7:57 PM
The GAO found that the 96 highest-priority defense programs cost a total of $1.58 trillion, and had cost increases that totaled $74 bil in the past year. To put things in perspective, the $74 bil increase in cost is more than Russia, India, and the UK spent *total* last year! In other words, the only countries that spend more on defense than the cost increases the US had last year were the US and China:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/military-cost-increases/
Countries report how much fish they catch so that planning can ensure that the water isn't overfished and the fish population wiped out...but Chinese fishing boats catch $11.5 bil worth of fish outside Chinese waters every year and most of it is NOT reported. Among the 4.6 mil tons per year that Chinese foreign fishing takes from the waters of 90+ countries is 3.1 mil tons of fish Chinese boats take from African waters:
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20130403-china-catches-12-times-more-fish-beyond-its-waters-than-it-reports
Sprint's largest non-Sprint-allied shareholder (Crest Financial, owning 3.9% of Clearwire) is offering Clearwire $240 mil in financing so that Clearwire will reject Sprint's $2.97/share offer to buy Clearwire that comes with $80 mil/month payments. The $80 mil/month that Sprint is giving Clearwire amounts to Sprint buying Clearwire stock for $1.50/share...quite a bargain for Sprint! Crest says that Sprint's offer undervalues Clearwire and prefers Dish Network's $3.30/share offer:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwire-shareholder-crest-offers-240m-block-sprint-deal/2013-04-04#ixzz2PWmdAI53
Facebook announced Facebook Home, which turns any Android handset into a "Facebook phone" with its deeply integrated application that takes over the Android system. Facebook also has an HTC phone with a customized Android OS, similar to how Amazon created their own skin for the Kindle Fire:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/04/facebook-android-home-phone/
Samsung is opening 1,400 Samsung stores within Best Buy locations nationwide by this summer, with 900 opening within a month from now. Apple has 400 stores nationwide for comparison purposes. This gives Samsung a quick way to get their stores going, a way to dominate sales in Best Buys, and to entice people to try out their latest smartphones and tablets...and it gives Best Buy added sales and monetary payments that Samsung will be making to Best Buy to lease the space in their stores. Best Buy *already* is giving space to sell Samsung's products, so this is extra money for Best Buy for doing something they might have wanted to do anyway:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/samsung-open-1400-mini-stores-within-best-buys-challenging-apple/2013-04-04
Verizon's CEO says that Verizon Wireless could drop wireless contracts if consumers respond positively to T-Mobile's decision to drop contracts. This would enable customers to get a lower monthly bill, but would eliminate the costly phone subsidy that carriers currently pay:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizons-mcadam-leaves-door-open-dropping-wireless-contracts/2013-04-04
The Google Chrome team announced that they are dumping WebKit and going to use a new browser engine called Blink. Opera is also dumping WebKit and moving to Blink while Samsung and Mozilla are creating a new browser engine called Servo:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/web-development/google-chrome-team-explains-what-shift-blink-means-web-developers-215801
I think that it is really cool that when Evan Gattis hit his first home run in the majors his parents were being interviewed at the game at the time:
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/04/04/evan-gattis-first-hit-in-the-majors-was-a-home-run-and-it-came-while-his-mom-and-dad-were-being-interviewed-on-tv/
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/military-cost-increases/
Countries report how much fish they catch so that planning can ensure that the water isn't overfished and the fish population wiped out...but Chinese fishing boats catch $11.5 bil worth of fish outside Chinese waters every year and most of it is NOT reported. Among the 4.6 mil tons per year that Chinese foreign fishing takes from the waters of 90+ countries is 3.1 mil tons of fish Chinese boats take from African waters:
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20130403-china-catches-12-times-more-fish-beyond-its-waters-than-it-reports
Sprint's largest non-Sprint-allied shareholder (Crest Financial, owning 3.9% of Clearwire) is offering Clearwire $240 mil in financing so that Clearwire will reject Sprint's $2.97/share offer to buy Clearwire that comes with $80 mil/month payments. The $80 mil/month that Sprint is giving Clearwire amounts to Sprint buying Clearwire stock for $1.50/share...quite a bargain for Sprint! Crest says that Sprint's offer undervalues Clearwire and prefers Dish Network's $3.30/share offer:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwire-shareholder-crest-offers-240m-block-sprint-deal/2013-04-04#ixzz2PWmdAI53
Facebook announced Facebook Home, which turns any Android handset into a "Facebook phone" with its deeply integrated application that takes over the Android system. Facebook also has an HTC phone with a customized Android OS, similar to how Amazon created their own skin for the Kindle Fire:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/04/facebook-android-home-phone/
Samsung is opening 1,400 Samsung stores within Best Buy locations nationwide by this summer, with 900 opening within a month from now. Apple has 400 stores nationwide for comparison purposes. This gives Samsung a quick way to get their stores going, a way to dominate sales in Best Buys, and to entice people to try out their latest smartphones and tablets...and it gives Best Buy added sales and monetary payments that Samsung will be making to Best Buy to lease the space in their stores. Best Buy *already* is giving space to sell Samsung's products, so this is extra money for Best Buy for doing something they might have wanted to do anyway:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/samsung-open-1400-mini-stores-within-best-buys-challenging-apple/2013-04-04
Verizon's CEO says that Verizon Wireless could drop wireless contracts if consumers respond positively to T-Mobile's decision to drop contracts. This would enable customers to get a lower monthly bill, but would eliminate the costly phone subsidy that carriers currently pay:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizons-mcadam-leaves-door-open-dropping-wireless-contracts/2013-04-04
The Google Chrome team announced that they are dumping WebKit and going to use a new browser engine called Blink. Opera is also dumping WebKit and moving to Blink while Samsung and Mozilla are creating a new browser engine called Servo:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/web-development/google-chrome-team-explains-what-shift-blink-means-web-developers-215801
I think that it is really cool that when Evan Gattis hit his first home run in the majors his parents were being interviewed at the game at the time:
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/04/04/evan-gattis-first-hit-in-the-majors-was-a-home-run-and-it-came-while-his-mom-and-dad-were-being-interviewed-on-tv/