Tag: pioneer
Microsoft is sunsetting social VR pioneer AltspaceVR
AltspaceVR has had a few close calls over the years, but the company that built virtual social spaces well before “metaverse” was a household word is shuttering for good this time. After announcing that it would close up shop in 2017, Microsoft intervened and the company came under the tech giant’s wing. Now, Microsoft is […]
Microsoft is sunsetting social VR pioneer AltspaceVR by Taylor Hatmaker originally published on TechCrunch
How the boss of JCB and his organic pioneer wife became… Britain’s best connected couple
The tech pioneer behind Sound Blaster has passed away
Singaporean inventor and tech pioneer Sim Wong Hoo passed away on January 4th at the age of 67. Sim may not be a household name these days, but he founded Creative Technology (or Creative Labs in the US), the company behind the Sound Blaster brand of sound cards, back in 1981. Sound Blasters were some of the first sound cards available to consumers, and there was a time when you had to make sure your system worked with them if you wanted to listen to music and play games.
Sim established his business in the US and started selling Sound Blasters a few years later, after which Creative became the first Singaporean company to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange. The integration of sound boards into the motherboard ended Sound Blaster’s popularity, but Bloomberg says the cards provided audio for more than 400 million PCs.
Under his leadership, Creative also launched a range of MP3 players, and Sim once tried to take on Apple by spending $100 million on advertising and marketing in its bid to dethrone the iPod. In 2006, Creative sued Apple for violating its patent for portable media system menus. The companies filed more lawsuits against each other after that before Apple settled with Creative and paid the company $100 million for the technology outlined in its patent.
Creative confirmed Sim’s passing on its website, calling him “a visionary, inventor, and entrepreneur who gave the PC a voice.” In a press release published by the company, interim CEO Song Siow Hui said in a statement:
“I have known and worked with Mr. Sim for over 30 years. This is a sad and sudden development and we feel a great loss especially since Mr. Sim and I recently had extensive discussions on the future direction of the Company. During those discussions, Mr. Sim was full of fresh vision. Even on the night before, he had a long discussion with the Engineering team and was scheduled to meet with the Online Sales team the next day. The best thing to do now is to ensure the continued smooth running of the Company, and also to execute and realise the vision and strategy that Mr. Sim had for the Company.”
Atomic Bomb Pioneer J. Robert Oppenheimer Cleared of ‘Black Mark’ After 68 Years
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a written order that the since-dissolved AEC acted out of political motives when it revoked Oppenheimer’s security clearance nearly 70 years ago. Oppenheimer died in 1967.
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From the Santa Fe New Mexican:
Fifty-five years after the death of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Biden administration has annulled a decades-old decision that stripped weapons security clearance from the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and celebrated “father of the atomic bomb.”
Oppenheimer was credited for his role in the Manhattan Project, a World War II research and development initiative that created the first nuclear weapons at what is now called Los Alamos National Laboratory. He later served as director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. But in 1954, after Oppenheimer had opposed development of the hydrogen bomb, the AEC revoked his security clearance through what government officials now call a “flawed process that violated the commission’s own regulations.”
The hearing took place against the backdrop of the “Red Scare” of the 1950s, and the review concluded that Oppenheimer’s privileges were revoked not because of security concerns but due to “fundamental defects” in his character based on past ties with communism and associations with communists — which had had been previously cleared in 1947.
Following an investigation, the Energy Department determined the decision that ended Oppenheimer’s national security career was aimed at discrediting him in public debates over U.S. weapons policy. The review detailed numerous procedural flaws, concluding, “the system failed … [and] that a substantial injustice was done to a loyal American.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Why developer-first security is needed from the start, from DevSecOps pioneer Snyk
We will see a completely new type of computer, says AI pioneer Geoff Hinton
Today’s Google Doodle celebrates video game pioneer Jerry Lawson by enabling you to make games
Today’s Google Doodle – the daily, sometimes-interactive twist on the search engine’s logo – offers up a handful of arcade mini-games to play with in your browser. They’re simple novelties, but there’s also an edit button on each one that allows you to tinker with them so you can plop down your own walls, enemies, switches and keys. The Doodle has been built to celebrate Jerry Lawson, a Black video game pioneer and the engineer who led the team that designed the first home video game console to use cartridges.
Kentucky Fried Chicken pioneer dies aged 88
Who is Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s nephew Caleb?
PIONEER Woman chef Ree Drummond’s nephew has been involved in a collision with the star’s husband Ladd while battling a fire on the family’s Drummond Ranch in Oklahoma.
Caleb Drummond is in hospital after his emergency vehicle crashed with another fire truck “ejecting” him 70 feet.
Caleb Drummond was in a horrific accident in March 2021[/caption]
Who is Caleb Drummond?
Caleb Drummond is the nephew of Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond and was involved in a nearly fatal accident on her and her husband’s property in March 2021.
Caleb and his uncle, Ladd Drummond, were battling a fire on the family’s Oklahoma ranch on March 10, 2021, at 1.45pm.
Caleb and Ree’s husband, Ladd, were each driving a Himmat Fire Truck when they collided head-on due to decreased visibility and “high winds on a gravel road,” according to a report of the crash.
Neither Caleb nor Ladd was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and Caleb “was ejected approximately 70 feet from point of rest.”
Read More on Ree Drummond
Caleb was immediately brought to the St. John Medical Center in critical condition with head, arm, leg, and internal injuries.
Ladd “refused treatment at the scene,” the report says, and instead drove himself to the hospital where he was diagnosed as having a broken neck.
Was Ladd Drummond injured in the accident?
Ree described her husband as “doing great” a year after the nearly fatal collision that placed both Ladd and Caleb in the hospital.
Shortly after Ladd was admitted to the hospital, Ree revealed on social media that her husband had broken his neck in two places, and wrote: “Evidently one of the two fractures was very close to being catastrophic.”
Most read in The Sun
In a 2022 blog post reflecting on Ladd’s injury, Ree said: “The surgeon had told us that the fracture in his neck came dangerously close to damaging his spinal cord, and the fact that he was lucky to be able to get up and walk around after surgery was not lost on Ladd.”
A year later, she said his neck is stiff but he is back to doing all the things he loves including riding his horses, feeding the cattle, and working on their ranch.
Only two months after the accident, Ladd was able to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding and was even able to temporarily remove his neck brace for the moment.
“Fortunately, I’ve been married to this dude for 25 years and I asked Jesus to take the wheel many years ago,” Ree wrote in her blog.
She added: “So I was able to throw my hands up and surrender when these envelopes were pushed.”
When was Caleb Drummond arrested?
Caleb was arrested less than a month after the accident for driving while intoxicated.
He was taken to the Osage County Jail in Oklahoma on April 18, 2021, and was charged with driving under the influence, carrying a firearm while being arrested for a DUI, and for transportation of an open container. However, he was released later that day.
According to police documents obtained by TMZ, police said they received a call at about 5am that a Ford truck had been stopped at a traffic light for at least three light cycles without moving.
When police approached the truck, they noted Caleb was asleep behind the wheel and didn’t respond when they repeatedly knocked on the window.
Police said when they finally got the door open, they found an open beer, a box of ammo, a loaded 9mm handgun, and amazingly, the car was still in drive, but Caleb’s foot had remained on the brake.
They said he lost his balance when stepping out of the vehicle and handed them a credit card when they asked for his license.
According to the reports, Caleb failed a field sobriety test and told police: “I know I shouldn’t have been driving,” and “I’m glad I wasn’t caught a few hours ago.”
Ree Drummond and her husband of 25 years Ladd[/caption]
Who is Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond?
Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond is a famous homestyle chef, blogger, food writer, photographer and TV personality.
In 2010 she was included in Forbes’ list of Top 25 Web Celebrities.
The following year she launched a new TV show called The Pioneer Woman, the same name as her blog with Food Network.
Ree has also written cookbooks, a children’s book, and an autobiography.
Most read in US News
In 2018, the family also opened a bed and breakfast, The Boarding House.
She lives on a working ranch in Oklahoma with her family and together they have four children – Alex, Paige, Bryce, and Todd.