Broadband company’s demise puts taxpayers on hook for $74 million loan

SLIDE SHOW(7): The FCC’s powers
By Cecilia Kang – As the government prepares Thursday (10/27/11) to commit billions of dollars to bring high-speed Internet to rural areas, the biggest-­ever such project has collapsed.

The company Open Range, backed by a commitment of $267 million in loans from the Agriculture Department, filed for bankruptcy this month.

The furor was sparked by the high-profile failure of solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy after getting more than $535 million in federal loan guarantees. more> http://twurl.nl/4fqfer

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• Democrats call for investigation into bankrupt Open Range federal loans, Cecilia Kang, Washington Post
• Solyndra Investor’s Strategy: “Down cycles become up cycles.” (reason.com)
• First Solar CEO to step down, shares plummet (sfgate.com)
• First Solar Shares Suffer After CEO Steps Down (huffingtonpost.com)

Euro zone debt deal tackles symptoms not cause

By Alan Wheatley – The complex agreement reached in Brussels in the early hours of Thursday lends credence to the view that the euro zone will somehow muddle through. But it is not the Grand Plan that optimists had hoped for: what was the 14th summit in less than two years to tackle the crisis will not be the last.

Expressed as the “net present value” of the bonds, the proposed loss will be close to 70 percent, much more than the 40 percent hit that banks had volunteered to take, RBS said. What’s more, the EFSF will be too small to offer help to any country that might need it for any length of time. more> http://twurl.nl/67w1tm

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• Euro deal leaves much to do on rescue fund, Greek debt, Luke Baker and Julien Toyer, Reuters
• EU cuts back-room deal on Greek debt write-down, Claire Davenport, EurActiv
• Eurozone hopes rest on summit ‘bazooka’, Georgi Gotev, EurActiv
• EU chiefs to charm China on boosting bailout fund, Jeremy Fleming, EurActiv
• EU summit raises fears of ‘two-speed’ Europe, EurActiv
• Merkel rebuffs Sarkozy on euro zone solution (theneteconomy.wordpress.com)
• EU weighs insurance, SPV options to boost euro fund (theneteconomy.wordpress.com)
• Europe’s New Debt Crisis Agreement: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com)
• Euro Zone Strikes a Deal With Lots of Promise But Few Details (time.com)

Father of artificial intelligence dies in California

John McCarthy
September 4, 1927 – October 24, 2011
===

R&D Mag – McCarthy was a leader in the artificial intelligence field, coining the term in a 1955 research proposal. He said “every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it.”

He went on to create the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab and the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab, serving as its director from 1965 to 1980.

In 1958, McCarthy invented the programming language Lisp, which paved the way for voice recognition technology, including Siri, the personal assistant application on the newest iPhone.

McCarthy also developed the concept of computer time-sharing, which allowed multiple users to interact with a single computer. That lay the foundation for cloud computing today. more> http://twurl.nl/n11w7k

Related articles

• John McCarthy — Father of AI and Lisp — Dies at 84, Cade Metz, Wired.com
• Artificial Intelligence pioneer John McCarthy dies (physorg.com)
• Father of artificial intelligence dies at 84 (theglobeandmail.com)
• John McCarthy, one of the fathers of AI, dies at 84 (networkworld.com)
• Artificial Intelligence Pioneer John McCarthy Dies at 84 (mashable.com)
• Artificial intelligence pioneer John McCarthy dies (cbc.ca)
• John McCarthy – Father of AI and Lisp – Dies at 84 (3quarksdaily.com)

IBM sets an example with Ginni Rometty — and not just by selecting her as its first female CEO

By Jena McGregor – Unlike so many CEO transitions these days, this one was pulled off noticeably smooth. Samuel J. Palmisano is departing the massive technology firm while it is performing at the top of its game, leaving Virginia Rometty with a strong foundation to build on rather than a mess to clean up. He and IBM’s board put in place a company veteran who has served Big Blue for 30 years and knows the ins and outs of the company’s culture, customers and challenges. more> http://twurl.nl/6zpifs

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• IBM Showcase, IBM/StrategyGroup
• New IBM CEO latest in changes at tech companies, John Ribeiro, IDG News Service/Network World
• IBM Names Sales Chief Virginia Rometty As CEO, Samuel Palmisano Will Remain As Chairman (techcrunch.com)
• IBM announces Virginia Rometty as new CEO (engadget.com)
• IBM’s Virginia Rometty joins a growing list of female CEOs (cbsnews.com)
• IBM’s CEO hand-off: Rometty to take over for Palmisano (zdnet.com)
• The Business On… Virginia Rometty, chief executive, IBM (independent.co.uk)
• Virginia M. Rometty Elected IBM President and CEO; Samuel J. Palmisano Continues as Chairman, IBM