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Rothenberg Ventures founder Mike Rothenberg ordered to pay former CFO $166K in damages http://ift.tt/2xAb4td Former Rothenberg Ventures CFO David Haase has won his case against the firm’s founder Mike Rothenberg. The ruling came down in favor of Haase in the Superior Court of California this last week. Rothenberg must now pay Haase $166,000 for expenses and losses incurred during his employment at the firm, plus attorneys fees for the suit and for legal services related to an SEC investigation of the firm. Haase joined Rothenberg Ventures in the spring of 2016 to help the firm rapidly grow financially. The former CFO routinely used his own American Express card to cover expenses for the firm, including flights, hotels, partial payment for Rothenberg’s suite at Oracle Arena for the Golden State Warriors games and just under $35,000 Rothenberg put on the card to purchase a Beyonce concert suite for himself, which was eventually reimbursed to Haase from his personal account. Other expenses totaling over $100,000 had not been reimbursed, however, leaving Haase holding quite a large debt in the four months he was employed at the firm. Rothenberg owed Haase $109,352.20 plus interest accrued. According to his suit, Rothenberg had “wrongfully and capriciously refused to pay” that debt. The head of the venture firm must now pay that amount as well as $57,000 in fees for the SEC investigation, which includes Haase’s activities when he was acting CFO. Rothenberg has so far not gotten back to us about the settlement, but Haase tells TechCrunch he is “quite relieved” to be done with the case. “There were many good people at Rothenberg whose stories have not been told,” he added. “Most were as surprised as the general public to find out what Mike had been doing with investors’ money. I hope this helps them in their class action and also helps paint a clear picture of the true story.” A separate class action lawsuit has been filed against Rothenberg and his firm. We’ll be sure to update you when we have more on that case. Featured Image: Max Morse/TechCrunchDigital Trends via TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com October 30, 2017 at 02:19PM
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Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Adds 'Kung Fu Movie Star' to Resumé http://ift.tt/2hnxfg3 Jack Ma, the eccentric CEO of online marketplace Alibaba, has a well-documented flair for the theatrical. Now the South China Morning Post—a newspaper owned by Ma—reports their boss will assume a starring role in the upcoming short movie Gong Shou Dao. The film’s known credits, other than Ma himself, include action movie legends like Donny Yen and Tony Jaa, with executive production by Jet Li. It’s set to debut November 11th on Youku, a Chinese YouTube competitor. Advertisement Supposedly Ma’s role in the film was intended promote tai chi, which may well be the case. Conveniently Ma and Li co-own a tai chi learning business called Taiji Zen. The movie’s release also coincides with Singles Day, a major Chinese shopping holiday equivalent to Black Friday. According to SCMP, which again, is owned by Jack Ma, “Alibaba said the two events were not linked.” On his personal blog, Jet Li writes, presumptuously, that “we all know that Jack is a Taiji Master himself” and that “it will definitely be an exciting short film to watch.” Digital Trends via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com October 30, 2017 at 02:18PM
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Latest episode of ‘Bubbleproof’ showcases a partnership with unusual terms http://ift.tt/2yZ8eC5 VIDEO Silicon Valley is a land of ideation and thinkfluence and Qi drinks with tapioca mushroom protein. In this fourth episode of Bubbleproof, an original mockumentary series on the influence and ignorance of Silicon Valley, we get a closer look at the evolving/devolving relationship between startup founder guru Michael Fertik and venture capitalist David Cowan (who co-wrote the series with Fertik and director Martin Sweeney.) The episode “Gravity is My Co-Pilot” highlights the inaugural meeting of David and Michael’s new team and displays the different planes the two are operating on. This happens while a joint interview between the two showcases just how differently each views Cowan’s role as a partner in this venture. Check out episode 4 of Bubbleproof above. If you haven’t seen the ones before it, check them out here. Digital Trends via TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com October 30, 2017 at 02:05PM
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Nikon closes a manufacturing plant in China as restructuring continues http://ift.tt/2iOHuO3 Imaging giant Nikon is closing one of its manufacturing centers. On Monday, October 30, Nikon announced the closure of the subsidiary Nikon Imaging China Co. Ltd. (NIC) as part of a restructuring process that began last November, citing a shrinking demand for compact digital cameras. At the same time, the company announced an updated financial forecast with higher-than-expected profits. The China-based subsidiary manufactured compact cameras and lenses. “In recent years, however, due to the rise of smartphones, the compact digital camera market has been shrinking rapidly, leading to a significant decrease in [the] operating rate at NIC and creating a difficult business environment,” the company said in a statement. The move is part of the restructuring plan the company announced now almost a year ago. The restructuring plan introduced a focus on more high-end cameras, and closing a plant that manufactured compact cameras falls in line with that goal. Nikon says that only the manufacturing subsidiary is closing — China is a large market for camera sales and the company’s sales subsidiary in Shanghai will continue its usual operations. Other manufacturing and sales subsidiaries in China will remain, and only the NIC is affected, the company says. NIC launched in 2002 and as of September 30 employed 2,285 people. Nikon did not comment if any of the employees will be relocated. Because of that closure, Nikon adjusted its predicted earnings for the current fiscal year. The adjustment includes a 7.7-percent increase in profit, but with about a one-percent drop in revenue, much of that change is the result of lowered expenses. Nikon announced a restructuring plan on November 8, 2016, saying that the company was making the decision while still in a financially strong position to adjust to the changing camera market. Since that announcement, the company has created a separate optics division for lenses and canceled the previously announced DL line of advanced compacts. 2018 is the company’s 100th year in business, and that high-end focus led the company to release the 45-megapixel, 7 fps Nikon D850 in August. Nikon hasn’t released sales data on its most advanced camera introduced so far this year, but has apologized after selling out of pre-order stock, suggesting the pre-orders have exceeded the company’s expectations for the full-frame DSLR. Editor's Recommendations
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC October 30, 2017 at 02:02PM
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Jam out to a ‘Hipster Brunch’ playlist with Pandora’s Featured Playlists http://ift.tt/2xzeY5y Pandora is starting to look a whole lot like Spotify. Or rather, sound a whole lot like Spotify. On Monday, October 30, the music streaming service announced its new Featured Playlists, which promise to “help you find the perfect jam to set the mood for any moment.” While Pandora has hung its hat on personalized stations informed by the Music Genome Project, it has struggled in recent years to compete with newer (but more flexible) services like Spotify and Apple Music. So now, it would appear that the company is hopping on the bandwagon, releasing “over 250 playlists” that will continue to expand in the coming weeks and months. If you’re a Premium subscriber, you will be able to find these new playlists at the top of your “browse” section, and the playlist found at the very top of the list will correspond to your unique musical preferences. So whether you’re in the mood for Modern Yacht Rock (which promises a contemporary take on smooth rock grooves mixed with some electronic vibes) or Waterfalls (which will help you travel back in time with baggy overalls, nose rings, and acid wash), Pandora has something for you. Some of these Featured Playlists will also feature a “twinning radio station,” which is good news for folks who are not paying for Pandora (the playlists, you see, are only for Pandora Premium customers). Thanks to these new radio stations, you will be able to “enjoy the awesomeness whether you’re on free Pandora, Plus, or Premium.” Sure, you won’t necessarily have the exact same songs, but you will get the same general spirit — stations include Hipster Brunch for your early weekend party, and Turn Out The Lights to set the mood for a romantic evening. Premium users will be able to save their favorite playlists to their libraries for easy access, whereas the rest of us will have to stick to Pandora’s classic station approach. But either way, it certainly seems as though we will be listening to new beats from Pandora. And just maybe, this new launch will help the company stay competitive in an increasingly crowded music streaming space. Editor's Recommendations
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC October 30, 2017 at 02:02PM
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The first ‘Destiny 2’ expansion arrives on all platforms on December 5 http://ift.tt/2z3jrB4 If you’ve already finished Destiny 2‘s campaign, waded through the Leviathan raid, and maxed your power level out, you may be wondering what you should be doing in the shared-world shooter besides duking it out in the Crucible on loop. Thankfully, the first expansion isn’t far away. During Sony’s Paris Games Week press conference, Bungie revealed that Curse of Osiris arrives December 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The title of the first expansion has been known since right after the game launched in September, but the reveal trailer provided ample context. The new story concerns Osiris, a banished Vanguard member, and the planet Mercury. Narrated by Ikora, the trailer describes how while you were finishing the campaign, “past and future” machines funneled through an ancient gate to build a formidable army strong enough to restructure the entire universe to their liking. Now it’s up to you, Guardian, to head to Mercury and stop the invasion. While on Mercury, you will seek out Osiris, the mysterious character who once predicted this very event, but was kicked out of the Vanguard for his troubling thoughts. While the reasons for his banishment are still murky at best (he was mentioned several times in the original, but never seen), Ikora offers a tantalizing bit of knowledge — it remains to be seen if Osiris will serve as a helping hand or be the cause of defeat. To gain access to the expansion, users can purchase the Destiny 2 expansion pass for $35. The pass includes both Curse of Osiris and a yet-to-be-revealed second expansion which is expected to launch next spring. While stand-alone pricing has not been revealed, if Bungie follows the pattern set by the original game’s first two expansions, Curse of Osiris will likely cost $20 (Destiny‘s initial expansion pass was also $35). As with the original game, Destiny 2 is a constantly evolving experience. Bungie recently announced that it would add private matches to the Crucible in early 2018. If you want to prepare for the expansion but haven’t yet completed the Leviathan raid, make sure to check out our complete walkthrough. If the Crucible is more your style, Trials of the Nine, which was suspended for two weeks due to a emote glitch that let players slip through some walls, will return on November 3 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Editor's Recommendations
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC October 30, 2017 at 02:02PM
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Here’s everything you need to know about SpaceX Starlink http://ift.tt/2xzzdjP Unless you’ve been living in a technological black hole for the last few years, you’re probably heard of Elon Musk, and read stories about his ambitious ideas and startups. Between sexy electric cars, “hyperloop” transit systems, reusable rockets, and Mars colonies; there’s certainly no shortage of things to look forward to from the guy. In this article, we’ll explore one of his more intriguing pursuits — recently dubbed “Starlink” — and the implications it has for both the internet and the world at large. Here’s a breakdown of what SpaceX Starlink is, and why you should get pumped about it. Humble beginningsIn 2015, Musk began probing the FCC about testing a “global broadband” system, and in September of 2017 filed applications for a satellite based broadband network called (you guessed it) Starlink, with the objective of eventually building a low-cost, satellite based broadband network capable of delivering internet access to the entire globe. Sounds pretty straightforward — but what makes Starlink special compared to conventional satellite internet? Well, to put it plainly: while satellite internet has been around for ages, it has generally suffered from high latency, unreliable connections, and spotty service areas. With Starlink, SpaceX intends to put a “constellation” of satellites in low earth orbit, thereby providing high-speed, cable-like internet to every corner of the planet. Much like Musk’s other ideas, this one is extremely ambitious, and in order to achieve it, SpaceX’s launch schedule is going to get busy in a way the world hasn’t seen before. The road aheadTo give you a sense of just how formidable a challenge this is, here are some numbers: There are currently only 1,459 satellites currently in orbit around earth, along with 2,600 inactive. SpaceX will need to launch 4,425 satellites into orbit to achieve its desired coverage. That’s going to require a lot of rockets, a lot of fuel, and a lot of money. The project is ambitious to say the least, but the payoff will presumably be immense. Imagine having blazing fast internet available all the time, no matter if you’re were in the middle of a crowded city or deep in the Amazonian jungle. Slated for as soon as 2024, this theoretical blanket of broadband isn’t that far off. If this project comes to fruition, it would make low latency internet available to locations that previously had either poor service, or none at all. The impact such a network might have on Earth remains to be seen, but Elon Musk is already thinking beyond our pale blue dot. In the long-term, SpaceX intends to develop a similar system to deploy on Mars for future colonization attempts, and will use the Starlink project to lay the foundation for those efforts. The end of the world as we know it (in a good way)Considering the fact that SpaceX is one of the world’s most advanced launch service providers, it already has many of the resources needed to establish and maintain a fleet of satellites — most notably its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon satellite programs. With 13 successful launches in 2017 (and counting), getting satellites into the air on a regular schedule looks like it won’t be a problem — although SpaceX will need to scale up its launch schedule considerably to make it possible. If Musk and Co. are successful in this endeavor, they will almost certainly cause waves in the telecom industry. After all, with global internet, who needs traditional cell phone service? ISPs and telecoms will likely start to feel the heat as Starlink (and similar projects from other tech giants) progress over the next few years. So while this might be bad news for SpaceX’s competitors, individual consumers like yourself have a lot to look forward to. Editor's Recommendations
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/2p4eJdC October 30, 2017 at 02:02PM
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What Genetics Could Tell Us About How Cancer Develops http://ift.tt/2hpxLKT What happens when a precancerous growth turns from a benign cluster of abnormal cells to a full-blown disease? Researchers are turning to genome sequencing in an effort to find out. This month, the National Cancer Institute funded a three-year pilot project that aims to develop a “pre-cancer genome atlas” for lung, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer. Researchers will sequence the DNA from precancerous growths, along with RNA from individual tumor cells. The idea is to provide snapshots of the same tumor over time, hopefully identifying the tipping point at which its cells become cancerous. The results of the work could one day help researchers know which tumors to treat, and how. Advertisement The NCI project, which is part of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative, is not the first research to home-in on this stage in the development of cancer. Last week, three non-profits—Stand Up To Cancer, the American Lung Association, and LUNGevity--announced a new four-year, $5 million effort to sequence the DNA from precancerous growths in the body’s airway, tracking changes in them over time. The project hopes to come up with new diagnostic tools to identify whether lung abnormalities found on chest imaging are cancerous as early as possible. At this point, little is still known about what happens in the early stages of a disease that pushes a growth over the edge to become cancer. At the same time, advancements in DNA sequencing mean that with tiny tissue samples taken from patients, researchers may gain useful data that can shed light on those early stages of disease. And the earlier cancer is identified, the more hope there is that doctors may be able to treat it. [Nature] Digital Trends via Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com October 30, 2017 at 02:00PM
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Following exec shakeup, Amazon Studios announces expansion plans http://ift.tt/2iNXIqN Amazon today announced plans to expand its TV and movie division, Amazon Studios, which includes relocating to a new location in Culver City, California. The physical move coincides with Amazon’s plans to increase hiring across new roles in creative, technical, marketing and legal, the company said. The announcement follows quite a bit housecleaning at the executive level at Amazon Studios in recent days, including most notably the departure of studio chief Roy Price among harassment allegations. After Price, Amazon Studios’ head of unscripted, Conrad Riggs, also left; as did head of comedy, drama and VR, Joe Lewis. Variety reported Lewis had been under internal investigation for his behavior and reportedly pressured producers into casting his girlfriend, Yara Martinez, in Amazon’s original series, “The Tick.” Riggs, meanwhile, had helped Amazon bring former “Top Gear” host Jeremy Clarkson to Prime Video, Variety also said, but the show had not lived up to the hype. Other unscripted series failed, too, including “American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story” and “Eat the World With Emeril Lagasse,” the report noted. In addition, Apple this month hired away Amazon Studio exec Morgan Wandell in its push for scripted programming. Wandall had most recently served as Amazon’s Head of International Series. Despite these shake-ups among the exec ranks, the Amazon Studios division itself is still growing. Amazon says its new office space at The Culver Studios will occupy more than 280,000 square feet, and will house not only Amazon Studios, but also IMDb, Amazon Video and World Wide Advertising. The studio space was originally developed by silent movie pioneer Thomas H. Ince, and has been home to productions including Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane, Amazon noted in today’s announcement. “We are very excited about being a part of 100 years of movie and TV history at The Culver Studios,” said Albert Cheng, Head of Amazon Studios, in a statement. (Cheng has been serving as interim head of Amazon Studios, following Roy Price’s suspension.) “Most importantly, this new LA-based office will give us the much-needed space for our team to work and grow so we can keep bringing Prime Members the very best in series and movies,” Cheng added. Amazon has already been making a name for itself in Hollywood, with Emmy wins for shows like “Transparent,” as well as The Man in the High Castle and Mozart in the Jungle. Amazon also took home the first best picture nom for any streaming service with Manchester by the Sea, which later won. However, it hasn’t had as many hits – critical or otherwise – as rival Netflix. Many people see Prime Video as a nice-to-have upgrade with their Prime subscription, but not necessarily something that could stand on its own as a Netflix rival. However, Amazon is increasing its investment in streaming, to further challenge Netflix and others. Its $4.5 billion budget in 2017 is due to increase next year, Variety has said. The company also recently announced it would operate more like a traditional Hollywood studio by handling its own theatrical distributions. Amazon said today it employs over 700 people in Santa Monica, California and will begin moving into the new office space, located at 9336 West Washington Boulevard in Culver City, at the end of this year.
Digital Trends via TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com October 30, 2017 at 01:56PM
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'The Deuce' Isn't About Sex, It's About Capitalism http://ift.tt/2zjrWZW The Deuce is not a sexy show. The HBO series, which just concluded its first season, examines the sex trade in 1970s New York City, but does so through the eyes of professionals—sex workers and their pimps. Their jobs may be to fulfill fantasies, but the bulk of their day-to-day grind is remarkably unsexy, bound up in logistics, routine, bureaucratic rules, and going through the motions. In short, it’s a job, and that’s how it is depicted, time after time. The star of the show is Eileen Merrill (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a veteran Times Square sex worker who goes by the street name Candy. Unlike the women she shares the streets with, Candy has no pimp—and neither the abuse nor the protection that comes with it. "Nobody makes money off of my pussy but me," laughs Eileen when one of the pimps, Rodney (Method Men), tries to recruit her with promises of a better life. "I’m gonna keep what I earn." She walks away laughing and chanting “money, money, money”—which is what it’s all about, in the end, for both the women and The Deuce. Rather than a show about sex, this a show about an industry that turns sex into cash, and the women whose bodies provide that conversion. Although there are numerous graphic sex scenes—how could there not be?—the series has little interest in erotica. Particularly surprising, given how easily the show could pack its episodes with titillation, is its penchant for cutting away when the women take their johns into a room. When there is sex on screen, it’s contextual; we see it because it’s important to the stories of these women, not because it's fun to look at. In short, it’s not gratuitous, which feels like a minor miracle after watching, say, Game of Thrones. The sex that is shown is usually routine, sometimes repellent, and occasionally frightening. The few exceptions are romantic interludes between non-pimped couples, and a scene of Eileen masturbating that Gyllenhaal herself suggested suggested to show creator David Simon. "I thought here’s all this performative sex, all this transactional sex," Gyllenhaal, also producer on the show, told New York magazine. “I wanted to know what her desire looks like.” Contrast that with a later scene on a porn set where we find the male performer thrusting monotonously into his costar, who stares into space blankly. "This is actually joyless," says the director, throwing up his hands in resignation. But more than just humanizing the sex trade, The Deuce offers a sharp critique of the inequalities and exploitations of late capitalism by examining sex work as labor—highly lucrative labor that comes saddled with a stigma that makes it easy to abuse. "What I stumbled into seemed to be a ready-made critique of market capitalism, and what happens when labor has no collective voice," Simon told The Guardian. "That seemed to be apt for this moment because I think a lot of the lessons of the 20th century are going to have to be learned all over again thanks to Reagan and Thatcher and all the neoliberal and libertarian argument that has come after." This is Simon’s stock-in-trade. His most famous and beloved series, The Wire, earned praise for being less about drugs—or moralizing about drugs—and more about the systematic forces that preyed on marginalized people trying to survive. The Deuce, similarly, is less concerned with sex itself or the morality of sex work, and more with the societal layers that combine to make sex workers’ lives worse: misogyny; a legal system more interested in punishing them than protecting them; and, of course, capitalism. Although free enterprise has a way of reducing all human beings to how well their bodies generate money, its intersection with sex is especially fraught. Sex work means commodifying an act so intense and varied that, depending on who is doing it and why, it can mean love, pleasure, procreation, or degradation. For its part, The Deuce doesn’t offer much commentary on whether sex work itself is inherently exploitative, only that many of the socioeconomic forces swirling around it certainly are.
The most obvious sources of exploitation are the pimps, who hang around the train stations looking for fresh-faced girls arriving in the big city, and then break them down psychologically and physically until they’re obedient and codependent. At the end of night, the women turn all their earnings over to their pimps; keeping any of their hard-earned cash for themselves is a quick way to get a beating. Although the show doesn’t make the pimps into cackling villains, it’s difficult to see the them as anything besides abusive middlemen profiting off of other people’s work—an arrangement that may look intimately familiar to many corporate employees. The women are treated as commodities not just conceptually but literally; when an inexperienced girl named Bernice gets lured into the trade, her first pimp sells her to another for $2,000. When a young woman named Darlene ends up with a bruise on her face from a customer who went too far with the rough sex, her pimp Larry is furious, indignant. He tells Darlene to relay a warning: "If he fucks you up like this again, he’s gonna have me raise up on him." Of course, Larry beats Darlene and his other girls too—but they’re his. He’s not defending a woman he cares about so much as protecting something he owns. An assault on her is an assault on both his merchandise and his reputation, and he responds accordingly. One exception to the rule is Gentle Ritchie, a mumbly, mellow pimp with Marxist leanings. He never abuses the one woman who works for him and actually seems to value her as a person, a laid-back approach that earns him scorn from the other pimps. "I don’t dig hierarchical oppression, man," Ritchie says when a pimp advises him to hit her for talking back. "She controls the means of production." It’s a bit of a joke at the time, but its larger point about labor becomes unexpectedly relevant. When a pimp named Reggie rolls in to a local dive bar to drink while his girls are working, the barmaid, Abby, caustically asks him if he’s ever had a job. “I see Shay and Melissa doing all the work," she says. "I don’t know exactly what it is you do, except count the cash and treat them like shit." This is exploitation, to be sure, in all the most obvious ways. But take sex and abuse out of the equation, and you can see the same dynamic driving income equality across the country: money trickling up to people who aren’t doing the work, rather than down to the people who are. Later, when cops drive the sex workers off the streets and into brothels where the police can take a cut of their profits, the pimps realize that their cushy managerial positions are in danger of being downsized. The de facto legalization of sex work—akin to the “Hamsterdam” drug legalization on The Wire— means better working conditions and less risk of violence for the women, and also less need for the protection of a pimp. “We’ve become extraneous in the whole situation,” says a pimp named C.C., worriedly. “The pussy is still the pussy. The money is still the money. But the pimp: who the fuck is he right now?” Of course, under this new system, the women are being exploited not just by the pimps, but by a police force that alternately hauls them into jail and skims money off their paychecks. The illegal nature of their work makes it easy for them to be preyed on, by men who want to rape them, men who want to hurt them, or men who just want to reach into their wallet. "Always gonna be hoes," says one pimp, trying to reassure himself as the implications of the brothels become clearer. "Always gonna need a man to hold their money." But maybe in Season 2 the women will seize the means of production and prove him wrong. Digital Trends via Feed: All Latest http://ift.tt/2uc60ci October 30, 2017 at 01:42PM |
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