Business, Financial & Legal - Page 110

Sony Pictures grabbed all of the headlines during late 2014 due to its data breach, but Sony as a whole is in significant need of a company-wide revival. Company CEO Kazuo Hirai took over in April 2012 and every option is on the table, according to financial investors, including business unit spinoffs and joint ventures.

Since Hirai took over, the company has cut 15,000 jobs and has endured six forecast earnings cuts - with an estimated $1.9 billion net loss for its fiscal year which ends in March.

"Electronics in general, along with entertainment and finance, will continue to be an important business," Hirai told journalists at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week. "But within that there are some operations that will need to be run with caution - and that might be TV or mobile, for example."

The bitcoin cryptocurrency endured highs and lows throughout 2014, with the bitcoin economy making progress - but valuation saw continued decline. Compared to other currencies, bitcoins suffered the worst, decreasing 67 percent throughout 2014, and is off to a turbulent start in 2015, cryptocurrency analysts noted.

Despite a volatile value, CoinDesk predicts there will be more than 140,000 merchants and retailers accepting bitcoin payments by the end of the year.

The IRS ruled in 2014 that bitcoins are property and not currency, which could cause major headaches for bitcoin owners. US taxpayers will need to be careful when filing their taxes, and since bitcoin value declined, likely won't have to pay any type of taxes for gains.

The transition from paid song and album digital downloads to online streaming radio stations has turned the music industry upside down. Streaming music is reportedly hurting music industry revenue, with more listeners choosing streaming apps and services over paying for digital downloads, according to the Strategy Analytics research group.

Musicians are caught in the middle of the uncertainty, as they want a fair cut of music profits - but are trying to be careful not to alienate their respective fan base.

"We're going to pay for it like we pay for cable - monthly blocks for everything instead of each individual release," said 50 Cent, rapper and founder of SMS Audio, in an interview with the Telegraph. "It used to be that music release had a build-up to a day and it a felt like an event, and everyone who was passionate about the artist was doing it at the same time. Now it has come out in pieces. The singles will probably be the largely portion of the profits."

Global PC shipments reached 80.8 million units during Q4 of 2014, a -2.4 percent year-over-year decline, according to the IDC research group. The US and European markets proved stronger than other regions of the world, with positive signs that the overall PC market is progressing with positive signs after years of increased competition.

Hewlett-Packard saw 26.2 percent Q4 year-over-year growth, while Dell (13.7 percent), Apple (18.1 percent), and Lenovo (7.9 percent) prepare to battle in the resurgent US PC market.

"The U.S. PC market continued to grow in the fourth quarter, outperforming the global market for the tenth consecutive quarter," said Rajani Singh, senior research analyst of the personal computing division at IDC. "The past year was supported by Windows XP to 7 migrations in the commercial segment while consumer volume continued to decline."

Apple added 9,000 new jobs in 2014 alone, but says it has directly and indirectly led to more than 1 million jobs being "created or supported" by the company. In addition to its Apple headquarters and stores throughout the country, Apple also has generated great interest among app developers within the community.

"This year is off to a tremendous start after a record-breaking year for the App Store and our developer community," said Eddy Cue, senior VP of Internet software and services at Apple. "We're so proud of the creativity and innovation developers bring to the apps they create for iOS users and that the developer community has now earned over $25 billion."

Apple is off to another tremendous start with its App Store, racking up almost half a billion dollars on mobile apps and in-app purchases during the first week of January - and New Year's Day was the highest-grossing day of all-time for the App Store.

Intel is certainly no chump when it comes to innovation, profits and company value - so generally when the CEO talks, people listen. Alongside announcing their Curie module, Intel have provided new applications for RealSense cameras in regards to robots, flying drones and 3-D immersive experiences; which also includes an investment of $300 million to encourage more diversity at Intel and within the technology industry as large.

Brian Kzranich, Intel's CEO commented in their recently issued press release that "the rise of new personal computing experiences, intelligent and connected devices, and the wearable revolution are redefining the relationship between consumers and technology. Our goal with Intel technology is to help solve real problems and enable experiences that are truly desired by people and businesses. In order to do this, we must also do more to lead the growth of diversity and inclusion within the technology industry. Women and under-represented minorities will continue to play a greater role as consumers, influencers, creators and leaders."

This statement was made during a keynote presentation at CES 2015, where he also used the time to announce their new wearable partnership with Oakley, a 3-D collaboration with HP and more. Intel have been busy when it comes to behind-the-scenes advancements and company partnerships, it seems.

You've seen it time and time again in reality TV shows and certain movies - the main character is hooked up to a lie detector in a stressful environment and asked specific questions to determine if they're telling the truth. However in the real-world, whether they're telling the truth or not, an experienced examiner only has a 60 percent chance to successful deduce a lie.

Current technology is said to be only slightly better that using nothing at all, with reports claiming that the average person can tell if someone is telling the truth or not 55 percent of the time anyway. To help raise the odds for technology, scientists from the University of Cambridge and Lancaster University in the U.K., and the universities of Utrecht and Enschede in the Netherlands have used a full-body suit.

This suit records the position, velocity and orientation of the wearer through 23 different places on their body. As traditional polygraph lie detectors are only connected to minimal spots on your person, the placement of 23 total nodes is said to help improve accuracy by fetching more data.

The Obama Administration announced new sanctions against the North Korean government last week, in an effort to retaliate against North Korea for reportedly hacking Sony Pictures. Obama responded to "the provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea," and its decision to target Sony Pictures.

In addition to previous sanctions designed to pressure the North Korean government, ten government agents - working in China, Russia, Iran, Syria and Namibia - have been added to the sanctions list. Pyongyang wasn't happy with the release of "The Interview" by Sony Pictures, and was accused or orchestrating a crippling cyberattack against the company. It's no surprise that government officials are unhappy with the United States and the Obama Administration for even more sanctions designed to disrupt its government operations.

"The persistent and unilateral action taken by the White House to slap sanctions against the D.P.R.K. patently proves that it is still not away from inveterate repugnance and hostility toward the D.P.R.K.," a North Korean government official reportedly told the media.

The United States has issued new economic sanctions against North Korea, as Pres. Obama and lawmakers look for methods to retaliate against North Korea. Even with increasing pressure stating otherwise, the FBI and Obama Administration still believes North Korea is directly involved in bringing down Sony Pictures, ahead of the launch of "The Interview."

Here is what White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest noted in a press statement: "This (executive order) is a response to the Government of North Korea's ongoing provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies, particularly its destructive and coercive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment."

This reportedly is the first step by the Obama Administration, though could be nothing more than a symbolic effort - North Korea endures heavy sanctions, so any additional sanctions could end up being meaningless. However, the newest sanctions will target the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, Reconnaissance General Bureau and Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, in an effort to hurt the government's intelligence and arms dealing sectors.

Tesla Motors' CEO, Elon Musk, has just unleashed a Tweet to his awaiting fans, hinting that his company is working on a robotic charging system that will automatically connect and charge your car.

Instantly it makes you picture something out of a sci-fi film and that's exactly what it seems like is going to happen. Recent reports have shown that robot snake type products are actually a very real thing - OC Robotics has just shown off their Series II - X125 system snake bot, said to be used for 'a number of practical purposes' and the Carnegie Mellon University Biorobotics lab have been working on their own versions of these devices for quite some time.

There is no information currently pointing to any possible designs that Tesla may use for themselves, however the two above examples may give you a rough idea of what to expect.

Yoon Mi Rae has decided to play hardball, taking Sony to court over their partial use of her song "Pay Day" in the latest Sony Pictures flick, The Interview.

The musician isn't happy, with various media outlets pointing out that Sony Pictures has been very on-the-ball in dragging other companies and people before the court in Intellectual Property cases, however it seems that they are the guilty ones in this instance.

Yoon Mi Rae's label has publicly announced that "there were initial discussions for using 'Pay Day' in the movie, but at some point, the discussions ceased and we assumed that it would not follow through," further stating "however, after the movie was released, we learned that the track had been used without permission, legal procedure, or contracts."

Two Uber users are unhappy with paying the $1 'Safe Rides Fee' for their services, claiming that it's unfair. This extra add-on is implemented by Uber, who claim that their drivers have to undergo extensive background and safety checks before getting the tick of approval to operate, much more-so than regular taxi companies.

What's the truth? Forbes says that they don't. If you're looking to join a traditional taxi service, you're going to have your fingerprints taken and many various methods will be utilized to prove your identity and safety. Uber has been slammed by members of the public and media, claiming that it's simply too easy for someone to use another persons identity to sign up as an UberX driver, faking your credentials and background checks.

So what exactly is involved with the Uber background checking system? Gizmodo emailed this emerging company back in 2013 and was hit with a reply claiming it was a "trade secret". Many more news outlets have been trying to pry this information away from Uber, surely it can't be that difficult to release? One concern that may arise is if Uber release their selection process, people will be made publicly aware and start developing methods to work around these facts.

The latest Tesla model upgrade has been announced, with the Roaster 3.0 package boasting an impressive 400 mile range - seeing a 31 percent increase in battery capacity when compared to it's older brothers 52 kWh lithium-ion offering.

This 70 kWh battery package takes up the same amount of room as the older model, providing "more potent" lithium-ion cells for use. This improved and extended battery also includes an improved aero body-kit, enabling this futuristic vehicle to travel along at a more efficient rate and reducing its drag coefficient from 0.36 to 0.31, meaning a 15 percent improvement has been made.

The last improvement following this massive 40 to 50 percent increase in driving range is a 20 percent decrease in rolling resistance, to further help drive in efficiency.

Tim Cook has been named "CEO of the Year" for 2014 by CNN, with the rise of Apple stock and record-breaking iDevice launches for the year cementing Cook as CNN's CEO of the Year. Cook took first place, while John Chen of BlackBerry, Mary Barra of GM and Meg Whitman of HP weren't too far behind him.

CNN said that Apple was the "apple of Wall Street's eye again" thanks to its stock driving up 40% this year, as well as other individual factors that led to the stock price going up. CNN said that Cook did "an amazing job" over the year, with the successful launches of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as other various launches, including Apple Pay.

All eyes are watching for the launch of the Apple Watch early next year, which could be another big win for both Cook and Apple. CNN said "Cook has arguably the toughest CEO job in America. He's had to convince skeptics that Apple can still innovate after the death of Steve Jobs. He's proven all the naysayers wrong."

The US Postal Service is desperate to attract customers and business clients interested in making shipments via the USPS service. Since 2012, the USPS has ramped up efforts to appeal to e-commerce businesses to combat stiff competition from FedEx, UPS, DHL, and other rival services.

The e-commerce business sector continues to increase, and fighting for customers making frequent shipments has proven difficult for the USPS. However, real-time package scanning and new handheld scanners of delivery workers are two strategies besieged Postal Service executives have tried implementing.

Fighting for profitability will remain a major undertaking for the USPS, as first-class mail - the most profitable business for the USPS - continues to slide, contributing to the $5.5 billion fiscal 2014 loss suffered by the Postal Service.

Facebook has been hit with a class action lawsuit in the United States, with the social network being accused of reading users' private messages, without their consent.

On Tuesday, Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled in an Oakland, California court that the social network must face a class action lawsuit for violating its users' privacy by scanning their private messages, so that it could used the gathered data for targeted advertising. Facebook shot back, arguing that their actions are covered by an exception under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act for interceptions by service producers occurring in the ordinary course of business. The court replied, saying that Facebook hadn't explained how this practice fell within the ordinary course of business.

The lawsuit itself was filed two years ago, and it could benefit any user that sent or received linked through private messages. The suit is asking for damages of up to $10,000 per person, and it would also like to see Facebook not scanning private messages going into the future.

The legal battle between Samsung and NVIDIA continues as the US International Trade Commission (ITC) launches an investigation into Samsung claims that NVIDIA is violating its patents. Samsung's lawsuit is a retaliatory move after NVIDIA fired the opening salvo in the legal battle in September. NVIDIA sued both Samsung and Qualcomm for infringing their graphic patents in September. NVIDIA is playing hardball and asking for the ITC to block shipments of several of Samsung's mobile devices in the US, including the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4.

Samsung is seeking a similar ban on NVIDIA products in the US, but the much smaller NVIDIA seems to have more at stake. NVIDIA's lawsuit against Samsung only touches a small number of Samsung products, but the Samsung lawsuit affects nearly every NVIDIA product, including the Shield, GeForce processors, Tegra mobile chips, Quadro cards, Tesla cards, and Grid computing products. Samsung is accusing NVIDIA and 11 of their partners of violating four of their patents on chips structures, memory arrays and other chip technologies. These battles can take years to play out, and the ITC has already launched an investigation into Samsung regarding NVIDIA's claims.

NVIDIA's chief legal counsel, David Shannon, took to his blog to to expand on the current situation. "NVIDIA remains focused on ensuring that we receive fair compensation from Samsung for using our technology in Galaxy phones and tablets," Shannon wrote. "We won't allow ourselves to get sidetracked by the company's attempts to intimidate our partners who have nothing to do with the unlicensed use of our IP. We look forward to the court setting this right."

Movie theater patrons in the UK, a group of 12-year-old girls, faced a major headache when theater management called police over suspected piracy concerns. The children brought their Apple iPhones and iPads into the theater while seeing "The Hunger Games," despite not recording any data, the police were called.

A few members of the group were accused of recording parts of the movie, and the police searched the devices for recordings, but were unable to find anything. The theater allowed them to return to their seats, but they instead decided to wait for their parents to pick them up.

Here is what a mother of one of the girls said following the incident: "Our girls were falsely accused, had the police called on them and then just left in tears. It's outrageous. If they have done this to our children they will do it again."

Sony Pictures will release "The Interview" in any theater willing to show it, starting on Christmas Day, reversing its decision to pull the movie. The company also plans to release the movie digitally, but Sony hasn't offered additional details on how interested viewers will be able to watch the film.

"We have never given up on releasing 'The Interview' and we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day," said Michael Lynton, Sony Pictures CEO, in a press statement. "At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience."

Here is what Seth Rogen said (via Twitter): "The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed! Sony didn't give up! The Interview will be shown at theaters willing to play it on Xmas day!"

Apple executives have lashed out at the BBC Panorama report that revealed ongoing poor working conditions for employees at an Apple manufacturing facility in China. The report indicated employees were found to work up to 16 hours per shift, working many consecutive days, and living in harsh environments in their dormitories.

Apple CEO Tim Cook noted educational programs for workers in China, along with improving working conditions, in an open letter to Apple employees working in the UK.

"As you know, Apple is dedicated to the advancement of human rights and equality around the world. We are honest about the challenges we face and we work hard to make sure that people who make our products are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve."