NBC Southern California reports that the dating website extended the offer to the town because of its many affluent residents, such as Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and actress Michelle Pfeiffer. The most recent data from the American Community Survey, administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, indicates the town’s median household income is $186,359.
A former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher has sounded off on the recent debate over whether or not professional gay athletes should come out of the closet while still active in their sport.
Mark Knudson — who played for the Brewers from 1986 through 1991 — cited current speculation over Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o’s sexuality in an Op-Ed for Mile High Sports, suggesting that players “who are able to keep their sexual orientation private” should be applauded because it’s “best for the team.”
“No one has said that gays should not be allowed to play in the NFL,” he writes. “What has been said is that having a gay teammate would make some players uncomfortable.”
NEW YORK — Newly released documents show the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection agency is preparing to deploy drones along the border that could intercept electronic communications. The agency denied that it is doing so now, but left open the possibility that it could do so in the future.
The documents, released on Feb. 21 in response to a public records response from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, will likely fuel the debate over whether CBP is doing enough to protect Americans’ privacy as it fields a growing fleet of Predator drones; it has 10 so far. The drones have been promoted largely as a means to curb illegal immigration and the drug trade, but critics have charged that they are costly and ineffective.
The 2005 contract awarded to General Atomics, the Predator’s manufacturer, includes a requirement for a “Signals Interception Receiver.” In addition to the potential electronic intercept capability, the documents show that CBP’s drones are already capable of distinguishing human forms. The drones are also supposed to be able to detect, recognize and identify a standing human being from the air.
We usually hear about new tablets and smartphones at the Mobile World Congress, but this year Fujitsu also showed off a different mobile device. The Japanese company had a working prototype of a cane that downloads routes wirelessly and then guides its user using large arrows on its LED screen.
The next generation cane is obviously intended for the elderly. I’m just guessing here, but I think the prototype is based on the grand prize winner of a design contest that Fujitsu held in 2011. The idea is for someone – hopefully not a prankster – to make a route on a computer using the cane’s companion program. The cane will then download the route via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or 3G. With this information at hand, the cane will now tell the user which way to go using large green arrows. Should the user stray from the route, the cane will vibrate and reprimand the user with a red exclamation point. Then it shows the green arrows again.
What do you think this is grandpa, a leisurely stroll?! Make your way around the park in a predetermined, optimized and orderly manner!
I don’t see much point in just having a heart rate monitor. What’s an old person supposed to do with the data if he’s already having a heart attack or trying to run away from a thief? The cane does send its location back to the companion app so other people can track the user, but it would be more awesome if the cane could automatically call for help based on the user’s heart rate. It would be even more awesome if the cane could transform into a laser cannon. Yeah Fujitsu, screw the heart monitor. Just go with the laser cannon.
In each issue of Distro, editor-in-chief Tim Stevens publishes a wrap-up of the week in news.
After watching some of the life get sucked out of many of our favorite consumer electronics shows with major companies choosing to do their own thing in boutique events in fabulous cities around the world, we had our concerns about the 2013 iteration of Mobile World Congress. The HTC One got a showy New York City launch the week before the event and we already knew that Samsung was holding the Galaxy S IV until later. What’s left to see in MWC, then? As it turns out, a heck of a lot.
What began as a shameless ploy by the LTE-peddling thugs of the mobile crime wars has, fortunately, evolved into a tale of star-crossed lovers set for the modern stage. Presenting 3G: The Killer Connection, the story of what can happen when your choice of data carrier turns out to be wrong. Dead wrong. More »
Kickstarter for iPhone was released earlier in the month and it looks like an update has already arrived. This update will bring the Kickstarter app to version 1.1 and as one would expect with a point release, it is heavier on the fixes and improvements as compared to the new features. Thankfully though, that is not to say there is nothing new. On that note, lets begin with the new addition.
Kickstarter for iPhone v1.1 now has a new messages view. Basically, messages are now broken down into two categories — inbox and sent. Next up is an improvement in terms of push notifications. There isn’t a great deal of detail on this one however it was said that creators will now better control over push notifications. Basically it seems as if creators will now have a bit more control over how and/or what is sent to those funding their projects.
With something new and something improved, it is now time for the fixes, of which there are three listed. First up deals with the app banner, which should now open to “just the right spot” when you click Open from the website banner. Nothing major in that respect, but this next one should be a bit more exciting for those searching for that next project to back. The video experience has been fixed. The changelog notes that international users should see better performance when it comes to loading a video and that all issues with full-screen videos should be resolved.
Lastly, the Facebook logins and new user signup issues were taken care of. It seems some of the Facebook logins were simply failing and not processing correctly and that some users were seeing a “Name is required” error message even when they entered a name during the sign up process. Bottom line, a relatively minor, but still decent app update. The Kickstarter for iPhone app can be found in the iTunes App Store and while free to download and use, it may end up costing some money in form of backed projects.
Samsung has tentatively been on the hook for $1.05 billion in penalties after allegedly infringing on Apple’s patents, but that figure is about to change — for better or for worse. Judge Koh has ordered a reevaluation of $450.5 million of the damages in a second trial, arguing that the jury set one damage figure per product where there were six infringement claims that had to be taken into account for each device. She also believes that Apple may be entitled to damages for sales not included in the original case. There’s a chance Samsung can lower the amount it ultimately has to pay, but the extra factors and devices could easily worsen its situation. Koh hasn’t set a trial date, either, but we’d like it to come soon: Apple versus Samsung is quickly becoming the battle that never ends.
Sony’s PlayStation Plus service has played an important role for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita as the company’s paid PlayStation Network service has delivered more to its subscribers than competing services, such as Microsoft’s Xbox Live. Seeing how the PlayStation 4 was revealed last week, we were pretty sure Sony had some plans to integrate PS Plus with their new console.
Sony Europe CEO Jim Ryan was interviewed by the PlayStation Blog and reassured potential PlayStation 4 buyers the company hasn’t forgotten PlayStation Plus. “We’re not yet in a position to disclose our plans for the future of PlayStation Plus,” Ryan says in the interview, “but there will definitely be a prominent role to play for it in the PlayStation 4 landscape.”
Gamers shouldn’t be absolutely surprised by Ryan’s remarks as the service has done exceptionally well, especially since it isn’t necessary to be a subscriber in order to play online multiplayer games or enjoy services like Netflix or Hulu. Not only that, but this week’s mention of multiple subscription levels made us think Sony would continue making PlayStation Plus available when the PlayStation 4 releases.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
