Apple Attempts to Boost Music Credibility with $3 Billion Dr. Dre Purchase

      Culver City - It's by far the most expensive acquisition in Apple's 38-year history.  The huge price Apple is paying to counter a threat to Apples iTunes store.  The deal consists of $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in Apple stock. 
     With $1.1 billion in revenue last year, Beats is already making money and will boost Apple's earnings once the new fiscal year begins in October, this according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.  Cook indicated Beats' music streaming service was the main selling point in the purchase, though the headphone line is also expected to continue growing, too.  The growing popularity of music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify have been reducing sales of songs and albums, a business that iTunes has dominated for the past decade.  United States sales of downloaded songs slipped one percent last year to $2.8 billion while streaming music revenue surged 39 percent to $1.4 billion, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
     Apple started streaming music with the launch of iTunes Radio in September 2013.  The streaming music service has not been as popular and lucrative as the company wanted, according to people familiar with the matter.  ITunes Radio has 40 million listeners and will continue as a free music streaming service with ads.  Beats Music will try to tap into the more than 800 million iTunes accounts to sell more subscriptions to its customized streaming music service.  Beats Music currently has more than 250,000 subscribers, Apple CEO Cook said.  That is well below the more than 10 million paying customers that Spotify's streaming service boasts.  Apple is counting on the Beats acquisition to boost its swagger with teenagers and younger adults, as it tries to remain a leader in digital music.  Apple, originally reshaped the music scene with the 2001 debut of the iPod.  "Apple suddenly has regained its cool," said Sony Music CEO Doug Morris, who was one of the first recording executives to embrace iTunes, more than a decade ago.        
     Beats was founded in 2008 by rapper Dr. Dre. (Andre Young) and Jimmy Iovine, recording executive who is stepping over from chairman of Universal Music Group's Interscope, Geffen, and A&M Records to join Apple.  Beats now dominates the luxury headphone market, for headphones priced over $100, according to the consumer-market research group NPD.  Sony CEO Doug Morris believes, Beats' former Universal Music Group's Cook is making a smart move, that will give Apple even more credibility in the music industry, than it has now.  See, also www.apple.com. 
                                                 

Supreme Court Rules on Clock

        Washington - The Supreme Court ruled Monday, May 19, 2014, that a copyright lawsuit over the 1980 Oscar-winning movie "Raging Bull" can go forward.  This ruling could open Hollywood studios to more claims from people seeking to a share of profits from classic films and TV shows.       
     Paula Petrella, daughter of the late screenwriter  Frank Petrella, sued Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 2009, seeking royalties from continued commercial use of the film, "Raging Bull."  The elder Petrella passed these copyrights along to his daughter in 1981.  A federal judge had previously stated Paula Petrella waited to long, because she had been aware of the potential to file a lawsuit as early as 1991.  On appeal the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the original opinion of MGM, saying Paula Petrella's delay of nearly two decades in bringing the case was an unreasonable and any claims to motion picture royalties from the film had expired.  Now, the Supreme Court has reversed that ruling, giving Paula Petrella a chance to resurrect her lawsuit.
     Movie studios have long relied on the legal doctrine of unreasonable delay to prevent distant relatives and estates from bringing copyright claims years, or decades after a picture has been released to theatres.  Federal copyright law allows people to bring copyright claims within three years of an infringing act.  Paula Petrella's claim fell within the three year rule, because the studio continued to release the film on DVD and other formats, creating a new start time for copyright calculations.  The court said, every new release essentially reset the clock as pertaining to copyright purposes.  Petrella won support from some Hollywood groups that argued, the rolling three-year copyright protection is fair to artists and gives them incentive to create their work.  Allowing Paula Petrella's suit to go forward will put at risk only a fraction of the income MGM has earned during the previous two decades, says Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  See also, www.variety.com.        

Gone Fishing

     San Diego - Data theft poses huge risks to business and government.  Wednesday, May 23, 2014 e-commerce website, e-Bay revealed hackers had broken into its database last February and March.  February 2013, saw phishing hackers steal customers' names, encrypted passwords, and dates of birth.  Also, this week, Target, the nations third largest retailer, announced its first quarter earnings fell 16 percent; a loss attributed, in part, to a massive 2013 data breach.  These stories tell us about the enormous cost of lost privacy.  Most of this lost privacy comes from phishing ( a form of internet identity theft).  Phishers (con artists) send fraudulent e-mail messages, with links to fraudulent websites that look like they came from websites the recipient can trust, like a bank or a credit card company.  The phishing hackers then request that you provide personal information.  A corporation or government that collects and holds consumer and client data is responsible for keeping that data secure.  Business people who have the luxury of a secretary, personal assistant, or office clerk, have to now focus on the secure-computer issue. 
     Data theft has serious consequences.  Online shopping monster e-Bay (second only to Amazon) has only recently disclosed its problem, but e-Bay, now has three states - Connecticut, Florida, and Illinois - joining forces to investigate its computer system security in those states.  If analyst's estimate are correct, Target could lose $500 million to $1 billion above and beyond what the bank insures.  Target's 2013 pre-Christmas data breach compromised the sensitive data of millions of target customers, drove away shoppers during the important holiday retain season, and helped topple Target's CEO.  "There is definitely a climate shift," Jamie Court, president of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, told Reuters.  "The departure of the Target CEO over the problem signals inside the boardroom, and the halls of government, that these are betrayals of customers and that they won't be tolerated.  See also, www.popularmechanics.com.      

2014 new BMW S 1000 R - TEST RIDE

Telegraph Telephone and Television

     New York - To offer better video options to customers and to get an owner with potentially $8 billion in cash, DirectTV has appealed to AT&T for a possible merger.  Talks for the merger deal heated up after Comcast unveiled plans to buy Time Warner Cable.  AT&T and Direct
TV have had an on-again-off-again relationship for the past few years, this is not the first time they have talked about getting together, says AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson. 
     AT&T and DirectTV said, they would pursue the creation of an Internet-delivered video service to complement U-Verse and DirectTV.  Earlier this year AT&T formed a venture with well-regarded media executive Peter Chernin, to invest more than $500 million in an online video service.  There has been some speculation that AT&T would end its small video service U-Verse if it acquired DirectTV, but Stephenson says that would not be the case.  Some analysts are not convinced the two companies will make a good relationship.  AT&T's take-over of DirectTV is just the latest attempt at consolidation in a marketplace where consumers are already saddled with poor service and price hikes, says Delara Derekhshani, policy counsel for the Consumers Union.  DirectTV Chief Executive Mike White added, the combination is a "significant win for consumers" because the combined company will be able to "deliver a competitive alternative to the cable bundle."  According to the L.A. Times, on a conference call with reporters, AT&T's Stephenson said that although he expected a thorough review from the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice, he didn't anticipate major hurdles.  Both AT&T and DirectTV say necessary approvals will take about a year.  Under terms of the deal, AT&T is paying $95 per share for DirectTV in cash and stock.  Of that, $66.50 will be in the form of AT&T shared and the remaining $28.50 will be in cash. See also,www.att.com. 

Judge Rules King of Pop Hologram Okay

     Las Vegas - Two years ago a hologram  of Tupac Shakur at the Coachella Music Festival had people wondering what might be next in music concert special effect possibilities. The technology that created the Tupac Shakur hologram is now in the possession of one noteworthy billionaire, Alki David.  Alki David attempted to transform the television business with streaming technology.  David was sued by some of TV's broadcasters and now finds himself on the opposite side of the intellectual property rights coin, David is the one suing. 
    Aliki David has developed a digital delivery system for movie trailers and movie full-length reels directly to customers.  Streaming content has now become a dirty word in Hollywood, according to a local news tabloid, TV networks have been resisting streamed live television, because television is advertisement-based.  Advertisements relate to something we know, ratings.  However ratings are  calculated on the original television model.  With internet devices taking viewers, advertisers face a much more challenging formula, how to price streaming content on laptops and smartphones. As a result Alki David has been sued in federal court by CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX for the copyright infringement that came with co-opting their network feeds into a digital service offered to tens of thousands of customers.   
     But, this time Alki David is the one suing.  Alki David's FilmOne and hologram maker Musion are the plaintiffs (the ones suing) in a lawsuit filed against Cirque de Soleil and MGM Resorts, for allegedly infringing on patents used to create the hologram used in used in the final scene of "Michael Jackson: One", the acrobtic show at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.  Alki David says, he recently bought the exclusive rights to a type of technology that produces holograms; and to a company that can make holograms for customers (FilmOne).    
    Now, a federal judge in Las Vegas has denied Alki David's request to halt a performance of a Michael Jackson hologram, at the 2014 Billbard Music Awards.  Judge Kent Dawson issued a ruling Friday, May 16, 2014, saying their wasn't enough evidence to show the hologram would violate Aliki David's, company's patents.  See also, www.mtv.com. 

Who Can Re-Supply ISS

     Star City - Currently their are very few launch companies that are capable of carrying supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).  Companies like SpaceX have become vital to re-supplying the ISS With the Russians most powerful rocket the Proton M having a high explosion rate, the future of how the ISS will be reached is in question.  A Russian rocket carrying a $275 million telecommunications satellite failed-to-launch and up, shortly after launch, on Friday, May 16, 2014.  This launch mishap is the latest in a series of setbacks for Russia's once-pioneering space industry.  It was the second failure for Russia's workhorse Proton-M rocket, in less than a year.  Previously, it failed to deliver a European satellite intended to provide advanced telecommunications and internet access to remote parts of Russia.  Previous to that, a Proton-M crashed shortly after launch, in 2011.  The third stage of the Proton-M booster rocket failed, says Oleg Ostapenko, head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, and said the precise cause of the explosion is unknown. 
     The state-run news agency RIA quoted Ostapenko as saying, the rocket and all debris had burned up in the atmosphere:  "We can say with certainty that nothing reached Earth".  Russian media, however, said, some debris may have fallen into the Pacific or been scattered over Siberia and
Russia's Far East.  No casualties or damage were reported on the ground.  The lost of the Express
AM4R Satellite, worth more than $200 million euros ($275 million), was described by it's maker, Astrium, as one of the most powerful telecommunication satellites currently being built in Europe.  Astrium is a unit of the partially government-owned European aerospace group, Airbus AIR.PA.  The loss of Express AM4R delays a number of commercial projects by three to four years.  Last July, three navigation satellite worth about $200 million were lost when the Proton-M flying them, crashed near the launch-pad, shortly after take-off.  That accident strained relations between Kazakhstan and Russia; and led Kazakhstan to temporarily ban Proton launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome ( the world's first and largest operational space launch facility).  State-run Russian television said, all launches had been suspended from Kazakhstan.
     This crash raises questions, as to whether NASA will consider SpaceX, one of only two United State's companies capable of privately launching vehicles than can reach the ISS, as an increasingly more viable alternative. Some United State's officials are looking for a more permanent solution.  With a seven percent failure-to-launch rate, our most powerful and most used rocket, has a poor reliability record", says Ivan Moiseyev, head of the Russian-based institute of Space Policy think tank, told Komnersant-FM radio.  Moiseyev says, that failure-to-launch rate gives a boost to Russia's European rival, Arianespace, and to the American newcomer SpaceX.  It's a very un-successful picture on the whole, and if you compare it with our competitors in Europe; their last accident was 12 years ago, also says Moiseyev.  See also, www.aviationweek.com. 

Maroon 5 - Harder To Breathe

Transform

     Tokyo -  The history of Transformers is something that proves, how interconnected the toy world used to be. 
     Launched in 1980 by Japanese toy company Takara Toys, the Diaclone line was made up of robots that transformed into futuristic vehicles piloted by figures spun-off from their successful Microman line.  Microman was imported into America by Mego as Micronauts.  Micronauts was in-turn spun off from a Takara line called Henshin Cyborg, which itself came from Takara'a Combat Joe line.  In 1982, Takara expanded both the Microman and Diaclone lines by adding more transforming robots; these robots new robots, branded Micro Change (for Microman) and Car Robots (for Diaclone), changed into more up-to-date and familiar lines like, regular cars, planes, and cassette players.  A year later, representatives from Hasboro attended the 1983 Tokyo Toy Fair.  They were doing well, their G.I. Joe:  A Real American Hero line had launched a year earlier and was a large success.  They were looking for the next most popular thing.  As soon as Hasbro saw Takara's Car Robots and Micro Change toys, they wanted it.  However, it wasn't as simple as that.  Hasbro didn't want to launch two separate lines onto the market at the same time, and so decided to consolidate the two their experience with G.I. Joe, they also knew that kids wanted a story to  play along with, instead of just the toy figures the already had.  Hasbro asked Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and editor Dennis O'Neal to come up with the entire Transformers universe prior to launching the toys. The plans Jim Shooter and Dennis O'Neal came up with were not used by Hasbro, and deemed un-worthy.  Hasbro then gave the job to Bob Budiansky, whose versions not only created the Transformers canon, but also handed him the job of Transformers comic, writer for years to come afterwards.   
     Robot models are:  Autobots, Decepticons, and Mini-Cons.  The two robot models that are in a category of their own are Unicon and Sideways.  Mini-Cons include:  High Wire, Sureshock, Grindor, Race Mini-Con Team, Air Defense Mini-Con Team, Mirror, Unicon of Light, and Dead End Drones.  The Autobots are known by the names of:  Red Alert, Blurr, Hot Shot, Optimus Prime, Hoist, Jetfire, and Sideways.  See also,  http://communicationcurrents.blogspot.com/search?q=Tokyo.              

"Godzilla" Version 2014

     Hollywood - When Godzilla rose out of the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the creature stuck a deep emotional chord with a ravaged nation destroyed by the atomic blast that ended World War II.  Mezmorizing director Gareth Edwards (38) takes on a proven blockbuster "Godzilla."  In this version 2014 Edwards has $160-million to do it with. 
     In all, Godzilla - or Gojira - as it was originally knows has starred in 28 live-action feature films, many of them pitting the giant lizard (actually, amphibious dinosaur) against some equally enormous foe.  Some battles Godzilla has been are "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster" (1966),  "Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster (1971), and Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964).
     Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), this "Godzilla" has apocalyptic concerns in mind, "I'm always trying to get a bit of 'Apocalypse Now' into anyting I do", says Gareth Edwards.  The film draws inspiration from Ishiro Honda's original 1954 classic, which presents a somber dramatic side of the monster.  Other versions have portrayed Godzilla as everything from hero to comedian (Son of Godzilla, 1967).  Amid the creature trappings Edwards presents a cautionary tale about environmental collapse and the dangers of nuclear energy.  A documentary-style segment of film showing the Fukishima Daiichi reactor meltdown in Japan, which devastated the east coast of Japan in 2011, could surprise audiences expecting pure summer-like special effects and story-lines.  Our film dosen't preach, we tried to respectfully show that we opened a Pandora's box when we started doing all this stuff with nuclear technology.  Obviously our films are metaphors (symbols) of what enormous mutations nuclear radiation might produce.  Hopefully they are never going to really appear. But, the film points out that we should be very careful when we put power plants around the world that are based on nuclear reactors, Edwards explains.  See also, http://todaysentertainmentandtelecom.blogspot.com/2014/04/amphibious-monster-dinosaur.html.   

KGB Natasha

     Caspian Sea - Natasha Romanova, also known as Natalia Alianova (Natasha) Romanova, was created by editor Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico and artist Don Heck.  The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense No. 52 (April 1964).  Natasha Romanova was first introduced as a Russian spy, an antagonist of the superhero Iron Man.
     Born circa 1928, Natalia "Natasha" Romanova was apparently orphaned as a child when she was trapped in a burning building during an attack on Stalingrad by enemy forces.  Ivan Petrovich Bezukhov, a Soviet soldier, found Natasha in the inferno and a rescued her.  Although Ivan kept close watch on Natasha Romanova as she grew, by the late 1930's she had attracted the attention of Soviet intelligence, and the Soviets began Natasha's clandestine training.  Following WWII Natasha was recruited to become part of the Black Widow program, a team of elite sleeper agents.  Among the Widow's instructors was the Winter Soldier, formerly Captain America's sidekick Bucky (James Barnes).  Natasha studied as a Ballerina to cover her true occupation, that of  a spy.  The Soviet state eventually arranged for Natasha to marry Alexi Shostakov, a champion test pilot.  After a few years of happy marriage, the KGB faked Shostakov's death in a rocket test.  Grief for Shostakov drove Natasha's resolve deeper and she continued her education with the Red Room Academy, finally being appointed to title of the Black Widow.  Natasha Romanova later defected to the United States, becoming an agent of the fictional spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Directorate), United Nations affiliated intelligence agency dealing primarily with terrorism and superhuman threats that was originally founded by the U.S. government.  
     Natasha Romanoff, an alias of Natasha Romanova, (portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, c. 2010) appears in the movie Iron Man 2, posing as "Natalie Rushman", a Stark Industries employee of Pepper Potts.  It is revealed that she was assigned to evaluate Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative, by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.  Natasha Romanoff has a significant role in Marvel's "The Avengers" (2012) and also appears in Captain America: "The Winter Soldier" (2014), and is set to reprise the role in the upcoming Avengers:  Age of Ultron (2015).  Other aliases that Natasha Romanova (ballerina) and  Natalia Alianova ("Natasha") Romanova (spy) might be known as are:  Natalie Rushman, Laura Mathers, Natasha Romanoff, Oktober, Black Widow, and Natalia Shostakova.  See also, www.disney.com.    

Some Origins of Captain America

     New York - Before there was Captain America there were his enemies.  "Sometimes a lot of comics succeeded because of their villains", recalls Joe Simon.  Joe Simon an Jack Kirby dreamed up  Captain America in 1940.  "We were looking around and realized we had the perfect villain right on the pages of the newspaper; Aldof Hitler.  Hitler had that ridiculous mustache and plenty of goose-stepping henchmen", Joe Simon says.  All we needed to do was give him the perfect counterpart, a patriotic hero that would represents the American ideal.
     The original story revolves around a man named Steve Rogers, who was so skinny and scrawny that he is not fit for military service.  He volunteers for a top-secret research project that turns him into muscular Captain America - a man who defends American values and traditions.   Captain America was created during WWII, using the "Super Soldier" formula then being bombarded with Vita Rays.  This turns Steve Rogers into the perfect human with abilities beyond those of the best Olympic athlete; including enhanced strength, agility, and reflexes.  Captain America differs from Superman in that, Captain America has the best strength, agility, and reflexes that any human can have without being considered superhuman.  In  the motion picture Captain America's immune system allows him to resist most diseases as well as gives him incredible endurance.  Additionally, the Super Soldier serum has effectively been metabolized into Steve Roger's body; it is that enhancement that somehow allowed him to be frozen in ice, in suspended animation, until being rescued by The Avengers.  The motion picture version of the super soldier serum gives him heightened mental acuity; he is able to accurately memorize a map of HYDRA bases, only a few seconds after looking at the map during a raid.  The motion picture version uses more of the abilities of the "Ultimate" universe Captain America.  In the motion picture version Captain America is not as strong as Spider-man or the Hulk,  but Captain America still lifted a motorcycle with three women sitting on it.  Also, regarding his enhanced metabolism, he expels toxic substances very quickly, and therefore cannot get drunk.  See also, www.paramount.com .