A Billion Dollar Turning Point For Mobile Apps

The path for Internet start-ups used to be quite clear: establish a presence on the Web first, then come up with a version of your service for mobile devices.

Now, at a time when the mobile start-up Instagram can command $1 billion in a sale to Facebook, some start-ups are asking: Who needs the Web?

Smartphones are everywhere now, allowing apps like Foursquare and Path to be self-contained social worlds, existing almost entirely on mobile devices. It is a major change from just a few years ago, underscoring how the momentum in the tech world is shifting to mobile from computers.

In that context, the Instagram deal looks like something of a turning point, as even the Web giant Facebook tries to get a better grasp on a market that requires a rethinking of old rules.

An Uncertain Fate for Urban Projects in California

LOS ANGELES — It is impossible to miss the long-moribund Santa Barbara Plaza, a collection of mostly boarded-up retail buildings in South Los Angeles across the street from a shopping center that just underwent a $30 million overhaul. After some costly missteps that only worsened the blight, plans to transform the ugly 19.2-acre site into a mixed-use development called Marlton Square finally seemed to be gathering steam, and the city redevelopment agency started clearing the land last summer.

But now Marlton Square, like many urban development projects in California, is in limbo. The state’s 397 community redevelopment agencies, including the one that was shepherding Marlton Square, went out of business on Feb. 1, victims of the state’s fiscal crisis. Legislation enacted last June to eliminate the agencies was upheld in December by the California Supreme Court.

Prosecuter in Trayvon Martin Case to Make Announcement

SANFORD, Fla. — The Florida special prosecutor investigating the shooting death of Trayvon Martin has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday evening, officials said on Wednesday.

It was not yet clear whether the prosecutor, Angela B. Corey, had decided to charge George Zimmerman, 28, a crime watch volunteer, who fatally shot Mr. Martin, an unarmed teenager, in a case that has captivated the country and brought to the fore issues of race, violence and precisely what constitutes self-defense.

FOR THE ELITE: World's Most Expensive Watch: Louis Moinet Watch Set $4.6Mil

Louis Moinet Watch Set: $4.6 Mil

You are looking at the one-of-a-kind Meteoris from watch maker Louis Moinet. Meteoris is a set of four watches and this artfully made mechanical planetarium. The set is for the serious astrological and horological connoisseur. Clearly very expensive, the set has some interesting features that are worth knowing about. Looking at the planetarium it is clear that the table like structure is on a pedestal with an ornate mechanical planetarium on it surrounded by four pillow sections for the watches. Actually, Given the complexity of the planetarium, I wish that Louis Moinet would have put more effort into giving the watches more appropriate housings. You have four piece unique watches that are each beautifully made tourbillons that are just sitting there on a pillow. At least give them a dust cover.

GAMES and GADGETS: Why Your Next Hardware Purchase Needs To Be A Tablet

Forbes

With 11.2 million Apple iPad’s sold in Q4 2011 alone and with iPad3 looming, it’s time to make the firm argument that business owners (particularly those that run a small, tight ship) need to integrate the device into their business in a way that’s more than just “I synced my work e-mail to my personal iPad.”

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY: Facebook Timeline For Brands: It's About Storytelling

FORBES:

As anticipated, Facebook Timeline for Pages was announced Wednesday. The buzz is deafening. Us social media types don’t lack opinions or channels to share them. Among my network, the chatter is mostly positive, obsessed with aesthetics of the interface, new navigation patterns and the placement of things like Apps, Photos and the like. But this, my “friends,” is not the real story here.

WHERE THEY DO THAT AT?: RICH FAMILY KEEPS IMMIGRANT SERVANT IN CLOSET FOR 6 YEARS

courtesy of Smoking Gun

A wealthy New York woman is facing criminal charges after being accused of keeping an illegal immigrant as an indentured servant and forcing her to live in a closet for nearly six years.

Documents posted on the Smoking Gun allege that Annie George, 39, and her now-deceased husband, Mathai Kolath George, hired an illegal immigrant from the Indian state of Kerala. The immigrant, identified only as "V.M.," was promised about $1,000 a month in wages to live in the family's 34-room, 30,000-square-foot home, known as Llenroc mansion, which houses a helicopter pad, 15 fireplaces, marble flooring, 24-karat gold gilded ceilings and a glass elevator. V.M. was tasked with taking care of the Georges' four young children, along with performing household duties in the mansion located about 20 miles north of Albany.