fix everyone's problems with Windows 8, won't be a pricey upgrade. Instead, you might be able to get a bare-bones version for pretty cheap and pay a subscription to unlock extra services. In turn, that'll keep pricing down on hardware and minimize the barrier of entry back into the world of Windows. (Remember: PC sales are no longer plunging, but they're still basically flat. Some people blame pricey Windows 8 computers for that.) As Daring Fireball's John Gruber wrote, it's even conceivable that Microsoft and its partners will eventually start giving away free hardware in return for a subscription to Office 365 and other services. That's a big shift away from the traditional Windows model. Microsoft has made some other similar changes recently. For instance, in certain cases businesses will no longer have to pay for each device (PC, phone) that accesses a version of Windows running on a remote server. Instead, they'll just pay once for each user. The old Microsoft never would have done these things. When Windows ruled computing, Microsoft wrung as much money as it could from that business. But now that Windows faces competition from a bunch of different fronts, Microsoft has realized it has to change.
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This Brilliant Little Gadget Could Stop Your Office Job From Killing You | ||
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Years of working at a sedentary office job with long hours and stressful deadlines can take a pretty significant toll on your body. Sitting for more than eight hours per day, for example, can put you at a higher risk for muscular skeletal disease. Slouching all day can also lead to long term illness, including breathing problems. One startup, however, hopes its gadget will help combat some of the long term health problems that may plague 9-to-5 office workers. The $150 Prana, which launches at the end of January, is a tiny device you can clip to your clothing at your waistline. It alerts you when your posture is poor or when you're not breathing from your diaphragm. "One very common symptom is during times of stress, our breathing will switch from natural diaphragmic breathing in the belly to chest breathing," Andre Persidsky, CEO of Prana, told Business Insider. Diaphragmic breathing is important because if you only breathe from your chest, the lower portion of your lungs never get a full share of oxygenated air, according to a report from Harvard Medical School. This can make you feel anxious and short of breath. Here's a rendering of what the Prana looks like. It resembles a circular badge or button.
The accompanying app comes with a library of various breathing techniques that are catered to different goals. For example, if you want to feel more energized, you might try one technique, while another may be more ideal for helping you sleep better. Persidsky also said the app will come with a casual game aimed at helping you maintain control of your breath. You would control the "Flappy Bird"-like game, which consists of navigating a bird flying through a garden, with your breathing pattern while wearing the device. Here's what it looks like:
The Prana isn't the only wearable device to tackle the issues of posture and breathing properly, but it claims to be one of the first that can monitor both. The Lumo Lift, for example, is a similar clip-on gadget that help you fix your posture throughout the day. But it doesn't include comprehensive breathing exercises like the Prana does. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Tesla Has Been Getting Hammered | ||
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After recovering some momentum following a selloff in September, Tesla stock is once again getting clobbered. Investors regained confidence in CEO Elon Musk's electric-car startup following the debut of the Model D at a spectacular event in Los Angeles in early October. But since mid-November, the stock has been sliding. It closed on Monday at $214, down from a recent peak of $259, which it hit on Nov. 14.
Shares are now well below a trading-day high of $291, achieved on Sept. 4. Why the dip? Some of is probably due to noise around the company. There was a dustup over the specifics of Tesla's relationship with BMW. Both Daimler and Toyota, two former Tesla partners, decided to sell their stakes in the company. It's also unclear whether Tesla will meet its 2014 sales goals. Still, the stock is up over 1000% since Tesla's 2010 IPO.
NOW WATCH — Here's The Latest Airline With An Insanely Fancy Business Class
SEE ALSO: Here's What Could Really Be Going On With Tesla Sales Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Amazon Is Getting Sick Of The US Government Dragging Its Feet On Letting It Test Delivery Drones Outside | ||
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Amazon sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration warning that it would "have no choice" but to move more of its drone research outside the United States if it wasn't allowed to do more testing outside soon. Amazon is currently testing its delivery drones, which it hopes will eventually be able to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less, in the United Kingdom. In its letter, Amazon said that it would prefer to do more testing in the US. The company is unable to do so currently because the FAA restricts commercial testing outdoors until it releases its official rules for drone safety in the next few years. Amazon has currently been testing its delivery drones in its indoor labs and at Business Insider's recent Ignition conference, CEO Jeff Bezos described them as "truly remarkable." In its letter, the company reiterates its request, first filed nearly five months ago, that it be able to test its delivery drones on "private property in a rural area of Washington State, away from people or crowds" under the supervision of trained pilots and at low altitudes using geofencing. The FAA grants "experimental certificates" to allow certain tests, but it hasn't granted one to Amazon yet. The Wall Street Journal reports that the agency has been working with Amazon on an experimental certificate and is awaiting more information. In the letter, Amazon writes that the process for getting an experimental certificate is "unnecessarily onerous" and ill-suited to the fast-pace with which Amazon wants to move ahead with its testing. Amazon is fed up with waiting. The letter reads: Our continuing innovation through outdoor testing in the United States and, more generally, the competitiveness of the American small UAS industry, can no longer afford to wait. Amazon is increasingly concerned that, unless substantial progress is quickly made in opening up the skies in the United States, the nation is at risk of losing its position as the center of innovation for the UAS technological revolution, along with the key jobs and economic benefits that come as a result If Amazon can't start testing outside soon, it will start testing overseas. "Without the ability to test outdoors in the United States soon, we will have no choice but to divert even more of our [drone] research and development resources abroad," Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global public policy, writes. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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CHART OF THE DAY: YouTube's Revenue Is Catching Up With TV Networks | ||
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Speaking at Business Insider’s IGNITION Conference last week, IAC chairman Barry Diller predicted a major shakeup in the cable and satellite TV model within the next five to 10 years. And based on the data out there filed for us by BI Intelligence, it looks like digital streaming is already beginning to catch up to traditional TV networks, at least in terms of revenue. As you can see in this chart, YouTube’s annual ad revenue has been rapidly catching up to that of CBS, one of the biggest and most lucrative TV networks, and has more than twice as much revenue as AMC, which owns several popular shows including “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.” But CBS hopes to maintain and increase its lead over YouTube by embracing a new model: the company recently announced it’ll have a streaming subscription service available next year that’ll let you watch shows for a monthly fee, similar to Netflix.
SEE ALSO: Google’s Revenue Dwarfs All The Biggest Media Companies Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Meet Elevate, Apple's Pick For Best iPhone App Of The Year | ||
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Each year, Apple picks its favorite iPhone app to be crowned the "Best iPhone App of 2014." This year's winner is Elevate, an app designed to train your brain and increase your memory, focus, reading comprehension, and a host of other skills that are worth improving. Elevate sets out to accomplish this goal with 25 beautifully designed mini games meant to make training your cognitive skills a little bit more fun. With plenty of other brain training apps out there, this is probably where Elevate stands out the most. Each game features a polished design and plenty of attention to detail, but most importantly, Elevate strikes a good balance between challenging and fun, a vital requirement to get you to return for more training the next day. Elevate encourages you to complete at least three challenges a day. When you first open up the app, you're greeted with a little quiz that acts as a measurement so Elevate has a general idea of your intelligence. Once you're set up, you can dive right into your daily challenges, which will serve you up some mini games based on three areas you need to improve, such as focus, memory, and brevity.
If you're the kind of person who needs a nudge to remember to hit the mental gym, you can set up Elevate to remind you to train with a daily notification. Once you finish each challenge, you can see an updated breakdown of your progress for that particular skill, as well as a taste of what's to come. The more you train, the further you advance.
If you finish up your daily challenge early, you can always dive into any of Elevate's games directly. You won't have access to every game immediately unless you upgrade to the Pro version of Elevate — one month of Elevate Pro costs $4.99, or you can pay $44.99 for one year. But you can replay any game you've unlocked through your challenges, meaning the more days you complete your Elevate challenge, the more games you'll have access to. While that can be a tad annoying, it also keeps you coming back. It's hard to find any faults in Elevate, and it makes sense that Apple would choose it as its app of the year. Yes, there's plenty of games out there to increase your mental agility, but Elevate is probably the most professional and polished-looking of them all thanks to its incredible design. Elevate's games also fail to feel childish, yet they still maintain a good sense of fun while cleverly teaching your brain how to quickly and efficiently solve the next puzzle. If you're someone who has trouble remembering names or just want to keep your brain active, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better option. You can see a sample of Elevate's mini games in action in the video below, or head on over to the App Store to download. SEE ALSO: The Best iPhone Apps Of The Year, According To Apple Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Sony Hackers Post New Message Demanding Studio Pull 'The Interview' | ||
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In the latest development of the Sony cyber attack saga, hackers calling themselves Guardians of Peace (GOP) are warning the studio to stop "immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the war." In a message posted on GitHub, the group writes: We have already given our clear demand to the management team of SONY, however, they have refused to accept. It seems that you think everything will be well, if you find out the attacker, while no reacting to our demand. We are sending you our warning again. Do carry out our demand if you want to escape us. And, Stop immediately showing the movie of terrorism which can break the regional peace and cause the War! You, SONY & FBI, cannot find us. We are perfect as much. The destiny of SONY is totally up to the wise reaction & measure of SONY.
Sony and security consultants were investigating the possibility that someone acting on behalf of North Korea, possibly from China, was responsible, according to Reuters. A link to North Korea had not been confirmed but also had not been ruled out. A spokeswoman for Sony said they had no comment. An individual close to the studio said that they have received no demands, according to Variety. SEE ALSO: LEAKED: Hacked Sony Docs Reveal Top 17 Executives' Multimillion-Dollar Salaries MORE: 9 Crazy Details About The Unprecedented Sony Hack Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Microsoft's Brilliant Move To Make Money From Arch Rival Google (MSFT, GOOG) | ||
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On Monday, Google made a startling announcement: under a new partnership, Microsoft will let customers move their Windows apps to Google's cloud for free. It's as if Microsoft said, "Ok, Google, we'll share our customers with you." The program goes by the name of the Microsoft License Mobility. It basically says that if a Microsoft customer has a support contract, the customer can move certain Windows apps to a cloud with no extra cost. The software covered includes things like Microsoft's email server, Exchange; Microsoft's database, SQL Server; its videoconferencing and instant messaging server, Lync; its security software, Forefront; and a couple other things. It does not include the full Microsoft Office suite. This License Mobility program is used to encourage Microsoft customers to try Microsoft's own cloud, Azure. But under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has a new mantra: getting people to use Microsoft software any way they want. And some of them might want to use it in Google's cloud. Cloud computing, the ability to run software in someone else's data center accessed over the Internet, is turning the $3.7 trillion enterprise tech industry on its head. Companies don't want to buy and run tons of software and hardware when they can rent it all instead. There's a heated battle on between traditional enterprise vendors (Microsoft, IBM, SAP) and up-and-comers (Amazon, Google, Salesforce.com), to grab those customers. Recently, Gartner rated Microsoft as a close second to leader Amazon in the cloud market. But Microsoft COO Kevin Turner said that Microsoft really views Google as its biggest competitor in cloud, and market leader Amazon as half a big a threat. If you think about Microsoft Azure and Windows Server and the opportunity we have there, the way I like to think about this is you really have about 2.5 companies in all of technology from a multinational standpoint that have hyper scale cloud. Google certainly has a hyper scale cloud and I count Amazon as a half. And the reason I count them as a half is they’re not completely global at this point and they don’t have the functionality and redundancy. So you would think that Microsoft would run away from sharing its customers with Google in this way — or any way. Which is exactly why this is brilliant. Microsoft customers can use Google's cloud, but they still have to buy Microsoft software the old-fashioned (and expensive) way, by licensing it, in addition to the fees they pay Google to rent Google's software. Meanwhile, Google gets another foothold into that multi-trillion enterprise IT market. This is one of many let's-bury-the-hatchet-and-make-money partnerships Nadella has done with huge rivals. Others include partnerships with Salesforce.com and Oracle. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Best Places To See Holiday Lights, According To Pinterest | ||
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Now that the holiday season is underway, you may have noticed lights and decorations going up around your neighborhood. But if you'd like to experience the best of the best, Pinterest has come up with a list of the most over-the-top light displays around. From a Brooklyn neighborhood to a Belgian market, these lights are sure to put any visitor in the holiday spirit. "Zoo Lights" at the Houston Zoo features a glittering display of more than 200 million individual lights. There's a lit-up African forest and a snow globe you can walk inside. Source: Pinterest In Brussels, Belgium, there's a massive Christmas festival in the town square, complete with a Ferris wheel, ice rink, and markets. Source: Pinterest Homes in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn have some of the most impressive light displays you'll see anywhere. Source: Pinterest
See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Woman Nearly Has Her Face Destroyed By A TGI Friday's Mistletoe Drone | ||
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Imagine this: You're sitting in a booth in TGI Friday's, minding your own business, thinking about which appetizer to order, when a drone covered in mistletoe comes flying at your face. This is what happened to photojournalist Georgine Benvenuto last Thursday evening at a TGI Friday's in Brooklyn, New York. The drone, New York Magazine reported, is "part of a TGI Fridays promotion meant 'to help inspire more guests to come together underneath the mistletoe and experience #Togethermas this Christmas.'" Benvenuto told NYMag that she arrived at the TGI Friday's on assignment — she was to take photos of couples kissing underneath the promotional drone. She was joined by a few other writers. The man operating the drones (there were a few) was showing "Vanessa Ogle, the Brooklyn Daily reporter writing the story, that the drone could land easily on her hand." Here's what followed, in Benvenuto's words to NYMag: It kind of landed, but it did something to her hand--I don't know whether it was buzzing or what--but she flinched. And when she flinched, I was standing maybe a foot away from her, and this smaller toy drone for children flies into my face at that point. It was like I couldn’t get it off because I guess the mistletoe part had fishing wire on it--that’s how it was attached--and it got caught in my hair and it kept twirling and twirling and twirling while this thing is on my nose. That’s how it ended up cutting me under the chin, I think it had four blades. So immediately like I’m trying to get this thing off as if it was a huge bug trying to shoo it away. "If that would've hit me in my eye, I wouldn't be working tomorrow," she adds. "If this thing continued to spin, it would've taken my eye out without a doubt."
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Novel Inspired Elon Musk To Start SpaceX And Make Humans An 'Interplanetary' Species | ||
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SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a bookish billionaire — as we've reported before, he has a love of all things science fiction. On Monday, he tweeted about a favorite book that's helped clarify his galactic ambitions. "Reread Asimov's Foundation series," he said. "Brilliant." In interviews, Musk has said that "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov is "one of the best books" that he's ever read. The trilogy tells the story of an intergalactic empire that falls to pieces, with a dark age waiting on the other side. "Foundation" is a "futuristic version of Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,'" he told the Guardian, referencing the famous history that followed Rome from its breathtaking heights to the fall of Byzantium. From "Foundation," Musk learned that every civilization — including our own — will one day falter. "The lessons of history would suggest that civilizations move in cycles," Musk told the Guardian. "You can track that back quite far — the Babylonians, the Sumerians, followed by the Egyptians, the Romans, China. We're obviously in a very upward cycle right now and hopefully that remains the case. But it may not. There could be some series of events that cause that technology level to decline." And when that happens in our case — when humanity hits its own dark age — what's the best thing we can do to make sure it's as short as possible? By having the human race become, to use Musk's favored terminology, interplanetary. Thus the need for SpaceX, the privatized space exploration company that Musk started back when only nation-states were trying to launch rockets out of Earth's atmosphere. "Given that this is the first time in 4.5 billion years where it's been possible for humanity to extend life beyond Earth," he said, "it seems like we'd be wise to act while the window was open and not count on the fact it will be open a long time." SEE ALSO: 9 Decisions That Shaped Elon Musk's Extraordinary Career Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Amazon Has A Plan To Deliver Your Packages In Only One Hour If You Live In New York City (AMZN) | ||
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Amazon has been testing the idea of using bike messengers to help deliver packages within an hour in New York City, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. The program — called Amazon Prime Now — will let the company better compete with brick-and-mortar stores, as well other instant-delivery services like WunWun, Postmates, and Instacart. Uber also has its own bike delivery service in New York City, launched earlier this year. Amazon has reportedly been testing the service in Manhattan and is experimenting with different courier services by holding time trials between their messengers. During the trials, messengers are reportedly given an address. They have to bike to it, take a photo of the building, and make it back to Amazon's newly-leased building near the Empire State Building in the allotted time frame. Messengers reportedly get paid about $15 an hour for 8 hour shifts. The Wall Street Journal's Shelly Banjo and Greg Bensinger saw a stream of bike messengers deploying from the building, which their source says is equipped with a lounge with foosball, pool, air hockey, and an arcade for messengers to use between deliveries. Currently, Amazon offers its same-day delivery service in more than a dozen cities (as well as the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn), but Prime Now would be its first attempt to take on nearly instant delivery. If Amazon offered this service as another perk of Amazon Prime (its $99 yearly-membership program that offers free, two-day delivery on tons of items as well as free streaming on many movies, TV shows, and music), the company could potentially convince its customers to use Amazon to shop for things they usually wouldn't. Business Insider reached out to Amazon for comment. SEE ALSO: A Really Secure Way To Double-Check Just How Private Your Facebook Really Is Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Dutch adventurer reaches South Pole on tractor | ||
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Cape Town (AFP) - Dutch actress and adventurer Manon "Tractor Girl" Ossevoort arrived at the South Pole Tuesday after driving a tractor from Europe through Africa and across the frozen wastes of Antarctica. "It's quite emotional, I'm very happy," Ossevoort told AFP by satellite telephone shortly after arriving at the Pole and fulfilling a decade-long dream. "It feels quite magical really, to have made this happen and arrived here!" The ebullient new mother of a 10-month-old baby said the 16-day, 2,500 kilometre trip across the largest single mass of ice on earth from Russia's Novo base to the Pole had been tough. Driving the huge red Massey Ferguson tractor over the rugged, icy landscape at an average speed of about 10 kilometres an hour was "like rodeo riding". Ossevoort said the worst part of the trip was "the day that I was driving for hours and hours and couldn’t go faster than between 0.5 and five kilometres per hour". "I really was worried then that the expedition could come to a halt if conditions would get just a little bit worse." Now she has to do the return trip. It will be a race to make it home to Holland for Christmas but the "return journey to the base will be faster because the tracks of the tractor will be frozen up and it will be easier to drive." Ossevoort began her trip in 2005, taking four years to drive from her home village in Holland to Cape Town at the southern tip of Africa -- and then missed the boat that was due to take her to Antarctica for the final leg due to delays. Frustrated, the former theatre actress spent the next four years back in Holland, writing a book, working as a motivational speaker and desperately trying to get back on a tractor. With sponsorship from Massey-Ferguson and other companies, she finally made it. Ossevoort travelled alone through Africa, but in Antarctica the tractor needed to creep forward day and night, so French mechanic Nicolas Bachelet shared the driving. Asked whether this was the end of her crazy adventures on a tractor, Ossevoort's infectious laugh bubbled through the crackly satphone: "Yes. I think this is the best adventure on a tractor that one can come up with." She now plans to write a children's book and produce a movie of her journey.
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10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open | ||
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Good morning! Here are the major stories in markets that you need to know about today. Greece Is Gearing Up For An Early Presidential Election. On Monday, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced that Greece's presidential elections will be held on December 17, two months earlier than scheduled. If Greece's legislators can't elect a president, parliamentary elections will be triggered, which could usher in Syriza, the radical anti-austerity leftists leading Greek polls. Athens Also Got A Two Month Bailout Extension From Eurozone Ministers. Eurozone ministers on Monday approved a request from Greece for a two-month extension to its bailout programme that was set to end December 31, amid an ongoing budget row between Athens and its EU-IMF creditors German Imports Sank In October. Imports dropped 3.1% from September, compared to a 0.5% drop in exports, leaving a trade surplus of €20.6 billion, second only to July's record figure. Oil Crashed To A New Five Year Low. Benchmark Brent crude slipped to its lowest in five years on Tuesday, dropping below $66 a barrel after plunging more than 4% the day before on worries over a deepening supply glut. Petrobras Tanked Again Yesterday. Brazil's quasi-state oil company Petrobras got pounded, falling 6.2% in Monday's trading day. The stock is down 40% year-to-date. Asian Markets Slumped. Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.68%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently down 2.2%. Shanghai Stocks Are Selling Off Heavily. After weeks of rapid climbing, the Shanghai Composite index is currently down more than 5%, after hitting a new record high for trading volumes. Russia Has Started Sending Ukraine Gas Again. Ukraine's gas transport monopoly, Ukrtransgaz, said Russia had resumed gas flows to Ukraine on Tuesday after a six-month gap during a dispute over prices and unpaid debts. The Fed Might Drop Some Of Its Forward Guidance. Currently, the Federal Reserve states that rates will stay near zero for a "considerable time", language that Jon Hilsenrath believes may be dropped at their meeting next week, with the US economy recovering rapidly. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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US city of Portland sues Uber | ||
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Los Angeles (AFP) - The US city of Portland, Oregon, has sued ride-sharing startup Uber, saying it was operating illegally, officials said. The suit also asked the court to order the service to stop operating in Portland until it is in compliance with city rules. "Uber is subject to and in violation of the city of Portland's Private for Hire Transportation Regulations and Administrative Rules," the suit said. Uber is the most prominent of many new smartphone-dependent car services seen as bypassing strict regulations faced by licensed cab drivers. "Our main concern is public health and safety, because the state invested in the cities the responsibility to do that," Mayor Charlie Hales said. "Beyond that, though, is the issue of fairness. Taxi cab companies follow rules on public health and safety. So do hotels and restaurants and construction companies and scores of other service providers. Because everyone agrees: Good regulations make for a safer community. Uber disagrees, so we're seeking a court injunction." The company sought to play up widespread public support. "Uber has received a tremendously warm welcome from riders and drivers in and around Portland. We appreciate the way residents have welcomed Uber," said company spokeswoman Eva Behrend. She said that almost 7,000 Portland residents had signed the petition in support of Uber in just a few hours. Uber said last week that it had raised a fresh $1.2 billion in funding, giving the popular ride-sharing startup a reported value of some $40 billion. Founded in California in 2009, Uber is best known for its smartphone app that lets people who need a ride connect with local drivers. The app uses GPS to put the user in contact with the nearest driver. Uber charges a commission for each ride. Its fast expansion has riled taxi drivers in countries where it operates, since they often face significant rules and regulations, and attendant costs. Uber has also faced scrutiny following negative comments about the news media from a top executive and revelations that it offered a "God view" of customers that could allow spying. The company hired experts to conduct a privacy review.
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Australian energy firms hit by falling oil, commodity prices | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Shares in Australian energy companies were hammered Tuesday by plunging oil and commodity prices, with BHP hitting a five-year low and Santos at levels not seen for a decade. Oil and gas companies were among the biggest losers on Australia's benchmark Standard and Poor/ASX200 index as the energy sector shed 4.81 percent. It is down 22.24 percent over the past month. Oil prices have fallen to fresh five-year lows, battered by OPEC's decision last month to maintain its output levels despite a global supply glut. This weighed heavily on the Australian market, which ended 1.68 percent in the red. Santos, one of the nation's largest oil and gas producers, saw its shares sink another 7.23 percent. A credit rating downgrade by Standard and Poor's accelerated a dramatic slide that began on November 24 and has wiped Aus$4.7 billion (US$3.87 billion) off the company's market value. Despite the downgrade, Santos chief financial officer Andrew Seaton said the company's credit rating from Standard and Poor retained an investment grade. "Santos has a robust funding position, with approximately Aus$2.0 billion in cash and undrawn debt facilities available as at 30 November 2014," he said. IG Markets' chief strategist Chris Weston called the oil price volatility "staggering" and said the prospects of a rally anytime soon were low. "Santos has become the poster boy of the global energy space, given its highly committed CAPEX (capital expenditure) intentions," he said, referring to giant projects in Australia and Papua New Guinea. "Traders have taken an axe to the share price, courtesy of a downgrade from S&P that was always going to happen." Shares in Woodside Petroleum, which operates six of Australia's seven LNG processing plants, ended the day 2.85 percent lower. Origin Energy dropped 4.76 percent while Oil Search was down 7.13 percent. Companies sensitive to iron ore prices also took another hit, led by the world's biggest miner BHP Billiton. Its shares slumped 4.05 percent to Aus$28.88 -- a more-than five-year low. Weston said BHP, which also has exposure to oil, "looks awful on the monthly chart". "While I wouldn't generally look at this timeframe, you simply can't get away from the fact price action suggests we could feasibly see Aus$24 or even Aus$20 at some stage next year," he added. Fellow mining giant Rio Tinto was down 2.85 percent while Fortescue Metals ended 4.14 percent lower. Australia, the world's largest exporter of iron ore, is heavily dependent on China's hunger for resources and with the Chinese economy slowing many companies are hurting. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Cyberattacks to worsen in 2015: McAfee researchers | ||
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Washington (AFP) - A series of spectacular cyberattacks drew headlines this year, and the situation will only worsen in 2015 as hackers use more advanced techniques to infiltrate networks, security researchers said Tuesday. McAfee Labs' 2015 Threats Predictions report sees increased cyber-warfare and espionage, along with new strategies from hackers to hide their tracks and steal sensitive data. "Cyber espionage attacks will continue to increase in frequency," the report said. "Long-term players will become stealthier information gatherers, while newcomers will look for ways to steal money and disrupt their adversaries." McAfee said small nations and terror groups will become even more active and will "attack by launching crippling distributed denial of service attacks or using malware that wipes the master boot record to destroy their enemies' networks." At the same time, cybercriminals will use better methods to remain hidden on a victim's network, to carry out long-term theft of data without being detected, the researchers said. "In this way, criminals are beginning to look and act more like sophisticated nation-state cyberespionage actors, who watch and wait to gather intelligence," the report said. The report also said hackers are looking to target more connected devices, including computers in the farming, manufacturing, and health care sectors. "The number and variety of devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) family is growing exponentially. In the consumer space, they are now seen in appliances, automobiles, home automation, and even light bulbs," McAfee said. - Health care hacks - McAfee said it is already seeing hackers targeting devices such as webcams with weak security and industrial control systems. But it sees health care as an especially worrisome sector. "With the increasing proliferation of healthcare IoT devices and their use in hospitals, the threat of the loss of information contained on those devices becomes increasingly likely," the report said. It noted that health care data "is even more valuable than credit card data" on hacker black markets. McAfee says other threats will also grow, including "ransomware," which locks down data and forces the victim to pay a ransom to retrieve it, and attacks on mobile phone operating systems. In the retail sector, digital payments may cut the risk of credit-card skimmers, but hackers may be able to exploit wireless systems such as Bluetooth and near field communications (NFC) used for mobile payments. "With consumers now sending payment information over a protocol with known vulnerabilities, it is highly likely that attacks on this infrastructure will emerge in 2015," the report said. The report comes in the wake of news about large-scale cyberattacks that have been linked to Russia or China, and a major infiltration of Sony Pictures which stole massive amounts of data. In retail, Home Depot and others have reported data breaches affecting millions of customers. "The year 2014 will be remembered as the year of shaken trust," said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president at Intel-owned McAfee. "Restoring trust in 2015 will require stronger industry collaboration, new standards for a new threat landscape, and new security postures that shrink time-to-detection." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Qantas chief defends airline after three unscheduled landings | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce on Tuesday defended the airline after it was forced to divert or turn around three planes in one day, saying its record was better than most. Three Qantas flights made unscheduled landings on Monday, including an A380 that was put into a controlled descent and requested a priority landing in Perth after its air-conditioning system malfunctioned. Joyce said the reality was that "thousands upon thousands" of turn-backs happened to airlines each year and Qantas experienced far fewer than the industry as a whole. "We are very confident in Qantas' reliability," he told reporters in Brisbane. "We have really low levels of turn-backs compared to most of the world fleets." Joyce said on the Boeing 737, one of the planes involved in Monday's incidents, the industry average was one turn-back for every 9,000 sectors whereas for Qantas it was one turn-back for every 18,000 sectors travelled. The three incidents included a flight to Dallas that returned to Sydney late Monday after four hours in the air due to a technical issue that affected seat power, the in-flight entertainment system and some of the toilets. "While the aircraft could have continued flying safely to Dallas, the decision was made to return to Sydney in the interests of passenger comfort on what is a long flight," a Qantas statement said. The Sydney to Dallas route, among the world's longest non-stop commercial flights, typically takes around 15 hours. The aircraft was the second of Qantas' A380s to experience a problem on Monday. Another of the superjumbo passenger jets, flying from Dubai to Sydney, was diverted to Perth due to a fault with the cabin air system while over the Indian Ocean. As a precaution, the captain descended from 39,000 feet to 10,000 feet in just five minutes, and requested a priority landing in Perth before touching down safely. "It's standard procedure to descend quickly in these circumstances and at no stage was the safety of the aircraft or passengers at risk," Qantas' head of flying operations Mike Galvin said in another statement. The third incident involving the 737 saw a flight from the Western Australian capital Perth to the mining hub of Karratha turn back after an unusual odour was detected. Australian and International Pilots Association president Nathan Safe said he was confident the incidents were unrelated. "Generally, aeroplanes are built tough enough and with enough redundancies and all that kind of stuff that you do have some time to assess the situation," Safe told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The incidents came on the same day that the embattled airline announced it was on the way to an underlying half-year profit of up to Aus$350 million (US$289 million) after a major shake-up to stem losses that has seen thousands made jobless. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now | ||
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1. A World Health Organisation report released Tuesday shows that malaria deaths dropped by 47% worldwide compared with 2000, but contains a warning that Ebola could worsen in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. 2. Hong Kong authorities are preparing to clear the city's main pro-democracy protest next to government headquarters, following a court order requested by a local bus company. 3. NASA's Curiosity rover has found stronger evidence that Mars once supported life more than three billion years ago after the six-wheeled robot observed sedimentary deposits that suggest Gale Crater once held lakes, streams, and deltas. 4. Brent crude fell to its lowest in five years on Tuesday, slipping below $66 a barrel on fears of oversupply. 5. Human rights group Amnesty International accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes against the people of Gaza during a nearly two-month war this summer. 6. The International Olympic Committee on Monday approved the largest reforms package in decades, that, among some of the most significant changes, calls for the launch of a TV channel and would allow the Games to be hosted by two countries in extreme circumstances. 7. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Monday called a snap presidential election, pushing the vote forward by two months to Dec. 17 in a move to “prevent the opposition from undermining Greece’s economy," a government spokesman said. 8. Many former Sony Pictures employees are furious with the studio for not offering enough protection after more than 40,000 Social Security numbers, as well as other confidential documents, were leaked online following a massive hack. 9. Apple has named the best iPhone apps of the year, with Elevate, an app designed to train your brain and increase your memory, taking the top spot. And finally ... General Mills is bringing back French Toast Crunch, a sugary corn cereal that was pulled from US supermarket shelves in 2006, but remained on sale in Canada. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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US superstar welcome for British royals at NBA game | ||
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New York (AFP) - America's finest talent gave the warmest of welcomes to Britain's Prince William and wife Kate late Monday, dazzling them at their first NBA game featuring basketball legend LeBron James. Rapper Jay-Z and superstar wife Beyonce chatted to the royals during an interval, and James treated them to a breathtaking display of brilliance as he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their seventh win in a row at the Barclays Center. The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and double Olympian, met the royal couple at the end of the match, giving them a Cavaliers shirt marked Cambridge and another for their one-year-old son Prince George. Nicknamed "King James" and a player who overcome a tough upbringing to become one of America's greatest sporting legends, said before the match it would be a "huge honor" to play before royalty. His team the Cavaliers dispatched the Brooklyn Nets 110-88 in a lackluster performance by the home team avidly supported by Jay-Z. Five months pregnant with her second child, the Duchess of Cambridge covered her baby bump in a grey coat by billionaire New York designer Tory Burch and wore her auburn hair gently waved. The couple sat courtside for the final two quarters of the match, were repeatedly offered refreshments by waiters and flashed up on the stadium camera as the MC called on the crowd to give them a warm Brooklyn welcome. William, dressed in a checked shirt, blushed and then waved as Kate smiled sweetly at her husband. - Courtside with Jay-Z and Beyonce - Jay-Z and Beyonce, dubbed Broolyn royalty by many, sat opposite them on the other side of the court. The US music A-listers walked over to say hello and chat for several minutes to the royal couple to deafening cheers from the crowd. Outside, protests demanding justice for black men killed by white police officers continued for a sixth straight night. Dozens staged a spirited demonstration, shouting "how do you spell racist, NYPD" and carried placards, hoping to attract royal attention and the bevy of TV crews parked outside. James and other NBA players wore "I can't breathe" T-shirts as they warmed up before the game in tribute to the protest movement. It was a starstruck end to a packed day that saw William laugh and joke with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office before the couple met widely tipped 2016 presidential contender Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea in New York. The royal couple's lightning three-day visit, their first to America's biggest city is a mix of diplomacy, supporting their favorite causes and promoting British business. Second in line to the throne after his father Prince Charles, William is increasingly taking on more long-haul work for the British monarchy as Queen Elizabeth II approaches her nineties. He sought Obama's support for his campaign to end illegal wildlife trafficking and the president, reportedly an ardent admirer of William's grandmother, appeared only too happy to oblige. - 'You forgot to ask?' - William spoke to Obama about welcoming his second child with Kate next year, joking that during all the excitement of George's birth, he didn't realize whether it was a boy or girl. "You forgot to ask?" laughed Obama. William continued his first visit to Washington DC with a speech at the World Bank, saying annual profits of $20 billion from illegal wildlife trade funds organized crime and armed groups. "Cooperation is our greatest weapon against the poachers and traffickers," said William. "By taking a truly international approach, we can get one step ahead of them." Left in New York, Kate spent an hour at a child development center, wrapping a Christmas present and helping three and four-year-olds do art and crafts. - Princess from 'Frozen' - Dressed in a $1,000 black coat by British label Goat, she waved to well-wishers who braved the freezing cold at the Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem. "They thought she was the princess from Frozen," said Rose Ann Harris, an administrator, referring to the wildly popular Hollywood animation as the duchess said goodbye to children. A New York ambulance was dispatched to accompany her, reportedly as a precaution for her pregnancy. The couple, who are in the United States without their son, are expected to fly home as soon as their last function concludes on Tuesday night. They are staying at the Carlyle Hotel, where William's mother Diana used to stay. Their arrival has drawn comparisons with the 1985 visit made by Charles and Diana, when the princess dazzled Americans by dancing with US president Ronald Reagan and Hollywood star John Travolta. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Sony Hackers Expose Celebrity Aliases For Natalie Portman, Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig, And More | ||
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Natalie Portman, Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig, and other A-list (and B-list) stars are the latest to feel the effects of Sony's hackers. In new documents obtained by Fusion, actors' aliases they used to protect themselves while working on Sony projects have been revealed to the public. The documents were leaked by the "Guardians of Peace" hacker group, which earlier today posted a message online demanding that Sony pull "The Interview," a James Franco and Seth Rogen comedy about about two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Ahead of the film's December 25th release, Sony has experienced a series of scary cyber attacks. Check out some of the fake names used by actors below revealed in the latest leak (via Fusion): Tom Hanks: goes by “Harry Lauder” and “Johnny Madrid” (the former of which was the name of a famous Scottish comedian, and the latter of which may be a reference to a character on Lancer, a 1960s Western series) Tobey Maguire: goes by “Neil Deep” Natalie Portman: goes by “Lauren Brown” Clive Owen: goes by “Robert Fenton” (his wife’s name is Sarah-Jane Fenton) Rob Schneider: goes by “Nazzo Good” (not so good – get it?) Jude Law: goes by “Mr. Perry” Daniel Craig: goes by “Olwen Williams” (an homage to his grandfather, Olwyn Williams) Jessica Alba: goes by “Cash Money” On Monday, Sony CEO Michael Lynton sent a company-wide memo to staff on Monday assuring the studio is doing everything it can to protect employees after a series of cyber attacks that revealed their personal information, including Social Security Numbers and addresses. Lynton, whose $3 million salary was revealed in one of the leaks by hackers, promises staffers the FBI "have dedicated their senior staff to this global investigation" and that "recognized experts are working on this matter and looking out for our security." SEE ALSO: Here's The Internal Security Memo The Sony CEO Just Sent Worried Staffers MORE: Sony Hackers Post New Message Demanding Studio Pull 'The Interview' Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Honda expanding airbag recall, could help Takata: report | ||
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Tokyo (AFP) - Honda will expand its recall of cars fitted with Takata airbags worldwide, covering a total of 13 million vehicles, and could help the parts maker if it has financial difficulty, a report said Tuesday. The automaker plans to widen its "investigative" recall to the entire world to determine what is wrong with airbags made by Takata, the Nikkei quoted Honda president Takanobu Ito as saying. "If the same problem exists, we want to respond in the same way everywhere," Ito said in a recent interview with Japan's leading business paper, adding Honda cannot depend on Takata to find the cause. Millions of vehicles produced by some of the world's biggest automakers, including Honda, Toyota and General Motors, have already been recalled due to the risk their airbags could deploy with excessive explosive power, spraying potentially-fatal shrapnel. Ito indicated that the automaker will step in should Takata find itself in financial trouble. "If no one else helps, we will have to do something," he reportedly said, noting that a business failure could result in an exodus of talent. "If Takata becomes unable to supply air bags, not just Honda but all automakers will be in trouble. We will ensure Takata can keep supplying" them, Ito said. Honda is Takata's biggest customer and also a shareholder. It held 1.2 percent of Takata's outstanding stock as of September 30. Takata shares surged 7.8 percent at one point in the morning before easing to sit 0.38 percent higher at 1,308 yen by midday. Honda was down 0.34 percent at 3,717.0 yen. The expansion of Honda's recall would bring the total number of its automobiles affected to 13 million, the Nikkei said. Honda has recalled or is recalling more than nine million automobiles in the United States alone. The Nikkei said Honda's planned expansion will increase the number of affected vehicles by one million in China, Japan and elsewhere. The bulk of the recalls are in the United States as defective airbags were mostly made in Mexico. In the auto industry as a whole, an estimated 20 million vehicles are affected by possibly defective Takata airbags, the Nikkei said. Honda was accused of failing to report 1,729 accidents in the United States over the past decade or so. "We sometimes fall into the illusion that we are doing our job correctly if profits are growing," Ito told the Nikkei. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Young Ted Cruz Found A Very Conservative Reason To Oppose A Ban On Beer Kegs At His College | ||
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President Barack Obama isn't the first executive who faced the wrath of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cruz's first effort to battle what he saw as an abuse of presidential power came during his college days and it involved his anger over a ban on beer kegs. In 1991, while he was a student at Princeton, Cruz wrote a scathing op-ed slamming the school's president for allegedly attempting to run the university by "personal edict." It's similar to the approach Cruz, who is widely expected to run for president in 2016, employed last month after President Barack Obama issued executive orders that will shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Cruz has responded to Obama's immigration actions by leading a group of Republicans who are threatening a government shutdown over what he has described as "executive amnesty." He also penned an op-ed for Politico criticizing Obama's actions as an undemocratic "presidential temper tantrum." "If he acts by executive diktat, President Obama will not be acting as a president, he will be acting as a monarch," Cruz wrote. Cruz's first op ed raging against an alleged abuse of executive power was published in October took in the pages of the Daily Princetonian. In it, Cruz, who was a member of the class of 1992 and the student government's U-Council, took Princeton President Harold Shapiro to task for allegedly failing to seek input from the community when he made controversial decisions to confer an honorary degree on President George H.W. Bush and to ban beer kegs from the campus. "'Don't get excited,' admonished President Harold T. Shapiro in Monday's meeting of the U-Council," began Cruz. "Concerns over the procedure followed in instituting the 'keg ban' were irrelevant to the discussion, as were inquiries as to the exclusion of student and faculty input on the awarding of Bush's honorary degree." Cruz, who, as an adult, served in the administration of Bush's son, President George W. Bush, noted he did not oppose the decision to confer the degree. However, he argued Shapiro "circumvented" a "lengthy discussion" process typically involved in the decision to award honorary degrees. "While I personally agree with Bush's receiving a diploma, Shapiro's actions blatantly violated the spirit of the honorary degree process," Cruz wrote in his op ed. Cruz concluded by urging other members of the Princeton community to get fired up about Shapiro's conduct. "'Don't get excited,' Shapiro says. He's the President, and his edicts should be law. Yet that is not the way one responsibly runs a university," wrote Cruz. "There are many established procedures and elected bodies which exist precisely to make decisions affecting the entire community. When Shapiro ignores them it doesn't excite him — but it should excite us." Cruz clearly knew how to argue in person as well as in the pages of the school newspaper. In addition to his work in student government, Cruz was a star debater who, along with his friend David Panton was part of the country's top ranked team in 1992. He and his fellow debate team members taught classes on public speaking for their fellow students. They also sometimes competed against each other, though it seems they didn't exactly enjoy the experience. In an October 1991 article in the Daily Princetonian, a student named Adam Erlich was quoted describing the experience of defeating Cruz and Panton in the finals of the University of Pennsylvania debate tournament. "Beating Ted and Dave was like eating lead paint. It was sweet in the mouth but poisonous in the bloodstream," Erlich said. "What I mean is that the thrill of victory was mine but I also suffered the agony of defeat having beaten a Princeton team in the process." SEE ALSO: Ted Cruz Was 25 Years Ahead Of His Time On Fighting Campus Rape Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Warner gives Aussies quick start in emotional Test | ||
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Adelaide (Australia) (AFP) - David Warner put his grief over the death of close friend Phillip Hughes aside to give Australia a flying start in the emotional opening Adelaide Test against India on Tuesday. Warner, who was among the first players to come to Hughes' aid when he was fatally struck by a bouncer in a domestic game last month, cracked his first ball for four on the way to reaching his 14th Test half-century off just 45 balls. After moving tributes to Hughes, Australia, who won the toss, reached lunch at 113 for the loss of Chris Rogers and Shane Watson, with Warner on 77 off 73 balls and skipper Michael Clarke not out nine. Warner was at his pugnacious best, plundering 37 runs off his first 20 balls and giving Australia a positive start against the sobering backdrop of the Hughes tragedy. There was a poignant moment when Warner looked to the heavens upon reaching 63 -- Hughes' score when he was felled -- and the crowd responded with sustained applause. Clarke was also given a huge ovation as he came to the wicket, an acknowledgement of his leading role in the days after Hughes' death, in which he read a tribute at the funeral and was one of the pallbearers. Rogers was dismissed in the eighth over for a pedestrian nine off 22 balls when Ishant Sharma coaxed an edge to Shikhar Dhawan at second slip. Watson followed in the 19th over, giving Dhawan his second catch in the slips off Varun Aaron and making way for Clarke to come to the wicket. Pacemen Mohammed Shami and Aaron proved expensive early before Sharma steadied things with a maiden in his opening over. Skipper Virat Kohli introduced Test debutant leg-spinner Karn Sharma in the 18th over to take the attack to the Australians. There were tributes to Hughes before the game got underway with players and fans standing and applauding in unison for a symbolic 63 seconds. The Australian and Indian teams, both sporting black arm bands, lined up in respect for the well-liked batsman. Prominent broadcaster and former Australia captain Richie Benaud also narrated an emotional video shown on the ground's big screen, finishing with the words: "Forever, rest in peace, son." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Prince William And Kate Got A Very American Welcome At NBA Game | ||
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Prince William and Kate took time during their 3-day trip to New York to attend an NBA game in Brooklyn between the Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The couple arrived in the first half but did not reach their courtside seats until the third quarter where they were sitting next to NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo.
Shortly thereafter, the royal couple received the most American of welcomes as they were introduced on the scoreboard for the audience. William seemed to enjoy the moment, waving to the camera.
Here is the moment as it was seen in the arena and broadcast on the YES Network.
Of course, this is Brooklyn, so William and Kate weren't the only royalty in the house. They had a great view of LeBron "King" James.
Jay Z and Beyonce were also sitting nearby.
Sure enough, during one of the game's timeouts, Jay Z and Beyonce were led over to the royal couple for a brief introduction. Royalty meets royalty.
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GOLDMAN: Here Are The 10 Big Market Stories To Watch In 2015 | ||
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At the beginning of the year, not many predicted the stock market would blast to new highs like they did. Almost no one predicted interest rates would stay this low. And few would've guessed oil prices would rally and crash the way they did. Looking forward, the analysts at Goldman Sachs have been rolling out their 2015 forecasts through a series of notes. They've already offered their top eight trades for the year while forecasting that the S&P 500 would climb modestly to 2,100. All of their forecasts fit in the context of their "Top Ten Market Themes For 2015." In a new 23-page report, analysts led by Dominic Wilson predict there will continue to be divergences in central bank policy as the Fed remains likely to raise rates next year while central banks in Japan and Europe loosen policy to stimulate their economies. Major asset classes will see low returns next year, and currency hedging will become an increasingly important component of investing. We pulled some nuggets from Goldman's report. 1. A broadening recovery The US will lead the global economic recovery, while growth in developing markets will be boosted by low oil and commodity prices. "We also have more confidence in our view that the US expansion has several years to run and in the resilience of the US economy to weak overseas demand," the analysts wrote. Source: Goldman Sachs 2. Developed market divergence lives on The disparity between both growth and monetary policy around the developed world will continue into next year, with the Fed likely to begin raising rates while the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan keep easing. The analysts wrote: "This divergence has both an absolute and a relative dimension. In absolute terms, within DM economies, the continuation of softer growth and lower inflation in much of the non-US DM world will continue to keep the US yield structure lower than it would otherwise be. That force is likely to be less intense than it was in 2014, when Bund yields have helped to drag UST yields lower. But it is one reason to be confident that the rise in US yields will continue to be relatively moderate. On a relative basis, we think there is still scope for front-end rate differentials between the US and many others to widen further, which is a key driver of our view of a stronger USD." Source: Goldman Sachs 3. The new oil order Lower oil prices (a 5% - 15% deflation) will linger and provide a boost for consumers' disposable income. But this may be a headwind for energy stocks, and commodities like copper and aluminum that use oil in their production. "The disinflationary impulse from lower commodity prices sweeping across the world is likely to be manifested first in lower headline inflation rates," the analysts explained. "But, by boosting disposable income, there is also likely to be a positive impact on GDP growth in EM and DM oil importers that should become visible as the year progresses." Source: Goldman Sachs See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Amnesty International accuses Israel of war crimes | ||
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London (AFP) - The Israeli military committed war crimes during its Gaza offensive this summer and must be investigated, human rights monitor Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The destruction of four multi-story buildings during the last four days of the 50-day war were in breach of international humanitarian law, the group said in a report. "All the evidence we have shows this large-scale destruction was carried out deliberately and with no military justification," said Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa programme. "War crimes must be independently and impartially investigated and those responsible should be brought to justice in fair trials." Evidence including statements by the Israeli military at the time indicate the attacks were "a collective punishment against the people of Gaza" designed to destroy their livelihoods, Luther added. There was no immediate reaction to the Amnesty statement from Israeli authorities. However, Jerusalem has refused to cooperate with a United Nations inquiry into possible war crimes during the conflict, accusing it of bias. The Israeli army has launched a series of criminal investigations into incidents in the war, including the shelling of a UN school that medics said killed at least 15 people and the bombing of a beach where four children died. Critics, however, have said that the investigations by Israel will not be independent. More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the war between Israel and Hamas-led militants, which ended on August 26. On the Israeli side 73 people were killed, 67 of them soldiers.
- Militant facilities -
One of the landmark buildings destroyed was the Municipal Commercial Centre in Rafah, which contained a shopping mall, a medical clinic and offices, and provided livelihoods for hundreds of families, the Amnesty International report said. Residents of the buildings about to be destroyed were warned to leave by the Israeli military, but that they did not have time to salvage important belongings, it added. Scores of people from nearby buildings were injured, and hundreds lost their homes, according to the rights group. Israeli authorities had said that one building housed a command centre of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, and that another had "facilities linked to Palestinian militants", according to the report. However, Luther said the military still "had an obligation to choose means and methods of attack that would minimise harm to civilians and their property". "The Israeli army have previously conducted air strikes on specific apartments in high-rise buildings without their complete destruction," he added. The rights group said it had sent its findings about the air strikes to Israeli authorities with questions about why each attack was carried out, but had not received an adequate response. The report called for Amnesty International and other rights groups to be allowed access to Gaza and for the UN inquiry to be allowed "to conduct its investigation without hindrance". Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Poignant goodbye to Aussie batsman Hughes before first Test | ||
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Adelaide (Australia) (AFP) - Players and fans stood and applauded in unison for a symbolic 63 seconds as cricket paid a moving tribute to the life of Phillip Hughes at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. The Australian and Indian teams, both sporting black arm bands, lined up before the start of the first Test in respect for the well-liked batsman, who tragically died after being struck by a short-pitched ball late last month. Hughes' smiling face, wearing his baggy green cap, appeared everywhere, including on a moving video tribute watched intently by both sides before the game got under way. Prominent broadcaster and former Australia captain Richie Benaud narrated the emotional clip shown on the ground's big screen, finishing with a poignant "forever, rest in peace, son." Under blue skies, his friends and colleagues said goodbye to a man whose death struck a nerve globally, triggering an outpouring of grief throughout Australia and the cricketing world. Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who was shattered by the death of his close friend, said after winning the toss: "What I know my little buddy (Hughes) would want is going out and playing cricket." The Adelaide Oval crowd, some wiping tears from their eyes, warmly applauded Clarke's sentiments in recognition of the leading role he has played in the grieving process, during which he comforted Hughes' family, delivered a tribute at his funeral and acted as a pallbearer.
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Many of those flocking to the match stopped at a makeshift memorial outside the ground, adorned with flowers and loving cards, numerous cricket bats lined up in a row. India captain Virat Kohli was also close to Hughes and said: "I knew Phillip, he was one of the guys I spoke to more than most. He asked for my bat in a home game in Jaipur and I wish I'd given it to him." The Australian players wore Hughes's Test cap number 408 on their shirts for the match and both teams stood in reflection before a large 408 painted on the oval's playing surface. Following the video tribute the teams and spectators stood and applauded for 63 seconds in recognition of Hughes's final unbeaten score while batting for South Australia against New South Wales when he was hit by the ball and collapsed. The rescheduled Adelaide Test comes just days after the players gathered for his heart-wrenching funeral at his home town of Macksville in northern New South Wales. The popular 25-year-old died on November 27 from bleeding on the brain, two days after being knocked unconscious by a bouncer in Sydney. His freakish death stunned Australia, where cricket is considered the national game, and prompted a rescheduling of the India series with Adelaide becoming the first Test ahead of the traditional series opener in Brisbane. Fans around the world have also placed bats outside their front doors as a mark of respect. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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General Mills Just Resurrected A Cereal Consumers Have Been Begging To Get Back | ||
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General Mills is bringing back a "crunch" iteration people have been clamoring for: French Toast Crunch — according to a company press release. It originally appeared on shelves in 1995 and was pulled in 2006. The company says they're doing this because customers have been begging them for it. And certainly, many have been. But there's a larger story to tell here — the decline of cereal sales. As the AP reports, cereal sales have been having a rough go of it lately, with Greek yogurt and breakfast sandwiches gaining more favor with consumers. General Mills actually cut it's sales and profit outlook for the year recently. The AP says they blamed it on persistent sales weakness in the food industry. This isn't the only change General Mills has been making lately. As the AP notes, they recently boosted the cinnamon taste in Cinnamon Toast Crunch, started making Cheerios without genetically modified ingredients, and released a new added protein version of Cheerios.
This is not to say French Toast Crunch isn't popular, because indeed, it's something consumers love. This is the Facebook page with nearly 9,000 followers dedicated solely to the purpose of bringing the cereal back. Guess how they feel today?
SEE ALSO: What You Should Buy (And Avoid) At Trader Joe's Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Whistleblower makes claims over Qatari African payments | ||
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PARIS (AFP) - The Qatari team for the controversial winning bid to host the 2022 World Cup offered large sums of money to senior African football figures for their respective federations, claims former communications director Phaedra Almajid. Almajid, who gave evidence under condition of anonymity to the FIFA inquiry into the corruption allegations surrounding the 2018 and 2022 bid races led by American former federal prosecutor Michael Garcia, only to be controversially outed by FIFA's ethics chief Hans-Joachim Eckert, told weekly football magazine France Football she had been present when offers were made. However, she did not witness money changing hands. She said one meeting took place in the suite of a hotel in the Angolan capital Luanda in January 2010 during the African Football Confederation (CAF) congress ahead of the continental football showpiece, the Africa Cup of Nations. She recounted to France Football that somebody in the room said "how delighted they (the Qataris) were that a high ranking African football director was present in the room and they wished to benefit his federation to the tune of a million dollars (810,000 euros)." "This man (the African football director) replied without looking at the Qatari: 'Ah, a million dollars... Why not a million-and-a-half dollars'," said Almajid, who lost her job in 2010. "And the Qatari, he said he hoped he could count on his support. The fellow assured him that was the case. And that was that," said Almajid. She said the same scene occurred with two other highly-placed African football personalities -- although she did not identify any of them. Almajid, who said last month she will have to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder and had been offered protection by the FBI after threats to her and her children, was scathing over Eckert identifying her in his summary of Garcia's report, in which he ruled out a revote for either the 2018 -- to be hosted by Russia -- or the 2022 finals. "Eckert and FIFA were not loyal towards me," she told the magazine. "(Eckert) threw me to the lions in identifying me in the report." Controversy has stalked the 2022 World Cup ever since Qatar stunned their rivals in winning the right to host the finals. Even the presentation of the final report by former federal prosecutor Garcia is shrouded in doubt as the American said FIFA had misrepresented his findings. Eckert's summary of Garcia's 18-month investigation cleared Russia and Qatar to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively and ruled out a re-vote for the tournaments despite widespread allegations of wrongdoing. But in an extraordinary development, Garcia said he would appeal against the findings in Eckert's summary as they contained "numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions" detailed in his report -- which has not been made public. FIFA have also lodged a criminal complaint with Swiss authorities over "possible misconduct" by individuals connected to the bids. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Philippine storm kills 27, but no damage to Manila | ||
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Manila (AFP) - The death toll from a giant storm crossing the Philippines rose to 27 on Tuesday, the Red Cross said, but there was widespread relief after it brushed the capital without causing major damage. Most of the people killed were on the far eastern island of Samar, where Hagupit initially made landfall as a typhoon on the weekend with winds of 210 kilometres (130 miles) an hour. Hagupit then weakened while moving slowly west, passing close to the capital Manila on Monday night and Tuesday morning without dumping forecast heavy rain. Tens of thousands of people, mostly the city's poorest residents who live in shanty homes along the coast and riverbanks, spent the night in evacuation centres to wait out the storm. They returned to their homes on Monday in drizzly weather after only moderate rain and no major flooding throughout the night. Philippine Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon told AFP on Tuesday the number of people confirmed killed so far was 27, although he expected that number to rise with full assessments from Samar and other areas yet to be done. Hagupit was downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression on Tuesday, as it passed over the far western islands of the Southeast Asian archipelago and approached the South China Sea. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Malaria deaths halved since 2000, Ebola risks gains: WHO | ||
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Geneva (AFP) - The number of people dying from malaria has almost halved since 2000, although progress in west Africa risks being reversed by the Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The UN agency also warned of major gaps in access to mosquito nets and anti-malaria treatments, as well as the worrying emergence of resistance to the most commonly used insecticides. Worldwide, malaria deaths were down 47 percent between 2000 and 2013 and decreased 53 percent in children under the age of five, the WHO said in its annual report on the disease. In sub-Saharan Africa, where 90 percent of all malaria deaths occur, the mortality rate decreased by 54 percent -- 58 percent in under fives, the equivalent of about 3.9 million children's deaths averted. The number of infections in the region at any one time fell 26 percent during the same 13-year period. Meanwhile 13 of the 97 malarial countries reported no cases of the disease last year, including two, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka, which recorded their first ever zero result. "These are truly unprecedented results and phenomenal news in terms of global health," said Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO's global malaria programme. He attributed the progress in large part to increasing financial and political commitment, in particular regional efforts to work together to eliminate malaria. However, despite a threefold increase in investment since 2005, malaria programmes are still underfunded -- $2.7 billion (2.2 billion euros) in 2013 against a $5.1 billion international target. And as a result, major gaps remain. While access to insecticide-treated bed nets has improved, 278 million of the 840 million people at risk in sub-Saharan Africa still live in households without one. As many as 15 million pregnant women do not receive any preventative treatment, while 437,000 African children are still dying from the disease each year.
- Ebola threatens gains -
Any gains can be fragile. In Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, the Ebola outbreak has halted malaria programmes in some areas and put huge strain on health services. "The collapse of health systems has affected all core malaria interventions and is threatening to reverse recent gains," said WHO director-general Margaret Chan. Health workers had been increasingly using simple tests to diagnose malaria on the spot, to better target treatments. But these have been suspended in Ebola areas. Many people with malaria are also staying away from clinics, and if "they are not getting treated, you can be sure that mortality is going to increase", said Richard Cibulskis, lead author of the malaria report. The total death toll from malaria across the three countries was expected to be about 20,000 a year before the outbreak. Cibulskis would not predict a figure now. More than 6,100 people have died from Ebola in the region in the past year. Aside from the direct consequences, the resurgence of malaria could also harm the fight against Ebola because the two have similar symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose the deadly virus, the WHO has said. UNICEF last week launched a campaign to provide anti-malarial drugs to 2.4 million people in Sierra Leone, while global aid agency Doctors Without Borders is conducting a smaller scale effort in Liberia. Another issue threatening progress on malaria across the world is the rise of insecticide resistance, which has been reported in 49 countries since 2010 -- 39 of which reported resistance to two or more insecticide classes. "Emerging drug- and insecticide-resistance continues to pose a major threat, and if left unaddressed, could trigger an upsurge in deaths," Chan said. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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