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Submission + - WikiLeaks: Walmart bid Stratfor to investigate rival CEO's alleged affair (dailydot.com)

Submitted by Jah-Wren Ryel
Jah-Wren Ryel writes: In the wake of the trial of Jeremy Hammond, an Anonymous activist who received a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to hacking the company, WikiLeaks released its final batch of Stratfor files—and it’s potentially scandalous.

According to leaked files, Walmart tasked Stratfor with investigating the alleged extramarital affairs of a CEO who worked for one of the corporation’s global competitors. It’s presented in the context of job recruitment, but, given the competitive nature of the businesses involved, the effort could be construed as an attempt at corporate espionage.

Submission + - Phosphor Watches founder bilks customers out of $314k with Kickstarter project (kickstarter.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Phosphor Watches founder, Donald Brewer, received over $314,000 from over 2,200 Kickstarter pledges for a watch that was supposed to be delivered in Nov. of 2012. Well, its Oct. 2013 and the watches still haven't been delivered. In fact, there hasn't even been an update from Mr. Brewer since August.

If a Kickstarter project with the backing of a company like Phosphor Watches, Stefan Andren as Creative Director (Design Director for Nike+), a "working prototype" and software development from Softeq, cannot pull a project together, what are we to believe happened?

I have tried contacting Kickstarter and Donald Brewer to no avail. All Kickstarter feels obligated to do is send a message to Mr. Brewer "with a reminder of [their] Terms of Use", and a "reminder of [their] expectations regarding posting consistent updates".

It is apparent that Donald Brewer has abandoned the project and bilked 2,278 backers.

I want to bring failed Kickstarter project to the attention of the Slashdot community as a cautionary tale to potential Kickstarter supporters, and look for suggestions on how to the defrauded backers should proceed.

Interestingly, Phosphor Watches still has the item on their website (Items TT001 through TT008), and the watches are now for sale on AliExpress.com (product ID: 1332039375).

Submission + - Pissed-off Martha Stewart out to exterminate patent troll Lodsys (gigaom.com)

Submitted by McGruber
McGruber writes: Gigaom's Jeff John Roberts reports that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (MSLO) has filed a lawsuit against Lodsys, a shell company that gained infamy two years ago by launching a wave of legal threats (http://paidcontent.org/2011/10/13/419-app-developer-gives-in-to-lodsys-in-david-and-goliath-patent-fight/) against small app makers, demanding they pay for using basic internet technology like in-app purchases or feedback surveys.

In the complaint filed this week in federal court in Wisconsin, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia asked a judge to declare that four magazine iPad apps are not infringing Lodsys’ patents, and that the patents are invalid because the so-called inventions are not new. The complaint explained how Lodsys invited the company to “take advantage of our program” by buying licenses at $5,000 apiece. It also calls the Wisconsin court’s attention to Lodsys’ involvement in more than 150 Texas lawsuits. In choosing to sue Lodsys and hopefully crush its patents, Martha Stewart is choosing a far more expensive option than simply paying Lodsys to go away.

Submission + - Utility sets IT department on path to self-destruction (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by dcblogs
dcblogs writes: Northeast Utilities has told IT employees that it is considering outsourcing IT work to India-based offshore firms, putting as many as 400 IT jobs at risk. The company is saying a final decision has not been made. But Conn. State Rep. and House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, who is trying to prevent or limit the outsourcing move, says it may be a done deal. NU may be prompting its best IT employees to head to the exits. It also creates IT security risks from upset workers. The heads-up to employees in advance of a firm plan is "kind of mind mindbogglingly stupid," said David Lewis, who heads a Connecticut-based human resources consulting firm OperationsInc, especially "since this is IT of all places." The utility's move makes sense, however, if is it trying to encourage attrition to reduce severance costs.

Submission + - DARPA's XS-1 Sets Goal of Space Launches With One-Day Turnaround (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: Currently, launching satellites is an involved and expensive process. DARPA’s Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program hopes to make this a thing of the past, by developing a shuttle-like resuable launch system that can turn around from landing to relaunch in one day, and bring down the cost of launching by a factor of 10.

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