In 2014, AT&T offered to purchase DirecTV for approximately $67 billion in total compensation – $48.5 billion in cash and stock, plus an assumption of DirecTV’s $18.6 billion in total debt. Click here. Some believe that this deal was predicated on AT&T’s desire to be able to stream DirecTV’s content to AT&T’s wireless customers. Click …
When Robin Thicke sang the words “I hate these blurred lines” he probably wasn’t talking about copyrights. Two weeks ago a jury awarded the family of Marvin Gaye almost $7.4 million dollars when it found that Thicke and co-writer Pharrell Williams copied elements from Gaye’s song “Got to Give It Up.” The jury found that …
Much has been made of the recent “academic scandal” at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In which classes in the African studies department did not require weekly attendance and in some cases only a single paper was the basis for the student’s final grade. The notion that these classes never physically met was so …
The MIT Media Lab has just developed a new way to exhibit social media to the outside world. The lab’s Fluid Interfaces Group has created a “Social Textiles” T-shirt that alerts the wearer with a vibration in the collar when another person within a 12 foot range is also wearing this T-shirt. Once the two …
With an optimistic eye towards the coming spring, I thought it relevant to discuss one of springtime’s sweetest fruits: strawberries. Most Americans can enjoy the sweet, red berries year-round thanks to the advent of greenhouses. However, much more technology goes into producing the perfect strawberry than most consumers may realize. Unbeknownst to most strawberry lovers, …
Google is using its weight as a technology giant to make it difficult for the Department of Justice to quietly amend the rules involving search warrants for electronically stored media. The company characterizes this amendment as allowing the government “hacking powers.” The public policy arm of the company has been outspoken in its disapproval of …
Overview Yelp, one of the largest websites for online crowd-sourced reviews of businesses and restaurants, is suing an online reputation company, Revleap (also operating as Yelpdirector and Revpley), alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, cybersquatting, contract interference, along with state-level claims, including false advertising. Background Yelp has been a controversial company among many business owners. On …
Sometimes Amazon Prime’s two day shipping just isn’t fast enough. Have you ever ordered something from the Internet, and wished that it would just appear at your doorstep? Well, that day could happen sooner than you think. Recently the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) proposed rules to regulate drone use. So how does drone use affect …
On February 19, the FDA permitted the marketing of 23andMe’s direct-to-consumer genetic carrier test for Bloom Syndrome. 23andMe is a genetic testing company based in Silicon Valley and backed by Google. This development is exciting for 23andMe because the company was banned from marketing its Personal Genome Service after a 2013 warning letter halted the …
If you are unfamiliar with the Dutch non-profit Mars One, then the first line of their mission statement should tell you all that you need to know to become more interested. “It is Mars One’s goal to establish a human settlement on Mars.” Last week the group announced its final selection of 100 candidates, who …
