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Tag: Inc

  • Companies Vow to Fight Warrantless Browser Data Access

    Companies Vow to Fight Warrantless Browser Data Access

    Following the defeat of a Senate amendment that would have banned warrantless browser data access, a coalition of companies are taking the fight to the House.

    Mozilla, Engine, Reddit, Inc., Reform Government Surveillance, Twitter, i2Coalition and Patreon all signed a letter addressed to four of the US House of Representatives members. In the letter, they state the following:

    “We urge you to explicitly prohibit the warrantless collection of internet search and browsing history when you consider the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act (H.R. 6172) next week. As leading internet businesses and organizations, we believe privacy and security are essential to our economy, our businesses, and the continued growth of the free and open internet. By clearly reaffirming these protections, Congress can help preserve user trust and facilitate the continued use of the internet as a powerful contributing force for our recovery.”

    The companies highlight that Senators Ron Wyden and Steve Daines introduced an amendment in the Senate to ban the warrantless collection of browser data when the USA PATRIOT Act was renewed. That amendment had supermajority support in the Senate, as well as wide bipartisan support, but failed because several senators failed to show up for the vote.

    The companies point out in their letter that web browsing data “can provide a detailed portrait of our private lives. It may reveal medical conditions, religious beliefs, and personal relationships, and it should be protected by effective legal safeguards.”

    While Mozilla does not collect that data, the companies strongly believe there needs to be legislations specifically prohibiting its use without a warrant. Moves like this are one of the reasons Mozilla continues to be one of the strongest voices in the fight for privacy.

  • Hulk Hogan To Host WrestleMania 30

    Hulk Hogan To Host WrestleMania 30

    Its official! Hulk Hogan will be hosting WrestleMania 30! On Friday, Feb. 21, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) issued an official press release announcing Hogan’s return to the professional wrestling entertainment company. The announcement was also shared on the company’s social networks.

    Hogan’s return will be his first in six years. The 60-year-old retired semi-retired professional wrestler is also scheduled to appear on the next edition of Monday Night Raw which airs live at 8 pm ET on USA Network.

    The company also revealed that the Mr. Nanny actor will also appear on WWE Raw Backstage Pass, which will be airing live on WWE Network on Monday night at 11:05 pm ET.

    WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon addressed Hogan’s return and the executive decision to have him host the thirtieth anniversary of the highly anticipated pro-wrestling, pay-per-view event.

    “We are thrilled that Hulk Hogan has returned home to WWE,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “It’s fitting to have him help us celebrate 30 years of WrestleMania and usher in a new era with the launch of WWE Network.”

    Hogan also spoke with The Associated Press to weigh in with remarks on his upcoming return to WWE. “I definitely want to stay here in the WWE,” Hogan said. “I just can’t see myself ever being anywhere else. This is home. It always has been home. In the twilight of my career, what a great way to be part of the final hurrah for Hulk Hogan and all the Hulkamaniacs.”

    Hulkamania was born on Jan. 23, 1984 when Hogan, the billed headliner for WrestleMania III,  defeated The Iron Sheik to become WWE Champion at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

    Hogan was also victorious, successfully defending the WWE Championship against the colossal French-American wrestler Andre the Giant  in front of a record-high 93,173 spectators. Hogan went on to win an impressive six WWE Championships, becoming a household name.

    WrestleMania 30 is will be held on Sunday, April 6 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. The big event will also be broadcasted on the WWE Network and on pay-per-view.

    Image via Facebook, WWE Network

  • Red Lobster Denies Closing Rumors

    Red Lobster Denies Closing Rumors

    Rumors have been swirling recently that Darden Restaurants, Inc., an Orlando-based Fortune 500 company that owns the seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster, will be closing the popular eatery’s doors in 2014. Now, those rumors have been addressed and squashed by Darden executives.

    An annual earnings report released earlier this month indicated that the company would soon be indefinitely closing the 705 Red Lobster restaurants scattered throughout the U.S. and Canada. However, according to Rich Jeffers, Darden’s director of media relations, that isn’t the case. Jeffers said Friday, “Never have we said we would be closing restaurants.”

    The notion that Darden would be closing Red Lobster could have possibly stemmed from a report earlier this year released by Barington Capital Group LP, an investment company now working with Darden to boost profits. Barington stated publicly that their plan for increasing sales for Darden Restaurants, Inc. would include a cut back on specials and promotions offered to customers, as well as money spent on advertising. They also suggested that some of the restaurants may need to be closed.

    According to Barington, the current fiscal year has seen investors in the company acquiring over 2% of the company’s stock, and a 19% drop in annual earnings in 2012. The investment firm also indicated that they believe the issues within Darden Restaurants, Inc. stem from the constant growth in the company’s size.

    The firm showed that Darden spent almost twice as much on advertising as their competitors in the previous fiscal year. Darden and Red Lobster apparently invested 4.8% of their revenue on television ads in 2012 and 2013, compared to the 2.5% spent on average by similar companies.

    Nonetheless, Jeffers assured upset customers that Red Lobster has no intention of closing the franchise entirely; on December 19 Darden announced that it was investigating the possibility of selling the chain or completing a spinoff of the restaurant, but either scenario would simply be a “change in ownership.”

    Red Lobster averaged sales of roughly $2.6 billion this year, and is estimated to be looking at a total revenue of $8.6 billion for the year when combining the profits from all 8 Darden-owned restaurant chains.

    Main image courtesy @redlobster via Twitter.

  • Here’s This Year’s Inc. 30 Under 30 List

    Here’s This Year’s Inc. 30 Under 30 List

    Inc.com has unveiled the 30 Under 30 list for 2012. On the list, you’ll find the co-founders of Pinterest, the founder of Spotify, and the founder of Dwolla (the mobile payments platform that Ashton Kutcher is investing in), just to name a few.

    “These 30 extraordinary risk-taking companies and their leaders are pushing boundaries and making money in the process,” said Inc. editor in chief Eric Schurenberg. “From helping parents with kids in college, to growing gourmet mushrooms in recycled coffee grounds, to challenging credit card companies on behalf of small business, they represent the best of what those under 30 can and do accomplish. It’s humbling.”

    This is the list that featured Facebook Mark Zuckerberg in 2006, when he was 22. Those who make the list are generally honored to do so. Here’s the list for 2012, as presented by Inc.:

    • Jeremy Johnson, 2tor (which offers online degrees in partnership with major universities)
    • Steve Espinosa, AppStack (a mobile app for small businesses)
    • Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, Back to the Roots (makers of Grow Your Own gourmet mushroom kits)
    • Amy Jain and Daniella Yacobovsky, BaubleBar (an online retailer selling designer jewelry for 60% off retail)
    • Craig Cordes and Antonio LaMartina, Big Easy Blends (which makes frozen, portable, pre-mixed cocktails)
    • Fan Bi and Danny Wong, Blank Label (makers of custom shirts)
    • Ilya Pozin, Ciplex (which focuses on web design and marketing for small companies)
    • Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinksi, Codeacademy (a web platform for teaching computer programming languages)
    • Joe Coleman, Shane Snow, and Dave Goldberg, Contently (a marketplace connecting writers with companies to create quality content marketing)
    • Ben Milne, Dwolla (a versatile payment platform that works on mobile devices)
    • Ray Land, Fabulous Coach Lines (a motorcoach tour company)
    • Adam Pritzker, Matthew Brimer and Brad Hargreaves, General Assembly (a co-working space that offers classes on business, design and technology)
    • Amber Case and Aaron Parecki, Geoloqi (location-aware technology for businesses and governments)
    • Desiree Vargas Wrigley, GiveForward, (a crowdfunding platform for people facing medical emergencies)
    • Jude Gomila and Immad Akhund, Heyzap (a mobile app for the gaming community)
    • Jesse Thomas and Leslie Bradshaw, JESS3 (a creative agency specializing in data visualization)
    • John Hering, Kevin Mahaffey and James Burgess, Lookout Mobile Security (a mobile security app for iPhone and Android phones)
    • Aza Raskin, Massive Health (a mobile app that encourages healthy eating)
    • Andrew Lafoon, Aryk Grosz, Mixbook (which creates photo books with a social spin)
    • Nathan Sigworth, PharmaSecure (mobile software that helps stop drug counterfeiting in the developing world)
    • Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp, Pinterest (the social image-sharing site that is now one of the world’s largest networks)
    • Allison Lami Sawyer, Rebellion Photonics (whose fluorescent imaging camera can detect leaks on natural gas rigs)
    • Rachel Weeks, School House (maker of U.S.-made fashion-forward college gear)
    • Yoav Lurie and Justin Segall, Simple Energy (designer of web-based social games that reward energy conservation)
    • Daniel Ek, Spotify (the wildly popular streaming music service)
    • Lucas Buick and Ryan Dorshorst, Synthetic, (maker of Hipstamatic, the popular photo app.)
    • Kfir and Elram Gavrieli, Tieks (maker of foldable leather ballet flats)
    • Alfredo Atanacio and Rodolfo Schildknechkt, Uassist.ME (matches bilingual virtual assistants with Hispanic executives)
    • Sarah Schupp, University Parent Media (print and online publisher of helpful information for parents of university students)
    • Ziver Berg, Zivelo (the second largest kiosk maker in the world)
    • Daniel Epstein, Tyler Hartung and Teju Ravilochan, The Unreasonable Institute (our not-for-profit honoree — an incubator for social enterprises devoted to solving big world problems)

    Inc. makes a point to note that the winners come from 13 states, including some not typically thought of as entrepreneurial hot spots. These include Idaho, Indiana, and Florida.

  • Multiple Trailers For Monsters University Debut

    Multiple Trailers For Monsters University Debut

    Disney’s Pixar is so incredibly popular, if the company released a digitally-animated movie about the lifecycle of a cactus, it would make over $100 million at the box office. So when the prequel to their 2001 smash Monsters, Inc. was announced, the buzz was immediately high. The prequel, Monsters University, isn’t due to hit the theaters until summer of 2013, but that hasn’t stopped Disney from releasing footage for the movie.

    Normally, you might expect one teaser trailer to whet the appetite, followed by full-blown trailers as the release date gets closer and closer. In this aspect, Pixar/Disney did not disappoint. In fact, they exceeded expectations with not one or two teaser trailers, but four of them. That’s right, there are four teaser trailers for the upcoming box office smash, and we’ve got all of them for you. Furthermore, there’s been no “let’s try to put the genie back in the bottle” behavior, ala, the Weinsteins, Columbia Pictures, and the Django Unchained trailer from Pixar either. Now, it should be noted the trailers are not that much different from each other. The big difference between them is Billy Crystal’s dialogue when he wakes up:


    While the buzz, as is the case for all Pixar movies, will be incredibly high when the movie drops next summer, a concerned YouTube commenter had this to say:

    SO WHAT, THEY DID SOME MARKET RESEARCH AND REALIZED THAT ALL THE KIDS WHO LOVED MONSTERS INC. ARE NOW IN COLLEGE AND HAVE MONEY?

    witz85

    So is this a blatant money-grab by Disney or is this another example of Pixar’s commitment to excellence?

    [Via ComingSoon.net]