Brazilian company releases the ‘IPHONE’ after trademarking the name back in 2000

Title Post: Brazilian company releases the ‘IPHONE’ after trademarking the name back in 2000
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Swiss sc‘alps’

Banking giant UBS is coughing up $1.5 billion in fines — and two of its fat-cat traders face prison — after a US and UK investigation of the bank found “routine and widespread” manipulation of a benchmark interest rate.

The scheme, the largest interest-rate rigging scandal ever, caused lopsided outcomes in more than $450 trillion in annual loans made around the world for everything from credit cards and mortgages to college loans and business deals, federal prosecutors said yesterday.

The criminal complaint against the Swiss bank and the arrest of two former UBS traders show authorities have amped up their financial-sector probes.

The crackdown on rampant corruption in banking’s back offices came in a landmark joint probe by authorities in at least five nations, which charge UBS is a major culprit in notorious manipulations of the key Libor rate.

Banks set the rate each day amongst themselves, using a panel of their own representatives and assumptions of short-term lending demand.

The surprising scope of the alleged schemes opens the floodgates for worldwide litigation from financial institutions — which unknowingly lost millions on the wrong side of rigged lending.

Prosecutors said that more than 45 traders and brokers at the bank, along with scores of outside currency middlemen, conspired almost daily, with bribes of typically $20,000 trading hands to influence Libor rates.

Each illicit pact set up among the traders and brokers was aimed at profiting on their positions from tiny moves in the rate.

Even a brief 1/100th of a percent move in the Libor translated to profits of about $459,000 for one of the UBS traders accused in the crackdown.

That cheated counter-parties, the complaint said.

“UBS manipulated one of the cornerstone interest rates in our global financial system,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

“The scheme alleged is epic in scale, involving people who have walked the halls of some of the most powerful banks in the world,” he said.

Yesterday’s actions included the first criminal charges made in the probes, leveled against Tom Alexander Hayes, 33, and Roger Darin, 41.

London police picked up Hayes; Darin is still at large.

The US Justice Department filed to extradite the pair to face trial here.

Numerous outside brokers were also involved, said enforcement chief David Meister of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“These brokers are supposed to be honest middlemen," he said. “The brokers here were anything but honest.”

The government complaint quoted one broker telling a UBS trader regarding an illicit pact’s profits: “‘Mate, you’re getting bloody good at this Libor game. Think of me when yur on yur yacht in monaco wont yu.’ "

Prosecutors said more people were to be named in the ongoing probe.

As many as 40 employees of UBS have left the bank over the case, prosecutors said.

In exchange for a deferred prosecution of the company, UBS agreed to plead guilty to civil violations at the unit in Japan, leaving the parent to pick up the hefty tabs and suffer the black eye.

tharp@nypost.com

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Accelerator planned for healthcare-tech start-ups

A new start-up accelerator focused on the intersection of healthcare and technology is coming to Miami next year.

Project Lift Miami, designed to help develop young companies and prepare them for investment opportunities, is a partnership between Lift1428, an innovation design, strategy and communications firm; the Miami Innovation Center at the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park and its developer, Wexford Science + Technology; and the UM Miller School of Medicine, said Robert Chavez, the project’s executive director. “We’re being proactive and trying to support innovative ideas and companies. … We’d like to keep them here and really help to transform the area into a healthcare innovation hub.”

The accelerator will offer entrepreneurial teams a structured 100-day program of classes, workshops and training directed by national and local healthcare experts as well as mentoring and strategic support that will continue well beyond the program, said David McDonald, CEO of Lift1428 and co-founder of Project Lift Miami.

“This meets a critical unmet need in innovation,” said Norma Kenyon, chief innovation officer at UM’s Miller School, explaining that novel ideas often don’t find appropriate mentors and funding until they are pretty far along. “Where do you go if you have a great idea that really could be transformative? This provides much-needed support for these very early-stage technologies.”

Ten to 15 start-ups will be selected for the first class, which will start in May. Each will be offered seed funding — probably $20,000 to $30,000 in cash and services in exchange for a small equity stake — and will get free office space at the research park, Chavez said. The program will run through August, closing with a Demo Day, when entrepreneurs present their businesses to potential investors.

“There’s so much regulation and there are privacy issues and other barriers to entry that are different in the healthcare industry. Having the access to the environment we have here to test your idea and prove your concept is a great advance,” said Chavez, who is also executive director of business intelligence at UM’s Miller School. “That kind of mentoring you won’t get at a general accelerator.”

If Miami’s program goes well, future Project Lift programs could be rolled out at other Wexford science and technology parks across the country, said Bill Hunter, Wexford’s regional director of leasing. “Project Lift is directly aligned with our mission to cultivate innovation in our community. You need investment in those early-stage opportunities.”

Entrepreneurs interested in applying for the inaugural 2013 class can contact Chavez at rchavez@lift1428.com or 305-345-8670, or stop by the Miami Innovation Center at the UM Life Science & Technology Park, 1951 NW Seventh Ave., Suite 300. There is also more information at www.lift1428.com/projectlift.

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Judge admonishes defendant in Rilya Wilson murder trial

A Miami-Dade judge admonished the woman accused of killing foster child Rilya Wilson after two brief courtroom outbursts Tuesday.

At the time, Geralyn Graham’s ex-lover, Pamela Graham, was on the stand testifying under cross-examination about why she was cooperating with authorities. The two are not related.

In front of the jury, Geralyn Graham yelled at Pamela Graham to stop lying. A few minutes later, Geralyn Graham again blurted out at the witness that the last time she saw Rilya, she “was in your arms.”

Geralyn Graham, 66, is on trial on charges of murdering the foster child whose disappearance a decade ago roiled the state’s child-welfare agency and led to a series of reforms. Rilya’s body was never found.

Pamela Graham, who was Rilya’s legal guardian, has testified over two days that Geralyn Graham abused Rilya, tying her to a bed and keeping her isolated in a laundry room. She has also cast Geralyn Graham as a dominating, manipulative woman who forced her to lie that a child welfare worker took the child.

During cross-examination by defense attorney Scott Sakin, Pamela Graham admitted the early story she gave to police investigators “was all lies.”

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Instagram tests new limits in user privacy

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Instagram, which spurred suspicions this week that it would sell user photos after revising its terms of service, has sparked renewed debate about how much control over personal data users must give up to live and participate in a world steeped in social media.

In forcefully establishing a new set of usage terms, Instagram, the massively popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc, has claimed some rights that have been practically unheard of among its prominent social media peers, legal experts and consumer advocates say.

Users who decline to accept Instagram’s new privacy policy have one month to delete their accounts, or they will be bound by the new terms. Another clause appears to waive the rights of minors on the service. And in the wake of a class-action settlement involving Facebook and privacy issues, Instagram has added terms to shield itself from similar litigation.

All told, the revised terms reflect a new, draconian grip over user rights, experts say.

“This is all uncharted territory,” said Jay Edelson, a partner at the Chicago law firm Edelson McGuire. “If Instagram is to encourage as many lawsuits as possible and as much backlash as possible then they succeeded.”

Instagram’s new policies, which go into effect January 16, lay the groundwork for the company to begin generating advertising revenue by giving marketers the right to display profile pictures and other personal information such as who users follow in advertisements.

The new terms, which allow an advertiser to pay Instagram “to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata)” without compensation, triggered an outburst of complaints on the Web on Tuesday from users upset that Instagram would make money from their uploaded content.

The uproar prompted a lengthy blog post from the company to “clarify” the changes, with CEO Kevin Systrom saying the company had no current plans to incorporate photos taken by users into ads.

Instagram declined comment beyond its blog post, which failed to appease critics including National Geographic, which suspended new posts to Instagram. “We are very concerned with the direction of the proposed new terms of service and if they remain as presented we may close our account,” said National Geographic, an early Instagram adopter.

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

Consumer advocates said Facebook was using Instagram’s aggressive new terms to push the boundaries of how social media sites can make money while its own hands were tied by recent agreements with regulators and class action plaintiffs.

Under the terms of a 2011 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook is required to get user consent before personal information is shared beyond their privacy settings. A preliminary class action lawsuit settlement with Facebook allows users to opt-out of being included in the “sponsored stories” ads that use their personal information.

Under Instagram’s new terms, users who want to opt-out must simply quit using the service.

“Instagram has given people a pretty stark choice: Take it or leave, and if you leave it you’ve got to leave the service,” said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a Internet user right’s group.

What’s more, he said, if a user initially agrees to the new terms but then has a change of mind, their information could still be used for commercial purposes.

In a post on its official blog on Tuesday, Instagram did not address another controversial provision that states that if a child under the age of 18 uses the service, then it is implied that his or her parent has tacitly agreed to Instagram’s terms.

“The notion is that minors can’t be bound to a contract. And that also means they can’t be bound to a provision that says they agree to waive the rights,” said the EFF’s Opsahl.

BLOCKING CLASS ACTION SUITS

While Facebook continues to be bogged in its own class action suit, Instagram took preventive steps to avoid a similar legal morass.

Its new terms of service require users with a legal complaint to enter arbitration, rather than take the company to court. It prohibits users from joining a class action lawsuit unless they mail a written “opt-out” statement to Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park within 30 days of joining Instagram.

That provision is not included in terms of service for other leading social media companies like Twitter, Google, YouTube or even Facebook itself, and it immunizes Instagram from many forms of legal liability, said Michael Rustad, a professor at Suffolk University Law School.

Rustad, who has studied the terms of services for 157 social media services, said just 10 contained provisions prohibiting class action lawsuits.

The clause effectively cripples users who want to legally challenge the company because lawyers will not likely represent an individual plaintiff, Rustad argued.

“No lawyers will take these cases,” Rustad said. “In consumer arbitration cases, everything is stacked against the consumer. It’s a pretense, it’s a legal fiction, that there are remedies.”

Instagram, which has 100 million users, allows consumers to tweak the photos they take on their smartphones and share the images with friends. Facebook acquired Instagram in September for $ 715 million.

Instagram’s take-it-or-leave-it policy pushes the envelope for how social networking companies treat user privacy issues, said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

“I think Facebook is probably using Instagram to see how far it can press this advertising model,” said Rotenberg. “If they can keep a lot of users, then all those users have agreed to have their images as part of advertising.”

(Additional reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Angelina Jolie to Direct Unbroken Film

Angelina Jolie is in final negotiations to direct her second film, Unbroken, based on the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian-turned-World War II prisoner of war, according to Deadline.

Video: Angelina Jolie Talks Kids, 'Blood and Honey'

"I was so moved by Louie Zamperini's heroic story, I immediately began to fight for the opportunity to make this film," said The Oscar-winning actress in a statement. "Louie is a true hero and a man of immense humanity, faith and courage. I am deeply honored to have the chance to tell his inspiring story."

Adapted from Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, the feature film will tell the real-life tale of American Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini, who was captured and imprisoned by the Japanese Navy during World War II.

Unbroken will be the second film directed by Jolie. The 37-year-old made her debut in 2011's In The Land Of Blood And Honey.

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Setting the ‘Barnett’ high

Lois Weiss

BETWEEN THE BRICKS

Gary Barnett is busy shedding unwanted assets and amassing capital as he concentrates on skyscrapers such as the 1,550-foot Nordstrom tower on West 57th Street that will be the tallest US residential building.

Yesterday, Extell founder Barnett and partner the Carlyle Group sold the Building 2 site at the Riverside Center development to the Dermot Cos. and AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust.

The $420 million development, which calls for residential rentals, retail space and a grade school, has a $275 million state Housing Finance Agency bond mortgage with credit enhancements through Bank of America and Capital One.

Documents show the site sold for $70 million, but the equivalent land cost would be closer to $100 million as the developers have the added costs of building a school.

After the building’s construction company, Tishman Construction, finishes the core and shell, the 112,440-square-foot school condominium will be turned over to the School Construction Authority, which will complete the interior.

As we first told you in September 2011, the complicated site was marketed by Andrew Scandalios of HFF, who is also marketing the neighboring site 5 for another residential building.

When developed, the 640,000-square-foot Building 2 at the southwest corner of West 61st Street will be known as 21 West End Ave.

“We think we paid a fair price and the overall costs make this an excellent opportunity for us,” said Dermot COO Stephen Benjamin, who declined to discuss pricing.

Of the 616 apartments, 127 will be set aside under the 80/20 program for lower-income housing.

The community was unhappy that Dermot swapped the master plan starchitect, Christian de Portzamparc, for SLCE Architects, which has reacted to the criticism with a more interesting scheme.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Benjamin said. The new rendering enlivens all the façades, especially those of the kindergarten to 8th grade school, and makes other tweaks.

The main building’s interiors are being designed by ICRAVE, which is also coming up with amenities, including a wine bar, playroom, hobby room, swimming pool, lighted waterfall and dog salon.

“It will be a really fun, cutting-edge amenity program as they come from a hospitality, restaurant and club background,” said Benjamin. “It will be more like a hotel but fun residences.”

The building will also have 23,725 square feet of street retail space on all four sides for between five and seven retailers.

This week, Barnett is also closing the sale of the Westbourne apartment complex on West 137th Street to Bonjour Equities for $66 million.

The five multifamily buildings have 182 apartments with addresses from 601 to 611 W. 137th St. A Duane Reade store inhabits the retail along 99 feet of Broadway frontage.

Investment sales broker Georgia J. Malone of Georgia Malone & Co. represented Extell and was the sole broker.

In October, Extell sold the leasehold on 175 Varick St. for $32.75 million to WeWork and AEW Capital Management. That deal was marketed by Jones Lang LaSalle’s “Fearless Foursome” team of Richard Baxter, Ron Cohen, Scott Latham and Jon Caplan.

Yet another brokerage, Massey Knakal, is now marketing a garage for Barnett that can be redeveloped to 270,000 square feet and could sell for around $85 million. This site runs mid-block from West 24th to West 25th streets between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

“There are several people looking at it,” Robert Knakal said.

For Barnett, Knakal is also marketing 736 Broadway, a small IMD residential and retail building near Astor Place that will likely sell for around $10 million.

Knakal said his company has 59 buildings and is closing this month with 27 sold just by him.

“This is the best month in my career,” he said, adding that he’d already put off his vacation to next year to oversee the closings.

Meanwhile, Barnett and Carlyle’s effort to appeal an order from the New York State Attorney General to refund $16 million in deposits to 40 condo buyers at the Rushmore was cast another blow on Dec. 11, when the state’s Appellate Division rejected the developers’ argument that the early closing date in the condo documents was a scrivener’s error.

Barnett is also having cash flow issues at the 215-unit apartment building the Belnord, where a $50 million reserve fund that was tapped to meet a $20 million-plus yearly shortfall was exhausted. The $375 million loan is delinquent, according to Fitch Ratings and Morningstar Credit.

Barnett has said they are in discussions with the servicer and “hope to resolve this amicably.”

Barnett is also suing at least one tenant for several hundred thousand dollars in back rent, court records show. Barnett did not return a request for comment.

Lois@BetweentheBricks.com

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iOS apps you need right now

If you’ve just gotten an iPhone 5 or an iPad Mini, you’re going to want to play with it. And if you’re looking for apps to try out on your new iOS device, these old and new favorites are perfect — not to mention cheap or free.

PHOTOTOASTER

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)

The good: PhotoToaster is one of the best ways to add effects to your images, and features an excellent interface layout for giving your images a really cool look.

The bad: Like many apps, PhotoToaster has begun to add in-app purchases, but there are several included filters that do the job nicely.

The cost: 99 cents

The bottom line: There are tons of image editors in the App Store, but PhotoToaster is easy to recommend, with its slick and simple interface, helpful menus to get you started and extremely impressive results.

ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS HD

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)

The good: Angry Birds Star Wars does just enough with new worlds and new Star Wars-themed birds to add variation to an already great game mechanic.

The bad: The app is not universal to both phones and tablets, so you’ll need to purchase it twice if you want to use the game on both.

The cost: $2.99

The bottom line: With new birds, new powers andnew levels to explore set in the Star Wars universe, this is a worthy purchase, even if you’ve played the previous games.

NETFLIX for iOS

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)

The good: Great-looking streaming shows and new interface elements make browsing through scenes easier.

The bad: The streaming library is only a fraction of the larger DVD library. You still can’t add to or change your DVD queue via the app.

The cost: Free

The bottom line: If you don’t mind the limited streaming library, the Netflix app is a great way to watch movies, and the new interface elements make it easier to use.

FIFA SOCCER 13

4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)

The good: Not only the best soccer game, but the best sports game on an iOS device. New skill moves are easier to pull off, making them integral to the game. Precise controls and fast-paced action make for excellent gameplay.

The bad: Skill levels still feel too far apart. Poor camera selections make playing on an iPhone difficult, with very small players forcing you to bring your iPhone much closer than you’d like.

The cost: $6.99

The bottom line: If you want a great soccer game for iOS, FIFA 13 hits the mark on almost every level. With tons of teams, new skill moves, and online multiplayer, this is the sports game to beat on iOS.

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Miami-Dade court program helps young inmates change their lives

It was a graduation without pomp and circumstance.

There was marching in combat boots. No gowns.

The remarks by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beth Bloom were full of the hallmarks common at any graduation. She spoke of goals and achievement and of the opportunity.

But were it not for the “I’m Ready” program, many of Monday’s graduates would not be anticipating their release from jail in a few short weeks.

The 13 young men in “I’m Ready’s’’ inaugural class had already been convicted of some crime and sentenced to boot camp. But each had some medical or psychological problem that made him ineligible.

Take, for example 20-year-old Franklin Robinson. After being sentenced to boot camp after he violated his probation, Robinson underwent several tests, including an EKG that showed there was difficulty pumping blood to his heart. That prevented him from being admitted to boot camp and could have meant him ending up back in jail with the general population.

Instead, he ended up at the six-month “I’m Ready’’ program, which offers youths ages 14-24 education and services. They undergo behavior modification, life skills, job training, counseling and treatment.

The day begins at 5 a.m. A routine of schooling and vocational training in automotive technology or carpentry carries them through until about 8 p.m.

“I’m Ready” participants are housed in a separate unit to accommodate program activities rather than with the general jail population. They are referred to as “students,’’ not “inmates.’’

“There is a reason why boot camp is able to reduce recidivism,” Bloom said. “It sets the tone that they are there to learn.”

It’s not so different from boot camp, said Officer Cathy Harpp, who oversees the program.

“You can’t do pushups, but you can clean the floor and the toilet bowl with a toothbrush,” Harpp said.

The hardest part was getting them to be receptive to change and adapt to the new rules, Harpp said.

“Once they knew I was not going to let up, eventually, they cave in,” she said. “Here, they’re accountable for everything.”

The idea for the program came to Bloom after she oversaw the case of an insulin dependent diabetic with a 10th-grade education.

After he was deemed unfit for boot camp because of his health condition, Bloom wanted to know what would happen to him.

Young offenders like him would have been incarcerated with the general population of inmates, where there would be no access to training and no structure.

“I’ve seen far too many youth return to the criminal justice system,” Bloom said Monday at the program’s first graduation ceremony. “All of you have met your goal. The community needs you to be the different persons that you are.”

The group of 13 will be released Dec. 28. Twenty-two new students will replace them in January.

Before the new graduates students left the room in a final marching formation, Harpp offered one lasting piece of advice: “This is where the difference begins.”

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How to turn an old Kindle Fire into a Nexus 7 with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean [video]

Title Post: How to turn an old Kindle Fire into a Nexus 7 with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean [video]
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