Dassault's Deal With India Was Important

Amid some controversy, India took to the news with a June announcement of the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation. It was an important move for the nation, which counts China and Pakistan as border ‘mates’.

On AMC's 'Humans,' Wrong Approach to Robots May Be Just What Real Humans Need

Meet The Latino Entrepreneur Who Aims To Transform A Trillion Dollar Market

A few years ago, Edrizio De La Cruz had a great idea: a better way for émigrés to send money back home by reducing the friction caused by middlemen (the incumbent service providers). The idea catapulted the Dominican Republic-born Wharton grad into the higher echelons of the startup world, landing him onstage at Demo Day for Y-Combinator's class of 2013. He then secured $3 million in funding, which -- as my good friend Tiq Chapa at the Stanford Latino Entrepreneur Initiative has said-- is one of the few real VC scores for Latino entrepreneurs "east of the Mississippi." Regalii, his company, is based in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, one of the largest hubs in the world for Dominican émigrés.

'Beast Quest' Video-Game Adds Enemies And Playable Female Character

Beast Quest adds Elenna as a playable character, along with a new land of Epos to defeat.

Formula E To Add Two New Races In 2016

Formula E, the electric auto racing series which today hosts its season-ender in London, has revealed that it will add two new races in its second year write Kate Hewitt and Christian Sylt.

Print-My-Ride: The World Is Going Towards 3D Printing Like Never Before

The world of 3D printing is growing at such a pace, I just can't stop blabbing about it.

Google Fights Microsoft With New Android Branding

Along with a tweak in the application design guidelines, Google has updated its own applications for Android with a subtle graphical tweak to remind users just who the driving force behind the ecosystem actually is. Not only are splash screens now an acceptable part of Android design, Google is making immediate use of them in a defensive move against other cloud providers such as Microsoft.

Apple's iPhone 7 Secret Camera Project Revealed

Big changes could come sooner than we thought.

Galaxy Note 5 Images Leak, Will Anger Users

The worst fears of Galaxy Note owners is about to come true...

Smaller Companies Advancing On-Line Storage

Small storage companies are creating new ways to store data and provide services that leverage existing hardware investments, provide novel hybrid cloud storage options and advance the development of open source hardware and software. These companies offer novel approaches to solving our storage needs and create new investment opportunities and advanced product services.

Does Batman Kill In 'Arkham Knight'?

Video

Let's get one essential piece of lore out of the way. Batman, in his classical conception, does not kill people. That's his thing. He's a puncher, not a shooter. It's an essential part of his character, and one that's easy to respect in comics, movies, TV shows and the like.

Taylor Swift - The Celebrity 100

Earth-Moon Combination Is Likely Very Rare, Study Confirms

Some 4.53 billion years ago --- roughly 300 million years into the history of our early solar system --- a Mars-sized planetary impactor slammed our young planet virtually head on. The collision cast dust and debris and a sizeable portion of our mantle and crust into Earth orbit and eventually coalesced into our Moon. But what are the odds that such an event would compositionally resemble our present-day Earth-Moon system?

At The Intersection Of Individualized Insights & Brick-and-Mortar

I love great customer service, and I love receiving relevant email offers that I’m interesting in engaging with. But a terrible experience with a brand will turn me off for a long time. Here’s the thing: I expect a great experience with every brand I interact with. Is this an unrealistic expectation? I don’t think so, and I don’t think I’m alone. In an era where every brand has the ability to provide a desirable customer experience, it’s a mystery why so many fail to do so. Whether I’m in a store, or shopping online – or, as I’ll get into below, doing both at one – I expect a relevant, friendly, and helpful experience.

Leaderboards Not Working In 'Batman: Arkham Knight' On PS4

It might be nowhere near as big a problem as the crippling bugs and framerate issues that rendered the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight so broken that WB chose to suspend sales, but it appears that the PS4 version of the game is having some trouble of its own. People all across the Internet are reporting that they aren't able to connect to the leaderboards for the game, instead receiving a simple: "A connection to PlayStation™Network cannot be established. Gameplay will continue without Leaderboard access until a connection is made."

Bungie Apologizes To Fans Over 'Destiny: The Taken King' DLC, Offers VIP Rewards

Bungie is trying to make things right with upset 'Destiny' fans.

As Apple Purges The Confederate Flag, The Nazi Swastika Stands

A day after Apple began the mass purge of applications depicting the Confederate flag, the Nazi Swastika is still standing prominently in some games. The choice to ban a symbol of slavery from historical games, but not of mass genocide, reveals how tech companies struggle to apply hate speech guidelines — often with strange inconsistency. At the moment, Apple allows me kill Nazis but not Confederate generals. Apple reportedly began removing apps and games that display the Confederate flag from its store, in response to recent public pressure to remove the infamous Civil War symbol from businesses and state houses. The tech giant has even banned popular Civil War re-enactment games that display the flag in historical context, such as Civil War 1863.

Why Apple Removing Civil War Games From The App Store Is A Mistake

Sweeping our history under the rug won't help us learn from the past.

Taxi Industry Should Focus On Strengths Rather Than Exposing Its Weakness

Trash talking doesn’t win games. No matter how good Richard Sherman is at talking trash all that matters at the end of the day is performance. Did he put his skills to use and did his team score more points than the opponent? No matter how much verbal venom Kevin Garnett

A Ringing Neutron Star Is A Cosmic Milepost

We live in a three-dimensional universe, but we see a two-dimensional sky. Objects both close and far look like lights on the dome of the sky, and there's no reason to think a bright object is closer than a faint one. To take just one example: the closest star to the Solar System is Proxima Centauri, which is invisible without a telescope. We can see galaxies millions of times more distant more easily than our nearest stellar neighbor.

'Dying Light' Devs Make Fun Of 'Destiny' And 'Red Bull' With Their Own Promotion

Love it or hate it, there's no denying that there's just something terribly silly about Destiny's partnership with Red Bull. In what has ended up being a pretty poorly timed promotion, Bungie and the energy drink company are offering bonus XP (virtual) if you buy a can of Red Bull (real), as well as a Red Bull exclusive quest, which one hopes actually involves some sort of Red, Bull-like enemy, or maybe some wings, all assuming you're not too stressed out and jittery to play. It hasn't exactly gone over well with a fanbase already smarting from an expansion pricing plan that seems to favor new players over veterans. That, combined with the essential absurdity of it, makes for some good Internet fodder. Dying Light developer Techland got in a quick jab at them on Twitter, offering up their own version of a beverage tie-in:

Apple Music Is More Than Just A Spotify Killer, It Could End Music Labels Too

The problem with the music industry has always been its reluctance to embrace change they litigate and cower in fear as their golden goose shows signs of infertility.

Why Only 15% Of The Fortune 500 Uses Big Data Analytics To Look Beyond The 'Known-Knowns'?

Whatever else he’s known for, former US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, will always be the guy who nailed the three levels of military intelligence – the ‘known-knowns’, the ‘known-unknowns’, and the ‘unknown-unknowns’ - in his memorable 2002 news briefing about Iraq and the supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups.

The 50 Most Innovative Firms On The Stock Market In One Fund

A new exchange traded fund created to track the 50 most innovative firms on the stock market has won investors over. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) experienced about $64 million in investor inflows since it debuted April 9, according to ETF.com. That's a Jurassic World-like opening in the ETF industry in which many new funds go extinct after one or two years for failure to attract the $25 million minimum needed just to break even.

There's Something Very Suspicious About 'Batman: Arkham Knight's' Recommended PC Specs

Batman: Arkham Knight might be getting rave reviews on console, but it's not faring quite so well with its PC port. Users are reporting framerate issues, bugs, glitches, crashes and all manner of other problems, leading to a rash of bad Steam reviews and, one assumes, more than a few refunds. Rocksteady and WB, to their credit, actively point dissatisfied customers towards Steam's refund policy, though they do appear to be foisting blame onto the third party developer that handled the report. A new update to the support page, however, only confuses the matter further, and the "recommended specs" part of the page contains one line that PC gamers aren't taking kindly too. Here it is:

'Batman: Arkham Knight' Is A Great Game With One Major Flaw

'Batman: Arkham Knight' is a great game with one major flaw.

Oracle Adds Data Center In Brazil

Oracle announced that in Brazil this summer it plans to open a new data center, which will help customers in the region embrace Oracle Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS) products.

Top Job For Boeing's Hyper-Competitive New CEO: Shoring Up Defense Business

The most dynamic executive Boeing has produced in this generation, Muilenburg won't have to do much to keep the ball rolling on the roaring commercial side of the operation. In defense, where Muilenburg boasts deep experience, he has his eye on several big bets.

Game for Garena: Singapore's Answer to Tencent and Alibaba

Singapore's first billion-dollar Web play is now well beyond fantasy play. But from the outset it's been lifted by angels.

4 Ways To Exploit IT For Competitive Advantage

By Joe Weinman

Meet Envoy, The Startup Everyone From Airbnb To Yahoo Is Using To Check In Guests

Before you can tour the offices at a big tech company in San Francisco or Silicon Valley, chances are you’ll have to sign in on an iPad first. Resting at the front desk, the device prompts you for your name and often demands you sign a non-disclosure agreement before your host gets a notice that you’re there. It’s roughly the same experience at the headquarters of startups like Airbnb and Docker as it is public companies like Pandora and Yahoo.

Coworking Is Old News: Why You Should Look At Collaboration Spaces

Coworking?s quick spike in popularity means a new coworking space will have less innovative impact than it might have 10 years ago. And it means coworking spaces have saturated the startup culture so completely that they?ve caught the attention of larger companies.

Congressional Tea Party Vows to Destroy America's Export-Import Bank

Tea Party leaders in Congress are trying to kill the Export-Import Bank of the United States by deceptively depicting it as a taxpayer subsidy. The Ex-Im Bank provides financing for U.S. companies, mostly small businesses, to sell products and services to foreign customers, but doesn?t end up costing taxpayers anything. There are no subsidies, no tax breaks, no financial aid of any sort, and no risk to taxpayers at all. In fact, the Ex-Im pays billions into the U.S. Treasury's general fund every year. There has never before been any opposition to the Ex-Im. Until now. And our nuclear industry will be especially hurt. Without an Ex-Im, the U.S. won?t even be allowed to bid on large contracts. The weird thing is Republican districts benefit the most from the Ex-Im.

Paris: City Of Light, Fashion, Food...And Startups?

Back in 1914, when IBM was a startup, and founder Thomas Watson Sr. decided to expand internationally, he chose Paris as his European headquarters. Today, French business leaders are keen to attract more such ambitious entrepreneurs and are putting the muscle of the American Chamber of Commerce in France (and its 120 years of experience) behind the effort.

Tips & Secrets From Top CEOs

Google Exec Eric Schmidt's $22 Million Mansion

Credit Karma Raises $175 Million At $3.5 Billion Valuation

This latest round brings Credit Karma's total equity funding to $368.5 million.

The Challenges Of Preserving Your Digital Legacy

I’ve written in the past about the importance of converting your analog photos and videos to digital so you can protect them against fires, floods and other potential disasters. The challenges don’t end there, though. There are also some considerations to keep in mind to preserve your digital legacy and ensure your precious memories can be accessed decades from now.

Art World Disruption Kills Off The Starving Artists

There’s an assumption that an artist becomes wealthy only after their death. That couldn’t be further from the truth, especially for pop artist Ashley Longshore. She is very much alive and well, toting around Luis Vuittons and selling upward of a million dollars worth of art a year with that number continuing to grow. And, she does this all herself – without the help of a gallery. Artists like Ashley Longshore are teaching us that the role of the starving artist is quickly dying.

Louisiana governor vetoes license plate reader legislation

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has vetoed legislation that would provide for the pilot use of automatic license plate readers by law enforcement to identify stolen vehicles and uninsured motorists.

Like GPS trackers on vehicles and so-called Stingrays or “IMSI catchers” that track the location of mobile phones by mimicking cellphone towers, automatic license plate readers have become a controversial privacy issue, with many civil rights groups opposing their indiscriminate use.

In a letter, explaining his decision to return the bill to the state Senate, Jindal said the personal information captured by the automatic license plate reader cameras, which includes a person’s vehicle location, would be retained in a central database and accessible to not only law enforcement agencies but also to private entities for a period of time, regardless of whether or not the system detects that a person is in violation of vehicle insurance rules.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

PC Version Of 'Batman: Arkham Knight' Is Hot Garbage, AMD And Nvidia Users Both Unhappy

I first knew we were in for a roller coaster ride when Rocksteady updated their PC requirements today only hours before the release of Batman: Arkham Knight. Included in their revision was this warning: "there are some known issues with the performance of Batman: Arkham Knight for PC owners using AMD graphics cards."

Bungie's Disastrous 'Taken King' Interview Could Have Ramifications For 'Destiny'

Bungie has stepped into an easily-avoidable minefield with a recent interview conducted by Eurogamer with Taken King Creative Director Luke Smith. The interview, which has been spread around the Destiny community far and wide since it was released, is incredibly testy and has rubbed most who have read it the wrong way.

Should AMD's Consider The Option To Split Up? Not If It's Smart.

There was a report on Friday from Reuters that AMD had retained the services of an outside consulting company to explore corporate restructuring options, including splitting the company in two – much like AMD’s customer HP is pursuing. This should not come as a big surprise – the embattled company, or one of its investors, would likely be looking at every option to find a better future. The board of directors of the embattled company should be considering all options and it’s likely they would ask CEO Lisa Su to explore all possibilities – including splitting up the company. The surprising thing is that the project leaked to the press; these projects are done under strict confidential agreements.

Apple's iPad, iPhone Prototypes

Is Agile Just Another Management Fad?

Scrum & Agile are very different from 20th century team initiatives

Andre Mendes Path From CIO To CEO Of The Broadcasting Board Of Governors

As interim CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), Andre Mendes sits atop a broadcasting enterprise with as broad a reach as any in the western world. Unlike some other organizations that you might think of among leaders in this space, the BBG operates in the corners of the world that tend to be most inhospitable to the dissemination of unfiltered media. What makes Mendes even more interesting is his path to his current perch. He was a chief information officer before his further rise. As Mendes notes, however, with so much of media being dominated by new media, much of it of a social variety, his background as a technology executive are quite suitable to the times. In this interview, Mendes describes the mandate of the BBG and its various brands such as Voice of America, the traditional and new media methods he and his colleagues use, and his own unique path to become interim CEO.

Samsung 'Safety Truck' Makes It Easier For Drivers To See The Road Ahead Before Trying To Pass

A simple yet brilliant concept, that could help save lives in risky situations.

Why Windows 10 Is Now 'Free' For Everyone [Update: Microsoft Speaks!]

Free Windows 10 upgrades are now available, this is why.

Country Cash Kings 2014

$8B-$16B Investment Could Double Solar Market By 2020

Almost half of homes and business in the United States are unfit for rooftop solar installation, either because of building structure, credit rating or other obstacles. But that doesn't mean they have to sit out the renewables revolution.

Android Circuit: Samsung Security Nightmare, Google Attacks Amazon, Nokia's Android Smartphone

This week?s Android Circuit includes Samsung's security nightmare over SwiftKey, Nokia's potential Android smartphone, a foldable Samsung Galaxy for 2016, five reasons you'll buy the Sony Xperia Z3+, a review of the Acer Liquid Jade S, Google's bug hunting bounty, 'Free App Of The Week' on the Google Play Store, and James Bond reading you a bedtime story.

Apple Loop: Apple's Devastating Security Leak, iPad Pro Confirmed, More Appeals In Samsung Vs Apple

This week?s Apple Loop includes an examination of the security issues found in OSX and iOS, potential confirmation of the iPad Pro, the iPad Mini reaching the end of its life, Samsung's next appeal over Apple's patents, details on the Apple Watch 2 leak, the music industry's affection for streaming music subscriptions, an argument against Apple Music's Beats 1, and the release of Fallout Shelter from Bethesda.

Google To Remove Revenge Porn Images From Search Results

Google announced that it will honor requests from revenge porn victims to remove links to their images from search results. So-called revenge-porn is a term for nude or sexually explicit images that are posted without the consent of the person depicted, in some cases as retaliation for a relationship gone bad.

The Best Video Games Of E3 2015

Best Of E3 2015: PlayStation Boss Shuhei Yoshida Gives High Praise To The Competition

The Sony executive calls HoloLens "super cool" and Oculus Rift "super fun" at E3 2015.

Surgical Robotics and the Attack of the Patent Trolls

Robots can help make surgery safer -- unless patent trolls destroy the robotics market.

'Fallout Shelter' On iOS Is The Best Waste Of Time I've Played All Year

Bethesda's first ever E3 press conference came with one honest surprise. Everything else was good to see, but expected: Dishonored 2, Fallout 4 (even with the 2015) release date, Doom and Elder Scrolls Online: all cool, but no true surprises. Right in the middle of the Fallout announcement, however, Todd Howard dropped something new that nobody saw coming: Fallout Shelter, a free-to-play game about managing a wasteland vault. It's a bit like a apocalyptic Tiny Tower. And I just can't seem to stop playing Fallout Shelter.

Best Of E3 2015: 'Horizon Zero Dawn'

The brand new IP from the makers of 'Killzone' was one of E3's best game reveals.

Six Tactics to Maximize the Purchasing Function, Tactic 4

Barry Olson

This article is the fourth in a series of six tactics in which the electrical contractor can maximize purchasing power and profitability though procurement. Click here for part Take a moment to think about your organization. Your field people and estimators attend classes to stay current with code changes; your project managers may take classes to further their knowledge and abilities to manage work. What would you think distributor salespeople study? Sales techniques, of course!

California Firm Emphasizes Value

William Atkinson

• Systems

While virtually any electrical contractor can branch out into low-voltage work, gaining a foothold and growing the business requires a competitive advantage. For National Security Works (NSW), a low-voltage company based in San Diego, that advantage is value.
 When the Great Recession hit in late 2007, and with competition increasing, NSW found itself struggling.
 “Money was tight for customers,” said Clint Morgan, CEO. “During that time period, a lot of small shops and owner/operators began offering some very low prices that we couldn’t match. As a result, we started to lose some business.”


Cool Tools: Copper Tool Kits

Jeff Griffin

• Systems

For installing alarm, surveillance and building control system copper wiring, technicians use many of the same tools as they do for placing data and communications networks. These tools include, but are not limited to, cable cutters, crimpers, strippers, punchdown tools and blades, and test equipment. There also are applications that may require specialized tools.
 Some voice/data/video (VDV) specialists build their own custom tool kits that meet specific needs and brand preferences, while others start with basic kits offered by several manufacturers containing the most-used tools.


Step One: Commissioning

Deborah L. O'Mara

• Systems

In its basic form, commissioning means testing every device, process and procedure in an integrated systems solution to ensure the final specification operates as planned and according to the owner’s design. 


Capgemini Taps IBM For Its Cloud And Platform Needs

I'm not immune from having the odd bash at IBM. It's not that I (or many of my commentator colleagues) have anything personal against Big Blue, it's just that they tend to be a little, ahem, big and slow when it comes to modernizing. Despite it being ancient history, it's hard to forget all the years of cloud-washing that IBM was involved with in the past. IBM wasn't alone. A number of traditional vendors (Microsoft and HP among them) were similarly intent on instilling fear, uncertainty and doubt into the marketplace. But IBM was particularly obvious.

LG G4 To Get Huge Upgrade, But With One Big Catch

This could be LG's best ever smartphone, except for one major detail...

Fitbit Shares Jump More Than 50% In Public Debut

Fitbit, which makes wearable fitness trackers, was off to a running start in its public debut Thursday morning.

Fitbit IPO: Six Things To Know

Get up to speed on the world’s largest fitness tracker company as it gets set for its IPO at the NYSE.

Ideas That Work: Attractive Solutions: Suction Cups and Magnets

• Your Business

Every month, we pick the top Ideas That Work submitted by you, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR readers. These ideas can't be found in any code or guidebook and are only learned or devised through years of experience and thinking, "There's got to be a better way to do this!" Please remember, the ideas presented in this article are for consideration only. Before using such ideas, make sure codes and safety standards have been fully adhered to. Now, without further ado, here are this issue's Ideas That Work!

Why Sony Will Never Give PS4 Backward Compatibility

One of the biggest stories to come out of E3 that doesn’t involve the announcement of an actual game is the news that Microsoft’s Xbox One will now be able to play Xbox 360 game discs, offering full backwards compatibility for the console, something long thought impossible for this new console generation.

3 FinTech Startups You'll Hear About Soon Enough

I have good news and bad news- Let’s start with the latter, essentially we’re still recovering from a rocky economic situation caused by the recession (this we know). The bad news is that the recession exposed fundamental weaknesses in the world of global finance, demonstrating how interconnected and interdependent economies are today. Sometimes bad things have to happen before good things can.

The Smart City Of Milton Keynes: Using Sensors And Big Data To Improve Public Services

I’ve recently written about the global trend towards creating Smart Cities – based on the idea of using the types of smart, connected technology which is making waves in industry and entertainment to improve public utilities, services and the quality of life in our towns and cities.

Come to Your Senses

Claire Swedberg

• Systems

Building-system-automation implementation has paved the way for sensor technology to make buildings more efficient, healthier and more comfortable for occupants. Wired and wireless sensors are bringing data to building management systems and facility managers, and they are ultimately becoming the input for the building’s intelligence. This proliferation of sensors (and data from the sensors stored in the cloud, on servers or in apps) is often known as the Internet of Things (IoT), and it means new opportunities for contractors and integrators.

Conflict Resolution

Thomas P. Hammerberg

• Systems

I’m sure all of you have run into an issue such as this when installing a fire alarm system: One authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) wants one thing, and another AHJ wants exactly the opposite. What do you do? You can’t make both happy. When proposing changes to the codes and standards, my code partners and I always try to fix conflicts that cause this problem, but it is not always possible.


Safe And Sound In The Cloud

Deborah L. O'Mara

• Systems

Not a day passes without reference to cloud-based or hosted services. Consumers use cloud services every day with online banking, and now mobile payment is infiltrating retail and hospitality services. Thanks to the cloud, customers can pay for their latte with a smartphone or register as a guest from their connected device.


Sure Bet at Dayton Racino

Claire Swedberg

• Systems

Around the turn of the century, horse and car race courses began expanding into the casino market. The result is the “racino,” a gambling and entertainment combo that needs the latest electrical infrastructure, backup power, low-voltage security and digital access. Chapel Electric Co. and its 15-year-old low-voltage division, Chapel-Romanoff Technologies (CRT), recently installed the latest electrical and voice/data/video system technologies at Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway in Dayton, Ohio.


A Key Component of Reliability

Wayne D. Moore

• Systems

I have often described the reliability of a fire alarm system installation as dependent on four elements: design, equipment, installation and maintenance. I have also explained that the last two elements contribute the most to a fire alarm system’s operational reliability.
 I suspect that system maintenance, which includes testing, presents the singular element that most affects long-term operational reliability. The life safety of building occupants depends on regular inspection, testing and maintenance (ITM) of the fire alarm system.


AVG's Crumble extension simplifies online privacy

We’ve talked about anti-tracking extensions before. These are the tools that prevent online advertisers from tracking you online, allowing you to retain your privacy. There are many to choose from—including Disconnect, DNT+, and Ghostery—but recently AVG came out with a new extension for Chrome called Crumble that’s worth trying out.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google Fights Amazon's Silver Bullet With Free Android Apps

Heading into the new Google Play Store section for Family Friendly apps and you'll find a curious banner. It's for a 'Free App Of The Week', a new program that has launched alongside the Family Friendly section.

The Ultimate Guide To Free Analytics Resource - Consulting, Tools, Training

This blog is part of Aryng’s resource for $10-$100M organizations

Bimodal IT: A New Buzzword For Old Concepts Presents Teachable Moment

IT analysts are like fashion designers, always searching for something new, even if that means recycling age-old concepts in new terminology. But like successful fashionistas, IT leaders need to stay on top of the latest trends if only to be prepared when the CEO comes back from an industry conference full of questions. One of the latest buzzwords circulating the industry is Bimodal IT: another Gartner creation like Hype Cycle and Magic Quadrant. As Gartner defines it, Bimodal IT is an organizational model that segments services into two categories based on application requirements, maturity and criticality. "Mode 1 is traditional, emphasizing scalability, efficiency, safety and accuracy. Mode 2 is nonsequential, emphasizing agility and speed." Seems logical enough and hardly controversial, but also not new. Yet it offers a lesson in how cloud services and engineering practices can improve enterprise IT.

'Skylanders SuperChargers' Dive Clops Official Reveal Keeps Things In the Family

Skylanders SuperChargers reveals new characters, vehicles and levels at E3 today.

E3 2015: Sony's Biggest Announcement Wasn't 'The Last Guardian,' 'Shenmue 3,' Or 'FFVII'

Sony gave the gamers what they wanted last night. Their E3 presser was a delightful cocktail of nostalgia and fanservice, announcing a remake of Final Fantasy VII, Shenmue 3 and the long-awaited The Last Guardian. Each time, the crowd went wild, twitter lost its mind and the energy in the room grew to a fever pitch. That's great, but from a practical perspective, those games don't close to the most important announcement Sony made last night. That award goes to Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.

Amazon now an open book on search warrants and subpoenas

Amazon.com has published its first transparency report describing how it has responded to requests from law enforcers for information about its customers.

The company fielded 813 subpoenas, 25 search warrants, 13 court orders and fewer than 250 national security requests from U.S. authorities. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act prohibits Amazon from disclosing exactly how many National Security Letters and FISA court orders it has received: the number may have been zero.

Despite its reluctance to release the information—companies such as Apple and Google are years ahead of it—Amazon says it is no lackey of the state security apparatus.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Encrypted connections coming soon for all Wikipedia readers

As of right now, the data that moves between Wikipedia.com and most users is unencrypted, which increases the chances that someone else may be eavesdropping on you. That, however, is about to change: On Friday, the Wikimedia Foundation announced that it’s moving its sites toward HTTPS by default, so that all data transferred between you and its servers will be encrypted.

According to a post on the Wikimedia Blog, you can expect all visits to Wikimedia sites like Wikipedia, Wiktionary, and Wikimedia Commons to be encrypted sometime in the next couple of weeks. (As it stands right now, only logged-in users get encrypted connections to Wikimedia’s servers.) 

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What Sony Needs To Do To Beat Microsoft At E3 2015

Earlier today, Microsoft had their E3 press event, and it more or less went off without a hitch. In an era where the Xbox One hasn’t always impressed at E3, today was a welcome change with Microsoft debuting some pretty excellent looking new games (Rare’s Sea of Thieves, Recore), a new installment from a powerhouse franchise (Gears of War) and the biggest bombshell of all, the fact that Xbox One will now be fully backward compatible with Xbox 360 discs.

First 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' Details Emerge, New Trailer

The new 'Mass Effect' strikes out for new galaxies.

Sony Shows Off 'The Last Guardian,' 'Uncharted 4,' 'Final Fantasy 7' And More At E3

Sony's E3 Press Conference may not have had the same console-level oomph as Microsoft's earlier today, but it was an excellent showing nonetheless. We got our first (well, second) look at the long-awaited The Last Guardian, as well as the announcement of a Final Fantasy 7 remake, a longer look at No Man's Sky, Destiny, Call of Duty Black Ops 2 and a nice suite of indies. No price drop, and not quite as much from Morpheus as I expected, but in classic Sony Style, this was all about the games. Check back here for more E3 coverage when the show starts officially tomorrow.

Livestream: Watch Sony's E3 Press Conference Right Here

Video

The pressure is on Sony for its 2015 E3 Press Conference. Historically, this show has been pretty good to the PS4: In 2013, Sony offered Microsoft a round defeat that launched its new console towards the unprecedented success it's enjoying today. Microsoft's Xbox Division has done an impressive turnaround under

Move Aside Smiley - Hearts And More Hearts Steal Emoji Crown

Pity the poor smiley face. It once was the go-to symbol to convey e-emotion. Cyberspace was its oyster. It reigned supreme.

New Regulations To Wipe Out 80% Of Airbnb Rentals In California's Santa Monica

Santa Monica now bans absentee hosts and requires hosts to have a business license and collect occupancy tax.

The Biggest Fintech Funding Rounds So Far This Year -- 26 Over $50 Million

So far this year venture back fintech firms have raised more than $8 billion in funding, including $5 billion in the second quarter alone.

A Positive, Proactive Case for Lawyers

Entrepreneurs frequently ask me whether they should hire a lawyer at an early stage in their business’s development or “go it alone,” muddling through a do-it-yourself formation and cobbling together a smattering of contracts and forms they chanced upon online. (Okay, okay, they don’t use quite those words . . .) My answer, as you can probably guess from the set up, is invariably to hire a real flesh-and-blood lawyer. The explanation I used to give all the time is a post hoc justification: it’s easy to screw up and when you screw up, it’s expensive and time-consuming to fix, if the problem is solvable at all. Some common examples that we see at Priori, the b2b legal marketplace I founded, include: Using form vendor and service contracts, employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, non-disclosure agreements, equity vesting plans, bylaws, operating agreements, terms and conditions, privacy policies and more. These recycled forms can lead to myriad problems, including unexpected liability because they don’t actual hew to business practices, deadlocked management and intellectual property ownership surprises, to name a few frequent ones. Forming in a sub-optimal state or electing a sub-optimal company type (or failing to complete the technical requirements of formation). Searching the U.S. Patent and Trademark office database to make sure you can use a business name without a lawyer or search firm, and on the basis of those results, marching ahead with a name choice. Then, applying for a trademark without a lawyer’s assistance only to have it rejected. Applying for a provisional patent without a lawyer’s assistance only to discover (very belatedly) that it doesn’t protect the scope of what the entrepreneur anticipated. Signing contracts without reading or understanding them fully – and winding up on the hook for something that you didn’t think you agreed to.

EU Council OKs contentious data privacy plan, pushing reform forward

The EU Council has issued a long-awaited, hotly debated plan for online privacy, moving the EU’s reform of data-protection laws closer to reality.

The Council says that the plan will give people more control over their personal data, but privacy groups say the proposal actually weakens privacy safeguards.

Data protection reform is important for European citizens, tech companies and any business processing personal data in the EU. Current data protection rules stem from a 1995 law and urgently need an update for an era in which cloud computing, smartphones and high-speed Internet access are common.

The Council plan revealed on Monday requires, among other things, that companies get unambiguous consent from individuals in order to be allowed to process personal data. Companies will also be obliged to implement appropriate security measures to protect personal data and notify affected people when breaches occur.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tesla Mass-Market Model 3 Lineup To Include Crossover: Report

Tesla Motors future Model 3 will include a crossover, according to a report.

Big Data Was the Beginning: What Comes Next

When the boss looks to you first for your take on an issue – not just one time, but every time. When the concept of a “budget” is something you understand in theory but never need to put in practice. When companies court you for sponsorships because everyone knows your casually posed, perfectly presented Instagrams.

Right to be forgotten applies to all Google domains, rules French privacy authority

Google must respect the European Union’s ‘right to be forgotten’ court ruling on all its sites, not just those it says target EU countries, the French data protection authority has ruled, giving the company 15 days to comply.

The French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL) ordered Google to remove the affected search results on all its domains, including google.com, or face a fine of up to €300,000 (about $337,000). So far, Google has only removed such results from those of its sites it says target EU users, including google.fr or google.de. French residents need only click the “Use Google.com” link on the google.fr homepage to have access to unfiltered search results.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

'Fallout 4:' What To Expect At Bethesda's E3 Press Conference

It's been long enough. After years of leaks and rumors, Bethesda announced Fallout 4 last week with a short teaser trailer, promising that we would get to see more at their E3 press conference today. The press conference, however, will be a big deal in more ways than one. Not only will it be our first chance to get some concrete details about Fallout 4, but it will be Bethesda's opportunity to establish itself as a major publisher alongside Ubisoft, EA and Activision -- if Monday's press conferences go by and people are still buzzing about Fallout 4, it will have one major victory in that battle. Here's what to expect when the show gets going at 6:30 PT tonight.

Jesse Jackson Nudges Facebook On Diversity

Besides the expected tightening of the labor markets, Facebook's own fundamentals have been shifting -- giving the company another reason to step up its diversity recruiting. Facebook's strongest growth has been from overseas markets in recent years.

How Apple Music Will Trick You Into Paying For Music Forever

With the launch of Apple Music at this week's WWDC keynote, one of the biggest 'when' questions around Cupertino has been answered. Apple can concentrate on other matters that will change the world (such as the Apple Watch). The real winners were the major music labels continuing to push the idea of music not as a luxury, but as a utility bill.

'Super Smash Bros. Wii U' Leak Confirms Ryu And Roy Joining Roster

A new leak has confirmed the existence of two upcoming DLC characters for Wii U’s Super Smash Bros. The assets were datamined from the newest Wii U update, and Street Fighter’s Ryu and Fire Emblem’s Roy have been confirmed to be joining the cast at a later date.

New Legislation In Congress Could Help Restore America To Scientific Excellence

The 21st Century Cures Act, a new bill that would restore funding to the NIH and streamline drug approvals, just passed the House Energy and Commerce committee by a unanimous vote of 51-0.

Cloud startup Zettabox touts privacy and local storage to appeal to EU customers

Anticipating the approval of stricter data protection rules in the European Union, cloud storage startup Zettabox bets it will be able to compete against bigger rivals by guaranteeing customers that their data will be housed in Europe.

Zettabox, whose service came out of beta on Wednesday, is entering a market dominated by U.S. cloud providers. To differentiate itself, Zettabox is setting up storage space in data centers across the continent so companies and governments can store data in their home countries if they want to.

Zettabox has offices in London and Prague and was founded by James Kinsella and Robert McNeal, U.S. executives who have been working on the service for over two years.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why Human Resources Is Dead

According to Wikipedia "human resource" was first used by economist John R. Commons in his book The Distribution of Wealth which was published in 1893, over 120 years ago. The term also gained a lot of traction in the 1910's and 1920's where it was quite literally used to mean that workers

Tesla's Battery May Not Destroy Utilities, But Utilities May Destroy Tesla

In Arizona, investor-owned utilities are moving into an advanced stage of warfare on the distributed solar industry, seeking to hike surcharges on rooftop solar customers. If utilities in other states follow suit, it will be a profound blow to the competitiveness of rooftop solar, and by extension, the prospects for Tesla's battery business.

'Lego Marvel's Avengers' Assembles First Trailer

Warner Bros Interactive today unveiled the latest trailer for it's upcoming Winter 2015 release, Lego Marvel's Avengers.

Trends Show Crowdfunding To Surpass VC in 2016

By 2016 the crowdfunding industry is on track to account for more funding than venture capital, according to a recent report by Massolution*.

'The Taken King:' Why A New Enemy Type Is Just What 'Destiny' Needs

The leaks just keep coming. Bungie's big expansion for 'Destiny' has come to us in chunks over the course of the past few months, first when we thought it was called "Comet," then when we learned it would be called "The Taken King," and now via some marketing materials leaked to Kotaku just a few days before the official reveal at E3. Here's the thrust: it's a big one. We'll be getting a raft of story missions, new strikes, new character subclasses and a new raid pitting us against Oryx, the father of Uroxx and Crota, major bosses in the previous two expansions. This will likely all take place on a new planet, probably Mercury. What I'm most interested in, however, is the possibility that the Taken King will introduce a brand new enemy type to stand alongside The Fallen, The Cabal, The Vex and The Hive: The Taken. It's still informed speculation, of course, but I'd be willing to bet that if we don't get an entire new class of enemies, we'll at least get enough additions to The Hive to make them feel new. And that would be a very good thing.

Ten Dinosaurs You Never Read About Growing Up

Parkmobile CEO Speaks To Vision For Mobile Future

I had the pleasure of speaking with Parkmobile CEO Cherie Fuzzell. She was kind enough to share with me details of her company and where she sees mobile headed going forward. Mobile is clearly one of the most transformative technologies that are impacting us today. Here is what she had to say:

Don't expect major changes to NSA surveillance from Congress

After the U.S. Congress approved what critics have called modest limits on the National Security Agency’s collection of domestic telephone records, many lawmakers may be reluctant to further change the government’s surveillance programs.

The Senate this week passed the USA Freedom Act, which aims to end the NSA’s mass collection of domestic phone records, and President Barack Obama signed the bill hours later.

After that action, expect Republican leaders in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to resist further calls for surveillance reform. That resistance is at odds with many rank-and-file lawmakers, including many House Republicans, who want to further limit NSA programs brought to light by former agency contractor Edward Snowden.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google Now Reporting Self-Driving Car Accidents

Developing self-driving cars is the rage. Naturally, people want to know how safe they are.

WWDC Spotlight: Apple Is Gunning For Google Search

As part of today's WWDC keynote, Tim Cook's team at Apple introduced a number of new products and services (which we're talking about here on Forbes Tech today). Underpinning many of these updates and tweaks were improvements to the search functionality. While the updates all offer benefits to the user experience they also reduce Apple's dependency on Google and restrict's Google's ability to poach users from Apple's own ecosystem.

Apple Pay Coming To The UK: Full Details Announced

Today has brought some great news for iPhone owners based on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Apple Pay - the iPhone maker's NFC payment system - is coming to the UK.

How Will The FIFA Scandal Impact The World's Most Popular Video Game?

Video

It was announced on June 2nd that Sepp Blatter is stepping down. Who is he and why does that matter? Well, if you’re American, there’s a good chance you have no idea who Sepp is. Most don’t. And that’s okay. So if you don't know, Sepp was the elected president of

Is There a Business Case for Integrated Thinking?

Sandy Nessing has responsibility for managing sustainability strategy, corporate stakeholder engagement and annual performance reporting for American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP). She oversees annual production of AEP’s Corporate Accountability Report, including a dedicated sustainability website and companion iPad app (“AEP CAR” in the iTunes store). This is the sixth year AEP has produced an integrated report that combines financial with nonfinancial performance. She facilitates cross-functional collaboration on sustainability issues across AEP to raise awareness of the interdependencies of functions, resources and issues while providing guidance on externalities that could affect business results or operations. She also develops and manages advocacy opportunities and relationships that support AEP’s business strategy.

Apple iOS 9 Leaks Reveal Biggest Secret Features

Get the jump on Apple's big iOS 9 announcement...

iPhone 6S Release Date Leaks Via Major Carrier

Pre-order and release dates for your calendar...

Washington Is Changing. Companies Have To Change With It.

Digital technology transformed business models for the media, manufacturing, and sports industries. Now shifts in how Washington works require that companies adopt new, technology-driven government affairs strategies. Here are some of the signs of the transformation underway in Washington: a decrease in Congressional action; increased complexity in regulations; the growing relevance of social media; and the proliferation of information services and access to new information. For businesses of all sizes in all industries, there has never been a more critical moment to recognize these changes and act on them.

Leaked Draft Trade Agreement Could Threaten Open Source Deployment

Further to this week's leak of documents from the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), there may be implications for government software procurement too.

Five Years On, And OpenStack Is Absolutely A Thing...

I've been watching the open source cloud initiative OpenStack since its inception around five years ago. I've taken part in some events around the initiative culminating recently in my attendance at the Vancouver OpenStack summit (disclosure: the OpenStack Foundation covered my travel and expenses to attend the event).

How To Help Retirement Planners, Who Try, But Can't Help Themselves

The average investor doesn’t take time out to examine their retirement portfolio every year – if those investments even exist at all. And why should they, considering how intimidating it all seems. For those who do utilize personal finance and robo-adviser tools, their specific yet evolving, time-sensitive needs can get lost within the full breadth of today’s complex investment environment. Unless investors seek help in investigating all investment scenarios and reacting to real-time life changes as they relate to future return, they only see half of what they need to make informed decisions.

'Destiny' Raises $1M For Nepal, And Fans Discover The Game Is Actually Set There

When an earthquake devastated Nepal in April 2015, killing 8,800 and injuring 23,000, many organizations leapt to the country’s aid. One of them was Bungie, which used its game Destiny as a platform to raise money to support the relief efforts in the country.

Apple WWDC 2014

'Final Fantasy 15' Demo To Be Updated

The Final Fantasy 15 demo, Episode Duscae, will be updated with a variety of improvements and features on June 9th.

Want To Build A Better Battery? Don't Talk To Battery Experts

When MIT Professor Donald Sadoway hires people for his promising battery startup, Ambri, he makes sure they don't have any battery experience. "I don't turn to experts," Sadoway said Wednesday. "The last person I'd turn to is a battery person."

Kollekt.FM Is An RSS Feed For Your Music

Discovering music can be a labor of love...one that can enrich people’s lives, but can also take up quite a of bit of time. There are thousands of places and ways to hear brand new songs and learn about previously-unknown acts, and all of those options can get pretty overwhelming. Bouncing between streaming services, sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Soundcloud, and checking out what your friends are listening to on social media can be tiresome, as can scrolling through the seemingly endless number of music-related blogs, all of which claim to have the best taste and the most up-to-the-minute songs.

Steam's New Refund Policy Has A Big Problem With Little Things

Recently, Valve announced a refund policy for its digital games marketplace, Steam. That in itself is, in many ways, revolutionary, and one of the most important pro-consumer steps taken by any video game company in recent memory. They may have gone through some sticky situations to arrive here, but it's a good place. In short, users can return any game they've bought for any reason, so long as they've owned it less than two weeks and played it less than two hours. As Jason Evangelho puts it, it lets users "test drive" essentially any game. If this goes even part of the way to pressuring developers to release finished products that people won't get bored with in two hours, it'll be a rousing success.

What IT Experts Should Know About The Cloud

The cloud market has matured, and many IT professionals have moved well beyond the fundamentals of cloud computing. They are exploring advanced topics and taking a deeper dive into the art and science of cloud computing, covering details of migration, financial outcomes and barriers to further adoption.

Dodger Games (Finally) Coming To LA Area Charter Subscribers Beginning Tuesday

Los Angeles Dodgers fans that are Charter subscribers will get a chance to see games beginning Tuesday as SportsNet LA has reached a deal with the cable television carrier.

New Analysis Shows Earth Is Warming Faster Than We Thought

A new analysis shows that previous reports of a global warming "hiatus" were wrong and Earth's temperatures are climbing as fast as ever.

How To Teach A Robot New Tricks

More Complicated Than 'Pink Viagra': What You Should Know About Flibanserin (Addyi)

If you are a women suffering from low sexual desire, would you take a drug daily if it gave you one extra satisfying sexual experience per month if it also runs risks of fainting, increase sedation with alcohol, and other potential drug interactions?

Lyft Hires Two New Executives To Oversee Customer Service, Legal Compliance

Lyft has hired two new executives to manage the growing ride-hailing service as it brings on more riders and adapts to new regulation. Both are women and will add to Lyft's growing -- and above industry average -- ranks of female leaders.

10 Best Smartphones

Should 'The Witcher 3' Feature More People Of Color?

'The Witcher 3' creates a believably European fantasy, but there's no reason it couldn't have been more diverse.

James Wan Set To Direct Upcoming 'Robotech' Movie

The director of the recently release Furious 7, James Wan, has seemingly closed deals to direct both the upcoming Robotech movie as well as Aquaman.

Tamashii Nations Summer Collection 2015 Report

Every six months or so, Bandai hosts a public event called Tamashii Nations in Akihabara showing off their upcoming toys and figures for the rest of the year and beyond. The latest of these, covering the summer collection, happened over this weekend.

Tamashii Nations Summer Collection 2015

Mophie Juice Pack Dock Review: Never Let Your iPhone Run Flat

Mophie's brand power has built up over time through its line of external battery cases for the iPhone, and their latest addition to the portfolio makes the Juice Pack cases even more attractive. This is the Mophe Juice Pack Dock.

Gizmo Cuts Cost Of Grid Interconnection For Rooftop Solar

Many people overlook the difference between a decentralized energy grid and a distributed energy grid. The latter has more points of interconnection than the former. More interconnections mean more redundancy and the potential for greater efficiencies. The trouble is that interconnecting can cost more than people are willing to pay. The electric power grid is a case in point.

'Dark Souls 3' Rumored To Be Coming To E3

It seems we may be soon be getting a look at 'Dark Souls 3,' according to a report from VG24/7. The site claims that someone familiar with the company confirmed that Bandai Namco would be bringing the next installment of the Souls series to the big game show in LA, likely during Sony's press conference on June 15. This comes hot on the heels of the critical and commercial success of From Software's Bloodborne, a part of the Souls series in all but name. From Software also recently released Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, an updated version of 2014's Dark Souls 2. We'll update the story if Bandai Namco either confirms or denies, but we'll have the answer soon, regardless.

UK Government Urges Action As Cost Of Cyber Security Breaches Doubles

A staggering 90% of large businesses in the United Kingdom have reported they have suffered an information security breach, alongside 74% of small and medium-sized businesses. The average cost of the most severe online security breaches for big business can now reach £3.14 million ($4.8 million). It starts at £1.46 million, up from £600,000 in 2014, according to government research published today to raise awareness of the growing cyber threat.

Capital Markets Firms Balancing Risk And Return In Their Journey Toward Growth

Capital markets firms have been operating in a difficult environment in recent years, facing a range of challenges including derivatives reform, capital constraints, reduced proprietary risk-taking and product commoditization. Most have invested heavily in meeting regulatory demands and are now shifting their focus once again towards growth. In order to navigate new challenges around volatile markets, changing client demands and digital disruption, firms will need to work closely with their risk management teams to identify new growth strategies and recalibrate their operating models.

Big Data At Dickey's Barbecue Pit: How Analytics Drives Restaurant Performance

Barbecue and Big Data do not seem to be the most natural bedfellows – but one U.S. restaurant chain has thrown them together to increase sales and its understanding of the customer. Dickeys Barbecue Pit, which operates 514 restaurants across the U.S., has worked with big data and business intelligence service providers iOLAP to develop a proprietary system it calls Smoke Stack.

David Perla Of Bloomberg Law, On Technology, Artificial Intelligence, And Liberalization In BigLaw

I speak with David Perla, president of Bloomberg Law, to get his perspective the shifts in the legal market, the role that technology plays, and where the market is headed.

The Biggest Video Game Controversies Of 2014

Google's Project Loon Internet Balloons Coming To U.S. - Eventually

Project Loon, the once seemingly crazy idea of floating giants balloons into the stratosphere to provide Internet access to remote areas, is coming to the United States.

US Healthworks Suffers Data Breach Via Unencrypted Laptop

Data breaches happen in all manner of ways. Systems are compromised with SQL injection attacks. Spreadsheets are inadvertently leaked to external parties and mobile storage devices get left on trains. These things happen but, they really don’t have to now do they?

Ellen Pao Hasn't Given Up: Legal Team Files Notice Of Appeal Against Kleiner Perkins

Ellen Pao's long legal fight against her former employer Kleiner Perkins isn't over.

There's Hope For 'Game Of Thrones,' Finally

HBO's Game of Thrones began this season with a problem. Essentially, it was this: Benioff and Co. had an hour-long TV show to make, but their source material -- George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" -- had grown unwieldy, confused and lacking in direction. Luckily, the show

Why Is Almost No One Using Apple Pay?

Why don’t small merchants accept Apple Pay? That’s easy. Just follow the money.

Why Nobody Cares That NASDAQ Hit A Record

The NASDAQ closed at a record high of 5,107 on May 27 and nobody seems to care.

The FCC's War On The Internet Targets Facebook

Net neutrality absolutists are wasting no time expanding their war on Internet innovation. Now in the crosshairs: charitable programs, including Facebook's Internet.org, aimed at providing free access to the two-thirds of the world's population who are currently offline.

'Game of Thrones' Hardhome