Hasta La Gadget!

Yesterday, we reported that hardware hacker Jeri Ellsworth, who joined Valve in 2012, had been fired. She made the announcement via Twitter, but didn’t provide any details about what had caused such an action. Now reports are rolling in that more than two dozen other Valve employees have been laid off, with nothing more than speculation about what is happening.

Reports Forbes, between 25 and 30 Valve employees have been laid off in addition to Ellsworth, who kicked the round off. One of the employees given the boot is Jason Holtman, the company’s Director of Business Development. Holtman is responsible for working with Steamworks, the Steam store, and Source engine licensing.

Although it is possible that Valve is experiencing some financial problems, speculation has it that the company is undergoing some restructuring, with it possibly focusing on its hardware and Android teams. Whether this is because the company is changing its focus, or because it is bringing in fresh blood to revamp its projects – or whether it is either of these things – is unknown.

Valve has not said anything about the lay offs. It has been long expected that the company will be releasing a Steam Box in the near future, and so this dumping of employees could be a move related to the device. Regardless, it has no doubt been a sad day for many Valve employees who have now found themselves without jobs, and we wish them luck in finding a permanent roost elsewhere.

Update: The folks over at Engadget have received a statement from Valve regarding the layoffs: “No, we aren’t canceling any projects. No, we aren’t changing any priorities or projects we’ve been discussing. No, this isn’t about Steam or Linux or hardware or [insert game name here]. We’re not going to discuss why anyone in particular is or isn’t working here.”

[via Forbes]

Valve reportedly laying off dozens of employees [UPDATE] is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We reported earlier this month that Apple has lost its iPhone trademark in Brazil to a company known as Gradiente (aka IGB Eletrônica), as the latter had held the iPhone trademark in that part of the world all the way back in the year 2000, which is a good seven years before Apple first released their revolutionary iPhone. It does seem as though Apple executives are going to be hopping mad with word that Gradiente will be selling an Android-powered smartphone that they have called the iPhone, or iPhone Neo One in full.

Of course, Apple will also have their iPhones flooding the Brazilian market, but in terms of a legal perspective, they are unable to sue Gradiente since Brazil’s Institute of Industrial Property offers Gradiente relevant protection, ruling that both Apple and them can make use of the iPhone name. Apple has obviously chosen to pursue an appeal, although it would be rather difficult for them to carve out a win unless they decide to purchase the rights from Gradiente, just like how Cupertino played it out Stateside with Cisco.

As for the iPhone Neo One, this Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone will feature dual SIM slots, a 3.7” display, a 5-megapixel camera at the back and a front-facing VGA shooter, with a price tag of approximately $305 for an unlocked device.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPhone 6 Rumored To Have Been Delayed To 2014, New Zealand Frontline Police To Receive iPhones And iPads,

No, Nexus 4 users, Google hasn’t forgotten about you. About a day after Google started pushing Android 4.2.2 to most Nexus devices, the company’s latest and greatest smartphone is also getting the patch over the air. When it shows, there will be a pair of small additional rewards for running the latest hardware — the Nexus 4 now plays a unique sound when wireless charging kicks in, as well as an updated low-battery sound. We wouldn’t upgrade just to get the new tones, but they cap what’s proving to be a more significant update than the version number would suggest.

Update: As Brian Klug over at AnandTech notes, Google both giveth and taketh away — that very, very unofficial LTE access disappears with the update. When 4G only worked in limited areas, and was never going to get official support, we won’t cry too much.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google, LG

Comments

Source: Android Central, Google Git

You know what they say – a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and when it comes to Apple’s most recent version of their mobile operating system, iOS 6.1 is not exactly the best example of a secure operating system. It was just recently that Apple issued an iOS 6.1.1 update in order to fix a problem that plagued a handful of owners of the iPhone 4S, where they were left high and dry sans voice or data connectivity.

Vodafone had already warned its iPhone 4S customers to skip the iOS 6.1 update, as folks who ignored that warning or wanted to be an early adopter realized that their iPhone 4S was rendered as useful as a beautiful paperweight, being unable to make or receive calls, send or receive text messages as well as browse the Internet. As for the passcode lock, you can check out this software glitch in the video above, and we do hope that this would mean an iOS 6.1.2 update is in the pipeline, where it should be introduced soon if Apple knows what is good for them.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPhone 6 Rumored To Have Been Delayed To 2014, New Zealand Frontline Police To Receive iPhones And iPads,

OMAHA, Neb., Feb 13 (Reuters) – Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman on Wednesday named a former state senator as successor to ex-Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy, who resigned abruptly after a newspaper investigation raised questions about thousands of phone calls he made to women.

Sheehy had served as lieutenant governor under Heineman starting in 2005 and had been seen as a leading candidate to succeed him as governor in the 2014 election.

The governor chose as his replacement Lavon Heidemann, 54, who was elected to the University of Nebraska board of regents in November and had served in the state Senate from 2005 to 2013. A farmer from Elk Creek, Nebraska, Heidemann said he would not run for governor in 2014.

Sheehy, 53, resigned on Feb. 2 after the Omaha World-Herald reported that he had made about 2,000 late-night calls to four women, other than his wife, on his state-issued cellphone over four years.

Heineman had selected Sheehy as lieutenant governor in 2005 after he assumed the governorship when Governor Mike Johanns was appointed U.S. agriculture secretary.

Heineman and Sheehy were elected to their first full term in 2006 and re-elected to a second term in 2010. Heineman will leave office in 2015. (Editing by David Bailey and Eric Beech)

Read More…
More on Video