The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation in December for information related to its $75 million loan guarantee to 38 Studios, The Providence Journal reports.

A pair of attorneys confirmed the subpoenas, which requested "depositions and exhibits related to the state's lawsuit against former ballplayer Curt Schilling," according to the publication. Shechtman Halperin Savage's Thomas E. Carlotto, general counsel for the RICC, said that the December subpoena was sent directly to Cohen & Gresser, a law firm that the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation hired in response to an SEC inquiry. Documents obtained last year by WPRI revealed the SEC's investigation and Cohen & Gresser's involvement.

The former Economic Development Corporation, which was rebranded as the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation on Jan. 1, 2014, provided the bonds that backed the state's loan guarantee to former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's failed game development studio.

Rhode Island filed suit in November 2012 against Schilling and other executives, including those at the RICC, involved in the guarantee. Depositions in that case began in October 2013.

Best Buy is slashing the on-contract price of Apple's flagship iPhone 5S by $75 this weekend. That brings the 16GB model down to $124.99, one of the lowest prices we've seen for the 64-bit smartphone. The savings also apply to models with more flash storage; the 32GB iPhone 55S is $224.99, and the 64GB is $324.99 with the discount applied. Best Buy's deal is good for any iPhone 5S on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, or Sprint and runs through January 4th. Of course, a two-year contract is required to take advantage, but assuming you're happy with your current carrier, it may not be the worst option. Best Buy is also selling the iPhone 5C for free on-contract through the 4th, so that may be worth looking at if you don't need Apple's latest and greatest.

According to a December 31, 2013 filing with the Federal Election Commission, Yelp is set to open its own political action committee, or PAC. The PAC will allow the popular reviews site to collect money and distribute it to legislators as a way to influence policy.

In November, Yelp hired its first lobbyist, Laurent Crenshaw. In his official lobbying registration form filed in November 2013, the former House staffer said that he was interested in working on patent and copyright reform bills along with a potential federal-level anti-defamation (anti-SLAPP) bill.

Other Silicon Valley firms have PACs too: Google’s NETPAC is worth about $1 million, while Facebook’s is worth about $200,000.

BlackBerry is suing the maker of a snap-on keyboard accessory for smartphones. The Waterloo, ON-based company this week filed a complaint against Typo Products, which is backed and co-founded by Ryan Seacrest, claiming the company infringes on its patents covering keyboards.

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A keyboard for your touchscreen phone

"This is a blatant infringement against BlackBerry's iconic keyboard, and we will vigorously protect our intellectual property against any company that attempts to copy our unique design," BlackBerry's general counsel and chief legal officer Steve Zipperstein said in a statement. "We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations."

Typo Keyboard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Developing…

Shreds: A toddler, 4, who had a habit of tearing up old books found his family's life savings and ripped them to shreds, pictured

 

More...

• Cambridge University librarian's marriage labelled a 'sham' by Home Office officials who force his wife to remain in China
• The 'Sleepless In Seattle' effect: Chinese romcom 'Finding Mr. Right' has romantics flocking to the Northwest city

Play Location/Method: Chicago, IL
Game/System: Werewolf the Apocalypse LARP - Laws of the Wild, Revised
Player or GM? Storyteller
Time/Frequency: Alternating Saturday evenings (subject to change with player vote)
Genre: World of Darkness
Current needs: Additional Players
Accept Drop-In Players? Yes
Accept Spectators? Yes
Short description of the setting/campaign:
Our game is a story of horror and struggle. Caught in the middle of competing factions of mages and fomori, the characters only have each other to rely on, but can they overcome their personal difference to stand against the forces of the Wyrm, or will this Sept fall like so many before it? If interested, please PM or (ideally) email. Same username as here, at the most popular email service.

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee is calling for his company to forget its old business models and focus on a new wave of software innovation. As the Wall Street Journal reports, Lee used his annual new year speech to urge the company to "get rid of business models and strategies from five, ten years ago and hardware-focused ways." To achieve that, he wants the company's massive research and development centers to "work around the clock, non-stop."

Lee's speech comes just a day after Samsung's market cap dropped by over $6 billion amid analyst forecasts that company profit growth will fall to under 10 percent this financial quarter. Samsung's profits have grown spectacularly in recent years, and although the company is still outperforming its peers, investors worry that its continued expansion is being stifled by stiff competition and a lack of innovation.

Samsung has been accused of following other companies into existing markets, flooding the market with alternatives, rather than producing innovative products. Its strengths lie in being able to quickly and cheaply research, develop, and manufacture hardware in a stupefyingly broad range of product categories, but it doesn't win many awards for its software. Every year the company rolls out more software features; its current Galaxy S4 flagship features a dizzying array of add-ons to Google's Android OS, including head-tracking, hand gestures, and dozens of camera options, but such additions are often written off as gimmicks, rather than praised as valuable features. It's unclear if this new focus on software will yield similar results or genuine innovation, but investors will be hoping for the latter option.

Streaming Who is the US has been slim pickings, usually with one or two serials per series at most and with lots of skip seasons. Notably nearly no first, second or seventh Doctor and no sixth at all. That seems to have changed recently.

Hulu seems to have added a cubic ton of material. It's not complete by any stretch, but it's probably three or four times as much material as has been offered to stream before this. I would say where maybe 10-20% could be streamed before' this looks like 60-70%

Edit: yeah this is most, though not all, of what is on DVD in the US. Which means streaming Genesis of the Daleks finally. There are still some oddly absent serials, especially in the the middle of fully in print Baker seasons, like no Armageddon Factor for some reason.

No. 12: 75% Santa Cruz Designed by Anagrama SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 11: 76% Designed by Helsinki Food Company Werklig SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 10: 76% Brother Zeke's Barbecue Designed by Slaughter Group SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 9: 79% Mylène Poisson Designed by Caserne SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 8: 81% Liseberg Designed by Happy F&B SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 7: 82% Blue Goose Pure Foods Designed by Sid Lee SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 6: 83% Camerata de Lausanne Designed by Demian Conrad Design SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 5: 83% Alley Burger & Chili Trailer Designed by Corianton Hale SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 4: 85% Italio Designed by Push SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 3: 85% Augusta Ventures Designed by Moving Brands SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 2: 86% Google Visual Assets Guidelines Designed In-house SEE ORIGINAL POST

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No. 1: 87% Speak Up Africa Designed by DIA SEE ORIGINAL POST

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In July of last year, developer and publishing house Stardock acquired the rights to the highly celebrated but long-dormant Star Control franchise. The company announced plans for a new Star Control title that would be heavily inspired by the franchise's most famous entry, Star Control 2.

That set the bar mighty high. Forum postings from Stardock CEO Brad Wardell seemed to indicate that Stardock was going to produce not a continuation of the Star Control story, but rather a reboot or prequel. Legions of the game's fans (including this author) were eager for more information on the shape of Star Control to come as Stardock settled down into the early development stages.

When the story broke back in July, Ars approached Wardell directly for an interview. At the time, because the rights had just been acquired and planning for the new title had only just begun, Wardell didn't have a lot of information to share. Six months have passed since then, and the developers of the new Star Control have been very, very busy. Ars caught up with Wardell via e-mail and then over Skype, and he was happy to tease us with some new information about the title.