Six arrested after changing Hollywood sign to "HOLLYBOOB" - Los Angeles Times

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Six people were arrested Monday after scaling steep terrain around the iconic Hollywood sign and strategically changing it to convey what they said was a breast cancer awareness message, according to police.

“HOLLYBOOB,” the sign briefly read, with a big tarp with the letter “B” on it thrown over the “W” and a strategically placed white dash to make the “D” another “B.”

LAPD Capt. Steve Lurie, the Hollywood area commander, said LAPD security personnel observed the five men and one woman on video surveillance about 1:15 p.m. A police helicopter responded to the area, and flight crew were able to watch the group move back down the hill to a location on Mulholland Drive — where other officers and park rangers met them with handcuffs.

The arrestees were not publicly identified and could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.

All six will be cited with misdemeanor trespassing and released, Lurie said. “There’s no vandalism, because the sign wasn’t damaged,” he said.

The site is surrounded by Griffith Park, but is not accessible to the public and is privately maintained by the Hollywood Sign Trust.

A representative for the trust said they were grateful for the fast response from the LAPD.

“It’s unfortunate that such an important icon for the city of L.A. is not being appreciated,” said Mark Panatier, the group’s chairman, who said trespassing to alter the sign is wrong no matter the purported cause.

“This is an icon that’s there for visual reinforcement of the importance of Hollywood, not just for the city of L.A. but to the world,” Panatier said. “It needs to be upheld, it doesn’t need to be demeaned.”

The sign has been changed before. On New Year’s Day 2017, it was changed to read “HOLLYWeeD.”

Steve Alper, 54, a dentist who lives down the hill and owns the vacant Mulholland property where the arrests were made, said he was on his way to grab some lunch when he looked out the window and saw the “HOLLYBOOB” lettering.

By the time he got up to his Mulholland property, the group — who looked to have cameras and other recording gear — were coming down and police were arriving, he said.

“It’s probably just a gag,” he said.

Alper said people trespass on the property all the time, but mostly get scared off by guards or rangers on bullhorns.

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Nintendo Switch Multiplayer Upgrade First Spotted in Monster Hunter Demo - TechRaptor

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The free Monster Hunter Rise demo on Nintendo was pretty neat, but it also apparently had a secret: a developer says that it looks like the demo might also have been the first public test for a Nintendo Switch multiplayer upgrade.

Let's start by setting some expectations: no, this isn't some new kind of social features or an upgrade to Nintendo Switch Online. The reported new multiplayer in the Monster Hunter Rise demo has a little more going on behind the scenes then you might first guess. It might sound boring, but Nintendo appears to be moving its source code from its multiplayer NEX source code to a new codebase that could improve Switch's multiplayer on the whole.

Nintendo is preparing a big multiplayer overhaul, probably for games in development in 2020: every task currently taken by NEX is going to be switched over to NPLN. It's currently in a preview phase, and the Monster Hunter demo was a way to test how it worked under load.

— Thomas (@thomasnet_mc) February 1, 2021

How Nintendo Switch Multiplayer Could Be Improving

The above tweet from @thomasnet_mc is certainly interesting on its face. It was, however, a little lacking in detail; we reached out to Thomas for more details.

Currently, Nintendo uses something called NEX for its backend. It's a pretty old system — @OatmealDome on Twitter told me that it's based on source code licensed from Ubisoft and has been in operation since around 2010 for the Wii U, 3DS, and now the Nintendo Switch.

Understandably, this system is a bit dated and the state of Nintendo's multiplayer services isn't generally well-regarded. However, a friend of @thomasnet_mc noticed something interesting about the Monster Hunter Rise demo — it was using something else entirely behind the scenes.

" A friend of mine (@nextIeveIbilly) looked at the list of servers the [Monster Hunter Rise] demo was connecting to a few days ago and noticed an unusual server, which happens to be the NPLN server for the game," @thomasnet_mc explained.

"From then, I asked Yannik/Kinnay (@Kinnay on GitHub) to look into it a bit more and seen it was listed as a new middleware inside the game's executable[,]" he continued. "After looking into it a bit more, it seemed to use HTTP/2 for transport and gRPC, which made it easy to proxy and look at the different requests the library could make[.]"

It's important to note that this is not an improvement to the netcode of games or anything like that. This change would only affect "authentication, matchmaking, data storing and presence capabilities" according to @thomasnet_mc — basically, the bits and pieces of programming that set up a game when you want to play with a friend.

"Matchmaking and DataStore are the tasks NEX is usually used for in both Nintendo first-party and third-party games since the 3DS, and it makes sense to want to change libraries as it's both old (the base library/server code dates from way before the 3DS) and costs licensing money to [Nintendo]." — @thomasnet_mc on Twitter

Players will still have to establish a peer-to-peer connection for games that don't have dedicated servers. However, @thomasnet_mc notes that there does appear to be support for "relay servers" which might improve your connectivity over long distances and/or on an unstable connection. Support for this functionality, however, does not necessarily mean that Nintendo will actually implement it.

As far as anyone can tell, the Monster Hunter Rise demo is the only game on the market that's testing out this new Nintendo Switch multiplayer functionality. If an upgrade using this system does go forward, we may well see an improved multiplayer experience on the platform. There's still a lot we don't know, though — will Nintendo actually use NPLN? Will it upgrade its older titles to use this new service? We can't say for sure, but the prospect of multiplayer improvements is certainly exciting.

What improvements would you like to see for Nintendo Switch multiplayer? How do you think Nintendo Switch Online compares to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live? Let us know in the comments below!

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Ford and Google sign six-year deal for in-car connectivity and cloud services - CNBC

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Jim Farley in 2017.

Luke Macgregor | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Ford andGoogle are entering a six-year deal that will make the tech giant responsible for much of the automaker's growing in-vehicle connectivity. Google will also provide cloud computing and other technology services.

The partnership announced Monday is designed to streamline Ford's operations and accelerate an ongoing $11 billion restructuring plan. It marks a major shift for the automaker, which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars annually in recent years to develop and maintain such systems.

It will also give Google a new marquee customer for its cloud computing technology, which lags behind rivals Amazon and Microsoft in market share, and shows how Google is willing to use assets such as its mobile dominance to help build its cloud business. The deal is not exclusive, allowing the companies to use other clouds or existing Ford data centers.

Under the deal, Ford and Lincoln vehicles will sport Android, the Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play starting in 2023, and Google's cloud will enable other types of services. For instance, Google said Ford is looking to use the tech giant's cloud to enable a system for sending customers messages about maintenance or trade-in opportunities.

Google will also help Ford use artificial intelligence in areas such as supply chain logistics and manufacturing, the companies said.

Ford CEO Jim Farley: Partnerships are key

The partnership is the most recent change for Ford under Jim Farley, who has restructured the automaker's operations and management team since becoming CEO in October. The company's stock is up about 60% under his tenure.

"One of the most important parts of our strategy is to partner," Farley told CNBC. "That means that we have to get out of the business of doing generic things that we do not add value, like navigation systems and a lot of the in-car entertainment experience."

He added, "We were spending hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions every year, keeping up with basically a generic experience that was not competitive to your cellphone."

Farley said the deal is worth "hundreds of millions" of dollars, but declined to provide a specific number.

Despite automakers like Ford spending significant capital to develop such systems, consumers have moved toward using Google's Android Auto or Apple's CarPlay programs while driving, according to industry groups such a J.D. Power. The programs mirror phone apps on in-vehicle infotainment screens, providing a more familiar interface for drivers.

Ford's largest crosstown rival, General Motors, announced a deal in 2019 to integrate Google's voice assistant and app ecosystem into its vehicles beginning this year. A GM spokesman confirmed those plans remain on track.

Ford's partnership with Google is broader than the GM-Google deal. Employees from both companies will be part of a new group called Team UpShift, which will use Google's services and data expertise to better streamline Ford's operations and create a more seamless experience for customers, Farley said.

Farley said Ford analyzed several companies before choosing Google. He said the automaker specifically liked Google's cloud services – an increasingly important technology for automakers as they begin updating vehicles remotely. Cellphone providers have remotely updated products for years, however automakers (other than Tesla) have been slow to adopt such practices.

2021 Ford F-150 Tremor interior

Farley compared the company's opportunity to retain customers through in-car connectivity to cellphone providers and services such as Amazon Prime becoming so integrated in people's lives that they remain with a certain brand or product. Such services include predictive maintenance, apps and data utilization to allow companies to more regularly interact with customers after they purchase a vehicle.

"It's a tremendous opportunity. Bigger than electrification," Farley said. "All the digital capability and conductivity and the digital ecosystem outside of the vehicle are all coming together to a loyalty model, where people will have a much more difficult time switching brands."

A cloud win for Google

The cloud business win for Google is one that either Amazon or Microsoft could have picked up instead.

The more Google can expand in cloud computing, the less it has to lean on advertising, a business that showed vulnerability in 2020 when an 8% annualized decrease in Google advertising sales caused Alphabet's first-ever revenue decline in the second quarter of 2020.

Google aspires to become a larger force in the cloud market, where Amazon held 45% share and Microsoft had 18% in 2019, leaving Google with 5%, according to estimates from technology industry research company Gartner. In the third quarter of 2020, Google parent Alphabet said cloud revenue, including contributions from Google Workspace productivity software, was $3.44 billion, or 7% of revenue, while Amazon's Web Services cloud division generated $11.60 billion in revenue.

Ford has a history with the other two cloud vendors. Years ago, the company used Microsoft software to power its Sync in-car communications system, but after consumers encountered technical issues, Ford in 2014 switched Sync to BlackBerry's QNX.

In 2015 Ford committed to using Microsoft's Azure cloud to deliver software updates to vehicles, and Ford agreed to a multiyear deal with Amazon Web Services in 2019. Ford and Google did not immediately make clear exactly which cloud computing services from Microsoft and AWS would be replaced by Google services instead.

Google has looked to widen its cloud business by focusing on five industries, including manufacturing, since Oracle executive Thomas Kurian came to Google to lead its cloud efforts in 2019. Google has also sought to make inroads in media, entertainment and gaming. Last year when Google announced a deal with Activision Blizzard, it also said Google-owned YouTube was becoming the game developer's exclusive venue for streaming esports events.

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Apple is planning to issue dollar-denominated bonds in six-tranche deal - MarketWatch

Salesforce CFO Hands Reins to Successor After More Than Six Years at Helm - The Wall Street Journal

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After a 40-year career in finance, Mark Hawkins is retiring as Salesforce.com Inc.’s chief financial officer.

Photo: Salesforce.com Inc.

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WSGF Vaycaychella Short-Term Rental Alt Purchase Finance App Demo Scheduled Friday - PRNewswire

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DALLAS, Feb. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- World Series of Golf, Inc. (OTC Pink: WSGF) ("WSGF"), today confirmed the company will present a demonstration of its Vaycaychella alternative, short-term rental property investment application this Friday, February 5^th, 2021.

WSGF acquired Vaycaychella last year.  Vaycaychella is now WSGF's primary business focus.  A corporate name change is underway.

Vaycaychella has built a peer-to-peer (P2P) technology solution designed to connect short-term rental property buyers with alternative investors.  The P2P application (app) is part of a fintech ecosystem solution suite for short-term rental property owners that includes a Visa Card solution and plans for a cryptocurrency component.

In addition to providing would short-term rental property buyers with access to a new investment market sector, Vaycacyhella is opening up the opportunity to invest in real estate to individuals that might not otherwise have ever had an opportunity to invest in real estate deals before.

Vaycaychella plans to include a cryptocurrency-based function to facilitate fractional investment in short-term rental properties.

Vaycaychella's intent is for everyone to have an opportunity to invest in long-term real estate value appreciation, not just those that can afford a down payment and qualify for a mortgage.

The company remains on track for the scheduled beta launch of its Vaycaychella fintech short-term rental P2P alternative finance app later this month in February.

Over the past three years Vaycaychella has built a portfolio of short-term vacation property investments that would not typically qualify for conventional mortgages.  Now the company is scaling its business model with the introduction of its P2P technology.

With the beta launch of its Vaycaychella P2P app to beta users coming later this month, a production launch is anticipated in June. 

To learn more and keep up with the latest updates at Vaycaychella, visit  https://www.vaycaychella.com/. At the company website, you will find a blog with frequent industry publications on the short-term rental market in general, as well as entries specific to Vaycaychella.

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur.

WSGF Contact:
William "Bill" Justice
[email protected]
+1 (800) 871-0376

SOURCE World Series of Golf, Inc.

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EPeng's stock jumps after near six-fold increase in January deliveries - MarketWatch