6:56 PM
Standard and Poor's warned that India may lose its investment grade rating, citing credit, growth, and political roadblocks that could result in India getting a junk credit rating:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/06/india-could-get-junk-credit-rating.html
This article demonstrates the importance of the automated sewing system developed under DARPA funding. The military's annual clothing budget is $4 bil and the U.S. imports about $100 bil/year of sewn items...being able to produce sewn material cheaper than what comes out of China could be huge for the budget and the economy:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/06/fully-automatic-sewing-of-garments.html
The Flame computer virus that has gone undetected for years in Middle Eastern energy facilities has gotten the order to completely vanish, leaving no trace behind:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/flame-spy-virus-gets-order-vanish-experts-205746663.html
Debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan washed ashore in Oregon earlier this month has brought the threat of invasive species. An estimated 100 tons of organisms were on the cement dock, with most of the dozens of species coming from Japan instead of joining the dock as it floated through the Pacific Ocean:
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20120611-floating-dock-from-japan-carries-potential-invasive-species
The state of California has an interesting proposal to help it deal with its budget problems--it is looking to have government employees use their smartphones instead of being given smartphones...but the government won't subsidize users at all for the cost of their device and service:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/consumerization-of-it/californias-budget-crisis-sparks-controversial-byod-plan-save-money-195189
Ford is expanding their Sync service globally including the deep integration with Android and AppLink. They already operate this service in the U.S. and now they will introduce their service in Asia:
http://www.androidcentral.com/ford-sync-and-applink-android-set-expand-globally
Apple, Google, and Facebook are could face significant difficulty if the global internet tax that the UN may give a hearing to is approved. Wireless providers have been pushing for this, where websites/apps that use significant internet resources will have to pay internet providers for the data they are using. This tax is supposed to fund broadband network buildouts worldwide:
http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/apple-google-threatened-global-internet-tax/2012-06-10
Apple is reportedly planning to add a tracking tool to its iOS software that lets developers track who is using their apps. Developers and mobile ad firms have been asking for this information...but this has to raise at least some privacy concerns:
http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/report-apple-release-tracking-tool-app-developers/2012-06-08
IE10 is apparently so difficult to use on Windows 8 that even Microsoft cannot get it to work properly:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/ie10-windows-8-even-microsoft-cant-make-it-work-195293
Sprint sold off a chunk of its Clearwire stake and no longer owns the majority of Clearwire shares:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/11/sprint-clearwire-idUSL1E8HB2J820120611
Middleborough, Massachusetts residents could soon get a $20 fine for swearing:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304821304577439192334221350.html
68-year-old grandmother will attempt to get a Guinness World Record by playing a video game (Solitaire Blitz) for 30 straight hours with no sleep. If she succeeds, she will raise $10k for Charity: Water, a non-profit that works to bring clean drinking water to developing countries:
http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/11/68-year-old-grandmother-world-record-gaming-marathon/
http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/06/india-could-get-junk-credit-rating.html
This article demonstrates the importance of the automated sewing system developed under DARPA funding. The military's annual clothing budget is $4 bil and the U.S. imports about $100 bil/year of sewn items...being able to produce sewn material cheaper than what comes out of China could be huge for the budget and the economy:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/06/fully-automatic-sewing-of-garments.html
The Flame computer virus that has gone undetected for years in Middle Eastern energy facilities has gotten the order to completely vanish, leaving no trace behind:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/flame-spy-virus-gets-order-vanish-experts-205746663.html
Debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan washed ashore in Oregon earlier this month has brought the threat of invasive species. An estimated 100 tons of organisms were on the cement dock, with most of the dozens of species coming from Japan instead of joining the dock as it floated through the Pacific Ocean:
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20120611-floating-dock-from-japan-carries-potential-invasive-species
The state of California has an interesting proposal to help it deal with its budget problems--it is looking to have government employees use their smartphones instead of being given smartphones...but the government won't subsidize users at all for the cost of their device and service:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/consumerization-of-it/californias-budget-crisis-sparks-controversial-byod-plan-save-money-195189
Ford is expanding their Sync service globally including the deep integration with Android and AppLink. They already operate this service in the U.S. and now they will introduce their service in Asia:
http://www.androidcentral.com/ford-sync-and-applink-android-set-expand-globally
Apple, Google, and Facebook are could face significant difficulty if the global internet tax that the UN may give a hearing to is approved. Wireless providers have been pushing for this, where websites/apps that use significant internet resources will have to pay internet providers for the data they are using. This tax is supposed to fund broadband network buildouts worldwide:
http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/apple-google-threatened-global-internet-tax/2012-06-10
Apple is reportedly planning to add a tracking tool to its iOS software that lets developers track who is using their apps. Developers and mobile ad firms have been asking for this information...but this has to raise at least some privacy concerns:
http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/report-apple-release-tracking-tool-app-developers/2012-06-08
IE10 is apparently so difficult to use on Windows 8 that even Microsoft cannot get it to work properly:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/ie10-windows-8-even-microsoft-cant-make-it-work-195293
Sprint sold off a chunk of its Clearwire stake and no longer owns the majority of Clearwire shares:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/11/sprint-clearwire-idUSL1E8HB2J820120611
Middleborough, Massachusetts residents could soon get a $20 fine for swearing:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304821304577439192334221350.html
68-year-old grandmother will attempt to get a Guinness World Record by playing a video game (Solitaire Blitz) for 30 straight hours with no sleep. If she succeeds, she will raise $10k for Charity: Water, a non-profit that works to bring clean drinking water to developing countries:
http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/11/68-year-old-grandmother-world-record-gaming-marathon/